White Fire

by Laurie Bell

“Why is he there?” Toni whispered back. They hadn’t seen any guards anywhere in this prison section. So why was this one standing outside that cell door? Colten tilted his head. His eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead.

  She walked two fingers through the air. “I’m checking.”

  “What?” His hiss filled the hallway. She waved him away.

  Rounding the corner at a brisk hobble she dropped the surprised guard with one shot. It sounded far too loud in the constricted corridor. As he collapsed, she limped to the cell’s door and triggered the open sequence. Nothing happened.

  “Need a hand?” Berni appeared at her shoulder. Toni shrugged—she wouldn’t say no. Berni aimed low, Toni went high. They fired in unison.

  Smoke filled the corridor and swept into the cell. Through the haze, she spied movement on the sole bunk. Smoke curled toward the vents in the ceiling and as the room cleared Toni stepped over the door debris to approach the prone figure. He tried to sit up. A groan burst from his cracked lips. His hands wrapped around his stomach. Toni was concerned at the sight of blood staining his collar. His breathing sounded ragged, irregular, not a good sound. She brandished her weapon. “Name?”

  His voice was weak but she was able to make it out. “Rober Telksh.”

  “Doctor Telksh?” She holstered her weapon and blinked the lingering smoke out of her stinging eyes.

  “Yes.” The battered man coughed weakly. “Who are you?”

  Toni grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. “I’m one of the good guys. Come on, we need to get you out of here.” Telksh wobbled, his face losing what little color it had.

  “Wait. There is a poison …”

  “Now’s not the best time. Come on, Doc.”

  “No, wait, you don’t understand—”

  “Let’s just get moving. You can tell me later.”

  Colten stepped into the cell. “Whatcha doing, Toni?”

  “Would it shock you to know I was told to find this guy?” She hauled Telksh up as he collapsed. Slinging his arm over her shoulder, they limped toward the door. “Help me.” Colten took the doctor’s other arm.

  There was a pale tint to the Doc’s skin Toni didn’t like. Sweat beaded his neck like he was in a sauna and he favored his right side. She hoped he’d not given up all his secrets to Gallian—he’d clearly been put under a lot of pressure to do so.

  Toni was trying to hide her own limp, but from the look on Colten’s face she’d failed. Her leg ached painfully and her eyes were killing her. It was damned bright on this ship.

  “We’re expecting company, Colten, Move,” she said, encouraging the injured doctor to hustle up the corridor. “Why have there been no alarms?” It had been a while since the fight and their escape. Their pistol fire hadn’t exactly been quiet or subtle.

  Berni fell back to cover their escape without a word.

  Toni couldn’t believe her luck. She’d found Doctor Telksh. Truth to tell, she’d only remembered Zaambuka’s order to “save the Doctor” as she’d hobbled down that damn corridor. It was pure guesswork Gallian might have him here on the ship. When she’d spied that guard stationed outside the cell, the order came flooding back, as did her anger at the man she’d always trusted. Pushing that emotion to the back of her mind, she knew she had to focus. Get the good doctor off the ship without getting them all killed, and get to Midock before anyone died. Piece of cake.

  “Agent, I must tell you about the poison.”

  “What poison?” she finally demanded.

  “The one they made me make. It is deadly in only the smallest dose.”

  She thought of the dart weapon that Colten had found in the locker on Uxt. “Can you make an antidote?”

  “I already have,” he gasped. “I designed them together. I just need the ingredients.” Though he struggled to breathe he kept walking. Toni was impressed with his determination to continue on despite his injuries.

  Okay, she really had extraordinary luck; she had the doctor and the antidote. Squinting along the corridor ahead, she hoped they were headed in the right direction. Her throbbing leg threatened to derail her progress. It crossed her mind Dalmith might have caused some real damage during her beating. Where is Dalmith? She eyed the long corridor suspiciously, expecting the monstrous man to be lurking in wait. Her strength ebbed with every step, the adrenaline from the earlier fight dissipating fast. She forced one foot in front of the other and struggled to keep her pistol raised without letting her arms droop. The corridor was awfully quiet.

  Where are all the guards? Their escape seemed too easy.

  “—synthesize it. It won’t take long.”

  The doctor’s words served to get her thoughts back online. “Good,” she replied and turned her head to find Berni lurking a few steps behind. Toni waved a hand until she had the woman’s attention. “How do we get out of here?”

  “Why ask me?”

  “You’ve been here the longest.” A wave of dizziness hit Toni so fast she nearly keeled over. Slapping a hand against the wall, she forced her shaking legs to hold, yanking Doctor Telksh and Colten to a halt. As the wave passed, she swiped a hand over her sweaty face.

  “Toni?” Colten’s brows knit together looking her up and down. He focused on her leg.

  “I’m good,” she said. He watched her for a moment longer. “Get going,” she snapped. I can do this. With a grunt, she straightened.

  Colten returned to his previous conversation, but kept a wary eye on her. Her skin tingled wherever his gaze lingered. “Berni’s never had a good sense of direction, I wouldn’t ask her which way to go.”

  “Wait,” Berni stopped. “I do recognize where we are.” She crept up to the group. “I was awake when those dumb guards dragged me down to the cell. We came through here and around that corner to the left.”

  They hobbled to the corner and stopped. At each junction, they found a sealed door blocking their path and, so far, each had been dealt with easily. The doors quickly disintegrated under the force of their combined weaponry.

  Toni searched over her shoulder, the hairs on the back of her neck quivering. Why hadn’t they run into anyone? Every time a door exploded, an alarm must have sounded in someone’s office, somewhere. Each time the smoke cleared, she half expected to find an entire squadron of armed guards waiting for them.

  This access door looked different. Rounded edges sealed into the wall around it. Perhaps it indicated the last exit out of the prison wing?

  Colten handed the wounded doctor fully over to Toni. She sagged under the man’s weight. The two smugglers agreed this door would fall like all the others and raised their pistols.

  “No, wait!” Toni lurched forward, knocking Colten’s weapon aside, dragging the poor doctor along for the ride. He grunted into her ear but didn’t complain. She could smell blood.

  “What?”

  “Look.” Squinting up at the top of the door, she pointed out several strategically placed pinpoint ports in the frame.

  “If we’d fired, the damned thing would’ve fired back and fried us.” Berni whistled, standing beside them.

  Toni felt Colten’s stare. She didn’t acknowledge it.

  Handing Doctor Telksh over to Colten, she leaned forward and examined the lock, pressing her nose so close to the panel she nearly touched the glass. It looked like a Mark 70–29 security system. She recognized it as the brand she’d come across in the warehouse on Uxt. Lights flashed on the number pad. Huh? Toni’s sensitive eyes reacted immediately to the signal; she’d be the only one capable of seeing it. Zach? Her eyes snapped up, searching for the closest camera port. When she looked back down, the pattern ran again. Toni copied the long combination into the panel.

  Mouth dry, she stared at the door as if she could will it into accepting the code. Seconds passed like light-years and then it let out a sharp beep. Now we get laser-grilled?

  The door beeped a second time and swooshed open.

  “How the …?”

  “Don’t ask.” Toni
led the way through the door, staying well clear of the smugglers to hide the tremble in her hands. Zach? Was her CII functional? The idea that he was and had hacked the prison’s system filled her with hope. That explained the lack of alarm and guards. They might just get out of here after all.

  Behind her, she heard Colten mutter, “I told you she was good.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  “Where is everyone? This is a battleship, an active battleship. The place looks deserted.”

  Doctor Telksh spoke up, his voice faltering. “The Capacitor has a limited flight crew.”

  “Hey, wait,” Berni called. “I’m pretty sure we turned right at the docking bay here, so I guess we turn left.” Toni gestured for her to lead the way.

  The two smugglers walked side by side, Dan leaning down to listen to Berni speak. Toni’s chest spasmed. Probably an injury from Berni’s beating or the earlier interrogation. She stared at them balefully. Berni was a beautiful woman; Toni was just a clear-skinned, scarred freak who had no claim on Colten. The accusations Berni had thrown replayed in her mind, and Toni knew the other woman was right. Colten would never choose someone like Toni, so fundamentally wrong that even her parents hadn’t wanted her.

  The ship’s hanger opened out into a large storage bay piled high with crates, maintenance tools, and shipping containers.

  With a thundering rumble ending on a clang, the heavy plasteel door rolled shut behind them. They turned fast, pistols raised high to find four men in battle gear standing behind them, weapons steady on the injured group. Toni turned, finding more guards, soldiers, and members of the flight crew blocking the bay’s other end. Every face a sneer, every weapon signaling death.

  Beneath the sudden silence, Toni could hear the hiss of a hydraulic pump, a low hum rising up from the floor, and the rapid breathing of her companions. The smell of her own body clogged her nose. There was no way out. They were caught.

  “Well.” Berni’s voice echoed. “Now we know why we made it this far.”

  One of the guards, a Ghil with a jutting jaw, laughed, thick and phlegmy. “Why should we go all the way to get you when you came straight to us?”

  “Do I have time to fix my face?” Berni asked Colten.

  Toni raised her eyebrows. Really, she has time to banter? Why he’d ever worked with the woman, Toni couldn’t understand. Berni was clearly demented.

  “You look stunning, darling,” Colten murmured back. “Three, two …”

  Berni turned back to the guards and fired at the nearest man.

  Shenghi! Toni dove to the floor as gunfire erupted all around them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Colten push the doctor toward the pile of multi-colored containers stacked against the wall.

  Holding her breath, Toni crawled for a large machine parked near the wall and ducked behind its extended grav lifts. Berni joined her, hissing loudly as she clutched at her arm. It smoked where a bolt had caught her across the muscle. The hanger was filled with the sound of pistol fire, calls for assistance, and cries of pain.

  Toni breathed carefully through her mouth, but it did little to lessen the effect of ozone, burnt skin, and melted plastics. She coughed uncontrollably on her next inhale. Beside her, Berni hacked, bending over and holding her nose. If they didn’t escape their present predicament, it would be all over for them very quickly. They’d pass out from lack of oxygen, and that was if they were lucky.

  She leaned into the smuggler’s side and grabbed her arm. “Some party.” Berni popped up and fired randomly over the machine’s engine mount. Toni examined their temporary protection, coughing into her sleeve. The machine was a tow projector, one used in large ships to move heavy containers and crates around. It was extremely solid and well-shielded. Toni raised her head and fired three shots. She ducked back down before seeing if they’d hit home.

  Past Berni’s shoulder, Toni could see Colten using the large containers stacked against the wall as cover. Enemy fire exploded around him. Next to Colten, the doctor lay huddled on the floor, avoiding the firefight as best he could. How on Marn were they going to get out of this alive?

  Berni laughed with wild abandon, firing steadily.

  My gods, she’s having fun. Toni fired off another few rounds, breathing shallowly and growling at the recoil in her hands. “This is ridiculous!”

  “What is, being shot at? Or that we don’t actually have a plan to get out of here?”

  All of it. Toni’s heart pounded. We have to get out of this kill box. She fired again and cursed loudly. “This kheghing pistol. Gods, I wish I had my own back. This one pulls to the right something awful.” Toni hit the offending piece of metal against the panel in front of her angrily. With all the noise in the bay, she could barely hear it. She ejected the power-clip and reinserted it. The pistol lit up again in her hands.

  Berni ducked as more blasts hit the cross beam above their heads. Sparks showered down over them. “While this is fun, we need a plan.”

  The machine they were using as shelter gave Toni an idea. She looked at Berni, raised her eyebrows, and pointed up.

  Berni’s eyes widened, but she nodded and took the weapon Toni handed over.

  Under the cover fire supplied by Berni’s two pistols, Toni clambered into the tow projector’s control booth. From up high, she could see the odds were not in their favor. Colten appeared to be holding his own, protecting Doctor Telksh and firing randomly over his crate cover, but Toni could see guards steadily encroaching on his position. She’d better move fast. A moment later, she jumped back down, hitting the ground and rolling quickly.

  A loud rumble became audible above the noise of the firefight. It grew around them like an approaching thunderstorm. With a wave in Colten’s direction, Toni motioned for cover fire. He obliged, shooting wildly. Tapping Berni on the shoulder to retrieve her weapon, Toni pointed and then sprinted away as the massive machine let out a blart and rumbled forward on its heavy treads. Berni was hot on Toni’s heels. The laser fire around them lessened, the guards and the ship’s crew turning their fire on the approaching machine instead.

  Huddling behind a number of large crates with Berni, Toni peered around, searching for Colten. The smuggler had Doctor Telksh’s arm over his shoulder and was lumbering in their direction. They made it halfway across the hanger when the projector smashed into the heavy plasteel door and tore through it like paper, trampling over the guards in its way. It shuddered to a violent stop part way through the door. Then it exploded.

  Pieces of metal and shards of glass sprayed the area with a deadly rainfall of hot death.

  Toni’s ears rang with the sound of the blast. She blinked rapidly against the stinging smoke and surveyed the bay, tasting acrid ozone in the back of her throat.

  Berni, on her knees from the force of the blast, shook her head and poked her fingers into her ears to clear them. Doctor Telksh was curled into a ball beside Colten. The smuggler lay in the middle of the hanger.

  Toni ran toward him. “Dan!” she cried.

  He didn’t move.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Dropping by his side, she touched his shoulder gently. “Dan?” He jerked away from her, shaking his head, his gaze unfocused. He probably couldn’t hear her. That blast had been loud where she’d been standing. It would have been worse out in the open. Blood leaked from his ears.

  “What happened?” he shouted. As he raised his head, his hand snapped to his neck. She wrapped an arm around him and helped him to stand.

  Smoke billowed from the explosion, blocking her view. It began to dissipate in long trails, drifting up off the ground as the hanger’s exhaust fans kicked into overdrive.

  Tears blurred Toni’s vision. She blinked them back and clutched Colten’s arm when he swayed suddenly. His first steps prompted her to sidle close and wrap her arm around his waist. He was pure heat where she pressed against his body. “We gotta move,” she shouted into his ear.

  “What the hell did you do?” he asked, his voice still too loud.<
br />
  She shot him a look that asked “Do you really want to know?” Peering around, she examined the damage. It looked as though the projector had blown a hole the size of a small lightship through the plasteel door, trapping the guards between it and the projector. The guards hadn’t fared as well as the machine. Handing Colten over to Berni, Toni proceeded alone toward the wreckage.

  A single shot blast sounded behind her.

  Toni spun, holding her weapon aloft and watched an armed guard collapse. The hole in his head still smoking. Her heart jumped into her throat. Shenghi!

  Dan lowered his weapon. Berni had supported the smuggler’s body; her hand steadied his aim.

  “Now we’re even,” he called to Toni.

  In response, she aimed her pistol directly at him and fired.

  Berni flinched, twitching them apart. The shot flew between her and Dan and slammed into the mercenary creeping up behind them. Both smugglers looked back to Toni who shrugged, “Now, you both owe me.”

  He gestured to his ear as if he couldn’t hear her. She turned her back on him to climb through the hole in the wall into the adjoining hanger. Her hands trembled from the two near misses. Seeing Dan’s body—Colten’s body, khegh it! He was back to being Dan in her head. Why fight it? Seeing Dan’s body lying so still after the explosion frightened her to the core. Her breath caught when she’d reached his side, shaking fingers searching his neck for a pulse. His first move sent a wave of relief through her. For a moment, he’d looked at her with a gaze full of emotion. Then he’d opened his mouth. The accusation in his tone stung. She’d been trying to save their lives and get them off this kheghing ship but … Whatever, Dan. You’re welcome.

  She trained her weapon at the two guards seating at the control panel. “Your choice.”

  One twitched toward his sidearm. She fired and swung back to the other man. He raised his hands. She motioned for him to get out of the chair. He fumbled at his belt. She shot him and focused on the monitors.

  It appeared Zach had hacked the system. The CII’s happy face icon with the devil horns blinked randomly over the positive shield indicator. It told her that though the shields showed as active they were in fact inoperative. Clever, clever little CII.