Regan's Reach 4: Avarice (35 page)

"Hilary, I heard her talking to you,
Charlie distinctly said how disappointed she was that you wouldn't be with her
in the same way in future; you know she wants you there."

"Yes Ham, but that doesn't mean . .
."

"Imagine how pleased she will be when
she realizes she doesn't have to be apart from you. And a tiny processor is
such a simple inclusion, merely an add-on, she'll be delighted."

"I'm not so sure about that Ham, you do
tend to just bowl ahead with these things."

"Look, I'm doing a procedure anyway,
I'll just include the processor as future proofing and if she has a problem
with it you can always vacate the premises - easy - and no harm done."

Hilary looked extremely uncomfortable.
"I don't know - Regan might not . . ."

"Hilary," he interrupted, "I'll
take full responsibility, and Regan understands these things after all, look at
how well it's worked out for her. You know I'm good at this and the chances
that something will go wrong are minimal."

"Ham, I really don't . . ."

"Hilary - it's decided. It would be a
waste of my time and effort to not allow for future upgrade. I'm doing
it."

"Who will help with the nursing?"

"That's all sorted, Jared will be in
attendance."

"Ham, I'm not sure that's appropriate,
does Regan know?"

"Are you mad? Of course not - now,
it's best you get back to organizing the disembarking with Lucas; you have
enough to do." And to her immense frustration, with a wave of his hand she
found herself dismissed from the room.

Damn! How does he do that?

* * *

Regan relaxed back into the Behemoth
transfer chair. Already she could feel the gentle pulsing of the massage
beginning and decided to delay for a few minutes while she enjoyed it. She
found no respite however, her mind continually drifting to Marin and Leah, and
Reubus.

[Are you ready Ham?]

[Regan, it is never me who is not ready.]

She smiled. [Let's go then.]

She closed her eyes, concentrated on the
coordinates, and in a process that was becoming as comfortable as dreaming she
jumped across the galaxy, to Gliese 667C and to Dahlia Orbital, all in the
twinkling of an eye.

* * * * *

Chapter Eleven

Hilary updated quickly from Regan's files
and then tried to help with what she knew. Unfortunately she had nothing to add
to the picture. Marin and Leah, as planned, had kept a low profile on arrival
in the Gliese system. All Hilary could confirm was that the Lazy Journey had
docked and unloaded freight and passengers at Fifino before moving on to Tihan.
She explained that she had kept her enquiries to a minimum rather than flag the
issue as too much interest might draw attention. Tihan had confirmed that some passengers
were transferred to the Leith compound on Fifino but he did not know their
identities or anything further about them.

Ham was disgusted. "What is wrong with
Tihan? He is such a pushover, I expected much better from him."

"How could he not know about Marin and
Leah?" Regan asked.

Ham shrugged. "Well, in some ways
that's understandable; I can run rings around anyone in this system as you
know, no offense intended to you Hilary." He nodded apologetically and she
smiled. "I could easily hide them and the saucer. What bothers me is that
Tihan would allow any visitors onto his Orbital without tracking them or
knowing who they were. It's not just ridiculous, it's downright
dangerous."

"I guess then we have to assume that
Aaron and his family could be anywhere."

"Not really, they are bound to be on
the compound."

"But where are they on the compound,
we can't just walk in there."

"Regan, we will find out
exactly."

"And how exactly will we do
that?"

"I'll ask myself of course. Do you
think I wouldn't be able to find my own ass in this system?" He laughed.
"In fact I suggest we jump there now, let's go see the love birds."

The comment came like a knife blow and
Regan looked at him sharply but before she could even think of a reply she
could feel the jump coming, Ham had control. As they snapped away she did however
catch the look on the face of the gracious lady; it was one of compassion, and
of concern.

[Where are we Ham?]

[Can't you tell? We're in the STEIN
Transport, and I'd saaaay . . . yes, we're parked pressed up against the hull
of Fifino Orbital, probably monitoring what's going on in the Leith compound,
at least I am, the others? Regan, I'm going to spend a few minutes updating
with myself and then I'll report back, okay? You can find something to do I'm
sure.]

And suddenly Regan had the sense of being
alone, if such a thing was possible in the cyber world. This was the transport,
so if they were here they could only be . . . Regan accessed the small cabin
just off control and sure enough they were there, spooning but not asleep.
About to materialize and say hello she instead stopped as Marin nuzzled Leah's
neck and nibbled at her earlobe. Leah smiled and turned her head slightly,
almost purring at his attention, and then she rolled on to her back. The small
bunk was restricting but such was their dance she had no problem and he slid
easily over her, huge compared to the relatively tiny woman. They said nothing,
and moved slowly as if savoring every movement. Leah reached between them to
position him and as their eyes remained locked he gently probed and Regan could
tell he was entering her, a slow smooth loving stroke that drew a gasp. It was
the look on Leah's face that broke her. Eyes closed, relaxed and blissfully
happy as she received him.

[They're not being very adventurous.]

[Shit Ham, don't sneak up on me like that.]

[I didn't sneak up; you were just
distracted doing your own sneaking.]

[I wasn't sneaking, I was just . . .]

[This is pretty vanilla when it comes to
sex don't you think?]

Regan didn't reply for a long moment as she
watched the two lovers continue to dance, to exchange gentle caring strokes of
pleasure and to delight in each other. [Ham, that just makes it harder to watch.]
And she was gone in a flash.

Ham followed the data trail to join her in
control with both taking their normal central chairs and for a while the two
avatars just looked at the big screen, lit up with the starscape view of the
Gliese system. Ham reached across the gap and stroked Regan's arm tenderly.

[Babe - you do spend a lot of time away
now, it's only natural that they might lean on each other, as we do.]

She ignored the comment. [So, what do we
know about Aaron and his family?]

[Regan, do you want to . . .]

[Come on Ham; let's keep to the important
things here. What do you know?]

Reluctantly Ham pulled himself back and
turned to the screen. Immediately he brought up a schematic of the Orbital,
zooming down and in, until she could see pinpointed a location close to the
main flight decks but apparently screened. [This is where they were taken apparently;
it's the compound of Leith, Moriah's cousin. He is also, it seems, an agent of
Reubus as we have established. Since they were taken there they haven't been
seen by Tihan and as the fool has allowed Leith to completely screen his site from
authorities he can't tell me any more.]

[But I gather you still know something.]

[But of course dear Regan, I'm in already
and reside there via several automatons that handle deliveries in and out of
the compound. Unfortunately there is no continuous feed as he has no cable
connection and only communicates via highly encrypted wireless data bursts;
however - I can tell you there is trouble.]

[And you know this - how?]

[I told you, via the deliveries in and out.
I'm passing messages backward and forward with myself whenever I can.]

[Just tell me what you know Ham; I get
tired of this teasing delivery.]

[O - K. Well, it's like this; Leith has
separated Ruben from Aaron and Moriah and he did it as soon as they arrived. They
haven't been able to see him since although I'm sure he's still in the
compound. They are distressed but other than that okay.]

[So what's Leith's game then?]

[I'm a Mind, Regan, not a mind reader.]

[Ham, so help me . . .]

[Regan, sometimes you're no fun at all, I'm
trying to get the most out of this.]

[Ham - this isn't some caper that you and I
are on, this is serious and lives could be at stake.]

[Well I still think it can be fun if we let
it, why should work be hard?] He could sense her mood and continued on quickly.
[Anyway, Leith is pressuring Aaron to confirm patent arrangements which will somewhat
strengthen his, that is Leith's hand. You know Moriah had already signed
letters of intent using her power of attorney; well, Leith wants Aaron's
official signatures as well and he's threatening action if Aaron doesn't confirm.]

[And by action he means what?]

[It's unclear to me at this stage, after
all I'm trying to work from a delivery shunt but as I say, he's separated Ruben
from them and I guess you couldn't get a more implied threat.]

[That's ridiculous, surely he wouldn't harm
Ruben?] But Regan did look troubled as she pondered the latest information.
[And Moriah is still happy with all this?]

[I'm not sure; you know she's hard to read
- but I do know she's been seduced, that's clear, and I think this latest twist
is a shock to her.]

[Can we trust her?]

[It might be a risk; she was certainly trying
to manipulate Aaron before this.]

[Ham, what is Leith after?]

[It's not Leith we need to worry about in
this Regan, don't you see? He's just the agent; it's Reubus who's behind this.]

[That bastard, so he's a murderer and a
kidnapper now.]

[Well, technically kidnapping might be hard
to prove, Ruben is still living in the same house but I know what you mean.
Regan, Reubus is pissed and this whole thing is about control. In his eyes you
have it and he wants it. He knows you've fired up Hilary and is wild that she's
working with Tihan on a new system hub for Tihan Orbital. That was his secret
plan and it would have enabled him to control all the freight and trade in the
system. Now Hilary and Tihan have effectively cut him out, that's if they
succeed. So now it's a race to see whether they can achieve the hub before
Tihan's debts overwhelm him; after all Dahlia Orbital can't carry him forever.

And that's where Aaron comes in. Reubus
wants two things; he wants to hinder Aaron from doing any more work on
alternative energy until Tihan collapses under his debt. Secondly he wants
Aaron's portal technology so that the hub becomes a minor player in the wider
trade game.]

[But even if Aaron gets the portal patent
rights, that doesn't mean Reubus has them?]

[But what does he have, Regan?]

She thought for a moment. [Ruben?]

[Exactly.]

[So first he establishes legal ownership
rights to the portal technology via Aaron, then he pressures Moriah, and or
Aaron, to sell, cede or lease the rights to him.]

[I'd say lease, on favorable terms. You
know Reubus likes everything to have at least the veneer of respectability.]

[And then he can charge what he wants -
shit, we've got to do something.]

[Now you're talking my language. Babe,
let's get in there and rescue them.]

The door to the bunkroom opened and Marin
appeared, interrupting their conversation. He leant there on the wall a moment,
still oblivious to their presence as neither she nor Ham had manifested an
avatar. Regan felt guilty at their silent observation and aware that procrastinating
over appearance would only make the situation worse she considered manifesting.
Yet inexplicably she felt unsure what to do -
What the fuck is going on
here? Why am I dithering? Shit, shit, shit.

Ham she noticed also made no attempt to
reveal himself and in fact she had the sense he was standing back, observing
her with concerned interest.

The door opened again and Leah stepped out,
sliding into Marin's arms, curling around him and then drifting to the galley.
It
really is like a dance, they are lovers in a dance, and they are fucking lovers
in a dance without me!

Without a word she wrenched Ham with her, a
decision made in a fraction of a second, coordinates placed and enacted and
they appeared on a beach walking side by side, hand in hand.

For a kilometer they walked in silence,
neither taking the initiative to break the impasse. But finally, her thoughts
roiling, she concluded she had no answers.

"What is it I'm not seeing?"

"Babe, they love each other."

She stopped then and turned to him,
taking his hands in hers.

". . . And I love them - and they
love me - don't they?"

"Of course they do Regan, but much
of the time they have to rely on each other because we're not there, and
anyway, is that really so bad, you have me."

"But I have . . . I want . . . I
want them too. I've always had them too."

"Regan, so much time has passed and
you're all older now. You lead such a busy life, you jump the galaxy at will,
and you're always occupied, if not in a physical sense certainly in a cyber and
mental sense. Even when you're present with them they would always have the
feeling you're monitoring other things because it's true, you are. Can you
blame them for falling back on each other?"

She choked on her words. "I've
always felt we were inseparable, how could they just go on without me, like
they didn't need me?"

"Babe - it's not about needing you
or not needing you, they love you, but they do have needs to feel they are
loved, that they have the focus of someone who cares for them above all else,
don't we all?"

"But I can't help my
responsibilities; I know they take my attention, and I know it must be hard,
but don't they understand, I still love them." She looked at him
pleadingly.

"Babe, maybe they just need the
sense that they have someone's undivided attention. Here, away and alone they
may feel it, and it's nice, that could be all it is, don't worry."

She commenced walking again without him
and he quickly moved to catch her but she didn't want his hand and he chose to
distract her.

"Babe, what are we going to do
about Reubus?"

She stopped again, suddenly thoughtful,
and turned to the rolling surf to their right, squinting into the reflected
light from the surface beyond the breakers. "I think we should confront
him, sound him out; not about Aaron, at least not while he has the whole family
there. So let's put him on the back foot and let him know we know about the
Orion stowaway thing, and the murder of Tyrian Juno; let's see how he reacts to
all that."

She seemed more focused again and he
knew she had packed down whatever hurt she was feeling. It suited for the
moment and he reached for her hand.