Regaining Command Read online

  "You believed. You mean, Kliro told you that's what she was."

  "Yes.” He winced as he turned back to the console. “She was the first. There were three more."

  Jonah glanced around the scene. “I have a feeling we're going to have to relive them all."

  Elise stared as Donny continued to try and access the VFR controls. “I won't.” The two words seemed ripped from him.

  "You must.” Jonah's statement was quiet. “The program is still running, and the killer has the upper hand here. It's shifting."

  "I can't do it.” Donny's tone was almost panicked.

  "You're a Tribunal,” Elise snapped at him. “You've been trained to do it."

  At her words, Donny straightened and turned around. The VFR shifted and the scene changed to a dingy bar scene.

  "Where is she?” Elise scanned the crowd. “Find her, Donny.” Somehow, Elise could sense that Donny would be damaged emotionally if the woman was allowed to be killed again by a hologram of himself. What kind of sadistic asshole took pleasure in this kind of torture?

  "There. By the wall.” Donny scooted through the crowd. Music boomed from the large speakers overhead and Elise followed him. Jonah was at her back when they both caught a glimpse of Donny's hologram.

  "There he is,” Elise shouted over the throb of the music.

  "He doesn't see him.” Jonah yanked her hand and they surged toward the woman.

  The lights flickered off and on, which made the whole thing surreal and difficult. A woman screamed, and Elise stared at the two figures locked in combat.

  She couldn't tell them apart.

  The crowd surged and Elise noted that one of the men had fallen. It must be the real Donny since the one still standing slit the woman's throat without another glance. The hologram glanced at her and met her gaze. She shivered at the cold calculation in those familiar blue eyes.

  In contrast, the agony on the real Donny's face pierced her heart. He'd said he relived these killings again and again. How difficult was it to be there, right there, and be unable to stop it?

  The VFR shifted again and Jonah gripped her arm. “Help him up.” He and Elise hauled Donny to his feet. Blood trickled along his abdomen.

  "You're hurt!” She lifted his shirt to find a nasty cut sliced through his skin. “We need to get out of here."

  "No! I have to save them.” Donny's face was pasty.

  The scene was now an apartment with pleasant knick-knacks and a gorgeous view of a large lake. “Where are we, Donny?"

  "Austria,” he murmured. A snick sounded at the door as two people entered the room. One was another hologram of Donny.

  These two people were clearly lovers. Elise could only stare as she observed Donny's hologram kiss this strange woman. The intensity she'd always noted in his touch was absent here, but his skill was evident by the flush on the woman's neck and face. They were locked in an erotic clinch, and didn't notice three strangers in the living room until they were half clothed. It revealed a difference in Donny she hadn't known until now.

  The hologram's cock was massive, twice the size of the cock she'd known. She shot a glance at Donny. His regret, his guilt was written across his features and he seemed frozen to the spot. It was Jonah who moved in on the hologram.

  The half naked woman grasped her clothing as Jonah and the hologram locked in combat. Donny finally moved as Jonah was tossed against the wall like a rag doll. Elise stood in front of the woman as the two Donnys faced off. The hologram smiled as if he was enjoying himself. The real Donny leapt at the hologram and they rolled to the floor. Elise was trying to figure out how to take out the hologram without hurting Donny when something gripped her hair and yanked her head back.

  The woman had attacked her. Her scalp tingled as she whirled away from the woman who had suddenly become a dark haired assassin with a wicked swing. Elise took two blows to the kidney before Jonah stepped in and jammed his flat hand into her face, and she went down without a whimper.

  Donny's hologram was broken and bleeding on the floor and the real Donny panted for breath, his hand clutched to his side.

  One more. There was only one more.

  "Where was the last one?” she demanded.

  Donny keened lowly, a sound that shattered her heart. The room shifted to a little house on what appeared to be a military base. A woman in fatigues strode up a path to the front door. Donny glanced at the ceiling. “I can't do this one.” He called out to the invisible help they were supposed to have. “Paul?"

  The only response was a wicked laugh that surrounded them. Jonah placed a hand on Donny's slumped shoulder. “We'll all do it. Let's go."

  The three of them strode for the door, and the woman whipped around to face them. She was dark, with startlingly blue eyes, and clearly knew how to defend herself. “Donny?” She frowned in the low light of an evening sky. “I thought you'd be waiting at home for me. And who are these people?” Her gaze flicked to Elise and Jonah.

  "Don't go in there.” Donny's tone was hoarse.

  The woman's eyes narrowed and the muscles of her body tensed. “You look like Donny, but you're not Donny."

  "I'm not the Donny you know,” Donny explained.

  The woman's eyebrow rose. “What Donny are you?” Skepticism dripped in her voice.

  "I'm an older version of him.” Donny's eyes flicked to the doorway of the house.

  They were face to face, close. Her hand reached up and touched his face. The frozen, stricken expression on Donny's face twisted Elise's heart.

  The woman smiled. “I don't care who you are. I'm tired, and I'm not in the mood for games."

  "Donny, watch out!” Elise cried out as a figure burst through the door of the house and both the woman and the hologram of Donny attacked.

  * * * *

  She'd never see him the same way again. He hadn't just killed these women. He'd known them, pretended to love them, encouraged them to trust him so he could kill them. Sharon was just a genetic code, a way to prove his loyalty. Her feelings were irrelevant. Now, as he gazed at this woman, who he'd fooled for three months all those years ago, he could see the adoration she'd had for that damaged Donny.

  It ripped him to shreds.

  And as the hologram of himself sprang into action, he almost gave up, gave in and let the hologram kill him.

  But the enemy made a tactical error. He programmed the holograms to kill everyone in the VFR with Donny, and when Elise stepped in front of him, Donny reacted to protect her. Luck was all that saved them both from death.

  The hologram of Sharon managed to get a hand on Elise, and that set him off. He roared as he launched himself at both holograms. Both went down in a heartbeat. The VFR shifted and Donny braced himself to face his last attempted killing. Daniella Pearce.

  Instead, a hologram of his psychiatrist, Dr. Alan Zoelner appeared. Donny closed his eyes. Nothing would be a secret. All his twisted psyche would be used for public fodder. And he knew the end result. He'd done this to Daniella on The Zenith with plans to kill her after emotionally torturing her. It didn't surprise him that his enemy would torment him this way.

  An unusual, twisted smile crossed the hologram's face. “Well, Adonis Pasquel. Let's have a little talk, shall we?"

  Elise and Jonah frowned in confusion and Donny was forced to enlighten them. “Elise, Jonah, meet my psychiatrist, Dr. Alan Zoelner."

  Jonah's eyebrow shot up, and Elise bit her lip.

  He gritted his teeth and almost started out of his skin when Elise took his hand in hers and squeezed it. He glanced down into her face and read determination, acceptance. His heart swelled with hope. It was the first time he'd seen that kind of support in another human being. Ever.

  His therapist's voice jerked him back to reality.

  "Do you know how Adonis got his name?” The handsome doctor's tone was light and humorous. Donny's jaw clenched involuntarily. He didn't know if this was a hologram used by someone else or if Dr. Zoelner was the man behind it all. Only if
he let the asshole talk would he be able to find out.

  "Is how I got my name important to my mental health, Doctor?” He kept his own voice steady and expressionless. He tried to keep his fear for Elise's safety out of his body language, even as it ripped through him.

  The man clasped his hands behind his back and strode closer to Donny. “Oh, I think so. It's indicative of your personality that you were named after a Greek God, a hero. It explains why the life as a bastard son of a military failure was never enough for you, and why Kliro was able to manipulate you so easily."

  None of this was new. Donny had accepted this long ago. He remembered how he had also used the psyche files on Daniella Pearce, Jake Tarune, and Sashina Matins to try and break them, distract them as he laid a trap to kill them. Hopefully, Paul was doing what he'd done then and dismantling the more deadly aspects of this killer's programming. “Then, go ahead and tell them how I got my name."

  Zoelner's gaze focused on Elise. “His mother was no fan of history or Greek mythology. She was a military whore with so many partners and failed relationships in her past that even Adonis here doesn't know how many she'd had."

  Donny shot a glance at Elise, but her face revealed nothing, only patient listening. Zoelner went on. “When she got knocked up, she went off the deep end. The only reason Adonis was even born was she was too crazy to get her pregnancy terminated. Do you know why she was crazy?"

  Though he knew what was coming, Donny closed his eyes to shut it out. But Zoelner's voice, usually a comfort to him, was now like a drill boring into his skull. “Because she believed Adonis's father was rich—very rich. But the DNA testing didn't back that up. By the time she found out that Adonis was the bastard son of a lowly sergeant who drank, it was too late to terminate the pregnancy.” Zoelner's smile was razor sharp. “She'd already named him after the man she thought was his father. Adonis Cartright."

  Elise's eyes widened and she gasped. “The General."

  "That's right.” Zoelner's gaze focused on Donny. “Your mother thought she had him wrapped up in ribbons, but General Cartright demanded a DNA test. And you hated him."

  Donny's brain clicked the pieces into place. This wasn't Dr. Zoelner. He knew exactly who this was. “Why don't you drop the disguise?"

  The hologram's smile was a picture of pure evil and very familiar. Soon, the pixels shifted and faded as a figure stood and faced them.

  Kliro.

  Elise cried out, and Jonah started forward. Donny tried to put a hand out to stop him, but wasn't quick enough. Kliro used one of his massive four arms to slam Jonah into the VFR wall where he then slid down like a used-up puppet.

  "So easy.” Kliro's tone was amused, calm. Donny had always wanted that cold, calculated demeanor. Now, as he stepped in front of Elise to protect her, he wondered if it was too late to fix things. Kliro didn't move, but cocked his massive head to the side. “You've gone soft, Adonis."

  An unusual fear gripped Donny's bowels. Kliro would torture and kill Elise just for fun, just to torment him. He taught Donny every trick in his twisted Dormrelian book. Where was Paul?

  As if he could read his mind, Kliro answered his unspoken question. “A rogue Tribunal to stop another Tribunal. It's been a very effective tool. Kevin will take care of your tame Tribunal. Lestrano is a speck on the radar, though he interfered with my plans.” Kliro's four eyes trained on Donny's every move. “But you. You were my prize and you turned on me, helped her protect the secrets that should have been mine.” Hostility emanated from the former ambassador.

  "You left me to die. I am no longer dreaming of being Dormrelian."

  Kliro's smile froze Donny's blood. “Oh, but I intend to make that dream come true. Just before you die, you'll be Dormrelian through and through."

  "You can't,” Elise spoke, her tone filled with fear as she clutched Donny's arm. “I know what you plan. You can't do it."

  "Oh, but I will.” The massive, hard scales rippled over Kliro's form. “It is the blood sacrifice required to win."

  "What is he talking about?” Donny's gaze flicked to Elise's white face.

  "The formula. The reason I couldn't decipher the last one is because it's shrouded in a ritual. A blood sacrifice.” She glared at Kliro. “That's why the Dormrela don't want me to dig at the Temple. Humans were sacrificed in a violent ritual, their blood used to facilitate the genetic change. Imagine the damage in diplomatic relations if Earth Central knew Dormrelian rituals involved human death."

  "And imagine what will happen when the Ang realize I hold the secret to their destruction.” Kliro stepped forward and Donny yanked Elise behind him. “This time, no pathetic human, even one I honored with Dormrelian membership, will stop me."

  Donny tensed in fighting mode, but the blow never came from Kliro. Instead, a huge bolt of electricity shot through his body and Elise's. He twitched and collapsed, Elise unconscious at his side.

  As a black mist settled around his mind, Kliro bent over him. “No one will stop me now, Adonis. No one."

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Eight

  Her head hurt. It pounded, reverberating against her skull. No, wait. That was the rhythmic throb of an ATHV engine. Elise blinked and tried to open her eyes. Dust and blackness were all she noted as her vision cleared.

  They were on their way to the Temple. And if Kliro's plan was implemented, she was going to be sacrificed by a thousand tiny slits in her skin to turn Donny into a mindless Dormrelian drone.

  Why had she kept that ritual she'd discovered a secret? Even as she struggled against the slick plastic of her prison, she knew the answer. She didn't want to lose her dig, her site. Her ambition to become the Dormrelian cultural expert might now cost her her life and Donny his humanity.

  "Don't move.” Donny's whisper almost made her sag in relief.

  "Are you okay?” She remained still and breathed in stale air in the confined space. Apparently, Kliro had stuffed her into a body bag. She shuddered.

  "I'm fine.” He didn't sound fine. His voice was hard, strained.

  "Jonah?"

  "He's not here. I don't know where he is."

  "Do you know how long we've been out?"

  "I can't tell.” His voice sounded muffled, and she heard scuffling and scraping.

  Then, the bag opened from the outside and cool air flooded her lungs. “Thank you."

  It was still dark in the back of the ATHV. A solid metal plate was between them and whoever was driving the vehicle. “It's still dark,” she whispered and her hand groped into the darkness to touch him. Tears clogged her throat as he clasped her hand in his and stroked her knuckles with his thumb.

  "What is this blood sacrifice he's talking about?” Donny's whisper was so soft she barely heard him.

  "Kliro will bleed me to change the Dormrelian DNA and then inject you with the mixture.” She closed her eyes. The process had been described with religious fervor on the walls of the lower temple. Each cut within her body would be drained as the Dormrelian leader prayed for genetic purity and Ang destruction.

  "But the formula was to change Ang DNA, not human."

  "Ang DNA and Dormrelian DNA are connected. By transforming you, Kliro will have his weapon. Your blood will poison the Ang genetic code."

  "That's scientifically impossible.” Donny shifted and protected her body from the rough bumps along the track with his chest.

  "The only way to prove that is to try it. Apparently, Kliro is willing to experiment."

  "So why kill Trista Locke?” He stroked her hair, but it was an absent caress as his mind tried to unravel the different threads connected to the former ambassador. “And why try and kill Slavern?"

  "Didn't Kliro send you to kill women who were genetically coded as Ang descendents? Maybe he ordered his new rogue Tribunal to do the same."

  "Kevin."

  "Yes."

  "We need to find out whether he killed the Gershons too."

  "If we live."

  Donny went
still. “We'll live,” he told her firmly.

  Bitterness welled up in her chest. “How do you know? Right now, we're trapped in a metal can that's locked, on our way to a remote Temple to be sacrificed, in a war only one person is fighting."

  His hand reached up and stroked her face. “We'll live because I haven't had a chance to tell you ‘I love you’ yet.” She gasped. “And since I've never done it before, I want to do it right. Are we clear?"

  "Donny—"

  He covered her mouth with his hand. “Don't say it. I know there are a million reasons why it's crazy, but it's the way it is. Just keep it in mind when everything looks bleak."

  She stared into the darkness to try and see his face. It was pitch black and she couldn't make out the expression on his face. Her fingers fumbled and found the strands of his hair at the nape of his neck and she pressed her lips on his.

  He stayed still, letting her brush his mouth with hers in tender caresses. She inched closer, her body wound around him like they were one person and a shudder went along his spine.

  When he shifted and pinned her underneath him, she reveled in the hardness of his body. As he took possession of her mouth, she met him eagerly. In that kiss was so much. Together, they'd faced her obsession, his past and their needs, but remained unshaken. Even when Jonah was part of their interaction, it was as if there was only the two of them.

  Instead of the heated passion that seemed to explode between them before, now Donny's tender but firm touch created a feeling of peace. Of rightness.

  Even as Donny broke the kiss and held her, just held her, she remembered what Jenia had discovered about the chemical S.E.X. Once a human being bonded with another, the effects of the chemical diminished. When had the intensity diminished?

  "The sun is coming up. That means we're probably close to the Temple.” Donny stroked her hair and light began to penetrate the very small openings in the back of the ATHV.

  "We can't let them start this ritual.” She sat up and straightened her coveralls.

  "We may not have a choice."

  "Donny, if Kliro manages to do this, it will destroy all the diplomatic relations between the three cultures. Everyone loses here."