Mercenary

by Dennis Young

  “Later. I’m tired. If you’ll excuse me…”

  Talice stuck her foot in the door jamb. “If you don’t mind, we can get this done quickly, then you can rest all the way back to Theia. Won’t take thirty minutes.”

  Evans’s eyes narrowed to points and his demeanor changed in a heartbeat. “I’m not under your command or jurisdiction, Miss...”

  “Talice Wyloh. I’m captain of this operation.”

  He nodded, shrugged, and shook his head all at once. “You can’t examine, scan, or otherwise probe me physically, mentally, or any other way.”

  Talice counted to five before answering. “I understand your concern, but I’m responsible for the safety of this ship and crew. Everyone in this team is under a government NDA, so whatever secrets you have are safe. If you’ll come with me, we can get this over with.”

  Evans obviously could count as well. “Not a chance. You have no authority.”

  Talice forced the door open and Evans backed into the room. She shut the door and faced him squarely. “On my ship, I’m the authority, regardless what your superiors say. If you don’t like it, you can walk home.”

  “…You’re bluffing.”

  She took a step forward, and Evans found himself against the edge of the bunk. “I’m a former Marine, Mr. Evans. We don’t bluff. Either you come with me peacefully, or I can throw you over my shoulder and carry you like a child. You’re not a fighter, I read your dossier. You may be a tough guy mentally, and a crack spy, but you’re soft and I could break you in half if I had to. And if I couldn’t, I guarantee, there are people on this ship you do not want to make angry.

  “Now, you submit to search, or deep radar, or we can strap you down and do a full high- intensity X-Ray over every inch of your body. It’ll probably sterilize you, and make your hair and teeth fall out, but what’s a little radiation among friends, right?”

  Evans held her gaze for a long moment. “You will all need to have memory-wipes when we get back.”

  “That will be discussed in due time, and it’s not your decision.” Talice opened the door and gestured. “After you. Turn left, our medtechs are waiting.”

  Will and Jamal stood outside the tiny infirmary hatchway. They ushered Evans in and sat him in a scanning booth built into the wall-works.

  Talice motioned them outside the doorway. “Don’t let this guy get to you. He’s an ass, but he’s government property. Just make sure he’s not laden with self-destruct devices and other shit. If he is, call me immediately. Record everything and make sure you transmit to TacOps for backup. I’m going to talk to the Braysons.”

  They nodded, entered the hatchway, and sealed the door. After a moment, Talice watched through the window as a shimmer formed inside the infirmary. A shield; just in case. She blew a breath and stepped around to the TacOps station.

  Mac was there, monitoring the scan. “What the hell was that about?” She zoomed her camera in on Evans as Will adjusted the scanners and Jamal set up the program on his board.

  “Dick-measuring contest. I won.”

  Mac had tears in her eyes by the time she stopped laughing.

  * * *

  Talice knocked on the door of her own cabin. She’d given it to the Braysons, then moved her personal effects, weapons, and her meds to Mac’s cabin. She’d slung a hammock in the deployment area. It was dark and quiet there, which fit her mood, and she looked forward to retreating to it as soon as this visit was concluded.

  Thel Brayson opened the door. “Captain. Please, come in.”

  Talice stepped inside the cabin and closed the door. Nil was huddled on the bunk, knees drawn up and her face buried behind them. Her long dark hair draped over her arms. Thel was obviously spent, but looked better than when picked up. He even showed a wan smile.

  “You’ve been scanned, right?”

  Thel nodded. “And fed, and showered, and fortunately given clothes that fit.” He touched the collar of the camis he wore, complements of Ollie. “Thank you for saving our lives.”

  Talice nodded. “Part of the job. I just have a few questions if you have a moment.”

  Thel nodded again, and Nil raised her face, listening. There was a deep bruise on her cheek, and her hands were partially bandaged.

  Talice motioned to Nil’s look. “What caused those injuries, Mrs. Brayson?”

  Nil sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bunk. “I cut my hands in the shop, and when I fell on some rocks during our escape.”

  “And the bruise?”

  Nil looked to Thel, who shrugged her way.

  “Evans… Gorg… hit me.”

  Talice’s jaw tightened. “Will you tell me why?”

  Nil’s eyes dropped away and Thel spoke. “He wanted us to leave with him, but we were scared. Scared to stay, scared to leave, either way he said we were probably going to all die.”

  Talice shook her head. “I don’t understand. You knew he was signaling for extraction, right? That we were on Eos to get him, and our orders were to bring you out if you were willing to come?”

  Now Nil shrugged. “For the last few days, Gorg was… nervous.”

  “Nervous, hell, he was insufferable!” Thel stepped away. “Sorry… look, Captain, we knew he was a spy for the last, I don’t know, half a year maybe? We’ve acted as his go-between for messages in and out. But lately, his calm had broken. We only saw him once or twice in the last thirty days. We thought he’d been captured, and we’d be next, so we prepared to leave. Then…”

  “Then he showed up three days ago with his beacon smashed.” Nil continued as Thel’s voice drifted. “His arm was cut up, and we assumed he’d escaped from captors or something. We didn’t ask, and he didn’t offer an explanation. He was… agitated. We helped him put together a broadbeam transmitter, then he screamed at us because it wasn’t directional enough.”

  Thel ran a hand through his thinning hair. “I tried to calm him down, Nil offered a drink to him. He knocked it out of her hand and hit her, screaming she was trying to poison him. Then he collapsed in a corner. We left him there overnight, and the next morning, yesterday, he apologized profusely, and we prepared to leave.” He extended his hand to Nil, and she took it. “You know the rest, pretty much.” Talice stood with her back against the door, searching in her soul for calm. It was all she could do to stand still. To not storm out of the cabin and confront Evans. To not drag him to the deployment area, raise the shield, and blast him into space. Damn fucking spy shit! Damn him! Fawkes will hear about this. They’ll all hear about this.

  “We searched your shop. Someone was there after you, as I’m sure you guessed.” Talice motioned to the camis they both wore. “You got out in time, but you’ve got nothing left. I intend to see that changes when we get home. The Marines will compensate you for your aid to Evans… and your losses.”

  Thel put his arm around Nil, and she drew close. “We have our lives and each other, thanks to you, Captain.”

  “I’ll extend your thanks to the team that actually rescued you.” Talice smiled. “They’re pretty good people when you get to know them.”

  Thel extended his hand, and Talice took it.

  “Let me know if you need anything,” she said. “Anything.”

  She took her exit, looking for someplace to pace off her anger and frustration.

  * * *

  “Captain, I’ve got some info for you. Can you come to the infirmary?” Jamal Orlando’s voice woke Talice, sleeping in her hammock.

  She turned, very carefully, that she didn’t spill herself onto the deck, and touched her wristcom. “Five minutes.” She eased her way from the hammock and stretched gingerly, careful of her elbow, then made her way to the head. She splashed her face with water and brushed hair out of her eyes. Need a shower and a meal. And a drink. And maybe another drink.

  Orlando was waiting patiently as she stepped through the hatchway. “What’s up?”

  He closed the hatch, then motioned her to a screen beside the scanning chair. “
We ran the scan on Evans, got the info, copied it to Mac. A couple of things stood out.”

  He brought up a schematic of Evans’s body. “No implants, no internal scarring that would indicate recent surgery or alterations, no real external scars… except for this.”

  The image focused on Evans’s left arm. “This is the injury he boarded with, that you told us he had. It’s recent, no more than three or four days.”

  Talice nodded. “Thel Brayson told me about it. Evans wouldn’t say how he got it.”

  Orlando blew a breath. “We think it was self-inflicted. The angle of the cut, the extremely nasty way the flesh is flayed, this isn’t something done by a surgeon, or even anyone standing anywhere but to the right of Evans. And there’s this…” He brought up a summary of the scan and scrolled down the information. “Traces of high-purity aluminum and some bits of what might be wiring insulation. And a whiff of Obran powder, the stuff they make miniaturized explosives out of.”

  Talice fumed after a long moment. “Holy shit, he cut out his self-destruct!”

  Orlando nodded. “That’s what we think, too. Some infection had set in, but we took care of that on the initial treatment. We didn’t catch the details until the scan.”

  “That’s why he put up such a stink about it then,” said Talice. Didn’t have the guts to blow himself up if he was caught. So he used the Braysons to get him out. Fucking coward! “What else?”

  “That’s it. He’s clean all the way through.”

  Talice looked over her shoulder to the hatch. “Where is he now?”

  “In the cockpit with Will. He was asking if he could send a message.”

  She looked up. “Oh, he was, was he?” She went through the hatch in a hurry, then through the open cockpit hatchway. Evans stood beside Will, at the Eng/Tac control station, as she entered.

  “Something we can help you with?”

  Evans gave her a sidelong glance. “I need to check in.”

  “We’ll be happy to do that for you. As of now, the cockpit is off limits to you.”

  Abie looked over her shoulder from her pilot’s seat at Talice.

  Will swallowed and grinned sheepishly. “I was… ah… just getting ready to —”

  “We’re on comm silence. My decision. Abie, log that order.”

  “Aye, Captain.” She brought up her keyboard and began typing.

  Evans’s eyes grew steely once again.

  “Don’t give me that bullshit stare, it doesn’t work. I suggest you return to your cabin and get some rest. Now. Will, call Briggs to the cockpit.”

  “That won’t be necessary… Captain.” Evans pushed his way past Talice and into the corridor. Rory and Dosu filled the space before him.

  “Can we help, Captain?” Rory towered over Evans by more than a head. Dosu looked like an obsidian giant behind him. Aside, at her station, was Mac, watching with interest, and a half-smile on her face.

  “See Mr. Evans to his quarters. Please.”

  Rory led the way. Dosu fell in behind Evans. Talice nodded to Mac, then motioned Orlando into the cockpit and closed the hatch.

  “That man is to have absolutely no access to anything on this ship but my cabin. Not here, not in the infirmary, not at Mac’s TacOps, not in the fucking mess area. Nothing. He’s a spy and can probably cobble together a pulse rifle from toothpicks and spit.”

  “Sorry, Captain,” said Will.

  Talice shook her head. “Not your fault. Abie, how fast can we get home?”

  Abie scanned her instruments. “Fuel’s not a problem, clear space ahead. I can cut it to three days, I think.”

  Talice nodded. “Do that, please. The sooner that man is off this ship, the safer it will be for all of us. If I don’t kill him first.”

  * * *

  Northland Base…

  By the time Bird One landed and off-loaded its special passengers into a waiting Marine armored ground van, Talice was nearly shaking. She wasn’t sure if it was relief, worry about the impending briefing with Fawkes, or the bugs in her system.

  The team lined up to see Evans and the Braysons off-ship. Evans simply walked past everyone, not making eye contact with even the waiting Marine MPs. Thel and Nil shook hands with the entire team, gave a couple of hugs, and paused before Talice.

  “We won’t forget you, Captain,” said Thel. “Once we’re settled, we’ll be in touch.”

  Talice smiled, nodded, and hugged them both lightly, then watched as the van’s door was sealed and it headed back into the Base complex, leaving them in a whirling wind.

  She drew a ragged breath and gathered the team around her. “Let’s take forty-eight hours off, then I’ll commtext all of you. We’ll get together and celebrate a job well done.”

  She met their eyes, one by one. “This wasn’t like any mission we’ve ever done. No shots fired, no lives lost or taken, just a clean pickup of a government operative. That doesn’t mean the next one will be the same, or even different. Whatever it is, we can do it because we’re the best.”

  “Hua!” The chorused shout was heartfelt and loud.

  “Get your gear from Bird One, Abie’s taking it to the shop for some more toys. Go home, rest, and I’ll see the creditmark transfers are done within the next day or so.”

  “That would be nice. I have shopping to do,” said Bělinka, as she pressed against Nikolay. “Tell them, my dear.”

  Niky blushed and put his arm around her waist. “I have asked Bělinka for her hand in marriage. Today, we are formally engaged.”

  Another shout went up. This one was long and even louder.

  Talice shouted and smiled with everyone else, and hugs were given around. Slowly the group made way back into the ship as Abie and her crew descended the ramp. Talice motioned them to her side. Mac slid her hoverchair over as well. “Thanks for saving our asses. Great flying.” She looked to Thomas and Orlando. “And thanks to you guys for digging out that info on Evans.”

  Orlando rubbed his arm and winced. “Oooohh, don’t say dig. Every time I think about that, it hurts.”

  “Yeah, well, our Marine boss will be very interested when his own doctors find that little bit of news out. Mr. Evans will have some explaining to do.”

  Talice glanced to Mac. “You up for a visit to Scarbach?”

  Mac shook her head. “Let’s you and me go find a bar and chat.” Her tone left little room for Talice to decline.

  “Abie, your cut and the money for Bird One will be sent out within two days. Don’t spend it all in one place.”

  They hugged and waved goodbye. Talice headed back up into the ship to retrieve her gear, wondering what Mac had on her mind.

  * * *

  Talice paused in the corridor, feeling… strange. A breath, then she continued, grabbed her box of meds, weapons, and an armload of camis from Mac’s cabin, then entered her own. She stuffed everything in a bio-sealed duffle, hoisted it over her shoulder, and started out the door.

  She went to her knees. There was no pain, only weakness and dizziness. But now something new was creeping in; a fog that threatened to envelop her mind. She couldn’t think. She could barely feel. The next thing she knew, her cheek was against the dirty floor. She didn’t remember falling down. Hell, she didn’t remember coming into the cabin. By feel, she clawed her way into her bag, found a bottle of S-H, and pried the cap off with trembling fingers. She downed it, then rolled over on her back, still shaking.

  How long had it been since she changed her patch? Yesterday? The day before? Slowly, thought and reason crept back into her mind.

  I didn’t change it today? I woke, showered, got dressed…

  She hoisted herself to the bunk and struggled out of her camis. There was no patch on her inner thigh. No residual sticky-stuff. Nothing. Desperately, she dug into the duffle for the box, pulled out a patch, and stuck it to her skin. Then fell back on the bunk as her head swam again.

  “Talice, you alright?” Mac, on her wristcom.

  She pressed the button, but onl
y after she knew she could answer. “Just getting my stuff together. Out in a minute.”

  The coherent reply took all the strength she had. She lay still, waiting for the meds to start flowing. She drifted, half awake. She closed her eyes…

  * * *

  “Talice? Talice!”

  Mac’s voice sounded from somewhere far away. Talice opened crusty eyes to see Mac hovering over her. She was in her bunk, her duffle crowded beside her. How had she gotten here? Why were her pants lying on the floor? What the hell?

  “Talice!” Mac raised her arm and started punching buttons on her wristcom.

  “Don’t,” Talice croaked out. She put her hand on Mac’s. “Please… my fault. I forgot my patch this morning.”

  There was a tear in the corner of Mac’s eye. “You stupid Grunt,” she whispered, then held Talice’s head to her breast. “Dammit, Talice… dammit… dammit!”

  Talice managed to lift her arms around Mac’s shoulders. “Gimme a few minutes. Close the door.”

  “I can’t, my hoverchair’s too big in here.” Mac looked over her shoulder. “The ship is empty, just you and me.”

  “Ah… finally alone…” Talice coughed a weak chuckle.

  Mac hugged her again, shaking herself. “What the hell am I gonna do with you? Dammit, girl…” She squeezed tighter. “This shit’s gotta stop.”

  It’ll stop, thought Talice. One way or another, it’ll stop…

  She raised herself to sitting as Mac backed her hoverchair away to give her room. She eased her legs over the edge of the bunk. Mac handed her the camis off the floor.

  “Don’t go anywhere, I’m getting you a protein drink.” Mac swung her hoverchair out the door.

  “Strawberry, please,” said Talice, as she pulled her camis on. Okay, that’s all the strength for the next five minutes. She laid her head in her hands, breathing deeply.

  A moment later, Mac was back and handed her a drink bulb. Talice sucked the straw, savoring the flavor. Geez, I can’t die, I’d really miss this… She drained it and handed it to Mac.