Thieves' Guild Series (7 eBook Box Set): Military Science Fiction - Alien Invasion - Galactic War Novels

by C. G. Hatton

  There was a bang from within the depths of the engine room. They looked at each other and back at the console, the kid punching up data with dismay. The ship was moving fast, accelerating hard. LC reached across, turned up the heat in the tiny control room, sat back and closed his eyes.

  They made orbit and eased into a steady flight path. His clothes had pretty much dried out so LC offered to sit watch while the kid went to make some repairs. He kept one eye on the numbers scrolling across the monitors and tried to work out the flaws in his plan. Handing himself in would be easy. Figuring out a way to stay alive was more tricky. It made his head hurt.

  He was finding it tough to stay awake by the time Thom got back, about another hour to jump and a couple of the primary systems still goosed. The kid tossed a spanner to LC and slumped in the other chair. “You’re going to have to give me a hand,” he said, wiping a black smudge across his cheek. “The primary cooling system is struggling and the secondary is shot. I honestly don’t know how this bucket manages to keep flying.”

  They were knee-deep in grease and components from the stripped down coolant unit when Sean appeared. LC was leaning in headfirst, up to the waist, balancing on one foot and trying to reach a damned valve that Thom was directing him to when he felt her approach. He caught the emotion, a thought she’d be horrified to share at the sight of him leaning over, and the spanner fumbled out of his grip to bounce clattering into the depths of the drive.

  He rested his head on the conduit that had been hampering him and couldn’t help the grin or the flush that flashed across his face.

  Thom yelled up that he had it and LC sent a quick, “Give us a minute,” to Sean and climbed right in, twisting over the pipe to reach the valve and ease it open by hand.

  She waited patiently while they finished up. From the grin Thom gave, it was obvious that the kid guessed she wanted LC alone and he offered to take the next watch, disappearing back to the control room.

  Once he’d gone, Sean stepped in close.

  “I didn’t get to thank you for what you did on that roof,” she said quietly. “I couldn’t move but I heard what they said. It was a mistake to give yourself up, LC, a really stupid mistake, but you saved my life, so thank you.” She was hoping he’d kiss her again so he did, taking her by surprise and taken aback himself when she pulled away, trying to keep some distance between them. Even when he could read her mind, he didn’t understand her.

  She put a hand gently against his chest. “I’ve been thinking,” she said, a look in her eyes warning him not to argue. “If we’re going to do this, we do it my way. And you have to trust me.”

  She paused, expecting him to protest. He didn’t.

  “I know someone we can use,” she said. “He’s a snake and I don’t like him, much less trust him, but I have a feeling he might be working directly for the corporation that set you up. He’s an arrogant son of a bitch and I’ll be honest with you, when I work with him you won’t like it. But I can offer him a deal he won’t be able to refuse. He’ll take us right to them.”

  Gallagher said his goodbyes uneasily. “Are you sure about this?”

  LC looked up. Whenever he used to take off on a tab, he left the Alsatia with no ceremony, a brief shake of the hand from Mendhel once they’d covered all the data and he’d split. He wasn’t used to any fuss. Gallagher was standing there trying not to mist up. It wasn’t making it any easier.

  Sean touched a hand to his arm in a gentle nudge. She’d already stowed her gear on board her tiny ship, Edinburgh. It didn’t even fill a quarter of the Duck’s hold. They’d brought her on board once they were on route to Medway, once they’d decided that was the best place for Gallagher to get his medical supplies and Sean to call in McKenzie. Medway was firmly in Wintran-controlled space, the least volatile planet they could get to quickly. Sean had asked him the same question before she’d gone onto the station to meet the bounty hunter and make her proposition. She hadn’t liked the answer any more than Gallagher was going to now. She’d fixed that resolve again and disappeared onto Medway’s orbital. LC had scampered down to the engine room and hooked up with Elliott, who was already deep inside the station’s systems, to listen in to the conversation. He was desperately hoping that he hadn’t misjudged her and he wanted to hear first hand what she said to the guy. It hadn’t taken long for McKenzie to find her and sidle in there beside her at the bar. And it hadn’t taken long for Sean to persuade him that yes, she had their target safely tucked up on board her ship and no, she wasn’t completely content to hand him in for the measly half a million she’d agreed to like a chump before she’d realised how much he was really worth.

  McKenzie was a jerk. LC had watched while Sean flattered and teased, easily winding him around her little finger. She’d been very convincing.

  Elliott had laughed at the discomfort LC couldn’t hide. “You don’t have to go through with this,” the tech guy had said softly. “We could go now, take the Duck and disappear. No one would ever find you.” It had been a tempting thought and watching Sean flirt shamelessly with a guy who wanted his scalp had almost sent LC off the edge. But running wasn’t an option any more. Not when he knew that Hilyer was missing. Not when Anya was still out there somewhere. And especially not when he heard McKenzie brag that Zang had contracted him for the job because they knew no one else could manage it. “And face it, Seanie,” he’d breathed into her ear, “you’re here now asking for my help because you can’t handle him.”

  She’d smiled and sent back through the wire to LC, “How about we take this one step further and take the eighty five million for ourselves?”

  She’d come back on board fuming, told him to stash any gear he didn’t want to lose and advised him to put on something warm. “McKenzie keeps his holding pen cold,” she’d said.

  He’d left his jacket in his cabin, pulled on a thick shirt and handed Sean his knife in a show of absolute trust in her that he was glad didn’t go unnoticed.

  Gallagher shifted awkwardly. Hal Duncan stepped in and clasped LC on the shoulder. “We’ll see you back at Tortuga, bud,” he said, no doubt in his voice and a private message for LC to take care of himself sent through a thought that pierced into LC’s mind.

  He nodded and followed Sean onto the ship, refusing to let a pang of hesitation creep in. Edinburgh was polite and curious. He strapped in to the passenger’s seat and scuffed his feet against the console, feeling weirdly like he was a prisoner already. Sean seemed to sense it and reached across to squeeze his knee.

  “Trust me,” she said and turned away to make preparations to leave. Edinburgh manoeuvred herself deftly out of the Duck and they dropped down to the planet. LC closed his eyes and slowed his breathing carefully, ribs still not completely healed and a tightness there that had more to do with the tension of playing the part than the injury he’d picked up when he’d been caught for real.

  Sean didn’t bother with any superfluous chatter. It was strange to see her in her own environment. She was completely in control for the first time since they’d met and he couldn’t resist the urge to delve into her mind to make sure she wasn’t planning on just flying out and heading straight for the Alsatia.

  They didn’t. They made a smooth descent and landed at a nondescript airfield on the outskirts of a small township, checking in with McKenzie on the way.

  Sean busied herself securing the ship and repacking her holdall. LC sat and watched, feeling a rising tension as Sean avoided looking at him. She took a deep breath before she finally turned to face him, bag hoisted onto her shoulder and a set of plasticuffs in her hand.

  “We need to make it look good,” she said, a hint of apology tingeing the determination in her voice. “And unwrap the bindings on your hand. I wouldn’t have given you the chance to do that.”

  LC stood calmly, heart thumping, and pulled the strapping off his fingers. He held his hands out, wrists up. “Front or back?”

  She took hold of his arm and twisted gently, easing behind hi
m. “Always behind the back,” she said with a smile. “We know what you guys can do.”

  He let her secure the cuffs around his wrists. She pulled them tight, not caring too much to take care, and turned to face him. She held up a small device that looked hideously like the one the bounty hunters had stuck in his neck. “You have to trust me,” she said again. “This needs to look good.”

  “Do you have to make it look that good?” LC muttered and flinched as she placed the device on the back of his neck again. It adhered with a spike of intense pain.

  She flicked the metal tag pierced through the edge of his ear. “From here on in, Luka,” she said, “we have to make it look better than good because if McKenzie thinks anything is amiss here, he’ll kill you.” She stroked a hand along his jawline. “Just be glad you have enough bruises already to make this look real. I’d hate to have to bust up this pretty face of yours.”

  She pushed him out into the grey overcast daylight of Medway and they made the short walk across to McKenzie’s ramp. His ship was bigger than Edinburgh, slick and flash looking, weapons subtly but obviously placed on its hull. Sean had a confidence in her step that was completely at odds with the nerves he could feel fluttering inside her. She was very good. She’d worked on these terms with McKenzie before but never with such a lot at stake, never with someone she cared so much about. My god, she was thinking, she’d never cared so much about anyone in her life, never mind a target. LC couldn’t help the cocky smile that snuck out as McKenzie greeted them.

  It slipped as the guy moved close to Sean and rubbed hips with her, nudging her aside to grab LC’s arm and shove him up against the bulkhead. “So this is the badass the whole galaxy is after?” he said. The slick accent and strong scent of sickly cologne almost made LC gag. “Well done, Seanie, well done girl. You’ve done all the checks? I thought he was supposed to have green eyes.”

  “It’s him, Mac. Trust me. And keep him intact, for god’s sake – I want the full bounty.”

  McKenzie smiled, taking in the bruise under LC’s eye. “Seanie, I’m not the one who rough-handles the merchandise,” he said and pushed LC ahead of him into the ship. Sean followed them, casual but alert, giving the impression that she was eager to wrap up the job and not a hint of any attachment.

  LC didn’t resist even when McKenzie banged him up against a door. “It’s been one hell of a chase, Sean,” the bounty hunter said. “One of the best in a long time. I heard this guy was supposed to be real fiery. How the hell did you get him so docile?”

  LC watched out of the corner of his eye as Sean nonchalantly threw something to the guy. He couldn’t help tensing as he realised what it was. McKenzie caught it, gave an appreciative grunt and LC’s knees buckled as the bastard used the remote to flick the device onto full power.

  His vision greyed out and it felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. Make it look good? Shit, he didn’t have much choice. It snapped off abruptly and he was only half aware of being hauled back up to his feet.

  McKenzie laughed. Sean brushed past them, willing LC to be calm and just take it. She rested a hand on McKenzie’s back. “He’s mine, Mac,” she whispered. “And he knows it.”

  An uncomfortable mix of emotions rose in the man, pride, envy, an edge of lust. LC almost cringed. McKenzie was obsessed with Sean and she didn’t realise it, or if she suspected she didn’t realise the full strength of it. They may have made a real mistake here.

  McKenzie laughed again, forced that time, and held LC against the closed door. A cold jab hit his neck and his knees threatened to go again as the drug coursed into his system. The virus snatched at it, sending his head spinning and heart pounding. He felt it start to neutralise, overheard McKenzie think viciously that this would send the sucker to lala land for the trip and realised he couldn’t just stand there. Tempting as it was, there was no way he could give away the fact it was having no effect.

  He crumpled, deadweight to the deck.

  He felt Sean rush back to him, kneeling. “God, McKenzie, what have you given him?” She was thinking about the trauma patch and the allergies that hadn’t been mentioned in his file.

  Fingers pushed against LC’s neck and they reassured themselves that he was still alive.

  “Shit,” McKenzie said, “it doesn’t usually kick in that fast.”

  Chapter 32

  The Man stood, staring at the chessboard for a long moment before walking away from the desk.

  “One man,” he said from across the room. “One man set these events into motion. You say you had no choice but to react with a Rogue Seven. Was it worth it?”

  Hundreds of the guild’s deep cover agents and sleepers had been compromised. No, it hadn’t been worth it but it had been about more than just finding his two field operatives alive.

  NG decided his next move. “Ultimately, yes,” he said. The Man’s perception of time was very different to that of the rest of this galaxy. A disaster on any normal scale was merely an inconvenience for him.

  “Maybe so,” the Man said, returning and settling back into his chair. He looked up.

  It felt as if the temperature in the room had increased a notch. NG reached for his knight and moved it, taking a pawn and placing the Man’s king in check.

  The Man immediately moved his piece to safety. “How is it that such foolish actions from a man like Zang Tsu Po can cause such widespread anguish and permeating turbulence?”

  NG sat quietly. Zang wasn’t a fool and the Man knew it. No one got to be that powerful without extraordinary vision and drive. Zang had chanced upon knowledge of a development in bioengineering that he literally could not live without, and he’d mobilised his entire organisation and vast wealth to get his hands on it.

  But Zang had crossed the Thieves’ Guild and that was never going to be acceptable.

  Whatever the cost.

  •

  It was a short trip but it seemed to last forever. LC used the time to rest, ease his heart rate and heal. It wasn’t that different from hitching a lift to a regular tab. He settled in and snoozed, as comfortable as he could manage with his wrists and ankles tied and a band across his chest keeping him firmly in place.

  They’d locked him in a tiny cell, securely restrained to a bench. It was touching that Sean had made sure he was breathing alright and loosened the ties as soon as McKenzie left. So she hadn’t completely turned into the cold and ruthless bounty hunter she was making herself out to be. She’d felt his pulse again before she’d left, lingering as she held a finger against his neck. He didn’t really want them to know he was awake so he’d kept quiet.

  They made one jump. He listened in on their conversations, casual flirting with an edge of professional competition that was almost brutal. They didn’t hide the fact that they didn’t trust each other. McKenzie hadn’t told Sean where they were going and from what LC could pick up, the ship’s systems were sealed from her. She teased McKenzie for being paranoid and she was right, LC didn’t like it, didn’t like the way she spoke to the man in that provocative tone and as much as he knew it was an act, there were moments when he couldn’t help but doubt her. It was a lousy way to have to work.

  He tried to stay impassive. Sean checked on him a couple of times, worried that he was cold. He was. And concerned that the drugs McKenzie was doping him with were too strong. They weren’t, even though he got the distinct impression that the bounty hunter was double dosing to make sure LC stayed under and didn’t cause a problem.

  McKenzie was a vindictive son of a bitch. He had an instinct for inflicting pain, leaning a hand on LC’s chest as he topped up the sedative, hitting the exact spot where the ribs were still sore. LC took it all without flinching. He could read the man clearly enough without having to go too deep into his twisted mind. McKenzie wasn’t going to kill him and he wasn’t thinking of double-crossing Sean – far from it, he was hoping this job would lead onto more between them. And he’d persuaded himself that Sean had come to him because she wanted
to share the notoriety of bringing in the highest value target in history with him, tie their renown together forever, irrevocably.

  It took more self-constraint than LC thought he possessed to listen in to it.

  He woke as a jab hit his neck, warmth spreading through his bloodstream, stimulant rather than sedative, not that it made a difference to the virus. The ship was quiet and still. He hadn’t meant to sleep and the edge of a nightmare clawed at his memory.

  “Hey sleepy,” Sean sent through the wire, fumbling to release the restraints. Her hands were cold and, as much as she was hiding it, she was emanating a nervous tension that pulsed behind LC’s eyes. She freed his wrists quickly and he reached to untie the strap around his chest as she moved to his ankles.

  “We’re at the facility,” she sent.

  He sat up, stretching some life back into his muscles. She helped him up and retied his hands. “I don’t want you incapacitated if we get in trouble. You can get out of these?”

  He gave her a look that didn’t need explaining. “Any chance of a weapon?”

  She tried to hold in a smile. “Don’t push it.”

  He calmed his breathing, beginning to feel the depth of that intense focus he got before going out on a tab. This time he was walking right into the lion’s den – in the company of one bounty hunter who would settle for a fraction of the bounty if it came to handing him in dead rather than not at all, and another who was so scared she was losing her edge that she was thinking she’d rather knock him unconscious than risk kissing him again.

  He leaned in and kissed her. She swatted him away and sent an awkward, “God, LC, McKenzie might be watching.”

  “He isn’t.”

  Sean frowned and took hold of his hands, pretending to check the restraints. “I know I don’t need to say this but don’t do anything stupid when we get into this place,” she sent without looking up.