Part 13 (1/2)
Leonidas wiped his mouth and turned his face back toward her. She swallowed when she saw the fresh blood on the back of his hand. Three suns, he needed a regeneration tank, not a prison cell.
”I was reading some old scrolls when Abelardus left. He'd been at the head of the aisle, keeping a close eye on me. I a.s.sumed he was going to check on the doctor. About ten minutes pa.s.sed with nothing happening. I heard people coming in and out of the library, of course, but Abelardus did not return. Then I heard the sound of breaking gla.s.s-real made-out-of-sand-and-breakable gla.s.s, not glastica. Even though I could tell it had happened in a different part of the library from where the doctor was researching, I ran to look. The window, the one where you saw that hole in the wall, was completely smashed open, most of the gla.s.s knocked out. There was blood all over the carpet. You saw that.”
Alisa nodded, the first uneasy inkling entering her mind that Leonidas had been set up.
”I looked out the window-that tower hangs out over the parapet-and down to the ice. There was a big hole in the ice with blood smeared on the side.”
”Wait a minute.” Alisa held up her hand. ”A hole in ice that is so thick that the Nomad crashed onto it and didn't fall through?”
”The White Dragon s.h.i.+p fell through.”
”After you caused a huge explosion inside of it.”
”The ice isn't uniformly thick over the water.”
”Leonidas, n.o.body fell out of that window and broke through that ice. You've been set up.”
He sighed. ”I suspect that, too, yes. I pointed out the lack of a body to the first Sta.r.s.eers who ran in and started shouting murder accusations at me. They weren't interested in listening to me. I realized someone might want to get me out of the way so it would be easier to take the doctor's artifact. Or maybe someone wanted me out of the way just because he or she had a grudge against cyborgs.”
Alisa grimaced in sympathy. The more she traveled the system with Leonidas, the more she had seen that his kind were either feared or hated. It had made sense for the Alliance to fear cyborg soldiers, after the numerous encounters they had lost to the powerful warriors, but even former loyal imperial subjects seemed uncomfortable around him. Even his own family apparently was.
”As I said, they refused to listen to me. It didn't help that...” Leonidas glanced over, almost looking embarra.s.sed.
”That what? Can't they see into your mind? They should be able to see that you didn't do anything, right?”
”They see what they want to see, like anyone else. And... I did get into an altercation with Abelardus on the way to the library. There were numerous witnesses, and Alejandro had to shout in my ear to get me to let go.”
”Why? Was he trying to strangle you or hurt you with his mind?”
”Not exactly.” Leonidas sighed again and lay back on the ice, grimacing as he settled his body. One hand cupped the side of his ribcage. ”He was invading my mind, sifting through my memories, and using them to taunt me.”
”To taunt you? You couldn't... I mean, I'm n.o.body to judge, since I've been known to unleash my tongue at people who irk me, but I thought you were more mature than I am.” Alisa imagined Leonidas getting tired of dealing with insults and whirling to attack Abelardus. In front of witnesses who wouldn't have heard the insults if they were delivered mentally. They must have been some serious insults.
”Remember when I told you cyborgs have fewer physical weaknesses than normal humans but all of the same failings?”
”Yes.”
”It's true. I have a temper, just like anyone else. Besides... it was worth clobbering him.” A tight, vicious smile flashed across Leonidas's face.
”What did he say?” Alisa asked, knowing Leonidas was sensitive about being called anything less than human.
All trace of satisfaction vanished from his face.
”It's not important,” he said tersely.
”It was worth clobbering him over something that wasn't important?”
”Yeah.”
”You're not being that logical right now.”
”I know.”
Alisa waited to see if he might expound, but he remained quiet. She rubbed her face, then lowered her hand to ma.s.sage her throat. Her injuries were insignificant next to his, but her neck definitely felt raw and bruised.
”So some Sta.r.s.eers came in and saw you standing at the window next to the puddle of blood,” she said. ”What happened then? How did a hole get blown in the wall?”
He looked over at her, a hint of a smirk appearing on his battered face.
”Enjoyed that part, too, did you?” she asked.
”Not as much as I wanted to. The plan was to blow a hole in the ceiling and bring rubble down on all of them so I could escape. They had already plastered me to the wall and were holding me there with their powers while they discussed whether I should be killed outright for my crime or held in a cell. It was a surprisingly heated argument. You'd think they would believe in a trial of some sort, even for a cyborg...”
”I wouldn't be surprised if whatever pa.s.ses for justice here only applies to their own people.”
”The old man was there from the beginning, and he was the one lobbying for killing me. He's the reason I used the grenade launcher. He attacked me with his mind, and I could feel fingers wrapping around my heart, trying to crush it. I swung the weapon, not at him-I knew I'd be in extremely deep takka if I killed any of them-but at the ceiling. The idea of it falling in on them, maybe toppling some bookcases on them, was still a possibility. Then I could fetch Alejandro and get out of the library and back to the s.h.i.+p. It almost worked, but he realized my intent, and flung another attack, knocking my arm to the side. The grenade went toward the wall instead of the ceiling. It made a mess, but not the mess I'd hoped for. Everyone was still standing afterward-and blocking my way to the door. The old man used the incident for more ammunition for his argument, saying I was too dangerous to be allowed to live. Interestingly, two of the younger Sta.r.s.eers were arguing that it would be much more profitable for them to detain me.” Leonidas turned his head again, giving her a flat look.
”You should have answered your comm last night,” Alisa said. ”I heard from Mica that Beck was chatting with two of the Sta.r.s.eers he was feeding and that details about your warrant came up.”
Leonidas did not appear surprised as he digested that. Maybe he had already suspected. Alisa hoped it hadn't crossed his mind for a second that she had been the one to betray him.
”Do you know if he was openly plotting against me, or if the Sta.r.s.eers were merely extracting information from him?”
Alisa hesitated. She liked Beck and did not want Leonidas to hurt him-or worse-but if Beck positioned himself as Leonidas's enemy, it wasn't her fault. She was already protecting him from the mafia. Wasn't that enough?
As Leonidas gazed at her with pensive eyes, she found she couldn't truly contemplate lying to him here or withholding the information. She resented that Beck had put her in the position where she had to choose one of them to be loyal to.
”It is possible that he was coerced,” Alisa said, ”but you should know that he approached me back on Perun about trying to subdue you somehow to take you to Arkadius and turn you in for the reward. He thinks he could pay off the mafia with the money. I don't know if it ever went beyond speculation for him, but I could imagine a scenario where he saw the Sta.r.s.eers and their powers and believed they could nullify your cyborg abilities.” She licked her lips. ”I'm sorry. I should have warned you earlier.”
Leonidas touched a lump on his temple. ”If I survive this, I'll have a talk with him.”
”A talk?” Alisa asked warily, afraid for Beck even though Leonidas wasn't exploding with rage over the betrayal. ”Will it involve shoving his celery seed dispenser down his throat?”
”It might.”
He lowered his hand and closed his eyes. The ice had to be bitterly cold through the thin material of his T-s.h.i.+rt, but maybe he would lie there and sleep. Unlike Alisa, he probably had not gotten any the night before.
”Are you wis.h.i.+ng now that you hadn't been so obstinate about retiring after the war? Maybe that tropical island with the beaches and fancy drinks wouldn't have been so bad.”
”Maybe not,” he whispered, not opening his eyes.
She ought to let him rest, but she was reluctant to stop talking to him in case... in case.
”Before you left last night,” she said, ”you almost told me the one thing that would make you consider retirement.”
”I did,” he agreed, ”but I will not tell you now.” He lifted his head and eyed the camera briefly.