[23]
“Stop!” Jerome said, stepping out the white elevator with his perfectly attired team of flawless Rebel officers.
“Ake is a member of my crew, not a lab rat!” Captain Derek objected, standing in Jerome’s way. Both men were equal in height and strength, the blond, blue-eyed perfectly attired officer looked magnificent comparing to the dark-haired, tanned Captain of the Gravediggers in a shabby old uniform.
“As long as you are in the Rebel territory, you must live by our rules! Murblards are animals!” Jerome grunted in Derek’s face.
“In that case, we are leaving! Thank you for the kind welcome!” Derek retorted.
Jerome turned away chuckling. “I need to have a word with you, in private.” He gave his officers a sign, and beckoned Derek to follow him. Derek gave Doc Liz a meaningful look, she nodded; they were getting Ake only over her dead body!
“It’s not that simple, Captain Derek,” said Jerome.
“Why?” Derek grinned. “I have my ship and my crew. You can send the check for your fuel.”
“We cannot let you leave. Once an ally - always an ally, as we say. Do you understand?”
“Perfectly.”
“You will have a good life and a stellar career if you follow our instructions.”
“And what about Ake? What about Sophie and Anouk?”
“We put everybody to good use. The Murblard will contribute to our research. Its blood will serve to improve and strengthen us. Murblards may be savages, but their resilience to viruses is remarkable.”
Derek shook his head smirking grimly.
“As for the child; she will be placed in one of our youth facilities, providing her with the best educators and supervisors.”
“You have thought of everything, haven’t you?” Derek spat out.
“As for Sophie… tomorrow she’ll be operated to remove the microchip implanted into her brain by the Government. You do want her to be freed from it?”
“What’s in it for you? Rebels don’t do charity, do they?” Derek barked in his face. “I doubt the microchip would be useful to you - your technologies surpass the Government’s by lightyears!”
Jerome smirked. “You’re not as dumb as you look. Sophie will be one of our top agents, considering her skills.” Jerome went quiet, Derek noticed red spots appearing on his cheeks.
“I failed to recognise Sophie’s worth when I first met her. Nolan has forgiven my mistake.”
Derek stood eyeing Jerome with deep contempt.
“What will happen to Ake?”
“The Murblard will not suffer. It will be well fed and kept alive in the Central Laboratory unit of this building, as long as it is useful to our research,” Jerome said coldly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must leave you. My officers will escort you.”
Derek cursed quietly behind his back.
“What did he tell you?” Doc Liz whispered, as Derek let the officers lead Ake away.
“Tomorrow they’ll operate Sophie. We have to play along until then.”
Doc Liz shook her head.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
***
“We must comply,” Derek said, looking up and around. Sophie nodded. Both were well aware; their every move was observed, and every word was listened to. Only a moment ago Derek had slipped a tiny note into her palm. She read it as discreetly as she could.
She came up to him and embraced Derek.
“Let’s give them something to look at,” she whispered. Derek smiled. He got the idea. And although he was shy when displaying his affections physically in public, it felt like sweet revenge to Jerome and everybody behind the surveillance cameras when Derek and Sophie made love completely naked, without a blanket and with all the lights on. Both laughed and laid in each other’s arms afterward.
“Will we escape this?” Sophie whispered in his ear.
“We will,” Derek whispered back.
This is good. I loved it.
There's always a catch,, and the rebels are worse than the government. They'll use slaves and send people to their deaths.