The Girls From Alcyone (35 page)

Suko's PCM and some of her sensory modules were functioning again and she scanned Lei-Fei, but it was all wrong. "Lei-Fei? Are you…Lei-Fei!"

But Lei-Fei merely stared back vacantly; the girl she knew was gone. Suko turned to her brother, seething. "I'll kill you for this."

Riku raised his hands in a calming gesture. "It's not what you think. I can explain everything Suko. I'll show you. Come with me."

Suko backed away, looking fearfully at Lei-Fei.

Lei-Fei extended her hand to her. "We mean you no harm."

The voice was hers, but the inflection was all wrong,
and her eyes
…
no way was she going to let them do that to her…

"Suko, it will be all right. I promise."

With her hands bound behind her back, Suko could put up little fight as the two soldiers dragged her out of the cell. They carried her up several levels to a brightly lit room that looked to have been set up as a makeshift medical facility. An operating table was set up in the middle of the room, complete with restraints. Banks of monitors surrounded the table, and several technicians were seated there, making preparations. Suko noticed the older woman sitting on the edge of a table in the corner, observing from lowered eyes. She didn't know who she was, but it was clear—this was the woman in charge.

Suko dug her heels into the ground, struggling against the metal hands that gripped her. "No…" she screamed. The soldiers picked her up bodily and dumped her on the table, face down, while they cut the binders from her. Suko struggled in vain as they flipped her over and fastened her into the restraints.

Riku watched the doctor warily. There was a warning chill in his eyes. "You can't fuck this one up, Farrington. This is my sister."

The woman in the corner stood up. "She's not your sister anymore. She's a drone."

Riku glared at her. "And this will bring her back?"

Dr. Farrington looked at him, not bothering to disguise his anger. "If you don't trust me, then get Doctor Garrett in here. Or can she walk yet?"

Suko felt the panic well up in her. "Riku, don't do this…"

Farrington moved toward her with a long metal wire, reaching toward the access port behind her ear. He smoothed her hair out of the way and moved the wire closer, but Suko jerked her head back.

"Dammit—hold her," Farrington hissed at the guards.

Suko felt the tears on her cheeks. "Riku, please…"

Riku grabbed Farrington by the arm. "I want your assurances this time."

Farrington looked at the hand on his arm and then to the woman in the corner.

Nicola sighed, heavily. "Dammit, Riku. Let him do his job."

Before Riku could respond, the door burst open and a frazzled-looking woman came running in. "Sir—ma'am…!" she gasped, trying to catch her breath.

"What?"
Nicola barked, irritated at yet another interruption.

"We're…we're under attack," she said. "It's the CTF."

All of them froze.

"Mother fu…" Nicola was on her feet in an instant, running toward the door. She turned back, shouting a command to the guards. "Take the girl back to her cell. We'll take care of her later."

"I can
handle
this
," Farrington said, annoyed.

"
Later
, Joseph. Not till I get back. Come on, Riku. We've got work to do."

* * *

"I can't believe it," Sigrid said as she continued pacing around the small hotel room they'd rented.

"She knows something," Karen said. "She's scared."

"Maybe scared of us," Christian suggested.

"We're not done yet," Selene said, leaning forward on her chair. "Trust me. A lot of people saw us asking questions today. This is a small settlement; people will talk."

"So, we wait?" Sigrid asked.

"At least a day or so. Tomorrow, we should split up. We can cover more ground."

"I want to stay on that girl," Sigrid said. "I don't think we should let her out of our sight."

Christian sat up. "I'm happy to go back to the club."

Karen swatted him again.

"I'm just saying…"

"What about the other complexes?" Karen said. "Maybe one of us should take the ship?"

Selene shook her head. "No. Tarsus was here, and this is where the port is. If anyone came for him, this is where they got him."

Sigrid grabbed her coat from the bed and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Karen asked, sitting up.

"Out. You guys stay here and get some rest."

Christian leapt up. "I'm coming with you. You're not going out alone. It's too dangerous."

Sigrid had to smile at his protectiveness but knew he'd only get in the way. "I'll be all right. I want to make a visit to the port's records office. I want to check the transit logs."

Karen glanced at her watch. "But—they'll be closed!… Oh…right."

"I highly doubt that whoever took Tarsus left an accurate flight plan," Selene said.

Sigrid knew Selene was probably right, but she had to check. She desperately needed a lead. Mostly, she wanted to get out and at least feel like she was doing something. "I won't be long."

Sigrid opened the door—the two girls leaning against it from the other side stumbled forward.

"Honey! Cherry!" Sigrid said, catching both of them in a neat sweep of her arms.

Even in their street clothes, and without the outlandish costumes, Sigrid recognized the women from the
Paradise
. They were breathing heavily and seemed quite panicked.

"You totally fucked my gig," Honey said, shooting a frightened glance over her shoulder. Sigrid pulled them inside and closed the door.

"It was my fault," Cherry said, clutching Honey's arm. "I never should have said anything. I was scared—"

Honey put a reassuring hand on the girl's cheek. "Don't blame yourself, Cherry. You didn't know."

"What happened?" Sigrid asked.

Honey's eyes darted nervously over the other people in the room before she answered. "Your little
question and answer
session got quite a bit of attention today. You got us fired."

"Oh, my…I'm so sorry," Sigrid said.

"Save the sympathy," Honey said. "The men you're looking for—the ones who took Karl…they're not nice men."

Sigrid helped them both to a chair and Karen brought glasses of water for the two performers.

"Do you have anything stronger?" Honey asked.

Karen shook her head, but Christian took a hip flask from his pocket and handed it to her. She clutched it in both her hands and took several gulps before handing it to Cherry, who stared at it skeptically.

"Thanks," Honey said, starting to level out.

"The men…?" Sigrid urged.

"I'll tell you what I know, but you have to promise to take me with you."

"And me! We want out of this hellhole," Cherry said.

"Of course," Karen said. "We'll take you anywhere you like." She turned to Sigrid and winked. "We will, won't we?"

Sigrid nodded.

"All right—I saw three of them. They came by after you were gone…I remembered the one because he had this thing…" Honey pointed to the top of her head.

"He was bald—and there was this mole," Cherry added. Honey glared at her. "Sorry—you tell it."

"Karl met with them several times. I could always tell…these were not fun meetings…"

"Who were they?" Sigrid asked, frustration setting in. "Did you get their names?"

Honey shook her head.

Cherry sat up. "Ooo! There was one. Karl used to talk about him a lot."

"Who?"

"I don't think he liked him very much. He always got quite angry when he talked about him."

"
Who!
"

"Sorry—ah, I think he called him
Sven
, or something."

Honey swatted her on the arm. "It was
Smith.
That's who he was always bitching about."

Selene and Sigrid looked to each other.

"
Smith,
are you sure? Did you see him?" Selene asked.

Honey shook her head. "Sorry. But I'm sure that's who Karl said they worked for."

Cherry nodded agreement. "Definitely."

Sigrid looked at them intently. "Do you know where they took him?"

"They were asking questions. I told them I didn't tell you anything. Karl…he only hung out there. He liked to talk—he tipped well."

"
Really
well," Cherry added.

"
Where?
" Sigrid asked, more urgently. "Honey, please. It's very important. You have to tell us where they took Major Tarsus."

"
I don't know!
I told them the same thing, but they didn't believe me. They were waiting outside our apartment. I think they followed us here."

Cherry's eyes went wide. "They're going to kill us."

Sigrid's pistol was in her hand, and she moved quickly toward the door.

Selene stood up, gathering her few things. "We should get out of here quickly."

Sigrid nodded. "You guys get to the ship. I'll be there shortly."

Karen gasped. "Us? What about you?"

Sigrid studied Honey for a second. "We're about the same size, don't you think?"

* * *

Honey wasn't that much bigger than Sigrid, but she still had to keep tugging up on the girl's skirt to keep it from slipping down over her waist. The jacket and shirt were a bit baggy, but anyone spying from a distance shouldn't notice, especially with Honey's wig and dark glasses. Karen had done a masterful job making her up in such short order. Unless someone got up close, they should think Sigrid was Honey Dew—she hoped.

Sigrid made her way back toward the habitat section of the Port Complex, all the while scanning the streets for the men that had followed Cherry
and Honey. She'd picked them up almost instantly as she left the hotel, much to her relief.
Odd to feel relieved about being stalked,
Sigrid thought, stifling a laugh. The men kept their distance, spread out behind her and across the street. They weren't doing much to conceal themselves, causing a moment of doubt, perhaps she wasn't being followed.
Could they really be this obvious?
She changed her course several times, crossing the street and cutting through a narrow lane, but the men stayed with her. She was definitely being tailed.

She was almost outside Honey and Cherry's apartment, wondering when the men would make their move, if at all, when the man in the lead picked up his pace, getting closer. His two companions remained further back about 25 meters away. Sigrid frowned; it would be simple enough to take them all out, but the plan wasn't to kill them. She needed them alive enough to answer questions, and that would be difficult with them all spread out. Honey's apartment presented the answer. It was just across the transit lane and Sigrid picked up her pace, not quite running across the street, but stepping lively in Honey's high-heeled boots.

The man behind her ran to keep up, crossing behind Sigrid just as she slipped through the doors to the apartment complex. She hurried up the stairs to the second level and let herself into the girls' room. The place was a royal mess, with clothing strewn and hung everywhere, some looking more like decorations than outfits. Sigrid spent a moment taking a quick look around, but apart from a selection of rather daring undergarments and empty food wrappers, Sigrid found nothing.

Now it was up to her pursuers. Sigrid flipped off the lights and lay down on the lone bed, pulling the blankets around her. Minutes went by and she decided she might have miscalculated. She'd been expecting the men to follow her up to the unit, but they seemed to be waiting. If they doubled-back, then this ruse had all been for naught. Sigrid cursed. She should have tried to take them in the street. She started to get up when she sensed the movement outside; her thermal optics picked up the shapes of the three men moving toward the door. Sigrid heard one of them working the hacking device in the lock. She lay her head back down, leaving her eyes open barely a slit.

The door opened and she listened, breathless, as they crept toward the bed. Sigrid saw the gloved hand reach down to cover her mouth. She screamed and struggled against the arms that reached out to restrain her—not too hard she hoped, just enough to be convincing.

"Keep her quiet!" one of the men whispered urgently.

"I'm trying…"

Sigrid eased her struggles, staring at the three men with what she hoped was the right amount of fear in her eyes, all the while studying them, ascertaining their intent.

What she saw surprised her immensely. In her years at the Academy, and in her short time as Mercenary with Kimura, Sigrid had been a little awed by the professionalism and training of her instructors and the men and women who served in the Kimura forces. But these men looked about as frightened as she was pretending to be.

"We're not going to hurt you," the first man said. "We just need to know who those people are, the ones you were with. You tell us—we go."

Sigrid shook her head frantically, letting the tears flow from her eyes.

"You're still holding her mouth, idiot. How's she supposed to answer?" the one in the back said; Sigrid decided to label him
Target Three
.

"If I let her go, she'll scream."

Target Two
thrust his hands into his pockets. "This is ridiculous. Why the fuck did they leave us here for this? I told them I wasn't going to hurt anyone."

Target Three
punched him in the shoulder. "Don't tell her that, you numnut."

"Will you two shut up!"
Target One
hissed through gritted teeth.

Sigrid saw
Two's
eyes narrow, looking at her more closely. "Hey…are you sure we got the right girl?"

"What the…?"
Target One
mouthed as he looked more closely at Sigrid.

Sigrid knew her disguise wasn't sufficient to stand up to close scrutiny; it had worked so far because they'd kept the lights off. It didn't matter. She'd heard enough.

As they leaned closer to her, Sigrid pulled her hand out of her pocket and thumbed the little gas grenade she held between her fingers.