Chapter 43

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Claire clutched her leg and moaned in pain. The pellet had hit her outer thigh and blood drenched the leg of her pants. She didn’t think a bone had been hit, but she wasn’t nearly clear-headed enough to be sure. The warmth of her own blood shocked her, and the smell of it seemed to be the physical embodiment of the pain.

“You are continually without proper respect,” Faal said coldly, as if she were a student in need of a reprimand. “I have engaged in a pact of honor with your friend, and yet you ignore the implicit bindings of the game and place us both in a shameful position.”

Claire ground her teeth. “I didn’t make you shoot me. You are the one who violated the terms.”

Faal snapped his beak in anger and turned away from her. “Tie up the wound,” he told his guard. “Make it tight. I don’t care if she loses the leg, but she mustn’t bleed out.”

The Merith’s rough hands pushed Claire onto her back and she stifled a scream. He roughly wrapped a length of linen around her thigh and knotted it tightly. As he cinched the knot down, Claire did scream, unable to contain the burning pain.

She may have lost consciousness for a moment, but the guard was still crouched over her when she managed to open her eyes. On second thought, there seemed to be a lot more of Faal’s soldiers standing around. They must have come back down the elevator from the ship.

Yet another ground-car was arriving in their secluded cavern.

Only Sage was in it, and Claire was thankful that he’d not brought Juliet.

He emerged from the car slowly, taking in the visible weapons and positions of Faal’s guards.

He grimaced when he saw Claire. She instinctively raised a hand to tell him to go, and he flinched at the sight of her bloody fingers.

“Faal, while clearly not all the parameters of our deal have been upheld,” Sage gestured at Claire, “I am here to complete the trade in honor.”

“Where is the computer?” Faal asked.

Sage pointed to the rear of his ground-car. “It is in here, but I will not unlock it until Claire is in the car. I assume you wish some assurance...” he pulled Claire’s glasses out of his pocket and held them out to Faal. “The computer can communicate through the glasses.”

Faal looked impatient. “Yes, I know.” He took the glasses and held them up before his one, large eye. “Sentient being known as Akemi, confirm your presence.”

***

Akemi only needed a moment to orient herself. She’d expected something like this.

Faal of Merith II. I do so identify myself as Akemi, formerly human, and now sentient technology. I would like confirmation that Claire is here and well.

Faal didn’t answer her, but he instinctively looked at Claire. She lay on the cavern floor. A rough bandage was tied viciously tight around her leg, but the wound was still bleeding sluggishly. Claire’s skin looked waxy and slick, and her mouth was a thin line.

You hurt her! I was told that her safety was part of the deal!

Faal still didn’t answer her. He folded the glasses in one hand. “I am willing to complete the trade. Put Claire in the car.”

***

“But – ” Claire was shocked. “You’re really going to let me go?” She still wasn’t alright with trading Akemi for herself, but she’d never believed that Faal would honor his agreement in the first place.

Sage quickly came to her side and hoisted her to her feet. Claire tried to help with her good leg, but was indifferently successful. “Why are you letting me go?” she asked Faal, dizzy with pain as she leaned against Sage. “You wouldn’t...”

Faal’s eye narrowed with displeasure. “You know nothing of what I would or would not do, but you shall come to have a much better appreciation of my talents during your six months of freedom. Have you heard of the Merith death chambers? They have not been used extensively for two generations, but now that the Rik are without standing, I have fodder for a new campaign. And when I come for you at the end of your grace period, you will know exactly what is coming.”

Sage was dragging her to the car. He froze when Faal first spoke of the death chambers, but then resumed quickly.

Claire could barely take in the sense of his words, but as Sage opened the car, she saw the round bulk of Akemi’s computer in his bag.

“No... no!” she braced her hands on the edge of the car as Sage gently tried to slide her into it. “We can’t do this, Sage. She’s a person. He’ll torture her, or... or...”

“Or what?” Sage hissed, trying again to push her into the car without hurting her leg. “She’s a computer! He can’t hurt her the way he can hurt you. Damn it, the way he’s already hurt you.” Sage tried to pry her fingers off the door, but Claire wouldn’t let go. She tried to put her whole focus into her fingertips.

“Just wait!” she said. “Just wait a minute.”

Faal clicked his claws together. “If you think I will wait until...”

The quiet hum of yet another ground-car coming toward them interrupted Faal’s words.

It slid with breakneck precision into the cavern and stopped inches from Sage’s car.

With a rush of relief and something more, Claire saw that it was Basher. His Spo partner was with him, but she was disappointed that it was only the two of them. Basher knew how dangerous Faal was...

“Apparently you did not get away as cleanly as you thought,” Faal said. “I am tired of this, and begin to wonder if it is worth the effort.”

He tossed the glasses to Sage, who automatically caught them. Without his support, Claire’s good knee buckled and she slipped.

Two of the guards surged forward and pulled her away from Sage. One held her under the armpits and the other lifted her feet.

Faal nodded. “I will acquire the computer another time. Good day.” He turned toward the elevator and his guards retreated with him. The two carrying Claire stayed next to him and the others closed in behind.

***

 “You must stop,” Basher commanded. “It’s illegal to take a human captive or slave.”

The rear guards ignored him, except to hold their guns a little more fixedly in his direction as they backed to the elevator.

Basher looked at his partner and at Sage, and neither offered a sudden solution. He’d tried to decide the best way to deal with Faal, but Basher hadn’t expected for the alien to just ignore him and walk away. Once they were on his ship, Faal could take off almost immediately. Eventually they could get Claire back through legal proceedings... but what would happen to her in the meantime?

Basher had expected intrigue, or negotiation, or outright violence, but not this. Sage looked horrified as well. Basher had never expected to have that much in common with him.

There seemed to be some small delay while they got Claire onto the elevator, but Basher couldn’t see exactly what it was. He edged closer to them, his partner just behind.

He glanced back and saw that Sage had opened up the glasses and put them on.

“That’s right,” Sage was saying. “Faal changed his mind and took her anyway.... Yes. Alright.” He tossed the glasses underhanded to Basher.

Basher pushed them on his nose and continued to get closer to the elevator. He held his gun in both hands. He heard Claire give a sudden cry, and then the rest of the guards entered the elevator.

We have to save her. Throw the glasses to Faal.

“No.” The doors were starting to shut. “We’ll figure something else out...”

Akemi was angry now. She turned on the anti-theft protocol.

You idiot! Throw the glasses to Faal. You know it’s the only thing we can do in time.

“Ow!” Basher pulled the suddenly hot glasses off his face. Akemi was deadly serious if she’d start hurting him.

He hated himself for what he was about to do, but he knew that Akemi was right. The analysis of the situation didn’t take long – there were many ways to save Claire, but only one in the next thirty seconds.

“Wait!” Basher said. He threw the glasses into the elevator just as the doors slid shut.

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