Chapter 3-1
2021 Words
Silver rays of morning sunlight streamed over a wooden fence, scorching the dew from a lush, green lawn. A flowerbed just beneath that fence was populated with roses and lilies and tulips in beautiful shades of red and pink and yellow. The sun hadn"t found them yet, but it would soon enough.
Harry was down on one knee in the grass, his head bowed almost as if in prayer. The symbolism wasn"t lost on him now that religion was becoming a major theme in his life. “You really outdid yourself, Mark.”
His mouth tightened, and then he shook his head in frustration. “No matter how hard I try, I just can"t make them grow like that,” he muttered. “But then I never had the time for gardening.”
Well, that wasn"t exactly true.
It used to be true. Two years ago, when he was still juggling the responsibilities of a cop and a single father, it would have been fair to say that he didn"t have enough time for gardening. But this last year on Leyria had been almost leisurely compared to the life he had known. His routine was pretty simple. He saw Claire off to school each morning, did a little light housework, cooked dinner in the afternoon – even though that blasted robot insisted on taking the job from him – and spent his nights with the girls.
usedTrue, there were several months in which he had been bedridden, and despite his resolution to stay out of it, he usually found a way to help with whatever Melissa was doing. But otherwise…He could have been a gardener if he wanted to.
“Maybe you should take it up,” a voice said behind him.
Harry stiffened.
His words had been private, meant for his ears only, but Mark must have overheard part of his lamentations. His brother"s footsteps in the grass were soft. Only a trained ear would pick them up.
Harry got up and turned around.
A tall man in blue jeans and a polo shirt, Mark stood with his arms crossed. He had a bit of a belly now that he was well into his forties – and the beard that stretched from ear to ear showed more than a few flecks of gray – but the muscles on his arms were as big as they had ever been. “Gardening might be safer.”
“It"s not really an option now, is it?”
“Isn"t it?”
With a tight frown, Harry turned his face up to the clear blue sky and blinked. “The aliens are gonna hold me to that deal, Mark,” he said. “I won"t put Claire"s life at risk. Not ever again!”
Mark began pacing a circle around Harry, pausing near the back fence. “Maybe you never should have made it,” he grumbled. “Deals with the devil usually end up costing a lot more than your soul.”
“So, I should have let her die?”
“I didn"t say that.”
“Well, then…”
Harry turned to face his brother and found the other man shaking his head with teeth bared. “You never should have taken her there in the first place!” Mark insisted. “Let"s review the sequence of events.”
“Okay…”
“A year ago, Melissa was accepted into the Justice Keepers" training program. You went to Leyria with her, and you took Claire. You told us all that they would be safer on Leyria, but while you were there, you involved yourself in the Justice Keepers" business, got yourself shot, used yourself as bait to trap the psychopath who nearly killed you in your own kitchen, brought Claire with you to a hostile planet and screwed around with her brain.”
Harry felt warmth in his face, and the single tear that rolled down his cheek only added to his shame. “Yeah, that"s accurate,” he admitted. “If you remove all the context and the reasoning behind those decisions.”
Mark strode forward until they were toe-to-toe. The intensity in his elder brother"s eyes made Harry brace himself for some harsh words. He had seen that exact same look every time he screwed up as a kid. “I believed you when you said that Leyria was a place where the girls could be safe,” Mark began. “I still believe that. But why do you have to keep chasing danger, Harry? Why can"t you just be a retired cop?”
still“Hello?” Melissa called out.
She emerged from the patio door in white shorts and a red tank-top, her black hair cut short in a bob. “I just got in five minutes ago,” she said, striding across the lawn. “Mom says hi.”
“And Claire?”
“Still with Mom.”
Harry shut his eyes, a heavy sigh exploding from his lungs. “Well, I guess it was too much to hope that she would come home,” he muttered. “How was Sasha"s barbecue?”
A tiny smirk was Melissa"s first response to that. “Eventful,” was all she said. “But I should probably tell you that Mom thinks Claire should stay here with her, and I think Claire is seriously considering it.”
“Over my dead-”
“Harry…” Mark cut in.
Turning away from both of them, Harry paced across the yard with his arms folded. “If Claire is really happier here,” he began reluctantly, “then I"d be willing to give Della full custody.”
When he finally worked up the courage to look, they were both staring at him bug-eyed, as if they had never seen him before. “That"s…very mature of you,” Melissa said. “I think Mom would be glad to hear it.”
Mark was smiling and nodding slowly as if he had always known that Harry would make the right decision. “It might be for the best,” he said. “I guess I should let the two of you chat. Harry. Agent Carlson.”
Melissa blushed every time someone used her new title, and this was no exception. She hugged her uncle, and then Mark was stomping back to the house, the patio door grinding as he ducked inside.
Standing awkwardly with her hands in her pockets, Melissa kept her gaze fixed on the grass. “I am never going to get used to that,” she muttered. “One day, I"m going to be interrogating somebody. They"ll call me Agent Carlson, and I"ll go beet-red.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that, all the credibility is gone.”
“You"ll be all right.”
“I hope so.”
It took even more courage to dig deep within himself and find the words he really didn"t want to say. “We never really talked about what happened on Antaur,” Harry said. “You must hate me.”
“I don"t,” Melissa assured him.
“Why don"t I believe that?”
His daughter gave him a hard-eyed stare that he knew would serve her well when she eventually did find herself in an interrogation room. “Because you"re a good person,” she replied. “Because you feel so guilty about it that you can"t forgive yourself. Because I now have irrefutable proof that you"re the kind of man who would sell his soul to protect his daughters, and since I happen to be one of those daughters, it"s hard not to love you.”
didyoube“You may not love me after I fulfill my end of the bargain.”
Gritting her teeth with a hiss, Melissa shook her head. “I wish you would just tell me what that is!” she pleaded. “You said it doesn"t involve killing anybody or betraying your friends or anything like that. So, what could possibly be so bad?”
“No,” Harry said. “I don"t want you anywhere near this.”
“But I could help.”
“No!” It came out as a growl, one so fierce Melissa actually took a step backward. Moderating his tone with some effort, Harry began again. “I am going to attract a lot of negative attention in the next few months. You have a promising career ahead of you, and I will not let you ruin it by attaching yourself to me.”
lotMelissa studied him with wide eyes. “Is that why you"re letting Mom take Claire?” she whispered. “So that she won"t suffer any of the blowback?”
“Being a good father is no longer a luxury I can afford.”
“What does that mean?”
Harry didn"t answer; he just went back into the house and left her to think.
Rajel stood with fists on his hips, listening to an ocean that lapped at the shore mere inches away from his bare toes. It was a hot afternoon, the sun beating down relentlessly from a cloudless sky. Gulls dove over the water, looking for food. And he could hear the sound of children playing in the distance.
Tilting his head back, Rajel closed his eyes and felt the sun on his face. “Beautiful,” he said. “A definite improvement over the endless drizzle of Denabrian winter.”
With spatial awareness, he sensed the approach of a small young woman with short hair. She came up behind him and stopped about three feet away. “You know, Leyria is a big planet,” Cassi began. “It"s always warm somewhere. You didn"t have to spend three days on a starship if all you wanted was sandy beaches.”
isHe turned to her.
Cocking her head to one side, Cassi studied him with her lips pressed together. “I had to come,” she went on. “Larani wanted me here just in case Jack needed some help wrapping up the investigation.”
hadRajel crossed his arms, nodding to her. “How is that going?” he asked. “I admit that I haven"t been keeping track, but I"m fairly certain it"s been months since you and Hunter made an arrest.”
“You"d be right,” she replied. “The last was on Velezia.”
“I always knew Roderick was crooked,” he muttered under his breath. “So, do you think you"ve weeded out the last of Slade"s agents?”
Unwrapping her sarong, Cassi handed it to him and then strode out into the water until she was submerged to her ankles. She seemed to be transfixed by something on the horizon. Rajel couldn"t say what. There were no horizons in his world. Only a fog that started about a hundred metres away from his body and got exponentially thicker the further you went. “It"s hard to say,” Cassi said at last.
“Let me guess,” Rajel said. “You"ve got no more leads, and there"s been no strange activity for a while now. The optimist in you wants to conclude that your work is done, but deep down inside you just know that you missed at least one of Slade"s people, and that person will reveal themself at the worst possible time.”
knowHe heard the distinct sound of splashing, and when he turned around, Cassi was right in front of him. “Yeah,” she said. “That"s pretty much it.”
“Pretty much.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
Cassi smiled, bowing her head and playfully brushing a lock of hair aside. “That"s funny,” she said. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”
He stiffened, retreating a step, and tried to ignore the flush that singed his cheeks. “You mean after my outburst yesterday?” he muttered. “I"m fine. I just…Getting to know Keli has been a very confusing journey.”
- Writer
