Caught

26.

Shira slept most of the afternoon and evening. He was exhausted and after another dose of medication he couldn't carry on and fell asleep in my arms. I let him rest and tried to drown my sorrows with the wine Ayako had brought us.

I thought in desperation about what to do. My two trumps were still hidden behind the grate in the ventilation shaft and I weighed my options. If I contacted the Resistance headquarters and gave them the location of the base, they might be able to launch a full-scale attack within a few hours.

But that was a huge risk. I couldn't predict how it would turn out. I didn't want to endanger Maya, and I worried that Shira, who was likely to defend the Emperor, would be killed by the rebels. If I could get them both out of the base safely, then there would be nothing to stop the attack.

But how to convince the Emperor's best assassin to leave with me?

I took another swig from the bottle, the alcohol pleasantly dulling my grim thoughts and the guilt I felt for scheming behind Shira's back.

After another hour and one empty bottle, I made up my mind and pulled my mobile phone out of hiding. When the screen lit up, I typed in the number Governor Palla had given me before I left. A number I could always use to contact the headquarters if I had any important information for them. I sent a carefully constructed message, hoping they would act quickly.

Knowing there was nothing more I could do, I undressed and slipped into bed next to sleeping Shira. I wrapped my arms around him and he turned over in his sleep and snuggled up against me. When his bare skin touched mine, I realised how hot it was.

He had a fever. Perhaps an infection. I wondered how long it had been since he'd had his last dose of antibiotics. It was too soon for another and I could only hope the fever would subside.

I couldn't fall asleep for long and just watched my beloved quietly. His hair was sweaty, his cheeks flushed with fever, his chest moving up and down in the regular rhythm of his breathing. I checked on Shira every few moments, afraid that his condition had worsened.

It was only at dawn that his temperature finally began to drop.

~~~

I watched Shira getting dressed with a disapproving look. Even though his condition was better than last night, I didn't like the fact that he was leaving. I understood that the Empire's best assassin couldn't put off a visit to his master any longer, but that didn't mean I was going to sit around and watch him suffer. His face contorted into a grimace of pain as he struggled to pull his trousers up over his injured leg.

However, when he was finished, Shira, the cold-blooded killer, stood before me again. Dressed all in black, the long leather coat clean of blood and mud, the katana in his hand. His face showed cold concentration, the blue-grey eyes clear and calm.

He did not limp. If I hadn't known that his leg had been shot through, I wouldn't have been able to tell. It must have cost him a lot of pain to hide it.

"You should be resting," I didn't spare him the biting remark.

"I have a report to make, it won't take long," he said, and seeing the sour look on my face, he pulled me closer. Pressing his mouth to my cheek, he whispered in a voice that made my pulse quicken. "When I get back, you can tie me to the bed."

Before I had a chance to answer, he kissed me and left.

~~~

An hour passed, more likely two.

How long could such an audience last? Debriefing wouldn't take that long. Perhaps the Emperor wanted to hear every gory detail. But still.

I was beginning to worry. While Shira didn't believe the Emperor was behind the suspicious attack, I didn't share his conviction. And even if it wasn't the Emperor himself, it had to be someone in his inner circle. Who else would know enough about the mission to set a trap?