And finally, the next part, sorry it took so long. My test is now over, but I've got exams coming up, so the next part may take a week or two…but after that, I'm hoping to get more out soon. Enjoy.
See Prologue for disclaimers, etc.
Chapter 7
The next week passed quickly, Liam and Renee took the relatively (and rare) low-Resistance activity gratefully and explored more of their budding relationship. Renee, sympathetic to Liam's unusual predicament, was both surprised and pleased at the rate Liam was comfortable to proceed at. They had spent all but two of the past nine nights since Renee's painful revelations together; they'd talk for hours just getting to know each other emotionally, and of course they spent some of their time getting to know each other physically, as well. While they both knew neither was ready to progress too far, they were content to simply kiss and hold each other. They were both happy with the way things were turning out, and wondered why they waited so long in the first place.
That's why, when Renee opened her door Monday morning, neither was surprised nor flustered when she reached up and wrapped her arms around Liam's neck, kissing him, while he too put his arms around her.
"Hi," she said, grinning.
"Hey," he replied, returning the grin.
"Just have to get my briefcase," she said, extracting herself from his embrace and walking back into her apartment. Liam stayed where he was, just outside the doorjamb. Picking up the aforementioned article, Renee walked back to the door, fighting a grin as she got a better look at Liam's appearance. "Nice suit," she joked, turning her attention to her security system.
Liam just shook his head, rolling his eyes. He was dressed more formally than normal. A little too formally, he thought, considering the climate of the day's excursion. Getting into the elevator, they headed up to the roof of the building and into the waiting shuttle. Quickly arriving at the Washington Embassy, they collected Sandoval and the two Taelons.
Liam then entered ID space, exiting just off the West Coast of the US, where they met up with their shuttle escort. Re-entering ID space in formation, the entourage of shuttles soon found themselves hovering over the metropolis of Singapore, arriving without incidence to the presentation building.
o0o
The morning presentation went off without a hitch: there were no security threats and the new portal demonstrations encountered no problems. They broke for lunch for two hours at 12:30, and many spectators took the opportunity to approach the two Taelons and the Doors representative to ask questions.
Liam took the first hour to provide security for both Taelons while Sandoval was eating his lunch and checking up on the Volunteer security force. After he came back, Sandoval relieved Liam, who then went to eat and briefly check over his shuttle, a habit Lili had insisted he get into when she'd first taught him to pilot, and a habit he'd perfected completely after Doors had his shuttle sabotaged.
Satisfied with his check, Liam exited the shuttle and headed back inside, sitting down in the back row facing the dais where Da'an, Zo'or, and Renee were talking with some potential clients. He opened his global, checking his messages.
Renee had been standing on the dais answering questions from different people for over an hour. Finally the crowd had died down, there were only three people hanging around now, so she excused herself when she saw Liam walk back in.
Sandoval was standing between Da'an and Zo'or, silent and trying his best to keep the bored expression off his face. The Taelons were currently engaged with Portal Authority reps from Paris. By the tone of the conversation he could tell they were going to be there awhile, seemingly more interested in Taelon chit-chat than the new model. He watched with slight masked envy as Renee Palmer managed to excuse herself from the discussion; as she headed to the back of the auditorium he found himself fairly unsurprised when she sat down beside Liam.
Sandoval wasn't the only one paying attention to the couple; Da'an, while keeping up the pretence of listening to the conversation, had most of his attention focused on his young protector, his friend. He was not so different that he could not sense the tension when they were together, Liam and Renee; he'd noticed it for awhile now. But something had changed. Ms. Palmer had come to see him twice over the last week, and he'd noticed the tension lessened, especially so today. He had also noticed his protector's lightened mood; it was subtle, but it was there.
As he watched them at the back of the room, he noticed Liam laughing at something Renee had said. Da'an was slightly astonished, he'd never seen Liam laugh, even in his earlier days when he hadn't been so thoroughly tortured and betrayed by the world around him. He was glad his protector was beginning to enjoy his life.
Realizing he was being asked a question by one of the Parisians, Da'an turned his attention back to the conversation.
o0o
The presentation resumed roughly around 14:30. The second half was less about the new portal itself and more to disclose the details concerning its trial run, which would include a portal here in Singapore connecting to one in Tokyo, a major terminal route always backing up. If the results proved the cost was worth it, the trial would be expanded to include several other very congested pathways. The presentation finally ended around 19:00, much to Liam's relief, and the five of them were ready to leave about half an hour later.
As Renee and the Taelons were saying goodbye to various representatives, Liam's global beeped. Not sure who was on the other end, the caller ID was blocked, he opened it, about to say hello, when he realized it was a text message, and a cryptic one at that:
~
Liam, hope this is on time, can't remember the time you said you guys popped in at. But in case it's not, I can't give you much information.
Lahrian'ma JMH. Trokma zia'trala matreyva. Phynanac.
That's all I can give you, it's encrypted, if you know what I mean. I am still here, don't tell her, for her sake.
~
That was all the message said, and Liam was more than a little perplexed. There was also no returning number, so he couldn't call back whoever had sent it. He was about to ponder the matter further when duty interfered, and he put the message to the back of his mind for later.
o0o
Liam was herding the others back to his shuttle, thankful there'd been no serious problems throughout the day. They were just approaching the shuttle outside when the sound of energy blasts and gunfire broke out.
You just had to go and jinx yourself, didn't you?! he thought, annoyed, and without thinking he ran and tackled Da'an to the ground. Telling him to stay down, Liam jumped back up and pulled his weapon. Looking back, he saw Sandoval pushing Zo'or and Renee into the shuttle, then turning back around to search for the source of the attack.
There were four assailants visible, firing from various positions. Sandoval, skrill raised, ran up to where Kincaid was, crouched in front of Da'an.
"Sandoval, get Da'an back to the shuttle!" Liam acknowledged him.
Firing at one or the armed men, Sandoval replied, "No, you go. You're the one who can fly them out of here." Noticing Liam's reluctance, he continued, "That's an order, Major!"
Liam nodded and, noticing the Volunteer teams swarming in, he helped Da'an up and they ran for the shuttle as quickly as the Taelon could move. Looking back, Liam could see Sandoval following, providing cover fire. Arriving at the shuttle, Da'an immediately took his seat, Liam scrambled into the pilot's seat, and a few seconds later Sandoval flung himself inside. Quickly bringing up the virtual glass shield, barely deflecting an energy blast, Liam had the shuttle airborne almost immediately.
Just as Sandoval managed to get to his seat, Liam spotted more assailants and a large energy weapon on the ground, powering up. Thinking quickly, he instructed the ID drives to establish a wormhole. "Jumping to inter-dimensional," he announced distractedly, hoping to beat the energy weapon. The shuttle was just approaching the event horizon when the sensors picked up an energy blast. All five of them felt the impact of the blast, which had hit the lower back end of the shuttle at the exact same time they entered ID space.