Heart of Vengeance (Vigilante Book 1)

by Terry Mixon

  “I’ll tell the good commander I’m keeping them close for the moment. I’ll take them aboard, too. I suspect I have a more appropriate place to keep them secure than you do.”

  “Better, perhaps, but hardly more appropriate,” Brad said. “I have them in Heart’s old slave hold.”

  That earned him an appreciative nod. “Very nice. I heartily approve of the irony. Still, do you want to chance them getting loose in the middle of a fight?”

  “No. You can have them. What you do with them is between you and Agent Falcone.”

  “I’ll send boats for them as soon as we’re done, then. Commander Andre and the survivors have already indicated they’re ready to start back to Mars, so we can work out any other details on the way.”

  “I worry about what Fleet will do to her,” Brad said with a sigh. “She really kicked the slavers’ asses, but she lost her ship.”

  “Don’t worry about official repercussions,” Fields said. “I’ve already reviewed the preliminary reports she filed. Her conduct was impeccable. She did everything right. The fact she survived is a testament to her skills and those of her people. No, she’s going to be fine, career-wise.”

  The officer sighed heavily. “It’ll be the ghosts of dead friends that haunt her dreams. The people she’s always going to believe she could’ve saved if only she’d been just a little better, just a little more prepared.”

  “We all have those ghosts,” Brad admitted. “The only thing we can do is be worthy of the sacrifice they made for us.”

  The officer’s eyes narrowed. “That’s something from your past,” Fields observed. “You did get your memories back. I’d wondered.”

  Brad nodded. “The details aren’t important to this discussion, but I did. There are people I wished I’d been able to save. Like I told you the first time we met, the Terror and his ilk are going to pay.

  “I consider the slavers a down payment on that account. Not only are they worth eliminating in their own right, but their loss will hurt the pirates, too.”

  “I think we’ve about covered everything for the moment,” Falcone said. “We’ll have plenty of time to work out the details as we head to Io. The most critical thing is that we keep the slavers from suspecting we know anything more about them now than we did before the attack.”

  “We barely do,” Fields grumbled. “I’ll keep the number of people that know about the prisoners limited to people I trust implicitly. I’ll also have my officers ride herd over all the communications gear.

  “We’re on radio silence from here on out, so far as the crew is concerned. We can talk back and forth with your ship, but I’ll lock the coms down to the bridge and my office. In fact, I’ll secure them with a code only I and my XO know.”

  “And once we get to Io?” Brad asked.

  The officer smiled coldly. “Then I wave goodbye and head off on our next mission. Only, that means waiting at a prearranged location nearby, still under radio silence. If you find something, we’ll be along real quick.”

  Falcone shot the Fleet officer a matching grin. “I’ll get what we need. Their leadership has no reason to suspect we know about Breen. The dead commander wasn’t supposed to know he existed. Oh, the prisoners know about him, too. They were listening in when I questioned the man.”

  “Then I’ll make doubly sure they don’t speak to anyone at all. We can do this.”

  Brad gave them a cold smile all his own. “Yes, we can. Thank you both for everything you’re doing. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we need to get back to my ship and refine the plan. We’ll talk again tomorrow.”

  “Before you go, I think a toast is in order.”

  The Fleet captain rose to his feet and went over to a locked cabinet. It yielded to his thumbprint.

  Once he opened it to their view, Brad saw various alcoholic beverages. That made him laugh. “I thought Fleet frowned on things like booze.”

  “This is for special occasions,” the man said with an airy sniff. “Only the executive officer and I can get in. Name your poison.”

  It took only a minute for him to pour the requested drinks and return. He raised his glass. “To the death of the slavers.”

  Brad raised his glass in return. “And the Cadre, too. We’ll get them all eventually.”

  “I can drink to that,” Falcone said.

  They discussed every aspect of the situation they could imagine as the three ships made their way to Io. Some parts were going to depend on the situation they found when they got to Ganymede, but there was a fair amount they could game out in advance.

  The first thing that became clear was that they were going to need to do this the old-fashioned way. They couldn’t trust anyone to help them. They’d need to do everything regarding Breen in-house.

  In fact, the planning sessions definitely had the feel of a criminal enterprise.

  “We’re not going to get arrested for this, are we?” Brad asked during their final session.

  They’d deliver the science ship to Io safe and sound in just a few hours. Then they could get to the important business ahead of them.

  Falcone raised both eyebrows. “Are you worried you wouldn’t make it in prison? You seem pretty tough to me. I was watching while you and Saburo went at it. Almost Agency-level stuff. Very impressive. I think you can stop anyone from shanking you, and you can probably sweet-talk your cellmate.”

  “You sure know how to reassure a guy,” he said dryly.

  Her expression became serious. “We’ll be fine. I wrote a get-out-of-jail free card for you in the form of a contract between the Agency and the Vikings. You’re operating under my supervision for this. My protective shield is yours, and you’re getting a pretty decent bonus for working outside the normal parameters of your regular job, I might add.”

  That made him smile. “I’ll have to review it. Did you include combat bonuses and sweeteners for going above and beyond?”

  “Of course. If we get enough to arrest Breen, you’ll be pleased. If we get a lead on a major slaver base, you’ll be thrilled. If we take them down, well, let’s just say no one involved will have cause to complain.”

  “That sounds good to me. If we manage to locate a base, I’ll speak with Factor Kernsky and get some help that won’t tip anyone off. She lost a lot of friends taking down the Terror’s old ship, Black Skull. She’s not in their pay.”

  Falcone nodded. “I’ve already checked her out and we’re on the same course. A few mercenary companies working in conjunction with Freedom will give us the force we need to crush them, if we act with a little surprise on our side.”

  A rap at the wardroom hatch preceded its opening. Shelly was in the corridor. “Sorry to disturb you, but we’re coming up on the protective zone around Io.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You could’ve just called.”

  His com officer’s eyes twitched toward Falcone. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. Alone. It’s a personal matter.”

  The agent rose smoothly to her feet. “We’re done anyway, so I’ll go print out that contract. We can hash out any details before we dock.”

  Once Falcone was gone, Shelly came in and closed the hatch behind her. “I really hate having to say this, but I think I’ve detected a tight beam communications signal from our ship.”

  Brad sat up abruptly as what she said registered. “What?”

  “I found it purely by accident. I was getting some interference and I started searching around for the source. I think it’s coming from the front of the ship near one of our regular com arrays.”

  “And you didn’t want to tell me in front of Falcone because you think it belongs to her?”

  “I don’t know who it belongs to, but she’s the newest element. I can’t imagine any of the rest of the crew being involved. I wanted to give you the information without her knowing so you could decide what to do, Captain.”

  He nodded slowly. She was right, of course. “Is there anything else you can tell me about the beam? Li
ke where it’s going to?”

  “The Io shipyards, I think.”

  He stood slowly. “Does anyone else know about this?”

  “No. I just found it.”

  “Keep it that way. Did it just start transmitting?”

  “I have no way of knowing. We’re at exceptionally long range for it to get to the shipyards cleanly, though. Jupiter is at a really disadvantageous position, and the radiation is likely killing the low-powered transmission.

  “My money says no, but that won’t last long. The closer we get, the clearer the signal will be. We’re also moving clear of Jupiter’s interference. My best guess is that we have half an hour at the very most.”

  His mind raced as he considered his options. He didn’t believe Falcone was involved. They’d had a lot of traffic around the ship after the ambush, though. Sadly, it was possible someone had gone out and planted it while a boat was docked.

  Or it could’ve been installed while they were at MOSO on Mars. This wasn’t the time to point fingers of blame. He needed to make sure it didn’t give away anything important.

  “Tell Jason to slow down while I look into it. Hell, have him change course a little so it has a worse angle. I’ll get Mike to go look at it right now. He’ll disable it.”

  His com officer nodded sharply. “Are you going to tell Falcone?”

  That was the big question, wasn’t it?

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Brad found Mike Randall testing something on a bench in engineering. “Drop what you’re doing and suit up. We have some kind of transmitter on the hull.”

  The engineer cursed and dropped the part he was working on as he ran toward the engineering lock. “Where is it?”

  “Somewhere near the com array up front. It’s a tight-beam transmitter of some kind.”

  “On it. Jim! Get a suit on and come help me find something! Move!”

  Brad raced toward the bridge. If someone detected that signal, the end result was likely to be an ambush.

  Partway there, he slowed. He really needed to tell Falcone. She’d find out what he was doing in short order anyway. Better to show her the trust he felt up front.

  This was taking longer than he liked, though. He hit the intercom to the bridge. “John, bring us to a stop. Shelly, ask Freedom if they can move between us and the shipyards. Hell, see if they can jam the signal.”

  Once the two of them indicated they were working on it, Brad stopped outside Falcone’s cabin and rapped sharply on the hatch.

  It slid open to reveal the agent. “I just finished printing the contract.”

  “Forget that. We have a tight-beam transmitter on the hull.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise but quickly narrowed. “Personal business, my ass. Your com officer was coming to tell you about it. She thinks I did it.”

  “She doesn’t know you as well as she knows everyone else. I’m telling you because I know you didn’t do it.”

  The agent nodded. “I guess that’s what matters. We need to prep for an ambush.”

  “Already in progress. I had Marshal stop us short of the shipyards. Shelly doesn’t think the signal is strong enough to get past Jupiter until we move closer. Freedom is going to see if she can block or jam it while my engineers locate the transmitter.”

  The two of them headed for the bridge at a run. Falcone and Shelly exchanged looks, but there was no drama from either woman. That suited him fine.

  Once Brad was securely in his chair, he focused his attention on the com officer. “What’s our status?”

  “Freedom is between Heart and Io. They’ve got the beam blocked with their hull. Based on the strength readings they’ve given me, I strongly doubt anyone has picked it up yet.”

  “Is it just a notification that we’ve arrived, or is there some specific message?” Falcone asked.

  “It has position information. Precise heading and thrust. It’s acting like a normal transponder, except for the fact it’s looking for a specific receiver. Well, not exactly. There is an extra message attached. My guess is that it’s meant to be forwarded by the receiver into the regular com network around Io.”

  “What kind of message?” Brad asked. “Something encrypted? Data pulled off our ship?”

  The woman shook her head. “A plain text message that reads, ‘I expect that bonus you promised me.’ It’s not some kind of hidden code, either. Just a one-liner.”

  “Sounds like someone went to a lot of trouble to put the thing in place and they want to be sure the man or woman with the cash pays up,” Falcone said. “I wish we could know who it’s going to. Is there any routing information?”

  “None at all,” Shelly said. “The receiver must already have that built in.”

  “Dammit. Maybe we can find the receiver and pull the code out of it.”

  Brad shot the agent a doubtful look. “Have you seen how large the shipyards are? Fat chance. Still, maybe you’re right. We should explore the possibility. Perhaps the scientists on Marie Curie can help us narrow the search area.”

  “Bridge, this is Randall. We’ve found the transmitter. Do you want me to disable it?”

  “No,” Brad said. “Not until we decide the best way to handle it. What can you tell me about it?”

  “It’s a custom job. Pricy, by all appearances. It hasn’t been here that long.”

  “Engineer Randall,” Falcone said, leaning forward. “Can you put a minimum timeframe on how long it has been there?”

  “Yep. It was here during the most recent ambush. Some of the torpedo debris scored its casing. I can also see some minor pitting. It was never designed for long-term use. My bet is that someone slipped it on our hull at MOSO. Definitely not before.”

  “You sound pretty sure of that,” Brad said. “Why?”

  “Because the idiot put it near one of the reactive strips we used in the fight protecting the liner. No way this could have survived that. Hell, I’d have seen it when I was replacing the strip. This was done at MOSO.”

  “Can you remove it without triggering a self-destruct?” Falcone asked.

  “It’s a damn toy. No protective features at all. I can turn it off, pick it up, move it, reprogram it. Whatever you like.”

  A slow smile spread over the woman’s face. “Can you turn it back on in the same configuration?”

  “Sure. Just like it had never been messed with.”

  Falcone turned to Brad. “I think we should take it off the hull while we decide how to best use it. I have an idea you’ll like.”

  “Turn it off and bring it inside, Mike,” Brad said.

  “Copy that.”

  Once the com channel was closed, Brad turned to Falcone. “What do you have in mind?”

  “Let me hold off on that until we get together with Captain Fields and Dr. Keller, preferably over on Freedom. A girl has to have some secrets.”

  He shook his head with a smile and a snort. “Shelly, signal Freedom that we’d like to meet her captain and the good doctor in about an hour. If the scientists have anyone that might be able to help locate and hack the com receiver, please have them bring them along.”

  “You got it.”

  Brad rose to his feet. “I’m going back to engineering to wait for Randall. As soon as he gets in, we’ll head over to the cruiser. Good work, everyone.”

  An hour later, Brad sat in the cruiser’s wardroom with Falcone, Captain Fields, Dr. Keller, and a reedy-looking woman that the scientist had forgotten to introduce. The illicit transmitter sat on the table, where they could all see it.

  Randall had been right. It was almost literally a toy. The kind of hobby gear someone could buy in specialty shops. It still had the label on it.

  “So,” Fields said slowly. “Someone planted this on your ship so people here would know if you made it through the ambush. That probably means you have company around here somewhere. Good thing you found this beforehand.”

  He looked over at Brad. “What’s your plan? Disable it and waltz in as if it were
never there?”

  “Actually, Agent Falcone has a better plan,” Brad said with a wolfish smile. “I have no idea what it is, but she tells me I’ll like it.”

  Falcone picked up right where he left off. “First, we need to know if our handy scientific team can help us locate the receiver it’s targeting.”

  Keller shook his head. “Narrow is somewhat of a misnomer in this case. At the range it can get a message across, the receiver could very well be anywhere in the Io shipyards.”

  “That’s disappointing,” Brad sighed. “We’d hoped to track down who was receiving this message.”

  “Oh, I didn’t say that was impossible. You just have to expand your thinking a bit.”

  The scientist gestured to the woman beside him. “This is Evelyn Wandry, our resident communications wizard. She’s come up with a solution that is quite innovative, though highly illegal.”

  “The law can be flexible in some cases,” Falcone said. “Talk to me.”

  The woman nervously cleared her throat. “The message you mentioned is attached to the data so that it can be forwarded to the standard com network. If I attach a Trojan to it, I can have the recipient call us with his identity.”

  Brad raised an eyebrow. “Is that even possible? I thought communication companies had safeguards in place to prevent that kind of thing.”

  The woman smiled a bit shyly. “They do, but the battle between security and accessibility is always ongoing. Everything is a tradeoff. In this case, if one is sufficiently knowledgeable and willing to accept that the network might catch on after a while, almost anything is possible.

  “I don’t believe I could do this very many times before the provider noticed what I was doing and took preventive measures, but it will almost certainly work once. The greater risk is that the recipient might notice the outgoing transmission. It’s brief and I can have the program mask many of its tracks, but without knowing everything about the end user’s system, I can’t account for all the variables.”