by JC Cassels
“What did they tell you about me?” Bo asked.
“They gave me a flimsy of you. Didn’t really do you justice, I’m afraid. They didn’t bother with a name. They said you wouldn’t be using your own anyway. I was told that, under no circumstances were you supposed to be alive at the end of this cruise, but if you were, I wouldn’t be. They set all of this up, just to kill you. You must be pretty important, or you must have some very powerful enemies. Either way, I don’t want to know. The ditoxicin was supposed to take care of you all nice and neat. Do you know the odds against surviving a ditoxicin squib in the face?”
Bo nodded. “Yes.”
“How did you do that? How do you manage to do something like that?”
“Just lucky I guess.”
“Well, it looks like your luck has run out,” Tennova said. “It’s a shame, really. I think I could have had a lot of fun with you.”
“Not likely,” Bo said. “You’re not my type.”
***
Following the directions on his display, Blade didn’t slow down until he neared Tennova’s stateroom. Always wary of a trap, he keyed the scanner function on his data reader. The holographic display showed him three bipedal humanoid figures. Tennova stood nearest with his back to the door. From the position of his hand, he held some kind of energy pistol on them.
Blade’s mind raced.
He needed a diversion.
***
Tennova smiled. “When dark clouds gather,” he quoted in Gallic, “when the wind howls through the Bluestone Valley and whispers through the trees atop the Gallis Highlands, when the light of hope is fading, on the rising thunder will come the Black Wing, screaming through the darkness like the avenging hand of the Maker. There will The Barron make his last stand.”
Bo’s blood chilled, pimpling her flesh. She absently ran her hands along her arms, as much to ward off the sudden cold as to soothe her oversensitive flesh.
“Marissa?” Chase sidled closer to her. “What does that mean? What did you say to her?”
Tennova shook his head. “I have no idea,” he said. “I’m not even sure what language that is, but she knows. It’s a message for you isn’t it?”
Tears filled her eyes. As if from a distance, Bo felt herself nod. “The trader from Gol – that was him? He was quoting that to get my attention?”
“We had to be sure,” Tennova said. “You can’t go around indiscriminately killing random Kiara. The compensation to the D’or Choh is prohibitively expensive.”
If she had any lingering doubts about the plot to assassinate her, the poem dispelled them. With her doubts went her fear. If she hoped to get herself and Chase out of this alive, she needed to keep her head. Her ancestors, immortalized in the epic poem known as Requiem for the Broken Wing, had faced a no-win situation and fought fiercely to the last man. Like them, she intended to give a good accounting of herself before drawing her last breath.
As casually as she could manage, she shifted her weight to her left leg and slid her right behind her. She slowly lowered her hands towards the throwing knives strapped to her thighs.
“I know why you’re killing me,” she said. “But you’re not getting paid to kill him.” Bo jerked her chin towards Chase. Her hand slipped into the deep slit of her skirt. “There’s no profit in it. Why don’t you let him go?”
“Oh, is he your type then?”
“Marissa…”
“You’re no killer, Marc.” She went on, ignoring Chase. Her fingers closed around the hilt of a throwing knife. “If you were, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You don’t want to kill me and you certainly don’t want to kill him.”
“Oh, don’t I?”
“What are you doing?”
“You’re trying to talk yourself into it,” she said.
She shifted her weight slowly again. In one fluid move, she drew the knife from its sheath and threw it at the dark blur that was Tennova just as the lights flickered out. Something large and hard slammed into her, knocking her breath from her and pinning her to the floor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The door hissed open and Blade charged through, his blaster drawn and ready.
“Drop your weapons! IC!” he shouted.
An energy blast flashed harmlessly past him as the door hissed shut once more, plunging the room into total darkness.
“I could use some lights!” Blade said loudly.
The lights flared on.
His eyes flicked around the room, taking inventory at a glance. Tennova leaned heavily against a chair, the hilt from a throwing knife protruded from his shoulder. He glared at Blade.
“I knew you were an agent,” he said.
“No, you didn’t,” Blade said. “Drop the weapon.”
Tennova opened his hand and the energy pistol fell onto the flooring with a dull thud. He winced and slowly straightened, bringing up his other hand. His fingers clenched tightly around a ditoxicin squib. Blade’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of it.
“Your turn,” Tennova said. “Don’t even think about trying to shoot before I can trigger it.”
It took all of Blade’s self-control to show no emotion.
“I know you know what this is,” Tennova said, watching him closely. “I saw the way you reacted to it when I blew it in her face in the lounge. Unless you want it to go off, I suggest you drop your weapon, Mister Roarke.”
“If he doesn’t kill Marissa by the end of the cruise, the people who hired him are going to kill him,” Chase said.
Blade nodded his understanding. He really didn’t have much of a choice.
“We seem to be at an impasse, Mister Tennova.”
“That we do, Mister Roarke.”
The two men stared at each other, neither willing to blink. Each waited for the other to fold. Seeing no other way out of this standoff, Blade tightened his grip on his blaster.
“I have an offer for you,” he said.
Tennova’s eyebrows lifted. “I’m listening.”
“You and your squib are free to leave. I only want those two.”
Tennova eyed him narrowly. “What do you want them for?”
“Do you know who she is?”
Tennova shook his head.
“She’s my ticket out of a court-martial,” Blade said. “Hell, I might even get my pension back if I bring her in.” He shook his head. “I don’t want you. I don’t care about you. You’ve got nothing to fear from me unless you blow that squib. You do that, I’ll kill you.”
Tennova’s lips twisted in a sardonic smile. “Don’t you want the schematics for my phase weapon?”
He sidled towards the door, wielding the squib like a saber. His dark eyes never left Blade.
Following his slow retreat with his blaster, Blade smiled back at him. “We both know there is no phase weapon. You’re nothing but a scam artist. You’re lucky I’m the only one to have figured that out. If I were you, I’d take whatever my winnings are and disappear for a while. I know a few of those arms dealers you’ve been stringing along. If they get wind that you’ve been jerking them around, your life won’t be worth a credit.”
“We’ve got hours before this ship makes its next stop,” Tennova said, reaching for the door controls. “If I see you, I promise you I’ll blow this thing in the shipwide vents.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t see me.”
Tennova touched the door controls and looked back to Bo, still pinned underneath Chase on the floor. “Marissa, I wish we could have met under other circumstances,” he said. “No hard feelings.”
The door slid open and with one last nod to Blade, Tennova slipped out. Blade didn’t relax his aim until the door closed behind him. Lowering his weapon, he glanced over the yellow methane suit.
“Are you two alright?”
Chase levered himself off of Bo and helped her to her feet. “We’re fine,” he said. “How did you know we were here?”
His eyes flicked over Bo. He smiled to himself at her attemp
ts to cover the scarring with makeup.
“I got an anonymous tip.” He took hold of Bo’s arm with his free hand and pulled her after him. “You were supposed to stay in my stateroom,” he chided.
Holding his blaster casually alongside his thigh, he dragged her unceremoniously from Tennova’s suite and down the corridor. She tried to pull her arm from his grasp, but he only tightened his hold.
“Dev, do you mind telling me what this is about?” Chase fell into step beside them. “What was all that about a court-martial?”
“Yeah, about that – I’m… I didn’t exactly have permission to leave the IC when I left.”
“You lied to me…”
“Don’t feel singled out. I lie to everyone.”
“He’s been lying to me since we met,” she said with mock cheerfulness.
“See?”
Bo stumbled and he dragged her until she found her footing again.
“I can walk on my own.”
“Yes, but this way I know you’ll go where you’re supposed to.”
“Why does everyone want to kill Marissa?”
“I never said everyone wanted to kill her,” Blade said.
“Obviously someone wants to kill her.”
“Someone is not everyone, Chase.”
“Why did you let him go?” Bo demanded. “He has to know…”
Blade glanced down at her. “I had to let him go or he was going to blow another ditoxicin squib. You aren’t healed enough from the last one to survive another exposure. If I never see another ditoxicin poisoning again it’ll be too soon.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“I don’t know,” he said, matter-of-factly. “I’m looking for someplace on this liner that isn’t attached to the rest of the ventilation system.”
Digging in her heels, she struggled to pull her arm free.
“If you’re going after him, I’m going with you!”
“Nope. Sorry.” With a quick yank, he jerked her into motion again. “You two are sitting out the rest of this game.”
“Dev, you can’t go after this guy by yourself,” Chase insisted.
With a long-suffering sigh, Blade dragged Bo to a stop and pressed the call key for the lift tubes before he turned to face his brother.
“Chase, let’s get something straight. I appreciate this big brother shit you keep pulling. Maker knows I needed it when I left the IC. You saved my life. You need to understand that this is no holofeature. There’s a madman with a deadly toxin on board this boat and he’s scared enough to use it. I can’t do the job the government trained me to do if I’m worried about the two of you.”
The lift doors parted with a hiss. He dragged her into the lift capsule behind him and turned to his brother.
Chase hadn’t moved so much as a muscle. Slowly he turned his head to look at him. “Dev… Tennova’s going to kill you.”
“No. Trust me. He’s not.”
“He said if he saw you he’d...” Chase shook his head.
Blade grinned. “And I told him he wouldn’t see me,” he said. “That’s true. He’ll never see me coming.” He lowered his head a moment considering his next words. He peered back up at his brother. “There’s a reason the IC let me go without too much trouble, you know. I’m good. One of the best. Granted, I’m a little out of practice…”
“Escape pods!” Bo blurted.
Both men turned to look at her.
“Excuse me?”
“Escape pods?” Blade repeated.
She nodded. “They operate on a separate ventilation system,” she explained. “They have a completely self-contained life support. Every liner has them.”
Chase held up a hand. “Now wait a minute…”
Bo shook her head. “It’s perfect. Once you seal it, there’s no possible way you can get cross contamination.” She looked expectantly up to Blade. Her amber eyes narrowed slightly as she tried to focus on his face. She nodded imperceptibly as if willing him to understand.
“Escape pods,” he repeated as it dawned on him where she was going with this. “Are you sure?”
A slow, self-assured smile touched her lips. “You’re good at your thing, flyboy, I’m good at mine. I’m sure.”
“Escape pods it is.” He looked to his brother. “Chase?”
With a resigned sigh, Chase relented and entered the lift capsule. “Escape pods. Are you sure they won’t automatically eject once you seal them up? The safety drill said they did.”
The lift capsule doors hissed closed and the electromagnetic field engaged, sending the capsule along its tube.
“There are safeties that you’d have to override,” Blade said. “Escape pods aren’t intended to eject in hyperspace.”
He slid his hand down her arm until her hand slipped into his. She laced her fingers with his and gave him a reassuring squeeze. She was going to eject into the liner’s hyperspace wake. Gazing down at her, he holstered his blaster.
“You’re not what I would have expected,” he said softly.
“Neither are you.”
“I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to come back for you before the pod loses power and life support.”
“We’ll be fine,” she assured him. “I’ve got it taken care of.”
“My anonymous tip?”
Her smile widened and she nodded.
“Where will you go after this?”
She sidled closer to him and hugged his arm to her. “Altair.”
“Can I reach you through the D’or Choh?”
“I’ll make sure of it.”
His hand tightened around hers. The doors to the lift slid open. Chase, watching them with a small look of amusement, stepped out and ventured down the utility corridor, giving them a measure of privacy.
Slowly, letting him get out of earshot, they emerged from the lift.
“Are you sure you can jettison in hyperspace without cracking apart?” he said softly
Her lips quirked in a humorless smile. “No,” she admitted. “But if they kill me it’s one thing. If I kill myself now, that’s something else entirely.”
“You can’t fly an escape pod…”
“I’m The Barron,” she said. “I can fly anything.”
“Even blind?”
“Just watch me.”
He stopped and pulled her to him. Brushing the hair away from her face, his thumb lightly stroked her scarred lips before he leaned down and gave her a quick and tender kiss.
“Is that the best you can do?” she asked as he pulled away.
His lips quirked. “Any more than that and I’m afraid the trizian would kick in.” He pulled her into motion once more. “Next time, I promise to kiss you stupid.”
“There’s going to be a next time?” she asked.
Without a doubt,” he said. “The next time I get my hands on you, I’m not letting you go this easily.”
Chase cleared his throat. “Does it matter which pod? Because I found one.”
Blade shook his head. His hand tightened on hers as his brother passed his hand over the access panel for the escape pod and the airlock irised open with a small hiss.
Chase stepped into the cramped pod and looked around. “Cozy.” With an innocent smile for Blade he offered his hand to Bo to help her aboard. “Marissa?”
With one last look up at Blade, she pulled her hand from his and reached for his brother.
“Then until we meet again Darien Roarke.” She canted her head at him and tried a coquettish smile. “Or is it Dev Fossey?”
“You’d never believe me if I told you,” he said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The airlock hatch hissed closed between them. Chase took her arm and settled her into the jump cushion at the control panel. She quickly strapped the g-locks across her chest and hips, then snugged them down. The control panel flared to life.
“Holy shit! You’re planning to eject! I knew it!”
“Sorry Chase,” she said. “The only way to activate th
e pod’s life support is to separate from the ship. Sit down and buckle up. This is going to be the roughest ride you’ve ever taken.”
Swearing under his breath, she heard him fastening down his g-locks.
There was no guarantee the pod would survive the stresses she was about to put on it, but if it did, she wanted to be sure their bodies made it more or less in one piece.
“Did Dev know you were going to do this?”
“He did. Now I need you to hush so I can focus. These things aren’t exactly designed for precision flying. Steering is rudimentary.”
“Maybe you should let me drive, seeing as how you’re blind and all…”
“It’s not driving. It’s flying. I promise you I’ve logged more hours in flight than you have driving.”
“I’m a stunt driver for holofeatures,” he shot back. “I’m pretty sure I can handle this thing.”
Operating on feel and instinct, Bo ran her hands across the control panel and one by one systems flared to life. She identified them easily by sound, relaxing once she got a feel for the tiny craft.
“Under normal circumstances, I’m sure you’d do fine, but we’re about to sail through the hyperspace wake of a starliner. This thing is going to handle like a woolly miu on a three-day bender,” she muttered. “Are you still there, boss?”
“I’m here.”
“That boat you have shadowing me…”
“You make it safely back into realspace and I’ll have you home on Altair in time for dinner.”
“This is it, Chase,” she said. “I am so sorry. You might want to grab a spacesickness bag. There should be one in the pocket by your seat.”
“Hit me with your best shot.”
“Jettisoning in three… two… one…”
Bo hit the release controls and the escape pod broke free from the liner with all the force of a fallen angel. The tiny pod’s riveted panels rattled in protest as it rode the liner’s hyperspace wake, spinning out of control.
“Maker help me…”
Thrown around like a rag doll, the only thing holding Bo in place were her g-locks. She struggled against the pod’s controls in an effort to make the minute adjustments that would keep them from being crushed by the wake. Without inertial dampers, the gee-forces crashed mercilessly in on her. Her already murky vision compressed into an ever-smaller point of light as unconsciousness threatened to overtake her. Gritting her teeth against the dangerously rising force against her, she touched what she hoped were the controls for the onboard artificial gravity plates. Immediately, the gee-forces pushing against them changed, but didn’t ebb.
