Bytes of Passion

Chapter 32

The DSPS officer standing outside Skylar's quarters was the first sign that something was wrong. The id pad shone bright orange, Ephraming the quarters as a crime scene and warning people not to trespass without consent from DSPS.

"Hold right there," the guard said.

"What happened?" Teegan asked, his heart pounding so fast he couldn't just stand there. He wanted to clock the guy and force his way in.

"This area's off-limits," the guard said, seconds before the door opened. A tech was standing inside, not sure what to make of the scene before him. Teegan craned his neck to see in. Blood trailed form the bed to the floor.

"Where's Skylar? Is she alive?"

The tech, too afraid to move beyond the safety of the guard said, "She dug out her chip and fled."

"Are you sure she dug it out? That's not easy to do."

"It's painful, but it's possible. I guess whoever assigned the chip didn't think she'd do it."

Or maybe he did. If Skylar ran, as the crime tech believed, Dennison would have every reason and justification to hunt her down and kill her.

"She's a terrorist, you know," the tech said as Teegan turned to leave. "They say she tried to take down the DNI and almost succeeded, but DSPS stopped her. Maybe that's where she's headed now, to finish what she started."

"What do you mean?"

"She stole a ship and escaped two days ago."

Teegan hurried to the lift. Skylar didn't know how to pilot a ship. If she fled, someone else was piloting. He raced through level 6, only to be stopped by two guards. He insisted on seeing Dennison, to see what the asshole was doing to find her, but he'd taken a brief leave for 'personal' reasons.

Teegan headed back to her quarters, to see if he could pry any additional information from the guard or the tech.

"Damn pranksters," one DSPS officer was saying to his friend as they waited for the lift. Teegan caught his nod towards the Emergency Message Board beside the lift. Instead of showing green for status quo, an advertisement was scrolling through. Only after the lift opened did his mind register the picture of an Apple Pie with text 'Half Off at Picos Prime'.

Teegan followed Skylar's trail to the hotel that was only a few hundred feet from her quarters. A guard remained posted at her door. The thought that she'd checked into the hotel, right under their noses, pleased him to no end.

After showing a picture of her and learning from the man at the desk that Mrs. Sid Mickaelson had not yet checked out, he requested access to her room. They scanned his retina and to his surprise, a note came up on their system granting him full access to her room and hotel safe. That intrigued him. A few minutes later, he retrieved a data stick from the safe and headed to her room. To his dismay, the room was empty, save for a computer on the desk. He inserted the data stick and watched the vid she'd left for him.

"Hi, Teegan," she said, her hazel eyes bright and slightly nervous. Otherwise, she looked good, really good, as if she'd found herself. Her nervousness was gone and she held a confidence he hadn't seen since he'd first kidnapped her.

"If you're watching this, that means I couldn't find you, or someone stopped me. I'm glad you found my trail, and I hope you're not mad at me." Her smile disappeared. "I haven't treated you well, Teegan, and for that..." She cleared her throat, sat up straight and pushed her stray hair behind her ear. "I wasn't quite myself that day you brought me to my quarters. But you're here now, and I'm grateful." She flashed a smile to the vid.

Grateful... as if he wouldn't come back for her! They needed to have a long talk, once this mess was over.

"I found evidence linking Dennison to Mac. He's taken money from someone, though I don't know whom. I could only hack the DSPS files on Picos as there was no live links going out." His stomach sank, realizing she'd been digging without him here to watch her back.

She took a deep breath, and then looked into the vid recorder again, her face tense. "He knows my name, my real name. It's Skylar Blakeson, by the way. I didn't even know it until he said it and I recognized it. It's not listed in DSPS anywhere. That's what made me start digging. As soon as I lock this data stick in the safe, I'm heading out to see Dennison, to confront him with what I have and to ask him what he knows about me and my past. I think I can get a confession out of him, or at least enough to get military intelligence involved."

"There're already involved, Princess," he said as he touched the screen to her image.

"You're my backup, Teegan, but watch yourself. I think he has several DSPS officers involved. I've seen too many inconsistencies in their files, too many checks and balances overwritten and in some cases simply gone. As for the Goldsmiths, there's no record of their arrest, or even an investigation into them, despite everything we told Dennison. I'm counting on you to sink the bastard, and maybe clear my name in the process if I can't. You were right. I may never know who or what I was, but I am in control of who I am now. I miss you, Teegan... but I understand why you couldn't be with me, and it's okay. Thank you for keeping your promise... for coming back for me. I won't really know if you did, but I'll tell myself you did, because I believe in you." The vid froze on her smiling face, as if it would be the last image he'd ever have of her.

Teegan had no doubt now. Dennison was the mole who had sold military information to Devon's Disciples and he had Skylar. Fear flooded his body. He had no idea where Dennison would have taken Skylar, or even if she was still alive.