White Fire

by Laurie Bell

  He’s been shot? Two sides went to war inside Toni. She bit back every comment hard enough to taste blood. Before she could say anything, he hung up on her. Son of a she-demon! She checked her weapon was fully charged and ran toward the door.

  “What are you doing?” Mate snapped, stopping her before she could smack her hand against the release.

  “To rescue his ass. We need what is in that locker.” Shenghi, she’d forgotten to ask if he’d even reached the locker.

  “Not like that you are not.”

  Zach popped up beside her. “Your image has been flashed to the security teams.”

  “Khegh it!”

  “They’re saying you’re an escaped criminal with a history of insanity, warning people you’re telling your victims you’re an agent.”

  “For the love of … right, I can’t go out—”

  “Boss?”

  Toni stomped toward her costume cupboard. At least Jas’s birthday gift would finally be of use.

  *

  Patrons screamed and scattered, the smart ones ducking under nearby tables as shots grew louder. Through the hysterical mass, Toni spied Colten heading her way, followed by goons—several of whom she recognized from her own escape—and plenty of casino security guards. A red globe next to Colten’s head exploded. He ducked as the blood-colored shards sprayed over him.

  She had to shout to be heard over the noise. “Stop sightseeing and get your butt up here.”

  He searched over his shoulder.

  “I said up, you idiot.”

  Colten grinned as he caught sight of her.

  Yes, I’m on a winner platform sitting in a display Cadford hovercar—just like a kheghing prize. “Need a lift?” She felt her face flush. Fortunately, the layers of toned foundation caked onto her face would hide it. She flicked the brown wig’s annoyingly long strands off her shoulder and blinked down at him. “What are you waiting for?”

  He clambered over the lockout fence and under the sign. Toni pushed the passenger side door open.

  “Nice dress.”

  “Shut up,” she snapped, glaring daggers at him. “The locker?”

  “Got it.”

  Huffing out a relieved breath, she ducked under the dashboard. Two bolts ricocheted off the windshield and shattered the blinking sign beside them. Ignoring the noise, she sorted through a ball of wires. “Not that one,” he said.

  “Khegh off.”

  “Not that one.”

  “Shenghi, Colten, I know what I’m doing.” She tugged a red wire clear.

  “Not that one,” he repeated.

  “Fine.” She pulled the green wire instead, wrapping it tightly around an already cut silver wire. The repulse-engine roared to life.

  Toni slid into the driver’s seat and yanked her troublesome skirt aside to stamp her foot onto the accelerator. The hovercar shot forward, severing the wires securing it to the platform and flew out over the main casino floor.

  “Hold on!” she cried, yanking the wheel hard to the right. The hovercar nearly stalled as it turned ninety degrees and hurtled toward the exit. Colten bounced against the door, hissing in pain.

  “Go higher!” he shouted as they skimmed too close to the Duilk tables. Cards and chips were sent flying under the vehicle’s repulsion field.

  Twisting the wheel, Toni tapped rapidly at the control board’s touch panel. Antigrav lifts patched into the underside of the craft generated a burst of power, thrusting them up fast. She cut the lifts back to half and flew out above the crowd.

  The hovercar’s back window exploded, sending her ducking for cover. Colten’s face pressed close to hers.

  “No rear shields,” she answered his unasked question. She wrenched the wheel hard one way and back the other, weaving between large signs and advertising boards. Stamping on the brake, she nearly sent herself and Colten flying through the front screen. Only their belts stopped them. “Oh, khegh it.”

  Beside her, Colten sucked in a sharp breath. Her eyes snapped to his and then flew in the direction he was staring. The theme park’s giant entrance doors swung closed ahead of them, heavy doors that could not be opened again without three men to crank the giant wheels on the ground. Toni punched the accelerator and wished she could close her eyes.

  “Hold on!”

  “Are you crazy?” he bellowed.

  “No!” She jumped on the brake again, swinging the car sideways. Before he had time to react, she withdrew a long black object from the rear seat and shoved it into his hands.

  “What the hell is this?”

  “The door remote.” She grinned wildly. “Open the kheghing window and shoot the damned door.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  “What? It can’t blast through that, that’s reinforced plasteel and crete-brick!” He held the weapon across his legs and in the crook of one arm, the other hung loosely from his shoulder.

  “Where’s your optimism?” she asked, increasing the forward shields. Adrenaline flooded through her. She was hyperaware of the man in the seat next to her as he unwound the window. He stuck his head though only to pull back when a bolt exploded against the side lens. She shot him a glance, worried he’d been hit. He gave her a strained smile. There was blood on his shoulder. Shenghi! He had been hit.

  The car rocked wildly. Before Toni could stabilize it, the back wheel clipped a large promotion sign, which crashed to the ground, hitting another as it fell. The second sign clipped another, and then another … Steel panels cascaded to the floor, sending electronic sparks all over the Park. She glanced at Colten. “Whoops.”

  He grinned and leaned through the window again. The casino entrance was deserted. Everyone appeared to have scattered into the Park. She heard him take a sharp breath and then silence. He pulled the trigger.

  The mag-rifle let out a high-pitched squeal and a whoosh exploded from the barrel. At first it seemed as though nothing happened. Then the doors dissolved, melting right off the hinges.

  Toni gasped. Xendia! No wonder Zaambuka wanted information on these things. She checked the rearview screen. Goons and park security lay unconscious on the floor.

  “What is this thing?” Colten shouted, shaking the weapon with his working arm.

  Toni didn’t answer. Instead she slammed her foot onto the accelerator and flew them out of the Park.

  *

  Toni peeled the blood-stained jacket from Colten’s tense shoulders. At least she tried to. The material was stuck to the wound, and she had to tug at it gently to remove it.

  “Ahh,” he groaned as she picked at the tacky leather.

  “Sorry.” She bit back a smile. Karma was such a bitch.

  “Sure you are.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” He pulled the bag over his head and dropped it at her feet. “The stuff from the locker.”

  “Great.” Toni grabbed the bag.

  “Wait a minute, what about my shoulder?”

  “What about it?” She stared at his pained expression. “Damn it, Colten, this is important.” Being this close to him, her skin soaked in his familiar warmth. Her belly flip-flopped. Stay cold and impersonal. Don’t let him see he still affects you. His scent wrapped around her and clogged her nose. Get rid of him!

  “Hey, you asked for my help.”

  She stared, contemplating the irony and debated throwing his own words from two years ago back at him or telling him to toughen up. Several other phrases came to mind about what he could do with his arm, too. “You didn’t … Oh, for Xendia’s sake.” She stomped away to fetch her medical box.

  In the Blackflame’s cockpit, she sagged against the control console and released a heartfelt sigh. Dipping her head, tears prickled in her eyes. She blinked them back. Stop this! Huffing out a breath, she caught sight of her disguised visage in the mirror. She ripped the wig from her head and snatched up her skin spray. It took only seconds to remove the heavy foundation. The redness in her face rose in welts around her hairline. She scratched at the bumps on the
side of her nose. It was certainly good to be herself again. A pep talk to her reflection sent her back to Colten, the aid kit in her hands. “Take your shirt off.”

  “Well, now, I don’t know whether this is the time and place for that,” he drawled. His gaze crept over her skin. Toni twisted away, warmth flaring from her collar. She caught Mate staring at the smuggler. The C-bot sat on a cushioned passenger seat beside the door. She didn’t see Zach.

  Toni gave her partner a desperate look before turning back to the injured man. I don’t want to do this. “I can’t look at the wound with your shirt on.”

  Colten ground his teeth and reached for the waistband of his pants. The blood-stained shirt got stuck halfway over his head before he froze.

  She watched in silence. There was no way she was going to help. Not until he begged. A soft mutter came from under the black material.

  “Sorry, what?” she asked.

  “A little help?”

  With a sharp move, she jerked the material from his fingers. Holding his shoulder steady, she peeled the material from the wound. Clammy dark skin radiated heat. It spread over her fingers and up her arm. Xendia!

  “Ah, careful,” he gasped.

  Lifting her hands from his bare shoulder, she cursed silently. Unwanted memories threatened her focus. She remembered the feel of his body against her and the safety of his embrace. Swallowing hard, she leaned forward to examine his arm. Luckily for him, the bolt had gone right through. The exit wound on his back looked pretty torn up, but the entry on his chest was reasonably clean. The bolt had hit his body just above his Cross tattoo.

  She wanted to shove the kit into his hands and tell him to fix his injury on his own—after all, she’d had to. Huffing out a breath instead, she set about cleaning the wound, finding several antibiotic sprays and cleaners in her kit.

  The scar across his stomach caught her eye. She pressed her lips together tightly to stop the question emerging. It was none of her business. He twitched again, and Toni’s shoulder ached in sympathy.

  She held the palm-sized bone regenerator to his shoulder. The demand to know why he had abandoned her on that moon danced on her tongue but she couldn’t ask it. He was a smuggler and a liar—that was all the reason he needed.

  “Is this a private party, or can anyone join?” Zach asked popping up on the screen to her right.

  “Hey, you must be Zach. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Colten’s voice sounded strained.

  “Smuggler, that looks like it hurts.” If a computer could generate a voice that sounded happy, her CII was using it now.

  “Stop squirming,” Toni snapped. With one hand, she searched for the mu-knit unit. Colten twisted, trying to face the closest screen but she forced him back and pressed the device over the hole in his back to reknit the muscles. “Hold still!”

  “I’m not moving,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “Right.”

  Zach appeared on every screen. “I don’t understand why you’re treating him here, Boss. You got the bag. Dump his ass out the ramp and let’s go.”

  Colten held out a hand. “Whoa now. Calm down, Zach.” His pleading gaze fell on Toni. She stared blankly at him, refusing to budge.

  “For what it’s worth—”

  “It’s not.”

  There was a long silence. Toni plucked the healing unit from his chest. It looked okay. She slapped an accelerant patch to the new skin and wound a flexible bandage around his arm and shoulder. With one arm around his chest, she tightened the bandage.

  His heart was pounding when she pressed her ear against his back. Her own heartbeat increased in response, and her face flamed. She straightened, closing the kit with a snap and stalked from the room, returning to throw an oversized white poly-cotton shirt at his face.

  “Time to go, Smuggler. The door’s that way.”

  “Zach’s right. You can go, Colten. Thanks for the help.” Toni emptied the contents of his bag onto the table, all the while keeping him in her periphery. She refused to turn her back on him.

  She found several prints of a dark-haired woman with pale skin who looked maybe ten years older than Toni. In each print, the woman’s face looked serene, staring off into the distance as if she could see a future no one else could see.

  “Vice-President Cat Ramo.” Zach said.

  “I know that, Zach.” Toni examined the pictures with care. Everyone in the Sector knew of the Vice-President. Last year, when Xhonda Ramo resigned her position as President, she’d publicly encouraged her daughter to enter the Senate. Marcus Hemalter had been elected President, much to the dismay of many. He’d barely shown his face in public since, cancelling event after event and avoiding holocameras completely. Cat Ramo was the real face of Sector One politics. Toni figured it was only a matter of time before Ramo was elected to the top job, but she had big ideals, and even bigger shoes to fill.

  “Gorgeous, isn’t she?” Colten said, staring over Toni’s shoulder.

  “Door,” she stated, pointing to the exit.

  He ignored her, leaning sideways to eye the images on the table. “I never really thought about it, but wow, she’s incredible.”

  “Yeah, she’s all right,” Toni was irritated both by Colten’s reaction and by her reaction to his reaction. She tried to ignore him as she sorted through the rest of the bag’s contents. Pausing, she fingered a small projectile weapon. It looked like a bow, but the trigger and projectile chamber looked different. She’d not seen it’s like before.

  “Look familiar?” she asked, holding it up.

  Colten shook his head.

  Left on the table was a piece of plastipaper. Toni flattened the scrunched material. The only thing on it was a name scrawled in ink: Jase Balandez.

  “Balandez?” The high pitch of Colten’s voice brought her gaze snapping back to his face. He looked at Toni though wide eyes. “Balandez is an assassin. Specializes in targeting the rich and famous. I hear he commands a huge performance fee.” Colten took the small bowcaster from her hand. “This is the sort weapon he would use.”

  “They’re going to assassinate Vice-President Ramo?” Toni whispered.

  “Why?” Mate asked.

  “I don’t know. Ant might,” she offered. “But it has to link back to the distribution of those Resonators.” She gestured to the bow. “This is clearly intended to carry some kind of explosive projectile.”

  “What’s a Resonator?” Colten asked, handing the bow back to Toni.

  “The mag-rifle I gave you.”

  “They’re shipping those? To where?”

  “They’re being …” She wanted to say smuggled but stopped herself, just. “… distributed underground. I have a delivery list, but no idea where they’re being made, or what they’re being distributed for.”

  “I’ll contact the Cross, get them looking for the source.”

  Toni forced herself not to respond. The Cross probably knew more about the Resonators distribution than anyone.

  “So, what now?” he asked. “I assume you’ll warn the Vice-President, but are we going after the Resonators or Balandez?”

  Mate growled, the sound so deep Toni felt it in her feet. Zach reappeared on every screen. “You’re not coming.”

  “Zach,” Toni warned.

  The CII ignored her. “You’re not invited, Smuggler.”

  “Zach,” Colten tried to reason. “She asked me.”

  Toni shook her head. “I said I’d pay you for a single job. Which you completed. Thanks for your help, but the SPT will take it from here.” She had to hold her ground. His presence would distract her from the mission. She’d end up spending her whole time watching over her shoulder, wondering when he was going to shoot her again. Hm, Mate’s right. I do have trust issues. But were they issues if it had legitimately happened? Toni could never look at Colten and not remember the heartache and physical pain he’d caused.

  “What?” He examined her through narrowed eyes.

  “This is an official operat
ion, Colten. You’ve been very helpful, and I thank you for that, but I can handle it from here.”

  Mate stood near the wall, backing her up all the way. Zach grinned and bounced from one screen to the next.

  “Wait a minute, Toni, I’m involved now. This is personal.” He gestured to his injured shoulder. “These guys chased me, shot at me! I’m involved. I can help you.”

  Her breath puffed out of her. Are you kheghing with me? Why on Marn did he want to help—unless … Did he actually feel guilty?

  Use him.

  “If you really want to help, see if you can track down the origin of those Resonator shipments.”

  Colten climbed to his feet, moving straight into her personal space. She backed up, but he followed. Leaning into her body, he hissed, “You’re shutting me out, Toni. I’m involved now. It’s too late to back off.”

  Mate growled a warning. Colten didn’t move.

  “No,” she replied. Her heart rate skyrocketed. She licked her lips and swallowed. “I won’t work with a smuggler.” What she really meant was that she wouldn’t work with him. She pushed him away.

  “You’re still angry? Well, get over it!”

  “Get over it?” He actually dared to say that! Khegh-loving ass! “You shot me and left me stranded!”

  “I had my reasons and if you’d just let me explain—”

  She didn’t care about his reasons. She didn’t care about him. Storming to the wall, she put space between them before she did something she couldn’t come back from, like shoot him. “Just go.”

  “Those goons tried to kill me. I want to even the score.”

  “This is not a game.”

  “You think people trying to kill me is a game?”

  “No.” She pressed her lips together, exasperated.

  “You won’t work with me?”

  Is he serious? “No.”

  “Then I’ll find Balandez without you.” He snatched up his jacket and the empty bag.

  “What are you going to do?”

  Colten turned in the doorway. “You’ll figure it out.” He walked right up to her. She stepped to one side but couldn’t help the shiver that ran through her body when he pushed up against her. He spoke in a low voice. “You need to trust me.”