In Enemy Hands Ch 11.1

Chapter 11.1
Command was a nightmare. Red lights flashed a warning, but someone had muted the accompanying sound that signified a Code Red situation. The large screen across the room took up an entire wall.
On one side, Adlar saw a shuttle making its way toward the network grid. One the other side, radar had been activated. The Satellite Surveillance Network was clearly outlined in bright greens. It was plain to see one small section had been deactivated to allow the shuttle through.
Adlar immediately demanded the get a lock on Varo’s life sign and transport him out.
“Already tried, my Lord,” an officer answered. “We’re locked out. We can’t send you over either.”
“Frack!”
Omori moved next to Adlar. “Are you okay?”
“No, but I’m not going to snap either.”
“Good to know.”
Men and women ran from station to station doing whatever it was they did. Adlar didn’t care. All he could see was the shuttle slowly making its way to the opening in the grid.
Adlar stared at the screen as he spoke to Omori. “Has contract been established?”
“No.”
“He’s not answering?” Adlar verified as he frowned at the screen.
“No. All we know is he’s on there and his vitals are mostly stable.” Omori held up a hand when Adlar jerked around to face him. “His breathing is elevated, but not dangerously so. That could be due to many things. Fear is one.”
“May I try?” Adlar motioned to the main control panel.
“Please do. We can’t override the code for some reason, Adlar. We can’t stop the shuttle from going through and transporters are locked out. I don’t like this. I’m having fighters’ readied.”
“What! Tell me you aren’t going to attack him. Omori, if you try to hurt him I’ll—”
Omori pointed at finger at Adlar, snarling. “Do not finish that thought! I am your brother and I love you, but even you can’t threat me. I know you’re upset.” Omori dropped his voice. “And scared. But trust me. Do you understand? The fighters are there to make sure no one tries to get in while he’s going out. They will not open fire on him.”                                    
Adlar swallowed. What had he almost done?
Omori nodded to someone at the main panel. “Open a channel again. Okay, Adlar, try to get him to answer.”
Adlar stepped up to the panel and clutched the edge. “Varo? It’s me. Adlar. Can you speak to me? I really need you to say something. Just tell me what’s going on. Talk to me. Varo? Can you hear me? Please, my princeling. Please respond,” he whispered.
Adlar didn’t care if the others heard him begging. He needed to hear Varo’s voice. Why wasn’t he responding? That made no sense, unless… unless he couldn’t.
“Nothing, my Lord,” the officer said who opened the channel. “Fighters are away and closing fast. The shuttle will clear the network grind in five… four… three… two… one… He’s gone through.”
“Frack!” Adlar yelled.
“Fighters are at the portal, but not entering. Do I send them out, Sire?”
“No. I don’t want any fighters going through if the portal should close on its own,” Omori said. “Update?”
“Ah, the shuttle just went to warp. Fighters report no ships in the surrounding area either. The portal just closed too.”
Adlar watched the streaks behind the shuttle as its warp engaged. He felt sick. “Can you track it?”
“Um, I’m scanning….. Okay, yes, my Lord. The shuttle is headed for Yesri space.”
“Yesri.” Adlar clenched his fist. “I’m going after him. Ready a battle shuttle and—”
Omari placed his hand on Adlar’s shoulder. “There’s not enough time. He’s hit warp already. It’s not like their planet is on the other side of the universe either. By the time we readied a battle shuttle, staffed it, and got it air-born, Varo will be landing in his planets air space. You show up and they’ll attack. What a prize you’d be. Sorry, but no.”
“Gods, his father.” Defeated, he turned to Omori. “Do you know what his father will do to him?”
“I can imagine. And we will do what we need to.” Omori hugged Adlar, and then stepped back. He turned to the milling men. “I want the security feed pulled from around Adlar’s room, the shuttle bay, and…. Cancel that. I want a team on this. Pull all feeds for the last ten unit hours. I want a report every unit hour even if there’s nothing yet to tell me.” Omori faced Adlar. “Come with me.”
The two men didn’t speak as they made their way to Omori’s private chambers. Once inside he ordered food and fixed Adlar a glass of green wine.
“I’m not hungry, and I don’t really want anything to drink. I need to—”
“Know what happened. I understand that, but I need you to calm down and think. You’re running on emotions, and you know what that can lead to.”
“Getting killed.” Adlar sat on the couch and dropped his head in his hands. “I do know that. But I need to do something He needs me.”
“I’m going to ask this then never bring it up again.” Omori fixed the wine and brought it to Adlar.
Adlar sat up and took it. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Omori sat next to Adlar with his own glass of wine. “Now, did Varo arrange this somehow?”
“No. I don’t believe that.” Adlar sipped the cool drink and thought about what Omori asking instead of just reacting. “I refuse to believe that. The only way I will is if he tells me himself he ran. And only then if he’s under the affect of truth serum. He didn’t run.”
“I have to agree. He seemed very excited about the two of you mating.” Omori sipped his wine. “So, if he didn’t run, how did he get on that shuttle?”
“And who put him there.”
“And why.” Omori studied his wine. “Tell me what the both of you did this morning.”
 “Well, I fixed first meal for Varo in bed, and then fed him. I knew the significance of such an act since I researched it. It’s part of the courtship on his planet. Providing him food and feeding him showed I’m able to provide.”
 “Bet that was an interesting conversation.”
“To say the least. We talked—actually, we kind of had a fight—and I told him I loved him. He freaked. I released the slave collar and set him free. He freaked more.”
“Oh, I imagine,” Omori said.
“I told him I wanted to mate him. There were some emotional moments I won’t go into, but he agreed. We talked about how my and his people would react. He left to shower, and I commed you.”
Omori frowned.
“After that, I asked him to join me while I dealt with some training and later for the interviews. I then set it up so he could access my rooms. He’d agreed to come with me, and we were getting ready to leave, then Maylar showed up.”
Omori sat up. “Really? What did he want?”
“He asked if he could show Varo around. I pointed out I already had, but Varo wanted to go anyway. We made plans to meet later, and I left.” Adlar set his glass down. “Frack. I should’ve thought of this sooner. Maylar might’ve been the last one to see Varo. We need to find him.”
“We do indeed.” Omori put his glass down and stood. “He was there when you commed me, and he  heard you. He made a funny sound and dropped a glass he was holding. The look on his face…. He was enraged. I’d never seen such fury. I assumed it was because the contents splashed his clothes. You know how he is. But then he made some flimsy excuse and left immediately.”
“Are you thinking he was mad I planned to mate Varo? But why? I used him from feed, yes, but that’s all.” Adlar rolled his eyes at the look Omori gave him. “Okay. I might’ve been very generous with him, and well… maybe I gave him special privileges I gave no one else.”
Omori pursed his lips. “As have I. Very generous. In fact, it could be said I treated him like I would a mate. I trusted him, and because of that, I spoke frankly in front of him.”
Adlar paused, then slowly spoke. “As… as I have. Are you saying Maylar had something to do with Varo being in that shuttle? But why? What would he have to gain from that? It makes no sense.”
Omori sighed. “We’re jumping to conclusions anyway. We don’t know he had anything to do with this. We’re not even such what this is.”
“I know Varo didn’t leave voluntarily. That’s the one thing I do know in this.”
Omori tried to contact Maylar, but Maylar had set is comm to a auto-message only. It said he was with a client for the next twenty-four unit hours.
A unit hour passed and the first report can in, but it contained no information. Omori assigned more people to go through the feeds. They needed much faster results. Adlar ate, but he didn’t taste the food.
He paced, but he didn’t pay attention to where he walked. He was a man of action, someone who did what he had to do. Taking control was nothing new to him. Now all he could do was wait. And worry. Which he did in spades.
He hated this.

His mind continently turned over what happened. If they could’ve gotten to the shuttle, they might have been able to get a tractor beam on it. If they’d questioned the code instead of just allowing it to disembark, Varo might be here now. If he hadn’t left Varo that morning… and this was pointless.
Time passed slowly for Adlar. Adlar paced, schemed, and fretted. Varo would be on planet by now. How had he been received? What explanation had Varo offered as to how he’d escaped? It was well know no one escaped from Helkan so had the Yesri king believed whatever story Varo came up with? More importantly, how was Adlar going to get Varo home?
He butted in on the in-coming reports from the feeds, questioning the other person until they were often reduced to stutters. Omori put a stop to that by threatening to send Adlar back to his own rooms. Which Adlar didn’t want, so he stopped—with only minimal growling. From the corner of his eye, he kept an eye on the ever-moving clock.
“Anything?” Adlar questioned again from one corner of Omori’s rooms.
Omori shook as head as he ended the transmission. “They’re still going through the various feeds.” He turned to face Adlar. “There are a lot of feeds to go through, so this may take a while. Why don’t you—”
“If you’re about to suggest I leave, please, don’t. I think I may lose my mind if I’m alone.”
Omori walked to where Adlar stood and pulled Adlar into his arms. “Then stay if that helps. I want you to do whatever will help you the most.”
Adlar hid his face in Omori’s hair, his feelings choking him. “I fear for him. His father…. I can’t help him, and it drives me crazy. I want to kill something and there’s nothing to kill! I love him, but… goddess help me, I hate to say this, but he may be a weakness. My only weakness, and… and—”
“You can be hurt through him.”
Adlar shuddered. “I… yes. Oh gods, yes.”
Omori chucked softly under his breath. “My brother, love does not make you weak. You love me—not in the same way, of course—but you do love me. Has that ever made you weak?”
“No.” Adlar sighed. “No, it hasn’t. But you are king. There’re many men here who would lay down their life for you. Varo only has me.”
“And you are deadly.” Omori rubbed Adlar’s back. “The most deadly male I know. Don’t forget that. There’s very little you can’t do.”
Adlar stayed where he was at, letting Omori comfort him. It had been so long since he let his guard down and allowed someone to get close to him. Even his own brother. As Omori’s warmth seeped into him, he wondered why he’d shut everyone out.
Even killers had friends.
Or did he? He thought about it and decided what he had was actually acquaintances. It was so hard to trust. Outside of Omori, he really didn’t fully trust anyone. Until Varo. He couldn’t lose the man, not now. They had too many things left to do together.
TBC