Chapter 20 Kian
KIAN
The mess hall's private dining section was starting to feel less like a temporary arrangement and more like their new normal.
The same was true for their room in the former director's house, and sharing it with Allegra was more fun than Kian had expected, even if he did have to step over her scattered toys to get to the bathroom.
It was cozy having her sleep between him and Syssi at night, but it precluded certain activities that Kian was looking forward to resuming when they got back home tomorrow.
Next to him, Allegra was making a mess of a stack of pancakes, her face smeared with syrup despite Syssi's frequent attempts to keep her clean.
"More syrup, Daddy!" Allegra demanded, pointing her fork at the bottle he'd pushed out of her reach.
"You have plenty." Kian gestured at her plate, which was swimming in the stuff. She might be immortal already with the metabolism to match, but too much sugar still made her hyperactive.
"More!" Allegra demanded and pushed up in her high chair to reach for the bottle.
"That's enough." Syssi intercepted Allegra's reaching hand. "You're going to make yourself sick."
Across the table, Kalugal chuckled while attempting to keep his own son from flinging scrambled eggs across the room. Darius had recently discovered the joy of food as a projectile, and Jacki was exasperated, looking at the mess he'd made.
"At least she's eating it instead of throwing it or wearing it," Kalugal said as Darius managed to get a handful of eggs in his hair before Jacki caught his wrist. "I don't know what has gotten into him. He's usually such a well-behaved little boy."
Phinas chuckled. "Like boys of all ages, he's trying to impress a girl."
Kian looked at Darius and realized that Phinas was right. Every time Darius managed to fling a piece of food before Jacki caught his wrist, he looked at Allegra with a little satisfied smile, and she smiled back at him, encouraging him to continue.
Syssi must have realized the same and shook her head. "We are going to have so much trouble with those two when they grow up."
"If you want, you can employ my services to compel your kids to behave," Drova said from the far end of the table where she sat with Jade and Phinas.
"Your job is to compel the recruits and the human workers," her mother said in a stern voice. "No one else."
"I know that." Drova rolled her enormous eyes, the typical teenage response looking out of place on her alien face.
"Don't you know when I'm joking? I swear, you are as bad as the Russians.
They have no sense of humor, and they are extremely difficult to compel, and given that I can compel immortals, that is saying something about how hard-headed they are. "
"And yet you still succeeded in compelling them, right?" Jade asked, ignoring her daughter's comment about her lack of humor.
"Of course, I succeeded." Drova's tone was indignant.
"But it took way more time and effort than it should have.
The other nationalities are easy. I can do them in groups, and it takes one command.
But the Russians..." She shook her head.
"They either have natural shields or learn as infants to distrust everything. "
"We've noticed the same pattern." Kian glanced at his phone again to check the time.
"Russians, and to a lesser extent people of Russian descent, are more difficult to thrall and compel than others.
It could be genetic or cultural—a learned skepticism bred by generations of living with constant government propaganda.
They learn to question everything the government tells them, so maybe it creates mental habits that translate into resistance against thralling and compulsion. "
"It's probably a combination of factors," Kalugal said. "Genetic predisposition enhanced by cultural conditioning. The brain is plastic, and it adapts to its environment. Constant vigilance against deception could strengthen neural pathways that make mental intrusion more difficult."
Drova crossed her arms. "Well, whatever it is, I can break through it. So, you can all relax."
Kalugal smiled indulgently. "No one doubts your ability, but if you encounter a particularly tough case, let me know. I'd be happy to assist."
"Assist?" Drova's eyes flashed red for a moment. "I'm a stronger compeller than you are. What can you do that I can't?"
"It's all in the phrasing." Kalugal crossed his arms over his chest. "I hope you are using the script I prepared for you and not improvising. You're strong but inexperienced, and it's very easy to leave loopholes."
"Of course, I'm using the script." She mimicked Kalugal's pose, folding her arms over her chest. "I'm not dumb."
"No one said that you are." Kalugal smiled at her, and there was more than a hint of condescension in his expression. "You are just a little too full of yourself."
She snorted. "Look who's talking."
Kian tuned them out and checked his phone again. Annani should have finished her call with Areana by now, and he was anxious to hear whether Esag's vision was true.
His phone buzzed.
Kian's hand shot to it before the vibration finished. The table conversation continued around him, but everything else faded as he checked the screen.
"Excuse me." He stood. "I need to take this outside."
Syssi's eyes met his, understanding and concern flickering across her face. She knew what this call meant.
Kian walked quickly through the main mess hall that had emptied while their group was having breakfast, and as he stepped into the morning heat, he looked for a shaded spot near the building's corner where he wouldn't be overheard.
"Hello, Mother." He sat on a pile of concrete blocks. "I assume you've spoken to Areana."
"I did."
"And?"
"She confirmed Esag's vision. Tula is pregnant. Nearly four months along."
It hit him harder than it should have since he'd been prepared for it. Four months meant time was running out. Soon, Tula would be unable to hide her condition. They needed to act fast.
"Have you told Esag?"
"No, not yet. You were the first one I called. There is a complication."
Of course there was.
"What kind of complication?"
"Areana is asking us to rescue four people, not just Tula, and not just Tula and Tony, but also Tamira and her partner Elias."
Had Areana lost her mind?
He'd already concluded that extracting even two was impossible, and she wanted him to extract four?
"I understand Tony. But why the other two?"
"Apparently, Tamira and Elias had been planning their own escape, and when Tula revealed her pregnancy, they offered to take her and Tony with them.
Areana stopped them before they could attempt it because they would have just gotten themselves killed trying, and she promised them to find another way off the island. "
Kian pinched the bridge of his nose. Areana must have made the promise in a moment of weakness, and he wasn't going to risk war with the Brotherhood because his aunt had made a promise she had no way of fulfilling.
"Extracting even two people is—" He stopped himself, remembering that Wonder was undoubtedly listening in. "It's much more complex than extracting just Tula using the same method we used to extract Carol."
"I know." Annani sighed. "But Areana has made the promise, and they are counting on us."
"A promise doesn't change the reality of what's possible." Kian made an effort to keep his voice gentle and not let frustration and agitation creep in. "The clan's involvement must remain a secret, not just to protect us but also to protect Areana."
"I am aware of the challenges, and I told Areana that it might be impossible.
I also told her that you and your team might come up with a creative solution.
All I am asking is that you do everything you can to devise a plan that can save all four.
If you explore all options and decide that it is not possible, I will inform Areana that we can only extract Tula. "
That was a reasonable approach, but he had already brainstormed with the team he had with him and had arrived at the conclusion that Tula would have to leave Tony behind. But he hadn't explored all the options. He hadn't spoken with Turner yet or told Onegus anything.
"I will do as you suggest and explore creative options, but in all honesty, I'm pretty sure that Tula is the only one we can get out of there."
"Thank you," Annani said. "Areana will try to call me this Saturday. Do you think you will have something for me by then?"
"I'll contact Turner and Onegus immediately, but I don't want anyone's hopes to be crushed when they confirm my assessment. You need to prepare Wonder for the likelihood that we can only get Tula."
There was a long pause, and Kian imagined his mother comforting Wonder.
"Do what you can," Annani said.
"I will." Kian checked the time. It was late in California, but not too late to contact Turner and the chief. "I'll keep you updated with our progress."
"Thank you, my son. Wonder thanks you as well."
He didn't want Wonder to thank him and get her hopes up, but he had learned a long time ago that he couldn't protect everyone he cared for from anguish.
After ending the call, Kian stood in the shade for a long moment, his mind running through Mission Impossible scenarios and dismissing them just as quickly.
He needed a damn miracle.
Pulling Turner's contact, his finger hovered on the call button, but then he decided to send a message instead.
It was late, the guy was probably relaxing with his pregnant mate, and a text was less intrusive than a call.
Turner could ignore the text and answer it the next day, while a phone call robbed him of that option.
I need your expertise on another island extraction. Areana's companion is pregnant and wants us to rescue her along with her partner and two others.
Turner's response came within thirty seconds. I need more details.
Kian's thumbs moved quickly across the screen, laying out the situation in a concise manner that Turner appreciated.
The return text arrived seconds later. Give me an hour to review. I will call you later with a preliminary assessment.
Kian pocketed his phone and stared at the ocean for a long moment. The island looked peaceful from here, tropical and pristine, all the action taking place elsewhere. It was hard to believe that Navuh's fortress was only about three hundred miles away.
Four people.
The number kept circling in his mind.
When he returned to the mess hall, he was surprised to see Allegra with a tall stack of new pancakes on her plate.
"Look!" She pointed proudly.
"Very impressive." Kian slid back into his seat, aware of the eyes on him.
"What's the verdict?" Kalugal asked.
"We have confirmation, but instead of two, we now need to come up with a plan for four."
Drova regarded Kian with those unsettling, too-large Kra-ell eyes. "Is someone in trouble?"
"Not everything is your concern, Drova," Jade said.
Having a powerful compeller was an advantage that Kian had forgotten to mention to Turner. He had no idea how they could utilize Drova's talent, but perhaps Turner would.
"I can help," Drova said. "I'm a trusted member of the team. You can tell me things now."
Kian nodded. "That's true, but we shouldn't be discussing it here."
Allegra chose that moment to knock over her pancake tower, sending syrup-soaked pieces across the table. The resulting chaos provided a welcome distraction as Darius laughed and Syssi grabbed napkins.
Those two would cause a lot of trouble one day.
Kian's phone buzzed again, and he checked it under the table.
Turner: Call me when you can.
"I need to make another call," Kian said. "It's regarding the same issue."
They all understood that even the private area of the mess hall wasn't safe for discussions of that nature, even though Drova or Kalugal had compelled everyone working on the island to keep what they heard and saw there a secret.
As Drova had pointed out, some people were harder to compel, and a few might be immune.
Kian walked outside, sat on the same pile of building blocks he'd sat on before, and called Turner.
"Four is impossible," Turner said without preamble. "Not under the parameters you outlined. One is doable."
Kian's stomach sank even though he'd expected exactly that answer. "I forgot to mention that Drova is here in Safe Harbor. I don't like using the kid on dangerous missions, but she has a compulsion ability that might even rival Navuh's. Perhaps with her, the impossible could become possible."
"What are you suggesting? That she arrives on the island with a megaphone and compels everyone to stand down?"
The way Turner presented it, it sounded ridiculous.
"Never mind. Run me through your assessment."
For the next several minutes, Turner laid out the logistics in precise detail.
"With Safe Harbor being so close, we might have been able to do the extraction without using a submarine and have the divers bring Tula to a yacht or some other vessel, but a sub is still safer.
If Navuh checks which ships were around his island at the time of Tula's so-called suicide, it is better if he can't find any threads leading to us.
Naturally, even a sub wouldn't be enough to hide our involvement if we take all four, and it would put Areana in great danger.
The only way this could be even remotely feasible is if Areana agrees to leave with them.
Navuh wouldn't have proof of our involvement, and even if he suspected it, it wouldn't matter as much with Areana being safe from him. "
There was no way Areana would agree to leave her mate, but Kian would ask Annani to bring it up with her. On the unlikely chance she would agree, though, they would need to prepare accordingly. Extracting five people from Navuh's island meant a much larger team of divers.
"If Areana agrees to go, we will need a large sub."
"I might be able to get a larger vessel," Turner said. "But the biggest issue is convincing Areana to come. Without her, there is no plausible cover story for four people disappearing from the island. At least nothing that I can think of."
Kian closed his eyes. "So, if Areana refuses, four is off the table."
"Correct. I don't like being the bearer of bad news, but that's just the way it is. I'm good, but I'm not a miracle worker."
Kian let out a breath. "Keep thinking on it. Maybe the Fates will whisper a good idea in your ear."