“Fuck,” was all he could manage. “Fuck!”
Even those two words were too much exertion, and Pierce began to fade out again. His vision blurred, and he felt dizzy despite being on the ground. He started seeing images of his beloved Mara. He shakily reached out after her image, but it was a mirage.
Then he heard the unexpected. Footfalls. At first, he thought they were another product of his dying mind.
Pierce tried to cry out, but his throat was so dry that speaking felt like choking. He scrambled for purchase on the ground but couldn’t even pull his body forward. The footfalls were close, too. So close, but so far.
Some sand flew into Pierce’s eyes. Two kicks to his stomach followed. A hand grasped his neck and squeezed. Spittle escaped Pierce’s lips. The hand let go, and his head fell back to the rock-hard sandy ground. The same hand grasped his crotch and felt around. A quiet stillness followed.
“I could sell that,” a mysterious raspy voice said.
Pierce tried to mutter, “not for sale,” but couldn’t make the words come out.
Another few seconds passed. Pierce felt himself drift toward unconsciousness after the mystery hands fed him a pill and pulled him by the shoulders back inside the cave.
Pierce woke up in the dark cave and felt a cup press against his lips. He took a sip as best he could. His whole body ached, but he needed water. This wasn’t water. It tasted like turpentine. Pierce tried to spit it out. The now-familiar hand held his nose and poured the liquid into his mouth.
“It’s medicine,” the raspy voice said. “Expensive too, so be grateful.”
“Ugh,” Pierce mumbled. “I’d rather die.”
“That’s an option.”
“I didn’t mean it! I take it back.” His voice shook a little.
The raspy voice chortled. “I can see why he likes you.”
“Who?”
“But if you want his kindness to continue, you’re going to have to change your mind about taking solid advice. You should have fucked the burly robot when you had the chance.”
“Fuck,” Pierce said, in utter disbelief. “Fucking Dregg. Are you kidding me?”
The raspy voice continued. “You owe him again. Which means you need to get some rest so you can deliver.”
“I’m not fucking his robot mistress. It’s not happening.”
“He said you were an idiot. I can see that now. You should rest. The medicine will kick in an hour from now. Then we can fight.”
“Wait, what? Fight?”
“Yes, your payment for me having saved your life is to end mine.”
“Could you repeat that?” Pierce said. “I don’t think I heard you right.”
“The price for saving you is to end my life.”
Pierce lay there in confusion.
“It will make sense when you feel less confused. Dream about your missing wife. Maybe you’ll see what’s she’s become there.”
“Never thought I’d meet someone as disturbing and creepy as Dregg. I was wrong.”
“Sweeney,” the raspy voice said, as if sensing the next question. “My name is Sweeney. And you owe me one hell of a death for saving you. Now shut the fuck up and rest.”
He didn’t have to say it again. Pierce leaned back and let his mind drift. He tried picturing everyone he’d met so far: Essie, Letha and her generals, Aisha, the Dark Mark, the Sirens, Ulric, Rodrigo, Grinder and her pet, Drake. None of them seemed to be Mara. She could have changed her gender—it was plausible—but not even any of the men had that overwhelming calmness about them the way Mara did. It was the thing he missed most about her. She had a way of calming him with just a look. Not a single word was needed, just a look. He could see her eyes as if she were here now. He could picture them better than before coming to Planet Kill, as if he’d seen them recently. He could picture them better than even seeing the simulacrums’ eyes that were meant to be just like hers. But they weren’t. They were poor imitations of what was behind them.
With the image of Mara’s eyes and nothing else in his mind, Pierce drifted off, letting the medicine do its work.
“Good morning,” Pierce said, as he crept out of the cave.
Sweeney was busy skinning a fark in front of a small fire with a spit over it. “It is, isn’t it,” Sweeney said. “Very good morning. My last, I hope. How’re you feeling? Up for killing me yet?”
“No, I’m still not keen on that,” Pierce said. “I have no reason to hurt the man who saved me.”
“I didn’t do it out of kindness. The only reason I saved you was so you could help me.”
“Then I’ll do my best to … not not kill you.” Pierce paused and rubbed his forehead and the back of his neck. “There’s got to be something else I can do for you.”
“I’m good otherwise.” He stirred the fire.
Pierce asked, “Don’t you have anything you want to live for? Surely, there’s something.”
“No. Not a thing. Surprisingly, I’m even single. I know, I know. I’m shocked too.” His raspy voice had a hint of amusement in it.
“I’m not. I guarantee not a single woman within a five-planet radius just thought to herself when you said that, ‘oh, lucky me.’ Not one. I promise you.”
“You’re a real piece of work. I’m beginning to question my agreement with Dregg. He could have picked someone more fitting my station to do this job.”
“I can do the fucking job,” Pierce said. “Just, you know. How do I do it?”
“Got a weapon?”
Pierce pulled out his mini-gun. Waved it back and forth.
“I said a weapon.”
“This is what I’ve got.”
Sweeney put his hand to his face and shook his head “When a guy with that toy of a weapon walks in to join your alliance, you’ve got to ask yourself if you’ve made a mistake somewhere along the way.”
“What am I supposed to do about it? I need to get back to Letha’s Sleipnir temple and upgrade, but I’ve been knocked out three times in a…um, very short amount of time. Twice would have been odd, but three times? I’m beginning to wonder if it’s something about me.”
“It is,” Sweeney agreed. “Wait. Did you say Letha’s temple? Really? She gave you access?”
“I earned it.”
“I bet. Fine. I’ll sneak you back there.”
“Perfect,” Pierce said. “I need to get a message to her about Ulric anyway, and I should be able to send it through Sleipnir to her Echidna temple. That’ll fix two things at once.”
“Whatever makes you feel justified,” Sweeney said. “I’m not going in with you. Those sirens are too much for me, but I’ll get you there. Is there anything else I need to know? You got any other shortcomings?” He glanced down at Pierce’s crotch.
“All fine there.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It is. I swear. And no, I’m not showing you.”
“Suit yourself. As long as you can assure me Dregg isn’t wasting this favor on the wrong person.”
“He isn’t,” Pierce said. “I have more than meets the eye.”
Sweeney shot him a shrewd look, like he understood. “Think you could use your ‘something extra’ to get a message back to Earth for me?”
“It seems that’s all I’m good for. Call me Mr. Rain-or-Snow. Because come rain, snow, battles to the death, sex to the death, or delivering messages to deceased relatives, I deliver.”
Sweeney perked up. “Deceased? My relatives are deceased?”
“No,” Pierce babbled, flustered. “I don’t know. It was a joke about something someone else mentioned. Not really a joke actually. It’s complicated. Never mind. Your family is probably fine.”
“Oh good,” Sweeney said. “I thought maybe you’d heard something.”
“How would I even fucking know? I only met you yesterday,” Pierce said.
In the awkward silence that followed, Sweeney turned the spit and sprinkled some leaves over the cooking fark. It began to smell almost edible.
> Pierce sat across from Sweeney. “So, can we talk more about this business of killing you?”
“It was four days ago, actually. Are you ready? Are you sure you can follow through with it? Because if you don’t, if you hesitate and don’t bring the blade down, I’ll have to end you so people don’t think I went out on purpose. I can’t lose my legacy.”
“I promise. I won’t let you down. I’ll kill you really good. Cross my heart and hope to…um….” Pierce trailed off.
“Good, very good. I’m getting impatient.”
Pierce raised a finger, as if to talk, and opened his mouth. He shook his head and changed his mind. Tried again. “Um, do you mind telling me why you want to die? If it’s too personal, that’s fine, but it would help me finish the job if I knew.”
Sweeney sighed and stopped skinning a second fark. “I do mind but can’t risk you losing your nerve on me. I’m dying.”
“Of what? Cancer’s cured. STDs are cured. You’re not that old. You don’t appear to be injured. What’s wrong with you?”
Sweeney chuckled and tapped his foot in amusement. “Lots.”
“You know what I meant.”
“Sure. I’ve contracted the worst thing you can get on Planet Kill. I’ve developed a sense of guilt.”
“That’s a bad thing?”
“Guilt guarantees your death here,” Sweeney said. “The problem is, nobody can fight like I can. I’ve tried to pick fights to end it all, but they keep losing. It is seriously fucking disappointing how hard it is to find someone to kill me on a planet named for the act.”
“Rough problem to have,” Pierce said, sarcastically.
“In all honesty, it is, yeah,” Sweeney said. “The thing is, I can’t keep going out and picking fights to try and get myself offed. It’ll just keep ending up in other people’s deaths. I feel bad about that. There comes a point when you’ve taken so many lives that your continued survival isn’t enough to justify all that dying. How is it I deserve to survive? What have I ever done for anyone? Nothing. And I don’t care. I’ve started rooting for my enemies, wanting them to live. It seems my end of life would be just like theirs. They stop being there when I end them. You know what I mean?”
“Not on the same level,” Pierce said.
“True, but you get it. It doesn’t feel good that I’m the reason so many people stop being in this world. I’m the guy who cancels everyone’s favorite show, or favorite competitor, or favorite superhero porn movie. I don’t want to be that guy. I want to stop doing that.”
“Seems to me,” Pierce said, “that you’re exactly the kind of person the world needs more of.”
“Universe,” Sweeney corrected. “The universe. This is just one world. Don’t be daft.”
“Of course,” Pierce said, glancing at the cooked fark and salivating.
Sweeney’s lips curled up on one side. “Like what you see? Want a taste?”
“Didn’t think I could get to a point of wanting one of those in my mouth, but yes. I can’t take another liquid meal.”
Sweeney laughed, amused. It was the happiest Pierce had seen him so far. “They taste downright awful unless you’re fucking hungry, which you are. You’re going to love eating this shit. It’s going to be the best shit you’ve ever eaten.”
“Maybe we don’t need to talk about the nature of farks right before we eat one,” Pierce said.
“No fun,” Sweeney said. “Just like Dregg said. ‘He’s a real bore,’ Dregg said. I didn’t realize how serious he was.”
Pierce was exasperated, but he didn’t really have much to come back with. Basically, he felt like no one on Planet Kill found him fun in any way shape or form. He just slumped down in the dirt and waited as the other fark began to roast over the fire.
An hour later, Sweeney led Pierce to the edge of the clearing where Letha’s only remaining temple, Sleipnir, was guarded. Before Pierce set off on his own, he turned back to Sweeney.
“There’s something I have to know. I don’t owe Dregg. I already paid him back for what he’s done. What made him think I’d go through with this?”
“Oh, right. Forgot to tell you,” Sweeney said. “When you end me, you get a shit ton of credits and ranking. You’ll be on par with most fighters. You won’t have to partner with Letha anymore.”
“Why does everyone have it out for her?”
“Do you have any idea how many lives she’s taken?”
“Good point,” Pierce said, looking down. “Wait. How many is a shit ton of credits?”
Sweeney chortled, pleased with his value as a mark. “More than you’d get if you ended Letha, Fireshot, and all their generals. We loners tend to get more bang for our buck by hunting alone. Keep all the points to ourselves.”
“Nice,” Pierce said. “…I think.”
“Go get a proper weapon this time,” Sweeney said. “And stop yapping so much. You talk more than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“Sorry,” Pierce said. A few paces later and he emerged out of the brush.
Thirty yards in, he saw the sirens. They didn’t approach him this time, nor did they challenge him. They glanced at him casually and went back to lounging.
“Not in the mood for seconds?” Pierce called out.
They didn’t pay his comment any heed. Pierce wandered inside the Sleipnir temple as the gate opened.
The half-horse, half-human statue came to life upon Pierce’s entrance. “What now?” she said.
“Good to see you, too,” Pierce said with a big smile. “It’s time for me to get a real weapon.”
“Are you sure you can handle one?”
“With my personality, I’m going to need one.”
The statue actually chuckled at that. “Show me Letha’s mark.”
Pierce raised his wrist to display the tattoo.
“You may begin browsing for upgrades,” the statue said. “But remember not to touch before you buy.”
In short order, Pierce began scrolling through the holographic images of weapon after weapon. Now that he’d seen more of the planet, he had a better idea of what he might need. He thought he’d get something that wasn’t too heavy. The planet seemed to require a lot of travel. Not too small, either, or he’d be outmatched again. He passed on several promising rifles and blades. He needed something with more of a dual-use capability, for close combat and short-range firing. He stopped the scroll as his eyes landed on a thing of beauty.
The image was of a triple action weapon. It could scare an enemy out of wanting to fight him by its appearance alone. The barrel was medium length. It had a trigger for quick burst fire, a plasma cannon on the undercarriage, and blades on both sides that would serve him well if anyone got too close. It also displayed a perk bonus of having adaptive camouflage that would change to imitate its surroundings.
“That’s the one,” Pierce said. His desire for this weapon bordered on lust.
“Are you sure you can afford it? That’s a Bunker Buster. It’s top of the line, the most expensive weapon you can get at your current level. You can get no enhancements until you’re above level five.”
“Check. You’ll see.” Pierce scanned his wristband. “I’m good for it.”
“That’s surprising,” the statue commented.
“Just have it delivered,” Pierce said. He started to leave but remembered that he needed something else for what he was being asked to do. “I need a shield too. Can you do that?”
A necklace materialized. “You just wear it,” she said. “It activates when its sensors detect an incoming blast.”
“Nice,” Pierce said. “Can I get two?”
“No.”
“Fair enough. I’ll take it.” He scooped it up but didn’t put it on. He stashed it in a pocket instead. He had to repay Grinder for the assist.
Before he left, he needed to tend to one more thing. “Can I pass a message to Letha through you?”
“Why through me?”
“Because I don’t know who I can trust, and you
only answer to her.”
“That is true, but she’ll only receive it if she goes to Echidna for an upgrade.”
“I’ll take my chances. Tell her that Ulric, the Warden, is behind the combining of forces against her. He’s been trafficking in kidnapped humans, too. He’s got to go. Oh, and he’s an A.I., so there’s that as well.”
“Message stored. Enjoy your items.”
“You’re much nicer this time,” Pierce said.
“You’ve attained a higher status.”
Pierce bitterly laughed and left it at that and blinked to activate his AUG-I. A semi-transparent set of stats appeared before him: +15 Strength; +10 Defensive Measure. Not bad, he thought.
Back outside, he passed by the sirens. He didn’t stop to chitchat. He just kept marching.
Unexpectedly, a crate dropped hard from the sky. He’d forgotten about the storage satellites in orbit. “Fucking aim is off,” Pierce muttered, dusting himself off. He’d almost gotten squashed like some kind of children’s program character.
He scanned his wristband, reached in, and picked up his new toy. It was light but sturdy. It fit nicely into his shoulder. This would do just fine.
After traveling enough distance that the drones wouldn’t see him, he stopped and looked around for Sweeney.
“Where ya at, buddy?” Pierce called. “I’m ready to … um, end you.”
His request was met by Sweeney’s massive bulk as he dropped from the tree above and directly in front of Pierce.
Pierce was confused. “How the fuck did you know exactly where I’d stop?”
Planet Kill Page 23
