by M. D. Cooper
“I want to go in hard and strong,” Kylie replied. “Nadine and whoever she’s working with will try to beat us to the punch, so we go in fast. Take no prisoners. Grab what we’ve come for, and blow the lab. Show them they can’t cross the Alliance, and stasis shields are off limits.”
“Unless we want to use them,” Winter said.
“Winter!” Kylie scolded and narrowed her eyes.
“Just kidding, Captain. Really. I thought you could use a joke. You’re feeling a little…tense.”
He was right. She did need to relax.
“I am feeling tense. I’m sorry. I’m on edge because Nadine is involved, and we never know what her next move is gonna be. Let’s just move out and get this done. Is Dolph ready to go?”
Winter stroked his gun’s stock. “Captain, Dolph is always ready to go.”
Kylie smirked. “Then let’s do this.”
* * * * *
Commander Reynolds had dispatched a company to aid in taking the warehouse, and Grayson took command of them—far better equipped to work with the local officials than Kylie. Kylie accepted this and ordered Winter, despite his vociferous protests, to stay with Grayson.
In the end, she only convinced him to remain with the others by arguing that his presence there would give her more effective backup.
“Makes sense,” he grumbled, glancing at the local forces. “Not like these idiots will be much help in a pinch.”
Kylie nodded, glad that she’d be able to effect a stealthy infiltration without worrying about the big man going off half-cocked at the worst possible time.
“Give me ten,” she instructed Grayson before planting a kiss on his cheek and activating her ISF stealth gear.
It was a skintight coating that functioned as armor and rendered her totally invisible. As strange as it was to feel like she was going into battle almost naked, it was far better than the stealth tech she’d used before falling in with more advanced civilizations.
A ladder on the side of the building offered her an easy way up, and she took it, nimbly climbing the rungs before moving across the rooftop to an access point close to the water.
At the eight-minute mark, she was still working her way around the security on the roof hatch—something that was taking her longer than she’d expected—when weapons fire started up from the front of the building.
Oh screw it.
She drew her lightwand, slashed through the hatch’s lock, and dropped through the opening, landing in a darkened corridor. An overlay of the building’s interior appeared on her HUD, and she hurried in the direction of a large room most likely to be the research area.
At the halfway mark, she felt a slight shift in the floor beneath her, and a hail of pellets struck her back.
She dove to the side and slid around a corner, checking her armor to find that it had deflected the shots—though its stealth capability had been compromised.
I guess I’ll do this the old-fashioned way.
She rose just in time for a man to jump out of a nearby doorway.
“Freeze!” he yelled, simultaneously firing a trio of kinetic rounds at her.
This time, Kylie was ready. She rolled to the side and drew her sidearm, firing two flechettes into his torso. The first cracked his armor, and the second did the same for his sternum.
“Stay down if you know what’s good for you,” she commanded as she approached, giving the gasping man a wide berth.
She continued toward the lab, releasing a nanocloud now that she was closer. The room appeared to be the right place, with three people in white cleansuits still present, but no sign of General Mulke.
Then Chuck started playing what he liked to call ‘Jeopardy music’, though Kylie never knew what to make of it.
The heat signatures were coming from across the lab, so Kylie moved around the periphery of the room, keeping the damaged side of her stealth armor facing away from them. Her nanocloud continued to filter through the space, looking for anything that matched the stasis shield emitters they were looking for, but thus far, coming up empty.
She reached the door the newcomers were approaching, and pulled it open wide enough to toss a flashbang in before slamming it shut.
A loud pop came from inside, followed by shouts of alarm.
‘The other group’ was, of course, Nadine’s group.
“Sit,” Kylie ordered as she approached, disabling her stealth covering, now presenting a faceless, grey figure to the trio.
She granted them a small range of motion, and the three techs sank to the floor.
She walked around them twice before sliding her sidearm back into its thigh pouch and drawing her lightwand.
“Do you three know what this is?” she asked.
They nodded, one of them gibbering that he didn’t want to be sliced by electrons.
“Good, then you might be working on something more advanced than a cargo loader. I’ll give you one chance—I’m not kidding, just one—to tell me whether or not you’re trying to replicate ISF stasis shields.”
They nodded again, and one said, “We’ve been trying, but we’re missing something, some crucial piece of data.” He glanced at a nearby console. “We don’t have the originals, so—”
Kylie rose, striding to the station he eyed while she asked, “Where are the originals?”
“I don’t know,” his voice wavered. “We were never told.”
Kylie slapped a breach kit on the console and watched as it ferreted out the salient data.
Most of what she sought had been deleted, carefully erased, but it was clear that the general hadn’t succeeded in his goal as yet, and whatever he did have was gone, moved to a new research location.
Maybe he’s realized the Alliance is on to him.
Despite the techs’ presence and the soldiers guarding the facility, everything felt stale, and Kylie was beginning to feel like she had taken the bait on some well-thought-out trap.
Kylie sent an acknowledgment and turned, only to have something very hard strike her face.
She nearly fell backward, but managed to get her feet under her, blocking another strike on pure instinct before realizing that she couldn’t see her opponent. Without thinking, she released another passel of nano, which quickly outlined her enemy’s figure.
It was a match for Nadine, and she took a moment to chastise herself for missing so many opportunities to bring her former lover in.
Now able to see her opponent, Kylie avoided Nadine’s next two strikes before delivering a kick that connected soundly with the woman’s chest. The stealthed enemy sailed backward, slamming into a steel table with an audible crunch.
Not one to give up, Nadine only took a mo
ment to shake it off before surging forward, charging straight at Kylie.
For a minute, they fought in near-total silence, the only sounds coming from the few blows that landed as the two women performed an intricate dance through the center of the lab.
Kylie was considering drawing her lightwand, when she managed to drive a fist into Nadine’s throat, cracking her armor. She followed it up with a knee to the former assassin’s groin.
A choked scream came from the woman, and Kylie lifted her bodily, slamming her foe back onto the table. The captain’s lightwand was in her hand a moment later, blade hovering a centimeter from Nadine’s neck.
“No more games,” she hissed. “Time for you to tell me what I want to know.”
“Where’s the stasis shield?” Nadine rasped. “What did you do with it?”
“Even if I knew, I’d never tell you.”
Nadine coughed, her breath coming in ragged gasps. “I need it, Kylie. It’s the only way I get the hell out of this situation!”
Kylie scowled, worried this was just another of Nadine’s lies. “Moot point, as it’s not here. The general’s gone, it’s gone.”
Nadine’s eyes flashed, not with surprise, but recognition.
“You know where he’s run off to, don’t you?” Kylie grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head into the table. “What do you know about the general? Do you know where he’d take it? Who the hell are these assholes you’re working for?”
“I won’t tell you. We might not be enemies, but our objectives are different. I can’t help you, Kylie. Not this time.”
More like not any time.
“If you think we’re not enemies, you’re clearly delusional.” Kylie pulled Nadine off the table and put a knee on her back while wrapping binders around the woman’s wrists.
She would have used nano like with the lab techs, but if Nadine still had access to Transcend or ISF equipment, she might be able to defeat those measures over time.
“You’ll answer me once we’re on the ship. If you don’t, I’ll hand you over to the Alliance with extreme prejudice. I’ll tell them to throw you in a hole. Do you understand?”
“I understand that’s what you intend to do, but you won’t get anything out of me. Taking me aboard will do nothing but put your crew, and your family, in danger. The Valkris Authority wants this tech. They don’t care about their assets.”
Who the hell was the Valkris Authority?
Chuck gasped.
Ignoring the AI, she focused her venom on the woman at her feet. “If I knew what to believe, maybe I wouldn’t need to do this, but I can’t trust anything you say. You’re no better than Maverick.”
Just saying his name made Kylie’s upper lip twitch; it was a name she’d hoped to never hear again, let alone utter herself.
“I heard you finally got rid of him. Good job,” her ex commended. “I can imagine what a relief that must be.”
“He’s dead,” Kylie spat. “I wasn’t the one that did it, but the fact he’s gone is all that matters.”
Chuck made a sound like he was taking a deep breath, even though he had no reason to breathe.
“So, not a terrorist organization. You lied again.” Kylie leaned forward and hissed in Nadine’s ear, “Why should I even let you breathe after this?”
“Maybe because your husband is coming. And how would you explain the fact you killed me while I was in restraints?”
“He’d understand.” Kylie considered just ridding herself of the problem Nadine presented, but she let the idea go as footsteps rushed toward her.
“Looks like we finally have her,” Grayson said as he came up behind Kylie.
Winter silently fell in beside him, eyes focused on Nadine.
Kylie nodded. “She knows something about where Mulke would be headed. She won’t talk, so she’s coming with us. By the way, I thought you were falling back.”
Winter shrugged. “We gave it one last push and their defense kinda crumpled.”
“Winter,” Nadine said. “You have something you want to share with the class? I’m not a piece of meat who enjoys being stared at.”
He shook his head. “Nope. But you twitch the wrong way, and I’ll blow your head off. I’ll take great pleasure in that, too.”
Grayson sighed. “You’ll do no such thing, we need the intel. Which begs the question, how did you come by this information?”
“Honestly, the location of a secondary lab was on the one of the consoles in here. I tapped them before our little fight, and wiped the original sources.”
Kylie groaned. “Well, shit.”
Nadine had always excelled at the tech stuff.
The woman in question twisted her lips to the side. “Your wife was thinking of cutting my head off a moment before you got in here.”
Grayson narrowed his eyes sharply. “I can’t say I’d blame her.”
Relieved that her words about Grayson understanding hadn’t been a lie, Kylie turned to her team. “I transferred what data I could find to the BQ, for what it’s worth. We’ll collect what we can and then blow this joint and get back on our ship.”
Grayson nodded. “Let’s get busy. For all we know, she’s called in reinforcements to spring her free.”
* * * * *
Once back on the Barbaric Queen, Kylie escorted Nadine through the corridors down to the brig’s level. Rogers was waiting for them, and watched with hooded eyes as Nadine stepped into her cell. She turned toward the thick doors as Kylie secured them.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” Rogers said and crossed his arms.
Winter sniffed. “Not even MFP would touch that.”
“Hello, Rogers.” Nadine gave him a small smile. “No cheerful hello for your old friend?”
“We were never friends. Maybe for my part, sure, but the Nadine I knew never really existed, did she?”
Rogers turned and walked slowly toward the door, Winter following after, a hand on the smaller man’s shoulder.
Nadine snorted. “I guess he never wanted to see me again.”
“He never expected to.” Kylie shrugged. “I can’t say any of us even wanted to, either.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way.” Nadine’s voice was a whisper. “You know how it is, being a spy, infiltrating. I was doing a job when we met, but I really did care for you.”
Kylie wanted to scream at the other woman, wanted to tell her that the love they’d had was real to her. That after years of working clandestine missions, she’d never betrayed anyone like Nadine had betrayed her.
Instead, she drew a deep breath, blinked slowly, and said, “You’re right. Give me the information I need, and we can try to part on better terms. I’ll put in a good word for you with the Alliance.”
“I’ll never make it there, I’ll escape before you know it. Your usual strategy isn’t going to work, Kylie. You have powerful friends? Well, so do I.”
“Maybe I’ll reach some last nugget of humanity in you that wants to do the right thing.”
Nadine laughed. “The right thing? What is that?”
Kylie wasn’t about to dignify Nadine’s goading with a response. “Sit on ice for a while. When we’re done with you, you’re going to wish you had talked.”
Kylie opened the door to the brig, and Mr. Fizzle Pop wandered in. His tail high in the air, it flicked back and forth.
“HELLO, ASSHOLE!” He settled in front of the door and sat back on his haunches.
Nadine raised an eyebrow. “You expect me to crack…to a cat?”
“No,” Kylie shook her head. “I expect him to soften you up. Have fun, Fizz. T
here’s a pizza in your future.”
“PIZZA.” Mr. Fizzle Pop’s eyes bulged. “I LOVE PIZZA!”
Kylie stepped outside and slid the door shut.
Seeing Nadine, talking to her…it brought up a lot of anger she thought was long gone. Having her on the Barbaric Queen just made it worse.
She wanted to let it go and get on with things already. Why be so angry when she was with the man she loved, doing the job she wanted, and had the life she wanted? She had Marie, for star’s sake. Nadine couldn’t compete with any of that.
Kylie knew she had to pull her head out of her ass, do what was necessary, and stop harboring a decade-long grudge. But releasing her hold on that pain and betrayal wasn’t easy for her. It never had been.
She didn’t want to be angry. Kylie didn’t want to be that woman again. But how could she let it go?
“Momma!” Marie said cheerfully as she bounded down the hall. “Are you done with work?”
Am I ever really done? Despite herself, Kylie’s heart filled with love at the sight of her smiling daughter. “For a little bit, peanut.”
“Can we go have that tea party? My spaceship is filled with guests. Mr. Bear and Mrs. Snake have showed up—and mini Dolph. But you have to wear your good hat, because this is polite society.”
“Oh really?” Kylie squatted in front of her.
Marie nodded. “Uh huh! Miss Sera and Miss Cary are both going to be there. And you know what happens when they get mad.” The little girl offered her hand.
Oh boy, did she.
Kylie smiled at Marie’s small hand before she took it. “I guess I really am going to need my nice hat, then. Do you think I should bring a weapon, just in case?”
Marie giggled and squeezed her eyes shut. “No, Momma. No shooting at tea parties!”
“Silly me,” Kylie whispered.
Maybe that’s what life was missing: more tea parties and happiness with less shooting. Kylie certainly hoped to get there.
CHAPTER 29 - MIRA
STELLAR DATE: 01.07.8960 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: OASS Inquiry, near Kyra
