by R J Johnson
“One step at a time,” he told himself, his stomach doing flip-flops.
He placed his boot into the rung of the first ladder and felt a strong breeze blow past him. He glanced back, only to see the elevator coming back down to the lobby at full speed. He only had seconds before he was able to tuck his body into the maintenance alcove to avoid being cut in half.
The elevator slowed and stopped at his level moments after he was able to cram himself safely into the space.
The elevator paused and then moved back down toward the lobby. Breathing a sigh of relief, Meade looked up and began his climb to the top floor.
The air inside the shaft was good – that meant a fresh air source was feeding into the shaft – a bit of luck for him. That also meant there was a way for him to get out in a hurry if he needed if something went wrong.
And knowing his luck, that was guaranteed.
Chapter Forty
Focus
Meade spent the next two hours climbing his way up the elevator shaft to the penthouse suite. The view, while spectacular, was the last thing on his mind. It wasn’t like he was afraid of heights or anything but looking down on the vast Venusian city beneath him was enough to give anyone a good case of vertigo.
The glass and chrome building floating on top of the brilliant yellow, blue and green clouds on the second planet of the sun gave him a view unlike anything he’d seen in his life before now. It was all he could do to remain focused.
He stared at the dark grey paneling that lined the inside of the elevator shaft. A more boring view, yes. But it was also the safest way to stay alive.
Besides, he wasn’t here to play tourist. He was here on a mission and everything else was second to that.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of climbing, he reached the top floor. He shuffled his way around the elevator shaft until he was next to the door that opened onto the penthouse floor.
He opened his armbar, using one of his applications to scan for any security systems. Beyond what the hotel used for anti-theft, nothing pinged his alarm system.
Bypassing the anti-theft systems was easy enough. Thanks to his many years of operating on various sides of the law, he had obtained a treasure trove of phishing and attack bots that made quick work of the locks.
The flashing green light on his armbar indicated the hack was a success. Meade typed a few more commands into the armbar, instructing computer to open the door. It complied immediately.
He poked his head into the hallway, looking for the secretary of state’s security. He was surprised to see no one where, which immediately put him on edge. A man as powerful as Mercer should be surrounded with a host of security men and women. But so far as he could tell, the floor was empty.
Meade opened his armbar again and began scanning the area for any life-signs – or worse, drones – that might pop out and end his life in an instant.
But to his surprise, nothing appeared on his scanner.
The hairs on the back of his neck went up and he knew something was wrong.
His armbar chirped and Emeline appeared on the screen, Meade answered it, still cautiously making his way through the hallway toward the suite.
“Meade?” her voice crackled through the connection. “Where have you been? I thought we were meeting back at the hotel?”
“I had a chance encounter with one of the men on our list,” he replied softly. He pointed the camera around to show her where he was. “I decided to invite myself up to have a look around.”
“Meade…” she said.
“You sound angry,” he said, creeping around the room.
“And not particularly shocked,” she said. “Did it ever enter your idiotic mind that you could use some help in a situation like this?”
“I couldn’t get a connection to the wireless while I was inside the elevator shaft,” Meade said, feeling frustrated. “It’s only now that…”
He trailed off as a thought struck him. What wasn’t he able to get a connection in the elevator shaft? By all rights, it shouldn’t matter where he was, the signal should have gone through.
Suddenly, there was a scream that echoed through the hotel’s hallway. It sounded primal, almost inhuman. Meade felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise, and he quickened his pace toward the door where the sound had come from.
He took out his gun and checked to make sure it was loaded. “Em, I gotta call you back.”
“What? What was that?” she demanded. “Tell me where you are, and how I can help.”
“Get in touch with Sarah and tell her I need her here sooner than we thought,” he said, looking up and down the hallway.
Emeline raised an eyebrow. “You’re not seriously asking me to contact her?”
“Pretty sure I’m about to become unavailable,” he said, scanning the hallway for any indication Mercer’s security was coming. “You were complaining about me not calling for backup? Well, here I am, calling for backup.”
“All right, I’ll get back to you soon as I get through to her” Emeline said.
“Hurry,” he said quietly, approaching the door to the master suite. There was another scream, this time, from what sounded like multiple people.
He opened his scanning app, aiming it into Mercer’s bedroom. Inside, three red figures glowed, one, large, the other two much smaller.
He cocked his head, uncertain of what he was seeing.
Guess there’s only one way to find out, he thought.
He placed a hand on the doorknob and opened it, slowly, hoping to take whomever was inside by surprise.
The door slowly opened, and he slipped inside, gasping at the scene. Rex Mercer, the man in charge of all the Coalition’s foreign relations looked back at him, his hands holding a whip. Behind him two children were tied to the bedframe, whimpering quietly.
Meade’s face twisted in horror, and then hardened as he realized what he needed to do next.
He raised his gun and emptied the clip into the naked, pasty white man.
The man’s body twisted and fell prone on the white bedsheets, red blood blossoming across them, pooling at the foot of the massive frame.
The children screamed and he turned his attention back to them, realizing how horrifying he must appear.
Meade lowered his gun and rushed to the children restrained on the bed. He took off his coat, covering the younger of the two.
“It’s all right,” he whispered, “I’m a friend. We’ve got to get you out of here.”
His armbar flashed, letting him know that a security alert had gone out. He grunted in surprise, knowing the secretary of state’s goons would be coming. If Coalition security discovered him there with Mercer’s body, they wouldn’t leave any survivors. Meade knew he had to get these kids out of here and quickly.
He opened his armbar, calling Emeline. She answered, a pained expression on her face.
“She’s nearby,” Emeline told him. “No one even blinked when her fast attack showed up. Half the fleet is in port for the treaty renewal.”
“How far?” he asked, looking for another robe to put around the other child. He tossed them some clothing, hoping they would understand the urgency of the moment. Fortunately, it seemed they did understand they were being rescued and were giving him no problems.
“Five minutes,” she said.
“We’ll be out on the balcony,” he said.
Emeline angled her head in surprise. “We?”
“Long story,” he said. “Tell her to be there.”
“Roger that,” she said. The connection closed and he looked down at the two children who had grown silent.
“You guys ready?” he asked.
They nodded, their faces streaked with tears and snot. Blood ran down one child’s leg and Meade winced looking at it.
He got on his knee and looked the boy in the eye. “We’re going to get that looked at and you’re going to be okay.”
The boy’s face scrunched up as if he was about to burst i
nto tears, but he held it back. Meade squeezed the boy’s shoulder.
He stood back up and turned to face the massive floor to ceiling windows that looked out on the Venusian atmosphere. The hotel was located on the edge of the city, so there was nothing to see but an endless expanse of colorful clouds and storms.
He moved to the bedroom door and locking it and pushing a dresser drawer in front of it. The younger child, a blonde 8-year-old, saw what he was doing and learned over to help. They moved the dresser as a series of shouts began echoing down the hallway.
Meade opened his armbar and pinged Emeline. She answered, a worried expression on her face.
“How far away is she?” he asked, trying not to let the let the urgency he felt come out in his voice, lest he scare the children. “I don’t mean to rush her, but we’re running short on time.”
“She says five minutes and to hang onto your shorts. She’s not a miracle worker,” Emeline replied.
Meade heard the secretary of state’s security squad approaching the bedroom door. They began pounding on it, shouting.
“Yeah, well, that’s what I needed to hear five minutes ago,” he grumbled, replacing the clip in his weapon. “Keep the connection open, I may need your help.”
“Roger,” Emeline said.
He turned to the kids who looked up at him, their eyes wide in fright.
“You guys ever do any climbing?”
Their large eyes and mute expressions told him all he needed to know. Coaxing these two onto the roof of a fast attack ship was going to be challenging.
The pounding grew more intense as security began throwing their bodies against the door, trying to get it open.
Meade opened the balcony door and urged the kids to follow him out, which they did. He shut the door to the penthouse and scanned the sky for Sarah’s fast attack.
“Come on, come on,” he whispered.
Inside, he heard the penthouse suite’s door open and Coalition MPs poured in, shouting for the secretary of state.
Meade didn’t hesitate. He unholstered his weapon and began shooting at the guards responding to Mercer’s distress call.
They hadn’t seen him, so his first six shots went unopposed. Five of the figures fell to the ground, crying out, while the other four Coalition MPs retreated to cover.
Meade stood in front of the kids, hoping to protect them as he reloaded his gun with another clip.
The Coalition MPs began firing back at him. He ducked as glass shattered all around him and the kids. Meade hugged the trio, hoping to protect them from any shrapnel that might come their way.
The gunfire paused and he took the opportunity to fire back at the MPs, hoping to keep them pinned down until Sarah’s fast attack arrived.
The hammer on his gun clicked on an empty chamber as his last round spat out. He grimaced, feeling for another clip, but he was out. Most of his ammunition was still packed away in his suitcase - he hadn’t expected to get into a gunfight so soon after landing on Venus.
The MPs shouted to each other and they began to advance on their position. Meade waited as one approached, and grabbed his rifle, pulling it forward, and then quickly pushing it back to ram the butt into the guard’s nose.
The MP cried out in pain, blood bursting from the man’s broken nose. Meade followed up, by pulling him forward once again and flipping the heavily armed security guard on his back. Meade reached for the knife in his belt and quickly brought it down on the MP’s head.
Returning to his feet, Meade glanced at the rifle, but was unable to grab for it in time as the remaining members of Mercer’s security team fired on him. He dived back toward the children, hoping to protect them from another fusillade of bullets.
He made it to where the kids were clustered together, holding each other as shrapnel and bullets continued to fly. Meade looked at them, a lump forming in his throat. He knew that when the time came, he would do everything he could.
His pistol was empty, but Meade still had his armbar and a variety of other improvised weapons at his disposal. Unfortunately, most of these were close quarters weapons and he would have to wait until the security teams stopped firing on him to use those.
He braced himself against the balcony ledge, ready to leap into the bedroom and begin fighting when the sound of powerful jets thundered through the entire hotel.
A Coalition fast attack ship was drawing even with the penthouse floor, the sleek machine bristling with armaments trained on the Coalition MPs.
“STAND DOWN,” a thundering voice said out of the fast attack’s PA.
But the MPs had other orders. They began firing back on the massive ship in a vain attempt to take it out.
The massive .50 caliber guns opened fire, the sound of the rounds booming over their heads.
He collapsed on top of the kids, holding them down while Captain Sarah Gonzalez unleashed hell onto the top floor of the penthouse suite.
The firing stopped, and he poked his head up. The hotel was a mess, with the Coalition MPs on the ground, moaning in pain, or not moving at all. This was their chance.
The ship maneuvered closer to them as a cargo hatch to the fast attack opened, a ramp extending for them to get on-board.
He hustled the kids onto the ramp, pushing them inside and pointing them to the jump seats located against the wall.
“Strap yourselves in,” he said. He pushed the COMM button located on the edge of the ramp.
“We’re in, let’s go,” he called out. The cargo door began closing as the ship’s engines whined with effort.
The ship rocked as it turned and took off, exiting into the atmosphere at a high rate of speed.
Chapter Forty-One
Confession
Coalition fast attacks weren’t large ships, but what they lacked in space, they more than made up for in firepower, speed, and maneuverability. That last fact was what he was most grateful for as Sarah’s vessel sped away from the hotel and back into orbit around Venus.
Meade was looking forward to seeing Sarah again. They had grown up together – sort of – after Meade’s parents passed away. Sarah’s father, Captain Elian Gonzalez had been a father-figure whenever he was on-planet.
Over the years, he’d been pleased to see Sarah follow in her father’s footsteps and become the captain of her own fast attack. She was a brilliant officer and loyal to a fault, which was why he knew he could count on her coming to rescue him.
He looked out the window and saw that the ship was currently on a trajectory taking them into orbit. He turned as he heard Sarah stomping her way toward him, her thick soled boots echoing on the steel plates of the cargo bay.
“Sarah,” he said, greeting her warmly.
“Captain,” she corrected him quickly, her voice sharp.
Whoops, he thought to himself. Can’t afford to make her look bad in front of her crew.
“Meade, what the hell have you gotten my crew involved in?” she snapped. “I just fired on what I’m assuming were Coalition MPs?”
“Who were protecting a pedophile,” he snapped at her.
She arched an eyebrow.
He didn’t say anything and stepped aside so she could see the two young children he had rescued from Mercer’s bedroom.
“Who are they?” Sarah’s tone softened somewhat once she saw the children, but she didn’t let up her gaze on Meade.
“They’re children Sar… Captain…” Meade corrected himself. “I found Mercer torturing these two.”
She eyed him, “What happened to the secretary of state?”
Meade didn’t answer. He didn’t want to in front of people he didn’t trust.
She turned to her second officer standing behind her. “Get these kids to sickbay immediately.”
The officer typed on his armbar while gathering the two children up, leading them away.
Once they were alone in the cargo bay, Sarah turned to him, looking considerably less hostile.
“Okay,” she said. “You want to tell me w
hat’s really goin’ on?”
Meade glanced around, “Do you have somewhere where we can talk with absolute privacy?”
She stared at him, concerned. “It’s that big?”
“You have no idea,” Meade said, looking her in the eyes.
She gazed at him for a few moments, considering his request. Her face became strained.
“My office,” she said sharply. “Follow me.”
They exited the cargo bay and moved through the tight corridors toward the top deck where fast attack captains were given a small office. Meade watched her interact with her crew as they made their way through the hallways. Crew members snapped to attention, saluting her, which she returned.
She was in total control here, he realized. This was not the same Sarah he had grown up with. This was Captain Sarah Gonzalez, one of the most decorated and respected captains in the fleet.
And he had forced her to shoot on her own people.
He felt bad for putting her into the situation but knew she would understand once she heard the whole story. Anyone that abused children like that didn’t deserve to continue drawing breath. The professor had been right. People running things at the highest levels of government were compromised in the worst way. Meade didn’t want to think what his other targets were up to.
They reached the captain’s office and stepped inside.
“After you,” Sarah said, pursing her lips.
He entered the spartan office and sat on the couch across from her desk.
“I don’t know where to begin,” he started.
“The beginning is always nice,” she said.
“Mind if we have a drink?”
“I’m on duty, you idiot,” Sarah said, rolling her eyes. She waved to the wet bar across the room. “Feel free to knock yourself out if you want.”
He got off the couch and moved to the wet bar to prepare a drink, pondering where he should start.
“I took the wrong case,” he said, sounding defeated.
“What do you mean?”
Meade hesitated, took a drink and then the story poured out of him. Sarah listened to him spin his tale, murmuring when appropriate and asking questions when she needed clarification.