The Void by Timothy S. Johnston

Author:Timothy S. Johnston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

The lounge was deathly quiet. Even the ventilation fans were muted. All eyes were on me, and the fear in that chamber was palpable. Shaheen stood to my right. The four pistols gathered from the officers were on a table behind us. I knew Driller had a pistol in her cabin; she was wearing only a bathrobe at that moment.

I manipulated the communit and a second later a shimmering form coalesced in the center of the lounge. A gasp echoed from our group, then another. They stared at Petrov, and he at them. In his cell, the communit was displaying a holographic representation of this area for him. This way we could interact and speak, even see each other’s movements and facial expressions and gestures, and yet be in two separate areas of the ship.

“Who is that?” Driller hissed. “Is that your prisoner? Why is he watching us? What are you playing at, Tanner?”

I grunted, “He’s very much a part of this, as I only just discovered.”

Tatana barked a sharp laugh. “You’ve gone off the deep end.”

“I think the truth is going to shock a lot of us here, Council rep. You most of all.”

Another angry silence fell over us, and then I said, “The sound is muted at present. I don’t want you to give him any information other than what I think appropriate or necessary. Do you understand?” Nods all around—but still people appeared perplexed—and I exhaled.

This was rapidly going to get extremely interesting.

I activated the sound. “Petrov, can you hear me?”

He was staring at the group seated before him. “Yes. Who are these people?” His eyes were intense, and he studied each for a long moment before moving to the next.

“Who is this?” Driller repeated. “Why is he here?”

“His name is Phillip Paul Petrov,” I said. “And he is The Reaper.”

* * *

Pandemonium erupted in that chamber. Phoenix’s personnel were yelling at me and many had bolted to their feet. Shaheen held her pistol steady, as did I, and together we coerced them back to their chairs.

“So you’ve heard of him,” I mumbled. “Surprise, surprise.”

“Of course we’ve heard of him!” Tatana yelled. “And how dare you bring him on board our ship?”

“He’s my prisoner. I’m taking him to Alpha for execution. Didn’t you know that?”

“No! I had no idea you had such a violent person here!”

I frowned. “I deal with killers every day. You knew that. He’s just another job for me.”

“He is hardly ‘another job.’ He’s a sick, disgusting animal.”

I stared at the Council rep. “Are you admitting that there is crime in the Confederacy?”

He sneered at me. “What the hell does that mean? Of course there is.”

“You were ready to crucify me for mentioning it a while ago.”

He remained silent and stared at me, then he turned to Petrov. In fact, everyone was studying him, and Petrov watched with a smile. He was still looking from face to face, as if he was trying to memorize their features.

“Petrov,” I said, and he turned to me.

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