Nexus: Ziva Payvan Book 2 Read online

  More footsteps thundered up the stairs toward her, and she spotted yet another trio of guards emerging on the far side of the squad floor. The realization that her access key had been shut down hit her at the same time the rest of the agents reached her.

  “Hands on your head, Payvan!” one of them ordered. He had a stun baton in his hand, though he kept it lowered as he approached. “Slowly.”

  Ziva complied, not wanting to cause more of a problem than there already was. As soon as her arms were at a ninety-degree angle to her body, two of the agents rushed forward to disarm her and pat her down for further weapons. “What’s this about?” she demanded, wishing that fighting all of them off would do something other than make matters worse.

  “If you know what’s good for you Payvan, you’ll be quiet.” Ziva turned to find the director himself approaching, flanked by two more armed men. “Put her in Interrogation Four, please, gentlemen.”

  Ziva’s arms were yanked down from her head and cold handcuffs were slapped over her wrists. She felt a tiny shockwave run through her skin as the glittering purple energy reinforcement on the cuffs was activated. “Emeri! What is the meaning of this?” she growled, wrestling out of the agents’ grasp.

  The director watched her with a grim face. “Ziva, please. I don’t even need to tell you that anything you say is going to be used against you in court. Just be quiet – don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be.”

  Furious, thoroughly confused, and embarrassed, Ziva shrugged away from the rough hands on her shoulders. “Don’t touch me,” she muttered. She knew better than to protest any further at this point; whatever was going on was big enough for them to come pick her up instead of simply calling her somewhere to talk. “I’m going, I’m going.”

  She walked toward the stairs and went down instead of up like she had originally planned. The agents formed a tight circle around her, though they respectfully kept their distance, and marched her down to the detention level. Ziva was quite familiar with Interrogation Four, having questioned numerous prisoners in that particular room, and she wondered why Emeri had chosen it for her. Perhaps he would try to use her own experiences against her now, for whatever the elusive reason was.

  The door of the interrogation room was opened remotely and she walked inside of her own accord. Nothing seemed any different than it had in the countless other times she’d been there, so she stood quietly and listened to the door shut behind her. The sound of the locking mechanism sliding home sent a jolt through her head that made her cringe.

  The room’s only furnishings were a cold metal table with a single chair on each side and a viewscreen embedded in one wall. A small cam peeked at her from up in the corner, feeding footage into the dark room on the other side of the one-way window.

  Sighing, Ziva stooped down, scooted her bound hands under her backside, and stepped through her arms. She paused and examined the purple force field that enveloped the cuffs. With a little work she would be able to get out of them, but at the moment she was more interested in finding out what she was doing there than escaping. Guilty until proven innocent – that’s just how it goes around here…but guilty of what?

  Rubbing her hands together, she walked to one of the chairs, eyeing the cam as it tracked her movements across the room. She sat down with one leg crossed over the other and her hands resting on the table. Her reflection stared back at her from the window, and she wondered how many other sets of eyes were watching from the dark room. They no doubt wanted her to have some kind of incriminating reaction to the situation, but she was determined that they wouldn’t get one. With another sigh, Ziva closed her eyes and waited.

  -7-

  Royal Guard Headquarters

  Haphor, Haphez

  “I just don’t feel like I have enough concrete evidence on which I could base an accusation like that,” Kade protested as he strode through the Royal Guard headquarters alongside Luko Zona.

  “DNA doesn’t lie, Shevin,” the commanding officer replied. “What more ‘concrete evidence’ could you possibly want?”

  Kade watched his own feet moving along the ground. “I know, I know, I get it. I guess part of me just doesn’t want to believe one of our own people would do something like this.”

  Zona stopped and placed both of his hands on Kade’s shoulders, his smoky gray eyes full of more wisdom than the young agent could ever wish for. “None of us want to believe it, kid. I definitely understand where you’re coming from, but a high-ranking government official was killed here. The rest of the agency wants answers, the Royal House wants answers, the public wants answers. We have enough physical evidence to give them some, and it’s our duty to present the information to them and not keep them guessing. Now, you’ve seen the dossier on the agent Director Arion matched that print to. The DNA from the suit is a match, she fits the profile to a tee, and although he didn’t share details, the director says there may even be a plausible motive. Understand?”

  “Yes, but——”

  “Listen, Shevin. We can discuss this again later if you’re really interested. Right now, the press is all set up in the conference room waiting for you to give an official witness statement. You’re going to go in there and tell them exactly what you know.”

  “I understand,” Kade said. “What became of the evidence found in Tachi’s room? I’d like to take another look at it, if possible.”

  “Not possible. The suit, the gloves, data on the fingerprints, all of it was sent off to Noro late last night. Headquarters has been studying it all morning, double checking everything. The director didn’t want to believe it, but he has confirmed that it’s all genuine.”

  Part of Kade’s heart sank at the news; the other part was pounding tremendously at the thought of going before the media with a story he didn’t want to tell. It bothered him that nobody had actually seen anyone enter the palace; even he couldn’t be completely sure about who or what he’d seen out on the bridge. But Zona was right. DNA didn’t lie, and the information Director Arion had provided them with seemed solid enough. He sighed as the two of them stopped in front of the conference room door.

  Zona’s communicator beeped and he snatched it from his belt. “Zona here.”

  “We’ve got her in custody,” a voice announced on the other end.

  “Very well. Thank you.” He replaced the device and jerked his head toward the conference room. “Get in there, kid.”

  -8-

  HSP Headquarters

  Noro, Haphez

  Zinni Vax burst into HSP’s employee canteen and spotted Skeet’s wild orange hair within a split second. She strode toward the table where he sat reading over a data pad and sipping casually at a hot drink. He caught sight of her approaching and waved her toward the empty seat across from him.

  “Morning. I hope you’re more rested than I am.”

  She doubted it. “Have you seen Ziva?” she asked, ignoring his invitation to join him.

  “Not for an hour or so. She was headed up to the bullpen to use one of the computers.” Skeet finished off the last of his drink. “Why?”

  “I have someone who wants to speak with her about a potential job, says it’s urgent,” Zinni replied. “I’ve spent a good twenty minutes looking for her and I haven’t been able to raise her on comm.”

  “Maybe she left,” Skeet suggested.

  “She’s still logged into the system.”

  The sergeant shook his head and shrugged. “I’m not sure if it’s something you need to get worked up about. She’s on campus somewhere.”

  Now Zinni went ahead and slid into the chair, one leg folded under her. She reached across the table and turned off Skeet’s data pad, leaning forward to ensure she had his attention. “I can’t help but think something is wrong. I’ve been up to the squad floor. The place is crawling with agents and bots and they’ve got a section of workstations – including ours – completely cordoned off. Nobody’s talking. Now, according to you, the squad floor is the last plac
e Ziva was headed.”

  Skeet’s eyebrows dropped into a scowl. “But surely we would have heard of—” His eyes shifted toward a sudden commotion at the door. “Uh-oh.”

  Zinni followed his gaze and found four agents entering the canteen, all of whom rushed forward upon seeing the two of them. She tensed up and reached for her pistol, but at the slightest movement of her hand the four of them had their own weapons drawn and trained on the table.

  “Officer Vax, we don’t want any trouble,” one of them said, waving the canteen’s other occupants away. “The director just has some questions, and we need both of you to come with us right now.”

  “We’re not going anywhere until you tell us what this is about,” Skeet protested as the agents relieved the two of them of their weapons.

  The officers glanced among themselves for a moment, unsure what to say, then one of them nodded. “Lieutenant Payvan has been placed under arrest and is currently in custody,” he explained gruffly.

  “What?” Zinni exclaimed, leaping out of her seat.

  Another agent caught her shoulder and forced her back into the chair. “Director Arion doesn’t believe either of you are involved as of yet. He’s hoping you can shed some light on the situation, but if you refuse, you’ll be implicated and I’m sure we can find something good to charge you with.”

  “Implicated in what?” Zinni demanded, pounding a fist on the table. She closed her eyes to suppress her frustration, reminding herself that now was certainly not the time to let emotions take control.

  “Come on,” one of the men said, hauling her rather roughly to her feet. “You can finish this conversation in interrogation.”

  -9-

  HSP Headquarters

  Noro, Haphez

  The only things Ziva allowed to move when the door finally opened were her eyes. It had been nearly an hour since she’d been locked in and she’d spent the majority of that time meditating, something she had not done for a long time. She felt at ease, at least more so than she normally might have been while sitting in an interrogation room in restraints.

  She watched with her peripherals as the director entered, leaving two agents outside the door, and set a good-sized shipping container on the table before her. Ziva remained motionless and looked him squarely in the eye as he took a stance opposite her with his arms crossed. He eyed her curiously for a moment before sighing and dipping his head in disappointment.

  “As you might imagine, Payvan, I have better things to do than stand here having a staring contest with you. So why don’t you start by telling me what the hell you were thinking.”

  Ziva nodded thoughtfully and ran her tongue across her teeth. “How about you start by telling me what I’m doing here.” She’d spent some of her time in custody formulating several theories about what was going on, but she wanted to play her cards wisely in this puzzling game and hoped she could coax the first move out of someone else.

  “Don’t do this, Ziva; it never works. You know good and well why you’re here, and pretending is going to waste your time as much as it will mine.”

  “Refresh my memory then!” Ziva snapped.

  Nearly as frustrated as she was, Emeri revealed a tiny remote that had been clenched within his fist and activated the viewscreen on the wall. A previously recorded news report began playing, a press conference that had been held right around the time she’d been apprehended. A man in his mid-twenties was just stepping up to the podium to speak – Royal Guard Agent Kade Shevin, according to the banner that scrolled across the bottom of the screen in a variety of languages.

  Shevin cleared his throat and gazed for a moment at the cluster of eager reporters standing before him. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said before clearing his throat a second time. “What you are about to hear is an official statement regarding the events that occurred last night at the residence of Royal Officer Ikaro Tachi.”

  “Unbelievable,” Ziva muttered, so quietly her lips barely moved. This Kade Shevin character was a complete mess. The entire left side of his face was swollen from a blow that had also crushed the cartilage in the bridge of his nose, and he spoke as if he were reading from a prompter. His voice was void of any emotion or fervor, making Ziva wonder if he even believed what he was saying.

  “Naturally I drew my weapon and ordered Payvan to show herself,” Shevin was saying, “but she was unresponsive. That’s when I approached.”

  “Did she ever speak to you?” one of the reporters cried, thrusting a recorder at him.

  “No. I ended up losing track of her in the dark, having lost my light source in the rain. She got past me and rendered me unconscious with a rock before I could react. She was then able to get inside uncontested to murder the Royal Officer.”

  The press began barking more questions but now an older man – Supervisory Special Agent Luko Zona, the banner said – stepped up to the podium and replaced Shevin. Emeri disabled the audio but allowed the recording to continue playing.

  “Remember now?”

  Ziva set her jaw. “Can’t say I do.”

  With a sigh, the director reached under the table and switched off the interrogation room’s sound recorder. He leaned over the table, arms locked, graying eyebrows furrowed, and looked her directly in the eye.

  “Listen to me very carefully, Ziva. You’re my best agent and I do not want to lose you, so I’m willing to give you a chance here. As of this moment, I still haven’t told anybody about your little secret. You come clean right now – make me understand why you did this – and that will remain a secret, plus I’ll do my best to get you out of yet another execution. If you refuse, however, you’ll spend the last days of your miserable life in the Haphor Facility and the entire galaxy will know you’re a Nosti.”

  A momentary tingle of panic coursed through Ziva’s body at the mention of the Haphor Facility, though she was careful not to show it. She’d never had the glorious privilege of being admitted to the Facility, an HSP-run establishment often regarded as the most ruthless torture prison in the Fringe Systems. She blinked away a sudden image of herself chained up in a dark room with long burn marks covering her body.

  Wondering how much difference it would make if anyone knew of her Nostia, especially if she were locked away in the Haphor prison, Ziva raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “I’m not going to confess to something I didn’t do.”

  Emeri slapped the table. “All right,” he growled. His turquoise eyes turned to ice as he switched the recorder back on and went to the door. He gave it two gentle raps with his knuckles and resumed his position in front of her as it opened. To Ziva’s surprise, the guards didn’t come in to drag her away to Haphor as she had expected. Instead, a single man entered, carrying a small data pad which he placed on the table beside the container the director had brought in.

  Ziva looked up into the merciless black eyes of Diago Dasaro, one of Emeri’s favorite taskmasters as well as the captain who happened to oversee Ziva’s unit. Dasaro was a hulking man with a shaved head and a dark emilan complexion. He was one of the only captains Ziva knew who ever spent any time in the field and he had always been her primary competition in terms of solo missions and pay – “playing time” as Emeri liked to call it.

  She’d beaten him out of much of this so-called playing time over the years and Dasaro had always resented her for it. Ziva was the better shot and was more agile, but when it came to brute strength, he was on top. He was several years older than her and had been HSP’s top dog until the “little girl” had come along and bested him at nearly every aspect of his job.

  Dasaro regarded her silently, taunting her without having to speak a word. He stood at ease just to Emeri’s left, no doubt reveling in the fact that he was currently favored by the director.

  Ziva surveyed the items on the table then shifted her focus back to the two men before her. “Let’s say I did kill Tachi. Any chance you could remind me exactly how I pulled it off? My memory’s a little fuzzy.”

  Emeri
muttered what sounded like a curse under his breath. “I don’t have time for your games, Payvan!”

  “I’ll handle this, Director,” Dasaro said, extending a hand to calm the man. “I’m in the mood for a good game.”

  Ziva sat back in her chair and scoffed, wishing the cuffs would allow her to cross her arms. “I don’t recall asking you, Diago.”

  Dasaro ignored her and lifted the lid on the container, revealing a long black stealth suit that was rather wrinkled and covered with splotches of mud. He spread it out on the table and crossed his arms. “Look familiar?”

  “No. Should it?”

  “You were wearing it last night when you scaled the wall surrounding Tachi’s courtyard,” the captain continued, treating her remarks with more patience than Ziva might have expected from him. “You were seen briefly by Kade Shevin as you made your way across the garden to the bridge. There you were able to hoist yourself up and render Shevin unconscious before he could meet with the backup he’d called for. From there, you entered the palace and were able to infiltrate Tachi’s private quarters, where you killed him with a suppressed projectile weapon.” He brought up a photo of the entry wound on the data pad. “You use a projectile pistol these days, don’t you?”

  “So do a lot of other people,” Ziva replied. “They’ve been more effective against the anti-plasma shields everyone is using.”

  “Right. I carry one myself. Witnesses downstairs said you drew a weapon matching that description when the lockdown began. The bullet that killed Tachi was a frag round so ballistic fingerprinting is out of the question, but we found the same type of ammunition in the pistol that was recovered from your personal locker this morning. Quite frankly, however, I’m more interested in how you got back down to the party without anyone seeing you.”