The Red Admiral

by C. R. Daems

  "I hear she sent Lucio to Stonewall," Vito said. "Stonewall is bad, but if the inmates hear he was involved in sex trafficking…" He shuddered.

  "Vito, you know all the thugs on Shadows Rest and probably the nearby systems. Anyone good enough that we could interest to replace Jamar," Tashia asked. "Paulus needs killing."

  "They will just appoint another person to replace her and give him P1A authority," Silas said.

  "I don't think so. The UAS may not like us kidnapping women, but they might be a little concerned the way Paulus is using her authority against prominent people."

  "I know someone on Oasis. If the rumors are correct, he is well connected throughout the UAS and ruthless," Vito said.

  "Get me a meeting," Tashia said.

  * * *

  Three days later, two shuttles landed on an abandoned landing pad on Westar.

  "Good day, Tashia," Andrii said, eyeing the tall, black-haired woman dressed all in black and who moved like a shadow. He was dressed casually in black dress pants and a red silk shirt open at the neck, which partially displayed a large tattoo that looked like a skeleton holding a scythe and riding a pale horse—one of the four horsemen, death.

  "Good day, Andrii," Tashia said as the two appraised each other. "I understand your roots go back to the Russian Mafia."

  "My family's descendants have a colorful history passed from father to son and sometimes from mother to daughter. Our women can be as tough as the men. Something a Kaliam sister can appreciate."

  "Yes." Tashia bowed in acknowledgment. "My organization is under attack, and I'm in need of…a fixer."

  "What is a fixer worth?" Andrii asked.

  "Depends. One time could be half a million credits with a potential two hundred fifty thousand bonus. As a partner, ten percent," Tashia said as she considered the merits of having a mafia-like group available for support.

  "With you in charge?" Andrii asked, his eyes challenging Tashia.

  "With the strongest person directing each organization," Tashia countered.

  "Who's the problem?" Andrii asked, smiling as if he already knew.

  "An NIA admiral," Tashia said.

  Andrii laughed. "You make it sound like some overweight can't-shoot ready-to-retire man whereas it's the little woman with the red-headed krait who can shoot as good as the marine security team that protects her twenty-four-seven."

  "If it were easy, I wouldn't be offering a half million and a partnership," Tashia said. "The partnership offers some additional benefits, like running the indoctrination program."

  "That's certainly an incentive." Andrii paused, meeting Tashia's eyes. Neither flinched. "I'll take the cash deal for now. We can discuss a partnership arrangement afterward."

  Tashia stuck out both hands; one held a small knife, the other was bleeding from a small cut across the palm. Andrii stared for a minute, then took the knife, cut his palm, and grasped Tashia's bloody hand.

  "My kind of contract." Andrii smiled.

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  Star System: Holy Star – The Demolition Continues

  Holy Star turned out to be a mirror image of Truth Star. In this case, the Taranis beat the Dolphin Two by a half day and we found Denise Dutton stuffed in with an office lounge. Other than that, the scenario went much the same: the lounge was delivered to a shipping company, Denise was removed and transported to a large house in a sparsely populated area, but this time only a doctor was present. He was quick to talk but claimed to know very little. He was called to give the women an initial physical when they arrived, and after that, only when they were hurt or fell sick. He was probably mostly truthful but had to know something illegal was going on.

  Like on many of the systems, prostitution was illegal but considered a minor crime, and it was policed only to the extent that it kept it isolated to certain areas and to limit its growth. Men were seldom prosecuted or even arrested; the women were arrested, fined, and released.

  I reviewed the arrest records and found only one name that was in our database, but with the collective knowledge of the women we had on board, we were able to locate a second woman at a high-end escort service, which the police either weren't aware of or were told to ignore because of the people involved. Since our database didn't have every missing person's alias or legal name change, I insisted on seeing each woman, including the women currently traveling with their clients.

  "You are mistaken; there is no escort here," said the silver-haired man in his sixties who was the CEO of one of Holy Star's major shuttle manufacturing companies when he arrived with his two security guards. "If you persist in this matter, your career is over. I have many friends in the UAS Council—" he gave me a wide-eye look when I cut him off with a laugh.

  "Has your money and position made you stupid, Mr. Goldman?" I asked but continued before he could reply. "If you refuse to comply with my P1A request, Colonel Pannell will take you into custody and you will be on a UAS Cruiser headed for Stonewall. The UAS Council can't convene an inquiry until their project is over. That could take years, and the chances of your success are very poor because of the nature of P1A authority. The best result you could hope for is that I will also spend the rest of my life in Stonewall. On the other hand, if you comply, you stand a much better chance of eventually seeing me punished for having the nerve to do my best to serve my nation—and at most, you might be embarrassed."

  Goldman stared at me for a long time, his emotions going from rage to anger and finally resignation. "Felix, ask Miss Jacquelyn to join us."

  When she arrived, she was first to speak. "I'm here of my own free will."

  "Miss Lambert—"

  "How…" she began then took a minute to calm herself. "Unless I'm under arrest for something, I don't wish to go with you."

  "There, are you satisfied?" Goldman said loudly.

  "Yes, Mr. Goldman. I'm very satisfied. Miss Jacquelyn will be allowed to return after she has been processed." I took Lambert by the arm and guided her down the hallway and out to the waiting shuttles.

  "You don't understand; I'll be back here in a few hours and he'll get even. He's a very powerful man."

  "I'm afraid I understand all too well. He's rich and feels above the law. His thoughts are only concerned with his wants and desires, one of which will be to have me punished for interfering with his pleasure. The criminals who kidnapped you are going to have another reason to want me dead. And I'll sleep well tonight knowing I upset them both," I said, pleased with the day's results. Pannell snorted.

  * * *

  "How are you doing, General Guzman?" I asked as he sat. I had invited him to my office on the Taranis.

  "Arnold, please. Thank you for your advice. You were right, and having her back is all I care about anyway. I understand now why the women appear to want to remain…with the kidnappers. They are very strong women suffering for the ones they love. I was out of my mind over Susan's kidnapping… Sorry, Anna."

  "I understood. Without you providing security for these women's families, freeing them would have caused more problems than it solved. Although I won't be surprised if one or two of these women might not choose to go back to the life—"

  "What! Back to being a prostitute," he bellowed.

  "Yes. You haven't seen their bank accounts. Most have a tidy sum, and several are wealthy. But what may drive some back is the reaction of their families, friends, and neighbors. Too many will not consider them victims but as damaged property. In that event, they may consider that they have nothing to lose and much to gain. Others, I suspect, will just move without letting anyone know where."

  "I hadn't thought about that consequence, but knowing people and my own inclination, I can see that as a tragic result. As for myself, I'll love and support Susan no matter what she decides."

  * * *

  I had everyone assembled, including the freed women. "Who should we aggravate next?" I asked as everyone settled in and had collected something from the breakfast I had ordered.

  "The
merchants are their lifeline," Martz said. "And if you free many more women, we'll need at least another cruiser unless we drop some of the current passengers off to their parents." Martz stopped short, noticing the less-than-positive response to her last suggestion. I also noticed Arnold's quiet nod acknowledging my comments to him.

  I snorted a laugh. Recovering these women had lightened my previous funk. "Lieutenant Banner, send a priority message to Admiral Webb and copy Vice Admiral Lulltrel," I said, and all heads turned to me and the room became so quiet I could hear individuals breathing.

  "Sir, I could use another cruiser if you have one not currently busy. We have freed fifteen women to date and have seventy or so to go. Dropping the freed women off would delay me freeing more and would deprive me of critical information these women have on each system. And to be honest, they aren't ready to leave the support of their companions."

  I paused. "Banner, send it from Rear Admiral Paulus. No titles."

  "Admiral Paulus, I can't wait to see that reply," one of the women shouted to assorted comments.

  "All right, Captain Martz is correct. Where are the Benjamin and the Lucky Lady?" I asked.

  "The Benjamin is in Oxax and the Lucky Lady is in Amend," Banner said, looking at the latest update Hadley had sent just yesterday.

  "Captain Martz, I think Oxax. The Benjamin and the Lucky Lady are the only two that go to Shadows Rest. Therefore, they are the ones that deliver the catalog. Without the catalog, they can't order new women in case they have an alternative indoctrination site. Besides, I'll bet the women here can suggest some interesting places to visit," I said to cheers and clapping.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  Star System: Oxax – A New Complication

  I asked permission to join the missing women's evening meeting and received a cautious approval. After everyone was seated, the room became quiet and all eyes were focused on me. Although I was a woman, I was also part of the government and an unknown factor—even though I was leading the search for the kidnapped women and had freed those in attendance.

  "I am a rape victim," I began without preamble. "While on the Hijacking Project, I was kidnapped and…" I went on to talk about my ordeal on the Shark Cruiser and about my life after I was rescued. The session lasted until the early hours of the morning. I left feeling drained from all the very personal questions but good that my experience may help the women to cope with what was to come in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

  * * *

  "You have no authority to search my ship. I've called my lawyers. Your career is over…" the captain, a Peter Bressley, ranted as two squads of the Taranis's marines secured the Benjamin.

  "I'll give you the same two options I gave the captain of the Merry Dee and the Dolphin Two." I smiled mentally, watching his recognition of his partners in supporting the kidnapping ring. "Option one, cooperate and tell me everything you know about the kidnapping operation and you get to talk to lawyers, get a hearing before a jury, and get to do time in a civilian prison—or option two, skip all your basic legal rights and go Stonewall for the rest of your life." I held up my P1A placard. His scarlet-ridged face sagged and lost color as he began to tremble. If he thought I or anyone with me felt sorry for him, he was stuck in the wrong universe. When he began talking, it was like a tidal wave of information that was almost overwhelming. His contacts on Shadows Rest were a man named Silas and a Vito, who was a sergeant in the police. He even had the software program that the kidnapping ring used to view the candidates.

  * * *

  After finishing with the captain and crew of the Benjamin, the women provided the locations of two brothels and two high-end escort services. The brothels turned up two women who were long-term addicts abducted in the kidnapping ring's first two years of operation. I turned them over to Doctor Summers, the chief doctor on the Taranis.

  Trophy Escorts was the first business I visited. The owner of record was a matronly woman in her mid-fifties with a good figure; she wore an expensive pink pantsuit and had curly brown hair that hung just short of her shoulders. She was the model of cooperation and had all her women and several men report to her office.

  "All my employees are free to come and go at will. Our contract merely covers the rules of their employment," she informed me with another grandmotherly smile. I recognized Lola Lloyd, who was going by the name Lisa James. Like all the other missing women, she protested that she was here of her own free will. And like all the other missing women, I told her she could return after the interview. It was only a partial lie. She would be free to do as she liked when the protective custody ended.

  The second escort service, Heavenly Escorts, was run by an obnoxious young woman named Tijerina, who called her lawyer when I identified another of the missing women. Pannell, Miss Pain-in-the-Ass Tijerina, the kidnapped woman named Adella Vu, and I sat in a plush conference room waiting for their lawyer that I agreed to talk to. I was not sure why I had agreed to wait, maybe hoping to learn more about the kidnapping ring's operation. We were served coffee as we waited. Ten minutes later Tijerina's tablet rang; she looked at it, got up, and excused herself. I jerked out of a daze when Red's head banged into my nose, his tongue flicking inside, and he hissed. Then his fangs struck my nose. I jolted up, more from shock than the pain, although it did sting. Seconds later, I realized he had injected me with poison, as the feeling of hot lava filled my face and jerked me awake. I scanned the room. Pannell and the two security marines in the room were leaning back against the wall, fighting unsuccessfully to keep their eyes open. Then the sound of Mfw fire erupted from the two guards in the hallway. One fell to his knees, and Miss Tijerina appeared from behind a partition with a laser pointing in their direction. I spun, drawing my Mfw, and shot a burst of pellets through the glass partition enclosing the room and separating the it from the hallway. It was thick safety glass and looked like falling rain as the small pieces streamed down to the floor. With the glass gone, the sound of multiple Mfws could be heard coming from down the hallway, and the second marine was thrown backward as two men came into view. I shot the closest one in the head. He spun into the man beside him, throwing him off balance, and turning him toward me. I shot him in the face. Although I was taught by Chief Ransom to shoot chest, then head, I had to assume these men were wearing protective armor. While a head shot was more difficult and therefore less reliable, the men were close, and a head shot gave them no time to return fire. As the second shooter stumbled backward into an open cubicle, the area became quiet. I went to one knee for stability, as I was feeling a bit groggy and thinking I would be a harder target to acquire for someone popping around the corner and scanning for a shooter. Several minutes passed and nothing happened. Pannell and the two marines were on the floor with their heads either to their chests or lying on the floor.

  "You really are a hard little bitch to kill," a male voice shouted. I've been paid to kill you, but I think it will be more fun and impressive if I put you on display in a cage for the exclusive pleasure of Andrii Popov. If you don't cooperate, I can always drug you into submission. And when I tire of you, my lieutenants can have you, then their men, then we can rent you out." He laughed. Not a forced laugh for show, but a real laugh of anticipation. "I'll wager Tashia would pay plenty to have you to play with for a week or two." More laughing, which sounded like it was coming from several men not more than a meter or two into the hallway. My blood felt like ice running through my veins as my mind unwillingly flashed back to my ordeal on the Shark. Then I grinned remembering the four horsemen. Like those idiots, these didn't seem to realize I had the Coaca Virus. Andrii's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Sorry; killing yourself isn't an option." Just then, a canister came flying into the room and three seconds later, gas came hissing out.

  I fished out my gas mask. We had all begun carrying one after my security team and I had been gassed during a successful attempt to kidnap me out of an elevator in Westar. Knowing one or more of the attackers would soon be coming to look, I g
rabbed one of the unconscious marine's Mfws and pulled it closer to me but left it just out of my reach. Then I lay face down on my Mfw with one hand on the trigger. Since he apparently wanted me alive, lying face down made me totally vulnerable but hid my gas mask. It also made me look helpless and no threat with the Mfw lying just out of my reach. I hoped that would give me the element of surprise and the few seconds' advantage I would need to survive. My only concern, although I had no option, was that they would shoot the defenseless marines before I could spring my surprise.

  I couldn't see them, but I could hear them as their boots crunched over the broken pieces of glass.

  "Three marines and the navy bitch are out cold, boss," said the gravelly voice of an older man.

  "See, Petra, I told you it was easy money. Gorya, bring her to our truck," Andrii's voice said. He was the one who had boasted about capturing me and who was clearly in charge. His voice rang with confidence and authority.

  "What about the marines?" asked the gravelly voice again. I shuddered at the thought and prepared to move if necessary. I couldn't let them murder defenseless marines while I lived even if I had to act prematurely.

  "Leave them. No sense giving the marines a personal reason to go looking for us. They will understand firefight deaths but not murdering helpless marines. Gorya, turn over sleeping beauty; I want to see my prize whore." The voice had barely finished when hands grabbed my hip and shoulder and rolled me on my back. My short blast of shards caught the man in the chest, and he flew up and backward. The two men standing near my feet watching me had barely gotten their hands on their Mfws when several bursts of shards obliterated their smiling faces. Andrii managed to dive into the maze of cubicles as I shot a burst of shards that cut through the partition where he had been standing. A younger man standing just short of the hallway was frantically trying to get his rifle's strap over his head as pellets tore from his right hip to his left shoulder, pinning him to the wall for a long moment before he slid to the floor. I crawled to my left, away from the unconscious marines. I didn't want them shot by stray bullets. Silence.