Revenge: (Space Outlaw 3)

by Dominique Mondesir

  If Phoenix didn't get him to Freyan soon, he would be dead within an hour or two. Maybe less.

  "How you feeling?" Phoenix asked, kneeling next to Florin.

  "Great...couldn't be better," Florin gasped between coughs.

  "Don't tell me you're going to complain about that little scratch on your stomach?" Phoenix said.

  "Well, you know how we Council members do like to complain."

  Phoenix tried to keep the concern from his features as he looked left to right. Where is she? If they stayed here much longer they would surely be found, but moving Florin could do more harm than good.

  Should he search for Saoirse in the hopes of finding her before trouble arrived? What if she too was injured? What would he do then?

  Phoenix looked from Florin to the surrounding darkness, then back again. He could feel time ticking away. What to do, what to do? A choice had to be made, and soon, before all options were taken away from him.

  "Florin, did you see--"

  A soft moan in the distance cut Phoenix off. Walking to his right, he followed the sound until he found what was causing it. Saoirse lay spread-eagled on her back, her head resting near a rock. As Phoenix got closer he could see a watery sheen on the rock's surface. Phoenix brought his hand to her face and gently stroked the hair out of Saoirse's eyes.

  Saoirse stirred when she felt his fingertips brush her cheek.

  "Sleeping on the job, are we?" Phoenix said with a smile.

  "I thought I would catch some much-needed rest. You got it all handled, right?" said Saoirse.

  "Yeah, I got it all handled," Phoenix said, checking her over.

  "You fuss too much. It was just a simple knock on the head--"

  Saoirse staggered backwards on unsteady legs as she tried to get up. Phoenix grabbed her by the arm and brought her back down to the ground. Gunfire in the distance echoed and bounced off the hills.

  "Plowstow must be fighting," said Phoenix.

  "I doubt he can hold them off for much longer. You should go."

  Phoenix looked over his shoulder as the gun and plasma fire flashed in the night. "Is your holocom working?"

  "No, it broke in the fall."

  "I left mine back on the ship," Phoenix said with a sigh. "Come on, I'll take you to Florin."

  Even in the darkness, Phoenix could see that Florin's state had worsened. Saoirse knelt beside him, placing his head in her lap, and his eyes flickered open.

  "I thought you had left me here to die, Phoenix Jones," said Florin.

  "I thought about it."

  "I wouldn't blame you. I dare say you weren't expecting this sort of thing when you first set foot on this beautiful planet."

  "You know, I kind of did. Trouble has a way of chasing me like a few crazy ex-girlfriends that spring to mind. It doesn't seem to want to leave me alone. But it does make for an interesting life," said Phoenix. "Saoirse, how are you for ammo and weapons?"

  "Good."

  "I wish I had a light. This darkness is thicker than gumbo soup."

  "Why do you need a light? Don't you have night vision?" asked Saoirse.

  "I...fuck!" Phoenix said, slapping his forehead.

  More gunfire rattled the peace of the hills, and birds took flight from nearby trees.

  Florin's eyes closed and reopened as he fought off the warm embrace of unconsciousness. Phoenix knelt beside him and placed his finger under Florin's nose. His breathing was weak. Time was running out.

  Florin woke with a jerk and looked at Phoenix with heavy-lidded eyes. His far-off gaze told Phoenix that he might be seeing something no one else could see.

  "Do you know what they call this place?" asked Florin.

  "You mean the planet? Lavera."

  "No, no. Not the planet, I mean where we are now. It's called the Valley of the Dead. It's where the Fren bury their family. I wasn't here only to see you, Phoenix. I was here to bury my father. That's why the house was built overlooking the valley, to remind the family of what our fortunes were built on. It now seems that there shall be two bodies to add to the valley today."

  "Not on my watch," said Phoenix.

  "So...what do you plan to do, Phoenix Jones?" asked Florin.

  "What I do best. Fuck shit up."

  36

  Everything was filtered through a green lens. Phoenix moved his head from left to right and was amazed at the world around him. All he had to do was concentrate and the darkness was no more. Hazy red heat signatures showed small animals running about in the undergrowth.

  Gunfire drew his focus back to the matter at hand.

  Phoenix knelt on one knee and scooped up a handful of dirt. Placing a small amount in a tiny bottle, he rubbed the rest between his hands. "Let the fun begin."

  Phoenix walked with the confidence of a predator as he made his way back to the house. He kept his profile as close to the ground as possible. His heart raced, and his hands twitched at his sides.

  Another gun flash up ahead made Phoenix shake his head. They were either the stupidest henchmen alive or they were trying to bait Phoenix into a trap. It would be fun finding out which.

  The high grass and the occasional tree offered sparse cover; it would have to do. The grass came up to Phoenix's hip, and he stalked through it like a tiger hunting its next meal. He saw movement ahead of him: one guard with a rifle was sweeping the area. He was alone, which was unlucky for him.

  Phoenix moved through the grass, inching closer and closer.

  "June, come in," said the guard.

  "Yup," came back a reply.

  "This shit is pointless. Did you see how far that fall from the house was? I mean, it ain't a little ditch. If anyone survived they'll be lucky to be injured rather than anything else. I think we should have a few drinks to Julius' success and search tomorrow, in the light."

  "You don't get paid to think, fuck-face. Now keep on looking and don't come back till you find something," said June.

  The guard muttered under his breath as he walked closer to Phoenix.

  Phoenix moved to his left and allowed the guard to pass him. Creeping up behind him, Phoenix punched him in the spine and kicked his legs out from under him. With Phoenix's knee buried deep in his back, the guard wasn't going anywhere.

  "How many of you are there?"

  "Fuck you," said the guard around a mouthful of dirt.

  Phoenix let out a sigh and shook his head. "We both know how this will play out. You won't tell me anything till I hurt or injure you, then there will be a back-and-forth argument, then I break some more body parts, then the information comes gushing out. But listen to me now--we could save all that heartache and torment if you simply tell me what I asked. Then I'll tie you up and there won't be any harm done. How about it?"

  "Fuck you!"

  Phoenix reached down and grabbed the guard's hand with his right one. He began to squeeze slowly. "I know all you guard types are stupid, so listen carefully to what I'm about to say. My hand is bionic, and made by the brightest mind that there is." The whimper from the guard was quiet, but Phoenix hadn't really started. "It can crush most metals and alloys and can withstand heat. Now, the heat part won't be any use to you, but the crushing part will."

  The guard bucked beneath Phoenix like a wild horse as he began to scream. Phoenix pushed the guard's face deeper into the dirt as bones and tendons popped. The sound reminded him of a butcher's market.

  "Okay, okay. Please! Have mercy--mercy!"

  "How many?"

  "Ten in total."

  "Is that counting you and Julius?"

  "Yes, please, yes. My hand, my fucking hand!" the guard head-butted the ground repeatedly as he tried to shake Phoenix off.

  "Location?"

  "Some in the surrounding area, a few protecting Julius," the guard whimpered.

  Phoenix scanned the surrounding area with his knee still in the guard's back. No one seemed to be around, but he wasn't sure if the guard's screams had been heard. He delivered a punch to the back of the guard's
head, knocking him out cold. Phoenix took the guard's holocom and lowered the volume.

  He followed the trail back towards the house, keeping in the shadows. He heard muttering to his left, amongst a small dense cluster of trees. Moving from tree to tree, he followed it.

  "June, this is bullshit. There is nothing down here. Mike and I are wasting our time. Why don't we regroup and wait for them back at the house? Their ship should be being destroyed as we speak. They have nowhere to go, and nowhere to hide."

  Phoenix spotted the men prowling through the brush, hacking with blades at anything that got in their way. Assault rifles hung from their shoulders. Phoenix smiled as he moved in closer.

  "Look, you assholes! We have already lost two men to that green fucker they had with them. So do your jobs and don't return till you find or create corpses," said June.

  "Did they catch him?"

  "No, he took off."

  "Why didn't you tell us he was still on the loose? Thanks for watching our backs."

  Phoenix leaned against a tree as the guard who spoke into his holocom walked ahead of his partner. The leaves on the trees rustled as they blocked any moonlight from up above.

  As the second guard was left further and further behind, Phoenix moved closer to him. The hoots from above masked his footsteps as he crept forward and twisted the man's neck in one fluid motion. Phoenix held the body up as he steadied his breathing, waiting to see if his partner turned around.

  He was none the wiser, muttering to himself while he kept walking.

  Phoenix lowered the body to the ground and stepped on the man's holocom until it broke. Keeping the guard in his sights, he began to flank him on the left.

  "Can you believe this shit, Mike? This job was meant to be easy. Kill off some rich asshole and his friends and, when Julius came into power, it would be easy street. No one said anything about stumbling in the dark---" The guard's foot caught on a root and he went down hard on one knee. "Fuck this shit. Have me out here like I'm some... Fuck. Mike?"

  The leaves rustled in response.

  "Yo, Mike? I could use some help here."

  Phoenix held his breath as he moved parallel to his target.

  "Yo, Mike... Stop fucking about." The panic was buried well, but all you had to do was scratch and you could find it.

  The guard's head snapped left to right as the breeze seemed to amplify any sound tenfold. He began to retrace his steps. Phoenix picked up a rock and threw it so it landed to the guard's right.

  "What the---" The guard moved towards the sound, his steps hesitant, the rifle now firmly gripped in both hands. He swept it back and forth.

  "Mike? Come on, man, this shit ain't funny," he whispered.

  Phoenix moved in for the kill behind him just as the guard turned and pointed his rifle Phoenix's way. Phoenix jumped out of the way as a round from the plasma rifle scorched where he had stood moments before.

  The guard, identifying his target, opened fire. He held down the trigger with no regard for whether he hit Phoenix or not. He just wanted to blast away the demons in the night.

  Phoenix ducked and weaved till he got himself behind a tree.

  "Don't fuck with me!"

  Phoenix bent down and picked up another rock. Throwing it in the opposite direction, he drew the guard's attention that way.

  With the guard's back turned, Phoenix rushed him to the ground. He tore the gun from the guard's grip and punched him in the face.

  "What is happening to my ship?" asked Phoenix.

  "You're too late," the guard laughed. "You're too late, it's already been destroyed! What will you do now?"

  37

  "What are you talking about?" Phoenix asked.

  "You didn't think that we could leave any witnesses, did you? This had to be a clean operation. Once we killed Florin, all we had to do was produce your body for the Council. We tried our best to stop you from killing our beloved lord, but alas, we failed. We tried our best to bring you in for questioning, but you went down in a hail of gunfire. The plan was simple and brilliant."

  "Pity I had to spoil it," said Phoenix.

  "Spoil what? You really think you can defeat Holger? Even if you get off this planet alive, it will never stop for you. Your days are numbered. It's not if he will kill you, it's when."

  "Why---" Phoenix punched the guard in the face, turning it to bloody pulp. "I'm I wasting my breath talking to you."

  Blood dripped off Phoenix's right hand as he looked towards his destination. He had to get to that house before reinforcements arrived. Looking up towards the sky, he multiplied his vision in a vain attempt to see the PH1. He didn't know what he expected to see--a trail of fire blazing across the starlit night?

  "They'll be fine." He hoped.

  Head down, he made his way towards his target at speed. Phoenix felt the sweat trickle down his back as his muscles worked against the gradient of the hill. His eyes swept the terrain in front of him as he pumped his legs like a machine.

  He felt...amazing.

  He wasn't out of breath, he didn't feel any fatigue, and he felt more alive than ever. Sharp, clear, focused.

  Movement to his right slowed him down. Something large was crawling in the undergrowth. Stopping in his tracks, he looped round it until he was at the thing's back. Phoenix moved through the high grass, following his prey every step of the way. The grass brushed against his cheek. Fighting the urge to scratch it, he focused on the target's back.

  Phoenix leapt from where he knelt and came crashing down, knee first, on his opponent's back. The yells and cusses that erupted from the green body took Phoenix by surprise.

  "What the fuck! Don't shoot! Don't shoot. I have a family, young ones. Think of them! Who will feed--"

  "Plowstow?"

  "Phoenix?"

  Phoenix climbed off Plowstow, who sat up, a hand placed behind his back.

  "You're alive, I see?"

  "No thanks to you. Wait outside, you said. You'll be five minutes, you said. Well, fat lot of good that did me. I got rushed by two goons, who I had to deal with before escaping in this high grass. Insects have been biting my ass all day. I didn't sign up for this shit!"

  "Well, you keep your voice down. I don't want everyone within a ten-mile radius knowing that we're here. You injured?"

  "Nah, just a bruise on my back," Plowstow said, getting to his feet.

  "Good. What weapons do you have?"

  "Plasma assault rifle, a couple of flash-bangs, smoke bombs, pistol, knives. Not much, just the usual," said Plowstow.

  "Alright. Hand me those flash-bangs. I have an idea."

  "Oh, no..."

  "What?"

  "Your ideas...tend to get everyone injured," said Plowstow.

  "No, they don't."

  "Dredar, Earth, Tingo. All you. Most of us got injured," Plowstow said, his hands out imploringly.

  "Tortuga. Ha. None of us were injured," said Phoenix.

  "You forgetting being overrun by bounty hunters that wanted our heads?"

  "But that wasn't my idea."

  "You chose to go there. And by the way, I hate to say this, but I told you so," Plowstow said with a smirk.

  "Told me so?"

  "I told you that this would end like this, but did you listen? Noooo, no one listens to Plowstow. Sometimes I wonder why I give out such great advice when--"

  "Will you shut up and come here? Now, listen to this simple but kick-ass plan."

  Julius paced up and down. A finger went to one of his white curls, twisting it around and around. Stopping in the middle of the room, he stared at the two idiots with him.

  Two more were out front, making sure that the house remained secure.

  "June, any news on the others?" Julius asked.

  "No, sir."

  Julius raised an eyebrow.

  "I mean, my lord."

  Big, muscle-bound and stupid. Gods only knew what he paid them for. Each one he talked to seemed to be more stupid than the last. Tattoos covered necks, arms
and faces. He couldn't tell one from the other. The sooner this whole ordeal was over the better. These poor fools thought he was taking them to some promised land. Ha!

  The first chance he got, he would make sure all of them disappeared. One could never take too many chances when it came to security. One drunken slip of the tongue from any one of them about what happened here and the Council would send him to some god-awful prison.

  Julius Fren in prison? With the slop they served for food? They only had two meals a day, for God's sake!

  "Shouldn't we have some sort of response by now? I mean, what's taking them so long?"

  "It was a long way to fall, my lord. Also, it doesn't mean that the bodies went all the way down. They could have stopped before the bottom or caught on something. We shall find them," said June.

  "You'd better! I can't go to the Council without those bodies. Too many questions will be asked, and I won't have the answers for them. We need those bodies!"

  Julius resumed his pacing once more, till he stopped in his tracks and snapped his fingers. "A stiff drink, that's what this occasion calls for."

  The drinks bar was so stacked with different bottles that it sagged under the weight. Julius rubbed his hands together, licking his lips. "Choices, choices, choices. Hmm, I think I shall make one of my own concoctions. Two parts of this, and a shake of that...where are the...oh, there they are. And a dash of this, and we shall be on our way."

  Julius brought the long glass up to the light and watched the multiple colours of the drink swirl around and around. Tipping the drink to the room, he brought the glass to his lips but jerked with fright when a scream erupted through the night.

  It bounced from room to room before falling silent.

  "What was that?" Julius asked, his clothes dripping wet from spilling the drink.

  Both of his men looked at each other then turned their attention to the front of the house, rifles at the ready. The silence that followed was as damning as the scream itself.

  "Sounds like it came from the front, my lord," said June.