by Ravenna Tate
They had talked about simply trying to arrange to have this ship fly directly to Atkins, but had been advised by their moles inside that it would have been outside the normal procedures to do that. Ships flew from the Zoo to Atkins if there were prisoners to pick up, not directly to the prison from off the planet.
But even though all those things had fallen into place to allow them to get this far, Vaughn knew it was still a risky plan. If even one Tyrann got suspicious and did a little digging, they would be exposed. He wasn’t worried about being recognized, but if the Tyranns were tipped off that the four might not be who they seemed to be, they’d be detained, and then it would all be over.
As the ship landed on Voyeur Moon, Vaughn pictured Marianne’s face. He’d hold that image in his mind until this was over, and he was once again in her arms. Because that was the only thing keeping him going right now.
****
River stepped off the ship behind Vaughn, Thane, and Rune. As he handed his fake credentials to Harrington, the current Warden of the Zoo, he held his breath and looked straight ahead. The man nodded once, barely gave him a second glance, and then took the credentials from Thane. Only then did River dare to exhale.
Once they were on a ground transport, heading west toward Atkins Prison, River finally spoke. “Step one down. Only four more to go.”
Vaughn was driving them, with River next to him in the front seat, and Thane and Rune in the second seat behind them. The back area of the transport was accessible by a locked door with heavy bars on it and the window, and thick glass on both. That area was where they’d have to put Blake and Betsy, alongside the two prisoners currently being held in the safe house.
That would be the worst part of the trip for the Williams couple, because they’d need to be hooded and gagged as well to make it look real. But at least it would give them hope. And once they got past that step, the diversion would have to work. Otherwise they’d all end up in prison, or dead.
River shook away the thoughts of what could still go wrong. He concentrated instead on Marianne’s face, the sound of her voice, and the look in her eyes when he held her. He would see her again. This would work. He had confidence in every man on board this transport, and in their moles inside the Tyrann establishments. As long as they kept their cool, this would go according to plan.
When they arrived at Atkins, they were met by the Warden and one of their moles. Their credentials were checked again, and then the Warden gave them a fifteen-minute lecture on doing their duty, and honor and bravery, and how proud they must be to be given such an important assignment as new guards.
The four didn’t speak other than to mumble “Thank you, Sir” a few times. They’d agreed ahead of time that the less any Tyrann heard their voices, the more difficult it would be for them to identify any of them later when the shit hit the fan.
Finally, they were shown to a waiting area. River only wished they’d been able to have one of them stay behind in the transport. If anything went wrong at this point, there would be no one to attempt to drive back to the ship and fly it off Voyeur Moon, or at least warn Jakara by radio. But they hadn’t wanted to risk having an extra person along with what were supposed to be four new Zoo guards, without a good explanation why that man was needed.
After what seemed an interminable time, during which River imagined all sorts of scenarios that involved them being found out, Blake and Betsy Williams were brought into the room, shackled and gagged. River’s heart gave a strange lurch to realize these two were the only family Marianne likely still had left living. He also couldn’t believe how much they’d both changed since the last time he’d seen them.
Both had lost considerable weight, and Blake had a jagged scar along the right side of his face, where it looked like someone had cut him with something. Betsy’s eyes were haunted and dull. River averted his gaze before he gave himself away and one of the guards bringing the two into the room saw the emotion on his face.
Blake and Betsy had been told by their contacts inside this prison what was going to happen today, so River hoped they had enough presence of mind not to make it look like they recognized River or Vaughn.
It took what felt like forever again before Blake and Betsy were in the back of the transport. Finally, Vaughn drove away from the prison, and all four men let out a loud whoop. Only then did River unlock the door to the back and uncuff Blake and Betsy, and remove their gags. They’d have to put them back on, and put hoods on them once they picked up the two prisoners, but right now River wanted to give them a quick reprieve.
“Is she safe?” whispered Betsy. “Marianne. Is she all right?”
River had to blink back tears at the desperation in her voice. He nodded, then cleared his throat. “Yes. She’s on Addo with Jakara and Callie.”
Blake thanked River in a shaky voice, and Betsy sighed out loud, leaned her head back and closed her eyes. When tears spilled over her lids, River had to avert his gaze. He vowed then and there to return these good, brave people to Marianne. They needed her as much as she needed them.
Chapter Eleven
Thane sat in the driver’s seat of the transport, with the motor running, while Vaughn stood outside the safe house with his rifle slung over his shoulder. He scanned the woods, looking for any movement.
River and Rune came out of the house, each man carrying one of the prisoners they’d been holding there. The two Addonians who had kept the prisoners in the house waved toward the group once, then went back inside. Vaughn stood guard until River and Rune had placed the prisoners in the back of the transport with Blake and Betsy.
When they motioned toward Vaughn and Thane, only then did Vaughn climb into the transport once again. Vaughn glanced into the back as they headed toward the Zoo. All four were gagged and hooded now. Betsy had changed into the same clothing as the men wore, and they’d pushed her hair under a cap. It was all they could do for now.
The two prisoners they’d been holding inside the house were drugged, but the anesthetic would wear off in about an hour. All they’d be able to tell the Tyranns if they should ask was that they’d been in a building, blindfolded almost the entire time, and fed by someone who never spoke.
The two men holding them had only removed the blindfolds to let them eat and use the toilet once every two hours, but they’d worn masks during that time so the prisoners wouldn’t be able to identify them.
They’d kept the prisoners shackled by one ankle to the floor, in a mechanism that required a key to unlock, and in separate rooms with no windows. There would be no direct link to the house they were in that led back to Jakara or to anyone on Addo.
Everything was going to according to plan, but now they had to get the prisoners into the Zoo, while securing Blake and Betsy on the spacecraft. And then they had to fly to Addo without being tracked or followed.
As they approached the Zoo, Thane turned off the main road into the woods, slowed the transport, and then Vaughn and Rune jumped out. They ran into the woods while the transport turned around to head back to the road. They had exactly three minutes to plant the explosives and then find where the road curved around this part of the woods, where Thane would pick them up again.
If they failed at this part of the plan, they were done. There would be no diversion, and they couldn’t risk going back to try it again. This was a heavily-traveled road, and any second another transport or official vehicle could come along, spot them, and decide to find out what they were up to.
Vaughn felt like his lungs were on fire as he ran and counted the seconds in his head. They hadn’t had the chance to practice this in person, only on a computer screen in simulation to make sure the timetable worked. And Thane had to drive at a pre-determined speed, never varying it, or they could miss their chance to get back on the transport. Either way, they risked being seen if another vehicle were on the road.
At forty-eight seconds they reached the abandoned equipment shack they’d chosen ahead of time. At sixty-two seconds the charg
es were planted, and Rune tested the timer on the detonator with a pulse. It lit up, indicating it was working. Then the men ran again.
Vaughn could hardly breathe now, but he knew that was more from fear than a lack of conditioning. Marianne’s words, muttered many times in the past few weeks, as she’d expressed awe and delight at his and River’s strength and stamina came back to him. He smiled, using the memory of her to spur him on.
They heard the motor of a passing transport as they approached the woods, but then Vaughn heard voices and he froze. Rune nearly collided with him, but stopped his forward progress in time as the men crouched down among the bushes.
The transport passing them on the road ahead was an open one, where several Tyranns sat, talking loudly. The damn thing was driving so fucking slow that there was no way their transport coming up behind it would slow in time to avoid being seen.
Rune pulled out one of the cell phones they’d procured for emergencies and sent a text. It was too risky, and Vaughn knew that, but the only other alternative was to wait until this transport stopped theirs to investigate, and that would delay them too much plus raise suspicion.
Having a random cell signal intercepted by the Tyranns was the lesser of two evils. These particular cell numbers would only be traced to a fake account, and Vaughn could only hope if the signal had been intercepted just now, no one would bother to trace it until they were safely in the air.
Finally, the transport moved past them, and they watched it turn off onto another road. That was a lucky break. They weren’t heading for the Zoo. Then, as they waited for their transport, Vaughn counted in his head again only to have something to do. Inside, he was ready to scream. When they heard the motor of their transport approach, both men breathed an audible sigh of relief.
They ran toward it while it slowed, hopping into the open doors on the sides as it kept moving, and then once they were inside again it sped up. River glared at Rune. “Why did you send the text?”
“Would it have been better to let them stop you?”
“We could have handled it.”
“The charges will go off in less than five minutes,” said Vaughn. “If they’d stopped you, they probably would have detonated while you were busy talking to them, and then we’d be done. At least now we still have a chance to pull this off.”
River ran his hands through his hair. “We’re behind schedule by almost two minutes.”
“We know that,” said Rune, his voice tight and angry. “I made a snap decision. It was a judgment call.”
“Enough,” said Thane, pointing. “There’s the facility. We’re back to the plan.”
****
River took several deep breaths as they pulled into the drop-off area. Their ship was on the tarmac, about three hundred yards away. He could see it. Next to it was a ship he hoped like hell belonged to the four real guards. He also prayed that Vito, Rygal, Daven, and Tallis were somewhere around. It had been too risky to attempt communication with them, even with their disguises in place.
Just as he was about to ask the others whether they could see their contacts yet, he spotted Vito, standing next to the second ship. He lit a cigarette, and that was the signal they’d been waiting for. He’d spotted them. River wiped the sweat off his brow as he grinned at Vaughn.
The charges would go off in less than two minutes now. Thane had managed to get them here only thirty seconds behind time, but they still had to move fast. Once the explosions started, they had no more than a minute at best to move Blake and Betsy onto the ship and get off the ground.
While Vaughn and Thane dragged the real prisoners toward the waiting intake guards, River glanced around quickly. No one was watching them. He and Rune stood next to the transport and waited.
River was sweating bullets now. It ran in rivulets down the back of his uniform, and his hair was damp against the back of his neck. His pulse raced. He pictured Marianne’s face, and that was the only thing keeping him from puking right now. The adrenaline rush was incredible, but he’d never done anything where the stakes were this high.
Not only did he hold her aunt and uncle’s lives in his hands, but if this turned sour, he’d never see her again. And if the Tyranns were able to trace this back to the quarters on Addo where she waited with Jakara and Callie, she might end up dead after all this. Or worse. She could end up inside the building next to where they now waited.
He closed his eyes and forced away the images. This will work.
When the first explosion sounded, he and Rune ducked into the back of the transport. When they heard running footsteps and voices shouting, he and Rune ushered Blake and Betsy out of the transport. He heard Betsy’s soft moan, and could actually feel her trembling as he held her arm. “Just walk,” he hissed. “We’ve got this.” What else could he tell her?
He didn’t dare glance around this time. His and Rune’s only mission was to get Blake and Betsy on the ship. It was up to Vaughn and Thane to get away from the intake guards and make their way to the craft.
When they’d planned this, he and Vaughn had decided it would be better for them to be split up, in case one of them didn’t make it. They hadn’t wanted Marianne to lose both of them, along with her aunt and uncle. But they hadn’t told her that ahead of time. Neither man had wanted her to be sitting back on Addo, imaging scenarios where so many things could go wrong.
They were halfway there. River glanced over at Rune, whose face was impassive. He was concentrating just as hard. Behind them, River heard the shouts, and he smelled the smoke from the explosions to the west, but he didn’t look toward the woods. They’d set the timer to explode five times, fifteen seconds apart, and all five had gone off.
So far, so good.
The ship was running. He could hear it as they approached, and he picked up the pace, practically dragging Betsy now. She was crying, but he couldn’t do anything about that. He got her on the ship first, and then buckled her into a chair. “When we’re out of Tyrann air space we’ll take off the hood and gag. Hang on a while longer.”
She nodded.
River turned to watch Rune board the craft with Blake, and then they buckled him in and told him the same thing. Then both men turned toward Vito, who had boarded their ship when the explosions went off. Rygal, Daven, and Tallis were outside on the tarmac somewhere, doing what they could to make sure no one stopped Vaughn and Thane.
Vito held up five fingers on each hand, and flashed them three times. River wanted to die inside. That meant they only had thirty seconds to wait for the others. If they weren’t on the ship by then, they had to leave them behind.
Tallis boarded the ship. “They’re coming,” he said. “Let’s get this thing ready to fly.” He and Vito began the pre-flight preparations while River and Rune stood close to the hatch, guns drawn in case the next person boarding their ship was a Tyrann.
River counted in his head. Twenty-four seconds to go … nineteen seconds … seven seconds, and just as River was about to close the hatch, first Thane’s face, and then his brother’s came into view. Behind them came Daven and Rygal, each with big grins on their faces.
River closed the hatch behind them, and then Vito steered the ship away from the others. “Cutting it a bit close, aren’t you?” asked River, staring at Vaughn. His voice shook, betraying the casual words. That had been way too fucking close, and he never wanted to feel such a sense of loss or helplessness again.
Vaughn’s face had visible sweat all over it, as did Thane’s. Thane merely grinned, but Vaughn gave River a droll look. “Fuck you.”
The two watched out the porthole while the craft lifted off the ground, and then they counted out loud, softly. Ninety seconds later, Vito let out a loud whoop. “We’re clear! We did it!”
The others cheered loudly, while River and Vaughn moved over to Betsy and Blake to remove the gags and take the hoods off their heads. “We’re out of Voyeur Moon airspace,” said River. “Breathe.”
“When can we see our niece?” asked
Blake.
“About an hour.”
He glanced toward his brother, and then the two embraced. River wasn’t surprised to find that Vaughn’s body was trembling as much as his was. “I didn’t think we’d do it,” said River as they released the embrace.
“You have no idea how close we came to not making it on board.” He glanced toward Rygal. “There’s a Tyrann guard with a knife in his gut, behind one of the equipment shacks. Rygal had no choice. It was him or us.”
River didn’t ask, but he hoped Rygal had been wearing gloves at the time, or had at least wiped his prints off the knife handle.
****
Marianne paced the quarters. They’d been gone exactly four and a half hours. It was supposed to take them one hour to fly to Voyeur Moon, one hour to retrieve her aunt and uncle and then the two real prisoners, less than one hour to reach the Zoo again, and then one hour to fly back to Addo. The only timeline they hadn’t been sure about was how much time they’d be inside Atkins Prison, waiting for her aunt and uncle to be brought to them for transport.
Her bag was already packed. That’s all she was allowed to take, but she didn’t give a shit if she took nothing out of here unless Vaughn and River were with her. The plan was that if they weren’t back in five and a half hours, and Jakara had heard nothing by then, he was to destroy the computers and take her and Callie to Sera.
She knew Jakara had heard something five minutes ago, because he’d gone outside to talk on his cell phone, and when he’d returned, his face had given him away. But he refused to tell them what the call had been about, and now Marianne was ready to jump out of her skin. She kept glancing out the windows, but all that did was earn her a scowl from Jakara each time.
Callie tried to distract her, but she didn’t want to talk and she had no interest in card games. She only wanted to see Vaughn and River walk through the front door with her aunt and uncle behind them.