by M. D. Cooper
Seven opened a cabinet and removed a vial. “Well, I’m guessing he’s going to get a big lesson when you two return home, then.”
“Life’s one big learning opportunity, isn’t it?” She tried to read the label on the vial, but it was too far away.
“That’s for sure. Here.” He pushed the syringe and vial toward her. “Start with this. It’s so mild it might not even work, depending on how far under he is.”
“What if it doesn’t?”
He pursed his lips, then retrieved a second vial from the cabinet. “Wait thirty minutes, then try this. It’s a lot stronger and faster acting, but tends to cause a racing pulse and hyperventilation. People tend to find that terrifying, so it’s not much fun.”
“I bet.” She palmed the two vials and pushed the syringe with her fingertip. “That looks downright primitive.”
“What? Your high-tech fancy-pants corporate world doesn’t use syringes?” He laughed. “I bet they don’t. But these are EMP-proof. Nobody wants to be in need of medication, yet incapable of getting it just because someone’s turned all the technology into scrap metal.”
She let out a breath. “People will kill their own technology to take out someone else’s? How does that make sense?”
“It probably doesn’t,” he admitted. “But war’s war.”
“And you’re due for one.”
“Yup.”
“No offense,” she said, “but I’m starting to hate Eashira.”
He laughed. “None taken. I’d probably hate Machete too.”
They grinned at each other.
He picked up the syringe. “You know how to use one of these?”
“No. I come from a civilized people who don’t destroy their own world.”
“Just free enterprise and fairness, right? Here, I’ll show you.”
He demonstrated how to be sure to get all the bubbles out of the syringe and inject it into the thigh or stomach. “You don’t need a vein for this. Just fatty tissue, so you don’t have to go far under the skin.”
“How long will it take to work?” She wasn’t sure what to think about an arms dealer who had pharmaceutical know-how. Part of her was impressed, and another part was disturbed.
“Five to ten minutes.”
“Right. Thanks.” She held the vial in one hand and a pair of wrapped syringes in the other.
“No problem. I’ll go distract Trey. I’ve got some heavy crap in the storage room I’ve been meaning to move. Now’s a good time for that to become a burning need.”
She laughed, feeling a little sorry for Trey.
* * * * *
Six minutes and twenty-eight seconds after injecting the mild stimulant into Fitzmiller’s stomach, his eyelids opened.
They closed again, then he blinked several times before focusing on Reece.
“Oh no, it’s you.” His voice sounded tired, but not rusty, as if he’d been asleep a long time. She took it as a good sign.
“Yep. And I may or may not have made your situation worse, so I need you to fill me in on what your plans were for that research you stole from Rexcare, and why you were at that building.”
He sat up and started looking around. “What do you mean? Are we somewhere else?”
“That’s right. I brought in an army and broke you out. The upside is that you’re no longer there. The downside is that maybe we’re someplace kind of worse. I’m not sure about that part yet.”
She smiled pleasantly.
“Oh, hell, you’re crazy, aren’t you?” He stared at her in horror.
“That’s up for debate. You can decide for yourself later. In the meantime, you need to tell me where you were taking that research.”
“How did you find me?” he asked.
“Please. This is what I do. There was no point at which you were going to escape me. Now…answer my question, please.”
She gave herself points for being polite and asking nicely. When she filled out her paperwork to close out this job, she’d be sure to note that.
“Where are we?” His voice was filled with urgency, but she was getting tired of him asking all the questions and answering none of hers.
His knowing wouldn’t hurt anything, though, and might just get him to start talking.
“An underground compound belonging to the Lee clan,” she answered.
“Then we should assume we’re being listened to?”
She nodded. “Yep, pretty sure.”
“Then we’re not getting out of here.”
“I’ve got a plan.” She announced the lie with great confidence. “For the moment, though, no one can hear us. So I need you to talk.”
She pulled back her sleeve and showed him the black band around her wrist. “See that? It’s a great device, created by Rexcare, and illegal as hell on most planets. It blacks out communication within a five-meter radius when it’s on. And it’s on.”
Fitzmiller sat up and hung his legs over the side of the bed, then lowered his face into his hands, a small moaning sound emanating from within.
“Look,” she said reasonably. “I don’t know what you got yourself into, but you got me into it, too. Now I’m the only person who can get us out. I need to know what you were doing. Now. I intend to bust out of here in exactly fifteen minutes and twelve seconds. Eleven. Ten. You get the point. But the more you tell me about what’s going on, the better equipped I’ll be to get us off this planet.”
He heaved a sigh. “I just want my work to help people. I wasn’t stealing the research from Rexcare. I only wanted to get it to someone who could deploy it before Rexcare could patent it and keep it from people who need it.”
“People who can’t afford what Rexcare charges, you mean.”
“Yes. What I found was something that could treat a great many varieties of cancer, not just the unique types found on Akonwara. But Rexcare won’t share that information so it can benefit people on other planets and in other systems. They’d rather let all those people die.”
“Okay. You’re a philanthropist, not a thief. Got it. Who did you bring the work to?”
“I encrypted it, along with a download key that requires a sample of my DNA, then uploaded it to a remote location. I also wiped all copies so Rexcare couldn’t patent it before I could disseminate it. Then I came here to work with a non-profit group.”
“And did that work out the way you intended?” she asked.
“No. I thought non-profit would mean it would be purely about science, but it wasn’t. Rather than helping develop the research into an inexpensive, easily manufactured product, they wanted to use it as a way to keep their clan cancer-free, while introducing carcinogenic compounds that would affect other clans.”
“Damn,” she said. “That’s clever—for how things work around here.”
Fitzmiller started at her.
“And evil,” she added hastily. “Super evil.”
She put on her most disapproving expression.
He scowled at her.
Fine, so they weren’t going to be friends. She hadn’t thought they would be.
“Where’s the research?” she asked. “At that building where they were holding you?”
“No. They only had part of it. It was my fail-safe. When I got here and realized things weren’t what I thought, I downloaded a dummy file. It had part of my research, but not all of it. They haven’t realized that yet.”
“Why did they drug you?”
“I might have threatened to blow up the lab if they forced me to work for them,” he admitted. “But they weren’t going to kill me until they understood my discovery. So my time was limited.”
“See, my hunting you down was a good thing.”
He gave her an icy look.
“Well, you’re not the first to fail to appreciate me, and I’m sure you won’t be the last.” She stood from her kneeling position on the floor. “All I need to know how is if you can still access the original research.”
“Yes.”
“An
d will you turn it over to me, if I save your ass?”
His shoulders slumped. “Refusing and dying here would serve no purpose.”
“Exactly,” she said brightly. She reached for the second syringe and bottle.
He drew back. “What are you doing?”
She handed him the items. “See for yourself. In the interest of time, I’ll be blunt. You’re old and not in good shape. We’re going to need to bust ass getting out of here. Dose yourself with whatever you need to turn into a much more energetic and capable version of yourself.”
He stared at her. “You’re rude and you swear too much.”
“I drink and fight too much, too. But before you start pointing fingers, let’s remember that we’re here because of you, and I’m the one getting your ass out of it. Now, let’s get this shit done because I’m ready to go home.”
* * * * *
Reece sent Trey the message and hoped he’d be ready. If they did this wrong, they were completely screwed.
“Stay right on my heels,” she told Fitzmiller, who was now wide-eyed with adrenaline. “If you see anyone, let me know.”
She felt good about the fact that she still had all the weapons and armor she’d worn when they’d stormed the building. She held her pulse pistol at the ready.
It took her less than two minutes to arrive at Trey’s location, where he had Seven backed against a wall.
“I see someone!” Fitzmiller yelled, looking like he was about to jump out of his skin.
“Yeah,” she said. “That’s Trey. You met him before.”
Seven looked remarkably calm. “So I guess you weren’t actually concerned about this guy stealing your job.”
She shrugged. “We’ll see. But it’s time for us to go.”
Seven’s gaze hardened. “You think you’ll just be able to walk out of here?”
She’d hoped he wouldn’t choose the low road, but apparently he had. Fortunately, she was prepared for that.
She twisted her lips in a sinister smile. “I’m curious, Seven. In all your snooping, did you sort out who I work for?”
“Yeah,” Seven nodded. “Rexcare. It’s what tells me your friend here is worth holding on to.”
Reece nodded and leaned against the wall. “So, did you know that Rexcare has done research into some very exciting new bioweapons? Stuff that is very hard to detect, but will break down all cellular cohesion in your body. It’s a real lifesaver in my line of work. For me, I mean. Not you. Obviously.”
Seven paled. “No…what—”
“How long before he melts?” Trey asked, looking at Seven with a mixture of concern and disgust. “I don’t want to get his goo all over me.”
“He has a few hours yet,” Reece said.
Seven let out a string of curses before calming himself back down. “And here I thought we could be friends, Reece.”
“Yeah,” Reece said with a nod. “I’d hoped for that too, but then you had to get all back-stabby.”
“So what’s your bottom line?” Seven asked.
“I left an antidote up on Upper Wadish,” Reece said, pushing herself off the wall and walking toward Seven. “We get our asses up there, and then you get it right before we board a ship out of this damn system.”
“You think my people would let you get away with liquefying me?” Seven asked. “If you’re even capable of that.”
“What makes you think you’d be the only one liquefied?” Reece stared at him in puzzlement. “Is whatever you hoped to squeeze out of me worth the risk? Think about it. Rexcare. Their top fixer. You think they’d leave any possibility of my not getting the job done?”
She waited a few beats to let him think that through before continuing. “I’m giving you a priceless opportunity to remain solid. I recommend you take it.”
She raised her voice, as if calling to someone in the next room. “Hey, you people listening over the Link—now’s the time to load our gear into a van. A fresh one, not one that looks like it’s been through a war. Because even if your clan member Seven here doesn’t mind being a puddle, I’m guessing you would. We can wait. He can’t.”
She stared pointedly at Seven.
Was whatever he had in mind for her worth gambling his life? Would he call her bluff?
“Fine,” Seven muttered, then craned his head around to look at Trey. “If you wouldn’t mind letting go of my neck, I’ll take you to your ride.”
“Our ride,” Reece corrected. “You’ll come with us, just to make sure nobody tries anything stupid.”
“Entirely likely with this lot,” Trey muttered.
“Right?” Reece shook her head in disapproval.
Seven led them through a long, skinny bunker hallway that opened up into a large warehouse filled with vans, cars, and a no small number of assault vehicles.
“Take your pick.”
Reece gestured to one of the more nondescript vans. “That’ll do.”
A moment later four of the Lees entered the room—prompting Fitzmiller to loudly announce that he saw more people.
Two people would have been a reasonable number to carry her luggage. Four people was suspiciously excessive.
Once they put the cases in the back of the van, Reece waved them off. “Okay, henchmen, you’re dismissed.”
The Lees didn’t move, their eyes locked on Seven. The clan leader coughed and shook his head, which appeared to be a negative answer to their desire to attack.
It turned out not to be negative, at all.
One of the Lees lunged for her, and Reece ducked out of the way, only to find herself in the arms of another clan member. She took a blow to the chest, but her armor spread the force of the blow across her entire torso, and she barely felt it.
Okay, that’s kind of cool. I bet I could put this stuff to good use at the Ringtoad.
She saw Trey fighting with the other two Lees, but Seven had disappeared A kidney punch had her struggling to free herself from the man who held her—she couldn’t see his face, but guessed it was Stretch.
With a sharp twist, she got her right hand onto her left wrist and activated the defense cuffs she’d purchased on Usra. She expected Stretch to get a jolt, but nothing happened. Reece realized her armor must be blocking the charge and reached up to grasp the hands that imprisoned her.
True to the word of the arms dealer back on Ursa, she felt a small zap in her hands, while Stretch convulsed and howled, letting go of her and falling back.
“Hah!” Reece reached for her Rikulfs and fired a shot at the Lee who had been punching her. He went down with a hole in his hip that would keep him down. She spun and put a bullet in each of Stretch’s knees.
She looked to Trey to see one of his assailants down, and the other still trading blows. She was about to put a bullet in his hip when Trey landed a decisive blow in the Lee’s face, sending him to the floor in a heap.
“Where’s Seven?” she asked, scanning their surroundings.
“Here,” Trey said, walking to the far side of the van and returning with an unconscious Seven. “I tossed him over there when the commotion started. He seems to have hit his head. Poor guy. Head wounds are the worst.”
Reece laughed and looked back at Fitzmiller, who was hiding behind a car.
“You can come out now, the bad men aren’t going to hurt you anymore.”
“You shot them!” Fitzmiller said, shaking from a combination of fear and the adrenaline.
Reece looked at the two she’d shot, both of whom were holding their wounds and moaning. “Yeah, but not fatally. They’ll get patched up good as new. And they deserved it for double-crossing us.”
“We did it for the clan,” Stretch moaned. Apparently, his loyalty went deeper than shattered kneecaps.
Reece couldn’t wait to get out of the Eashira System and away from their clan-based nonsense.
With Seven unconscious, she had to open the doors herself, after applying a foot to Stretch’s knee to convince him to tell her how.
Once their exit was clear, Trey sat behind the wheel of the van while she kept an eye on Seven and Fitzmiller.
“We being followed?” she asked while tying Seven up with some straps intended to hold cargo in place.
“No,” Trey called back. “Given that this is one of their vans, I imagine they can track it, though.”
Fitzmiller had climbed into the front of the van—shaking the whole time—and settled into the passenger seat. “I see someone!” he yelled.
Reece looked out the front and saw an elderly man down the block was walking his dog in the early dawn light.
“What’s wrong with him?” Trey asked as he turned a corner, driving slowly, so as not to attract any attention.
“I think he gave himself a little too much adrenaline, and it doesn’t agree with him. I’d feel bad, since he’s a brilliant scientist acting like an idiot and all, but I’m still kind of mad I had to come all the way into Eashira to get him.”
A PLAN COMES TOGETHER
DATE: 04.06.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Istanba, Wadish
REGION: Eashira System, PED 4B, Orion Freedom Alliance
By the time they collected Dex and returned to the spaceport, the adrenaline had cleared Fitzmiller’s system. Reece was glad, because he’d been as twitchy as a mouse that had accidentally been invited to a cat party.
Seven had woken part way through their journey, surprised to see a monkey with them in the back of the van.
“You travel with your own circus act?” he asked with raised brows.
Reece shrugged. “Only on the longer jobs. It passes the time.”
“So how are you going to get me off the planet?” Seven asked.
“So long as we don’t board any outsystem ships with you, we’re within our rights to take you up to a station.”
Seven shook his head. “Since I’m stuck with you whether I’m going to melt or not, take the van to gate 7B on the spaceport’s east side. My clan has a shuttle on Cradle 1129.”
“That’s mighty helpful of you,” Reece said. “Will things go smoother than they did back in your bunker?”