John Hawks: The Traveler

Two years later her father was living in a Prague apartment with a tattooed freak for a servant and everything was wonderful-let’s forget about the past and move on. At that moment, Maya was almost glad that her father was a paraplegic. If he hadn’t been injured, he would have denied that the ambush had occurred.

“So how are you, Maya?” Thorn turned to the Russian. “I haven’t seen my daughter for some time.”

The fact that he used the word “daughter” made her furious. It meant that he had brought her to Prague to ask for a favor. “More than two years,” she said.

“Two years?” Alexi smiled. “I think you have much to talk about.”

Thorn gestured with his hand and the Russian picked up a scanner from a side table. The scanner looked like a small airport security wand, but it was designed to detect the tracer beads used by the Tabula. The beads were the size of pearls and gave off a signal that could be tracked by GPS satellites. There were radio tracer beads and special ones that gave off infrared signals.

“Don’t waste your time looking for a bead. The Tabula aren’t interested in me.”

“Just being careful.”

“I’m not a Harlequin and they know it.”

The scanner didn’t beep. Alexi retreated from the room and Thorn motioned to the chair. Maya knew that her father had mentally rehearsed the conversation. He had probably spent a few hours thinking about his clothing and where to put the furniture. To hell with it. She was going to catch him by surprise.

“Nice servant you got there.” She sat down on the chair as Thorn rolled over to her. “Very colorful.”

Normally, in private conversations, they would speak to each other in German. Thorn was making a concession to his daughter. Maya had passports for several different nationalities, but these days she considered herself British. “Yes, the ink work.” Her father smiled. “Alexi has a tattoo artist creating a picture of the First Realm on his body. Not very pleasant, but that’s his choice.”

“Yes. We all have free choice. Even Harlequins.”

“You don’t seem happy to see me, Maya.”

She had planned to be controlled and disciplined, but the words began spilling out. “I got you out of Pakistan-basically bribed or threatened half the officials in the country to get you on that plane. And then we’re in Dublin and Mother Blessing takes charge and that’s okay-it’s her territory. I call her satellite phone number the next day and she tells me, ‘Your father is paralyzed from the waist down. He’ll never walk again.’ And then she hangs up on me and immediately cancels her phone line. That’s it. Bang. All over. I don’t hear from you for two years.”

“We were protecting you, Maya. It’s very dangerous these days.”

“Tell that to tattoo boy. I’ve watched you use danger and security as excuses for everything, but that doesn’t work anymore. There are no more battles. No more Harlequins, really-just a handful like you and Linden and Mother Blessing.”

“Shepherd is living in California.”

“Three or four people can’t change anything. The war is over. Don’t you realize that? The Tabula won. We lost. Wir haben verloren .”

The German words seemed to touch him a little deeper than her English. Thorn pushed the hand control on his wheelchair and turned away slightly so that she couldn’t see his eyes.

“You’re also a Harlequin, Maya. That’s your true self. Your past and your future.”

“I’m not a Harlequin and I’m not like you. You should know that by now.”

“We need your help. It’s important.”

“It’s always important.”

“I need you to go to America. We’ll pay for everything. Make all the arrangements.”

“America is Shepherd’s territory. Let him handle it.”

Her father used the full power of his voice. “Shepherd has encountered an unusual situation. He doesn’t know what to do.”

“I have a real life now. I’m not part of this anymore.”

Moving the control stick, Thorn made a graceful figure eight around the room. “Ahhh, yes. A citizen life in the Vast Machine. So pleasant and distracting. Tell me all about it.”

“You’ve never asked before.”

“Don’t you work in some kind of office?”

“I’m an industrial designer. I work with a team developing product containers for different companies. Last week I created a new perfume bottle.”

“Sounds challenging. I’m sure you’re very successful. And what about the rest of your world? Any boyfriends I should know about?”

“No.”

“There was that barrister-what’s his name?” Thorn knew, of course. But he pretended to search through his memory. “Connor Ramsey. Wealthy. Good-looking. Well-connected family. And then he left you for that other woman. Apparently, he’d been seeing her the whole time he was with you.”

Maya felt like Thorn had just slapped her. She should have guessed that he would use his London contacts to get information. He always seemed to know everything.

“That’s not your concern.”

“Don’t waste your time worrying about Ramsey. Some mercs working for Mother Blessing blew up his car a few months ago. Now he believes that terrorists are after him. He’s hired bodyguards. Lives in fear. And that’s good. Isn’t it? Mr. Ramsey needed to be punished for deceiving my little girl.”

Thorn spun the wheelchair around and smiled at her. Maya knew that she should act outraged, but she couldn’t. She thought about Connor embracing her on the pier in Brighton, then Connor sitting in a restaurant three weeks later announcing that she wasn’t suitable for marriage. Maya had read about the car explosion in the papers, but hadn’t connected her father to the attack.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“But I did.” Thorn moved back to the coffee table.

“Blowing up a car doesn’t change anything. I’m still not going to America.”

“Who mentioned America? We’re just having a conversation.”

Her Harlequin training told her that she should go on the attack. Like Thorn, she had prepared for the meeting. “Tell me something, Father. Just one fact. Do you love me?”

“You’re my daughter, Maya.”

“Answer the question.”

“Since your mother died, you’re the only precious thing in my life.”

“All right. Let’s accept that statement for the moment.” She leaned forward in the chair. “The Tabula and the Harlequins used to be fairly equal adversaries, but the Vast Machine changed the balance of power. As far as I know, there are no more Travelers and only a few Harlequins.”

“The Tabula can use face scanners, electronic surveillance, cooperation from government officials, and-”

“I don’t want a reason. We’re not talking about that. Just facts and conclusions. In Pakistan you were injured and two people were killed. I always liked Libra. He used to take me to the theater when he visited London. And Willow was a strong, graceful woman.”

“Both fighters accepted the risk,” Thorn said. “They both had a Proud Death.”

“Yes, they’re dead. Set up and destroyed for nothing. And now you want me to die the same way.”

Thorn gripped the arms of the wheelchair and, for a moment, she thought he was going to force himself to stand up, an act of pure will. “Something extraordinary has happened,” he said. “For the first time, we have a spy on the other side. Linden is in contact with him.”

“It’s just another trap.”

“Perhaps. But all the information we’ve received has been accurate. A few weeks ago, we learned about two possible Travelers in the United States. They’re brothers. I protected their father, Matthew Corrigan, many years ago. Before he went underground, I gave him a talisman.”