Deadly Betrayal (14 page)

It took forever for Adam to return.

The eternity might only have been an hour, but I felt like I’d never waited that long for anything or anyone.

Blake’s clothes were torn, he had dirt on his cheeks, and dust in his hair. Even Adam looked ruffled, but both pretended it wasn’t a big deal. Blake held out his hand.

“It’s good to see you again, Alex.”

More formal than I expected, but it was his style. I still hesitated.

Adam said, “He’s okay. But it’s getting pretty bad out there, we should go.”

“I’m surprised no one has tried to get in here.”

I expected to have to fight off intruders, but no one as much as knocked on the door.

He gave me a look that said I was adorable and silly. “That might be because John has the shuttle right above your head.”

I stepped closer to him and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Are we ready? Anything here you guys need?”

Ima opened a drawer and pulled out a thick glass vial. It looked perfectly empty to me, but Adam narrowed his eyes. “Where did you get that?”

“Our quarters on the Bell.”

I didn’t understand until she told him about discovering the nanites in their bed.

This was
not
happening.

“You’re not bringing those little monsters to the ship.”

The three of them stared at me. Adam said, “We need them to experiment on.”

“No.”

John’s voice came over the radio. “Alex is right. The nanites are not coming on my ship.”

Adam shook his head. “How do you propose we free the Bell if we can’t figure out how to get rid of the infection?”

I crossed my arms and held my head high.

“I don’t care.”

Ima hissed, “We can’t leave them here.”

At least John agreed with me. “Alex, I’m coming down to get you. The others can stay there for now. Give them some time to figure out their priorities.”

Blake had listened in silence, and when he spoke he sounded like he explained a complicated concept to a child. “If we leave them here and someone lets them out they will spread.”

John’s voice said, “Alex, come outside
right now
. We’re leaving.”

I shook Adam’s hand off my shoulders and stepped towards the door.

John was right.

They were crazy.

Adam said, “Dammit” and snatched the vial from Ima’s hands. He put it on a high shelf and I caught myself watching his hands to make sure he wasn’t trying to fool me. He was fast enough to make me
think
he put the thing away.

I said, “There will be no going back for it or teleporting it.”

He nodded to Blake and Ima to go through the door. “I wish you would trust me.”

“Likewise.”

He sighed, but put a hand on the small of my back and led me out the shack, leaving the wicked robots behind.

Good thing I went with him, or they would have brought the darned things without us knowing.

“I will bring equipment down here to study them. Ima mentioned a form of gamma radiation. I have an idea of how we can treat the Bell.”

It made sense, but my heart still said no. “This plan doesn’t seem safe, not even for you.”

“I know. But I’m pretty good at taking care of myself.”

“Last time you did something really dangerous and I said it was crazy, you died.”

My husband shrugged. The fact clearly didn’t matter to him.

John’s shuttle waited outside, hovering about two feet off the ground. Someone threw a rock at it, but the attack faded quickly as large guns folded out of the hull. Adam grabbed my waist and hoisted me up.

As we took off, I looked down at the shack below. People were already streaming in, probably in search for anything useful.

Ima said, “Yes, leaving the vial there was a great idea. Good job.”

John huffed. “Well, maybe you can experiment on the whole planet. I’m sure it won’t be the last time they conquer one.”

*****

No one spoke during our journey to the ship. I sat in the co-pilot’s chair next to John, pretending I was helpful. At least
he
wasn’t angry with me. If anything, he seemed proud.

Once we reached the docking bay, he powered down the small ship and turned to the others.

“You are welcome on my ship. I’m sure Adam will find you a room and some fresh clothes. Have a shower and take some time to settle in. We’ll have a meeting in the lounge in ninety minutes.”

Funny how quickly it had become one group with three Confederacy officers and one with two civilians.

John nodded to me. “Come.”

Adam lifted an eyebrow, but I was still angry with him, so I ignored him and followed John.

I assumed we were going to the bridge, but he headed in the other direction, away from the lifts, through the cargo hold, and into an area of the ship I rarely visited.

He pulled his fingers over a shelf and it slid to the side, revealing a hidden door.

“I had no idea this existed.”

“We haven’t needed a secret hideout, because with just you and me we haven’t had anyone to hide from.”

And now we did. Saddening thought.

The room was cozy with comfortable armchairs, shelves filled with real books and trinkets, and a thick rug.

I loved it, and it was very
him.

He went over to an old-fashioned cooler and retuned with beer, handing me a bottle.

“What a goddamn mess.”

I clanged my bottle against his and he smiled.

“I’m proud of you. You made a decision, the right decision, and stood by it. Against all three of them. We’re in a minority now you and I, but remember it’s
our
ship and we call the shots.”

I liked that he called it “our.” It had become home, and I liked not just being a guest.

The chair was so soft and deep it felt like it hugged me. This would be a good place for a nap.

“I hope you have a plan, because I sure don’t.”

He smiled and answered in a manner so
John
I should have been able to anticipate it.

“Of course you do.”

A sip of beer later, he added, “Blake will try to take over without even thinking about it, and we will stand our ground. You know Adam will always come to our side, because he’s so afraid of losing you. Using that against him might not be fair, but it is for his own good.”

He was right. Adam fell back into his old Confederacy role within seconds of donning the uniform. He would obey his captain, and if Blake told him to jump he would do it out of old habit, even if it were off a cliff.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, until the computer turned on a hologram showing Adam entering the bridge. He looked around and frowned.

John sighed. “I think your husband is looking for you.”

I sighed too. “I guess I should go talk to him. I’m sure he wants to discuss the salvation of the world.”

John burst out laughing. “I’m sure he does. I’ll be there soon, I have a couple of things I want to do down here first, now when we have guests.”

I headed for the place where we entered, but John said, “Wait. There’s a shortcut here. Just make sure no one sees you open the door upstairs.”

*****

Adam stared when I entered the bridge.

“Where have you been? I looked all over the ship for you.”

All over the ship, but not in John’s secret room.

Good.

I didn't like keeping secrets from him, but every instinct screamed he must not know this one.

I shrugged and tried to act normal. “I had a beer with John. We figured you Confederacy people were busy plotting how to save the world.”

“No. As you can see, I’m back to being a civilian.”

He had pulled on black pants and a cobalt blue shirt. It looked nice.

When I didn’t answer, he said, “We need to talk. Let’s go across the corridor.”

He was trying to be civil and pleasant so I should try too. I followed him to the lounge and curled up in my favorite spot.

Adam sank down next to me and rolled up his sleeves in a very human fashion.

“Do you think that sometime I could have one of those beers with you and John?”

Not what I expected.

My mouth wanted to remind him he didn’t drink, but this wasn’t about beer. He felt left out.

“Of course.”

He sighed and plunged in. “About what happened on the planet, I don’t think the two of you understand…”

I interrupted him. “We do.”

He opened his mouth and I said, “No, wait. I need to go first, and if you still want to say whatever it is afterwards, I will listen. Okay?”

He pinched his lips together, but nodded.

How could I say this so it made sense to him?

“This isn’t a battleship. It’s not equipped for big medical emergencies or experiments. We don’t have science labs, quarantines, or containment fields. It’s a place to live, travel, and transport things from A to B.”

Adam kept his eyes locked with mine. He was interested.

Good.

“If you were to bring the nanites here and something went wrong, you would lose both John and me. Not just that, you’d lose the last people who know what’s happening, and the only ones able to do something about it. You think you can deactivate the crawlies, but you don’t know for sure, and you don’t know what happens once they’re inside a person.”

He still didn’t speak, so I continued. “They might not be active anymore. For all we know they may change a person’s brain or chemistry or whatever to a point where they’re no longer needed. The change might be irreversible.”

Adam remained silent.

I nudged him. “You can talk now. Convince me I’m wrong.”

He shook his head. “You were right. I’m sorry. I should apologize to John too.”

Blake and Ima arrived within minutes.

Both looked much better. Not their usual confident selves, but clean and relaxed.

Good.

It hadn’t been anywhere near ninety minutes, but John came in too and sat down next to me. Sitting between him and Adam was a little strange, because the human and the android were so much alike. It made me feel
safe,
but confused.

John said, “Anyone want a drink?”

Blake looked like he barely resisted rolling his eyes. “I want my ship back. I want the Confederacy back. I want my
people
back.”

“And how do you propose we do that?”

Ima patted Blake’s leg. It did not calm him down. He almost shouted, “We find the ship and we take it back.”

John leaned his elbows on his knees. “Look, you opened the Bell to welcome both Alex and me. You didn’t have to do that and we are grateful. You and Ima can stay here as long as you need. That does not mean we’re launching an attack on the Confederacy flagship.”

I admired his calm, but it didn’t help me keep my mouth shut. “You know people on the Bell are changed, and I’m sure you’re aware of the dangers there. You won’t get her back just by going there and asking, and we don’t have the strength to
take
her. We need a better plan.”

John said, “I’m not sure there is one.”

Ima bared her fangs just a little. “There has to be.”

“We might be willing to help you, but it would require a plan that doesn’t include a suicide mission where we attack one of the best armed ships in the galaxy.”

Blake was clearly in an emotional place, not the cool captain’s role. I’d never seen him like this before. He huffed, “Very well. You give me no choice but to commandeer…”

John interrupted him. “No. This is my ship.” He slammed an arm around my shoulders. “
Our
ship. There will be no commandeering. If you wish to leave we have one of the Bell’s shuttles in storage.”

Blake thundered, “Commander, get your family in line.”

Adam said, “No.”

“What?” Blake clearly wasn’t used to people opposing him, especially not one of his officers.

Adam was the epitome of patience. “This is an old freight ship. She’s fast and she’s strong, but she’s built to haul cargo. My wife and my father are brave and smart, but they’re not soldiers, and they have no allegiance to the Confederacy. Right now, you are two outlaws broken out of a prison colony by three of the Confederacy’s most wanted fugitives.”

Blake’s shoulders slumped.

“I will do what I can to help you, but any involvement of my family must be voluntary. And as they pointed out, we need to come up with a plan that has a chance to succeed.” Adam’s voice left no room for debate. I hadn’t expected him to side with us, not really.

I put my hand on his and squeezed his fingers, making him smile. We didn’t fight often, didn’t even disagree often, and when it happened, it hurt. Especially now, after his long absence.

Adam freed his hand from my grip and patted John’s arm around my shoulders. “I want my wife.”

“Alright.” John removed his arm and Adam grabbed me instead. This was one of the moments I could see how our little family unit could appear peculiar to outsiders.

John said, “I want to leave this planet before a Confederacy vessel shows up and spots us. Does anyone have a
valid
objection to that?”

Ima blinked several times. “Where are we going?”

John shrugged and headed for the door. “Anywhere that’s out of the way.”

Adam pulled me close and I was more than happy to snuggle up to him. I pulled my feet up in the sofa and he kissed the side of my head.

Ima yawned and stretched. “Damn I’m tired. We need a lab, and an infected person for a trial.”

Blake rubbed her back. “We have neither. We might be able to lure someone with the shuttle, but we don’t have a facility.”

I sat up, or tried to; Adam pulled me back against him.

He said, “You two have had many hard months. Go to bed. All these problems will still be here tomorrow.”

*****

I sat up again as soon as Blake and Ima left, making Adam lift an eyebrow. He looked like he wanted to cuddle more and I did too, but I needed to see his face.

“What about the bunker?”

“I guess that could work. The equipment there isn’t meant for use on
humans
, but it’s more than we have here.”

“It’s just so effing creepy.”

He pulled me close again and I was more than happy to let him.

“You wouldn’t have to go down there. If they can retrieve a test subject I’ll meet them on the surface. You and John can stay on the ship.”

“That doesn’t seem fair. You shouldn’t have to deal with it alone.”

John returned and reclaimed the seat next to me. “We’re in hyperspace, should be safe for now. Are you two talking about the bunker?”

Adam gave a slight shrug. “Well, if Ima and Blake could take the shuttle and retrieve a test subject, we could meet them there. It’s better than bringing a possible contamination here.”

John shook his head. “No, if things keep going the way they’re going we’ll need that place. I have a better idea. We’re heading there now.”

“What is it?” He held so many cards up his sleeve.

He didn’t answer at once. He leaned back and put his feet on the table. “I haven’t been there for a long time. It might not even be there anymore.”

I waited, but when he didn’t say anything more I had to ask, “And, what is it?”

“It’s an abandoned science station. Cheryl and I lived there before moving to the bunker. I’ve used it for storage, but I haven’t been there for a couple of years.”

“Someone else might have found it.” Adam’s words made sense, but John didn’t seem too concerned. He just shrugged.

“I’m not worried about
that
unless someone stumbled over it,
you know how secretive your mother was. Other things might have gone wrong. Asteroids, power failure, whatever…”

He shifted his weight. “The equipment was top of the line at the time, but that has to be twenty years ago. You’ll think it’s antique.”

“Doesn’t matter if it works.”

As interesting as this new place was, something John said earlier finally connected with my mind. “What do you mean we might need the bunker?”

He sighed. “If this nanite crap continues to spread, traveling like we’ve been doing will be very dangerous. We could get to a point where every station, every populated world, and every ship we meet belongs to them to some extent.”

It couldn’t be
that
bad, could it? “You’re exaggerating, right?”

“No. It would take time, but everyone in a society is dependent on each other. All they have to do is lace a few food shipments and it will spread like wildfire.”

Suddenly, the idea of eating or drinking something, anything, was less appealing than usual.
Our
food might not be crawling with microscopic robots, but the thought still grossed me out.

Maybe the bunker would become less creepy if I could keep a scientific approach. “When we were there you mentioned several storage levels below. What’s down there?”

John shrugged. “It’s been so long since I lived there. It could be anything.”

Adam said, “In my time, supplies, weapons, parts, failed experiments, the power source…”

Were we really considering this? The place would be less disturbing without the decapitated body in the master bedroom, but anyway.

We’d all been in such a hurry to leave, determined to never return, and now we considered
living
there.