Ki Book One (24 page)

“
Doesn't that seem strange to you? That a
traitor be put to death without any questioning? What about all of
the secrets I know? All the secrets I've sold to the enemy. Don't
you want to know what they are so you can clean up after my
mess?”

The Major's nostrils flared, his cheeks
stiffening as his lips pulled back to reveal his white, clamped
teeth
. “Archer has
already assured me that you have been interrogated.”

“
I assure you, I have not. The man is a
double agent. He works for a group... who control our Government
from the shadows. Hawkes, their only agenda is to continue
instabilities. They trade information with the Tarkans for that
end. Major, how many men have you lost? How many boys have laid
down their lives for you and your country? Wouldn't you like to
know if their efforts were in vain?”

The Major turned sharply, his boot jerking
over the concrete floor and making a high-pitc
hed squeak as it did. He took a violent
step towards Jackson. Jackson did not move back.

Face stiff with rage, the Major shook his
head. “I will not listen to your treacherous words,
traitor.”

“
Then listen to reason. I've seen the way
you look at Archer – you know something's up. Are you really going
to let him walk away with a Tarkan spy and a sophisticated,
experimental weapon? Don't tell me, you've already made the calls,
and you've been assured passionately that you are to do everything
this man says. Tell me, Major, has that ever happened to you
before? Has your authority ever been undermined by a random
intelligence officer you've never heard of, purporting to be on a
mission that makes no sense, yet holding authority the goes above
and beyond that of a General? You are the head of this unit, and
you have jurisdictional oversight over any operations that occur in
your area. Who is this man to walk in and undermine that rule? Ask
yourself,
does any of this make any sense?”

The Major now stood close enough that
Jackson could see the broken capillaries in his cheeks and each
hair of his kempt moustache. He could also see the barely contained
malevolence and tension straining at the man's
features
. “I will not
take advice from a traitor.”

“
I'm not giving you advice, I'm giving you
reason. I'm simply voicing thoughts you have already had. This
makes no sense. This man is going above your head. It doesn't
matter who's telling you to give him that woman and that gun; it's
your choice, this is your jurisdiction. And it will be your
responsibility if you make a mistake.
Think
.”

Never in his life had Jackson lectured a
superior. He had always shown keen and unwavering loyalty. He’d
been the model soldier. Now he was trying to be the model
traitor.

“
I will not discuss this with you,” the
Major began.

“
Really? Because I am ready and willing to
tell you everything. I will admit to you all of my plans, all of my
contacts. I will even give you the information I have on the
Tarkans. Are you actually going to walk away from that simply
because Max has told you to? Is that how you win a war?” Jackson
finished with a growl.

The Major lurched forward, grabbing
Jackson by the collar and pulling him closer. “You are a scourge
upon your country. To think you were ever put in a position of
power. People trusted you. Now your name will be spread across the
press, your treason publicized. Anyone who ever knew you will know
you lived a lie.”

Jackson controlled himself. It was one of
the hardest things he'd ever done. To watch the hatred spilling
forth from the Major like blood from a wound made him realize how
serious this was. There would be no going back. His actions here
would be final.

Swallowing dramatically, commanding his
hands not to shake, Jackson narrowed his eyes. “And you will be
labelled as a fool if you let a spy and a powerful, experimental
gun walk away without following the proper protocol. Treason is one
thing, ineptitude is another. At least they’ll remember me as
efficient. They'll remember you as the idiot who let a gun that
could change the course of history walk out of his
grasp.”

The Major shook him, the move strong and
sharp
. “I have followed
the correct procedure. I've made the proper phone calls, it's been
confirmed that Archer is who he says he is.”

“
And you don't believe them, do you?”
Jackson's expression was open to begin with, but crumpled with
obvious suspicion. Perhaps he was over acting; he didn't have the
smooth, suave ability to manipulate people like Max did. All
Jackson had was passion and a desire to do whatever it would
take.

That would be enough. He'd already gotten
the Major's attention, stirred up his ire, and sapped his control.
He'd planted the seed of doubt, now he had to feed it enough
suspicion to see it grow. “They have been monitoring your
communications,” Jackson almost whispered.

“
We spoke on a secure line.”

“
Nothing is secure if you’re dealing with
people in positions of power. Do you remember the Falcon Plot from
the last war? Do you remember the mutiny of Captain Balcon? Do you
remember any of the history of our great military, Major?”
Jackson’s eyes were locked open, the skin tight to the point of
ripping. “Do you really think it’s impossible to monitor
communications in this day and age?”

“
I have no reason to doubt my
superiors—”

“
You have
every
reason to doubt them; their orders make no sense. You want
proof that Archer is a double agent, I can give it to you,” Jackson
forced himself not to blink. He held the Major’s gaze as if his
life depended on it. Likely because it did.

The Major did not immediately respond.
Stepping back, he let his hands drop from Jackson’s collar. That
dark, malevolent, dangerous look was still spread over his face,
but something new flickered deep in his eyes. Doubt.

Jackson pounced on it. “You want proof?
Then you have to listen closely and do everything I
say.”

Through fortune alone, the Major did not
leave the room until Jackson had finished.

Jackson would need more than fortune for the
Major to heed his plan though.

Chapter
Fourteen

She was seated on a cot pushed up against
a wall. She’d pulled her legs close to her body. Her head rested on
her knees,
she shook
back and forth, the cot bumping into the bricks behind her with a
soft and repetitive thump.

It was over. No, it was worse than over.
Soon Max would contact the Zeneethians, if they weren’t already on
their way. She would be taken back and Jackson would be left here
to rot.

Rocking back harder, she tried to regain
even a scrap of emotional control. As a priestess it should have
been easy. Yet she could not stem even a single tear.

The Guards had brought her food and water,
but they remained untouched by the door. Though her throat felt
swollen and hot from dehydration, she wouldn’t take a single sip.
Neither would she lie down to rest.

As the hours wore on, several Guards came
in, and they attempted to make her eat. When it became clear she
would not, they cursed her and walked out. The expressions on their
young faces were always the same: distilled, bottomless hatred.

It made her feel far more alone than she
could have fathomed. It stirred up the hopelessness until she felt
she’d drown under it.

Though she’d resolved not to sleep, soon
she could not help it. Crumpling down on the bed, a wave of deep
exhaustion washed through her. Shivering, she tried to swallow, but
ended up causing a coughing fit loud enough to wake the
gods.

As she closed her eyes, the door opened.

She tried to pay no attention.

She heard someone walk in, lean down, pick
up the glass of water, and stand by her bed.

“
You need to drink,” Max said.

Despite her resolve, her eyes snapped open,
her back buckling back and slamming into the wall.

“
Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to let you
get hurt.” Max handed her the water. When she didn’t accept it, he
reached down, picked up one of her hands lightly, and closed her
fingers around it.

When she tried to throw the water away, he
stopped her, fastening his hand around hers until she could not
fight back.

“
Go away,” she choked, her throat so
damaged she could hardly speak.

Max’s cheeks paled and he quickly darted
his calculating gaze all over her. “You are weak. You need
sustenance immediately. Drink or I will have the doctors put you on
a drip.”

Reluctantly she took a sip. It produced yet
another coughing fit. As she doubled back and forth, spluttering
and wheezing, Max looked down at her. His face was cast into
shadow, his tall, broad back facing the dim light from behind.
Though she could only see his eyes and the line of his bottom lip,
it was enough to read his expression.

He was deeply worried. The concern so
obvious as he slowly pumped one of his fists.

Despite outward appearances, perhaps he
was not in complete control of this situation. Maybe the
Zeneethians were not on their way, maybe he didn’t have any more
tricks up his sleeves.

“
Keep on drinking that. I’ll try to find
something with electrolytes in it. The effects of the biomedical
field that healed your wound in the mine won’t last forever. We
should be out of here before then, but you have to
rest.”

Placing a hand over her mouth as her fit
ceased, she squinted up at him. He was talking to her as if they
were comrades, as if they were companions stuck in here
together.

“
I know it is improperly manufactured, but
you have to eat,” Max whirled on his foot, grabbed up the plate by
the door, and returned. He did not hand it to her, but instead
broke off small pieces and handed them down one-by-one.

She tried to throw the first few away, but
he grabbed her hands when she tried again. “I don’t want to hurt
you. Please, just eat.”

She shook her head, the move causing a
sudden wave of nausea to spread through her.

Sitting down beside her, she watched as he
took a pressured, sharp breath. That patina of control that usually
masked his features cracked up with frustration as he clutched at
the plate harder. “You have no idea what you mean to my people. You
are so important.” He kept staring ahead, not facing her, simply
focusing on some scratch on the opposite wall. “We need you. You
can save so many lives.
Please, just eat
.”

She’d never seen him show emotion like that.
It felt real. His cheeks crinkled into his eyes, his body drooped
as he sat there, his gaze becoming deadened as he continued to
stare at the wall.

“
I’m sorry we took you from your people,
but we had to,” he finally turned to her. That wash of emotion
surged and his lips quivered as he spoke. “We’re fighting to save
our people here.”

He couldn’t be faking it. Though she’d seen
him smoothly step into the role of Archer Reed with little warning,
this was different. Her years of training in empathy could not be
wrong.

“
Why do you need me?” she coughed into her
hand as she spoke.

Excited at her reply, he stiffened, bringing
up the plate and handing her a morsel of food immediately.

She took it, considered it briefly as she
rolled it between her fingers, and silently took a bite.

She watched his expression ease, a small
smile even kinked his lips. Tentatively he handed her the plate,
watching her carefully as he did. When she did not throw it on the
ground, he breathed a resounding sigh of relief.

Leaning back, he rested his shoulders and
head against the brick wall, brought up a hand, and ran it several
times through his cropped black hair.

Eating slowly, despite her rumbling belly,
she watched his every move.

“
I’ll get you more water. I’ll try to find
appropriate pain medication. Without my matter scanner I won’t be
able to tell how effective it will be, but we won’t need to rely on
it for long. One night and we’re out of here.” Max sat up, turning
to her.

That look was back in his gaze. The reverent
one.

She brought up a scrap of stale bread to
her mouth, but stopped. “Why do you need me?”

He
forced his lips together and swallowed, his Adam’s apple
pressing against the torn and dirty collar of his once-grey shirt.
“We just need you safe. We’ll get out of here.”

“
If you want me to finish this, tell me.
Why do you want me?”

“
Because you can save my people,” he dipped
his head down to her level, and he never blinked once. “We need
you.”

She rested the plate on her
lap
. “Why?”

“
You don’t need to know—”

She snatched the plate and tried to toss it
against the floor. He caught it, though half the remaining food
slipped off onto the bed beside them. Clenching his jaw, his eyes
blazed. Not with anger at her, but deep frustration.

“
Tell me, or I’ll kill myself,” she leaned
away from him. The words bubbled up from within, horrible but
instinctive.

“
We would never let you do that,” he kept a
hold of the plate, his knuckles pearl white as he held it in a
tight grip.