by Rachel Ford
But Tal wasn’t waiting for backup. If something was wrong – and he sensed it was – he needed to go, now.
Keeping to the shadows, he crossed the moonlit yard quickly. Once or twice, he skirted open areas, preferring to stick to the cover of trees or shrubs. He didn’t know what he was up against, and he didn’t want to risk being spotted.
He set his steps first for the security booth. That’s where the page that had roused him initiated. That’s where he’d find some kind of clue as to what was going on. The booth was empty.
At least, that’s how it looked to Tal as he approached. A splash of blue, though, on the far wall told a different story, and the sight of it set his heart hammering.
Casting a quick glance around to make sure there was no one about, Tal let himself into the booth, and drew up quickly. The blue he’d seen had been exactly what he’d feared: blood. Specifically, Ki Rigar’s blood. The security officer lay with his back in a pool of blood, his eyes staring, unseeing, to the ceiling.
Fuck. Like most of Trapper’s security force, Ki wouldn’t have been Tal’s first choice for security officer. Beggars can’t be choosers. That’s what Nees had told him. So he’d done his damndest to turn him – all of them – into good officers.
They still weren’t topnotch, but they weren’t slouches, either. It would have taken a hell of lot of luck, or decent skill, to take Ki out like this. Considering comms were down throughout the governor’s compound, Tal was betting on the latter.
Someone was here to take out Governor Nees. Someone who knew what they were doing. That meant professionals. He didn’t know if they were dealing with hitmen, or paramilitary types, or, for that matter, the regular military. The governor’s stance on independence had earned her enemies in the empire. Had they come to settle a score? He’d heard of bandits and raiders who hit settlements sometimes, too. Was this some kind of raid?
He didn’t know, and he didn’t waste time wondering. Whoever it was, whatever their reasons, he needed to stop them. Ki had died getting a signal to him, so he could stop them. He owed it to Ki.
It was now that he heard the whine of weapons fire. One shot. Two. Three. It was coming from inside the mansion, and it ended as abruptly as it began. “Fuck,” he said aloud, racing for the building. He hoped like hell he wasn’t too late.
Chapter Fifty-One
Nees fired a third shot, and the last man went down. She rounded the bed, pistol at the ready. Tig, meanwhile, trailed behind her. “What the hell’s going on, Ari?”
“I don’t know.” She said it mechanically. Her focus was on the downed men. They wore full tactical gear, but she saw no insignias of any kind. It was dark in the bedroom, but the moonlight coming in through the open door was enough to light the scene. Head to toes, helmets to boots, their clothes were black. Black face paint covered their exposed skin, and military-grade weapons hung at their sides.
Her instincts had been right. This was not amateur hour.
She lifted a pair of guns from the corpses – a second for herself, and one for her husband. Handing it to him, she said, “Tig, we’ve got to go.”
They were about two steps from the door when it burst open. A black-clad figure, guns blazing, stepped through. Nees started shooting as soon as the door splintered, and the intruder dropped just as he stepped into a view. Another figure took his place, and stepped into an anticipatory shot. Two more came, and two more fell.
Nees said, “Cover our six, darling.” Then, realizing that he might not understand the verbal shorthand, she clarified, “Watch our backs. The balcony.”
She, meanwhile, stepped forward, putting another round in each of the downed men just to be sure they were dead. Slowly, carefully, she glanced down the hall in one direction, then the next. It was clear.
There were four dead men, and three behind her. That meant the intruders were working in teams. Teams of four. Which left one more shooter behind them, out on the balcony. Fuck. Spinning around, she yelled, “Tig, there’s someone out there.”
A shot rang out before she finished, though, and before she’d even managed to turn. Gods, no. Her heart in her mouth, she searched for Tig. She searched for the shooter.
Tig was standing where she’d left him, but a fourth body had joined the ones at the door. She released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, and moved to her husband’s side. “Good job.”
“Who are these guys, Ari?”
“I don’t know. They’re not wearing any identifiers. But they’re organized, professional. I’d say military or mercenaries.”
“The Empire?”
“I don’t know, darling. But we need to get to the safe room.”
He nodded, and she noticed, in the pale light, that he looked a little dazed. She pressed a hand to his cheek. “Are you alright, Tig?”
He nodded again. “I am. Let’s go.”
“Alright.” She turned back to the hall, and checked another time before saying, “Clear.” Then, she stepped out, with Tig on her heels. They made good time, their bare feet padding across the carpet quietly as they ran. Nees was a little too far along to run comfortably, and the added weight and pressure against her organs made her breath come quickly. Still, she was in good shape, and she had enough adrenaline coursing through her veins to keep her going.
They’d nearly reached the staircase when a shot rang out. It was coming from somewhere below them, somewhere on the first floor. She drew up quickly, and Tig almost collided with her. “Shit. They’re downstairs too.”
“What do we do?” he asked.
She hesitated. If they stayed, and there were other teams on the second floor, they could wind up dead. If they descended, they could wind up dead. If they waited it out, and whoever was down there and fighting for them lost, the hit team could still come after them – and they could wind up dead. “We need to get to the safe room,” she decided. “Follow me. Keep low.”
Tal swore under his breath, firing over his shoulder. That last shot had come close. Damned close. He was pretty sure he was singed where it had passed by. He’d taken out two of these sons-of-bitches, but there were more. He wasn’t sure how many more, but there were at least two, raining fire down on him from opposite sides of the great hall.
So far, he’d relied on the element of surprise. That was gone now. Now, he was outgunned and outnumbered – and running out of charges for his gun.
Bursts of fire like that last one weren’t helping. He drew in a breath to steady his nerves. He needed to save his ammo. He needed every shot to count.
I need to lure one of these bastards out. He glanced around, looking for something he could use to draw their fire, to get them to poke their heads out just long enough for him to take a shot.
Then, all at once, a barrage of shots sounded. He ducked down, pressing against the floor. But the charges weren’t flying in his direction.
Still, he waited until the firing ended before he poked his head up; and then, it was done carefully, gingerly. Carefully, at least, until he saw the heavily pregnant, nightgown-clad form descending the stairs, with the pajama-clad Tig taking up rear guard. “Governor?”
The unexpected pronouncement earned him the business end of her pistol, pointed his way before he could blink. Fortunately, she must have registered his voice as no stream of death found him.
“Tal?”
“Governor, are you alright? Tig?”
“Yes.”
“Alive, anyway.”
“Do you know what’s going on?”
“No clue. I was hoping you did. Ki paged me. Someone killed him, but he must have paged me before they got him. I don’t know who else is around, but so far, from what I can see, the rest of the night watch is dead. Nees, whoever these bastards are, they’re professionals.”
She nodded grimly. “I know.”
“We need to get you out of here. Now. I don’t know how many more of these sons-of-bitches there are, and I don’t want to find out. Not like this.”
“I’ve got a car, just outside.”
“Lead the way.”
He nodded. He saw her slip one of her pistols into a pocket and take Tig’s free hand. He saw him squeeze it.
There was something so incongruous about the tenderness of that moment in such a circumstance that it struck Tal as almost comical. She’d just killed moments ago. They’d just survived death. They might still, all of them, die. And yet they were holding hands.
He shook his head to clear it of the thought. “Alright, follow me.”
They turned, now, to the door. He covered half a dozen strides when he caught sight of a motion in the corner of his eye. A gunman was stepping out of a side room, his rifle aligning with the governor. Tal turned, yelling, “Nees, lookout!”
Her attention, though was focused behind them, on a shooter who had somehow materialized on the landing. Tig was firing at a third gunman.
Instinct, more than rational thought, took over. Tal leapt between the gunman and his friends, firing as he went.
He felt the searing heat of an energy blast rip through his chest, and then his abdomen. He saw his own shot hit its mark. Agony tore through his senses. He couldn’t breathe. His lungs weren’t working, and the terrible realization that they were gone hit him.
Fear washed over Tal. I’m dying. Fuck. I’m dying. He hit the floor in a steaming, blood-soaked heap. He tried to rise. He tried to breathe. He tried to scream.
But he couldn’t. And a moment later, the terror of his mind quieted, the panicked choking ceased.
Tal Imari was dead.
Chapter Fifty-Two
“Tal,” Tig screamed. “Oh my gods, Tal.”
Nees threw a final glance around the newly cleared great hall before following her husband. Tal Imari lay unmoving, great, smoking holes piercing his chest.
Fuck. He was dead. She knew that before she even reached him. Half of his vital organs had been obliterated. Tal was dead.
Tig, though, had crouched by his friend. “Tal? Tal, can you hear me? Ari, help me.”
“He’s dead, darling.”
“No.” Tig shook his head. “He can’t be dead, Ari. No.”
She put a hand on his shoulder. “He is. We need to go, Tig.”
“He can’t be dead. He can’t be.” He stared up at her with dazed eyes. “He saved my life, Ari. He can’t be dead.”
“I’m so sorry, my love. He’s dead. And we need to go.”
She tried to pull him to his feet, but Tig was unmoving. He stayed where he was, shaking his head. “No, Ari. It can’t be. I’d still be on Zeta, if not for him. He can’t be dead.”
It was the sight of tears, though, streaming down her husband’s face, more than the words, that broke something in Ari Nees. She’d seen Tig weep before as he thought of his days on Zeta. She had hoped he’d never have to weep again.
The sight of those tears streaming down his cheeks, like drops of silver in the moonlight, stirred something deep and dark in her soul. The sight of Tal’s blood, pooling at her bare feet, the feel of it, wet and hot and slick on her skin, ignited a fire in her.
It had been there, smoldering, for so many long months. It had been there since the empire sent its henchman, Governor Halford, to Trapper’s Colony. It had burned a little hotter with every fatality, with every increased production quotient. She’d felt it smoldering in the pit of her stomach when parliament hesitated and vacillated on their independence.
But now, it raged. “Tig,” she said, and her tone was very low, “listen to me: we need to go. We need to stop them.”
“How, Ari?”
“Trust me. I’m done seeing people die here, Tig. Tal’s the last. No more.”
He didn’t argue with her. Maybe it was the steel in her voice. Maybe it was his own numbness. Maybe he guessed something of what she had in mind. But he didn’t argue, not even when her steps led back to her office rather than the car Tal had indicated.
Nees didn’t know who these men were, but she knew why they were here, and she had a good idea of who had sent them. They were here for the same reason Halford had come. They were here for the same reason parliament didn’t want to recognize their independence: the oil fields. And they were here at the behest of the same masters: Central. Velk was dead, but the oil remained. And as long as it remained, it didn’t matter who reigned on Central. They’d keep coming.
Well, no one would ever come here for it again. There’d be no more blood shed for those fields. There’d be no more trees added to Trapper’s graveyard, in memory of men and women who had died in pursuit of that godsdamned oil.
Nees reached her office a minute later, and headed for the back wall. There was a hidden panel there, accessible only by biometric scan. She slid back the wood that hid it, and authenticated.
A portion of the wall slid back, revealing a control panel.
“What is that?” Tig breathed.
“It’s peace, for Trapper’s Colony,” she said. One by one, she flipped a series of switches. As the last toggle switched, the display read, “Primed.”
Then, she pressed the central button. The display flashed, “Garbonite releasing.”
She turned, now, to Tig. “It’s the last time anyone dies for oil on these shores, my darling.”
The news reached Central the next day. Brek could hardly believe it. “Someone authorized an attack on Trapper’s Colony,” he told Nik breathlessly.
“What? Who?”
“I don’t know. Governor Nees thinks it was parliament.”
“Parliament?” She was astonished. “Of course not.”
“A team of Consortium security mercs hit the mansion, Nik, in the middle of the night. Killed a bunch of people.”
“Consortium? Why would the Consortium want to hit Trapper’s Colony? They’ve been lying low, trying to make peace. Why would they launch an attack like that, unprovoked?”
“It doesn’t make sense. Nees thinks we sent them.”
“That’s impossible. Parliament would never okay that.”
“No. But they captured some of the mercs, Nik. And they say, they had orders. From parliament.”
“What?” She sat down, now. “It’s not possible.”
“Darling, she destroyed the oil fields.”
Nik could only repeat, “What?”
“She released garbonite into the fields. It’s all gone, all destroyed: all the oil.” Garbonite was a naturally occurring compound that broke down crude oil rapidly and irreversibly. Once introduced to an oil well, the well was destroyed, for good.
“Oh my gods.”
“Raylor sent me her communique. Nees is convinced this was us, and that destroying the oil was the only way the empire will leave Trapper’s Colony alone.”
They watched it together. It was a scathing indictment of Central, of the new government, of the empire as a whole. It was everything short of a declaration of war. Nees laid out every abuse since Halford took office, and then listed the dead: every name of every man, woman and child whose blood she laid at the empire’s feet. She finished with the promise that if ever the empire spilled another drop of Trapper’s Colony blood, they would repent it.
Nik remained convinced that it was a mistake – a terrible, tragic, inexplicable mistake – until the second video came. This was a recording of the interrogation of the captured mercenary, a frightened young man named Kal Pul.
And there was no denying the truth, no matter how much Nik wanted to believe otherwise. “The orders came from parliament.”
“From where in parliament?”
“I don’t know. No, I really don’t. All I know is, they came from one of the ministers. If we did this, we’d get a pardon, for working with Lenksha. We could go back home.”
“Why Trapper’s? Why target Governor Nees?”
“I don’t know. Look, I take orders, that’s it. I was going to go home. Get back my family. I was just doing what I was told. I don’t know why.”
Nees d
emanded an investigation, and parliament, in a rare unanimous vote, approved it. Davis Telari was as vocal as Nik in urging his fellow ministers to vote yes.
Investigation, though, proved unnecessary.
Not two days after it launched, Brek and Nik woke to breaking news. MP Gretchen Mira was dead, by her own hand. She’d left a letter that was one part apology, one part confession.
She’d given the orders. She’d made contact with the Consortium. She’d promised clemency if they removed Nees. “I thought, with Nees out of the way, Trapper’s Colony would return to the fold. For my errors in judgement, I am unequivocally, unreservedly sorry. But for my intentions, I will not and cannot ever apologize.
“Trapper’s Colony robbed the empire of a resource that we have long defended, and that would have in turn defended the empire. My methods may have been wrong, but my loyalty has always, ever been to the empire. And in destroying that resource, Nees demonstrates her own shortsightedness and animosity to our continued survival. I regret that I did not succeed. I regret my failure.
“But I maintain that my goal was worthy. I only wish my fellow ministers had the courage to admit it.”
The confession didn’t appease Nees, but it did cool her temper. She even offered to hand over the captured mercenary for trial. “I believe he will receive a fairer trial on Central than Trapper’s, considering his crimes. But I’ll allow no one into Trapper’s airspace but Captain Drake Elgin.”
It was a mess, and it left Brek’s head reeling. “All that time, Mira was plotting like that?”
“I don’t believe it,” Giya shook his head. “No way Mira acted on her own.”
Nik considered. “But she said-”
“What Telari told her to say, Nik. Come on. Mira didn’t do anything without Telari’s go-ahead.”
“But why take the fall for it? It’s not like she got anything out of it. She’s dead.”
“Someone had to. With the investigation starting, it was only a matter of time before they got found out. And Telari probably did have her make the contact. And she was probably stupid enough to do it, to be the one to put her name to things.”
