AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No more than you. You taught him a lesson. As did I. Magdalena, I’ve been trying to reach you for days, but this is not the place to speak.” Zirkov motioned to the guards outside the courtroom, which had a paper with ‘Courtroom 2’ taped over the cafeteria sign beside the door. “I’m waiting for a witness to finish testifying against a top leader in the Brotherhood who sold her to the og’dals.”
“I won’t interfere.”
“I know that.”
“Does that mean you no longer believe I’m the leak?” Her face lit with such hope, that he didn’t know how to respond without stealing that light in her eyes. So he said nothing.
Her eyes drifted past him. “I understand. Being seen with me could jeopardize your position.”
Normally, he wouldn’t give a drekk about who saw them together, but if anyone overheard them talking about her connection to the case, the situation could spiral out of control. He hadn’t destroyed the footage of Maggie in the park with the og’dal, only altered the DAA’s copy.
More than once, he considered destroying the unaltered version. He’d only held onto it to send to Galactic Intelligence to see if their lab technicians could glean additional information from it. But the more people who knew about Maggie’s involvement, the harder it would be to protect her.
Zirkov’s horns ached every time he thought about the DAA convicting her of treason. After being conquered and dominated for so long, humans had no tolerance for traitors. If convicted, she’d receive the death penalty.
“My desires have nothing to do with this case.” Zirkov forced all emotion from his voice. He had to appear neutral to anyone listening to their conversation. If the DAA ever questioned his integrity, they could ban his unit from Earth, and then he’d lose his ability to protect Maggie. “As head of GI7, I have a duty not only to Galactic Intelligence but Earth Intelligence as well.”
“What are you saying, Z?”
When he first arrived on Earth and met with the senior staff at the DAA, he’d pissed off Director Nguyen and Assistant Director Sutherland in Earth Intelligence. The men treated him like he was part of the Coalition and not an ally. Maggie had become the buffer Zirkov needed.
“You will address me as Commander.”
She took a few steps back. If she fled thinking he didn’t trust her, he’d never find her again, not until she wanted to be found. And that could be too late.
“We found another body.” That stopped her, as he knew it would. Above all else, Maggie craved justice.
“Og’dal?” she mouthed.
The noise level inside the courtroom intensified. Zirkov’s hand slid to his blaster. The moment his witness emerged, she would be his top priority. Not Maggie.
His gut twisted at the thought of putting another woman before Maggie.
“Marshal, we need to talk in private, after I escort my witness from the courthouse.”
“I’ll find you later,” she said.
The next time he looked in Maggie’s direction, she was gone, the set of double doors clicking shut behind her. He hoped she’d keep her word. If she didn’t, he’d have to take the additional evidence to Earth Intelligence, making Maggie a hunted woman.
CHAPTERTEN
ZIRKOV
Zirkov ignored the sound of GI7’s outer office door opening and closing. Whoever stopped by would wait while he sifted through DAA video footage from the past two years. He’d reread his notes and pinpointed the start of the information leaks. Mere days after Maggie joined GI7 as their liaison.
“Should I see who that is?” Konnitch asked between lobbing wads of paper into the wastebasket. He propped his feet up on Zirkov’s desk.
“Whoever it is can wait. And stop wasting paper. The humans don’t have a lot of it.”
“If they’d invest in solcaps to power datapads, they wouldn’t have to cut down what remains of their forests. Besides, throwing paper into the refuse bin is culturally appropriate. Powell in Earth Intelligence does it all the time when he’s talking with other agents. I’m not even sure why I’m here. I should be searching for the other og’dals.”
“You’re helping me strategize. We have no idea how many og’dals landed in Angeles National Park two weeks ago or where the drekkers went. Let the humans hunt the og’dals while we contain the leak.”
“If we find the og’dals, we’ll get the information we need on the leak.”
Zirkov’s horns pitched forward. “Maggie’s not responsible.”
“I didn’t say she is.”
