“Calm, friend.” Hix threw the warriors a dirty look. There had been no need for them to frighten Myrin as much as they obviously had.
As if Axis could hear the words Hix had been thinking, the warrior held out his arms. “We did not mean to scare him.”
“No, we did not but it appears as though we did so regardless of our intentions,” Paine offered with a nod of apology to the small alien.
Hix pushed a frustrated hand through his hair, angry that he now had to calm his friend before trying to discover where Maggie may have gone. After explaining to Myrin that these men were the ones he had sent the message to, he nudged the men into the back room to look for clues.
“This is where I left her.” Hix studied the empty storage space, seeing no sign that Maggie had been there to begin with other than the bolts still on the floor.
“She was not here when we entered—”
“And there was only an old man in the alley when we checked,” Axis interrupted.
“How did you know it was an old man?” Rowe asked, his tone curious.
“He was stooped over and shuffling as though it hurt to move.” Paine shrugged, before looking to Axis.
Axis nodded at Paine’s description. “Not much was visible because of the cloak.”
Hix was unable to stop the smile that edged over his lips. “That was my clever Maggie.”
The men stared at him as if he had gone crazy.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Was it a dark green cloak cut shorter than most you have seen in the market?” Hix questioned with a grin so wide it was making his face hurt.
“How did you know?” Axis probed.
“Because that is all my Maggie had to wear. Believe me, it was hard to find a cloak that would fit her small frame. The chances of there being an old man wearing an identical one in this alley would be incredibly slim,” Hix answered offhandedly.
“And the limping and dragging walk was simply a disguise as well?” Rowe nudged the bolts of fabric on the floor with his boot.
“Of course, it was,” Hix said firmly, taking pride in the fact that his bride was not only fast acting but a quick thinker as well.
“Since you know your Maggie so well, tell me, do you know where she is right now?” Axis asked with a bored look on his face.
Propping his hands on his hips, Hix tried to think of where she could have gone. While the others tossed out ideas, most ending in Maggie being snatched from the market, Hix tried to mentally put himself in her place.
“Could everyone be quiet?!” Hix hadn’t meant to raise his voice. These men were his superiors, but their chattering was distracting.
“I apologize…I am just unable to think when all I can hear is him.” Hix pointed at Axis. “She is not ‘likely dead by now.’ Repeat it no more.”
“I only said it twice,” Axis mumbled, his voice repentant.
“Hix is right.” Rowe shook his head at the man. “There is nothing productive from this negative conjecture.”
Paine tossed his hands in the air. “Well then tell us, Hix. Where would she go from here? We are wasting time hunting for one human female when we know that there are more in biocrates also in need of our rescue.”
“That is it!” Hix exclaimed. His mind raced faster than he could vocalize.
“That is what?” Axis asked, his eyes narrowed on Hix where he was practically vibrating in his boots.
“Before I left this morning, I told Maggie my plans. I was going to observe the landing field and scout around the storage facility to check the crates,” Hix explained.
It’s obvious, he thought.
“And, you think she did what? Went looking for you?” Paine asked, his tone disbelieving.
“That is exactly what she would have done,” he answered with rising confidence.
“But she is a small human female alone on a foreign planet…do you think she would be stupid enough to venture out on her own?”
“If she felt our sanctuary was compromised?” Hix raised a brow at the two men looking at him guiltily. “No question.”
“Yet you do not think she has perished?” Axis repeated, making Hix shoot him a frown.
“No, she is alive. I know it…besides, she managed to fool the two of you.” Hix turned to face the door she had fled through earlier, his thoughts full of worry for his fragile bride. He hadn’t been lying earlier when he described how smart she was…but he did acknowledge that she was a small human surrounded by aliens that could kill her with one bite.
Rowe clapped him on the back, which pulled Hix back to the present. “Then, we must find her. Where do you believe she might have gone first? Landing field or storage facility?”
Stepping outside the back door, Hix moved close to the end of the alley where it opened into the market. “I do not know.”
“Then, we must split up,” Axis answered. “If you believe she went one of two directions, it would be smart to check both and report back what we find.”
“I agree,” Paine nodded, and his eyes scanned the crowd. “It would be a miracle if she has not been found by the Traccorians yet. They have a way of sniffing out the weak and using them for their personal gain.”
“Wait…Traccorians are here too?” Hix stuttered out the question, caught off guard by the new threat.
“What do you mean ‘too?’” Rowe asked quickly, his tone more than curious.
“Miners from Djaromir have been reported in the market,” Hix answered quickly.
“What are they doing here?” Axis wondered out loud. “They rarely leave the orbit of their mining planets except for long-distance trading and that never reaches this far.”
“I assumed they were the buyers…”
While Axis nodded at his assumption, Paine and Rowe shook their heads.
“What? You do not agree?” he asked the two men who did not seem to agree with his idea.
“No,” Paine answered before looking to Rowe.
“I agree with Paine.” Rowe pulled out his tablet and started tapping his fingers against the illuminated screen. “It would go against their honor code to be involved with the kidnapping and purchase of human females on the black market.”
“Even if their own race was facing extinction?” Axis voiced the question that Hix had on the tip of his tongue.
Rowe hesitated answering, leaving Hix to think that he wasn’t quite so sure.
“The Traccorians are the greater threat,” Rowe finally answered.
Hix understood the reasoning behind Rowe’s viewpoint. Between the two factions, the Traccorians were the larger threat to the females. Unlike the Traccorians, the Djaromir would care about their welfare. In the hands of the mercenaries, their lives would be only worth the amount of coin they could bring, and they all knew the mercenaries would react dangerously if they felt threatened. Chances are they would be willing to put the women in danger in their efforts to avoid capture.
“I have notified Phaeton One of our current status. The flight log showed the extra security team will arrive at any moment and they will contact me as soon as they land for their orders. In the meantime, we need to find Hix’s human.” Rowe clapped him on the back, jarring the large warrior with its strength. “To do that we must split up. You and Axis head to the landing field and we will search the storage facility. Agreed?”
Rowe didn’t wait before striding away. Paine followed close behind as the men went off in the direction of the storage site. Hix watched them go until Axis nudged his side.
“Do you truly think she is still alive?” Axis questioned, his tone holding no malice.
Hix couldn’t fault Axis for his lack of confidence in his Maggie…she had surprised him at every turn so far as well.
“She has to be.”
Axis simply looked at him, his eyes full of questions. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I know I cannot live without her.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“You really think she is
alive?” Paine prodded for the fifth time as Rowe pushed his way through the crowded market.
Business had truly picked up with at least triple the number of vendors and buyers by the looks of it. Rowe pulled in a lungful of air and wrinkled his nose. The smell of the crowded streets had multiplied as well.
“Yes,” Rowe gave his standard one-word answer, knowing it would annoy Paine to no end.
“I hate when you do that,” Paine grumbled beside him.
“I know.” Rowe didn’t try to the hide the grin spreading over his face. The smile didn’t last long once they caught up with a ramu cart. The foul odor from the beast invaded his nostrils. Rowe closed his mouth and took shallow breaths to avoid tasting the musky aroma.
“Sometimes I hate you.” Paine moved ahead of him, helping break of the throng of people blocking their path.
“I have saved your life too many times for you to hate me.” Rowe tapped Paine on the back to get his attention before handing the tablet over to him.
“What is this?” Paine stopped in his tracks to read the notice showing on the screen.
“It is intel from Phaeton One showing there is only one Djaromir cargo ship versus countless Traccorian battle shuttles that have landed within the last lunar cycle. Kaine agrees that the Traccorians must be the buyers and the Djaromir presence is simply a coincidence.”
Paine shook his head and handed the tablet back. “I do not know, Rowe. Something just does not seem right.”
“I agree,” Rowe met Paine’s concerned gaze. “I requested permission to make contact if we come across any of their warriors but it was denied. Councilmen Kaine expressed his agreement to gather more intel but has ordered us to focus on locating the women. He relayed that he will personally contact the Djaromir warlords to get more information. Either way, our mission remains the same. We are to locate and extract the brides.”
“Understood,” Paine agreed solemnly before tossing a smile his way. “Find Maggie, rescue the women and then have leave to celebrate with our favorite brothel worker before we have to report back to Phaeton One.”
Rowe was unable to hold back a snort of amusement. Regardless of how long the men had been paired, Paine still managed to keep him entertained.
Rowe rolled his eyes at his friend. “That is exactly our mission.”
“Should I reserve Starla now or would you like the honor?” Paine offered congenially as they walked in the direction of the fields once again.
“We will wait to secure her time—”
“Good idea. There is no telling how long it will take to carry out our mission and I would hate to lose our slot if we were too late. Maybe Kaine will thank us for a successful mission with extra time to spend at the brothel. It has been longer than usual between our visits to Starla and I am feeling every bit of that strain. My cock is practically weeping thinking of her gentle touch.”
Rowe began to jog. A feeling in his gut told him that time was not on their side. “Is that all you ever think about?”
“What?” Paine shot him a look as he kept pace effortlessly.
“The brothels.” Rowe dodged a small group of traders that were haggling at one of the vendor stalls. Looping around them easily he added, “The whores. Is that all you ever think about?”
“I happen to like the whores,” Paine joked, his voice light and easy. “What harm comes from anticipating our time with Starla? I remember a time when you were just as anxious to visit her as I am. In fact, there was a time not long ago that you were planning our rec time months in advance.”
“Not any longer.” Rowe took a deep breath before blurting out the idea that had taken residence in his head for the last few weeks. “I am ready for a bride.”
Rowe waited a moment for his confession to sink in and knew the exact moment when it had as Paine came to a dead stop beside him.
“What?” Paine asked wide-eyed as Rowe turned and faced him.
“I am ready for us to apply for a bride,” Rowe repeated slowly, this time making sure he included Paine in his intentions. The bride assigned would be Paine’s wife as well, so it only made sense to include the other man. He had believed that this is what his partner had wanted as well but the look on Paine’s face was starting to concern him.
“Seriously?”
Rowe glared at his best friend and fellow warrior. “Stop asking the same question over and over again. I know we spoke about turning in our application for a match and I am finally ready to do it. Is that so hard to believe?”
Paine shook his head as if to clear it out. “When did you decide all this?”
“Not long ago,” Rowe hedged as he began walking again. In truth, his desire for a female had come not long after meeting Claudia. Meeting Finch’s bride had been an eye-opening experience. There was something to be said for a human female’s soft skin and hair and the way they smelled. He hadn’t wanted Claudia specifically, but once he saw the appeal of human females in the flesh, he was anxious to claim one for their own. He would be a liar if he denied that having a female just for the two of them sounded far more appealing than renting one for an hour or two like they had done in the past.
Judging him by the look on his face, Rowe was starting to become concerned that Paine wasn’t in agreement with his desires. He couldn’t blame his friend for being surprised, but he had hoped that Paine would at least be slightly more welcoming to the idea of getting their own wife.
“Well, I guess that is good news then.” Paine smiled as a look of guilt ghosted over his expression.
“What do you mean?” Rowe asked, feeling more and more uneasy the longer he studied his warrior brother. Guilt had never been a good look on his friend and it made him uneasy to see it now.
“Huh?” Paine looked everywhere but at him. This avoidance made Rowe more and more uncomfortable the longer Paine waited to respond.
“What did you mean when you said it was good news? And what was that face for?”
“Oh.” Paine gave him a sheepish smile as they began moving again. “Well, I guess now would be a good time to tell you that I already turned in our formal application.”
Now it was Rowe’s turn to come to a screeching halt. “What? When?” When a vendor began grunting and hissing behind him at the abrupt roadblock, Rowe turned and glared.
“Not long after we arrived on Phaeton One.” Paine distracted him from doing more than glare when he pointed in the direction they had been moving. “There is the field Hix said the crates were being stored. Would you like to continue this conversation after we rescue all of the females or…?”
Rowe bit back a curse at the frustration Paine somehow managed to stir up inside of him. The man was like a brother to him, yet sometimes he wanted nothing more than to strangle the other warrior with his bare hands.
“We will finish this discussion later,” Rowe hissed, his jaw tense as he clenched it tight.
As they moved stealthily closer to the field…well, what was left of the field, Rowe felt his stomach sink. A majority of the perimeter fencing laying flat against the dusty ground, sparks sprinkling the red dirt where the laser field had been broken. Bodies littered the area. The scorch marks marring their forms gave testament of the shootout that had occurred.
Chaos surrounded the open area, aliens of all forms were running back and forth as they tried to collect themselves after sustaining an assault. Paying no mind to the fallen, many were simply trying to escape the area as quickly as possible.
Rowe reached out and grabbed one of the aliens scuttling past. “What happened here?”
“Warriors,” the frightened alien replied as he jerked on his arm to be let loose. Squealing when he realized he was trapped, the creature curled into himself as much as possible in fright.
“What sect?” Paine asked and moved his large form closer to intimidate the man into answering.
“D-d-djaromir,” he stuttered, his fear apparent as he shook in his dirty, stained robes.
At the alien’s answer, Rowe
released him. Once freed, the creature hurried off as fast as his shaking legs could carry him.
Paine raised his brows at Rowe. “Still believe it’s the Traccorians?”
Rowe’s mouth flattened into a tight line. “We need to get to the landing field. Now.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Maggie wiped her eyes as sweat rolled down her brow from both the heat under the heavy hood of her disguise and the fear that she was too late to help. For the last few minutes she had been watching the warrior, she assumed was K’hor and the other Djaromir as they unloaded cart after cart of biocrates. Every time they walked another crate into the shuttle, her heart sank a tiny bit more.
When the one she presumed was the leader had first driven the carts onto the landing field there had been chaos. Men had flooded out of the shuttle with their weapons drawn as they met him and the cargo. The flurry of activity had caught her off-guard at first.
Her immediate reaction had been to panic as she had jumped to the conclusion that she had been spotted. Maggie had quickly ducked behind a dilapidated shuttle prepared to use it for cover. After a moment, she realized their attention wasn’t focused on her and regained her composure in time to watch the newcomer’s arrival. With wide eyes, she watched closely as he yelled out orders to the men scrambling around him. It had been only a few minutes before the men removed a large tarp, revealing the individual biocrates it had shielded. As she watched, some of the warriors fussed over the crates and their blinking lights while others began loading them into the shuttle.
Unable to hear exactly what was being shouted, Maggie realized she needed to be closer if she wanted to discover where they were taking the women and for what end. Luckily for her, if you could think of it that way, another abandoned shuttle was docked only a few yards away from the Djaromir’s shuttle.
A wild idea began to form in her head. If she grabbed some of the materials from the junker she was hiding behind, there was a chance it would look as though she was just a maintenance worker moving parts around the field. It was risky, but she couldn’t sit helplessly on the sidelines without at least trying to find out their next step.
Warriors of Phaeton: Hix Page 17
