Silver

by Siren Allen

  “Okay, okay. The point is. Your mate agreed to pretend to want you and gather as much info on you for me as she could.”

  “I had no idea it was for you,” Malia cried. She’d thought it was for the GP.

  “Like that makes a difference,” Silver said. “Finish Rhodes.”

  Damn it. He hated her. He had to.

  “Thank you Sebastian. Your mate is so rude. Where was I?” Rhodes stood from the table. “Oh, right, she was supposed to gather as much intel on you as she could.” Rhodes walked around the table and came to stand behind her.

  Malia leaned forward, trying to get away from him. He gripped her shoulders and pulled her backward until her shoulders pressed against his abdomen.

  “When the fighting began she called out to me, well, to The Striker. She wanted off your ship. Away from you. I told her about the hatch in your bedroom and the escape pod. She came to me thinking I would offer her shelter. She told me all about the little blue boy in the cargo hold. She thought you were the ones who’d starved his mata and infected him with the Null virus.”

  “He’s infected? How do you know that?” Malia asked.

  “I knew the scientist that infected him. Dr. Gallagher. He sent me transmissions at least once a week. The boy started out with promising scores. But then he began to lie to us, to tell us incorrect info. He didn’t want to do what he was created to do.”

  “You were responsible for what was done to him?” How could she have been so wrong?

  “I signed off on it. I needed him. You know what I learned from that failed experiment. Never trust scientists. You give them an intriguing idea and they run with it, until you order them to kill. Then they start talking about morals and all that jazz. They got tired of killing the little ones. They started saying they would go to the GP if I didn’t put a stop to the experiments. I couldn’t let them do that. I needed them to die. That is where your mate comes in.”

  Malia stared at the camera. Silence. She glanced back down at the table. Did she really expect him to deny it, to her? He no longer cared what she thought of him.

  “I told your mate and his band of idiots that the scientists on Precept 33 were researching ways to destroy Time-Dwellers. Sebastian is such a loyalist he believed me straight away. It took them less than two weeks to come up with a way to kill off that planet and make it look like it was an experiment gone wrong.”

  So Silver wasn’t a murderer, not intentionally. She should’ve known. She had known, deep down inside. But she’d been so afraid. All she’d wanted to do was the right thing.

  “The plan would’ve worked out perfectly, if Sebastian hadn’t stolen from me. I need the boy and the female back.”

  “Why?” Malia asked.

  Rhodes massaged her shoulders. “Why? Because they’re mine. Yes, there were other experiments on the planet that were important. But the boy was the most important. And the female, she’s the icing on the cake. She is a natural born Precept. They’re rare. You have no idea what she’s capable of.”

  “So what do you get out of this?” Malia asked. Not because she cared about this male and his experiments, but maybe Rhodes’ confession could help Silver in some way. It was the least she could do.

  “What do I get out of this? My dear,” Rhodes leaned closer to her, his breath brushing against her ear. “I get everything.”

  He unchained her from the table but left her hands cuffed in front of her then patted her head and stood up. “Now, let’s get this show started. Sebastian, I want what’s mine.” Rhodes walked back to his side of the table. He lifted the knife. Gripping the hilt with one hand, he used his free hand to rub his fingers up and down the blade.

  Malia couldn’t help but notice how sharp it was. He wouldn’t really cut her, would he? She’d done nothing wrong. She’d done nothing to him.

  “Sebastian, where are my goods?” Rhodes asked, walking back over to her.

  Malia stared at the camera.

  Silver’s voice filled the room. “I don’t have them.”

  Rhode’s gripped her hair and pulled her head back. “Hold her hands flat on the table,” he instructed.

  Getting away was no use. She was helpless against them. Her palms were positioned flat against the cold table.

  “Please, Silver,” she begged. Her neck was stretched so far back she could hardly speak. He must not have heard her. He made no comment. “Please… help me.”

  “I’ll ask again, Sebastian. Where are my goods? Last chance.”

  “The answer will remain the same. I do not know. But if you hurt her you’ll never get…”

  A swooshing sound came from behind her. Pain shot through her hand ricocheting up her arm. Malia screamed so loud her throat ached.

  “Rhodes, you fucking bastard. You can have me instead, torture me instead,” Silver yelled.

  Malia couldn’t stop the tears. Rhodes gripped her hair tighter. The knife was still lodged in her hand. Malia tried to hold herself perfectly still. The slightest movement hurt. Stars, she was going to die, she was really going to die.

  “Why the fuck would I want you, Sebastian? Can you predict the future of everyone? Can you change the future without stepping into it? Can you fucking visit worlds that you’ve never seen before, never heard of before? If I give you coordinates, can you tell me what’s at that location without ever having been there? No. What the fuck would I want with you? We are Time-Dwellers. We can only see the future of our kind. Of course, if someone touches us, they can see a glimpse of their future. I wonder if I should allow Malia to see her future. Should I let my guard down, Sebastian? Allow her to see how I am going to kill her?”

  “No,” Silver yelled. “I swear to you Rhodes. I cannot give you what you want. Take me. Punish me for what I’ve done.”

  “No thank you. I’d rather disfigure your mate while you watch.”

  Malia grit her teeth when Rhodes pulled the knife out of her hand. She could feel the blood pouring from the wound. She tried to compartmentalize the pain, to not think about it. But her hand was throbbing, her whole arm felt like it was on fire.

  There was no hope for her. This evil male was going to kill her. Silver would never turn Frost and Nahid over to him. She didn’t want him to. Frost deserved to be free, not in some lab. Malia took a deep breath.

  “Don’t worry about me Silver. Protect Frost.”

  Her statement got her slapped again, this time by Rhodes. Blood ran down her chin. She could hear Silver yelling. Her head spun. Fingers gripped her hair pulling her head back. She closed her eyes as her head was shoved forward and rammed against the table.

  Over and over again, her head hit the table. Blood blurred her vision. It was as if the lights in the room were flickering off and on. She could feel herself being pulled under. She fought to remain conscious.

  But the pain was too horrible. Her chair was flung to the cold wet floor. Finally, no more hitting. She tasted blood. She could hear yelling. Malia wished she could tell Silver she was sorry. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t open her mouth.

  All she could do was lay there while the male she loved argued with the male who was going to murder her. The crew must hate her. They’d been so kind to her, accepting her into their fold.

  This was how she repaid them, by running to their enemy. If she could do it all over again, she would tell Silver what Striker told her that first day. She couldn’t erase time. Even Silver didn’t have that power.

  “Fuck this,” She heard Rhodes yell. “If they are not there, let me search the ship. I’ll give this female of yours back to you if you let me search the ship.”

  Malia waited for a response. It was a long time coming but finally Silver gave an answer.

  “Keep her. It’s you I want. Dead, not alive.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Fuck captain, we have to do something,” Gamma yelled at him.

  “We are going to do something.” Silver turned away from the black screen and walked across
the navi-deck. Ep had just spoken through the comm-device and told him that the virus was gone thanks to Palenzo’s sister, Dhara.

  “It doesn’t seem like we’re doing shit,” Gamma walked behind him as they headed to the cargo hold where Ep had said to meet him.

  “The Striker is fixed. It’s ours again. Ep said to meet him in the cargo hold. That’s doing something.”

  “She was on the floor captain.”

  Did the fool think he hadn’t witnessed that with his own eyes? He saw her on the floor. He saw her bleeding. He watched Rhodes stab her then bang her head against the table until she was damn near unconscious. Silver balled his hands into fists. If he broke down now, he would never save her. And he had to save her.

  “Captain, they will kill her. But before they kill her they will rape her, all of them. Do you want that to happen?”

  Silver whirled around. “Why the fuck would I want my mate raped? Please tell me why I would want that?”

  Beta stood between them, keeping them apart.

  “Tell me Gamma, why would I want that? Is it because she betrayed me, betrayed all of us? Do you think I’m leaving her there as punishment? Is that it?”

  “Captain, I didn’t say that.”

  “You don’t have to say it. I see it in your eyes. Know this, I will get Malia back and Rhodes will suffer for what he’s done. But when she’s on this ship once more, she’ll wish he’d killed her. Because I may do so myself.”

  “Captain?”

  Silver was done talking. He turned and continued in the direction of the cargo hold. He found Ep leaning over his mate’s stasis chamber. Next to him stood the kid. Silver fought against the crazy thoughts filtering through his mind.

  Nahid and Frost were safe while Malia was being tortured. They were who the commander wanted. They were the reason Rhodes was taking his anger out on Malia. To get her back, all he had to do was turn them in.

  Part of him was okay with that plan. The other part of him hated himself for even thinking that. Bitterness filled Silver. He shoved it aside. Being bitter wouldn’t help him, it wouldn’t help her, the traitor he loved.

  “What do you have?” He didn’t try to hide his anger.

  “Actually it’s the kid who has a plan.”

  “I don’t have time for games.”

  “It’s not a game. The kid has a solid plan. Tell him Frost.”

  Frost stared up at Silver. “I know where the Iron Bender is.”

  “You do?” Silver squatted in front of the kid. “Where is it?”

  “I can write down the numbers for you?”

  “I think he means coordinates,” Ep stated.

  “Good,” Silver told him. “Gamma get me some paper and a pencil. Frost, can you see what will happen to Malia?”

  Frost nodded, a tear rolled down his cheek. Damn it, Silver felt like he was going to cry also.

  “Frost, what will happen to her?”

  Frost sniffed and wiped his eyes, more tears fell. “She will die.”

  “Fuck.” Silver stood up. He needed to hit something, someone. He punched the nearest crate, splintering the wood. That wasn’t enough. He needed destruction. He needed to terminate something.

  Silver rammed his fist into the wall of the ship. He felt arms around him. He shoved them off. Turning on his friends, he swung. Beta ducked.

  “Captain stop,” Beta held his hands up and backed away. “We’ll get her back.”

  Silver swung again. Blood ran down Beta’s lip. The male wouldn’t fight back. It wasn’t worth it if he didn’t fight back. “Fight,” Silver roared.

  “I won’t fight you. You’re mad. And you have a right to be. Your mate has been kidnapped.”

  “She wasn’t fucking kidnapped. She left me. She went to him. She did this to herself.” She’d rather be with his enemies than him. Silver slammed his fist into another crate. He continued punching until the crate bled, or was that his blood?

  Half crazed he rammed his fist into the crate over and over again. More blood poured from the crate. His mate left him. She was hurting now because she didn’t trust him. She hadn’t wanted him, had told him that when she awakened from her comatose state.

  Silver punched harder. He should’ve left her on Venus. At least then she would be alive. She would be well, with her people, doing what she loved. Not lying on the floor of an enemy ship, dying.

  The boy said she would die. The boy would not lie. Silver’s mate was going to die. He couldn’t hold the tears in. He sunk to the floor. He could feel his crew around him. They were seeing him breakdown.

  They were seeing him weak. She made him weak. Malia was his weakness. He loved her. Would die for her. And she betrayed him and his crew. He had to save her. She was his. But he could never be with her. He could never trust her again.

  “She makes me weak,” Silver leaned his forehead against the crate.

  “That is what having a mate does.” Ep placed his hand on Silver’s shoulder and knelt next to him. “They are our weakness. But right now you have to be strong for her. You have to get her back. What you do with her afterwards is up to you. But we have to listen to Frost’s plan. Its sound. It will work.”

  Silver nodded. He would get her back. Then he would return her to her home-world and never lay eyes on her again.

  Stars, he wished he had never met her.

  ***

  The plan was solid.

  They traded the GP ship for a fighter ship. The Striker was now back online and under their control. Though Striker had apologized a dozen times for not being able to fight the virus, Silver had yet to forgive him.

  He knew he was being unreasonable. Right now, he didn’t give a damn. Frost gave the Striker the coordinates to scan. They docked the Striker on their new fighter craft. Luckily, Dhara was able to program the ship so that the Striker could be its host also.

  “I like this new ship,” the Striker told them. “It feels powerful.”

  The other crew members agreed. Silver sat silent, impatiently waiting for them to get this shit started.

  “Let’s go over the plan again,” Silver strapped a blaster to his waist. “Striker will warp us to the location. We’ll lock the Iron Bender in our gravitational pull. They won’t be able to warp out before we have them hooked since they are not expecting us. Gamma you’ll stay behind on the ship with the kid and Nahid.”

  “I don’t know why I have to stay behind.”

  “Someone has to be here in case the shit hits the fan.”

  Gamma nodded.

  “Frost thinks there are only six people on the Iron Bender.”

  “I’m not sure,” Frost spoke up, seated next to Ep on the navi-deck of the fighter craft. “Sometimes I get things wrong.”

  “It’s okay kid,” Silver told him. “We all make mistakes.”

  “Including Malia,” Frost said.

  Silver continued rehashing the plan. “Everyone has their comms on, even Frost. As soon as we arrive, we’ll blast their navigation unit then pull them into the gravitation pull. Once we’ve gotten Malia and I say the word, Gamma you will take out their engines leaving the craft stranded. They’re so far off the radar it’ll be months before anyone finds them. We kill them all, no survivors, got that.”

  “Kill them all,” Beta cocked his gun. “I’m good with that.”

  “Good. Striker, are you ready?”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  “Kid, lock yourself in the cargo hold of the Striker.”

  “But I want to stay on the fighter craft, in case I’m needed.”

  “I think we’ll all be able to concentrate on our plan better if we know you’re safe. Plus, Nahid is still in the cargo hold. She needs you to watch over her.”

  That got through to the kid. “Okay, I’ll watch over her.”

  “You still have your comm device. If you need us, say something, okay.”

  “Okay, and if you need me, say something.”

  “Will do.”

  Frost nodded before le
aving the room.

  “Striker, keep an eye on the boy, make sure he stays in the room.”

  “Yes, Captain. We are entering warp drive now.”

  The ship jolted. Silver checked the charge on his blaster. Full. Good. He loaded ammo into his other gun. His knifes were in the holsters on his boots. He was ready.

  “Exiting warp drive behind the Iron Bender. Missiles ready. Scanning for Navigation unit. Missile launched.”

  “Get ready crew,” Silver told them.

  “Navigation struck. Starting G-Pull. Hooked. We now have possession of the Iron Bender.”

  The crew cheered. Silver wasn’t in the mood for celebrating.

  “Captain, the Iron Bender is hailing us. Should I put them on the screen?”

  “Go ahead. Let’s see if the bastard is ready to surrender.”

  Seconds later, Rhodes’ image popped up on the screen.

  “Sebastian, you’re a thorn in my asshole.”

  “We have you in our pull,” Silver told him “Give her to me now and I may let you live.”

  “My life is not in your hands pup. You can have your bitch back.”

  A collective gasp filled the ship as Rhodes lifted Malia’s bloody body off the floor.

  “Check out the necklace Dosavich gave her.”

  Malia’s throat had been slit. Her body hung limp in Rhodes’ arms. “I doubt you get much pleasure out of her now. But you can try, if you’re into fucking dead things.” Rhodes dropped her body. It hit the floor with a thud.

  Silver couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, could barely think.

  “Sever the connection, Striker.” Beta ordered. The screen went black.

  “Captain,” Ep began.

  Silver was done listening. His mate was dead. His world was over. Only thing to do now was to fight. He didn’t give a damn whether he lived or died in the battle. She was dead.

  “Extend the bridge from our ship to theirs, Striker.”

  “Yes, captain.”

  “Let’s go.”

  His crew was silent as they followed him. Striker extended the enclosed bridge. Every step Silver took across it made him angrier. Malia was dead. The bastard killed her. Frost was right. Silver thought he could get to her in time. He was wrong.