by Max Jager
Several people in the streets steered clear of him; he hadn't even bothered tucking away his pulse rifle. If he needed to go in all-guns-ablaze, by God he would.
He was just about to head up the short ramp that led inside Space Donuts when two familiar figures in uniform stepped in front of the door. Jameson nearly stumbled as he came to an abrupt halt.
"Hey Brend; it's the bounty hunter!"
"And he has a pet doggy!"
Jameson shook his head, looking between the two cops. The shorter one who had spoken looked quite pleased to see him; and not in the usual way law figures usually were about catching Jameson. They genuinely seemed happy to see him.
"Hey, man!" the one called Brend said, stepping forward enthusiastically. His ridiculous hair still stood up perfectly in a poofy column. "We were hoping you'd show up again!"
Jameson blinked. "Officers— look, I don't—"
"Don't worry, we know why we're here," the shorter one pressed. "In fact, your timing is impeccable."
Jameson grunted, trying to fish for names in his memory. "Was it Dane?"
"That's right!" Dane said, still all smiles.
"Listen, Brend, Dane; I'm hot on a target right now."
"So are we," said Brend. "That Axus guy, right?"
Jameson felt his mouth drop agape slightly, a motion lost on the two cops since his faceplate was down.
"We didn't forget about your last visit," Dane continued. "And I couldn't stop thinking about it, because something did seem strange. I realized why when I figured out that there were two Kotes."
"You mean when we figured out there were two Kotes," Brend interjected. "I was the one who noticed that the one of them was spending a lot of time at Space Donuts."
Dane waved his partner off. "Anyway, we started keeping a closer tab on the guy. Being all discrete like, of course. But we're familiar faces here, so it wasn't hard. And if he wasn't the model of shifty, I don't know what is."
Jameson considered the two officers for a moment. He had clearly underestimated them. Before they had seemed more figureheads, inept at what they were doing and just wasting time stuffing their faces. Now they suddenly looked like allies.
Or at the very least, useful cannon fodder.
"You know he's in there now," Jameson replied.
"We sure do," said Brend. "Which is why you're timing is perfect. We're going to bust him!"
"There's a lot you two don't know about this situation."
"Eh, I'm sure you'll fill us in on the details," Dane replied casually.
Without another word, the two officers turned and strolled in through the front doors. Jameson noted with amusement the friendly greetings they received from several patrons and the gal working the front counter.
If Axus was somewhere based out of this diner, it was little wonder these two had spotted him.
Jameson followed after them, turning right and walking down the length of booths to a service door at the end of the building. The two officers were already heading in, completely ignored by the rest of the staff. Jameson fell into line behind them and no one paid heed as the armed bounty hunter with a military dog went back where they shouldn't be. These guys were providing him the perfect cover.
"You come back here often?" Jameson muttered as they meandered through the kitchen.
"Occasionally," Dane replied. Brend was busy greeting several of the kitchen staff. Most of them had some little dish or snack they were pushing towards the officers. Before Jameson knew it, he had a couple of items in hand himself. Grade sniffed at them curiously.
"It pays to know the people who make your food," Brend added through a mouthful of something.
Beyond the kitchen were several storage and utility rooms. These were much more expansive, connected by long corridors with the other establishments and businesses along the street. There was also a large staircase here that plunged underground.
"You think he went down there?" Jameson asked, hesitating at the top of the stairs.
"He's not going out back or into any of the other stores," said Brend.
"I know," Dane replied dully. "We spent a lot of time watching, too. Only Space Donuts kept us going during those long hours."
"So he must be going underground," Brend continued. "It took a little digging on our part, but it paid off." He winked at his own pun. "Digging through city records, that is. Apparently, there was a subterranean network of old mineshafts from way back when Chino was a mining town. From the colony's early days, you see."
"When Chino turned from mining to farming, the mines were closed," said Dane. "But the infrastructure still exists. And I wouldn't be surprised if your target, Axus, isn't working down there. It's the perfect place to hide; a labyrinth of tunnels deep beneath the city."
Jameson scanned the staircase before them; narrow, lit only by vapor lamps. He glanced back at the two cops, wondering what kind of combat experience they brought.
"Either of you two been down there?" he muttered.
"Not yet," said Dane. "But we're more than capable following you." Dane seemed to catch wind of Jameson's thoughts. "You sure you wanna bring your doggy down there?"
Grade huffed; as if aware his presence on the mission was in question.
"Grade comes with us," Jameson said simply. "Let's get moving."
The four of them descended the stairs.
It lowered down to a few maintenance and utility corridors below the businesses. But there was a second set of stairs that doubled back and forth. These were cordoned off with grated lock ways, but those looked more like deterrence than actual security. It wasn't even locked.
The one called Brend drew his sidearm, holding it up awkwardly; almost more for show than anything. Whatever; hopefully these two could keep any potential guards occupied while Jameson probed deeper.
Three floors down, Jameson loosed his own weapon.
Killing his stereo projector, Jameson tapped into his comms with Mathison. "Any sensor readings this deep?"
"Nope," the AI replied simply. "But I hacked the city mainframe and have a rough set of blueprints. Keep in mind, these are outdated. But I think I can peg some likely guard posts."
"Noted. Thanks, Mathison."
"Good luck…and bring back Madeira."
Jameson turned to the cops, motioning for silence. They nodded solemnly, following behind him as he tiptoed down the last few steps into a darker chamber. Up ahead was a hallway that led into a newly lit area. Grade tensed, aware of unseen enemies. Jameson's sensors pegged two guards concealed behind the walls up ahead. They were hidden, which meant they were trying to remain obscure.
It also meant they couldn't see them yet.
Crouching low, Jameson removed a stun grenade from his gear. Once in the hall, he gave it a good toss, watching to make sure it rolled to the chamber on the other side. It did, and a moment later a burst of sparks leapt into the air, zapping out the two hidden guards. He heard two satisfying thumps as their unconscious bodies tumbled to the ground.
Jameson rebooted his stereo, turning to the cops. "There's two disabled guards beyond. Secure them for me while I scout ahead."
They scurried down the corridor, emerging in the hall beyond. Jameson heard Brend and Dane attend to the guards. They woke a moment later and the two cops began interrogation. Meanwhile, Jameson pumped his sensors to maximum setting.
As far as he could tell, this particular set of shafts and tunnels seemed largely unchanged from the original blueprints—so far as his sensors could peg. Which meant it was just a matter of negotiating any booby traps left behind.
Dane appeared at Jameson's side a moment later.
"Guys says this is just a smuggler's den. Said he would cooperate if we didn't throw 'em to bounty's."
Jameson nodded, processing that information. These men seemed to run a vast enterprise out of these tunnels. Which meant Axus was essentially renting out space with them for his own purposes.
And that gave Jameson an idea. "Good work, off
icers. Today, you are going to earn some promotions. I need you to return to the surface and organize a police raid. Get down here and raise all kinds of hell. The chaos will be the perfect cover for me to catch Axus."
"Sounds like a plan!" Brend added enthusiastically.
Dane frowned, thinking it over. "Sounds workable. You sure he won't suspect what you're up to?"
Jameson shrugged. "He has to know I'm coming at some point. Hopefully this will throw off his suspicions."
He wouldn't expect me to contact local authorities. And if I'm not leading the charge, he'll assume it's unrelated.
Without further question, the two cops turned back down the corridor, heading for the surface stairs. Jameson and Grade slinked into the shadows.
The tunnels beyond led into several large, multi-storied chambers that had once held vast mining network points for equipment and resources. Now they were filled with a miniature city of smuggler shops and homes. Jameson did his best to keep to the shadows, avoiding too much confrontation and generally trying not to look suspicious. Grade kept silently by Jameson's side, his cybernetic front paws dampening the sound of his footfalls.
Finally, three chambers over and another floor down, Jameson's sensors started going haywire. He had attuned them to the tech Axus had used on him before, back on the yacht where he had disabled his guns. Now they were picking up strong readings. He soon found a little rented out room with a few dirt stained windows and an empty bed.
As Jameson and Grade huddled outside the doorway, scanning for life, he heard the first police shots fired. Tear gas and stun grenades went wild several chambers over. The smugglers were caught up in the frenzy; some fought back, while most fled.
Jameson swore, pulling open the door. He was out of time.
Inside, he blinked in surprise. The room was empty; no sign of Axus or Madeira. But Grade soon had an answer to that mystery.
Rushing forward, the German shepherd began pawing at a cabinet. Jameson pulled it aside, revealing a trap door in the floor. This wasn't on the maps. Obviously Axus had worked on it after securing the room for his privacy.
A metal ladder waited beneath, dropping a full three floors below to somewhere new. Jameson checked his maps again before descending. None of it was on the maps. There should be nothing below him.
You have been very busy Axus.
Jameson paused just below the lip of the floor, staring up at an apprehensive Grade. "Go find Dane and Brend. They'll need your help."
Grade huffed again, turning on his four legs and heading back into the chaos outside. He would be just fine; the two of them had worked in similar conditions before.
At the bottom of the ladder, Jameson dropped down into a massive, warehouse sized room two stories tall and probably a hundred meters across. It looked hastily built, the walls and supports dirt covered. Large piles of equipment, crates, and machinery Jameson didn't recognize divided the room, almost like a maze.
Good. It gave him plenty of cover to hide.
Pressing forward, Jameson was surprised by the amount of mundane stuff he saw. Basic living materials, including several rows of clothing racks. On closer inspection, he saw that they hosted a vast array of costumes, perhaps all of it resources for Axus's schemes.
He had come prepared.
Up ahead, Jameson spotted a massive computer terminal set in one wall. That was no doubt Axus's command center. Jameson fished around in his pocket for a system hacker, and then stood up fully to make a cautious approach.
He had barely taken three steps when Axus stepped around a corner, engrossed in something on his tablet screen.
The two men froze.
Axus blinked, shock and surprise quickly disappearing from his features—but not fast enough to see that he hadn't in fact expected Jameson. It was quickly replaced by intense focus as he reached for his sidearm.
Jameson didn't waste any time rolling to the side, taking shelter behind a set of junk and crates. He drew his own sidearm as blue pulses of light battered the floor where he had just stood.
"JAMESON!"
Axus sounded pissed. Jameson backed off, switching behind another defense as Axus suddenly appeared, firing more concentrated shots. He didn't seem to hold any regards for his stuff as it burnt up in weapons fire.
After playing cat and mouse for a few seconds, Axus seemed to take pause somewhere in the maze of junk. That gave Jameson precious time to reevaluate his attack strategy.
"You weren't supposed to be here," Axus growled, no sense of amusement in his voice. "What the hell are you doing on Kraven?"
Jameson moved again, grateful to see that Axus seemed relatively unchanged in position. Was the man not even bothering to track him?
"Answer me, Jameson! What the hell do you think you're doing on Kraven?!"
"Ending you," Jameson ventured a reply, changing positions again. It seemed like a decent enough tactic to keep Axus confused. "And getting back someone who doesn't belong to you."
"Meddling little bastard," Axus hissed. "Do you know how hard I fought to keep you off this world?"
Jameson decided to drop a bombshell on the man; see what reaction it provoked. "Hard enough to travel back in time; risk your future."
Axus was silent for awhile. Then he cackled, the sudden change in mood unsettling to Jameson. He peeked around a corner, upset that he didn't have a good angle on the man.
"I don't know how the hell you figured that out, choppin'-block-doc. But I suppose it doesn't matter… No, actually, it does. Let me tell you something."
Damn it! Where was Madeira? Jameson couldn't get eyes on her. Was she even in the room with them? In the meantime, Axus seemed to have no problem continuing his monologue.
"Since you seem to know where I came from, I don't feel like it's spoilers telling you that the Kraven Approach was accepted. That's right, Jameson. You made Fleet Commander. And by God, Gibraltar got their war they wanted. One very long, very bloody occupation of Draconia. Oh it was horrific. But you did it. You and your little girly friend, Lizzy.
"And you know what else? You two ended up having a spawn. A son that grew up during the thirty years of war between Gibraltar and Draconian. It was only natural he should join the patriotic Fleet his father led in glorious victory. But Junior wasn't going to see any frontline action. Oh no, he needed to secure the most important asset to Gibraltar's war effort: Kraven. The planet that helped bridge the supply lines. The planet Draconia tried to destroy so many times to knock Gibraltar back."
"Your home world," Jameson added, only half listening. Where was Madeira?!
"Yes," Axus replied solemnly. "My home world. And your little hell spawn ended up ruling over it as a tyrant. You, Lizzy, your son, and all of your friends stole my world and my future. Burnt it all to cinders. Some of us had lives, too. You stole my future, Jameson, and now I've stolen yours. It seems fitting, don't you think?"
Jameson exchanged a few more shots, moving quickly from shelter to shelter. But Axus wasn't budging; he seemed too engrossed in whatever he was rambling on about. And Jameson still couldn't find where he might be keeping Madeira.
"It wasn't easy," Axus pressed. "Escaping the mess you made of Kraven; getting away from the war. It took me years, and that's not counting what it took to find the tech needed to get back here. But I had a plan…"
As Axus's speech trailed off, Jameson suddenly felt his body relaxing. A strange, beautiful vocal harmony began to fill his mind. He felt it more than heard it at first.
Slowly it became audible, the tune from the most beautiful woman's voice he had ever heard. It seemed to erase every pain, lulling him almost as if into a dream. Without meaning to, he found himself wandering out into the open.
Axus heard it, too. He walked besides Jameson now, seemingly uninterested in his foe. But Jameson didn't really mind him right now, either. Nothing else mattered except that hypnotizing, beautiful song.
Axus walked ahead of Jameson, approaching a grated door inlaid against one of the wal
ls. Without a word, he disarmed the locks and opened it up. Almost immediately, from the time the door opened, the tune became painfully loud. Jameson felt his hands tremor, but it didn't matter. He didn't even care that he couldn't blink anymore. The song was so damn beautiful…
The tune was calling him and Axus into the room beyond.
The room was divided in half by a series of bars forming a cell. Lying on the floor, still wrapped in mesh netting, Madeira sat propped against a set of old blankets where Axus had laid her. The song was coming from her.