by Susan Kelley
The others continued to move in, unaware of their fallen comrade. Mak lined up on the one he’d seen beneath the tree. Three, he believed. He shot that one in the throat also but the man turned his head just as the bullet hit him. The target dropped, thrashing about and grabbing at his neck. A smashed larynx could be fatal.
The radio buzzed with calls for instructions but Shear didn’t answer. The men rushed forward with less caution and order. For big men they moved fast, closing in on Mak’s position. He used the striker pin he’d taken from one of the pistols to light the long fuse. And wished he’d made the fuse shorter. If he ran too soon they would chase him and be too far from the smoke. The small flame snaked along the ground and gobbled up the natural materials in its path.
Mak froze in place. Even the smallest movement when they hunted so close to him would give him away despite his dark clothing.
“What’s that smoke?” one of the giants asked.
One of the others shushed him but they made so much noise walking that speaking didn’t really matter. Someone spoke quietly on the radio. “Why did he make a campfire here? He had to know we were coming.”
The smoke hung heavily near the ground and drifted in a wide lazy cloud outward. It would overcome him if he didn’t move now.
Mak sighted in on a giant approaching from the right. He wasn’t in position for a clear shot so aimed for the man’s knee where the armor might not protect the joint as well as it did softer parts of the body. The bark of the gun echoed round and back off the trees, confusing the hunters as to its source. And gave Mak time to shoot another one in the leg. The injuries might not even slow them but he had to make his exit.
A few of the giants nearest the fire gagged and coughed. Mak sprang up and ran to a tree only ten feet away. A soft bullet splattered against the tree near his shoulder. A good shot for someone who’d aimed quickly. Coughing and struggling sounds from near the fire hid the movements of the still standing giants. Damn.
Mak leaped toward the next tree and a round nicked his upper right arm. Another whistled by and struck a tree only feet from his face. It they took shots at his head then they didn’t care if they took him dead or alive despite Shear’s orders. Someone not far from Mak’s cover coughed. The smoke worked but now he had to move.
He took out a pistol and fired blindly toward his left in a sweeping arc. The sound still echoed through the trees when he ran into the open. The enemy had taken cover but at least two fired back in a similar random arc to keep him from fleeing.
Mak ran as fast as he could and used what trees he could for cover. A round struck him below his right shoulder blade. It knocked him forward but he kept his balance and ran. Breathing hurt as if the shot had broken a rib. Crunching footsteps pounded after him and another round hit him in the thigh. He fell, rolling to cover behind a tree.
Numbness claimed his leg for a few seconds. Then his muscles twitched and his foot jerked as feeling returned with a terrible burning in the spot where he’d been hit. But he’d operated with worse injuries. He slung his rifle over his back and switched his pistol to his left hand. More of the men coughed behind him. Mak held his breath as a whiff of smoke touched his senses. Now or never.
He leaped up and stumbled as the injured muscles went into a spasm. The giants were good shots but not excellent. Another rib cracked as a shot hit his abused right side.
Mak ran, varying his dodges left and right around trees. Bullets splatted into trunks, some very near his head. But after another twenty yards the rounds no longer made it through the warren of trees. He didn’t slow until the sounds of coughing and thrashing men fell far behind. Then he slowed and took more care to cover his trail.
Only after another quarter of a mile did Mak turn left and work his way toward Molly’s hiding place. His body hurt in too many places to count but it didn’t matter. Molly’s plan had worked! They’d taken down many if not all of the men hunting him. And the bastards didn’t even know Molly was here. All he and Molly had to do was hide for a few more hours.
****
Molly didn’t like hiding. She’d discovered a vengeful side of herself that wanted to do damage to Helen and her evil cadre. Helen had used Molly as a way to keep track of the army’s interest in her criminal enterprise.
With nothing to do but wait for Mak, Molly wondered how she’d missed the symptoms of madness in Helen. The terrible things done to the men involved in these experiments couldn’t be the work of a sane mind. And what of the past missions they’d shared with varied successes? Had Helen interfered with their results or had she acted as a real scientist? Molly realized that she and Hector would have to go over all the discoveries and research they’d accomplished with Helen’s help. Damn the woman.
Molly didn’t think any punishment could be harsh enough to make Helen pay for what she’d done but she’d vowed to search for it. Even as a small child she’d appreciated her father’s position and his power, but she’d never used it to promote her own desires. But in this she and her father would unite in their goal to see justice. Just as her father occupied the top of the army command structure, Molly had risen to the top of the scientific community. Her word carried more weight than any other scientist. This would finish Helen and tarnish all her previous work though the public would never know the entire details of her crimes.
Gunfire from deep in the forest sent Molly’s heart racing. The same heart urged her to run to Mak’s aid, but this time her head won the argument. Her presence could only hinder him in this part of the plan. She’d helped as much as she could, finding biological weapons in the woods. And now by intercepting Helen’s radio signals. More shots rang out amidst deep-voiced cries and shouts. The leaves blocked any possible chance of spotting smoke. Had Mak started the fire? Though she didn’t know the exact strain of plants she’d helped him gather, she was confident in her identification of them as poisonous.
Time dragged while she listened to Helen curse into the radio. Her communications to the regular guards surrounding the borders of the forest remained intact. Molly didn’t interfere with that or Helen might stop using the radio all together.
More shots echoed through the trees. Molly refused to let her mind wander to images of Mak’s flesh torn to shreds. She assured herself the giants used nonlethal weapons. Twenty minutes passed with no more shots. Either the plan had worked or Mak had been captured. Unless it only half-worked in which case Mak would continue to lead the giants away.
“Molly?”
Her throat tightened and tears stung her eyes. It took her a moment before she answered. “I’m here.” She worked her way down to a lower branch where she would push the leaves aside and see him.
To most people Mak would appear untouched and healthy. But as a doctor and his lover, she saw the way he favored his right side. Arm injury and damaged ribs. Hopefully no internal organ injuries. Even soft bullets could cause serious damage if they hit the right spot. But none of his discomfort showed on his face. “It all worked. I don’t know if the smoke killed them or not but they’re down.”
“What’s our next step?” Molly had never wanted the life of a soldier but this secretive battle alongside Mak energized her. Unless it was her body’s reaction to sheer terror.
Mak looked toward the edge of the forest where Helen and her men watched the perimeter. “If I knew what equipment they have access to I could make a better decision whether to just hide or to continue our attacks. I think Shear suspected I was listening in. She stopped communicating with her men shortly after they entered the woods.”
“Well, I might have cut her off.”
His eyebrow went up as did the corner of his mouth. “You’re something else, Dr. Drant.”
“What would that be?”
“Whatever is cleverer than a genius.”
Molly received many compliments on her brains before but it meant something special coming from Mak.
Helen shouted orders on the radio, but she’d given up trying to contact her l
ab giants. “Bring the pulse generators. Start from the north and the south ends. Meet in the middle.”
“Hell’s teeth!” Mak set his rifle against the tree and reached up. “Get down. Now.”
Molly obeyed. She found a hold on the branch and lowered herself. Mak grasped her ankles and pulled her down into his arms. Her set her on the ground and unslung his rifle. She could hear hovercrafts approaching from the south.
“Sit down with your back against the tree. If we get lucky they won’t even notice you.” He took off running toward the sound of the hover.
Again Molly obeyed though she wanted to call him back. She sat and leaned against the smooth trunk in a spot where she could watch Mak.
Mak stopped about thirty yards away from her with the rifle at his shoulder. He fired at something up in the trees, sending a steady volley through the leaves. The humming sound moved closer and stirred the foliage above his head. The rifle fell from his hands and his knees gave way. He tumbled to the ground, not gracefully but fighting every bit of distance until he lay prone.
Then Molly understood. A stun pulse, designed for law enforcement. It rendered people unconscious by interfering with their nerve impulses and could resonate over a large area. Flying directly over the trees only a hundred or so feet off the ground, the pulse worked efficiently and completely. She stood up and ran. Perhaps they would stop now that they’d taken Mak down. If she remained free she could help him. Or stay free and assist those who came to rescue them.
She zigzagged around trees, wishing for a little bit of Mak’s agility and speed. But the hover flew faster than she ran. Then a tree root tripped her and sent her crashing to the ground. Her breath whooshed out of her lungs and then a frizzle of sensation swept from her feet up through her back. At first it felt like pins and needles in the soles of her feet, then her calves, her thighs and across her back. As it crept up her body she sucked in a large breath of air, afraid her diaphragm might seize and end her respiration.
The paralyzing sensation took all the strength from her neck so her head slammed into the ground. Her mind stayed clear for a few moments longer and heard the flying vessel continuing its sweep of the forest. They would knock out their own men also. Hell. They’d probably use heat sensors to find everyone. Including her.
****
Mak gritted his teeth as the spasms in his muscles caused his injured ribs to shift beneath the tightening of his stomach muscles. One of the nerve pulses had hit him before when the Recon Marines had captured a crew of former army men who’d stolen a vessel to use in piracy. He hadn’t been injured going into that action as he was now. When he could breathe through the pain again he took in his surroundings.
Back in the large training room where the scent of violent death lingered. So he had killed some of the traitors when he escaped. Chains held him this time, shackles on his left wrist. The chain snaked around a metal bar worked into the wall.
How many hours had he been unconscious? Hours? A day?
Voices drifted through the door, Shear and a man. One of the giants or a regular guard. Did Shear speak to her creations except to give orders? The regular guards looked like men with military backgrounds though if they’d trained the giants they hadn’t done a very good job. Despite the giants’ size and strength, they fought with the competence of green recruits.
“Bring her,” Shear growled from just outside the door.
Mak’s heart took a hard stroke. Shear could only mean one female. His last sight of Molly had been her running after he fell on his face. He’d hoped they’d overlook her when they found his body. Perhaps they’d run bio scans after all.
Four giants walked into the room followed by two guards supporting Molly between them. She appeared awake but weak. Her mouth curved when she saw him but if she meant to smile it looked more a like a grimace. Dr. Shear followed behind her with two more giants.
The giants took up station, two on each side of Mak. He sat back against the wall, unsure yet if he could stand. It hurt his ribs to lean but so did breathing. Shear stopped in front of Mak and crouched down so she was at his eye level. The giants with Shear moved back to flank the guards holding Molly upright.
Mak ignored Shear as he tried to capture Molly’s gaze. For just a second she met his stare but then her eyes glazed over again. Pretending. He hoped she didn’t think he was doing the same. He really couldn’t stand yet.
“You’re really something, Mak,” Shear said. “Recon Marines live up to their reputation, don’t they? Six of my men are dead and five more are in the infirmary. We’re unsure if they’ll all make full recoveries.”
Mak finally looked at her. Though intelligence gleamed in her eyes, they lacked the natural warmth expected in a doctor. Compared to Molly’s bright curiosity, Shear’s piercing cold stare reminded him of the lens of an AI device. Talking to her would keep her attention off of Molly. “That’s because you made a mistake in their design.”
She narrowed her eyes. “They’re stronger than you, more durable and they obey orders.”
“They are big and strong.”
“I could order one of them to pull Molly’s arm off and he would. Without hesitation.’
“Unchain me and I can do the same to you. Without anyone giving me an order.”
Her lips curved into a cruel smile. “I don’t think you would. Recon Marines lack the necessary will do what sometimes needs to be done.”
“The Recon Marines have their humanity so they would never torture or kill an unarmed woman.”
“Humanity?” Shear laughed. “How did the marines come to believe that hoax? And with the help of Molly’s father that fiction was sold to the world. My men are human. They all started as real soldiers unlike you. Your kind came from the experimentation of amateurs. How many embryos died or were destroyed until they settled on you?”
“I don’t know.” Mak had wondered the same thing himself but he would never share that with her. “Do you think it was more than all the men you killed or destroyed with your project?”
“I know exactly how many it was, lieutenant. I knew their names and have the agreements they signed to give us leave to build them into better soldiers.”
“How many would have agreed if they’d known what you intended for them?’
“Sacrifices were made.” Shear shrugged. “We knew we wouldn’t get it right on the first attempt. That’s why we always had our next lab up and running before we finished at the one before. Except this is our last. This time we got it perfect.”
Mak wished he’d learned how to laugh in ridicule. Probably would have hurt his ribs too much anyway. “Perfect? Your men were defeated by one Recon Marine.”
“Yet here you are. Chained up and at my mercy. Along with your lover.”
“One Recon Marine with inferior weapons and greatly outnumbered defeated your bigger and stronger men.”
Shear’s cold eyes heated with an emotion Mak recognized. Hatred. Recon Marines saw that in their enemies many times. “My men lack experience in battle.”
“You said they were soldiers before you improved them. They’re older than I am. They should have had enough experience and training.” Mak gestured with his free hand around the large, well-equipped training room. A stab of pain lanced from his upper arm across his shoulder and down his ribs. Every shot he’d taken had hit him on the right side. He wished they’d shackled his injured arm to the wall instead of his good one.
“You converse well for what you are, Mak. Did you learn some of that from pillow talk?”
He didn’t want her focusing on Molly. “The Recon Marines were genetically designed and trained to be soldiers. What you’ve done, Dr. Shear, isn’t the same thing at all. You’ve created killers, not soldiers. Maybe you don’t understand what it takes to be a good soldier. I’m not surprised if the military men you were working with where all like Admiral Lester.”
She sneered. “Damn, Lester. If he hadn’t insisted on taking Nemon, our best product, with him as a body
guard, we wouldn’t have been discovered. Now your foray into our business means we’ll have to relocate again until our men are fully trained.” She looked over her shoulder at Molly. “I’m sure the general will sweep this galaxy for answers when his daughter disappears, but we’ll be long gone by then.”
“Are you walking to another lair?”
“To bad your clever plan to disable our ships relied on those play soldiers of yours getting away. If the minefield didn’t get them, my guard ships did.”
Ships? Mak had hoped for only one. If Pender and Box hadn’t escaped then no help would come. At least not until the general sent someone to check on their tardiness. And by then the ships Shear had out on patrol would have arrived and these traitors would be gone. And Molly would be dead. “Don’t sell my men short. You’re not exactly a good judge of soldier quality.”
Molly snorted, though it sounded like a laugh, and called Shear’s attention to her. Standing and taking a step back from Mak, Shear swung her arm and backhanded Molly.
Mak sprang to his feet. The shackle on his wrist jerked tight and sent a shock through his entire battered rib cage. The giants reacted slower than him, reaching for him as he hit the end of his chain. They grasped his arms and threw him back against the wall. The impact knocked his breath from his lungs and ribs that had only been bruised or cracked gave way. Darkness edged his vision for a brief moment. Somehow he kept his feet and locked his knees to keep himself upright.
A trickle of blood ran from Molly’s lower lips but she glared at Shear with defiance. “You’ll never escape my father.”
“I’ve been escaping him for years. I hid right under his nose as his daughter’s trusted and esteemed colleague. Everyone thinks you’re so clever but you’re only one genius among many.”
“At least I’m a sane genius.” Molly gestured with her head at the big men. “Only a mad woman would think of such horrible crimes against people.”