The sound of a footstep pierced the silence behind him.
He opened his eyes just as an arm wrapped around his chest, grabbing a tight hold and pinning him against his seat. A cold, sharp object pressed against his throat.
32
Heading Toward Olympus Mons, Mars
“I would suggest you slowly remove that knife and step back,” said Jozi.
She was quick and apparently far from asleep as Ozzy had thought.
Her gun was against Quad’s neck and pushing against the only part of his body that wasn’t fully protected by his battle suit—the soft area underneath his chin.
Ozzy blinked several times, trying not to move or swallow. Any movement he made, and if Quad flinched, would be the death of Ozzy.
“I have a job to complete, and I’m always good on my word,” Quad said. His gruff, robotic voice was emotionless.
“You cut his throat, I put a photon blast through yours. How will all that auric benefit you after you’re dead?”
“It wouldn’t benefit me at all,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Then put down your weapon.” Jozi’s voice was stern and unwavering.
“I’d do as she says,” Gragas said, joining them in the cockpit. “If Jozi somehow misses, which I doubt, then I’ll kill you myself.”
Quad squeezed Ozzy’s chest tighter. “That’s not in your code, Gragas. You’ve already overstepped your Galactic Knight codes, and you’ll be stepping over them more if you attempt to kill me.”
“For a friend, overstepping is more important than understepping for the sake of a code, Quad.” Gragas’s footsteps clanked against the metal flooring. “Now, slowly release your hold and step back.”
Quad squeezed tighter.
Ozzy tried to swallow, and perspiration dotted his temples.
Jozi pushed the muzzle of her gun harder into Quad’s chin. “I’m giving you three seconds then lights out.”
Quad didn’t move.
“One.”
Ozzy closed his eyes.
“Two.”
Gragas cleared his throat. “It was nice knowing you, my friend.”
My friend? Who is he talking about? Me or Quad?
“Thr—”
Quad unwrapped his arm and took the knife away from Ozzy’s throat. He stepped back, his arms up. Jozi walked with him, her pistol still lodged under his chin.
Ozzy rubbed his neck and stretched his mouth. He didn’t want to experience that twice in one lifetime. He unholstered his pistol, shot a glance around the room, and pointed his gun in Quad’s direction. “We’ll leave you outside.”
His suit’s oxygen tanks turned on when he clipped his helmet in place, and he took a deep breath, still pointing his weapon.
Quad backed toward the ladder. “I’ll cut my way back inside your craft.”
“Quad, you forget. . .the device you used to get inside Relic is right here in the storage bay.” Gragas had descended the ladder and was holding the cutting tool. He hit the button to open the ramp. “And we’re not giving it back.”
Jozi led Quad to the edge of the ladder. With his back against the railing, he teetered but kept his balance. She holstered her weapon with caution then appeared to act nonchalantly for a moment but then slapped his knife out of his hand, simultaneously kicking Quad in the chest.
The knife landed near her feet, and Quad fell a story down, his arms windmilling in the air.
He smacked onto the floor, and a boom echoed through the bay. Ozzy hoped a nice, loud bell rang in Quad’s helmet as well.
Gragas grabbed Quad by the collar and dragged him toward the ramp.
Ozzy slid down the ladder and rushed to Quad with his gun outstretched.
Quad’s arms hung at his sides. Was he letting this happen? He could have killed Ozzy in the cockpit at any moment with his knife and, as quick as Quad was, may have been able to defeat Jozi and Gragas, too.
Gragas stopped at the edge of the ramp, his hand still wrapped around Quad’s metallic collar. “Quad, you’re not putting up a fight? Why?”
“If it is meant to be then I will die out here, but. . .” said Quad, still on his back with half of his body on the red sand and the other half on the ramp.
“But, if we spare your life, you will spare Ozzy’s again?”
Quad nodded. “That is my code.”
Why would Quad go through the theatrics of it all? Why not just ask? Yes, Ozzy saved Quad by not killing him when he was stuck between the forklift’s prongs, and then he saved Ozzy in return by downing the MMP ships, so perhaps Quad thought he had paid his debt to Ozzy. Plus, the guy wouldn’t die out there. Everyone, including Quad, knew that. He was a beast and could use his boot thrusters to fly back to his ship. What was he trying to do?
Gragas let him go. “By the book. That’s what you are, Quad. You will claim that Ozzy saved you once again and that you owe him your life. Is that true?”
“Yes, it is true. This will postpone my contract to kill him, according to my bounty hunter code. I will keep doing this because I’m beginning to see a pattern. The man who hired me, Robert Baldwin, performs evil deeds, and I have not seen any evil from Ozzy. The High Judge is corrupt. Ozzy, on the other hand, is a decent human.” Quad pushed off the ground, standing straight and tall, towering over Gragas. “Now, let’s put your High Judge away for a long time, and it will benefit me just as it will benefit you.”
Ozzy folded his arms. “How will it benefit you?”
“If the High Judge is put away and placed in a holding cell for the remainder of his life, he will not be able to pay me the rest of what he owes. That means I cannot finish the job since it will not be paid in full.”
Ozzy let out an exasperated breath. “You want to stay with us?”
Quad pounded his fists together and went to one knee, bowing his head. “I would be honored.”
You’ve got to be kidding me. “How do I know you won’t kill me and not tricking me again?”
“I won’t and I’m not tricking you.”
Ozzy began pacing, his eyes gazing at the grated floor. He stopped. “I got it.” He put his index finger into the air. “Gragas, wedge Quad between the forklift’s prongs again. He can’t get out of those. Pin him against the wall as well.”
Gragas stepped forward. “That’s not necessary, Ozzy, I doubt—”
“Do it!” interrupted Ozzy, his nostrils flaring. “You’re not the one who has to worry about Quad ripping your head off.” If Quad were telling the truth, he’d be a good ally. If he wasn’t, then Ozzy had no idea what to do with the bounty hunter. He was nearly unkillable. And, hell, perhaps Quad was telling the truth and didn’t really want to kill Ozzy because Ozzy should have been dead by now. Quad had all the opportunity in the world to slit his throat less than ten minutes ago but chose to back away.
“As you wish, Ozzy.” Gragas shook his head and pointed to a wall. “Over there, Quad.”
Quad’s boots clanked loudly against the floor as he made his way to the wall.
Ozzy began to pace. He couldn’t leave since Relic’s fuel cells weren’t charged to flying capacity. Hell, he had to wait for the sun to rise for the fuel cells to continue charging, which meant he wasn’t leaving for Olympus Mons until tomorrow morning or perhaps later. There, he could rest up and grab some items he left in the castle-like structure inside the mountain. Most importantly, he’d rest up while waiting for Lyra No Tail to get back to him with the coordinates to her Eagle so he could be on his way to Earth. There was nothing else to do but wait.
“Well,” Ozzy announced, “I’m going to watch Quad from the upper deck by the railing.” He climbed the ladder as Gragas moved the forklift and pinned Quad against the wall. If Quad somehow escaped or even tried, Ozzy would notice.
He reached the upper deck and sat in front of the railing, slipping his feet and legs through a gap in the slats and dangled them over the edge. Jozi and Gragas followed suit and went up the ladder, each one sitting on either side of him, also dan
gling their legs.
They all watched Quad. He wasn’t making any sudden, violent movements to tear himself away from the wall and the forks. Maybe he’d be true to his word.
“Ozzy,” said Gragas. “Don’t allow any crime syndicate to take over the government. It doesn’t sit well with me. I think even more negativity would come from a crime lord taking the High Judge seat than even Robert Baldwin.”
Ozzy closed his eyes. “A little late, Gragas. I don’t want to deal with this right now.” He wasn’t going to do anything to compromise a plan to take down Baldwin even if that meant Jonas Moon might take over the High Judge position. It would prove the lies that Robert had concocted about Ozzy and Jozi. “I’ll allow things to go as planned, Gragas.”
Plus, he remembered Shar’s words:
“You have a corrupt government. Your High Judge is a criminal, and his greed will be the death of your race. Do whatever you can to take him down…”
“I see things taking a bad turn when Jonas takes power,” warned Gragas. “And even worse if Wildly takes the reigns.”
Ozzy threw a dismissive hand in the air. Underneath Jonas’s hard exterior, there was a lot of good in the man.
“I’ll think about it, Gragas.” Ozzy yawned. “Now, you want to keep an eye on him. I’m gonna take a ten-minute nap.” He leaned back, laying his head on the floor, thinking tomorrow was going to be a great day because Robert Baldwin was going to be shown on all the news outlets as the piece of crap that he was.
33
Heading Toward Olympus Mons, Mars
Ozzy shook. Then he shook more violently.
He opened his eyes. “What is it?” he shouted as he leaped to a standing position.
Jozi was next to him, her hair disheveled and bags under her eyes.
“I can’t get a hold of him!” Her eyes were wild.
“Who?”
“Anonymity.”
Ozzy rubbed his eyes. “Why do you need to get in touch with Anonymity? Everything is planned, and he will be exposing Robert tomorrow.”
“Today is tomorrow.”
Ozzy felt like someone had dumped ice down his back, and his heart skittered and skipped a beat.
Today was the big day. He remembered a story about Christmas day back on Earth and how excited children were to see presents under their trees, and now he knew what they must have been feeling.
He eyed Quad, who was still pinned against the wall. He and Gragas were having a chat he couldn’t hear. He stood and hurried into the cockpit.
“Look.” Jozi pointed at the holodisplay above the console.
The screen was playing the regular news about how the economic market was doing and which company was buying out another company.
“Turn the channel,” he demanded, his heart plummeting to his stomach.
Jozi switched from channel to channel. Everything was the same. There was no news about Robert or him being exposed.
“Maybe Anonymity is taking his time. Maybe he hasn’t patched into all the networks yet.”
“The deal was first thing in the morning, and it’s three hours past that time.”
Ozzy sat in his pilot’s chair and slumped. “This is not happening.”
He pulled up the com channel and dialed Anonymity. It rang, but no one answered. He punched it in again. Nothing.
He punched his armrest. “This isn’t happening.”
His com channel beeped and he sat straighter, thinking Anonymity was on the line.
Jonas appeared, scowling, and he was shaking his fist. “I warned you that Anonymity would betray you and go to the highest bidder. You had my Mars’ damn hopes up, Ozzy.”
Jozi covered her mouth then said, “Who bought Anonymity out?”
Jonas cracked his knuckles. “Who do you think?”
“Robert,” replied Ozzy. “He caught wind of it. But how?”
“He caught wind of it by Anonymity, you imbecile.” There was a tightness in Jonas’s eyes. “But it won’t stop me, Ozzy. I’ll get in the High Judge’s chair soon enough, only not the easy way.”
The com channel blipped off.
“I’m going to help you,” came a gruff voice.
Ozzy turned. Quad was standing at the back of the cockpit, his body tense. Ozzy stood and unholstered his gun, pointing it at Quad. “Don’t take another step. How did you get free?”
Quad didn’t reply.
Ozzy glanced at Jozi. She also had a pistol pointed at him. “How much did you hear, Quad?” she asked.
“All of it,” he replied, spinning on his heels and jumping over the upper deck railing. A loud pound echoed upon Quad’s landing on the storage bay floor.
Ozzy rushed to the railing.
Quad stared up at him. “Put on your helmet. I’m leaving.”
Gragas was on the floor, knocked out.
Crap.
Ozzy unholstered his other sidearm and raised it at Quad.
Quad walked to the ramp and placed his hand on the “open” button. “Please, put on your helmet. I have to go.”
“I’m not keeping you here. You’re free to leave, but why the rush?” Part of him was glad to see Quad leave, and the other part was too curious as to why Quad wanted to jet out of Relic so quickly. Something was going on in that mind of Quad’s, and Ozzy wanted to know what it was.
“I’m going to kill the High Judge.” He slapped the button, opening the door and taking oxygen with it.
Quad jumped into the air and rockets at the bottom of his boots lifted him toward the sky and out of everyone’s view.
Ozzy held his breath and ran to get his helmet attached in place. Air blasted into it as he took a big breath. He pressed the button on his console to close the ramp.
His eyes traveled over to Jozi, who already had her helmet on, and she motioned for him to turn on his helmet’s line.
“Did he just say he was going to kill Robert Baldwin?” she asked.
“Yeah, but good luck getting past all that security.”
Ozzy didn’t know what to do now. Everyone was supposed to be yelling for the High Judge to be fired and thrown in jail. But, instead, Anonymity had sold them out.
A loud sigh escaped Jozi. “This is wrong. We can’t have Quad kill Robert. This won’t get you or me off. We still have the documents and can expose him somehow, someway.”
“It doesn’t matter. Jonas will be the High Judge after Quad kills Robert.”
“How do you know that?” She looked at Ozzy for a moment without saying a word. There was sadness in her voice, and her facial features appeared downcast, her arms slack by her sides. Ozzy could tell she again wanted Robert safe. The High Judge being her uncle was becoming more than a problem. “For all we know, once Robert is murdered, someone already in the Ministry will take over as the High Judge.” She pursed her lips. “Quad thinks he’s doing us a favor, but he’s not.”
“Trust me, Jonas probably knows what he’s doing. He’ll take over—”
She grabbed his EVA collar. “I don’t think you understand. That’s my uncle. He’s my family, even if he only wants ill will for me.” She shook him. “Think about this: someone in the Ministry could be the new sitting High Judge if we kill Robert. If we expose him, then several in the Ministry are exposed as well, and people wouldn’t want anyone from within the Ministry as the new High Judge. Of all people, Ozzy, why isn’t this getting through your thick head?”
Ozzy pushed her hands away. “Don’t worry about it. It’s Jonas. He’s going to get the job done.”
“Listen to me, Ozzy. I can’t continue to be a criminal, or rather, painted as one. If Robert is murdered, I remain a criminal, and my MMP family will still want to arrest me. Do you understand? This is all going to go sideways.” Jozi huffed. “We have to stop Quad.”
Ozzy nudged Jozi. “Get off of me.”
Jozi kicked the floor with her boot. “Drop me off at the nearest city. I’m going to warn the High Judge.”
“The hell you are.”
Jozi rushed forward, pinning Ozzy against the upper deck railing with her boot on his stomach. She unholstered her sidearm and pressed it against his helmet’s solar visor. “Try to stop me."
“What’s going on up there?” asked Gragas, rubbing his head while glaring up at them from the lower deck storage bay. “And what happened to me?”
“Quad knocked you out somehow,” said Jozi. She relaxed and removed her foot from Ozzy’s stomach then straightened her EVA suit and eyed Gragas. “Can you get me to the High Judge? I’m going to stop Quad from murdering him.”
“I can and I will.”
“Let Robert die,” Ozzy said.
Gragas moved toward the ladder. “Jozi, I’ll carry you.” His wings extended out of his battle suit. “We have a long flight ahead of us.”
Jozi climbed down the ladder, and Ozzy walked to the railing, watching them on the deck below. “You’re going to stop Quad…” Ozzy snapped his fingers, “…just like that? It’s going to be that easy?”
“It’s never easy with Quad,” replied Gragas. “Help us.”
Ozzy’s eyes flashed with irritation. “I’ll pass.”
Gragas slapped the ramp door, which hissed and opened. “See you.” He grabbed Jozi and wrapped his arms around her upper chest as he jumped and flew out of view.
“You bastard, Gragas,” Ozzy muttered under his breath. Ozzy didn’t know if Quad was doing him a favor by wanting to kill Robert or what other motives he had, but let the High Judge rot in hell for all Ozzy cared.
He made his way back into the cockpit and drummed his fingers on the console. Jozi and Gragas going to save the High Judge wasn’t sitting well. They had to rid the government of the disease known as Robert Baldwin. Not save him. Ozzy wouldn’t need to run around Mars half-hidden all the time, wondering what shit Robert would pull off each day to try to kill him.
It would be an end to tyranny. It would be an end to running. Ozzy could have a normal life again.
He shook his head. “Don’t do this, Jozi,” he whispered. “Let the asshole die.”
Martian Quadrilogy Box Set Page 55
