by C. G. Hatton
NG nodded. He had a flutter of anticipation in his stomach. It suddenly felt like old times, as if he was getting a pre-tab briefing in Ops, a memory from long ago, one of his first postings, before any of these people had even been born.
“We’ll send an advance party in first,” the Chief said. “Once they give the all-clear, you go in with Martinez as close protection backed up by an extraction team on personal escort and a squad of assault troops for cover. We’ll have another two extraction teams on standby and we’ll station a Thundercloud in orbit. Do you want gunships?”
NG looked from the Chief to Evelyn. They’d both talked to Arturo before they left, that was evident enough. It felt like all this was out of his hands and it was weird to see the guild in full flow without his input, drawing him along and telling him how it was going to be as if he was a field-op again.
He shook his head. If the Chief thought they’d need gunships, he’d send them, he wouldn’t be asking.
“You’re taking Anderton,” the Chief continued, “to ensure that Gallagher and his crew cooperate.”
LC squirmed at that but bit his tongue.
“And Hilyer because he’s the only operative we have who’s actually seen Zang Tsu Po up close in person.”
Hil smiled, no need to read his mind to see that he wanted his revenge.
The Chief gave him a disapproving glance and looked back at NG. “Take Ghost and Skye. We’ve initiated a total communications black out with a net of trip wires that Science swears is solid. So if anyone, anyone, here leaks a word of this out to the Assassins, we’ll know about it.”
‘Fools,’ Sebastian hissed. ‘Anyone who is good enough to be running these rings around us, is good enough to avoid their little traps. Listen to me, Nikolai. If you go out there, they will find you and they will kill you.’
Media reached out a hand and tapped gently but urgently on the table. “NG, did you get any idea from Farro who placed the contract?”
No one had asked him anything about that yet.
He saw her eyes drop to his throat for a briefest of instants, looking at that red line that wouldn’t fade no matter what he tried, before she looked him in the eye again, an almost desperate gratitude that he was still alive flashing through her thoughts. It was touching.
‘It’s sickening.’
He shook his head.
It was hard for her but she wasn’t prepared to let up. “Come on, NG, talk to us.”
He took a deep breath, no idea why it was so hard to speak out loud, and said reluctantly, “I tried. It was all buried beneath codes. Whoever did it made sure there was no way to trace them.”
She frowned. “I don’t suppose it makes much difference. Did Arturo tell you? It’s an open contract now. They want you dead as much as whoever paid them. But, NG, we still want to find them. Is there nothing you can give us?”
He looked from face to face around the table. His successor in Evelyn, two of his most trusted chiefs and the two best operatives they’d handled in generations, the two kids who’d found themselves thrown into the middle of a situation no field-op should ever be troubled with, and he made a decision.
“There’s an organisation…” he said.
NG walked off Ghost into the blazing sunshine of Tortuga’s airfield and straight into a waiting circle of guns-up, pissed off pirates, facing off with the guild’s advance party.
There was no sign of the Duck. Not on the surface, not any sign of it in the vicinity or the outer system. They’d made low orbit above the colony and LC had scanned, reluctantly, for familiars, using the Senson and Ghost combined, so that meant he was looking for Elliott or Thom Garrett, no one else on the ship having implants as far as they knew. He’d found Garrett, stuck planetside in town nursing a broken arm, and got back an incredulous, “Luka, what the hell are you doing here?” LC hadn’t messed around, simply sending back, “Thom, I need to speak to Gallagher and Hal but listen, I’m here with company. Heavily armed and they’re not going to give up their weapons. They’re here to protect me. We’re not any threat to Tierney. Make that clear, okay?”
NG looked around at the welcoming committee.
‘What’s clear, Nikolai, is that they care about nothing but cold, hard cash.’
Whatever Garrett had said, Tierney was still taking no chances. But these people hadn’t betrayed LC.
‘Anderton didn’t have half a billion resting on his head.’
Martinez moved automatically, defensively, in front of NG. They’d landed Ghost on the outskirts of the airfield, the fast response dropship next to them. The forward team hadn’t been able to secure the area, warning NG that the colony was a nightmare. “It’s a freaking rat run of places to hide,” the senior agent had reported. “You want my opinion, don’t come in. If you do, don’t go into the town. If you have to, be aware, there is a stash of heavy weaponry and explosives far beyond anything you’d find in a genuine mining colony. But you probably know that already. As far as we can figure, there aren’t any known assassins here, but don’t rely on that. The bounty hunters still seem fixated on Anderton. And everyone is paranoid as hell. You want me to reiterate that opinion? Don’t come in.”
They were used to him not taking their advice.
He wasn’t used to having so many people watching his every move.
He felt the two extraction agents and the squad of troops from Security spread out behind him, covering every angle, all guns up and fingers on triggers.
LC walked forward, arms spread, equally pissed off.
Two of the pirates stepped up, a big guy NG recognised as Hal Duncan, intimidating as hell, that military background standing out a mile, and DiMarco, easy enough to identify from LC’s debrief and the reaction he gave the kid now.
The pilot eyed up the firepower guarding them and grinned, stepping forward to grab LC in a bearhug. “I knew you were something special, Luka buddy, but Thieves’ Guild? Jesus Christ. Why are you here? You do know it’s insane for you to be here?”
“No choice,” LC breathed, quietly enough that just DiMarco and Duncan could hear.
NG listened in, using more effort than it should have done to read them, and not liking that ‘no choice’ but he couldn’t blame the kid for still feeling ostracised.
“We need to find Gallagher,” LC said. “Where’s the Duck?”
DiMarco looked dubious. “Not here but she should be on her way back soon.”
NG shielded his eyes with his hand, looking into each face, each mind, in fast succession, wanting nothing other than a cold drink and somewhere shaded to sit and talk this out.
Most of the pirates were curious, mostly about seeing LC again in such different circumstances, staring at the armoured troops and thinking, what the hell? Hal Duncan was assessing the situation with cold precision. ‘They’re not protecting you,’ he heard the big ex-marine say to LC, direct thought, ‘they’re protecting him. That’s NG.’ There was a massive suspicion there and NG couldn’t help picking up that when LC had met this guy, the kid had been rogue from the guild and nowhere near sure that he could trust anyone, NG included. That kind of emotional baggage tended to linger and Duncan knew nothing about the Thieves’ Guild except what he’d picked up from LC. He was trying to figure out if LC was there under duress, and LC himself wasn’t exactly exuding calm and cooperation.
Duncan’s stare flicked to NG, the big man suddenly thinking very clearly, ‘You’re reading my mind.’
‘Yep.’
‘I take it the whole of the damned Thieves’ Guild can’t do this?’
‘No.’
‘And you are NG?’
‘We need to talk.’
Duncan glanced at LC. “You’re taking a real risk coming here,” he said quietly. “There are still bounty hunters, camped out and hoping you’d be stupid enough to come back.”
“We need to find Gallagher,” LC said again and switched to direct thought, easy enough to eavesdrop even though he was trying to shield it, ‘Hal, the Win
trans are mobilising a fleet to come out here. You need to warn Tierney.’
‘Zang? Looking for you?’ Duncan shook his head almost imperceptibly. ‘It’s a good thing you have so many guns watching your back, Luka, because I’m not going to be able to save your ass, or his, if anyone catches wind of that half a billion.’ He glanced back at NG. ‘What do you really want here?’
NG smiled. This guy was good. He’d lifted that piece of intel from Martinez. God knows what else. At that meeting in the hospitality suite when he’d spilled his guts about the Order, he’d also thrown the real purpose behind the Man’s special projects into the mix. Everyone around that table had listened carefully, humouring him at first and then waking up to the facts as he’d laid it all out and explained why Gallagher was so important. It wasn’t every day you heard that an alien invasion was on its way but they’d taken it well all things considered. Whether they believed it or not was another matter but he’d given them access to all the files. Martinez hadn’t confronted him with any of it on the way out here, she was simply doing her job and, surprisingly, he didn’t care that she knew it all now. Duncan could get whatever he wanted from reading her mind, or LC’s.
DiMarco was frowning, oblivious to the exchanges that were flying around. “What does the fucking Thieves’ Guild want with Gallagher?”
To give him credit, LC was working hard to keep his cool. “Not just Gallagher. We have to talk to Elliott and Thom. And Tierney.”
The pilot was about to ask why again but changed his mind. “Then you need to come into town. I’ll vouch for you, that’s all. The rest of your fucking friends can stay here.”
NG watched as LC shook his head and said, “That’s not going to happen.”
DiMarco laughed and raised his hand, pointing at the Security guys. “There’s no way they are coming into our town.”
“Then bring Tierney and Thom out here,” LC said, following his brief for once.
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Then we’ll just come in.” LC lowered his voice again. “DiMarco, come on, look at this.”
Hal Duncan put a hand on DiMarco’s shoulder and said to LC, “Give us a minute,” looking past the kid at NG and the blatant show of force from a guild he was thinking he’d somehow got caught up in, resenting the fact and at the same time not able to fault LC for it because the kid had saved his life.
NG stared at him and the big marine caught his eye, thinking very deliberately, ‘Yeah, I know, it’s fucked up shit. You want me to sort this out? Don’t try anything. Don’t be stupid. And tell Hilyer to stay where he is in orbit. You come in on my ticket, you do as I say, understood?’
NG nodded. LC was right, they were going in anyway. The cooperation of Tierney’s main lieutenants, the ranks of which Duncan seemed to have joined, was a luxury not a necessity.
He was happy to let Duncan overhear that.
The big man wasn’t impressed but kept his face neutral as he turned to speak to DiMarco privately, pointing out the superiority of the weapons and armour. “Thieves’ Guild, my ass. They’re battle troops, for fuck’s sake. That’s chameleonic powered armour they’re wearing. You want to mess with them, fine. I’ll stand by and scrape up the pieces once they’re done. Then I’ll take them in to see Tierney. Don’t be stupid, DiMarco, we’re outgunned here.” He leaned in close. “And this is Luka, bud, don’t forget that. We both owe the kid.” He let that hang and turned back to them, folding his arms.
DiMarco didn’t like it but he didn’t argue. He regarded them with undisguised hostility and said sullenly, “Welcome to Tortuga.”
Jiro Tierney’s desert hideaway had good beer, better liquor and a warmth that went deeper than the heat of the sun that had been beating down on them all afternoon. It was easy to see why LC had fallen for the place.
Tierney was keeping them waiting. NG sat back and watched with a tinge of envy the way the kid was made welcome. He’d never seen LC look so relaxed, sitting on a table top over by the back door to the house, chatting in low voices with DiMarco, Duncan and Garrett, laughing and at ease even though they’d had to wait until dark to drive in here under armed guard to avoid the bounty hunters. They’d brought six Security guys in with them, leaving the others and the extraction team with the ships. Standard back up procedures. Everything was going as slick as it could, except there was still no sign of Gallagher or his freighter.
NG looked at Martinez. The small private courtyard was quiet except for the flutter of flags in the breeze and the clink of ice in the glasses. Candles in small glass jars burned with a hint of narcotic in their trailing fumes.
It was peaceful.
Until the Sensons engaged. Everyone’s, simultaneous.
He was so intent on Hil’s update, he almost missed the message LC and Garrett received from the freighter.
DiMarco looked around. “What?”
Martinez knocked back the pale green liquor in the shot glass she’d been ignoring. “We need to get out of here.”
NG nodded, standing and watching as LC jumped off the table.
DiMarco grabbed the kid’s arm. “What is it?”
“A Wintran battle cruiser just dropped in system,” LC said. “Zang has the Duck. We’re too late.”
Chapter 25
“Events unfolded fast. You haven’t seen Nikolai since he walked out?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know all this? How do you know what has happened since?”
He reached for the poker. “I have my means.”
“How is he?”
Again, he did not reply, stirring the ashes and nurturing the deep glow of the embers. He nudged the blackened logs, watching the flames lick up around the twisted metal of the poker.
He said instead, “By all accounts, he responded well to being effectively demoted back to field operative. I think that was always the position where he felt most comfortable.”
She smiled. She had always been fond of Nikolai as well. “Arturo is very clever. It will have been what he needed. Practical field work always brought out the best in him.”
•
Thom Garrett looked horrified, shoving past LC and DiMarco to head inside, a disproportionate reaction to news that was bad but not disastrous unless there was something else going on. NG moved fast and blocked his way, grabbing his arm, the one that wasn’t broken, the physical contact magnifying the intensity of the panic. He pulled the kid back and held on, going deep, fast. Time to find out Thom Garrett’s secret.
It hit like a wave, threatening to overwhelm. Deeply buried traumatic crap going all the way back to the kid’s childhood, all overridden by a fierce need to keep it hidden and keep away from it. And Gallagher, who was the key to keeping that distance, was being held on a Wintran battle cruiser.
NG looked into a face that was desperate. If he lost Gallagher, the kid was thinking, he’d be hauled back onto the Tangiers and shipped home in the blink of an eye.
Hal Duncan grabbed the front of Garrett’s jacket. “What the fuck is the Tangiers?”
Garrett looked sick. He hated the Tangiers, that was easy to read, hated the warship, hated its captain and hated his grandfather for sending him out here with it.
Christ. NG let go. “Call it in,” he said quietly.
Sebastian laughed. ‘Earth versus Winter, round two… I’m almost impressed, Nikolai. Your capacity for warmongering seems to be growing.’
“Call it in,” he said again, calmly. “The Wintrans are going to attack this colony and they will not stop until they have taken or killed everyone here. Call it in.”
Garrett shook his head. “It’s not that simple.”
Duncan pushed the kid against the wall. “You have a fucking warship following you? Call it in.”
“You don’t understand.”
“You don’t understand,” Duncan hissed, nose to nose. “That battle cruiser is going to launch an attack on this colony and blitz it until they find Luka. They already have Gallagher. I
don’t care what you have going on, Thom. Call it in.”
Garrett was still resisting.
NG grabbed his arm again, using everything he had to calm the boy down and delve deeper into his memories. Legal had dug up some stuff on this kid but Christ, that was only half of it. He gave the kid absolutely no choice, feeling Garrett acquiesce as he spoke. “Thom, do whatever you need to do to get them here, fast. You want a code? Give them this.” He rattled off a code that he plucked out of the kid’s memory. “Do you understand?”
Garrett nodded, terrified but furious, almost hyperventilating with the adrenaline rush.
LC was watching, listening in, the implications of it settling on him like a weight.
Sebastian laughed again. ‘That’s more like it. I was wondering how you were going to follow the single-handed annihilation of the Assassins. Revenge against Zang, by throwing Earth spec-ops against him – again – how exhilarating.’
Martinez opened a private link. “NG, what’s going on?”
“Thom Garrett is JU.”
Duncan stepped to the side and gestured towards the doorway. “Everyone inside. Now. Go with DiMarco. Thom, come with me.”
They followed the pilot down a dark hallway into Tierney’s headquarters.
NG sent, tight wire and encrypted to the others out at the airfield, “Bug out. Right now. I don’t want Ghost or that dropship on the ground if they come in hard.”
Martinez stayed at his side, sending, “Why is the JU following Gallagher? Is that where the virus came from? Do they know? Did Jameson know?”
It was possible. He hadn’t been anywhere near Jameson since LC came back with it. But there hadn’t been any hint of it in his mind when the colonel had first confronted them with it.