Carl looked through the report Jinx had given to him. Her numbers were usually right on target, and this report didn’t appear any different.

“Yeah, it looks sound. I’ll request this inventory from OmniLab in the morning. Is there anything else you needed?”

Jinx leaned across the desk. “Actually, yeah. You look like crap, Carl. What’s going on?”

He chuckled at her frankness and leaned back in his chair. “It’s nothing. I’ve just got quite a bit on my mind.”

“Would that something have dark hair and green eyes?”

When he didn’t reply, she said, “I’m not trying to pry. Well, maybe a little. But ever since she left, you’ve been pretty cranky. I was wondering if you wanted to talk about it.”

He sighed and pushed the tablet away. “Not particularly. She’s gone, and that’s all there is to it.”

“Aha, I was right.” Jinx grinned, waving her finger at him. “But I think you’re wrong about that. I saw the way you two looked at each other. Hell, everyone in this camp did. Why do you think Lisia got pissed off? Sparks were flying every time you two set foot in the same room. She’ll come back.”

He hoped so, but he wouldn’t count on it. Even though he’d made some headway with her, he hadn’t been able to alleviate all her reservations about working in a trader camp. In fact, with the latest OmniLab development, it had just complicated issues. “We’ll see.”

Jinx rolled her eyes. “Can you honestly picture her living up in those towers permanently? I mean, hell, she wasn’t here for long, but she didn’t strike me as the type to enjoy complacency.”

Carl smiled at her words. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll see her in a few days when I head to the towers. She seemed convinced she would want to come back by then.”

Jinx nodded encouragingly. “I wouldn’t doubt it.”

The door to Carl’s office beeped. He pressed a button on his desk to admit Xantham. The dark-skinned man entered the room. “Boss, we’re picking up Veridian’s bike on the radar. He’s got two other OmniLab vehicles with him too.”

Carl frowned, uneasy at the news. “That soon? Something must be wrong. Was Kayla with him?”

Xantham shook his head. “Not unless she’s on an OmniLab speeder.”

“All right, thanks.” Carl left his office and headed toward the entrance to meet Veridian. The ruin rat barely glanced at Carl when he entered and hung up his gear. He shoved his hands in his pockets, visibly upset.

“Veridian? Is everything okay? I wasn’t expecting you back so soon. Where’s Kayla?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. At least, I think it’s fine. I don’t know.” He ran a shaky hand over the top of his head, frowning as though something confused him.

“Come on in and have a seat,” Carl suggested, motioning for Veridian to follow him to the common room. He slumped down in a chair looking more than a little lost. Jinx handed him a hydrating pack, and he drank it automatically. Carl frowned. He didn’t know Veridian well, but this wasn’t like him. “Why don’t you tell us what happened, Veridian. Where’s Kayla?”

“I don’t know. We got there, and she met her mother. That seemed to go well, although Kayla was a little freaked out. Then we went to dinner. I don’t know what the hell happened after that.” Veridian crushed the hydrating pack in frustration and tossed it on the table.

Jinx sat beside him. “Did something happen at dinner?”

Veridian shrugged. “I don’t know. I got caught up talking to one of the potential traders. I shouldn’t have left her. Kayla and Alec disappeared at some point. Seara, that’s Kayla’s mother, came over to me after dinner and asked me to accompany her back to her family’s quarters. We sat around for a while talking and waiting for Kayla to come back. Suddenly, Seara got this strange look on her face, jumped up in a panic, and ran out of the room.”

Veridian scratched his head and continued, “Seara came back a little later with Alec. She was quiet, and it looked like she’d been crying. Alec said Kayla started remembering things. He told me Kayla wanted to be alone for a while and asked me to come back here.”

Carl frowned, his unease growing. “You didn’t talk to Kayla?”

Veridian threw up his hands in frustration. “No. Alec said she didn’t want to talk to anyone. Next thing I knew, I was on my speeder heading back here.”

Carl shook his head. “This doesn’t make sense. There’s no way Kayla would have told you to leave. She’s always been adamant about not being separated from you.”

“I thought so too. But maybe remembering her past changed things? I don’t know. It seemed to make sense at the time.”

Carl drummed his fingers on the table. Jinx rested her hand on Veridian’s arm. “Veridian, why don’t you call her and find out if she’s okay?”

Veridian pulled out his commlink, but Kayla didn’t answer. He sent a message asking her to contact him and closed his commlink. His shoulders slumped. “I shouldn’t have pushed her. She told me she didn’t want to go to the towers. I should have listened.”

Jinx shook her head. “I’m sure everything’s fine. She’s probably just sleeping. You can try her again in the morning.”

Hope filled Veridian’s eyes as he raised his head. “You think so?”

Jinx offered him a reassuring smile and nodded. “Yes. You should get some rest too. You look exhausted. We’ll find out what’s going on. Don’t worry.”

“Yeah. I guess.” Veridian stood and muttered a goodnight before heading out of the room.

“Anyone else think this reeks?” Xantham said when he was gone.

Carl nodded. If there was one thing beyond reproach, it was Kayla’s loyalty to Veridian. “Kayla wouldn’t have sent him away. I don’t care what she remembered.”

“Maybe you should go to the towers a day early,” Jinx suggested. “Go check on her and find out what’s going on.”

“That’s not a bad idea. We’re low on inventory anyway. I could use that as an excuse,” Carl mused. “In the meantime, we should get some rest. Maybe Kayla will call Veridian in the morning and straighten this out.”

They murmured their agreement. Carl said goodnight to the group and headed back to his office. Pushing aside the inventory list Jinx had given him earlier, he pulled up a copy of Kayla’s OmniLab contract. He stared at her picture for a long moment and then shut it off in annoyance. He was acting like a lovesick teenager.

You were the one who encouraged her to go.

Mentally kicking himself, he headed to his bedroom. He pulled off his shirt and threw it on the floor in frustration. Resting his head in his hands, he sighed. Sleep would be a long time coming.

Several hours later, Carl woke to the sound of his commlink. He grabbed it and flipped it open. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and read the message from OmniLab.

So they narrowed down the selection of potential traders.

The message requested his presence at the towers in two days for the final decision. He studied the qualifications of the proposed trader candidates and chuckled when he saw Rand’s name on the list.

Carl scrolled through the rest of his messages and was about to close his commlink when he noticed a draft message marked urgent. He couldn’t remember creating an urgent draft. Curious, he opened it up and stared in shock at the short message.

Carl,

Hope you’re doing well. If you happen to stop by OmniLab, I’d love it if you could break me out of here. Seems like these zap-happy circle freaks are into some weird shit and have decided they want me to join their little club. Apparently, they don’t like to take “no” for an answer either.

Oh, you might not want to tell Veridian about this little mix-up. I don’t want him to worry—not to mention I’ll never be able to live this down once he finds out.

K.

His fingers tightened reflexively on the commlink. Jumping to his feet, Carl headed out into the common room. Cruncher and Zane were sitting at the table having breakfast and talking.

“Morning, Boss,” Cruncher said. “I heard Veridian came back last night.”

Carl tossed Cruncher his commlink. “Read the draft message.”

Cruncher opened the commlink and read through it quickly. When he finished, he looked up at Carl, his eyes filled with worry. “Shit, Boss, is this for real?”

Carl nodded grimly. Given Kayla’s penchant for getting into trouble, he shouldn’t be surprised. “Get Xantham and Veridian. We’re going to the towers early. I want to find out what the hell is going on.”

Zane looked confused. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. Kayla hacked into my commlink somehow and sent me a message. She indicated she’s being held against her will.”

“But I thought her family was one of the higher-ups in those towers.”

“They are,” Carl informed him. “That’s why this doesn’t make any sense.”

Jinx walked into the room and saw the tense faces. She frowned. “Did something happen?”

“We got a message from Kayla. I think she’s in trouble,” Carl explained. “Cruncher, I want Xantham and Veridian ready to leave in thirty minutes. It’ll take us a couple of hours to get to the towers.”

Cruncher nodded and headed out of the room. Jinx walked over to Carl and put her hand on him reassuringly. “Don’t worry. Kayla’s proven to be pretty resourceful. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

Carl hoped she was right, but the incident with Ramiro was too fresh in his mind. If he managed to get her out of this mess, he was going to have to find a way to keep her permanently out of trouble.

Less than thirty minutes later, Carl, Cruncher, Xantham, and Veridian were on their speeders heading toward the OmniLab towers.

As they approached the towers, Carl frowned. It had been almost a year since he’d last visited the towers. Surprisingly enough, he realized he didn’t miss it. He understood why many traders ended up extending their contracts and staying in the field longer. There was something about being on the surface and working daily with your crew that made it feel more like home than anywhere else.

Carl pressed a button on his speeder, triggering the large overhead doors. As they opened, Xantham whistled and said into the headset, “Damn. I never thought I’d see these towers this close.”

Carl chuckled and replied, “Wait until you see the inside.”

They climbed off their speeders and entered the lower level entrance area. Three armed men wearing the distinctive Omni security uniforms stood near the door, eyeing them with suspicion. An elderly blond woman with a stern expression pointed to a panel on the wall. “Identify yourselves.”

Carl pulled off his helmet and hung it up on the rack. Pressing his hand against the panel, he spoke his name in a clear voice.

The woman glanced at the tablet she was carrying. “You’re early, Trader Carl Grayson. We weren’t expecting you for another day. Welcome back to OmniLab Towers.”

Carl motioned for everyone else to do the same. They each checked in one by one. Once they identified themselves, the woman said, “Traders don’t usually bring so many of their crew members to the towers. Is there a problem?”

Carl gave her his most disarming smile. If they were turned away now, there was little he could do about it. “We need to pick up some supplies. I’ll need their help to bring the items back. Veridian Levanthe is a close friend of Mistress Kayla Rath’Varein. He intends to visit her while he’s here.”

The woman eyed Veridian speculatively and didn’t appear impressed. “We haven’t received a notification from the Inner Circle about any guests. I’m sorry, but without authorization, access to their tower is denied.”

He’d expected as much. “That’s fine. We’ll contact her directly after our other business is concluded.”

The woman hesitated and then nodded. She motioned for the guards to step aside and let them pass.

Carl headed out of the entrance area and into the main tower. Xantham and Cruncher looked around in amazement as Carl led them to an elevator.

Veridian frowned when they stepped inside. “Where are we going? This isn’t the same elevator Kayla and I took yesterday.”

“We’re going to my family’s quarters. Notification of our arrival has already reached the Inner Circle and High Council. I’m guessing someone will contact us fairly soon to find out why we’re here.”

The elevator stopped, and they stepped out. Carl led them down a long hallway and stopped at a door. He pressed his palm against the panel, and it slid open.

The living area was decorated in a waterfall of color, somehow complimenting the otherwise minimalist design. He couldn’t help but smile at the contrast. It represented his parents’ relationship completely. They were vastly different, but it worked. Not for the first time, he believed their differences made them stronger.

He waved his crew inside and called out, “Hello? Is anyone here?”

“Oh my word! Is that you, Carl?” a woman’s voice answered. A huge smile spread over his face when his mother emerged from another room. She was tall and slender, with light streaks of gray in her dark hair. It was grayer than the last time he’d seen her, but it was hard to tell. She had it pulled back in a bun, as it often was when she worked on her art. Her brown eyes twinkled, lighting up at the sight of him.

“Carl!” she exclaimed, rushing over to give him a hug.

Hugging her tightly, Carl pressed a kiss against her cheek. He caught a whiff of nuts and varnish, confirming that she’d been painting. “Hi, Mom. I’m here for the traders meeting. I’ve brought some of my crew with me.”

She stepped back, ran her hand over her hair, and chided, “Shame on you, Carl. You didn’t tell me you were coming today, and you brought all these handsome men with you. What are you thinking?”

Carl laughed. “You’re beautiful, Mother. I can tell you’ve been painting though. I’d like you to meet Xantham, our communications expert, Veridian, our newest recruit, and Cruncher, our amazing tech and former scavenger.”

“I’m so glad to meet all of you. Please, call me Rina. If there’s anything I can get for you while you’re here, let me know.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Rina,” Cruncher said and kissed her hand.

She beamed at him. “Oh, I like your friends, Carl.”

Veridian gave her a polite smile. Xantham piped up, “Thanks, Rina. Maybe while we’re here, you can tell us all the embarrassing stories about your son?”

Carl gave Xantham a dark look. “Don’t count on it.”

Rina laughed in delight. “Well, come on in. Carl, you can stay in your room. We’ll get your friends set up in some of the other guest rooms.”

Carl followed his mother down the hall. “Where’s Dad?”

“Oh, he’s over at the school. He can’t seem to stay away. Seems like he’s constantly taking on new students.”

Carl nodded. His father was a scientist and professor at the school. Learning was his passion, and even when home, he was usually engrossed in some sort of project. His office was frequently scattered with a wide assortment of projects in various stages of completion.

“Here we go.” Rina opened one of the doors. “Maybe two of you can share a room, if you don’t mind. We’re a little low on space right now. Your father’s taken over one of the other rooms with more of his projects.”

“That’s fine,” Carl replied. “Xantham and Veridian, do you mind staying together?”

Xantham chuckled. “Works for me. Cruncher snores.”

Cruncher scowled and made a move to swat him, but Xantham quickly ducked away.

Rina smiled at them. A strange chime sounded at the door and she faltered. Her smile fell and her eyes grew large. She turned to Carl, not bothering to hide her shock.

“Someone from the Inner Circle is here? What’s going on?”

“I’ll handle this, Mom,” Carl replied, returning to the entrance. He opened the door to see Alec and Director Borshin.

“Master Tal’Vayr, Director Borshin,” Carl greeted them and invited them inside. “I was wondering if a representative from the Inner Circle would be showing up. I wasn’t expecting anyone quite so quickly or so notable though.”

Alec entered and looked around the room at Carl’s crew. When he spotted Veridian, his eyes narrowed. “I received a report you had arrived early and brought unexpected guests, Trader Carl. Your attendance was not required until tomorrow. Is there a problem?”

Carl kept his tone casual, not wanting to confirm his real reasons for arriving early. “Not at all. I have some inventory to pick up, and Veridian was having second thoughts about leaving Kayla. I thought it might be a good idea to come a little early to check in on her and see how she’s doing.”

“Mistress Kayla Rath’Varein is no longer your concern,” Alec replied coldly. “I’ll let her know you asked after her. She may contact you if she wishes.”

Carl frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Kayla. She wouldn’t have cut Veridian off like that. What’s going on?”

“You overstep yourself, Trader Carl Grayson. As a courtesy, I have tolerated your questions, but that ends now. You are free to remain here and conduct your trader business. But after the appointment of the new trader within the next two days, you are to leave and return to the surface to fulfill the terms of your contract. I suggest you focus only on your trader business while you’re in the towers, or we may find ourselves looking for someone to replace you too.”

“I see.”

Alec nodded, seeming to be satisfied he’d made his point. He turned and left with Director Borshin following him.

When the door closed, Rina stepped forward. “Carl? What’s going on? That wasn’t just anyone from the Inner Circle. That was Alec Tal’Vayr. He’s to be appointed to the High Council any day now.”

“Politics,” Carl muttered in disgust. He was beginning to think Kayla had a point in not trusting OmniLab. He’d originally hoped to join the political arena to make some changes, but if the corruption went as high as he feared, he wasn’t sure that was possible. At the very least, Alec Tal’Vayr’s presence confirmed the High Council’s knowledge of Kayla being held against her will. He turned to his mother. “Everything’s fine, but I think it would be best if you knew as little as possible.”

She frowned. “All right. But you’re going to have to explain how you know Mistress Kayla Rath’Varein. The entire tower has been talking about her return and how she was living on the surface all these years.”

“Up until yesterday, she was living in your son’s camp and working as a scavenger for him,” Cruncher volunteered with a chuckle.

Rina gasped, her eyes lighting up at the gossip. “She worked for you? What’s she like?”

Carl ran his hands over his face. “Yeah. She was only a member of my crew for a few days, but she’s been a pain in the ass since I first met her.”

Rina’s eyes widened in shock. “Carl!”

Xantham laughed. “It’s true. If you meet her, you’ll understand. But she’s wicked-good at what she does. She’s got some crazy skills.”

Veridian nodded. “Yeah. Kayla tends to get into more trouble than anyone else I’ve ever known.”

Rina looked at her son with a knowing expression. “Trouble, huh? Is she pretty too?”

Xantham grinned. “She’s got to be the finest-looking ruin rat I’ve ever seen.”

Carl gave Xantham a warning look. “She’s not a ruin rat anymore. Be careful what you say about her. If anyone in the Inner Circle or High Council hears you, it won’t end well.”

Xantham made a face but didn’t make any more comments.

Veridian rubbed the back of his neck. “What happens now? How can we find her?”

Carl turned to his mother. “Mom, do you mind giving us a bit of privacy? I don’t want you involved in this.”

She hesitated but agreed. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Carl. Be careful.”

After his mother left the room, Carl turned back to Veridian. “Do you know how to get to Kayla’s family quarters?”

“Yeah, but we have to take that big elevator up.”

Carl looked at Xantham. “Run through our system comms and files over the past few days. When Alec Tal’Vayr was in our camp, he used a palm print and override code to get into Kayla’s file. I’m hoping he hasn’t changed his code yet.”

Xantham pulled out his commlink and started working on Carl’s request. Carl turned to Cruncher. “Do you think there’s a way you can get into the OmniLab system and find out if they’re holding Kayla somewhere?”

“I can try to have a look. I’m sure they have all sorts of safeguards in place though. I’m good, but I’m not an expert. Kayla would be better at this.”

“Do what you can but don’t get caught. Kayla’s got to have access to a computer if she sent me that message. Maybe she’ll reach out to us again.”

Xantham looked up from his screen. “I’ve got it, Boss. I have the voice recording.”

“Okay,” Carl said and took a deep breath. Once they did this, there was no going back. It could end very badly for all of them. “Cruncher, stay here and work on locating Kayla. Xantham and Veridian, let’s go pretend to be a member of the Inner Circle.”

Carl glanced down the corridor. “Luckily, this is a quiet time of day. We’re not as likely to be noticed. They have surveillance, but as long as we get in to see Kayla’s mother before they notice us, we should be fine.”

They stepped into the priority elevator, and Carl motioned for Xantham to use the override code. Xantham connected his tablet to the elevator panel, scanned in the palm print, and played back the code. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief when a computerized voice said, “Welcome, Master Alec Tal’Vayr.”

The elevator shot upward and Xantham said, “Wow, it actually worked. Go figure. Their security kinda sucks.”

“Most people wouldn’t dream of impersonating an Inner Circle member,” Carl said dryly. “The consequences aren’t pretty.”

When the door opened, Carl let Veridian take the lead toward the Rath’Varein quarters.

“No offense, Boss, but this is a hell of a lot fancier than your digs,” Xantham observed.

Carl looked around at the expansive hall lined with a cobblestone walkway, lush greenery, and gurgling stream. “No kidding.”

Veridian pressed the button outside the ornately carved door and waited. A few moments later, the door slid open. Although Carl had met Seara before, he hadn’t paid much attention. He was taken aback at the similarity between the petite woman and Kayla. If he’d had any question in his mind about Kayla’s heritage, it was now gone.

Seara gasped at the sight of Veridian, her green eyes widening in surprise. “Veridian, you’re back. I thought you’d left.”

“I did, but I came back. Seara, this is Carl and Xantham. We’d like to see Kayla.”

Seara lowered her gaze and shook her head. “Kayla’s not here. She’s in seclusion. I’m sorry you came back all this way, Veridian. I’ll let her know you stopped by when she returns.”

Veridian’s face fell. “Please, Seara, I know something’s happened to her. I know she’s your daughter, but she’s my family too.”

Seara looked torn for a moment. Seemingly coming to a decision, she pressed her finger to her lips indicating for them to keep quiet. She furtively glanced out into the corridor before motioning for them to follow her into the common living room area. Walking over to a painting on the wall, she pressed a button hidden underneath. An unobtrusive door slid open, and she walked inside.

Curious, they followed. When the door slid shut behind them, Seara said, “This is a safe room my husband built. We can talk freely in here, but only for a short time. I’m sure they know you’re here. You shouldn’t have come back.”

“We don’t mean to intrude, Mistress Rath’Varein, but Kayla sent me a message. She said she’s being held against her will and asked for my help.” Carl pulled out his commlink and showed her the message.

Seara read over the message and sighed. “I’m sorry, but all I know is she’s in Observation Room A. They’re keeping her locked up until the metabolic booster is out of her system and they can put a security bracelet on her.”

At the sight of Carl’s confusion, she held up her wrist to show them her bracelet. “The Inner Circle has essentially been imprisoned for the last nine months. These bracelets around our wrists are just another way for the High Council to control us.”

“How is that possible?” Carl shook his head in disbelief. “With the combined abilities of the Inner Circle, the High Council should be no match for you.”

“The bracelets damper our abilities,” she said angrily, showing a trace of the fire he was used to seeing in Kayla. “We originally offered to wear them, hoping to use the combined energy of the Inner Circle to locate new resources. But now, Edwin Tal’Vayr and the High Council use them to siphon our power for their own purposes. We don’t have the strength to fight them. They were supposed to help our people, not imprison us.”

Xantham looked back and forth between them. “Um, I think I’m missing something. What power? What abilities?”

Carl frowned. He wasn’t part of the Inner Circle and knew very little of their ways. He knew more than most others because of his association with them, but they were secretive. Most of what he knew was in the form of rumors and speculation.

Seara lowered her gaze and sighed. “We don’t discuss this with outsiders, but Kayla trusts you. I would ask you to not repeat this to anyone else.”

When they all nodded their consent, she continued, “Some of us in the towers have certain extraordinary talents. Our abilities vary from person to person. Although many of us don’t share the full scope of our talents with each other, Kayla was a bit different. At a very young age, she displayed a talent for locating missing objects. We thought she might be able to help find resources. After we lost her, though, we began searching for other ways to find resources. The bracelets were one of our best hopes.”

Cruncher shook his head. “That explains why Kayla’s the best scavenger we’ve ever seen.”

Veridian looked down at Seara’s wrist. “Maybe it’s a stupid question, but why don’t you remove the bracelet?”

“It’s a complicated design. It’s impossible for us to remove it on our own. The material embedded within the bracelets actually encodes itself somehow with our DNA. If I were to forcibly remove my bracelet, it would strip me of my abilities. Losing my senses like that would be…” Seara shuddered. “Those who have removed their bracelets have either gone mad or died within hours. We haven’t found a way to escape from it successfully. The technology was too new when we originally agreed. We had no way of knowing these bracelets would end up being permanent.”

The news shocked Carl to his core. This was more than corruption. The entire foundation and social structure of the towers was built around the Inner Circle and the High Council. If they were being imprisoned, there had been a major shift in the tower’s power structure. “Who’s responsible for this?”

“Edwin Tal’Vayr is the one who implemented the design. A few other council members are also strong supporters. Essentially, anyone not wearing a bracelet is in control.”

“Alec doesn’t wear a bracelet,” Veridian observed.

Seara bristled in defense. “No, but he’s a special case because of the unique nature of his talents. He doesn’t like the bracelets and was trying to keep Kayla safe. Edwin wanted to put it on her immediately, but Alec convinced him to wait. I think Edwin was actually pleased Alec seemed interested in Kayla. A union between our families is something he’s always wanted.”

Carl’s eyes narrowed, but he put his personal feelings aside for the moment. “So what happened? Did Kayla reject him?”

Seara shook her head. “Alec can influence people and read the thoughts of other sensitives. He has to be touching them for it to work, but apparently Kayla was an exception. He can read her thoughts, and she can hear his even if they’re across the room. When Kayla realized he was reading her thoughts, she got angry and threatened to leave the towers. Edwin overheard and had her taken to an isolation room to be fitted for the bracelet.”

Xantham cringed. “Reading Kayla’s thoughts? That’s kinda scary. I can only imagine how pissed she was when she found out.”

Carl frowned. “Do you know where the observation rooms are?”

“No, but I can point you in the right direction. They won’t allow me to see her in person, but Alec arranged for me to have a video feed.”

Seara turned on the computer in the safe room and entered in a code. A small observation room appeared on the screen. Kayla was inside and appeared to be yelling at someone.

Seara pressed a button to enable audio, and they could hear Kayla shouting. “Go ahead and try it! I dare you. Next time I won’t be gentle.”

“Please, Mistress Rath’Varein,” a voice in the background pleaded. “I just need a small blood sample to check your progress.”

“Are you always this stupid, or are you making a special effort today?” She waved what looked like a food tray in a threatening manner. “Let me make this clear since you obviously have some sort of brain damage. If you try coming near me again, I’ll kick your ass.”

“I’ve had enough of this,” a new voice announced. Edwin Tal’Vayr appeared on the screen and walked purposefully over to Kayla. She managed to swipe him once with the tray before he grabbed her. He was considerably larger and easily deflected her blows before finally subduing her. She struggled against him as he lifted a small metal device. Pressing it against her, she cried out and crumpled to the floor.

“Take your sample and put her back in restraints. If my son has a problem with that, direct him to me. You have about five minutes until she regains consciousness. I’m not dealing with this nonsense again.”