by Aaron Hubble
“They…they can’t do that. Can they?” Malone said.
“I had such high hopes for you,” Abram said, his eyes still on the control panel. “But you’re really not that smart. These people don’t care a lick about you or your rights. They’d vaporize us and this ship in a heartbeat. One less problem to deal with.” He flipped a couple more switches and the engines rumbled to life. “This will either be the shortest ride in history or we’ll make it out alive. Strap in.”
The ship lurched forward and then all momentum was violently halted.
“Oh you tricky bastards. Locked up the clamps, didn’t you,” Abram said. “Luckily, I have a few tricks of my own.”
He tapped the console a few times and a targeting matrix came up on the screen.
“You have weapons on this ship?” Luana asked.
“Yep. Cover your ears. This is going to get loud.”
Abram pressed another button and the screen lit up with laser fire. The streaks of energy tore through the docking clamps and the ship listed to the side. Abram grasped the controls and gave the ship maximum thrust. The Olibert tore away from Retem station and Malone could see a trail of debris floating in the vacuum.
The pilot pumped his fist in the air. “In your face, Retem! You don’t try and tell Abram Ginnis what to do.”
The ship accelerated suddenly and Malone was thrown back into his seat. Flashes of light exploded outside the windows, lighting up the cockpit of the freighter. Shock waves shook the ship. Abram rolled the Olibert to one side and then the next trying to avoid the directed plasma attacks.
Malone closed his eyes as his stomach somersaulted. He gripped the armrests of his chair and willed the food in his stomach to stay put. After several more wild rolls, the explosions stopped and the freighter straightened out and pursued a more standard course. Malone cracked an eyelid and looked at the screen showing images from the aft camera.
Retem Station was receding in the distance. He could see electricity sparking around the gaping hole that Abram had blasted into the side of the station.
“Well, hell. I don’t suppose I’ll be welcome back there again. Kind of a fitting way to close out my political career. The only regret I have is that I won’t be able to have a drink in Fancy’s again. I’ll miss that gal.”
“I’m sure the feeling is mutual,” Malone said smiling to himself.
He returned his gaze out the forward window. Luana squeezed his shoulder. He looked at her and she smiled at him.
“We’re going to get them back,” she said.
They knew where the girls were. That was progress. Hope swelled inside of him, tempered by the fact that the Europa Collective still stood between them and their reunion.
Then again, what chance did the Collective have against the united front of two parents hell bent on reclaiming their children?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Ekene stopped in front of the door. He balanced the food on the trays and spoke the command to unlock and open the door.
“Ekene, Titan, 2212.”
There was a hum as the door unlocked and then the hiss of hydraulics as it slid sideways. He stepped through the door and into the little room. It was really more of a storage closet, but he’d put the girls in here because he didn’t trust the other men around them.
The room was dim, the lights turned down. In the corner the girls slept on a mattress Ekene had brought in. The oldest was propped up in the corner, her back against the wall. She cradled the head of her sister in her lap. Ekene pulled two low storage crates out from the wall and set the trays of food on them. When he looked up, he saw the eyes of the oldest girl fastened on him.
“Playing ‘possum?” Ekene asked her.
She remained silent, her brown eyes holding his gaze. She was afraid, Ekene could see. He was in the business of creating fear in people and taking advantage of it. It was good she was afraid. Where she was headed and what she would be subjected to wasn’t something to laugh about. But she was trying hard to hide the fear. There was a quiet strength in her. This girl was a fighter and would command large sums of money from men who liked that.
He turned to go, but her voice stopped him.
“Let my sister go. I’ll stay, just let her go.”
Ekene turned back around. The girl rested one hand protectively over her sister’s still sleeping form.
Impressive. Strong, brave, and she thought of others first.
“She means that much to you?” he asked.
The girl nodded.
“What’s your name?”
She hesitated, probably fighting all of the warnings her parents had given her regarding strangers. She pulled her sister closer.
“Galila.”
“Galila. Hmmm.” Ekene rolled the name over in his mouth. “Ga…Li…La. Pretty name for such a pretty girl.” He took a couple of steps closer to her and saw her push herself farther into the corner. Her arm remained possessively over her sister.
“Are you afraid of me Galila?”
She nodded slowly.
“It isn’t me you need to be afraid of.”
“Where are you taking us?”
He crossed his arms. “To a place called Vina.”
“What’s going to happen to us there?”
He smiled and licked his lips. “That all depends on you, my dear.”
Ekene moved closer. There was something about this girl that intrigued him…that turned him on. She was young, but that just meant she was trainable. He knelt down beside her and reached out to brush a stray strand of her dark hair behind her ear. She flinched.
“If you cooperate and do what is asked of you, it will go very well for you. You’ll be taken care of, have all of your needs provided for, and maybe even move into some sort of management position later in life.”
She looked over his shoulder, avoiding his eyes. “What will I be asked to do?” Her voice wavered.
Ekene leaned forward. “Privately entertain men and women. Do whatever they want you to do to them. Understand?”
A tear slid down her cheek. “Never.”
He laid his hand on her thigh and slowly slid it up past the hem of her skirt. Her hand came up to strike him across the face. Ekene saw the movement and caught her wrist before her hand made contact. He smiled at her as she struggled. The little one woke up.
“Galila? What’s happening?”
Ekene nodded toward the little girl. “She might command an even larger price than you. So young. So…new.”
Her spit hit him in the eye.
The smile faded from his face. No one disrespected him like that. No one.
Her fire was a good thing, but it had to be tempered by manners. He would teach her right now. He would show her you didn’t cross Ely Ekene and not suffer the consequences. He didn’t give a damn if she was used and wouldn’t be worth as much. He was going to have her and have her right now.
Grabbing her other wrist, he jerked her to her feet and pushed her face first into the wall, twisting one arm up behind her. The top of her head barely reached his chest. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply. He pressed himself up against her. Behind him, the younger sister sobbed.
“How about a hands-on lesson of what you can look forward to on Vina.”
He reached his hand under her shirt. This was going to be so satisfying. He’d denied himself pleasures for a long time, preferring to focus on the business. It was about time he enjoyed the fruits of his labor.
The tiny comm device in his ear beeped, indicating an incoming message. He groaned and considered ignoring it, but it might be important. He removed his hand from her shirt. She cried underneath of him, but he kept her other arm twisted behind her. This might only take a minute and then he could pick back up where he’d left off.
“Ekene. Go ahead.”
The voice of Chandler, his pilot, came over the comm. “We just received a message from Retem Station. There’s a situation you need to hear about. Can you come back up to the
bridge?”
“Can it wait?”
“I don’t think so.”
Ekene sighed. How disappointing. “Be right there.”
He let go of the girl’s wrist and she slumped to the floor.
“Another time, Princess.”
Ekene turned and exited the little room, the sobbing of the girls still in his ears. Why was he the one who always had to make the sacrifice?
*****
The door locked behind him and Ekene made his way up to the bridge. He followed the snaking mess of exposed conduits and ducts hanging from the ceiling of the ship. Away from the girl, his thoughts came a little clearer.
It was probably a good thing he’d been interrupted. Business wise, it made good sense. But there was something about her. He shook his head and stepped onto the bridge. The pilot stood up from the chair and handed him a tablet.
“What’s this?” he said, scanning the text.
“It’s copy of the message we received from Retem. A man and a woman were asking around the bar about where two little girls may have been taken.”
Ekene arched his eyebrow. “Malone Kay and his wife?”
“The pictures they sent along seem to confirm it. They blasted away from the station in a freighter. Caused quite a bit of damage.”
He snorted. “Might actually improve the station.” It was a bit surprising the Kays had made it all the way out here searching for the girls. Ekene figured they wouldn’t have made it off Carrefour after the altercation in the space port. He had to admire their tenacity.
Perhaps they were something to worry about. The ruckus at Carrefour Port and now this situation at Retem. He shook his head.
Impressive.
He should probably end their journey before they had the opportunity to cause more trouble.
“Anything else?”
Chandler hesitated a moment and then continued. “Unfortunately, yes. Kay jumped Yago. Beat him pretty badly for information.”
Ekene tensed. “Did the little greaser talk?”
“Worse. Kay got his handheld. Apparently, Yago’s been collecting a little data of his own for future use. On it was the layout of the defensive network in our space and the location of all of our important bases and operations, including Vina.”
Ekene gripped the edge of the tablet and felt the muscles of his forearm bunch. He roared and spiked the tablet on the floor. The plastic casing splintered and scattered. He paced the length of the bridge.
Yago had always been a liability. He’d tried numerous times to get Laukkanen to let him deal with Yago a long time ago. Laukkanen wouldn’t let him. Said that Yago was a necessary evil. Someone who was more useful in their employ than not.
Now it was coming back to haunt them. He had to deal with this now before the information on Yago’s hand held made it into hands that could actually cause a problem in Collective business.
“Get me Fulgencio. I have a job for him and his men.”
“Got it. And Yago?”
Ekene stopped and stared out the forward window. He placed his hands on his hips, a small grin playing across his lips.
“Send him a nice bottle of gin, but make sure it’s his last.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Fulgencio turned the little silver rectangle over in his palm while watching the sensor screen. Their mark should be passing through anytime now. His interceptor ships would be funneling them right into the net where they would be easy to pick off.
He flipped the top of the lighter open and spun the wheel with his thumb. Sparks ignited the gas within and produced a beautiful yellow flame that danced before his eyes. The ancient lighter had been passed down through generations of his family. Most of the people who’d owned it before him had used it for its intended purpose, smoking tobacco.
Disgusting habit.
Fulgencio used it for much more beautiful purposes. He liked to set things on fire. And fire on a space-faring vessel was a terrible and wonderful thing. It caused such violent explosions.
His excitement built as he thought about all of the fires he’d started. It had been awhile. Too long. But today, he would have his chance again.
Ekene had contacted him. Wanted him to get rid of a nuisance problem. Fulgencio was only too happy to comply. Per all their previous agreements, whatever was in the ship belonged to Fulgencio to sell or do whatever he wanted with. All Ekene ever cared about was that the trouble makers, whoever they were, didn’t make it past his space alive.
It was a wonderful life and a perfect little scheme. The interceptors ambushed the mark, and then pushed them in the direction of their nets. They weren’t actual nets, of course. They were EMP nets. If a ship went through it while it was active, all electronics would shut down. Then Fulgencio and the rest of his crew would swoop in. Take what they wanted, kill the crew, and then Fulgencio would get to have his fun.
It was a good life indeed.
Alerts flashed over his screen, indicating that the target ship had entered his space. The wait was almost over. Fulgencio was almost salivating over the possibilities.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Where are we now?” Malone asked.
It had been several hours since they’d blasted away from Retem Station. So far there had been no pursuit and Abram said he didn’t think there would be. Malone and Luana had spent the time pouring over the data in Yago’s device, trying to find a way into Collective space without running into their defensive network, but it wasn’t looking hopeful. The grid was tight and to get to Vina, they needed to go straight through it at some point. He’d needed a break so he’d come up to the cockpit.
“A couple hours from Collective space. I usually give this area a wide berth. But given that we’re trying to be sneaky, I came out of jump space and I’ll manually navigate through this area. With any luck, we’ll avoid any stray asteroids or worse.”
Malone arched his eyebrows. “Worse?”
“Always assume there’s worse,” Abram said. He gripped the manual controls and smoothly guided the ship past a massive rock tumbling through the void. “Ever heard of Testator Run?”
“No.”
“Well, you’re in it now. There’s a lot of places for people with less than virtuous intentions to hide out and ambush freighters. This is the fastest route into or past Collective space so it’s the best route. You just need to know what you’re getting into and accept the risks.”
They moved into a more open space and Abram took his hands off the control and imputed some commands.
“Do you take this way often?”
Malone saw Abrams jaw tense. His voice was low when he spoke. “Used to. I ran into some trouble here several years ago and lost something important. I haven’t been back.”
Malone waited for more of the story, but the pilot had gone quiet. “Okay. I’m going back to help Luana come up with a plan.”
Abram grunted and stared out the forward window. Malone had reached the doorway when the sensor panel lit up an angry red color and began flashing. He turned back around and took the co-pilot’s chair as Abram studied the screen. He cursed loudly.
“What is it?” Malone asked, trying to peer around the pilot’s head and get a look at the screen. He could see three red icons closing on the icon representing the Olibert.
“Remember what I said about those folks with less than aboveboard intentions?” His hand danced across the panel and then he took a hold of the manual controls once again. “I’m going to try and lose them. You and your wife need to buckle in because things could get a little twisty.”
Malone vaulted out of the co-pilot’s chair and into the kitchen. Luana looked from the tablet she had Yago’s device plugged into.
“We’ve got trouble. Someone’s chasing us. Come up to the cockpit and buckle in.”
She gathered up the devices, stuffed them in her backpack and then followed him. Malone buckled himself back into the co-pilot’s chair and looked behind him just as Luana finished fastening her safety h
arness. She gave him the thumbs-up.
“Is it the Collective?” Luana asked.
“No,” Abram said. “They only care if you decide to come into their space. These are pirates. I’m not feeling particularly friendly today, so if you two don’t mind, I’m going to step on the gas and burn out of here to a place where I can get us back in jump space.”
“By all means,” Malone said.
Malone felt himself being pressed into the chair when Abram accelerated. He breathed easier when he saw the icons receding on the sensor screen.
He’d been right about the modifications Abram had made to the engines. The little freighter had more speed than was typical of a ship her size and Abram seemed comfortable behind the controls. Another delay would have been devastating. It had already been forty-eight hours.
Was that all?
And yet, it seemed so much longer. An eternity, really. It was true a person didn’t understand how important something or somebody was until it was gone. The ache and emptiness he felt for his daughters was more intense than he thought he could ever bear.
Still, he had to keep hope. They were close. They just needed a break.
The sensors wailed again and Malone caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around and found himself staring into the window of another ship.
The Olibert rolled to the left. Malone closed his eyes and was sure he’d left his stomach back at the beginning of the roll. The ship straightened out and put on another burst of speed before Abram swore again and the ship swung back to the right. Another sleek craft had appeared on the left side of the Olibert.
“They’re pinching us. Funneling us toward something and I can’t get away from them,” Abram growled.
The ship shuddered as Abram put it through several more dizzying dives and twists trying to escape their pursuers. Malone caught glimpses of the other ships out the windows. No matter what Abram did, they shadowed them. They were very good.