by Anna Adler
Holly gripped Chase’s arm. “Do you hear that?”
Chase glanced at her, his eyes narrowing. “Are those—?”
“People are outside the prison! We have to get to them!”
The tinted glass doors of the main entrance loomed ahead. They sprinted toward it, but a man in a suit stepped out of an office, blocking the way. Holly and Chase stopped in their track.
“Mr. Stone!” Holly cried out, recognizing her former boss. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m the director of this facility,” Mr. Stone said in an emotionless voice.
“You’re the director of Interstellar Pet Training Inc.”
“That too. I own quite a few establishments.”
Holly’s hands clenched into fists. “Get out of the way.”
“Oh no. I’m afraid your journey ends here.”
“You can’t stop us.”
“I can stop your pet.” He tapped his wristband. “His pet chip will end his life in three seconds. Say your goodbyes.”
Holly didn’t even blink. Chase, standing beside her, didn’t move either. Harold Stone looked up at Chase, alarmed, then jabbed his wristband again.
“I removed his microchip,” Holly informed him. “And his collar is gone. You have no power over him whatsoever.”
Mr. Stone snorted. “Fine. I’ll kill the other pets then.” He entered fresh commands on his wristband. “Thanks to the microchip implants I can kill any alien trained in the IPT facility with the push of a button.”
Fury surged in Holly’s veins. “You wouldn’t dare, you asshole!”
“Try me.”
“The Silenians care about the aliens. They want to set them free.”
“Nonsense. They’re just suffering from temporary delusion. They’ll come around.”
“You think they’ll come around if you kill their pets?”
“Now, now, Ms. Danek…why should they find out it was me? You were the head trainer at IPT, and you’re the one who’ll take the blame. I’ll fabricate a nice story how you poisoned the pets to support your insane agenda. I’ll be devastated and deeply sorry for the losses suffered by the pet owners.”
Holly scoffed in disbelief. She knew her former boss was a callous businessman, but she never realized he was a full-scale monster.
Mr. Stone went on, “The citizens will be bereaved, but they’ll get over it. I’ll sell them new pets. I should thank you, actually. Your stunt is going to lead to an increased demand for alien pets. You always said you took pride in making money for the company…how right you were.”
Holly glared at him in disgust. “Don’t you have a shred of decency in you?
“It’s up to you, Ms. Danek. Surrender now…or half the pet population on this planet dies.”
Holly held the man’s gaze with ice-cold scorn. “I don’t think so, Mr. Stone.”
He grinned while holding his finger dramatically above his wristband. “What…don’t you care about the pets after all, Ms. Danek?”
“Of course I care. Ten years working at the IPT—do you think I was just pushing papers all that time? I sabotaged those damn microchips. They identify and locate pets, but that’s all they do. I’ve cleaned them of booby traps.”
Mr. Stone’s grin disappeared. He jabbed at his wristband repeatedly, but his actions didn’t seem to have the effect he expected. He cursed under his breath.
Holly put a hand on her hip. “Sorry, Harold. Not a single pet dies on my watch.”
Harold Stone tore off his wristband and threw it away. “You traitorous bitch!”
“I don’t care what you call me. You would murder thousands of innocent beings just to protect your business ventures.”
“They’re nothing but animals!”
“Chase?” Holly flicked her head at the man. “Get him out of the way.”
Chase grinned savagely and cracked his knuckles. “With pleasure.”
Mr. Stone’s eyes shot wide. “Stay away from me!”
Holly watched as Chase charged at the man, landed a few solid punches before throwing him against the wall. Harold Stone whimpered.
“Shall I kill him?” Chase asked her in a growl.
“No,” she said. “Mr. Stone is finished, I’ll see to his downfall personally.” She looked up at the security camera overseeing the scene.
That is evidence. I’ll make sure that recording gets out, and Harold Stone will get buried.
Chase dropped the unresisting man on the floor. Restrainer bots appeared from the corridor behind them. Holly motioned at Chase and they ran to the exit. The doors of the main entrance weren’t locked for some reason; sliding obediently aside once they detected motion. Chase reached the door first, but as he tried to run through it, he was hit by some kind of energy field. He let out a hoarse cry as he was thrown back by the blue flash. Holly shrieked. She helped Chase back on his feet.
“Are you all right?”
Chase coughed and nodded. Holly dashed to the door panel to deactivate whatever was stopping them, but it refused to take her commands.
“It’s a security measure,” Harold Stone barked from behind them, clutching his ribs where Chase had punched him. “Activated automatically when the alarm goes off. You won’t be able to get out unless you want to fry yourselves to death.”
The prison director nodded at the bots that passed by him, approaching Holly and Chase. “Time’s up. They now have orders to execute the pet. You, Ms. Danek, are going back to a cell, and this time you’ll stay there.”
Before Holly knew what was happening, Chase threw himself into the force field.
“Chase, no!”
He snarled with pain, sizzling blue arcs jumping from the doorframes into his body and back, but he didn’t give in. He pressed his back against the doorframe and arched his body to place his hands against the opposite frame. Suddenly, Holly could see a hole in the blue, snapping and hissing force field.
“Run!” he barked.
Holly dove through the hole and found herself on the paved ground outside the door, unharmed. She spun around.
“Chase!”
Chase let go of the doorframe, collapsed on the ground outside and didn’t move.
“Chase!” Holly’s heart practically stopped. She leaped on him, turned him on his back and took his face in her hands. “Chase!”
“Run, baby,” he muttered. “I’m done for.”
“No, no, no, I’m not leaving you!”
She tried to drag him away from the building, but he was too heavy. She could barely move him an inch. Holly heard an army of thumping bot feet approaching from inside the prison. She tore her gaze from Chase, desperately looking for help. She gasped when she saw a huge crowd, standing only fifty meters away, holding banners with Chase’s picture on them. Other banners bore text saying “end to torture” and “freedom to pets.” Cloverfield Correctional didn’t have a fence around it—such being unnecessary for a prison where all the inmates were condemned to solitary confinement—and Holly saw a chain of restrainer bots forming a makeshift wall around the entire building in an attempt to keep the crowd at bay.
This was why they had met only a few bots inside the prison. The prison security was busy guarding the enraged civilians.
The people standing nearest to Holly had noticed her and were pointing and shouting. Holly glanced around. The bots from the prison building were almost upon them.
“This is Chase Decker,” she shouted at the crowd. “He’s been condemned to death. They’re going to kill him! Stop those bots!”
“Did you hear that?” people in the crowd shouted. “That’s Chase! They’re going to kill him! Monsters!”
A wave of furious yells and whistles emerged from the crowd and the air filled with flying objects. Someone threw a data pad at a restrainer bot, another one flung a rock, a shoe, a phone. The crowd surged forward with such force that the chain of restrainer bots reacted. They apprehended the nearest citizens, who immediately began to scream violence and kick at the
bots. The crowd turned angrier and kept pushing forward. Within seconds, the restrainer bots had their hands full of citizens, and the remaining crowd broke through the barrier, charging at the restrainer bots looming over Chase and Holly.
Holly threw herself over Chase to shield him with her body. The crowd rushed forward, forming a circle around them, forcing the bots back. The bots were confused, facing so much resistance. Despite their orders to keep citizens at bay and capture her and Chase, Holly knew their core programming prevented them from actually harming Silenians. They grabbed disobeying citizens in their multiple limbs, but under these circumstances, they were simply outnumbered and ran out of hands. Surrounded by people, they became immobilized because they would have hurt someone if they shoved past.
People knelt around Chase, touching him. “Oh my god, what have they done to him?”
“The government will pay for this. I’ve never seen such brutality in my life.”
“Chase is a hero. Ms. Danek, you’re so brave to have set him free.”
“I’m going to set my pet free, too!”
“I have already set my Jewel free,” a man declared proudly. “I had to leave her safe at home, but now that Chase and Holly are here, this place can see some changes.”
“Is anybody here a doctor? The champion needs medical attention!”
“I say we march to the parliament house next and force them to rewrite some laws.”
Chase grinned wearily at her. “Hey. Does that mean we won?”
Holly caressed his face, tears streaming down her cheeks as the light faded from his eyes. “Yes, my love. We won.”
Chapter 30
Holly’s face was the last thing Chase remembered from the prison yard. They told him he died there. Cardiac arrest or something similar; his heart shut down after he got himself and Holly through the force field. He woke up in a medical station a few days later where he’d been rushed by Holly and the alarmed citizens and reanimated. Holly was by his side when he woke, pale-faced, her eyes red from crying, but as soon as she noticed he was awake, her face broke into the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
“Oh thank the stars you’re back,” she gasped. “Thank you, thank you, thank you…”
She smothered him with kisses. Chase was too weak to move, but he felt astonished, warm, and immensely relieved. Holly was safe and they were together. That was all that mattered.
He learned that after their arrest, Jacinda Reed had given an interview where she had released Holly’s recordings from the IPT. The interview had been forcibly interrupted as soon as the forbidden material appeared, but the authorities were too late. Hundreds of thousands of wrestling fans had already caught a fatal glimpse of the reality of pet training.
The public had been awed by Chase’s wrestling performance, and Holly setting him free afterward was regarded as the most romantic act by a pet owner in Silenian history. Chase vowing to remain her pet even without the collar made the audience swoon. Apparently, the movie rights of the event had even been sold before the security rushed in. He and Holly getting publicly arrested had shocked and angered everyone, and once Ms. Reed added fuel to the fire with her interview, riots broke out. Silenians wanted to be heroes like Holly. Many freed their pets on the spot and marched to Cloverfield to demand Holly and Chase to be released.
Holly also told him that Harold Stone had been arrested. While Chase was unconscious, she had made Mr. Stone’s threat public, and he had to be rescued from an angry mob. Silenians were furious to learn that Mr. Stone had intended to kill all IPT-trained pets. He was now occupying a cell in his own prison and his assets had been frozen.
A day after waking up, Chase was moved to Holly’s apartment. He was still supposed to remain on bed rest, so Holly put the VR monitor next to the bed so he could amuse himself. Chase amused himself by calling Jax.
“Hi, Captain.”
His old friend Jax Deveraux glared at him from the screen. “Decker. What the hell is going on? We tried to pick you up a few days ago, but you never showed up.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. Change of plans.”
“You could have informed me about it.”
“I would have if it had been possible. Things got a little hairy, but it’s all sorted now.”
Jax eyed him suspiciously. “What have you been up to? You look like shit.”
Chase shifted his weight and stifled a groan. “I took part in a revolution of sorts.”
“Good for you. I want my shuttle back, asshole.”
Chase chuckled. “The shuttle was confiscated by the Silenian authorities and probably recycled…but I hear I’m going to get a nice shiny Silenian shuttle as compensation. Will that do?”
Jax stared at him. “Yeah, that sounds good,” he said slowly. “But why would they be giving you a shuttle?”
“It’s part of the revolution thing that’s going on around here. Pets are being freed and given back their belongings.”
“How exactly did that happen? Slave owners don’t let go of their property just like that.”
“Well, it appears Holly and I created the same effect as Roger Blank.”
“Who?”
Chase waved a hand. “It’s not important. Long story short… Holly and I gave Silenians a new, superior type of pet to covet—a consenting one. So now owners are freeing their enslaved pets, hoping some of them stay out of love, devotion and free will.”
“Splendid,” Jax commented drily. “So when can we expect you back?”
“I’m going to make sure you get the shuttle soon. But…”
“But what?”
“Here’s the thing, friend. I’m staying on Silenia.”
“You need someone to bust you out?”
“No, nothing like that. I’m not a prisoner or anything. I’m a free man, but you see, my woman needs me. She’s the head of the rebellion here, working on freeing pets and rehabilitating them. It’s not an easy job and she needs someone to keep her safe.”
Jax scratched his head. “Well, shit. I wouldn’t have thought. You’re really sure about this?”
“Yeah. I make a difference here and my woman needs me. In addition, Silenians have made me a citizen. I’ve got a place here, and a future.”
“They made you a citizen? You’re a thief. Your criminal record is longer than a space cow’s intestine.”
“Not a thief anymore, Cap.” Saying that made his heart swell with pride. No more running from the law. No more prisons except for the cage Holly had for him in their apartment. He could walk the streets of Sky Dome One with his head held high. He was the wrestling champion, a bodyguard, and a citizen. For the first time in his life, he had a proper place in this world. He had a home.
Jax grinned. “I guess I should say congratulations. Glad to see a friend do well for himself.”
“Thanks, brother. I’m afraid I have to resign from the crew.”
“Already gave your job to Zaster. But hey, we’ll stay in touch. Let me know when I get my new shuttle.”
“All done?” Holly asked as Chase said goodbye to Jax and cut the connection. She appeared beside him in a shuffle of her black silk robe.
“All done, Mistress.”
She leaned over him, a seductive grin on her lips. “So you didn’t call for help?” she taunted gently. “Even though you’re being held captive in my apartment.”
Holly was certainly holding him captive in her bed, making sure he recovered from his injuries while she took care of everything. She pumped him full of drugs to speed up his healing, fed him, bathed him and made sure he had everything he needed.
“Mm. You know I’m helpless before you.”
Holly slipped a leather collar around his neck—the one he had chosen—and fastened it. “You’re mine forever, Chase.”
Warmth spread through his body. All through his life, he had made virtual sex programs treat him like this, but now it was real. The beautiful woman smiling down at him was real.
“And you don’t want any
one else besides me?”
“I only want you, Chase. You’re all I need.”
She hooked a finger through the ring at the front of his collar and kissed him. Her mouth tasted of honey; her lips soft and warm against his. Chase was in heaven.
Their joy was interrupted by the VR monitor blinking, announcing an incoming call. Holly pulled away in annoyance. “Now what?”
She tapped the screen and Avalanche’s face appeared.
“Hey, congratulations,” the Crasnian said gruffly. “Looks like you got what you wanted.”
Chase grinned at the man. “I’m as amazed as you are.”
“I want that rematch, you hear?”
“You sure you want a rematch?” Chase taunted. “Maybe I’ll just kick your ass again.”
“Seven days from now.” Avalanche pointed at him and grinned knowingly. “I’m waiting for your challenge.”
Ms. Reed walked into the frame and sat sideways in Avalanche’s lap, draping her arms around his neck. “Hello, I just wanted to quickly say thank you,” she said to Chase and Holly with a happy, radiant look on her face. “You were right to do what you did, and I’m so glad you succeeded.”
Holly smiled. “Well, you helped to make this happen, didn’t you? Thank you for everything.”
“I never knew such a thing was going on in the training centers,” Jacinda said, a frown clouding her face. “Avalanche always said he was happy here, and I knew he meant it. I didn’t know other pets were broken the way they were.”
Avalanche wrapped his thick arms soothingly around her waist.
“We were all deceived, but it’s going to change now,” Holly said.
Jacinda’s smile returned. “Yes. Avalanche is a Silenian citizen now, and we can finally have a proper relationship. I’ve never been happier. Let us know if you need help with anything.”