by J. N. Chaney
“So, where's the real data?” asked Edwin. With my line still muted, he was carrying on with his conversation, probably unaware of the growing risk of this whole thing going under. “You know I'm not paying a single credit until I see it and test it for myself.”
“That's not how this works,” answered Maury. “Your father and I had a special deal that’s no longer available to you. You need to pay. You pay first, and then you get it.”
“Not happening,” countered Edwin. “I'm not a fool, Maury. Father taught me everything, including how to deal with you. You can't con me.”
“Con you?” said Maury, a hint of indignation in his tone. “I would never con a Carson.”
“Because you'd be dead if you tried,” reminded Edwin in a steely voice.
There was a pause, and I grabbed a rifle from the locker as I waited for what would happen next.
I had a choice to make, and neither of my two options was appealing.
Walking around with a rifle on your back wasn’t out of the ordinary for the Deadlands, but it still would get me attention I didn’t want. I would be monitored, and right now, that was the last thing I wanted.
I was torn—if I went out there and joined Edwin, surveillance would pick me up, and then Colt would know I was working with the Carsons. We’d lose our element of surprise. There was always the chance that Edwin wouldn’t need me at all and that this was a normal negotiation with Maury. If that was the case, me walking out there would ruin everything.
But this whole deal of Edwin’s might go south at any second, and there was a very real chance he’d need backup. He was too far away for me to be of any use. If something happened to him while I was in the ship, I would never get to him in time. Bravos Station had a warren of underground corridors and secret access tunnels, which meant people could just disappear in the blink of an eye.
“Fine, fine,” said Maury, and the smack of hands on a table broke through the comm. “You win. I'll have my assistant bring in the real deal.”
“It's about time,” said Edwin, and a chair creaked as he adjusted his weight.
Edwin had relaxed. I could hear it in his voice, but I wasn't relieved at all. Maury was obviously stalling, and I couldn’t figure out why Edwin hadn’t seen through the ruse, yet. That was it—the death rattle for the deal. Edwin had let his guard down.
“Siggy, unmute me,” I ordered as I loaded the rifle.
“Unmuted,” answered Sigmond.
“Edwin, you get the hell out of there,” I ordered. “Now!”
I was answered by a sharp inhale of surprise. With how clear his voice had been thus far, I knew the comm was still in his ear. He was responsible for Ruby and Hunter, and he would’ve kept true to his promise to look out for them.
He could hear me, no question. He was probably just deciding whether or not he wanted to obey my order when he thought he was close to getting the tech we needed to win against Colt.
“Your contact is stalling,” I pointed out. “He’s trying to keep you in one place, and that can only mean someone is on their way. I don’t think you’re the buyer anymore, Edwin. I think he’s trying to keep you in place until someone else shows up. Everything about this guy is off. It’s a godsdamn setup.”
“What the hell is going on?” asked Hunter, his voice almost a whisper after Sigmond had reduced the volume on his and Ruby’s lines.
“Is Edwin in trouble?” asked Ruby. “Do I need to kill someone?”
I ignored them. As far as I could tell, Edwin was the only one in danger right now. They were too far away from his position, farther even than I was, and they couldn’t help at this point.
Edwin still didn't reply, probably because he couldn't. After all, Maury was sitting right in front of him.
A chair scraped along the floor. “Since you don't have it, I'll have to come back,” said Edwin. “I'll be back in three hours to pick it up. Don't make me wait again, Maury.”
“No, sit down,” said Maury, sounding flustered. “It's on its way, kid. You win. I don’t want to lose this deal, alright? Just sit.”
“Three hours,” said Edwin, and footsteps thudded along the floor.
“I'll just sell it to someone else,” countered Maury. “If you're not going to buy it, someone else will.”
“Bullshit,” I said into the comm. “It's not real. Get out of there now.”
“You won’t,” said Edwin calmly. “If you ever want to do business with the Carsons again, you’ll save it for me.”
Edwin was a pretty decent bullshitter. I’d give him that.
Before Maury could answer, the door banged open. Men shouted. Seconds later, gunfire echoed through the air. Edwin groaned, and a body thudded on the floor. Wood splintered. The gunfire faded, and for a moment, all I could hear was Edwin’s haggard breathing.
“Kid, talk to me,” I said.
“Edwin!” Hunter shouted into the comm, his voice still fairly quiet.
The Carson crime lord moaned in pain and cursed under his breath. “Hunter, I need you to—”
Footsteps interrupted him, and he yelled in agony. The click of a gun cocking silenced his yell, and I could imagine him staring up at the person aiming a pistol at his face.
I waited for the inevitable gunshot. For the assassination. To hear one of my makeshift crew die in real time, when I was too far away to be any damn use at all.
“Hang in there, Edwin,” I said, cocking the rifle. “I’m coming for you. Siggy, open the doors!”
“Opening the cargo bay gate,” said the AI as the door whirred to life.
“There, I got him for you,” said Maury as I waited, ready to charge out of my ship, my choice made for me. Maury’s voice distant and muffled, even farther from the comm now. “I got you the kid.”
“But where are the others?” asked a voice I didn’t recognize. “There's three of them. You only got us one.”
“He wouldn't share anything with me,” answered Maury. “He’s their little ringleader, though. He knows where they are, so just ask him. Give me my money.”
A second gun cocked.
“What the hell are you—” Maury's voice was cut short with a gunshot, and something heavy thudded to the floor.
It looked like Maury had gotten what he deserved—paid in full with a bullet to the brain.
“Captain Hughes,,” said Edwin weakly. “I need help.”
“I'm coming for you, kid,” I promised, the cargo door almost low enough for me to go through. My grip on the rifle tightened, and my shoulders tensed with the anticipation of what lay ahead of me.
The comm jostled, and the rough static of a finger against the mic screamed in my ear. I grimaced, riding out the noise.
“You’re next,” said a gravelly voice.
Static screeched, shrill and ear-splitting, and then the line went dead.
“We’ve lost tracking data on Mr. Carson’s comm,” said Sigmond as the cargo bay gate finally clattered to the docking bay floor.
I was too late.
“Dammit!” I shouted as I punched the wall. My knuckles ached, and pain shut up my arm, but I didn't care. If I didn’t have the tracking device, I wouldn’t have any way to know where he’d been taken. There was no point running out there now when he could be off the station in the next five minutes.
For all I knew, Edwin had just been killed. He was breathing before the comm cut out, but there was no guarantee that would last.
“Hughes, godsdammit, tell me what's going on!” shouted Hunter over the comm, his voice still quiet from the lowered volume.
I grimaced as I stood by the open cargo bay gate. I stared out at the empty docking bay and reluctantly switched on the rifle’s safety.
I'd almost forgotten about Ruby and Hunter in the heat of the moment. “Siggy, raise the volume levels on both their comms.”
“Volume raised to normal levels,” answered Sigmond.
In a rush, the chorus of overlapping conversation of a heavily crowded area flooded through
the line from two directions as both their comms went hot.
“What’s happening?” shouted Ruby into the comm. “If you don’t tell us right this minute, I swear I’ll—”
“Get your asses back to the Star immediately,” I ordered. “It doesn't matter if you got what you needed. Just take what you have and get back here now.”
“Is Edwin okay?” asked Hunter. “What did—”
“I’ll tell you on the Star,” I snapped. “Get back here now.”
“Son of a…” muttered Hunter, his voice trailing off as a cacophony of voices flooded the line around him. I didn't know where they were, but it was damn loud.
“How long?” I pressed.
“Twenty minutes,” answered Ruby. “You’d better have answers when we get there.”
“Don’t threaten the person saving your ass,” I warned. “Make it back in fifteen or I’m leaving you.”
It was a bluff, but they needed to remember who was in control here, especially with Edwin missing in action.
I tapped the manual override to mute my comm. “Close the cargo bay, Siggy. Since we lost the tracking, we need to figure out where Edwin is before we run out there. Put in a request with Ollie to see if we can get any surveillance recordings from the station around that bar. We need to find him and figure out who took him before they get off the station. Tell him it's urgent. He needs to drop everything he’s doing, and I'll pay for it if I have to.”
“Right away, sir,” responded Sigmond.
I hesitated as another idea hit me. I didn't like it. I hoped I was wrong, but I had a feeling I wasn't.
“One more thing,” I added. “Ask Ollie to check for any bounties on me or the trio. I don’t think this was a coincidence.”
“I'll add it to the request, sir,” answered Sigmond.
I rubbed my eyes, cursing under my breath at how backwards this had gone. I set my rifle back in the locker and stared at it, furious I’d let Edwin get hurt. I should’ve tailed him. I should’ve refused to let him go alone, no matter how comfortable they were on this station.
It seemed as though we'd already lost our element of surprise, all before we even had the chance to finalize our plan of attack. And what’s more, we’d lost one of our own.
I had failed Edwin, and I’d do everything in my power to make this right.
21
I sat in the lounge while I waited for Ollie to get back to me about the security feeds. I hadn’t missed the irony in asking for camera footage to find out what had happened to Edwin, especially since that was what I hated most about this place to begin with.
Maybe it would work in our favor this time.
We were still docked at Bravos Station, as I refused to depart until we had word about Edwin. It was a risk to still be here—the people who came for him could find us at any minute, if we weren’t careful—but we weren't going to leave until we knew there was nothing more we could do.
Ruby and Hunter had made it back a few minutes ago, and I’d just finished giving them the update of what had happened.
They were understandably pissed.
Ruby leaned against the back of the sofa, her long legs stretched to the floor with a deadly stillness that was somehow more sinister than the pistol I kept at my side. The girl looked like she was about to snap, the only thing holding her back was a thin mask of self-control.
Hunter, however, was less capable of subtlety.
As I stood in the silence that followed my update, he didn’t say a word. Instead, he grabbed the closest chair and slammed it against the wall with enough force to make the interior shudder. One of the legs snapped off, but Hunter didn't even seem to notice.
“Hey!” I shouted.
He ignored me and reached for the table, ready to break something else I owned if it meant he got to vent his anger.
I pointed at the couch and aimed a hard look at the younger man. “Cut that shit out.”
When he didn’t respond other than to curl his lip, I stepped closer, getting into his personal space, daring him to be an idiot.
“Breaking my ship won't save your brother's ass,” I snapped. “Calm down before you do something you regret.”
“This is your fault,” Hunter said, driving his pointer finger hard into my chest. “You sat on your ass here in the ship and let him get captured. This is on you, Hughes!”
In the past, I would have decked him for saying such a thing. He'd have been on the floor with a broken nose and blood streaming down his face, probably unconscious.
But in my years as a Renegade, I'd learned better ways of dealing with idiots and the charged emotion they so often brought to the table.
This kid needed a lesson in manners, and now I had to give it to him.
Quick as lightning, I grabbed his arm and twisted it in a move I’d practiced hundreds of times thus far in my career. It did what I intended to do—it shut him up and took him down. He grimaced and fell to his knee as I pinned him in place, now with full control over his right arm.
His shooting arm.
One sharp twist, and I could break his hand. Just one little snap, and he’d never shoot straight again.
Ruby pushed off the sofa primed to reach for her gun, but she didn’t. A wise move, at least in my mind. She knew firing on me would only get them all killed. They needed me, now more than ever. The girl knew I wasn’t going to kill her brother, even if he was being an idiot. She was smart enough to weigh the pros and cons, here, and make the right choice.
With an irritated exhalation, she sat back down.
Though he was still on one knee, Hunter reached over his shoulder, his fingers grasping at the air uselessly as he groaned with pain. I twisted his hand harder, just shy of what it would take to snap a bone.
“You’re going to respect my shit when you’re living on this ship,” I told him, my grip on his arm tightening. “Even when you’re angry, even when you’re pissed, you’d do well to remember who’s in charge and who makes the demands around here. It ain’t you, kid, and with that temper of yours, it never will be.”
He twisted his head as far as his neck would allow, looking up at me with unmistakable contempt. I leaned closer, my eyes narrowing as I dared him to make the next move.
Normally, a man would’ve tapped out by now and surrendered. The kid had a high pain tolerance, and I could respect that. Judging by his bionic leg, this was a guy who pushed his limits and tested the extremes to which his body could go.
“You are on my ship as a guest,” I reminded him. “If you start talking shit to me, I'll toss your ass out on Bravos Station and leave you to deal with whoever out there wants you dead. If you want to survive this, you'll shut your godsdamn mouth.”
All he had to do was be quiet, and we could focus on saving his brother. He was wasting my time, and every second lost could cost Edwin his life.
I felt him start to give and some of the anger recede from his eyes.
“Whatever,” he finally said, though it came out rough.
I didn’t really care. He had learned his lesson and now we could focus on our main problem: dealing with Colt.
22
I let go of his arm, and he sucked in a sharp breath of relief as he rubbed his wrist. He snatched his hat off the floor and walked away, his back to me as he retreated to the far end of the lounge.
Ruby’s shoulders finally relaxed, too. She sat on the table Hunter had nearly tossed against the wall, making herself at home on the thing I ate off of. I groaned and scrubbed my hands over the stubble that had grown in over the last few days, but at this point I wanted to choose my battles.
These kids were testing my patience and I could feel my tolerance level diminishing..
“How about you?” I asked her when she set her boots on the seat of one of the chairs. “Are you planning on breaking anything?”
“We've lost another one,” she murmured, voice low and more vulnerable than I thought her capable of. “More of our family is dead, and it won't be long
until we're both next, Hunter.”
Ruby swallowed hard, her brows knit together in either anger or sadness. On her stony face, I couldn't quite tell. The girl looked young and broken, like she had given up.
“Stop it,” I snapped.
Her head jerked up in surprise, like that wasn't what she had expected me to say. I glanced between her and Hunter, frustrated by their reactions to the news.
None of it was productive.
“You both need to stop this,” I continued, gesturing between them. “Listen to yourselves. You’ve given up. You’ve stopped fighting, but you can't assume Edwin is dead. He was breathing on the last transmission. You both know him better than me, but even I know he won't give up that easy.”
Both siblings looked at me, tense and quiet.
I finally had their full attention. After the surge of emotion that had almost consumed both of them, I’d finally gotten them under control again.
“Look,” I said as I stood in the middle of the lounge. “I know I haven't known you all long, but from what I've seen, I know one thing for certain. You’re too godsdamn emotional. You're too angry. That rage and hate that burns in you? You’re letting it control you. Want to know what it was about Edwin that always kept the three of you glued together? The thing he has that you don’t? He’s the only one who knew how to keep his cool.”
“Screw you,” Ruby shot back. “He’s our brother, our family. Do you even know what it’s like to lose someone that close?”
“I get it,” I said. “You’re hurting. You lost your family and your direction back when the Union pulled that hit, and now you’re afraid you’ve lost the last bit of glue that holds you together. That hate and that pain is going to get you both killed if you’re not careful. More importantly, it's going to get me killed if you lose control during our next fight, and I'm not fond of that option.”
I let my words settle in the air for a minute. I wanted what I was saying to sink into their very bones.
Hunter shook his head and began pacing like a caged animal, back and forth across the far end of the room. He still kept his distance from me, but I could see his breathing finally slowing down. Ruby let out a long, slow sigh, and I felt like I was watching in real time as more of their rational brains took over.