Stalker's Luck (Solitude Saga Book 1)

by Chris Strange

  “Be careful. I don’t want this whole damn place collapsing on our heads.”

  He moved to the trapdoor and flicked his flashlight back on, shining it down the steep stairs. The light barely did anything in the dust-filled air. He pulled his collar over his mouth and breathed through the fabric, trying to squint through the ash. The swearing had stopped. Whoever had shot at him had gone quiet. Probably reloading. If he waited for Dom, they’d be facing another hail of bullets.

  Besides, Cassandra could be down there with that madman.

  He raised his gun and started slowly down the stairs. They creaked with every step.

  The dust cleared the further he descended. His light revealed a small bare room with an overturned table and a chair in the middle. Small spots of blood stained the floor. A machine pistol lay discarded off to one side.

  He paused at the bottom of the stairs, listening. He could smell Williams’ sweat in the air, mixed with the faint tang of blood. He stepped forward.

  A man crashed into the side of him, hands wrapping around the barrel of his assault rifle. Eddie had been ready for Williams to ambush him, but he wasn’t prepared for the brutality and swiftness of his attack.

  He slammed against the wall, his assault rifle pressed back against him as he struggled to pry it away from Williams. The fugitive snarled at him, spitting blood and saliva into his face.

  Williams twisted and drove a fist into Eddie’s side. Eddie grunted, his finger involuntarily squeezing the trigger. The gun roared as bullets peppered the far wall. The barrel grew hot against his skin.

  The sudden gunfire did nothing to distract Williams. As Eddie released the trigger and tried to bring a knee up into Williams’ groin, the larger man twisted the gun away from him and tossed it across the room. It landed with a clatter.

  Eddie could feel his pistol pressing against his hip, but he had his hands full trying to fend off Williams. His heart slapped in his chest as he stared into the eyes of a madman.

  “Where is she?” Williams screamed in his face.

  Before he could say anything, Williams’ fist collided with the side of his head like a brick. He slid to the ground, eyes swimming. His ears rang.

  Williams pulled him up by the collar of his shirt and slammed another punch into Eddie’s cheek. His head swung limply to the side. He could taste blood.

  “What did you do to her?” Williams yelled. “You turned her against me.”

  Eddie’s fingers wrapped around his pistol. He drew it, aiming his shaking hand at the blur in front of him.

  Williams meaty palm wrapped around his gun hand and crushed. Eddie heard himself screaming as pain stabbed through the bones of his hand. He dropped the gun.

  “She was mine!” Williams slammed him back against the floor and fell on top of him. “She was mine and you took her away.”

  Summoning what was left of his strength, Eddie struck out, landing a blow on Williams’ already broken nose. It crunched, fresh blood spraying out. But Williams didn’t even seem to notice. His hand flashed.

  Eddie didn’t even see the box cutter before the blade plunged into his shoulder. He grunted, no longer able to find the breath to scream.

  But even through the pain, a sense of distant satisfaction gripped him. She left him. She abandoned him. She knew what he was. Good for you, Cassie. Good for you.

  Thick fingers wrapped around his throat, crushing the air from him. His lungs spasmed. He stared up at Williams, feeling the drip of hot saliva on his face as the fugitive bared his teeth.

  “You took everything from me,” Williams snarled. “I told you all to leave me alone!”

  His fingers tightened. Eddie tried to gasp, but no air would come. He reached out, clawing at Williams’ eyes, raking his cheek with his nails.

  Panic threatened to overtake Eddie’s mind. He fought it, trying to stay calm despite the darkness descending around him. One hand moved to try to pry Williams’ fingers away while the other fell to his side, grasping for something, anything.

  His fingers brushed the corner of something hard. His pistol. He strained for it, reaching. Almost. Almost.

  Williams slammed Eddie’s head back against the ground. Dazed, his hand jerked closed. The pistol skittered a few centimetres further away. Out of reach.

  Something was thudding, pulsing. The blood in his head. Lights flashed in his eyes. His vision had become a tunnel of black. Through the darkness, Cassandra’s face shimmered in front of him. At least she’d got away from Williams. At least there was that.

  Christ, he’d really ballsed this whole thing up.

  A loud crack came from overhead. Was the ceiling collapsing again?

  No. A shudder went through Williams’ fingers. They loosened ever so slightly.

  Another crack. The weight left Eddie’s throat. He could breathe! Air rushed into his lungs and he coughed at the sudden cold burning his throat.

  He rolled to the side and curled up, coughing. He could hear movement, but he couldn’t make it out. His vision slowly cleared, and with it came the pain. He reached up to his shoulder, wrapped his fingers around the handle of the box cutter, and pulled. The blade came free with a sudden sting that seemed to reverberate through his entire body. He rolled back and saw a figure moving in the semi-darkness.

  “Cassie?” he said, his voice hoarse.

  “Sorry,” Dom said. Her face resolved. “But it’s nice to know how much you appreciate me after I keep saving your life.”

  He sucked in a breath, suppressing another coughing fit, and rolled his head to the side. Williams lay on his stomach next to him, blood trickling from his head. His hands were bound behind him in plastic cuffs. Dom put a boot under the fugitive and rolled him onto his back. His head rolled and he groaned, dazed.

  “You’ve got impeccable timing, Freckles,” Eddie said. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and rubbed his neck. Everything hurt. “Jesus.”

  “You all right?”

  “Not really.” He put a hand to his head to try to stop the pounding. “But thanks. Thanks for coming for me.”

  “Had to bust down a wall to get into that office. You couldn’t wait for me, huh?”

  “Cassandra could’ve been down here.” He looked up. “Have you seen her?”

  Dom shook her head. “Haven’t seen anyone except you and this bastard since we came in.” She glanced around and put a hand over her earpiece so Knox couldn’t hear. “Didn’t he have money with him? Knox is going to go nuts if we don’t find it.”

  Eddie didn’t give a shit. He pushed himself onto his hands and knees and crawled over to Williams. He took the fugitive by the lapels and shook him.

  “Hey. Hey, wake up.”

  He backhanded the man across the face. Williams’ head snapped to the side. He groaned.

  Eddie grabbed him again and pulled him up a few centimetres. “Look at me, Jack. Where is she? Where’d she go?”

  Williams blinked away the dazed look on his face. His features twisted into a snarl.

  “Don’t you talk to me about her.”

  “I’m not in the mood for arguing, Jack. You tell me where she went, I’ll make sure she gets off the station safe.”

  Williams’ snarl faded, but his eyes remained hard. “You turned her against me.”

  “If she turned against you, it wasn’t me who did it. I don’t know why she was with you, but it wasn’t because she loved you. Now where’d she go?”

  Eddie was aware of Dom shifting uncomfortably behind him. He could hear the faint whisper of Knox talking in her ear. But he kept his eyes on Williams.

  The fugitive licked the blood from his lips. “She took the money. She left.”

  “Where to?”

  “I don’t know,” he said.

  “Eddie,” Dom interrupted before he could speak again. “Knox says Leone’s got men incoming. The gunfire must’ve attracted them. We’ve got to move.”

  “Not until we find out where Cassandra is.”

  “She’s not here,�
�� Dom said. “Look around.”

  “I’m not leaving the station without her.”

  Dom’s mouth formed a line. “I didn’t save your life to let you die here at the hand of some syndicate thug. Help me get Williams up and we’ll talk about this on the Solitude.”

  He wanted to fight it, but he knew she was right. His battered body reminded him of that as he rose from the ground. He scowled at Williams as he took the man under his shoulder and dragged him to his feet with Dom’s help.

  As the fugitive rose, he turned and came nose-to-nose with Eddie. Their eyes met.

  “She betrayed you too,” he said slowly.

  “What are you talking about?” Eddie said.

  Williams nodded to himself. “I can see it in your eyes, stalker. You know it, you just don’t want to admit it. You knew her long ago, didn’t you? And she betrayed you. Just like she betrayed me.”

  Eddie grabbed the man by his shirt and pushed him against the wall. “What do you know? Huh? What do you know?”

  “Eddie,” Dom said sharply. “It’s done. Let’s get him out of here.”

  The two men glared at each other. Williams’ nostrils flared. Growling, Eddie released the fugitive and turned back. Pressing his hand against his shoulder to staunch the bleeding there, he bent down and picked up his pistol, slipping it back into his holster.

  Dom grabbed Williams and shoved him to the stairs, prodding him in the back with her shotgun. “Move.”

  The fugitive began to limp upstairs. Eddie followed the two, his breath rattling through his injured throat. His skull still throbbed in time with his pulse. He poked a loose tooth with his tongue. He hoped Williams had enjoyed that.

  Each stair seemed a little higher than the last. Fatigue seeped into his bones, dragging him down. Dom and Williams reached the top of the stairs before he was even halfway up. He looked down at his feet and concentrated on moving each one. Just a few more to go. Nearly there.

  How was he supposed to find Cassandra all beat up like this? He needed rest, he needed medical attention, but he couldn’t afford to wait for either. She was out there somewhere, out in this station all alone. Williams could say what he wanted. Eddie knew the truth. She’d never betrayed him. He wouldn’t believe it until he heard the words come from her own lips. Until then, he had to believe in her. He had to.

  He reached the top of the stairs, panting, and found the hole Dom had punched through the wall. She’d risked getting herself buried in the ruins to get through to him. Her shadow disappeared around the corner. He followed through the hole, heading back towards the exit.

  Ahead, Dom scanned the surroundings before prodding Williams out the back door. Eddie stumbled after them. Dust was still thick in the air. It was a relief to get outside. He limped around the edge of the building. Ahead of him, Dom and Williams were about to head across the street.

  A shadow moved in the alley behind them.

  For a moment, he thought he’d hallucinated it. But his hand moved of its own accord, slipping his pistol from his holster and raising it.

  The shadow moved into the light. Her dark brown curls shimmered in the twilight. Cassandra still wore the same black gown he’d seen her in at the Crimson Curtain, only now it was torn and stained with rust-brown patches of blood. She hadn’t seen him yet; her eyes were focused on Williams. She moved ahead of Eddie, towards Dom and the fugitive.

  His heart thudded in his chest. She was here. He opened his mouth to call out.

  The sound died in his throat as she raised a pistol, aiming it at Williams.

  He saw the motion, but he couldn’t register it. Why here? Why now? He knew she must hate Williams, but he’d get punishment enough back in the Bolt. Killing him would serve nothing. It was over. It was done.

  She took another step forward, steadying the gun in both hands. She still hadn’t seen him, hadn’t heard him behind her. She paused, taking aim.

  And then Eddie saw she wasn’t aiming at Williams. She was aiming at Dom.

  In that instant, he saw how it would end. He would call out for her to stop. To wait. But it would be too late. She would already have fired. He would watch the bullet punch through Dom, watch her slump to the ground streaming blood. He’d watch her die. There was nothing he could do. Nothing that would stop it.

  No. There was one thing. And by the time he realised that, he’d already done it.

  The gun barked in his hand. His finger was wrapped around the trigger, but he couldn’t remember pulling it. The sound rang in his ears.

  Cassandra half-turned, shuddering. Her arms slowly dropped to her side, the gun hanging limply from her fingers. She turned, her eyes finally meeting Eddie’s. There was a hole in the left side of her chest, blood pulsing from her breast to coat her gown. She looked confused.

  Then she dropped.

  “No!” Williams roared.

  He spun away from Dom and ran to Cassandra. He dropped to his knees at her side, wrists straining against the cuffs that bound his hands behind his back.

  Dom had turned at the sound of the gunshot, bringing her shotgun up. She lowered it again. Eddie saw her looking at him, but he couldn’t meet her eyes. He slipped his pistol back into his holster and stumbled woodenly towards the woman he’d killed.

  Cassandra looked up at him as he approached. She wasn’t dead, not quite. But he could tell she wouldn’t last long. Dom moved alongside and kicked the pistol out of her grasp. It was pointless. Anyone could see she didn’t have the strength to lift the thing.

  “Eddie,” Cassandra whispered. “You shot me. I never thought it’d be you.”

  He said nothing.

  Tears streamed down Williams’ face as he bent over at her side. Behind his back, his hands were curled into fists.

  “Why?” Williams said. “Why did you come back?”

  “I bought us new passes. Passage on a trader ship.” Her hand gestured limply into the shadow of the alley. “It’s in there. With the rest of the money. You can take it. You can be free.” Her eyes were unfocused. Her forehead creased. “No. No, they got you, didn’t they? I couldn’t save you. I’m sorry.”

  Williams’ faced twisted up. Eddie watched the scene, numbness creeping through him.

  “The one time,” Cassandra said, her voice so quiet he could barely here. “The one time I risked myself.”

  Her lips moved for a few more seconds, but no sound emerged. Her skin grew grey and pallid. Williams shook, like he was trying not to howl.

  And then she was gone. Eddie swallowed the lump in his throat, let the coldness take him once more. His gun hand felt black and poisoned, like it needed to be amputated to stop the infection spreading.

  He still didn’t understand why she’d come back for Williams. He didn’t understand anything. He never did. He’d loved her once, or maybe he just thought he did. How did anyone really know?

  As Williams wept, Dom moved to Eddie’s side.

  “Are you okay?” she said.

  He shook his head.

  “I know. Stupid question.” She paused, glanced down at Cassandra. “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “You saved my life.”

  He thought about it. “We’re partners.”

  “We have to go.”

  “I know.”

  “We have to leave her,” she said.

  “I know.”

  She nodded, hesitated, then moved into the dark of the alley where Cassandra had been hiding. She came back a moment later carrying the duffel bag that’d held Williams’ money. It looked lighter now. She pulled it open, showed it to Eddie. Only three bundles of cash remained, along with a pair of synth-paper travel passes and a note of passage. Cassandra hadn’t lied. This time, at least.

  Dom took the cash, stuffed it in her pockets, and dumped the bag. Eddie could hear her earpiece squawking.

  “Leone’s men are a block away.” She grabbed the weeping Williams by the back of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. He didn’t resist. He was a broken m
an. “Let’s go.”

  They left Cassandra there in that alley. Eddie didn’t look back.

  31

  Eddie was silent the whole way back to the Solitude, but Dom had her hands full pushing the wounded Williams along and watching out for syndicate men. She could sense the thugs behind her, tracking them. She couldn’t afford to sit around comforting Eddie.

  Unfortunately, Knox wasn’t nearly as silent. He followed at her heels, puffing slightly as he hurried to keep up.

  “I can’t help but notice you don’t have a giant sack of cash, sweetcheeks.”

  “Later.”

  “I do hope you’re not planning to cheat me out of my share.”

  “You’ll get your share,” she said. “Two thirds of Williams’ money. And we’ll take you off this station. If you stop annoying me, maybe I’ll even wait until we’re docked somewhere before I shove you out the airlock.”

  The chaos at the spaceport had subsided, the wounded syndicate men taken away. But the air was tense now, fewer tourists raucously emerging from ships. Looking through the transparent panels at the ships floating alongside the station, it seemed like there were fewer now.

  As she ascended the stairs towards the airlock leading to the Solitude, shotgun aimed squarely at Williams’ back, a uniformed man stared at her, his hand going to the gun at his side. The first lawman she’d seen since she’d arrived. Probably one of the last ones left on the station. She wondered how much Leone was paying him.

  “We’re stalkers!” she called out before the lawman got any ideas to start shooting. “I have a contract on this man’s head, sir. Allow us to pass, in the name of the Federation.”

  The man hesitated. “Do you have papers?”

  “I’m reaching for them. Don’t shoot.” She slowly reached into her pocket and produced her tab, displaying the contract on the screen. She handed it to the lawman without moving the shotgun barrel away from Williams.

  The lawman licked his lips, handed her back her tab, and rubbed his ruddy cheeks. “I need to make a call.”

  He reached for his tab. Dom’s fingers snaked around his wrist and held him tight. He stared up at her, shocked.