Coming from Nowhere

CHAPTER NINE

The ship landed in a dome next to the academy. Alex, Maxx, McKinnon, and Dale were handcuffed and loaded into an armored car to be transported back to Alex's home. JD felt a weight press on her shoulders as she was taken back to her dorm room. She sat on the edge of the cot with her head in her hands and waited. She saw Chris's face, and for the first time since she saw his wide dead eyes, anger flooded her body. She hated Roger. She imagined the horrific trials and tribulations Roger was going to put her through. She looked down at the white bandage on her arm and felt slight comfort knowing she had a way out.

The door opened, and Mason hobbled into the room with a cane and a black leg brace that extended from her hip to her ankle. She positioned herself directly across from JD and folded both hands over the top of the cane, clenching her jaw as she stared down at her. Roger stepped in beside her and clasped his hands behind his back.

"The General would like to see you."

The two escorted JD into the sitting room where the General was waiting for them. She brought a cigarette to her lips and took a drag, hesitating as she stared at JD for a moment, then sucked in a deep breath.

"I know you wanted to save Alex and the other's lives because you thought they had risked so much for you. I know you had also wanted to save Chris because you loved him." She flicked her ashes into the tray. "What I don't understand is why you showed so much loyalty to people who you have only known for a brief amount of time. I gave you a home. I gave you training." She inhaled smoke and blew it into JD's face. "If you want back in my good graces, you will have to prove yourself to me."

A knot developed in her stomach, and she swallowed thickly. "Do you want me to kill them, ma'am?"

She burst out in laughter. "Oh, if only it were that simple. No, I have another task for you. You can't go looking like that." She turned her attention to Roger. "Give her about a week, let her heal a bit. She needs to look her best."

Roger nodded, then signaled for her to follow him. They took JD back to her room and locked her in. She spent the next week wondering and worrying about what had happened to Alex and the guys. Mason brought her meals three times a day, but she was forbidden to mingle with the other students. When she wasn't thinking about what she had gotten herself into, she occupied her time with keeping in shape. She would do pushups and sit-ups until she was sore and worked on her karate moves that she had learned from Mason. On the seventh day, Mason brought her breakfast as usual, along with a kit to remove the stitches from the side of her head. When she finished, Mason explained that Roger would be in soon with her assignment.

Half an hour passed before Roger came in; he ordered her to sit on the bed and handed her a manila folder. She studied the picture of the middle-aged man with dark eyes, wrinkled ashen skin, and slicked black hair. He had a stern look on his face and was in a military uniform. Behind his portrait was a stack of papers, the first of which contained his address, phone number, and personal identification numbers, but she was only able to glance at the information briefly before Roger began speaking.

"His name is Colonel Quinn Harris. He has been in the service of the General for thirteen years. Recently, we've discovered that he and his son have been conspiring against the regime. Unfortunately, we don't have a recent photo of his son since he has lived off-planet with his mother attending a very exclusive private school. He is coming home to live with his father, and Colonel Harris is throwing a party in honor of his arrival, which will give you the perfect opportunity to eliminate two threats at once."

She closed the folder and set it in her lap. "If the son has been off-planet, how do you know he's involved with the father's treason? What did they do anyway?"