He didn't want to think about what a garbage area for a giant building like this would look like. Would probably be pretty foul.
He told himself another beer wouldn't be a bad thing, and he started to walk back toward Keltie’s condo.
His phone buzzed.
It was Will.
A text message.
Listen. Don't call me back.
Grayson tilted his head at the screen.
Grayson, watch yourself.
Grayson thumbed a response.
What's going on?
Silence. And then a cryptic response.
Just watch yourself. Got a mission to go on. See ya.
Grayson responded.
Will, you all right? You're acting weird.
Silence.
He thought about calling, but he knew there would be no response.
He stood in the hallway, trying to figure out what it all meant.
21
Smoke watched the bright lights of the living platform dance under the moonlight.
He had been tied up in the airlock for hours. The lights in the corporate ship were turned down low. An employee came in every few hours and gave him food and water. Steak and asparagus, and red wine. Fancy stuff.
He didn’t care for the food.
He didn’t know why, but he preferred something more…normal. The taste of a cheeseburger flitted over his tongue. A milk shake.
He was ready for the next mission. So far, Florian’s jobs were easy. Smoke completed them willingly.
He had more to learn. More about his past. More about why he was a cyborg, and why he didn’t remember anything about himself.
He felt he was closer, but still not far enough.
Blinking lights sailed over the living platform.
Was he truly on Macalestern?
He’d only heard stories about the water planet, and he didn’t even know where those stories came from. He had in his mind a water planet, and this was a water planet. But he couldn’t trace the familiarity back to a memory.
And those Planet Eaters…
He had never seen anything like them. Of that he was certain.
How was a man like Florian working with them? How were they able to communicate?
What was this about them wanting a star?
If he were a regular person, he’d be shitting his pants right about now. But he didn’t have a home. He didn’t have a star he belonged to, so what did he care if one simply disappeared?
Too bad for those it would affect, but he had to learn more about himself. Maybe one day, he’d be able to get to a point where he actually cared about anything.
He cleared his mind, stared out at the twinkling stars, ready for the mission ahead tomorrow, whatever it might be.
22
Dawn brought cloudy skies to Macalestern. A gentle drizzle fell from the sky as Keltie led the team toward a tram station.
She shared an umbrella with Grayson. Devika walked a little ahead of them with an umbrella of her own.
A crowd was gathered on the platform, and in the distance, a tram blew its whistle as it approached the station.
Her palms sweated.
She knew this was going to be a battle.
What if her ID didn’t work?
What if she showed up at the Macalestern Headquarters, only to find out that she had been fired? Her stomach turned into knots at the thought.
“You all right?” Grayson asked.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“You don’t look it,” Grayson said. “Ever since last night, you’ve been weird.”
“Just nervous, that’s all.”
“Don’t be,” he said. “Eddie and Michiko are going to pickup the spaceship from Mad Dog’s. They should have it by now, and they’ll be ready when the time comes.”
“Yeah.”
“Devi and I are going to do the dirty work,” Grayson said. “You just have to get us in. The only tough part is going to be that I can’t carry a weapon. You think Devi will be able to?”
“Not without raising alarm bells,” Keltie said.
“I’ll be fine,” Devika said.
“I’m sure you will, but a little extra backup in my hands wouldn’t hurt,” Grayson said.
“Not unless you want to face jail time for carrying a weapon in a corporate building,” Keltie whispered.
Grayson clucked his tongue. “I guess I forgot about that.”
They fell silent as they joined the crowd. The bright, single light of the tram blazed across the platform, and the tram, sleek as a bullet, slid across the tracks.
Devika glanced back at the two of them as if to say “Ready.”
Grayson and Keltie nodded back.
Their hands were wrapped around the umbrella. They looked at each other.
She wouldn’t have minded a little more time alone with him. She’d ended up sleeping with Devika and Michiko in her room, while Grayson and Eddie shared the living room. They’d had no time together.
“It’s okay to be nervous,” Grayson said. “But I’ve got your back.”
He wrapped one hand around hers.
She held his hand tight.
And then the tram blew its horn, the doors opened, and the crowd poured in.
Devika entered the tram and made her way to the back, giving them a hand signal to split up.
Keltie folded her umbrella, and then she and Grayson parted, lost in the crowd.
“This is not the spaceship I would have bought,” Michiko said as Eddie lifted off from Mad Dog’s.
Eddie guided the ship into the air, and soft drizzle covered the windows.
“Not my favorite, either,” he said, gripping the joystick. “But hey, we didn’t exactly have the most money.”
Michiko sat crosslegged in her chair.
“I’m one to talk. If I had been with you guys, I would have been able to offer zero value. You would laugh if you knew how much I made as a member of the Galaxy Corps.”
“Nah,” Eddie said. “It’s okay to have humble beginnings.”
Eddie was high over the living platform now. He oriented the ship for the Macalestern Headquarters, a triple-tower complex in the center of the living platform. He entered a flying highway and wove between several corsairs that were all headed toward the city.
“Not gonna lie,” he said. “I’m glad we’re not in the line of fire.”
“Me too,” Michiko said. “I don’t think I could fire a gun and do it well.”
“We’ve got one job,” Eddie said. “And that’s to pick everyone up once the arrest is done. Should be easy, right?”
The Macalestern Towers neared.
They were tall.
Really tall.
Taller than anything Michiko had ever seen before.
“Those windows are pretty solid. How are we supposed to—”
“Yikes,” Eddie said.
Michiko pressed a button on the radio dashboard, ready to call Devika. But then she remembered the instructions.
No one calls anyone until this is over. Even the slightest mistake could create a problem. If you don’t hear from me, Keltie, or Grayson by eight o’five, then go back to Keltie’s condo and we’ll rendezvous there. It will mean that we failed.
Michiko gulped.
She didn’t want them to fail.
She took her finger off the radio.
“I had the same thought process,” Eddie said. “But we’ve got to trust the plan.”
“Trust the plan,” Michiko said, high-fiving him.
Then she sat back in her seat and worried as Eddie circled the Macalestern Towers at a distance, waiting for orders.
Grayson and Devika followed behind Keltie as she walked down a skywalk that led to the main entrance of the Macalestern Central Tower.
Keltie felt the ID on her belt. It was still there.
They rode an escalator down into the grand lobby and walked past a sprawling indoor pond full of koi. A giant, fifty-foot tall Christmas tree
stood in the center of the room, decorated with golden tinsel and silver ball ornaments. The tree’s fresh pine smell put her a little at ease.
She reached the security desk, a large mahogany desk flanked on both sides by ID kiosks where employees swiped their badges before entering the lobby.
A middle-aged security guard sat at the desk, watching a group of closed-circuit televisions.
“Hey, Keltie, how are you?” the guard asked.
“Hey, Hal,” Keltie said, putting on her best smile. “Reporting for duty.”
“Good on you,” Hal said. “I was wondering when you’d come back.”
Hal’s eyes wandered to Grayson and Devika.
“Got guests?” he asked.
“Potential job prospects,” Keltie said, leaning over the counter. “I was hoping to show them around.”
“You bet,” Hal said. “Names, please.”
Grayson cleared his throat. “Xander Achebe.”
“That’s one hell of a name,” Hal said.
“Blame my mom,” Grayson said.
“Pavarti Rao,” Devika said.
Hal wrote the names down on temporary badges and then handed them to Grayson and Devika.
“This is a hell of a place to work,” he said. “Hope you’ll consider it. Only thing we ask is that you don’t disturb anybody.”
“Won’t be a problem,” Devika said, smiling.
Hal hit a button on the desk, and the ID kiosks slid open for them.
Keltie, Grayson, and Devika entered the lobby and waved to Hal.
“On schedule,” Devika said, once they were out of earshot. They stepped onto an escalator which brought them up to the next floor.
“What’s the time?” Grayson asked.
“Seven seventeen,” Keltie said, glancing at her watch. She pulled out her phone and pulled up an employee directory. She found Florian, and an image of his face appeared o her screen. A green checkmark was next to his image.
“He’s here,” Keltie said. “And it looks like he isn’t in any meetings.”
They stopped a large directory that had a list of floors and the departments that occupied each.
“The executive wing is way up there,” Grayson said, tapping the directory.
“Then let’s go,” Devika said as they headed for an elevator.
The elevator opened into the executive wing, a wood-paneled hallway with soft carpet.
“It’s pretty quiet up here,” Grayson said.
“The executives like it quiet,” Keltie said. “About a year ago, they instituted an open door policy. Anyone is welcome here, but few ever take the opportunity.”
“Doubt I would,” Grayson said. “Would probably be pretty intimidating, don’t you think?”
“Let’s stay quiet,” Devika said. “Where’s Florian’s office?”
“It’s probably down near the end of the hallway,” Keltie said as they walked down the never-ending hallway. “The further you go, the higher the ranks go.”
They passed several men and women in suits who ignored them.
Keltie sighed with relief.
At least they weren’t attracting stares.
Yet.
Devika pointed to the end of the hallway toward an office with its door slightly ajar.
A golden nameplate on the door read Florian Macalestern - Associate Vice President of New Ventures.
Grayson chuckled after reading the title.
“Jail should be a new venture, all right.”
They glanced at the door.
Florian was inside, with his feet up on his desk, playing with a fidget spinner. He was talking to someone.
“Big fucking mess, let me tell you,” he said. “But between you and me, it’s not our problem. It’s strictly an accounting issue, and I wouldn’t want my nose in their business right about now.”
Two people laughed.
A man and a woman.
Devika spoke into her wristwatch, which was tuned to the radio on Eddie’s spaceship.
“Eddie, we’re a go. Central tower, eighty-eighth floor, western side, corner office. Begin your approach.”
“On our way,” Eddie said.
Devika turned and looked at Grayson and Devika.
“Only chance,” she whispered. “Let’s finish this.”
Grayson offered his fist.
The three of them fist-bumped him.
Devika stood in front of the door. Grayson stood in front of Keltie to protect her.
Devika knocked on Florian’s door, then pushed it open.
Florian’s eyes widened at the sight of her. Huxley and Tatiana turned and viewed Devika with a look of surprise.
“Knock knock,” she said, flashing her badge.
Florian nearly fell out of his chair.
“What the actual f—”
“You’re under arrest for real this time,” Devika said.
23
“You’ve got some balls coming here,” Florian said.
Devika wished she had a gun. But she only had her bare hands, and she had to keep an eye on Tatiana and Huxley to make sure they didn’t charge her.
“Your games are over,” Devika said. “You’re under arrest for the second time, and I’m not losing you to any tricks.”
Florian scowled at her.
Devika adjusted the communication channel on her wristwatch and then spoke into it. “This is special agent Devika Sharma at GALPOL. I’m going to need as many active patrol at the Macalestern Corporate Central Tower, eighty-eighth floor, western wing, corner office. I am arresting Florian Macalestern, and I have reason to believe that he may attempt a violent escape if I do not receive assistance.”
A voice spoke to her. “What’s the arrest reason?”
“Murder, and treason.”
Florian smacked the desk and cursed her out.
“We’re sending units now,” the police dispatcher said.
“That will settle any chance of escape,” Devika said. “Keltie, get the press on the phone.”
“Already on it,” Keltie said, dialing the local news station. Someone answered and she spoke frantically.
Florian clapped.
“You bastards really do have a hard-on for me, don't you?” he asked. “Do visions of me run through your dreams?”
Silence.
“Let’s face it,” Florian said. “You're jealous. You want to be rich like me. Is it money you want?”
Silence.
“Good. I wasn't going to give you any, anyway.”
His hands wandered down toward his desk.
“Hands up!” Devika shouted.
Florian laughed.
“I told you to put your hands up!” Devika shouted.
“What're you going to do?” Florian asked. “Shoot me?”
An intercom on Florian’s desk buzzed.
“What's the matter, boss?” a female voice asked.
“Jesus is beleaguered,” Florian said, enunciating every word.
The voice on the other end waited a few moments, then said, “Keep up the faith.”
“I will, but the future is a little smoky,” Florian said.
Devika cursed under her breath.
“Turn around, all of you, and get down on the floor.”
Florian laughed. Tatiana and Huxley joined him in laughter. They faced the wall and put their hands over their heads.
“Devi,” Grayson said nervously. “What the hell was that?”
“Some security code,” Keltie said. “We better expect guards.”
“Eddie, Eddie, Eddie,” Grayson said, clasping his hands together. “Where are you, my brother?”
“You're just a bunch of losers,” Florian said. “Sucks to be you.”
“If your guards attack, they too will spend time in jail,” Devika said. “It is illegal to assault an officer.”
“Duly noted,” Florian said.
Devika moved further into the room to stop the trio from going anywhere.
Grayson and Keltie ret
reated into the room, with their backs to Devika.
Devika kept her eyes on Florian, Huxley and Tatiana. Time crawled. She wished for reinforcements, for a handcoil, for it all to be over quickly. Her fingers itched, empty of a handcoil. If only this would all be over; if only if this would all be be over soon…
Footsteps sounded outside the office. Three security guards entered.
“We’re occupied, gentlemen,” Grayson said. “Back off.”
“We’re going to ask you to stand down,” one of the guards said.
“Not gonna happen,” Grayson said. “Let's not succumb to violence, all right?”
“We’re waiting for the police,” Devika said, not looking at the guards. She kept her gaze on Florian. “Once they arrive, we’ll be on our way.”
“Stand down!” the guards shouted.
“Back off!” Grayson shouted back.
A shadow swept over the office.
The blue corsair. Devika spotted Eddie and Michiko inside, waving.
Devika’s wristwatch beeped and Eddie spoke.
“Get down!” Eddie shouted.
Everyone ducked.
In an instant, the blue corsair opened fire, and the glass shattered in a wave of bullets.
Devika covered her head and felt glass rain down on her. It scratched her skin.
The guns stopped firing.
The noise settled.
The remaining glass in the windows fell to the floor.
“Everyone okay?” Devika asked.
“Clear,” Grayson said.
“Clear,” Keltie said, groaning. The two of them helped each other up.
The security guards remained on the ground with their hands over their heads.
Devika inspected the trio. Aside from being covered in glass, they were okay. And silent.
Outside, Eddie swung the ship around and backed the ship toward the window with the bay doors to the airlock open. Devika helped him guide the ship backward and motioned him to stop when he reached the lip of the window.
Michiko appeared in the airlock. She had a garbage bag in her hand.
“Whoa, that was awesome!” she said, tossing the garbage bag to Devika.
Devika caught the bag and pulled out handcoils. She tossed two guns to Grayson and Keltie.
“About time,” Grayson said.
Horizon Down (Galaxy Mavericks Book 9) Page 10