T. A. Chase

Second of all, sad news yesterday. Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner, who broke down in The Preakness last year, was humanely destroyed. He was in too much pain and the vets had done all they could to heal him, but the odds were against him from the start. So raise a mint julep and toast a great champion.

On to what you’re really here for…lol.

Firebird copyright (c) 2007 TA Chase

Part Forty-Two:

Rue shifted, his nerves sparking. He prayed that this whole meeting wasn’t a trap. Vlatko had explained that if it was a trap, Rue was to escape while Vlatko held the Mitcovians at bay. Rue snorted. Like he was going to abandon Vlatko.

He shifted again, trying to find a comfortable spot for his sore ass. Vlatko had found entertaining ways to keep his mind off the upcoming meeting. His hand touched the bite mark on his neck. Vlatko’s mark. Letting the Mitcovians know Rue was taken. He glanced over his shoulder at Vlatko who leaned against the wall behind him. A faint smile graced Vlatko’s face and a slight wink made Rue laugh.

Allaigh entered first. “High Councilor Zalaigh,” he announced.

Rue rose to his feet, keeping his hands by his sides. The High Councilor entered and Rue felt small. The Mitcovians towered over him and were even several inches taller than Vlatko. He bowed.

“Mr. Thaday, only time will tell if it is a pleasure to meet you face-to-face.” Zalaigh held out an enormous hand.

Rue shook it and nodded. “The jury’s still out on you, Sir.”

“Please call me Zalaigh. High Councilor is only for when I’m making planetary decisions.” Zalaigh gestured to Vlatko. “Do you have a name?”

“Vlatko.” The assassin nodded, but didn’t move from the wall.

“Why that? The I.U.M. doesn’t name their assassins. They merely assign numbers.” Zalaigh sat in a chair facing Rue.

Rue sat. He didn’t know that Vlatko wasn’t the man’s real name. Of course, Thaday wasn’t his.
“It had meaning to me.” The tone of Vlatko’s voice said the topic was closed.

Zalaigh folded his hands in his lap and stared at Rue for a moment. “Allaigh says he saw the Councilor’s Heart in your partner’s possession when he first contacted us. How are we to be sure it’s the same stone?”

Rue held his hand out and Vlatko dropped the fire opal on his palm. The instant the gem touched his skin, it flared, bathing them all in orange light. “Is this your gem?”

Zalaigh’s hands were shaking as the Mitcovian reached for the opal. “I was afraid we’d never see it again.”

Rue closed his fingers around the Heart and handed it back to Vlatko. “Seeing will be all you’re doing until we talk to the scientist.”

Vlatko tucked the stone under the vest he wore, his dark eyes daring Allaigh to try and take it from him. Allaigh made a move towards Vlatko and Rue tensed.

“Allaigh, no. He’s right. The scientist you seek is me.” Zalaigh hid his hands under the table.

“You? That’s the reason why you couldn’t come with us.” Rue frowned. He hated complications and this was a major one.

“Yes. Before I became High Councilor, I worked as a research scientist. I was trying to invent or find new ways of protecting troops in the field. The liquid body armor was one of many experiments. I was still in the development phase of the armor when the I.U.M. offered my assistant a deal he couldn’t refuse. His child’s life for my formula. He had no choice and I place no blame on him.”

Rue figured it had to some thing like that. Zalaigh didn’t seem the type of guy who’d invent some thing that would endanger the very people using it.

“Did you know about the formula’s breakdown?” Vlatko asked.

Zalaigh nodded. “In a way, yes. I knew there was a fault in the formula. I couldn’t keep it stable. The atoms kept breaking down. I never imagined human blood would bind with it to stabilize it enough to keep the test subject alive for even a few minutes, much less forty years.”

Rue tapped the table with his hand. “Do we have a deal then, High Councilor? You swear to give us asylum and protection here on your planet and in return, we’ll give you back your Heart.”

“What’s to stop us from just taking it right now?” Allaigh commented.

“Me.” Vlatko moved to stand next to Rue at the table.

Rue’s lover stared at the Mitcovian security officer with an ‘I dare you’ smirk on his face. His hand rested on his belt next to the grip of the handgun. His other hand hung relaxed at his side.

“Even you can’t stop a unit of Mitcovian guards.” Allaigh’s words acknowledged Vlatko’s superior strength against one person.

“No, but I can kill the High Councilor before any of you kill me.”

Allaigh growled, but Zalaigh touched the officer’s hand and shook his head.

“I’ll give you something else if you swear.” Vlatko didn’t relax, but his offer told Rue Vlatko wanted to take the deal.

“What are you offering?” Zalaigh’s blue eyes studied Vlatko.

“I’m offering all the information I have on the I.U.M. It includes private internal memos sent between high-level commanders about some of my kills. I have enough shit to topple several planetary governments.” Vlatko squeezed Rue’s shoulder and smiled down at him.

“I swear on the Councilor’s Heart to give you shelter and aid until you die. We will protect you as if you were Mitcovians.” Zalaigh pressed his fist to his chest. “My promise is law for every living Mitcovian.”

“Good. I guess we just need to worry about the dead ones now,” Rue joked.