Ronan: Ziva Payvan Book 3 (19 page)

“Our theories suggest that Ronan has been in hiding for some time. If the Resistance has been openly snatching members of Fringe civilizations, I would guess it’s getting harder for them to conceal whatever they’re doing, but they’re still trying as hard as possible to hide their actions from
us
. Maybe, for one reason or another, Ronan couldn’t hide anymore either.”

Taran nodded. “Next course of action?”

“Go to Chaiavis on my order,” Matney said. “Go ahead and take the time to search for this facility the Haphezians told you about. If all else fails, go back and confer with this Payvan woman and see what her friends’ data entails.”

Taran’s hands curled immediately into fists.

“I’ll dispatch another STU to Niio to take a closer look at the situation there. In the meantime, I’ve authorized payment for your time on Aubin to be transferred into your team’s account. I trust you’ll take care of dividing it accordingly.” He paused and gave them each a look that almost struck Taran as being sincere – there was even a hint of an understanding smile on his lips. “Now, if you don’t mind, I must prepare to leave for my next tour tomorrow. There’s a guard outside who will escort you back to your ship.”

With that, he turned and strode out, once more leaving Taran and Mae the sole occupants of the office. Taran took one last look out the window, glanced down at the sweaty stain he’d left on the white chair, then beckoned for Mae to follow him out the door. They moved down the spotless corridor in silence and were herded back to the landing area by the same guard who had opened the office for them.

“I don’t like this,” Taran growled as they climbed the boarding ramp of their vessel.

“I don’t either,” Mae said, “but he was right. The situation is delicate. Offering help to Fringe civilizations would do more harm than good at the moment. This all goes a lot deeper than we ever realized. I know you don’t like the thought of it, but finding Payvan again might be our best move. Her friends encountered the Resistance firsthand, and at this point, she may know more than we do.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Taran muttered, sitting down in the pilot’s seat and priming the ship’s engines. “Let’s explore our other options first. We’ll go see if we can find anything on Chaiavis. Then I want to talk more with Devani, see what else she knows about what happened while she was being held. I’m beginning to wonder if Ronan wasn’t behind that attack she told us about.”

“Why would the Resistance attack a Haphezian military base?”

“That’s what we need to find out. Are you ready to go save the galaxy?”

-28-

Payvan Residence

Noro, Haphez

It was mid-morning by the time Ziva set the
Zenith
down in the underground landing bay beside her house. She’d opted to leave the
Intrepid
docked at HSP Headquarters and bring the borrowed ship home instead, at least long enough to unload all her supplies from it. It felt odd to be landing a strange ship there; she’d hardly had a chance to touch her own vessel over the past few months.

The escapade to Haphor had taken all night. It had been daylight by the time they’d made it back to Noro and deposited the Resistance agent in a stark holding room with constant supervision. Last she’d seen him, he’d been lying on a table, rendered completely immobile by the multiple straps and clasps pinning him down. His hands were covered, and the agency had even fitted him with a muzzle. Officially, it kept him from trying to ingest anything, though Ziva had a hunch Emeri had ordered it after she’d told him the agent knew who she was.

He’d also ordered her to return home and get some rest. For the sake of appearances, it seemed like the logical thing for her to do after her family had just been involved in an attack. But as tired as she was, sitting around at home was the last thing she wanted to do, especially when they were dealing with a person who could spoil her secret in a heartbeat. Emeri had assured her everything would be fine – they’d start by running some tests and wait to start any interrogations until after they had a clearer picture of what exactly had gone down in Haphor. The agent was too big of a security risk to take to a med center, so mobile equipment would have to be brought to HSP Headquarters. That would take a while, he said, and he wanted her rested up after a long week. Besides, he’d already sent Skeet and Aroska home.

Ziva secured the ship and made her way into the house with her backpack over her shoulder, once again feeling like a stranger in her own home. At least her security code worked on the basement door this time. The last time she’d set foot in the house was when she, Aroska, and Kat had made a brief stop for supplies before heading for Argall. She hadn’t seen Marshay and Ryon since the day she’d awakened in the hospital after being shot.

Voices could be heard on the ground floor as she made her way down the corridor and up the stairs. To her surprise, she found Skeet and Aroska in the living room talking with Ryon while Marshay contributed to the conversation from the kitchen. All four of them went silent the moment they saw her.

“Z,” Skeet said, standing up. “How is it?”

She shrugged and set her bag down. “They’ve all been exposed,” she said quietly, sure they’d already heard everything on the news. “The symptoms set in immediately. There’s really not much else to say.”

“Everyone?”

“Njo, my mother, all the staff and security personnel present in the house. Another guard was killed by the intruder. The twins were at a party and are unharmed. Jada is…” She glanced at Aroska. “…unaffected.”

Ziva had honestly hoped to catch a few minutes of sleep after coming all the way home, but now that Skeet and Aroska were both present, there was much that needed to be discussed. One look at Marshay and Ryon was all it took to dismiss them from the room. Their faces were rather downcast but they went without fuss as they always did, each stopping to give her a pat on the shoulder before vanishing into their rooms.

“Emeri briefed all the spec ops lieutenants,” Skeet said once all had become quiet again. He crossed his arms. “He told us this stuff is nostium. You want to explain to me why everyone else is dying but you and Jada haven’t been affected?”

Ziva didn’t care for his tone. “Jada is safe because the formula is tailored to Haphezians.”

Aroska’s eyes widened. “What?”

“The man we took into custody is a human Nosti,” she answered. “The Resistance obviously has a working formula somewhere if he’s using his power without any problem. Think about it; the only victims we know of right now are Haphezian, and Jada is immune. It makes sense.”

“Does that mean there are more Nosti out there somewhere?”

“I’m sure it does,” she said. “It’s one of the things we’ll try to determine when—”

Skeet’s harsh voice cut her off. “Ziva, answer me!”

When she looked at him she felt crushed under all the pent-up frustration she’d sensed in him since Argall. Being stared at by an angry person was nothing new, but never before had it been someone she was so close to. Even without breaking eye contact, she could feel Aroska watching her as well. “
If I were him, I’d probably be more pissed the longer you made me wait
.”

She was tempted to pull rank and berate him for speaking to her in such a way, but despite his unforgiving tone, she knew he was addressing her as a friend. “What do you want me to say?”

“Explain to me how you know all of this. Explain to me why you sent me out of Emeri’s office. I’m not stupid – you’re the one who told him this is nostium. I can’t help you if you keep me in the dark. I just want you to tell me what the hell is going on.” His eyebrows were furrowed but his eyes glistened with emotion. As much as he wanted an explanation, Ziva could tell he was afraid of what one would entail.

“I hate to actually call myself a Nosti,” she began, pausing as he swore, turned in a circle, and ruffled up his hair, “but that’s the gist of it.”

He looked at her as if he didn’t believe her. “How long?”

“Since I was seven.”

“
Frouchten hehle
,” he muttered. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“It’s not exactly something I want to share with everyone,” she scoffed.

“But of all people,
he
knows?” Skeet waved his hand toward Aroska, who stood quietly with a chagrined expression. The fact that he hadn’t spoken up or been shocked by her words was all the explanation Skeet needed. “That’s what happened at Dakiti, wasn’t it? That was the ‘breach of protocol’.”

Ziva nodded. “I was going to tell you sometime.”

Skeet forced an incredulous chuckle and cursed again. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

He stormed past her, knocking his shoulder against hers, and disappeared down the hallway toward her bedroom. She sighed and shot Aroska an unimpressed glance before turning and chasing him down.

In addition to her weapons cache, all of her computer and comm equipment remained aboard the
Zenith
, leaving the room bare. But there was hardly time to stop and look around at all the empty space. She slammed a fist against the wall panel to shut and lock the door and then turned, arms crossed, to find Skeet standing in a similar position a couple of meters away.

“What the hell is your problem?” she demanded.

“
My
problem? Listen to yourself, Ziva. One of our teammates is missing, your family is going to die, and on top of everything, I find out you’ve been wielding some insane magical power since you were little. We’re supposed to be able to trust each other. You know I would have never betrayed a secret like this.”

“I know that, Skeet,” she said, trying as hard as possible to keep her voice low and even. “But you’ve got to understand – I didn’t want to tell
anyone
. What you didn’t know couldn’t hurt you.”

“But I assume Emeri knows. And Tarbic obviously knows.”

“Because I saved his life!”

He remained silent for a few seconds before heaving a sigh. “So that’s why he got you off the hook when you were scheduled for execution.”

She nodded.

“I still don’t understand it. Why did you even go back for him that day?”

Ziva had asked herself the same question on several occasions. How had Taran Reddic put it?
“I never thought you people were the no-man-left-behind type.”
She had to admit it was true. They’d rescued Jayden, gotten what they’d come to Dakiti for. Every HSP protocol dictated that she should have left with the team, should have considered Aroska a casualty of the mission. After all, spec ops agents – even temporary ones – should always expect to be treated as expendable in the field. And yet, she’d chosen to go back and find him, despite not knowing what condition he’d be in, and she’d done it without a second thought.

Of course I went back, you idiot
. The answer seemed that obvious, though she didn’t understand why.

The look on Skeet’s face told her he was unimpressed by her silence. “Well, Zinni is as good as dead thanks to this investigation he started.”

“Don’t you even go there!” Ziva said, advancing several strides toward him. “I know you’re pissed, but you’re being completely irrational. No single person can be blamed for any of this. If you’re bent on picking someone, then pick me. I should have put that damn data pad somewhere else.”

Skeet scoffed. “I’m not going to blame you, Ziva. That wouldn’t even make sense – you were away on Na for over two months. And yet here you are, trying to shift the blame away from the guy who wanted to kill you for what you did to his brother, the guy you used to take pleasure in mentally tormenting. You’re acting like he’s the only person you can really trust. What’s changed?”

“
Sheyss
, Skeet. You’re telling me to listen to myself? I think
you
need to listen to
yourself
. Without him, who knows if I would have survived the whole debacle with Dasaro? Believe me, I wanted so badly to come to you and Zinni for help, but I couldn’t risk exposing myself. If I hadn’t gone to him, we wouldn’t have gone to Chaiavis to find Bosco, wouldn’t have met Kat, wouldn’t have heard about Ronan. We’d be caught in the middle of these attacks right now and wouldn’t have a clue what was going on.”

Now he looked hurt. He sat down in the chair that belonged at her desk and ran his hands through his hair again before resting his elbows on his knees. “Sorry,” he said softly. “Just…sorry. I’m being totally out of line here. I’m tired. I’m starting to give up on Zinni. I’m looking for someone or something to blame and I’m choosing the wrong things.” A short chuckle escaped his throat. “You know, I told him once that he’d never get you to open up to him, and trying was just going to get him killed. Looks like he achieved the impossible.”

“Come on, Skeet,” Ziva murmured. “You know how I get.” Her skin crawled and she sent him a look that suggested they avoid the subject.

He gave her an understanding nod. “You’re right though,” he said after a moment. “We wouldn’t have a clue about Ronan if he hadn’t been so adamant about investigating Reilly’s data. And I guess we really wouldn’t know what was going on if it weren’t for you and your…what is it, exactly?”

It was like the word was some sort of curse nobody wanted to say out loud. “Nostia,” she answered.

He watched her for a moment, eyes filled with that same mixture of awe and fear both Aroska and Emeri had regarded her with. “I can’t believe you’ve kept it a secret for all these years. Why hasn’t the gas hurt you?”

“We’re guessing my nervous system is just conditioned to its effects already.”

“So you got injected…or exposed, or—”

“They’re called infusions.”

“I can’t believe you’ve hidden all of this for so long.” His eyes widened as the realization hit him. “That guy you killed – that was no accidental encounter, was it? You knew him.”

Ziva nodded. “But everything else I told HSP was true. Tell you what. When we’ve made it through this – stopped Ronan, found Zinni – I’ll explain everything.”
Assuming the Royal House doesn’t eat me alive first
.

That did an adequate job of calming him down for the moment. As he stood up, Ziva could still sense a bit of frustration and animosity directed her way, but his breathing had evened out and his formerly-clenched facial muscles were beginning to relax.

“You know you can trust me, right?” he said.

“I know. And I do.”

“And you know I can’t help you unless you let me.”

“I know.” Just because she knew didn’t mean she had to like the idea.

“Okay then. Let’s go figure out how to stop Ronan.”

The air in the hallway seemed especially calm and still after the heated exchange. Ziva had half expected to find Aroska lurking there when she opened the door; she’d heard the floor outside the room creak at one point and assumed he’d been eavesdropping on at least part of the conversation. Instead, she found him in the living room pacing back and forth with his communicator pressed to his ear. He ended what had sounded like a very curt transmission and looked at them with dread in his eyes.

“There’s been another attack.”