by T S Paul
Steve smiled. “I like this system already.”
Rea laughed. “You say that now.”
“Anything to make it easier to get Roberts.”
Steve stared out at the space station. It was large, one of the biggest he’d seen, bigger than the ones that even the Navy used when he was still in. It made sense since the planet wasn’t the largest. They needed to have a place off-world for ships to arrive and depart from.
The station was probably a place that Steve would normally like, a city unto itself, with a collection of interesting people that he could take in. He truly enjoyed watching people and seeing how they acted and treated each other. People watching was fun and entertaining, even if one was doing it to keep others safe.
“You say that,” Rea said, “but makes it tougher to get him to our ship.”
“Who says we need him on the ship?” Steve would be happy finding an empty alleyway and getting Roberts to talk.
“We aren’t thugs,” Rea said. “I want him back to the ship.”
“Makes no difference. Here or there. Either way, we aren't the good guy.”
Rea hung her head. “I know. This isn’t like us, but we have no other choice.”
“Agreed.” Deep down, Steve both enjoyed this and hated it.
<<<>>>
On the space station, Steve led Rea and Lindsey. The others stayed behind to allow for a fast takeoff. It was full of people just as Steve had expected. The assortment of people was reflecting a cross-section of the worlds in the Empire.
It had regular shuttles to the planet, every hour on the hour. They had a mini-debate as to whether Roberts would be on the station or planet. Eventually, it was decided on the planet. It was home to some of the best gambling establishments around. No better place for a pirate to go to blow off some steam.
“I’m still not sold,” Lindsey said. “He might be here.”
Rea answered her comment. “It won’t hurt to check the planet. If we don’t find him, we can check here when we get back.”
“Okay.” Lindsey stood nervously.
Steve kept glancing over at her, he was worried she was too anxious about this trip. It didn’t surprise Steve that she was, he was too. This was an essential step in finding Taylor and dealing with Drake. Both problems needed to be resolved and the sooner, the better. If they could put this behind them and get back to being regular smugglers and not working for a pirate, life would be better.
The three stood at the shuttle port for a few minutes. Steve examined his surroundings. He was sure a few of the people were part of Robert’s crew. They had the look of pirates, not that it was easy to tell. They just as easily could be smugglers or degenerate gamblers.
Figuring people out was more an art than a science. It was prone to mistakes, ones that could be costly. Today was a day that Steve needed to be on top of his game. He needed to be able to spot a target that meant to harm his team and move quickly to remove it.
The shuttle arrived and took them down to New Paris. It wasn’t a long trip, but they stuffed the shuttle full, making it tough to keep people away from Rea and Lindsey. The men that Steve figured were part of Roberts crew were on the far end of it.
“We should follow them.” Steve gestured to the men.
Rea nodded. “They might be part of his team.”
“My thinking too. Tough to say for certain, but worth a shot.”
“Agreed,” Rea said.
Once on the planet, Steve let the men depart first and followed behind them. The last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to them. The type of people who served on pirate ships, whether they were from Celtica or not, were not the type you wanted to mess with. It would be best for all to avoid a direct confrontation.
The city wasn’t large, and the men appeared to be headed for the closest casino. That would be a nice change for this job. If Roberts was here and they found him, they could get him back to the ship and figure this out.
Steve entered the casino, making sure to keep his distance, and insisting that Rea and Lindsey stayed even farther behind him. One casino was like every other one. None impressed Steve, probably because he was not into throwing credits away.
The men weaved their way through the establishment, not looking around or even bothering to check if they were followed or not. Amateurs. Steve would never be this careless if he were a pirate. He’d make sure no one ever trailed him.
By the time they stopped, it was at a table in the high roller section of the casino, and sure enough, Roberts was sitting at one of the tables.
Rea and Lindsey stopped next to him.
“Got lucky,” Steve said.
“I see,” Rea said. “We’ll have to wait until he leaves the casino. Too many people here. We’ll never get away with him.”
Steve agreed. They had talked about a few options, and most involved ambushing him outside. Even if Roberts didn’t have security here, the casino did, and they would act fast. They were efficient since they were well trained and did their best to keep the money rolling in.
It felt like they were at the casino forever as Roberts played. Steve took turns with the other two keeping an eye on the pirate. The money flowed from the young man like he had an endless supply of it.
As Steve watched, the kid lost most of it with little concern. It boggled the team that he was so wasteful. Most pirates and smugglers were more frugal with their money. The life of a pirate meant they might not get paid for long stretches. A scary thought for most.
Roberts and Drake seemed to be the opposite of that. They had to be connected, and the footage showed they had been involved in the kidnapping of Taylor.
Hours went by as Roberts played and drank. It amazed Steve the amount of alcohol the pirate consumed. When Roberts finally left, he would make for an easy target even with the two ruffians who watched his back. They wouldn’t be a match for Steve as he already had their measure. Overweight and distracted by their surroundings, they were not professional muscle.
Finally, Roberts stood up after losing copious amounts of money and stumbled in the direction of Steve. Ducking his head, the Marine watched as the pirate and his men walked by. Lindsey and Rea waited out of sight. They would be able to see Roberts walk past.
Steve fell in behind them, this time not worrying as much about the distance or being seen. Once they were out of the casino, they would be seeing him up close and personal. It was going to be tough for Steve not to attack and hurt Roberts.
Outside, the sun had set hours ago, and the streets were filled with even more shady people. It wasn’t as bad as some of the planets or cities that Steve had been to since joining the Rossi, but it wasn’t great either.
It made him smile. The crowds just meant his strike on the pirate would be less noticeable. People out now wouldn’t bat an eye at a guy like Steve attacking Roberts. Especially now if they learned about the money, he was tossing around. That would make him a target for many of these people.
A few blocks from the Casino, Steve decided to make his move. They weren’t too far from the shuttle, which was nice as well.
Picking up his pace, Steve bumped into one of the pirates from behind.
“Watch it,” the man said.
“Oh, sorry.” Steve smiled.
The man looked at him quizzically, and before he could react, Steve was in action. He took the man’s legs out from under him with a swift kick. Once he was on his knees, Steve punched him on the side of the head, and he dropped to the ground, out cold.
Roberts hadn’t even noticed yet. He was so far gone it was laughable. The other pirate guard had, but Steve was on him in an instant. Moving around the inebriated crowd only briefly slowed Steve. He elbowed the other pirate guard on the side of the head and kicked him as he fell to take him out.
Roberts continued to walk on, seemingly unaware of what happened, and completely oblivious to his surroundings. This was going to be the smoothest kidnapping in history. Steve couldn’t believe their luck.
It really irked Steve that this man had been able to take out, Taylor. Now, more than ever, he wanted to punch him, to make him hurt.
At the space station, Roberts departed the shuttle and started to go in a direction away from the Rossi.
Rea gently guided him. “This way,” she said, deepening her voice.
“Are you sure?” Roberts asked with a slur.
“Yes.”
It was smooth sailing getting him to the Rossi and on board. For once, something went to plan. Steve was stunned and amazed.
Chapter Twenty
Rea stood in front of the makeshift cell they had constructed to hold Roberts. He was passed out in the room. He had been that way all night. Taking him had been easy, too easy. It worried her that he had fallen into their laps.
Shortly after getting him, they departed New Paris and went out to New Reno. Her reasoning was twofold. She wanted to get away and to get new supplies. That was as good of a place as any.
The Rossi was slowly making its way to the system. Rea hadn’t been able to leave the pirate all night.
Parker and Aldis entered. Both had been in a few times to check on Rea, as had the rest of the crew, even Nicole.
“Has he woken?” Parker asked. She had been disappointed when they left right away. She hadn’t said anything, but it had been written on her face, and Rea figured she had wanted to visit New Paris.
“No,” Rea said. She leaned against the wall for support. “He was drunker than a sailor.”
That was saying something. Rea wasn’t one to drink, but many of the men and women she served with liked to let loose. Too much so at times.
“Clearly,” Aldis said. “Let’s just wake him.”
“No. I want him to wake when he’s ready.”
“Fine.” Aldis left.
Only Parker and Rea remained.
The young girl stared at Roberts. “I can’t believe he kidnapped Taylor.”
“Me too.”
“You think he’ll be able to help us?”
“As much as I’d like him to, I feel like he is at the bottom.”
Rea had been thinking about it all night. Roberts had to be the first in a line that would lead up to the mastermind. He wasn’t the one behind this. There was no way he was. He was just a kid with money.
In the cell, a mumbling started. “Oh, my head.” It was repeated over and over.
Rea smiled. From the few times she had been drunk, that was something she knew all too well. The hangover Roberts was bound to have was enough to make Rea never want to drink again.
Roberts looked up. “Where am I?”
“Don’t you recognize me?” Rea asked.
Parker went to the edge of the room to contact the rest of the crew. They would all want to be here for this.
Roberts blinked. “Dodge?”
Rea nodded. “Correct.”
“No. it can’t be. You’re supposed to be dead or in prison.”
“I thought you just wanted my cargo.”
“That was just to slow you down.”
Did he really just give information so freely? He really was a fool.
“Why?” she asked.
“Drake wanted you to not have time to realize what was going on.”
“Why does he want us?”
“He doesn’t. You’re just competition.”
Rea was confused. “What do you mean?”
Steve and the rest of the crew entered the area.
Roberts looked away and shrieked, “Look, Drake and this woman paid me a ton of money to delay you.”
“What about Taylor?” Steve asked.
“Part of the job from this woman.”
“Can you tell me about Drake?” Rea asked.
Roberts smiled. “You really don’t know?”
“No.”
Roberts stood and wobbled close to her. “Think about it. Who does he look like?”
Rea had been going over this in her head repeatedly. He looked so familiar, but she just couldn’t place it. “No idea.”
“You had a brother.”
“Keyword. Had,” Rea said. “I saw him fall to his death.”
“So you think.”
It couldn’t be, but as she thought about it, the more it made sense.
“Why would my brother want to kill me?” she asked.
“That was a bonus. You have been hurting his business. When this lady offered to pay him to take you out, he jumped on it.”
“Why are you telling us this?” Aldis asked.
“Why not? I wasn’t paid to be silent.”
The way of the pirate baffled Rea. “Okay.”
All this overwhelmed Rea. It took all she had not to flee the room. Only Steve seemed to notice. He stepped forward and let Rea use him as a shield and to balance herself.
“You know anything about this woman?” she asked.
“Nope,” Roberts said. “All I know is that Drake was scared of her, and she wanted Taylor for some reason.”
“Okay.”
They remained in the room talking with Roberts for a while, trying to figure out more but learning nothing. He really didn’t know much about where Taylor was or why he was taking. He knew more about Drake and his vendetta against Rea.
If he was her brother, it was mind-blowing. Rea was sure she watched him die. He fell from a cliff back home when they were both very young. They had searched for days for the body and never found it. They held a service for him, and she had mourned him for years. He was one of the reasons she had joined the Navy.
They had talked about traveling the Empire together, seeing all of the great planets, and visiting Mars. That had been their dream.
She had wanted to do it for both of them. It turned out she didn’t need to.
<<<>>>
The next morning, Rea stood on the bridge. She had sent out a message to the O’Malley about Roberts. Kate asked for them to bring him back to Celtica. She would look into the mysterious woman for them.
Rea couldn’t believe her ears when Kate said she would do that. It wasn’t like her, but being in charge of a planet meant she wanted to know everything that was going on. And Drake was doing something shady, even for a pirate.
Rea left out the part about her and Drake being related. That was something she wanted to make sure of before she let that cat out of the bag.
The Rossi arrived at Celtica, and they gained clearance to land.
On the surface, they were greeted by the same men as they had been the first time. They took Roberts.
“Thank you,” one said. “Unfortunately, so far, nothing for you. Our boss says she will let you know if she finds anything.”
“Thank you,” Rea said. She turned to Steve. “Let’s go check on Drake.”
“Roger,” Steve said.
They went across to the place where they had met him for the first time. It was completely abandoned. Nothing left to show that he was there. No sign of life. Rea couldn’t believe it.
“Great,” Rea said.
“Don’t worry,” Steve said. “We’ll find Drake, this woman, and Taylor.”
“I hope so.”
They returned to the ship and departed the planet. Rea wasn’t sure what to do, but from now on, it was about finding out who was behind this and getting to the bottom of this mystery.
Author Notes – Nathan Howe
Writing this story was extremely fun for me. Telling a story about smugglers in space hard to beat that. Being able to be part of the Athena Lee Universe is so much fun.
Steve and Rea are such interesting characters as was the rest of the crew on the Rossi. Having them come t
o life on the page was a great joy for me. Double Cross is going to be the first of many to follow the adventures of the Rossi and its crew.
It might take a while, but I promise we’ll see who kidnapped Taylor and why. Steve won’t stop until he knows why and neither will Rea. Plus, Rea has to figure out if Captain Jack Drake really is her brother.
Smuggle Life is going to be a real treat to write.
I want to thank TS Paul for being so kind to let me write in the Athena Lee world. To trust my ideas. And to both him and Kat Lind as mentors in my writing group, Phoenix Prime.
Also, I want to thank Diane, Dorene, Ann, and Nicole. Each of them gave the story a read and edit. Without their help, it wouldn’t be nearly as good.
As always, thanks to my writing group, Phoenix Prime. And the reader, thank you for taking time to read my little adventure.
You can find me at my website, nathanrhowe.com, Amazon, and Facebook.
Author Introduction – Nathan Howe
Nathan is a writer of science fiction and fantasy. He has superhero stories as well as dystopian, apocalyptic. time travel, and YA fantasy. Nathan loves writing across many genres as they allow him to create varied and interesting stories.
His hobbies are vast but include reading, exercising, video games, Netflix, and going to movies. Outside of writing, Nathan is proud of his time in the Military. Nathan also loves his cat, Luna. She spends her days plotting to distract him and is usually successful.
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