by Sharon Green
"Then I'll have to help you make sure he does take no for an answer," Riss said at once, the touch of anger in her voice showing that she was responding to Tain's air of disappointment. "What a shame. And I was fool enough to think Killen was one of the good ones."
"As an agent he's more than good, but as a date?" Tain shrugged while showing a humorless smile. "As long as I can keep this trip strictly business, there shouldn't be a problem. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to either of the men. I feel foolish enough just telling you."
"We all make mistakes, Tain, and as long as you learn from your mistake there's nothing to feel foolish about," Riss assured her briskly with a pat to her hand. "We'll just pretend that everything is fine, and if Killen tries to get you alone I'll be right there to keep it from happening. If the man refuses to take a hint, he can't complain if more than a hint is used against him."
"That's true," Tain agreed with a better smile, then sat back and let the waitress put the sandwich she'd ordered in front of her. Tain hadn't had an appetite earlier, and if she was going to drink then she definitely had to eat first. There was no knowing what she'd do if she was stupid enough to get drunk, so she'd decided to watch herself closely. While keeping her eyes open for the perfect opportunity to make Killen walk away.
Which she would find on Oliven, even if it killed her!
* * *
Jake had had to arrange for the equipment he and the others would use on Oliven, so he reached the port a bit later than he'd intended. He was very much looking forward to seeing Tain again in spite of not having gotten very far with thinking about what her problem might be, but the first one he saw was Matt. Jake's partner was just finishing up with filling out his declaration, but he still spotted Jake coming in.
"Good man, Jake," Matt called with a laugh. "You've just kept me from being the last to arrive. These nice folk have told me that Riss and Tain got here about half an hour ago."
"That's good to hear," Jake responded with a smile. "Now all we have to do is check on a few dozen things and we'll be able to join the gals. Why don't you get started on the checking while I fill out my own declaration."
Matt lost his grin at that news, which widened Jake's smile. Matt was a top-notch agent, but taking care of the details of an assignment didn't seem to be his thing. But the checking had to be done, so Jake finished up his declaration in record time and then joined Matt in the checking.
"It's actually all here and ready to be loaded," Matt said a few minutes later, now looking impressed. "How many lives did you have to threaten to get this kind of service?"
"Not even one," Jake answered with amusement. "I made a list and then gave the list to Rachel before I went to get some sleep. She may have done some threatening, but my own hands are clean."
"It looks like we won't be pretending to be natives on Oliven," Matt commented, handing back the part of the list he'd done the checking on. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"It's not only a good idea, it's a necessary one," Jake said, picking up his luggage once he'd put away both halves of his list. "If people don't know what they're missing, you can't expect them to go out of their way to change their style of living. We'll be using this assignment to show the natives a couple of things, and we'll also be setting ourselves up as decoys. Coleson is too stupid not to try sending men against us, and once that happens the slime is ours."
"Because we'll then be able to take prisoners, and those prisoners will talk to us whether they want to or not," Matt concluded, his grin back and strengthened. "I definitely like that plan, so let's go find the ladies and share it with them."
By that time Matt had reclaimed his own luggage, so the two men left the private customs area and went looking for the rest of their team. Tain and Riss turned out to be waiting in the bar, and when the women looked up Jake had to keep himself from sighing over Tain's complete lack of expression. He hadn't expected Tain to be happy about the way he'd talked to her, but Jake had been hoping she'd be angry with him. Anger he knew how to handle, but no expression could mean she was trying to pull away again…
"Our ship is finishing up loading the supplies we'll need, and we'll be able to board in less than an hour," Jake said as he took one of the two empty chairs at the table and Matt took the other. "We won't be going in undercover, so we'll have an easier time of it than Tain and I had the last time we were on the planet. We'll be acting as decoys for an attack by Coleson's cronies, and once the attack is over we'll have found Coleson the easy way."
"And then we get to have our reward," Matt put in with a very feral smile. "We usually have to be careful with any prisoners we transport, but Coleson will be the exception to that rule. No matter how many bruises the man gets by 'accident,' no one will notice or even care."
"Sounds good to me," Riss said with a smile to match Matt's, then she gestured to the waitress who had come over to the table. "If we'll be leaving so soon, you two had better do your ordering right now."
The suggestion was a good one, so Jake ordered a drink after Matt put in his own order. Matt had also ordered a sandwich, but Jake had made sure to eat something before leaving for the port. He'd be able to catch up on lost sleep during the trip, but the food had been to make sure he didn't forget something important before he left.
Riss and Matt exchanged light conversation until Matt's sandwich arrived, and Matt had only just finished eating when Jake got the call to say he and the others could now board the ship. They all got up immediately and carried their luggage to where their ship waited, but Jake couldn't help noticing that Tain hadn't joined in any of the table talk. Or looked in his direction even once. She'd acted as if Jake was invisible or not even there, so Jake knew he'd have to have a talk with her during the trip.
But deciding what to say during that talk turned out to be unnecessary. They each had their own cabins on the ship, but somehow Jake could never catch Tain alone. She was perfectly pleasant to Matt and Riss, but as far as she was concerned Jake didn't exist. And any time Jake thought he might trap Tain for a couple of private minutes, Riss kept turning out to be in the way.
The situation amused Matt, but Jake found nothing to smile at let alone laugh over. He'd told Tain that he was not going to let her ruin the life they could have together just because she had some kind of problem, but Jake was forced to admit that pressing the point right now wasn't a very good idea. They had an assignment that needed the proper ending, but once that assignment was over…
"I'll have to remember how good an accomplice Rachel makes," Matt commented once their shuttle had landed on Oliven and they all stood waiting while their gear was unloaded. "I expected us to have trouble getting clearance to land all this stuff, but none of the people at the base even blinked. I wonder if our guardian angel greased the way with threats or promises."
"I'd bet on promises," Jake answered, seeing that the off-loading was almost finished. "She probably told the base personnel that once we're finished using this stuff that they could use it. They're probably drooling over the thought of never having to ride a horse again."
Matt chuckled, already knowing what Jake was talking about. Jake had arranged for four power bikes, large bikes that ran on tiny fuel cells that would last years and could carry a lot of weight as well as a rider. Not that the rest of their gear weighed all that much. Personal all-weather tents were very small and very light, and their clothing was more of the short shorts and skimpy tops they were all currently dressed in. The largest part of what they carried would be food and what to make it in, and even that would be minimal. Buying supplies along the way - or even hunting - wasn't likely to be very difficult.
"This is the hottest world I've ever come across," Matt said as he looked around at the bright, sunshiny day. "The ship's personnel who were doing the unloading are just about running back to the shuttle to get out of this heat, and I don't blame them. So… Where are we heading first?"
"We're going to start by going back to that town I
was in during my last visit," Jake said, joining Matt in walking toward their bikes and the rest of their equipment. "I want to find out how my contact is doing with getting rid of slavery, and it's as good a place to start as any. The base personnel said they expected Coleson to join them at the base when he landed, but instead he disappeared without warning. That means the slime could be anywhere, so we still have to make him come to us."
"Sounds like a plan," Matt said with a nod, then his expression sobered as he lowered his voice. "And what about a plan involving Tain acknowledging that you're alive? That cold shoulder she's been turning in your direction might make this heat more bearable, but other than that…"
"You have no idea how tempted I am to grab her right now and drag her off into the bushes," Jake responded, his gaze on Tain where she stood with Riss near the bikes and supplies. Both women wore very brief halter-like tops with their short shorts, and Jake's mouth had gone dry at the first sight of her like that. "The only problem is I know she'll fight if I do that, and having two of our team broken into pieces is a bad way to start this hunt. Once the hunt is over, though…"
Matt smiled and nodded when Jake just let his words trail off, dropping a subject he'd brought up only reluctantly. Jake had the feeling Matt and Riss had gotten to be more than just co-workers, but the two were being discreet about the arrangement. Now that Matt knew Jake had plans of his own, the man would be able to enjoy his new "friend" without feelings of guilt.
It didn't take long for them to put their packs on the bikes, and by then the shuttle was long gone. The last thing they had to do was place the tiny sender/receiver units near their ears, and then they were able to each mount a bike. Turning the bikes on and starting to move activated the safety field each bike came equipped with, and the sender/receiver was the only way for them to keep in touch with each other.
Planetary time was late morning, so they were able to put some distance behind them before they stopped for lunch. Their almost-silent passage hadn't brought them to the attention of anyone who wasn't looking in their direction, but they'd still attracted a number of open-mouthed stares from field workers who were looking toward the road. Once they were moving again a couple of riders had tried to catch up, but there wasn't a horse alive that could match a bike's speed or even keep close.
They left their pursuers in the dust, and Jake spent only a moment wondering if those pursuers had been sent by Coleson before dismissing the question. They did want to be attacked, but if they made it too easy for the attackers there might be someone among the enemy who noticed. Just because Coleson was an idiot didn't mean he might not get lucky and find someone intelligent to work for him.
The bikes' headlights came in handy when they kept moving after dark until they found a good campsite. After that they used finger lamps to put up the tents and cook themselves a meal, but Tain was still being completely uncooperative. As soon as they'd finished the after-meal cleanup she immediately went into her tent and sealed it against all intrusion. Jake was beginning to be more than a little annoyed, but there wasn't much he could do to change the situation.
The next morning they packed up all their gear before sitting down with trail bars. The bars were surprisingly tasty substitutes for breakfast and lunch, meant to save them the time and trouble of having to cook those meals. They weren't far from their destination now, not with the kind of speed the bikes were capable of. Jake knew they'd certainly reach Gordi's town by lunchtime at the latest, turning a two-day trip by horseback into a much shorter -
Jake twitched when he felt the insect sting his shoulder in back, a sting that was surprisingly painful. And then it came through to him that the others were also reacting to being stung, which wasn't a good thing at all. He started to call out a warning, knowing they'd been found by attackers after all, but before he could speak the words everything went black -
* * *
Tain finally found it possible to open her eyes, and by the time she'd fought herself into a seated position on the pallet she'd been lying on all the fog was gone from her mind. When Killen had mentioned what his plan was, she'd been tempted to point out that Coleson's people might not attack with nothing but knives. They had no idea what Coleson had or hadn't taken with him, so assuming he hadn't prepared against pursuit was more than a little foolish.
But with the alternative being to forget about going after Coleson, Tain hadn't spoken the words of caution. It was almost guaranteed that Coleson would choose to capture rather than kill his pursuers, if for no other reason than to gloat some. She'd taken the calculated risk, knowing her precautions weren't likely to be anticipated by Coleson even if he knew it was possible to do what she'd done. And it looked like the gamble had paid off…
Riss, Matt, and Killen were still unconscious, and all three of them were as naked as Tain herself. That had to mean they'd already been given the slave drug, so Coleson would feel perfectly safe when he came to crow. Only the slime wouldn't be perfectly safe, not when Tain had found out by trying that someone already having the drug in their system couldn't be drugged again. A second dose of the drug did nothing to cancel a previous order not to take anyone's orders, even if the new order came after the second dose was administered.
For that reason she and Riss had dosed themselves with the drug before tackling Ricky's house, carefully ordering each other not to take orders from anyone ever again. They hadn't known that they would have company for the attack against Ricky, so they'd protected themselves against capture in the only possible way. And that protection still had to be in force.
But that's not the only good news, Tain thought as she gazed at an unconscious Killen. She'd had to move really fast to keep away from the man during their trip to Oliven, and pretending he wasn't around had gotten harder with each passing day. And although Killen had pretended to be perfectly patient with her treatment of him, it hadn't been hard to see how annoyed he'd been growing. He'd obviously been waiting for Coleson to be accounted for before he came after her in a serious way, but now that would never happen. Very soon now Killen would never want to see her again.
Tain's idiot mind and body felt a pang at that thought, but she ignored the imbecilic reaction as she left her pallet and crouched next to Killen's. A large part of her didn't want to be rid of Killen, but the rest of her knew it had to be done so she quickly got on with it before she changed her mind.
"Killen, this is an order," she whispered, knowing well enough that even unconscious the man would still hear and obey. "From now on, the only one you'll take orders from is me, and any previous orders you've been given are canceled. Other than that, you'll be perfectly free to act and do whatever is necessary to finish our assignment."
After that Tain moved over to Matt's pallet, and in another moment the second man was freed in the same way. By that time Riss was beginning to stir, so Tain went back to her own pallet and waited. As soon as everyone had awakened from the effects of the darts they'd been hit with from dart guns or rifles, the small room they'd been left in would see the arrival of another off-worlder.
Coleson proved to be more impatient than Tain thought he would be. She and Riss had exchanged small, private smiles while the men fought their way back to consciousness and awareness, but Coleson didn't wait until Killen and Matt were entirely fog-free. By the time the men were sitting up, Coleson and three men who were probably bodyguards were already in the room, and Coleson's greasy, smarmy grin was fully visible.
"Well, welcome to my new base of operations," Coleson said, mostly to Killen and Tain. "I won't be here long, of course, and when I finally do leave I'll be taking the four of you with me. By that time you'll know exactly how to behave to keep from being punished, but not all of you will escape frequent punishment. You and Halliday will pay for the way you acted with me, Killen, and in a very little while you two will regret everything you ever said or did. Oh, yes, and thank you for bringing me all those lovely presents. I couldn't manage to bring along more than a few dart guns
myself."
Coleson had gestured to the stunners his three guards wore in holsters, the fourth stunner worn by Coleson himself. Tain could see from the man's delight that he had no idea what the true situation was, and there was no reason not to tell him.
"We always knew you were an imbecile and an asshole, Coleson, so you didn't have to work so hard to prove it," Tain drawled as she got slowly to her feet. "Anyone else would have known that the stunners are bonded to their proper owners, so they can't be used by you and yours. But you never did pay attention to the details, not when you were so very busy playing politics. That was another thing we counted on."
"What are you talking about?" Coleson demanded as the others followed Tain's example and stood, his amusement now completely gone. "And what are you doing standing up? You were ordered to kneel when in my presence, so do it right this minute!"
"What's the matter, Coleson, aren't your brilliant plans working out?" Killen asked with a small, deadly smile on his face. "You obviously fed us your slave drug, but for some reason it isn't working the way you expected it to. I suppose I ought to ask for your surrender, but you know what? I'd rather punch your face in, so that's what I'm going to do."
And then Killen launched himself at a suddenly frightened Coleson, leaving the three guards to Tain and the others. Tain would have preferred to tackle Coleson herself, but considering what she intended with Killen she felt she owed Killen that pleasure. So she picked the nearest guard and went after him.
The guards, no longer wearing knives, all drew their new weapons and tried to shoot Tain and the others. It was obvious that they hadn't understood what she'd told Coleson about the stunners, and they weren't given much time to figure out what she'd meant. Tain's target went down fast after just a couple of kicks and blows, and when she turned away from the unconscious man she discovered that the other two guards were in the same condition.
Leaving only Coleson still aware of what was going on - but not in very good condition. The former head of Tain's former department had a cut lip and a blackened eye, less damage than Tain had expected to see, but enough to make Coleson look like he was about to cry. Killen had stripped off the stunner from Coleson and thrown it behind him, but Tain still held the one she'd taken from her target and her companions were doing the same. Now that the action was over they'd be able to sort out which stunner was which.