Mack 'n' Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9

by C. M. Simpson

  “Not enough,” and Tens sounded mildly alarmed. “Please stay still.”

  “Please,” Mack added, and I was momentarily stunned.

  Please was not a word either of them had a lot of use for.

  “I need you to stay alive.”

  And that was unexpected. Why would the man want me to do a damn-fool thing like that?

  “You’re my retrieval specialist.”

  Yeah, well that made sense, but I was probably the biggest pain in his ass, too, and there were other retrieval specialists he could hire.

  Whatever he thought of that, Mack didn’t reply; he was too busy negotiating.

  “She would not survive in your halls. Her temperament would get her killed.”

  Well, he was right about that, but his words had the wolf captain giving me another look, so I decided to make Mack’s point for him.

  “Don’t!” came from several voices at once, but I shut them out, and lifted my chin, looking the captain in the eye, and giving him my most evil grin.

  From his point of view, it would have looked like a snarl, and a direct challenge to his authority, and I knew just how well these things responded to that.

  “I am going to kick your ass,” and this time, Mack’s voice growled out of the comms system.

  It was almost completely drowned out by the wolf captain’s growl, and I was really glad his hand formed a second ring around my throat or I might have lost it right away. The first wolf let go, and I might have had a comeback for Mack, if I hadn’t been staring into two flaming yellow eyes, and my body hadn’t frozen.

  The whimper that clawed its way out of my throat, was completely unplanned.

  With a snarl of disgust, the wolf captain turned away, letting me go as he went. I hit the floor with a jolt that ran up through my boots through the top of my head, and my knees gave way. Varian came to stand beside me.

  And just where in the Hell was that timed release Mack spoke of? Because I sure as shit could do with a stim-jolt about now.

  “Not gonna happen,” Doc said. “We hit those things with a cancellation order, when the rebels grabbed you.”

  They had? They’d what? Why?

  “We wanted them alive.”

  Oh. Well, that made a crazy kind of sense. I got my hands down, and managed to stay on my knees. Much as I would rather have made it back to my feet, I needed to have less distance to fall. Without the stim pack and its nanites roaming through my system, I’d reached my human limit—and was gonna need time to regroup, before I tried wreaking my next patch of havoc.

  I missed a bit of chatter between Mack and the wolf, but tried to pull it enough together to catch what the wolf captain said next.

  “You will show my techs the vulnerability in my security, and teach them how to patch it.”

  “I can have my technician teach them that,” Mack replied, and I wondered how Tens would react to that.

  He didn’t, and the wolf made his next demand.

  “And you, your crew, and your ship will give us a month’s delay in your report to Odyssey.”

  I held my breath.

  That last one was not something Mack could agree to.

  “I may not be able to,” Mack said, and I heard movement to my right, tried to brace for what was coming, as Mack raced on to explain. “We have an existing contract with Odyssey regarding reportage. I will need to check to see what leeway I have.”

  The boot I was expecting stopped just short of my ribs and Varian looked at the captain. The wolf gestured for Mack to continue.

  “Go on.”

  And Mack sighed.

  “I have to honor my contracts, or my word is worth nothing. You are lupar, and of the clans. You understand this.”

  It was a direct appeal to lupar culture, and I wondered when Mack had taken the time to study it so deeply. Again, Mack did not answer, but Tens did.

  “Since he knows a lupar hunt pack promised to pay you a visit, once their contract was up—and he wanted to know what to expect.”

  Oh. That was... Well, it was something I should have thought to do for myself, but sweet. It was...

  “Yeah,” Tens interrupted. “It was sweet, and necessary, and definitely something you should have thought about, but you need to pay attention.”

  I did?

  I focused on listening to the voices deciding my fate. I also snuck a peek out at the boot hovering off my side. Was not surprised when it was set carefully against my ribs and used to push me over. Well, damn!

  I hit the floor with a thump and pain knifed through me. This time, I bit down on the yelp, turning it into a pained growl, as I closed my eyes. Mack and the captain kept right on discussing me, and I decided I’d be having words with my hunt-master-captain. Words with my fists. Yeah...

  “In addition, we have a task for you.”

  “I don’t hire to just anyone,” Mack told him, and the boot resting on my chest bounced softly in place.

  I gasped, as the wolf captain continued.

  “If we cannot have a full month’s delay in your reportage, this task will be her price.”

  “And if you can?”

  “We’ll return the favor by not contracting the Star Shadows to hunt you and your crew out of existence.”

  Well. Fuck. Me. That was a pretty solid fee.

  “I can’t feed my crew or fuel my ship on freedom. I will send you my rates, and you can negotiate from there.” Mack made payment sound like a non-negotiable, but I knew it wasn’t. We could only hope that the wolf captain would choose to pretend Mack actually had a choice.

  “Send them.”

  And I felt some of the tension in my gut begin to ease. Maybe we had a chance.

  “Kiddo, we always have a chance. If Mack can’t negotiate you free, we’re coming to get you out of there, ourselves, and not a single one of those bastards is going to live to talk about it.”

  I knew Tens meant every word, but it still brought tears to my eyes. They’d come against the wolves? Inside a ship that was probably fortified to the hilt? If they did that, people were going to die.

  I wasn’t worth a single one of their deaths. Not one.

  I was about to say as much, when Tens replied.

  “That’s not your decision to make, kiddo. We decide what we’re willing to die for. You don’t get a say.”

  And I swallowed hard against the sudden wave of sadness that washed over me. It was... I wasn’t... I had to think of something else, or I was going to start crying, and that was not an image I wanted the wolves to have.

  Mack got his fee to cover fuel, wages, food, and weaponry, ammo and armor.

  He also got back to the wolf with a loophole.

  “We have to report the rebellion, and that we think there is something external behind it, effective immediately,” he said, and I held my breath, “but we don’t have to specify the who or the what, straight away, although it is something we would normally include as soon as we discovered it.”

  “And?”

  Mack’s next answer surprised me.

  “Next time this situation occurs, Odyssey will have renegotiated their contract.”

  Talk about giving away intelligence! That sort of information was worth money. Apparently, the wolf thought so, too.

  “It is enough.”

  And even I could hear the relief in Mack’s voice when he replied.

  “What is it you want me to do?”

  “The wolves of Rennet’s World have taken my cub.”

  I froze. No wonder the big guy was in a shit of a mood. Fortunately, said ‘big guy’ couldn’t hear my thoughts. He kept talking.

  “You will get him back, alive, and as whole as you can make him. I will send you the specifics, and the contract. Agreed?”

  “Agreed,” and I was horrified that Mack hadn’t slapped a few more caveats on his promise.

  “Man is more worried about you,” Tens said, “and I might just kick your ass for that, later.”

  Him and whose army? b
ut I knew he didn’t need one. Tens could hand me my ass on a plate, any time he pleased. All I could manage was a couple of rounds at best.

  “You’re getting better,” was poor comfort, but I had other things to worry about.

  I hadn’t heard the wolf captain’s command, or seen him give Varian the signal to move, but the wolf-rebel’s boot came off my chest, and he knelt down beside me.

  “You are one lucky bitch,” he said, and I don’t think he meant the term in a bad way; he was a wolf, after all.

  I flinched as he took the collar from around my neck, and I had a moment to realize why Tens hadn’t teleported me out of there before a familiar silver light wrapped itself around me.

  18— Upsetting Doc

  Doc was waiting when the light faded, and I was grateful. Mack was waiting, too, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. The man had been prepared to go a very long way to get me back. And Tens... I could see him, as well, along with Case and Stepyan—although those two looked like they were tooled up for a trip planet-side.

  Turns out, they were.

  Case stepped up into the teleport circle and knelt down beside me.

  “You are one shitload of trouble, kid.”

  “Thanks, Case.”

  “And it’s good to have you back.”

  “Where you going?”

  “Steps and I have us a slave lord to kill.”

  “Barangail hasn’t paid.”

  “He’ll pay.”

  That last was said with a deep-voiced certainty that sent chills down my spine, and I twisted my head so I could see Stepyan standing behind Case, looking down at me.

  “He is in breach.”

  From the tone of Stepyan’s voice, that last little matter was a death sentence in and of itself. Case confirmed it, her voice waltzing through my head.

  “How else do you think our captain keeps his reputation?”

  She was gone, before I could reply, stepping past me and taking Stepyan with her, and I remembered there were several zones on the teleport station and that Tens could send people out of any one of them. It was something he’d added since K’Kavor, using part of the Vespis bonus to pay for it. Mack had been reluctant, but the first mission had won him over.

  “How the fuck did we survive without it?” he’d asked, back then, but now wasn’t the time for memories, as Mack broke through with a question more tuned to the present.

  “How the fuck do you survive at all?” he asked, and moved to take Case’s place.

  “It’s good to see you, too, boss.”

  At least, that was what I’d meant to say. Instead, I looked up at him, and all I wanted was for him to hold me. I hadn’t realized just how much I’d wanted to come back to the ship.

  “To me, girl. To me.”

  Yeah. Fine. To him, too, and all, and this time I felt my lips twitch into the smallest of smiles. Mack smirked back, looking far too pleased with himself, and I really wanted to slug the look right off his face. It disappeared, and he raised his eyebrows, looking shocked.

  “Really?”

  Doc made an impatient sound, and I heard Tens, Case and Stepyan groan.

  “Get us out of here, Tens—or I’m gonna puke.”

  Thanks a lot, Case.

  “The lady has a point.”

  And who even asked Stepyan for his opinion?

  “Who’s gonna stop me givin’ it?” he challenged, but silver light engulfed him, before I could reply.

  “Will you just do as the lady wants, and wrap your arms around her?” Doc sounded his grumpy old self, and I wondered why he was siding with me...for just as long as it took, for me to realize this was Doc, and I was hurt—as usual—and that meant...

  Well, fuck. Did he have to turn me into a pincushion, every fucking time? I felt the sedative take effect, and couldn’t be sure I heard Mack right.

  “And I’m the one that’s gotta kiss that mouth.”

  The memory was still with me when I surfaced.

  Mack was in his usual place. In a chair. Out in front of the tank. At least that proved the man had to sleep.

  “Not sleepin’, girl. Just restin’ my eyes.”

  I noted the slur in his voice, and frowned.

  “You should be sleeping!”

  “Anyone would think we were hitched, the way you try to wear the pants.”

  I made a point of eyeing him below his waist-line, and then lifted my eyes to his face.

  “Your pants aren’t big enough for what I’m packing.”

  Shock was followed by amusement.

  “Girl, there isn’t a pair big enough for the balls you’ve got.”

  “And I’m supposed to kiss that mouth.”

  That was out before I realized I was saying it, and I felt my skin flush red. Mack gave a short bark of laughter, as the door to the med bay slid open.

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake! Will the pair of you just shag and get it over with?”

  I watched as Mack whipped around to stare at Doc. Doc stared back, his look clearly a challenge to whatever Mack might be thinking of doing next. Mack broke first, his skin darkening from his neckline to his scalp. He gestured at the tank.

  “When can she come out of there?”

  Doc looked at me, and his lips curled with mischief.

  “Depends on what you want her for.”

  I couldn’t help it. I just stared at Doc, my shocked look mirrored on Mack’s face. Doc took in both our expressions, and cracked up. He laughed so hard, he had to put his hands on his knees and try to catch his breath, and then he looked up at Mack, and started laughing, all over again. I watched as Mack’s look went from startlement to consternation to impatient frustration.

  “When you’re quite finished, Doc.”

  Which only made Doc laugh harder. When he was done, he wiped his eyes, and slapped Mack on the shoulder.

  “Sure, Mack. Keep your britches on.”

  He stopped, mid-turn, and started to snicker. I groaned, and Mack had had enough.

  “Doc!”

  Doc stopped snickering, and cleared his throat.

  “Yes. Cutter. Out of the tank. Let me see what the timeframe is. I take it you need her at her best for the retrieval?”

  “You could say that.”

  With that sort of a growl, anyone would think Mack was part wolf himself.

  “You stay out of this.”

  The response made me smile.

  Sure, Mack. Whatever you say.

  He rolled his eyes.

  “For fuck’s sake! Doc! When will she be mended enough for training?”

  That sobered the doc up pretty damn quick.

  “You crack ribs like that, boy, and you’d usually need a couple of months,” Doc told him.

  “You’ve got a week.”

  “Ship doesn’t get in to Rennet’s for two...” Doc wheedled, but Mack was having none of it.

  “I need her on her feet and training at least a week before.”

  “She isn’t going to like you very much.”

  “She’ll like me even less once we hit the mats.”

  Well, so much for the man having feelings for me.

  “There’s a big difference between me having feelings for you, and sending you out underprepared,” and he didn’t bother keeping that response behind his teeth, either. He just said it right out loud for the whole world to hear it.

  “You forget I can hear your head, too,” Doc reminded me. “Most times I wish I couldn’t, but there you have it. None of us wins.”

  Mack gave him an evil smile.

  “Don’t feel bad, Doc. I get what I want.” He glared at me. “And that is one retrieval artist in good shape by the end of the week, and top shape by the end of the week after that—whether I decide to kiss her, or not.”

  That was all very well and good for him to say, but I hadn’t decided if I was going to let him kiss me, no matter how much the idea might appeal.

  That thought made both men roll their eyes.

  “Co
ntrary piece of work, you’ve decided to fall for,” Doc murmured, and laid a hand on Mack’s arm, steering him out of the room. “Good luck with that.”

  As soon as Mack had gone through the door, Doc closed it behind him, and turned back to the tank.

  “And you, you cantankerous cow, need to suck up some up fast-nans, and sleep.”

  Oh, I did, huh? But Doc wasn’t stopping to argue. He just worked the dials and switches on the panel in front of the tank, and let the nans and sedative swirl into the fluid around me.

  “Get some sleep,” he said, as the darkness swept me under.

  There wasn’t even any time for me to argue—and I was really tired of ending up asleep in a tank!

  “You could always go dirtside and grow flowers,” Mack said, when I woke up.

  I was out of the tank, and covered in a light sheet. I was pretty sure I was buck-naked under the sheet, too, but I was past letting little things like that bother me. It would have made life a helluva lot more difficult, and slowed me down. Right now, I felt like a wolf had crawled into my mouth, taken a dump on my tongue, and then died there.

  My head hurt. My body ached—and not in a good way, and all I wanted to do was either sleep, or kill something. I pushed myself up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed.

  “Fuck you. Fuck your flowers. And where the fuck are my clothes?”

  I didn’t bother waiting for a reply, and I ignored the fact Mack’s eyebrows had hit his hairline.

  “By the Stars, Cutter. That’s a great way to say good morning.”

  Morning? On which day? And why the fuck would I care?

  I slid out of bed, let my feet hit the floor, and bounced, launching a solid hit into Mack’s gut.

  He doubled over with an ‘oof’ of pain, and then straightened.

  “You asked for it.”

  Funny, but I didn’t remember asking for anything. I slid under his first grab, twisting as I made it past him, and driving my heel into the back of his leg. It buckled, but he regained his balance, and turned—and he didn’t look happy.

  Well, bully for him. Now, he knew how I felt. I did a quick scan of the room, pinpointed the door, saw there was absolutely nothing I could use as a weapon, and was surprised when the door opened and Doc came into the room, shock stick in hand.