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- Herausgeber: Next Chapter
- Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
Books 4-6 in R.S. Penney's 'Justice Keepers Saga', a series of science fiction novels, now in one volume!
Relativity: Anna and Jack are on a mission to recover a piece of technology from the mysterious Overseers, the aliens who scattered humans on planets throughout the galaxy. With the device's strange effects on the human mind, Anna races to Tennessee to retrieve it, while Jack travels to Leyria to make contact with a professor who studied the Overseers. As they uncover the secrets of the Overseers, a vengeful Wesley Pennfield returns to Earth, complicating their mission and endangering their lives.
Evolution: A campaign of terror is underway on Earth as Justice Keeper Grecken Slade seeks to control the mysterious Overseer technology known as the Key. Jena Morane leads a resistance against Slade, while Jack Hunter and Harry Carlson search for the ciphers that will unlock the Key's secrets. But something ominous is lurking on the edges of space as the Overseers return after ten thousand years, signaling a shift in the galaxy's fate.
Dirty Mirror: In the aftermath of their worst defeat, the Justice Keepers retreat as a new threat arises. Melissa Carlson, a Justice Keeper trainee, finds herself caught up in a terrorist group's plans to upend the peace of Leyria. Meanwhile, her father Harry struggles to adapt to the changing world around him. In this exciting new installment of the Justice Keepers Saga, Jack Hunter launches an investigation to uncover traitors among their ranks, shaking up everything readers thought they knew about this epic space opera.
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JUSTICE KEEPERS SAGA
BOOKS 4-6
R. S. PENNEY
Copyright (C) 2023 R.S. Penney
Layout design and Copyright (C) 2023 by Next Chapter
Published 2023 by Next Chapter
Cover art by CoverMint
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author's permission.
CONTENTS
Relativity
Prologue
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Interlude
Part II
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Evolution
Prologue
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Interlude
Part II
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
Dirty Mirror
Prologue
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Interlude
Part II
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
About the Author
RELATIVITY
JUSTICE KEEPERS SAGA BOOK IV
PROLOGUE
Harry leaned against the wall with his arms folded, frowning at Jack. “You cannot be serious,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. “You think we should give weapon's tech to Earth's governments?”
This meeting had gone on for the better part of an hour while Harry filled them in on the latest political quagmire. The poor guy was stuck trying to force several different law-enforcement agencies into playing nice. It had been a simple suggestion – nothing more – but he could already tell this wasn't going to go over well.
Jack winced, pressing a knuckle to his forehead. “I'm dead serious,” he insisted, backing away from the other man. “Look, I'm not suggesting that we give them guns or death spheres, but some of the defensive tech like force-field generators…”
Anna stood beside him with hands clasped behind her back, tilting her head up to stare at the ceiling. “I'd like to note that I'm against this plan,” she said. “Defensive tech can very easily be turned into offensive weaponry.”
“Yeah, but-”
“Children,” Jena cut in. “No fighting.”
The leader of their little group sat on the edge of her desk with hands resting on her knees, directing a scowl into her own lap. “Every suggestion is worth considering,” she added. “That said, I think Anna has a point about-”
She was cut off by the door chime.
“Open,” Jena shouted.
The double doors slid apart to allow Harry's daughter Melissa to stumble into the room. The girl was hunched over with a hand pressed to her stomach, gasping as if she had just run a marathon. “Bleakness take me, girl,” Jena said. “You look like you've just seen a ghost. What is it?”
“I know…” Melissa gasped. “I know. I understand.”
“You know what?”
A wince twisted the girl's face into something painful to look at, and she stood up straight with some effort. “I know what Grecken Slade is planning.”
Jack spun around to face her.
Those words made him feel like someone had just flicked him right between the eyes. How could a high school student possibly know that? But the sincerity in her voice made it clear that she believed it.
He shuffled over to the girl with hands shoved into his pockets, keeping his eyes downcast. “Okay, Melissa, let's just take it slow,” he began. “How exactly do you know what Slade is planning?”
Melissa looked up at him with sweat glistening on her face, blinking slowly as if she'd never seen a grown man before. “Raynar showed me,” she whispered. “The other day when I visited him in his cell.”
Chewing on his lower lip, Jack shut his eyes tight. “Yeah, that makes all kinds of sense,” he said, nodding to her. “Melissa, I know you believe it, but that boy could have put any fantasy into your head.”
“It's true, Missy,” Harry added. “Anything he imagines he can force into your mind with very little effort.”
“My name is Melissa!”
The girl bared her teeth like a feral beast, hissing and seething. She backed up until she was standing in the doorway. “I know how telepathy works, but I'm telling you this is real! I felt it!”
With a heavy sigh, Jena got off her desk and paced across the room with her head down. “Okay,” she said with more patience in her voice than Jack would have expected. “Let's hear her out.”
“Really?” Harry asked.
“All suggestions are worth considering.”
They took a few minutes to get Melissa settled, offered her a chair and a glass of water. She seemed grateful for it, and Jack couldn't help but feel a little guilty for the way they had so casually dismissed her. Whatever the girl had seen, it had left enough of an impression on her to make her scramble through the hallways of the station in a frenzy. That alone made it worth giving her their undivided attention.
Anna was down on one knee next to Melissa's chair, smiling up at the girl. “You okay, kiddo?” she asked with surprising gentleness in her voice. “Would you like a few more minutes to collect yourself?”
“No,” Melissa insisted.
Jena leaned against the opposite wall with hands on her thighs, refusing to look up. “Let's get started then,” she murmured. “What did Raynar show you, Melissa? And how would he know Slade's plans?”
Melissa scowled into her drink. “Slade would visit that station on Ganymede.” She took a sip of her water, slurping as she tried to force it down. “While he was there, Raynar probed his thoughts.”
“And what did he see?”
The girl heaved out a shuddering breath, trembling as she tried to find the words. Clearly, she was nervous, but Jack couldn't say why. Maybe she thought they wouldn't believe her. “Slade is looking for something called the Key,” she said at last. “It's some kind of Overseer technology.”
Tossing his head back, Jack felt his brow furrow. “Well, at least it's not anything original,” he said. “I find it reassuring to know that the bad guys are sticking to the classics.”
Anna glanced over her shoulder with a glare that told him he should shut the fuck up right now. “So what is this Key?” she asked, turning her attention back to Melissa. “A device of some kind?”
“No, the Key isn't a thing; it's a place.”
“Do you know where?”
Closing her eyes, Melissa let her head hang. She brushed a lock of dark hair away from her face. “I don't,” she mumbled. “Somewhere on Earth, but I can't be any more specific than that.”
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. “Well, that makes things difficult, doesn't it?” he asked, moving forward to join them. “So have we decided how credible the young telepath is?”
Jack noted that he didn't say how credible his daughter was. Poor Melissa looked so shaken; her father seemed more skeptical than anyone else here. Fathers…Doubting you is what they do best.
“The Overseers have left remnants of their technology behind,” Jena said softly. “Places where the ancient Leyrian tribes could speak with the 'spirits of the great ones.' We later realized these were holograms.”
“But no such places exist on Earth,” Harry said.
Jack paced over to the door with his arms folded, heaving out a deep breath. “We don't know that,” he countered. “Just because we haven't found them doesn't mean they aren't there.”
Melissa looked up at him with admiration in her big dark eyes. She blinked a few times, then turned her attention back to the others. “I believe Raynar,” she said. “I know that I can't offer you anything more than my word, but I trust him.”
“And I trust you,” Jena said.
She stepped away from the wall with a groan, shaking her head as she made her way across the room. “I trust everyone on my team,” she added. “So, from now on, we make this a priority. Anna, you and I are going to go through every Leyrian religious text we can find and search for any reference to something that might fit the description of this Key. Jack, Harry, do the same for your own people. It's likely that some of Earth's creation myths are at least partially inspired by the Overseers. Melissa, I want you to meet with me regularly and describe everything that Raynar showed you in exquisite detail. Any questions?”
“Yeah, I've got one,” Anna said. She turned to stare up at Jena with apprehension on her face. “Doesn't anyone else want to know what this thing does?”
“It doesn't matter what it does,” Jena said. “If Slade wants it, it can't do anything good. So what do you say we find it first and have ourselves a little game of keep-away? Sound fun to you? Good, let's get started.”
(Three months later)
At the very bottom of a stairwell, she found a door bathed in the flickering light of a fluorescent bulb on the wall. An electric buzz filled the air to the point where it almost seemed like sparks would crackle.
She pushed through the door and stepped into a parking garage where concrete pillars supported the ceiling and bright lights shone down on the yellow lines of dozens of empty parking spaces. There were few cars here, and she couldn't detect a sign of any other living soul. Nevertheless, she was apprehensive. She hated parking garages. Every time she stepped into one, she heard the gunfire in the back of her head, remembered the hulking metal giant ripping her people to shreds.
Aamani Patel let out a sigh.
As usual, she wore a black pantsuit with a gray blouse and kept her black hair tied up in a clip. It took some effort to make herself move forward, but she managed to do it without any visible delay. Projecting confidence was crucial.
Closing her eyes, Aamani took a deep breath. It happened almost four years ago, she thought with a nod. You must put such fears behind you. There are much larger concerns in the here and now.
Her car – a blue Honda Civic – was parked alone in a row of empty spaces, facing the wall to her left. The paint job still glistened after two years, but that was the result of conscientious care. What was the point of owning a thing if you wouldn't take care of it?
She deactivated the alarm.
Pulling the driver's side door open, she slipped into the car with a soft sigh and let her body relax. After the day she'd just endured, it was tempting to let herself fall asleep right here. Her car made her feel safe.
Then she noticed it.
In the rearview mirror she saw the silhouette of a man in the back seat, a man who sat poised and calm like a wolf waiting to gobble up some poor defenseless little bunny. The only thing she could say for certain was that he had long hair. “Don't be alarmed,” he said when he realized that she had noticed him.
Aamani drew her pistol from its underarm holster.
She twisted around, pointing the gun in his face, and used the dome light to reveal her unwelcome guest. He was a tall man with Asian features and black hair that fell over his shoulders. “Grecken Slade,” she said.
He smiled, bowing his head to her. “I didn't know if you would remember me,” he said, leaning back against the seat cushion. “We have much to discuss, Ms. Patel. I think we could be of great use to each other.”
She shoved the tip of her gun in his face, and he didn't flinch. Not even a bit. “The only thing we have to discuss is whether you can use one of your Keeper tricks before I pull this trigger. I'm thinking no.”
“Look to your left.”
She did so and found a metal briefcase that he had left in the space underneath the glove box. “What's this?” she asked with disdain in her voice. “Some attempt to win me over with a bribe?”
“Open it.”
Keeping the gun on him, she reached over and set the briefcase on the passenger seat. She undid the snaps and pulled it open to reveal…pistols. Six of them stacked side by side. These were weapons identical to the one she had once seen Anna Lenai use.
Aamani frowned as she stared down at this treasure trove. “Leyrian weapons,” she said softly. “Your people have always been adamant that you would not share defensive technology. Why the change of heart?”
Grinning like the devil himself, Slade closed his eyes and tilted his head back. “It's called an exchange, Aamani,” he teased. “I thought someone raised on this planet would be familiar with the concept.”
“And what do you want in exchange?”
“Information.”
The tip of her gun was just an inch away from his nose, and yet he didn't seem to mind. Should she pull the trigger? Aamani had been briefed on the incident with Slade some months ago. He was persona non grata among the Justice Keepers now.
She could end his miserable existence here and now and still take the weapons. Her people could analyze them and learn how to make more. An alliance with this man would not end well; she was sure of that.
The grin on Slade's face only widened as he sank into the cushion. “I can see the calculations in your head,” he said, staring up at the roof. “Should you kill me and just take the weapons? You're welcome to try.”
Meaning she would fail.
Worst of all, she believed him. There was no doubt in her mind that if she tried to kill him, they would find her bloody corpse somewhere in this garage tomorrow morning. That left her with very few options.
Aamani turned her back on him.
Closing her eyes, she thumped her head against the seat cushion. “So what kind of information do you want?” she asked in a breathy whisper. “I am no longer in contact with your former compatriots.”
“Nothing so prosaic.”
He leaned forward between the driver and passenger's seat, smiling like a madman. “I want you to keep me up to date on the political climate in your country,” he said softly. “Do that, and I will see that you are well-compensated.”
“Why would you want such information?”
His burst of soft laughter made her feel as if she had just amused Satan himself with a very stupid question. “Let's be blunt with each other, Aamani,” he said. “You don't approve of my people's presence on your planet, and most of us don't want to be here. It should be clear to the galaxy by now that there is no Overseer tech on this benighted little world. We can leave.”
“And you believe you can help me achieve this goal?”
“With your cooperation, yes.”
“Very well,” Aamani hissed. “Tell me what you want to know, and I will see what I can do.”
The cargo hold of the tiny ship that had carried him across the galaxy was cramped and packed with empty crates pressed up against the walls. There was just enough space in the middle of the room for a SlipGate.
The seven-foot-tall metal triangle stood silent and ominous, the sinuous grooves on its surface beginning to glow with eerie luminescence. Even though he fully understood the technology, anything of the Old Ones always left him a little uneasy.
Wesley spun around, turning his back on the thing.
The bubble formed around him, making every crate and box in this room seem to ripple as though caught in the heat of an August afternoon. Half a second later, he was yanked forward, pulled through an endless tunnel.
The bubble slid to a stop, and he found himself in a spacious room with hardwood floors and cream-coloured walls that had been decked out with African tribal masks. A single man stood demurely with hands folded over his waist, head bowed in respect. Of course, he was blurry to Wesley's eyes.
The bubble popped.
“Mr. Pennfield,” Gilbert said. “It's good to see you.”
Wesley felt his lips curl, then nodded to the other man. “I've been away too long,” he said, making his way across the room. “After four years, I'd imagine that things have fallen apart around here.”
Gilbert blushed, hanging his head as if it were a matter of personal shame. “Your company was dismantled after your departure,” he murmured. “However, most of your wealth was spread through the accounts of numerous aliases. We can resume our work at your convenience.”
“Excellent.”
“Are you well, sir?”
Pressing his lips together, Wesley stared up at the ceiling. He blinked through the lenses of his glasses. “Four years, Gilbert,” he said softly. “Four years exiled from this world and forced to witness Slade's bumbling incompetence.”
“The Key, sir?”
Wesley turned on his heel, making his way toward a door in the wall with his hands shoved into his pockets. “We will find it first,” he replied. “And when we do, we will be favoured by the Old Ones.”
He pushed the door open to reveal a large balcony ringed by an ornate stone railing. In the distance, he saw palm trees standing like shadows under the starry sky and heard waves crashing on the beach. Oahu was a truly beautiful at any time of year. This place would do until he could find a more permanent residence.
After four long years, Wesley Pennfield had come back to Earth.
The sun was high in the clear blue sky, shining down upon a field of yellow grass that stretched on for several dozen feet before ending in a chain-link fence. Beyond that, the back parking lot of James Polk High School stood in the shade of the towering three-story building.
Lifting a cigarette to his lips, Kevin Harmon closed his eyes and took a puff. “Bad enough I had to waste three days on this stupid project,” he muttered. “Why do I have to be the one to dig the hole?”
He turned around.
Amanda Simmons stood in front of him with her hands folded over her belly, her head bowed in respect. She was a pretty girl in a white, short-sleeved sundress with flowers on the skirt.
Her face was a perfect oval of pale skin framed by curly dark hair that fell to her shoulders. “Miss Sutherland said it was extra credit,” she mumbled. “She said burying the time capsule was a privilege.”
Kevin shut his eyes, turning his face up to the morning sun. He felt sweat prickle on his skin. “You want the credit even more than I do,” he muttered. “How 'bout you go dig the damn hole?”
Of course, the question left her flustered, and she backed away from him to show her discomfort. The answer was pretty straight forward when you took a minute to think about it: Amanda wouldn't be digging the hole because she was a girl. This was a very conservative school in a very conservative neighbourhood. Some things never changed.
He didn't bother saying as much.
A tall boy in ripped jeans and a t-shirt that seemed to hang off his body, Kevin was considered good looking by most of the girls at this school. He'd even seen Amanda cast the odd glance in his direction when she thought he wasn't looking. A few days working side by side with her made him realize that he actually enjoyed the attention. Only one problem: he was black, she was white, and this was a very conservative school.
The day was getting warmer with every passing second, and he very much wanted to get back to the cool, air-conditioned building. Miss Sutherland said that she would be along any moment now, but he saw no reason not to get started. He picked up the shovel.
Kevin had been the one to suggest burying the time capsule here. This small field behind the school was a hot spot for social activity. There was always someone sneaking back here for a cigarette or few minutes alone, and come lunch time, this area would be teeming with bodies until some teacher came along to make them all disperse.
There had even been cases of couples sneaking out here to have sex. Why anybody would do something so stupid was beyond him; this little patch of grass was in full view of anyone who came out the school's back entrance. People just seemed to gravitate to this spot. Even now, with most of the student body in class, he had been forced to chase away a couple preppies who had come out here to make out.
Digging the trowel of his shovel the ground, he uprooted a chunk of dirt and grass and tossed it aside. Already he could feel fatigue, but he kept digging. If he finished before Miss Sutherland returned, they could skip to the part where she said her little speech and then head back inside.
Amanda stood just a few feet away with fingers laced behind herself, refusing to look up at him. “We should probably wait,” she said softly. “Miss Sutherland would want to be here for this.”
Next to her, the large metal box that contained a few non-functioning iPods, some teen magazines and a poster of Holly Bop sat untouched in the grass. He couldn't wait to leave the thing buried under three feet of dirt.
Wincing hard, Kevin wiped sweat off his brow with his fist. “You could help,” he said with a little more venom than he had intended. “Go back to the Janitor's Room. You should be able to get another shovel.”
Amanda wilted.
He shoved the trowel of his shovel into the dirt and deepened the pit by a few more inches. His muscles were starting to ache, but the damn thing was almost large enough to hold the box. Just a few more minutes.
His shovel hit something squishy.
Scooping a bit of dirt up with the blade, he flung it aside to reveal…something. It looked like a thin layer of skin with pulsing veins. What in god's name was it? He should have been frightened, but instead, he was curious.
Dropping to his knees in front of the hole, Kevin let his head hang. “Holy crap,” he said, scrubbing a hand through his short dark hair. “Amanda, go get a teacher. Someone should take a look at this.”
She turned and ran.
Kevin touched the sheet of skin with his fingertips, marveling at the soft, smooth texture. He would have expected something rough or slimy, but it wasn't like that at all. On some level that he couldn't understand, it felt like it belonged to him.
The skin began to rise, curling up on itself until it formed a sphere about the size of a tennis ball. When he picked it up, he realized that it was solid all the way through. This thing was…alive.
The ball lit up with soft white light, growing brighter and brighter until it seemed as if he held a small star in his palm. It flared once, then went dim again. Something about it tugged at him. This thing was his; he knew it. He had to get it away from here, had to put it someplace safe. He took off at a run before anyone could spot him.
PARTI
1
Morning sunlight came in through the window along with a breeze that made the curtains billow, leaving a square of radiance at the foot of the bed. The sweet scents of spring filled the room.
Anna pressed her cheek into the pillow, squeezing her eyes shut. “Not yet,” she grumbled, rubbing her nose with the palm of her hand. “I was having the nicest dream I've had in months.”
Bradley was lying next to her.
Her boyfriend was a handsome man with dark stubble on his jawline and black hair that he wore cut short. “What were you dreaming about?” he murmured, staring up at the ceiling. “Kicking terrorist ass?”
Anna sat up.
Hunching over, she scrubbed both hands over her face and ran fingers through her cherry-red hair. “You, of course,” she said, hoping that he didn't notice her hesitation. “I was dreaming about taking you to Leyria.”
She got up and stood on the carpeted floor of her bedroom in white shorts and a red tank top. “I wanted to show you the Calassarin Cliffs,” she added, stretching to work out the kink in her back.
In her mind's eye, she saw him sit up and glance out the window. “So what's on the agenda for today?” he asked. “It's been a few weeks since you've gone on a mission.”
“I know,” she said. “It's making my skin itch.”
He got up and made his way to the window in nothing but a pair of old track pants. “Does that mean you're going to be working on that special project of yours?” he asked. “Are you ever gonna tell me what it is?”
A sigh escaped her when she considered the question. He was talking about their search for the Key. In the last three months, she had been called up to Station Twelve for any number of secret meetings. It was hard for Bradley not to notice. She could sense his curiosity every time he did.
Closing her eyes, Anna let out a breath. “I wish I could,” she said, spinning around to face him. “Sorry, hon, but secrets are a part of the package when you date somebody like me. I'm not trying to keep you in the dark.”
He turned and stood before the window with hands in his pockets, smiling down at the floor. “No big deal,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Guess you'll be going to the park for your morning workout?”
“You know me so well.”
She loved him for that, his unconditional trust. He wanted to know the truth, but he wouldn't push. Very few people were lucky enough to find a partner like this. “Yeah,” she added. “I'm craving a little fresh air. I think I'll see if Jack's up for a little sparring.”
“Have fun.”
The jungle gym in the small park behind their apartment complex was a tall metal monstrosity with two towers connected by a bridge. A slide emerged from one, and the other had a slanted roof.
The air was warm on this April morning with only a few gray clouds in the bright blue sky. Thankfully, there were no children about – most would be in school at this time – and they could use the equipment freely.
A sloping hillside ran up to the back of their apartment building, and there were already spectators gathered there to watch the show. These regular sparring sessions had become a source of entertainment to the other tenants.
Anna stood with fists on her hips in gray track pants and a black tank top, staring up at the playground equipment. “The game is 'don't touch the ground',” she said with a nod. “First one to touch the ground loses.”
Next to her, Jack wore a similar outfit.
He smiled, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “If you insist,” he said, shuffling over to the base of one tower. “But I've gotta warn you I was playing on these things when I was a kid. Ever heard the phrase 'home court advantage?'”
“Ever heard the phrase 'cocky boy meets girl's shoe?'”
Anna paced through the dirt with her arms crossed, sighing softly. “I'm pretty sure I can keep up,” she said. “You just worry about me scuffing up those pants with my inevitable victory.”
Anna jumped.
She somersaulted through the air, then uncurled to land on one of the railings that surrounded the bridge. Perched like a cat, she took a moment to inspect her surroundings. The roofed structure would do nicely.
She jumped, hopping across to the opposite railing, then leaped again. Flipping in midair, she landed on the slanted roof with a loud grunt. In her mind's eye, she saw Jack coming up behind her.
He sailed right over her head – propelled by a light Bending – and landed crouched at the peak of the roof. “All right, let's do this,” he said, standing up straight. “Those folks came to see a show.”
He spun around to face her.
Anna kicked at his stomach.
Jack flung one hand out to strike her ankle and knock her off balance. He stepped forward, then delivered a mean right hook to the face. Silver flecks danced in her field of vision. Anna fell backward off the roof.
Flipping upside down in midair, she grabbed the bridge railing and rose into a handstand. She flipped upright to land on the bridge, and focused on Seth's attempts to heal the damage. With Slade and those who followed him possessing symbionts of their own, she would have to be ready to fight enemies who could match her strength and skill. These sparring sessions were designed to be full-on training. She had insisted that Jack treat it like a real fight, which meant real injuries.
He landed on the bridge beside her, spinning around to face her with his fists up in a boxer's stance. “You doing all right,” he asked, striding toward her. “I really don't want to hurt you.”
He threw a punch.
Anna ducked, allowing the blow to pass right over her. She slipped past him on the left, then flung her elbow into the soft spot over Jack's shoulder blades. That earned her a grunt and made him stumble.
Spinning around, she seized his shirt in both hands. A light Bending made her skin tingle, but she was able to warp the fabric of space-time around him. Jack flew upwards and sideways, over the bridge railing.
He changed direction in midair, yanked as if by a tether toward the set of monkey bars a few paces away. He landed down on one knee, head bowed as if in prayer. Through her connection with Seth, Anna could sense the Bending he had crafted.
She hopped up onto the railing.
Anna leaped and used a Bending of her own to carry herself across the wide gap to the monkey bars. “I'm doing quite well,” she said, landing perched on a metal bar. “How about you?”
Jack stood on one bar with his feet apart, arms hanging casually at his side. “I'm a little thirsty,” he said, nodding to her. “But I'm thinking it won't be long until I can take a quick breather.”
He came at her.
Anna jumped, spinning in midair for a hook kick.
When her foot hit nothing, she knew she was in trouble. She dropped onto the bar just in time to see Jack rise up in front of her. He seized the front of her shirt and gave a hard shove, throwing her off the structure.
Anna fell backward with a squeak. The only way to save herself at this point was a Bending, and she wasn't of a mind to stress Seth any further. When her ass hit the ground, she let out a groan of pain. Damn him! When exactly had Jack become so good at this? It must have happened while she was away.
He dropped to the ground in front of her, landing in a crouch with his head down. “Looks like I win,” he said. “Don't worry, Anna. You're still way ahead by the numbers.”
Clenching her teeth, Anna winced. “Yes, I am,” she said, turning her face up to the open sky. “But I've got to give you some credit: you're getting really good at this. I guess my training really paid off, huh?”
“Somehow you still make it about you.”
“Naturally.”
Jack stood up with a groan. He shuffled over to her, muttering under his breath the whole way. “Come on,” he said, offering his hand. “Let's go get cleaned up. I think we've both had enough for one day.”
She let him pull her to her feet.
Turning away from him, Anna reached up to brush a few strands of hair out of her face. “I have to run a few errands,” she said softly. “You want to meet me this afternoon, and we can go over the research?”
He shuffled backward with hands shoved into his pockets, clearing his throat with some force. “Sure.” Though she didn't draw attention to it, she knew that Jack felt a little uneasy about the idea of full-contact sparring. It wasn't because she was a woman – he had outgrown such antiquated attitudes – but she was his friend, and punches were reserved for enemies. “I've got to head out to Winnipeg to see my mom anyway.”
“Cool,” she said. “See you later.”
“Okay.”
Anna turned partway, glancing over her shoulder with a warm smile. “Hey, Jack,” she said, eyebrows rising. “Good match.”
The dark waters of the Ottawa River stretched on before her, flowing underneath a bridge that connected the city with Gatineau. On the shore, a path of black asphalt ran parallel to the river, and joggers kept running past.
She spotted Gabi sitting on a bench and staring out at the water, her long dark hair falling to the small of her back. The sight of her left Anna feeling a little uneasy. Why did the woman have to choose this spot of all places for their lunch date? Was this the same bench where she and Jack had shared their first kiss?
Anna approached with hands clasped behind her back, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground. “Hello there,” she said, taking a seat next to her friend. “So you finally came out for a little fresh air.”
A warm smile bloomed on Gabi's face as she stared out at the water. “The weather has finally become tolerable,” she said with a nod. “Something that a civilized person might actually want to experience.”
“What's your grievance with winter?”
“It exists.”
Tossing her head back, Anna rolled her eyes in frustration. “Well your fear of snow made you miss out on the skating,” she said, slouching down on the bench with her arms crossed. “I think Jack would have liked it if you'd joined us for that.”
Gabi chuckled, hunching over with elbows on her thighs. She covered her mouth with one hand. “He probably would have,” she admitted. “But I maintain that if a place gets cold enough for water to freeze, humans have no business living there. So how are things with Bradley?”
“Pretty good.”
“I see,” Gabi murmured, “and note the lack of detail.”
Anna closed her eyes, hanging her head in chagrin. She touched two fingers to her forehead. “He's starting to get curious about my work,” she replied. “Things I can't really tell him about.”
In the distance, a seagull swooped low over the river, then changed direction and took off toward the shoreline with wings flapping. It really was a beautiful day; winter could be fun – and she did like to bundle up – but it was nice to go outside without shivering. “How do you handle it?” Anna asked. “You must have had partners who asked about things you can't discuss.”
“Many times.” Gabi said. “My ex-girlfriend Elana was notorious for her avid curiosity. She was a fashion designer that I met when I was working on Salus.”
“What did you do?”
“I find it's best to get creative,” Gabi explained. “The next time he asks a question you can't answer, try casually changing the subject to something that you know he'll find interesting; he'll probably be quite eager to talk about that instead.”
It made her feel a little odd, thinking that she had to keep things from her partner; she had always imagined a relationship based on total openness, but what could she do? Knowledge of the Key wasn't something she could share with just anyone. Perhaps this was why so few Keepers ever settled down.
She was about to say as much when her multi-tool beeped. Lifting her forearm, she slid one finger across the screen on her gauntlet, answering the call. Jena's face filled the window. “Get up here now,” she said. “We have a situation.”
“On my way,” she said. “I'm sorry, Gabs. It seems we're going to have to do lunch another time.”
The other woman glanced over her shoulder with a bright smile, her eyes twinkling in the bright sunlight. “Quite all right,” she said. “Whatever it is…good luck. Sounds like you're going to need it.”
2
The gray light of an overcast morning came in through the large window above the kitchen sink, leaving a slight sheen on the linoleum floor. Dark cupboards lined all four walls, and the fridge rumbled like it might start coughing up smoke at any moment.
Dressed in jeans and a black polo shirt, Jack leaned against the cupboards with his arms folded. “So you like the place?” he asked, surveying the little apartment. “Must be weird living like this again after twenty years.”
His mother stepped into the kitchen with a cardboard box held in both hands, her honey-coloured hair in a state of disarray. “The peace and quiet makes it all worthwhile,” she said, setting the box on the table. “Honestly, this is the first time in years that I haven't felt like I had to walk on eggshells.”
“I can't argue with you there.” Just thinking about it made his chest tighten. “So how's Dad taking the separation?”
“Well enough.”
“That bad, huh?”
Crystal let her head hang, slapping an open palm over her nose. She ran her fingers through her hair. “He keeps going on about the degradation of family values,” she said. “Apparently women having the right to leave a bad marriage is a sin in the eyes of God or something like that.”
It made anger bubble in Jack's chest, white hot rage that burned through his veins like acid. The man pushed everyone away with his scathing criticisms, then complained when he ended up alone. Twenty damn years of never feeling adequate in that man's eyes was enough to relieve him of any urge to earn his father's approval.
Summer offered comfort.
Jack hopped up on the counter and sat with his hands on his thighs, hunched over as he let out a sigh. “You know you're going about this all wrong,” he said. “Most TV moms would have guilted me into helping by now.”
Crystal turned her back on him. “I can handle a few heavy boxes, my dear,” she said, marching over to the open doorway that led to the living room. “Just stay and keep me company.”
She stood there with fists on her hips, surveying the mess of unpacked knickknacks she had left on the living room floor. “Having somebody to talk to eases my stress,” she said absently. “Every time I call Lauren, she asks me why your father and I can't just sit down and work it out.”
“Lauren's an idiot.”
“Nathaniel Jack Hunter!”
Jack felt his face grow warm, but he found the will to keep talking. “I'm sorry, but it's true,” he insisted. “She was always more concerned with looking like a happy family than with being one.”
Crystal's shoulders slumped, and she leaned against the doorframe like a wilting flower. It saddened him to realize that he had just upset his mother, and it made him angry to realize that the source of her frustration was the fact that she agreed with him. It had always been that way in his family: Jack and his mother vs Lauren and his father. Not that Lauren didn't occasionally have her own spats with the old man, but more often than not, she wanted to smooth things over, which suited Arthur just fine.
Jack decided to let the conversation die and watched as his mother went into the living room to resume her work. One thing he had learned over the years was that when Crystal was upset, she needed a few moments to work things out on her own.
He had left a tablet on the counter beside him. A Leyrian tablet: which was to say a large piece of SmartGlass that had been synced to his multi-tool. Picking it up, he tapped the surface to pull up the page he had been reading.
The dossier of a professor appeared in white text, complete with a picture of a man with dark olive skin and gray hair in the upper right-hand corner. Dr. Aldin Nareo was an academic who had dedicated his life to studying the Overseers. He had authored fifteen peer-reviewed papers on the subject. It was safe to say he was Leyria's foremost expert on the Overseers. If anyone knew how to find this Key, it was him.
Three months of searching, and they had come up empty. Anna had scanned the Earth four times in a fly-by with her shuttle; there was no sign of Overseer tech anywhere. Not anything large enough to be detected from orbit, anyway. It occurred to him that Slade must have tried the exact same thing on numerous occasions, and too many scans would be conspicuous. That left them with no option but to comb through ancient texts, and that was getting them nowhere.
His mother returned a moment later, carrying yet another box. “So when do I get to meet this new girlfriend of yours?” she asked, setting it down on the table next to the first one. “I hear she's quite the woman.”
“As soon as I can get her to come down here.”
Crystal looked up at him with lips pursed, blinking as if confused by his response. “You realize that's not a good sign, right?” she inquired. “That your girlfriend isn't eager to meet your family.”
“I'm not sure Gabi would call herself my girlfriend.”
“I see.”
Their conversation was cut short by a beep from his multi-tool. “Transfer call to tablet,” Jack said with a little more roughness in his voice than he would have liked. Why did everyone always want to talk about his personal life?
The screen lit up with a close-up of Jena as she sat behind her desk. “I need you up here now,” she said, leaning closer to the camera. “We have a situation on our hands, and it's gonna be ugly.”
He stepped through the door to Jena's office to find Anna already there, facing the desk with her arms folded. Something in the atmosphere radiated tension. Jack began to worry that Slade might have done something.
Jena sat behind the desk with her chair turned so he saw her in profile, frowning at the wall. “That's two out of three,” she said, swiveling around to face him. “Now we just have to wait for-”
Harry came through the door behind him with hands shoved into his jacket pockets, an angry scowl upon his face. “Sorry I'm late,” he muttered. “I was driving Melissa to school when you called.”
Which meant that he was arguing with Melissa. The two of them had been at each other's throats lately, ever since she had become more involved in their search to find the Key. Leave it to the Overseers to screw up everything right down to the love between a father and daughter.
“It's fine,” Jena said.
“Still…”
Crossing her arms, Jena leaned back in her chair to stare up at the ceiling. “About an hour ago, we picked up a signal from a small town in Tennessee.” The low grunt that passed through her lips made it clear that she was feeling pretty stressed right now. “Only one thing gives off that kind of signal: Overseer tech.”
Closing his eyes, Jack let his head hang. He touched two fingers to his forehead. “Which means Slade will have picked up the signal too,” he said. “The bastard probably has someone on the way already.”
“Spot on.”
“All right, you might have to spell this out for me,” Harry said. “I thought we scanned the planet multiple times and found nothing.”
“Overseer tech can remain dormant for centuries,” Jena explained. “But when it's unearthed, it sends out a signal to broadcast its location. Presumably this is a fail-safe of some kind, a way for the Overseers to recover whatever they had lost. Sunlight is one of the things that can trigger reactivation.”
Anna stood by the desk with arms folded, her face tight with anxiety. “My people have developed the technology to detect these signals,” she added. “Which means Slade will have detected it as well.”
“Do we know what this thing does?”
Jena leaned forward, setting her elbows on the desk's surface. She buried her face in her hands. “No we don't,” she muttered. “And we won't find out until we locate it, which means this is our number one priority.”
Something occurred to Jack, something that had been tickling his brain for the last few minutes and only now jumped to the forefront of his consciousness. “Why are we the ones being assigned to this case?” he asked. “Our division handles eastern Canada. Why isn't someone from Station Eleven taking this?”
Jena threw herself back in her chair, pressing the heels of her hands to her eye-sockets. “Larani Tal gave this one to us,” she said. “We got this assignment because she knows for certain that we aren't working with Slade.”
Jack puckered his lips and blew out a deep breath. “And anyone else might be,” he said, shaking his head. “What a glorious world we live in. Is now the appropriate time to reaffirm my faith in the glory of Almighty God?”
“All right,” Jena murmured. “Let's get-”
“Wait,” Jack cut in. “There's something else.”
He swiped a finger across the touchscreen of his multi-tool, bringing up the main menu. Then a few quick taps accessed the holographic imaging software. “I've done a little research on my own.”
The dossier of Professor Aldin Nareo appeared above his outstretched hand, crafted from transparent light. “This man's an expert on the Overseers,” he explained. “So far, we haven't had any luck finding the Key. Maybe it's time we brought in a little outside help.”
Spinning around, Harry paced over to the wall with hands thrown up in frustration. “How far are we going to take this?” he snapped. “We've been searching for this Key for three months with zero results. Am I the only one who wonders if that's because it's not there to be found?”
Gritting his teeth, Jack squinted at the other man. “Yeah, because this is all about the logic,” he said, stepping forward. “This couldn't possibly have anything to do with your need to smother your daughter.”
Harry turned halfway around, glancing over his shoulder with a snarl that belonged on a wounded lion. “Don't you talk to me like that!” he growled. “What the hell would you know about what I'm-”
“Enough! Both of you!”
Jena was on her feet in half a second, casting thorny glares at both of them. “If this keeps up, I'm going to put you both in the med-bay,” she said. “Seems like you've got a severe case of testosterone poisoning.”
A heavy sigh exploded from her, one that made her deflate like a balloon that had lost its air. “Jack, do you really think this professor could give us some insight on how to find the Key?”
“I do.”
“Then congratulations, you just earned yourself more work.” Jena dropped into her chair and began trailing her fingertips across the surface of her desk, bringing up various menus. “You think this man knows something about the Overseers? I want you to make contact. Get a sense of who he is and decide if we can trust him before you give him any crucial information.”
“Got it. I'll make the call.”
“No,” she said. “I'm booking passage for you on a starliner. You'll go to Leyria and make contact yourself. Slade got away because he rigged up our computer systems with a bunch of back-door commands. I don't trust any call to be secure.”
Pressing a fist to her mouth, Anna squeezed her eyes shut. She cleared her throat quite audibly. “If someone has to go to Leyria, it should be me,” she said. “Jack doesn't know the culture as well as I do.”
A frown put creases in Jena's forehead. “Maybe,” she said with a quick bob of her head. “But he's a little less trusting than you, and I want him to put those keen instincts to good use. You're going to Tennessee.”
“Where I get to be the fish out of water.”
Planting her elbows on the desk, Jena laced her fingers and rested her chin on top of them. “You're the one with a mind for technology,” she replied. “If anyone can track down whatever they unearthed, it's you.”
Jack backed away from the desk with his arms crossed, his eyes downcast. “Just a thought,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “But if I have to go to Leyria, it might be better if I don't go alone.”
The bright smile on Jena's face could have melted the permafrost. “Good point,” she said. “So I guess it's your lucky day. You and your girlfriend just won an extended vacation to the Capitol.”
3
A dirt path cut through a forest where trees stood tall on either side, their branches providing shade from the fierce afternoon sun. The sound of birds chirping filled the air, and every now and then, she caught sight of a squirrel.
Anna stood on the path in jeans and a dark blue t-shirt with white sleeves, her face shielded by the bill of a baseball cap. “Can't imagine why they sent me down here,” she said for Seth's benefit. “The girl who's likely to piss everyone off with her big mouth.”
He responded with amusement.
The path stretched on for several dozen paces, but she saw light at the end, a place where the forest gave way to a field of yellow grass. Her multi-tool directed her to move onward, toward the coordinates where the Overseer device had sent its signal.
Anna closed her eyes, tilting her head back. She took a deep breath through her nose. “At least we'll get a little fresh air,” she muttered. “Better than a day spent filling out forms at my desk.”
A few minutes later, the path ended in a wide open field that stretched on to a chain link fence, and beyond that, she saw the back wall of what appeared to be a school. The small group of teenagers who hid in the shade, sharing cigarettes, were her first clue. So, the device had been unearthed by high-school students; that might pose a problem.
About ten feet from the fence, she found a hole where the ground had been recently disturbed and a shovel that had been abandoned. Whoever dug up the device must have taken it and ran.
Anna approached the hole.
Dropping to her knees in front of it, she inspected it carefully before scanning it with her multi-tool. You could never tell how Overseer tech might react. “How long do you think it was down there?” she asked her symbiont. “How many centuries passed before someone decided to dig here of all places?”
Inside the hole, she found nothing but dirt. There was no sign that anything out of the ordinary had ever been buried here, nothing that she could detect with her naked eye, anyway. Seth, however, was quite apprehensive. Some Nassai preferred to have a more open relationship with their partners, but her symbiont was something of an introvert. For her to feel his concern so strongly…It didn't bode well.
Thrusting her left fist into the hole, she said, “Multi-tool active!” The metal disk on her gauntlet responded with a soft chirp. “Run a level three scan. Highlight any biological or technological anomalies.”
The tool began its work.
Anna winced, rubbing her nose with the back of her fist. “Whoever took this thing could be anywhere by now,” she said, leaning forward to peer into the hole. “Assuming they're still alive, of course.”
Her multi-tool beeped, and the screen on her gauntlet lit up with bright text. It was as she had suspected; the scan had detected cellular residue consistent with that found in Overseer devices. Well, that settled it then. Not that she had expected any other results – the signal given off by Overseer tech was unique – but it was best to be thorough. A few years as Jack's best friend had left her with a propensity to assume that nothing was quite what it appeared to be on the surface. She had yet to decide whether that was a good thing.
With the presence of Overseer tech confirmed, the next step was to figure out who had dug up that hole. Not an easy task in a school with several hundred students, but she had an idea of where to start.
Sunlight through a pair of rectangular windows was split into thin bands by blinds that were left half open, silver rays falling upon a rectangular table that took up most of the space in the staff room. The sweet scents of spring filled the air, and Anna picked up the sound of birds chirping in the distance.
Miss Sutherland was a tall woman in a black pantsuit who sat at the table with her head down: a truly beautiful creature with dark hair that spilled over her shoulders in thin ringlets. “I'm sorry,” she said. “Who did you say you were again?”
Anna leaned against the wall with arms folded, sucking on her lower lip. “Special Agent Leana Lenai,” she said, pacing across the room. “With the Justice Keepers. Your principal told me to speak with you about Kevin Harmon.”
The title was still new: granted to her less than two months ago in recognition of her success in recovering the telepath Keli Armana. Anna wasn't sure she would call it a success; the incident had almost resulted in an interstellar war.
Miss Sutherland looked up with a tight frown, creases lining her forehead. “I told them not to start digging until I got out there,” she said. “I would have been there sooner if I hadn't caught Paul Rutherford dealing pot.”
Anna lifted her chin to stare down her nose at the woman. “Are you assuming that I'm trying to place blame?” she asked, eyebrows rising. “'Cause I can assure you that I'm not. I just want to know where those kids might have gone.”
The teacher shook her head in dismay. “I honestly don't know. Kevin's a good kid, but he's got a history of truancy.”
“And he took off?”
“He was gone by the time we got out there.”
Well, of course he was. Overseer tech was something of a wild card. Sometimes it did nothing – nothing they could detect, anyway – and sometimes it had a strange effect on the minds of anyone who got near it. The SlipGates were relatively safe; researchers on her world had studied them extensively before implementing them as a mass transit system. There was no evidence that traveling through SlipSpace had any influence on human behaviour, and every paper claiming otherwise had been discredited.
SlipGates, however, were something of an anomaly. For one thing, they were made of metal when most Overseer technology was organic in nature. It was almost as though they had been designed for human use.
Shutting her eyes, Anna tilted her head back. “We need to find him right away,” she said, nodding once. “There's no way to know what he dug up or what it might do to him if he holds on to it for too long.”
“It can't be that bad, can it?”
Anna dropped into a chair near the table, crossing one leg over the other. She stared into her lap for a long moment before saying anything. “We've seen Overseer technology produce serious health defects in people who were exposed to it.”
The other woman studied her with a scowl that could crack rocks, shaking her head as she considered Anna's words. “Can't you do something?” she snapped. “You have all this technology to watch us from orbit.”
“We don't watch you from orbit.”
“But-”
“No sensors are so precise that they can find a single individual among tens of thousands.” She let out a soft sigh, trying to contain her frustration. “We can scan for thermal signatures, electrical signatures, radio signals, but we are not omniscient.”
A low groan escaped the other woman, and she hung her head, grabbing two fistfuls of her own hair. “I understand,” she said with forced emotional composure. “Do whatever you can. If Kevin shows up here, we'll call you.”
It wasn't very hard to figure out what Miss Sutherland was thinking; no doubt she blamed herself for not being there when Kevin dug up the device. Anna felt nothing but sympathy, but she had no time to indulge the woman's guilt. “What about the girl?” she asked. “Principal Jensen said there was a girl working on the project. I believe her name is Amanda.”
“She went home.”
“Why?”
Miss Sutherland looked up with sweat glistening on her face. “Amanda was a little frightened,” she explained. “She didn't get a good look at whatever Kevin had dug up, but his reaction scared her. We called her father, and he insisted that she be excused for the rest of the day.”
Anna got out of her chair, folding her arms as she stood over the other woman. “All right then,” she said with a quick bob of her head. “I'd like to talk with Amanda. Can you give me her address?”
“I'd advise against it.”
“Why's that?”
“The girl's father is a school board trustee with some very conservative opinions. He dislikes Leyrians; he sees you as foreigners interfering in Earth's affairs. I doubt he'll let you speak to Amanda.” And there were no legal grounds for Anna to enter the man's house. Brilliant. Finding out what Amanda knew, even if it was very little, was crucial, but if the girl's father stood in the way…Perhaps it would be best to wait until tomorrow. Amanda would be back at school, and Anna could speak to her without fear of any parental obstructions.
“I recommend talking to the other students,” Miss Sutherland went on. “Some of them are friends with Kevin. They may have some insights.”
Taking the woman's suggestion proved to be a fruitless enterprise. She interviewed several students who were often seen with Kevin Harmon, but none of them were able to tell her anything specific, and one young man who couldn't be more than two months shy of graduation decided to try his luck by hitting on her. There were days when a Keeper's youthful face was more curse than blessing.
