by Scott Moon
Zane had the sheriff and the deputy fooled. The missing child incident had been a stroke of good fortune. He’d been lucky to stash the kid and return her to her parents. Sometimes being a bad guy was fun. And that was what he was. He could trick everyone else, make them believe anything he wanted them to believe, but he knew what was what. Once a person dedicated their entire lives to vengeance, that person became a villain.
No one was more dedicated than he was. Maybe he had a good reason to hate the Glakridozians. Maybe anyone who had lost their family on such a terrible planet would feel the same way. He didn't care. He’d been alone for a long time and was going to murder every last one of the vile pig-dog creatures who called the planet their home. Had they actually killed his family? Probably not. If he was being honest, definitely not. But they knew how to survive and hunt and bring in food during the harshest winters in that horrible place. They could've brought his people food. They could've led them in from the cold and watched over the humans as they slept on a world hostile to sentient life.
The shadows concealed him. He watched the sheriff's ex-wife and the soldiers pass by. Maybe they were here to put a stop to all the thieving and disorder during the failing economy. Maybe not. His bet was they were looking for him. They finally figured out the importance of the Heart Stone and what he could do to an ecosystem by smashing it.
Thinking of the foul pig-dog stoked his anger and he found it difficult not to curse and thus reveal his position to the soldiers. When they were out of sight, he calmed himself and began sending coded messages. With luck, these soldiers would soon be on a wild goose chase into Transport Canyon. That was how a man like Zane VoidHunter stayed one step ahead of the law. The most lucrative bounties came from criminal organizations and made him a wanted man. He was the best hunter there was, for humans or for Glakridozians.
Once he snuffed the life out of this one, he could return to the planet and finish off the rest of their vile kind.
He stepped onto the street and strolled toward the Mother Lode. It was time to tell more lies to the sheriff and his idiotic Unglok deputy. "I'm tired of this dirty nowhere planet.”
"There he is! Get him!” Penelope shouted, then raced ahead of her soldiers to catch Zane.
He cursed her trap and how he had fallen into it. Darting into a building, he disturbed a family eating a dinner of broth and crackers. He shoved through the small room, tipping over the table and sending their meager fare splattering on the floor.
Penelope and the soldiers came after him, apologizing but not stopping. There was no sign of Sledge, which meant the bruiser was likely circling around to cut them off. Zane was disappointed. They’d tried this tactic before and it had almost worked, which meant it couldn't possibly work this time.
Zane saw the back door. To the left, there was a window. He opened the door and then retreated, running out of time as the soldiers pursued him. With the agility of a cat, he dove through the window and came out on a fire escape facing the ninety degrees away from the back door. He froze. Soldiers rushed out the back door and instantly realized they'd been duped as Sledge pointed to Zane on the fire escape just around the corner from where they stood.
That was all the time he needed. He clambered down the fire escape and sprinted into the darkness. Penelope and her soldiers came after him. Whoever trained them had not skimped on their conditioning. They were gaining on him, which was a part of his hastily-formed plan.
Ideally, he would never lead anyone to his hideout. Hard times made for hard decisions. This was his place of sanctuary in Darklanding but also a weapon. He ran into the dark building, slamming the door behind him. Sledge, despite his size, was in the lead now. He kicked open the door. Seconds later, soldiers were flowing into the hunter’s stronghold.
"Use your lights!" Penelope shouted.
"I am. They’re not working. It's like trying to see through mud," one of the soldiers said.
"He's using some sort of sensory deprivation field. We should back out and surround the place," Sledge said.
Penelope answered in a calm but tense voice. "Agreed, but I'm not sure where the door is.”
Zane pulled his ship goggles from under the collar of his coat and stretched them over his eyes. They sucked tight against his skin when he dropped them theatrically against his face, increasing his vision by three or four percent. Not much, but significantly more than the soldiers with their flashlights and night vision googles. Zane’s gear was synchronized with the ship, slaved to the illumination and de-illumination systems.
He straightened his bowler hat, then brushed nonexistent dust from the front of his long coat. His mind was conditioned for the sensory deprivation that would drive his victims insane.
His complete mastery of the ship layout allowed him to turn a corner, hurry up a flight of stairs, and cut through the room to the balcony he used to observe the main area when he had doomed guests. He savored the moment.
In his Doppelganger-class ship, even sounds were muted. Once he had counted the voices and was sure they were all stumbling around inside of his dark fortress, he went outside and locked them in.
The constant drone of space freighters landing at the port and drunks shouting about something a street over seemed to cheer his exploits. Heading for the Mother Lode, he daydreamed of removing the Heart Stone from the pig-dog’s corpse. Then he’d take the blood gem to Glakridoz and break it wide open.
“Vengeance is mine,” he said. “What, you say don’t count your Heart Stones before they’re hatched? Stop talking to yourself?” He laughed. “I’m not crazy. Or arrogant. Or about to murder anyone and everyone standing in my way.”
Before he knew it, the Mother Lode loomed before him like the end of a grand quest.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Get ready,” Thaddeus said. “He’s here.”
P. C. Dickles moved away from the door, clearly nervous about the impending confrontation.
Mast stood tall, his blaster held at his side, his body turned to conceal the weapon from whoever came through the front door. Thaddeus hadn't needed to tell him what to do this time. His deputy was learning tactics and subterfuge.
The room was nearly empty. He’d run off the few power drunks who’d been nursing their daily medicine. Bystanders would be casualties if this went badly. Zane Trustman was an enigma to Thad, a competent law enforcement officer who’d helped catch thieves and find lost children. But he also stabbed Maximus and lied every chance he got.
Zane entered confidently but was soon standing nervously just inside the door. Removing his bowler hat almost as an afterthought, he swiped it to one side in a move that reminded Thaddeus of a magician's distraction. "Good evening, gentlemen. I feel like you three were waiting for me.”
Mast and Dickles kept silent, just as Thaddeus had instructed them. Zane took a step further into the saloon and did a quick sweep of the area with his eyes. He talked like a traveling salesman and thought like a professional lawman, but right now, he was standing like a gunfighter ready to unleash hell.
"I've done some checking on your resume," Thad said.
"And?"
Thad shrugged. "Everything is perfectly in order.”
Zane smiled and relaxed slightly.
"Like someone typed it yesterday," the sheriff replied.
“Well, the fact remains, my credentials are in order. You're lucky to have me here on this dirty mining planet,” Zane said.
"I understand you've met P. C. Dickles, the acting field superintendent of the SagCon mining operation.”
"Yes."
"As you basically try to steal my job.”
Zane smiled and spread his hands with exaggerated innocence. "Where I come from, they call that initiative. You always want to hire somebody who wants to replace you, right?”
He took a seat, leaning back in the chair, then dropping the legs, then leaning back again. In his nervousness, he moved the bowler hat around as he talked. “I’m almost sorry I ever came to Darklandi
ng. No wonder you can’t get good help.”
Thaddeus said nothing. The moment stretched out, and he gave P. C. Dickles the nod.
“Jane Rocker is one of my foremen. Good worker, puts in a lot of hours. Very dedicated to her family,” Dickles said, eyeing Zane.
“I don’t see how that pertains to me,” Zane said.
“She nearly lost her little girl the other day.”
“Oh, well, you can tell her she’s welcome. I think I remember her name now that you mention it.”
Thad stepped back in. This was where the conversation could turn into a gunfight. Confrontations were always dangerous. “Her daughter had an interesting story after you brought her home.”
Zane waited, apparently unconcerned with what Thad was about to say. He seemed bored, slightly annoyed, as he glanced around the empty room.
“She’d gone to her friend’s house next door, but only after a strange man grabbed her off the street and explained her mommy and daddy would leave her forever if she didn’t give them some time alone together,” Thad said, reciting the details of what Dickles had told him. “The man told her to hide and not be found until he came for her. He told her bad things would happen to her mommy and daddy if she ever said what really happened.”
“You’re right. That is a strange story. Surely she’d recognize whoever told her such a horrible lie. I brought her home and she seemed to like me well enough.”
“The man was wearing a hooded coat. She said it was too dark, unnaturally dark. Kind of like the place my deputy saw you enter a few days ago,” Thad said. The last detail bothered Zane, causing him to shift in his chair and look toward the door.
“What is this? Are you unhappy with my performance? We’ve made a lot of arrests and found that missing girl, no matter what kind of childish fantasy she tells her parents. Kids make excuses when they get in trouble. They try to shift blame.”
“I want answers, Zane.”
The man threw up his hands in frustration. “I don’t understand this hostility. I came here to help. My language skills alone could earn me a better salary someplace else. I don’t have to take this abuse.”
Thad abruptly changed tack. “Penelope and a group of soldiers were supposed to arrive in Darklanding last night. She sent me a message that she was deploying to Darklanding and needed to talk to my new deputy.”
“You never actually deputized me,” Zane said.
“Focus,” Thad said. “And stop lying and dissembling.”
“That’s enough. I don’t need this.”
Mast aimed his blaster at the man. “You will be muchly sitting down is what I am thinking.”
“Penelope never showed up,” Thad said.
“Maybe their ship was delayed. She’s probably orbiting the planet in a transport vessel wishing she could land even if it is on this miserable planet,” Zane said.
“I saw them last night,” Dickles said. “I think they were chasing you.”
“Where are they? What’d you do with my ex-wife?” Thad demanded.
Zane swallowed hard. “Your…ex-wife?” He sat up straighter, one hand on the armrest of his chair in preparation to stand and run. “She should be all right if she’s with a squad of TerroCom soldiers.”
“How would you know they were TerroCom?”
Zane shrugged away Thad’s accusatory tone. “That’s the only kind on Darklanding.”
“Only a few people have that knowledge. You had to have seen them to call them TerroCom,” Thad said. “Where are they? Where is my ex-wife? Why do you want to kill Maximus?”
Zane stood. “We could have worked together. But have it your way. My name is Zane Rexourn VoidHunter and I’m here to claim the Heart Stone from the bowels of your filthy pet. Nothing you do can stop me. I have your ex-wife and the soldiers. If you want to see them alive, you’d better tell your deputy to put away that blaster.”
Mast lowered the weapon but kept it ready.
“We know where your hideout is located. My deputy spotted you going into it shortly after you arrived in Darklanding.”
Zane shook his head. “Anyone who opens my fortress, from outside or inside, is in for a fatal surprise. Give me the Heart Stone or start making arrangements for a large military funeral.”
Thad weighed his options, wishing he had more information. Breaking down the man’s lies was the first step. He’d thought it’d be the hard part. Now he was stuck with a hostage situation and less than half the information he needed to bargain with a lying psychopath.
“Tell me about the Heart Stone. I can’t give it to you unless I find it, and I can’t find it unless I know what it is,” Thad said.
“Ignorant grunt. This is why I hate you military types.” He started to pace. “The Heart Stone is a rare element only found on Glakridoz. Your military research and development people want to study it and weaponize it, which won’t be hard. It’s highly poisonous, especially to anyone from Glakridoz, which is why I want it. I’ve got a vendetta with some animals who killed my family.”
“Not helpful,” Thad said. “If it’s here, I would’ve known when people started dying.”
“I know where it is. Your pig-dog ate it. That’s why he farts so much,” Zane said.
Thad drew his blaster and aimed it at Zane Rexourn VoidHunter. “I’m not in the mood for bathroom humor.”
Zane shrugged. “The thing you call Maximus ate it and left Glakridoz. How else would he carry a gem the size of your fist? Don’t answer that. My point is, he has it here on the planet. Since people would start dying around it, that means he hasn’t passed it yet.”
“I am muchly thinking this Heart Stone would be killing Maximus if he ate it,” Mast said, his blaster also aimed at the hunter from Glakridoz.
Zane shook his head. “It’s encapsulated in a protein sack they grow to carry things in their stomach. It’ll kill him eventually. Until then, the only problem your pet has is the size of the stone. It’s big enough to mess with his digestion.”
“Fascinating,” Thad said. “And complete bullshit. Release my wife, Sledge, and the soldiers. Then we can talk about the Heart Stone all you want.”
“Sledge will be the first to die. He’ll attempt to force the doors. Exploding razor wires and laser wedges will slice him into sections. Your ex-wife will be next because she’ll go to help him. The TerrorCom soldiers are all brave and battle-tested. They’ll try to break out and get slaughtered by the countermeasures of my fortress ship,” Zane said.
Thad holstered his weapon, confident he could draw fast enough to kill Zane if needed. “So let’s talk.”
“You give me the Heart Stone and I’ll deactivate the traps keeping your people inside my dark house.”
“We can do that,” Thad said, thinking of ways to warn the people of Glakridoz before Zane “the nut job” VoidHunter-Trustman reached their planet to wipe them out.
Zane smiled wickedly. “You’re so easy. I have to tell you the rest. It would be a low-class trick far below my station to hold back certain details.”
Sarcasm dripped from Thad’s words. “Wait, you lied to us? I can’t believe it.”
Zane laughed, his eyes taking on a sick twinkle that reminded Thad of a serial killer. “When you take the Heart Stone from Maximus, it will kill him.”
“I’m not going to take it. I’ll ask and he’ll give it,” Thad said with a sinking feeling in his gut warning him this was a bad idea.
“Doesn’t matter. His body has learned to fight off the toxins penetrating the stomach sack. He’ll die within minutes as his metabolism overcompensates,” Zane said. “Make your choice, Fry—a woman you probably still love, a good friend, and a squad of your TerroCom soldiers or one disgusting beast that let my people die of starvation on Glakridoz.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Mast’s voice rasped when he spoke. His words rumbled low and harsh to his Unglok ears and he doubted Thad or the other humans could hear him. I must be speaking muchly louder, with conviction, with bigly conf
idence. Yes, that is what Mast Jotham must do.
Zane turned, sensing Unglok words before the other humans in the room heard them. “Are you talking to me, Glok?”
Mast stepped forward, wishing Maximus was at his side. He swaggered like a good deputy sheriff, stopped with his body slightly canted, and stared angrily downward. “Zane VoidHunter, I know where your dark place is and will rescue my friends very muchly. You may go jump in a lake. You may go frak yourself. You may piss away.”
“Off,” Thad said. “Piss off.”
“Yes, that is what I said I am thinking.”
“Be my guest. The entire building will explode the moment you enter,” Zane said. “Not that you’ll get inside before the blast shoots you all the way to Transport Canyon. One touch…boom!”
“You have booby trapped it? That is what a muchly bad person like you would do,” Mast said, not believing the man from Glakridoz. “Your building would also explode if a random person knocked on your door or children played too near it. There are many disobedient youths running the streets of Darklanding at night. They painted on the walls of your dark fortress. Did you not see the graffiti?”
“He’s not bluffing,” Thad said.
Dickles moved close to Mast, turning his back to Zane, whispering in a mixture of bad Unglok and miner speak. “I’m good with explosives. Let’s get your friends. Show this guy what’s what.”
“Muchly what’s what,” Mast said, backing out of the conversation as Sheriff Fry argued with the not-trustworthy man.
***
“I don’t negotiate with terrorists or hostage takers,” Thad said. “I’m an officer in the Ground Forces and a recent lieutenant colonel with TerroCom. My career was spent dealing with people like you. Your story is bullshit. My dog stole a priceless poison gem from an alien planet? Really?”