by LM. Preston
“Oh, no you didn’t!” Valens said as the sides of his lips turned up to a smile.
Mitch sized up Shamira, and then jerked Hedi’s foot back for another tickle. “I don’t trust them. They’ll just take off again. She has to get it while we are in here.” His face wrinkled while he tried to hold back a laugh. He won and put a frown on his face.
Valens nodded. “Fine. Anthony, you cover the door, and Mitch, you stand in front of the closet. I’ll turn around. Shamira, you have until the count of ten to pull out that key,” he said, and the boys took their positions.
Shamira looked at Hedi, and Hedi winked at her. Shamira followed Hedi’s line of sight to the door and between Anthony’s spread legs. Hedi stood up, ready to run. Shamira smiled at her and ran around Valens, who’d already counted to five, then slid between Anthony’s legs through the door. Anthony let out a howl at the pinch Hedi delivered to his calf as she tripped him up behind them. They got up and ran toward the front room before Anthony regained his composure. She reached in her shirt and snatched the key free and placed in it her pocket as she grabbed each water gun in her hand. She slid to a stop, knelt on the couch, and fired the water pistols at the boys when they ran toward her. Hedi backed her up by throwing pillows at the boys from behind a nearby chair.
“Get her and tickle her until she begs for mercy!” Anthony commanded.
Valens flew over the front of the couch and tackled Shamira. He placed his hand behind her head to brace her fall, and she smiled, remembering how he had attempted to save her that first day. He scrambled over her and pulled her arms up over her head and said, “Tickle the sweet spot under her arms, guys!” Traitor, she thought and laughed until tears streamed down her face.
“Okay, okay! It’s in my pocket. I surrender,” she laughed out. Anthony reached in her front pocket and held up the key.
“Yes, yes!” Anthony said and stood up. He pulled her up, and Valens and Mitch followed. She looked passed them to see a genuine smile on Hedi’s face.
“Alright, guys, let’s turn on a movie and talk about recruitment,” Valens said and snapped his fingers. The movie started, and they all ignored it as they started to come up with a list of trustworthy kids to recruit.
Shamira started to doze off during the second movie, and her head fell to the side, then down as the music video of the latest Earth hit start playing. She felt Valens’ firm, muscled arms come around her shoulders, and she was too tired to fight him this morning. They had a long night in front of them, and she needed the comfort he offered her. Her head rested on his shoulder, and she inhaled his unique scent and dreamed of all of them after the fighting was over—friends laughing together and riding in the new Mars, a free Mars, a safe Mars.
Chapter 18
Shamira woke up with a jerk. Where am I? Her memory was still blurry from a deep sleep. She hadn’t slept this deeply in weeks. What’s wrong with me? Taking a quick look around the room, she jumped up and realized everyone was gone. Figures. It was just like she expected. She’d been set up for a joke, and the others left her behind to go after Monev. “Just great!” she yelled. Listening for any sounds of life, she heard nothing. They’d definitely deserted her.
She walked over to the door and remembered that Valens had this place locked, and it was virtually impossible to break out of. Deciding he may have left the labs open, she headed toward them only to discover the door was locked. “Looks like you have secrets also, Valens,” she said to the door. Running her hand along the wall, she hoped to get the door to open. She gave up with a punch and turned her back to the door.
“Hello, Shamira. So, you’re finally awake? We went to go recruit the others to fight Monev. We’ll be back before nightfall. Grab something to eat in the kitchen. By the way, don’t break anything,” the hologram of a grinning Valens said. She looked around to make sure no one was really there. Then, she bent forward and kissed the hologram on the lips and laughed out loud.
Turning around, she walked to the kitchen, hoping Valens didn’t catch that on camera. Dang, she said, and hit her hand on her head. He could’ve seen that if he’d been watching her or had the surveillance on. What was she thinking? Now she really felt stupid. She sucked up that feeling and pushed it aside like she had so many times before. No regrets – they’re a waste of time. Survival and saving her brother would be her only motivation from now on.
The kitchen was full service with all the fixings for any large family. She wondered if Valens invited these kids here because he was lonely from the loss of his family. This place was huge and a bit much for just one person. The kitchen island had a plate of croissants and other pastries on top. Miniature milk and juice containers were scattered around, she guessed from the others picking over it before they left. She quickly stuffed two croissants in her mouth and washed them down with milk.
Feeling edgy, she washed her hands and went in the direction of the bedrooms to take a quick shower. She walked down the hall to a corridor off to the left and looked through the wall to a boy’s bedroom. Guessing it was Valens’ bedroom; she headed in that direction, anxious to get a peek at where he slept. His scent tickled her nose when she got to the doorway. Smiling at her secret pleasure, she walked forward, and the lights came on for her. His room had vivid colors that reminded her of him and drawings of Earth on the wall. All kinds of vehicles, from motorcycles to spaceships to fly packs were scattered on his walls and his bed. His full sized bed was rumpled with a black blanket, and pillows were thrown all over the floor.
She went over to the side entrance of the bathroom, figuring she better hurry up and wash before they got back. Hurriedly, she tossed off her clothes and washed. Hearing sounds in the distance, she knew she needed to finish. She jumped out of the shower and got dressed. Stumbling through getting dressed, she ran out of Valens’ room so she wouldn’t be caught there. Taking a deep breath, she walked toward the main room. She feigned calmness, hoping her blush didn’t crawl up her cheeks to give away her secret.
“Shamira.” Valens smiled upon seeing her.
She looked up and then beyond him to see about fifty kids in his game room. Taken aback by the looks of admiration, she swallowed then frowned. They ranged in age from ten on up, she guessed. “Who… where did all these kids come from?” Shamira asked while she tried to hold her voice steady.
“Everywhere. Some of these kids are forced to sell dream, and others have been living—or rather, hiding—on the streets hoping not to get recruited by Monev,” Valens said and stepped forward.
She pointed at the kids behind him. “How are these kids going to be able to fight Monev? We’re fighting grown men with guns. Did you forget that? I’m not going to have these kids’ deaths on my head!” She yelled, angry with him for putting her in this position.
He looked at her calmly and unyielding. “Trust me, they’ll be ready. I can make them ready. I know this.” He reached out and touched her arm.
“Look, I don’t know about this. I’ll rip every door apart until I find my brother, but I’m not stupid. I know I can’t get him and save everyone by myself. Who is going to stay back and train these kids to at least survive?” Shamira asked, then jerked away from Valens and ran her hand threw her damp hair in frustration.
He dropped his hand. “These kids and us. We’re all going to do more than survive, Shamira. They’ve been fighting for years to survive, and most of them are already trained to fight for their lives. I have suits for all of them that’ll enhance each kid’s power by ten, as well as a chip that’ll give them the reflexes of born fighters that will make them more than survivors. It will make us all defeaters.”
She jerked away, pacing the room in thought. She couldn’t help it. She wanted it all—to save David and to bring down Monev.
“Alright, here is the plan. Tonight I need to get close to Cutter! He will give us some answers about Renu before we break into Olympus Mons,” Shamira said.
Anthony stepped forward. “Okay, but you know that is impossible,
right? Cutter cannot be touched. He’s a cruel bastard, and we’ll get killed trying to get to him. Hmm?” He put his fist under his ching. “Hey, we can go after Cutter’s best man, Fisher, and if we’re lucky, he will be with Tiger, who runs Olympus Mons. Fisher used to be top dog, but being demoted, he may have a lot more information than the others. They hang together occasionally when Tiger gets a break from running hell.”
Mitch shook his head, and leaned against the door. “There’s no way we can get close to Strong, who is a trained assassin for Monev. He’s the tracker that brings Tiger his prey. He has a well-trained bastard named Keeper under him. They’re good - really good. I believe the only one that can take them is Shamira. They have some nasty weapons, but nothing like what I’ve seen in Valens’ closet. We can take them.” Mitch hit his fist in his hand.
Shamira nodded. “Okay. Then Valens and I’ll go after Keeper. Anthony and Mitch, you better bring me Fisher. We need to get some information from them, and we need it before we get into Olympus Mons.”
“Where are we going to put Fisher when we get him?” Anthony asked while grinning and shaking the key to his new car.
“I have a cylinder about two miles from where you put Thor. Drop him there. We need to suit up with our gear,” Valens said.
Shamira looked around the room at the sea of new recruits. “Do any of your newfound friends know where we can find these guys?” She waved her hands toward the many kids that crowded the front room.
“Uh, my name is Kaylin, and I know where Keeper will be tonight. He’s meeting with some of Monev’s upper-class customers to talk about the organ smuggling to Earth. He was pissed off about this rich guy trying to get him to come down on his prices since Earth shut down all unauthorized space travel from Earth to Mars. He’ll be there, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Monev wasn’t on the prowl for the Elite Security Force members they are bringing down. If you want, I can draw you a map to where the meeting is. I just can’t show my face, or he’ll kill me,” Kaylin said, then pulled nervously at her long brown pigtails.
“How do you know this?” Shamira asked suspiciously, studying the girl and smelling her fear. She just wanted to make sure the girl wasn’t a mole, leading them to a setup.
“I… I was his pet. He was training me,” she stammered.
Hedi walked over to Kaylin and placed an arm around her shoulder. “Monev’s gang members select what is called a ‘pet’ or a trainee from the new kids when they are kidnapped, blackmailed, or recruited in order to break them or destroy their hope of escape. Some kids don’t make it through the training. Look at her arms and neck, all those fresh bruises and cuts. Kaylin is a new recruit, and if they put her on with Keeper, that means she was a real fighter and very valuable,” Hedi said, her voice dropping in sadness.
Shamira looked at Kaylin closer and saw the girl’s look of relief and a bit of anger on her face. She figured the girl was genuine, so she let it rest. “So, is this all we got?” Shamira asked Valens.
“No. We still have a lot of kids on the inside. They’re willing to give us access where they can in order to get their freedom after we bring down Monev. They will be loyal, because squealing in Monev means death to the messenger,” Valens said.
“Does anyone here know of Renu or his relationship to his head goons?” Shamira asked the group.
A voice behind Hedi called out. “No one’s ever seen him. He runs things from underground, so to speak. It’s rumored he changes faces like a chameleon and can switch sides easily. Truth is, only the top three men of Monev know him or what he looks like. They all left Earth together to come to Mars and rehabilitate. Oh, my name is Kurt.” He walked forward and bowed to Shamira.
Shamira took in his dark, handsome face and almond shaped eyes, which looked sharp and assessing. “What about the kids they took? What are they doing to them?”
“You don’t want to know. I’m afraid if I tell you, you’ll be afraid to fight them, and I need you to lead us in fighting them. I want my life, I want my freedom, and so far you have proven yourself to be the one able to give that back to us,” Kurt said.
“Let’s suit up and get going. We don’t want the trails to run cold,” Shamira said.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to go with you. I know where the meeting is, and I’m one of their assassins in training, so I can hold my own. I’d love the chance to use what they did to me against them. Vengeance will be ever so sweet,” Kurt said with a solemn look on his face. Then, he pulled up his sleeve revealing an arm riddled with large scars over zigzagging cuts that matched the faint scar on his dark brown cheek.
“Fine. You’ll ride with us. Valens, can you enhance those who are coming with us? I think it might get a little dicey tonight if we’re going where some high rollers are. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I’m taking no chances,” Shamira said before she went to the training room to get her gear.
“Shamira, I have something for you too. Can you follow us to the lab?” Valens asked and then looked directly at her with a serious expression on his face.
“You go with them. I’ll be right there,” Shamira said.
Hedi stood up on her toes and held her finger up high in the air. “I’m taking everyone else to the fitting lab. I have to set their fighting gear to their physiological makeup. Everyone follow me and form a line. Then, we will start training.” Hedi walked down the hall.
Shamira looked at her and smiled, realizing Hedi was a leader in her own right. All the kids followed her silently. Shamira waited for everyone to leave and fell to her knees in the corner that held her gear.
Taking several deep, calming breaths, she started to shiver. “What have I done? What am I doing?” she asked herself in a whisper. Saving David had been her only plan, and now she was saving hundreds of kids she didn’t really know. Not only that, but she had to depend on them and trust them to save her and maybe even David in the end. Being blind was not hard, but being their savior was something she hadn’t intended to do. She shook off the feeling of dread, the same feeling she shook off every day of her life when she had been told that being blind was a handicap that wouldn’t enable her to have a “normal life,” whatever that was. Her life after this would never be normal, and she would definitely never again be the same.
She leapt up to a stand, warming up her muscles for the fight ahead of her. So many things to fight, fighting this ball of power that I’m afraid will consume me, and for David—always for David, who is so worth this risk. She had to focus, drown her fear, and build strength while squashing her doubt in her success. She would win even if she had to lose herself to what raged inside her. Saving David means this much to me.
Taking a deep breath, she walked to the labs where the others were getting in gear for the night’s capture mission. Bringing back some of Monev’s heads would definitely alert them that something was going on. It would also put all of them in danger. They would have to act quickly on their infiltration of Olympus Mons.
“Ouch! That hurt! What is this going to do?” Anthony growled at Valens.
“Remember the tags that I had to stick in your scalp? Well, I perfected it. Now this needle inserts them under your skin, giving you enhanced strength and virtually teaching your muscles all the martial arts moves you’ve been trained to do. It enhances them by taking memories from your training and making them reflexes throughout your body. I can easily extract them by programming them to come out through your bowels,” Valens said proudly.
Anthony’s eyebrow went up with disgust. “Man, that’s nasty.” He slowly stepped away from Valens with a frown on his face.
“Hey, all of you are done here. Go to the training rooms and get the weapons and suits I made for you from Hedi. We’ll meet you at the door to the garage. I need to talk to Shamira,” Valens said. Shamira watched them leave, and without a smile, she turned to Valens.
“I see you have on your fighting face,” Valens said lightly.
“I’m not in the mood to chat. You’ve
endangered all of these kids, you know. And worse, you’ve put their lives in my hands!” Her voice rose in her frustration with him.
“Yes, yes I did. I did it because I know they’ll be safe in your hands. Besides, Shamira, you’re not doing this alone. I’m here, and I’ll help you. Hey, I got a device to enhance your strength also,” Valens said as he came toward her with a needle.
“I have enough, thank you. I have more strength than you could possibly fathom,” she responded and knocked the needle from his hand.
Valens shrugged. “I know. I’ve seen you. I also know you’re afraid of it. You pull back. Why?” He bent down to pick up the needle, which he placed on the table next to him.
“My business, not yours. I’m not your business, Valens. You’ve bugged me since the first day I’ve met you. Why were you even there that day?” Shamira asked with her legs spread defensively and her arms folded over her chest.
Valens chuckled softly before adding, “I was following the creep you were luring. He was one of Monev’s men that worked the dream trade. You just happened to be there, helpless, I thought. I took you for a victim, but I know now I was wrong. Little did I know you were like a black widow, luring him into your web for a strike.”
“Well, now you know my secret. What’s your story? Why do you create all of this stuff? How do you even know how?” Shamira sized Valens up to make sure he was being honest.
“My father. This is… er, was his hobby. He and I would spend hours here working on some new technology or toy. It relaxed him. My sister would sometimes come along, but we mainly played videogames and watched movies with her. After their disappearance and my mother’s death, I had nothing else to do to fill this void that seemed to fill my soul—that is, until I met you.” He walked to stand in front of her as his voice lowered and his eyes held hers.
Shamira stepped back. “Well, let’s go. The others are waiting.”
Valens reached out to hold one of her hands. He leaned in toward her ear, and she stood stoically still while his soft breath blew lightly when he began to speak. “By the way, thanks for the kiss,” he said, his voice deepening. He hesitated as her hand started to pull away and then added, “And grab the bullet-proof jacket by the door.”