Labyrinth (Deuces Wild Book 3)

by Ell Leigh Clarke

  Tabitha soothed her. “It’s okay, we’ve got you now. Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?”

  Stacy shook her head. “I’m okay, just go and save the others. The monk has them, and the auction for the Loren is due to start soon. He told me my services would be required by morning.”

  Tabitha grinned. “The others? The courtesans—they’re all here?”

  Stacy nodded. “Yes. Let’s go!” She pulled away from Tabitha and took a few steps before her knees buckled beneath her.

  Tabitha darted forward and caught Stacy before she fell. Stacy shook like a leaf in her arms, and if the dark rings around her eyes were anything to go by she was close to complete exhaustion. Tabitha wasn’t taking her anywhere just yet.

  Tabitha wrapped Stacy’s arm over her shoulder. “Yeah, sweetie, we’re going to find you a place to hide first. Tell me what you know about this place; how many bad guys, what rooms you’ve seen.” She guided her over to a shadowed nook off to the side, and Stacy told Tabitha what she’d seen while she helped her get comfortable.

  Tabitha paused before leaving. “Just stay here until we get back.” She removed one of her backup pistols from her thigh holster and handed it to Stacy. “I’m breaking every rule giving you this, so don’t shoot yourself or us by accident.”

  “I know how to use a gun,” Stacy told her.

  Tabitha nodded and jogged over to where Hirotoshi and Ryu were waiting for her.

  “Did Stacy know anything that could help us?” Hirotoshi asked as they set off walking.

  Tabitha looked around for the passage Stacy had told her led to the monk’s hideout. “She gave me some directions, but they weren’t all that clear. We’re looking for another secret entrance.”

  Hirotoshi found it a few minutes later. Over here, and be silent. I can hear voices.

  K’nthel System, Zaphod, Hidden Temple

  Tabitha crept down the passage with Hirotoshi and Ryu close behind.

  The voices drifted up from below, and as they neared the bottom, they realized that all but one were coming from speakers.

  They hurried to reach the end of the passage, which terminated in a long corridor containing a series of stone archways. They peered around the one they heard the voices from in the absence of drones to assist. The room beyond was filled with technology that shouldn’t have been on Zaphod at all.

  The hooded figure sat at the center of a wide, curved table, surrounded by monitor screens. The soft hum of computer processors was like a balm to Tabitha’s soul. Tabitha scowled at the monk. He’s alone. I can handle one monk, no problem. I can’t see the captives anywhere. He must have them somewhere else.

  They are most likely being held in the nearby rooms, Hirotoshi supplied.

  Probably, Tabitha agreed. How is all of this even working down here?

  The field has been disabled, Ranger Tabitha.

  Tabitha clapped a hand over her mouth to restrain herself from speaking aloud. Achronyx!

  Indeed.

  Good to have you back with us, Ryu told him.

  It’s good to be back, however temporarily.

  Tabitha eyed the hooded figure at the desk. Shall we find out who that is and stop the auction?

  The auction has already begun, Achronyx informed her. We are too late to stop it.

  Of course, we are. I don’t know why you would expect things to go so easily. Tabitha stepped back from the archway and considered the problem for a moment. Okay, you guys go and find the Loren. I’ll stay here and make sure you’re not disturbed.

  What do you have in mind? Hirotoshi asked.

  Tabitha withdrew her drones from their pouch, then rolled them in her hand and grinned. Don’t sweat it. I’ll think of something.

  Achronyx, you have no idea how much I missed you. I’ll never complain about your reports again.

  Did you have to break into some stuff yourself?

  Tabitha made a small noise of indignation. And then some. Not that I’m not the best hacker there is, but… I dunno, it’s just more fun when we do these things together.

  I will admit that my enforced seclusion has been rather boring. I’m in, let’s get to work.

  Tabitha smirked as the monk’s computer system displayed in her HUD. Great job. Now, how can we fuck this auction up without any of them realizing we’re playing with them. Ooh, I have an idea.

  Why are you joining the auction? What’s the plan?

  We outbid everyone and let the kidnapping son of a camel-humper think he’s been successful. In the meantime, we, meaning you, backtrack the other bidders and make sizeable donations in their extremely generous names to the Empire’s planetary disaster fund or whatever. That will give Hirotoshi and Ryu enough time to rescue everyone and get them back to the ship.

  Sizeable donations?

  Clean them out, Achronyx. They’re here to buy someone’s life, probably with money earned from the suffering of innocents. Screw them.

  Fair enough. Then what?

  Simple. Then we take whoever is sitting there back to Yoll, and they go on trial. Job done.

  What, no killing spree?

  Not if it’s unnecessary. We’re doing this by the book; no more running around half-assed. For now, let’s concentrate on keeping this auction going and do some good at the same time.

  Forgive me, but that almost sounds like maturity.

  Coming from your snarky self, I’m going to take it as a compliment and move on. She pushed the bid up, and kept pushing it until the other bidders began to drop out. See, my plan is working. How is your end going?

  Teamwork is rather awe-inspiring. So far I’ve made transfers to twenty-seven hundred charitable causes, including the EPDF and the Widows of Merrick Foundation within the Empire, and relief efforts for the poor on each bidder’s home planet.

  Tabitha grinned. I’ll just call you Robin Hood from now on.

  Show me the money.

  Wrong reference, Achronyx.

  I know.

  It was down to Tabitha and one other bidder, and it had turned into a bidding war. Every time Tabitha upped the bid they countered within moments. Tabitha grew frustrated. Why won’t they just quit? It’s a good thing I have no intention of paying.

  I can’t imagine you would survive Bethany Anne receiving a thirty-six million credit bill.

  I know, right? Ugh, another bid. Give up already!

  There was a soft snicker from the monk at the desk.

  Tabitha glanced at the monk. He tapped away at a device between short bursts of activity from the computers on the table. Is he the one bidding against us?

  Hirotoshi and Ryu had searched most of the rooms along the corridor. This part of the temple was less ornate than the rest and less well-maintained. The farther they walked, the older and more dilapidated their surroundings became.

  They paused at the sound of voices from one of the rooms ahead.

  What do you think? Ryu pondered.

  Hirotoshi’s hand moved to his hip. I think we should go and find out who they belong to.

  They glided toward the source of the voices, a group of mercenary-looking types gathered around a table. Hirotoshi took in the situation with a glance. The Loren was in a transparent tank of some sort. There was also a small group of humans and other species in one of the more traditional cells that lined the left-hand side of the room.

  The eight mercenaries were playing a card game and had their backs to the door.

  One of the guards threw his cards down. “I’m out. The boss will be back soon, right? I hate it when he disappears down there for days on end. He always has that weird glaze over his eyes. I tell you, it’s not natural being around so much technology all the time.”

  Another took a card and nodded his agreement. “You got that right, Ludd.”

  Hirotoshi spotted the keys on Ludd’s belt. He caught Ryu’s eye and indicated the keyring with a tiny nod. Ryu nodded in return, and they drew their swords and advanced at vampiric speed.

  It was less than
a moment’s work for Hirotoshi and Ryu to relieve the guards of their heads and retrieve the keys. They got to work freeing the grateful captives, being careful not to slip in the spreading puddles of blood.

  Tabitha asked again, Is he the one bidding against us?

  Achronyx was quiet for a moment. Oh. Um, yes. No idea how I missed that.

  Tabitha shrugged as she tried to figure out what could be done with seventy million credits. Yeah, well, now we know. Does he even have that kind of money?

  He does, Achronyx confirmed. But not for long.

  He definitely has some making up to do. Make sure it goes to a worthy cause, Achronyx. Tabitha snickered at the deliciousness of what they’d pulled off.

  Hirotoshi interrupted her moment. Kemosabe, we have the captives, and we are almost back at the surface.

  Tabitha grinned. That’s the sweet music my ears wanted to hear. Any problems?

  None, Hirotoshi replied. We’ll see you back at the ship.

  You betcha. She cut the link to Hirotoshi and brought her attention back to her present situation. Okay, Achronyx. What we have here is the perfect opportunity to drop out of the auction in the most painful way possible. For him. She closed her link to the auction, effectively ending it.

  The monk at the table stood and let out a moan. His hood fell back, and Tabitha couldn’t contain herself. “Cuthbert?”

  Cuthbert spun and shot at her with the blaster he pulled from his sleeve as he wheeled around.

  Tabitha ducked the spray of rock when his shot went wide and darted forward to restrain the malfeasant monk. She was forced to dive out of the way when he shot at her again.

  She rolled to her feet with her Jean Dukes in her hand, but Cuthbert was nowhere to be seen. “Dammit, where did the little weasel go? Is there another tunnel?”

  He made a run for the stairs as soon as you were distracted. I will be blocked when you leave the room.

  We’re nearly done here. She headed for the door and ran up the stairs two at a time. There was no sign of Cuthbert until she got to the ground floor level.

  She dashed outside, hearing a ship taking off. Guys, where are you? Cuthbert is the one who’s behind all of this, and he’s getting away! She breathed a massive sigh of relief when she heard Hirotoshi’s voice.

  Stay where you are. We’re on our way to pick you up.

  Chapter 13 Tabitha

  QBS Achronyx, Bridge

  Tabitha bounced around in her captain’s chair as the adrenaline of the chase poured through her. “We nearly got him that time. Pull back.”

  Cuthbert’s small one-person ship darted in and out of the rocks as Cuthbert tried every evasive maneuver in the book to shake the Achronyx. Sort of. In reality, they were herding him in the hopes of turning up his accomplices.

  They’d already given him a short head start when they made the side trip to return Stacy and the others to Traveler’s Rest. It was actually kind of laughable that he thought he could outrun some of the best ship tech in the Empire in his tiny junker, so Tabitha did laugh. She laughed damned hard because she was on her way to deliver Cuthbert’s just desserts. Well, his and his accomplices’. “As soon as he lands and goes running to Scroat, we swoop in and take them both down.”

  Hirotoshi made a face.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Just keep in mind that there are a whole bunch of monks down there.” He indicated the map with a nod. “It looks like he’s going to the main temple. We suspect that he may not have been working alone, so we might have a fight on our hands. Bethany Anne was very specific about not drawing attention to ourselves.”

  Tabitha grinned as the mountain loomed on the screen. “Well, as long as we didn’t start it, there’s nothing she can say.”

  “There’s plenty she can say,” Ryu countered. “‘You look like you need a workout,’ for one.”

  That gave them pause since all three had been on the receiving end of Bethany Anne’s “workouts” on too many occasions to count.

  Tabitha shook herself as the temple came into view. “Here we go.”

  They landed the Achronyx next to Cuthbert’s discarded ship and walked toward the temple building. Before they were halfway across the grounds, the monks began to file out of the side door Tabitha and the Tontos had entered by on their last visit.

  Tabitha waved as they approached. “Hey, remember us? The Rangers who came to fix your problem?”

  The Yollin female they’d met previously stepped forward. “Brother Cuthbert tells us he is in fear of his life.”

  Tabitha came to a stop in front of the assembled monks. “What Brother Cuthbert is in fear of is facing the consequences of his actions.”

  “I don’t understand,” one of the monks groaned. “What actions?”

  Tabitha raised an eyebrow at the dramatic monk. “Cuthbert is responsible for the missing people, the fear at Traveler’s Rest, and the missing communication to the Empress. All so he could sell the Loren’s contract to the highest bidder.”

  The difference in reactions around the monks told Tabitha everything she needed to know. “Your order is rotten at the core. I can tell that this news is a shock to some of you, and those can rest easy.” She pointed at Silan and a few others. “The rest of you can kiss your asses goodbye. It’s over. Things will be back to normal around here soon enough. We can make a start with you turning Cuthbert over to face Justice.”

  The greater portion of the Order appeared amenable to her request. A few even turned to go and get Cuthbert.

  “Wait!” Silan called. “We don’t have to hand him over.”

  Tabitha folded her arms and tapped her foot. “Yes, you do. That’s how it works. Ranger sees criminal, Ranger arrests criminal. Criminal is given due process whether they believe in it or not, and the universe keeps turning on its axis, or whatever.”

  Silan had a desperate shrill to his voice. “You can’t prove Brother Cuthbert is guilty of anything!”

  Tabitha smirked. “That’s where you’re wrong.” She pulled her drones out of their pouch. “I have all the evidence I need, and I bet once I go through all the data I copied from the computers in Cuthbert’s hideout I’ll find more than a little on your involvement in this.”

  The Yollin glared at Silan. “Brother Cuthbert has technology? After he was the strongest proponent of the tech ban, after you?”

  All of the innocent monks began to mutter angrily and look at each other with suspicion. The group which had been tight a moment ago fractured into two distinct sides; those who were outraged by the travesties committed under their noses, and those who had known about it all along.

  Silan raised his hands and started to back away. “I…”

  He was saved from further explanation when Tabitha was suddenly blown backward by a mini-missile to the chest. The commotion was enough to turn the murmurs into a full-blown brawl.

  Hirotoshi and Ryu darted among the angry monks, breaking up the worst of the fights to make sure nobody died as they made their way over to get to Tabitha.

  Tabitha flew a good thirty feet, then skidded another ten feet or so on her ass after she landed before coming to a stop. She flopped onto her back and stuck a thumb in the air to let Hirotoshi and Ryu know she was okay. Just keep that mob under control.

  Hirotoshi and Ryu dived back in as Cuthbert strode out of the temple with the portable missile launcher cradled in his arms. He had a manic grin on his face as he stalked toward them. “Where’s my money?”

  Tabitha sat up with a hand clutched to her chest. “Why do they always go for the tatas? That shit hurts!” She got up and dropped the charred robe, revealing full armor underneath. “Nice try, asshole.”

  Cuthbert brought the missile launcher up again. “My money, where is it? I know you took it!” He swung his head from side-to-side until he located Silan. “She took your money too,” he screamed. He lifted the missile launcher a little more to get Tabitha in his sights. “Give it back, or you die.”

  Tabitha rolled her
shoulder and returned his threat by treating him to a view of the inside of her Jean Dukes’ barrel. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Your last missile didn’t even scratch the paint on my armor. Drop the missile launcher. You have one chance.”

  Cuthbert let out a harsh laugh. “I think I’ll keep it. After all, you aren’t wearing a helmet.” His head exploded in a fine spray of brain matter and bone fragments.

  “Neither are you,” Scroat deadpanned from behind Cuthbert’s corpse. He looked up at Tabitha as he stuck his blaster in his waistband and nodded curtly. “Ranger.”

  Tabitha caught the missile launcher with her free hand before it hit the ground and went off accidentally and returned the Skaine’s nod before she realized what she was doing.

  While she was busy kicking herself for acknowledging him, Scroat made his way to the nearest rock. He climbed on top and stood for a moment. Tabitha could have sworn she saw sadness cross his face as he looked at the fighting going on all around them.

  She was not expecting what happened next.

  Scroat put his fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle. The effect was instantaneous. The free-for-all ground to a halt and they all turned to face the little blue monk on the rock. He opened his arms wide and gave them a puzzled smile. “My brothers and sisters, what the fuck is going on?” Scroat’s demeanor changed now he had their attention. “This Order is dedicated to one thing: providing sanctuary. Why are you brawling out here like a bunch of Shrillexians on a bar crawl?”

  Two of the monks dragged Silan in front of Scroat. Another three monks were brought forth similarly, and Scroat stared down at them unerringly. “Well?”

  Silan looked everywhere but at Scroat.

  Scroat looked around. “Does anyone want to tell me what’s going on?”

  An ancient, wispy white-haired Noel-ni came tottering out of the temple toward them. He called ahead in a whisper-dry voice, “Scroat, did you find out what all the racket was about?”

  Scroat hopped down from the rock and rushed to aid the elder. “I was just about to, father. Why don’t you come and sit by the nice Ranger while we work it out?” He tucked a hand under the Noel-ni’s elbow and helped him over to Tabitha before heading back to his rock.