Chapter 24: Jak
No more strangers’ memories plagued him as they continued upriver. Another ten days of travel would see them in Tekena. The distance they had to cover was more than twice that of the direct route, but traveling the direct route meant crossing the Waste—miles of barren sand and hostile beasts. It was far safer to follow the meandering course of the Ur as it twisted its way to the city.
What happened after they reached Tekena was up to Kamura. According to her, her Family’s claim would mean nothing unless she could be there to record Luan n’Chall’s ceremony of Joining with the God Core. Only the Prime—with the connector to the God Core embedded into his skull at the age of five—could make that link. Why Family Mobutu cared and why they wanted the alien artifacts didn’t matter to Jak. Once they reached Tekena, he and Tessa would still have the problem of getting back to Namdrik and finding places on an outbound passenger ship before Bolon found them. But they’d have the credits to pay for passage off planet. As for where they’d go from there . . . . At least, Tessa didn’t seem repelled by what she knew of the strangeness in him.
They were two days up river from the village where they’d bought food. Seated on the deck at the bow, Jak leaned back against a stack of grain bags piled against the cabin, enjoying the slight breeze of their passage, and watching the lamnan trudge along the towpath. The captain and his son—the same boy who’d led them aboard their first night—sat above him on the roof of the deckhouse. He heard their voices as they called back and forth to the other two who were leading the lamnan.
"Jak?"
He turned to face Tessa. Her skin had darkened with the sun to a golden tan, and her white teeth flashed in a smile.
"Just wondered if you were really here."
"I’m all right. I was just enjoying the peace and quiet."
"Want me to leave?"
"No. Stay."
He patted the grain bag next to him, and she settled in with her shoulder touching his. Kamura and Toko were at the aft end of the barge. Practicing their language skills? He didn’t know. At least, the boy had stopped referring to adults as ‘Big Ones.’ Jak no longer believed that Toko would hurt the Terran; break her heart probably, but not hurt her physically. Wrapping his arm around Tessa’s waist, he looked out over the water.
"Do you suppose we’ll ever be able to live without looking over our shoulders?" he asked.
Tessa shrugged. With one slender hand, she brushed the long hair away from her face. It seemed strange to him to see her left arm bare of bracelets. But she still had her treasure, he reminded himself, patting the belt that held the half that he guarded.
"What does it matter?" Tessa answered him, shrugging. "The way I look at it, you need an enemy or two to spice things up. You wouldn’t want to live like a farmer, would you? Every day the same as the one before?"
"Sometimes it seems like a good idea."
If it would keep Tessa safe, he’d happily spend the rest of his days following the back end of a lamnan while plowing the fields.
"Sure. For a day or so, but not much more." She turned to him, her fine-boned face more serious than he’d ever seen. "Jak, I’ve been thinking, about when we finish our business here. We can get our ship. Together." She took a deep breath, and he was surprised to realize she was nervous. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her nervous before. "We talked before about setting up as traders, you and I . . . I know you think it’s just talk, but I mean it. We could take small cargo into places nobody else dares to go. We could have a new life. What do you say?"
For a moment, he was speechless. Sure, he’d had his daydreams about such a life, but for her to think the same . . . . She was right; he’d assumed that she was just making idle talk the first time she brought up the idea. He’d thought that she’d grow tired of both the ship and of him soon enough. But maybe he’d been wrong. She was still waiting for his answer, he realized, and she was beginning to look anxious at his continued silence.
"I think that’s a great idea," he said, and he felt that big, dumb grin spread across his face again.
"Good. I’m glad that’s settled." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips to seal the bargain. Jak reached for her and returned her kiss with a more passionate one. But before he could suggest they take advantage of the empty cabin, there was a scurrying of feet and Toko came running from the aft end of the barge.
"Big Jak, come look! A ship’s following us." Toko cried.
Quickly, they followed him aft to where Kamura stood with her hand shading her eyes as she peered behind them. Jak sighted along the boy’s grimy finger as saw a white speck, far in the distance.
"Are you sure?" Tessa asked, squinting.
"Yes. Yes. A cutter, I think."
A cutter, one of the Regent’s warships. Toko had sharp eyes. If the boy was right, they could be in for trouble. Even during normal times, several cutters patrolled the river, keeping order among the traders, and wringing taxes out of the farmers. Thanks to the upcoming ceremony, every ship the Regent commanded was on the river. With its single mast and multiple headsails, the cutter would overtake the barge’s plodding lamnan in no time. There’d be a crew of trained sailors, too, possibly as many as a dozen. They stood at the rail for a while, watching the other ship grow from a speck of white to a cluster of sails flying over the river.
Jak looked around at their small group. "We’d better get out of sight."
"Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with us," Kamura said.
If only. But someone could have spotted Kamura as they left Namdrik. Or an angry little brother could have sold the information about their passage. Or the cutter’s crew could just be out to kick a little bargeman ass, maybe collect some extra taxes.
As they watched, the cutter drew nearer, and they could see that it was not only fast; it was sleek and luxurious. There was a device painted on the side, a symbol done in gold on the white hull. Jak could almost make it out. The shape seemed familiar. Tessa figured it out just ahead of him.
"That’s not just a cutter, that’s Bolon’s boat!"
Beside Jak, Toko grinned and shivered with excitement.
"You look like you’re enjoying this, kid."
"They want you. Not me."
"What shall we do?" Kamura asked.
With grim amusement, Jak noted that her eyes went to Toko, not him, as she asked the question. Toko looked startled, as if he’d just realized that if Bolon caught them, Kamura would die too. The girl had the needler tucked in her belt, but he wasn’t sure whether she knew how to use it. He and Tessa had their remaining two knives and the blasters. Toko had nothing but teeth, fists, and Jak’s old knife, the one he’d taken when the mobbies had captured him. They were outnumbered and out gunned.
Looking at their highly flammable cargo, Jak said, "We don’t dare use the blasters. The beam would start a flash fire in the compost. Kamura, can you use that needler?"
"It doesn’t look as if I have any choice. Not if these men are part of the gang you warned me about."
Jak nodded. Of the four of them, Kamura was the least able to defend herself. Better to let her keep the needler so she’d have at least some small chance of survival.
"Our best bet is to hide on shore," Jak told them. "It’s not much of an option, but we can’t fight the cutter’s crew. We’ll go over the side as they board the barge."
"This close to shore, there will be banderri in the water," Tessa objected. "At least one school. Maybe two. We need to give them something to feed on if we’re going to make it to land." She eyed Toko with a measuring gaze.
Jak felt his gut roil. He didn’t want to do this, but if anybody had to die, it wasn’t going to be Tessa. Still, he’d developed a grudging respect for the tough ex-mobbie. That didn’t leave many options.
"I’ll see that a couple of Bolon’s men go over the side before we jump," Jak said.
"Throw in Bolon himself," Toko suggested with a sharp smile. "He’ll feed plenty of banderri."
There was a thump as the cutter threw ropes onto the barge, and they all staggered as their forward motion slowed abruptly. On the towpath, the lamnan lowed and coughed.
"No more time to talk," Jak said. "You three slip in among the cargo and be ready to go over the side."
"How will we know when?" Kamura asked.
Taking Kamura’s arm, Toko answered her, "When we hear screaming, we go."
He pulled her with him into the one of the narrow airways between the cargo baskets. Jak looked down into Tessa’s frightened eyes.
"I know you hate to do this," she said softly, "but there’s no other choice. Just please be careful, be sure the body that goes into the water to feed the banderri is one of Bolon’s men, not you. Please?"
She wanted reassurance, but pretty words were beyond him. He dropped a kiss on her forehead and pushed her towards the space where Toko and Kamura had vanished.
Knife in hand, he stepped silently toward the bow of the boat where he could hear voices raised in argument. He moved through the narrow passage between the cabin and the portside row of compost baskets. As he neared the bow of the barge, Bolon’s voice rose above the others.
"I want your passengers."
On the main deck, eight of Bolon’s men stood around the captain and his crew of three. The two on the towpath had joined the men on the barge. Bolon held the captain’s son by the throat—the same boy who’d led them to their cabin the night they’d boarded. Bolon stood easily a head taller than did his wriggling captive. His dark bronze silk pants and tunic seemed out of place on the barge, but there was no doubt that he was in command here.
The captain and his crew were armed with nothing more than the goads they used to urge the lamnan on the pathway. Bolon and the six men who’d come aboard with him carried knives and blasters.
"No passengers!" the captain protested. "Let my son go!"
The captain must have realized who Bolon was, and he knew that once his passengers were dead, the crime lord wasn’t going to leave any witnesses to his actions.
Shaking the young man as if he were no more than a bundle of sticks, Bolon growled, "Don’t lie to me. I know they’re aboard."
Jak heard shrill voices from behind Bolon crying, "On Serena. Alpha said Serena!"
The mobbies were here? Jak reached up and pulled himself onto the roof of the cabin so he could have a better view. All eyes were focused on Bolon. No one noticed him. From two meters above, he saw Kishee and Mice standing near the starboard side of the deck. Faces white, teeth bared, they both looked terrified to be in the company of so many armed adults. But neither wanted to lose face before the other, so they stayed; Kishee held in place by hatred and Mice held by the outrage of betrayal.
"You heard the brats," Bolon said. "Where are they?"
"Are you a fool to believe mobbies?" the captain demanded.
Casually, Bolon held the boy with one hand and unholstered his blaster with the other. With quick, easy brutality, he shot the boy in the head and tossed the body overboard. Feeling nauseated, Jak watched as the water boiled with banderri. With a howl of anguish, the captain threw himself on Bolon. The man fell away in a blinding flash of light as Bolon blasted him. That he also seared one of his own men at the same time meant nothing to Bolon. Smoke billowed up as a stray beam ignited the compost baskets on the starboard side of the deck.
They still needed another body in the water if the others were going to get away, and Jak knew just whose body it should be. He sprang, intending to come down on top of Bolon. But the crime lord took that moment to move forward to grab the nearest bargeman by his shirt. Jak landed, rolling along the deck. He came up on his feet in a crouch. Startled, one of Bolon’s men slashed at him with a barbed knife. Jak whipped back out of the way, and a sidekick smashed the man senseless to the deck. Using fists, feet, and teeth, Jak fought his way toward Bolon. Around him, he heard men shouting, their curses pierced by the shrill cries of the mobbies. A heavy weight landed on his back, and Jak slammed face first to the deck. Strong hands closed on his throat. He grabbed his attacker’s arm and yanked, hearing the elbow joint give way and the man yell.
Another of Bolon’s men sprang at him, and Jak pitched him over the side. There was no time for the man even to scream before the beetles ripped his flesh into a thousand mouthfuls. Two of Bolan’s men in the water, plus the Captain’s son; he hoped it would be enough. He hoped Toko had gone over the side with Kamura and Tessa and made it safely to shore.
Jak felt a sudden, searing band of pain on his thigh. He whirled in time to see Mice draw back for another slash with his small knife, probably one of the knives that Jak himself had bought for the pack. Hot blood poured down his leg, and he fell forward. He slapped Mice away, but some buried part of him made him pull his punch. Mice shook his head to clear his vision and came at him again.
Kishee shouldered Mice aside, anxious to make the kill herself. The boy snarled something shrill that Jak didn’t understand. Mice staggered forward. The mobbie female took one more step toward Jak, and Mice buried his knife to the hilt in Kishee’s back. Jak saw him struggle to twist it free, and he watched the look of surprise fade from the girl’s eyes as she died.
Jak pulled himself to his feet. His leg felt weak, with the promise of pain to come when the shock wore off, but he could stand. He groaned as he saw Tessa struggling with one of Bolon’s men and lurched toward them. She was supposed to be off the damn barge! He pulled the sailor off Tessa and threw him overboard. There was blood on her face but, thank the Lost Gods, she wasn’t badly hurt.
"Get off the barge!" he shouted.
"Not without you!"
Choking white smoke billowed across the deck as more of the compost ignited. The smoke eddied and Bolon loomed up before them. A quick backhand from the crime lord flung Tessa aside as if she were no more than one of the scurrying mobbies. She flew backward across the deck and slammed into the grain bags just behind her. Aiming at Tessa, Bolon raised his blaster.
Jak tackled Bolon just above the knees. The big man should have fallen, but Bolon only staggered and then kicked Jak away. Catching Bolon’s gun arm, Jak twisted with all his strength. Amazed, he felt Bolon jerk away from him. Even as big as he was, Bolan shouldn’t have been stronger than Jak, not when Jak had the strangeness inside him. He swung at Bolon with all the power he had, catching him in the chest, just below the sternum. It should have smashed the other man’s ribs like dry sticks. Bolon only grunted and fell back a step. Coughing, choking on the clouds of white smoke, they stared at each other in astonishment.
"You!" Bolon exclaimed. "You do have the phage in you! I thought it was dead."
And then newfound memories rose, and Jak recognized the face before him. Bolon was the partner! The second man! While Jak stared at him, stunned, Bolon grabbed Jak by the chain that held his pilot’s medallion and tightened his grip. Strangling, Jak tried to pull free. When Bolon’s fist caught him on the side of his head, it felt as if a ground car had slammed into him at full speed. Jak’s vision blurred; his ears rang.
He saw Tessa fling herself on Bolon again.
Bolon swatted her away, hardly seeming to notice her desperate lunge. Through black spots that blurred his vision, Jak saw her hit railing and then go over the side into the river. Bolon stepped closer to Jak, the blaster centered on his chest. His expression was odd, and Jak had the strange feeling that someone else was swimming behind Bolan’s eyes. Then the big man smiled.
"You didn’t know, did you? You don’t know what you are!" Bolon laughed a sound of relief, of triumph. "You don’t know!"
He fired the blaster.
Jak saw the flash, felt fire in his chest. He smelled the stink of burning
flesh and realized it was his own. A wall of flame rose out of the deck as the smoldering compost flared up. With a sudden, thunderous roar, the rest of the cargo went up in flames. An explosion of flame lifted him like a huge hot hand, and he was falling, splashing into cool water that closed over his head.
Then darkness claimed him.
Omniphage Invasion Page 24
