Sean ignored him.
Max kept rambling, walking over to the glass window of the meeting room. “Well, you see the problem is, if I even suspect that you might know everything, then you’re a liability. And must be treated as such. But if I knew that you knew nothing, then…”
Sean scoffed. “You say that after showing us that you’re holding three hostages down here?”
“Ah, he does speak!” Pike turned back to him, looking the strongly built human up and down. “Tell me,” he questioned after a moment, “you’re not entirely human, are you?”
Sean didn’t respond again.
“No matter,” Max retorted, signaling to his guards. “You can rot in here until our scheduled garbage dump. And then you can have a trip out into the space. Get up close and personal with the vacuum.”
Max paused, expecting one of them to crack and start blurting out what they knew.
Neither said anything.
Max waved for them to be put into the glass room and started to walk away. “Oh, and by the way, we’ll be rounding up your friends on board and bringing them to join you too. Just in case you were worried you would miss them.”
Sean stood glaring from the other side of the glass, and Maya walked into the room, putting her hands behind her head in frustration, pacing in a small area as the door was closed and locked behind them.
Max gestured for the security detail to clear the area, and then followed them out.
Gaitune-67, Carl Milberg’s residence
“Yo yo! How you doing man?” Carl Milberg sat down as the call connected.
“Good, thanks,” came the reply over Carl’s audio implant.
Carl spun around on his anti-grav chair in his home office. “So, are we ready to reroute?” he asked as casually as if they were talking about sport, and not illegally rerouting a freight ship.
“We are,” Pike replied on the other end of the line. “Go ahead.”
Carl poked at his holo and then flicked over to another screen. “Okay, sending new coordinates and flight plan. As far as they know you’re on the existing flight plan. This way though you’ll arrive a day early, giving your client time to pick up their merchandise before any inspectors are expecting to see you.”
Max made sure he’d received the new flight path data on his holo. “Great. Thanks Carl,” he replied once he confirmed it was received.
Max hesitated for a moment. “One other thing,” he started. “We’ve had to take two new personnel offline. Suspect they might be corporate spies.”
Carl sighed. “Okay. We’ll have to tighten up the vetting process. Maybe look at bringing it in-house if those folks over there can’t get their shit together. That’s the second lot in as many shipments.”
Max’s voice was serious. “Yeah. It’s a concern. Especially with everything that is on the line.”
Carl shifted his tone to match the seriousness of Max’s. He continued to swivel idly in his chair though. “You don’t need to tell me. I’ll look into it. Want me to look into these guys while I’m at it?”
Max shook his head. “No. No need. They’ll not be around much longer.”
Carl chuckled in a single exhale of breath. “Lemme guess. You’re taking out the trash?”
Max’s voice lightened a little. “You know me so well, Carl Milberg …”
“I do,” Carl answered. “I know where all the bodies are buried,” he joked.
Max’s voice had a slight edge to it. “As do I, Carl, my friend. As do I.”
Carl felt awkward for a second. “So. Erm. Well, good luck with the trash disposal and... the unloading when you get there. Gimme a shout next time you’re passing this way.”
“Sure. Will do,” Max replied, his professional-casual voice resuming. “We’ll do a beer …”
“Plan!” Carl confirmed, thankful he didn’t have to do these calls with video. It would be much harder to hide how he really felt about the guy. “Bye for now, then,” he concluded.
The call ended, and Carl continued to swivel in his chair for another few seconds before closing his screens down and pulling up the next thing.
Just then then he heard the airlock activating and realized he only had a few minutes of productive work time left. He whizzed through his communications and responded to everything that needed attending to urgently. He closed down the screen just as he heard footsteps coming down the hallway to the office door.
“Hi honey,” Paige called as she breezed on past en route to the kitchen. “You ready for a glass of something?”
Carl smiled and swiveled around, getting up from his chair and padding through to meet her. “Would love something. I think we’ve still got a bottle of red open from last night.”
He heard the clattering of dishes and pans, and the fridge door opening. He stepped into the kitchen to see Paige already figuring out the most complex puzzle of the day: what to make for supper.
“So how was your day?” he asked, reaching over the central island to the bottle of red.
Paige sighed, straightening up and still looking at the contents of the fridge. “It was okay. Hard work. Lot’s going on. Yours?”
Carl grabbed a couple of glasses from a shelf behind him and popped them on the side and started pouring the wine. “It was okay. Another shipment in progress, so just keeping an eye on things,” he told her.
“How do you feel about mac and cheese, with broccoli on the side?” Paige asked, glancing over at him.
Carl wandered over with a glass of wine for her. “Sounds delightful,” he said, passing her the glass and returning to the stool at the island and settling himself down.
Aboard the Flutningsaðili, Level 2, Mess Hall
Jack strode into the dining area glancing around. She spotted Brock sitting with Auggie at the end of a long table. His expression was one of a broken man.
She marched over. “Hey Tallus. Auggie,” she said nodding at the second broken-looking soul. “You guys alright?”
Brock looked up. “Yeah. Just. I never thought that working in a kitchen could be so exhausting.”
Jack nodded sympathetically, but continued to glance around the hall as they talked.
“What’s up?” Brock asked, noticing her distraction.
Jack looked at the seat next to Auggie, and then stepped round to it. She sat down and leaned in, lowering her voice. “It’s Marissa. And Rex,” she said, glancing sideways at Auggie, trying to be discrete. “I’ve not seen either of them for a while. Have you?”
Brock shook his head. He had his arm on the table, his fork hanging over his food. He tipped his fork a little in Auggie’s direction asking him the same question.
Auggie shook his head.
Jack’s eyes carried an intensity and seriousness that Brock recognized as being unusual. “You want some help looking for them?”
Jack glanced at Auggie, and Brock immediately understood exactly what her reservation was. “No. No. I’m sure they’re fine,” she said, her tone becoming lighter and more casual. “I mean, where would they go on a ship in the middle of nowhere,” she laughed.
Brock bobbed his head. “Yeah. Probably snuck off somewhere to chill out or something,” he said.
“Yeah. I don’t blame them,” Jack agreed standing up. “I’ll leave you to finish eating,” she said.
Brock understood the words to mean finish eating and make an exit that doesn’t look suspicious.
He nodded and she turned to leave. Just then Jayne appeared at the table with a tray of food. “Greetings, all,” she said, looking at the boys and then at Jack. “You not eating?” she asked.
Jack shook her head. “Already ate. You haven’t seen Marissa or Rex anywhere have you?” she asked.
Jayne hesitated for a moment. “No. No. I haven’t. Why?”
Jack shrugged. “Just wanted to see if they were around to have a drink is all.”
Jayne sat down next to Brock and settled in to eat. “Hmm
. If I see them…”
“Great. Thanks!” Jack said as she waved, and then disappeared out of the hall.
Jayne watched her leave, a glint of suspicion in her eye as she picked up her fork to eat.
Chapter 15
Flutningsaðili, Floor 4, Restricted Access Area
Maya sat down at the table with the other three hostages. Sean continued to pace.
“Why aren’t they calling through?” she asked trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice more for the benefit of the others. Her eyes traced Sean’s movements, watching him prowl like a trapped tiger.
“Probably a glitch in the tech,” he responded. “No idea how this shit works …”
Suddenly his facial expression changed. “They’re connecting,” he said, nodding at Maya.
Maya’s face relaxed a little, and the three others looked from her to Sean and back to her again, hoping for an inkling of what was going on.
Sean put his hands on his hips and looked off across the room. “Hi, Pieter? Things have taken a turn over here,” he started explaining. “Maya and I have been rumbled. They don’t know how much we know, but they’ve put us in with the scientists, and they’re going to eject us into space at their next scheduled trash dump.”
“Shit,” Pieter hissed under his breath.
Sean continued to look off across the tiny glass room. “Yeah, mate, I was hoping for something a little more useful than that.”
“H-h-h-h-h-hang on. Let me call Molly,” Pieter stammered. There was a shuffling on the other end of the line, and a moment later Pieter’s voice returned. “She’s on her way. Will be here in a moment. Are any of you injured?” Pieter asked.
“No,” Sean’s voice came back. “We’re okay at the moment.”
“Hang on, I hear Molly’s footsteps. She’s here,” Pieter told him.
A moment later Sean could hear Molly’s voice on the line. “Sean, what do you need?”
Sean glanced at Maya, who was starting to look scared. “We’re ready for an extraction,” he said calmly, trying to make it sound that they were in more control of the situation so that Maya and the others wouldn’t be too nervous.
Maya could almost imagine he was calling for a car to pick them up from a shopping trip.
Molly was to the point. “Okay. We’re coming for you. Do we have any idea how long you’ve got?”
Sean shook his head. “No idea. Could be minutes, could be hours or days.”
Paige and Joel arrived at the conference room and stepped inside, quietly taking seats at the table so as not to interrupt.
Molly nodded. “Okay. Oz is looking into the garbage dumping on the ship. Since ADAM was already in the system with Maya’s patch, he has some access, but it’s going to take a little time to work it.”
Sean exhaled. “Okay. Cool.”
Molly, there’s something that may be useful.
Oh?
Yeah it seems that there have been a few communications between the ship and Gaitune.
From here?
No. Not from us. Someone else on Gaitune. A couple of kilometers away.
Who?
Hang on.
Oz’s voice paused, then the intercom sparked up again. “Carl Milberg’s place.”
Molly’s eyes snapped on Paige.
Paige‘s mouth dropped. A stunned silence filled the room. After a moment Paige’s voice found its way through her mouth. “Shipping,” she said making the connection.
Molly nodded. “Oz, see what you can find out. Get Crash to start up the Empress. We’ll be heading out shortly. Paige and I just need to pay Carl a visit. Sean,” she said, lifting her voice a little so he would hear her clearly. “Hang in there. We’re coming for you. Stay alive.”
Sean nodded. “Will do, boss.” He glanced over at Maya as he spoke. “See you shortly. Keep us posted about ETAs, eh?”
Molly was already half way through the door. “Sure thing. Oz and Pieter will keep in touch.”
The line disconnected, leaving Sean staring now into space, feeling a little more nervous than he had been just seconds before when the connection was live.
He glanced over at Maya again. “They’re on their way. But we need to figure out if there is a way out of here, just in case.”
He wandered over to the table where the others were sitting quietly, bewildered by the unconventional rescue party. “How about you tell us everything you know so we can work on a plan to keep us all alive until our friends get here?” he suggested, looking into the fearful faces.
Aboard the Flutningsaðili, Level 2, Mess Hall
Brock left the mess hall, scuttling from one common area to another, looking for Jack.
He felt sure she wouldn’t have gone far if they needed to powwow on this. He poked his head into the room that was used as a games room. It was noisy, with people playing computer games and simulations. She wasn’t in there. He stepped out into the corridor again.
Just then, he heard a click in his implant.
Shit. Can’t do this here, he thought to himself.
He marched down the corridor, looking for somewhere he might have some privacy to speak out loud. He found what he thought was a storage cupboard. He’d seen the cleaning crew use it before. He tried the key pad and it slid right open.
He slipped inside. A dim light came on, and the door closed behind him. The closet was about four feet by four feet, and fortunately there was no one else there.
He double clicked him quantum pearl and waited.
“Hey,” he heard Pieter’s voice.
“Hey yourself,” Brock responded, a grin spreading across his face at the sound of a familiar voice. “What’s happening? We can’t find Sean and Maya, and I think I’ve lost Jack.”
Just then the closet door opened. Brock’s heart jumped into his mouth.
He scrambled to look at whatever was on the shelf so he could look like he was in here collecting supplies.
“Hey,” whispered Jack, stepping inside and allowing the door to close behind him.
Brock breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s okay. I’ve got Jack,” he told Pieter.
Pieter’s voice came through again. “Ah, well that’s good news. Saves me trying to get you each separately. Lemme just loop her in, too. Okay, we’re good. She should hear me too now.”
Jack nodded. “I hear you, Pieter.”
“Good,” Pieter continued. “Okay, so it seems that Sean and Maya have been captured. They found the kidnap victims, three in total, and they’re being held in the same place. We’ve been in touch with Sean, and we’re on our way to extract you. Problem is, they could be ejected at any time. We just don’t know. So we need you two to one, not get caught too. And two, see if there is anything you can do to get these guys free.”
Brock’s eyes widened. “No small order then,” he remarked with a little irony in his voice.
Pieter’s voice was sympathetic. “I know. I’m with you. It’s intense. I’m sorry you’re going through this.”
Brock nodded. “It’s okay. Any clue on how to do any of that?”
“Yeah,” Pieter responded. “Turns out that before they got caught, Maya and Sean had ADAM create a patch for some off-limits area, to get them in. The code for bypassing the retinal scan and everything is 1234 Enter.”
Brock nodded. “1234 Enter,” he repeated, looking at Jack. Jack nodded, remembering the code too.
“Oz is working on figuring out their location on the ship. He’ll have that to you soon. We’re factoring in your relative positions based on your quantum beads. Should have an answer and a map soon.”
Brock nodded. “But what about being seen accessing this secret area. This place has camera coverage everywhere.”
Oz interjected. “Hi Jack. Brock. Oz here. It looks like Maya already implanted a patch to take the cameras from recording in places all randomly, but also where she wants to be. Pretty smart. It means that if they were to notice, they
wouldn’t just see it happening at the restricted access area. So we can use that patch to help you, once we’ve nailed your route.”
Jack wiped a hand over her mouth, thinking. “We have another problem, Oz. Say we go ahead and get those guys out of wherever they are. Then what? We’re on a ship with nowhere to go.”
There was a silence on the line.
Brock leaned his head back against a shelf for a moment. “You know, we could see if there are any ships that we can use to get out of here.”
Jack looked at him, her eyes gradually brightening. “Yes!” she agreed. “And a freighter has limited weapons. Mostly just for blasting rocks, and they have a restricted range to what, a few kilometers?” she guessed.
Brock nodded. “Yeah. About that. But all they’re likely to have will be something for unloading cargo at best, and then trying to out run them in what is essentially a tractor.”
Jack pulled her lips to one side. “Uh huh,” she answered.
Brock bobbed his head. “Well, I guess that’s it then. At least it will have more maneuverability than this beast, so we can head back in the direction of Estaria and wait for the Empress to scoop us up. It will take them hours to turn this thing around, so that’s our best bet.”
Jack nodded and shifted her weight, moving back towards the door. “Okay, it’s a plan. Not an airtight plan by any stretch of the imagination. But better than sitting around waiting for them to execute Sean and Maya.”
Pieter cut in. “In the meantime, Molly is on her way to you soon, and we’ll be in touch with updates. Hang in there. We’re coming for you. All of you. I’ll let Sean and Maya know what’s happening.”
The line clicked off.
Brock and Jack stood in the half light of the closet. Brock suddenly got a twinkle in his eye. “You know, this is one of those times that someday in the future we’re going to laugh about, and tell stories to rookies about tight spots that we got out of.”
Jack smiled. “Yeah. I’m sure you’re right. Okay. You wanna try stealing us some transport? And I’ll find the restricted area and grab the others as soon as we get their location through?”
Brock nodded. “Sure thing. Stay in touch on holo message only. Better than getting overheard.”
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 145
