by Shéa MacLeod
Was it just her imagination, or was he paying special attention to the women? Checking for implants, no doubt. She doubted he’d find any on this backwater planet.
Despite its designation as capital, the city was hardly more than a village tucked into the rugged hills of Regis. She found it odd that a serial killer fleeing the justice of a rider would choose a remote farming world to hide. It wasn’t like he’d have much of a pool of victims to choose from, and he wasn’t trying to blend in.
Then again Regis had a major spaceport a short journey outside the city for food exportation. Lot of captains came through there. Lot of scions, too. No one would think twice about a governor making frequent trips to the spaceport. Talk about a perfect setup.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Xander asked. “I can maybe hack him from here. Capture him without risking your safety.”
“Maybe isn’t good enough. We have to take this bastard down, but not here. Not in front of all these people.” The last thing they needed was a riot when she arrested their governor. “We stick with the plan. I get him to ask me to dinner, and after I’ve got him away from the crowd, you zap him.” She clenched her hands to hide her shaking hands. If he saw how terrified she was, he might stop her from going through with the plan. “It’s the best way.”
He nodded and removed his plain brown cloak, revealing a black body shirt and a pair of olive flight pants. The pants were Audley’s, and he’d been pissed as Hades when Xander chopped several inches off the legs. She’d had to promise Audley a new pair in order to avoid bloodshed. He was very proprietary about his clothes.
She had to admit the clothes looked darn good on Xander. The shirt was skintight and showed off his muscles, and the pants, despite Audley being so much larger, managed to show off a rather nice backside. She kind of missed the kilt, though.
She reluctantly dragged her focus to the wide wristband on his arm, where a tiny green light flashed. “Ready?”
“All I’ve got to do is touch a button, and we’re golden. Good luck out there.” He slipped into the crowd, fading away like a ghost. Damn, he was good. No wonder people told stories about him. The ghost that brought down House Lodai.
She threw off the cloak that had been hiding her Syndicate uniform and swept her hair up off her face, exposing her House sigil. Normally she hated anyone seeing it, but the bright blue ink had a metallic sheen that would shine like a beacon in the midday suns of Regis. It would draw Tannen like a fly to synth-honey.
She took a deep breath and stepped out of the alleyway, where she was immediately flocked by villagers begging her to taste their fruits or buy one of their crafted goods.
Rule Four. Act like you own the place, and they treat you as though you do. Sometimes she wished she could banish her mother’s voice as easily as she’d left her House. Deity, she was tired of her mother’s endless lectures, but in this case, Mother was right. Zala smiled and played along, sampling a sweet here and fingering a beaded necklace there, playing House scion to the hilt. Normally she’d have enjoyed such an adventure. It wasn’t often she got to go planet-side purely for pleasure, but this wasn’t a pleasure trip. Keeping an eye on their target, she continued through the throng of vendors. One had a basket of hand-sewn, real silk handkerchiefs in ridiculously bright hues. Maybe a gift would make up for destroying Audley’s pants.
She bought one of the brighter squares and tucked it in the pocket of her flight suit. The vendor grinned and bobbed her head as though Zala had done her a great service. Probably she had. A starship captain and scion of the greatest House in the Syndicate buying your wares could pretty much set you up for life. Everyone in Regis would want those garish handkerchiefs now.
She knew the minute she caught Tannen’s attention. Her implants shot a flash of amber through her vision, like a danger signal on a starship. Not only had Tannen spotted her, but he’d already caught her implant signal. She prayed Xander was in position and he was a faster hacker than Tannen.
She edged closer to Tannen. She needed to lure him away from the crowd so Xander could hack him, but she had only a vague idea of how to go about it. What would her mother do?
You are a House scion. Any man, no matter how high-ranking, would consider it an honor to kiss your hand.
Deity, she hated playing this role. She threw back her shoulders, stiffened her spine, and affected the delicate glide which marked a House scion.
Tannen’s eyes lit up. As she’d suspected, he preferred the graceful ones. The scions.
“Governor.” She glided to a stop in front of him, gracing him with an almost imperceptible nod as she pressed her palms together, fingers up, in a traditional House greeting. “I must congratulate you on the loveliness of your planet and the warmth of your people. Zala, House Lei.” She held out one pale hand, arched just so.
“My lady, you do me great honor.”
The lasciviousness in Tannen’s eyes turned her stomach. His touch on her fingers, gentle as it was, started a dull throbbing in her skull. The moisture of his thin lips pressed to the back of her hand nearly undid her. The only thing that kept her from bolting was the mantra she repeated over and over in her mind: What would Mother do?
Her vision flashed from amber to red. Shiyat, he was attempting the hack right here in front of the entire village. Since his hands were empty, the tech must be implanted in his brain. She swayed slightly as she yanked her hand from Tannen’s grasp. Her thoughts snarled in ribbons of red and amber, collapsing in on each other. She crashed to the ground, frozen, helpless.
She heard women screaming, men shouting. Running feet flashed across by as she lay motionless on the ground. Their plan had gone horribly wrong. Xander had been too late. She’d been hacked.
XANDER WATCHED IN HORROR as Zala crumpled. His first instinct was to run to her side. Protect her from danger. She’d woken him from stasis and saved him from the Syndicate. He fragging owed her, and he was letting her down. Tannen was better than he’d realized. Much better. His fingers flew over the wrist comp, but no matter how fast he moved, Tannen was faster, and he was methodically shutting down Zala’s systems one by one. She’d be dead in minutes if he didn’t do something.
There was one thing he had that Tannen didn’t. It was his secret weapon, and there was no one alive who knew about it. If they did, it would be an automatic death sentence, but unless he wanted to give Zala up to Tannen, he’d have to risk it.
He abandoned his wrist comp and closed his eyes. In his mind he saw Tannen’s implants laid out, ready to be hacked. They were expensive, top of the line. This was not going to be easy.
He cracked his knuckles, figuratively speaking, and dove in. His fingers flew over the mental images of Tannen’s implants, manipulating them on a molecular level. He worked as fast as he could, rerouting subroutines and shutting down protocols. It wasn’t fast enough. His wrist comp flashed red. Zala was dying.
He gave up trying to be fancy and waded in. There was no finesse, no more attempt at capture, just a desperate smashing of Tannen’s implants, using the power of his mind like a hammer of the gods.
A scream grated against Xander’s ears. He opened his eyes, half focused on the mental images of the implants and half on the reality in front of him. Tannen was on the ground next to Zala, holding his head and yelling, his crisp uniform torn and dirty. Blood poured from his eye sockets, his ears as his implants physically exploded. Foam bubbled from his mouth. Not long now.
Xander continued smashing away mentally until every last implant was destroyed and the screaming had stopped. The image of Tannen’s mind faded, and Xander opened his eyes, dizzy as he reentered the physical world.
Tannen was dead, his head twisted at a horrible angle. He’d clawed at his face, leaving bloody furrows carved into his cheeks. His death had been ugly and painful. Fitting. Xander felt a twinge of remorse he ruthlessly squashed. Just as he had on the day he’d destroyed his House. Sometimes a man had to do hideous things for the greater good.
&nb
sp; The people of Regis stared in horror. He wasn’t sure if they were scared of him or horrified by what they’d just witnessed. They had no idea he’d caused Tannen’s gruesome death though they’d assume someone had done it with tech. He supposed he should make sure they didn’t try lynching an innocent person. “Good people of Regis.” He turned to the crowd, drawing himself to his full height. The more impressive he appeared, the better. “My name is Xander, and I am a rider.”
There was an excited murmur as the villagers passed this information back and forth. Apparently, Regis didn’t get many riders.
“This man, Tannen, is not who he seems.” Startled eyes met his, followed by wild whispering. “He has been found guilty of horrendous crimes of violence against women. As such, he has been duly executed according to the laws of the Syndicate.”
More murmuring. This time it was aimed at him. A few nasty looks were thrown his way.
He activated his wristband. “You want proof?”
What happened next was no less than he expected. With the push of a button, holographic images of Tannen’s atrocities flashed in front of the crowd. A collective gasp was followed by a few screams. Somebody fainted. Suddenly the gathering erupted into a mob. With cries of outrage, they stormed toward Tannen’s prone body.
Aware that they could just as easily turn on him, Xander scooped up Zala in his arms and returned to the ship, leaving the villagers to deal with Tannen’s corpse. With any luck they’d burn it so there wasn’t a scrap of the monster left.
Chapter Eighteen
XANDER WAS EXHAUSTED. He’d spent hours inside Zala’s mind, repairing the damage Tannen had caused by his hack.
“Is she going to be okay?” Audley hovered over the bed like a mother hen, concern etched across his dark face. His usually bubbly nature was lost under a cloud of anxiety.
“I think so.” Xander offered a tired smile. “All we can do now is wait.”
And so they did, for three long, excruciating days. Between Audley’s anxious pacing and Jeric popping up through floor panels at random intervals, Xander figured he was halfway to crazy by the time day four rolled around. But leaving felt wrong, so he waited with them.
“Xander?” Her voice was scratchy but strong.
He checked her pulse. Also strong. Damn she was a fighter. A quick scan with his mind revealed her implants had nearly repaired themselves. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve got the mother of all headaches.” She winced as she touched her temple.
Guilt crashed over him. He was supposed to protect her. “I’m so sorry, Zala. I wasn’t expecting him to use sheer brute force. I should have been faster with the hack.” Even now he couldn’t tell her the truth, though if anyone deserved it, she did.
She waved his apology aside. “Neither of us expected it. It’s done, and everything’s okay. Is he dead?”
“As a doornail.”
“What does that even mean?”
He laughed, relief flooding through him. If she could joke, she’d be okay. “I have no idea. It’s just an Old Earth saying I picked up along the way.”
“My implants?” “I fixed them.”
She blinked, confused. “How? We don’t have the facilities.”
He didn’t answer. Instead he just smiled and said, “Rest, Zala. You still need to heal.” He didn’t know how to answer her question without giving away everything. Fortunately she drifted back to sleep, so he could keep his secrets. For now.
Zala woke to stars streaming by her window. Technically, it was a viewscreen. The Infinite Justice had no windows, seeing as how windows and space didn’t mix, but she liked to think of it as a window.
Audley was really pushing the engines for the stars to stream like that. Probably giving Jeric a heart attack, too. Jeric babied the Justice’s engines like they were his offspring.
Her headache was gone, though she still felt drained. She turned her head to find Audley sitting in a chair, glaring at her. His braids were pulled up in a tail, something he only did when he meant serious business.
“Who’s driving this thing?” she asked.
“Xander.”
“Oh dear Mother of All.”
“He’s all right.” Audley glowered and crossed massive arms. “You freaked me out total, you know.”
She smiled. She and Audley had been together so long, they were like family. In fact, he was more family to her than her genetic relations. “I’m sorry, Aud. I’ll be more careful next time, okay?”
He heaved a long-suffering sigh. “Fine, but I’m right livid with that rider. What was he thinking, put you in danger like that?”
“Come on, Aud.” She patted him on the arm. “It was my plan, and you know it. I made him help me. He did the best he could under the circumstances. We both underestimated Tannen. We won’t make that same mistake twice.”
“You say so.” He looked doubtful.
She decided a subject change was in order. “Hey, where is the flight suit I was wearing?”
Audley waved at a pile of clothes on the floor. Just like a bunch of men to toss her stuff aside instead of hanging it up properly.
“Get it for me? Please.”
He hauled his large frame out of the chair and brought her the wadded-up ball that was her flight suit. She dug through the pockets and removed a square of brilliant blue silk. “This is for you, to make up for Xander cutting up your pants.”
He took it, a look of wonder on his face. The scrap of bright blue and yellow cloth was gorgeous against his dark skin. He wrapped it around his neck and flashed her a wide grin. “It’s beautiful. Where you get it?”
She grinned. “My secret.”
“You always did like keeping secrets.” His expression grew serious. “We got a request from the Val System.”
“Space pirates again?”
He nodded.
“You answered it?”
“We be headed there now,” he said.
“Good.” She swung her feet over the edge of the bed, pretending the movement didn’t set the ship spinning around her. “Find Xander and tell him I need to speak to him.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
Minutes later Xander was standing in her quarters, looking solemn. He wore a black kilt and an olive-green long-sleeved shirt that hugged his skin. He must have gone shopping, though how he’d had time was beyond her.
“You shouldn’t be out of bed,” he said.
She wasn’t about to admit that sitting at the small table in her quarters was taking every ounce of energy she had. “I know who you are.”
He went from solemn to blank in half a micro flat. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Do you honestly think you could rummage around in my brain like that and not leave something behind, Cael Xander Lodai?” She quirked an eyebrow.
He froze. A muscle flexed in his jaw. “Cael Lodai is dead. Everyone knows that.”
“So said House Lodai when they tried to pin their crimes on him. On you. The Syndicate and all the Houses know better. There’s no point lying about it, Xander. Not to me.”
“How did you know? My identity was perfect.”
She tapped a finger against her lower lip. “You had your House sigil removed, facial reconstruction, and altered your fingerprints and voice. It’s hard to change eyes, though.” She studied him carefully. “I’m guessing you didn’t replace them.”
“No.”
“Nor alter your DNA.”
“That required my hacking skills.”
“Ah.” The light went off. “You changed the mainframe records.” Simple for someone with his skills. “But you can’t change your memories.” Memories she’d seen when he repaired the damage Tannen had done to her implants. “I also know you didn’t hack Tannen or fix me with tech.” She didn’t say it, and he didn’t acknowledge it, but they both knew what she was thinking. Psychic.
A rare, genetic anomaly that meant automatic erasure. Somehow, he’d flown under the radar.
“Can you do it again?” she asked. “Hack the Syndicate mainframe?”
His expression was rife with suspicion. “Sure.”
“Good.” The plan was definitely coming together.
“Are you going to turn me in?” Xander asked.
“I think not.” She smiled at his look of surprise. “I thought I’d offer you a job instead.”
His eyes widened. “But you know what I am.”
“So what? This ain’t exactly a ship populated by prime citizens.” She wouldn’t tell him about Audley yet, though he’d probably guessed. “I need a permanent rider to help me track down criminals and execute justice.”
“And you want me?”
“The man who saved my life? The man that brought House Lodai to its knees? In a freaking skirt? Hades yes. No one else need know who or what you are.”
He grinned. “Could be fun. And for the third or fourth time, it was a kilt.” His grin faded. “How do you know you can trust me?”
She shrugged. “How do you know you can trust me?”
“You think you could stop me if I wanted to leave?”
“Probably not.” Her smile widened. “Do we have a deal?” She held her hand out.
Xander took it, fingers tangling with hers. “It’s a deal.”
“Excellent. Let’s go see about some space pirates.”
A Rage of Angels, Intergalactic Investigations Book Two, is available now in ebook and paperback at most online retailers.
A Note From Shéa MacLeod
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