Hijacked by Lolita Lopez
Chapter Seventeen
“That’s an interesting color you’ve chosen to wear today.” Her father seemed less than thrilled by her fashion choices as he watched her come downstairs the next morning. “You have time to change. Maybe something a little less angry?”
“Red isn’t an angry color.” Camila swept down the last few stairs and stepped into the grand entry of the manor to join her father. “It’s passionate.”
“It’s aggressive,” her father argued. “At least tone down the lipstick? Or switch to less hostile heels?”
She smirked. “These heels are not hostile. They’re Miggy Juus, Father. One of twelve pairs she produced last year.”
“I don’t doubt that the price you paid for them would fund an entire year of the Bionus campaign but—”
“That reminds me,” she interrupted. “That patrol ship that brought me in yesterday was a disgrace. The heat shield is far beyond its life cycle. They need more funding and better, safer equipment.”
Her father seemed taken aback. “Since when did you have any interest in the budgets for the planetary patrol?”
“Since I lost a dozen years from my life in that bare knuckle re-entry,” she retorted. “Not to mention, the amount of radiation I probably soaked up in that hunk of junk.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you.” She glanced at her reflection in the gilded mirror on the wall and smoothed her hair. Satisfied with her appearance, she gestured toward the double doors. “Ready?”
Her father hesitated. “If you’re sure you don’t want to change.”
“I am absolutely sure I’m not going to change.” Camila wasn’t just talking about her clothing either.
With a reluctant nod, her father accepted her decision, and they left the house. Guards surrounded them on every side, and they were hustled into the vehicle waiting for them. She stared out the window as they left the estate, glad for the tinting that allowed her to see out but no one else to see inside. The media were camped outside the gates, waiting for a chance to snap photos. Not so long ago, before she met Misko, she would have stuck her hand out the window to flip them all off, but now that felt silly and childish.
As they drove to the palace, she calmed her nerves by repeating the story she had rehearsed since waking up. All those years in theater were finally going to come in handy as she lied to the emperor’s face. The knowledge that he had been responsible for her mother’s murder fueled her determination to fool him. Someday, she would make him pay for what he had done.
Right now, though, she had only two priorities—keeping Willa safe and protecting Misko, Sara and everyone else on the base she had left behind. Once that was done, she would melt quietly into the background of society. She would gather allies, secretly raise money and bide her time until the right moment to strike arrived.
And, then, maybe, if Misko still wanted her, she would find him and ask him to take her back.
As the palace came into view, she closed her eyes against the sting of tears and willed them away, refusing to show weakness. Her father reached over and took her hand, interlacing their fingers. “Camila?”
“Yes?” She turned her attention toward her father. He seemed very tired and much older all of a sudden.
“Whatever happens, I hope you know that I love you.”
“I know, Father.” She squeezed his hand. “I love you, too.”
“I’ve never been in any doubt of that.” He raised their joined hands and gently kissed the back of hers. “Never, Camila.”
Unsettled by her father’s behavior, she tried to shake off the sensation that something wasn’t right as they finally reached the palace. They entered side by side and wound their way through the labyrinth of corridors until they finally reached the emperor’s private rooms. Her father was called in for his audience first, and she stayed in the opulent sitting room, wandering from priceless work of art to priceless work of art.
Memories of this place filtered to the front of her mind. Their close family relation to Shui meant her family was often at the palace, back before Shui became fully megalomaniacal and outright batshit crazy. She had lost count of all the frilly dresses, the painful, pinching shoes and boring dinners she had sat through in the great banquet hall. Once, she had dreamed of living here in the palace, of being so important that others would scrape and bow before her. Now, she knew the truth and wondered how quickly she could set fire to the whole damn place.
After what felt like forever, she was called into the emperor’s audience. She lifted her head high, straightened her shoulders and entered the chamber in the same regal manner of her mother. She hid her surprise at her father’s absence from the room and sank into a low curtsy before Shui who stared down at her with barely concealed suspicion. They exchanged greetings with false smiles and sweet words neither meant.
“Sit, please, cousin,” he said with an elegant gesture to a chair near his. “There is so much I wish to discuss.”
She sat where he indicated and waited for him to speak. She noticed he offered no refreshment, making it clear this was more of an interrogation than a friendly chat. On guard, she controlled her breathing and her facial expressions, refusing to betray her true thoughts.
“I must say that I was quite upset when my generals informed of the Misbehavior’s hijacking.” He feigned concern in the downturn of his mouth, but his eyes remained suspicious. “How absolutely dreadful that must have been for you!”
“It was rather traumatic,” she answered truthfully. “One of the cyborgs threatened to cut out my eye to use on the retina scanner on the bridge.”
Saying that out loud made Misko sound like an absolute monster. She remembered how very little she thought of him the first time their paths crossed, and how quickly he gained her trust and her heart.
Shui scowled. “This is exactly why I ordered them arrested and tried! They are dangerous! Uncontrollable! They want all unenhanced humans dead!”
She nodded along with his rant. “Yes, Emperor, they are incredibly dangerous. You were absolutely right to purge and imprison them.”
“I’m glad you see it that way, dearest.” He patted her hand, and she fought the urge to recoil. His fingers were cold and clammy, like creepy worms moving over her skin. “I was hoping you would help me with a little public service announcement.”
Fuck no!
With a compliant smile, she said, “Of course, Emperor. I am happy to be of service to you.”
“Good.” He leaned back in his chair and eyed her more critically. “You know,” he said with a lilt that made her skin crawl, “I did find it a bit odd that your crew escaped without you. Can you explain how that happened?”
“We were held in separate areas of the ship. Captain Jantus and the crew escaped and took control from hijackers. I was able to get to the weapon in my safe room. I joined up with Captain Jantus and the others, but before the shuttle launched, I was recaptured. They left without me.”
“That must have been terribly disheartening, dearest.”
“It wasn’t easy watching them leave without me.” There, at least, she didn’t have to lie.
“No, I imagine not.” He paused to pick a tiny bit of fluff from the thick cuff of his jacket. “I am curious, though. How did you get to your safe room if you were being held as a hostage?”
“I wasn’t in cuffs,” she said truthfully. “I had been allowed to shower. I was moving about freely in my cabin when the crew broke free and engineered their escape. The cyborg guarding me left to subdue the crew, and I took advantage of his absence.”
“Interesting,” he murmured. “And after? When you were the only hostage on the ship? Did they hurt you? Did they touch you?”
She understood exactly what he meant and found it sickening. “No. I got the distinct impression that kind of behavior was outside their programming.”
“Originally, it wasn’t.” He looked suddenly annoyed. “When the engineers questioned the wisdom of allowing cyborgs to act on base urges like those, I was overruled by the military committee in charge of the project. They decided having a force of enhanced soldiers ready and willing to rape and pillage wasn’t the best idea for unit cohesion.” He sniffed angrily. “Idiots! What better way to convince a populace to bow down and accept they’ve been conquered than the very real threat of having their women and girls lined up in the city center to be used by every cyborg who wants a piece?”
Camila swallowed down the revulsion that threatened to make her sick right there on his exquisitely woven carpet. Hiding her true feelings, she remarked, “Yes, I can see how that would be a useful tactic.”
“Your mother didn’t agree.” The emperor watched her closely. “She was quite furious about even mentioning the possibility.”
“Mother felt strongly about some things,” she replied carefully.
“And you, Camila? Do you feel strongly about some things?”
“Oh, definitely,” she said with a mischievous smile. “I feel very strongly that white wines are always preferable to red. Beach getaways are always superior to skiing. Fast fashion should be outlawed, and a bad kiss on the first date is an absolute dealbreaker.”
The emperor laughed, the shrill pitch of it making her skin erupt in goosebumps and not the good kind either. “You always were a riot, Camila.”
“Or a headache, if you ask my father,” she joked, hoping to get him off the topic of cyborgs and into something less dangerous. Almost immediately, she recognized her mistake.
“Yes, your father,” the emperor said in that tone that belied a hidden threat. “The poor man was absolutely beside himself while you were missing. I couldn’t imagine what he was thinking! The prospect of losing another daughter! How terrible it must have been for him!”
“Yes, I’m sure it was.”
“But, suddenly, there you were, floating through space in an escape pod, completely unharmed! Somehow you made a miraculous escape from a ship held by highly skilled and trained cyborgs!” He regarded her with bald suspicion. “I can’t help but wonder how you managed that.”
“I got lucky,” she lied. “I took advantage of the guards rotating their shifts. I think once I jettisoned my pod it wasn’t worth it to them to come after me. Frankly, they were probably glad to be rid of me. I was a complication they would eventually have to handle.”
He tilted his head slightly. “And that’s exactly how it happened? You slipped out of your cabin, traversed the ship to a pod and jettisoned without being noticed by all of those cyborgs?”
He knows.
Or he suspects.
I’m fucked.
“Yes, that’s how it happened.”
He studied her for an unnerving moment. A knock at the door saved her from any further scrutiny. He glared at the door and shouted, “Enter!”
A harried assistant entered cautiously and bowed. “Emperor, sir, the press is ready for your conference.”
“Oh! Good!” He rose elegantly and buttoned his tailored jacket. “Come along, Camila. It’s time for you to help me with my little PSA project.”
“Of course, Emperor,” she said demurely and stood. She remained in place while he strode toward the doorway, stopping as his handlers brought forth a makeup and hair crew to help him primp before walking in front of the cameras. When he was ready, he gestured with a flick of his thin fingers. She followed like a dog on a leash, fully prepared to jump and roll over and complete any other tricks he requested if he would simply leave her the fuck alone and let her go home.
But, as she stepped onto the dais in front of a packed conference room, Camila had a sinking suspicion that things were about to get even worse.
