Chapter 73
The Winds of Change
In a study of persons reported missing in both Delphi and Caprica City during the final year of Adar's Presidency, sociologists puzzled over the fact that a larger than normal number of the missing listed their primary occupation as 'psychic'. Another anomaly in the findings was that the psychics' disappearances were all reported during the first eight and a half months of the year and stopped abruptly in mid-September. Kidnapping conspiracy theories proliferated with the ultimate theory being that whoever had taken the psychics had found who he was looking for.
- Bartell, History of the Second Cylon War
.
Dreilide Thrace looked better than he had three months earlier. Kara thought his color wasn't nearly as chalky or gray. She told him so as soon as she saw him.
He smiled. "I'm not playing the bars as much. Maybe one night a week now. I'm working in a recording studio."
"When did that happen?" Kara asked. "You didn't mention it in any of your letters."
"I wanted to make sure it was going to work out. A man came up to me one night about a month ago at The Forum. That's a bar down on Acropolis Street. I've played there for years. He works for a big recording studio. They were looking for someone to play background piano for one of their rising stars, a new female vocalist. It's decent money. No tips, though."
"I'm glad you're out of the smoke. You sound better. Your voice is stronger."
He smiled. "That's probably your imagination, but it might tack a couple of months onto my life. Maybe a year. You've had a big week."
"So far. We were up most of Tuesday night. I slept a lot yesterday. I don't see how Laura keeps going. She had interviews and meetings most of the day. She's doing interviews at her office this morning."
"How's John holding up?"
"He's tired. I got up from a nap yesterday afternoon and he and Braedon were both asleep on the couch. Brae was snuggled into him like a puppy."
"What about Lee?"
"He's fine. He took off Tuesday and yesterday. He's working today."
"When do you go back to your battlestar?"
"Early next Monday morning."
"For how long? Three more months?"
Kara thought about the Solstice coming up in less than two months. After they destroyed the basestar close to the Galactica, they would be back over Caprica protecting it. She hoped she would get shore leave on the planet more often, but she couldn't mention that to Dreilide.
"Laura wants me here when she's sworn in as President in January, so I'll get to come back then. I won't be gone quite three months."
"Are you enjoying being on the battlestar?"
"Mostly. I miss Lee. If he was on the G, it would be a lot more fun. I'd still miss everybody else, though."
"What about you being posted here on Caprica?"
"Maybe after I've served my year on the battlestar."
She thought about what Lee had told her, that when the commander of the Pegasus retired sometime during the coming year, that Admiral Adama was going to turn command of the Peggy over to Commander Cain and go back to the Galactica. When that happened, Lee would go with him. She and Lee would be together again. They would be together when the admiral took some of his battlestars to Nereid. After that she had no idea what would happen, especially if they discovered that some Cylons had left Nereid and had gone to Kobol or anywhere else in the galaxy. She didn't think Admiral Adama would want to assume Caprica was safe. He would probably want to pursue the Cylons. She thought about how long that mission might take. Dreilide Thrace would probably die while she was somewhere out among the stars.
She pushed the thought from her mind and smiled. "The Muse thing, does it work long distance?"
He smiled. "I start recording a new CD in a couple of weeks. I finished the last song."
"What did you call it?"
"Autumn Heart."
"Will you play it for me?"
He turned to the piano. The song reminded her of Diaspora only not written in a minor key. She saw the beauty of the autumn in the lilting and haunting melody, the color of the trees and the smell of burning leaves. She'd missed the turning color this year on Caprica because she'd been on the G.
When he stopped playing, she said, "You remember how you used to rake leaves in the backyard of that big old house we lived in on Picon?"
"I'll never forget those creaking floorboards. The colder it got the worse they creaked."
"I'd always want to jump in the pile of leaves and scatter them and you'd let me. Then you'd have to rake them up again."
"You were such a little thing then. You didn't do much damage."
"That's what your song makes me think about."
"Were those good memories for you?"
She smiled. "Some of the best ones I have from that big old house."
"If I had it to do over…"
"You'd still follow your dream."
He took a sip from the ever-present glass of whiskey on top of the piano and looked out the window.
"It's okay," Kara said softly. "I understand a lot more now than I used to. I don't blame you. I don't blame my dad or my mom. I've seen how things happen. A lot of times you make decisions you'd like to change later."
"You still got hurt by what we did."
"We all got hurt. We survived…except Mom and she made a choice. Maybe she regretted it, maybe she didn't. I try not to think about that anymore. I've got my dad and you back in my life now."
Very slowly he nodded and turned to face her. "You forgive me for leaving you and your mom?"
"I wouldn't be here now if I hadn't. I'll try to come back before I go. Will you be here Saturday morning?"
"I should be."
She hugged him. "I'll call you before I drop by."
The early November day was cool and sunny. Kara got a parking place right outside the shoe repair shop and climbed the narrow stairs. There was a commercial For Rent sign taped to the door with a phone number written in black marker. She stood and stared at it for a moment before she knocked. There was no answer. She knocked again and again before she tried the door. It was locked.
She took out her mobile phone and punched in the number listed on the sign.
A pleasant female voice said, "Lycium Realty."
"I'm calling about an apartment that you've got listed for rent."
"Address?" The woman asked.
"It's on Fifty-Third Street near the pier. Above a shoe shop."
"Just a moment, please."
Kara waited. Finally a man came on the line. "Rent's five hundred cubits a month with a four hundred cubit security deposit. I'll need references."
"How long have the last tenants been gone?"
"Six weeks maybe two months."
"Do you know where they went?"
The man sounded impatient. "Do you want to rent the place or not?"
"The two women who lived there are friends of mine. Did they leave a forwarding address?"
"No, and they lost their security deposit. They skipped out, left the place a mess. Left food in the refrigerator, broken dishes on the floor. I had to hire a cleaning crew to go in and clean it out. You find your friends, you tell them they won't get a good reference from me."
Kara could hardly speak because of the sick feeling that washed over her. "Did they leave their clothes, too?"
"I didn't ask the cleaning crew. When they go into a place they either throw away the personal stuff or they keep it. That's our deal."
The sick feeling was replaced by ice in the pit of her stomach. "How did you find out they were gone?"
"The Gemenese woman always came in on the first of the month and paid. Like clockwork. When she didn't show, I sent somebody to collect. He found the place a mess. The women were gone."
"Did the cleaning crew find…was there any reason to think they came to some sort of harm?"
"Not that I heard. They were just gone."
"Did you report them as missing?"
The man snorted impatiently. "If I did that every time tenants skipped out on me, I'd never get anything else done." He ended the call.
Kara walked downstairs, got on her motorcycle and sat for a few minutes. Something was very wrong. Neither Keshia nor Yolanda Brenn would have left suddenly like that, leaving behind their possessions and broken plates on the floor.
Kara took out her phone and called Lee.
"Hey," he said, "What are you up to?"
"I need a favor."
"All you have to do is ask."
"Something has happened to Yolanda Brenn and her friend Keshia. I know you have access to a lot of information. I don't want you to get in trouble, but…"
"Why do you think something has happened to them?"
Quickly Kara explained what she had found when she had gone to their apartment and what their landlord had told her.
"What's Keshia's last name?"
"I don't know."
"That's going to make it harder."
"I know. Maybe I can find out. I'll call you back."
Kara called the rental agency again and found out that the apartment had been in Yolanda Brenn's name. The realtor knew Keshia only as the Gemenese woman and said she always paid in cubits, never with a check or a card.
Kara called Lee again. "No go on Keshia's last name. Please, just do what you can. I've got a really bad feeling about this."
"Okay, Kara."
She ended the call and put on her helmet. Her next stop was a given. There were no customers in the bookstore when she went inside. Leoben was sitting on the high stool behind the counter. There was no evidence of his helper.
"I didn't know if I'd see you this week or not," he said as she approached.
"Where's your helper?"
"She's temporary. She only works for me at the beginning of each semester."
"It looks quiet today. How's business?"
"It's slowed down a lot since classes started, but I get by."
"How'd you get this place, anyway?"
"I bought it from an old man who was retiring."
"Bought it with what? Where did you get the cubits to buy a bookstore?"
Leoben appeared thoughtful. "That's a good question."
"Implanted memories?"
"Maybe. Or maybe Cavil sent me down here with a fat bank account and implanted orders as to what I should do with it. I don't guess I'll ever know. All the memories I have before I opened the bookstore are suspect now."
"Did you ever go see the Oracle?"
"No."
"She's missing. I just went by to see her. She and her friend are gone. Left food in the fridge and clothes in the closet and no forwarding address. I think something has happened to them."
Leoben dropped his eyes for a moment.
"Do you know something about it?"
He quickly shook his head.
"You have a theory though?"
"In the Cylon religion, Oracles are generally regarded as prophets of the false gods. Their wisdom is scorned."
Again he couldn't hold her gaze.
"What are you not saying?" Kara asked tentatively.
"I've been to the warehouse. I've heard Natasi preach. She thinks that there is a prophet among the people of Caprica whose voice is true, who speaks without regard to her beliefs in one God or many. She mentioned that the prophet was blind."
"Would Natasi have done something to her?"
"No. She would revere her for her connection to the Divine."
Kara leaned across the counter. "Then what are you saying? I don't understand."
"Some of…us…might not revere her."
"Like Cavil? Laura and my dad say he's an atheist. Why would he care about Yolanda Brenn?"
"He is an atheist, but he might want to stop her from making her prophecies."
"She's harmless," Kara said with anguish in her voice. "She's kind and gentle. Her friend is, too."
"Something she prophesied may have reached Cavil. He may have taken her or had her taken. Before we came here he had a clear plan. Now I'm not so sure what he wants to accomplish."
"What was the plan?"
"At one time his only plan was the destruction of the human race. Now I don't know. Don't forget I've been out of that loop for a long time."
"What would he do with the Oracle? Would he kill her?"
"He might want to keep her where he could ask her questions. He may be testing her abilities. Maybe she's just a source of amusement for him."
"That's not how her gift works. She doesn't even know what her words mean. She tells you something and then you have to figure it out."
"That would suit him. She makes her prophecies and he decides what her words mean. Maybe he thinks it will lend credibility to his warped thinking if he can say an Oracle has prophesied his decisions. He wouldn't be the first leader in history to do it."
"What can I do about Yolanda and Keshia?"
"Nothing, Kara. Maybe I should go see Cavil. Maybe I should ask him what his plans are. Maybe my fate is to kill him just like he had his centurions kill me."
"Not yet," Kara said. "Soon, though. Soon it might be time."
"Maybe if I killed him, he'd download into a body where the brain hasn't started turning to mush."
"Not yet. Whatever…however our destinies are linked…it hasn't happened yet."
The bell over the door made its soft tinkling sound. Kara turned. Several students had walked in.
"I'd better go." Outside Kara sat on the bike and called Lee again. "Any luck?"
"Brenn doesn't have utilities in her name. There's no arrest record for her. She's not in the tax database. She's not receiving any kind of government assistance. There's no one that matches her name or description in the morgue."
"You're sure."
"She's blind and one side of her face had a lot of small scars. That would definitely be in the description."
"So you haven't had any luck," Kara said almost impatiently.
"I'm running a phone search now."
"They didn't have a phone."
"So much for that. To look at hospital records or anything like that, I'm going to have to explain it to Parker and get his approval. Look, I'll call Kings Bay Medical Center and University Hospital, but that's as far as I can go without an order from Parker."
Kara said gloomily. "Okay. Just do what you can. I'll come over tonight about six and we can go to Zeno's."
"What are you going to do now?"
"Go home and get some lunch and spend some time with Brae and my dad. Maya has the day off. I think she and Sam were going to spend it together."
"That's really heated up, hasn't it?"
"Maya told me she's taking it one day at a time and enjoying it."
"I'd better go. I'll see you tonight. Don't worry about Yolanda Brenn. I'm sure she'll turn up somewhere."
Kara ended the call and sat on her motorcycle for several minutes before she put on her helmet and pulled into the street. She wondered if Yolanda and Keshia were together and if Cavil knew how fragile Yolanda's health had been since the Cylon bombs had destroyed the temple in Delphi. Without Keshia's love and care, Kara didn't know if Brenn would survive in Cylon captivity for very long.
...
Yolanda and Keshia were still on Kara's mind as she let herself into the apartment. She heard voices coming from the den. She walked to the doorway. D'Anna Biers minus her cameraman sat in the chair they all thought of as Laura's chair. John was sitting on the couch. He hadn't mentioned an interview when Kara had left that morning. She wondered if he had forgotten or if this was unplanned. She started to tiptoe down the hall when her father called her name. Reluctantly she pasted a smile on her face and walked into the den.
"Hi, Dad. Where's Brae?"
"He's napping. I think D'Anna and I are about through, aren't we?"
D'Anna Biers smiled. "Come in, Kara. I understand you've been on a battlestar."
"For the last three months," she said.
"And you're back on Caprica to stay?"
"No, just for election week."
"Kara goes back to the Galactica on Monday," her father said, "but she'll be back here in a couple of months for the inauguration."
"How do you feel about Laura being elected?"
"I think it's great," Kara answered all the while thinking it was a dumb question. What had D'Anna expected her to say? It sucks?
"How is Lee?"
Kara smiled. "He's fine."
John stood. D'Anna finally took the hint and also stood.
"One of these days I'll get to do a real interview with you, Kara."
Kara doubted it. D'Anna Biers was a Cylon. Lee's recon footage of Nereid had proved it. Before the attack started on the Solstice, Biers would be locked up with the rest of them.
"How do you feel about Oracles?" Kara suddenly asked Biers.
"Oracles, as in prophets?"
"Is there any other kind?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Is that a rule, that you're the only one who can ask the questions?"
"I'd like to hear your answer to Kara's question," John said.
"I believe that…under the right circumstances anyone can have visions. God does not restrict access of His knowledge just to priests."
"So do you believe in them or not?" Kara asked.
"There might be a little bit of the prophet in all of us…if we have sufficient faith."
"You're a monotheist, aren't you?" John asked Biers.
She smiled. "Does that mean you won't grant me another interview?"
John walked D'Anna to the door. When he came back, Kara said, "You forgot to mention she was going to be here. I'd have stayed away longer if I'd known. She's a Cylon."
"I didn't know she was coming before you left this morning. D'Anna is following up on her election coverage. Laura called and asked me to do one final interview."
"How was your morning? How's Dreilide?"
Kara smiled. "He looks a lot better. He's not playing the clubs as often."
"How are Yolanda and her friend?"
Kara's face clouded as she told him about Yolanda and Keshia being gone.
"I called Lee. He's looking for them but hasn't found anything yet."
"I looked for you for months after Laura told me you were alive. I even had Romo Lampkin looking. Don't assume something has happened to them because Lee can't find any record of them. I couldn't find any record of you, either."
"But they wouldn't have run out and left their clothes in the closet and broken dishes on the floor and food in the fridge."
"You're right. That doesn't sound like them."
"Leoben thinks Cavil may have had them taken."
"Why?"
"Either his brain is degrading or he wants to hear Yolanda's prophecies."
"That's not a comforting thought," her father said slowly.
"No," Kara said. "Finger on the trigger and all that stuff."
"True. They've got enough firepower with their conventional weapons and Raiders to kill everybody on the planet. That's why it's so important for us to get rid of the basestars first."
"I know."
Kara got up and walked to the terrace door and looked out. She doubted that Yolanda would survive long even with Keshia caring for her if Cavil had stashed them in a Cylon prison. But if she were on the basestar, she would die when it was destroyed on the Solstice.
Her father came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I know they're your friends, but you've got to let this go for now. Wait until after the Solstice. Then we can look for them."
She turned and put her arms around him. He smoothed back the hair that had escaped from her ponytail. He was right. She knew he was right.
"Is that a promise, Dad?"
"That's a promise, baby. I know how much they mean to you."
...
Lee canceled the search of phone records for Yolanda Brenn since Kara said they didn't have a phone. Then he hurried to meet his father for lunch at the small café near the base.
As usual, Bill had gotten there first. He was sipping from a mug of coffee.
"Sorry I'm late," Lee said. "I had a search going."
Bill gave him a nod. "Who are you looking for?"
"Two women who disappeared between six weeks and two months ago."
"What's the interest in them?"
"One of them is an Oracle. They're Kara's friends."
Bill gave him a skeptical look.
"Kara thinks Cavil may have taken them or had them taken."
He got another skeptical look from his father. "For what reason?"
"The Brenn woman predicts the future."
Bill made a short sound, half snort, half laugh. "I think you're way off base on this one. Does Parker know what you're doing?"
Lee shook his head. "Don't worry. I'm not going to get in trouble over this."
"I hope not."
"Any updates on the plans?"
"Everything is on schedule. We've got almost all the munitions on the battlestars now. My commanders know it will be soon."
"How long after the Solstice will I be going back to Nereid?"
"A few weeks."
"Do you think the Cylons here are in contact with the Cylons there?"
"According to the laws of physics fast communication between two solar systems that are thirty light years apart isn't possible. That's over a hundred thirty trillion miles."
"They could be jumping Raiders back and forth."
"We can monitor everything out beyond the ice planet. You already know jumps have a specific signature, similar to a lightning strike. We haven't recorded any jumps into or out of our solar system in the last two years."
"Unless they went beyond the ice planet before they jumped."
"True, but Raiders aren't designed for long-range flights. Their jump technology is too good. Besides, why would the Cylons care to keep something like that secret?"
"What about the basestars?"
"The basestars haven't gone anywhere either. We don't have any reason to believe the Cylons left our solar system during the last two years."
"But they've got to know about Nereid if that's where they're from."
"I agree. It just doesn't look like they're in touch with each other right now."
"Isn't it important to know that sort of thing?"
"It's important, but I've accepted the risks involved in not knowing everything about them. If they're on some kind of regular communication schedule and the ones on Nereid don't hear from the ones on Caprica when expected, we may get a visit."
"Then we've got to stay ready," Lee said.
"Why do you think I'm bringing all our battlestars to Caprica afterward? We'll be ready. John's coming over late this afternoon. He's finished redrawing the Nereid maps. I'll look at them. We'll have a drink and talk."
"Have you talked to Laura lately?"
"I called her Wednesday morning to congratulate her. We talked a few minutes. She wants to schedule a meeting next week to talk about my role in her administration."
"I didn't think you were going to play much of a role."
"I'll stay on as senior military advisor until I go back to the Galactica."
"When will that be?"
"I can't answer that yet, son."
"I'd like to go to the G when Kara goes back in January after the inauguration."
"Are you sure that's what you want to do? Your career with Major Parker is going well. He's had nothing but praise for you. You're on track to be promoted to captain. On the Galactica you'll be just another Viper pilot."
"I'm bored a lot of the time here. I was never bored on the Triton. I want to fly a Viper. There will be plenty of time to sit behind a desk when I'm…later in my career."
Bill smiled slightly. "When you're an old man like me? That's what you started to say."
"You're not an old man."
"Not yet, but I feel like it."
"I might feel like it, too, if I'd done what you've done in the last five years."
"Come the Solstice, we'll see if I did enough."
...
Laura sat in her chair in the den with her feet on the ottoman. Except for her son's occasional chatter, the quiet was both very welcome and sleep inducing. Braedon was carefully taking his toy Raptors and Vipers from the couch and putting them beside her feet on the ottoman.
Kara walked into the den wearing a bathrobe and towel-drying her hair.
"Tired?" She asked Laura.
"Beyond tired. Far beyond. Where are you and Lee going tonight?"
"Zeno's. We're meeting Zak and Maggie and Karl and Sharon. I guess you and Dad are staying in."
"Yes. When he leaves Bill's apartment, he's going by Channing's and get us something to eat. Then I'm going to take a long soak in the tub while John gets Braedon to bed."
Laura smiled and stopped. There was no reason to continue talking about what her plans for the rest of the evening involved. She was sure Kara's plans with Lee were very similar. It had been almost a week since Laura had ended an evening in John's arms. They had run into each other earlier as she was getting off the elevator and he was getting on.
He had his briefcase. "I'm going to Bill's for a couple of hours. I want to turn the redrawn maps over to him and talk. I think he's changed his mind about what we'll do on Nereid. I want to press my case for prisoner rescue."
"What did Jennet fix for dinner?"
"I told her not to bother cooking anything for tonight. I'll go by Channing's and pick up something on the way home."
She had kissed him quickly while holding him tightly with one arm. They had shared a look that was a promise of the evening to come.
"Don't be too late," she had said with a smile.
They had shared another kiss, longer this time. The elevator doors had started to close. John had pulled away.
"If we keep this up, I won't go at all. The quicker I go, the sooner I'll be back."
She had walked into the apartment, the feeling of anticipation warm in her.
"Dada," Braedon now said and picked up the Raptor he had placed on the ottoman.
Kara went over and knelt beside him. She picked up a Viper. "This is what I fly. Can you say Viper?"
She smiled as Braedon silently tested the word before he showed her the Raptor and said again, "Dada."
"Your dada doesn't fly a Raptor," Kara said. "He knows how to, but he flew a Viper like me."
Laura said, "I think Maya has been showing him the ships."
Braedon picked up the Viper and said, "Kawa."
"He's smart," Kara said.
"Of course he is," Laura said with a smile. "Look who his parents are."
Kara sat on the couch. Braedon had a Raptor in one hand and a Raider in the other. He banged them together and smiled at her.
"Ouch," Kara laughed. "It's a good thing those toys are tough."
"I wonder if Cavil understands anything about children since he was created as an adult," Laura mused. "I wonder if any of them do. I doubt their creators bothered with giving them memories of childhood. You told me that Leoben doesn't have any. Neither does Sharon."
"All of them were created as adults," Kara said. "I wonder if Cavil has seen the hybrid babies that were created in Baltar's lab. I wonder if he's even been around a baby."
"That's an interesting question."
"I saw the guys in dark suits and little ear pieces in the lobby."
"My guards," Laura said. "I didn't see any reason for them have to stand outside the apartment door for eight-hour shifts when the only way up is the elevator and there are security cameras everywhere."
"You don't seriously think somebody would…try something, do you?"
Laura leaned her head back on the chair and said wearily, "I'd like to think not, but I didn't win every vote on Caprica. There are always people like that Humphrey Browning who either don't agree with me politically or don't think a woman can or should lead the Colonies."
"I'm still glad you won," Kara said. "Even if it means we have to live under a microscope for a few years. I don't think Dad minds. He's seemed a lot happier lately."
Laura took a deep breath. "He's done a remarkable job of adapting to my world. I hope one day to be able to make it up to him."
"I guess I'd better finish getting ready or I'll be late," Kara said.
Laura leaned back and watched her son. Braedon had pulled off his shoes and now put a Viper in one of them. He was babbling to himself like he often did…the secret language of babies as she had come to think of it. Down the hall she heard Kara's hair dryer and then all sound faded temporarily as she slipped into a light sleep.
The doorbell awakened her. Braedon was no longer playing with his ships and shoes. He was standing with his hands on the terrace door looking out at the waning day.
The bell chimed again and he turned and said, "Yaya." He thought it was Maya.
Laura got up in her stocking feet, picked up her son and carried him to the door with her. She looked out the peephole. Cavil stood outside and behind him two centurions. They looked huge.
Fear washed over her. She pressed the intercom. "What do you want?"
"To be invited in, Madame President."
"I'm not the President yet."
Cavil looked toward the ceiling for a moment. "Semantics. I'm thinking of our future."
Laura's mouth was suddenly so dry that she could hardly speak. "Can this not wait until tomorrow? We'll meet in my office."
"No, it can't wait. I'd advise you to let me in or my friends will break down the door."
Laura opened the door. "I won't have centurions in my apartment. They'll have to wait outside."
Cavil looked at his two metal escorts and said, "Wait here. Don't let anyone in or out unless you know them."
Braedon was quiet in her arms and she wondered if he could sense the danger. With her heart pounding, Laura stood back and allowed Cavil to enter. What would happen when John got off that elevator? He wouldn't be expecting anything. She tried to imagine his reaction at seeing Cylon centurions outside their door. What would he do? What would the centurions do? How could she warn her husband?
Cavil strolled through the foyer and Laura quickly shut the door.
"Did you harm anyone downstairs?" She immediately asked.
"They were persuaded to let us come up the elevator."
"Meaning?"
Cavil simply repeated his answer.
Laura was certain that meant her guards had come to harm. And Doug, her faithful night doorman for as long as she had lived there, what had happened to him?
"I need to make a call."
"No calls, Madame President." Laura heard the humorous sarcasm as he used the title that was not yet hers.
Trying hard to control her trembling, she used her steeliest voice and repeated her question. "What do you want?"
"Where's your husband?"
"Out."
"And your stepdaughter?"
"I'm alone in here with my son."
Cavil walked into the den. He looked around. "Nice. My feelings are hurt that you've never invited me to one of your dinner parties."
"It would have been very difficult to find a dinner partner for you," Laura said with a sarcasm that matched his own. "I understand Natasi is back with her former lover and most human women find treason repugnant although I could possibly have paid someone to do it. There are some women who will do anything for cubits...even sit across the table from someone like you."
Cavil laughed. He either didn't understand Laura's insult or it made no difference to him.
"Why are you and your centurions here?" Laura repeated the question a third time, saying it louder and enunciating each word, hoping Kara would hear her and stay in her room.
"Sit," Cavil said. It was not a request. It was an order.
Laura sat in her chair while Cavil wandered around the room. Braedon, who had gone easily to Lee and Billy and Scott Mickelson clung to her. She kissed the top of his head and smoothed his hair.
Cavil was watching her reflection in the glass of the terrace door. "Your maternal instinct is very touching," he said continuing in the sarcastic tone. "But I should have known that day at the University when you mothered those students into obedience that you had a knack for it."
"You didn't come here to discuss my maternal instincts. What do you want?"
"Tell me about Yolanda Brenn?"
"Who?"
Cavil didn't speak any louder but the sarcasm was gone, replaced by a tone of deadly seriousness. "Don't play dumb with me. I know you went to see her once."
"You mean the Oracle?" Laura asked. "Why are you asking me? I know nothing about her."
"What did she tell you?"
"That I should run for President. No. That's not accurate. She didn't say that. She told me that I would be called upon to serve and that I must heed the call. I interpreted it to mean that I should run for President. It was my decision."
Cavil processed her answer. "Your husband's daughter goes to see her frequently. What do they talk about?"
"That's Kara's business. She and I don't discuss it. Why are you asking me questions about an Oracle? You're an atheist. You said so that day at the University."
"The prophecy of an Oracle isn't necessarily tied to a particular religion…or to any religion for that matter. The future is the future. Religion has nothing to do with the ability to see beyond the present."
Laura was emboldened by the barely noticeable hesitancy in Cavil's voice. "I went to see her once. I know nothing about her personally other than that she's blind."
"You haven't been honest with me," Cavil said and the look in his eyes took her breath. It was cold, perhaps evil, but there was certainly some madness there.
"I have. I've told you everything I know about the Oracle."
"You haven't told me about your son."
The fear that clutched Laura was so great that for a few long moments she couldn't speak.
Cavil prompted. "The Oracle told you something about your son."
Laura shook her head. "I don't remember her telling me anything about my son."
"You shouldn't lie to me, Madame President. How can you expect the citizens of Caprica to believe you if even I can see through your lies?"
Laura clutched Braedon and shook her head. "No. The Oracle's words mean nothing. He's just a baby."
"You asked me why I'm here. I've come for your son," Cavil said softly. "I've come for the one who knows the way to Earth."
...
Kara heard the doorbell ring twice and then heard Laura's voice. She didn't pay much attention until she heard a man's voice that she couldn't identify. Not Lee. Not her father or Bill Adama. Not Billy. Not Scott Mickelson. Something didn't feel right.
She took off her shoes, crept quietly down the hall and listened. She heard the sarcasm in the man's voice as he said, They were persuaded to let us come up the elevator. She didn't wait to hear anything else. She knew the voice now. She had heard it the previous day on television commenting about the election. Cavil. He was in their apartment. Laura would never have invited him over. Something was very, very wrong.
Kara tiptoed back to her room and pushed the door almost shut. Opening the closet door, she got the box with her mother's Mossinger pistol from the top shelf and sat on the floor on the other side of the bed. With trembling fingers she loaded bullets into the clip, inserted it and chambered a round.
Her heart was pounding and her mouth was dry. She couldn't go charging into the den with a loaded weapon. Laura and Braedon were in there. What if Cavil was armed? She tried to imagine the horror of her brother and stepmother caught in a deadly crossfire. What should she do?
She stood on her toes, felt along the top closet shelf and got her slingshot. Again she sat down beside the bed. She hadn't used the slingshot in almost three years. The rubber had degraded some, but she pulled it back. It held. It didn't break. She remembered how she had once hit rats in the head at over twenty feet. Was her aim still good enough? And what to use instead of the round stones that had been her arsenal back in the camp? She needed something round, solid and heavy like a pebble.
She looked at her closet. Nothing came to mind. She began to hyperventilate and had to force herself to take deep breaths. Maybe the pistol was the best choice.
Think, Kara, think.
Her eyes traveled around the room and stopped on the clear vase of silk flowers on her dresser. In the bottom were a dozen large round glass marbles that held the flowers in place. How many times had she secretly scoffed at Laura's attempt to decorate and feminize her bedroom? Now Kara silently thanked her.
She removed the flowers. Her hand was too large to fit through the neck of the vase. She put it on the floor and carefully tipped it over. The sound of the marbles seemed abnormally loud as they shifted. She quickly turned it upside down and poured the marbles onto the carpet. They were heavier than she had thought, heavier than some of the pebbles she had used to kill rats. She put three in the pocket of her jeans and palmed one.
Still in her bare feet, she walked back down the hall and listened. She listened until she heard Cavil say, "I've come for your son. I've come for the one who knows the way to Earth."
Kara stepped through the doorway. "I don't think so, motherfrakker."
She was still walking forward as she put the glass marble in the slingshot, pulled it back, aimed and let it go. Cavil's face barely had time to register her sudden appearance.
Laura turned abruptly at the sound of Kara's voice. By the time she looked back at Cavil, he had dropped to his knees with a surprised look. As Laura watched, he fell forward silently onto the carpet.
Kara was across the room and past Laura in running strides. She knelt beside Cavil and put her hand against his throat.
"Oh, dear gods," Laura said. "Is he…dead?"
"No, I can feel a pulse. I didn't want to kill him. He'd just download and then we'd all be in big trouble. Go get something to tie him up. Gag him, too."
Laura stood. "There are two centurions outside our door. We've got to stop John from coming back up here."
"Lords of Kobol," Kara said. "Give me your phone."
"It's on the table. What can we tie him with?"
"Go get stockings or pantyhose and a washcloth."
Cavil moaned and twitched slightly. Kara put her knee in the small of his back.
"Hurry," Kara said harshly to Laura. "I don't want to have to hit him again."
Kara was beginning to tremble from the adrenalin. She looked at Cavil's head. There was a dark red mark in the center of his forehead. His skin was broken, but there was hardly any blood.
Clutching her son to her, Laura hurried to her bedroom. She grabbed several pairs of stockings from a dresser drawer and a washcloth from the bathroom. Back in the den, Kara quickly tied Cavil's hands behind his back and gagged him. She then tied a stocking around each ankle. She tested the bonds at his wrists. Pulling on them only tightened them.
Laura grabbed her phone from the table. With a shaking hand she managed to get it open and scroll down to John's number. I know you're talking to Bill, but please answer it.
He picked up on the first ring. "I'm getting ready to leave now."
"We've got a…situation…a problem."
"What's wrong?"
"First. I'm okay. Kara's okay. Braedon's okay. But there are two centurions outside the apartment. Cavil…Cavil's…" Laura had to stop and take several deep breaths to keep from breaking down.
"I'm on my way," John said.
"You've got to be careful. I don't know what the situation is downstairs. I don't know what the two centurions will do if someone gets off that elevator. We're fine in here right now."
"You can't stay in there forever. Bill can have a platoon of Marines there in half an hour."
"It's too risky. The minute those Marines show up, the centurions could break down the door and kill us."
Kara said, "Give me the phone."
Laura looked up at her.
"I know what we need to do," Kara said.
Laura handed the phone to her.
"Dad," she had to work hard to keep the tremor from her voice.
"Kara, are you all right?"
"I'm fine." She took a deep breath. "Go get Leoben."
"What?" He asked in disbelief.
"He's one of them. If he can't get past those centurions and get us out, we'll go with the Marines."
"I can't go get Leoben because he is one of them."
"Dad, listen to me. This is what the Oracle saw. This is how his destiny is tied to mine and mine is tied to Braedon's."
"No, Kara. No!"
"Please! Do it! Please! If it doesn't work, we'll do it however you and Admiral Adama want to do it. And call Lee. He's expecting me. I'm already late."
"Stay by the phone. Call me right away if something changes."
The call ended.
Kara sat back against the side of the chair. Cavil had begun to regain consciousness. He moaned.
"Shut up," Kara said, "or I'll shoot you again."
Braedon began to fret.
"He wants his bottle," Laura said.
"Go fix one for him. I'll watch this piece of crap."
Laura got up and carried her son to the kitchen. Only when she was at the refrigerator did she realize how much her legs were shaking. Braedon was crying harder now.
"Shhhh," she whispered and rocked him back and forth as the bottle warmed. "You're safe. Your big sister saved you. She saved us."
Laura walked back into the den. "Any word from John?"
"It's only been five minutes," Kara said. She heard a faint noise. "My phone. I'll be right back." She sprinted down the hall, grabbed the phone from her dresser.
"I'm okay," she said.
"What's going on?" Lee asked, the concern evident in his voice.
"I'm enjoying some quality time with Laura and Braedon," she said lightly. "And Cavil…although he's not talking too much right now. It's probably the washcloth stuffed in his mouth."
"Lords of Kobol, Kara."
"He came to get Braedon. That's what he told Laura. He thinks Braedon knows the way to Earth, but don't tell that to my dad yet. Where are you?"
"On my way over there."
"You can't come upstairs. Laura said there were two centurions outside the door. Cavil told them not to let anybody in or out unless they knew them."
"Okay. Okay. I'm going to call John back. I'll go wherever he and my dad are. Please, be careful. I love you."
"I love you, too. Don't let my dad do anything stupid. Please. He's going to take this really personally."
"Don't worry. We'll get you out of there."
"I know you will. I told my dad to get Leoben. Make sure he does it."
"Leoben?" Lee said skeptically.
"Get him, please. He's the key to getting us out of here. This is where his destiny and mine cross. I believe this, Lee. I really believe this. Yolanda Brenn saw it."
"Keep your phone with you and call me if something changes," Lee said.
The call ended.
Kara walked back into the den with her phone in her hand.
Laura was still holding Braedon. The bottle was nearly empty and his eyes were almost closed.
"That was Lee," Kara said quietly. "He's going to join my dad and Bill. They'll get Leoben and he'll get us out of here."
"Do you really believe Leoben will help us?"
"Yes," Kara said. "This is what Yolanda saw."
...
Lee called John's number. "Where are you?" He asked as soon as John answered.
"We're in the lobby of my apartment building. There's no one here. Not Doug, not Laura's guards. Nobody."
"That's not good," Lee said.
"No. Where are you?"
"In my car on the way over there. Are you going to get Leoben?"
John hesitated. "I know that's what Kara wants me to do, but he's a frakking Cylon. Do you really think he'll help us or do you think he'll march in there with the centurions, let Cavil go and then hold my wife and my daughter and my son hostage?"
"Kara has faith in him."
"Well I don't. Neither does your father. Don't tell me you do."
"I have faith in Kara. I trust her."
"Kara got hung up on something Yolanda Brenn told her and she made it into a prophecy concerning hers and Leoben's fates or destinies being tied together."
"So you're going to dismiss your daughter's feelings completely and you and my dad are going to go charging up there and maybe get everybody killed."
"We're not going to do anything that stupid. He's got Marines on the way now."
"I'm going to get Leoben," Lee said. "I should be there in thirty minutes. Sit tight until then. And tell my dad to sit tight. Kara will call us if something changes."
"Lee…" Lee ended the call before John could say anything else. His phone rang almost immediately. He glanced at the caller ID. John. He ignored it and let it go to voice mail. Just before he pulled up in front of the bookstore, he listened to the message.
"Gods damn it, Lee! Call me right now!"
Lee had never heard John that angry. It gave him a moment of pause before his resolve hardened. He got out of his car.
Kara had told him once that Leoben lived above the bookstore. Lee began knocking on the front door and rattling it. He used his car keys and tapped on the glass. He kept it up for two full minutes before he saw a light come on in the back of the shop. Slowly and cautiously Leoben made his way to the front door.
"Are you crazy?" Leoben shouted through the glass at Lee. "I'm closed. Come back in the morning or I'm going to call the cops." He turned to go.
"Kara sent me," Lee shouted. Leoben stopped and turned around but didn't come back to the door. "I'm Lee Adama. I'm her boyfriend." Lee took his military ID out of his billfold and pressed it against the door.
Leoben finally walked to the door. He studied the card through the glass before he unlocked the door and opened it about a foot. He didn't invite Lee in.
"Talk," Leoben said.
"Cavil came for Kara's brother tonight. I know this sounds crazy, but…" Leoben held up his hand.
"Is Kara all right?"
"She's fine."
"Did she kill Cavil?"
"No. She knocked him out. There are two centurions outside the apartment door. Cavil told them not to let anyone in or out unless they knew him."
"What do you think I can do?"
"Kara thinks this is how your fate and hers are linked. She wants me to bring you to the apartment."
Leoben studied Lee. "I repeat. What do you think I can do?"
"You're one of them," Lee said.
Leoben gave him the closest thing to a smile that he had seen so far. "By one of them you mean I'm a Cylon?"
"Yes."
"And if I go with you and help you, what's to stop you from putting me in a little cell and leaving me there?"
Lee wanted to reach through the small space and grab the front of Leoben's shirt. Instead he controlled himself. "Kara's fate is not to die at the hands of two centurions. Her brother's fate is not to lead Cavil to Earth."
"No," Leoben finally said.
"Look, I can't promise you what will happen afterward, but if you help me get Kara and Laura and her brother out of that apartment safely, I'll do everything I can to see that you get a fair deal."
"A fair deal," Leoben mused. "How does Kara's father feel about me helping?"
"Why do you think I'm the one who's here?"
Leoben snorted softly and took some keys out of his pocket. He exited and locked the door. "That's your car? A little pricey for a lieutenant, isn't it?"
"It belonged to my mother," Lee said as he got in and started the engine. He had told John thirty minutes. He sped back across town, waiting to see flashing lights behind him and trying to imagine explaining to a cop why he had run three red lights.
Lee pulled into the road that circled in front of John and Laura's apartment building. Military vehicles were parked all around the curb and two Emergency Medical Vehicles sat in front of the door, lights flashing.
"Wait here," Lee said to Leoben before he got out. He rushed toward the building and was promptly stopped by a Marine. He pulled out the military ID again. "I'm Lee Adama. My father is inside." The Marine let him pass.
John and Bill stood off to one side of the lobby.
"What's going on?" Lee asked.
"We found Laura's guards."
"Dead?"
Bill nodded.
"The EMTs are trying to stabilize Doug enough to transport him," John said. "It doesn't look good." There was a catch in John's voice.
"What kind of plans have you made?"
Bill said, "I'm going to put an assault team in the fire escape stairwell while another one drops down from the terrace above in case the centurions try to enter the apartment."
"Isn't that kind of risky?" Lee asked.
"Come up with something better," John said.
"I've got him out in my car," Lee said.
John turned on him. "No!"
Lee finally lost his temper. "You think your way is any less dangerous? It would take those Cylons seconds to break down that door. Not to mention the rest of them would probably know what was happening."
"You really think those centurions are in communication with someone?" Bill asked.
"Are you willing to bet all of our lives that they're not? Right now they're standing outside the door waiting on Cavil. What are you going to do if you start shooting and a transport carrier shows up with fifty centurions? How many of us do you think they'll leave alive?"
Lee saw John and Bill look at each other. "Bring him here," Bill said.
Lee went back to the car and motioned to Leoben. He got out. Together they walked back through the line of Marines.
Inside the lobby the EMTs were pushing a gurney. The sheet was blood-stained in places, but one of the techs was still squeezing a breathing bag. John walked over to them.
Lee took Leoben over to his father. "Dad, this is Leoben Conoy. Leoben, this is my father."
The men did not exchange handshakes or even greetings. His father eyed Leoben warily.
"How can you help us do this without bloodshed?"
"Is that why I'm here? To avoid bloodshed?"
Lee took out his phone and called Kara's mobile number. She answered before the first ring was through. "Lee?"
"I've got somebody for you to talk to." He handed the phone to Leoben. "Kara."
Leoben put the phone to his ear. He sounded almost amused. "So this is where our destinies meet? I hadn't expected anything quite this…dramatic."
"The centurions will recognize you," Kara said. "You can get in and then get us out with you. My little brother is here." Her voice caught. "He's just a baby. Please."
"Cavil?"
"He's here, too. I knocked him out, but he's conscious now. I've got him gagged or I'd have had to knock him out again to shut him up."
"Will you give me a few minutes to talk to him?"
"If you get past those centurions, you can say anything you want to him. You just can't kill him…yet."
"Deal." Leoben turned to Lee. "What do you want me to do?"
Lee looked at his father. Bill said, "One of us goes up to the apartment with him."
John walked back over to them. He shook his head. "Fifty-fifty for Doug." He looked at Leoben.
Bill said, "We're going to let Leoben try to get them out. I'm going with him."
"The hell you are," John said. "I'm going. That's my wife and daughter and son in our apartment."
"Dad," Lee said and gave him a meaningful look, "we can't risk you going up there. We can't risk John, either. I'll do it. Otherwise you two will spend the next hour fighting over who gets to go." He looked at Leoben. "Elevator or stairs?"
Leoben seemed almost amused. "How many floors?"
"Eight," John answered.
"We'll take the elevator," Leoben said to Lee. "For your sake."
Lee looked at John and saw the anguish in his eyes. "We'll get them out. I promise."
"That's my life in there. If even one of them gets so much as a scratch, I will take Cavil apart with my bare hands."
Lee put his hand on John's arm and lifted his eyes to his friend's face. "You'll have to fight me for the chance."
"Give me your keys," Lee said. John took them out of his pocket and handed them over after showing Lee the correct key.
"I'd better call Kara and tell her you're on the way up. She's got her mother's pistol. I wouldn't want her to shoot you by mistake."
Lee and Leoben walked to the elevator and Lee pressed the button for up. The doors closed. Lee pressed eight and the elevator began to rise.
"Let me get off first," Leoben said. "Which way is the apartment."
"To the right."
The elevator stopped. The doors opened. Leoben stepped out, turned right and Lee followed. The centurions seemed enormous. Lee tried to imagine what kind of firepower it would take to bring them down.
"Just so you'll know," Leoben said, "I'm winging this. I have no memory of interacting with these…machines."
"You're doing fine. They haven't started shooting yet."
Leoben stopped in front of the first centurion. "Cavil sent for us," he said.
The red eye scanned him, back and forth. Avoiding eye contact Lee stepped up to the apartment door and used the key. The centurion made no attempt to stop him.
They went inside, shutting the door behind them. Lee breathed a sigh of relief. He walked to the door of the den. Laura sat in her chair with her sleeping son in her arms. Kara put her mother's pistol on the cabinet before she threw herself into Lee's arms. They didn't speak and for a few moments simply clung to one another. Then Lee was business again.
Leoben had walked over to Cavil, who was tied to a straight-back kitchen chair. There was a washcloth stuffed in his mouth that had been wrapped several times around with what looked like a silk stocking. His legs were tied to the chair legs.
"How is John?" Laura asked softly.
"Bouncing off the walls down in the lobby, but he'll be fine as soon as he sees you and Kara and Braedon."
Leoben walked around Cavil looking at him.
"You didn't think I'd remember, did you?"
Cavil made a series of furious sounds behind the gag.
"It hurt getting shot before I bled out on the floor. Who cleaned it up? Was it one of your slave centurions, or did you make one of us do it? Did you bring in another Two and make him do it? Make him clean up my blood?
Cavil was jerking the chair, trying to throw himself at Leoben.
Leoben walked behind the chair, grabbed Cavil by his hair and jerked his head back. "I think the word you've been trying to say is traitor. Well you made me what I am today. You thought you'd taken away all the memories, didn't you? You thought I'd run my bookstore and study humans and learn about their greed and their depravity. You didn't know I'd come to see you as a cold-blooded murderer of your own kind, did you?"
Still holding Cavil's head back, Leoben spat in his face.
"We need to go," Kara said.
Leoben looked at her. "I've said all I want to say."
He went back to the door of the apartment and opened it. Lee heard him tell the centurions to go back to Cavil's residence. He waited a few moments and came back into the den. "They must be programmed to obey only Cavil. They're not budging."
"How do they recognize Cavil?" Kara asked. "His voice? What?"
"Retinal scan. They read mine before they let me in. They might use voice scans, too."
Lee said, "Leoben, I want you to walk Laura and Kara out of here. I'll stay with Cavil. Then you can come back and we'll take him out with us. We'll need something to cover his head. We don't want those centurions seeing his eyes."
Kara went to her bedroom and came back with a pillowcase. She handed it to Lee. "I'm staying with you."
"No, you're not. You're leaving with Laura and your brother."
She shook her head.
"Frak, Kara. Now is not the time to be stubborn."
She smiled. "Yes, it is."
Leoben walked to the door with Laura. He opened it. "Cavil told me to take her downstairs."
The centurions made no move to stop them. Laura struggled with her impulse to run toward the elevator. The wait for the doors to open seemed like minutes when it was only a few seconds. They stepped inside. The doors closed.
Her knees almost buckled. She felt Leoben's hand under her elbow supporting her. "He was going to take my son," she said as the tears stung her eyes. She looked at Leoben. "Thank you."
He nodded.
The elevator doors opened. She fell into John's arms. Bill motioned for the Marines to stand down.
"I'm going back for Kara and Lee," Leoben said. "And Cavil."
Upstairs, Lee put his arms around Kara again and held her. "You were right," he said softly. "Leoben helped us."
"It was Yolanda. She saw it all. The dark force that tried to take Braedon and failed. The Cylon who didn't know what he was who would help me. She saw it all, and now that frakking skinjob has taken her, and the gods only know what he's done with her."
"Maybe we'll get a chance to ask him where she is."
"Whatever your father does to Cavil, he can't kill him. The minute he downloads on the resurrection ship, they'll communicate it to the basestar. I can't even guess what they'll do then."
"We can't hold Cavil somewhere for very long before Doral or Simon or one of the other Cylons will start asking questions. For all we know, he might have some kind of homing device on him. They may be able to find him no matter where we take him."
The doorbell rang and Kara jumped.
Lee let Leoben into the apartment.
Kara slipped the pillowcase over Cavil's head. She snickered. "That's a real improvement."
Lee got on one side of Cavil and grasped his arm while Leoben got on the other. Kara cut the stockings that tied his ankles to the legs of the chair.
"You go first," Lee said to her. "We're right behind you."
Kara grabbed the big diaper bag that Laura had packed for Braedon and then left behind. Together they exited the apartment. Cavil struggled furiously, but Lee and Leoben held him. They made it to the elevator and rode down to the lobby.
As soon as the doors opened, several burly Marines grabbed Cavil and hustled him toward a waiting transport. Six heavily armed Marines got on the elevator as soon as they got off.
Her father caught Kara in a numbingly-tight hug. "Remind me one of these days to listen to your crazy ideas."
"Remind me one of these days to say I told you so."
"What's going on with the Marines going up the elevator?"
"We may need to have some repairs made to the apartment door…and the wall…and maybe the carpet, too."
"Those Marines have gone up to take out the centurions?"
Her father nodded.
"With rubber bullets?"
"No. They brought their real guns tonight."
Lee walked over to them.
Kara saw another group of Marines taking Leoben away.
"What's going to happen to him?"
"I don't know."
"He helped us. He saved a lot of lives tonight, ours included."
"I'm sure Bill will take that into consideration. In the meantime he's going to be the government's guest."
"Where're Laura and Brae?"
"Sitting in the security room with a dozen Marines guarding them. She could barely stand up. Bill's already talked to Adar. She and Brae are going to Marble House."
"Is that where we're going, too?"
When John didn't answer right away, Kara looked at Lee.
"I just talked to my dad. He thinks with everything that has happened tonight, we've passed a point of no return. We're to head out to the airbase."
"Meaning?"
"Bill moved up the timeline," John said. "He's already put phase one of his plan into motion. The battlestars are taking care of their centurions and arming their weapons. Operation Nemesis started almost an hour ago."