overly concerned face, “it seems my pride has been hurt more than my body.”
Once she was stable enough, Marcus escorted her back to the building. The fourth Nephloc was nowhere to be seen and Marcus did not have Sam’s gift, his Nephloc radar.
Marcus saw the three captured creatures huddled and shaking in a corner when he and Catherine entered. After making sure Catherine was truly all right, he turned toward Ian.
Marcus’ eyes burned.
He pulled Ian away from the prisoners’ earshot and growled in a low voice.
“You meant to kill that creature.”
“And if I did?”
“We need intelligence. They do us no good dead.”
Ian turned his head away. His nostrils flared. “There were four of them.”
“One of whom escaped thanks to your thoughtless haste.”
“Thoughtless?” Ian turned back to Marcus, nostrils flaring. “Look old man, they intended to harm Suteko. I had only one thought and that was stopping them from doing that. Why shouldn’t it have been killed?”
“Did you create it? Why then do you think you have the right to destroy it? Self-defense is one thing, but this was a sting with well-defined objectives. We all knew the plan; we all knew our roles in that plan. Their appearance was expected, and Suteko is in no way a helpless little girl.”
Hearing Marcus speak of Suteko’s self-defense capabilities, Sam thought back to the time she had stopped him from using the gift of speed within time in public. He had been blinded by the discovery of his own awesome power; he had let it show a little too publicly. Her arm stopped his forward motion and sent him headfirst into a newspaper box. She had been right, of course, but he still had the mark to remember his lesson.
Ian turned his back to Marcus in disgust. The old man was putting the Nephloc’s welfare above the safety of one of the Temporal—above the one Temporal he desired more than life. Ian spat into a corner and turned back to Marcus.
“Shall we get on with the interrogation?”
“First, I need to talk to Sam. Wait for me,” Marcus said to everyone. After he saw Suteko and Catherine nod, he directed his voice at Ian and said, “Do nothing without me.”
Marcus kept his eyes focused on Ian and took a step back toward Sam who had moved to the door. Ian didn’t speak or make any movement to acknowledge what the old man had said.
Once outside, Marcus said, “First, are there any others around? A second wave of attackers?”
Sam closed his eyes and once he was sure, he said, “No. That was it. And I no longer sense the one that escaped.”
“Sam, I’m concerned about Ian.”
“Really? I would have never guessed.”
Sam had to smile a little upon seeing Marcus’ confused face. Marcus for his two thousand years had never truly grasped the humor behind understatement and a sarcastic response. Marcus was seriousness. At times, eccentric and comically odd, but always serious.
Sam cleared his throat and continued with a more appropriate tone, “Beside his obvious anger issues, have you noticed the way he fawns over Suteko?”
The old man put a heavy hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Son, you have nothing to fear. I know Suteko’s heart. However, Ian is harder to know. There is anger within him. I want you to…watch him.”
“You want me to use my gifts to spy on him?”
Marcus leaned over to glance inside and at Ian. “Well, I would have chosen my words differently, but I need to know if he is truly with us.”
Sam nodded. “I’ll try. I have also felt his anger, but out of consideration for his privacy, I chose not to investigate its source.”
“It isn’t just about brutally beating that Nephloc. It was how he enjoyed doing it. I’ve noticed a number of small, seemingly meaningless things Ian has done since he’s been here. Seen individually, it means nothing, but taken as a whole and considering his past, there is cause for concern. Ian was once a very good man. I had thought he had…” Marcus removed his hand
Once she was stable enough, Marcus escorted her back to the building. The fourth Nephloc was nowhere to be seen and Marcus did not have Sam’s gift, his Nephloc radar.
Marcus saw the three captured creatures huddled and shaking in a corner when he and Catherine entered. After making sure Catherine was truly all right, he turned toward Ian.
Marcus’ eyes burned.
He pulled Ian away from the prisoners’ earshot and growled in a low voice.
“You meant to kill that creature.”
“And if I did?”
“We need intelligence. They do us no good dead.”
Ian turned his head away. His nostrils flared. “There were four of them.”
“One of whom escaped thanks to your thoughtless haste.”
“Thoughtless?” Ian turned back to Marcus, nostrils flaring. “Look old man, they intended to harm Suteko. I had only one thought and that was stopping them from doing that. Why shouldn’t it have been killed?”
“Did you create it? Why then do you think you have the right to destroy it? Self-defense is one thing, but this was a sting with well-defined objectives. We all knew the plan; we all knew our roles in that plan. Their appearance was expected, and Suteko is in no way a helpless little girl.”
Hearing Marcus speak of Suteko’s self-defense capabilities, Sam thought back to the time she had stopped him from using the gift of speed within time in public. He had been blinded by the discovery of his own awesome power; he had let it show a little too publicly. Her arm stopped his forward motion and sent him headfirst into a newspaper box. She had been right, of course, but he still had the mark to remember his lesson.
Ian turned his back to Marcus in disgust. The old man was putting the Nephloc’s welfare above the safety of one of the Temporal—above the one Temporal he desired more than life. Ian spat into a corner and turned back to Marcus.
“Shall we get on with the interrogation?”
“First, I need to talk to Sam. Wait for me,” Marcus said to everyone. After he saw Suteko and Catherine nod, he directed his voice at Ian and said, “Do nothing without me.”
Marcus kept his eyes focused on Ian and took a step back toward Sam who had moved to the door. Ian didn’t speak or make any movement to acknowledge what the old man had said.
Once outside, Marcus said, “First, are there any others around? A second wave of attackers?”
Sam closed his eyes and once he was sure, he said, “No. That was it. And I no longer sense the one that escaped.”
“Sam, I’m concerned about Ian.”
“Really? I would have never guessed.”
Sam had to smile a little upon seeing Marcus’ confused face. Marcus for his two thousand years had never truly grasped the humor behind understatement and a sarcastic response. Marcus was seriousness. At times, eccentric and comically odd, but always serious.
Sam cleared his throat and continued with a more appropriate tone, “Beside his obvious anger issues, have you noticed the way he fawns over Suteko?”
The old man put a heavy hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Son, you have nothing to fear. I know Suteko’s heart. However, Ian is harder to know. There is anger within him. I want you to…watch him.”
“You want me to use my gifts to spy on him?”
Marcus leaned over to glance inside and at Ian. “Well, I would have chosen my words differently, but I need to know if he is truly with us.”
Sam nodded. “I’ll try. I have also felt his anger, but out of consideration for his privacy, I chose not to investigate its source.”
“It isn’t just about brutally beating that Nephloc. It was how he enjoyed doing it. I’ve noticed a number of small, seemingly meaningless things Ian has done since he’s been here. Seen individually, it means nothing, but taken as a whole and considering his past, there is cause for concern. Ian was once a very good man. I had thought he had…” Marcus removed his hand