Paying the Price (Book 5 of The Empire of Bones Saga)

by Terry Mixon

  “With all due respect, Admiral Mertz thought the same on Orbital One. Allow me to suggest you accept a marine pinnace as a ride to Orbital One. That compromise would help ensure your safety.”

  She saw the logic of that. “Of course. Thank you. Tell me more about Jared.”

  “He has a minor wound on his left leg. He’s receiving treatment and will recover completely. Mister Owlet and Major Ellis also escaped an ambush. The attackers injured the major more seriously, but the doctors expect her to survive.

  “From the initial reports, their defense of his apartment was more…vigorous than their attackers expected. At the very least, the collateral damage to property was much higher than the other attacks. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to take any of the attackers alive.”

  She sighed. “So, you’re telling me this is an organized group not afraid to attack protected areas. I’ll be waiting for your pinnace. Thank you, Marcus.”

  Elise disconnected the call. “There have been other attacks. Jared Mertz was injured on Orbital One. Another marine officer was hurt down here. Are you sure we’re safe?”

  He rose from his seat beside the table and touched a button on his desk. “Get me the chief of the Senatorial Guard.”

  After a moment, a woman’s voice came back. “Yes, Senator Breckenridge?”

  “I apologize for calling you at home, Colonel. A number of people from the expedition have been attacked. I have Crown Princess Elise Orison from the Kingdom of Pentagar in my office right now and I’m concerned that we might be in danger here as well.”

  “Stand by.”

  He turned to Elise. “Vera Leibowitz is an ex-marine colonel. She’ll do what needs to be done.”

  “Invincible is sending a marine pinnace to get me out of here. Don’t get into a shooting match with it.”

  He nodded. “That would be bad. I’ll make certain they know about it.”

  “Senator?” Colonel Leibowitz was back. “There are only two other senators in the building. I’ve sent extra people to your office and I’m calling in the Imperial Marines for backup. We’ve put the building on lockdown.”

  “Excellent,” Breckenridge said. “Also, a pinnace from Invincible is coming for the crown princess. Coordinate with Fleet to make sure it gets in safely.”

  “Will do, Senator. I’m on my way now and warnings are going out to all the senators’ security details. Don’t leave until I get there.”

  “I wouldn’t think of it. Thank you, Colonel.”

  He turned to Elise. “What could they hope to gain by kidnaping or killing these people?”

  She sipped her drink worriedly. “Admiral Mertz was apparently to be assassinated. In case the news hasn’t made the rounds, he and I are a couple.”

  His expression hardened, but not about the relationship, she thought. “I hadn’t heard. No more small talk. Let me get him on the line for you and give you some privacy. Our business here is concluded, I think.”

  She nodded gratefully as he again used his desk com.

  “Get me Orbital One,” he said. “Make sure they know who is calling.”

  “Right away, Senator.”

  A moment later, another voice came on the line. “Orbital One security, Senator Breckenridge. Lieutenant Howard speaking. I don’t have any more information on the escape.”

  The senator frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “Captain Breckenridge’s escape, sir. Isn’t that why you called?”

  * * * * *

  Kelsey arrived at the alley where Talbot had called for help with a marine strike team at her back. The police were going over the area with a fine-toothed comb. A woman walked over as soon as the pinnace landed, her hand extended.

  She glanced at the weapons on Kelsey’s hips, but said nothing. A wise decision.

  “Princess Kelsey, I’m Lieutenant Amy Jenkins, Planetary Security. We’ve searched the area thoroughly, but didn’t find Major Talbot or any of his attackers. There’s a small amount of blood in the alley, which may or may not be connected with this case, but not enough to make me think anyone was killed here tonight.”

  “Thank God. Do you have any idea what happened?”

  The woman flipped an old-fashioned notepad open. “He was at a known marine bar up the street. Some of the staff said there was a bit of a scuffle earlier, but that the man Major Talbot was arguing with was in a much better mood by the time the major left. The man was still there when our people arrived and there’s no indication he left or called anyone to cause Major Talbot any trouble.”

  She pointed up the street. “The major walked from that direction toward the Excelsior. A street camera covering the area went offline just before the ambush. I have techs looking into it.

  “One of the people in the building across the street claims to have seen the whole thing from her balcony. She said there were two large groups of attackers. One ahead of the major and another following. He spotted the ambush and made a break for the alley.”

  The detective gestured at the alley. “He fired some kind of weapon that emitted a blue light that took out the first group as they rushed in behind him. It purportedly dropped them in their tracks.”

  Jenkins raised an eyebrow as she looked at Kelsey. “I’m not familiar with any weapon capable of that, but there are rumors circulating your expedition found something interesting. Can you elaborate?”

  Kelsey shrugged. “I can’t talk about the expedition yet, but I can confirm that a stunning weapon was used here.”

  She drew hers and handed it over to the detective. “The range is good out to fifty meters on narrow beam. Wide angle, which is what he must’ve used, cuts the range in half and reduces the knockout time from four hours to maybe half an hour.”

  The detective examined the weapon curiously. “This is amazing. It really does all that? What are the chances we can get some? That would really help us take out the bad guys without risking innocent bystanders.”

  “That’s already in the works,” Kelsey said. “One of our people made a stun only version specifically for that purpose. I think there are a few dozen ready in orbit. I’ll see that they get them to you.”

  The woman handed Kelsey’s neural disruptor back. “So, the military version can kill? The major might have killed his attackers?”

  “Almost certainly not. Only an idiot keeps a weapon that can stun on a kill setting. Talbot only needed to stop them, not kill them.”

  “Lieutenant,” a man called from the alley. “We have an ID on the blood.”

  The two of them stepped over to the man. He looked at Kelsey curiously, but Jenkins gestured for him to continue.

  “There was a little fresh blood on the ground near the smashed com. It matched Fleet records for Major Talbot. Not enough for a fatal injury, but based on the few drops on the wall, someone might have bashed him in the head.”

  Kelsey’s stomach rolled over. “And not enough to be fatal?”

  The man shrugged. “This feels more like a kidnapping than a murder. I’d put money on his being alive.”

  “That brings me to the last bit of eyewitness testimony,” Jenkins said. “Two grav vans picked up the unconscious attackers and the major. They had their identifiers disabled. We’ll keep looking, but I wouldn’t hold my breath that lead will pan out.”

  “I might be able to help with that. Major Talbot has a locator beacon. If we can find it, we’ll be able to get his precise location.”

  “Won’t the kidnappers find it?” Leibowitz asked.

  Kelsey smiled coldly. “Not a chance. It’s inside him. The range is about a dozen kilometers. If we find it, my marines and I will go pay them a visit they won’t be soon forgetting.”

  “Not to rain on your parade, but this is a security matter. We can mount a rescue operation without leveling a building.”

  “Can you stun everyone inside? No? And Major Talbot and I are dating. If you think for one second that I’ll allow someone else to pull him out of the fire, you are sadly mi
staken.”

  The woman shook her head. “Pistols aside, you’re not trained for this kind of work, Highness. Leave it to the professionals.”

  “You don’t know me,” Kelsey said. “The last year has changed me in ways you can’t begin to understand.” She reached down and lifted one end of a trash dumpster a few feet off the ground. A full one.

  That got everyone’s attention.

  “What I’m about to tell you is a classified Imperial secret. Pay attention and tell no one. I have enhancements that make me ten times stronger than the toughest man you know. I have a combat computer in my head that can spot trouble before anyone else and I can act before you twitch. The pinnace has armor in it that no weapon here will touch.

  “So don’t think you’re going to tell me I’m not saving the man I love. Is that clear enough for you?”

  * * * * *

  Carl paced the hospital waiting room. The other people there were staring at him oddly, and he didn’t blame them. He looked as though he’d been through a fire, he was carrying a hammer, and he had half a dozen men and women guarding him.

  Planetary Security was on the way. Well, technically, there were a few uniformed officers in the waiting room, but the detectives would be here soon.

  Major Ellis was going to make it. She’d lost some blood, but the wounds were treatable. Thank God for that.

  The marine second in command of his protective detail was briefing him on what had taken place tonight. Someone had wanted to sweep the board, but why attack him? He was small fry.

  Obviously, they thought his knowledge of Old Empire technology might help them with something. But what?

  A hard-eyed man in a rumpled suit came into the waiting room. He headed straight for Carl.

  “Carl Owlet? I’m Detective Ronny Powers, Planetary Security. I have some questions for you.” He looked at the marine guards. Even in civilian clothes, they were obviously military. “Alone.”

  “Not happening,” Lieutenant Howard Coulter said. “This man is under Fleet protection. We go where he goes.”

  The two men glared at one another.

  “Let’s make a compromise,” Carl suggested. “We can go to the chapel and the marines can sit in the back. We get privacy and they can keep an eye on me.”

  The privacy would be illusory, but the detective didn’t know that. The marines’ auditory implants would let them listen in from across the room.

  With a reluctant nod, the detective agreed. “Lead the way.”

  Carl had visited the chapel earlier. Never a very religious man, he’d felt the need for some contemplation after the events of the evening. He’d killed men tonight.

  First, the men who’d died when he’d flown the hammer through his apartment. Then he’d hit the survivors in the grav van as they’d fled. He’d meant to disable it, but it had dodged right in front of him at the last moment. They’d gone through it at supersonic velocity.

  The detective escorted him up front and they took a seat on the pew with a view, as he’d thought of it. The stained glass window was beautiful and probably had deeper meaning for the religious.

  “So, there was a little problem at student housing,” the detective said. “Tell me about it.”

  Carl chuckled grimly. “Yes, I suppose those are the right words for it. A little problem. Armed men attacked Major Angela Ellis and myself. She’s my head keeper, by the way. I suspect this was supposed to be a kidnapping, based on the other events of the evening.”

  “I’m aware of them,” the detective admitted. “Or at least some of them. Why would these men want to kidnap you?”

  “They probably wanted to know something. I’m a scientist and was part of the recently returned expedition. The details of which I can’t go into without permission.”

  The detective didn’t look pleased at that news. “And who would be able to give me a green light?”

  “A good place to start would be Admiral Jared Mertz. He’s on Orbital One.”

  The man rubbed his face. “Fine. You were a lab assistant or something, so what could you really know?”

  The question sounded rhetorical, so Carl chose not to answer it. Most people didn’t accept him as a scientist. He looked like someone just getting ready to go to college. He wouldn’t be old enough to drink for months, though he’d been declared an adult for legal purposes.

  Detective Powers sighed and made a note in his little book. “So, the bad guys attacked. Your neighbors downstairs heard them breaking in. One even saw them in the stairwell. Masked, of course, but with heavy weapons. That matches the level of destruction in your apartment. And the one across the hall. Luckily for everyone involved, the occupants were out partying.”

  Carl had known the rooms were empty of people because of the combat remotes he’d scattered around. Otherwise, he’d have brought Mjölnir in through a different wall. Unfortunately, the other apartment provided the best way to stop most of the attackers. He’d have to find out how much he owed them for lost personal belongings.

  And the university would be pissed about the damage to the buildings. First, the classified lab he’d been storing the hammer at would need some roof work. Then the two apartments would need major repairs. And anything the van parts landed on, of course.

  And let’s not forget the windows he’d smashed when he’d gone supersonic.

  Yeah, the bill was going to be spectacular.

  “So, your guard was shot, but you escaped. None of the cameras showed you exiting the building. How’d you get down?”

  “That’s classified.”

  The detective gave him a flat stare. “Uh huh. I suppose the grav car that broke the sound barrier had something to do with that. Probably shot down the bad guys, too. Can you at least confirm that?”

  Carl shook his head. “It’s all classified. Was anyone hurt when the grav van came down?”

  “Other than the four men inside it who were killed in the explosion? No. You were damned lucky. Part of the wreckage went almost across the campus. It hit some lab and caved in part of the roof. Or, more likely, it was a missile that missed the van. The angles are odd, but that’s the only answer that fits the facts. Maybe the grav van took a shot at your car.”

  The man shook his head. “I suppose I’ll find out some version of the truth eventually. Honestly, Major Ellis is going to get a much sterner questioning from me. She holds responsibility for most of the damage, I suspect. Along with those yahoos at the back of the chapel. You’re only a kid. No way you caused this kind of havoc.”

  If he only knew.

  The detective put his notebook away. “One more question. The major came into the hospital dressed only in her underwear. I can’t help but notice those are hospital scrubs you’re wearing. Might I assume that you and the major have a…complicated relationship?”

  Carl’s clothes had been covered in blood. They’d found the scrubs so he didn’t scare the other people in the waiting room.

  The detective held up a hand before Carl could deny it.

  “I’m not judging. You’re a legal adult and can sleep with whoever you choose.” He smiled with a glint in his eye. “I will say nice going, though.”

  He stood without letting Carl say a word. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. Whoever these bozos were, we’ll identify them. That’ll get us the answers we need.”

  Carl watched the man go back to talk to Coulter. The marine wouldn’t tell him anything. In a way, that was good. The fewer lies out there, the less trouble keeping things straight.

  Since the marines had overheard everything, he also suspected a few juicy rumors about them sleeping together were going to start making the rounds. By the time Major Ellis found out, it would be far too late to do anything about them.

  Except possibly punching him again.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Talbot woke in pain. His head was throbbing. His abused arm hurt even worse.

  The memory of the attack came flooding back in and he tried to sit up.
Nope. His captors had tied him to a bed. Arms, legs, and a belt around his middle. Someone didn’t want him getting up.

  He smiled. Good.

  “Ah, our guest is awake,” a male voice said from the darkness beside him.

  Talbot adjusted his ocular implants and saw the man in the shadows. Hair pulled back into a long tail, dressed well enough. He’d recognize the face if he ever saw it again.

  He activated his recorders. If he didn’t make it out, he wanted someone to catch the bastard.

  “Where am I?” Talbot demanded in a voice that almost croaked. “Who the hell are you?”

  The man leaned forward. “The less you know about me, the better the chances that you’ll walk away from this unpleasantness.”

  “You picked the wrong guy to snag. I don’t exactly know that much. I’m just a jarhead.”

  “Surprisingly, I agree. We didn’t target you for your knowledge. We want to examine those machines inside you. To have someone look over the code that drives them. As a senior officer, if anyone is compromised, it will be you.”

  Talbot took a moment to activate his retrieval beacon. The fact no one had pinged it from the outside told him he must be some distance away from the capital. At least now, someone would find him. It was only a matter of time. Kelsey wouldn’t stop looking until she did.

  “I don’t suppose my sincere assurance that I’m not under any compulsion will do.”

  The man smiled. “No, I’m afraid not. That weapon was quite a surprise. It took down my men in short order. If you’d had a few more moments, you might have escaped entirely. Everyone recovered, so it’s non-lethal. What is it?”

  Talbot felt around for it with his implants. A smart man would keep it out of his range. Then again, they didn’t know he could access it.

  He found it in a drawer near the edge of his range and locked it down. Now they wouldn’t be using it for anything. Too bad he didn’t have the long-range com inside Carl was proposing as a universal upgrade.