Tabitha smiled as she left the lab to head to her quarters. Thanks, Achronyx. You know, you’re not such a pain in my ass.
Achronyx chuckled. And I’m sure that if I had an ass, you would not be a pain in mine, either.
Arista System, Planet Terminus, Dark Side of the Fourth Moon, QBS Achronyx, Lab, Four Hours Later
Tabitha strolled into the lab, still in her pajamas, and rubbed her bleary eyes when the bright overhead lights came on. “What have you found?”
Achronyx’ tone was serious. “We need to act, and soon. I had speculated as to the likelihood of the children being poisoned, but this is much worse.”
Tabitha went over to the console by the machine she’d fed the samples into earlier. “Show me the results.” She scrolled through Achronyx’ findings, her frown deepening as she read. “What is this? Their brain activity is next to nonexistent.”
“The drug the children have been given is an extremely dangerous neurochemical blocker,” Achronyx told her. “This is why we need to act. Without the antidote to inhibit its effect the blocker will shut down the children’s brains permanently, killing them.”
Tabitha sighed. “Is that why the kid I took blood from was so out of it?”
“Yes,” Achronyx replied. “There were also high amounts of sedatives in the child’s blood.”
Tabitha frowned. “Did you work out how to make the antidote?”
“Yes, but real intervention is needed. As it is, the antidote is only able to hold off the effects as long as the children are sedated, and over time they will need larger and larger doses for it to continue working even in this capacity.”
“That will have to do until we can get them something better.
“I have already begun to synthesize the antidote, which will have to be enough to get the children to the Meredith Reynolds as we planned. However, there are over two hundred children and their parents—”
“And how are we supposed to transport so many people on the Achronyx?” Tabitha finished for him. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “The ship doesn’t have the facilities for the medical care the children require.
“Then we will call in someone who does.” Tabitha got up and headed for the door. “One step at a time. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, let’s find out how my Tontos did on their fishing expedition.”
“Hirotoshi is currently in the galley.”
“At this time?” Tabitha headed for the galley, her curiosity well and truly piqued. She found Hirotoshi at the counter prepping ingredients for sandwiches.
She flounced in and pulled a stool out from under the counter to sit on. “You’re in here at a weird time.”
“As are you, Kemosabe.” Hirotoshi poured her a cup of hot coffee. “Achronyx warned me he was waking you earlier than expected. Breakfast and coffee are the best remedies for a rude awakening.” He turned back to the griddle and tossed the contents onto two plates.
Tabitha sipped the blessed nectar gratefully. “Thanks. How are the others getting on with their assignments?”
Hirotoshi put a plate in front of Tabitha, then sat opposite her with his own. “They found nothing untoward. The overall conclusion was that taking the children hostage has been enough to keep the colonists in line, so the other planets have been left alone to run as they always have.”
“So they’re on their way back?”
Hirotoshi nodded.
“Good, because we’re going down to the planet as soon as they get back.” A cold smile spread over Tabitha’s face. “Achronyx, message the Reids and let them know we’re coming just as soon as we have enough of the antidote. Tell them to gather the other parents. We’ve got some Justice to administer, Empress’ Ranger style.”
Arista System, Terminus, The Hub, All Roads Bar
The bar beneath the ramp was packed with solemn people drinking steadily to repress the kernel of hope they didn’t dare allow to germinate.
Nevertheless, they had turned up to hear Tabitha and the Tontos out.
The Reids came to stand with Tabitha by the bar, and Sarah called for quiet. “Thank you all for coming out at this early hour. We called because we have news. The Ranger here has come to help us get our kids back, but she needs our help to do it.”
The assembled parents all began talking at once. The Tontos fanned out in front of Tabitha and Sarah in case it turned ugly.
Tabitha couldn’t see above the heads and shoulders of the crowd. She sure as hell wasn’t going to jump up and down like a teenager at a concert just so she could see, so she climbed up onto the bar to address the crowd from there. “I have judged the organization guilty of enslavement, and a whole shit-load of crimes related to your children. The penalty for those crimes is death. I’m going to wipe those bastards from the face of this planet for what they’ve done to you.”
“What about the antidote?” someone shouted out. “You can’t do anything without it.”
Tabitha held up a hand. “I have enough of the antidote to get the kids safely to the Meredith Reynolds where they can be treated in the Pod-docs. I just need a way to get you all there.”
Sarah grinned. “Is that all? Leave that to us.” A few of the people chuckled.
Tabitha frowned lightly, wondering what the in-joke was. “Are you sure?”
Sarah chuckled. “Yeah, it won’t be an issue. We can take the colony ship.”
“What?” Tabitha’s tone was one of utter disbelief. “But this thing has sat here for decades. It’s surrounded by buildings!”
Sarah winked. “We’ve been preparing for this opportunity. The ship will fly.”
Tabitha grinned and shrugged. “Then I guess there’s nothing left to do except get your children back.”
The next hour was a flurry of preparation, and all too soon the motley group of Rangers and colonists left the bar and made their way through the settlement under a silver and orange sky.
Tabitha and the Tontos peeled off from the group at the prearranged point while the parents stormed ahead to mob the gate and distract the gang from the true attack.
They were over the wall in a flash, and Tabitha led the Tontos over to the front entrance. She removed the doors with the judicious application of her armored boot—the doors flew in, and the guards behind them flew back.
Tabitha strode into the space vacated by the guards with her JD Specials locked and loaded. “Whooooop! Strike!” She stepped over the unconscious guards and looked back at the entrance when she reached the foot of the staircase. “Come on, guys, I think it’s safe to say they know we’re here.”
They pounded up the stairs and split up to clear the offices on the second level where the gang leaders had set up their headquarters. Tabitha shot the first person who came out of the door at the top of the stairs, then caught his falling body and flung it at the three who followed.
Her JD Special bucked in her hand, punctuating their grunts of surprise with the soft explosion of each headshot. She stepped over the corpses and opened the door they’d come through.
Tabitha shut the door and locked it behind her, hissing happily when she saw where she was. The room beyond was empty of people, and she had hit the jackpot—computer monitors, servers, and controls.
Oh, my. Achronyx chuckled. This was a lucky find.
Tabitha stared at the closed-circuit camera feeds of the entire administration center with something approaching rhapsody. I know, right? The whole building can be controlled from here.
We can lock this place down and guide the Tontos right to the leaders.
This whole thing just became so much easier that it’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel. Her finger hovered over the buttons while she scrutinized the control panel. Here we go. She pressed an orange button, and the building went into lockdown.
Kemosabe? Hirotoshi sounded concerned for her.
Tabitha tapped at the console to let them out of the room they were locked i
n. Don’t worry, I’m the one doing this. I’ve found their ops center. I’m opening the front gates to let the colonists in, aaaand you should have just received the location of every single scumbag in this building. Don’t say I never give you anything.
That certainly uncomplicates things, Hirotoshi told her.
Kind of the point, she replied airily. Just keep moving, I’ll provide access from here and keep an eye on what’s happening with the colonists at the same time.
You should keep them outside for the moment, he cautioned. This will not take long.
It was quick—if rather wet—work. The Tontos swept through the building like deadly whispers. Wherever they were heard, the guilty died. There was no fuss or drama, just the mess they left behind.
When the Tontos were done, Tabitha lifted the lockdown and let the parents in through the front gate. They flooded the entrance, and soon the top floor was heaving with happy parents reunited with their stolen children.
Tabitha searched the rooms for the Reids.
She found them on a bench in a secluded corridor, deep in conversation. Sarah was weeping, and Tailor was doing his best to comfort her despite the grief etched into his own face.
Tabitha hurried over. “What’s happened?”
The couple looked at her sadly. “Our son,” Tailor told her softly. “The nurse told us that he didn’t make it.”
Tabitha dropped to her knees beside Sarah and placed a comforting hand on the grieving mother’s back. “That’s… I’m so sorry.” Losing a child had to be the hardest thing anyone could go through. Tabitha couldn’t even begin to imagine the depth of the pain they were in right now.
Tabitha didn’t know what else to say. She was certain that whatever she said would be the wrong thing. That their son’s murderer was also dead would be no consolation in the face of their loss.
Her own experiences of loss recently had taught her that she couldn’t fix everything, no matter how hard she tried. Sometimes the only thing left to do was be there to pick up the pieces afterward.
Sarah’s shoulders shook, and her sobs echoed in the sterile corridor. They stayed like that for a little while, Sarah and her husband holding hands and Tabitha kneeling by the couple’s feet while the three of them wept for their lost child.
Chapter Fifteen
System of the Six, Planet Vietania, Plomerilia, Palace, Anteroom, One Week Later
Nickie made an effort not to stamp her foot.
For the last week, Meredith had helped her drag out the demonstrations and negotiations for the sale. John worked his charms on Cynthia in an effort to gain her trust enough to persuade her to ditch her guards and visit his ship.
Added to her frustration was the time since she’d received a diary entry from her Aunt Tabitha. She hadn’t asked Meredith if there was another because she was still working to process the altered image she was beginning to get of her mother.
It was difficult to bear, knowing that her mom had been so alone. Nickie now saw it hadn’t been as cut and dried as she’d always believed. Lillian wasn’t a child-neglecting monster, but rather a woman doing her best to raise her daughter despite the grief she’d felt over losing Nickie’s father.
At the very least, Nickie now understood that Lillian’s absence had been out of necessity and not a desire to avoid her daughter. She couldn’t help but wonder how things would have been different if she hadn’t fought her mother at every opportunity. Adults had to work to live, and she had punished her mom over and over for her effort to provide for the two of them.
Nickie got it now.
Especially since she had people of her own she was responsible for. Like Prince PITA. The meetings were over for the day, but John was conspicuously absent yet again. It had been getting somewhat awkward when he returned to the ship each night minus Cynthia. The last two nights he had remained at the castle, claiming the festivities had finished too late for him to bother coming all the way to the shipyard to sleep.
Nickie had ceased to be pissed that she hadn’t received any invitations, but her bed was feeling awfully big for one at the moment, and John was on her mind.
He finally turned up just as she gave up waiting and crossed into the grand atrium on her way out of the castle. He saw Nickie and hurried to meet her. “Hey, I hoped I’d catch you before you left. I’m not coming back to the ship tonight.”
Nickie stopped to wait for him. “Again? You could have told me that over the comm.”
John’s gaze dropped to his pocket. “Damn, the comm. I forgot.”
Nickie looked askance at the guitar dangling from a strap on his back while he fished his comm piece out of his pocket and fitted it. “Please tell me you’re close to getting her to trust you.”
John reddened slightly. “I’m biding my time. We need to be sure she’ll come with me when I ask her to. A few more days, I promise.”
“Are you kidding me?” She glanced around to make sure they weren’t being watched and dragged him into an empty corridor. “What’s the holdup? It’s been a week already, and she’s clearly into you. Just get her down to the ship.”
John’s voice dropped to a harsh whisper. “So you can murder her? Nickie, I can’t do it. There has to be another way.”
Nickie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What way?” she hissed. “Please, enlighten me. We have this shitstorm that’s about to explode, and the only way to stop it is to take out Cynthia so that Jolie can lead them through it in one fucking piece.”
John was adamant. “No. She doesn’t deserve to die.”
“I don’t want to kill her.” Nickie threw her hands up in frustration. “But would she leave if you asked? She’s just one person. Do all of the people in this system deserve to suffer because you have second thoughts now that it’s time to get your hands dirty?”
“Is that what you think?” John leaned against the wall. “That’s damn unfair, Nickie.”
She shrugged. “So what if it is? You heard my uncle. Sometimes the choice is that there is no choice. We have to suck it up.”
John looked at her as if he were seeing her for the first time. “You’re being a coldhearted bitch about this. Or maybe…” His voice trailed off, and he looked away.
Nickie snorted. “Maybe what?”
He answered with thinly disguised anger, “Maybe you’re jealous.”
“Of what?” Her voice was low, and calmer than she believed she could manage.
John missed the hint that he was treading on dangerous ground. “Of Cynthia, so you’re pushing your own agenda to remove her.”
Nickie sneered at the ridiculousness of his suggestion. “What the fuck have you been drinking?”
John narrowed his eyes. “You’ve turned into such a bitch.”
“I was always a bitch,” Nickie told him. “You were just too busy trying to bone me to notice.” She noted his expression. “Oh, my. Have you two fucked or something? Is that why you’re getting a white-knight complex about your target?” She laughed when he turned bright red. “Typical. I bet the only reason you can’t complete your mission is that you’ve gotten attached.”
John pushed off the wall. “Cynthia isn’t a ‘target,’ she’s a human being.”
“Yeah, well, in this case, she’s a target. Our target, and you’ve fucked up by thinking of her as anything different. Fuck, John! What world do you live in? These people are depending on us whether they know it or not. This is not the time to get cold feet. Welcome to reality.”
“What reality is that?” John demanded. “One where you just kill with no compunction? Take out a world leader without a second thought?” He stepped away from Nickie. “I don’t know if I want to be around someone like that.”
Nickie growled. “That’s the fucking definition of vigilantism, you dumbass.” She was hurt by his turnaround, but she wasn’t going to let him know that. “You’re the one who followed me on this fucking mission! I accommodated your princely ass against my better judgment, and now you’re screwi
ng it all up with your fucking conscience.” She poked him in the chest. “This is the only plan we’ve got since she isn’t letting anyone else near her. You need to stick to it, or every death that happens when everything collapses is on you.”
John made as if to argue with Nickie but she stopped him with the finger she’d just poked him with.
“Can you carry that on your precious conscience? All those lives, all these planets. Versus one person. Complete your mission, John.”
There was a rustle from the direction of the atrium.
John used the distraction to move a little farther away from Nickie. “I need to get back before I’m missed.”
Nickie waved him off. “Don’t let me keep you.” She grabbed John’s arm as he passed her. “Just get her to the ship. Don’t fuck it up.”
He tugged free and scowled at her. “I will, but when this is over, I’m done with you.”
“Fine by me. I didn’t ask you to tag along in the first place.”
Nickie watched him go with mixed feelings. In a way, she was glad to get it over with before she’d invested any feelings in John. He wasn’t a keeper anyway. Nickie might have baggage, but he came with a whole planet’s worth. On the other hand, she’d be going back to an empty bed again.
Her eyes dropped to his retreating ass. It was a really nice one.
John?
He turned back with a strange expression. What?
Keep your comm in.
He shook his head and stormed off.
Nickie waited until he was out of sight before falling back against the wall. She breathed in and let it out slowly to ease the thundering of her heart.
Dammit. What the fuck was that?
Nickie, are you okay?
What do you think?
I think you need some time to cool down. How about you go back to the ship? A new diary entry has just unlocked.
Nickie left the palace without looking back. Sounds like a plan. Fuck this place, and fuck John.
Chapter Sixteen
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Rangers’ Private Training Area
Deuces Wild Boxed Set: Books 1-4: Beyond the Frontiers, Rampage, Labyrinth, Birthright Page 73
