Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ian was not someone who was easily surprised.
Ever. Vanthex had managed to shock him to his core.
He did not understand the mechanics of how Vanthex’s apparatus worked.
If it was able to extract an organic sample from him so easily and identify Obsidian Montero’s hidden surname in mere seconds… well, that was a huge problem.
Ian had never felt so utterly exposed and vulnerable. He didn’t like it.
Beyond the fact that he needed to find out how many more of these “unique” devices existed in the universe—because they could cause a lot of problems for a lot of people—the small piece of information that Vanthex had shared could not possibly be true.
He was the heir to the Montero birthright, whether he wanted it or not. And he really didn’t want it. Regardless, a species of alien he’d never heard of a week ago should not know that intimate information about him by merely sampling his blood.
While he did not relish his possible future or that legacy, the Montero name was the only one he knew. If it was not his birthright, then who was he?
Part of him thought Vanthex was just trying to pull one over on them. Yet he seemed so certain, so triumphant in his secret knowledge. No one should have known the name Montero or associated it with Darkfall.
He knew his reaction probably made him look like he was ruled by vanity. It was not that. He owed his secret life to the Montero name. It had opened doors that would have been closed to him, had he not been the son and heir of Ignatius Montero.
While he and his father had never gotten along, he couldn’t deny that the family name was important to how he’d come to be who he was.
If he wasn’t a Montero, he would never have met Luca or gone to the Royal Magistrate Guard Academy with him. He wouldn’t be Darkfall the Corrector, an undercover double agent who was always on the side of good, always locking criminals away.
If he wasn’t Darkfall the Corrector, he never would have met Ivy Olive Upchurch. That, more than anything, crushed his soul to pieces.
“I can see you mentally spiraling, Ian,” Luca whispered as they left the brig. “Don’t let that alien criminal spin you up. He’s a liar. He’s only saying what he has to in order to get out of the punishment he richly deserves.”
“What if he isn’t a liar? How could he possibly know the name Montero?”
Luca looked anguished. “Maybe he got it out of the deep recesses of my head.”
Ian put a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Regardless of how he acquired the knowledge, I must speak to Cmdr. Goddard or maybe The Calderian himself.”
Luca nodded. “Let’s find you a secure communication device to Alpha-Prime.”
He suggested as much to Diesel, who asked Wyatt to take Beryl and Jett to a specific conference room.
Then he led Ian and Luca to his office, where he had a direct link to Riker Phoenix.
Diesel initiated the call, explained the situation that had developed with Vanthex, then handed the device over to Ian and said he’d wait for them in the outer office.
Luca offered to leave, but Ian wanted him to stay.
It was foolish to want moral support through this difficult conversation, but if Luca had been the one making the call, Ian would have done it for him.
He pushed a button on the communication device so Luca could hear both sides of the conversation.
Ian said, “Sir, this criminal needs to disclose how many more of these mechanisms there are. I’m not certain I believe there is only one unique apparatus, as he claims.” He briefly explained how the alien had discovered his surname, a link that he’d thought deeply hidden and irretrievable.
“Obviously, I was mistaken about that. As loathe as I am to make a bargain with this entity, I don’t believe we have a choice. We need to know what he knows, what he can find out and how to stop him.”
The Calderian said, “I agree with your assessment. My suggestion is that instead of punishing him, you force him to become an ally.”
Ian stiffened at the very idea of this memory-thief being an ally.
“I know this concept will be difficult for you,” The Calderian said, clearly understanding his torment. “However, if we offer Vanthex some sort of an ambassadorship between our two planets, which could more accurately be defined as an informant situation, I think both planets could come out ahead.”
Ian did see the logic in that, no matter how much he hated the idea of this criminal not getting the full punishment he deserved.
“I’ll do my duty, sir,” he said. “I find your logic sound and it is better to have one’s enemies close versus out in the universe, ready to strike when least expected. My personal feelings are my own. I will deal with them accordingly.”
“Thank you. I will leave it to you, Luca and Diesel to construct the language of the bargain. I will contact Diesel later for the details. Once Luca’s memories are fully restored and you have the information you need regarding the location and number of these devices, both of you will escort Vanthex to Alpha-Prime for a debrief and confirmation of our bargain. ”
The two agents said, “Thank you, sir.” And The Calderian ended the call.
Luca said, “All right. I guess it’s time we went and made a deal with the devil.”
“Indeed.” Ian wasn’t certain he wanted to know the rest of the secret Vanthex held over his head, but he needed to buckle up and get ready for the crazy ride he expected he was about to take.
Wyatt left Beryl and Jett in the conference room while he took a call. Beryl dragged her brother to a corner and whispered a quick explanation of everything she had learned before he arrived.
“I suspect they’re going to want that antidote for the sticky glitter bomb. We are probably going to have to do some testing to make sure it works.”
Jett nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ll do whatever it takes. Are you okay?”
Beryl appreciated his question but knew if she answered it, she would start weeping. “I will be.” Liar. She might never be okay.
When Wyatt returned, they were all interested in talking about what Vanthex had to say about his planet, and the bizarre form of entertainment he claimed his people enjoyed—watching stolen memories.
Diesel walked in with Jake and Ian, who both looked grim.
“This is a secure room,” Diesel said once he’d closed the door and they were seated around the table.
“We can speak freely here. Or as freely as anyone is willing to. I have spoken to Riker Phoenix and while I’m certain he didn’t tell me everything, he confided enough that I understand Jake and Ian are not adversaries of our Earthbound agenda. ”
Beryl caught herself staring at Jake during the meeting more than once. Her gaze would start on Diesel, but as the conversation continued, it would slip in Jake’s direction. She couldn’t help hoping that he would look at her and remember.
But until Vanthex the Sparkle King put Jake’s memories back, the only interaction with her that he would remember was from the hospital, when she’d launched herself at him like some love-starved groupie rushing a rock star.
The kiss they’d shared had been amazing, but not like all the ones they’d shared before.
Not at all. And when she’d looked into his startled eyes, his unrecognition was as obvious as a tattoo on his forehead.
The realization that the man she’d fallen in love with was gone left her sick and brokenhearted.
Beryl managed to keep it together throughout the negotiations to secure what Ian called a devil’s bargain between Diesel, the Alpha-Prime Command Secret Service, Ian, Jake and, of course, Vanthex, the no-longer-invisible alien responsible for ruining her bond with the man she loved.
Jett sat beside her throughout the meeting. She appreciated his brotherly concern. She was glad it didn’t take too long before the deal was struck. Vanthex would likely never serve any time at a gulag, but he wasn’t getting off with no punishment whatsoever like he wanted.
When they presented the bargain to him, Vanthex agreed to accompany Jake and Ian to Alpha-Prime to speak to the leadership there.
It had been agreed that Vanthex would become some sort of an ambassador to represent his planet in all future dealings with Alpha-Prime.
Beryl thought that was a nice way of not calling him an informant.
For their part of the bargain, Jett whipped up the antidote. As proof of concept, he put a drop of the concoction on Vanthex’s hand. Immediately, the glitter dissolved from fingertips to above his elbow.
Wyatt was happy it actually worked without any scientific intervention from Mica or Gage and was eager to use it on his cruiser.
The deal had been struck. Vanthex the Sparkle King was led in shackles from the brig to a sterile room in the basement’s medical facility, where he could perform his magical memory retrieval procedure on Jake one last time.
Once Jake, Ian and Diesel left, Beryl told Jett and Wyatt, “I’m going home.” Without waiting for an answer, she headed for the nearest exit, which wasn’t close.
She had given it some thought in the hour or more she’d been trapped in the same room with Jake, who was not her Jake, and made a few decisions.
If the procedure worked and Jake did remember her, he was not, nor would he ever be, Jake Jones, human metalsmith who lived in Alienn, Arkansas.
Instead, he was some sort of secret law enforcement entity from Alpha-Prime. His life was on Alpha-Prime.
Her life was on Earth and it always would be.
Wyatt called out to her before she made it out of the basement.
She forced a sympathetic expression and waited, when all she wanted to do was run. “Did you lose the rock-paper-scissors battle with Jett to chase after me?”
Wyatt cracked a smile, as if surprised she’d figured that out. “No comment.”
Beryl knew what he was going to say, but allowed him to tell her anyway.