Page 36 of Soros
“Tania?”
Malliko’s voice in my earpiece made me eagerly ask, “Can you get a hold of Lios, Nerix, or Soros?”
“Probably. Why?”
“We’re following Ko’roz and we need the men to come and get him.”
“Where are you?”
“In SoHo, shopping with Star. She recognized him on the street. Please do your mental thing and tell them to hurry.”
Malliko was silent for a few minutes before he returned to our conversation. “Tania, are you still there?”
“Yes. Did you reach them?”
“I spoke to Captain Lios. He was sleeping and said that they just got back to the hotel an hour ago. They’re all trying to catch up on some sleep.”
“But Star thinks the man in front of us is Ko’roz. Can’t you tell Lios and the others to come and meet us?”
“I did ask, but Lios has a point that the likelihood of you meeting Ko’roz randomly is almost non-existent.”
“He doesn’t believe us?” My gaze met Star’s as I said it out loud.
“No, I guess he doesn’t,” Malliko confirmed and quickly followed up with a soft “It’s nothing personal. It’s just that Nerix, Soros, and Lios were up all night chasing men with descriptions that sounded like Ko’roz. Each time they reached the person, it was a human male.”
“So, what do we do then?” I asked Malliko. “Star is sure that it’s Ko’roz.”
“I have to agree with Lios that it’s unlikely. Maybe follow him a bit longer until she gets a better view of him and realizes that it’s just a human with similar features. On the off chance that it’s Ko’roz, just don’t get close to him. He is too dangerous to mess with. Stay at a distance and whatever you do, don’t let him cloud your mind.”
“I’ll hang up and call you back if we can get closer,” I said.
Malliko’s tone was firm. “No, keep me on the phone for now.”
Star and I zigzagged between people for at least fifteen to twenty minutes with Malliko staying on the phone with us.
“He’s walking around the corner,” I said only loud enough that Malliko would hear it. Star picked up the pace. “Wait, Star…” I said when she moved around the corner so fast that I didn’t have a chance to slow her down. Following her, I heard her gasp when she bumped into a large body.
“Oh…” Feeling as if my heart was suddenly beating in my throat, I tightened both my fist. It was definitely Ko’roz. His smirk and arrogant attitude when he stared at Star made me sick. But then he spoke to her in a soft and cheerful tone as if they were old friends.
With panic in my voice, I whispered into the microphone in my headphones. “It’s him, Malliko, it’s him!”
“Get out of there. Now!” Malliko ordered in my earpiece.
I tried pulling Star back, but the moment she turned her head, I could tell that her eyes looked dazed.
“What’s the rush?” Ko’roz asked me with a smile in slightly accented English. “I’m a friend and I would love to spend some time with you two. Wouldn’t you like to come with me?”
Inside me, there was a big “Hell no” but it was as if my body was detached from my thought process and in a monotone, I answered, “Yes. I’ll come along.”
CHAPTER 14
Unforgivable
Soros
The energy that woke me up was like an alarm going off in my head. Sitting straight up, I tried to understand what the panic was about.
Disoriented from my sleep, it took me a moment to wrap my head around where I was. The bed, the room, the light seeping through on the sides of the blinds. I could tell that I wasn’t home or on theGreat Defender, and that the pressing sense of urgency came from Lios. Accepting his request for communication I was brought straight into a telepathic group of four people. It was clear to me that Nerix and Lios were there, but the fourth person I didn’t know.
