Justice Keepers Saga - Books 4-6

Excerpt from Justice Keepers Saga - Books 4-6

Daylight through a window that looked out on the city made Jena into a silhouette that stood with her back turned, gazing out on a lovely afternoon. “What's this one called, again?” she asked with amusement in her voice.

Jack's living room was a small space with a couch along one wall, an easy chair on the other and a coffee table between them. At the moment, a jangly indie-pop guitar riff came through the speakers he had hung on his walls. He wasn't entirely sure why Jena wanted to hang out, but he didn't mind the company.

Dressed in gray jeans and a black t-shirt, Jack sat on the couch with hands folded behind his head. “Gwen's Revenge,” he said over the music. “They're a new band out of Halifax. This is their debut.”

Jena tuned.

Her lips were curled into a small smile as she glanced over her shoulder. “So this is what you consider a good time?” she asked, raising one eyebrow. “Hanging out, listening to music?”

Jack closed his eyes, letting the sound wash over him. “You're the one who wanted to spend your Saturday with me,” he replied, sitting forward. “Besides, I don't get much time to just sit and listen to an album like I used to.”

Jena paced across the living room with her arms crossed, grinning down at herself. “Well, I've listened to pretty much everything you've sent me,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders. “Most is pretty good. And I've got an extensive collection. I mean you've got stuff from the middle of the last century.”

The ring of an oven timer told him that the pizza was ready; so he got up with a grunt and decided to be a good host. His small, galley-style kitchen with white floor tiles and gray countertops was just large enough for one person to move freely. Grabbing a pair of oven mitts, he opened the stove.

Jack winced as a blast of heat hit him in the face, then forced his eyes open. “That's the thing about rock and roll,” he said, blinking. “It's always evolving. Each decade has a unique sound.”

He set the pizza on the stove-top, the cheese still sizzling and filling the apartment with a delicious scent. Pepperoni, green peppers and olives: his favourite combination. If Anna were here, she would want a purely vegetarian option, but Jena was less interested in Earth's food politics.

He turned around.

His boss stood on the other side of the chest-high wall that separated the kitchen and the living room, smiling at him. “Okay, then,” she said. “The best song of this decade: what is it?”

“The Grand Shirleys, 'Moving Parts.' ”

“And the 2010s?”

“The Arkells, 'Systematic.' ”

“The 90s?”

“Our Lady Peace, 'Naveed.' ”

Tapping her lips with one finger, Jena squinted at him. “Interesting,” she said with a curt nod. “And you know, it's really odd, but I can't help but notice the fact that these are all songs by Canadian artists.”

Jack smiled down at the counter, shaking his head. “Oh, Jen,” he said, his eyebrows rising. “I can hardly help it if my country just happens to have the best damn music scene on the planet.”

They ate pizza for a while, talked about work, family, relationships. The only rule Jena had made when she'd asked for this little hangout was that under no circumstances would they mention their never-ending search for Slade's Key. Not that Jack wanted to discuss that. He still had nightmares whenever he thought about the hologram they had spoken to in that cave.

Jena lifted a bottle of fizzy water to her lips, then tossed her head back and took a swig. “Okay, one thing I have to know,” she said, setting it down on the counter with a thunk. “You and Anna. Why isn't that a thing?”

Chewing on his lower lip, Jack shut his eyes tight. He took a deep breath and then let it out again. “I really don't know,” he answered. “We were very close when she came here the first time, but…”

“But?”

Jack crossed his arms with a sigh, hanging his head to avoid making eye-contact. “She was transferred to Alios,” he went on. “She said that she didn't want a long-distance relationship; so I let it go. Besides, I've got a girlfriend now.”

When he looked up, Jena was watching him with those hard, dark eyes of hers, and he knew that he was going to get a lecture. There were times when she seemed to think of herself as the smart, practical aunt he'd never had. “Kid, a piece of advice,” she said. “If you really care about someone, make sure they know it.”

“I didn't want to push.”

“And that's good,” Jena said. She brought a slice of pizza to her mouth, took a bite and pulled away with strings of cheese stretching until they snapped. “But did you ever tell her that you wanted to try? Did you ever think she might have changed her mind if she knew you were willing?”

He wasn't sure what to make of that; so he chose to focus on his pizza and hope that the conversation would naturally shift away from this topic. No good would come out of tempting himself with the road not taken. He was beginning to relax when a sharp beep from his multi-tool startled him.

Checking the screen revealed the words “Urgent Call” flashing in bright red letters. Worry settled into the pit of his stomach. So far as he knew, no one was out on a mission. So, why was this call urgent?

Squeezing his eyes shut, Jack pressed a palm to his forehead. He massaged away a light throb. “Duty calls,” he muttered in a strained voice. “Give me a few minutes, Jen. I need to see what this is about.”

She nodded.

A long hallway branched off from the foyer with doors in the left-hand wall. The first led to Jack's bedroom, and the second to the room that had once been Anna's. Now that she was gone, Spock had claimed it as his own.

He stepped into his bedroom to find sunlight streaming through the window, falling on a mattress where the covers were in a state of disarray. What exactly was the point of making one's bed? You were only going to get back in it.

Tapping the screen of his multi-tool caused it to project the image of a blue, human-shaped…something. It appeared to be a man composed entirely of ones and zeroes that floated about, crashing into one another. “Greetings, Jack Hunter,” the hologram said in a pleasant tone of voice.

Jack squinted at the image. “Well, this is new,” he said, shaking his head. “Would you mind telling me who I'm speaking with?”

“Of course.”

The image bowed its head respectfully, but it was really just a shift in the projection of ones and zeroes. “Perhaps you've heard of me,” it went on. “My name is Ven. I am the artificial intelligence-”

“That emerged on Leyria over a century ago.” Suddenly, Jack felt more than a little light headed. Being the first person from this world to accept a symbiont had brought him into contact with several VIPs: politicians, reporters, even the odd celebrity. And he had experienced none of the awe that he felt right now. “I thought…The reports said that you built yourself a vessel and flew off toward the unexplored regions of the galaxy.”

“I did.”

Blushing hard, Jack closed his eyes and hung his head. “And you came back here just to hang out with me?” He wiped sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. “Date a sexy alien? Check. Meet a living robot? Check. Throw in some time travel, and my life is officially a 1940s serial.”