Page 144 of Stars At Dusk

‘Ko’sawa, Dzeshu?’

The man grinned at Kage, obviously well acquainted with him. ‘Ko’sawa khan!’

‘Here for Xion.’

‘I’ll comm him,’ the officer said.

While he did, Harlow watched with raised brows as Kage pulled out his two guns, a thin rapier sword sheathed in his pants, a large knife hidden in his right boot, a third small blade from under his belt buckle, plus a set of electric cuffs, placing them all on the screening tray. The tray went through a scanner, and the checkpoint sliding doors slid back to let them through.

She gazed around her as Kage re-sheathed his weapons. She saw a clean, neat operation in a warmly lit modern setting with separate areas for booking and holding people who’d been arrested. There were all monitored by a cornucopia of swivelling security cameras to ensure the safety of the facility, visitors and staff.

Above the work desks were a series of expansive holo consoles in a two-tiered semicircle flickering with various news and security feeds. Beyond the central working area were discreet offices, labs, and holding cells.

She also spotted a uniformed officer lead a man from a cell in the distance, and before the door swung shut, she saw a well-sized bunk bed and sink. The facility looked and even smelt clean and well-maintained, which gave her some relief about the comfort of the woman formerly known as her mother. Despite everything her nemesis had done to her, Harlow wasn’t heartless about her well-being.

‘Kara, this way,’ Kage said quietly.

She turned to follow him past a series of conference rooms for meetings and interviews and storage rooms for equipment and supplies.

A man exited from one of the rooms. Xion.

He strolled to them, raising a hand in greeting.

‘Brother,’ Kage murmured to the man.

Xion gave Kage a long look and exchanged a short, aphonic conversation.

Kage swivelled his head and looked at her.

‘What?’ she pushed.

‘She’s here. But she’s not happy about it.’

Harlow’s lips tightened with tension. She pressed them together, wishing the feeling away. ‘Is she screaming and raging?’

‘Something like that,’ Xion confirmed.

‘So her MO hasn’t changed after all these years,’ she said wearily.

‘Are you sure you’re ready for this?’ Xion added.

Harlow shrugged her shoulders. ‘Can’t be worse than I’ve seen in the past.’

Kage gave her one more long look before turning to Xion. ‘Lead the way, brother.’

The dark-skinned Edenite led Kage and Harlow into a dark room.

After she entered, Harlow blinked and realised they were now in a mirrored observation room designed to observe subjects or activities via mirrors installed on one of the long walls.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to the room beyond, where a single table took centre stage. A woman was slumped in a chair beside it, and around her were the remains of two other seats, broken and torn apart.

Harlow stepped forward, oblivious to the whispers behind her.

Harlow studied her progenitor just as she had at the cafe when she’d last seen her. But, this time, more closely, searching the subject from different angles, trying to find any vestige of herself in the broken human before her.

Suddenly the woman leapt to her feet, and Harlow jumped back. She watched as Zipporah rushed to the mirrored wall and threw herself against it, banging her head repeatedly. She occasionally paused to snarl at the unseen observers beyond her reach.

Harlow felt herself cower back until her spine hit the warm wall of Kage’s chest. Only then did she relax slightly, watching with morbid fascination as Zipporah threw herself across the room, swinging the surviving bits of the chair and hitting the table in a seemingly unending rage. She kept shouting out.

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