Galactic Marshal II
by
Hilltopper

CHAPTER 7

“Oh, I talk to Karen now and again. She has a room here and stays quite often. As a matter of fact, she is coming tomorrow. I’m sure she would love to see you.”

I was shocked beyond belief. She looked at me funny and then something clicked.

“That’s right, she has been away a long time. I bet you thought she had forgotten about you.”

I shook my head.

“Actually, I thought she was dead.”

The woman nodded.

“I think she almost was. I was in Basteria that night when every thing went crazy. Karen disappeared and we heard that she had been shot. A few days later, several of us got word that she was recovering and that a ship would pick us up. We have been working out of here since then”

“Wow, this is hard to take in.”

She laughed and eyed George.

“I can imagine. It seems like you are doing OK, though.”

I blushed and she laughed harder.

“I’ll leave you two alone and I’ll tell Karen you’re here.”

She hurried away and George looked at me.

“Well, that was interesting.”

“Interesting! That was freaking incredible! Karen is alive! I don’t know whether to be overjoyed or horrified. On the one hand, I may get to know my sister but, on the other, I have to wonder if she is behind or a part of the kidnapping. In other words, should I embrace her or punch her lights out!”

“Yeah, well, I guess we’ll find out tomorrow if she sees you. What do we do the rest of today?”

I shrugged.

“Play the part of businessman and mistress I suppose.”

We went back to our suite and George consulted the itinerary.

“Nothing doing during the day but there is a big party on the veranda tonight.”

“OK, what say we just walk around the resort and see if we run into anyone else from Basteria? It looks as if Karen has moved her operation here.”

I thought hard.

“I sure hope Linda isn’t a part of it, especially since she came with Mary.”

George nodded.

“This doesn’t make sense. I can see that Karen may want some revenge but it’s been almost a year. Besides, if she wanted Mary, why kidnap Raylan?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she wants both of us on her home turf. It still seems like a lot to go through for that. There must be something else involved.”

“What about that Thulium thing?”

“Mary and I have nothing to do with that. Karen should know that she couldn’t black mail the council using us.”

George looked thoughtful.

“Maybe she isn’t pulling the strings. Remember that note was signed by the Alliance, what ever that is.”

“Well, anyway, the meeting with her should prove that one way or the other.”

“Yeah, if she doesn’t shoot you on site.”

I laughed.

“There’s that.”

We spent the rest of the daylight hours walking around. I pretended to really be into George and he, well, he is either a very good actor or ---- I think I’ll leave it at that. We didn’t see anyone that looked familiar and no one spoke to us except to say hi. We arrived back at our room just before dusk. The party would be the best chance we have had to mingle. Everyone would likely be there. I dressed very sexy as a good mistress should.

“Wow, I still can’t ------.”

I quickly interrupted George.

“Don’t go there! We are pretending, OK?”

“If you say so.”

I shook my head. Coop was right, George is only looking at me as a woman. I needed to keep him sober tonight.

“Let’s go.”

We headed to the veranda. Not too many people had arrived yet. This was likely going to be a party that lasted well into the night. We found a quiet table and sat down.

“George, we need to keep our wits about us tonight so go easy on the booze.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll only drink just enough to be sociable.”

I frowned. That’s what he always says.

“Just remember why we are here.”

“Right, no worries.”

This looked to be a big mingle session. No dance area was present. I was thankful for that. I didn’t want a repeat of last night. Unfortunately, there was plenty of liquor and no glass was left empty for long. The place started filling up so we decided to cruise around to see if anyone wanted to talk. After a coupe of hours, we sat back down at our table.

“Well, that was a waste.”

“Yeah, no body paid any attention to us.”

George raised an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t say that. You were getting lots of looks.”

I sighed.

“It’s something you get used to, I guess. I just hope we can get something going tomorrow.”

George stood up.

“Let’s walk down to the beach.”

“OK, that’s fine with me.”

I had failed to realize how much George had drunk. Therefore, it caught me off guard when he pulled me into a kiss. I sat down heavily on the sand.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I am on a beach with a beautiful woman that is turning me on. Don’t tell me you don’t feel something too.”

“I most certainly do not!”

I stood and started back to the veranda. George jumped in front of me.

“No one can look as sexy as you and not feel anything!”

“George, it’s me. Snap out of it.”

He grabbed for me again and I dodged him. He fell to the sand. This was getting ridiculous. I figured that, if I went back to the crowd, it would give him time to cool off or pass out. I sat back down at the table. I saw a man staring a hole in me. He walked over and sat down.

“I saw you ditch your date. He wasn’t right for you.”

“And I guess you are.”

He smiled big.

“Only one way to find out.”

He took my arm and started pulling me up. I tried to pull away but, to my surprise, he had a grip like iron. Suddenly, some one swung him around. It was George.

“You leave my girl alone.”

George threw a punch that just grazed the man’s cheek. The return punch put George on the floor. He didn’t move. I took the opportunity and kicked the guy between his legs. He didn’t even flinch.

“Now we do it the hard way, whore!”

He slapped me hard about the face. Man he was strong. I tried to use every trick I could think of to get loose but he parried each one and put me in a bear hug.

“OK, rough it is!”

George was still down and things were looking bad. He half carried, half dragged me to the beach. I thought, ‘Why didn’t some of these people at the party stop him’. Upon reaching the edge of the water, he threw me down hard. It knocked the breathe out of me. All at once, he got a strange expression on his face and fell forward into the sand. I looked up to see a very familiar face walking toward us. It was Karen.

“Hi, Gina, fancy meeting you here.”

I was dumbstruck and still could hardly breathe. She put her hand on my cheek.

“I’ve missed you.”

She looked over at the man in disgust.

“They shouldn’t try to act human.”

I then heard someone running toward us. She looked back.

“It looks like your date is coming to the rescue. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, she disappeared into the night. George arrived and tripped over the man, landing on top of me. After we untangled, George looked over at the guy.

“What happened to him?”

“You saved me, what else? Let’s get out of here.”

We hurried back to our room. George seemed to have sobered up. I sat down hard on the couch.

“God, what a night!”

George plopped down next to me.

“I’m so sorry. I have got to quit drinking.”

“Don’t take it too hard. I should have expected it. After all, we have been to a lot of parties together over the years.”

He laughed.

“Yeah, but not like this. By the way, I am sure I saw someone else with you as I was running up. Of course, I admit to being a little soused so I could be wrong.”

I shook my head.

“No, you’re not wrong. That guy was inhumanly strong. I don’t think I could have escaped him.”

I started to shudder. George wrapped his arms around me. I tensed and then relaxed. It did make me feel safe. This was the first time since I have been female that I felt so vulnerable.

“Thanks but let’s not make a habit of this.”

George laughed.

“Now, about this other person.”

“You are not going to believe it. Of course, I could be dreaming but I think it was Karen.”

“OK”

George looked dubious.

“I know but after what that girl said this morning, it makes sense. I was too out of it to think straight. She ran off when you appeared. She did say something real strange. She said, “They shouldn’t try to act human”. It sent shivers up my spine.”

I was starting to realize what almost happened to me. I was shaking again. George held me tighter and I began to sob.

“I’m sorry.”

George just held me until I was cried out.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

He tucked me in bed.

“I’ll be on the couch if you need me.”

“Thank you, George. You are a real friend.”

He just smiled and left the room. I was exhausted and was soon asleep. When I awoke, I felt like a truck had run over me. It seemed like last night had been a bad dream if it were not for the bruises on my arms and face. Who the hell was that person that grabbed me. I am pretty strong but he was almost robot strong. And then there is Karen. She had saved me and seemed caring but I couldn’t help but think back to that night when Mary was shot. Karen had tried to kill her and would have if not for being shot herself my Linda. This left me with many mixed feelings. I staggered to the bathroom and ran a hot bath. I dropped into it and sighed heavily. About that time, George came in. Seeing me in the tub, his eyes were like saucers. He made an about face and hurried out saying “Jeese, warn a guy next time!”. This whole trip had been one big awkward moment. I sure hope our friendship survives it. After the water cooled off, I struggled out of the tub. I still ached all over. I put on a yellow sundress and heeled sandals. I went light on the makeup today despite my bruises. I figured our pretending was about over. As I entered the living room, George ran past me.

“You took long enough!”

When George came back, I looked up at him.

“Thank you for last night except for the drinking that is.”

He looked sheepish.

“You’re welcome. How are you feeling?”

“Sore”

“I mean”

He pointed at his head. I nodded.

“OK, I think. It seems like a dream now, well a nightmare. I now know how a woman feels in that situation; that is, very vulnerable. I never believed I would ever feel like that.”

George shook his head.

“Don’t! That thing was not human. I am sure of it. When he hit me, it felt like his fist was made of steel.”

“Do you think it was an android or something?”

“Got me. Maybe you’re friend Karen will tell us.”

“Maybe, let’s go to breakfast.”

I looked over at George expecting him to look peeked. He laughed.

“Don’t worry, last night sobered me up fast.”

We went down to the breakfast bar and ate like we hadn’t eaten in a week. About half way through, a waiter handed me a note. I decided to wait until we finished to look at it. I didn’t want bad news to spoil our eating. Upon finishing, I opened the note.

‘Please come to my room at 9. We have a lot to talk about.’

It was signed ‘Karen’.

George eyed me.

“Is that our invitation?”

I looked up at him.

“Mine anyway.”

“Look, I’m not going to let you go to her room alone.”

I shook my head.

“I have to.”

We went back to our suite and George once again pleaded with me.

“You don’t need to see her alone, especially after what happened last night!”

“Actually, it’s because of last night that I think it’s best I go alone. If she wanted me hurt, I would have been.”

George frowned.

“I still don’t like it.”

“Me either but it’s something I must do alone.”

George patted his radio.

“OK, but call me if you need help.”

“Don’t worry, I will.”

I went to the room indicated on the note. I hesitated a minute and then knocked on the door. The door started to open and I thought, ‘Well, this is it!’