Snap. Seth spun to his side. The soldier had knocked the small pots lying against the side of the cart, and they were rattling along the ground.
Seth aimed and fired the bullet directly into the man’s skull. To his right, the other soldier raised his rifle and fired. The shot missed. Seth dove behind a merchant cart, rolled to the other side to one knee, and fired a series of shots into the man’s chest, sending him to the ground, gasping for air.
"Come on," Shannon said, already running down the road.
In the middle of the next crossroad, Seth stopped to survey in each direction. In the distance behind them, a dozen soldiers raced down the street past the Rusty Bucket. Behind the men, a Rumbler, billowing dust cloud behind it, sent a wave of panic through his body as he realized the all-terrain infantry jeep would catch them before the next crossway.
He pivoted his foot and took off toward Shannon, who was thirty yards ahead of him. Seeing the sheer number of MSA soldiers, he felt confident in assuming an MSA outpost was on the far side of the colony. If they could avoid the Rumbler and stay ahead of the soldiers, they should have a clear path to the gates and out to their hovercar.
Ahead of him, Shannon raced around the next corner. Seth craned his neck in a desperate attempt to locate the Rumbler. It was only a few hundred feet away. He rounded the corner after Shannon but found her gone.
He dug his feet into the loose soil and slid to a stop.
Instantly, to his left, a door opened not more than fifteen feet away. Darkness shadowed within. Pausing for a moment, he tried to pick up the increasing noise of the Rumbler’s engines, but he couldn’t tell how far away it was because of the echoes bouncing down either side of the chasma walls that circled the colony. Lunging forward, he took three strides, slid through the open door, and slammed it shut behind him.
In the shadows, the click of multiple guns cocking disheartened him. He was caught.
Chapter 30
Seth drew his pistol and pointed it at the two men holding Shannon. They growled a threat at him, and his mind flashed to the familiar black teeth from his childhood, from that day.
"Let her go," he said. The deafening noise of the Rumbler passing made him start—
One of the men stepped forward, but again, Seth threatened him with the gun, sending him back behind Shannon. The long tunics of the men, shredded at the ends, stank like stale algae paste. His nose cringed.
"You shouldn’t point a gun at someone who has just rescued you," a voice said to the side.
He swung his arm and pointed his gun directly toward the voice. The man, as tall as him and the same build, nodded to his two underlings. They pushed Shannon forward, and Seth lowered his gun. "Who are you? MSA?"
"No. Just a businessman," he said in a voice as smooth as the chancellor or the minister. "Come away from the window and downstairs. We have much to discuss."
A surge of satisfaction coursed through him when he realized they weren’t MSA. Yet still aware of the threat, he lowered his brows. "I’m not going anywhere until you tell me who you are," he said, pulling his gun up again. "And call your toadies off."
"The foot patrols will be here in less than thirty seconds. You can either come with me now, or we’ll seal the basement door, and then they’ll take you. The choice is yours."
Seth could’ve gone berserk right there and enjoyed every second of it. The man was right, though. The MSA would be scanning these buildings, and underground was the best place for him and Shannon at this point, even if they triggered a trap. Shannon raised her hand to say something, but he cut her off. "Thank you for rescuing us," he said. He holstered his gun and followed the man down the stairs. The two toadies behind him pushed Shannon into the doorway and clamped the door shut.
The thought, smell, and sound of the two men behind him forced a scoff under his breath. His childhood nightmare had resurfaced. The minister and the chancellor both told him the raiders were gone from Mars. Chloe and Gwen tried to convince him of it, too. But he was right all along. This is where they lived, under the ground in this colony, that no one wanted to admit even existed.
As he passed the tunneled-out holes they called homes, stepping over the countless scavenged parts, he wondered why they had rescued him and Shannon. Sure, there was no love lost between the MSA and the raiders. The chancellor was the frontrunner in converting the raiders from their nomadic way of life but more times than not, exterminating them.
Old people and young people, men and women, menacing and proper people were among the scores lining the caverns connecting each tunnel he walked through. If the stone walls weren’t red, he would have thought he was on Lunara, among the refugees from the battle. The existence of this place confused him. Even with the war, the main colonies provided for everyone. Freedom means more to these people than comfort…astonishing.
After descending farther down a long tunnel, they came to a metal door. Tapping on it twice, the leader of the group held his hand up for silence.
The screech of the door sent a chill down his back. His mind flashed to the eerie creak of a dungeon door from the holotube movies that Atalo liked.
But unlike behind the doorways of the terrifying movies, and to his surprise, they walked into a fully furnished office. A desk was the focal point on the far end of the room. Five display screens were mounted on the walls to his left. Resting below them were three couches forming a U-shaped configuration where the man directed them to sit. After they sat down, the man moved into the single chair.
"First, I want to thank you for following me," he said. "We don’t often get people of your stature in our colony."
His insincere tone seemed to indicate he didn’t like anyone from the main colonies. His voice remained level, so Seth had a hard time reading him. It could be his way of welcoming unwelcome guests or to give a false sense of security. Too bad Chloe isn’t here.
This man knew them, and it troubled Seth that he was becoming so widely known.
"Who are you?" Seth said. "I don’t like being a hostage."
"My name is Liam Green. I run our little organization." He steepled his fingers together. "What makes you think you are a hostage?"
"Because you grabbed us from the street," Shannon said. "You forced us down here. We didn’t need your help…with less than a kilometer to the gate, we could have escaped."
"The east gate is closed. The Rumbler would have cornered you within minutes. Frankly, I’m surprised to see you here. I didn’t think you would be stupid enough to come to Archeron Fossae. The MSA have had a dragnet on this place for the past two weeks."
"How do you know me?" Shannon said sharply, thinking of her deal with Samantha Burns. Had she been betrayed?
The man chuckled. "Not you." He jabbed his thumb toward Seth. "Your friend’s picture has been shown around the colony for days now. Quite a reward for his capture."
"They didn’t even know we were coming," said Shannon. "I doubt they would be showing his mug around. This colony is no better than the slime on the bottom of a horse’s hoof."
"Every crook and thief is looking for Mr. Smith and his woman. They are notorious for their bounty. But luckily, you dropped into my lap."
Seth pulled his gun and pointed it directly at Liam. "I could’ve killed you and your men in the time it took you to realize I pulled this gun on you. You’ll never turn me over for a bounty; the MSA will not honor it, and we will fight it. I guarantee you’ll be the first to die."
"Mr. Smith, you misunderstand. You are lucky because it isn’t in our best interests if we hand you over to the MSA. The reward is substantial but not enough for us to let them find out we are hiding here."
"I don’t see the conflict," Shannon said. "Raiders have always been greedy."
"Maybe in the old days, but today we are businessmen. I’m a trader and a smuggler. I provide things that others are too scared to have in their possession. And I trade with everyone, including both the major colonies."
Just as Seth did, Liam Green m
ust have spotted Shannon’s jaw drop at the implication that Aethpis would deal with scum like him. Green continued, "Don’t let Martian propaganda subjugate you. They are as evil if not more so than we are and have always been on Mars."
"Raiders are worse." He cocked his gun. "Have you ever been to Orcus?"
His mind flashed back. The last time he was on Orcus, his and Chloe’s life had been shattered. The raiders destroyed the colony and left everyone for dead. Mars said the reason for the savageness of the attack was never clear, and they never identified the raiders involved. When the revolutionary war started, the atrocity faded out into the open expanses of Mars. Could this man have been responsible?
"Mr. Smith, again you disappoint me with your idle threats. You have no way of escaping before I kill you and your friends."
Seth cocked his head, pulled his finger tighter against the trigger, and through gritted teeth said, "Have you ever been to Orcus? Silence will mean you were there."
"I don’t recall a place called Orcus. So I guess no."
"You’re lying," Seth screamed. He pressed the gun against the man’s forehead. "You have to have been there—you are a raider."
Calmly, the man crossed his arms. Seth pressed his gun harder into the reddening forehead of Liam Green, but nothing happened. The man did not flinch, cringe, or whimper in the least.
"He isn’t lying," Shannon said from behind him. "Not every raider took part in the Orcus massacre. The raiders of Orcus would be much older than this man. He’s barely thirty years old. Put the gun down. He saved us."
"Mr. Smith, I told you I brought you here in good faith. Hear me out, and then you are free to leave."
Begrudgingly, Seth holstered his gun and sat down. At a minimum, he would hear him out. The gala had taught him that his patience needed some work. Perhaps this was an opportunity to exercise it.
"Now that the unpleasantness is over, I’ll tell you why I rescued you from the MSA. The MSA wants to become a central figure across Mars. Fifteen years ago, we wouldn’t have hesitated to turn you in to the MSA, but we are smarter now. We learned how to survive politically on Mars. The MSA want you badly, so badly I can’t figure out what you could have done. You didn’t kill the chancellor, because they wanted you before he was assassinated. I want to know why they want you. No one can figure it out."
"So you aren’t turning him over because the MSA want him," Shannon said. "But in the same turn, you supply them with guns, ammunition, and information. What is the difference?"
"I supply your Alliance the same. The problem for now—I can’t supply both of the sides in this war with Seth. It is either one side or the other. It wouldn’t lead to an even fight."
"You don’t want any side to win?"
"War is good for business. It is in our best interests to prolong it as long as possible."
"How will saving me prolong the war? You don’t know their interest in me," Seth said.
"They want you," Liam said. "And since they want you this badly, the war will continue as long as someone is protecting you."
"If what you say is true, you have taken a great risk," Seth said. He couldn’t believe this man wouldn’t turn him in for a profit. His criminal background and greed for profit were the reason for everything he did. The scars on his face showed he had not always been a trader or a smuggler. He took what he needed and sold what other people wanted.
Liam shifted in his seat. "And what risk is that?"
"We are wanted with the utmost importance. If the MSA ever figure out you helped us, they will hunt you down, come into your secret location, take what they need, and kill everyone they don’t want. So your new problem is how to get us out without the MSA finding out how we escaped."
"Seth." Shannon’s voice sounded hollow. "He doesn’t plan on letting us leave. He said someone has to protect you—"
By the time Seth drew his pistol and pointed it at Liam’s head, both of his toadies had their pistols drawn and pushed against Shannon’s temple. "Once the MSA find our hovercar, they’ll trace it back to Aethpis and know we didn’t leave," Seth said.
"On the contrary, we’ve already moved it to the dunes. It won’t be found for a long time," Liam said in a smooth tone.
If Seth had been alone, the smirk on Liam’s face, arrogant and crooked, would’ve dissipated as quick as a Martian summer, but with Shannon in peril, Seth wasn’t fast enough to disarm them all before they could kill her. He lowered his gun and placed it on the table beside him. By the time he turned back, the men had already disarmed Shannon.
He whirled around toward Liam. "The Alliance will pay whatever you want to get us back. I know the minister personally."
Liam laughed, a phony chuckle that shook his shoulders. "I’m not in the business of taking sides. You will be protected within our cells."
"The Alliance takes sides. If Sarah knew you were supplying the MSA, she wouldn’t buy from you."
"First, she’ll never know, and second, they need the weapons too much to stop buying from me. War creates strange bedfellows."
Suddenly, the room shook, followed closely by a deafening roar. Shannon dropped to one knee, and the two men staggered back.
This was Seth’s break. He leaped toward Liam, took two strides and kicked at the man’s arm, sending his gun sliding across the floor. Liam screamed in pain.
With his next step, he lowered his shoulder, squared it with Liam’s head, and pushed his legs up, crunching against Liam’s lower jaw. Liam tumbled.
Without a pause, he turned to the toadies. They had regained their footing, but knowing he was faster, he pivoted and sent himself flying at them. The men, in synchronization, turned their guns. But his speed overwhelmed them, and he tackled the men to the ground, sending the guns scattering.
The sprawling men fought—grabbing, twisting, and kicking—for the two guns; the first gun Seth managed to punch across the floor; the second, he and the larger of the two men managed to grip. Using the leverage he gained being on top of the man, he yanked the gun from his hand. But before he could swing it around, the smaller man jumped on his back, pinning him.
He groaned. He pushed his elbow toward the man’s face—
Bang! A sting zipped through his shoulder. Then he felt a warm oozing between his skin and thermal suit. They shot him! He turned his head to see Liam Green rising to his feet with his gun pointed at him.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Seth closed his eyes and felt nothing. Only the burning pain in his shoulder intensifying as the blood-restricting weight of the man moved off him. He opened his eyes and found Liam on the ground.
Shannon walked up to him with an outstretched hand. "Liam is dead. We have to get you out of here."
He got to his feet. "Thanks."
She turned her head to the cowering toadies. "Where is your boss’s private hangar?"
"Go eject yourself, lady."
She pointed her gun toward the smaller man. "Tell me now, or I’ll kill you."
"Yeah, right. A powder puff like you could never shoot anyone."
Bang! The man squealed in pain as he hit the floor, holding the hole in his foot. "You spaceworm, you shot me."
"Tell me where the hangar is, or your friend will get one, too."
"Down the hall about fifty meters," the other man said. "Take a right after the emergency exit sign. It is door number five. I swear it."
She holstered her gun. She put her head under Seth’s right shoulder and squeezed her hand against the wound on his other shoulder. He winced enough for her to know he was in real pain. "How is it?"
"I’ll be okay," he said. "I can heal pretty fast."
"Come on, then."
Stepping into the passage, the door closed automatically behind Seth. He fired two shots into the control panel, sending a cascading short circuit through the controls and forcing it into a locked position. It would hold the toadies for a while.
Shannon and he weren’t two steps away when the claxons began to roar, and the blue lights flooded th
e hallway. To his front, several men came running down the passage. He took aim, but they cut down to a side passage before reaching them. For some reason, they ignored them. He pivoted around, and even more men ran in the same direction away from him and Shannon. He furrowed his brow. They were more than running to some assigned position. They were fleeing something or someone.
As he pushed Shannon along, the realization his path headed toward where everyone else was fleeing troubled him.
"The MSA are in the facility…the MSA are in the facility," an ominous voice said over the speaker. He had his answer as to why everyone was running away. The dread of capture pushed him faster. Shannon stayed close behind.
"Keep moving," he said, pointing toward the corridor the toady had specified. He was apprehensive because the toady might have said just about anything to get them out of the room. Relying on his testimony wasn’t something he would’ve done, but his aching shoulder told him he didn’t have the time to usher a hostage down the passages.
"How are you doing?" Shannon grabbed under his arm to brace him.
"I’m fine," he mumbled.
"Liar."
He walked awkwardly, his feet stepping inconsistently in front of him, and he was using his free arm to prop his body from tumbling over. If his legendary healing ability had any merit, he would be fine. If not, he was losing enough blood to die. He felt a great urge to lie down.
Shannon pushed past him and didn’t stop further to think about his health. "I’m going to find the hangar."
His eyes glazed over, and he thought he saw the doors marked one, two, three, and four. The next door, only meters away should be it.
"Door six," Shannon shouted in exasperation.
The claxon blared in Seth’s ear, and the flashing lights made his growing headache throb. Where was his luck?
"Back this way." She pushed past him again.
"He was telling the truth. The door is somewhere," Seth said, but she ignored him. She sprinted down the passage, leaving him to tend to himself for a moment.
Footsteps pattered, approaching them fast.
Lunara: The Original Trilogy Page 55