Grady's Awakening

Chapter Nine

Gina noted the path Jim led her on after returning her pack. Someone had filled it with provisions for their trip. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he wanted to leave immediately. No sooner had the meeting in the conference room broken up than they were on their way down a series of elevators into the depths of the facility.

She noticed she wasn’t invited to see any more of the base than she’d already seen near the top and what she could glimpse on her way down. She wasn’t being given the run of the place, but she didn’t mind. She’d build on the kernel of trust from their shared past while she traveled with Jim to Canada—and hopefully back. By the time they returned, he would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was on the level. By that time he might have begun the even bigger leap of faith to trust the Patriarch, but she wouldn’t push it. It was enough that she’d be getting this group of people in touch with the others.

If there were, indeed, any to find living in the Canadian facility. She thought there were. The best intel they had said it was more than likely a group of humans had taken up residence, but nothing was one hundred percent certain. That was why she had to go and check things out herself.

Under normal circumstances, they would have sent a human scouting party to verify the theory before they did anything else but events were happening quickly now. The Patriarch had sped up his plans for a reason known only to him, but her trust in him was absolute. He’d never harmed her or any human. He’d never led her wrong. He’d done nothing but help her since the moment she’d passed his test of combat, and the Zxerah had been true friends to humanity ever since.

It would take time to convince Jim and his people, but it would happen. In the end the truth always prevailed.

The elevator dropped rapidly, taking them to another level. They got out, and Gina followed behind Jim, flanked by Wally and his son, Dex. Jim’s three stooges brought up the rear as they made their way to another elevator that took them down further into the reinforced concrete citadel.

Each level was clearly marked though the paint had faded with time. Gina saw some evidence that they’d made an attempt to keep the place in good repair. A small maintenance drone whizzed by on the side of the corridor at one point as they walked along. There was definitely some high tech equipment in the place and the added bonus of scientists who probably knew how it worked to keep it that way.

“Did you and your family ride out the crystal bombardment here?” Gina asked Wally as the other men discussed schedule alterations during Jim’s absence.

“The first round hit while I was on duty. After the satellites went down, the commanding officer let us get our families and bring them here. He was a good man, General Yeager.” Wally’s voice throbbed with emotion, and his eyes filled with moisture that he refused to let fall. In that moment, Gina saw the toughness behind the man that had allowed him to persevere, and she knew where his son got his grit.

“Did you go out and get them? I mean, by that time, transportation was pretty iffy, right?”

“I took one of the SUVs. I went with some of the others who had family living in the same neighborhood. We went in the dark of night, during one of the clear times when the bombardment engines were on the other side of the planet. We went in, grabbed as many possessions as we could, whatever vehicles and tools we could salvage and anything else that looked useful and caravanned back. There were few people left in my old neighborhood, but I took the lady next door and a few others with me. General Yeager, God bless him, didn’t turn them away. He made room for everyone and led us all in those first few days of utter confusion. We were doing well until the aliens started appearing. He sent out some of the soldiers to do reconnaissance, but most of them never came back. The few that did told us how the aliens were capturing people and taking them away. That’s when he drew everyone inside and locked down the facility.”

“Didn’t the Alvians search this far? The entrance on top is pretty visible despite the damage from the bombardment, and it’s been years. They had to have seen it.”

“Oh, they did,” Wally’s mouth tightened into a grim line. “We had to abandon the first few levels and hide below. We hunkered down and made it look like the place was empty. After descending deep into the ground, they seemed to give up when they hit the lowest level of blast doors, just as the general hoped. He said they probably figured it wasn’t worth the effort of blasting the doors and bringing the entire mountain down on their own heads since it looked like the inhabitants of this base had abandoned it long ago.”

“Smart man, your general,” she agreed.

Alvians were tenacious but strict followers of logic. Their cold adherence to risk-benefit analyses had led to their current problems—including the mess their geneticists had created and the unforgivable choice to proceed with crystal seeding of a planet when there was some evidence of an advanced culture already living there.

“General Yeager was the absolute best. There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t pray for him.”

“Then he’s still alive?”

“I don’t really know. He went out on a mission and never came back. He’s either dead or captured. Otherwise he would have come back. He cared for our wellbeing more than his own life. He was a great man.”

Gina made a mental note to ask the Patriarch to search the Alvian databases for news of this General Yeager if possible. If he was a captive, the Zxerah might be able to get custody of him and put his experience and his warrior’s heart to good use in the fight for human freedom. Every honorable man they could find was one more who would aid their cause. This one had the added benefit of proven leadership abilities if he was still the man Wally remembered with such respect and admiration.

Finally they arrived at the transit level and got off the last elevator. They had to take a few flights of stairs down further, but it wasn’t far. During their journey through the complex, Jim’s lieutenants had worked out a duty roster and Jim had given them some last minute instructions while she talked with Wally. The scientist had integrity. She could tell by his words and actions that he was concerned for his fellow man. He still had the eager mind of the scientist he’d been in the old world and the love and pride he had for his son was obvious to anyone who bothered to look.

Gina had a sense of satisfaction that here, at least, humans were living and thriving in family units…as it was meant to be. Too many humans had been ripped from their homes and families. Here was a small group that managed to stay together and help each other. It reminded Gina in a very tangible way of what they were fighting for. It was a good reminder.

Wally gave them some last minute instructions on how to operate the small pod. It wasn’t a train, per se, but rather a sort of bubble on rails. The nose was pointed, probably for aerodynamics, and it was relatively small. There were two seats up front for a pilot and co-pilot like an airplane, and an area in the rear of the small pod meant for passengers. There were spare seats and tables made to lock in place in a utility area off to one side, and Gina was reminded that top brass had used this method of travel. They’d probably left the driving to the grunts while they worked or held meetings in back. But Gina and Jim took only two extra seats—in case anybody from the Canadian facility wanted to make the return trip with them¾and a few items of gear that had been packed by someone beforehand.

There was a tent, some camping equipment and more food. A quick glance at the piles of stuff that had been tied down in back told her that much. Jim motioned her into the pod and took a moment to say goodbye to his men. Wally and Dex were at the end of the chamber, Wally standing at a console, flipping switches, his brawny son muscling open a blast door that worked on some kind of hydraulic crank.

She settled into the co-pilot’s chair and waited. Jim hadn’t said much to her since they left the conference room, but she figured they’d have plenty of time to talk on the trip. His standoffishness didn’t offend her. In fact, she would rather have a little distance between them than the uncomfortable closeness of the night before.

Gina wasn’t one to fall into intimate situations with men. Her days running in the wilderness had made her leery of most human men, except for the ones tested and accepted into the Zxerah Brotherhood of course. But those fellow warriors were more like brothers. She hadn’t been sexually attracted to any of them, but then, she had always been rather picky about who she dated and who she became intimate with. Since the cataclysm had changed the very fabric of her existence, she hadn’t really gotten involved with any man, much less two.

And now in the space of a few days she’d been approached by two attractive males who both managed to devastate her with the slightest touch and made her yearn for more. Circumstance had taken her away from the mysterious Alvian Prime and thrown her into Jim’s arms. Jim was larger than life. He was the man she remembered, but now he was even more. He’d filled out and grown hard, his life’s experiences forging the young blade he’d been into the finest of tempered steel.

He’d brought her more pleasure than she could ever remember experiencing—except with Grady Prime. It had been so long since a man had given her that kind of pleasure, she’d almost feared she’d never find a man she was attracted to in that way. Now there were two of them and though Grady Prime wasn’t in her life now, he was still in her mind. Jim, though, was much closer and much more frightening.

She would be alone with him for days on this journey and she had no idea what his expectations were. For that matter, she didn’t know what she expected either. Would she throw herself into his arms at the first opportunity? Or would she be too afraid to take the leap of faith that would lead her straight into his bedroll?

Even she didn’t know the answer to that.

Thankfully, she was distracted from her whirling thoughts by the crackle of an intercom that she could faintly hear echoing outside in the rest of the chamber. She was safely ensconced in the co-pilot’s chair as Jim sealed the hatch on the side of the vehicle after taking leave of his men. He settled into the pilot’s chair at her side, brushing her arm with his muscular thigh as he maneuvered into the small seat.

“Everybody clear the track area and stand back on the platform,” Wally’s voice crackled over the loudspeaker.

Gina watched as Dex jumped clear of the track to stand next to his father by the control console. All the others were standing farther back on the low platform from which they’d boarded the pod. The platform wasn’t strictly necessary to board, Wally had explained, but the actual stations had them installed to make getting on and off easier.

“I’m powering up the rails in three…two…one.” Wally flipped the switch, and the lights in the tunnel station dimmed for just a second or two as the rails hummed to life. The pod lifted and swayed slightly before stabilizing, and Wally gave them a thumbs-up. “And we have levitation. Have a good trip, folks!” He waved them on with a huge grin as Jim hit the accelerator.

The pod started slowly out of the station, gliding above the electrified rails. The magnetic field generated by the electric current allowed the pod to hover in a frictionless adherence. Gina didn’t know how it all worked, but once they got going, the ride was smooth with only a little sway side to side as they followed the gentle curve of the rails and gradually picked up speed. They left the station and the people behind and were soon out into the old tunnel, lit here and there by a string of widely spaced light bulbs.

Jim concentrated on getting the pod going at first, but then switched it over to automatic drive. Wally had assured them the path was clear of obstructions for at least the first two stops. Scouts had been in the tunnels as recently as a few days ago, so there was little to worry about.

Gina felt Jim’s eyes on her as he shifted in the pilot’s chair to watch her. She wanted to resist the pull of his gaze but was powerless against his allure.

“Now what?” She turned to face him, deciding offense was a much better strategy than defense.

“Now we get where we’re going. And we get to know each other better.” He reached out and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. She nearly shivered at his gentle touch but did her best to hide the reaction. This man set her senses on fire, and she wasn’t used to it at all.

“I really liked your family,” Jim startled her by saying. His eyes spoke of regret and sympathy. “I was cocky as a young agent. I thought I had it all over ninety-nine percent of the rest of the world. Your father showed me how wrong I was. He took me down a peg or ten, then rebuilt me into something better. He taught me humility and the value of so many things I’d taken for granted before. He was a good man, and the best teacher I ever had.”

The softly voiced words touched her heart. “I miss him.”

“I know,” Jim answered simply. She hadn’t meant to show her vulnerability, but it had been so long since she’d been able to talk about her father with someone who’d actually known him. “I never knew my father,” Jim went on. “He died in the war before I was born. He was a special ops soldier, and it was because of him that I went into the service in the first place. Then the Company approached me and by that point I believed I was invincible. They sent me to your dad, and he taught me the truth. I looked up to him. He was the father I never had for the year I studied with him. I think of him all the time and wonder what he would have done in my current situation. His teachings still guide me.”

Tears gathered in her eyes. “He would have been proud of what you’ve accomplished here, Jim. I know he really liked you. So did my brothers.”

“They were good guys, Gina. It was because of them that I ignored you. You were too young, but I couldn’t help but watch you. Your brother Paolo caught me looking once—just once—and he didn’t even have to say anything. He had that stone face of disapproval down pat. One look and I knew he didn’t like me watching you. After that, I made sure to keep my eyes to myself. At least when he was around.”

She grinned, remembering her eldest brother. “He sure could glare, couldn’t he?” A little laugh slipped out of her mouth. “Peter and I used to call it his death glare.”

“Peter was like lightning in a bottle. He had the fastest punches, blocks and kicks of anyone I ever sparred against. The only one I thought ever had a chance of beating his speed was you, Gina, when I watched you in the Olympics.”

“You were there?”

Jim nodded. “I was working a case in Prague, but I made time and bought scalper tickets at ridiculous prices to get in to most of your matches in Antwerp. You were poetry in motion. A credit to your family and one of the most elegant and commanding duelists I’d ever seen. You inspired a lot of kids to take up martial arts. I thought you were a great spokesperson for what was becoming a dying art.”

Gina was touched that he’d come to see her during the most important sporting competition of her life. Since those long ago days she’d fought more desperate battles, of course. The fights in the Olympic ring had been sparring only. Nobody really wanted to kill the other fighter. There were rules and a referee. Since the cataclysm, she’d learned how to really fight. Life or death, no holds barred, no referees and no second chances. She’d become harder. Faster. Tougher.

“I sometimes wish…”

“What?” His gentle tone coaxed her to speak.

“I wish I could go back to those simple days when a fight was for fun, not for survival.”

Jim sighed long and hard, turning back to scan the rails zipping by in front and underneath them.

“We all wish that, Gina. The trick is to not get caught up in dreams of what was. It’s good to remember, but unhealthy to dwell. We have to move forward, not back, not stay in place.”

“So that’s why you agreed to this journey? I was a little surprised you moved so quickly on the information I brought you.”

Jim looked at her, a smile in his eyes. “You’re not the only one who knows a precog. Tory isn’t completely sane with her talk of angels, but she’s been right about too many of her oddball predictions for me to ignore her. She’s been telling me for weeks, in her veiled way, that I was going to take a trip somewhere cold. Canada is north, therefore cold in Tory-speak. I figure this is the trip fate has in mind. It’s a bonus that I get to go with you—a ghost out of my past whom I thought long dead.”

“I’m not a ghost, Jim.” She didn’t like his wistful tone. He made it sound like she was haunting him—in a bad way.

“Yes you are, Gina. You were the girl I could never have. For all of Paolo’s death glares and all the respect I had for your dad and family, I still couldn’t help myself. I watched you when they couldn’t see. Even after I stopped training with your dad, I followed your career. I took time off from a vital national security case to go watch you win Olympic gold. I watched you from afar.” He didn’t seem pleased with the memories. “And now you’re not so far away anymore, and everything’s changed.”

“You don’t have to sound so happy about it,” she muttered. If this was some kind of declaration, he was really screwing it up.

“I’m saying this badly.” He turned in his seat to face her fully. “Gina, I can’t help my nature. I can’t help the need I feel to watch over you and make certain you’re safe. I know intellectually that you can take care of yourself, but the caveman in me wants to lock you up and make sure nothing ever harms you again.”

Okay, this sounded better. Her temper began to subside as he bared his innermost thoughts.

“When this trip is over, I want you to come live with us in Colorado. Your family is gone, but I’m here and I want to take care of you, Gina. I need to take care of you.”

Well. She didn’t know what to think about that. Did he mean like a sister? Or something more? She couldn’t tell from the earnest look on his face, and he didn’t even try to touch her. Did he want to be her lover or just her friend?

She thought she could handle the former, but being only a friend would drive her batty after the pleasure he’d shown her. She sensed that had been only the tip of the iceberg of what could be between them—if he wanted her. And that was a big if from the way he was looking at her.

He didn’t look like a man declaring undying love. Then again, he didn’t even look like a man who wanted to get into her pants. He sat there looking more like a friend and that depressed the hell out of her.

“We’ll see.”

“Gina…” He almost growled at her, and she knew he didn’t like her answer.

“Look, Jim. You have a duty to your people. I have a duty to mine. The Zxerah are my family now. The Patriarch looks after us. He sent me here and after this mission is complete, I have to report back to him. In all likelihood he’s already plotting where to send me next.”

“Is he your lover?”

The accusatory tone surprised her. Maybe he was thinking in more intimate terms after all. He sure sounded jealous, but she wasn’t able to read him that well. Still, she had to laugh at the idea of her and the Patriarch as a couple.

“He’s good looking enough, I suppose, but if you ever meet him, you’ll understand why that idea is ludicrous. The Patriarch is even scarier than my dad was. He’s the best martial artist I’ve ever met, and he’s the nearest thing to a holy man—like those old Tibetan monks, or the Dalai Lama, or something—that you’ll ever meet. He’s a force of nature. And completely out of my league. Besides, he’s Alvian. He has no feelings, though I’ve seen him struggling to understand.”

“You’re close to him,” Jim accused.

“He’s a good friend and an insightful leader. I’d follow him to the ends of the Earth and so would any member of his clan. He inspires that kind of loyalty.”

“Sounds like a cult leader,” Jim scoffed.

“Not on your life,” Gina was quick to defend. “Every member of the Brotherhood is there because they want to be. We chose life with the Zxerah, and there’s definitely no mind control or drugs involved. We don’t have to worship the Alvians or even agree with everything they say. We’re free among them, and they protect us from their fellows.”

“So what’s in it for them? Why did they take you in? They could have just left you to rot or be captured by the goon squads.”

“It’s not the Zxerah way to let other beings suffer.”

“And yet they’re assassins.”

“Some are, yes. And I’ll admit that’s the main value the Council sees in keeping the Brotherhood around. But even when they are sent to kill, they do it swiftly and silently. There is no honor in making a being suffer unnecessarily.”

“Are you an assassin, Gina?”

The look in Jim’s eyes was bleaker than she expected. The thought that he’d believe she could be so cold made her realize he didn’t really know her at all. Not the woman she’d become or the values she still held close to her heart.

“None of the human Zxerah have ever been asked to kill. We won’t do it. For that matter, only a very few of the Brotherhood—those who are already part of the Alvian military machine—have ever been sent on such missions. As a general rule, the Council doesn’t rub out every thorn in their side with a bullet. They have a lot of political muscle they can bring to bear on those who dare oppose them.”

“You stick up for them. Gina, I don’t understand how you can feel safe with them. They’re aliens.”

She had to find a way to make him understand. Too much was riding on gaining his—and eventually all humans’—understanding of Alvians and how they could all live together.

“Soldiers are different from most Alvians, and Zxerah are a cut above that. It has to do with their genetic lines. Soldiers were left with the echoes of aggression that was completely obliterated from the rest of the population. They can almost feel. It makes them question and think more deeply than the worker bees in the city. They want to understand. I think it’s because they’re kept separate from the rest of the population. All that time for introspection and study. Many of the soldiers are well read and highly educated. They’re the thinkers of Alvian society, regardless of what the scientists believe.”

“You know a lot about them.” Jim’s tone was neither accusing nor warm but she figured at least he was listening.

“I’ve been with them a long time. I was the first human to encounter the Patriarch and his men, not long after the Alvians landed. I was the first to be invited to their compound, but certainly not the last. Human martial artists often join the Brotherhood, but no human is turned away from the clan. The clan protects the weak and helpless, the workers and the nurturers, so the Brotherhood can perform its tasks.”

“Who decides what tasks they perform?”

“The Patriarch.”

“And who pulls his strings?”