Underworld (Shadows of the Void Space Opera Serial Book 5)

by J. J. Green

  As they gradually drove farther and farther from the underworlders’ domain, the traffic became heavier and pedestrians grew sparse. It wasn’t long before they were driving through the business district, attracting many second glances in their out-of-date, self-drive vehicle. Carl grew nervous. Surely it wouldn’t be long before they were stopped. As soon as they were asked for their IDs, the game would be over.

  “Second left,” Sayen said. “We’re a few minutes’ walk from the Security HQ, but I don’t recall any parking nearby. Not public parking anyway. And we would never pass the security check to get into the underground car park. But if I’m right, there’s an alley down this street,” she said as Carl turned the vehicle. “We can wait there until it’s time for Shadow Bernie to leave work.”

  Dusk was falling, and the street lights were turning on.

  On their way over, Sayen had explained that their target usually left the office around seven o’clock every evening and departed in his personal government car. Because Sayen left by heli, she’d never seen the car, so she wasn’t totally sure that what he’d told her was true.

  “It’s over there,” she said to Carl, pointing to a narrow, dark opening on the left-hand side of the street.

  He indicated and pulled in. The alley was only as wide as the car. Tall office blocks rose on either side. There was no exit except for the busy street at the other end of the alley. Carl didn’t drive far in. With nowhere to turn around, he would have to reverse the car out.

  “What’s the time?” asked Jas, leaning between the front seats.

  The car clock read six thirty.

  “We don’t have long,” she continued. “The Shadow might leave work early, and we can’t risk a practice run. It won’t be long before someone reports us for suspicious behavior. We have to get the Shadow tonight. Do you have any idea what direction it might go?” she asked Sayen.

  “I don’t.”

  “Then we’ll have to watch the car park exit and follow its car when it leaves,” said Jas.

  “It’s not going to be easy,” Carl said. He looked at the falling darkness in the alley. “What if the car windows are tinted?”

  “We just have to do our best,” said Sayen. “We don’t have to wait very near the exit. My eyes can zoom in, though I can’t see through darkened windows.”

  “Okay,” Jas said. “When we spot the Shadow, we follow it until we’re in a quieter part of the city. Then I’ll shoot out the car wheels. As soon as the car stops, we’ve got to move fast. We won’t have long until the police get there. But be careful. We don’t know what weapons it might be carrying, and there might be more than one of them in the car.”

  “Right,” Carl said. “Sounds like we’re all set. Sayen, where do we go from here?”

  After she gave him the final directions, he reversed out of the alley. They had to wait a while for a pause in the traffic before he could enter the street and pull away. Following Sayen’s instructions, he drove them to a spot about fifty meters from the Security HQ car park exit. It was at the back of the building, and the street only served the car park so there was no other traffic. They waited.

  The exit was automated. No visible human guard threatened to become curious about their presence, but Carl was sure that cameras would be covering the street. It was the Global Government Security Headquarters, after all. They wouldn’t have long before they were challenged. He hoped their target wasn’t working overtime that night.

  A light flashed, signaling that a car was about to leave. A limousine appeared, its windows tinted black. There was an audible sigh of frustration from everyone. Would they ever be able to recognize the Shadow? Automation had done away with the need for transparent windows in cars. What if the entire Government fleet was the same?

  The limousine left at the opposite end of the street from them. The light at the exit flashed again, and another car appeared. It was an unmarked van. Carl’s stomach tightened as the van turned in their direction. Was this a security van coming to check them out? The van passed, though two women sitting in the front seats gave them curious looks. Once it had passed them, Carl’s stomach relaxed.

  A third car appeared. This car’s windows were transparent, and Carl could make out one person sitting in the front seat.

  “Is that him?” Jas asked Sayen.

  “No, it’s just another of the Government personnel.”

  The car turned toward them. As it drew closer and the occupant’s face became more distinct to Carl, his heart skipped a beat. He knew this person. Where did he know him from? As the answer came, he felt the blood drain from his face.

  “That’s not your Shadow??” he asked Sayen.

  “No, I’m sure. Shadow Bernie’s much older. But I recognize him. I saw him on my first day.”

  “Look away,” Carl barked as the car drew closer. He turned to face the back of the car, looking into Jas’ puzzled eyes. She bent her head down as the car passed.

  Carl’s heartbeat quickened as he watched the car driving away in the reflection of his rear view mirror. He noted which way it turned as it left the street. He put the car into drive, turned the steering wheel, and followed.

  “What are you doing?” cried Jas. “Sayen said that’s not him.”

  “It might not be Sayen’s Shadow, but it’s a Shadow all right,” Carl said. “It’s Alef from the Galathea.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Who the krat’s Alef?” Jas asked as Carl sped down the street. The acceleration pushed her back into her seat.

  “Alef from geo-phys,” Carl replied.

  “I knew I’d seen him before,” exclaimed Sayen, “but I couldn’t remember from where. I didn’t recognize him out of uniform, and I was only with him for a couple of minutes.”

  “Geo-phys like Margret?” Jas asked. “I was right. There was another Shadow aboard the ship. So he went into the trap with her and got replaced at the same time?”

  “Yep, he must have,” answered Carl. “You remember when we were trying to get onto the flight deck? It was Alef who helped me tackle Loba, before the misborn got away from me. I left Alef behind when I chased after him.”

  “But why would he help you take down Loba if he was a Shadow himself?” asked Jas.

  “I dunno. Maybe he had a problem with him, or he saw that things were going south and decided to play the long game. Whatever his plan was, it worked. He made it all the way here with us, and now he’s joined his mates in the Global Government.”

  Carl pulled out into the rush hour traffic. His head was fixed firmly ahead as he kept his eyes on the Shadow’s car. Jas stopped talking to him to let him concentrate on following their target. She opened the bag next to her and took out a weapon. Tapping Sayen on her shoulder, she passed the weapon forward to her. She took another for herself and peered around Carl’s head. He was drawing closer to the Shadow’s car, though four or five vehicles separated them.

  “What about me?” asked Makey.

  Jas frowned and took the third and final gun out of the bag. “Self-defense only,” she said as she handed it to the kid.

  They were leaving the inner city district, and the roads were becoming quieter. Jas wondered where the Shadow was going. Did the Shadows continue their pretense of being human and return to their victims’ homes each night? Or did they have a secret meeting place where they all congregated?

  Houses and apartment blocks of a residential district surrounded them. Carl had moved their car closer, and they were only two cars away from the Shadow’s vehicle. Jas hoped the strangers’ cars that lay between them and the Shadow’s would leave that road soon. They’d been following it for a while; she worried that it might have noticed them.

  “Can you get around these cars, Carl?” she asked.

  “I can, but overtaking on a street like this would be too noticeable. It’s better that I stay back a little while longer.”

  Jas rubbed the edge of her weapon nervously. She had those prickles she always got when something
bad was going to happen. But she couldn’t do anything it. They had go ahead with the plan. They wouldn’t get a second chance.

  “Be careful, everyone,” she said. “And Makey, let us handle this. Stay in the car.”

  The kid tutted.

  “Here we go,” Carl said as one of the intervening cars turned down a side road. At the next exit, the second car did the same. There was nothing between them and the car in front carrying the Shadow Alef.

  Jas checked over her shoulder. A few vehicles were behind them, but it couldn’t be helped. She hoped they would get out of danger fast when the shooting started. She and the others would only have a couple of minutes to snatch the Shadow before the police arrived.

  “I think he’s seen us,” Carl said. “He keeps turning to look back.”

  “Right, let’s go,” Jas said. “Drive up his ass, Carl.”

  She lowered her window, and Sayen lowered hers. Jas undid her seatbelt so that she could lean out and take aim. She fired. Her shot went wide, but Sayen’s hit true, taking out the back wheel of the Shadow’s vehicle. The car began to veer across the road. Jas fired again and hit the front wheel on the same side as the car turned its longer side toward them. The Shadow ducked down and disappeared from view.

  An explosion sounded from behind Jas, and their car rocked. “Krat,” shouted Carl. The car began to swerve. “We’re being shot at. We’ve got Shadows behind us.”

  Jas’ stomach fell as she turned. The van that had passed them outside the Security HQ car park was right behind them. While they’d been following the Shadow Alef’s car, they’d been followed themselves. She reversed her aim and shot at the window of the Shadow van. The beam melted a hole in the plastiglass and hit one of the Shadows in the chest. It fell to one side, but the van continued on.

  Their own rear window was hit by a shot from the remaining Shadow’s weapon, and the car filled with smoke and the acrid stench of burning plastic.

  They crashed. Jas was thrown forward into the back of Carl’s seat. As she sat up, she saw that they’d hit the Shadow Alef’s vehicle, which straddled the road. Carl revved the engine and backed up so fast that Jas was thrown forward again. Her weapon was knocked from her grasp and fell onto the floor.

  She bent down to pick it up. Sayen was firing and the tires of their car screeched as Carl did a u-turn and pulled away. Jas was rocked backward, but managed to grasp the fallen weapon. As she regained her seat, she noticed that the handle was sticky with something.

  They were heading toward the Shadows’ van. It was heading toward them. Carl sped up, seemingly intent on meeting the other vehicle head on. Jas leaned out of her window and fired at the Shadow in the front of the van. She didn’t hit it, but it had to lean over to avoid her blast, and its own shot went wide.

  The van filled her vision. They were going to hit it. But at the last split second, it pulled to one side. As they flew past, they clipped its wing. They sped into the night.

  They’d escaped. They’d failed to catch a Shadow, but at least they’d gotten away alive. The wind from their open windows blew away the smoke in the car. Wondering what the sticky stuff was, Jas turned her weapon around in her hand. In the dark street it looked black, but as they drove under a streetlight she saw that it was red. Blood. Her weapon was covered in blood.

  Had she been hit? She quickly checked herself. She didn’t think so. Her heart stopped as she realized Makey hadn’t said anything for a while. Hardly daring to look, she turned her gaze to the kid. His eyes were closed and his head lolled to the side. His front was soaked in the blood running from his neck.

  Chapter Fourteen

  They screeched to a halt outside Erielle’s place. Sayen leapt from the car and bolted down the alley that led to Erielle’s door. She hammered on it and screamed. Carl was on her heels, carrying Makey in his arms. Jas had her hands pressed to Makey’s neck, but the blood wouldn’t stop steadily leaking out. His face was white. By the time Carl reached the door, it had been opened by one of Erielle’s guards. The man’s puzzled face changed to one of alarm when he saw the wounded kid.

  “What is it?” Erielle asked, appearing at the bottom of the stairs. She gave a look of horror as she spotted Makey. “In here,” she said, opening a door. Carl carried him over and Jas followed, her hands still clasped to the kid’s neck.

  Erielle spat, “I told you to take care of him.”

  “And I didn’t want him to come,” Jas retorted, shouldering Erielle aside as she went into the room.

  It was a makeshift medical treatment room, containing a couple of outdated hospital beds, a glass cabinet of bottled drugs, drawers labeled with the names of medical equipment, and some basic medical devices and instruments.

  Carl laid Makey down on one of the beds. Jas had the heel of one hand on his neck, and the other heel pressed on the first, but blood dripped onto the sheet.

  “He got hit by a shot from Shadows behind us,” Jas said. “He didn’t say a thing. Maybe he passed out immediately. He’s lost a lot of blood.”

  “I can see that,” snapped Erielle. “He’s in shock. He needs a transfusion.”

  “Can you do that here?” Sayen asked.

  “We could if we had any blood, but we’ve had a few accidents to treat. We used the last of it just yesterday. Krat.”

  “We can give him ours,” said Sayen.

  “Do you know what blood type he is?” Erielle asked.

  “No,” Sayen replied. “I don’t think he has any medical records either. He only arrived on Earth a few weeks ago.”

  “He needs universal donor blood,” Jas said.

  “I know,” said Erielle. She bit her lip. “We usually steal it, but it’s a complicated operation. He can’t wait. We’ll have to do a smash and grab. It won’t be easy, but we have to try. I’ll go now. Keep the pressure on his neck. If his heart stops, there’s a defibrillator in that cupboard.” She turned to leave.

  “I’ll come with you,” Sayen said. “I can help.”

  “No. Stay here. You’ll only get in the way.”

  “No, she won’t,” said Jas. “Take her. You can use her. Believe me.”

  Erielle looked doubtful, but she didn’t offer any more objections. As she left, Sayen followed close behind.

  They took the car that Carl had driven. Two more underworlders came with them. Sayen sat in the back and fastened her belt. Erielle sat in the front with the driver. As the car pulled away, they closed the doors. They were soon speeding through the streets.

  “There’s a clinic a few minutes away,” said Erielle. “They have artificial universal donor blood. I know because we have someone on the inside who supplies us. But the clinic’s closed for the evening. We’ll have to break in.”

  “I might be able to disable the security,” Sayen said.

  “I’ll give you a minute to try,” Erielle replied. “If you can’t do it...” She pulled out a weapon with a huge muzzle, “...we blast our way in.”

  The underworlder sitting next to Sayen said, “There’s a police station right around the corner. We won’t have time to get away before they catch us.”

  “We have to try, or that kid’s gonna die,” Erielle said.

  The underworlder muttered to himself.

  They arrived. The clinic was a small place, only serving the immediate neighborhood, it seemed to Sayen. It stood on the street corner. A high, metal-paneled fence ran down the side. The frontage was solid brick except for a glass door. As they passed, Sayen could see a receptionist’s desk and a few chairs in the waiting room.

  They pulled up a few doors down and walked back to the clinic’s entrance. It was securely locked. Inside, the light of the alarm panel winked. There was no way to access the security control from the outside.

  “Better blast it,” said one of the underworlders.

  “I bet that door’s laser-proofed,” Sayen said, “if they’re storing drugs in a neighborhood like this.”

  The underworlder looked offended, but Erielle said, �
�She’s probably right.”

  “What about around the back?” asked Sayen.

  “The fence is four meters high. We’ll never get over it,” said the underworlder.

  “Speak for yourself,” said Sayen. “Give me the blaster,” she said to Erielle. The woman hesitated before handing it over.

  Sayen trotted around the side of the building. The underworlder’s estimation of the height of the fence was about right. She crossed to the other side of the street and sized it up. When Erielle and the underworlders appeared, she called, “Bring the car around,” and ran toward the fence.

  A few steps before she reached it, she jumped, springing from her right foot. She sailed up and caught the top of the fence with her fingertips. Quickly pulling herself up, she climbed over before landing in the yard behind the medical center. The fence cast the place in deep shadow. Sayen blinked her eyes to night vision, and the scene swam into a green-hued view.

  The yard was bare save for garbage bins bearing signs for different kinds of medical waste. The back door was locked tight, and like in the front, there were no windows.

  She had no choice but to try to blast the door. Laser-proofing was expensive. Maybe they wouldn’t have taken the extra precaution with the back door. It would trigger the alarm, but she couldn’t help that. She pulled the blaster from the waistband of her pants and fired it, concentrating its beam on the door lock. The metal glowed red, then white. That had to have triggered the alarm. Sayen wondered how long she had before the police responded. Probably less than a minute.

  She threw her shoulder against the door, bursting it open. Not slowing her pace, she sped through and into the center. As she went, she realized that she should have asked Erielle where they kept the blood. Too late for that. But the clinic was small. The blood shouldn’t be too hard to find.

  She was in some kind of consulting room. Various scanners and other medical equipment stood against all the walls. Where did they keep the medical supplies? She threw open another door. She was in the doctor’s office, with a simple bed, the physician’s desk and interface, and chairs. Sayen ran through, upending a chair as she tripped over it in her hurry.