“She’s not my child,” Tiana said, looking him in the eye. “She’s from Rilan. Her mom sent me a message to say she had been taken. I knew my father wouldn’t let me go and get her, and neither would he send an emissary of any kind.”
“So you ran?” His eyes narrowed, intent on what she was saying.
“I didn’t run. As in run away. I planned to go to Haripor, buy Larka back, return her to her mom and then go home.”
“I don’t know what kind of technology your ship has, but you were a long way from Haripor when I found you.”
“I know.” Oh well, she might just as well tell him everything. Even though she suspected he already knew a lot more than he was letting on. “I was attacked. It was if they were waiting for me.”
This interested him, and a crackle of electricity told her Stellia was listening too. She looked up, and then to him, suddenly afraid this was all a setup, and that her attackers were somehow linked to this man.
“Who attacked you?” he asked gently.
“Their ships were unmarked. But old. They hit one of my engines, but I managed to jump to light speed and lost them. My engine was too damaged and I dropped out of light speed.”
“You don’t have any idea who they were? Color of their ship? Their weapons? Photon?”
She sat still, closing her eyes, trying to bring back the memory into her fuzzy head. Usually she was good at remembering every detail, but yesterday had taken it out of her and she had to concentrate really hard. “There was a small number on the one ship. 158-34. I think that was it. The hull was blue, but with some darker patches, like it had been reprimed.”
“Good girl. And the weapons? Were they bright when they fired?” he asked.
“I do know the difference between photon and neutron. The blast wasn’t either of those. It wasn’t a laser. It was an old-fashioned crank.”
“The Maraki.”
“The Maraki? Aren’t they traders from the outer quadrant?” she asked, remembering her brother talking about a meeting he had with them a month or two back.
“They are.” He rubbed the stubble that covered his chin, and Tiana took in the tiredness around his eyes. It looked as if he hadn’t slept. But then, she had been in his bunk, so where would he sleep?
“Are you going to tell me why the Maraki tried to shoot me down?” she asked, reaching across and taking a small piece of dried fruit from the remainder of her breakfast.
“I don’t know.”
“But you have a theory?” she prompted.
“Theories get you into trouble. I am a humble bounty hunter, and you are a princess. If I tell you what I think and you relay it to other sources, I might find myself in trouble.”
She smiled. “You are not humble. And who would listen to a girl?”
He chuckled. “You might be a girl, but you are a princess, with no husband, who lives on a planet at the heart of the known trade routes. Do you have any idea how valuable that makes you?” He stood up. “I think we should abandon this rescue. And I should return you home.”
“No.” She rose to her feet, her chin stuck out defiantly. Despite this alien towering above her, making her feel small, she would not be intimidated. “We struck a bargain. Or are you afraid? I thought Virdian bounty hunters were the best.”
“And I thought princesses were self-centered brats.” He dipped his head, his breath caressing her skin when he spoke his next words. “Tell me what is so special about this girl.”
“Nothing. And everything,” Tiana answered.
Chapter Eleven – Mak
Nothing. And everything. He should have let it go, and not listened to what she had to say and simply turned the ship around and taken the princess home. But he had listened and that was why he was stood here now, at the gates of the capital of Haripor, with her jewels in his pocket, and a laser at his side. He wasn’t sure which would be his weapon of choice.
It would depend on who had hold of this child, Larka, and why.
His suspicions were growing. Had the Maraki set this whole thing up? Did they have any idea how much the girl, Larka, meant to Tiana? Or had they simply intercepted the radgraph sent from Tiana to Larka’s mom, Kilma? If that was the case, he had to consider the possibility that they were not the only radgraphs to be intercepted.
A small piece of the puzzle clicked into place in his brain. The Maraki were always looking for new ways to hustle. Tiana was a bargaining chip they could use to do a deal with the King of Kalisov. If they managed to get their hands on her, they could use her to make him sign a trade treaty. Or maybe they had intended to lure her out of Kalisov territory and then save her from some attack, thus earning her father’s thanks and a swiftly arranged marriage to one of their princes.
Mak wasn’t aware the Maraki had any ambitions of bettering themselves. They might be the biggest trading force in this sector of the universe, but their ships were old and unreliable, and the ruling party never thought to invest in the planet’s infrastructure. They simply moved goods from one place to another for the cheapest possible price, their low overheads making them more appealing to many traders, their absence of care making them unpopular with others.
Now it looked as if they wanted to open new trade opportunities, and in their usual way, they were being heavy handed, willing to use this girl, Larka, to get their hands on the princess. Had they never heard of plain old negotiations?
He shook his head in disgust. Yes, it all fell into place, they were traders, and Larka and Tiana were the currency they would use however they saw fit. Not if he could help it. His hand went to the laser he wore on his hip, checking it was there, checking it was charged and then keeping himself alert for anyone he may have to use it on. He hadn’t told Tiana, but a Virdian such as Mak would fetch nearly as much in a slaver’s market as a Kalisov princess, and his height made it hard for him to go unnoticed.
Which was why he had chosen to come here in the middle of the afternoon, when street traders were out touting their wares, which included men and women who could be bought alongside pots and pans. Mak had never understood the booming trade in slaves. His people had not dealt in the misery of others for generations, but Haripor still had a thriving business in those unfortunate enough to be captured, usually from the outer planets who had less sophisticated technology and were not able to arm themselves.
Planets such as Rilan, where Larka came from. Perhaps there was nothing more sinister here than an unfortunate child in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, the bounty hunter in Mak thought otherwise. He could smell a good conspiracy, and this one reeked.
He walked under the arch, and entered the main trading square. He had a contact in a small store off the main thoroughfare, a man for whom Mak had worked for around year ago, when his son had mysteriously disappeared. Mak had found the young man aboard a transport, leaving for the furthermost outreaches of the sector. When Mak had questioned him at one of the star ports the transport had stopped at, the son had told Mak he felt misunderstood, and that his father was disappointed that he was not interested in working in the store. Instead, he wanted to widen his horizons, something his father found disappointing. Mak’s advice to talk to his father rather than running had brought the boy back, the reunion was happy, and Mak had gained a friend.
That friend would know if there was a girl on Haripor for sale. One thing the locals did not agree with was the sale of children. The double standards amused Mak, but only a little. There was nothing amusing in the brutal reality of slavery.
“Don,” Mak said, walking into the store, and picking up an orange fruit out of a woven basket. He put it to his nose and breathed in its tangy scent. “How’s business?”
“Good, thank you, Mak. What brings you here, since you never visit just to say hello.”
Mak picked up another fruit. He was tempted to buy some for the princess, who was being held prisoner by Stellia. OK, so “prisoner” might be a little strong, but he suspected if she were able to, she would have left
the ship to start her own search for the girl, and he wanted to keep her safe.
Tiana didn’t understand how difficult her being here might make things. Particularly if there was some kind of conspiracy going on with the Maraki.
“You know I don’t approve of the goods on sale on Haripor,” Mak said to Don, walking over to the counter and lowering his voice. “Unfortunately, I have to look at its sordid underbelly to find what I am looking for.”
“Which is?” Don asked.
“A girl. A young girl.” Mak watched Don’s expression cloud over.
“That is outlawed on Haripor.” Don shook his head. “Nonetheless, we all know it goes on.”
“And if it were going on?” Mak prompted, getting a gold coin out of his pocket, and placing the fruit down on the counter. It was a way of paying for Don’s confidence without it looking like a bribe. A bribe would be bad for Don’s business if there were any witnesses.
“South side. There is a warehouse. It’s not a favorable part of town. So no one sees, and no one tells.”
Mak nodded. “Keep the change.” He picked up the fruit and walked back out into the street, trying not to look into the eyes of the poor unfortunate woman who was being inspected. Luckily it looked as if she were being assessed for her strength for carrying goods, rather than anything more sordid.
“You can’t save them all.” Stellia’s voice came to him as he switched on the communicator that he wore on his wrist. It was fashioned to look like a leather cuff, but hidden within it was a small chip. He could speak to the ship, and she could give him the information he needed through an earpiece. She could also keep tabs on his movements, and from her vantage point on the ship, Stellia could direct him to where he needed to go.
“I know.” Mak strode along the street, before slipping down a side alley. “I’m heading to a warehouse on the south side of the city.”
“Analyzing data.” There was a moment of silence, then she said, “I see a group of buildings. Not in a very good state of repair.”
“That would be a good place to hide out. If you were doing something even this sordid rats’ nest disapproved of.” He moved through the alleyway, and out into a road that was quieter than the traders’ street. “Tell me where to go.”
Stellia’s calm voice led him through the city. He already couldn’t wait to get off the planet. But this was his job, finding things, no matter where they were hidden, and so he would stomach the images of men with collars being paraded by women who wore clothes and jewelry that were the height of tacky grandeur.
The women might as well have been taking a pet for a walk, and the tone of the gossip between them told him these men were expected to do more than chores around the house.
Pushing on, he turned right, onto a deserted strip of land, with a fence around it that had once been built as a perimeter to a large complex of warehouses. The fence no longer did its job, with several of the tall, upright posts broken, taking the chain-linked wire with it. He could see why it had never been repaired; there was nothing in the complex to protect.
In various stages of decay, most of the buildings visible had not been used for years. As Stellia had said, just right for hiding something of value. This was the least likely place to look. Not that anyone would be looking, not if the slavers covered their tracks, or dropped bribes in the right pockets.
“I’m about to enter the complex. Any indication which warehouse I should be looking in?” Mak asked Stellia.
“Nothing. I am not in position to use infrared. You may be able to pick it up as you get closer.”
He slipped through a gap in the fence and jogged across the open ground to the wall of the nearest warehouse. There he took a good look around, assessing the other buildings. None of them looked watertight, but they did look like the kind of place the Maraki would operate from. Like their ships, they went for cheap, not necessarily secure.
His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the deep grooves in the ground, a sign of heavy use. The tracks could be from when the whole complex was in use years ago, however, the grooves led almost exclusively to one section of the complex. Which indicated they were still in use.
Taking the risk of being seen, he walked across to one of the grooves, bending down to examine them. Yes, fresh tire markings, from a vehicle that was heavily laden. That ruled out anyone coming in here for a joyride around the buildings. It was more likely cargo had been brought here before being loaded on ships.
Keeping low, he moved back to the edge of the warehouses and followed the trail, only breaking cover when he had to move between buildings. Deeper into the complex he moved, until he was rewarded by the sound of voices, arguing.
This was his chance. He wanted to slip in unnoticed; it would sure beat walking up to the door unannounced.
Only he hadn’t been unnoticed. As he moved forward, the sound of a laser charging met his ears, and he wheeled around just in time to see a gun aimed at his head.
His reactions, honed from years out in the field, were automatic: his hand reached for his side arm. As he ducked and rolled across the ground he aimed and pulled the trigger, hitting his target. His attacker fell back, the burn mark on his shirt a sign of just how good a shot Mak was.
“Bull’s-eye,” he breathed. Pain erupted all over his body, his central nervous system screaming to shut down. As his eyes closed, he was hit even harder, by the fact that he wasn’t as invincible as he believed.
Chapter Twelve – Tiana
“Mak.”
“Mak.”
Tiana listened to Stellia as she repeated her call over and over. “Stellia. If he could answer, he would,” she said gently.
“Mak.” If it were possible, the computer-generated voice sounded worried, lost even. Tiana guessed this was the first time Mak had been incommunicado during a mission. But simply repeating his name was not going to bring him back.
“Stellia, listen to me. You have the last known coordinates of Mak’s transmitter. Right?”
“Yes,” Stellia answered.
“So I’ll go in and rescue him.”
“You can’t.”
“Why, because I’m a princess, or because I’m a woman?” Tiana asked, her temper rising. She was every bit as capable as Mak at handling herself.
“Because he put me on lockdown.”
“Lockdown?” Tiana repeated.
“He said it was to keep you safe. I have orders to return you to your home planet if anything happens to Mak.”
“What!” Tiana couldn’t believe she was going to be shipped off home when she was so close to rescuing Larka. And then there was Mak. She couldn’t just leave him to his fate, not when it was her fault he had been captured.
“Mak gave me specific orders.”
“I’m willing to ignore those orders if you are,” Tiana said, heading out of the control room and along the corridor to where she had seen Mak take weapons from a store. “Let me have some weapons and I’ll go in there and save him.”
“I cannot.” Stellia’s voice sounded shocked.
“You’ve never broken the rules before?” Tiana asked, looking up, although there was nothing to see. She always half expected there to be some shadowy figure looking over her; it was hard not to think of Stellia as being an actual person.
“No. Never. It is not in my programming.”
“And you can’t override your programming?” Tiana asked.
“No. I have been given orders by my commander.”
“OK. So what happens if Mak doesn’t come back?”
“I take you home.”
“And then?” Tiana asked.
Stellia was silent. “He did not say.”
“OK. So you would have no commander.”
“No. I suppose I could go back to Virdia.”
“On Kalisov, if something happens to a commander, then the next person of authority would take charge.”
“That sounds sensible.” Stellia had a hint of hope in her voice.
&nb
sp; “That would be me. Agreed?”
“I don’t know that you have any authority over a Virdian ship.”
“Let’s say I do. And I use that authority to order you to open the weapons locker and then let me leave the ship to rescue Mak.”
“That would be a sensible outcome.”
The locker in front of Tiana opened and she reached inside, taking out two side arms and a bigger gun that she was sure must fire photons. The bounty hunter liked his weapons.
“I have a better plan. Than you leaving the ship and taking the same route as Mak,” Stellia said, as Tiana entered the cargo bay. She had planned to take the rover.
“I’m listening.”
“I can fly to the docking area and land. It is within the permitted landing zone, as set down by Article 257. Although that article is no longer in use, it can still be applied.”
“That sounds much better than traipsing through the streets. We still may have some element of surprise if we act quickly.” She shut the door to the locker. “Shall we go into battle, Stellia?”
“Yes. First you need to put one of Mak’s communications bracelets on.”
“Where do I find one of those?”
“Come to the control deck.”
“Sure, why don’t you launch and I’ll come straight there.”
“Agreed, Tiana.” The ship shuddered and then took off, the ride smooth, but Tiana was left in no doubt that Stellia meant business. “We are approaching the warehouse complex. I have Mak’s readings; his transmitter is still working. I have located the warehouse. Moving to intercept.”
“To intercept what?” Tiana asked, blind to what Stellia had in mind. “Please, remember Larka is in there.”
“I am aware.” Stellia didn’t exactly sound as if she cared, though. Tiana was certain that Stellia would sacrifice anyone just to get her precious Mak back. Part of Tiana couldn’t blame the ship, although she was sure the computer didn’t see him in quite the same way as flesh and blood women did. Or maybe she did. Tiana didn’t want to dwell on that. What if she became romantically linked with Mak, and Stellia decided to bump off the competition because of her own electronic infatuation?
The Princess and her Bounty Hunter: Alien Romance (Fated to the Alien: The Psychic Matchmaker Book 2) Page 6
