Part 23

Beka Valentine stood by the window, out of sight as she looked down into the street below. It was quiet now, with hardly any people around and she was restless. The situation was playing on her nerves, knowing that there were people out there looking for them, and not knowing how they would get out of this place now, hoping that lady luck was travelling with them.

The door to the bathroom finally opened and Seamus Harper stepped back into the room, fully clothed again, his old instincts kicking in to be ready to move if necessary at a moments notice.

"Anything?" Harper simply asked, as he closed the door behind him.

"It's all quiet," Beka simply said. "Too quiet," she sighed. "One of us should keep watch, and let the other two rest, so I'll take the first watch," Beka offered.

Harper half smiled. "You're now encouraging me and Dani to sleep together?" he asked.

Beka looked at Harper with fondness. "Just remember I'm right here, and that you're supposed to be sleeping."

Dani now stepped into the room, and she looked apprehensive, as she looked between Harper and Beka.

"We need to rest," Harper informed her. "What side of the bed do you want?"

"I'm not tired," Dani simply responded.

"You have to rest, we don't know when we'll next get the chance," Beka instructed.

"Come on," Harper encouraged. "She's right, we need to rest when we can, and Beka's taking first watch."

Dani reluctantly moved to the bed and took the left side, with Harper moving to the right and Beka watched as they both got comfortable. After a few moments, and without speaking they both instinctively moved closer until they were holding each other and falling into a light sleep, and Beka couldn't help but look on with a touch of jealousy, it had been so long since she had been able to simply be close to someone.

Beka diverted her gaze to the street outside the window, as a good thirty minutes passed slowly by, and she knew the other two were now asleep. It was quiet enough that she could hear all manner of movement outside, but it made her weary. One sound suddenly caught her attention, but it wasn't coming from the street, it was coming from within the building. Voices were coming from the floor below, and Beka got down lower, placing her ear against the worn out carpet. The voices were distinctive and she recognised them immediately, the guards were doing room searches, probably checking all the latest arrivals.

"Harper, Dani," Beka moved closer to the bed, and gently shook Harper. "Sorry guys, you have to disappear, the guards are here," Beka stressed.

Harper took a moment to get his bearings, having only just woken up next to Dani. "Disappear, where?" Harper asked, as he quickly sat up now whilst making sure Dani woke up.

"Outside, the ledge runs wider than the window, they won't look out there," Beka suggested urgently, she could now hear the voices on their floor.

Dani quickly scrambled to her feet with Harper and as they heard a loud knock on the door, they made their way outside onto the ledge.

"Keep the window open, Beka, the stench out here should cover our tracks," Harper stated, before ducking out of sight.

Beka took a deep breath, and shook her head to make her hair turn black again, before she quickly tied it back, and then opened the door. "Hello?" she nervously greeted the guards, recognising Johnson.

Lieutenant Johnson showed his surprise, and then he smirked. "Sally Simons, I could have sworn you had blonde hair before," Johnson stated arrogantly as he stepped into the room. "And I was expecting to see Elaina Morrison, she is the person who allegedly booked this room."

"Well, it pays sometimes to play it safe, you never know," Beka simply said.

"Where are the other two?" Johnson asked, as his companion checked the bathroom and signalled that no one was there.

"They are out, you know young loves, they are experiencing the nightlight," Beka shrugged.

"Elaina, Sally," Johnson simply said. "Can I call you Beka?"

"You could try, but I fail to see the point," Beka answered, and inwardly her fear began to rise.

"The point being, it's your name," Johnson stepped closer now to Beka, and the threat became more apparent. "And I want to know where that kludge has taken Dani."

Beka remained silent, but sensed Johnson cohort moving behind her. She stared at Johnson with contempt, and he seemed to be enjoying her silence. Suddenly Beka felt her hands being grabbed and yelled out as they were painfully forced behind her, now in the iron grip on the other guard.

"Now, now, Valentine, play ball, or face the consequences," Johnson stated clearly.

Outside on the ledge Dani glanced at Seamus, and she saw his reaction to Beka's yell of pain. She was caught in two minds, knowing they could remain undetected on the ledge, she also knew that it would take a miracle to keep Seamus from trying to help Beka. Dani made eye contact with Harper, and already knew what they were going to do, and she simply nodded her head, giving her approval, supporting him.

Back inside the room, Beka grimaced as the grip tightened and forced her down to her knees. "I won't tell you," she said with determinations.

"Oh I think you will, Beka Valentine!" Johnson's voice raised, and he raised his hand, striking Beka across her cheek.

Beka's head snapped sharply to the side, and it was all Harper could take, knowing he wasn't going to remain hiding whilst that uber beat on Beka.

"She doesn't have to tell you," Harper announced, and with Dani he jumped back into the room from the ledge outside. "Here I am, and here's Dani," Harper gestured, and felt Dani squeeze his hand fondly. "Now get your hands off Beka!" he demanded.

Johnson smiled with joy at the sight, having not expected to find the kludge so easily. "Get him away from Dani," Johnson ordered, and then he radioed for back up.

The guard pushed Beka down to the floor and roughly grabbed hold of Harper, forcing him away from Dani, as Johnson moved to Dani's side. Harper was pushed down to the ground to join Beka, he knew Beka wasn't pleased with him but he didn't care, he wasn't going to hide and let her take the flak.

Johnson took hold of Dani. "It's ok, now, you're safe, and you will be returned to Yussuf immediately." Dani didn't respond, causing Johnson to jump to conclusions. "I hope you will get over this unfortunate series of events," he said with fondness. "If Yussuf could have stopped it happening, he would have, and if he could have saved you sooner, you know he would have done that too," Johnson continued and then his face creased up with disgust. "My poor Dani," he looked sorrowful. "You are covered in that disgusting kludge's scent, I can only image the horrors you have experienced at the hand of that creature," he sneered towards Harper, who was about to protest until Dani glared at him, stopping him reacting.

"We will have to bathe you before you see Yussuf, you know how this will upset him further about your situation," Johnson instructed, but Dani simply looked at Harper, almost ignoring Johnson until he began to lead her towards the door. Harper's eyes just stared at Dani with concern, and unspoken words between them made them both know that they had to remain silent about the truth.

As Johnson reached the door with Dani, more guards appeared and Harper and Beka found themselves being restrained, with little care being given to their welfare as their hands were forced behind their backs. Johnson gestured to two of his men to take Dani back to the ship, and to take care of her, and he then returned to stand in front of Harper and Beka.

"Bring them to their feet," Johnson ordered and the guards pulled Beka and Harper up till they were standing before Johnson. Johnson's face immediately creased once again with disgust in front of Harper. "You insult me with your very presence," he declared and then turned to Beka. "And you associate with this thing," he gestured with distain. "Bring them both, it's time to leave, Yussuf will be arriving in a couple of hours, so we need to be ready."

Beka threw a concerned glance towards Harper, but he wasn't looking back at her, he seemed lost inside himself as they were led through the building, his face nothing but a mask showing no emotion. As they moved towards the exit of the building the landlord spat towards Beka as they passed her, throwing insults at the now blonde prisoner for risking the safety of her business, by choosing her establishment to hide from someone like Yussuf. Beka let her head drop, the whole situation had brought out a crowd, and she had never felt so humiliated as they were led through the streets, but as she looked at Harper he seemed indifferent to the whole situation, almost as if a part of him was use to this sort of treatment and she suddenly felt for her friend, and feared for the both of them.

There were bodies everywhere, and Dylan rubbed his face to rid the tiredness he suddenly felt. Two explosions had ripped through the conference centre, causing countless casualties and fatalities, and Dylan could only consider that it could have been a lot worse, the main meeting hall had been saved from attack.

Trance moved next to Dylan, taking in his emotions before speaking. "This attack served no purpose," Trance stated with sadness. "It was a pointless attack against innocent people."

"It did serve a purpose," Dylan corrected her, and moved on pass the line of bodies. "It was a distraction, a final gesture of defiance."

"Defiance?" Trance questioned.

"We are dealing with a man who believes he is better than anybody else, and this act of petulance has proved that, killing these people was nothing more than a show of his power," Dylan confirmed. "And that this conference and the Commonwealth are no longer his focus," he added.

"I don't understand, he had the opportunity to destroy the most important figureheads in the Commonwealth, but chose instead to maim innocents," Trance said with confusion.

Dylan stopped and stared at Trance with concern. "From the evidence we have, and from what we know of Yussuf, it would appear something of greater interest has come to his attention."

"Dani," Trance realised.

"He left us a parting shot, to let us know he was here and what he is capable of doing," Dylan gestured with anger showing in his expression. "But his insane obsession with Dani has caused him to drop everything, to go to her."

"All these people," Trance looked around at the dead and dying, the injured and scared people she saw. "Is it possible for one man to cause this much destruction, for a girl who we consider to be his slave?"

"We have to believe that this maniac is very capable of doing this, we have the evidence right here, and now that maniac is on his way to find Dani, and with her he will find Beka and Harper," Dylan stressed. "We can only hope Rhade has managed to find them first, but I know one thing, I'm not staying here a moment longer."

Trance simply nodded her head. "I should stay here, help these people," she indicated and Dylan didn't argue.

"Do what you can, I'll take Rommie and we'll keep in touch," Dylan stated, and put a comforting arm on Trance's shoulder. "Remind me in the future that there is no such thing as a simple mission," he attempted a grin, but it was more of a grimace as he moved away.

The screams ran through the ships corridors, and Beka closed her eyes recognising the source. Her hands tied tightly behind her back, her ankles bound together, and she now wore simple pants and top, prisoner wear she guessed. Beka knew why she was hearing the screams, as she had only thirty minutes earlier experienced the same. It was called the cleansing process, preparation of the prisoners to meet Yussuf, and it had stung like hell, whatever it was they used to clean them, and now Harper was going through the same process.

With a touch of concern Beka closed her eyes, trying not to imagine what Harper was going through, but knowing all too well. She shifted uncomfortably, feeling lengths of pain running down her back, sharp and intense. Beka remembered twice stumbling over, the shear intensity of the cleaning treatment had caused her to fall over and as a result they had punished her, and she felt the stinging sensation of the punishment now running down her back. With her eyes still closed, Beka controlled her growing anger and frustration, she had to remain vigilant and strong, or else they would win.

Hearing another cry from down the corridor, Beka could only hope that Harper's ordeal would be over soon, but she feared that the very fact Johnson had already shown disgust towards Harper's background, that things did not bode well for either of them. Her face now throbbed, and she could feel that her eyelid was burning and she felt blood running down the side of her face, it was probably only coming to her attention now in sympathy to the treatment she imagined Harper was receiving.

Rhade stayed back, far enough away to not be detected but he was growing restless. For the past hour he had remained stationary, awaiting the ships next move but they seemed to be going nowhere fast. He had long concluded that they had reached a meeting point, but it did nothing for his patience.

As he waiting the fears and concerns played on his mind, what were they waiting for? Rhade had no clue to the Maru's whereabouts, there was no trace of it in this sector, so he had nothing to go on now bar hearing Yussuf's name in transmission between the two ships he now watched. He was well aware that these ships could be waiting for supplies, or for anything, but he had to believe they were connected to Beka and the Maru.

It had been over ten hours now since he began his quest, he would be a fool to think that Yussuf's people hadn't now caught up with Beka, Harper and Dani, and he feared they had too much power for the threesome to escape. With regret, Rhade wished he had been able to reach them, but so good had there plans been to protect the Maru, they had inadvertently made it impossible to find in this instance. Rhade knew Yussuf had seen the Maru leave, how else did he know it had left the Andromeda and then request a sighting of Dani? They had the head start that guaranteed them access to the Maru and its crew, and now left Rhade with only six hours remaining of power in a slip fighter, hiding amongst the stars trying to keep hope.

The only comfort Rhade had was the knowledge that before he had entered the last slip stream portal, he had dropped a beacon and then had left an ion trial small enough for a ship like the Andromeda to detect and follow, but not be picked up by the ships he was following. He couldn't risk making any contact whilst he hid in the sector he now occupied, it would be like lighting the ship up with a sign saying 'shoot me'.

Rhade could only smirk at his increasingly maddening thoughts, he had to remain focused, as he continued to sporadically scan the sector and remain undetected, playing Yussuf at his own game, he thought with considered joy.

It was an old tactic, but one Harper had never forgotten, and that was that when someone was trying to convince him they were more powerful, he would simply stare at them to show defiance to their claim. Unfortunately, it usually only succeeded in making them madder, but Harper couldn't help himself.

He stared at the uber who called himself Johnson, but he didn't listen to a word the psycho was saying to him, it was only pointless insults he had heard nearly all his life, nothing new to him. His skin felt hot, a burning sensation all over and his eyes still stung, the worse pain was coming from the newly acquired welts on his back. Still he was ordered to remain standing having already tested what happened should he fall to the ground, the three burning slashes across his back testament to that.

"Rinse the kludge, before his skin starts to melt," Johnson then ordered, and before Harper could react, he felt the strength of two strong jets of water hit him full on in his stomach and he stumbled back under the insane pressure, finding himself sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath.

The water was unrelenting as it continued to almost drown him, at one point Harper felt as though he was being forced fed the stuff, as it hit him full in the face and once again he was unable to breathe for a moment. The water covered every inch of him with unrelenting pressure, ridding him of the burning sensation but it was freezing cold and he found himself now involuntarily shivering.

Harper didn't even notice when the water had stopped, until he felt a fresh smack of pain against his back, that continued for a further two strikes till he found his feet again.

"Dress and shackle him," Johnson said without emotion, and immediately pants were handed to Harper and with difficulty he attempted to put them on, with chains quickly being attached almost as soon as he was done. "He'll be presented to Yussuf soon, and I do not want our master to be disgusted by the sight of it."

Harper felt ready to drop, breathing heavily and sensing the returning pain in his lungs, he wanted his meds but already knew they were long gone. Behind him, he heard one of the ubers ask a question but he wasn't able to concentrate as he recovered his composure after his ordeal, the pain now radiating around his body.

Suddenly he felt his head being pulled back, and heard a noise he didn't recognise until he felt claw like sensations on his scalp. To his horror Harper realised they were cutting his hair, and they seemed to be giving him a crew cut and he tried to struggle to show his displeasure, but this only served to make the ubers hold him tighter, and handle the clippers scraping his scalp more roughly.

"We can not afford you to remain a filthy kludge in Yussuf's company!" Johnson snapped and as soon as the clippers were moved away, Johnson backhanded Harper sharply across the face.

It took all of Harper's willpower not to find himself on the floor once again, he wanted it to end but he was determined not to let the ubers see this, and he kept eye contact with Johnson the whole time, even with the blood he now tasted and felt escaping from his body.

"Take him away, and make sure those cuts are cleaned thoroughly, and Valentines as well, we can not encourage them to get sick on us," Johnson ordered, and then left the room.

Harper was pushed forward roughly, his head felt unnatural, his body sore as he stumbled along, and his bare feet now painfully walking along the grated floor, walking the short distance to the holding cell that he and Beka now occupied.

TBC