by Elin Wyn
A final ding signaled the end of the recording. The split screen merged into one as both Helmets stepped out of a nondescript doorway, marching away from each other without a glance behind.
"That's where I need to go." I stared at the map, memorizing the coordinates.
Rati tapped her chin with a finger. "Did you notice they never stopped? Not to eat, not to talk to anyone, they never slowed their pace. Like they're soldiers, not even human."
I shrugged, remembering Davien's comments. "Maybe they're not, maybe they're androids."
Her eyes lit up. "Get me one," she breathed, almost quivering out of her chair in her excitement. "Kara, you have to get one for me to experiment on. If they're androids, that means their owner has two. So he could spare one, right?"
I shook my head. "There is no way I'm bringing you one of those things. It nearly killed me when I just wanted my bag back. I don't think it's going to stop by for tea."
"Fine," she scowled. "I helped you."
I dropped a sisterly kiss on the top of her head. "Look, if I can bring you anything that I'm sure is safe, I will."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
I nearly skipped out into the streets.
I had an address, I knew there was more than one, I was halfway to my goal without even breaking a sweat.
Not even Artin's cooking tasted as good as this moment.
Which was why I didn't see Sary's goons before they nabbed me.
As I rounded the corner, arms wrapped around my chest like vines, pinning my own arms to my sides. I kicked back, but before I could connect with anything, the dark haired one Bani had bitten stepped in front of me.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do, bitch." And with that cheerful proclamation, he hit me and that was the last thing I remembered.
I came to sprawled in a chair, my wrists and ankles tied to the frame.
I kept my eyes closed as I scanned over my body. My temple throbbed where the goon had hit me, but I didn't seem to be injured anywhere else. So far.
"You may as well open your eyes, thief. The monitors show you awake, and I believe them faster than I believe you."
Sary. Shit. Even though I'd known there would need to be a reckoning for the failed boost that morning, I’d really been hoping it wouldn't be today. It'd been a long, long day.
I opened my eyes, wincing against the brightness of the room.
Sary stood, leaning against the front of his desk. He was a big guy, rumor had it that he'd been a dust miner before coming back to the city to look for easier work. His muscles didn't look as if they'd softened much from his days in the Waste.
The dark-haired goon sat on the couch to the side of the office, thumbing through some magazine on a pad. From my angle, I couldn't see what it was, but, from his rapt attention, I was assuming it was either weapons or girls. Or maybe I was just stereotyping. Maybe it was all about new trends in aquaculture.
The blonde one stood in the far corner, scowling at me. I guess we hadn't made friends yet.
"Before we get down to business, I just want to let you know that was a fine job you pulled earlier today. I went back to look myself. How long had you been weakening that wall?"
"Two years," I sighed.
His eyebrows rose. "A good job, patient. I don't have to guess why you had to rush it. Nobody wanted to be late with the tithe today." No kidding. Not that it had done me any good.
Sary continued, "And I have to thank you for bringing my attention to the security weaknesses in my operation."
The banging in my head was louder than my words. I didn't get what he was saying, but he seemed to be in a reasonable mood. I wasn't in a position to argue with that.
"Charro's little habits could've ended up costing me a lot more."
Oh. Okay, that made sense.
"I don't tolerate weakness well, but I do have a soft spot for ambition." His eyes narrowed. "Tell you what. You give me back my dust, and maybe you should think about working for me. I can always use somebody who shows your level of initiative."
He laced his fingers together and stretched. "As long as they’re loyal."
"As much as I would like to help you," I coughed, my throat dry.
Sary gestured to the dark-haired minion, who grumblingly put down his magazine and brought me a glass of water.
"You have to untie my hand."
"Oh no, my dear," Sary laughed. "Tev, be gentle."
With a delicacy I would not have expected, the goon brought the cup to my lips and tilted it, just enough for me to drink without choking me. The glare in his eyes let me know he'd rather be doing this differently.
I sipped slowly, thoughts racing. But when he pulled away the cup, the answer stayed the same. "Can't help you, I'm afraid. Don't have the dust anymore."
"Don't be stupid, and don't think I am." Sary loomed over me. "You don't plan something for two years and lose the goods the same day. Xavis might believe you, but you'll have to try harder."
I shook my head, but he'd convinced himself. Hell, I'd be hard to talk out of eight vials of antonium, if I thought I could get them back by threatening.
His meaty hand skimmed down the side of my body and I flinched. He stepped away, my commlink in his hand and a disgusting leer on his face. "I think she needs time to think about it, boys." The grin got wider. "Throw her in the cooler."
Davien
I lowered my rate of breathing, felt my body adapt to the altered chemistry of the air. In some ways riding out this way made it easier. Other than keeping my grip tight on the undercarriage, I could relax and adjust to the thin atmosphere.
The carrier started to make a long curve around a sharp outcropping of rock. That was my signal. I released my hands and feet and fell the short distance to the rough road. The carrier rumbled over me as I rolled in the opposite direction, off running into the night.
I tried to keep my mind empty as I loped across the barren landscape, no longer worried what anyone saw. But thoughts of the blinker that had reported my pod's data run was complete spurred me on.
And, if I was honest, Kara didn't help my concentration. I gritted my teeth. I'd known her for less than a day. Why should the look of her face struck with fear or fury bother me so? Or the way that she felt in my arms, the smell and the taste of her?
I re-calculated my rendezvous time with her. I should be able to get to the pod, check the results, and get back to Artin's in plenty of time.
But I sped up a little, just in case.
An hour of running across the Waste led me to the shallow canyon where I had hidden the escape pod. I looked at the crumpled shell and winced. Not my best landing.
I lifted away the rock and debris I'd used to cover the hatch and slid into the pod. It felt like coming home. It was part of the Daedalus, part of my entire life up until a few short months ago.
The insistent flash of the instrument panel brought my mind back to the task at hand and I set to work.
When it was clear the Daedalus was going to be breached, Doc had told us to scatter at random. But that didn't mean I couldn't start filtering possibilities for survivors. I assumed my brothers had performed the same procedure I had, let the pod AI make the first jump while I punched in variables for the next, and so on, until my scorched engines could go no further.
I knew how many jumps I'd been able to make. That, plus the position of the ship when we were attacked gave me a radius of the search sphere.
While Artificial Intelligence wasn't the Doc's field of expertise, the ship's systems were among the best money could buy. The pod systems were only a fraction of that, but it had been enough for me to start a series of scans. Given all of the variables possible, all of the distances we could have covered, what was left should be a list of potentially habitable rocks my brothers could've crashed on.
I called up the results and bit back a sigh as the data flowed past me. I had known the list would be long, but this would be almost impossible to physically search throug
h.
But sulking about it wasn’t going to help any. I sat up, squared my shoulders, and got to work sorting data.
Finally, I cracked my neck, back stiff from being hunched over the panels for so long. I hit the button to start another run, select more possible planets and prioritize the previous results.
If this job with Kara went well, I'd be able to get started on the search right away. And it had only taken...
Shit.
I'd gotten too absorbed in the task. I was already late. I sealed the pod, covered it hastily, cursing all the while.
Even at top speed back through the waste and rolling through the airlock with less than my accustomed caution, I was almost two hours past our agreed-upon meeting time when I made it to Artin's.
But, of course, she wasn't there.
The grate was pulled down over the doorway but I could see Artin inside, finishing straightening up for the day.
I rapped on the grate sharply.
He turned towards me and narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"
Fantastic. I didn't expect for us to be buddies, but the suspicion could be dialed down a bit.
"I know I'm late meeting her, but did Kara say where she was going when she left?"
He shook his head. "I haven't seen her since the two of you left." Worry reached fingers of ice through my belly.
"She was supposed to meet me here." I said slowly, mind racing. "About two hours ago, but I missed the time."
He leaned back on the broom. "It hasn't been that busy. I would've seen if she'd been here."
"Can you think of any other places that I could start looking for her?" I tried to keep the worry from my voice, but he didn't need to hear it. His own concern was clearly written on his face.
He stepped closer to me. "She’s not back at Xavis’, is she?" Movement down the street caught his eye, and he broke into a relieved grin, looking over my shoulder. "Or ask the boy, I'd lay money she sent him with a message for you." He grinned. "No doubt, a reminder not to be late next time."
I turned as Bani continued down the block towards me. His face was tight, eyes focused. It didn't look like he'd been sent with a lighthearted message.
He ran up to the grate, and Artin rolled it open, pulling him inside. I stepped inside behind them before Artin could close me out again.
The boy bent double, gasping for air. "They took her. Where have you been? I've looked for you everywhere."
Knives of burning steel replaced the ice. 'They' meant there was a target. 'They' meant there was someone to fight.
Artin pulled a chair from the top of the table and led the boy to it. He kept a hand on the boy's shoulder while Bani's breathing approached something closer to normal.
"What did you see?" The edge in my voice wasn’t meant for the boy or the old man but they both looked at me with startled eyes.
I forced a calm veneer over my face. "It's going to be all right. I'll get her back."
The boy swallowed and nodded. I guess, if nothing else, he trusted me that far.
"Close your eyes." I tried to keep my voice gentle, even. "Go back to when you saw Kara get in trouble. Tell me everything you see, don't worry about whether or not you think it's important."
Reluctantly, the boy's eyes closed. Artin stood behind him, hand on shoulder still, anchoring him to the here and now.
"I knew there wasn't any point in looking for her after you took her", he started. “You were going to Xavis' hall, and I didn't want to know if..."
He trailed off, expression wretched. Of course, he'd assumed that she would be ejected. She certainly had expected that outcome.
"But it turned out she was fine, right?" I wanted to get him back on track.
He nodded abruptly. "When I heard she was free, looking for something, I wanted to find her, see what I could do to help. She might know lots of people, but nobody pays attention to me. I hear all sorts of things."
Artin chuckled and squeezed his shoulder. "We know you do," he interjected wryly.
"I couldn't find her in any of the usual spots, and then I thought maybe she went to see that friend of hers in the south quarter. I don't know who it is, but sometimes she heads that way and disappears from time to time."
His voice grew tight with tension. "I finally saw her coming out of a building. She looked excited, as if she'd found something, or gotten good news. She wasn't watching around her." His words were no more than a whisper. "It's all my fault."
"I somehow doubt that." I bit back a snarl, angry with myself. If she were in danger, that was my fault, no one else’s.
Impatience to hear the rest of the story nipped at me, but if this kid was important enough to her that she made him part of our deal, I should probably not shake the information out of him.
"But it was. It was the guys that chased us this morning after I messed up her snatch from Sary's." His shoulders hunched into a protective curl. "One grabbed her, and the other guy clocked her hard. She went down and stayed down."
A growl escaped my clenched teeth. "Keep going," I forced out, my voice thick with rage.
"They stuffed her into an old flitter and headed west. It was a stupid thing to do, the roads are always clogged enough it's no problem following."
“How far did you follow them?” Artin asked.
Bani shook his head. “I saw them take her into the building, but I couldn't get any closer. I thought I should find someone to help.” His eyes flew open, accusing. “But you weren't anywhere I could find and I didn't know who else could get her out.”
I knelt in front of the chair. “You did the right thing. If I pull up a map, can you show me the building?”
He sprang to his feet. “I’ll show you, come on!”
“Not a chance,” I shook my head. “I can’t keep track of where you are.” And I don’t know what I’m going to find, I thought, but didn’t say the words.
His jaw clenched, but Artin stepped in. “You did your job. Let our new friend do his.”
Moments later I had the address. As I ran through the half-darkened streets, I sorted through plans. Possible trap? Maybe, no way of telling.
Weapons, none. Intel, none. I grinned. Sometimes not having any options left just kept things simple.
A quarter hour later, I stood across the street, watching the building. A narrow, decorated residence, wedged between warehouses. The buildings on either side squatted dark and silent, but a light shone from the second story window of the red and black facade in the middle.
Good to know where to start.
A soft scrape behind me caught my attention, and I whirled into a fighting stance.
“How the hell did you get here so fast?”
Bani shrugged. “Shortcuts.”
Damn it. I couldn’t leave him here; unattended he was just waiting to turn into a hostage. But if he came with me, I’d need to tone things down a bit.
“Fine,” I snapped. “Follow close, don’t get in the way, and don’t be stupid.”
He nodded, tight face a grim reminder of what he’d already seen in the city, in Xavis’ hall.
The biopanel at the side of the door would take seconds to bypass. If I had my tools. As it was...
“Stay close,” I grunted, then sprinted across the street, up the steps and threw my shoulder against the door. With a scream of twisted metal, it crumpled and sagged in the frame.
I stepped through into a sparsely furnished entryway. A small side table sat to the left of the door. Another hall continued ahead, and to the right were the stairs to the second floor.
I stretched my senses to their limits, but all I heard was yells punctuated by the sound of chairs being pushed hastily aside above us. Upstairs it was.
Bani followed, eyes wide, but mouth shut.
I kept to the outer wall, taking the steps in twos and threes until we reached the landing seconds after busting through the outer door. Through a door to the first room of the upper level stepped an enforcer type - short, light colored hair, t
hick neck, not a lot of shine in the eyes.
Apparently the boss here hired for brawn, not brains. Good.
His lips curled as he dismissed me to call out over his shoulder. "It's just one guy, whaddya..."
Whatever he was going to ask the person in the room was lost as I grabbed his wrist and spun him away. Locking his arm behind his back I shoved him into the wall, hard enough that flakes of spray-seal fell to the ground around him.
My other hand wrapped around the back of his throat, forcing him to face downstairs.
"This one of them?" I asked Bani, crouched a few safe steps away.
He nodded, face pale. "He's the one that hit her," he whispered.
Red flooded my vision and I squeezed, crushing the back of his skull under my fingers. With my other hand, I pulled his arm further behind his back until, with a wet wrenching noise, it popped from the socket. The screaming dwindled into a low moaning, and then stopped.
"Two of them," I muttered, then threw the man's body through the open door.
I burst through the door behind him, rolling to the left out of instinct born of the slightest of noises. A chair lay on its back on the other side of the room, and near the back wall, a desk shielded a gray-haired man, caught half-standing.
A spray of pellets hit my goon, followed by cursing from both my opponents.
I swept my leg behind the blond's blaster-toting friend, then came up to a low fighting stance. This one at least had the skills to twist as he fell, avoiding landing on his ass entirely. But a jump and a pair of quick front kicks sent his weapon flying and snapped his head back hard.
I grabbed his weapon and rolled again, this time towards the chair at the other side of the room. My initial glimpse hadn't shown any opponents other than the third man, or any other exits, but a little more intel wouldn't hurt.
Besides... I looked at the slumped form of my first target, then his friend stretched out on the floor. Neither of them were going to be answering questions any time soon.
I stood slowly, eyes locked on the older man. I'd been in town long enough to recognize Sary, Xavis' top boss, or top rival, depending on who you listened to.
He cradled a full-sized phasor before him, one hand confidently curled around the trigger. "Watch where you're going, boy."