by LM. Preston
“I know.” Shamira finished off her food and took the juice offered. Changing the subject, she inhaled loudly. “I remember Earth had a lot of flowers. It smelled like this when I first stepped foot there for my eye surgery. But going there at that time sucked because when I came back, David had been kidnapped. At least when we went to Earth earlier last month to be fitted into our technosuits my nose adjusted to the smells.”
“Yeah, it was fun. I haven’t seen that many of my cousins in a long time. My dad was glad he was able to be there too.” Valens lowered his gaze. “He got to visit my mother’s grave.”
Nervously she looked at him. His love of Earth scared her. “Do you still want to move there?”
Valens hugged her close between his legs and rubbed her arm with is thumb. “No. I’m on the Mars Force for good. Besides, all my friends are here.” Lifting her chin, Valens kissed her. “You’re here.”
“Yeah, you sure do have your fair share of friends and then some.” Shamira delivered a soft punch to his stomach. “But do you have to like everyone? Like Katie.”
“Jealous?” Valens chuckled.
“No.”
“I like people. You know, helping them if I can. My mother was that way. That’s what I remember most about her. Besides, I figure if she can’t be here with me, I could at least…well, share a piece of what I remember of her with those who need it.”
“Oh, I get it. I’m your charity case?” Shamira exhaled. “Someone you have to take care of?” She pulled away and crawled to the pillows to put some space in the middle of them. Her stomach filled with butterflies, but she couldn’t look at Valens when he answered.
Valens crawled up close and his embrace caged her in. “You were never a charity case. When I first met you, you were setting some street pusher up for a beating. I was just glad I was able to get in on the fun.” His finger traced her jaw. “Yeah, and when I followed you to set up Lenny. You knocked him out by yourself.” Valens pecked her lower lip, and trailed kisses along her chin to her ear. Then whispered, “No, I’m your charity case. Just glad that you let me in that place you hide. Happy, that I’m the only one that knows the real you. That you’ll share that special piece of yourself that you keep hidden.” He took her bottom lip in his before deepening their kiss. “With only me.”
She closed her eyes as her heart melted just a little more.
Chapter 16
Shamira sneaked in the back door of the house. The walkway lit as she tip-toed in, the smile still on her face from the time she had with Valens. Although she loved him, more than she ever thought to allow herself, she wondered how long she could do both. Be with him and become the person she needed to be to lead the Security Force. She’d struggled with this for the entire year while training with Cal.
Cal had never really talked about his wife. A girl he’d met while he was in training for the Force. But Shamira’s mom had told her that Cal’s wife was killed during a shootout with the Mars police and some thieves robbing a store. Cal’s wife wasn’t an Elite Officer with the enhanced power of the technosuit. She was one of the Mars Police. The Mars police were well-trained officers, but they had to rely on their weapons and training only. They weren’t dipped in the special suit that fitted the Elite officers as a second skin to protect them and enhance their strength. Cal, her mom said, was devastated after the death and made it known his focus would always be his job. He’d decided not to remarry.
Shamira groaned. That’s what her focus needed to be. Reaching her dream, and saving the many lives that were affected by how well a job she did. Her love of Valens snatched away the strategic edge she had when she was blind. Extreme focus with no emotional distractions was something she took for granted then. This new life filled with love and relationships still unbalanced her. The insecurity she felt with Valens never left. Did he really love her, or was he with her because he saw that she needed him? Was she holding him back from his dream of living on Earth? He was so charismatic and handsome that all of the girl cadets, save Hedi, flirted with him every chance they got—like she wasn’t worthy to have him.
Maybe, not dating any other boys was her problem. The whole situation made her feel uneasy about her relationship with Valens. This relationship thing was hard. It hurt her every time she saw disappointment or pain in his gaze when she pushed him away. How much more pushing away could he take before he gave up? When he could have someone love him as openly as he loved her, why would he allow her to keep her feelings hidden away from him?
Sure, Valens said he wanted to come into her safe place. She loved him too much to fool herself into believing that what she offered was enough. Valens deserved more, much more.
Luckily, the others had left the house. Shamira went to her room to change and do some research before the team came to go to the Outlands. Her room was bathed in dim lighting. She’d never liked it bright. With a crack of her neck, Shamira tossed her jacket on the purple blanket on the bed. Amped up, she kicked off her shoes and snatched up a brush to pull through her waist length hair.
She sat at the computer and tapped her fingers. Guilt at second-guessing her team crept up her back, Shamira pushed passed it and logged into the computer. Using the hacking skills she’d perfected with Hedi’s help, Shamira downloaded a list of questioned Security Force and Mars Police Officers that were suspected of dealings with Monev. Her eyes bulged at the size of the list. Twenty-five members of the Mars Security Force Elite’s three-hundred were serious suspects. The beat cops—the Mars Police—had almost one-hundred of the thousand that were suspected of dirty double dealing with Monev.
“You’ve gotta be kidding. That many possible dirty force members playing both sides.” She bit her lip and scrolled down the list. “No way!” Shocked at her discovery that all but ten of the members suspected were released back to their jobs, two of the Security Force Elite members, and eight of the Mars Police were put to death in the execution Waters on Earth after their trial.
One by one Shamira checked her teammates’ psychological profiles. Mitch, Kurt, and Hedi seemed to have the most problems adapting to being free. She was stunned to realize that all of them suffered from insomnia and night terrors for which treatments weren’t working. Shamira was surprised because they’d never mentioned it. All of them were changed by the events that led up to the destruction of Monev, but truth was, none wanted to talk about it. They never discussed their adjustment problems; they’d grabbed at the chance to be normal kids. At least it seemed that way. Truth was, after living a life of fighting for your life, they would never be normal. They had just been through too much, and seen too much, to pretend it was safe on Mars.
The alarm clock went off. “Screw! I’m going to be late.”
She jumped up and hurriedly dressed. Her hands fluttered across the safe in the back of the closet and reached in to grab her weapons belt. A smile slipped on her face, because tonight they’d be one step closer to finding these killers.
Chapter 17
Shamira opened the door to meet Valens’ sister, Mina, staring up at her.
“I was just about to knock.”Mina’s beaming smile brightened. “I’m staying the night with Taren.”She twisted her black braid with her fingers.
“Oh, okay. Everybody just got home a few minutes ago. They’re down in the game room having a junk-food fest while my mom is in the training room.”
Mina’s thumb tapped at the handle on her bag. “I know the way.” She scooted around Sharmira and skipped into the house.
The door closed behind her. Shamira jumped off the porch to meet the others. They waited in front of her house on their motorcycles. Except for Anthony, who drove the sports car he won in a card game between her, Hedi, Mitch and Valens.
“Pearl, come out.” She waited for her motorcycle to drive from the garage and smirked at Anthony who was grinning at her from the driver’s seat. “You know that is a no-go, right? There’s no way we can sneak up on anybody with that ride.”
“Why not? Sh
e blends in,” Anthony replied.
“No. Take Valens’ motorcycle. It’s safer.”
Anthony groaned and mumbled a curse. His eyes were still filled with merriment. “Girl, you lucky I like you. I don’t usually let chicks boss me around.”
Shamira climbed on Pearl and Valens slid in behind her with a chuckle. “Who are you kidding? You know this girl can whip your butt and make you do what she wants,” she laughed.
“Throwing her weight around again, Valens. You better check her,” Mitch snorted.
The other guys agreed, laughing.
“Can we just focus?” Hedi huffed. She winked at Shamira before letting out a whistle.
Leaning forward in her seat, Shamira got serious. “Let’s ride to the perimeter of the Outlands, to Meccan. We can park the rides and go in on foot so they won’t hear us coming. I researched the place and saw pictures of the terrain. I have an idea where they may be hiding.”
Valens tightened his arms around her while they drove. “I’ve been asking around. The people that live in the Outlands are pretty much harmless. Some are too poor to live in the Sectors. So, they built shelters on the West portion of the land because of the sand management towers. They also tap into the generators underground for warmth. But we can’t be careless, we don’t know who might be there waiting for us.”
She revved her engine and slipped between cars that littered the border of Sectors 7 and 6. “Freaksheep may have moved on. There’s no guarantee he’s still out there. If he got clean on his own in that short of time, he had help. I’ll bet my life on it.”
“So, what did you tell your parents we are doing tonight?” Valens asked.
“Double date, with you at Sector 6 virtual beach and restaurant.”
“Oh, they actually bought that?” Valens’ eyebrow lifted. “They know you hate anything that has to do with Earth.”
“True, but they know I’ll go anywhere with you and Hedi just to shut the both of you up. Besides, it’s easier for Hedi to fake the signal to something that’s close to our location, and Oasis Hawaii is the closest hangout spot near the Outlands.”
After forty minutes, the scattered line of buildings ended. Two miles later, they arrived at the sand-swept edge of Sector 6. The dimly lit paved, one-way road dead-ended. Rocks formed an unevenly stack for them to drive through. They rode several more miles to one of the rock forests. Large red rocks seemed to glow in the setting suns and stood like small mountains that littered the vast wasteland of sand and small rock. The temperature dropped due to the limited underground heating pipes and generators. The air quality dipped also as they drove deeper into the Outlands. The air filtration towers that processed breathable oxygen were fewer and farther between.
The adrenaline built within Shamira’s stomach. No one knew they were showing up, and yet she wondered if there were any more surprises coming. Odds were someone would be waiting for them. She’d have to admit, being the hunter was much more enjoyable than being the prey. After today, she’d have to turn the tables for good.
“Almost there, park our bikes at the end of Rock Haven. We have to go in on foot in case they have it guarded.” Shamira lifted her hand and pointed.
The scattering of rocks opened up the way to the portion of the Outlands called Meccan. She’d figured that if anyone tried living in the Outlands, Meccan would be the only place they’d be able to survive. They could plug into the underground piping lines and kick up the only air filtration tower in the further portion of the Outlands.
Valens moved his hands from her waist to her thigh. They drove around the last of the boulder at the end of Rock Haven when she shared her thoughts, “The people who live there aren’t killers. They wouldn’t have guards. It’s too hard for regular folks to get their hands on firepower here now that Monev’s shutdown.”
Shamira bought the cycle to a stop, kicked on the brake and breathed the thin air of the barren land. Glad night hadn’t come just yet, her shoulders relaxed. They’d have just enough time to make it. “I hope you’re right, but everyone has ways to get what they want don’t they?”
“Guess so,” Valens answered, “Here come the others.” He got off the bike to meet Anthony.
Mitch’s hand was on his gun. “I’m ready. I got a new toy Valens souped up for me.”
Shamira licked her lips, admitting she was ready too. “Hey, Valens, did you bring the glide pads?”
Valens tucked his gloves in his pocket. “You know me…I come prepared, or you would end up getting killed.” He eased off the black backpack. With a teasing smile, his eyebrow lifted as he dug inside. “You all know, you act like I’m Santa Claus.”
Anthony laughed and grabbed four of the glide pads from Valens when Valens’ hand cleared the bag. “Hell ya man, you are. The only person in my life to give me a present. My dad’s thing is hanging out, not gifts.”
“First one to give me one, too. Except, my adoptive dad is starting to go a little overboard with gifts. I had to tell him to stop.” Kurt added a low chuckle in his throat. “I told him the cookies he leaves out for me at night are all right, though. Too bad the old man never got married and had kids of his own. Good for me, I guess.” Kurt’s eyes became glassy for a moment, before he turned away.
Lips thinning, Dion squeezed Hedi. “You’re lucky. My adoptive father’s an ass. Hates that I’m in the Mars Police Force training program. Said he didn’t get why they would even consider a thief and a killer for the program. Then told me I joined the beat cops because I’d never be good enough to be a real Security Force Elite Officer. The bastard. As soon as we get promoted and do our year on Earth, I’m never looking back. All he is to me is a place to sleep.” Venom filled his words.
Hedi tilted her chin toward Dion worriedly. She interlaced their hands. Then she grasped the flat oval piece of metal that Valens gave her and stuck it to the bottom of her shoe. “Well, my birth mom isn’t exactly used to having me around, either. She asked if I’d been hurt like she was when I was captured by Monev. I told her…what the hell did she think would happen to a little girl taken by grown men? The same men who assaulted her in front of me and kidnapped us both. Ugh!” Hedi sniffed, and wiped a stray tear away.
Shamira’s heart sank. She reached out to her. “I’m sorry Hedi, I…”
Hedi planted a fake smile on her face and a saucy grin appeared. “But that’s in the past. I got out of it by showing them I’d be worth more stealing money from Earth officials by hacking into their bank accounts and ciphering off millions of dollars. After that…they mostly left me alone. Until Thor.”
Anthony finished putting on his tags and pulled Hedi into a bear hug. “You’re safe now, Hedi. All of us would kill to protect you. Thor will never have the chance to hurt you again.”
Hedi pinched Anthony’s cheek and stepped out of his arms. She threw a genuine smile at Shamira. “You boys are okay, but my BFF can handle it all-by-herself. Heck, she made sure to teach me how to do it also.”
Shamira’s heart warmed. “Hedi, you did just fine before I came along.” Hedi didn’t realize how important Shamira found their friendship to be. Shamira put a hand on the clubbed saber at her side. Its handle was heavy in her hand as she handed it to Hedi.
Hedi shook her head. “No. No…don’t you dare give me that. It was a present from your father.”
“I know, but you use it if we get in trouble tonight. Just like I taught you, okay? It would mean a lot to me if you did. Besides, I want to use the new globes Valens made for me.”
Tears fell from Hedi’s eyes. “Okay, just for tonight, and then I’m giving it back.” Hedi wiped her face with the back of her hand. “Here I go again, being the weak link.”
Dion reached over and held her hand. “Shhh. Don’t say that about the love of my life.”
Shamira straightened, her eyes watered. She blinked back the unshed tears. Taking, a deep breath, she pushed away the horrible images Hedi’s confession flashed in her mind. “Listen, we go in there and question every
one. I want to know if there is still drug production and selling going on. We need to find out the names of the suppliers. And where is Freaksheep? How he got clean and who cleaned him up? Last though, find out who’s been raiding the destroyed Monev stomping grounds trying to bring back the dead. Until we figure out who’s doing this…it’s going to get a lot worse.”
“We got your orders.” Mitch’s face filled with anxious anticipation. “But can we fly now?” He tapped his foot on the packed ground and lifted several feet in the air. Then he bent in a surfer pose and took off.
“Ye-ah bo-oy!” Anthony followed. “I’ve been waiting to try these babies. Yeah!”
Shamira held in her laughter, trying to remain serious. It was hard around them to stay angry and focused on revenge. They softened her. The only one she could count on to stay somber was Mitch, and even he couldn’t stay surly. Hopefully, she could keep the dark room to her soul closed and behind her…just a little longer.
Chapter 18
Flying several feet in the air reminded Shamira of surfing on waves she’d only seen on Earth virtual reality games. She had to admit to loving it. Only thing was, she knew sand kicking up in your face hurt a heck of a lot more than water. She pulled down the tight black mask. Tucking it in snug into the neck of her shirt, she wondered if she should’ve worn her cadet uniform instead of her form-fitting sand-colored suit.
The others were behind Valens, and to the side as she glided through the windy desert. Shamira forced her enhanced sight several miles ahead. Searching for heat, light, or any sign of life. After a bit she spotted the faint sign of a fire. She pushed further. The orange hue of heated bodies of all sizes gathered about half a mile ahead. “I see people, and fire.”
“It’s right where you said it would be.” Valens pointed. “There’s the air filtration tower.”
She lifted her chin at the large metal cylinder that rose up out of the ground toward the sky. “They’re right above the heating pipes. We need to go on foot.” Her hand raised then slowly lowered to signal the others.