Close Remembrance

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Korum checked the time again.

Mia should’ve been home already. Her message had reached him twenty minutes ago, and he’d immediately cut short the testing session with his designers, unable to resist the urge to see her as soon as possible.

While waiting for her, he’d quickly prepared dinner, making her favorite shari salad and a mushroom-potato dish from a recipe given to him by Mia’s mother. He’d asked Ella Stalis for it before they left Florida, wanting to surprise Mia with it someday. He loved seeing her small face light up with pleasure and excitement when he did things like that. Her happiness meant the world to him these days.

Where was she?

Mildly annoyed, Korum queried his computer to determine her location. The complex device embedded in his palm was completely synced with his neural pathways—so much so that using it was the equivalent of thinking in a certain way. Not all Krinar liked the idea of being so integrated with technology, with many choosing to stick to old-fashioned voice commands and stand-alone devices instead. Korum thought it was idiotic to be so mistrustful, but then again, he had designed the computer himself and understood its limits and capabilities. Many of his kind had no idea how even simple human electronics worked, nor did they have a desire to learn—something he would never understand.

As soon as he sent the mental query, her location came to him with crystal clarity: the lab. She was still at the lab. The tracking devices he’d once embedded in her hands were proving to be quite useful, even now that she was no longer involved with the Resistance.

His lips quirking in a smile, Korum thought about her reaction whenever the topic of his shining her came up. She was like an angry kitten then, all tiny claws and ruffled fur. It made him want to cuddle her and f**k her at the same time—a confusing mix of desires she always evoked in him.

He supposed he should feel bad for shining her. And sometimes, he almost did. She resented the fact that he would now always know her location, not understanding that it gave him a tremendous peace of mind. She was so fragile, so human... If he had his way, she would never leave his side; he’d always keep her next to him where he could protect her.

But he knew she wouldn’t want that. It was important to her to have her independence, to excel in her chosen field and contribute to society. He understood and respected that, but it still didn’t make it any easier on him. When they’d been in New York—before he’d given her the nanocytes that made her less vulnerable—it had been all he could do to let her venture out on her own, especially in a human city where something as stupid as a car accident could easily claim her life. That’s why he’d always had a guardian following her then, staying no more than a hundred yards away at any given time. She’d never suspected, of course, nor was Korum ever planning to tell her. But it had been for her own protection; even back then, he hadn’t been able to bear the thought of anything happening to her.

Checking the time again, Korum saw that twenty-five minutes had passed. Why was she still at the lab? Had something happened to delay her? If Saret was making her work late again, he’d have a serious talk with him. By now, Mia had proven herself quite useful, and Korum was certain his friend wouldn’t terminate her apprenticeship even if she had to work fewer hours.

Sending another mental query, Korum reached out to the communication device he’d made for her—what she called her wristwatch-bracelet. To his surprise and growing disquiet, he couldn’t connect to it at all; it was as if there was only emptiness where digital signals should’ve been.

Something was wrong.

Korum knew it with sudden certainty. Raising his hand, he stared down at his palm, his eyes following the tiny pulses of light playing underneath his skin. It was a way for him to concentrate, to utilize specific mental pathways that were more complex than those required for basic daily tasks.

This particular path was not something he’d used in recent weeks, not since the Resistance was defeated. Mia didn’t know about this either, and Korum wasn’t planning to tell her. There was no need; he’d stopped using the device to monitor her activities. The only reason why it was still on her is because the process for removing it was fairly complicated—and because he liked the idea of having it there for emergencies.

Keeping his eyes glued to his palm, Korum sent a deep probe, activating the tiny recording device hidden underneath Mia’s left earlobe. It would allow him to hear everything in her vicinity and, more importantly, to check on her vital signs.

As soon as the device came on, some of the tension left his muscles. She was okay, her heartbeat strong and her breathing steady.

And yet... Korum frowned, listening carefully. Everything was quiet—too quiet. If she was still working, she should’ve been moving around, talking to whomever had delayed her. Instead, it was as if she was asleep right now.

Asleep... or unconscious.

As soon as he thought of the second possibility, he knew he was on the right track. But why would she be unconscious? This didn’t make any sense. And was that... ? He listened again. Were those someone else’s movements he was hearing around her?

His unease morphed into full-blown worry.

Getting up, Korum strode swiftly to the wall and exited the house. Pausing for a few seconds, he sent a mental command to have a transport pod created with all possible speed. While the nanomachines did their job, he reached deep into the recording device’s archives. All the recorders he designed worked like that; even when they weren’t activated to broadcast in real time, they were still collecting data and storing it internally.

It took a second, and then he was accessing the recorder’s memories, scanning through them to find the right spot. He started with the exact moment when Mia sent him her message. Instead of listening to the recording at normal speed, he had his computer create an instant transcript, which he then read in a few seconds.

And as Korum understood what he was reading, every cell in his body filled with volcanic fury.

He couldn’t even begin to process the magnitude of the betrayal—nor the sheer evil that was about to be unleashed by a man he’d considered a friend for the past two thousand years. And Mia... No, he couldn’t think about it. Not now, at least. If they were all to survive, he needed to focus, to control his rage and pain.

Utilizing every ounce of willpower he possessed, Korum reached for the coolly rational side of himself and began to analyze the best way to handle the situation.

Saret watched impatiently as Korum finally left the house and created the transport pod. Now his nemesis would come looking for Mia, hopefully with minimal—if any—suspicions.

Of course, it would never do to underestimate him. The bastard always had some nasty surprises for those who did. Still, Korum had no reason to think anything sinister was going on, and he would certainly never expect Saret to try to kill him.

It was unfortunate that Mia had come across those files today. Saret had always known that someone could snoop around and figure out that Saur hadn’t been quite as knowledgeable about memory erasure as he’d been portrayed to be. Saret should’ve moved the files, but everyone in the lab knew better than to access other people’s work without Saret’s explicit permission.

Everyone, except one human girl, as it turned out.

Then again, maybe on some level, Saret had wanted her to find out. He’d enjoyed explaining his plan to her and watching the emotions on her expressive little face. She hadn’t understood fully, of course, still too caught up in Korum’s web to think clearly.

It had made him angry, what she’d said about not being attracted to him. She’d been lying, of course, trying to goad him into doing something stupid. He was a Krinar male in his prime; he knew full well that human women desired him. And she would want him too; he had made sure of that.

He would be gentle with her at first, not like Korum had been when they met. Saret had seen some of the recordings from the beginning of their relationship at the trial, and it had made him angry, the way his nemesis had handled her then. Saret would make a better cheren, he was certain of that.

Now where was Korum?

Frowning, Saret looked at the image again. It appeared his enemy was in no hurry. Instead of flying to the lab, Korum was standing next to the ship and leisurely chatting with some Krinar woman Saret had never seen before. He was almost... flirting with her? f*****g bastard, already cheating on Mia.

Well, no matter, Korum would get here soon enough. And when he did, he would be in for a nice little surprise.

Unbeknownst to all, Saret had spent the past several years building a high-tech fortress within the lab. All Krinar buildings were durable, meant to withstand anything from a nuclear blast to a volcanic eruption. His lab, however, went a step further: the walls were weaponized—designed to kill anyone who tried to enter once Saret activated the protection mode. They were also impenetrable by any form of nanotechnology because Saret had installed the same shields that served as the Centers’ defenses.

It hadn’t been easy, doing this. Weapons were not something that the general population had easy access to, especially specialized nano-weapons like those embedded in his walls. Saret had been forced to call in a lot of favors and spend a sizable chunk of his personal fortune to get everything set up exactly as he wanted it. It had cost him even more to keep everything a secret.

Now, however, it would all pay off. In another couple of days, the nano-weapon that he planned to use in the Centers would be ready. The dispersion devices with the nanocytes had already been planted in all the key human cities.

All he needed now was patience.

Another ten minutes, and Saret was losing what remained of that patience. What the hell was taking Korum so long? Had Saret underestimated his enemy’s attachment to the girl? It looked like the bastard was still flirting with that woman. There he was now, laughing and touching her arm. What the f**k? Whatever happened to his obsession with Mia? Had she been just a toy for him all along?

As soon as the thought occurred to Saret, he dismissed it. No, something was up. He was suddenly certain of it.

Was his enemy playing him for a fool? Was he even now being fed a false image? There was no way to tell; the figures Saret was watching looked completely real. But, as Saret knew full well, looks could be deceiving.

He had to face the possibility that Korum had figured out something was going on.

Moving swiftly, Saret armed himself and put on a protective shield that wrapped around his entire body. The lab walls were still his best defense, and he had every intention of confronting his nemesis here, where Saret had the home advantage. He felt no fear, though his pulse spiked in anticipation of the upcoming fight.

Glancing at Mia, Saret made sure that she was still unconscious, lying restrained on the medical float. She might wake up soon, and he was hoping to have all the unpleasantness over with before that happened.

Ignoring the adrenaline rushing through his veins, Saret sat down next to her and stroked her arm, marveling at the smoothness of her pale skin. She looked so pretty, with her dark lashes fanning across her cheeks and that soft mouth slightly parted. What was that human children’s story? Sleeping Beauty? Actually, she looked more like Snow White, Saret decided, with her milky complexion and dark hair.

Leaning down, he kissed her lips, brushing them lightly with his tongue. As he’d suspected, she was delicious; just that tiny taste was enough to make him hard. If he had more time, he would’ve taken her right then and there, unconscious or not.

But he didn’t have more time. He needed to stay focused. One way or another, Korum would be here soon.

Getting up, Saret walked over to the image again. By now, he was almost certain it was fake.

Where was Korum?

Saret began to pace, too agitated to sit down again.

When it all began two minutes later, he didn’t even notice at first.

A low humming sound was his first warning that something was wrong. The noise seemed to fill the air, gradually increasing in volume until it was almost a roar to his sensitive Krinar hearing.

Then the walls began to melt. Saret had never seen anything like it before: the material designed to withstand a nuclear blast seemed to liquefy from the top down, as if the building was made of wax.

Now Saret tasted fear. Sharp and acidic, it pooled low in his stomach. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to be safe here, in his carefully constructed fortress... but he wasn’t. Saret didn’t know of any weapon that could do this—that could penetrate the same shields that protected the colonies—but his eyes didn’t lie. The walls were literally melting around him.

There was only one thing left to do: retreat and live to fight another day. For a second, Saret considered taking Mia with him, but she would slow him down and he couldn’t take that risk. He would have to come back for her.

Casting one last look at the unconscious girl on the float, Saret activated the emergency escape chute and disappeared through the building floor.