Spliced - Part 3, Chapter 10
Oct. 11th, 2008 02:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flighty_dreams
Chapter Ten
The vid screen changed back to the hotel’s beach background, leaving Alex alone with his thoughts.
Although it had been awkward at times, that had still gone better than he expected. Matt hadn’t seemed comfortable talking to him on an even level at first, but he’d eventually gotten over it. And once they’d gotten through their initial argument—which had been inevitable, considering the situation—their conversation had drifted into interesting directions. As Alex had hoped, Matt had been curious about his background, which played right into his plans.
Alex hadn’t intended to tell Matt about Kristeer’s ‘experiments’ specifically. But when Matt had asked about his childhood, he’d decided it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Showing Matt that he’d not only had a childhood but a shitty one would hopefully gain him some sympathy. It certainly couldn’t detract from the goal of making Matt more open-minded. Since talking to the doubtful Kret and Sharra, he’d redoubled his determination to change the man’s perceptions about him. There were few things more irresistible to Alex than a challenge to prove his siblings wrong.
If succeeding with Matt required him to talk about some things he’d rather never discuss again—like the various abuses his ‘father’ Kristeer had bestowed on him—he’d weigh the possible benefits as worth the cost. He knew it would take time to change the man’s mind, to make Matt see him differently, so he played his cards carefully. His reluctance to talk about it hadn’t been feigned, but he’d gone along with Matt’s suggestion of just giving one example. Only a taste, to leave Matt with the image of his tormented four year old self, and wondering what else had happened to him in that lab.
It was perhaps the first time he’d ever been able to use those past tortures in a positive way, he thought with a shudder. Using it to manipulate Matt was ruthless, but the person most hurt by dredging it all up again was definitely himself. As Matt had said, there were some things you never got over. But if he could make Matt more open-minded… it was a sacrifice for a good cause.
Speaking of grand plans though, he needed to get on with the next part. Pulling out his pocket-comm, he double checked the number before dialing it. Hollis didn’t answer the first time, probably thinking the ‘unknown’ meant it was someone trying to sell him something. But the second time he did, looking irritated as he sat at his desk.
While assembling this plan, Alex had wondered if Matt had told Hollis what happened on Festun last week. He meant to ask Matt today if he’d talked to Hollis, but he’d gotten distracted. But chances were Matt wouldn’t have been able to avoid telling his nosy best friend. Alex was banking on that, or otherwise he’d have a lot of explaining to do during this conversation. He sincerely hoped Hollis already knew, so he could avoid that.
“Hi, Hollis,” the clone said lightly, watching with amusement as the man squinted at him. It was almost comical, the way his face changed when he recognized Alex.
“Min?” he asked, as surprised as a slave handed gourmet food.
Alex resolved to let the name thing go and simply nodded. “How have you been?”
“Not bad. Yourself?” The Monlean's dark eyes narrowed, and his expression filled with avid curiosity.
Alex couldn't blame him for that; he'd be curious too if the circumstances were reversed. “Pretty good,” he said vaguely. Just because he understood didn't mean he'd give Hollis a descriptive answer.
Hollis rolled his eyes. “This is inane,” he replied, referring to their small talk. “Not that I mind you calling—I'm intrigued to be honest—but aren't you supposed to be calling Muldane, not me?”
Alex grinned. “I talked to him a little while ago.”
“You spoke to him already?” Hollis glanced at his watch. “He was conscious?”
Alex chuckled, reminded of how entertaining Hollis could be. “Amazingly, yes. He'd showered, but it looked like he hadn't had his coffee yet. Strangely, he was able to form full sentences without it.”
“Normally he can't, but I suppose a call from you would wake him up,” Hollis pointed out.
“That's what I assumed did the trick,” Alex said, not bothering to hide the smug edge to his tone. “I can't think of anything else shocking enough to compete with coffee.”
“Neither can I.” Hollis smiled and shook his head, leaning back in his desk chair.
A quiet silence fell then as they sat there studying each other carefully. Alex knew Hollis was examining his clothes and his location, gathering up any information he could find to satisfy his curiosity. Too bad for Hollis that his casual clothing and standard hotel room wouldn't give him much. Meanwhile Alex was analyzing the man's demeanor, debating how cooperative Hollis was going to be. He needed to tread carefully to get what he wanted out of the Monlean.
“So,” Hollis said, breaking the silence, “this is the real you?”
Somehow Alex found himself caught off guard by the direct question, even though it shouldn't have surprised him. It was just the sort of thing Hollis would ask. After a long pause he answered, “I'm not sure I'd put it that way. This is a different me.”
“But the slave pretending to be illiterate and helpless, that's certainly not the real you,” Hollis retorted, crossing his arms.
Alex mulled over his next words, seeking an accurate way to describe it. “Min hides a lot of things, yes. But he still exists behind those deceptions.” He paused before adding, “The real Min, without the lies shielding him, I don't know what he's like anymore. It's been too long.” His gaze met Hollis' with fiery intent. “I guess we'll all find out in a month.”
The Monlean's eyes widened, but his interest seemed to sharpen. “Yeah, I guess we will.” A few moments passed, and then he said warily, “So you really did all that to Matt on Festun? Shooting him, abducting him, tying him up?”
Alex knew he had to choose his next words well. “My intent wasn't to harm him, just to speak to him. I didn't know of any other way to get him to stay put long enough to talk to me. But he wasn't in any physical danger from me.”
“But you injured him. Those plasma blasts hurt,” Hollis countered, anger tightening his features.
“I know they do,” Alex replied, scowling back at the attorney. “But they don’t hurt any more than some of the things Muldane did to Min,” he reminded Hollis.
The Monlean looked conflicted then, as if he wanted to know more yet didn’t want to ask. “Fine, I don't know all the details, but I can't argue that one.” Matt had never been much for sharing all the gory details of the bedroom with Hollis, probably because their tastes in that arena differed quite a bit.
The clone shook his head, exasperated. “If you think I’ll apologize, you'll be waiting a long time. I'm sure he's fully recovered already—physically at least. I don't think his ego will recover anytime soon,” Alex said, grinning smugly.
Hollis laughed in spite of himself. “I'll admit that on one level I do find it funny, like whenever I try to picture his face when he recognized you.” The humor leaked out of him as he continued, “But it was still my friend you shot and abducted. Don't think I'll forget that, or that you're ruthless when you want to be.”
“No, I understand. And I can only applaud your loyalty,” Alex told him truthfully. He'd have done the same for Ten, regardless of whether Ten had deserved any of the trouble he’d gotten himself into.
Another silence fell, and again it was Hollis who finally broke it. “So are you ever going to tell me what you want?” the man drawled, looking down casually at his desk.
Alex grinned irrepressibly. “I was waiting for you to ask.”
A laugh spilled out of Hollis. “Of course,” he said sardonically. “Well?”
Firming his features into somberness, Alex told him, “I need some legal advice.”
“Really,” Hollis drawled, his eyes twinkling. “I'd be happy to help.” No doubt the man expected this would provide him with more information that he could take back to Muldane.
Of course Alex had no intention of letting anything pertinent slip. “I recently signed a contract with someone, and I was wondering if you had any figures on how often contracts of this type are broken by either side.”
Hollis' eyes narrowed and he scowled at him. “This wouldn't happen to be an identity-protected Festunian contract, would it?”
Alex gave him his most innocent look, practically conjuring a halo above his head. “They have those?” he asked, feigning shock.
Unexpectedly, Hollis' scowl shifted to all out laughter. “Lady's tits, you're driving Matt crazy aren't you?”
Alex laughed with him. “I try my best,” he admitted with a wicked grin.
“So if I ask him about that call this morning, I'll get a good laugh out of it?”
“Oh yes,” Alex affirmed, mouth twitching with amusement. More somberly he added, “You'll get some interesting information about me too.”
Hollis' brows rose inquiringly. “Oh?”
“You'll have to ask him, because we never had this conversation.”
“I see. It’s like that, is it?” Hollis' features straightened, becoming serious. “Did you even have a legal question? Or is this about something else?”
Alex answered seriously this time. “The only legal question I have would involve asking the likelihood that Muldane is going to break the contract and prevent me from leaving.”
Hollis frowned, hesitating a moment before saying firmly, “I can't really answer that.”
Alex put up a hand, gesturing that he didn't have to say anymore. “I know, that's why I wasn't asking seriously. It’s clearly a conflict of interest for you.”
“Yes, exactly,” Hollis agreed, his brows rising as his eyes widened with surprise.
“Shocked that I understood that?” Alex asked, striving to hide any defensiveness in his tone. He hated being underestimated, even as he loved using it to his own advantage.
“No,” Hollis denied, lips curving upwards, “pleased that you aren’t going to push.”
“Ah,” Alex replied, smiling back at him. After a pause he added more gravely, “Besides, I think I can figure that answer out on my own.”
A frown tugging the smile away, Hollis' expression became uneasy. “Yeah, I guess you can. What are you going to do?”
“Well,” Alex said, tapping his fingers against the table in front of him, “the way I see it, I have six months to convince him otherwise.” He probably didn’t, but he’d go with that for now. “Which brings me to why I called you today.”
Hollis said nothing, but he knew he had the man's full attention, so he continued, “Frankly, I need your help.” Meeting Hollis' gaze he added, “Matt listens to you. You're his best friend. He doesn't listen to me because he thinks I'm just a rebellious pain in the ass.”
“What, that's not true?” Hollis tossed back at him, grinning.
It startled a laugh out of him. “Okay, it is true. I'm all that and more.” Sobering he said. “It's the more he doesn't see or understand. I have a life here, I have family and friends, I have a job, I have obligations. I can't just abandon all that because Muldane wants me to stay at his beck and call.”
Pursing his lips, Hollis thought aloud, “If you have all that to tie you there, how are you going away for six months?”
“I've arranged things so that I can leave for six months, but that's as long as I can do, Hollis. It wasn't easy, but I eventually worked it out to that.”
“Fine,” Hollis said, letting that part go. “So you want me to talk to him and say what?”
“Successful lawyer that you are, I’m sure you’ll have no trouble coming up with things to say,” Alex replied sardonically. “You used to talk about how he craved excitement, a challenge, something different. Tell him that I'm even more interesting now.”
Hollis' laughter had an edge to it. “You definitely are. I don't think even he can deny that.”
“No, he can't,” Alex agreed, flashing him a grin before becoming serious again. This was too important. “I know you were always more easygoing about this stuff than he was. If you could convince him that being a clone doesn't preclude me from being a man, that would be a huge step forward. My origins were different, but we're far more alike than he thinks. I want him to see Min as more than just someone to own, to order around and control. And actually talk to him, not dismiss him as beneath talking to about anything important.”
As he finished speaking, Hollis’ features filled with surprise. “You want a relationship with him,” Hollis said slowly, amazement in his voice.
“Let me tell you something about Matt Muldane,” Hollis said, his tone firm. “I've known the man almost ten years now, and I've never seen him in a relationship.”
“Really?” Alex asked, one brow quirking up as he frowned. It wasn't that surprising, but it still didn't bode well.
“He's owned about a dozen different slaves while I've known him, but I've never seen him intimately involved with anyone who wasn't a slave. Not even a one-night stand with someone he met at a party or something. He might borrow someone else's slave at a party for some fun that night, but he’ll never slip off with a free man.”
Alex's mind hopped back and forth, absorbing the new information. He couldn't help wondering if Matt had 'borrowed' any slaves since Min's departure. Five months was a long time to be celibate when you didn't have to be, so he probably had. Not that Alex had room to talk, and he understood the need, but part of him couldn't help feeling bothered by it—and it wasn’t just sympathy for the slaves whose owners were willing to pass them around like that. He’d been there, and he knew how it made you feel, but at the moment he was more bothered by the fact that it was Matt using slaves like that.
“Did he ever say why only slaves?” Alex asked, intensely curious.
“No,” Hollis replied, speaking carefully, “and I never asked, because I didn't have to.”
Scowling, Alex returned, “If you're saying the man's commitment phobic, I already knew that months ago.”
Shaking his head, Hollis replied, “I suppose he is somewhat, but that's not what I meant. Besides if inability to commit were really his problem, why wouldn't he go for one-night stands? No, the issue is something else.”
Alex had no response to that, and conceded the point. Whatever the answer was, it was obvious to Hollis, but he had no idea what it could be if it wasn't about commitment. “So what is it then?”
Hollis half laughed, and said, “If he never explained it to me, I'm certainly not going to tell you. You'll have to figure it out yourself.”
“You make such a big point about it, and then you won't finish it? This is like half-telling me already.”
“But not actually telling you, so if it ever got back to him I could truthfully say you didn't hear it from me.”
Alex said a few choice words under his breath about lawyers and splitting hairs.
Hollis laughed at him gleefully. “We take courses in it in law school. But really,” he said, getting back on topic, “you've proven you're intelligent. I'm sure you can figure it out on your own.”
Glaring at him, Alex said, “I'd rather save time.” Reflecting a moment, he suggested, “You said for as long as you've known him. What about before that?”
“Now you're using your wits,” Hollis commented, completely ignoring his question. Damn the man.
But it was more of an encouragement than a discouragement, so Alex continued his train of thought. Matt’s avoidance of relationships reminded him of Ten, who did the same thing. He preferred to remain on his own rather than get involved with anyone, afraid they wouldn’t understand or forgive his background. Even pointing out Kate as an example of someone who could handle it hadn’t relinquished the hold Ten’s fear had on him.
There must be something Matt feared too. Alex pondered the options, dismissing the less likely possibilities and settling on the one he liked best. “My guess is he was involved with someone before, and it went badly. If you’ve never been in a relationship before, you wouldn’t work so hard to avoid one.”
Hollis nodded his agreement. “He never gave me any details, but there was someone a long time ago. And you’re right, it didn’t end well. He was bitter about it.” Hollis paused before adding, “But there’s more you’re missing here.”
Irritated, Alex wondered what other psychological analysis Hollis would pull out of his ass. Alex hated psychology, mostly because he knew he needed a therapist bad, but couldn't trust anyone with his secrets. Psychologists that treated freed slaves were few and far between.
In the meantime, Alex played along. “Like what?”
Hollis gave him a sardonic look. “Remember what the question was? Why only slaves?”
Oh, that. Alex noted the irony in calling Hollis for help in getting Matt's understanding, and instead receiving the reverse treatment from the man. But hopefully Hollis would do the same with Matt.
Rising from the sofa, he paced the room as he analyzed Muldane's behavior. He recalled the information he'd found about Matt's life on Karta, including his family history. He thought back to his interactions with Matt as Min, and how the Kartan had approached their everyday life. Possessive and controlling were the adjectives that came to mind, and the man's conversations with Alex hadn't changed that aspect of him at all. He still felt that way in regards to Min. Running away had only enraged the man, and made him more possessive.
When his mind shifted to consider the differences Muldane faced between being involved with slaves or with other natural borns, Alex halted abruptly. “Fuck.”
He turned back to Hollis. Furious with himself for not seeing it before, Alex grumbled, his tone aggravated, “Mommy left him to face Daddy alone, and now I have to deal with the mess?”
“What?” Hollis asked, clearly confused. The clone wondered if maybe Matt hadn't told his friend as much as Alex had thought.
“Never mind,” he said hastily. Hollis looked ready to ask more, but Alex cut in first. “He doesn't want to be left. That's why only slaves. That bad relationship you mentioned, he wasn't the one that broke things off.”
Nodding, Hollis said, “Correct on all counts.”
“He's such a girl sometimes,” he growled, sitting back down. At the Monlean's questioning look he added, “One bad breakup, and he swears off relationships for good? You don't find that overly dramatic?” Then again, Matt had a tendency to overreact about a lot of things, so this wasn't exactly surprising.
A laugh tumbled out of Hollis before he sobered. “It is, but losing your first love is always different from the rest.”
Alex's own mood darkened, his eyes fluttering closed for a long moment. Arri. A memory of her, a rare smile curving her mouth and lighting up arctic eyes, flashed through his mind slipping away again. Opening his eyes again, he met Hollis' gaze steadily.
A question formed in Hollis' curious eyes, but he was too polite to force the issue. It was a striking contrast from Matt, who would've demanded to know. And so, contrary by nature, Alex gave Hollis an answer. “Dead,” he told him, sorrow adding weight to the words, “long dead.”
“I'm sorry,” Hollis told him, genuine sympathy in his voice.
Alex gave him a sad smile before collecting himself. “We were talking about Muldane's issues. He likes to be in control of the relationship, or whatever you want to call it. That way he's always the one who decides when it ends.”
“Yes,” Hollis agreed, shifting gears. “So now you see why he didn't react well to you running away.”
Sighing, Alex replied, “I know, he keeps harassing me about it. But it's not my fault he's got abandonment issues. I'm not the asshole that left him years ago.”
“But you are the asshole that left him five months ago,” Hollis countered, disapproval in his tone. “Leaving without explanation was the worst thing you could’ve done.”
Mouth agape, he stared at the Monlean. “What else could I have done? If I told him the truth, the man wouldn't have believed me!”
“You could've tried,” Hollis retorted.
Alex couldn't repress a burst of laughter. “You really think he would've believed Min? The slave he'd been bossing around for months?”
Conflicted, Hollis turned his head to the side. “I suppose not.”
“Hollis,” Alex said, drawing the man's attention back to him, “even if he believed at least some of it, that doesn't mean he'd let me leave. The man is fucking possessive.”
“Yeah,” Hollis agreed, his brow furrowing thoughtfully, “with you more than the others, too.”
Really? Min had wondered if the man was as possessive with his previous slaves. He'd sold them all, so he obviously wasn't that attached, but that didn't mean he wasn't obsessive about keeping them at hand while they were still his property.
“But you didn't have to wait five months to show him the truth,” Hollis added, interrupting Alex's thoughts.
Now was a good time to guide the conversation where he needed it to go. The clone hesitated a moment before uttering his precisely chosen words. “I wasn't sure if I should risk coming back.”
Hollis studied him intensely for a minute, and Alex fidgeted under the scrutiny, hoping Hollis' thoughts were heading in the direction he needed them to. When he'd decided it had gone on long enough, he asked, “What?”
Shaking his head, Hollis replied, “It's been bothering me. If you've been so careful all this time not to. get caught, why would you take such a risk now? I thought maybe your admission that you want a relationship with him was the reason behind it, but you also mentioned that you have a life to live. All those things you mentioned, family, friends, a job, why risk losing all that by putting yourself under Matt's control again?” The Monlean's eyes narrowed as he frowned at him. “There has to be a very good reason for doing that.”
Hiding his amusement, Alex noted that Hollis hadn't disappointed. He’d known the man would suspect there was more to this once he thought the situation over. Matt was too emotionally involved to see it as clearly. Leaning in closer to the vid screen, he affirmed, “You're right. There is.”
Hollis looked pleased with himself, until Alex added carefully, “But I'll only tell you if you agree to do something else for me.”
Shifting in his seat, Hollis observed, “You really are a slippery bastard.” Glaring at Alex he continued, “You already asked me to help you with Muldane. I'll do that in exchange for answers, but not whatever else you're trying to get me to do. You don't get a free favor.”
Alex crossed his arms across his chest and looked at him disbelievingly. “You already agreed to do the first one for free.”
“I thought you were asking me like a friend would. I didn't realize we were at a bargaining table,” Hollis told him warily.
He was losing him, which wasn't good. Sighing, Alex ran a hand through his hair and said, “No, we aren't at a bargaining table.” He paused a moment, choosing his words wisely. “Convincing Matt to open his mind a bit, that's not just to help me. It'll also help him, because he needs to break away from that Kartan mindset.” He intentionally met Hollis' gaze as he said, “You agree with me on that at least, right?”
The Monlean took a deep breath before saying reluctantly, “Yes, I agree.” His expression becoming suspicious again he declared, “I'll admit that I'm willing to work on him, for his own good more than yours, although you'll benefit too. But I want to know what you're asking for before agreeing to anything else.”
“Fair enough,” Alex complied, deciding he could work with this. “Two things.”
“Two?” Hollis asked incredulously. “When did you add another one?”
Sending him a bemused look, Alex said, “The first is simple. You can't tell Muldane about any of this.”
“The 'this' being what?” the lawyer inquired suspiciously.
“We never had this conversation, remember?” Alex reminded him. “None of it, as far as he knows.”
“You mentioned that before, but why?”
Ignoring the question, the clone returned, “Do you want to know the real reason why I'm coming back, or not?”
They stared each other down for a minute before Hollis finally gave in, his curiosity overcoming his stubbornness. “Fine, I won't tell him we talked,” he said gruffly.
Alex knew he needed to put a time constraint on Hollis' silence, instead of leaving it open-ended, but he'd get to that later. For now, he'd explain the favor. “What I need you to do for me is related to the reason why I'm coming back. I just need you to suggest something to Matt, and make sure he does it.”
Exasperated, the normally laidback Monlean began to lose his temper, which Alex knew was a feat. “This just becomes more fucking convoluted. Lady's tits, just fucking tell me what it is already.”
“Promise me first, and then I'll tell you the whole story,” Alex offered, his eyes hard.
Glaring at him for several long seconds, Hollis finally growled, “I promise.”
“Promise what?”
“I promise I won't tell Muldane anything about this call,” Hollis clarified, his face tightening with anger. “This better be good. Don’t make me regret this.”
Unfortunately Alex knew he would, but he didn't delay any longer, and told him the little he knew about Hayeston.
“You think someone's after you, and you decide to make yourself bait? Real smart,” was Hollis' worried, sarcastic response.
“If someone is looking for me, I'd rather find out who it is so I can be prepared,” the clone explained logically.
“And how prepared will you be, living as Matt Muldane's slave?” Hollis asked grimly. “You won't be able to do anything.”
Alex had known Hollis would have objections. He'd rather have kept this part to himself, but he needed to persuade Hollis to comply with his plans. “I won't be alone,” he told Hollis slowly. “I'll have backup watching out for me, in case we're approached by Hayeston or his people.”
“Backup?”
“A friend. More detail than that isn't really necessary.”
Going by the look on Hollis' face, he disagreed with that assessment, but he had bigger complaints to focus on. “What about Matt? You're going to let him sit in the crosshairs with you, totally oblivious? You're putting him in danger.”
Noting that Hollis was getting riled up again, Alex sighed tiredly. “They'll be after me, not him. They won't care about him, unless he interferes.”
“And you think he won't? If these people try to buy you or steal you?”
Scowling, Alex could picture Matt's possessive outrage all too well. “That's why you'll be around, to keep watch, just like my friend.”
Shaking his head, Hollis said, “He needs to know.”
“No,” Alex countered, disagreeing. “I don't trust him to act normal if he knows. He'll be eyeing every stranger he comes across, changing up his routine, and they'll realize he's on to them. That would put him in danger for certain. I can't have him spiraling, or this whole thing is gonna crater. With a situation like this, you want your enemy to be underestimating you, you don't want them wary.”
Sighing heavily, Hollis finally gave him a nod. “I still don't like it, but I see your point. What do you plan to do when they show their hand?”
“Depends on how they show it and who they are, unfortunately,” Alex told him, frowning. He hated being forced into a reactive position. “My backup will act accordingly.” Ten would call in some of their friends or siblings for help if he needed them.
“Will you tell Muldane about Hayeston then?” Hollis asked, resentment at keeping secrets from his friend clear in his voice.
Putting his head in his hands, Alex replied honestly, “I'm not looking forward to that conversation. If he finds out this is why 1 came back, he'll never forgive me. And we'll never be able to change his mind about clones then.” Alex's mouth twisted wryly. “But we should have some time before they make their move.”
“How can you predict that?”
“That's where your favor comes in,” Alex admitted with a slight smile. “The missing persons listing that Muldane has up for Min, I want you to convince him to keep it open.”
“Why?” Hollis asked, frowning.
“If he closed it, that would mean either he's given up, or he's found me. They'd check to make sure. So even after Min is back, he needs to keep it open for a while.”
“I see,” Hollis responded, with a nod of understanding. “What if we just leave it open?”
“We could get lucky and they never come back. Or they might check back again anyway at some point. Or even worse, they could be watching the whole time and notice Min right away. We have no way to know for sure when or if they'll find out.”
“That's not good,” Hollis told him unhappily.
“I know. I don't like it either.” Alex got up, stretching his arms. “That's all I've got though.” Pacing again he continued, “We'll just have to be as wary as we can. Don't be too obvious though,” he said, glancing back at Hollis.
“How do you know I won't tip them off like Muldane would?”
“They won't watch you as closely.” Sending Hollis a smile he said, “And I trust you to be more circumspect than Matt.”
“Lady's tits, he's going to be pissed at me when he finds out I knew though,” Hollis worried aloud.
“Sorry about that,” Alex apologized, stopping in front of the couch. “Maybe you could not tell him...?”
The look Hollis gave him shut him up. Throwing his hands up in surrender, Alex said, “I know, I know, that wouldn't be right. I'd say tell him it was all my fault, but that wouldn't work anyway.” No matter what, Matt would spiral out over the fact that Hollis had kept such a huge secret from him. “I've put you in a terrible position. If I had another choice, I wouldn't have,” Alex explained honestly.
“I understand that, although I still think this whole bait plan is stupidly risky.”
“If you have any other ideas, I'd be happy to hear them,” Alex offered lightly. He sat back down and let Hollis think it over for a couple minutes, hoping the lawyer would catch something he'd missed.
Shaking his head, Hollis finally told him, “Not at the moment.”
“Well, that's all of it then,” Alex replied. “The listing, no telling Matt, and opening his mind a bit.”
“I still want to know how one favor became three,” Hollis grumbled, shooting him another glare.
Alex gave him another innocent look. “I have no idea.”
“No, the one with no idea is Muldane. He has no idea who he's really dealing with,” Hollis growled sardonically.
“You mean Hayeston?” Alex teased, still projecting that harmless guise.
Rolling his eyes, Hollis retorted, “No, I'm talking about you, whatever your name is, as you well know.”
Shrugging innocently, Alex objected, “Well, he won't be dealing with me for much longer. Soon it'll be Min.”
“Ah yes, and then the game changes again,” Hollis replied warily, referring to their words about Min earlier. Glancing at a clock, Hollis' eyes widened. “I really need to get back to work, but I have one last question for you.”
“Sure,” Alex said, wondering what it could be.
“If you hadn't found out about Hayeston, would you have come back?”
Alex bit his lip at the tough question, but after all the assistance Hollis was providing him, he deserved the truth. “I'm not sure.”
Picturing Min serving some other bastard in a month instead of Matt, having to pretend yet again that he was nothing but a dumb Andorian, he didn't find it hard to imagine a dissatisfied Min contacting Ten to get him out of wherever he was and take him back to Matt. It was possible, although not certain. “I might have eventually. I can't say for sure beyond that, Hollis, and we’ll never know now. Min wanted another chance to work things out with him, but I don’t know if I would’ve risked it.” Mouth quirking into a wry smile he said, “I guess Matt’s not the only one who’s scared.”
“Thanks for being honest at least,” Hollis told him, appearing satisfied enough with that, if not happy.
“I have a final question for you too.” Seeing Hollis waiting for it he asked, “You've been working on Matt already, haven't you?”
Hollis smiled but looked puzzled. “What makes you think that?”
“He seemed a little better today,” Alex said, returning the smile.
“Really?” Hollis asked, his dark eyes lighting up. “Good.”
Relieved that Hollis had agreed to help him, Alex took a deep breath and said sincerely, “Thanks, Hollis, for that and everything else. I do appreciate it.”
Hollis laughed, although it was tinged with exasperation. “I won't say anytime, but you're welcome.”
Flashing him one last wicked grin, Alex ended the call.
Chap11
