Part 20
"Let go of me!"
Lucas watched Kalika struggle, and stood his ground, powerless to help as he watched his sister being tied up. Beside Kalika, his wife and children were silent, and looking scared.
"Why are you doing this?" Lucas asked the men that had barged into the house earlier that evening with his family in tow.
"This house is leased by Dylan Hunt, we want Dylan Hunt and you will bring us Dylan Hunt!"
"What?" Lucas demanded. "I hardly know him!"
"You're staying in his house," the man returned.
Lucas tried to respond but stopped himself, knowing anything he was about to say would only prove them right. "Look, why bring my wife and kids here, why tie them and my sister up?" Lucas asked, glancing at his loved ones with concern.
"Motivation," the man snarled. "You will bring us Dylan Hunt, or we will kill them."
"If you want Dylan Hunt, we should have let my sister's boyfriend in!" Lucas snapped. "If you'd have told me sooner, I'd have dragged his butt in here myself, and not my sister!"
"Keep talking," the man approached Lucas, and Lucas had to look away from the worried frown his sister now wore, knowing her feelings for Harper.
"Dylan said we could stay here, least my sister could stay here because of Harper, they are old friends so if you want Dylan, you want Harper," Lucas spoke and heard a stifled sob from his sister, unable to look at her.
"Seamus Harper, the same Seamus Harper who continued to evade us, who worked with Marika, who was, some suspected, the reason the strangers caused the fall of our system?" the man spoke slowly. "We are Tech Police and if you can give us Harper, and Harper can give us Dylan Hunt and the rest of those strangers then you my friend, you are my new best friend."
"You'll spare my family, if I give you Harper?" Lucas asked.
"I will ensure you and your family are never troubled again," the man smiled. "We want those strangers to pay for what they did to us, and if we can take out Seamus Harper as well, its bonus time all round."
"No," Kalika offered with despair.
"Tell me where to find Seamus Harper," the man then turned to Kalika.
"Tell him, sis, please, my kids, do it for my kids, please," Lucas begged.
Kalika couldn't stop the tears, and she found herself looking at the young toddlers, oblivious to the torment around them, as they quietly played with some wooden toys. "The Oasis, he owns the Oasis, the bar in town," Kalika almost choked as she betrayed Harper. "I guess he's gone there, he has no where else to go."
"Sarjed, take our prisoners to secured accommodation," the lead man spoke and turned to Lucas. "Your sister has feelings for Harper, useful to us."
"Hey, we've helped you, and you said you'd look after us, where are you taking them!" Lucas yelled.
"When the strangers are dead, and Seamus Harper has played his part, you will benefit with your families good health!" the man shouted back, and Lucas backed down. "You will ensure Seamus Harper helps us, by reminding him of what's at stake for you, particularly your sister."
"Don't you dare harm Kalika because of this Harper guy, she is blinded by this stranger, what she thinks she feels isn't real," Lucas warned.
"I'm not interested in her feelings, only revenge against those who destroyed what I had," the man sneered coldly, and pushed Lucas towards the door.
The sun was only just rising as they walked along the busy street. The locals were gathered early for a local market and the crowds were a surprise for the normally quiet area. Beka frowned, as she walked with Rhade. It had been while since they had been planet side, having been travelling amongst the stars for a number of days, and the noise and mayhem had caught them off guard.
"I could really kill for a drink now," Rhade remarked, as he shoved a local aside who had stepped into his path.
"The bar won't be open yet, surely?" Beka commented. "It's still early."
"Looks open," Rhade gestured to the open door, and with a shrug Beka gestured to him to lead the way.
They stepped into the empty building and approached the bar to await service. They both looked around and frowned, before Beka spoke. "Maybe it's not open?"
"Could be the temptation of the market has driven everyone away," Rhade smirked. "Service!" Rhade then yelled but heard no response.
"Let's sit down, maybe Sembler is out the back and isn't expecting customers this early," Beka suggested, and they moved to a side table.
"So how long will you leave it?" Rhade asked once they were settled.
"Leave what?"
"Going to see him," Rhade spoke, attempting to look disinterested.
Beka glared at Rhade, before answering. "I don't know, I want to see him but I'm going to wait until we know if Dylan wants us to suddenly go off on another mad mission."
"I thought you weren't going to help Dylan any more?"
"I don't want to stay in this system, I just want out and I figure my chances are improved if I stick with Dylan," Beka reasoned. "Now the Andromeda is up to forty percent power, it's mad not to stick with him."
They both looked round on hearing a sudden nose coming from the back rooms, sounding like something or someone had fallen down. Getting to her feet, Beka glanced at Rhade whilst putting her hand to her holstered gun on instinct.
"I'll go check it out," she remarked.
"Whilst you're up you can get me a beer," Rhade suggested.
"Get your own," Beka returned and headed towards the back room. As she approached she cautiously walked through the door. "Hello? Anyone here?"
"Beka?"
"Harper?" Beka spoke with shock and moved forward so she could see him, and found him kneeling on the floor cleaning up some bottles that had smashed. "What are you doing here?"
"Was about to ask the same," Harper remarked, as he collected the bag of broken glass and got to his feet.
Beka reached out and stopped him, grabbing his arm. "Hey, what happened?"
"I dropped some bottles, no big deal," Harper stressed.
"What happened to your face?" Beka asked, seeing the bruises and cuts around his eyes and cheeks, some only looked a few hours old and didn't appear to have been treated other than cleaned, but others were older, possibly a couple of days.
"Nothing, can you let me go?" Harper asked, and shrugged Beka's hold off him before continuing to move.
"Harper I was only gone a few days, what is going on? Why are you here, where's Kalika? Where's Sembler, Nat?"
Harper glanced at Beka but didn't answer and instead moved to the back door, going outside to dump the broken glass. Beka watched him returning and crossed her arms, as Harper continued to keep busy whilst avoiding her.
"Seamus," Beka tried again and this time Harper stopped, before looking at her.
"Kalika threw me out, Sembler gave me the bar, Nat disappeared, so who knows," he shrugged. "Ok? That's all you need to know," Harper explained, before moving to the bar.
Beka wanted to know more, but on hearing Rhade's reaction to seeing Harper, she quickly moved to join them in the bar area. Rhade had walked to the bar by the time Beka reached them, and he looked at her with confusion.
"What's going on?" Rhade asked Beka, as Harper set up the bar ready for opening as if he'd been doing it all his life, but Beka could only shrug.
"This is my bar now, ok?" Harper stressed, clearly wanting to be left alone to set up. "Sembler has gone, I'm better, I'm doing something with my worthless life, so let me get on and get out of my face!" he snapped, and moved around the bar to check the tables.
"I want a beer," Rhade ordered.
"We open in twenty minutes," Harper returned, busying himself with cleaning the tables.
"Your door is open now so I'll help myself," Rhade suggested, as he reached for a glass but before he could take the bottle, Harper had closed the distance and snatched the bottle away.
"No, you won't, you'll wait!" Harper stressed. "That door is not supposed to be open, it must have-" Harper stopped mid-sentence and didn't continue, as he glared at Rhade.
"I want a drink, little man," Rhade sneered and grabbed hold of the bottle, at the same time as Harper made a grab for it and for a moment a tussled between the two took place, as Beka looked on with a frown.
When Harper refused to release his grip on the bottle, Rhade used his superior strength, and pushed the human back keeping a hold on the bottle as Harper crashed into some crates behind the bar, and took instinctive cover as the top crate toppled and came down on top of him, smashing bottles around him.
"Harper!" Beka cried out, and hurried to his side and even Rhade put the bottle down and helped lift the crates off the human.
"I'm ok," Harper stressed as he pushed the help away and got quickly to his feet, looking unsteady for a moment but dismissed their concerns. "Just go!" he then ordered, and both Beka and Rhade looked at each other.
Beka finally gestured to Rhade to go, and to her surprise he left without complaint and she hoped Harper didn't notice him taking the bottle with him.
"I said go," Harper repeated to Beka, as he began to tidy up the mess, but Beka instead stayed and helped him pick up more broken pieces of glass.
"Not having much luck with the bottles today," Beka remarked. "Add these to the ones you broke earlier as well." Harper appeared agitated by her presence, which concerned her as she put the last broken bottle in the bag. "What's going on, Seamus?" she asked again.
Harper grabbed the bag and once again moved to the back of the bar and dumped it outside. Moments later Beka spotted another guy out the back, and one that she recognised but couldn't think from where. The stranger was stacking more bottles, and she watched as the guy briefly spoke to Harper before he returned to the main serving area.
"Who's that?" Beka gestured.
"Lucas," Harper answered, as he began to clean some glasses behind the counter.
"Kalika's brother," Beka now remembered, and saw the surprise register on Harper's face. "He was on board the Maru with Kalika, when you were ill," she offered as an explanation, and Harper seemed to accept it without comment. "Does he work here?"
"Yeah," Harper answered.
"Even though his sister threw you out?"
"What is it with the twenty questions?" Harper finally snapped. "Didn't I ask you to leave, we're not open yet."
"Harper, stop this, I'm not some stranger that you barely know," Beka returned angrily.
"Three years is a long time," Harper simply answered.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Beka demanded, and followed Harper as he began to move around the bar checking the chairs and tables.
"Three years, Beka," Harper repeated. "I've been here three years and things change, ok?"
"So what, we're not friends now? That's not the impression you gave me a few days ago when you were all with the hugs," Beka stressed. "I just don't get it with you lately, and seriously I'm beginning to wonder if I ever knew you at all, Seamus."
"This is my life now," Harper looked at Beka. "You're not a part of it anymore, so go," he ordered, not breaking eye contact with Beka that didn't go unnoticed by her, his mouth seemed to be saying words that his expression wasn't expressing.
"So just like that you want me to leave?" she asked, and offered a frown to try and see if she was reading him correctly.
Harper shrugged, but didn't answer vocally, though his eyes offered a look of despair.
"Why are you doing this?" Beka asked with confusion, which was genuine as she tried to determine if Harper was actually trying to speak to her through his expressions. "What's going on, who's did that to your face? I've only been gone a few days, and I know things don't change that much."
"Harper," Lucas then called out, now stood behind the bar. "I need your help out back with something."
Harper acknowledged Lucas and then glanced at Beka. "Just go," he spoke calmly, and seemed to want to say more but stopped himself.
Beka was reluctant to leave and for a moment neither of them moved or spoke, before Beka sighed. "I'll go now, but I'll be back, Seamus, I know something is going on and I intend to find out what," she stated in a low voice.
Harper glanced around before suddenly taking Beka's hand and walking her briskly to one of the corner tables where to her surprise, he pulled her close as if intending to kiss her, but before he did he covered her mouth with his hand and whispered in her ear. "Just stay alert, and stay close, please?" he whispered in panicked breaths. "I can't explain, but don't leave me, whatever you do please don't leave without me," Harper paused knowing he had to say more, seeing Beka's puzzled expression. "You may have rid this system of the tech police, but you didn't change the attitude of its people, they haven't changed," he frowned. "But you have to go, you can't stay here, not at the moment, it's bad for me," Harper continued to hurriedly explain whilst to the casual observer they appeared to be in a passionate embrace.
Beka's eyes were wide as Harper prevented her talking, keeping his hand over her mouth. "I'm in trouble, but I can't do anything, lives are at stake, I need your help but I don't know how yet, but you have to trust me just stay close, please?"
Beka nodded her head, before Harper promptly moved away and left her to take in what had just happened. Taking some deep breaths before she moved to the exit, fully intending to find out what trouble Harper was in.
Harper quickly moved into the back room intending to help Lucas and immediately found himself being sent painfully down to the floor in a heap as a right hook caught him across the face. Harper rolled on the floor getting his bearings, before he glanced at Lucas with a frown, and then looked at the two men to Lucas's right, one of which had struck him.
"I got rid of her," Harper snapped, rubbing his cheek, still on his back on the floor. "We have to open up," he then added with a sneer.
"What was all that about?" one of the men asked, stepping forward to stand over Harper.
"What was what?" Harper asked, and swiftly felt a kick to the gut in response. Gasping for breath, Harper closed his eyes to the pain before looking up at the man stood over him still. "She's an old friend, she was talking too much so I did what normally shuts her up, I kissed her, you got a problem with romance?" Harper sneered.
"Seemed a long kiss, and she seemed a little shocked," the man argued.
"It's been three years, she's forgotten the Harper love, or are you upset because you didn't have a front row seat, what are you?" Harper feigned disgust. "Jealousy doesn't suit you," he then smirked and this time attempted to shield himself from the kick to the gut that followed.
"We're watching you, don't forget what you have to do!" the man spat before gesturing to his friend to follow him, as they returned to the living quarters and slammed the door.
"Are you ok?" Lucas was quick to ask, as he knelt down and checked on Harper.
"Fine," Harper stressed with annoyance, and attempted to get to his feet only to recoil back in agony as he felt shooting pains in his arm.
"What is it?" Lucas feared.
"Damn shoulder," Harper rubbed his arm, attempted to dismiss the pain as Lucas helped him to his feet. "Once we're out of this mess remind me to get it fixed," he frowned, before moving towards the bar. "We better open up, don't want to arouse suspicion do we," he stated, his voice sounded sarcastic.
Lucas nodded his head, and followed Harper back into the bar, where they finished up preparations before opening.
TBC