Maar checked the sight of his MP5 and marched to the front door, “They’re going to be here any moment now. They want me out of the picture, don’t you get it? Majority shareholder of the company? Redistribute the wealth and decision-making? Who do they think they’re fooling.”
“Right?” Philip said.
“None of this was my fault,” Maar barked as he opened the front door and peered through the gap.
The two helicopters lunged over the horizon and headed for the house.
“Jesus Christ, they’re nothing if not determined.”
WHUMP.
Maar pressed the door closed and stood back with his gun in his arms.
“Wanna leave, now?”
“Uh, yes. I think we’ll be on our way,” Philip said.
“Too late, my friend. They’re here.”
“What—?”
“This is United States and Russian Intergalactic Confederation,” the mega-copter speakers rocked from the sky amid the whirring blades, “Four-five-one, we know you’re in there. Just come out nice and quietly with your hands in the air.”
Maar closed his eyes and banged the back of his head against the door, “Damn it.”
“Maar?” Philip stammered, suddenly fearing for his life, “What are they doing? Who’s four-five-one?”
“Protocol. Standard procedure for when we want someone taken down—”
“Four-five-one, we will not ask again. We know you’re in there. Come out and surrender.”
Kaoz stopped his MagCycle next to Maar’s on the strip at the front of the mansion.
He and Crain stepped off the bike and looked up at the night sky. The two mega-copter’s lamps lit the mansion up ahead of them.
“There they are,” Kaoz waved the approaching MagCycles to the house. “He’s inside.”
Nine USARIC mercenaries made their way over to the gate with their heavy weapons drawn.
“Listen up, people,” Kaoz shouted over the cacophony of helicopter blades. “No messing around. You go in, locate the bastard and take him out. Understood?”
“Understood.”
“What about me?” Crain asked.
“What about you?”
“You’re not expecting me to go in there, too, are you?”
“Numb nuts,” Kaoz bopped him on the back of the head, “When we find his body we need you to verify its him and make a statement.”
Kaoz gestured to the mercenaries to infiltrate the property. They led the way up the gravel path as the beams from their weapons flew around the front of the house.
Kaoz walked as calmly as possible towards the front door, “Four-five-one. We know you’re in there. Come out.”
The mega-copter’s blades whirred up a storm and kicked the dust from the path into the air.
“Prepare to shred the estate, “Kaoz said into his forearm. “Metal Bird One, load up.”
“This is Metal Bird One,” came the response as the first mega-copter lowered itself and spun its canons, “Preparing to open fire.”
“Good,” Kaoz waved at the other mercenaries to take position behind the fountain and surrounding bushes.
He turned to the door and held out his arms, “This is your last chance, four-five-one. Come out, now.”
Maar placed his index finger on his mouth and urged his wife and Philip to remain perfectly still.
The light from the mega-copters blasted around his shoulders, rendering him as black as charcoal.
“Don’t move.”
He turned around and pushed the door out ever-so-slightly.
“That’s it, buddy. Come out and this will all get resolved quickly,” Kaoz said.
“My ass it will, you backstabbing turd,” Maar said as he clapped eyes on a concerned Crain standing next to his foe. “I see you, you weasel.”
“Crap,” Kaoz whispered.
“Is that Maar Sheck?” the voice from Metal Bird One asked in astonishment. “Isn’t he meant to be in the infirmary?”
Maar pushed the barrel of his MP5 through the gap, “No. Kaoz and Crain are trying to kill me. They murdered my guard and I escaped.”
The view from the path was limited. The USARIC mercenaries could only see the door open, but not the barrel of the gun.
THRAAA-AA-TAT-A-TAAAAT.
Crain’s chest and arms exploded in a hail of bullets, “Bwaargghh,” he screamed and stumbled back down the path.
“Open fire, damn it. Open fire.”
Crain’s bullet-riddled corpse slunk against the driveway.
BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM.
The mercenaries opened fire without mercy on the front of the mansion.
BRAAA-AAA-AAAA-TTTT — KER-SMASH.
The mega-copters unloaded their canons at a furious rate.
The windows exploded and coughed out shards of glass onto the pathway.
Sections of brickwork pinged and exploded as the bullets tore through the mansion.
Maar jumped away from the door, “Get down.”
He hit the floor and covered his wife’s body with his own.
The guests climbed forward on their elbows and knees through the smashed glass.
Three of them crashed against the wall, shredded by the torrent of bullets spraying the interior of the mansion.
“Aggghhhh—” a woman’s scream was cut short as a stray bullet hit her in the face.
“Damn it,” Maar screamed and ran his arms over his wife’s face, “In my house? In my own goddamn house?”
Philip scrambled to his feet and bolted towards the door.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Maar screamed after him.
“I n-need to get out of here—”
Philip jumped through the door and onto the porch.
“There he is,” Kaoz’s voice could be heard over the gunfire, “Kill him.”
“Don’t shoot,” Philip held out his hands and begged for mercy. “Please, don’t don’t—”
The streak of bullets tore down the side of the house and ran across the door and up Philip’s chest and neck, launching his bloodied corpse over Maar and Elizabeth’s head.
WHUMP.
Philip’s body slammed to the ground, dead.
“For God’s sake,” Maar screamed and rolled off his wife. He lifted his MP5 and kicked back towards the pantry. “Go and hide in the cellar.”
“What? No, I’m not going without you—”
“—Don’t argue, Elizabeth. Just do it,” Maar said. He emptied his half-full magazine and replaced a fresh one in the grip. “Go, now.”
“You’ll be okay, won’t you?”
“Probably not, but I’m going to take as many as I can of those bastards down with me unless they see sense.”
As Maar climbed to his feet, the helicopter’s gunfire spun to a halt.
“Maar?” Kaoz yelled from the driveway and kept his firearm trained on the front door, “It’s over. Come out.”
“You bastards,” Maar’s voice rocketed out from the opened doorway, “You tried to kill me, Kaoz.”
“No I didn’t, Maar. You brought this on yourself. Why did you kill your Guard and try to escape?”
“I didn’t,” Maar yelled to a stunned crowd of USARIC officials, who slowly put one and one together, “You killed him to get to me. You won’t get away with this.”
Kaoz mimed a jerk-off sign at the surrounding guards, who slowly turned their guns in his direction.
“Is this true, Kaoz?” one of the mercs asked. “Did you try to kill Mr. Sheck?”
“Yes, he did,” Maar screamed.
“Of course I didn’t. He killed four-five-one and tried to escape,” Kaoz turned to the door. “But we have you now, you traitorous madman. How many more people have to die, huh, Maar? Just come out so we can get to the bottom of this.”
“You’ll never get away with this, Kaoz.”
“Oh, we won’t, huh? Get away with what, exactly?” Kaoz chuckled and lifted his forearm in the air, “The callous murder of a board member? The clandestine order t
o go and destroy Opera Beta and her crew?”
“Traitor. I never ordered those things,” Maar lied and turned up to the mega-copter, “He’s a traitor and a backstabber. He tried to kill me, can’t you see that?”
“Just put your gun down and come out so we can discuss this,” Kaoz said. “You’ve pissed off a lot of people. Your actions tore two nations apart. I can’t stand back and watch you do this. Now, come out and deal with the consequences.”
“No,” Maar yelled, “You put your gun down, Kaoz. That’s an order.”
“Nu-huh, Sheck. Not this time.”
Maar watched Elizabeth and a female guest stand to their feet, utterly traumatized by the unfolding events.
“Maar?” Elizabeth asked. “Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“Did you really do those things that man is saying?”
“Of course I didn’t,” Maar shrieked at the top of his lungs, “Damn it, why does everybody default to thinking I’m the bad guy?”
“You’re beginning to test my patience,” Kaoz’s voice flew through the shattered door. “Get out here. Now.”
Maar trained his eyes on his wife in the hope she’d see sense, “You believe me, right?”
“Y-Yes,” the female guest nodded, hoping not be executed by the armed monster standing before her.
“No, not you, you imbecile,” Maar barked. “You, Elizabeth. You believe me. Don’t you?”
She nodded without hesitation. “Yes, sweetheart. I believe you.”
“They’re trying to kill me, Elizabeth. They think I’ve done something wrong. They’re mistaken.”
“I believe you.”
Maar stared into his wife’s eyes for what might be the last time in their lives, “You trust me, right?”
He offered her his free hand. She averted her eyes down his frail body and arrived at his fingertips.
Slowly, she took hold of his hand and squeezed it firmly.
“Yes, I trust you. With my life.”
“Good.”
Kaoz waved the two mega-copters down to the ground, “Metal Bird One and Two, settle down. I think Sheck’s going to surrender,” he said into his forearm.
“Understood.”
Elizabeth moved through the door with the barrel of an MP5 buried in her temple.
“Don’t shoot,” she said.
Surprised, Kaoz gestured to the mercenaries to lower their weapons, “Everyone, refrain from fire.”
He stepped forward and squinted at the tired figure holding the gun to the woman’s head, “Maar?”
“Who wants to shoot me, huh?” Maar screamed from behind his human shield, “Stay back. One false move and I blow her head off.”
“But that’s your wife?” Kaoz yelled. “You’re not going to shoot your wife, are you?”
Maar nodded at Crain’s corpse sprawled across the blood-soaked gravel, “I shot him didn’t I? Now, stay back.”
Kaoz shook his head, “Maar, this is not how we want this to end.”
“I’ll tell you how this ends, you collaborator,” Maar said as Elizabeth closed her eyes and accepted her fate. “You. All of you are going to listen to what I have to say.”
The blades of the mega-copters ground to a halt.
A strange silence befell the driveway as Maar launched into his speech with his wife at the end of his gun.
“My name is Maar Sheck. I am the CEO of the United States and Russian Intergalactic Confederation, and I am an innocent man.”
“Pah,” Kaoz chuckled, “Is that so?”
Maar knew that Kaoz and Crain were the only ones who were privy to the truth, and one of them had turned to worm food a few minutes ago.
“Whatever evidence you think you have that incriminates me is a falsehood,” Maar turned to the pilots in the two mega-copters, “Kaoz attempted to murder me. When it didn’t work, he and Crain McDormand, the two men I trusted most, attempted to execute me at the infirmary. Kaoz has taken matters into his own hands and defied the very oath he took when he joined the company. Namely, to protect its assets and ensure no one comes to any harm.”
The USARIC mercenaries slowly turned to Kaoz for an answer.
“Is this true?” one of them asked, “Did you deliberately sabotage USARIC’s protocols?”
“Of course I didn’t,” Kaoz yelled back. “Maar Sheck has the nerve to call me a traitor? He ordered me to execute a board member. He compelled the board to sanction the destruction of all the souls on board Space Opera Beta. Have you seen the repercussions his actions have had? The assassination of Dimitri Vasilov? Viktor Rabinovich? Not to mention the animal abuse and the failed Star Cat Project which precipitated the whole damn thing. Hundreds of thousands of citizens are being repatriated as we speak. Families torn apart. Children without homes or families. Thousands have gone missing.”
Kaoz lifted his arm and made sure everyone could see his Individimedia ink.
“I have the evidence.”
“It’s a lie,” Maar said. “He’s put me in this position. I’m the CEO of USARIC and you are all my employees. I want you to terminate this scumbag, now. That’s a direct order.”
A USARIC mercenary stepped out from behind the fountain and kept his gun aimed at Kaoz, “But, sir—”
“—Don’t question me, you puffy-cheeked bell-end. Just blow the bastard’s head off.”
The mercenary didn’t know whose orders to follow.
The pilot climbed out from the mega-copter and held his hands out.
“Look, I suggest we put our guns down,” he said in an attempt to placate the standoff, “Maar?”
“What?”
“Please remove the gun from your wife’s head.”
“No, you fool,” Maar screamed, “Tell Kaoz to put his gun down and surrender.”
The pilot turned to Kaoz for a reaction, “Well?”
“Well what? I’m not going anywhere till Maar is apprehended and brought to justice. Enough lives have been lost due to his actions.”
“How dare you, Kaoz,” Maar screamed at him. “I trusted you. We all trusted you. You try to turn my own company against me? I’ll see you rot in hell, you asshole.”
Kaoz surveyed the USARIC mercenaries as they lowered their guns and began to take Maar’s side.
“I can’t believe you’re all falling for his lessense,” Kaoz screamed. “Are you all so easily persuaded?”
“Kaoz, sir, please,” the pilot said. “Lower the gun and we’ll deal with this back at Cape Claudius. Before Viddy media gets wind of this.”
“I swear to God someone better take this lying cretin out of the game or I’ll do it myself,” Maar fumed.
The pilot turned to Maar, “Sir, please—”
“Kaoz?” Maar shouted at the man.
“Maar?” Kaoz shouted back.
Both men pointed their weapons at each other, only Maar had his wife protecting the vast majority of his body.
“Only one of us is walking away from this thing alive.”
“Oh, you got that right.”
“Yeah,” Maar said as he planted the sole of his foot on the small of his wife’s back, “And it’s not going to be you.”
BOOT.
Maar kicked his wife forward, swung his MP5 at Kaoz and squeezed the trigger.
THRAA-A-TAT-TAT.
Kaoz stepped back as his body and left forearm burst into a haze of blood from the swathe of bullets. He squeezed his trigger and fired off a round of shots in Maar’s direction.
It all happened so fast.
Everyone hit the deck.
The USARIC mercenaries gripped their weapons as they fell to the ground.
Kaoz slumped to his knees and clutched his bloodied chest, “Yuh-yuh, y-you sh-shot m-meeeee—”
FWUMP.
Maar rolled onto his side and gripped his MP5 against his chest, “Damn right I shot you, you traitor. Is this any way to treat a heart attack survivor?”
“Nggg, uh, uh—”
The back of Kaoz�
��s head hit the ground. He died in front of Maar’s eyes.
“See you in hell, you son of a bitch,” Maar sneered.
“Jesus Christ,” the pilot rose to his feet and held out his arms, “Everyone, hold your fire. For God’s sake.”
“Muuuuh,” Elizabeth screamed from the fountain.
Maar turned around and saw her stomach bleed profusely from three bullet hits, “Elizabeth.”
“Maar, muh, Maar, h-help m-me—”
“—No, no, no.”
Maar scrambled to his feet and raced over to the fountain. The mercenaries watched on as he slid to his knees and opened her gown.
She’d taken at least three bullets and couldn’t move.
“God damn it, someone call a medician,” Maar shouted at the pilot, “Quick, she’s been hit.”
Elizabeth spat out a mound of blood down her gown, “I c-can’t—I c-can’t—”
“No, no, it’s going to be okay, sweetheart. Please, don’t—” Maar’s heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. He held her blood-smeared face in his hands, “Don’t you dare, Elizabeth. Don’t you—no, no,” he said as he thumbed her left eyelid, “No, keep your eyes open. Keep your eyes open.”
“Ngggg,” she grimaced and squeezed her eyes shut and fell into his arms.
“No, no,” he huffed and cradled her head in his arms, “Elizabeth.”
Her head tilted back into the crook of his neck. Her lifeless eyes stared into his.
She died right there in his arms.
Maar exhaled and felt fury dagger through his body.
“No, n-no—”
He let out a mighty wail of pain and anguish as he held his dead wife in his arms.
The pilot approached the fountain with great caution. “I’m sorry, Maar.”
The bereaved man had no words. He placed his wife’s head on the gravel and closed her eyelids.
“We had no idea Kaoz was a traitor, sir,” the pilot said. “We were under the impression we were pursuing your bodyguard.”
Maar ignored him and stood up to his feet.
His estate had been decimated.
Random dead bodies littered the area.
And, deep down inside, any contrition, blame, and guilt Maar might have otherwise felt vanished in the blink of an eye.
He knew he was responsible for the carnage, but in his world, he was the good guy. Operating as justly as he might.
Star Cat The Complete Series Page 104
