Learning the Hard Way 3

by H. P. Caledon

  “Yeah, and I need to send out my distraction so no one sees me.”

  “Who is he?”

  “I’ll explain it all once you and Billy are safely in route with us.”

  Alice nodded and crawled out of bed. Keelan stayed where he was, admiring her body as she walked around looking for her clothes. She noticed him staring and threw his pants in his face, laughing.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  When Keelan returned to the Chiromancer’s warehouse, Misery was asleep on a mattress on the floor, and Mike was sitting in a chair, snoring.

  Keelan tiptoed back to the door so he could still see Mike. “Backup!”

  Mike was on his feet and halfway toward the door with a loaded weapon in each hand before Keelan called off the alarm. He hadn’t expected Mike to react that fast.

  “That was an exercise, that was an exercise.” Keelan mimicked what he’d heard on the speakers on Spec Edit five.

  “Fuck face!” Mike roared. Misery sat up and rubbed her eyes.

  “Here, are we friends again?” Keelan held out the bottle of tequila as a peace offering.

  Mike shouldered his weapon and snatched the bottle. “We’re getting there.”

  Keelan took a seat on the floor next to Misery. “I spoke to mom about our little dilemma. She and Billy are gonna come with us.”

  Misery gasped loudly and flung her arms around his neck. He caught her, smiling.

  “How many do you want on this skip?” Mike asked.

  “Enough to hide behind,” Keelan said.

  “Well, Danny?”

  “He belongs here.”

  Danny crawled out from between some boxes. “What about me,” he asked before a yawn cut him off. Keelan stood to see that he’d made himself a little fort from boxes and had been sleeping in the middle.

  “More planning,” Mike said.

  “Bad. I need coffee first.” Danny trudged through the room.

  “Lewis called us while you were gone, by the way,” Mike said. “Ratkins has asked to meet with us face to face.”

  “Is that safe?”

  “I trust him, Keelan. He’s unorthodox, but I trust him.”

  Keelan nodded and watched as Misery fought the sock she was trying to put on. Then he got up. “I’m gonna grab a shower while Danny makes the coffee. I smell of booze.”

  “And perfume,” Mike noted with a knowing smile.

  Keelan snorted and left, happy Mike wasn’t making poor comments about him forgetting to take out or shut off an earpiece during sex. With that thought, his memories took him to the rest of the details of that half hour, so he forgot a towel on his way to the bathroom.

  When he stepped out from the shower, Danny stood against the wall with a towel in hand, smiling at him. Keelan leaned against the shower stall and looked at him, too, not covering himself at all.

  Danny didn’t look like he’d expected the open provocation because he took full advantage of the situation to rake his eyes over Keelan’s naked body. And it didn’t bother Keelan one bit. He didn’t even wonder why. He and the young man had something special. What it was, Keelan didn’t want to know or even contemplate further. It certainly wasn’t that kind of love. Not from Keelan, anyway.

  Danny finally sighed and tossed him the towel. “That Ratkins guy. Mike swears he’s trustworthy, but I still think he’s a fucknugget.”

  “Yeah. I did, too. He collected me, too, but... he also helped me find my daughter.”

  “If you’re gonna meet with him, then it’ll be in the back of our transporter. And I’m coming, and he will be handing over his earpiece and moVID to me the moment he enters the transporter. I don’t trust him and just want to make sure there’s no reason for my mistrust. I can only do that digitally.”

  “He won’t find out you’re a Techno Chiromancer, right?” Keelan asked as he finished up drying himself off and hung the towel.

  “Nah. I think he’s heard of us, but we’re a myth. That’s why everybody thinks we’re just as mythical as Techno Raiders.”

  “Okay, you come. Did you talk with Mike about it?”

  “Yeah, he said I should talk to you. And get some clothes on for crying out loud, there are limits to my self-control!” Danny stomped out of the bathroom, grinning.

  Keelan, Mike, and Danny hid in the back of the transporter while Misery stayed with the Chiromancers. She was far from happy about that decision, but since no one knew for sure that she was Keelan’s daughter, he didn’t want her exposed. Not even to Ratkins.

  A Chiromancer named Acer drove them. It took twenty minutes for them to reach the back of the warehouse they’d agreed upon.

  Acer got out and opened the back to let Ratkins in. Acer then closed the doors again, and they drove off.

  Ratkins blinked as his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness.

  “Hello, Ratkins. Can I just borrow your earpiece and moVID?” Keelan asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Then you’ll get kicked out at the next intersection.”

  “Dammit, Keelan,” Ratkins growled and handed them over. Keelan patted the blanket next to him, and Danny unwrapped himself, taking Ratkins’ things.

  “Oh, you’ve got to be... who sprang him?”

  “Sprang me? He did, you know that,” Keelan said and pointed to Mike, who simultaneously said, “he did,” pointing to Keelan.

  “Not you, him!” Ratkins pointed a finger at Danny who just smiled and snapped his teeth at the finger.

  “Who?”... “What?”... “When?” Mike and Keelan exclaimed before looking at Danny like they’d never seen him before.

  “I collected my first bounty when I was sixteen. Until I met you, Keelan, the world made sense. People did their time and—”

  “Look at the bright side,” Danny said. “You got paid.”

  Ratkins snorted and shook his head. “Kid, let me give you a piece of advice. Move away from Verion Four for at least ten years.”

  “Why? My death certificate’s already public.” Danny smiled and connected Ratkins’ things to his computer.

  “What are you doing?” Ratkins inquired.

  “They trust you, I don’t,” Danny said. “So this is a routine checkup.”

  Ratkins growled. “Gat Max has a team of amateurs.”

  “Bad,” Keelan mumbled.

  “He fumbles more than he performs. I can see them cutting corners without a lot of thought as to what the consequences might be,” Mike said.

  “Exactly,” Ratkins agreed. “Gat Max keeps talking about Alice. They know Misery’s your daughter.”

  “Just exactly how did they figure that out for sure?” Keelan asked.

  “Let’s look at the options here. You run around at some hospital after you’re officially dead, and I ask questions at Churchburrow about her. The Kaleb-identity is paired with Mike, who is in the league of not wanting to get out of bed for anything less than twenty-five thou, and you two go after a street girl with a three thou booty while two amateurs are after her? It’s not brain surgery, Keelan.” Ratkins pulled a face and shuffled around on the transporter’s floor. He finally pulled a weapon from his back, let it fall to his lap, and fell back against the wall with a sigh.

  “What did you tell Alice?” Keelan asked.

  “I didn’t want to expose her, so I tried to mingle with the clientele, but Gat Max has been there a lot. It was his team who attacked Jerry, but Gat Max wasn’t on the ship when it left, so he’s still here.”

  “Then I have to sit watch.”

  “Crap, Keelan, that’s not going to make it any better,” Ratkins groused.

  Keelan sneered. “No, because then they all die.”

  “Have you heard from Lewis?” Ratkins asked Mike, apparently deciding that talking to Keelan was as effective as punching a pillow.

  “Yeah, that we should meet with you.”

  “Okay. They’re going into orbit tomorrow.”

  “What? He’s here?”

  “Yeah, he says it’s time to clean this
up once and for all. Think he’s got something up his sleeve, but I’m not sure I like the way he smiled when he aired it.”

  “So, Alice just has to be kept safe until tomorrow,” Keelan said.

  “I’ll take care of Alice,” Ratkins said. “We run on kilter crypto six with paired plotters in crono so we can keep an eye on each other. You make sure you’re ready to go, and I’ll see what I can do about those damn amateurs. We kinda got into a heated argument last time, so I’m keeping my head down.”

  “I’ll secure access to the docks and make a diversion ready,” Danny said and handed Ratkins his things back.

  “Would you drop me off by the housing?” Ratkins asked. “Looks like I’m going on a bender.”

  “Sure. Acer?”

  “Heard it, ten minutes.”

  “How’s the girl?” Ratkins asked and looked at Keelan who just smiled proudly.

  “Is Alice at least giving you a discount?” Mike asked.

  Ratkins snorted. “No, but I think I’m the only one there getting cold beers.”

  Keelan, Mike, and Misery had packed up their belongings and were ready to take off at a moment’s notice. Keelan was happy to see that the many months had taught Misery a sense of order, because she knew where her things were and kept them gathered.

  Danny stayed close to Keelan, probably afraid he wouldn’t get to say goodbye if they suddenly had to leave. Keelan had no idea when or what the actual plan was. He just knew that Lewis was at the helm, and with what he’d learned of the man’s abilities to plan any situation, Keelan was strangely comfortable with it. So he focused on what he knew—soon he’d leave Danny to stand on his own two legs again, and there was no doubt that the young man belonged there. The thought of parting still made Keelan sad, though. He was going to miss that quirky humor.

  “R to M, K, the beer is warm,” Ratkins voice announced in Keelan’s earpiece.

  Mike picked up some bags and set off in the direction of the transporter.

  “Now?” Danny asked.

  “Yeah, now.” Keelan picked up his weapon. Misery hugged Danny and ran after Mike. Keelan hugged Danny, too, hard enough he feared the young man might break, but Danny squeezed back. Keelan kissed Danny on the cheek. “Take good care of yourself.”

  “I will, Keelan. You too!”

  Keelan let go of Danny and picked up the last bag on his way to the transporter. He jumped into the back along with Misery and Mike.

  “Let’s go,” Mike shouted and closed the back door. Acer jumped into the driver’s seat, and they left the warehouse.

  “Five teenagers painting the town,” Ratkins said.

  “Hold your position. Have you heard about any lucky stars?” Mike asked.

  “Not yet, hold while I try.”

  Mike deactivated his earpiece. “Hope Lewis made orbit.” He activated his earpiece again.

  Acer hit something, and they got tossed around in the back. “Sorry!”

  “Drive carefully, we don’t want to draw attention,” Misery said.

  “Roadwork on Verion Four’s a joke. It was just a pothole,” Acer explained.

  “The lucky stars are granting wishes today.”

  Keelan sighed in relief. “Acer, how long until we’re there?”

  “Half an hour.”

  “How are we gonna get Alice and Billy with five amateurs inside the bar?”

  “Lewis is on it,” Mike said. “Give Ratkins ten minutes. He’ll call if he needs assistance.”

  “Yeah, and then we’d be too far away.”

  “Closer than now,” Mike said.

  They waited the next ten minutes in silence. Misery took Keelan’s hand, and he smiled at her, wanting her to feel calm. Unlike all the other times Keelan had had to flee the lawmen, a new kind of fear settled in him. He looked away from Misery to not be reminded that it was actually possible to lose her despite all he’d done to keep her safe. He’d gotten a taste of that on Reeds, and now they sat in a similar situation, and the fear ate at him.

  But he didn’t let go of her hand. Instead, he caressed her hand and tried to memorize the softness of her skin—exactly like he’d tried to memorize the scent of Alice’s hair.

  “Kmm—shrr... Setup.”

  “R?” Mike shouted, but Ratkins was cut off by a fit of coughing.

  “Ambush.”

  “That didn’t sound good, turn us around,” Keelan yelled.

  “Where to?” Acer asked.

  “The bar!” Keelan tried to calculate the route in his head, and it was a big detour.

  “R backup, respond,” a deep, unknown voice said.

  “M here.”

  “Give your position on specified frequency, I repeat on specified frequency. Unit assisting.”

  “Acknowledged, switching to specified frequency.” Mike pulled out his earpiece and switched to the one Ratkins had mentioned. “Keelan, keep yours on Ratkins’ frequency. Lewis is here and sent in a unit.”

  “Divide them. Half on Ratkins, half with us or we won’t make it.”

  “Oh, you’re right about the fact we won’t make it. They’re our extraction team, Alice’s too, so we’re gonna stick to the plan.” Mike put his earpiece back in his ear. “Incoming unit, incoming unit, here is the trouble.”

  Keelan’s attention shifted from Mike’s conversation when Ratkins’ voice sounded in his own earpiece.

  “Ambush, I’m down and hidden in the stock. The ambush team has the targets indoor,” Ratkins announced.

  “Is everybody okay?” Keelan asked.

  “For now.”

  “Sending incoming unit to your location. Keep me posted.”

  “Awaiting unit, copy.”

  The transporter jerked violently, and Misery screamed. Keelan pulled her into his arms and saw that something had dented the side of the transporter. It reeled, and Acer shouted something incoherent while Misery gasped for air in Keelan’s arms.

  “Where are you hit?” Keelan asked.

  She pointed just above her kidneys, and Keelan hoisted up her shirt, but luckily there was no penetration of the skin.

  “Hold on!” Acer bellowed.

  “Shockers. Continue as far as you can!” Mike yelled.

  “What the hell are shockers?” Keelan asked.

  “Electrical impulses that interfere with the system and shock it until the vehicle stops. When we stop, I’ll provide cover fire. Get her and Acer away,” Mike said. “Incoming unit, we are taking fire, respond!”

  “Dad?”

  “I’m here, and I’m gonna stay right here,” Keelan said. Right between you and them.

  The transporter skidded to the side and hit a wall. Keelan was thrown into the side of the transporter and functioned as a pillow between Misery and the metal lining. Misery screamed again.

  “Don’t scream, sweetheart, only if you get injured,” Keelan said and cocked his weapon. “Stay behind me at all times.”

  “Okay,” she groaned.

  “If I die or get wounded, and I tell you to run, you do it! Find Danny and contact Saleek’s pack. Promise me.”

  “But—”

  “Promise me!” Keelan locked gazes with her.

  “I promise,” she finally said.

  Keelan tried for a smile, but he didn’t think he pulled off a convincing one. Instead of worrying about it, he pulled Misery behind himself while Mike dragged Acer from the driver’s seat. Mike then kicked the side door open and scouted for targets. Keelan opened the back door and did the same, finding the surroundings mainly consisting of civilians with kids, shopping. And there he sat with a weapon that could kill everything within two hundred meters. Shit.

  “Run!” Mike shouted and raised his gun. Keelan saw a man drop among the civilians and people ran in panic. The ones who stayed were their targets, but the panic made it difficult to hit them.

  Keelan pulled Misery out and placed her between himself and the wall. Mike hauled Acer up, and they moved to the nearest alley.

  “The roofs?” Miser
y asked.

  “Yes, run.” Keelan jerked as a shot impacted with the wall only a few meters from his head. He looked at the wall. They sounded like poppers, and the wall was unharmed—they were taking them in alive. Apparently, these guys weren’t satisfied with the one-third bounty for their corpses.

  Keelan aimed for a trashcan near some of the men shooting poppers, because he didn’t trust his own abilities with the weapon in his hands. At least the trashcan didn’t have a lot of civilians around it. He began firing at it so Mike could make it from the transporter to the alley with Acer in tow.

  Misery was already halfway up the fire escape once the rest made it to the bottom of the alley. They made Acer climb the rungs after her.

  “Acer, once at the top, you go that way for at least half an hour before you descend again. Forget the transporter, they’re probably waiting with an ambush.”

  Acer nodded and set off in the direction Keelan had pointed him, while Mike and Keelan followed Misery.

  “How did they find us?” Misery asked.

  “They knocked Ratkins down. Maybe they found us through the twin signals of our cronos?” Mike said.

  Keelan activated his earpiece.

  “R, do you still have your crono?”

  “Yes.”

  “Go to secondary crypto.”

  “Changing to secondary.”

  “Mike, secondary choice!”

  “Secondary choice!” Mike responded.

  They neared a ledge.

  “Speed up and jump!” Keelan did and covered the distance. He quickly turned to help catch Misery, but she twisted her ankle on an uneven bump in the ledge. Keelan lowered her to the roof, where she cursed her ankle.

  Keelan looked up to see what held up Mike, but his focus landed on Andy Thompson’s team coming at them. “Behind you!”

  “Oh, shit!” Mike exclaimed and jumped, making it safely across.

  “We gotta go down, Misery twisted her ankle. The alley is that way. Maybe we can lure them onto Red Turf.” Keelan lifted Misery into his arms and set off in a run.

  They made it to the fire escape, and Mike descended first to support Misery while Keelan kept an eye out for the team, but they had fallen behind enough for Keelan to not be able to see them. He hoped it would remain that way.