Zeta Hack: A Paranormal Space Opera Adventure (Star Justice Book 3)

by Michael-Scott Earle

  I blocked a baton thrust with my right gun and then shoved the barrel into the man’s chest before I pulled the trigger. The round sent him flying away from me, and then swept the legs of the last cop who I stood against. He tumbled to the ground, and I stomped my massive boot into his stomach. The air rushed out of his lungs like a popped balloon, and I guessed that he wouldn’t be getting up for a good ten minutes.

  Gunshots rang out, and I dove to the side. One of the bullets pegged me in the chest, and another slammed into my stomach. If I had been wearing any sort of armor the rubber-like bullets probably wouldn’t have hurt at all, but the hits made me grunt with surprised pain, and I knew I would have massive bruises for a few minutes.

  I rolled onto my left shoulder and then flipped up sideways onto my feet while firing again. The next group of men were ten meters away, and they hadn’t formed any sort of shield wall yet. My first slug smacked a gunman down, and my second knocked over a man with a baton.

  Another group of men ran at me from my left side. They actually raised their shields and held their batons out like short spears. I backpedaled away from them while I aimed my weapons at their feet. My shots were true, and hit the front two men on their shins. The men shouted in pain and then tripped forward. The cops rushing behind them were too slow to stop their movement, and the group ended up getting tangled and falling in a heap.

  I zig-zagged to my left while I shot another two riot slugs into the pile of men. My movement wasn’t quick enough though, and I caught a slug on the right shoulder. The hit spun me around, and then another slug hit me in the back, right between the shoulder blades. The bullet lifted me off my feet and threw me forward a few meters, but I managed to roll with my landing and came up and around to a crouch, with both of my guns facing the tidal wave of armored men.

  The animal didn’t even feel the pain.

  I squeezed the triggers. One slug hit a gunman in the face and knocked him over, but the other one was deflected by a shield. The slide of my left weapon didn’t chamber a round, so I knew that the magazine was empty. I dropped the gun and then twisted to the side while I fired another shot out of the right weapon. This slug hit another gunman in the stomach and knocked him down like he was a doll getting hit with a baseball bat. The slide didn’t return on this weapon, so I dropped it and grabbed the stun baton out of my mouth.

  Then I charged the remaining men.

  The beast inside of my soul loved this battle. It wanted to tear into them. It wanted to rip open their flesh and taste their blood on the air. It wanted to hear them scream, hear them die. My human soul held the monster back. Some of these men probably deserved death, but they weren’t using lethal attacks on me. I was going to do my best not to kill any of them. The priority was punching through them so that the women I protected could get to Persephone.

  Two riot slugs slammed into my chest as I ran, but each of the slugs felt like bee stings, and I shrugged off the pain before I reached the group. They’d been smart enough to prepare a wall of protection with their riot shields, but my charging mass just smashed through the barrier and scattered the puny men as if they were children carrying plastic trash can lids.

  I swung my baton and electrocuted a cop while I kicked the legs out from another. Two men thrust their batons at me, but I knocked both of their arms aside with a sweep of my left arm. Then I pushed my baton into the man on the right’s face, and he screamed before he fell unconscious.

  I screamed as the muscles in my back seized. There were too many assholes around me, and one of them had hit me with his stun baton. I spun around and smacked the man with the back of my gloved fist. The blow made the man’s body twist around, but I didn’t know if it had actually broken his neck.

  I caught one of the men with a riot gun taking aim at my head, and I ducked down to avoid the shot. The movement cost me the ability to dodge the next stun baton hit, and the left side of my body went numb with agony.

  “Arrrrrrrrrrrggggghhhhh!” I roared as I smashed the side of my baton into the man’s helmet. Both his armor and the baton in my hand broke with a shower of electricity, and an explosion of sparks sprayed across the men I was engaged in melee with.

  I kicked one man, blocked a baton from another with my forearm, and then punched a third with my free hand. A fourth jumped toward me with his baton raised like a sword, but I managed to snatch him out of the air before he could stab the weapon into my furry head. I lifted him up over my head as I screamed at the other men. The movement cost me another baton shock to the chest, but then I threw the cop on top of them all. The armored assholes went down in a huge pile, and I picked up a new baton from the ground.

  I intended to shock them into unconsciousness, but a series of new gunfire pulled my attention back up to the train platform. Juliette had picked up one of the riot shotguns, and she was taking out the other guards from behind a shield that Z held. Two of the five girls we rescued were also carrying shields, and the others were cowering behind their shield wall.

  I slammed the stun baton into the mess of armored men. I didn’t know if the electricity was running through all of them with each strike, but more than one man would always scream when I used the weapon. I had almost finished knocking all of them out, when another gunman took a shot at me. The rubber-like slug slammed into the side of my head. The world tilted and spun for a moment, but then I regained my balance, and I turned to glare at the man. He was one of three left, and the other two of his friends held up shields that he could fire over.

  I felt the beast’s rage take control and I sprinted toward the last trio. I saw their eyes open with terror, and the man with the gun stood up over the shields to take another shot at me while I charged. Juliette was quicker, and the bullet from her gun slammed into his head. He tilted over, fell, and I smashed my shoulder into both of the shields. The man on my right spun away out of the range of my baton, but the one on the left didn’t get very far. My weapon found the back of his neck, and he let out a scream before he fell unconscious.

  I turned to the last man, but Juliette’s gun fired again. She was an excellent shot, and his helmet was knocked off his head with the impact of her slug. He toppled over, and I scanned the harbor to see if any of the riot police were moving. They were either all unconscious, or they were smart enough to lie down and play dead.

  “Let’s go,” I said to the women as I pointed in the direction of the dock where we had parked Persephone. Juliette and Z both nodded, and then they turned to make sure the five girls were coming.

  We ran, but I didn’t see any more riot police. The harbor was completely empty, and I wondered if they had told the citizens to go back to their ships, or quarantined everyone in a different area. Either way, it looked like we were going to get out of this okay. We just needed to get through the docking tube and on board the manta ray shaped vessel.

  “Thank the stars! We are here,” Z shouted as soon as we made it to our tube. Then the blonde hacker turned to the five girls. “You all are going to be okay. We’ll get you back home in ten minutes.

  “We have a problem,” Juliette said as soon as we popped open the door and entered the tube leading from the dock to Persephone’s rear hatch.

  “What?” I growled, and everyone but Z’s face turned three shades paler.

  “They are going to have records of your ship leaving the dock. It might come back to me.” Juliette looked me up and down as she spoke as if she still couldn’t believe she was talking to a walking tiger.

  “You have an admin login to these?” Z asked as she pointed at the control panel of the dock.

  “Yes, but that’s only going to get you into the--”

  “I’ll figure it out. Give me your password,” Z said as she pulled her computer cord from her pocket.

  “It’s… hmmm.” Juliette crossed her arms and then looked back to me.

  “Look, you just said this is going to get back to you. Haven’t we proven ourselves to you yet?” Z rolled her eyes almost back into
her skull. “We don’t want the bad guys to win.”

  “Fine. It is tiger-eight-four-seven-five-six-tiger.”

  “Like T as in tiger?” Z asked.

  “No. The word tiger.”

  “That’s kind of we--”

  “I like cats and tigers. Do you have a problem with that?” Juliette hissed at the blonde hacker, and then the redhead gave me a sidelong glance.

  “Uhhh. No. I really like them also. Sheesh. I wasn’t trying to be a bitch.” Z shrugged her shoulders and then started tapping buttons on the control panel of the door.

  “Just your thing with the--”

  “Done!” Z shouted with glee.

  “What did you do?” I asked.

  “I made their system think that every single ship docked on the station has just left.”

  “Uhhh. The whole station?” Juliette gasped.

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re going to fuck up operations for the next thirty-six hours. Or more,” the police woman hissed.

  “Yeah, and we are going to get out of here alive, and no one is going to know you were behind all this. Can’t bake a cake without breaking some eggs.”

  “You can’t make an omelet--”

  “I’d rather have cake than an omelet,” Z interrupted as she gestured to the far end of the tube where Persephone's shutter door was. “You gonna argue with me about cooking or can we get the fuck out of here?”

  “Let’s go,” I said before Juliette could answer.

  Then we ran to Persephone.

  Chapter 13

  We didn’t have any problem returning to our dock in District B’s harbor. The woman on dispatch said that they were having system issues, but Juliette was able to smooth talk the woman into letting us return without a security check, since we had “just made a quick trip to the other side of the station and they were saving our spot.”

  The police commander didn’t lie when she said she had once been a good pilot. Z did a fine job docking Persephone when we first arrived on Queen’s Hat, but Juliette asked to fly the dark craft back this time, and she’d parked us at the dock without even the slightest of bumps. The execution made Z cross her arms and lean back in her seat, but the redhead surprised both of us by not rubbing in her obvious skill.

  “What time is it on the station?” I asked Juliette after the dock tube was attached.

  “One in the afternoon, Earth time,” she replied as she stood from the copilot’s seat. “Feels good to fly again, even if for a little bit.”

  “We have a dinner appointment with Byron in Huyan’s club. The plan was to meet him,” I said to the redhead as she stretched her arms over her head. The movement stretched her shirt tightly against her firm breasts and showed off the creamy white skin of her toned stomach. Our eyes met, the corner of her mouth turned up in a crooked smile, and I realized she’d tried to get me to look at her. It seemed as if the policewoman had overcome her initial terror of my shift and was doing her usual manipulations.

  “You need to find out what the explosives are for,” she said as she lowered her arms to the back of the pilot’s chair and picked up her jacket. She fished inside her pocket and pulled out her pack of smokes.

  “If you give us our friend, we can get that done easily,” I said as I crossed my arms over my chest. I was still in my cat form, and I would need to sleep before we went to the club. It was going to be a real rough night because I doubted the six or so hours of rest would actually help me recover from my shift.

  “Sorry, but no.”

  “What the fuck? We’ve just helped you save these girls!” Z gestured to the five teenagers that sat behind us in the gunner’s seats. “We want to help you!”

  “Or, you know there are terrorists in my district, so you’ll just jump on your starship and leave. Nope. I’m not letting your friend out until you deliver proof that Izetta Baccala is involved with Huyan and Byron’s operations.” Juliette slid a cigarette into her mouth and then pulled a lighter out of her jeans.

  “No smoking on my bridge,” I growled as she lit it.

  “Hmmm,” she winked at me as she inhaled deeply on the rolled tobacco. The woman then made a kissing motion with her mouth and blew out the smoke.

  I closed the distance between us in one step, and she let out a surprised gasp.

  “If you hurt me--” she started to say, but I pinched the burning cigarette out of her fingers and crushed it in my giant cat-hand.

  “No. Smoking. On. My. Bridge,” I repeated slowly. I could smell her fear, and knew that her facial expressions and flirting were only an act to try to gain positioning on the situation.

  “Well then,” she said with a sigh.

  “If you let Eve go, we will find out what is gooooooing on tonigggght.” I growled. “If you keep her, we might not know for a few days. Do you really want to risk that?”

  “How is your friend going to find out what is going on? Is she some sort of super spy?” Juliette asked.

  “Uhhh. No,” Z said as she looked at me. I got my friend’s hesitation. Juliette probably wouldn’t believe us if we stated that Eve was able to read people’s thoughts.

  “She has a way with people,” I said. “They reveal things to her they would not otherwise divulge. I am telling you, we can figure this out tonight, or tomorrow if you let our friend go.”

  “Sorry, Kitty Boy? Is that what you call him?” Juliette asked as she looked over to Z.

  “That is what I call him,” Z spat with emphasis on the “I.”

  “Yeah, so anyways, Kitty Boy, no can do. I will give you back your money, and your transponders, and Blondie has her computer back. Your friend with the red eyes is the only leverage I have. I’m not going to give her up because you guys promise shit. I’ve been the victim of too many broken promises. I’m done with them.”

  “You are promising us that you will give our friend back,” I said as I fought against my body’s desire to rip the redhead’s throat out with my claws. “Why should we trust you?”

  “Because you don’t have a choice. I’m guessing you won’t be looking like this tonight?” she asked as she pointed at my face. “Call me via transponder when you finish meeting Huyan. The clock is ticking. I need to get these girls someplace safe, go back to my office, and then ensure no one has seen us on the District E street feed.”

  My chest rumbled, and the redhead raised an eyebrow.

  “Adam…” Z hissed, and I felt her hands circle my massive bicep.

  “Listen to Blondie, Kitty Boy. You’ve come this far. Would be a shame if I didn’t return tonight. My men have air-lock instructions for your friend.”

  I didn’t know if she was bluffing. I could still smell the sweet scent of her terror, but she was one hell of a poker player, and her eyes betrayed no fear as she looked up at me.

  “We good?” she asked.

  “Yeah. We’re good. Don’t hurt our friend,” Z said.

  “Awww. When you say it like that, makes me sound like I’m the criminal. Ahh well. I guess everyone is a hero in their own mind. Speaking of that, hey girls? Ready to get back home?” Juliette called out to the five young women who we had saved from a life of sex slavery.

  “Yes,” one of them said, and they got up from their seats.

  “I’ll be waiting for your call,” the cop said before she walked off the bridge.

  “Fucking bitch!” Z shouted after she walked around the map to make sure they had gone down the elevator.

  “I need to shift back into human form,” I said.

  “Yeah, and then you are going to be fucked up. I know the drill.”

  “I’ll need to get back to the hotel before I pass out. You still have to buy a dress for tonight.”

  “Uhhh. How long will you need to sleep?”

  “Until we have to go,” I said as I tried to think of blue ocean waves on a pristine beach.

  “Eight?” she asked.

  “Yeah. It won’t be enough time to fully recover, but I’ll make it work,” I sai
d.

  “Oh,” she said.

  “What’s wrong?” The tone of Z’s voice pulled me from my thoughts of the ocean, and I opened my eyes to look at her.

  “Nothing,” she said as she crossed her arms.

  “Something is wrong.”

  “It’s stupid. Change back and let’s return to the hotel.”

  “What’s stupid?” I asked.

  “Just leave it. I’m fine. It’s nothing for you to worry about.” She smiled at me, but the motion looked forced.

  “Look, if you don’t want to go, I can tell them you weren’t--”

  “No! Fuck, Adam, I want to go with you. Just leave it alone, okay? I was looking forward to going dress shopping with you. It’s really fucking dumb, and I hate that I’m disappointed, but you have to sleep. I get it.”

  “Z, it’s--”

  “I’m going to go down to the dock and make sure that bitch didn’t steal anything when she was walking out of here. I’ll meet you there when you are ready to go,” she said as she turned to walk away from me.

  “Wait,” I said as I grabbed onto her shoulder. She stopped walking, and I turned her around to face me.

  “I don’t know what to do,” I admitted.

  “Me either,” she sighed. “I wish I could program my feelings.”

  “Do you really wish that?”

  “I’m having romantic feelings for a man who can turn into a giant walking tiger and likes to throw himself headfirst into walls of bullets. Yeah. I’m notoriously bad with love. I just pick the best ones.” Her blue eyes turned downward.