by T S Paul
Steve stood. “Ready?”
A chorus of “yes” answered him as he exited the van. Parker and Aldis were on his tail, carrying the ladder. Nicole was back at the safe house, hacking in through Aldis’ laptop that remained in the van. It would automatically connect to the house and its security system, or something like that. It was all over Rea’s head, but Aldis and Nicole seemed to be getting along and on the same page for once. Just that much cooperation made Rea a little happier. Maybe it would last past tonight, but the captain didn’t have high hopes for that.
Rea was the last to exit. Steve was already up and over the fence, making his way toward the closest guard. Aldis and Cody weren’t far behind. Rea was the last to climb over. By the time she made it to the edge of the mansion, it already was done.
Her heart raced, and her palms were sweaty. The captain wasn’t cut out for this type of work. She liked the comfort of her ship, the feel of her chair as she did the tough work, and the pattern of dealing with men and their paperwork. This was different and not nearly as enjoyable.
On the ground, a man lay unconscious. Steve’s handiwork. They would have to separate and take the Governor as Steve swept the grounds taking out the guards. It wasn’t ideal, but it would work.
The captain entered the house and paused before letting out a sigh of relief. The alarms had been disabled. That was a good sign and let Rea relax a bit. She followed the map that the CATT had acquired. Todd had an office and a bedroom. They hoped to find him in one of those spaces.
So far, no gunfire was sounding as Rea moved with her crew following closely behind. Each member walked in silence, following her lead. She maneuvered through the house quickly checking each area. Rea did her best to remember each and every hallway.
She took them to the office first and held up her hand. They stopped and waited. Turning to them, she mouthed, “office,” and they all nodded. Parker and Lindsey’s faces were covered in fear and terror. They would be the lookouts in the hall for Rea, Aldis, and Cody.
She checked the handle. The door was open. With a quick turn and push, Rea entered the room. It was dark inside and didn’t appear to have a person in it, but she and the others still did a sweep of it, moving with ease through it. His office was nearly as big as the Rossi’s bridge. Satisfied Todd wasn’t here, Rea closed the door behind them, and the group moved on to their next objective.
They moved next to the master bedroom. It wasn’t too far away, though in a house this size that still meant a little bit of a walk. By the time they arrived, Steve had joined them. He was panting and had some blood on him but not too much.
“All clear,” the Marine whispered.
How he did it, Rea didn’t know, but he was truly a machine when it came to combat and taking care of business. The captain was thankful for Steve and what he did. She knew he took care of the guards without killing them.
“Good,” Rea said.
Steve took the lead here and opened the door to the bedroom.
Phase One down. Time for Phase Two.
Chapter Seventeen
The Marine entered the room and was greeted with a bright light. It was so intense that Steve couldn’t see. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by several men, and the team was screaming.
“Move!” Steve screamed.
“Run,” Rea said.
It was tough to make it out anything in the blinding light. Arms flailed around Steve. He did his best to stave off the attack. Grabbing the closest man, he pulled him in and kneed him in the groin. The man toppled down to the ground.
There were still several arms around him, and all he could hear was shouting. Steve punched another body. The man groaned and stepped back.
His vision was starting to return, and Steve was able to take in what was happening better. He was surrounded by four men, and several more were attacking the crew of the Rossi. The Governor was nowhere in sight.
Damn, the Marine thought.
“Help!” Parker screamed.
Two men were dragging her down the hall. Steve elbowed the closest man to him in the jaw and then kneed him as he fell. He made quick work of the other men and then went to help the crew. He closed the gap between him and the men. They saw him and ran.
Steve suddenly dropped to the ground, weakened and bleeding. He looked to his side, where a knife protruded. He had no idea when or how it happened.
Staggering back up, the Marine took two steps down the hallway to try to get Parker but collapsed again to his knees. They had failed. All they had managed to do was to walk right into a trap. Steve hoped the other part of their plan had fared better.
Aldis and Cody walked over to him and helped him to his feet. With their support, he left the mansion. Together, they all made their way back to the safe house, Steve again lamenting his failure and his pain. It burned his soul.
<<<>>>
Parker thrashed against the men as they dragged her out of the mansion. She wasn’t nearly strong enough to break free. Flashbacks rose in her from her last day on New Detroit, the day she had joined the Rossi and when she had almost been sold into slavery.
This terrified Parker more than anything. She knew what the Governor dealt in, and that meant she might end up just as the twins had expected of her. Her body grew tired from all the fighting. The men took great delight in throwing the small struggling woman into the back of a van.
A moment later, she was knocked out cold.
<<<>>>
Parker came to in a dark, overheated room. The young woman was sweating from head to toe. She tried to move, but someone had bound her tightly to a chair. Her body hurt as if she had been used as a punching bag.
“She’s awake,” a male said.
Parker looked up to see the governor’s aid Eric, who didn’t appear to have a scratch on him, and the Governor, who bent down to her. Todd was a repulsive man to Parker. No way around that. She wanted to kill him.
“Where are they hiding?” Todd was inches from her face. She could feel his hot, disgusting breath on her cheek. “Tell me, and I won’t sell you away.”
Parker spat on the man. “I’ll never tell you.”
“You little bitch.” The Governor backhanded her across the face and causing her chair to rock back. “I’m going to make you pay for that.”
Parker latched onto one thought, Steve would come for her. Rea won’t stop until they saved her. There was no way that anyone on the ship would rest until she was found. They would move heaven and earth to locate her. No matter what they said, that much Parker knew deep in her heart.
“If you’re waiting for your little bodyguard,” Todd said, “you’ll be waiting for a while. I have it on good authority that he was hurt. He might not even pull through.”
Parker didn’t believe a word he regurgitated. Steve was too good to be hurt. No way the men here had harmed him. And even if they did, it wouldn’t be, couldn’t be, life-threatening. Steve had promised to train her, and he was going too. Steve kept his word.
The young girl held on to his promise while she was held a prisoner in the room that stank of fear and pain. She was still fearful that they would sell her on the next shipment before she could be rescued.
The door opened, and the man who was behind so much of the problems that Parker and her friends faced walked in. Captain Jack Drake smiled when his gaze wandered over the young girl.
“I see you got one of them.” The pirate walked over to Parker and patted her on the shoulder. “If you get cornered, don’t threaten her life. The brute will make you pay.”
“He is just brawn with no brains,” Todd said. “Nothing to worry about.”
Parker knew that Steve was much more than that, and the Governor would regret underestimating him.
Drake’s eyebrows shot up. He too knew that Todd was foolish. “If you say so.”
“I’ve heard the news. One of your compounds was raided.” Drake spoke with disgust and disappointment.
To Parker, it appeared he’d expec
ted the Governor to do a better job of securing his facilities. Why did it seem as if all this was a set-up for the Rossi crew? What did Drake really want with them? It had to be more than just his being related to Rea.
“It was,” Todd said. “It means little. You can get your slaves in two days. They are to go to the coordinates I sent you.”
“With the attention that this now has,” Drake said with a steady yet aggressive voice, “the transportation price has doubled.”
Eric and the Governor both froze in place at that news, completely shocked by it. To Parker, it made sense. Why do a job this hot now? It would draw the attention of many people off the planet. Getting caught was twice as likely.
“Can we talk about that later?” Todd asked. “Now isn’t the time. I have to remove this crew. They have proven difficult to handle.”
The pirate smirked. “It’s a feisty team. I’ve dealt with them in the past. If you would like my assistance, please let me know.”
“It won’t be necessary.” Todd stared at Parker, making the young girl nervous.
“Very well,” Drake said. “Just let me know when to get the cargo. I will pick it up and make sure it gets to the proper location.”
“Good.”
Drake left, and Todd returned to Parker grinning. “I hope your team arrives to save you. I’ll make them regret ever stepping foot on this planet. And you, I’ll make sure you go to someplace special.”
Chapter Eighteen
The night was rough on Rea, and the rest of the crew, especially with Parker kidnapped. It pained Rea to not be able to help the girl, but she just wasn’t a fighter, and they had been overwhelmed from the start.
It had been a well-laid ambush, and they had walked right into it. Rea wasn’t sure who or how it happened, but it had. Maybe letting Eric go hadn’t been the best. It had to have been him, telling them and waiting for the attack. They knew that at some point the team would strike.
At least they had heard from Major McGee, and the attack on the compound had gone better. They had lost a half-dozen men in the assault, and that upset both Rea and the Major. Otherwise, it had been a success.
Nicole and Aldis were spreading the news over the planet as best they could, but it was hard with the Governor being free. He kept blocking their articles. He wasn’t as good as Nicole or Aldis, but he slowed them down. At least, his people did.
It was frustrating, and Rea wasn’t sure what to do. The people who had been enslaved would be marching in the street soon, and that would help, but that wasn’t going to free Parker or make Steve heal faster.
Rea walked into the back bedroom where they had laid Steve down the night before. Lindsey had spent the whole night with him. They didn’t have any of the advanced medical supplies they did on the Rossi. Here, they were roughing it and using some old fashion first aid techniques. Rea hoped it would be enough.
“How is he?” she asked.
Lindsey looked up. “Better. He should be fine, but he won’t be much use if we have to move tonight.”
That was what Rea wanted to do so the Governor wouldn’t be able to harm Parker. McGee said they should be able to liberate another compound, but Rea wasn’t as sure. Since Todd had evaded them, he would surely either move the slaves around or up the protection on them.
Either way, the relocation or the toughening of security would make further action tougher, and they had already lost people. Any life lost was too much in Rea’s eyes. That might be why she had never been destined to be an Admiral in the Navy. She just wasn’t able to sacrifice a life for the greater good, no matter how much it made sense.
Rea left the room and went to find Nicole and Aldis. They had been working most of the night in vain to find Parker. The last time she had checked, which was only ten minutes ago, they had no luck whatsoever.
They had converted the dining room into a makeshift command center. After they had returned, Aldis and Cody had run out and returned with several computers and other electronics. Cords and wires ran all over the place.
Cody had disappeared at some point. Rea had lost track of the pudgy man. He had been coming and going the whole night. Rea didn’t like it at all after what happened. Though, if he had been the problem, the Governor would already be here, and that hadn’t happened. At least that was a good sign.
“Any luck?” Rea asked.
Nicole looked up at Rea and had her annoyed look on her face. “The answer is the same as it was ten minutes ago.”
“Okay,” Rea said.
She worried they would never find her, and Parker would be sold off. They needed to move fast.
<<<>>>
Hours passed with little in the way of news. All that Rea had achieved was driving her team crazy. The captain didn’t have a way to help any of them.
Late in the afternoon, Steve woke and exited the room.
“You should be in bed,” Rea said. She was still in the dining room.
“Thank you,” Lindsey said from behind Steve, following him out of the room.
“I’m fine,” Steve said, his hand pressed against his side. “We live in a great day and age. I’ll be fine before tonight. We have to get the kid.”
“You are not going.”
“Try to stop me.”
Steve stepped forward and let Rea see him at full height. He removed his hand. It was healing well, and the man was as stubborn as a mule. She wouldn’t be able to stop him, at least not easily.
Cody returned and saw Steve. “Wow. You’re one tough guy.”
Steve grunted.
“Eureka,” Aldis exclaimed and jumped to his feet. “I think I found her.”
“No way,” Nicole said. She appeared disappointed that Aldis beat her in finding Parker.
“It’s more of what I haven’t found.”
Steve hobbled over to the table and sat. “What do you mean?”
Aldis smiled. “Look, Todd has more cameras and surveillance equipment than the average person. It’s insane. But we haven’t seen him or Parker. None of his people.”
“Correct,” Nicole said.
“Nicole hacked into the capitol building. Now, we have no cameras. Nothing. There, all of his other cameras work. We’ve searched each and every one and no sign. None of the compounds. Mind you, I want to kill the man after what I’ve seen today. It’s disgusting. But that is nothing…”
“Process of elimination,” Rea said.
Aldis nodded.
It wasn’t the best, but it made sense to her. And the rest of the team agreed.
“Is he moving the slaves,” she asked.
“No,” Nicole said.
“Good,” Cody said. “I’ll tell McGee, and we can get Parker.”
It surprised Rea how much he seemed to want to help them. Cody was turning out to be a good guy. Rea was ashamed of herself for believing for a moment that he might have been the reason they had failed.
Chapter Nineteen
They planned for a few hours before departing. It was just past dark when they left for the rescue attempt. Again, it was going to be a multi-targeted attack both on the Governor and one of his slave compounds.
Steve’s body ached, but he managed. This evening, he wasn’t going to fail again. Parker needed him to be strong and to free her from the savage who was in charge. It didn’t matter that he had been stabbed the night before.
Enduring pain and suffering was part of the job, part of being a Marine. He would make do. They needed him to do this job.
Tonight, it wasn’t about Steve and his pain, nor was it about being stealthy or anything like it. Rushing in and causing as much havoc and chaos was the goal.
Cody had brought many different prototype robots that didn’t have any AI in them. Nicole didn’t look pleased, but she understood the use of them. Cody would control the quasi-robots to cause a diversion to give them a small advantage.
They parked out front with both the car and the van. Steve exited and slowly walked up the stairs. The crew joined him, al
l but Nicole who remained back at the safe house and Cody in the van.
Before they even reached the top of the steps, the robots left the van and rushed the building. Screams and shouts sounded from inside, and people rushed out. One of the first was Eric.
Steve smiled seeing the slimeball. Unable to move with the speed that he was used to, Steve made his way to the man. Eric saw him and turned to run but was trapped between the Marine and a robot with a spinning blade.
“No place to go.” Steve stood there imposing and made sure that Eric knew he was stuck.
Eric turned to him, whimpering. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“You deserve so much more than death. Pain. Suffering.”
Lindsey arrived next to Steve. Panting, she said, “He does, but we aren’t the ones to make that choice.”
Steve crinkled his nose. “I won’t make an example of him, but the Governor is a different matter.”
The engineer remained silent as Steve punched Eric in the face, knocking the man out again.
The streets behind them began to fill. The word had been sent out that they were attacking. None of the people appeared to be joining them, but they also weren’t fighting against them. Tonight, they wanted to see who would end up on top. That was completely fine with Steve. For him, it was a done deal. He was going to make the Governor pay. No, if, and, or buts about it.
Inside the building, it was just what Steve hoped for, complete and total chaos. It was noisy, people screaming and running everywhere. Steve couldn’t help but enjoy the scene. He did his best to avoid the robots and people scrambling around.
The crew of the Rossi walked with him and did their best to avoid the people.
Aldis was smiling from ear to ear. “Cody must be having a blast. Not an easy task to control all of these.”
What Steve knew about these devices was small, save they weren’t truly robots, just machinery to be used. At least, that was what he thought.