Cloud Rebel: R-D 3 Read online

  "Yeah. Told her what happened."

  "What did she call me?"

  "She didn't call you anything."

  "That means nothing. She's probably pissed that I let things get out of hand."

  "Stop being a schmuck."

  "Did you see Corinne?"

  "No-but Colonel Hunter did."

  "Of course she'd go to him, first, since Rafe-well."

  "She was disguised when she saved Rafe's fanny."

  "So she did see him first."

  "Yeah, I just don't know how that affected her."

  "When you contacted Bree-did you put in a good word for Corinne?"

  "I didn't have to-Bree already knew as much as I did. I think if the Larentii had decided not to accept Corinne, well, the blue fur would have flown."

  * * *

  Corinne

  "I like this better," Valegar pulled me down to sit beside him.

  "You're right-this is better," I sighed. He'd found a waterfall on the big island of Hawaii and settled there to soak in filtered sunlight.

  "He meant a lot to you, didn't he?" Valegar's arms settled around me.

  "He still does."

  "I know. That upset you-to see him again."

  "Yeah." My voice was a whisper.

  His arms, as warm as a summer day, wrapped tighter around me, and he began to hum. It was the most restful sound I'd ever heard, sending me to sleep in seconds.

  * * *

  Ilya

  "Macallan, twenty-five year," I set my credit card on the bar before taking a seat. At least the bar had the Scotch on hand, even if it were one-fifty-five a shot. After today, I wanted three shots.

  At least I was still alive to have three shots. If the Larentii hadn't shown up to save my ass-I decided not to wander too far down that road, or I'd end up asking myself why they'd bother to save any part of me.

  That answer could be dangerous.

  * * *

  Reth Alliance

  Ildevar Wyyld, Founder

  "Who did you send?"

  Norian looked up from his comp-vid as I strode into his office to ask my question.

  "I sent four-the Verain brothers, who somehow know at least three languages there, and Brade Deplan."

  "The three Verain brothers?" I asked.

  "All three, yes. They wanted to go."

  "And you say they speak three languages from that planet?"

  "Yes, let's see," Norian scrolled through his comp-vid to find the records, "Ah, Spanch, Franch, Ainglash."

  "I believe you're pronouncing those wrong, but it matters little. Have they arrived?"

  "No word as yet, Deonus."

  "I wish to be kept informed. I am concerned that all three brothers wished to go."

  "Look, I know you wanted to keep them separated when they joined the ASD, but for this particular assignment-they spoke the necessary languages, Deonus."

  "What about Brade?"

  "He spoke a separate language-Jerm?"

  "Hmmph," I mumbled my displeasure. "I hope they speak better than you can pronounce," I said. "Have them record their meetings with the leaders they approach, and I want reliable translations on each meeting."

  "Of course, Deonus."

  "I wish we had a Larentii," I muttered as I turned to go. "They understand everything."

  * * *

  Ilya

  I studied the photograph on the tablet Colonel Hunter had given me. Merle Askins, former Director of the CIA, had posed for that photograph, knowing we'd be drawn in. Was he acting on his own accord to kill me or another of Colonel Hunter's men, or was he following the orders of another?

  I knew what those orders felt like-I'd lived with that illogical obsession for more than a year. Askins was dead, now, but that didn't mean he didn't have many more just like him-if they'd had the same blood type and had received his blood.

  Once someone survived the drug, its effects could be spread like a virus, tainting any other with the same blood type. I suppose the same could be said for me-that someone else could be created just like me.

  Forcing away the shudder that shook me for a moment, I turned back to the photograph. "How many?" I asked it. "How many more of you are out there, waiting to kill me?"

  * * *

  Notes-Colonel Hunter

  It was late and I'd already called Laci to tell her I was coming home when Matt Michaels called.

  "Director Michaels?" I said when I answered his call.

  "I just wanted to put you on alert after Rafe was targeted in Vancouver," he said. "If there are still survivors out there, they may want all of us who were involved taken down."

  "That's not what I wanted to hear," I said, lifting my jacket from the hook beside the door. "Laci is just beginning to calm down and feel safe again."

  "The thing is," Matt went on, ignoring my comment about Laci, "They don't have the full story-they likely have whatever the media has put in front of the public. That means that the aliens who killed all those people aren't included in that equation. They only see us as the perpetrators, and whoever they are, they want us to pay."

  "I suppose it doesn't matter that Phillips had world domination on his agenda? That he'd planned his moves carefully to pull world leaders together so he could bend them to his will?"

  "Somebody may want to step into his shoes," Matt responded. "Plus, we've never found those nuclear warheads he sent to the insurgents."

  "You had to bring that up, didn't you? At least they've been quiet lately. Maybe they're still terrified that Corinne will make more of them dead."

  "Or, if they learn she was taken away," Matt didn't finish.

  "You know she's back, don't you?"

  "I heard. I'm waiting for her to show up and slap me through a wall."

  "You may have to explain that to me," I said.

  "In time. Maybe. Look, I need to go. Just keep your eyes open. You may want to ask for additional security. It's times like these that I miss Nick and Maye the most."

  "Yeah. Well, I'll consider the security part. Thanks for the heads up."

  "No problem."

  * * *

  Corinne

  "My love, what have you been doing?" Valegar woke me with soft words.

  "Huh?"

  "This-siphon-that you've attached to yourself to draw in sunlight?" If he hadn't been sitting beside me, and if he'd been human, he might have been tapping a toe, waiting for me to answer.

  "Well, it's a way to get light at any time," I mumbled my excuse.

  "That should only be used for emergencies," he scolded gently. "You should be filling yourself with sunlight whenever it is available, instead of a constant, crippled pull provided by a siphon. Besides, sunlamps made with Earth technology are very poor substitutes."

  "Right." I sat up with his help, discovering that I lay naked on a bed inside a lavish hotel-one that bellied up to a beach in Oahu.

  "Come, I will take you elsewhere, and I will assist you in pulling sunlight into your body."

  "Can I have ice cream after that?"

  "If you want it, yes."

  "Do we have to be naked?"

  "It helps if you are in your natural state, blue skin and all." The corners of his mouth twitched.

  "Fine."

  "I like this very much-all my studies of Earth will be put to the test," he smiled and folded space with me.

  * * *

  Ilya

  At least nothing was broken when I woke on the floor in my hotel room. The mattress, sheets and pillows were strewn across the space, the chair and ottoman upside down against the window.

  I appreciated the fact that I could straighten everything without having to pay for damages when I checked out. While I worked to put the room back to rights, I cursed the former President in as many languages as I knew.

  "I'm leaving for the airport," I informed Colonel Hunter after buying coffee at a nearby shop and loading my bag into the rental.

  "Good. Matt and I want a meeting with you when you get back.
"

  "Tomorrow?"

  "I have a ten o'clock with the Secretary of State, but Matt and I are available for lunch. We can eat and talk if you want."

  "Of course."

  "Any uh, unusual charges on your room, this time?"

  "None, I'm pleased to say. Did Director Michaels say what his concerns are?"

  "He may have intel on those warheads."

  "I hope it's more reliable than last time."

  "They were moved last time before we made it to the storage area. Finding something there is next to impossible without good information."

  "Living informants are also an asset," I responded dryly.

  "We do have a problem keeping them alive," he agreed. "I wish, well, we all know what I wish."

  "I do." I stared at the wedding band I'd refused to remove from my hand. If I had my way, it would stay there as long as I lived.

  "I'm hoping I can convince another person or two to join us-they may be working with us as liaisons of some sort-if I can convince them to do so."

  "Who might that be?"

  "The ones Opal said pulled your fat from the fire yesterday."

  "Interesting choice of words, Colonel. I'll see you tomorrow."

  * * *

  Corinne

  "Thank you for bringing me here." Val stood behind me as I paid my respects to Nick and Maye at Arlington National Cemetery. We'd gone to Australia first, to feed, and then he'd brought me here after I'd asked him to do so. That's when I got Auggie's call.

  "Can you and uh-Valegar come to a lunch meeting tomorrow? Matt, Opal and I will be there. We'd like to talk to you."

  "Go ahead and say Ilya will be there, too," I said.

  "Rafe will be there," he confirmed. "Please call him that. I doubt he wants anyone else calling him-well, you should know what I mean."

  "It's hard seeing him," I sighed.

  "I know. Cori, we need information, and we may need it soon. That's why I'm asking you to meet with us."

  "We'll be there," I said.

  * * *

  Personal Notes-Richard Farrell

  "Hey, Doc." He was dying. Everyone else at Bethesda had considered it a blessing. Blinded in both eyes, all four limbs missing, paralyzed and experiencing renal failure after the IED explosion in Iraq, he had hours left at best. His voice was barely a whisper as he spoke-he'd heard me as I sat on the chair beside his bed.

  "Do you remember when you told me how you loved to run?" I asked.

  "Yeah. That'll only happen in my next life, now," he joked.

  "Brett, just remember you said that," I told him before pulling the syringe from a pocket. I'd already used one; this was the second-and last-that I intended to use. I'd had a private meeting with Madam President-she'd given her blessing.

  Two candidates I'd chosen personally had been moved to what Corinne had dubbed the ugly building in Arlington.

  Inside, it was anything but. I'd had the top floor outfitted to my specifications, again with permission from the President. She intended to tell Colonel Hunter when-and if-my experiment was successful.

  Yes, I'd kept my personal goals out of my proposal to the President, but the truth was this-I was empty without Maye.

  I also had samples of her blood-and Nick's. This could fail, and I realized it.

  If it failed, I intended to go down with my new charges.

  * * *

  Ilya

  "Katya?" I answered her call when I walked through the door of my home in Silver Spring. Colonel Hunter had arranged for the house-I understood it had once belonged to her, for a short time.

  Nevertheless, it was still owned by the Program, therefore I was using it.

  "Papa," Katya's voice was thick with tears.

  "What's wrong, little moth?" I asked.

  "They caught Sergei-I don't know where he is," she wept.

  "Hold on," I said and pulled a second phone from my pocket to dial Colonel Hunter.

  * * *

  Corinne

  "Cori, I hate to bother you," Auggie said over the phone. I knew, just by the tone of his voice, that something was terribly wrong. Val followed in my wake as I folded space to Auggie's office.

  I understood the problem the moment I saw his face.

  Ilya's son-in-law was in trouble.

  Val didn't bother to protest when I folded space the second time in mere seconds, where we found a naked Sergei Levinson tied to a chair, while his captors did their best to electrocute him with battery cables.

  * * *

  Katya stifled a scream when Val and I appeared in her hotel office, where she sat at her desk, crying.

  "I need your chair," I said, allowing Valegar to settle the nearly lifeless body of Sergei on the chair she'd scrambled away from.

  "Corinne?" she whispered as Val and I began to glow-it would take energy and talent to get Sergei back.

  * * *

  "You can't tell your father I was here," I patted Katya's hand later, while she sat on the edge of her bed, stroking Sergei's hair back from his forehead. Val and I-we'd saved his life. Another few minutes and that may not have been possible.

  Still, he had weeks of recovery ahead of him.

  "Papa won't talk about you," she whispered. "Why?"

  "A Sirenali's curse, young one," Val replied. "Once a Sirenali places an obsession, it can only be removed by that same Sirenali. If that Sirenali dies, as is the case, then the obsession tends to remain until the victim's death. Your father was instructed to kill Corinne. He cannot even hear her name without going into a terrible rage."

  "How is that possible?" Katya breathed.

  "This race we speak of was an abomination that should never have been created," Val snorted. "The same drug administered to your father also recreated a Sirenali."

  "What happened to the ones who captured Sergei?" she asked. I could see that talk of Sirenali upset her, and the fact that her father was obsessed upset her more.

  "Corinne blew them so hard against a wall, I believe they may not wake again," Valegar explained. "I'm sure many will appreciate that fact."

  "Russian assholes," I muttered.

  "What do I tell Papa?" Katya asked.

  "Tell him the Larentii happened," I said. "He'll accept that. If he asks for names, say Rinnelar and Valegar."

  "Do you still love him?"

  "More than anything." I held up my left hand so she could see the ring on my finger.

  "This is so sad. Thank you-for Sergei's life."

  "You're welcome."

  * * *

  "Did you find him?" We found Auggie still in his office two hours later.

  "Yeah. He's okay, now."

  "Look-I didn't know about Rafe's daughter until he admitted she was part of the underground about six months ago," Auggie said.

  "I know. We just wanted to check in; we need to find sunlight somewhere, to recharge."

  "All right. Thank you. I know Rafe would be grateful, if he just," Auggie floundered.

  "Yeah. I know."

  "Come," Valegar took my hand and folded space.

  * * *

  Notes-Colonel Hunter

  When they disappeared, I leaned back in my chair until it creaked. I sat there for several minutes, wondering how many times Cori would have to pull all our fat from the fire.

  * * *

  Ilya

  I heard from Katya two hours after I received the frantic call from her. "Sergei's fine," she reported. "Now. After two Larentii showed up to save him. Those animals tried to electrocute him, Papa."

  "You need to move-they know where you are," I stated flatly.

  "I know. Three of our friends are here-we'll move Sergei in a few hours. If those people hadn't shown up, he'd be dead."

  "I understand," I sighed. "I wish I were there with you-to help you find a new place." My other phone rang-I looked at the caller ID. "Katya, hold on," I said. Setting the first phone down, I answered the second.

  "Get Colonel Hunter to bring them to the U.S.," the voice said
. I understood it was Rinnelar-and I forced myself not to delve deeper than that.

  "I will make the call," I agreed.

  "Good."

  The call was ended. Working to even my breathing, I lifted the first phone. "Little moth, let me call Colonel Hunter. I hope he will allow me to bring you and Sergei to the U.S."

  Chapter 3

  Notes-Colonel Hunter

  I had no idea how this meeting would go; I'd already given permission to move Rafe's daughter and her husband to the U.S. Matt agreed readily when I called him. He'd already arranged transportation before we got off the phone.

  They'd arrive in two days. For the moment, I'd allow them to stay with Rafe at the Silver Spring townhouse.

  I waited for Rafe to put things together, though, and go after Corinne in her new guise. While she wouldn't harm him if he attempted to attack, I had no idea how Valegar would react. As much as Rafe had loved Corinne, I believe Valegar did the same.

  "We're here," Matt walked in with Opal. He wore a grim expression-it appeared he wasn't looking forward to seeing Corinne again. I wanted him to explain that, but didn't expect the information to come my way. I hesitated to attach the word subterfuge to my curious observations, but I couldn't rule out the idea that something was going on.

  * * *

  Corinne

  "How do I look?" Valegar asked.

  "You look great," I said. He did-he wore his blond hair slightly longer than many Larentii, and it brushed his forehead nicely as he turned before me, showing off his black jeans, turtleneck, Loafers and bomber jacket.

  It was winter in the U.S.; Val could warm himself with power, but he'd look strange to any human if he were dressed only in a short-sleeved shirt and jeans.

  "Humans get cold easily," Val observed.

  "Honey, you should talk to people in Alaska, Canada and other places that get really cold before making such a broad statement," I said.

  "I merely wanted to see whether you'd point out the flaw in my observation," he smiled. "You did well."

  "Are all our conversations going to be tests?" I asked.

  "No, I merely wanted to distract you for a moment."

  "Ah. That."

  He was right-I needed a distraction. The closer the meeting time, the more worried I felt. I wanted to fling my arms around Ilya. Have him kiss my worries away. That wasn't possible and might never be.

  "Val," I said, "Has there ever been a Larentii with an anxiety disorder or PTSD?"