by Joe Canzano
Aiko didn’t have a broken neck, but the blast had certainly done some serious damage. That was another problem with stun blasts. Sometimes they did more than stun. Sometimes they smashed up internal organs.
Suzy realized she was in a lounge adjacent to the cockpit. The room was black and silver with cherry red tables and a polished bar made of granite. This ship might have been built for chaos and conquest, but it had its amenities. And really, why build it any other way?
The engines were awesome. The throaty roar that filled her ears was a symphony of rebel sound—the kind of thundering noise she’d loved ever since her first flight. That ship was gone now. It had been her grandmother’s ship and she’d probably never see it again.
Suzy sighed. At least she still had Grandma Jenny’s pistol.
She wondered how Jenny was doing. I should be back there trying to help her, she thought. But of course that had been her main goal before this ridiculous adventure had erupted. How would she help Jenny now? She had to find a way.
The engines kept screaming and the room kept shaking. Suzy stared at Aiko lying on the floor and then looked at Maria, who was strapped in nearby.
“Can you help him?” Suzy said.
Maria studied the motionless form. “I don’t know,” she said. “I hope this ship has as many medical supplies as it does bottles of booze. But knowing Pablo and Ricardo, I wouldn’t get my hopes up.” She offered Suzy a restrained smile. “I’ll do my best.”
In the back of her mind, Suzy recalled a quick vision of Maria firing at the SF people. In that short, sparking image, she recalled that Maria had seemed cool and methodical, firing with a calm surgical precision while shots sang out around her.
There’s more to this woman than meets the eye, Suzy thought. And so I better keep an eye on her. Maybe two eyes.
Suzy was itching to leave her takeoff chair, but she knew she’d have to wait until they achieved orbit. Her palms itched to grab the ship’s controls. Sitting back here like a worker bee stuck on a waddling city bus was nerve-racking.
Finally, the heavy vibration and acceleration stopped. Suzy ripped off her straps as soon as she felt the ship’s artificial gravity kick in. And sure, she was aching to get into the cockpit—but not until Aiko was safe.
She rushed to his unconscious body. “How is he?” she said.
Maria had pulled a beeping device from her purse. She looked at some readouts and shook her head.
“Not good. He has serious internal damage—his lungs, his spleen, his kidneys.”
Suzy felt her head whirling. “What? Well, we’ve got to get him to a hospital!”
Maria gave a short shake of her head. “He won’t make it. But I can revive him for you.”
Suzy was totally dizzy now. Her stomach was like a hollow pit.
“What do you mean ‘He won’t make it’?”
Maria took her hand. “Suzy, I’m sorry. There’s nothing we can do.”
Suzy yanked her hand away. “What are you talking about? You’ve got to do something. He’s my friend!”
Maria just shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said in a soft voice.
Now Suzy just stared. This could not be happening. This was not happening. Then she looked into Maria’s clear brown eyes, and she knew it was all too real.
Suzy felt like she was in a daze—but then the fog of shock and disappointment began to lift.
She blinked back a few tears. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, Maria. I know you’d help him if you could. Can you wake him up?”
“Yes. Let’s get him into a bed first.”
Suzy glanced out a window and saw the planet Earth filling her view. It looked sweet and spectacular, all splashed with blue and white, but the average cesspool looks like pumpkin pie from a thousand miles away. It was also shrinking faster than she’d ever seen it do before. This ship was a powerhouse. They would be in open space soon, assuming no SF interceptor ships appeared. Of course, they probably would—because she was just that unpopular.
She knew these people were taking orders from the central government of the Free Northern States located in Denver. Before all this had happened, she’d been technically wanted in all nine of Earth’s loosely-joined nation states—but really, only the FNS had cared. Now with this new problem popping up, she was safe nowhere on Earth.
Too bad, motherfuckers. You’ll have to find a different dame to kick around.
Aiko was in bed now, in a cabin. Maria was shooting him up with something. Then she said, “I’ll leave you two alone,” and left the room.
Aiko’s eyes opened. “Suzy. Hey, didn’t we just do this?”
“Yeah,” she said with a teary laugh. “But then you went and got yourself shot again.”
“Oh. That explains why I feel like shit.”
“You’re going to be okay.”
He winced. “I don’t think so.”
“You are!”
She grabbed his hand. He gave a sharp groan and looked into her eyes.
“I don’t think so, Suzy—and there are a few more things I need to tell you. Listen, I worked with your dad and Blurr on Super Station 6, a secure space station just beyond the Belt. I left the station in a stolen ship and landed in Choccoban. I stashed the brain, ditched the ship, and used a fake ID to fly back to Earth. The brain is more or less hidden in plain sight, in a pub called The Big Mistake. If you decide to move it someplace else, it’s with a guy named ‘Lama.’ Just go there and tell him you want ‘Aiko’s package’ and he’ll hand you the most powerful AI the human race has ever seen.”
He groaned again and she gave his hand a squeeze.
“Suzy, I know you had all kinds of problems with your parents—but believe me, your dad loved you, and I’m sure your mom does too. It’s true! And by the way, I love you, too. You’re the best friend I ever had.”
Suzy felt a tear fall from her face.
“Aiko, you’re going to be all right.“
“Wait! Let me finish. Everything I did, I did for science, okay? You have to remember that. I hope you can forgive me.” A spasm caused him to wince with pain.
“What?”
“Can you, Suzy?”
She wiped her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
His face twisted up into a mask of agony. “I said ‘I did it for science.’ Can you forgive me, Suzy?”
“Yes!” she blurted. “I forgive you! But what are you saying?”
He gave a weak smile. “I’m saying do the right thing. I’m saying you’re the best. And I’m saying goodbye, and good luck.”
He closed his eyes.
Suzy was seized by panic. She reached out and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him hard.
“Aiko! Aiko!”
He opened his eyes. He was trying to speak, but he gagged a bit and his voice was low. She put her ear near his lips and heard him say, “I almost forgot…your dad… back door…don’t forget to laugh.”
Then his head rolled back and his eyes snapped open. Suzy was looking right at him when that inner light went out. It was like a switch had been snapped, and he was gone.
She hadn’t cried when she’d been told about her father’s death. She’d just felt cold like a stone. She hadn’t cried when she’d killed her Uncle Leonardo. In fact, her only unhappiness had come from the knowledge that she could only kill him once.
But she’d cried when her sister Trish had died. And she cried now.
Chapter 5
Blurr rose to his feet. He swore and stared into the blazing night sky as the fleeing spaceship disappeared. Then he dusted off his silver uniform and his burnt body armor, and he removed his shiny helmet, revealing a crop of spiky blond hair. With an appreciative eye, he studied the fried-egg-sized black spot where Suzy’s energy bullet had hit him. That had been one hell of a shot, he thought. He recalled Antonio telling him how much his daughter liked guns. But he hadn’t been bragging the way parents do. He hadn’t been overly concerned, either. That had been Antonio’s style—to report
things.
My daughter Suzy likes guns. She shoots them every day. Maybe someday she’ll kill my brilliant brother, Leonardo. Maybe she’ll do it slowly, so that he suffers as much as possible. At the very least, she’ll blow off his testicles.
Blurr laughed out loud. Of course, Antonio had never said any of this—but maybe he should have. His daughter had always been explosive. Why were they shocked about what she’d done? Really, it had all made perfect sense. And it had all worked out just fine.
Luckily, she hadn’t shot Leonardo in the head.
He grimaced. Time to look official.
“Banks,” he said. “What’s going on?”
Captain Banks was standing nearby, talking into the link chip embedded in his collar. Now he came forward and shook his head. He removed his black helmet and showed his shaved skull.
“We had them, sir,” Banks said with a frown. “Until we were attacked on the roof.”
“Yeah,” Blurr said. “And if water weren’t wet it would be something else, right?”
“I guess so.”
“Did we get any of the attackers?”
“We shot a few.”
“I mean did we get any alive?”
“No. Just the one down here,” he said, pointing to Carlos, who was being hauled off in cuffs.
Blurr shook his head. “So we fucked up everything, as usual. The Strike Force logo should be a picture of a head shoved up somebody’s ass. Listen, Banks, these fighters are Los Pocos—all of them. Do you know what this means?”
Banks shrugged. Blurr figured Banks had a damned good idea what it meant, but he wasn’t going to say anything until he, Blurr, revealed his opinions. Banks was a cagey one—too smart to be a knuckle-dragging Strike Force Neanderthal. He was going to waste. Maybe something could be done about that.
Blurr decided not to give his opinion. Instead, he said, “Banks, I visited Suzy’s family not long ago, and they didn’t know anything. But now I’m going to drop by again, and you’re coming with me. Since Suzy was back on Earth I’m guessing she went over there. I’m sure she went to see her grandmother, and I want you to monitor any future communication between them. We’ll talk to her granny and her mouse-of-a-mother, too. We’ll yank the cheese right out of mommy’s quivering face.”
“Yes, sir,” Banks said. “So you know Suzy’s family, sir?”
“Yeah, I know them, but Antonio was the only one I knew well—the others weren’t too friendly. Except for Suzy.”
“Suzy didn’t seem too friendly tonight.”
“She can be friendly when she’s not shooting at you. She’s got personality.”
Blurr grinned for a second and then made his face look stern. He barked a few more orders and headed out of the spaceport.
Chapter 6
Suzy sat for a while in the cabin with Aiko’s body. She stared at his face, and she stared at the wall. She felt dead inside. There were cold ghosts drifting through her brain.
Finally, Maria came in. She looked over the situation and said, “I’m sorry, Suzy. Can I get you something?”
Suzy shook her head. Back door and don’t forget to laugh. What the hell had Aiko been talking about? Her dad had never been very jovial.
Suzy stood up. “Thanks again for trying to help, Maria.”
Maria stepped forward and gave her a hug. The warmth in her embrace surprised Suzy, but she returned it. Then she pulled herself away. “Let’s get him out of here,” she said.
Suzy insisted Aiko wasn’t going to be buried in outer space—dumped out of an airlock like one more piece of space trash. So she wrapped his body in some insulated blankets Maria found and they placed him in an unheated cargo area. Suzy didn’t know a lot about the science involved, but hopefully his remains would be preserved until she could deliver them to his family.
Ricardo seemed skeptical. “When are you planning to drop him off, Suzy? I understand how you feel—I really do. But you can’t go back there in this ship any time soon. I mean it’s not like delivering a pizza.”
Maria shot him a stare filled with daggers.
“I’m just trying to be practical,” he said with a shrug.
“This isn’t a good time to try something new, Ricardo.”
Suzy just looked away and said nothing. Ricardo’s words were far in the distance.
Aiko had been her oldest friend, ever since she’d been in grade school growing up in Southern California. They’d splashed around in the ocean together, and they’d crashed hover-bikes together—and they’d stayed friends, even in later school years when he was a razor-sharp scholar with a stellar future and she was a rowdy hell-raiser destined to barely graduate.
He’d been her first boyfriend, for almost an entire summer. But they’d stayed friends after that, too. And they’d learned a few things from the experience, like the beach is not the best place to have sex, at least not without a blanket. Eventually, he’d gone to college and she’d gone to flight school, and circumstances had forced her to become a fugitive while he’d ended up, ironically, working for her father. But it wasn’t completely ironic; he’d gotten that job because Antonio had known how smart he was, even though he’d been hanging around with Suzy.
Dad thought I was a bad influence on Aiko, she thought with a laugh. And you know, he was right.
Maria saw Suzy laugh, and Maria smiled. “Do you want something to eat?” Maria said. “There’s lots of food on this ship. I’m surprised. I expected to mostly find beer and tequila.”
“No, thanks, Maria. I’m not hungry.”
Maria walked off in the direction of the galley—presumably to ignore Suzy’s words and get her something anyway. Suzy watched her go.
Suzy detected a controlled level of kindness lurking beneath Maria’s no-nonsense personality. Certainly, Maria had a different demeanor than her pro-nonsense brother, although like her brother she was very attractive. They’d both hit the gene pool jackpot in that area.
Suzy vaguely wondered why they both seemed unattached. Then again, she was unattached. But hey, she had all kinds of personality issues—like the way she didn’t take any crap from anyone. That was usually a deal-breaker. Also, there was the way she didn’t want to give herself to anyone. She didn’t want anyone to be close enough to disappoint her. Again.
Maybe it was time to check out the ship. A good ship was less complicated than the average personal relationship. She’d seen a certain amount of this one without paying close attention, but now she gave it a serious look, and she was impressed.
First of all, it was brand new. That whole “They don’t make’em like they used to” idea might be a popular cliché down at some moldy retirement home, but it wasn’t thrown around too much among people who flew spaceships. New was good. New meant more power, and more power meant more ability to escape from whatever.
And hello—what were these? She was staring at two MHECs—called “mecks” for short. These were military grade Mobile Heavy Energy Cannons. They were mounted on tripods and were capable of major destruction when fully energized. They were also illegal for any civilian to purchase, and what were they doing stashed behind a wet bar? Suzy noticed they weren’t energized so she shrugged and plugged them into a nearby energy port. Because sometimes a girl just wants to blow the shit out of something.
Suzy went into the cockpit and found Ricardo sitting in the leather pilot’s chair. He was drinking a bottle of beer and staring at the swatches of stars through the front window. He looked good. He grinned at Suzy—and then he glanced at one of the displays and his grin faded.
“Crap!” he said. “Someone’s after us.”
Suzy clenched her fist. “I was wondering how long it would take.”
Ricardo’s fingers flew over a few controls. “It’s a bunch of interceptors—not from Earth. They must’ve called their friends in Tycho City and had them send up a squad of crater cowboys. You really are popular, huh?”
Suzy didn’t answer as she slid into the copilot’s seat and studied
the readouts.
“We’re getting a message,” Maria said.
Ricardo flipped a switch and a harsh voice echoed through the speakers.
“Correcaminos Rojo! We have warrants for the arrest of your passengers. Stop immediately and prepare to be boarded.”
“Sure,” Ricardo said. “Hey, didn’t we explain all this when we shot our way out of the spaceport?”
Suzy pointed at the screen. “They’re up ahead but angling toward us. We might be able to change course and outrun them.”
“Yeah,” Ricardo said. “We can do that. This ship is faster than most military ships. But they’re still going to get off a few shots before we get out of range.”
“So we might get blown to bits, and we might not.”
“That’s pretty much what I think.”
“It looks like we’re heavily armed.”
“Hell, yeah. We’ve got AGM missiles and a pair of Browning 2550 energy guns. But we don’t want to get into a dogfight with any interceptors. We’d lose.”
Suzy was about to say, “Let me fly this thing and we won’t”—but then an explosion caused the ship to shake.
Ricardo swore and wrestled with the controls. This was followed by another fast explosion and more shaking.
“Turn around!” Suzy said. “We have to fight.”
“No, we don’t. They’re not going to catch us.”
Two more strong bursts rattled the ship.
Suzy cursed and looked at a display. “We’re losing a deflector shield.”
Ricardo shook his head. “That’s okay. They’re only gonna get a couple of chances and they just blew it. They’re falling behind—just wait a few seconds.”
“We’ll be dead in a few seconds! We need to fight.”
Another blast of energy shook the cockpit. The jolt rattled Suzy’s bones.
“Ricardo, will you turn this thing around? Let me take a shot!”
Ricardo shook his head and gripped the ship’s steering controls. “Are you crazy, Suzy? If we turn around we’re dead!”
Yet another explosion shook the ship.
Maria was in the cockpit now. “Listen to him, Suzy,” she said. “He has lots of practice at getting out of trouble.”