[Makebelieve] Fic: Brothers of the blood - Mark Of Cain 20

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Brothers of the blood -mark of cain

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CHAPTER TWENTY

Listening to the haunting strains of Gustav Mahler's Symphony #9, Dalton
admitted to himself that he had slipped into a dark, moody silence.

And he didn't like it.

Finding Adric should have rewarded him with the pleasure of success. Not
left him in this state of morbid depression the black music so aptly
mirrored.

But after twenty-four months of hunting the elusive Adric Falcone, with the
all-consuming search finally over, Dalton was left with a bleak void in his
life. A void that had to be filled.

Giving himself a vigorous mental shake, Dalton forced his thoughts back from
the black abyss threatening to devour his sanity.

He was made of harsher stuff than this.

After all, he was the sole and final heir to the line of a renowned rebel
leader, trained from birth in the brutal ways of the warrior. It was not in
his nature to blithely succumb to the normal emotions of men.

And just who the hell did he think he was fooling?

Heaving a despondent sigh, he dropped his violently aching head against the
back of the overly stuffed chair and glanced at the shadowed form of a man
sitting quietly in the darkened corn er of the room.

"Domani."

"Can I assist you, Commander?"

Dalton's eyes, sensitive even in the dim light, drifted closed. "Have you
completed your scan of Adric's computer activity?"

"You requested it."

"And?"

"Is that a question?"

Dalton opened one eye, glaring grumpily. "Don't get cute. You know what I
want." His eyelid dropped shut again.

"I have run several programs in an attempt to locate any hidden
discrepancies," Domani said, moving to Dalton's side.

"Quit reaching for praise. I know you're thorough. Get to the point."

"The point is, I have found absolutely no proof that Adric Falcone is
involved in any betrayal. Quite the contrary, in fact. What I have found
substantiates everything he told us. I must determine he has told the truth.
And that he had no real intention of betraying our force."

"You're saying he is not a traitor?" Dalton whispered hoarsely, draping his
arm over his eyes to shut out the glaring light. "If I'd succeeded in
killing him, it would not have been justified."

"It seems that way."

Dalton lifted his heavy head and glared at the man, wondering if Domani was
being deliberately irritating. The idea was ludicrous. Domani did not
operate that way. Besides, he was incapable of deliberate baiting. Wasn't
he?

"Did you find any lies cloaked in the truth?" Dalton demanded, massaging his
throbbing temples. "Anything at all?"

"Negative, Commander. And I scanned for biological discrepancies during the
negotiations, but found no evidence that Adric might be lying. I can only
conclude he believes he is telling the truth."

"And yet I know there is a lie in the story. Something, I don't know what,
does not mesh with the facts as I know them. Bloody hell, I'm overlooking
something. I know it. If I could only put my finger on what."

"It is possible your beliefs are incorrect, Commander."

"Bloody hell if I'm wrong." Dalton jerked to his feet, pacing the small
confines of the room. "There is most definitely a puzzle here. I know it.
And I know I have the key locked away in my head." He slammed his clenched
fist against his thigh. "Judes, what have I failed to consider?"

Domani's silver eyes glinted as they followed Dalton's frantic pacing, but
he held his thoughts to himself.

"How about the woman?" Dalton asked, jerking to a stop in front of his man.
"This Nykita? What do we know about her?"

"I have nothing to report."

"Nothing?" Dalton snapped, wincing as pained stars spiraled behind his eyes.
"Why not? You've accessed the central computers of the Coalition. As a
matter of fact, you've broken into hundreds of different systems. So why is
this one stopping you? Is Adric's system superior to you?"

"Do not be insulting, Commander," Domani said coolly. "I have simply not
been able to find record of her origins yet. I am still investigating."

"Not able....Ah, Judes." He flung his tightly muscled form into a curved
chair, tensing as it automatically conformed to his body. "All right. Keep
searching. Only don't take too long. I need those answers. Quickly."

Brooding, Dalton fell silent and his thoughts turned to the base evacuation.

On the flyer, coming across, he'd taken the seat closest to the cockpit
because it gave him an unobstructed view of the pilot, a man calling himself
Del, and his co-pilot. His chosen seat also put him close enough to hear all
but the quietist, whispered comments. And suspicious man that he was, Dalton
had listened with rapt attention, keeping his harsh glance glued to the two
men's tight lips while he read their softest words and in that covert
eves-dropping, learned the fate of the Coalition prisoners.

The callous execution still shocked and sickened him. Knowing Nykita had
given the order sent a fresh rush of anxiety through him. Dalton sprang to
his feet, the tight rein on his temper snapping. "Domani, I need that
information. What do you know about the woman?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" His eyes shot blazing sparks. "Nothing? What the hell do you
mean, nothing?"

Domani shrugged, undaunted. "I have been unable to locate any mention
whatsoever on the subject. Not in any system."

"No mention at all?" Dalton demanded skeptically.

"None, Commander. And I even went so far as to access the Coalition
sub-computers. There is nothing. No record of birth. No school records. Not
even any medicals. There is nothing available on her."

"Nothing?" Dalton repeated softly, the implications spiraling through his
mind at light speed.

"It is as if she never existed."

"That's impossible."

"Impossible," Domani agreed. "But a fact just the same. If there has ever
been any record of her life, it must have been removed, or destroyed." He
paused, frowning. "Still, I should have found evidence of tampering."

"And you found none?"

He shook his head. "Commander, I can not give you any logical explanation.
According to my findings this woman does not exist, and never has."

A soft whistle parted Dalton's lips. "Domani, is it possible the woman is a
machine designed to gain control of Adric, and through him, us?"

Domani shook his head. "Negative, Commander. She is a biological entity.
Remember, I ran a bioscan on both Adric and her. And before you ask, nothing
foreign has been introduced into her basic humanoid make-up."

"Now, isn't that interesting?" Dalton said, dark thoughts dancing in his
imagination.

Nykita controlled the time they spent here. She was in charge of their needs
while they remained on the base. Worse, she controlled the repairs to the
ship once it was retrieved, if it was in any shape to be repaired.

It might mean nothing, but if she was not what she pretended to be, Dalton
and his people could find themselves over their heads in trouble. And there
wasn't a damn thing they could do about it.

Nothing, other than wait and see what her next move might be.

Dalton squeezed his finely chiseled nose. "Answer a question in
probabilities, Domani. If this woman is indeed our enemy, where does that
leave Adric in the scheme of things? Is he being used against us? Or are we
being used to get to him?"

"I can not answer without further data. Factual data, not suppositions,
Commander."

Dalton slammed his fist into the table. "All we have is conjecture." His
hands convulsed into white knuckled fists as he struggled for control.
"Damn. Damn. Damn. Every time I ask a question, the answer brings more
questions. More doubts. This blasted mystery is growing. Snowballing too
fast for me to get a firm grip on it. If I don't solve the dilemma we're
immersed in, we may very well finish this out very dead." Growling deep in
his chest, he flopped down into the chair. "Domani, keep scanning the
movements of both Adric and his lady." His aching head fell back and he
closed his eyes, massaging his thrumming temples. "Report anything that
could remotely constitute a danger to any of us."

"As you say."

"Still don't trust them, boss?" Ian asked, leaning his shoulder against the
doorjamb, his arms folded over his chest.

Dalton peeked at him through half closed eyes. "I trust myself. Only
myself."

"I suppose someone has to," Arissa told him, crossing the room to curl
lazily out on his bed.

Dalton drew himself up in the chair with a small, humorless smile. "Ah," he
said softly. "Well then, I am never disappointed, am I?"

"I don't know," she returned just as softly. "Are you?"

Dalton lips curved into a beguiling smile that warmed the chill in his eyes
before he turned his attention to Ian. "How long have you been listening?"

Ian slumped down on the sofa, stretching his long legs out before him.
"Enough to be knowing you have your hackles up about Adric's lady love."

Yessenia secured the door, then sauntered across the room. She dropped down
beside Ian and ran a concerned glance over Dalton. "You must be dangerously
distracted."

"Must I?"

"We wouldn't have gotten in here without you noticing if you were alert. For
you to let us stand around unobserved, you'd have to be distracted by some
major problem."

"Yes, there is that. So I suppose I must be. Distracted, I mean."

"Be ye caring to share the worry?" Ian asked.

Dalton crossed his legs at the ankle, watching them over steepled fingers.
"You probably know as much as I do."

"I'm thinking ye might tell us anyway."

Dalton shrugged. "Something isn't ringing true. I am overlooking some
forgotten, but vital bit of information. When I uncover the lie, I'll be
half way to discovering who our enemy is in this camp."

"If there be an enemy and not just a shadow from the past," Ian said.

Fire ignited in Dalton's crystal eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ian exchanged a quick look with the women before he met Dalton's hostile
glare. "Look, boss, we've been thinking things havena' been right between
you and Paris for a couple weeks. We all figured there be some trouble
between you since the two of you took the shuttle to meet with that arms
dealer. Something neither of you be willing to talk about. Now that do be
your choice as a rule, but na' when it threatens to endanger the rest of
us."

Dalton's lips curled into a sneer. "What went on aboard the shuttle remains
strictly between Paris and myself. It has no bearing on what is happening
here."

"Maybe so," Ian said, "But then again, maybe not. Hell and have you
considered that Paris might be the cause of your distress?"

"Paris? In what way?"

"We be noticing the tension when you be together in the same room," Ian said
simply.

"And we haven't seen anything threatening on the base," Yessenia added,
snuggling into Ian's protective embrace. "Not since the attack by the
Coalition. That, and the test thing we had to get hashed out."

"Unless you include those damn accidents," Arissa continued.

"Accidents?"

"Yeah. Seems a shuttle exploded on the trip over. Adric's got some people
looking into the reason for the blast."

"Anyone vital lost?"

"Just the flight crew and a couple security men. The ship was transporting
prisoners. Seems there was a mix-up in the passenger list, though, 'cause
one of the people on board that ship was supposed to be the spy."

"The agent escaped, then?"

"The accident? Yeah. Guess her guards were late getting her on board. Missed
the flight and had to take a later shuttle. Adric finally got a break on
that one."

"You said accidents, in the plural?"

"Right. There were a few mishaps during the loading process. And a couple
techs and a medical were killed when a lift collapsed. We're disregarding
those accidents since in an evacuation, blunders tend to happen. People
don't want to be left behind. They get careless."

"On the whole," Ian finished, "things be looking fairly normal."

"Normal?" Dalton's brow lifted questioningly. "You think I am overly
concerned because of a disagreement with Paris? You, perhaps, consider that
normal, too?"

"Not under usual circumstances, no," Arissa said. "But these aren't usual
circumstances, are they?"

"Aren't they?"

"You've been under a considerable strain this last couple of days, Dal."

"Have I?"

"Hell and you've just completed a quest that has filled two years of your
life. 'Tis thinking we were, that things might look a wee bit strange to you
right now."

"Is that what you were thinking, Ian?"

Ian nodded, tangling his long fingers in Yessenia's flaming hair. "Taken
together with the trouble between Paris and you and the way things be going?
Aye, that be what I'm thinking."

Dalton scowled. "I'll handle Paris when the time comes. For now, though, he
will wait."

"You sure about that, be ye?" Ian asked.

Dalton pinned him with a harsh glare. "You would like to tell me something
else?"

"Guess I would." Ian twirled a brilliant tress around his index finger.
"Look, Paris has been spending a lot of time in close quarters with Adric.
Word around the base is he be thinking about leaving us if we do na' accept
Adric on the ship. Seems he be thinking on joining up with his first
commander."

"Is that right?" Dalton drawled.

"It's not a far stretch," Yessenia said, "the way things have been going
with you two."

"Sure and we wouldna' have brought this to you," Ian said, "but we figured
you had the right to know which way the winds were blowing. After all, you
once told me he was of more value to you than I am."

Dalton chuckled, nodding. "Yes. I did, didn't I?" His laughter died as
quickly as it had been born. "I shall consider what you've said. It would be
a great pity if Paris were to die with Adric."

Arissa sat up, suddenly alert. "You're thinking about assassinating Adric
again?"

"I never stopped considering it," Dalton said, watching her through hooded
lids. "If there is any doubt whatsoever about Adric's true loyalties in my
mind when the time comes to leave, Adric will die. And if Paris opts to stay
with him, he'll join Adric all right. In death."

"Hell and you're being a bit drastic, I'm thinking."

"And I disagree. The survival of the team is all-important. Nothing and no
one shall be considered before that."

"Ah come on, though. 'Tis Paris we be talking about. Be serious."

Dalton's eyes were hard, uncompromising. "I am serious, Ian. Deadly serious.
Like Adric before him, Paris is threatening to become a loose thread. One
with too much knowledge about us."

"Paris is our friend, Dal," Yessenia said softly. "He'd never betray us?"

"Not willingly, perhaps," Dalton admitted. "Except he has always been our
weakest link. If he falls out with Adric, he can easily become dangerous."

"Dangerous how?"

"He could well be the route to our destruction if he were to stumble into
the hands of an enemy."

"I be seeing your meaning, but I still do na' hold with killing him
outright," Ian said, wrapping his arm around Yessenia's shoulder. "There
must be some way we can take him with us whether he likes it or na'."

Dalton scowled. "Don't worry about it. I'll see he leaves with us when the
time comes."

A bright smile flashed over Ian's tight lips. "Sure and you're going to
kidnap him, mayhap?"

"If it comes to that." Dalton closed his eyes, waving a dismissing hand in
their direction. "Just let me worry about it."

"You okay, Dal?" Arissa asked.

Was he okay? Hell, the throbbing in Dalton's head was making it hard to
concentrate on anything. He wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep
for a year.

Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to appear weak before his crew. Not now.
Too much depended on his being in top form. Now and always, there was no
time.

"Fine," he answered, but his eyes remained closed against the glaring, dim
light. "I just don't want to continue with this conversation. Later maybe.
But not now."

The angry hiss of an injector at his neck snapped his eyes open. "What was
it?"

Domani shrugged, replacing the injector to its slot in the medikit.
"Nothing to get upset about, Commander. The serum will simply ease your
distress. It will not dull your mind."

Dalton grunted his displeasure, but the pressure was already losing its
hold. The dull ache slipped from one gentle step to the next. His clotted
muscles relaxed as the pain eased.

He rubbed the back of his neck and the ghost of a smile whispered over his
face, almost to quick to notice, as he experienced relief for the first time
since the massacre.

"Drink this, Dal," Arissa said, setting a steaming cup of Earl Grey on the
table next to him. She drifted gracefully to the floor at his feet, laying
her small hand on his knee and propped her chin on her fist. "You really do
look terrible. Have you managed any sleep since we got here?"

"I am as well as can be expected, considering we've taken a walk through
hell." He took a deep swallow from the cup then dropped his hand on her head
and caressed her hair much like he would a favored cat. "I'll be fine once
we're back to the security of the stars."

The loud buzz of the intercom cut through the room, ending their
conversation. "Dalton." Adric's voice filtered in the air. "I need a word
with you."



end part 20

anyone reading this. Be nice to hear fromya

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