Part 25
He had been careful and with each turn, Harper had ensured that he was not being watched or followed. For a time, he knew some of Kenan's guards had been attempting to tail him, but after a series of quick turns and a little bit of hiding, Harper had lost them and he was thankful that he had the black hair to blend in.
Harper hadn't realised what Zal had done for him by taking the action of changing his hair colour to match their own. Just from the uncertain actions of the guards that Harper had seen, had shown him that they were not sure if he was who they thought he was, and without the collar on that was only a blessing for Harper who wanted to remain unseen.
Finally Harper had reached his destination, and with some trepidation he entered the building. Not knowing where Zal had gone, this had been the most logical place to try, and Harper hoped Zal would be sat there waiting for him but unfortunately the first person, and only person he saw was Pallu.
"Looking for someone, alien?"
"Pallu," Harper backed away towards the exit immediately. "I was looking for Zal," Harper spoke with uncertainty.
"It's just me and Ethan now in this house, alien," Pallu slowly approached.
"Well, I best go then," Harper announced brightly and turned to head to the door, but Pallu quickly made up the distance, and grabbed Harper's shoulder preventing the human from leaving. Harper froze, and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry that I troubled you, but I really need to leave now."
"I said never come back to this house. I also said that you'd better watch your back," Pallu stressed. "Or don't you take my words seriously, alien? You chose instead to insult me?"
"I was honestly just looking for Zal," Harper lightly protested, whilst inwardly kicking himself for his error.
Harper then looked up as Buz and Tarah walked through the door. They both saw Harper, and stopped.
"Harper, what are you doing back here, I thought you'd gone?" Buz checked.
"He's looking for Zal," Pallu helpfully informed them.
Tarah stepped forward and put her arms on Harpers, her actions making Pallu let go of Harper's shoulders. "Harper I've been so worried about you, are you ok, you look better," Tarah fussed.
"I'm fine," Harper assured her and walked with Tarah, gaining some distance from Pallu.
"Those fires," Buz then spoke up. "You did those, didn't you?"
Harper looked at the Edenian, and found it hard to read his expression and he was reminded of Zal's words of warning against Buz. "Maybe," he answered to a silent room, and one that suddenly felt a little smaller.
"Close the door, Tarah," Pallu now spoke, breaking the brief tension filled silence.
Harper found himself backing away once more from Pallu, as he approached him and this time Buz and Tarah were simply looking on.
"What's going on?" Harper asked unsure.
"I thought he'd be harder to catch," Buz commented. "What is it with these aliens and just walking into traps?" he smiled broadly.
"No way," Harper denied, and with some effort he escaped the grasping hand of Pallu and made it to the door, and it seemed that Tarah simply stepped aside so he could make his escape.
Running blindly down the sun drenched stone streets of the city, Harper could no longer take the care needed to avoid being spotted. He no longer cared, as he attempted to get as much distance from Pallu as he could. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Harper rested against a stone wall, hidden from the main areas of town, and seemingly out of sight.
All too soon however, Harper heard shouting and he knew he'd have to start moving again. Not knowing how they were keeping up with him, Harper jumped up and grasped at a stone wall, pulling himself up the seven or so foot in height and nearly falling over to the other side. Finding himself in a yard of some sort, he raced through the house and briefly apologised to the startled residents before finding himself back in an open street, but one that he found that he recognised, and he knew he was nearly home.
With his energy waning rapidly, Harper pushed himself the final few meters and literally stumbled to the floor on entering the house. Breathing heavily, Harper was only vaguely aware of Beka and Asa being at his side, and attempting to assist him.
With encouragements of breathing deeply and taking his time, Harper finally was able to focus on the room, seeing Beka, Asa, Rhade and Dylan staring back at him with concern.
"It's ok," Harper assured them. "Just a little trouble, nothing serious," he then added, in the hope it would deflect the questioning.
"Kenan's guards?" Beka asked with concern, but already Harper was shaking his head.
"No," he then answered. "Just a few old friends I bumped into, not so much friends now," he stated between recovering breaths. "Water?" Harper then asked, but Beka could only shake her head.
"We're out till rations arrive," She answered sadly.
"Have some of the good stuff," Asa offered, but Harper pushed it away. "Come on, you need liquid," Asa persisted.
"Sick of that stuff," Harper dismissed and then sat up, and took a deep breath.
"So who were these friends?" Asa asked, once Harper was calm and focused again.
"No one, just people I met," Harper waved the question away, reluctant to explain and especially whilst Beka was there, he really didn't want to have to mention Pallu to her.
"Tell me," Asa insisted. "I know most folk around here, good and bad, and if they are giving you grief," Asa hinted. "Enough grief that you come running in here like your life depended on it, well then I might know them."
"Tell him, Harper," Beka now stated and Harper sighed.
"Some guy called Buz, and some other people," Harper tried to be as dismissive as he could.
"Buz?" Asa's tone immediately told Harper that he knew the name. "How the hell did you get mixed up with him?"
Harper looked at Asa with surprise before shrugging. "After I left your place, they took me in, and gave me a place to stay."
"I bet he did," Asa turned away and walked to the door, looking to see if anyone was outside.
"Who is Buz?" Beka finally asked when nothing more was forthcoming.
"Someone your friend seriously should not have got talking to," Asa stressed. "He's bad news, Harper, you hear me?"
"Yeah," Harper dismissed. "Zal's already warned me about him."
"Zal isn't much better, but he is a good kid at heart," Asa frowned.
Harper got to his feet and moved to where Asa was stood. "So what does this mean?" he asked. "I'm now on the run from the guards and Buz?"
"Nothing has changed, as such," Asa informed him. "Buz is a member of the Gilads, you were already on the run from them I understand," Asa half smiled.
"I thought the Gilad's roamed, Buz has a house," Harper questioned.
"That house, most probably where you stayed, is Gilads owned," Asa stated.
"But Zal lived there," Harper returned unsure, and saw Asa look away. "No, no way," Harper was shaking his head. "Zal ran with me, away from the Gilads, he's not a part of them!"
"How did he know they were the Gilads?" Asa questioned. "And how did the Gilads know to chase Zal?"
"If you knew this then why didn't you say something earlier?" Beka now questioned.
"Zal is not the problem, Zal has a problem," Asa explained with care.
"He sure does," Rhade now spoke up from where he sat with Dylan.
"He was once a part of the Gilads," Harper already guessed and sat down against the wall. "It makes sense now, they told me they were from the Haves, but that they had dismissed their parent's loyalty to Kenan, and moved to this side," he stated.
"The Gilads brought them to this side, but they roam wherever, just at this moment in time this is their home," Asa explained. "What I don't understand is why Zal has been hanging around with you, Harper; I was hoping that by simply observing I might have figured it out."
"What?" Harper checked. "What do you mean? That Zal has been working for the Gilads?"
"Possibly, I can't think of any other reason why he would stay so close to you, like he has," Asa continued to consider the situation.
"He said it's because he considers me a friend, because I gave him the light of day and you know what, I believe him," Harper stressed.
"Harper," Beka quietly spoke. "Zal is weird, and we all saw how he acted around you, so finding out he was keeping some sort of tab on you makes a lot of sense."
"No," Harper rapidly dismissed again. "Zal is not working for the Gilads," he stressed. "If he's working for anyone, it has to be Pallu."
"Pallu?" Asa picked up. "Please, no, don't tell me you've mixed with that guy as well, what are you doing?" Asa asked with dismay. "Ticking off 'how many of the must not meets in Edenia can I meet' list?" he added.
Harper couldn't help the smirk. "I wasn't doing it on purpose, they all lived in the same house, it's not like I purposely set out to meet these nut jobs," Harper defended.
"Pallu lives in the same house as Buz?" Asa now asked.
"Yeah, with Ethan, his lover," Harper explained.
"Zal's brother?" Asa checked.
"You tell me, you seem to know the ins and outs of this community better than I can ever hope to!" Harper stressed.
"Interesting," Asa simply concluded.
"What?" Harper asked.
"It's interesting that Pallu has chosen Ethan for a mate," Asa responded after a moment's thought.
"Is this really the time to be thinking happy families?" Beka asked, growing impatient. "What has all this got to do with Harper?"
"Nothing," Asa confirmed almost immediately. "But it has everything to do with everything else."
"Huh?" Harper asked tiredly.
"The Gilads are becoming organised," Asa stated with an optimistic smile. "That's a good thing."
"That the gang terrorising this city are becoming organised?" Beka checked. "How can that possibly be a good thing?"
Asa simply smiled. "I do not condone their methods, but they are now the most likely in this city to overthrow Kenan, no offence to your own methods, but in short what this place needs is a good kick up the backside, wouldn't you agree?"
"No offence taken, but won't they be much of the same as Kenan, on what we've seen so far?" Harper asked with confusion. "You're replacing one nut with several, how is that a good thing?"
"The attention has all been on your arrival, you've distracted Kenan who is expecting you to strike, not the Gilads," Asa explained with some passion. "And that has given the Gilads the opportunity to strike, I should hope that's the plan at any rate," Asa continued, without answering Harper's question. "Zal must have just been keeping tabs on you to ensure their plans went to plan," he continued to figure it out.
"How do you deduce all this from finding out that Pallu is seeing Zal's brother?" Beka was forced to ask, when it didn't become obvious.
Asa suddenly appeared agitated. "I need to talk to some people, and get some things confirmed. This could be very important to the future of this place," he stated and without another word he left the house.
"Does any of this make any sense?" Rhade was the first to speak.
"Sure," Harper shrugged. "Just not right now," Harper added, as he sat down on the floor and rubbed his head.
Beka looked at Harper for a few moments. "Are you sure you're ok?" she asked. "No more fits or anything?"
"No, I'm good," Harper offered without looking up, and remained silent for a moment before looking up. "It doesn't feel right."
"What doesn't?" Beka asked.
"That we're not the ones who can help these people," Harper answered. "We always help people, it's what we do and we've failed."
"We haven't failed, Harper," Beka dismissed.
"You heard Asa and Rhade's right, he's gone now and he doesn't consider us able to do anything for this place," he sighed. "But we're still here, trapped against our will, so when did we go from the 'hope' to the 'hope to be saved'?"
"Nothing has changed," Beka went to sit with Harper.
"Not for me, nothing has changed at all, back to square one," Harper complained. "In fact I'm probably the most experienced among us for the crap we find ourselves in now," Harper frowned. "I don't like this feeling of déjà vu I've been getting."
"Harper, I still need you to work out the defences," Dylan then spoke up, his voice lacking its usual energy. "Andromeda still needs you to work those defences out."
"What's the point?" Harper dismissed, getting to his feet. "I've done a good job of making enemies with just about everyone, and the minute I step out this door I'll run into trouble so what good can I do?"
Rhade quickly moved to Harper's position and firmly gripped the human's shoulders, forcing him to acknowledge the Nietzschean. "You're no good to us sat in here moaning about being here," Rhade pointed out. "Dylan is no good to us after he suffered the pains of torture because of you," he added. "We need you to help us, we need to get help for Dylan and that help is up there," Rhade gestured with his eyes to the skies above. "Either you get a grip, Harper, or I'll hand you to Kenan myself and solve one problem at least."
"You wouldn't dare," Harper challenged, and suddenly found his arm almost yanked from its socket, as Rhade began to march him to the door with his intention clear for all to see.
"Rhade!" Beka was quick to interject, on seeing Harper desperately attempting to remove Rhade's hold from his upper arm, and she stopped the Nietzschean from dragging Harper out of the house. "That tactic doesn't work, trust me, Harper could relay a number of airlock stories to you from our days on the Maru."
Rhade stopped, still keeping hold of Harper. "We can not afford for Harper to give up now."
"I'm not giving up, I'm being realistic," Harper sneered, still struggling to remove Rhade's firm hold. "You haven't lived like this before, I have."
"Then stop acting like a spoilt brat and do something," Rhade returned with venom.
Harper glared at Rhade for a few moments before the uber let him go, and immediately Harper backed away, rubbing his arm to encourage the circulation back into it. "I'm not acting like anything, I'm just tired, hungry and a little bit pissed off but I am not a spoilt brat, you couldn't be more wrong," Harper snapped looking away. "Spoilt? Me?" Harper then checked he had heard right, and then shook his head bitterly.
"Harper," Beka spoke calmly, facing her friend. "Wait for me outside," she instructed and without complaint, Harper left the room. Beka turned to Rhade with a face like thunder. "Nietzschean bully tactics have no effect on Harper, maybe it's you who should get a grip and remember where Harper's from, then maybe instead of picking on Harper, you could devise some sort of plan yourself to get us off this rock?" Beka stated, and then turned to Dylan seeing the captain's concerned expression as he went to talk.
"Beka, Rhade, we really need to work together on this," Dylan requested.
"I'll talk to Harper, and hopefully Rhade's little fit hasn't done too much damage," Beka sighed. "He needs something, Dylan, just something to make this seem a little better."
"I'll see what I can do," Dylan smiled wearily, looking ready to sleep in his weakened state.
Beka glared at Rhade for a moment before leaving the room, she was fuming inside at Rhade's attempts to take control of the situation. The signs were all too clear, Harper was scared and lost and the last thing he needed was a pep talk from an obnoxious Nietzschean like Rhade. The kid had just learned that the guy he'd been calling a friend was a Gilad, and that he was probably in a lot deeper than he ever wished, adding Rhade's threats to the mix was not a good idea.
Beka stepped outside and found Harper leaning against the stone wall of the house, in that moment she noticed for the first time how drawn Harper looked. Although it had only been a few days, Harper was already showing signs of weight loss. No one else would have noticed yet, but Beka had seen him before, when he had first joined the Maru and she felt a sudden knot in her stomach.
"Ignore him," Beka stated as she approached, and saw the knowing look from Harper.
"Already forgotten," Harper answered brightly, and to her surprise, as they began to walk down the stone streets. "Should I go back and get that collar?" Harper then asked unsure.
"No, you're not going to wear that thing," Beka dismissed. "I don't care what Kenan says, and if he wants a piece of me he can have a go, but Beka Valentine is not for catching."
Harper smirked and put his hands in his pockets. "I'd die for a shower right about now," he sighed.
"I'd even be prepared to join you, I smell so bad," Beka smiled.
"Why can't a shower just appear right now?" Harper suddenly perked up at that thought, but faked disappointment when his wish wasn't answered. "Same old Harper luck," he conceded.
"You never stop, do you?" Beka teased.
"Do you want me to stop fantasying about you?" Harper innocently asked, before a smirk covered his face.
Beka was smirking now. "No, it's reassuring to know someone does," she then smiled, but soon lost the smile when Harper reached out and gestured to her to stop, as he listened. "What is it?"
"Shhh," Harper simply hissed, pressing himself against the wall and making Beka do likewise.
Moments later a patrol marched past, and failed to notice them in the shadows. Once they had passed Harper moved forward.
"I take it back, this isn't like before," Harper confirmed with confidence. "Before on Earth, those guards would have smelt us, and heard our breathing, thankfully Edenians are not so gifted," he smiled. "Gives us an advantage I've never had before," he added with a cocky smile.
"I guess that's something," Beka decided, and moved to Harper's side. "So what should we do now?"
"I really need to find the control centre, the place that controls that shield above us, any ideas?" Harper asked casually.
"None," Beka responded.
"Then we have to revert to old tactics from my youth," Harper decided, almost enthusiastically. "We have to follow the guards, and hope they lead us right to the place on their patrol."
"That could take all night and day, this is a big city and we don't even know if the guards are patrolling that area," Beka seemed uncertain.
"You have better things to do?" Harper enquired, making a valid point.
"Time is of the essence," Beka reminded him.
"And I can't do a damn thing until we find those defence controls," Harper stated firmly.
Beka considered this and then gestured for them to move, deciding to follow Harper's plan, in the hope it wouldn't be a fruitless task.
Rhade paced the room in the house, occasionally glancing at the prone captain with some concern. Both of Dylan's arms were in makeshift supports across his chest securing them, but he looked tired and weak. The Nietzschean hated to see such a strong mean weakened due to the acts of others, and he couldn't help his feelings of resentment towards Harper, as his pacing continued. Rhade wanted to be doing something, but instead he felt the need to protect the house, and their captain, whilst relying on the indifferent smaller human to save their skins. How much he wished that Beka wasn't so dependant on the boy, so he could have wrung his neck already and done them all a favour. Clearly, however, the boy had control of Beka's emotions, plus the respect of the captain, and that was their weakness he decided, as he glanced once more at the captain, being reminded of Harper's acts that caused the captain's pain.
Not knowing where Harper was, with Beka in tow, troubled Rhade, he then realised. It was obvious now that the heat was on Harper, and the very idea that Beka was in the line of fire by staying with Harper made Rhade growl under his breath, clearly agitated by the situation. If he was in control he'd have tied Harper up long ago and kept him in the house, not let him wander around like a moving target, risking Beka in any cross fire. It made no sense to him to keep letting Harper run around, making trouble for them all.
"Rhade quit growling. It will not help the healing process act any faster," Dylan calmly advised, with his eyes still closed. When Rhade didn't react, the captain opened his eyes, and seemed to notice the fury behind the Nietzschean's eyes for the first time. "Getting yourself worked up will not help either."
"I am not pleased about relying so much on Harper to get us out of this place," Rhade admitted, through gritted teeth. "The kid is a liability; I don't understand why he is even here."
"Big talk for a guy who's only properly known 'the kid' for a few weeks," Dylan returned.
"I've seen enough," Rhade dismissed.
"I'm sure you have, but there is more to him that you couldn't have possibly seen," Dylan stated tiredly.
"How can you defend the man that did that to you?" Rhade partly snapped.
Dylan half smiled. "I was defending Harper, not Kenan."
"You know what I mean," Rhade snapped.
Dylan shuffled slightly, adjusting his position with pained features. "You'll learn in time that Harper is full of surprises," Dylan finally managed.
"I just don't like that he's dragging us, more importantly Beka into his stupid games, he needs control," Rhade sneered, his anger not improving.
"I only see one person losing their temper around here, needing control," Dylan observed calmly, and then he smiled. "Beka does not need looking after, any more so than Harper does."
Rhade flashed Dylan a look that showed confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I've seen the way you are around Beka," Dylan simply offered. "The reason you've been so intrigued by her closeness to Harper is because you want a piece of that, right?"
Rhade immediately dismissed the captain's observation with a smirk. "I think the pain has gone to your head."
"Come on, admit it," Dylan persisted with amusement. "You're jealous of Harper, and you want Beka to look out for you, like she does for him."
"I don't need a woman to protect me," Rhade threw back, but his mood was lightening.
"Either does Harper but he hardly ever complains. I doubt you would either if it was Beka looking out for you at every turn," Dylan smirked now.
"I just don't think it's a good idea to have Harper wandering around right now," Rhade returned the focus to his genuine concerns. "And especially not with Beka in tow, considering what Kenan said to you."
"Maybe you're right, but we need Harper out there if we're ever going to have a chance of removing the force field from over the city," Dylan sighed. "Help me to my feet," Dylan requested and Rhade immediately moved to Dylan's side.
"You shouldn't be moving," Rhade advised, as Dylan reached full height.
"In a normal situation, I'd agree," Dylan released his arms, with a grimace, from their restraints. "I've had enough rest, my arms are usable, and seeing as we don't have weapons and I have you to throw punches if need be, all I need to be able to do is stay balanced," Dylan stated with urgency. "Let's see if we can't find and assist the other two."
Rhade needed no further encouragement as he walked with Dylan, and left the house.
TBC