Yips and cheers ascended into the dark sky. Apparently, I was forgiven for the events surrounding my arrival in the city. The party went on as more food was brought out and the music started again.
I knew I had to get going. I needed to gather my gear and head for the landing site where the dropship would meet me, ready to take me to Mars.
I slipped away from the crowd as they danced and sang their celebratory songs. I made my way to Sam’s house, going to the downstairs room where I woke.
“X, did you see where they placed the MK II?” I asked. “The armor?”
“Armor was unsalvageable but the MK II was placed in your room on the dresser,” X said. “Those tattoos you lost on your back are gone forever where your new skin grew back.”
That was something I’d never be able to get back. When my body healed, it wouldn’t be able to heal back with the same ink. The thought bothered me more than it should. It was like my past, my history had been wiped clean, at least some of it.
I entered the dark house, heading for my room. It didn’t take long to realize there was something very wrong. The window to the room had been opened. The long, white drapes rustled in the cool breeze.
“Daniel,” X said in warning in my mind.
I didn’t have to answer her. Even before I activated my night vision, a slender figure stepped from the far dark corner of the room. It was a figure I had seen before. One I wasn’t eager to run into again.
The black cloak and mask with the red cross on the forehead.
A dozen questions crashed into my mind. How did she know where I was? How did she get here so fast? Why was she following me?
My heart picked up in speed as I remembered our last fight. I was a match for her but just a match. Anytime I got into a fight, I felt confident I had the upper hand. Not with her.
Her right arm separated from the shadows to reveal my own MK II in her hand. She leveled the weapon at my head.
“Why did you help this city?” she asked in a cold, hard tone. “Why did you risk your own life?”
“Why are you following me?” I asked, risking her wrath, which probably wasn’t the best thing to do since she had a weapon pointed at me. “What do you want?”
She was quiet. We stood there in the dark staring at one another. I would say we looked at each other in the eye, but her faceless black mask was impossible to see through.
“You’re not like the rest of them,” the Cyber Hunter said. “The redhead who lives here isn’t like the rest of them either, but in a different way.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The woman you know as Samantha has changed. She has a family now, she has something more important to fight for,” the Cyber Hunter said. “Tell me, Daniel Hunt, what is it that you fight for?”
“All right,” I said with a raised eyebrow. “I’ll go first and then it’s your turn. I started off fighting for answers to my past, but now—now it’s turned into something else.”
“What has it turned into?” the Cyber Hunter asked. Her tone surprised me, as if she actually wanted to know. “What are you fighting for now?”
“Still answers, but I think I’m starting to see where all the pieces on the board fit, who the players really are, and who needs to be dismantled,” I said. “Immortal Corp needs to go and maybe even the Order along with it.”
“You are either extremely brave or incredibly stupid,” the woman said. “You know I work for the Order. Telling me you might want to destroy them probably isn’t the best idea.”
“Can’t be that bad of an idea,” I answered. “You haven’t shot me yet. Your turn. Why are you following me?”
“You’re giving yourself too much credit,” the Cyber Hunter said. “Who says I’m following you at all?”
My stomach turned. I had thought I might get out of this with a conversation. If the Cyber Hunter was here for Sam and her family, then she was going to have to go through me. There weren’t enough rounds in that MK II, explosive or other, to stop me.
“You said yourself, Sam has changed,” I said. “Let her be.”
“I don’t think you’re in a position to be making demands here,” the Cyber Hunter said. “If you could see my eyes right now, you’d be able to tell I’m rolling them at you.”
I clenched my fists, preparing to make a move. If I could at least warn Sam that something was wrong before the Cyber Hunter pumped me full of rounds from my own weapon, I would. Sam could handle herself. She had a small city that would fight for her.
“Easy there, tiger,” the Cyber Hunter said, anticipating my moves. “I’m not going to kill her. I’ve seen enough to know she’s out of the fight. We can remove her piece from the board. You and Echo, on the other hand, are still in play. Echo’s contained for the time being and that’s enough for me. It might even help. If Immortal Corp tried to free Echo, then they and Phoenix can wipe each other out.”
I relaxed for a moment. The picture I had of the Cyber Hunter was blurred, even fuzzier now than it was before if that was possible.
“What is it that your order wants?” I asked.
“That’s another question and it’s not your turn,” the Cyber Hunter said. “If you’re serious about taking out Immortal Corp, then I may have a proposition for you.”
“I don’t know anything about you,” I said. “I don’t know if I can trust you. You tried to kill me.”
“I thought you were still one of them,” she answered.
“One of who?” I asked.
“Still an active member of the Pack Protocol,” she responded. “I can see now that’s clearly not the case. I have three more to hunt down, but in the meantime, you should think about my offer. Channel two two one niner seven zero eight, you think you can remember that?”
I knew I couldn’t, but X would store it away.
“Daniel, you in here?” Sam’s voice echoed into the house. “I wanted to say goodbye before you left.”
The Cyber Hunter stiffened.
I remembered the hate Echo and the Cyber Hunter held for each other. If the same lines of animosity ran between the Cyber Hunter and Sam, then we had a problem.
“I don’t want to have to kill her and her family, but I will if she insists,” the Cyber Hunter said. “Don’t let her in here.”
“Daniel, is that you? Is there someone in here with you?” Sam asked.
She was so close, I could practically hear her reaching for the door handle. The door was slightly cracked at the moment. She wouldn’t be able to see in.
“Nope, just me and X,” I lied, jerking the door closed behind me. “Just a second I’ll be right out.”
I looked back at the Cyber Hunter. She was gone. My MK II was left on the dresser. The curtain still flapped in the breeze of the open window.
I said a silent prayer of thanks, mentally regrouping to meet Sam. I turned on the light in the room. I grabbed the MK II and the holster on the dresser and opened the door for Sam.
Sam pursed her thin lips, judgment written all over her face.
“I don’t even want to know what was going on in here,” Sam said. She looked at the weapon on my thigh. “You were going to leave without saying goodbye?”
“Everyone looked happy,” I answered. “Didn’t want to have to shake a hundred hands goodbye. I don’t know how many more thank yous I can take either.”
“Come on.” Sam waved to me as she turned. “I’ll give you a ride to your pick-up spot.”
I followed Sam out into the cool night. The sounds of the party were still in full swing. The people of Cecile were going all out for this one.
“Not many opportunities to celebrate out here ,” Sam said as if she were reading my thoughts. “When they do, they go big.”
We made our way behind her house to a dune buggy that rested under a low roof. The thing was rusted and looked like it would fall apart once we took a seat, but it fired up all the same as Sam turned her key in the ignition.
X pointed out the coordinate
s for the drop point and we were off.
Sam drove the little dune buggy in silence. The pair of headlights cut through the darkness, revealing the rolling sand dunes in front of us.
The celebration music in Cecile eventually died, leaving us alone in the quiet of the still night.
Sam reached into her inside jacket pocket. She handed me a worn notebook.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“When you were recovering, I wrote down everything I could remember about you and Amber, about the Pack, the missions we went on, and Immortal Corp. I wrote so much, my hand cramped like a mutie in his death throes. Hopefully, there’s information in there not just for you, but that will help in taking the company down,” Sam answered. In the darkness, she cocked her head to the side. “I think your ride’s here.”
I looked up in time to see a tiny dark shape in the distance to the south. Amongst the myriad twinkling stars and moon, it was easy to pick out. The dropship came into view a second later. Two tiny lights on the wings set it apart from anything else.
Sam stopped the dune buggy and hopped out.
“They’re terrified of you, so they may not want to say hello,” I told Sam. “When you ran the Skull Bearers out of town the first time, you made quite a name for yourself.”
“Good,” Sam said with a twinkle in her eye. “A little bit of fear can be healthy.”
We stood there staring at each other for a moment.
I nodded and was about to say my goodbye, when she grabbed me in a fierce hug. Sam was surprisingly strong. It felt hard to breathe for a moment.
I found myself reaching up to return the embrace.
“I don’t have any blood relatives, but that doesn’t mean you’re not my brother,” Sam let me go a moment later. She looked down, shaking her head. “What you did for my family—anything you need and I’m there. I mean, I can’t go with you, but if you get in trouble, you send a message to my channel and I’ll be there with my bow in my hand. The channel where you can reach me is written on the first page of the notebook.”
“Thank you,” I told her. “You’re a good mom, wife, and leader of this city. I’ll be back to visit someday.”
I didn’t trust myself to say more. Instead, I moved toward the approaching dropship.
“You do that,” Sam called out to my back. “Amber’s going to be asking when her uncle is going to come back and visit.”
I didn’t say anything. I just kept on walking. If I had turned around, Sam would have seen the tear in my eye. The dropship was landing now, kicking up sand as the thrusters allowed it to touch gently down.
Violent wind whipped around me. I had to put my head down and squint to be able to stand near the landing zone of the craft. A second later, the thrusters died. The rear cargo hatch opened. Monica walked out with a light vest and a rifle in her hands.
“Are you okay? Did you get your answers?” Monica asked, looking over my shoulder at Sam, who got into her buggy and took off back toward Cecil.
“I did. I’m ready to make good on that promise I made you,” I said. “Let’s go get your dad.”
Chapter Twenty-One
It would take a full day of traveling in hyperspace to reach Mars. That gave me more than enough time to rest and prepare. The dropship that picked me up wasn’t like the others. It was a corvette class capable of hyperspeed and thus making the trip to Mars.
This dropship was still shaped in a similar way to the others: short thick wings with thrusters, a tail with another pair of stubbier wings. The main difference between the corvette class dropship and its counterpart was its larger size and the way it had been converted inside. The seating area was converted into a section that was one half restroom and the other sleeping quarters. The rear of the ship that would have been the cargo hold was actually a kitchen and lounging area.
It turned out Lori and Riner would still be our pilots. They’d be taking Monica, Commander Shaw, and me to Mars. Once there, we’d hook up with a Phoenix unit to take down the Immortal Corp lab and free Monica’s father.
I was surprised Commander Shaw was in on this one with us. I’d imagine someone like him had a slew of responsibilities back at the Vault that required his attention.
Not surprising at all, I was in the kitchen making myself something to eat when Commander Shaw joined me.
“You get the info you needed in Cecile?” he asked, scratching at the white beard that reached his chest. “You good?”
“More or less,” I said, remembering what the Cyber Hunter had told me. I took a bite out of the meat burrito I made and turned to look at Commander Shaw.
“More, more or more less?” The commander smiled good naturedly.
I was no detective, but I had a decent handle on reading people. Everything said I could trust this man. He’d been nothing but trustworthy since I met him, even giving me shelter.
“I’m getting answers slowly,” I told him. “How about you? Did you figure out how the Cyber Hunter got into the Vault?”
“There are vents that lead out to the side of the mountain,” Commander Shaw explained. “Of course we have motion sensors and cameras set up but the Cyber Hunter manage to deactivate one without us seeing. We’ve reinforced them all and added more precautions to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Good to know,” I said taking another bite out of my burrito. “Everything look good for our arrival on Mars?”
“Yes, we have the necessary landing orders and identities to get us in and out. We’re on a business trip from Earth,” Commander Shaw explained. “It’s not uncommon for a company to go to Earth and scavenge items from the old world and then head to Mars to sell wares. I think—”
Commander Shaw had to pause here. A fit of deep racking coughs from the depths of his chest made his whole body convulse. He reached into his pants pocket, removing a vial of amber fluid. He proceeded to drain the entire bottle.
With heavy breaths, his coughing stopped.
“Excuse me,” Commander Shaw said, retreating back into the ship. “I think I need to sit down.”
While the commander left, I was reminded of the conversation the scientists had back at the Vault. Could Commander Shaw be the one they were talking about?
I didn’t have time to think about this line of questioning any longer. Monica appeared in the kitchen entrance.
“Hey, I just passed the commander, he looked sick,” she said with a worried expression on her face.
“He started coughing, chugged that vial in his pocket and took off,” I said narrowing my eyes. “I’m not accusing anyone of anything but that’s kind of suspicious. Do you know if he’s sick or something?”
“I don’t think so,” Monica said with a frown. “I mean not that I know of. I did think it was strange that he insisted on coming with us on this mission.”
“How well do you know the commander?” I asked.
“He’s always been the point of contact for my father and my own work,” Monica explained. She pursed her lips as she thought back. “He’s always followed through on what he’s promised. I don’t think there’s anything going on here besides maybe he’s sick and doesn’t want to tell us.”
“Maybe,” I said ripping through another mouthful of my burrito.
“So what are you going to do after this?” Monica asked. “I mean I know you want to dismantle Immortal Corp but have you thought about doing that as a Phoenix operative?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think yours and Phoenix’s goals would line up on this one. You both want Immortal Corp out of the picture. You have the ability and Phoenix has the resources. Why not team up after we save my father?”
I was going to just flat out say no. I wasn’t that much of a team player. I wouldn’t even be here now if I hadn’t given Monica my word I’d help her save her father.
The silent pleading look in her eyes made me rethink my answer.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I said remembering what th
e female Cyber Hunter told me back in Cecile. “There are a lot of moving parts and I still don’t know if I’ve learned about all of them.”
“Just thinking about it, is enough for me,” Monica said as she moved to leave the kitchen. “Grab some sleep before we reach Mars. We’ll be there before you know it.”
Monica left me to think about her offer and the mystery surrounding Commander Shaw. I knew enough to tell there was something going on he wasn’t telling us. The question now was if his secret posed any threat to us.
I mean it could be something as simple as he was sick and maybe he had something terminal he was hiding. There was nothing nefarious in that.
“X,” I asked out loud. “You have any way to look inside someone? I mean like some kind of X-ray vision or way to peek at their anatomy?”
“Commander Shaw?” X asked reading my mind. “You want to know what’s wrong with him?”
“I think so,” I said. “There’s something going on. Remember Doctor Bartelbee back at the Vault was talking about someone being awoken after sleeping for so many years?”
“You think Commander Shaw was that person?” X asked. “I don’t think he’s doing anything wrong by sleeping.”
“It could be nothing,” I agreed. “But we should at least take a look.”
“I can scan his anatomy including bones and organs to see if he is in fact ill with anything serious,” X answered.
“Let’s do it,” I said trusting my gut on this one. I maneuvered around the kitchen warming up two cups of dark brown caf, one for me and one for the commander.
I made my way from the kitchen with the steaming tin cups in hand. Past the kitchen and sitting area, heading deeper into the ship was the restroom and living quarters. The living spaces were nothing more than a few pods lined up to the right of the hall.
The pods were rooms barely large enough to fit a bed, dresser and walking space around said pieces of furniture. Here were eight of them lined up next to one another.
On the opposite side of the hall was a shared washroom and locker area. It was longer than it was wide but large enough to hold a few stalls.
Absolution: A Near Future Thriller (Forsaken Mercenary Book 2) Page 13
