by Shéa MacLeod
Zala smiled grimly. “Because he knew the Justice was close enough to hear your call for help.”
Rule blanched. Xander knew how he felt. For the first time he realized this was personal for Tannen. The killer had set his sights on his next victim, and Zala was it.
Chapter Twelve
“YOU NEED TO BACK OFF this investigation.”
Zala stared at Xander. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Let some other captain handle it. It’s too dangerous.”
She ground her teeth. “If I was a man, you wouldn’t be saying this.” Or a halfway decent House scion.
“Untrue. This isn’t about gender. This is about Tannen playing with you. He’s chosen you, Zala. You’re his prey, and that is not a good place to be.”
“In case you didn’t get the memo, this is my job. A captain doesn’t back down because things get a bit sticky.”
“A bit sticky? Woman—”
“That’s enough! I’m investigating these murders, and that’s final. If you don’t like it, there’s a Syndicate penal colony with your name on it.” She turned and strode away, leaving him standing in the Justice’s bay.
That was harsh, and she felt guilty for playing that card. She’d be more likely to drop him at the nearest space station and let him run, but she couldn’t have him questioning her authority, causing her to lose focus.
“He’s right, you know.” Audley was leaning against the bulkhead, casually examining his fingernails.
“You, too, Brutus?” she snapped.
He flashed painfully white teeth. He’d been using his pay on whitening again. Really, the man was all sorts of vain.
“I’m just sayin’. This dude, he’s bad news.”
“Which dude specifically?” she asked, somewhat amused.
“Killer dude, man. You know he’s jonesin’ for you.”
“Yes, I do know, and believe me, I’m going to use it to my full advantage.”
Audley’s eyes lit up, and he pushed away from the bulkhead to follow her toward the mess hall. “You got a plan?”
“Working on it.”
“Ah.”
“What? I am.”
“I believe you.”
She sighed. “Remember that time you nearly got caught in the apple orchard? Didn’t I save your neck?” If he’d been caught, he’d have been erased for sure. That was what they did to people like Audley. “Erasure.” Such a nice word for murder.
“But there’s a big difference ’tween hiding a ten-year-old from Syndicate morons and trapping a serial killer who’s got it in for you.”
She rammed a mug into the coffee machine. Soon the scent of roasted beans filled the air. Usually she had to use the fake stuff, but her mother had recently sent a shipment. Perks of being a matriarch’s daughter. Zala inhaled the rich aroma before taking a sip. Ah, nirvana. “I will come up with something. I always do, don’t I?”
“You do, but not before givin’ me a heart attack.”
She grinned. “You wouldn’t want it any other way.”
“No, but my blood pressure might.”
“Maybe you should see somebody about that.”
He rolled his eyes and propped his butt on the nearby dining table. It groaned in protest. The man was three hundred pounds of solid muscle. Perks of DNA manipulation. “What’s next?”
She sighed. “I honestly don’t know. I’m fresh out of leads unless another body shows up—” That was an unpleasant thought. Tannen would likely claim another victim because she couldn’t catch the bastard.
“Thought you brought that Xander fellow on for his tracking skills. Let ’im track.”
“He tried. Tannen didn’t leave a scrap of evidence on that ship that might lead us to him.”
“Ion trail?”
She rubbed her forehead. A headache was forming behind her eyes. “He masked it.”
Audley smirked. “That’s what you think.”
XANDER IGNORED THE tip tapping of Audley’s fingers on his keyboard, staring at the back of Zala’s head instead. She’d refused to acknowledge him when he’d come on the bridge, and she hadn’t looked at him during the hour since. It was starting to get to him.
“Got him,” Audley all but shouted in triumph.
“Show me,” Zala said, sinking into her seat.
“He tried to mask his trail, but he don’t know what he’s up against.” Audley cackled. “All I did—”
“I don’t care how you did it. I just want to know where he went.”
Audley looked crestfallen for a second, then brightened. “Prepare to be amazed.” A few taps on his keyboard, and a star map appeared on the front viewscreen. Spiraling through it was a faint swirl of pinkish smoke.
“Pink?” Zala shot him a look.
“Why not?” He shrugged. “That’s him. Looks like he’s headed for the edge of Syndicate space. Nothing much out there except a derelict freighter or two and a massive asteroid belt.”
“He’s going to try and shake us. Cut him off.”
Xander had to admire her quickness. It was like she was on the same wavelength as the killer. Now if only she could get ahead of him. But that, he supposed, was his job.
He stepped forward. “We should let him go.”
They stared at him like he’d grown a second head. He bit back a chuckle. “Tannen’s trying to shake us, right? Which means he probably left that ion trail deliberately, knowing you’d track him.”
Zala closed her eyes. “Drakk.”
Audley smacked himself in the forehead. “Shoulda thought of that.”
“Let him think he’s won. That he got away. We’ll trace him once he comes out of the asteroid field.”
“How?” she asked. “If he swaps ships, we’ll lose the trail.”
He slid a chip from his leather wrist bracer and handed it to Audley. “Try this.”
“That what I think it is?” He raised an eyebrow.
Xander winked. “Could be.”
Audley slipped the chip into his comp and strings of code flashed across his screen. “Holy shiyat!” Xander grinned.
“What is it?” Zala asked.
“The mother of all tracking codes,” Audley mumbled, totally focused on his new toy.
Xander felt her gaze on him, could feel the questions burning in her eyes, but he ignored her. He wasn’t ready to explain how he’d come across the code. Having it was a death warrant. The Syndicate planned to kill him anyway, so what was one more strike against him?
He sank into one of the jump seats. It was the best place to watch both the captain and the viewscreen. Best of both worlds, not that she would see it that way. She’d no doubt give him a black eye for even thinking about her that way. With a mother like hers, it wasn’t surprising the humor gene had skipped her. Matriarch Lei was well known for her lack of a sense of humor.
He turned his attention to Audley. Now there was a mystery. If Audley was what he suspected, Zala was walking a very fine line. If she got caught, she’d be shot for treason, and Audley would be taken apart as a science experiment. Maybe Captain Zala Lei wasn’t as by the book as she’d first appeared. Interesting. He could work with that.
“Tannen has entered the asteroid field.” Audley said.
“Give him time.” Xander leaned back a smile on his face. “And keep that program running.”
“Will do.”
Zala said nothing. She was stiff with tension, fingers gripping her armrests.
Moments turned to minutes and minutes to hours. Zala looked like she might jump out of her skin.
Audley broke the tension. “Captain, there’s a ship leaving the asteroid belt.”
“Tannen’s?”
“Nope. New ion signature.”
“So he swapped vessels.” She glanced at Xander. “Guess you were right.”
Xander inclined his head.
“Follow him,” she ordered, “but do not engage.”
“Roger that.”
Chapter Thirteen
> HE CHUCKLED AS HE LEANED back in his seat, eyeing the viewscreen. They thought they were being oh so sneaky. They might as well have a big red flag on the front of their ship. Idiots.
He punched in a code on his comp. A man’s face replaced the image of the Infinite Justice. He was painfully scrawny, with an over-large nose and narrow eyes.
“Tannen. What up?”
“Kase.” He smiled and knew it wasn’t pretty. “Forgive me if I’m mistaken, but I believe you owe me a favor.” Sweat popped up along Kase’s forehead and upper lip. Good.
“S-sure thing. Yeah. Big time.” Kase’s voice shook a little.
Tannen didn’t bother hiding his amusement. “I have a little favor to ask of you.”
“Whatcha need?”
He explained. Kase grew even paler. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbling like a cork in the ocean.
“Syndicate ship?” Kase all but squeaked.
“Is that a problem?” He placed his fingertips together and eyed Kase.
“Er, no. Not at all. You got it.”
The screen went black. Tannen laughed.
“YOU WANT I SHOULD CATCH up to him?” Audley asked, zooming in on Tannen’s ship so they could get a good look.
“No,” Zala said. “Stay far enough back he won’t notice, but don’t lose him.”
“Won’t he pick us up on sensors?” Xander asked.
Zala bit back a huff of annoyance. “Unlikely. The Justice has sensors far better than anything available on the market.”
“This is Tannen we’re talking about. He likes his toys.”
“Dude ain’t wrong,” Audley piped up. “What I hear, he likes to tinker. And he’s good at it.”
“We’ll have to risk it. We can’t lose him. I want to know where he’s going. He’s got to have some kind of bolt hole nearby. Maybe he’ll lead us straight there.”
“And maybe he’ll lead us into a pretty little trap,” Xander muttered.
She felt her face heating with anger. “You think I haven’t considered that? Of course he could be leading us into a trap, but it’s worth the risk. How many more women have to die before we stop this animal?”
He didn’t have an answer, which mollified her only a little. She was starting to regret having brought him on board. He’d yet to help with anything. It had been Audley who’d tracked Tannen to the asteroid field and rediscovered the trail after he emerged on a new ship. So far Xander had done jack shiyat other than give them a stupid code thingy. She was tempted to dump him at the nearest planet.
The blast came out of nowhere, rocking the Justice so hard, it knocked Zala out her seat. She lay on the floor for a moment, stunned, while proximity sirens screamed.
Grabbing hold of the armrest, she dragged herself to her feet, threw herself in her chair, and buckled in. “Status!”
“Unidentified ship 120 yards to starboard, Captain. They aren’t answering hails, and they have no registration.”
“How the Hades did they get so close without us knowing?”
He shook his head, beads clacking. “Looks like they’ve got a proximity blocker. The ship couldn’t see them until they fired.”
“Shiyat.”
“What do you want to bet those are Tannen’s men?” Xander said grimly.
“Tannen doesn’t have men. He works alone.”
“You better believe he uses people when necessary, and he’s probably racked up a few debts over the years. My guess? He’s called in some of his chips.”
“Shiyat.” Fury was a cold fire in her gut. Another blast rocked the ship, snapping her head around. She’d have to visit the med bay after this. Doubtful even her implants could keep up with this damage. “Returning fire.” Her hands flew over the controls.
“Tannen is getting away,” Audley shouted over the sound of the guns.
Double shiyat. “We’ll deal with him after we deal with these fragging rock suckers.”
“What can I do?” Xander hovered by her side.
“Nothing. Hold on and pray to the Mother or whatever deity you believe in.”
After that all she knew were the controls and the blast of the guns as the two ships fired at each other. The Justice was taking a beating. “Captain,” Audley shouted over the racket, “they’ve exposed their fuel store.”
“I see it. On my mark, get the Hades out of here.” The last hit from her guns had spun the other ship just right. Sighting, she pulled the trigger. “Mark.”
The Justice lurched sluggishly when Audley put pedal to metal. Mother. They weren’t going fast enough.
Behind them, the attacking ship exploded in a burst of white-hot light. A second later the wave hit, and the Justice tumbled end over end into infinity.
Chapter Fourteen
ZALA CAME TO SLOWLY. Her head throbbed, and her vision was blurry. Her nanos set to work. She breathed a sigh of relief when the pain abated and things around her came into sharp focus.
She was on the bridge of the Infinite Justice, still strapped into her chair. Audley was slumped over his comp and Xander was sprawled across the floor. As far as she could tell, both of them were still breathing. Before she could move, the hatch opened and a fuzzy, white head popped out.
Jeric blinked at her myopically. “Okay?”
“I think so. What happened?”
“Attack.” He disappeared and the hatch slammed shut behind him.
She remembered now. Tannen had sent his goons after them, and there’d been one Hades of a firefight.
“Computer, damage report,” she barked as Audley stirred.
The mechanical voice replied promptly. “Breach in outer hull, cargo bay. Damage to life support systems. Systems at 70 percent. Minor damage to engine systems.” It droned on.
“Shiyat. We ain’t gonna be able to fix all that out here,” Audley said, slowly turning in his chair to face her. There was a fine trickle of blood near his hairline.
“You okay, Aud?”
He touched the blood. “Fine. Minor bump. I’ll recover. The ship, however, is going to need some help.” He stared at Xander, still prone on the floor. “He okay?”
At that moment Xander groaned.
“I reckon,” she said. “Anywhere nearby we can set down?”
“We can’t use hyper in this state. Gonna have to find somewhere real close.” He turned and tapped away at his keyboard. “Got it. Outpost on Tesla 3. Take us two days.”
“Will the oxygen last?”
Audley glanced over his shoulder, face bleak. “Barely.”
TWO DAYS LATER THEY limped into the spaceport at Tesla 3. Xander had never been so glad to see terra firma in his life. They were down to sucking oxygen from breathing tanks so they didn’t pass out. He’d had a headache for hours. The minute they landed, everyone was out of the ship, even Jeric.
Tesla 3 wasn’t much to look at. The spaceport was all machinery and blacktop. Ugly.
A small transport cart was waiting and zipped them over to the main hangar, where the maintenance offices were. After Zala arranged for repairs—on the Syndicate’s dime—the cart took them down a narrow, winding track to the outpost below.
The outpost was constructed of about a dozen life-system pods—the Syndicate’s standard pop-up building type for such places. They were dome-shaped, with no windows and only a single airlock door. They were meant to withstand all sorts of planetary events from the airless to the overly hurricaned. A fragging tsunami couldn’t damage them.
From the looks of things, the two larger pods served as public spaces while the rest were for habitation. Each pod probably slept about twenty workers.
The cart stopped in front of the second one, and the driver gave them a nod. “Bar. Get a drink, some eats. Maybe a place to stay if you’re lucky.”
“What’s that one?” Zala asked, pointing at the other large pod across what passed for a street but was really just a dirt path.
“Jail.” Their taciturn driver zipped off, leaving them standing there like idiots.
The door slid open as she approached, and she marched inside. Xander smirked. She was in full captain mode. Look out, Tesla 3.
The bar was as he expected: dim, dirty, and filled with loud, half-drunk men. A couple of servers—one male and one female—moved among the tables, delivering drinks and the occasional bit of greasy, overcooked food. Their skimpy clothing and mercenary expressions made it clear that they were also available. Zala made her way to the bar, but Xander noted that Jeric melted back against the wall in the darkest part of the room. Either he didn’t want to be seen, or he wasn’t a people person.
Audley stuck to Jeric, so Xander followed Zala. He liked watching her get all captainy. This was a chance to really see her work it.
She was chatting to the bartender when he caught up with her. She seemed more relaxed than he’d seen her. Xander felt an irrational pang of jealousy.
“I got a room in the back,” the bartender was saying. “Ain’t much. We don’t have visitors too often, ya ken?”
Zala smiled. “We’re not picky. Long as you’ve got beds to go around.”
“There’s plenty of bunks. Bit noisy while the bar’s open, but you can sleep in iffen ya want. Don’t open until midday.”
“I’m guessing this is the only eating establishment,” she mused.
He drew himself up, looking proud. “May be the only, but we got good eats.”
“Excellent.” She finished making arrangements with the bartender, then turned to Xander. “Come on.” She headed for the back, expecting him to tag along. He gritted his teeth but did as expected. Deity, she was bossy.
The room wasn’t much to look at, though he’d stayed in worse. It was narrow and long, lined with two bunk beds on either side, with a walkway up the middle. At the end of the walkway was a door leading to a washroom the size of a postage stamp. Below each bunk were two small lockers for personal items. Everything was shades of gray, the lighting came from a single dangling bulb, and there weren’t any windows, just a slender grate pumping in metallic-tinged air. Grim wasn’t the half of it.