Price of a Bounty

-Scott-

Parisio



I was about to tell April…I wanted to tell her, and now was probably the best time. Then I noticed the man in front of us. He tilted his head slightly as if he were interested in our conversation. My gut warned me to be careful, and I heeded the warning. I was only alive today because I had learned early on to trust my gut.

I looked at April and warned her with a shake of my head. Were we being followed? I had to assume that we were.

After a smooth landing, we exited the plane and entered the terminal. I located a public transceiver and placed a long distance call to my contact at the military base. A woman in uniform looked at me through the vidscreen.

She saluted. “How may I direct your call, Sergeant?”

“Will you please get a message to the Lafleurs? Their daughter has arrived safely in Parisio.”

“It’s awfully late here. Can’t it wait until morning?”

“I realize it’s late, but Mr. Lafleur is expecting this call.”

“Yes, sir!” She saluted again.

“Thank you, private.” I returned the salute.

I disconnected and turned to April. She looked every bit a debutante.

“Can we go now?” she inquired impatiently.

“Yes, of course, Miss.”

I picked up our luggage. After about 20 paces, I cleared my throat, and she turned around with an impatient look.

“Is anyone using the transceiver we just left?”

She turned back around and kept moving. “Yes, the man who was sitting in front of us on the plane.”

It was as I’d expected. He was probably tracing the last number dialed. He would discover that I had used a legitimate military number.

I led April toward the baggage terminal. We sat and pretended to wait for more luggage. When I was certain we were no longer being followed, I looked at April.

“There’s a claim number in your purse with your other paperwork. May I have it?”

April dug through her purse and handed it to me. I approached the message station. “Was anything delivered for Art Fantastique?” I asked, handing the young man the claim ticket.

He scanned the small teleview in front of him. “Yes, your packages are right over here, sir.” He led us to a cart.

I set our luggage next to the packages and pushed the cart toward the line of taxis that waited outside. April followed. A porter helped me load everything into the trunk of a cab. I tipped him, and he returned the empty cart for us. I helped April into the backseat of the cab and slid in next to her.

She gazed out the window as we drove away from the airport. “The cars look different – smaller, cleaner, well maintained. And Scott,” she whispered, “where are the wheels?”

“They’re hovercars,” I whispered back. “They float.”

“Wow!”

“Art Fantastique, s’il vous plait,” I instructed the driver.

April stared out the window. She took in everything – the cleanliness of the streets, the hovercars and the maglev trains on either side of the highway.

She turned and gave me a careful look. I couldn’t quite read her expression.

“What is it?” I asked.

“We lost the war, didn’t we?”

“Yes.”

She nodded sadly. “They didn’t teach us that in school.”

“Of course not.”

“You’ve been here a lot, to Mediterra, I mean. Haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And you transport people and goods.”

“That’s right.”

“Do you bring the people here because it’s better?”

“No, that’s not the agreement, but we can talk more about that later.”

“Have you wanted to stay?”

“Yes. No. I have reasons to stay and reasons to go, but for now, I can do more good back home.”

April nodded slowly and returned her attention to the streets and buildings of Parisio.





-April-

Welcome Home



The cab made its way down a back alley and stopped behind what I presumed to be Art Fantastique. Scott told me to wait while he unloaded the packages. Then he climbed back into the cab, and gave the driver further instructions in another language. Eventually the cab pulled to a stop in front of a building with a beautiful stone facade. I had never before seen buildings quite like those in Parisio. They looked old and majestic yet were in excellent repair. Scott offered his hand and helped me out of the cab.

“Welcome to your new home.”

“I’ll be living here?”

“Yes, what do you think?”

“I don’t know. Alone?”

“No, not alone.” He smiled, reached for our bags and ushered me up the front steps. At the top, he turned to a keypad and punched in a series of numbers. I heard a metallic sound as the lock released. Scott pushed open the heavy wooden door.

I stepped inside and looked around. Even though the outside of the building looked different than what I was used to, the inside looked very much like wealthy homes in Tkaron. An ornate wooden chair stood next to a coat rack and umbrella stand in one corner of the front hall. A winding staircase led up to the second level. Arched doorways led to other rooms. Through the one on the left, I could see a small dining room, and a parlor was to the right.

The click of high heels sounded on the polished wooden floor as woman approached us from a hall behind the staircase. “Ah, vous avez arrivé!” She smiled and walked directly to Scott.

He opened his arms and embraced her warmly. Then he kissed her gently and used words I couldn’t understand, although I knew he was talking about me, “C’est ma soeur, April, mais son alias est Aimee.” He kept his arm around her as they turned toward me. “April, I’d like you to meet Danielle Bellami, my wife.”

Did he say wife?

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Danielle responded with a thick accent. She took my hand and kissed me first on one cheek and then on the other. “I’m so very happy to finally meet Scott’s family.”

I looked at Scott. “Is this what you were going to tell me on the plane?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t safe to talk.”

“That’s right! Why was that man following us? I thought nobody knew I was here.”

Danielle looked at Scott and said, “You were followed?”

“Only in the airport, not after,” he replied, and then turned to me. “I don’t think they were following you, April. Let’s move to the sitting room.” Scott gestured to the parlor. “It’s been a long trip.”

As we moved into the stylish yet comfortable room, my head spun. Scott is married? I’d been sitting for too long, on the plane and in the cab, so I stood instead.

I looked at Danielle. “I apologize for my reaction. I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just…this is the first I’ve heard about Scott being married.” I looked at Scott next. “Is this what Keira was talking about that day in the park?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” He looked baffled.

“She was mad at you for keeping secrets. Don’t you remember?”

“No.” He shook his head. “That was about the Resistance. Keira doesn’t know about Danielle. No one back home does.”

He and Danielle sat side-by-side on the sofa. Her hair was just about the same color as his. It was tied up in a loose bun and tendrils ran along the sides of her face, enhancing her olive complexion and deep brown eyes.

Danielle looked at me. “I’m sorry. I expected Scott to tell you before you arrived. Do you want me to leave so you two can talk privately?”

Scott put his hand on her knee. “No, you should stay.”

“How long have you been married?” I asked.

“A little over a year. Our anniversary was just a few weeks ago. April, please sit.”

I perched on the edge of a cream colored chair, and he continued, “I met Danielle when I began transporting people and goods overseas for the Resistance. That would have been about three years ago.”

“But, you’ve been a…a Shepherd, right?”

He nodded.

“For much longer than that, haven’t you? Since the beginning?”

“No, the Resistance grew slowly. It took time to develop trust with others who felt as we did and for all of us to get into positions where we could support each other properly. The person I called from the airport, for example. Her role is to relay messages. She’ll let Guy know we arrived safely. The man who was following us?” I nodded. “He called her after I disconnected, I’m sure of that. No matter how high his level of clearance, our Messenger would verify that I was sent to escort Mr. Lafleur’s daughter to their family overseas.”

“But what if he checks into that? There’s no record of an Aimee Lafleur, is there?”

“Yes, there is actually. We have people with all types of skills helping the Resistance. Aimee Lafleur exists in the national data banks, along with enough background details to convince anyone. If our tail calls the numbers that are listed for Aimee Lafleur or her parents, he’ll be connected to someone who knows exactly what to say to keep you safe.”

“Wow…” I sat back. “How could you have possibly kept all of this a secret from Keira and me?”

“That was the most difficult part.” Scott leaned forward and took my hands. “I wanted to tell both of you, especially about Dani. But I couldn’t, not without telling you about all of it, and how could I do that without disrupting your entire life?”

“You need to tell Keira about Danielle,” I said softly. “There’s no reason not to now.”

He nodded and sat back. “You’re right. It’s time for the secrets between us to end.”