“Where would they go?” he repeated to himself as he neared an elevated train station.
He looked up at the orb of light, an oasis in the dark night. The train would wind through the city, passing a variety of places…
“Including the…” His mind froze on one thought. “The Olympus Mons Landing Platform.”
Randal’s feet began to move before the words were out of his mouth. He knew where Jack would take his family and the crew. He would go back to the ship. It was the one place their enemy couldn’t get to—or at least not without a lot of difficulty.
And Blaine would agree to the plan.
Randal let out a sigh of pain and fatigue as he reached the elevated platform and waited for the next train. That was another issue he needed to deal with. Blaine was slipping and it was all due to that girl. Randal liked Bit. She was strong, in her way. She had faced the demon—her own brand of demon—and was still standing. But she had become a distraction for his soldier and Blaine was letting it happen.
Now, as Blaine’s leader, he had to figure out how to snap the younger man out of his funk.
The train appeared and slid to a stop. Randal entered the empty car and slumped down onto a seat, pressing a hand to his bleeding shoulder.
Bit limped behind the rest of the group down the long corridor. Jack insisted that they were almost to the right terminal, the one that had flights up to Ward Port, but each meter felt like an eternity. To her amazement, Debby continued at Bit’s slower pace. Finally, when Bit was ready to collapse, the group ahead of them came to a halt, followed by cries of joy.
She tried to see beyond the wall of bodies, but each straining movement hurt. Through the hubbub she heard Randal’s voice calming the crew down. Somehow, the scrappy old man had made it to the platform before them. Bit watched from a safe distance as the crew shook his hand and slapped him on the back. Finally, Debby pushed her way forward and went to work on Randal’s shoulder, his old wound weeping blood again.
“I need to call in Oden and Vance. They’re not safe out there, not aware of how much this has escalated,” Jack said as the group stood around Randal’s seat.
Blaine’s eyes flickered to where Bit stood, slightly outside the small circle. “Surely they’re safer outside this mess.”
Jack let out a long-suffering sigh. “These people found Bit in the port, they found her at the club, they found us in a park, and back at my mother’s home. They can find Oden and Vance at their homes. They are vulnerable alone.”
“Yeah…but…”
“Randal,” snapped Jack, “deal with your man.”
Randal glanced up from his seat, his eyes roaming between Blaine, Jack, and Bit. “Yes, sir. It’s dealt with. Make your call.”
Bit stepped away from the group, finding a spot a few paces away from the sitting area. She stood on the outskirts, watching as Jack moved up to the counter where a hostess had finally appeared.
“Blaine,” began Randal from his seat, “you’re walking on thin ice. Do you understand me?”
The younger man nodded, his eyes still flicking to where Bit stood as his hands fiddled with his comm. device.
“Don’t think I won’t fire you over this, never mind all we’ve been through. Get your shit together.”
Blaine ground his teeth together and nodded again.
“What do you mean your last flight already went up?” demanded Jack in a loud voice, drawing her attention away from Blaine and Randal.
Another soft reply.
“Well, when’s the next flight up?”
The hostess clicked on her pad and tipped it so that he could see her screen.
“Fine. We’ll wait.” Jack turned back to the rest and joined his crew in the dingy seating area. “Looks like we’re stuck here ‘till morning. Might as well get comfortable.”
Bit glanced back at the hostess to see her shut down her equipment and leave. They were suddenly alone in the small, dead-end corridor of the landing platform. Calen skipped over the two broken seats and took the one next to Randal. Nathyn followed his example.
“Bit, do you want to sit down?” Debby asked with Blaine at her elbow as she left Randal and came to Bit’s side.
Bit glanced at her and carefully shook her head. “It hurts less to stand.
“Okay. I’m going to stretch my legs, but if you need anything, I’ll be within calling distance.”
Bit frowned, unused to the woman’s sudden concern. Blaine continued to hover without touching.
“Go sit down,” Bit ordered, her voice coming out harsh even to her own ears.
She was in too much pain to worry about politics or rank. Each breath was a new experiment in agony. Bit turned away from him and watched Jack step away from the group, pulling his comm. device to his ear.
“Oden?” he said. “No, it’s bad…Get up to Olympus… yeah… watch your back.”
Bit didn’t listen as the captain repeated the conversation with Vance. With that, the entire crew knew about their situation. It wouldn’t be long before they were all together again. Bit’s eyes ran over their motley crew, each one showing signs of stress in their own way.
Jack paced, the comm. still clutched in his hand. Calen sat, apparently relaxed except for the occasional popping of his knuckles. Nathyn continually adjusted his position on the creaking seat, as though no matter how much he tried he couldn’t get comfortable, and Blaine hovered.
Bit ignored him as she let her burning eyes drift to where Debby had wandered. The other woman had stopped and was leaning against the wall, one hand pressed against her ear in an awkward way. It took Bit a moment to realize Debby was discreetly holding a comm. device to her ear. She squinted at the woman, noticing even from her distance, that Debby was agitated as she gestured with her free hand. Bit moved, walking carefully across the space to where Jack paced.
“Do you need something?” asked Blaine, her faithful shadow.
“I need you to stay here,” replied Bit over her shoulder.
“Please, let me take care you.”
Bit stopped to look at him, one eye still on Debby. “Back. Off.”
“Bit, you’re hurt. You need to let people take care of you.”
“And I will, when I need it. But not you. You need to back off.”
Blaine swallowed, staring down at her. “I’m just trying to help.”
“Well, you’re not.” Bit glanced at Debby; she was hanging up her comm. device.
Bit let out a sigh, catching herself as a broken rib jabbed her in the lung. She had missed her chance to point Debby’s odd behavior out to Jack. It would be harder to do so now that she had stopped. Bit’s exasperation with Blaine increased tenfold.
“Something wrong?” Jack asked, coming up behind Bit and gently taking her hand; he looped it into the crook of his elbow like an old-time gentleman.
“Blaine was just going to go sit down with the other guys,” Bit said.
The soldier glanced between the two of them before nodding and stomping away. He took a seat behind Calen and Nathyn, a glower plastered to his face as he pulled out his comm. device and fiddled with.
“Walk with me?” Bit whispered.
“You don’t want to sit?”
She shook her head. “It hurts more to sit.”
They wandered away from the group a few feet before she continued.
“Do you know who Debby was calling? She looked upset.”
“Who said she was calling anyone?” asked Jack.
“She had her hand to her ear and was gesturing. I guess I just assumed.”
“Well, you know what they say about assuming.”
Bit forced a grin to her lips. “Makes an ass…” She didn’t finish the statement.
“Exactly.”
She forced herself to keep her breathing even. Jack was blind to the idea that Debby was up to anything. After a few minutes Jack spoke again.
“If she did call anyone, she was likely just telling her mother she was going out of town for a
few days, that way she doesn’t file a missing person’s report or some such nonsense.”
Bit thought about that for a moment. It made sense. She wanted to kick herself for making a mountain out of a molehill—as her sister would have said.
“Right. Good thinking.”
Slowly, Jack led her back to the group. They had just arrived when Oden and Vance appeared, sweat dripping from their brows, packs strapped to their back. At least they had had time to pack.
“When’s the flight?” Oden asked as he dumped his bag. “Thought we might miss it.”
“Not ‘till morning,” Jack sighed. “We missed the last one for the night. Seems to be a solar storm tonight.”
“Great,” sighed Vance as he took up a seat in the second row next to Blaine, oblivious to the other man’s scowl.
“Oden,” called Jack, “come walk with Bit. The broken ribs are really bothering her and she says walking is less painful.”
“I’ll do that,” offered Blaine as he stood from his seat.
“Sit down!” ordered Jack and Randal in perfect unison.
Oden wisely wiped the smirk from his face as he took Bit’s hand and linked it through his arm. He led her back down the corridor.
“This is getting out of hand,” she whispered. “I’m making a mess of things.”
“Correction: He is making a mess of things.”
“What’s the difference?”
Oden smiled down at her for a second before clearing the expression from his features. “You only have control over what you do, not what he does, or what any of us heathens do. Worry about what you do and nothing else. Are you leading us on? Are you flirting with all of us? Are you wearing skimpy outfits?”
Oden paused to glance down at her long-sleeved purple t-shirt and black cargo pants.
“Nope. If you’re not acting inappropriately then it is us who need to adjust our behavior. All you can do is be above reproach…and that you have done.”
Bit felt her tired eyes burn with fresh tears. Oden’s words eased a pressure on her heart, a pressure she hadn’t realized had been burdening her.
“You hadn’t actually thought this was all your fault?” he asked.
She started to shrug and stopped as a fresh stab caught her off guard. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
“Bit, there is only one thing in this life that we have actual control over, and that is our ethics. No matter what happens to you, stand by your ethics. They are all you have that you can call your own.”
She nodded slowly. He was more right than he knew.
Or maybe not. Bit realized she didn’t know all that much about him or his past. Maybe he had a rough past, just like her, and knew exactly how precious one’s integrity really was.
Bit gave his arm a little squeeze and worked to put one foot in front of the other.
Chapter Eleven
Bit whimpered as the force of the transport’s takeoff pressed her back into the seat. Jack reached over and, like their last trip, took her hand. She squeezed it gratefully, pouring all her pain and exhaustion into the grip. Before their mad dash down the fire escape and the long night waiting at the landing platform, Bit had been vehemently opposed to pain medications. Now they were all she could think about. She didn’t have the strength or the stamina to fight the pain on her own, nor did she have the willpower to worry about what she might say while drugged out of her gourd.
The pressure eased off and she was once again able to breathe. Bit forced herself to release Jack’s hand, only then aware of the death grip she had used and the dent she had left in his flesh.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
Jack flexed his hand. “No worries.”
Bit tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
A moment later a gentle hand nudged her shoulder and she jerked. Bit whimpered again, blinking the confusion from her gaze. Pain tore through her ribs, clearing the last of the haze from her mind.
“What?” she asked, looking up at Jack.
“We’ve landed. We’re docked with the port.”
“O-oh.”
“Can you stand up?” Jack asked as Debby approached them.
Bit winced as she scooted to the edge of the seat and pushed herself up. Her continued exhaustion was making it hard to fight the pain.
“Captain,” she said as she fought back a sob, “I think I’m gonna need a vacation from this vacation.”
“You and me both.”
“Let’s get to the ship,” said Debby.
The others were already out of the half-filled transport and waiting for Jack and Debby to escort Bit out. Mostly they looked just as tired as Bit felt after spending all night at the platform, waiting for the transport to take them up to the port orbiting the planet—all except Blaine.
Blaine stood near the outskirts of the group, his eyes flicking around the group and beyond to the few travelers working their way to their own ships. He reached up and scratched at the side of his neck, the patch of skin looking red and chaffed. Blaine glanced over his shoulder as though he thought someone was behind him before jerking his gaze back on her and the captain. His eyes narrowed onto her hand placed in the crook of Jack’s arm as she leaned into his support.
Bit opened her mouth to say something—to warn Jack about Blaine’s unusual behavior—but closed it again. Jack hadn’t taken too kindly to her pervious warning about Debby. What reason did she have to believe he would listen to her now? She would just have to watch Blaine closely and bring hard facts before the captain and Randal.
The crew took off with Bit and Jack taking up the rear. To her amazement, the security team fanned out around the small group, their eyes searching for any threat.
They reached their dock and the group seemed to release a collective sigh. Jack stepped forward and typed in the key-code. The dock side of the airlock slid open, revealing the small compartment of the airlock. The group huddled in, barely fitting in the small space. Jack stepped in last and re-typed the code in. The door slid shut and cabin pressurized, a light above turning green.
“Go ahead, Randal.”
“Um, sir,” began the security lead, “I don’t know the code to your ship.”
The crew chuckled at the older man’s chagrin as Jack wedged his way through the crowded airlock to the other end. Once again he punched in his code and the door opened with a pop-hiss, swinging into the ship. The crew stumbled into the ship, emptying out of the crowded airlock connecting the ship to the dock.
Even in her state of pain, Bit admired the way the ship attached itself to the dock. Dreams of grandeur began to pass through her mind as she imagined herself in a spacesuit working on the outside hull of the ship, her gravity boots keeping her attached to the hull.
“Coming, Bit?” Debby asked from the top of the stairwell.
The rest of the crew had already spread out, going to various portions of the ship. Bit nodded and followed Debby and Jack down to the lower levels of the ship.
“Dirk, you here?” Jack called as they reached the very lowest level of the ship where engineering and the infirmary awaited.
“Did you hear that?” Bit asked from her place behind Debby.
“What?” asked Jack.
Debby shook her head silently.
“That pinging noise.”
They all stood, Bit still waiting two steps above the others.
“Dirk?” called Jack, louder than before.
The soft clinking noise increased.
“Is it coming from the freezer?” Debby asked, horror spreading across her face.
Jack bolted before the words were out of her mouth, barreling down the short hallway from the narrow intersection to the enormous door. To their amazement, a thick zip-tie held the emergency release firmly in place. As they feared, the soft noise came from within the enormous freezer designed to store enough food for the entire crew on long hauls. Jack withdrew the sharp pocket knife he always carried and cut the zip-tie in one swift jerk. The door flew open
and Dirk slumped out, Forrest and Jeremiah huddled against the Chief Engineer’s bulk in an attempt to stay warm.
Jack and Debby quickly went to work dragging the sickly men out of the freezer.
“Bit, go get help,” Jack ordered.
Bit didn’t hesitate, but turned and raced back to the steps, her arm once again pressed against her burning side. She reached the steps and took as large of a breath as she could manage.
“Help,” she called, disgusted by how weak it sounded. Ignoring the stabbing pain in her ribs, she jogged up to the first switchback and repeated her call. “Help!”
At last, she heard the pounding of heavy boots as the rest of the crew began to move.
“Guys, Bit’s calling for help,” came Calen’s voice.
The clatter increased. The group pounded down the various staircases, working their way from wherever they had settled. Blaine plowed through his crew members, focused on getting to Bit as fast as he could. He stopped his forward momentum just in time, catching himself by the railings, an arm on each side of her body.
“Are you okay?”
“Jack needs help. The engineers were locked in the freezer,” Bit explained, ignoring Blaine entirely.
“What?”
“How?”
“Are they okay?”
The questions rang out as the other men raced down the stairs to help Jack. Blaine stayed where he was, his eyes glued to Bit.
“You sure you’re not hurt. They didn’t touch you?”
“What they?” Bit asked, staring up at Blaine for the first time.
His eyes were bloodshot from the night without proper sleep and the red mark on his neck appeared redder than before.
“Blaine, are you okay?”
“Of course. I’m worried about you.”
“Yes, I picked up on that. I’m fine,” she said once again. “Blaine, I need you to calm down about me. Why are you so worried?”
Bit frowned. She had to figure out why Blaine was so worried all the time. It went beyond a few encounters with a stalker. Did he know something the others didn’t?
Broken & Hunted Page 10
