Beyond the fact that he needed to find out how many more of these “unique” devices existed in the universe—because they could cause a lot of problems for a lot of people—the small piece of information that Vanthex had shared could not possibly be true.
Hewasthe heir to the Montero birthright, whether he wanted it or not. And he reallydidn’twant it. Regardless, a species of alien he’d never heard of a week ago should not know that intimate information about him by merely sampling his blood.
While he did not relish his possible future or that legacy, the Montero name was the only one he knew. If it was not his birthright, then who was he?
Part of him thought Vanthex was just trying to pull one over on them. Yet he seemed so certain, so triumphant in his secret knowledge. No one should have known the name Montero or associated it with Darkfall.
He knew his reaction probably made him look like he was ruled by vanity. It was not that. He owed his secret life to the Montero name. It had opened doors that would have been closed to him, had he not been the son and heir of Ignatius Montero.
While he and his father hadnevergotten along, he couldn’t deny that the family name was important to how he’d come to be who he was.
If he wasn’t a Montero, he would never have met Luca or gone to the Royal Magistrate Guard Academy with him. He wouldn’t be Darkfall the Corrector, an undercover double agent who was always on the side of good, always locking criminals away.
If he wasn’t Darkfall the Corrector, he never would have met Ivy Olive Upchurch. That, more than anything, crushed his soul to pieces.
“I can see you mentally spiraling, Ian,” Luca whispered as they left the brig. “Don’t let that alien criminal spin you up. He’s a liar. He’s only saying what he has to in order to get out of the punishment he richly deserves.”
“What if he isn’t a liar? How could he possibly know the name Montero?”
Luca looked anguished. “Maybe he got it out of the deep recesses of my head.”
Ian put a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Regardless of how he acquired the knowledge, I must speak to Cmdr. Goddard or maybe The Calderian himself.”
Luca nodded. “Let’s find you a secure communication device to Alpha-Prime.”
He suggested as much to Diesel, who asked Wyatt to take Beryl and Jett to a specific conference room. Then he led Ian and Luca to his office, where he had a direct link to Riker Phoenix. Diesel initiated the call, explained the situation thathad developed with Vanthex, then handed the device over to Ian and said he’d wait for them in the outer office.
Luca offered to leave, but Ian wanted him to stay. It was foolish to want moral support through this difficult conversation, but if Luca had been the one making the call, Ian would have done it for him. He pushed a button on the communication device so Luca could hear both sides of the conversation.
Ian said, “Sir, this criminal needs to disclose how many more of these mechanisms there are. I’m not certain I believe there is only one unique apparatus, as he claims.” He briefly explained how the alien had discovered his surname, a link that he’d thought deeply hidden and irretrievable.
“Obviously, I was mistaken about that. As loathe as I am to make a bargain with this entity, I don’t believe we have a choice. We need to know what he knows, what he can find out and how to stop him.”
The Calderian said, “I agree with your assessment. My suggestion is that instead of punishing him, you force him to become an ally.”
Ian stiffened at the very idea of this memory-thief being an ally.
“I know this concept will be difficult for you,” The Calderian said, clearly understanding his torment. “However, if we offer Vanthex some sort of an ambassadorship between our two planets, which could more accurately be defined as an informant situation, I think both planets could come out ahead.”
Ian did see the logic in that, no matter how much he hated the idea of this criminal not getting the full punishment he deserved.
“I’ll do my duty, sir,” he said. “I find your logic sound and it is better to have one’s enemies close versus out in the universe,ready to strike when least expected. My personal feelings are my own. I will deal with them accordingly.”
“Thank you. I will leave it to you, Luca and Diesel to construct the language of the bargain. I will contact Diesel later for the details. Once Luca’s memories are fully restored and you have the information you need regarding the location and number of these devices, both of you will escort Vanthex to Alpha-Prime for a debrief and confirmation of our bargain.”
The two agents said, “Thank you, sir.” And The Calderian ended the call.
Luca said, “All right. I guess it’s time we went and made a deal with the devil.”
“Indeed.” Ian wasn’t certain he wanted to know the rest of the secret Vanthex held over his head, but he needed to buckle up and get ready for the crazy ride he expected he was about to take.
Wyatt left Beryl and Jett in the conference room while he took a call. Beryl dragged her brother to a corner and whispered a quick explanation of everything she had learned before he arrived.
“I suspect they’re going to want that antidote for the sticky glitter bomb. We are probably going to have to do some testing to make sure it works.”
Jett nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ll do whatever it takes. Are you okay?”
