by JAX
“I’m afraid it’s worse than that. They say you’re in league with Red Death.”
She couldn’t help but smile self-consciously at her mention of herself in the third person. “Since your ship is still fully intact and tethered to ours, and there have been no gory stories of crew thrown out air locks or killed outright, they think you’re working with us to block their supplies, and since they’ve tried to take me and my crew out in the past and failed, they figure you and Carl might be easier targets for the mercenaries they hire for this type of job. Even if we let you all go at this point, you’d all be hunted down and exterminated.”
“Fuck.”
Dani couldn’t argue with his sentiment. Both she and Carl had said pretty much the same thing when Dahlia had brought them the news. She’d meant to keep the munitions out of the hands of the Gavin 2 residents, not make the descendant of Devil MacFadyen public enemy number one—behind her and her crew, of course. But hopefully the plan she, Carl, and Dahlia had come up with would give Dare and his crew a fighting chance. At the very least, it was better than sitting and doing nothing until some lucky assassin got through their defenses.
“I know this isn’t your problem, but my crew and I need to get out of here. We’re sitting ducks, and I refuse to let anyone take me out that easily.”
“Dahlia, Carl, and I do have a plan if you’re ready to listen.”
* * *
5
Dare stood on the surface of Gavin 1 hugging a pole, handcuffs digging into his wrists with each breath. His pride was about to take another big hit, but if the coming fight could help him and his crew prove to Gavin 2 that they weren’t in league with Red Death, he’d do it.
He glanced to his side where Carl also hugged a pole and was handcuffed tightly to keep him from escaping.
The idea was that he would fight Dani … and let her win. And Carl would fight Dahlia with similar results. Just the first step in a plan to try to show that they weren’t in league with each other. Apparently Dare’s pride was well-known and by being beaten by a woman, in a very public setting, it would help to show that he was truly a captive. Especially since Red Death’s fighting prowess was also well-known.
He was pretty sure he could make this a convincing fight even if he had to throw it, but he hoped he didn’t hurt Dani. And truth be told, since she’d learned to fight from his grandfather, there was a very real chance that she could do some serious damage to him as well.
When she’d outlined this portion of the plan, he’d been more concerned about Carl fighting Dahlia. Carl wasn’t a young man, but that would make it easier for him to lose. And Dahlia knew she needed to make it look convincing without hurting his first officer seriously.
Honestly, this was the worst part of the plan for Dare, so he’d rather they get on with it and get it over with. No matter how often he explained to his male pride that this was just for show, and this was definitely taking one for the team, his ego smarted and sent him accusing twinges for agreeing to such a crazy plan.
A chorus of shouts rang out from the large crowd that made Dare think the entire population of Gavin 1 had come out to watch. Dahlia came to uncuff Carl and lead him to the far sandpit. From what Dare could tell, there were approximately twenty large sandpits, each roughly the size of an old Earth basketball court, scattered across the landscape. Each one sloped down into a flat base and as far as he could tell held all kinds of gaming events, including fights. He could see tall buildings off in the distance, but the main landscaping here was the sandpits.
Dare couldn’t see the action in the far sandpit from his current position, but with the large crowd gathered, he was sure he’d hear a play-by-play, or at least some portion of it.
A few long minutes later, the fight began, if the shouts were any indication, and Dare gritted his teeth hoping Carl could hold his own. Carl was a seasoned fighter, but Dahlia was much younger and much quicker, and to make it a convincing fight there would definitely have to be some blows exchanged.
About ten minutes later, a general groan came from the crowd and Dare took that to mean the fight was over. When Carl and Dahlia emerged from the sandpit looking no worse for wear except a slight limp for Carl, Dare breathed a sigh of relief.
Now for the hard part.
Dani appeared in front of him and unlocked the cuffs.
“Are you ready for this, Dare?”
He sighed. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Is everything else going as expected?”
While they were down here dealing with appearances, both crews were up in space moving all the weapons and armament from Dani’s ship to Dare’s. Dare’s ship could easily hold both crews, and since he would be the one under fire if bounty hunters came after him, they’d decided to be ready. More appearances, but then perception was everything, wasn’t it?
Dani led Dare down into the sandpit and when they both stood about a foot apart, she raised her hands to let the crowd know the fight was about to begin. A shout rang out from the crowd and then a loud murmur as bets were exchanged.
Dare almost felt bad for those who would mistakenly bet on him. Dani had quite a reputation, so maybe she would garner most of the favor, but again, that dented Dare’s pride. He would let Dani win, but he’d give a damn good show on his way to the loser’s circle.
Without warning, Dani executed a perfect jump kick, and Dare reacted just in time to take only part of the blow on his cheek and let his head snap back in a realistic approximation of the aftermath of such a blow.
While her leg was still in the air and she was off balance, Dare swept her right foot out from under her and heard a small chuckle from her as she landed square on her ass.
At least the soft sand would break her fall. He definitely didn’t want to hurt her just to save his pride.
Dani was on her feet within seconds and throwing a right hook straight into his solar plexus.
He tucked slightly to absorb the blow and tried to give the correct “aftermath” of such a hit.
In response, he threw an uppercut and Dani’s head snapped back and then lolled forward, a fine performance of perfectly absorbing the blow. Then she twirled away as if his punch had knocked her off balance.
The crowd yelled and Dare couldn’t tell if it was in approval or disappointment.
His momentary distraction with the crowd nearly caused him a painful injury when he noticed, almost too late, that Dani’s foot was headed straight for his crotch. He turned slightly so his upper thigh absorbed the blow, but then he doubled over, his hands clutching his family jewels protectively as he crumpled to the ground. He was glad they’d worked out the choreography in advance or he might not have caught that blow in time to avoid a very painful hit.
If he could’ve thrown up on command he would have, but that was a bit too much to do even for theatrics.
Dani advanced on him in his vulnerable state and he grabbed her ankles, pulling her down to the ground before she could kick him or stomp on him.
He figured not protecting himself in such a situation would be too unbelievable, and besides, he wanted Dani to know he still had a few tricks up his sleeve.
He pulled her forward and covered her body with his own heavier one.
The crowd went wild, catcalling and shaking their fists in the air—again, Dare couldn’t tell if it was in support or not.
“Good job,” Dani hissed in his ear before she maneuvered her elbow into his side and rolled them both over so he was now on the bottom.
Once she straddled him, she wrapped her hands around his neck and squeezed.
Dare tried to remain calm and relax, even when he felt the blood pool in his face and his airflow became severely restricted.
He threaded his arms between hers and with a grunt and a heave broke her grip and rolled her over once more.
“Okay, let’s finish it,” Dani whispered just loud enough for him to hear. “None of my fights last this long. Roll with me and make sure your thighs are apart so we don’t damage anyt
hing we’d like to use later.”
Dare rolled them both over again until Dani straddled him, but as she came to rest, she placed her knee hard between his open thighs, just missing his tender bits and digging her knee into the soft sand.
Dare took the imaginary hit as would be expected and flung his arms wide to lay on the sand, in effect giving up and watching as Dani scrambled off of him and held her arms in the air victory style.
Dare wasn’t sure if the fight had been convincing enough or not, but it was time for them to flee Gavin 1 and start stage two of their plan.
Before he could pull himself to his feet and make a shaky retreat off the playing field, a huge explosion rocked the world and he glanced up into the sky to see the resulting fireball.
Confusion flashed through him since this had definitely not been part of the plan, at least as far as he had understood from the briefing. The only two ships he knew of in orbit above them were his and Dani’s, so one of them had obviously just blown up. He selfishly hoped it was Dani’s and not his.
The crowd erupted into chaos and stampeded in all different directions, the noise level growing deafening in the process and showing they hadn’t expected such a display either.
Dare turned to Dani as she led the way out of the pit. “Was that part of the plan you forgot to tell me?” He glanced up into the sky meaningfully.
When she shook her head, Dare’s blood chilled in his veins. Had one of the bounty hunters decided to take out his ship while he and Carl were down here fighting? Only one way to find out.
They met Dahlia and Carl at the top of the hill by the posts, and the four of them filed through the surging crowd toward the shuttle craft they’d flown down to the planet earlier in the day.
A tall man in shiny chrome armor stepped out from behind their craft and sent two laser shots toward Dare and Carl.
Dani swept both men’s feet out from under them, narrowly saving them from being shot. Dare landed with a thump that knocked his breath from his lungs and left him momentarily dazed.
Two more sizzling shots rang out and Dare turned to see Dahlia with a laser gun in each hand.
The man crumpled and fell, and the four wasted no time in boarding the shuttle and starting the preflight sequence to escape the planet.
“Well,” Carl began, “we’ve survived our first bounty hunter. I wonder how many more we’ll have to escape before they get us? The odds definitely are not in our favor.”
Dare left Carl and Dahlia to fly the ship and took a seat next to Dani. “Thanks. We would be dead on the ground right now if you hadn’t stepped in.”
“It was just a reflex action, but you’re welcome. How about you thank me in person later when we can find some alone time?”
Dare’s cock surged to life as he thought about exactly what that thanks would entail. “You’re on. And maybe we can trade some more fighting moves in an interesting manner when we’re alone.”
Dani smiled, her green eyes sparkling with mischief. “Too bad Carl can’t thank Dahlia in the same way, but I think he’s a bit too old for her. Maybe we’ll reward her with some time off with Jared. The plush beds on board your ship will be a nice change from the hard bunks on my ship. That is, if your ship was the one that survived.” Her face clouded. “However, from the size of the fireball, I doubt it was yours. So it looks like I may be in the market for a new ship sometime soon. Know of anywhere I can find one cheap?”
“I thought you were a rich space pirate. Why do you need one cheap?”
“I never spend more than I need to. How else do you expect me to stay rich?”
Dare laughed but couldn’t argue with her logic. “We’ll see how the rest of the plan goes and if we’re all still alive at the end of it, I’m sure I can help you locate a ship, if you’re still going to be pirating, that is.”
Dani’s cheeks turned red and Dare knew he’d hit a nerve.
“I have been thinking about retiring for a while now. Jared and Dahlia are more than capable of running the operation; but to be honest, I have no idea what I would do with myself.”
“I’ll be damned.” Carl’s voice brought Dare’s attention to the front view screen where he could clearly see both his ship and Dani’s, perfectly sound except for a few new scorch marks on the hull of each ship.
Dare blew out a long breath as relief flowed through him. Even though he would’ve physically survived the destruction of his ship, he would’ve felt he’d let his grandfather down in a large fashion to lose it in such a way.
“Let’s dock with the ship and find out what happened,” Dare said.
Neither Carl nor Dahlia answered, but their hands continued to fly over the controls, and the view on the screen showed Dare’s ship growing larger, which meant closer.
“MacFadyen ship, we request docking.” Carl’s voice was calm and flat as if none of the earlier events of the day had happened at all.
“You’re clear to land,” Jared’s voice answered back.
Dani laughed. “I guess my crew has already taken over your ship since the men you left in charge aren’t answering.”
Dare laughed and then frowned. “That wasn’t part of the plan either, right?”
Dani grinned up at him as she shook her head. “No, I’m sure they just worked out a shift rotation and not a capture. Don’t worry, Captain, your ship is safe and secure. But like you said earlier, perception is everything.”
A few minutes later, they were docked with his ship and someone from inside was equalizing the air pressure and then opening the air lock.
Dare stood and motioned for Dahlia and Dani to file out first. Carl followed close behind, and Dare brought up the rear. When he stepped inside the ship, Justin, the man he’d left in charge, nodded. “Dare, we had a small tussle, but everything is all right.”
“What happened?”
“A ship fired on us, but we had already completed moving all the weapons over here, so we held our own and then hit a vulnerable spot. We think it was a bounty hunter but can’t be sure since they are now nothing but space debris.”
“To be honest, from the planet we thought it was Red Death’s ship, but I’m glad it wasn’t either of our ships. So why is Jared at the controls when I left you in charge?”
“We’ve been working around the clock, boss, and since he’s an expert with their weapons systems, he’s training our crew in teams to be proficient with them as well.”
Dare nodded. He approved of the decision and was glad he’d left Justin in charge since everything had turned out well. “Good job. Go get some rest. Carl and I are back and ready to take charge.”
Dani and Dahlia craned their necks as Carl led the way through the posh hallways and upstairs to the control room. But Dani was the first to break the silence. “Wow. I’ve never been on a pleasure liner before. I can see why people pay top dollar to take a vacation on your ship, Dare.”
Dare grinned as pride flowed through him. “We also offer excellent customer service and are thinking about expanding our offerings.”
“Really?” She raised her brows in question.
“We had thought perhaps people might pay extra for a pleasure cruise where the ship was boarded by Red Death. Of course, not to take captives or rob them, but purely for the adrenaline experience. And that might give you something to do in your … retirement.”
Dani’s expression turned thoughtful. “I’ll talk it over with my crew and let you know. I’m assuming there will be compensation involved?”
“Perhaps a cut of the fee for the trip?”
Dani nodded and Dahlia laughed beside her. “It would cut down on danger for the crew, so they just might go for it.”
Dare caught Carl’s gaze. “I’m a little worried about losing customers by going into business with Red Death, but the adrenaline of the experience might attract more business than it scares away.”
Carl grinned. “I think you’re right, boy. Don’t underestimate the willingness of the rich to live vicariously. I t
hink it would be a large draw. Now, if we can just get the bounty hunters off our tails, we could think about putting it into practice.”
When Carl reached the control room he motioned for the women to precede him and then for Dare before he stepped inside.
Dare immediately straightened and resumed command. “Jared, I hear you’re training my crew on the weapons systems. I appreciate it.”
Jared shrugged. “If we’re going to keep this ship safe, then everyone on all shifts needs to be proficient at covering our asses.”
Dare couldn’t argue with that.
“Justin updated me on the blown-up ship as well, so we’re ready to contact Gavin 2.”
Dani sighed and glanced out the view screen where her ship hung motionless and empty. “Let’s get it over with so we can move on. But even though it’s not as fancy as yours, I must admit I’ll miss my ship.”
Dare wasn’t sure what to answer, so he remained silent and took the seat next to Jared at the control panel. “All right, everyone. Quiet on the set. I’m opening a com channel to Gavin 2.” He tapped the appropriate controls and when static came on the line, he took a deep breath before he spoke. “Gavin 2, this is Dare MacFadyen requesting a conversation with the president of the council.”
More static sounded on the line for a few minutes until finally a man’s voice cut off the static. “Go ahead, Mr. MacFadyen. President Everly is on the line.”
“Mr. President, my crew has won our freedom from Red Death and we now control their ship. We are offering to sell the ship if you’re interested.”
“And what would we want with a pirate ship?” came the snide reply.
“Since Red Death has plagued you for nearly two decades, I thought you’d like the ship as a showpiece that Red Death will no longer be marauding your part of the galaxy.” Dare wasn’t quite sure that was true since Dani felt so strongly about the war, but if he wanted Gavin 2 to buy the ship, he had to convince them of the incentive to do so.