Chapter 4 -- Unexpected Ally

"Maybe if we dislocate our thumbs..." Lontoria suggested. "There was this human, Harry Houdini..."

Mel shook her head. "I'm not sure if that would actually work, though. I mean... Vic always said that it was just one of those common beliefs, but it doesn't really--"

There was a loud popping sound and a low groan from Cole's direction, causing Mel to wince. He stood with his eyes closed, a look of combined pain and concentration on his face. Finally, he shook his head.

"No. They're still too tight."

"I can't believe you did that!" Mel gasped. "God, Cole, are you okay?"

He nodded, opening his eyes. "Yes, Mel, fine." He frowned. "But they're still too tight."

"Well, of course they are! You really think a Vardian is going to invent restraints that are easy to get out of?" The inquiry was followed by a low chuckle.

Mel craned her head around, startled. The voice was unmistakable. "Andy?"

He nodded and approached her, twirling something in one hand. "Miss Porter. Good news; Cavalry's here."

Cole frowned. "You know him?"

Mel nodded. "Andy Cutter. Gwen's boyfriend." She frowned at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I had an... intelligence report that a group including Daggon here had been taken by force from your bar, Miss Porter." As he spoke, he quickly released Lontoria, who retreated a few steps, eyeing him cautiously.

Mel shook her head, confused. Intelligence report? When only they and Vic had been in the bar? And what was a college student doing on the receiving end of intelligence reports anyway? "And..." she said slowly, her tone and expression almost demanding clarification of the statement.

He stepped behind her and released her. "And I looked into it, found out that Zin was involved... " He walked over to Cole next, releasing him as he continued speaking. "And thought it would be only right to help a fellow employee of the Migar Security Council." He turned his attention from Mel to Cole. With a grin and a bow, he introduced himself, "Andross Kettai, SST."

Cole's confused expression was replaced by a grin. "I didn't know that the Taskforce was active here."

"Well, it's a fairly new development." He shrugged. "Last hundred years or so. We should go."

"Taskforce?" Mel demanded, not moving. She looked from Cole to Kettai. "What the hell is going on here?"

"He's a member of Migar's Special Security Taskforce..." Lontoria supplied quietly. "Like your CIA."

Kettai nodded. "Now, we really should go before the guards wake up."

"How many guards?" Cole asked, following.

"Five Vardians and an Enixian."

"You took out five Vardians and an Enixian by yourself?" Mel asked, shaking her head. She had always considered him very mild-mannered, not a fighter. Still, Cole would have been hard-pressed to achieve a feat like that.

He shrugged. "What can I say?" he asked with a wide smile, his eyes twinkling.

Mel looked at Cole. "Do you trust him?"

After a few moments of consideration, Cole nodded slowly. "Yes, Mel."

"Uh, not to doubt your judgment, but... why?"

Cole shrugged. "Well, he's Cirronian, Mel, and not one of the fugitives. He must be a member of the Taskforce or he would not be on earth now."

"If you say so..." Mel shrugged and started towards the door, stopping long enough to glare at Kettai. "If you try anything..." she began, wondering if he had been using Gwen to get to Cole or if their relationship was coincidence.

He spread his hands in surrender, his smile widening. "I understand, Miss Porter, and I promise to be a good boy. This way..."

Cole stared at the unconscious guards on the ground outside of the warehouse. "I wish I had my Collector..." he muttered.

"Catch!" Kettai called cheerfully, winging his at Cole who caught it instinctively. "Have fun."

Cole stared at him for a moment, shaking his head, before he began Collecting the life-forces of the unconscious fugitives.

As Kettai kept a lookout for others, Mel caught him by the arm and drew him aside. "Does Gwen know about you?"

He tilted his head thoughtfully at her for a moment before speaking. "Gweny is aware that there is more to me than meets the eye, yes. She believes I work for the government." It was, technically, true, and Kettai continued before Mel could press for answers on that point. "My mission parameters here do not concern her. She knows nothing of our greater purpose."

Mel nodded, wondering if Gwen had picked up her habit of not asking questions from dating Kettai. "Does she... know about Cole?"

"I have never mentioned it to her, nor she to I. I see no reason why a girl of Gweny's position and occupation should, but you would have to ask her." He shrugged blithely. "She's an astute girl. She could make both of you a valuable ally."

Mel shook her head. "I think not."

"You think not?" he repeated. "You think she would not be a worthy ally or you think you will not tell her?"

"I won't tell her."

He shrugged again. "As you would have it, Miss Porter."

"What are you doing on this planet? Is it related to Cole's presence here?"

He shook his head. "Not at all, no. As to our actual purpose here... well, I could tell you..."

"But then you'd have to kill me?" Mel guessed, shaking her head.

"Oh, good heavens, no, Miss Porter! We aren't barbarians. I would, however, have to install a neuro-inhibitor to prevent you from repeating what I had told you. You would not enjoy it very much."

"I'm done here..." Cole informed Kettai, joining them. "Let's go."

Kettai glanced over Cole's shoulder at Lontoria. "You seem to have forgotten one, Daggon."

Cole ignored the comment. "Let's go..." he repeated.

Kettai shrugged and ushered them into his waiting car. He drove them to a suburb outside of the city and to a surprisingly secluded house there. The Taskforce had kept itself busy in everything since it had established an office on earth, dabbling here or there in everything from computing to bio-tech research. The resulting money came in very handy at times. Especially times like this. He looked at Mel. "Bring the fugitive inside, please, Miss Porter. Daggon and I have much to discuss, and it is not for civilians or criminals to hear."

Mel looked at Cole uncertainly, waiting for his okay.

"He does still have the Collector..." Kettai pointed out mildly, not in the least offended by Mel's wariness. In fact, he was amused by it.

"It's okay, Mel..." Cole told her gently, smiling reassuringly and touching her throat. When she had gone inside, he joined Kettai, who had walked into the front yard, well away from the house. "What is the Taskforce doing on earth?" he asked softly.

"Does our presence here surprise you?"

Cole considered for a moment, then shook his head. "What surprises me, Kettai, is that you intervened at all, yet you claim that Zin is not your object."

Kettai smiled and nodded. "You're right, of course. I could find myself in a great deal of trouble if my superiors found out that I helped you."

"Why, then?"

He looked up at the other Cirronian thoughtfully for a moment, then answered honestly. "Gweny. She cares about both of you."

Cole nodded. "I understand."

Kettai nodded. "I suppose you must. Gwen tells me that you and Miss Porter are very close."

Cole nodded, acknowledging this. "So you rescued us simply to keep Gwen from suffering?"

Kettai nodded again. "Would you do any less for Miss Porter? Even at the risk of losing your job?"

Cole shook his head, smiling. "You're right, of course. But what are you doing on earth?"

"You aren't cleared, Tracker." He frowned apologetically.

"I've grown to care about this species..." Cole began cautiously.

"It's not the habit of the Taskforce to work harm against any species..." Kettai assured him gently, closing the subject. "Tell me about Lontoria."

"What about her?"

"She's one of your fugitives. Why do you harbor her? Why have you not done what you must?"

Cole sighed deeply. "Too many reasons to name, Kettai. She's my friend. She saved my life. She didn't have to, but she did. And she's never aided Zin in his plans here."

He nodded. "I know. And I know what Zin wanted with her now. And that she refused."

Cole was startled. "You have an undercover operative in his organization?"

Kettai nodded impassively. That the Tracker had guessed that they had a Mole in Zin's organization was hardly surprising. The SST was known for its ability to infiltrate various organizations, criminal and legitimate, and to occasionally bend those organizations to their purposes.

"You should tell me so I don't accidentally Collect him."

Kettai shook his head. "No. Her cover can not be compromised in any way. She must be Tracked and Collected like all the others."

Cole sighed and nodded. "I'll never understand you people."

Kettai shrugged helplessly. "We do what we must. You would do the same if you knew the things we do." He glanced back at the house, to where Lontoria could be seen watching them from a window. "We are aware that your relationship with the traitor Lontoria was less than professional on Sar-Top... Or so the rumor goes."

Cole nodded, sighing. "It's true. We were... close." He looked at Kettai. If anyone could understand, it would be another Cirronian. "There was an empty place in my soul when my wife and daughter died, so much pain. Lontoria could never fill that void, but she eased the pain."

Kettai nodded his understanding. Daggon would never have dishonored the memory of his wife by mating with a woman whom he did not love, but that would not prevent him from seeking solace in her company. Although not romantic, their involvement would have been deeper than most other species were capable of understanding. Cirronian relationships usually were, even those with members of other species. Cirronians just felt things too strongly for anything else to be the case.

Reflecting on that, though, made Kettai wonder once again about the friendship between the Tracker and the Vardian who had betrayed him. The human concept of 'best friends' barely began to describe it. He knew from reports that Daggon and Zin had been closer, on the surface, than Orsusian twins. The difference in species had not seemed to matter to either, although it was clear to Kettai in retrospect that Zin had probably been ruthlessly exploiting Daggon's Cirronian propensity to trust others rather blindly.

But that knowledge would not have changed Daggon's reaction to the betrayal. He had been Zin's friend, his brother in spite of the difference in species. Their families had vacationed together, their children had grown up together. Daggon had educated Zin's son, something that few Vardians would have allowed an offworlder to do. The idea of betrayal by such a friend would never have occurred to a Cirronian. The blow must have been a crushing one, but, at the same time, the friendship would, in the Cirronian's eyes, at least, remain. Kettai wondered if Daggon would be able to take Zin when the time came.

But, he reminded himself, Lontoria was the topic of their discussion, not Zin. "Daggon, she is a criminal."

"She was young and foolish, Kettai, and she is genuinely sorry for her crimes. She'll never commit another. She wants to make amends. She can make a difference on this planet. Besides..." He sighed deeply. "Can there be a worse punishment than being deprived of her Cirronian nature? To go from being what she was to what she is?"

Kettai considered the Tracker's question. Letting her go free was irregular to say the least, and not something that most Cirronians would have considered, but Daggon did have a point. Lontoria was paying for her crimes, and she could make a difference on earth if allowed. Then, too, there was a question of whether Lontoria could truly be said to exist any more now that she was more human than Cirronian. Of course, the powers might come back in time, but there could be no doubt that the experience would have changed her profoundly.

"I leave it to your judgment, Daggon." He nodded his head, deferring to the Tracker in his field of expertise. "I should go now. You and your friends may stay here for as long as you need to, but Zin will seek you out eventually. I cannot interfere further in this matter, but... I wish you all the luck in the world."

Cole smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Kettai." He touched his hand to Kettai's chest and the two exchanged a Cirronian good-bye, hands over each other's hearts. "Good luck to you as well."

Kettai nodded and left. Cole turned and went into the house. Mel was waiting for him.

"Hey."

"Hello, Mel. Where is Lontoria?"

"She's taking a nap. Still weak from the liquid nitrogen, I think." Mel nodded towards an opened bedroom door where Lontoria could be clearly seen, tossing and turning. "Guess she's having trouble getting to sleep."

"She's worried..." Cole told Mel quietly. "She saw me talking to Kettai. She knows that we were discussing her."

"How?" Mel asked softly, not wanting to disturb the already-disturbed Cirronian in the next room.

"There was nothing else to discuss, Mel."

He shrugged, unsure how to explain to her the autonomy between the Taskforce and the Trackers. They would not discuss their respective missions on earth. There was no reason to, quite aside from the fact that, as a member of the Taskforce, Kettai's assignment was likely to be classified beyond Cole's security clearance. Technically, Cole's work was none of Kettai's business either. He had asked about Cole's behavior towards Lontoria simply out of curiosity and his Cirronian sense of right and wrong. It was, perhaps, the defining trait of the Cirronian race, and it pervaded every aspect of their existence in one way or another. Kettai had considered it wrong that a fugitive should be allowed to walk free, so he had asked about it. But even if he had not been satisfied with the answer he received, he could not have done anything about it. Cole's judgment was final in all matters related to Tracking just as Kettai's word would be law in matters pertaining to galactic security. The system, with its lack of redundancy, worked efficiently and admirably.

"Oh... kay..." Mel shrugged acceptance. "Are you going to..."

He shook his head firmly. "No, Mel."

She nodded. "Is Andy... uh, Kettai, going to--"

He shook his head again, smiling faintly. "No, Mel. He does his job, I do mine. He won't interfere, even if it is an unusual show of initiative."

She nodded. "That's good." She sighed. "You should, uh... tell Lontoria. I think you're right about her being worried."

He smiled and nodded, touching her throat. "You're right, Mel. I'll be right back."

"Yeah." Mel nodded and moved towards the window as Cole walked into the bedroom.

"Lontoria..." he said quietly.

"Daggon." She sat up, watching him with wide eyes. There was no real fear in those eyes, though, just resignation. "Did you and Agent Kettai have a nice conversation?" she asked gently.

Cole nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. "We did, Lontoria. I think that Kettai understands my reasons for sparing you."

She frowned uncertainly. "Then you don't plan on..."

"Of course not." He shook his head, taking her face in his hands. "Lontoria, nothing has changed. Nothing anyone can ever say is going to change how I feel about you. How could it? You've given up so much for my sake."

She shrugged. "It was the right thing to do, Daggon." She smiled slightly. "Besides, you're my best friend."

He smiled faintly. "Get some rest, Lontoria."

"What about Zin? He'll come after us again."

Cole's smile faded. "Get some rest, Lontoria..." he repeated. "You let me worry about Zin."

She nodded, sighing. "Okay. Let me know if I can help."

He rose. "Don't worry. I'll keep you safe. I promise."

She smiled at him. "I appreciate it."

"Get some rest." He smiled at her and closed the door behind him as he went.

Mel smiled up at him as he returned to the living-room. "Hey."

"Hello, Mel."

"She okay?" Mel asked.

Cole nodded. "How are you, Mel?" She still looked anxious so he walked over to her and touched her throat lightly.

"I'm fine, Cole. I'll be fine." Mel smiled faintly. A year ago, she would not have imagined herself having that reaction to being abducted by a heavily-armed group and held captive by an evil alien scientist, but now it was just one more fact of her increasingly unusual life.

He smiled and nodded. "I'm glad, Mel."

"What about you?" she asked gently. "Will you be okay?"

He nodded, sitting down. "Yes, Mel. I will be." He sighed. "It... it may take longer, but I will be."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mel asked gently, sitting down next to him.

"Does that help, Mel? Humans always want to talk about things. Does it really help?"

She nodded. "It can, yeah. Sometimes, if nothing else, it just helps you straighten out your own thoughts."

Cole sighed and nodded, closing his eyes. Mel was probably right. She often was in such matters, and if she wanted him to talk about it, he would.