Chapter 16

* * *

The emerald waves rolled onto the pearly beach with a quiet rustle. And after licking it they went back, melting in the green sea, playing with the reflections of the low sun.

Another kick sent a plume of pearls into the flight, and they dropped in a pearly hail into the sea, making ripples that glittered in the sun.

Alex squinted at the play of the sun's gold on the green mirror of the sea:

It was either sunset or dawn... He was already confused by the change in latitude and the constant discrepancy in time. It was a deep night, according to his watch. And here, they say, there is no night at all for half a year.

For the umpteenth time, he kicked another batch of coastal pearls into flight. Not out of frustration but more out of a gnawing need to do something.

But there was absolutely nothing to do. The villa was considered unsafe, so he couldn't even inspect the "place of disappearance" yet. The local staff, who were now a frightened bunch squeezed by the guards, knew nothing and had last seen Taer three or four hours before the supposed time of her disappearance. Well, it was not in his competence to understand the metrics of the local security system. So it remained only to listen to the negotiations of technicians and sprinkle the sea pearls surrounded by two rows of guards, under the shadow of bots white clouds hovering directly above him.

That's what he's been doing for the last half hour.

I wonder how deep they put it? Distractedly, Alex thought, picking the pearls with his foot, trying to get to the real beach, but the pearls poured into the hole he dug, hiding the true nature of the island with a quiet clatter.

The island was volcanic, with beaches of black volcanic sand that could get so hot during the day that you could get burned. That's why the entire shoreline on his villa property was covered with pearls. It doesn't burn or get where it shouldn't, like sand.

How come they haven't dyed the sea yet? He sighed, looking at the emerald waves. It was their natural color, because of some microscopic algae. ... And on the other hand, - why not? If they can...

There was a distinctive throbbing sound coming from deep within the island. Alex turned around and saw a low-flying freighter with a scarlet griffin on board. The vehicle slowed and landed gently nearby.

"Your Lordship." Dudo saluted, stepping down onto the pearls of the beach.

Like the rest of the "technical team," he wore a simple gray jumpsuit without insignia, which only made him stand out more than the others because the jumpsuit could not conceal the overly athletic physique of its wearer. Dudo was tall, muscular, short-cropped, and in that odd age they call middle-aged. In principle, he could have been dressed in a ballet tutu, but it would still have sat on him like a uniform - there was something so ineradicably military about him, absorbed in his eleven years of service in the Navy. And Stack-Captain Dudo Guwar was second in Lord Cassard's Arm. Formally third, but for all her charms, Rima was not to be taken seriously, and as soon as it was finally clear that the matter was serious, Alex, just in case, sent her back - to the tower.

"I thought you were going to report on the intercom." Alex was surprised.

"I wanted to report personally." He answered, demonstratively turning off his communications headset.

"Did you find something?" Half-voice, Alex asked, inwardly freezing, after he'd turned off his headset, too. He was willing to accept anything as long as what he found wasn't Taer's corpse.

"Here." Dudo showed him a small droid, a metal spider that seemed quite tiny in its huge paw. "An industrial microbot. Usually used to check communication lines and inspect all sorts of hard-to-reach places. Sat on the cluster that controlled the villa's security system. Most likely served as an external connection point."

"An attack? Or is this a trail of surveillance?"

"I don't think so." Dudo snorted. "Too careless. Whoever did this wasn't trying very hard to cover their tracks. The records of external surveillance over the last twenty-four hours have clearly been tweaked, and that would be evident in any inspection. All the droids have traces of memory tampering. The last one Taer saw can't reconstruct the picture of the environment at the time he received the instructions. And that." He showed the spider again and tucked it into his pocket. "Those who did this didn't care that the fact of the intrusion would be uncovered, it's usually unacceptable for surveillance, more like traces of forceful intrusion."

"So someone kidnapped Taer?" Alex, trying to somehow comprehend what happened. "But why?"

"I don't know." Dudo shrugged. "Maybe it's because she's the First Blade of your Arm? In any case, it's safe to say Daim Diltar's definitely not: "Just went away on business."

"Okay." Alex took a deep breath, equalizing his breathing. "That's not the worst news. It's almost good news." And seeing the confusion on Dudo's face, he explained. "If she's been kidnapped, that means she's needed alive. That means all is not lost. Any sign of them identifying the kidnappers?"

"Not yet." Dudo shook his head. "We can only assume the villa's security system was compromised nineteen hours ago on another delivery of food that the staff remembers but is no longer on the records. And the abduction itself took place sometime between fourteen and twelve hours ago. Most likely on the beach."

"What else can we do but ask the House for help?" Alex asked, running through the options in his mind. "Go to the police," he had already dismissed, remembering in time that Taer was actually a noblewoman, and it was not up to the police to search her, it was up to the Ergo-Seneschal. That is to say, me.

"I sent the guys to the beach, where Diltar was most likely resting, to take chemical samples. We could also work with the company that supplied the food to see if they left anything behind. Otherwise, we should work with our Representation. Maybe Orbital Intelligence will have something. Unlikely, though." Dudo added with a sigh. "The area isn't the most interesting."

"What are we watching the capital from orbit?" Alex asked in a half voice, not hiding his surprise. "Is that even allowed?"

"Of course, we can't." Nodded Dudo. "But if a 'science vessel' or even a transporter with a very good astro-correction station gets into orbit around the capital, that's not a crime, is it?"

"I see. Well, we have to hurry to the Representation office." Said Alex, signaling to the guards that it was time to wrap it up. "We need to talk to them anyway. If there's an official request to the "court of blood' grudges," it would help a lot. At least there won't be a problem with interrogation. It'll all be part of the official investigation."

There was a risk, though, that the head of the mission, Count Barazu, might go on an "Italian strike" out of spite and start slowing things out:

At the very least, perhaps I can petition myself, as suzerain of Taer. Alex thought uncertainly, In any case, I could use the help of a lawyer.

"Yes, the possibility of applying Lim's serum comes in handy." A little embarrassed, Dudo confirmed.

When they first arrived at the villa and realized Taer was really missing, the "former" scouts from his guards nearly injected all the local staff with Lima's serum. It's called "just to be safe." Fortunately, someone remembered that they were in the capital and not in Cassard's Domain and had no right to use special means.

So they did not linger in the villa, leaving those specialists "to finish the samples" flying away almost immediately. In order not to lose time, Alex, still in the bot, contacted the Head of the capital branch of the HFOI - the House Fyron's own Intelligence. Bypassing the Representation. Almost half of his "arm" was recruited from former intelligence officers, who were only nominally former, and some even knew him personally.

So there was not much difficulty in getting help from the HFOI, especially since they were promised involvement in the investigation of the murder of Baron Assaro, partly as a bribe. Intelligence slept and saw how it would "investigate" at the House of Melato Representation, and partly because time was running out - and with Taer missing, Alex had no time at all to pick up an investigative team.

But they persuaded him to wait on filing a petition to the "court of blood grudges," pointing out that right now it would not do anything except make a lot of noise - which could only hinder. It could affect the behavior of possible kidnappers. Alex did not fully agree with this, but he had no better ideas and decided to trust the professionals, at least for now.

Having enlisted the help of the HFOI and having spent a few more hours to solve all the bureaucratic formalities in the "court of blood grudges. He should have included the intelligence people on his investigative team. Alex began to torment himself and those around him because of the overwhelming feeling that something had to be done when there was not much else to do.

Until he was forcibly sent to sleep:

"This is a mild sleeping pill, Your Lordship." Liora placed a small plastic jar on the table beside his plates. "It will allow you to rest despite your excitement."

"I can't sleep right now." Crookedly, Alex smiled. "And then, what if the kidnappers show themselves?

"If that happens, I'll ensure that you are awakened." The maid replied with a polite smile, making it clear that resistance was useless. "Your worries will not help whoever you are worried about. Go to sleep." She added more affectionately. "You are of blessed lineage. Perhaps, Ryan will send you a dream."

"Maybe..." He sighed heavily. It was stupid to argue. Four nights without sleep and nervousness were not the combination one might need in an emergency. "Do you really believe in Ryan?"

"The Church of Twilight has never denied Ryan's divinity." Liora smiled. "Without the Flame, there would be no Shadow. They are inseparable."

* * *

The red spot of reflected light flashed rhythmically on the ceiling, the piercing trill of the communicator filling the dark bedroom like a little siren, going straight to my head. Alex, only awake, just lay staring at the pulsing spot on the ceiling, trying to figure out what was going on. It took him a few seconds to realize before he rushed to the switch, sweeping away the pillows and sheets on his way.

It was his personal comm, whose number was known to at most five people, and the vast majority of them would never want to wake Lord Cassard.

The small screen glowed "Unknown call":

It could be the kidnappers. Before answering, Alex turned on the recording of the conversation.

"It's me." It came over the phone. It was Taer's voice, quiet and tired.

"What's up with you? Where are you?"

"I'm alive." Still muffled, Taer replied. Her words seemed to be hard to get through. "I'll tell you when I get there. Soon. I'll need a full body scan as soon as I get in. Have everything I need placed near the lobby and isolate the place."

"I'll take care of it. Are you hurt? Maybe we can meet you." Alex hurried. His mind jumbled with a thousand possibilities of what could have happened so that Taër could suddenly return. "Can we send aircars or..."

"No. Don't. I'll do it. And... don't come until my scans are finished. It could be dangerous."

It didn't take five minutes to make the preparations. After Taer's abduction, the entire security system was already on constant alert. As it turned out, the technical team even managed to get a ping on Taer's call, but it did little good. The source was moving fast. It must have been the caller from the flyer. At an emergency meeting of the "Arm of Cassard," management decided not to call back, at least for the next hour, so Alex had plenty of time to torment himself thinking about what exactly happened:

Did she manage to escape? Then why the scan? Injury? But then why, no meeting? Was she let go? Why kidnap her then? Was something done to her and let her go? That would explain the need for the scan.

"Your Lordship, we have contact with a mask matching that of Diltar's." The calm voice of the officer on the outside surveillance team finally stopped the mental tossing. "We have a picture from the droid. If Your Lordship..."

"Turn it on." An impatient cry from "his lordship" interrupted the politeness formula, and a large screen flashed over the table in the conference room.

Above the shining canyon of the street, through which slowly flowed the lava stream of stop signs of night traffic, hovered a black spot highlighted by navigation lights, the disc of the landing pad. Rounded sides of a small robot taxi coming in for landing shimmered with the glow of street lights. Through the windows of the illuminated cabin, a single passenger was visible, but you had to be a droid to discern Taer inside through all this riot of light and shadows. The cab landed, the wide side door swung upward, and the passenger stepped onto the platform. It really was Taer. It was unusual to see her in casual clothes, but there could be no doubt. She leaned over and retrieved a large bag from the flyer and headed for the entrance to the building.

"Let me know as soon as you know it's not some hologram but a real Daim Diltar." Proclaimed Alex, switching the communicator to the command line. "I want to see her as soon as possible."

The isoscanner's snow-white frame, devoid of any ornamentation, looked like some alien artifact against the marble walls decorated with gold vines. Two half-circles of the external scanner swirled slowly around Taer, the milky white plastic of its casing covering and revealing her face. Pale, exhausted, with flushed eyelids, she stood in the isolation capsule: squeezed and clenched, as if waiting for a blow.

Alex stepped even closer and touched the cold glass of the capsule:

"How are you, Taer?" He asked cautiously.

She heard it anyway, even through the glass. She flinched frightened and opened her eyes:

"I told you..." The pod made Taer's voice seem so distant.

"Did you really think I was just going to wait?" Alex frowned defiantly. "I came as soon as the scan showed you didn't have a bomb or something."

"The bomb isn't the worst of it." She tried to smile, but the smile came out crooked and forced. "There are worse things..."

She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath as if gathering her strength:

"Alex, listen, I..." She began in a faltering voice but stopped herself, and tears rolled down her cheeks. "I..."

She made several more attempts to continue, but each time she stopped, choking back tears. Suddenly, she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, and everything suddenly stopped. Her face smoothed and filled with serenity:

"I'm incredibly happy to see you." Finally, Taer finished her sentence, opening her eyes and smiling warmly. "Forgive my condition, there's a wild cocktail in my blood, and my emotions are running wild."

"Did they torture you?"

"No." She answered, and Alex felt a mountain fall from his shoulders. "Just interrogated, but with something non-standard, not Lim's serum."

"It doesn't matter." He smiled with relief. "Let's finish the scan, and you take the neutralizer."

"I'd rather wait until there's a full analysis of the substance I've been injected with." Taer objected calmly. "A reaction to the neutralizer could be undesirable.

"The primary analysis will take over an hour." The mechanical voice of the medical droid cut into their conversation.

"We know it's not poison, so we can wait." She brushed it off.

"Whatever you say." Alex nodded in agreement with her reasoning. "What happened anyway?"

"The usual story." Taer shrugged, smiling crookedly. "Abduction, interrogation, escape. Trying to find something to convict even Lord Cassard for."

"So, it's because of me..." He repeated, with difficulty, what Alex had been tormenting himself with since she'd been kidnapped. Who else could it be because of?

"Well, there must be some disadvantages to the title of First Blade of Cassard." Taer objected with obvious irony. "I did manage to find out a few things, by the way. I'll tell you when we're in a more congenial environment." She added, glancing around the capsule that enclosed her.

As the scanning continued, Taer preferred to remain silent. After all, it was uncomfortable to talk through the glass, and they had only to look at each other, but his "specialist" looked calm, if not relaxed. Her initial tension and readiness to cry were gone, and she even winked at him.

It looks like it all worked out. Alex thought hopefully. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Taer this peaceful. Looking at her made him more and more calm. She is always either anxious or disgruntled. I wonder if I've ever seen her satisfied or relaxed., Alex wondered. He had known his "security specialist" for over a month, but such a thing was hard to remember:

Once was, after all. He remembered. Even before she was wounded. At the castle, when the SS men and the Major from Intelligence were there. Taer looked both content and relaxed then. Well, and in the fighter unit, after the Fenot.

The quiet hiss of the opening of the capsule interrupted a further plunge into the maze of memory.

"No additions regarding the verification chart were found." The med droid circling nearby spoke in the voice of the head of medical services. "You're all right, Sword."

"Wonderful." Taer smiled coldly as she looked at the med-droid, "Do a full analysis. I know it's long. You can send me the report later. And by the way." She turned to the guards that were accompanying Alex. "Have they checked the bag I brought in yet?"

Yes, Sword. Nothing that would pose an immediate danger was found there."

"Then have it taken to my room. I'll need it later."

"Probably need some sort of debriefing on the results of my abduction?" Taer asked as they walked to the elevator.

"In free form." Alex smiled back, not quite believing it was over all of a sudden. "But yes. I still don't understand what happened.

"Good." Taer nodded and gestured to the guards accompanying them to turn on the orber. "Would you mind if I dealt with this quickly?" She continued, taking Alex under her arm to avoid disturbing the little orb that swirled around them.

"Of course not."

"Wonderful." Taer smiled with relief and continued in a slightly more formal tone.

"The kidnapping was carried out by a group of mercenaries. Competent, but random people. Directly supervising the operation was a former stack captain of the imperial security service. Also, the executor. This executor thought that the real orderer of my kidnapping was the Security Service. Probably their new head, aka the first Lord Inquisitor. The purpose was to obtain compromising material that could be used against you. Something like that." Taer shrugged, smiled a little, and then moved closer to Alex and added:

"But it's nothing more than a performer's considerations; he might have been deliberately misled. By the way," She held out her hand. "Can I borrow your comm?"

"I get it. We can't trust this information." Unhappily he sighed, asking, holding out his communicator. "And how did you manage to escape?"

"They made a mistake in the interrogation." Taher shrugged. "I managed to free myself and take possession of the weapon. The rest was easy. There weren't many guards. And a question for you: I plan to use Hous Intelligence assistance. What do you think about that?" She added, switching the communicator to the command line.

"House Intelligence?" Alex asked Alex with surprise. "We've already informed them about your kidnapping. We used their help, so I don't mind, but why?"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"I want to hire mercenaries. The enemy operates outside the legal field. We may need such opportunities too."

"They'll probably share all the information with Intelligence..." Alex stretched out thoughtfully, trying to figure out how much he didn't like it. They had just reached the elevators, and the short pause came in handy.

On the one hand, he did not like the fact that Countess Durlurl would get another source of information. On the other hand, he was sure that during the rapid expansion of his own "Arm," among the transferred guardsmen, he had gained more than one or two of the Countess's spies. It's unlikely to make much difference.

"Okay, I don't mind," Alex replied as they followed the guards into the elevator, and its doors began to close with a soft chime.

"Great." Taer smiled. "Then, literally two minutes, I'll deal with it quickly." She added, putting her communicator on speakerphone.

"Diltar is on the line. Greetings gentlemen. Thank you if anyone was worried about me. There's nothing wrong with me. Bring this information to your subordinates in a form you are comfortable with." She was silent for a while and continued only after switching the communicator to direct call mode:

"Double-Captain Dirav, I'm going to give you the address of the clinic where I was held. You will form a team and go there immediately. Objective: to inspect the place and collect data. Pay special attention to the local security and information system. There may be interesting records. Use droids only, don't go anywhere near the place. The place should be empty, but if someone appears there, do not move just try to identify. In case you are detected, leave everything and go away. The priority is to go undetected. Any questions?"

"Available force outfit?" The communicator beeped back.

"It's up to you. Just leave us at least two aerocars, but otherwise, I rely on you."

"It will be done, Sword."

Taer was silent again for a moment, changing the destination of the call:

"Dudo, sorry to bother the stack captain with fieldwork, but this is your area of expertise. I'm about to drop the coordinates of where I left all the infoblocks and memory rods taken from the kidnappers. Get a team together and work with them. There might be something interesting there. They may be tracked, so it's best not to bring them here. Well, you know how it is. The priority is to go undetected. If anybody is hanging around the bookmark, you drop everything and leave."

"I will," Dudo replied.

In the meantime, the elevator stopped, and Alex and Taer, after passing through the guard post, went to the floor where their rooms were located.

"Stack Lieutenant Shaar, we need to form two groups of mercenaries for blind operations." Taer, not stopping to give commands, caught Alex's eye and gestured for him to go to his room. "The operations profile is infiltration, extraction, elimination. You need competent people, so contact the representatives of House Intelligence in the capital. Tell them it's my personal request. The total budget is up to half a million danarii. And give your thoughts on who from the Cassard Arm can be brought into such operations."

Taer waited for the statutory "Will do Sword," and disconnected the communicator, by which time they had just approached her rooms:

"Sorry, I don't seem to have made it to two minutes." She sighed guiltily.

"You know, that was an uncommonly impressive example of direct control," Alex admitted sincerely. It was also completely unlike Taer's usual manner. But that, of course, he kept to himself.

"Oh, thank you." Taer defiantly ducked her eyes. "I love it when you praise me."

She turned off the orber that was still flying around them and returned it to the escort guards, letting them go at the same time.

"As you might have guessed, due to recent events, I don't have a key." After a moment's pause, Taer announced, looking eloquently at the door of her room.

"Sorry, I was thinking." Alex applied his key, and the door opened with a quiet click.

"Do you think your escape wasn't staged?" He asked, letting Taer go forward. He was glad he hadn't made a mistake, but the fact that in an operation with such a client and such a target, someone would make a mistake and allow a prisoner to take possession of a weapon was suspicious.

"I had that thought." Taer nodded, walking into the room. "That's why the full scan was necessary. It could also have been an attempt to provoke you into something emotional, rash, underhanded, and easily provable. But since I freed myself, you're not under attack now. Unless, of course, you do something new stupid." She added with a giggle.

"Do you think everything turned out okay? With recent events, when everything seems to be going well, I get nervous."

"No." Taer shook her head. "If it is really the Lord Inquisitor, and he has stepped outside the bounds of legality so easily, he will not stop after the first failure."

"You're right." Alex sighed uncheerfully. "That's unlikely."

"Would you like me to handle the matter?" She smiled.

"What do you mean?" He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "How do you handle it?

She shrugged with an indifferent look:

"As usual. Humans are mortal."

It took Alex a few seconds to realize the strangeness of the suggestion. Taer, who panicked at the thought of breaking the law, and who carefully avoided any dealings with Imperial justice, suggested eliminating the head of the Inquisition.

In fact, she's still under some kind of chemistry. Alex reminded himself, casting a doubtful glance at the girl. She looked, however, quite calm, obviously watching her lord's reaction with interest. "Are you serious?" He asked aloud.

She nodded, keeping her interested eyes on Alex, but a sly smile touched her lips.

"I can't help but get the impression that you're joking." He admitted it frankly.

"Be sure." She shook her head negatively. "The offer is completely serious. But I'm really interested in your reaction."

If you're serious... Alex thought over the proposal. He liked it, but the risks looked completely unjustified. They didn't have any opportunities to realize such a thing in the capital, besides...

"Perhaps that's what the Lord Inquisitor wants." He finally answered. "The mere fact of preparing such a thing is enough to apprehend even a lord prince. Besides, there may be someone else behind your kidnapping. We need to get to the bottom of this first, so let's not make any drastic decisions."

"As you wish." She lowered her eyes obediently with the same sly smile, however, not for long. "Then the debriefing can be considered over?" She asked, her eyes flashing again.

"I guess so..." Alex stretched out confusedly, suddenly realizing that their conversation would end, and he didn't want it to. "You probably need to rest. Will you go to bed?"

"No, I was just planning on taking a shower and changing. Why?

"I... Then I, after that, would like to talk some more, if you don't mind."

"Of course not." Again she smiled. "Wait for me here, I'll take a quick shower, and we'll continue."

Taer left, and Alex sprawled even more heavily in his chair, immersed in trying to make sense of his sensations. His 'first blade' was kind of weird again, that's for sure. She was relaxed and content, something she wasn't usually known for. One could put it down to the effects of the chemistry the kidnappers had used, but her manner of speaking had changed a lot. Very much so, sometimes it felt like he was talking to a different person. And that impression gave Alex a very strange feeling as if he was missing something, something important.

I can't think of anything good. Alex sighed, stretching in his chair.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Taer asked, coming out of the bathroom, where she hadn't spent two minutes.

He turned, planning to think of some topic of conversation on the fly, but said nothing. Taer came out of the shower naked and headed for the dressing room as if nothing had happened.

She was just going for her clothes, perfectly natural, not flirtatious, not lingering to show off, not looking in any special way, but she passed by so close that he could smell the scent of her wet skin.

Alex silently followed her with his eyes, unable to look away.

"I don't think it's an accident..." He finally uttered as he continued to stare at the doorway the girl had hidden in. "You probably have a panel in your bathroom to summon a droid. It could bring clothes. You could also wrap yourself in a towel or ask me."

"Don't make a big deal out of it." It came back. "This isn't the first time you've seen me naked. Back at the castle, my only piece of clothing was a blaster. You've already had a chance to look at everything."

"You were covered in blood, your left arm separate from your body..." Alex smiled crookedly. "And all I could think about was how not to let you die right now. No time to look."

"And I never thanked you for that time." He heard something from the dressing room.

"Kayrin pulled you out then. I just stopped the bleeding ."

"I should have asked: Would Kayrin have pulled me out if you hadn't stopped the bleeding?" Taer asked as she came out of the dressing room with her clothes. She was already wearing her uniform pants and shirt, but it was unbuttoned:

"Well, and if I walk around naked in front of her." She continued. "The reaction would be completely predictable, not interesting."

"So I was right, and you're studying my reaction again."

She nodded back with a smile: "Yeah. How's that?" She asked as she began to button her shirt.

Alex watched her fingers move, each movement looking remarkably precise and graceful as if she'd been practicing buttoning this particular shirt forever.

That's why I couldn't take my eyes off her. He realized. Because of the way she moved, not because she was naked.

"You are very graceful."

"Thank you, that's an appropriate compliment." She thanked him with a polite smile.

Taer walked over to the table where the big bag was sitting and unzipped it. "Is there something you wanted to talk about? Hardly about my virtues."

"More about my condition." He sighed and paused for a moment to put his doubts into a more polite form. "Don't get me wrong. I'm incredibly glad it all worked out. But, I can't help but get a strange feeling..."

"Like talking to a very old, close friend you don't recognize for some reason?" She suddenly asked, looking at the contents of the bag as if she wasn't looking at Alex on purpose.

"Yes..." He exhaled in surprise.

Actually, he was going to say something completely different, but Taer's words were surprisingly accurate to this strange sensation.

"Well, hello, then." She looked up at him and spread her arms with a smile as if inviting a hug. "Long time no see."

"Hi..." Alex whispered dazedly, completely confused. "Taer... Is that even you?" He asked the first thing that came into his head, not really knowing how to react.

"Am I Taer?" She thoughtfully retorted, taking the injector from her bag and examining it. Alex felt the question hit her, and her smile became cold and measured.

"Philosophical question." Taer finally uttered and put the injector to her neck.

There was a low hiss, and a red stain spread across her skin, immediately covered by the collar of her shirt.

"Let's say this." She suggested, looking intently at Alex, and there was a power in her voice and face. "I am as much Daim Diltar as you are Lord Cassard. And by the way, I'm not very good at humor. But ironic, isn't it?" Taer asked and laughed softly.

It was someone else's laugh, very melodic and deep but sad. That wasn't how Taer laughed.

But I'm not Lord Cassard. I'm only occupying his body. So it's not Taer, but someone just occupying her body, Alex thought, and there was irony in that. Not Lord Cassard, asking not Taer, is it you?

"Ironic indeed." He nodded with a smile.

Except that it wasn't funny at all. It turned out that now they were left alone in the personal zone, where there was no surveillance, and in case of discussion of sensitive information, all the rooms were well isolated. On the belt of Taer's uniform pants, there was a holster with a blaster and a sword handle, Alex also had a compact concealed-carry blaster, but he had seen with his own eyes more than once that Taer could be inhumanly, blindingly fast when it came to using a weapon. It was unknown if she retained that ability in her current state, but he didn't want to check. His communicator was timely borrowed and not returned:

Interesting. So she thought of this beforehand? Alex thought with detached approval as he looked at Taer.

His First Blade was: collected, calm, and looking at him expectantly. But it was clearly not a friendly expectation; she seemed to be waiting for an attack.

And that's what's really weird. It wasn't that I was dangerous to her, with or without a blaster.

Actually, there was another possibility to call the guards. He remembered that he was also wearing a biomonitor, a small washer taped under his collarbone, which transmitted data about his condition to the security team on duty. If it was torn off, the alarm would be raised. Alex wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but just in case, he tried to move his shoulder inconspicuously, checking if he could snag the sensor with his shirt without attracting attention.

"If you try to remove the sensor, I will be forced to damage your body considerably." Warned Not-Taer, in a very friendly tone.

And the strange thing is, it doesn't scare or irritate at all, not even a little bit. Alex thought, involuntarily surprised by his sensations. Although the situation was creepy and obviously dangerous. On the contrary, I feel comfortable with her now. Maybe it's some form of compulsion.

Not-Taer looked at him coldly and determinedly as if looking through a scope. But Alex didn't notice any aggression; it was more the determination and willingness to defend herself, multiplied by a calm confidence in her abilities than the assailant's determination.

He also felt an inexplicable sympathy for her, and that was the strangest thing.

With Taer something is wrong. Maybe it's someone else occupying her body. It could be dangerous. Most likely dangerous. Alex made an attempt at auto-training. But it didn't help; he still caught himself feeling a strong sympathy for this new version of Taer.

"I hope you don't think it's rude..." Alex finally broke the silence, interrupting the lingering period of mutual scrutiny. "If I ask you, who are you, and what do you want?

"That's a good question." Nodded Not-Taer. "Let's explain ourselves." And she added, a little bit grimacing with annoyance as if some thought had hurt her. "As much as possible in our condition."

"First, I'm very happy to see you." She said, and for a moment, through her armor of cold determination, a smile flashed so bright that Alex felt ready to beg her to smile at him again. But the smile disappeared, and she added with regret in her voice. "But, seeing you like this is sad. Let it be, considering the way I look." She grinned defiantly, giving herself a judgmental look as if she were something reprehensible. "That may sound a little hypocritical."

"I don't understand you..." Alex began. Who could only take it from this tirade that he was being mistaken for someone else.

"Stop." Interrupted him Not-Taer, with a reassuring smile and added surprisingly affectionately. "I'm not talking to you; I'll answer your questions later."

The affectionate smile disappeared, and she continued in her old icy tone:

"Second, you're obviously going to do ridiculous things. I, on the other hand, reserve the right, until everything is settled, to suppress any absurdities if they disturb me."

"As for your question, "Who are you and what do you want?" The wording itself is rather strange. Who am I?" she asked with a look of apparent bewilderment. "I'm your old comrade-in-arms. I've saved your life several times. And to hear you say, Who are you? And what do I need..." She raised her eyes to the ceiling thoughtfully. "A good cigarette, I guess."

"I've never seen you smoking. I'm sorry, but you don't look like a typical Taer."

"Is that so?" Non-Taer grinned. "And what makes you think that the typical Taer is the real one?"

It was a good question.

"Because it's the only Taer I know."

"Were you trying to find out any other ones?"

"I wish I could," Alex declared. Demonstratively making himself comfortable in his chair. "Tell me about yourself."

She grinned: "It would be a very long story."

"Don't you have a lot of time? Are you in a hurry?"

"If there's one thing I have in excess, it's time. But in about twenty minutes, the first reports from the place where I was held are coming in. The whole security system is going to be in flux. You're not going to be able to hold back and try to do something ridiculous."

"Ridiculous?" Alex raised his eyebrows, really surprised. "That's not my style."

"In yours." She smiled back. "Yours. You're playing boy now, so there's bound to be something silly like, 'I don't understand what's going on with Taer, but it's something bad, she must be stopped for her own good. And the boy's paradigm, it's a very limited decision space. There you won't find anything better than a covert attempt at isolation and forced rescue. And it is hastily prepared, with unclear goals, and, of course, disgustingly executed. As a consequence, nothing will work. I will simply be forced to kill at least a third of everyone present in the tower."

"Not that I mind." She added after a short pause. "But it's long, it's not interesting, and most importantly, it's inconvenient. I would prefer to avoid such inconvenience in the near future. So, I'm going to end this ridiculous conversation. Take you under my arm. Let everyone know that we have an urgent visit to make. A secret visit. In connection with my kidnapping. We'll get in a flyer and fly out of here, not far. Then I'll drop you off and call the security team on duty to pick you up."

"What if I don't agree to play along?" Alex asked with an indifferent look on his face.

"And I will insist." She replied, and her charming smile became much more predatory.

"Why do you have to go to all this trouble? Am I threatening you in any way?"

"Aren't you going to try to get "the old Taer" back somehow? No?"

"I have to." Alex finally answered, feeling that lying now was pointless. "Must at least try."

"Why?" She asked with an innocent look.

"Taer saved my life, and more than once." He answered the first thing that came into his head.

"But it was me." Not-Taer smiled disarmingly. "Every time, it was me. That Taer can't even hold a blaster. Well, she is able to fence, mediocrely. Certainly doesn't have a tendency to cover anyone with herself."

"She's my friend." Alex made his next argument, a little taken by surprise by the "not Taer" argument and not knowing how to respond to it.

"But that's not true." Slowly, almost syllable by syllable, said "Not Taer," savoring every word. "You don't trust her. You still haven't told her who you really are. And by the way, between you and me, you don't trust her rightly. You're nothing more than a career to her. That's the only explanation for why she didn't figure it out despite all your reservations and mistakes. She just didn't care.

This argument came even more to the heart; Alex wasn't really sure how Taer would have reacted if he'd confessed to her:

Well, she wouldn't turn me to the authorities. That wouldn't be good for her career... He thought and then caught himself thinking that he was, in fact, echoing the arguments of Not-Taer.

"It is my duty as her suzerain." He said, not really believing his own words.

"From your mouth, it even sounds ridiculous." She shook her head with a smile. "You don't believe any of this. Well, we were both there at the time of the oath. She can't wear armor, either.

"Maybe that's just the way I want it." With irritation, said Alex, who was beginning to get angry at his inability to justify the return of the Ta'er he knew.

"Now that's another thing." Bloomed Not-Taer, smiling at him. "Then I am the enchanted princess, and you are the wrong knight. You'll be trying to undo my spell. I'm afraid a kiss won't do the trick. But you can try anyway." She laughed.

And she was so natural, smiling so warmly, that Alex had to remind himself that he was not flirting with the most charming girl in the world but was in a very dangerous situation.

"Do you think I don't have a chance?"

"There's always a chance." The Non-Taer shrugged. "But what do you think will happen if you succeed? She'll kill herself immediately." She waved her hands.

At that moment, Alex noticed that the right side of Not-Taer's face trembled a little, and a large tear rolled down her cheek.

She poked the drop with her ring finger and looked at it in amazement:

"She still manages to cry." With a gasp uttered Not-Taer. "Look, a tear. It's amazing..."

She shifted her gaze from her tears to Alex:

"It was her idea. To come here," Not-Taer explained, looking distractedly through him. "But once she saw you..." Not-Taer sighed sadly. "The girl has completely fallen apart. Though she put so much effort into it, so much agony, fighting her fear, all just to ask you."

"Ask?" With ostensible indifference, Alex interrogated. "About what?"

"I'll give a word to the original." The Non-Taer smiled, and her face filled with excitement, and her eyes widened fearfully:

"Alex I..." Her voice trembled treacherously, but she continued to pull the words out of her as if she were trying to get rid of them quickly:

"I don't control the guider. At all. They injected me with something. It's stronger. Don't believe me. Don't believe a word of it. You must..." She started, but she choked on her sobs before she could finish.

"Destroy me." Finished Not-Taer quite calmly, she obviously wanted to go on and say something else, but her lips treacherously trembled again, and she had to stop and close her eyes and take a few deep breaths.

The new Taer's control was clearly not absolute, and the old one was ready to break through to the surface.

I just have to help her somehow. Get her to wake up somehow... Alex thought and grasped the thought hopefully. "It turns out that Taer was quite herself when she arrived in the tower, and only during the inspection, she 'switched...'

"Oh, emotion... Laughed Not-Taer with a guilty look, wiping away her tears. "So much self-pity. Isn't it touchy?"

What if the emotion is switching her? He thought feverishly: During the test, the control was taken over by the non-Taer, and now the old Taer is manifesting itself emotionally.

"Very." Alex agreed dryly. "But why did you tell me that?" He asked, trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible.

"Could it be to my advantage?" Asked back Not-Taer disarmingly smiling. "And then the child calmed down a little. She's as hysterical as an animal in a cage, ready to smash against the bars. It's exhausting." She was briefly silent, closing her eyes tiredly when she opened them, her gaze was serious and appraising:

"You don't want her to die." Concluded Not-Taer, and added with an ironic smile. "Then you should think it over all the more, this 'coming back' idea. You can't catch her by the hand every time she decides to shoot herself in the forehead with a blaster. At least there's me for that now."

Alex didn't object. First, because it was really worth considering. We'll need to arrange for constant monitoring of Taer, at least for the first time, and second, we needed to figure out a way to bring out the Non-Taer emotion urgently. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. Outwardly, she was completely unbreakable: calm, confident, relaxed.

It's all just a mask. He reminded himself. She had to take a break just a minute ago because her voice was coming off. But how to rock her now?

"Well, I guess that's enough food for thought." The Non-Taer summed it up and started pulling on her white uniform gloves. It was as insanely elegant as anything else. "I've got to go. I'm late enough as it is. Time flies when you're in good company." She added with a smile.

Time was clearly running out, and he still hadn't figured out how to get her to emotion, how to sway her.

Putting on her gloves, she tossed the little silver lump in her bag, which was lying in a nearby chair, and clasped it and picked it up from the table, evidently about to leave:

"Do me the honor of taking your hand." She offered with a smile, holding out her hand first.

Alex shrugged indifferently and rose to meet her, but instead of putting his elbow to her side, he took advantage of her bag with one arm around her waist and pulled her against him.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" She raised an eyebrow with an ironic smile.

"Well, you're the one who said I could kiss you," Alex smirked. It was a crazy idea, but time was up, and he couldn't think of anything better.

She didn't try to pull away or stop him in any way, but a few moments after their lips touched, he felt Taër literally stiffen in his arms. She tensed as if she were lifting a huge weight or waiting to strike.

He pulled away a little to see what was going on with Taer.

"So you're a doll..." She said, looking into his eyes. Her face was so close that not a muscle twitched, but Alex could physically feel her emotions building up on him: anger, resentment. "The doll." She repeated, running her tongue slowly over her lips as if to make sure the kiss was real.

Something went wrong. There was clearly a breach of some cultural norm, some protocol of politeness. Despite the slight smile and calm face, he felt that "not Taer" was very angry, just furious. So foolish or not, the plan succeeded. There they are -emotions.

"Still, such an honor to function." Quickly she mouthed pulling away even more and turning away to the side. "I don't know how to thank you."

At that moment, there was a soft pop. Like a curtain in the wind, her left hand slammed into the right side of Alex's ribcage, knocking the breath out of him with sharp pain. He didn't even have time to bend before a second, equally blistering blow struck the left side as well.

He drew in the air as a reflex, trying to catch his breath, but his chest was sliced open by a stabbing pain where the blows had struck. His breath turned into a wet, gurgling cough, and with each spasm, the pain girded his ribs and clawed at his lungs. There was a ferrous taste of blood in his mouth:

The lung is punctured. Alex shuddered with a cough, unable even to straighten up from the pain. By the ribs.

The bag fell to the floor with a glass clang, giving way to a blaster in her hand, which for some reason, was pointed at the ceiling.

The blaster shrieked characteristically, and three orange balls burst into scorched spots with smoke edges where the wall and ceiling converged, showering the room with fine crumbs of stone.

"Attack on the lord!" Shouted "not Taer" into the snatched communicator. "A mini-droid like a T-ten or similar. It's moving in the vents. All jumpers to a full block."

From the pain, he couldn't straighten up. He tried to squat but almost fell if Taer hadn't picked him up, and he paid for it with a streak of searing pain along the impact site as his back arched and Alex hung in her arms.

In one hand Taer had a smoking blaster, and in the other, he was, just a picture: "The First Blade saves her Lord.

It was nice done, isn't it? He smiled involuntarily, coughing up blood, and with each cramp, his ribs tore his lung even harder.

There was a rumble of people running down the corridor in armor, and his eyes went dark, either from pain or from the fact that he couldn't breathe.

"You know what's interesting?" Asked "not Taer", leaning over him as he convulsed in her arms, spitting blood. "She knew what I was going to do, but she didn't even try to stop me..."

She shook her head disapprovingly, and after a pause added with a philosophical sigh:

"And what did you find in her?"

The door burst open with a crash, and a team of guards and medics on duty rushed into the room.

Alex was jerked onto a stretcher and felt a prick somewhere in his arm.

"Full blood replacement, poison could have been used." He heard Taer's commanding voice above him. "Medical unit completely isolated. Put the Lord under a separate shield. Do not let anyone near him without my order. Do not raise the shield without my order. The duty team will be with the Lord at all times..."

The ceiling swayed, moving somewhere beneath his feet, and Taer's voice was distant - he was carried out of the room. The intensive care room was on the same floor as he remembered the layout, literally opposite his rooms and not far from Taer's room.

She stayed at the scene, giving commands, and Alex tried to warn the guards, but he couldn't speak at all. All he ended up doing was wheezing, clutching at their hands, spitting out blood, shuddering from the pain tearing at his chest.

Someone pointed a medical scanner in his face, and a blue beam of light dabbed across his eyes:

"Everything will be all right, Your Lordship." It came from above, along with the hiss of the injectors and another shot to the neck. "We'll get you out."

She made me so nice, even elegant. Like everything with her... Through the pain and blurred consciousness, he smiled at his thoughts.

The piercer clicked, and a large blue bag of blood substitute began hissing its contents down his throat. Everything fell into darkness.

* * *