Danger's Race

by Amanda Carlson

“If you don’t get your ass out there to investigate”—Jorgen’s voice was furious—“Trina is the only one you’ll be fucking.” How dare his subordinate not take him seriously?

  “Fine, we’ll start a patrol up there,” the guy said. “But we’re going to be walking, so don’t expect to hear from us for a few hours.”

  “Do we want them out in the open?” I asked Case, whispering even though I didn’t need to, as we were just listening in. “Or do we want to preempt, so they stay put?”

  “If we can take them unaware, that would be the more successful scenario,” Case answered. “If they’re primed and ready to fight, we lose our advantage. There are three of us and six of them.”

  I addressed Gia. “What if you let them know that you’re feeling better—that Walt fixed you up—and you and Timmy are on your way back and everything is fine? Do you think they’d buy that?” I slowed the craft, deciding to land behind a large dune. It was better to stabilize while we made a new plan. The outpost couldn’t be too far away, since we’d already flown several kilometers.

  Once I turned the craft off, I popped open my door to get some air. I was going to name this craft Stinky.

  “Yeah, probably,” Gia replied. “They might be a little suspicious, since I’m never on the phone, but nothing ever really happens here. There’s no reason for them to be alarmed.”

  “What about when the militia up north comes?” Case asked.

  “Oh, they always announce themselves. And Jorgen likes them. They bring him stuff.”

  I nodded toward the phone in her hand. “Go ahead and do it. Make sure the interaction is brief. If they want to hear from Tim, Case can yell something garbled in the background.” I glanced at Case, who nodded.

  “It’s worth a try,” he added.

  Gia brought the tech phone up to her mouth and depressed the button. “Aaron, it’s Gia,” she said. “Tim and I are on our way back now. Knox stayed with Curtis. The old man is fixing his leg.”

  The response from Aaron was immediate. “What the hell’s going on? Why were you out there in the first place? And why isn’t anybody else answering?”

  I twirled my index finger in a circle, indicating that she should keep it quick. “Knox and I decided to do a patrol out that way, but I fell down a dune and twisted my ankle.” She shrugged. “When Curtis and Tim got there, they tried to help, but Curtis is a bigger klutz than me, and he broke his leg. We got to the old man, who is helping him out.”

  “Broke his leg?” Aaron snorted. No way was he buying this story.

  “It was that dune that Marvin takes his skid board down. The steep one?” she said, nonplussed. “You almost broke your own leg there, dickhead.” I gave her a thumbs-up. She was a natural.

  “Why the fuck were you on my hill?” the one who must be Marvin interrupted, obviously listening.

  “I don’t know,” Gia answered. “We were just messing around. What’s it to you?”

  “You will be dealt with appropriately.” Jorgen’s voice was cold and calculated. “Tim, bring her directly to my residence.”

  Gia took her thumb off the button. “Shit.”

  I gestured at Case. “Yell something when she turns it back on.” To Gia, I said, “Tell him okay, and then Case will give an excuse for stopping at the outpost first.”

  Case nodded once as Gia pressed the button. “Okay—”

  “I need to stop and pick up a new pair of pants,” Case called from the passenger seat, affecting Tim’s tone fairly well, his hand partially covering his mouth. “The old man cut Curtis’ up, and he’s got nothing to wear. He can’t go back to the outpost bare-assed. I’ll drop her off when I’m done.”

  “Fine.” Jorgen’s tone was even more icy. “I’ll expect you no later than half an hour.” There was a pause filled with static, then, “It’s too bad you decided to pull a stunt like this on the day before our wedding, Gia.” His voice was eerily calm. “Your wedding dress won’t be able to hide all the marks.”

  Gia clicked off the phone and tossed it on the seat next to her.

  I grabbed her wrist before she had a chance to fully process. She fought me for a second, her eyes beginning to glaze over. “It’s not happening,” I said, making sure my words came out modulated and easy. My grip was firm, but not painful. I knew it was grounding her, keeping her present. “Gia, look at me. He’s not going to hurt you anymore. This is our game and it worked. Without what you just did, we would’ve lost our advantage. You gave it back to us.”

  She met my gaze, her eyes slowly regaining their focus. After a few seconds, she nodded.

  I dropped her wrist immediately, affecting a casual tone as I turned to face the front of the craft. “We owe you. That was a great performance. Once we get you back to the city, I’ll make sure you get some coin. It’s still traded up there.”

  She slumped back in her seat. “You don’t owe me anything. And I’m killing that bastard. You can’t stop me.”

  “I wasn’t planning on it,” I said as I eased out of the craft, then ducked my head back in. “Case flies, you’re in the passenger’s seat, and I’m in the back. That way, if anyone spots us, it’ll look like you and Tim heading back to the outpost and all is well. Let’s go.”

  Everyone else got out and changed positions.

  The backseat was smaller than Luce’s. Not that I’d ever spent much time in the back of my own craft. I struggled to get comfortable, not knowing where to put my knees, which jabbed painfully into the back of the front passenger seat. “Damn, it’s tight back here.”

  Case grunted and started up the props. They shuddered and vibrated before gaining momentum. He lofted us off the ground, the craft wobbling. I prayed it wouldn’t take us long to get there. I cupped both my hands around my nose and mouth, taking short, shallow breaths, trying to find some unstinky air to breathe. It didn’t work.

  “Go up there a ways,” Gia ordered.

  The craft eased to the right, the ride not smoothing out very much.

  I refocused on breathing as Gia continued to give Case directions.

  “Direct me to a place we can land out of sight of both the scientists and the militia,” Case said.

  “We already told them we’re coming,” Gia said. “Just park it where the craft usually goes.”

  “The minute we land,” he told her, “the militia will know that I’m not Tim. If they all draw on us before we get a chance to position ourselves outside this craft, we lose.”

  “They won’t be waiting,” she said. “Aaron is too lazy, and the rest of them are just happy they didn’t have to walk five hours to get to Walt’s. Trust me, they won’t be there.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Gia was right. No one was waiting. We exited the craft immediately, not wasting any time. This topography was nearly identical to the area around Walt’s home. The thunderous ocean was to our left. The domes and the militia residence weren’t visible among all the shallow dunes.

  “How close is the residence?” I asked.

  Gia gestured. “It’s down that way, around that bend.”

  There were too many bends around here. “We’re going to have to go a different way,” I told her. “The plan is not to walk up to the front door. We have to surround the building, and once we get there, you’ll have to call them out.” Hopefully, one at a time.

  Gia had good instincts, but the kid obviously needed training. The thought of her and Bender working together made me chuckle. There was a chance Bender would meet his match. Nonetheless, it would be entertaining to see.

  We followed her down a sandy hill and up another until the roof of the residence came into view. To the left, I could see the tops of two other domes. We were right in the middle of both places. I was just about to tell Gia there had to be a better way in when several shouts sounded nearby.

  But they weren’t coming from the residence on the right.

  They were coming from the domes.

  “What are you doing?” The older voice sounded a l
ot like Walt’s.

  “Just shut up and get on the ground,” an angry male shouted.

  “Please don’t harm him,” an older female pleaded.

  “Shut up and do as I say,” the angry voice ordered.

  I grabbed Case’s arm and Gia’s wrist, tugging them both down so we were squatting. There wasn’t any cover, so this had to do. “Do you know who that is?” I asked Gia in a hushed tone.

  “It’s Marvin,” Gia whispered back. “He’s in charge of this outpost, and he reports to Jorgen.”

  Now that she said it, I recognized his tone from the phone. He was the one who’d questioned why she’d been on his dune. From the sounds of it, he was hedging his bets that Gia had been telling the truth.

  It seemed he might be smarter than the others.

  “The only leverage Jorgen or any of you have over one another are the scientists,” I said. “Marvin might suspect something’s wrong. After all, you’re being forced to marry Jorgen tomorrow against your will, which your intrepid leader reminded everyone on the phone. If you were going to retaliate, it could be now. But it doesn’t matter. We have to help the scientists, whatever’s happening.”

  “He had to have heard the craft come in,” Case murmured. “You can hear those props from a kilometer away.”

  He was right. Stinky was loud.

  “Will Marvin shoot you for no reason?” I asked Gia. “I mean, is he shitty enough to do it before he interrogates you?”

  There was more struggling by the domes.

  The old scientist called out in pain, and the female asked, “Why are you doing this to us?” Her voice quavered.

  “I told you to keep quiet,” Marvin ordered.

  “No, he won’t shoot first,” Gia answered. “He likes to watch people squirm. He’s pissed Teddy didn’t put him in charge. He’s Jorgen’s second, and he abuses that power.”

  “Okay, it’s time to split up,” I whispered. “Case and I will enter from the sea, coming in from behind the domes. You go straight in. Act like you’re confused about what’s happening. But before you do, give us time to get there. Five minutes. We’ll back you up.”

  Gia nodded as we began to retrace our steps, so we could get to the ocean unseen. “Stay away from anything that looks like a branch sticking out of the sand. They’re bombs.”

  “Good to know,” I muttered, turning back. “Don’t take out Marvin before we get there. Understood? If he’s the only one there, we don’t want to alert the others. We have to do this quietly.”

  “My laser is quiet.”

  “I’m not kidding,” I warned, keeping my voice as low as I could. “Unless he draws on you first, you do nothing until we say so.”

  “I get it. I’m not stupid,” she huffed.

  Before she could give another huff of disapproval, Case and I were moving.

  We headed toward the sound of the crashing waves, keeping the very tops of the domes in sight to the right. We could hear more shouts as we ran.

  Case changed direction suddenly, waving his arm. “Watch the branch.”

  A lone tree branch stuck haphazardly out of the sand. It looked a little suspicious, but if Gia hadn’t warned us, it might’ve been something we would have overlooked.

  That wasn’t a lovely thought.

  Case and I slid down a steep incline facing the beach. The domes would be to our right about thirty to forty meters. There was more distant shouting, but I couldn’t make out the words. “Once we get to the dome, you go left, I’ll stay right,” I said. “Once Gia confronts him, we take him down.” Case drew his Pulse. I pulled out my Gem and HydroSol. I nodded to his hand. “Only using that?”

  “I only need one.”

  We took off, avoiding another branch sticking out of the sand. The domes were exactly like Walt’s, with one closer to the sea and one more inland, but neither with bright-colored roofs like Teddy’s. As we ran, I scanned the area but saw no movement. We rushed up the hill to the back of the first dome.

  The voices were coming from farther away, in front of the other dome.

  “You’re going to regret this,” an older, frail male voice said. “We’re not going to take this abuse.”

  “Shut up, old man,” Marvin snarled. “If you don’t cooperate, you die.”

  “You wouldn’t dare kill us,” the older man challenged. “What would you do without all the luxuries we bring you? We keep you healthy and fed. We allow this place to be fortified with our technology.”

  “What’s this about?” the female said.

  I was waiting for the male to respond when Gia said, “Marvin, put down the gun. Why would you hurt these guys? What’s wrong with you? When Jorgen finds out, you’re going to be in all kinds of trouble.”

  “You don’t look hurt to me,” Marvin challenged.

  Dammit. She was supposed to have a sprained ankle.

  “What? You’re the ruler of injuries? The scientist up north fixed me up.” Gia’s voice was eerily calm. “He put something on it, and the pain went away.”

  “If you healed that fast, why isn’t Curtis with you?”

  “His was a break. Mine was a sprain. That’s why. We don’t have a medi-pod in this town, so we make do. What are you doing with these two?”

  We made it around the first dome and were starting around the second. It was clear Marvin was on edge. He didn’t believe her.

  “These two are my sacrificial lambs,” Marvin said. Case was too far away to ask, but I was fairly certain that was an old biblical term. Something about killing the innocent.

  “What are you talking about? Why would you kill them? And where is everybody?” Gia asked, her voice a few octaves too high. She was trying to make sure we heard. “Are you on your own?” The question had been poised casually, but I winced. It was too forthright.

  The distinct sound of a gun being cocked came next. “No, he’s not fucking alone,” another, obviously younger, man said. They must’ve been waiting for her. “Do you think we’re that stupid? Put your gun down before I kill you.”

  “Oh, hi, Decca,” Gia said, still sounding casual. “Is Aggie with you?”

  “Enough with the questions,” Decca ordered. “And put your fucking gun down, like I told you.”

  “Where’s Tim?” Marvin asked.

  “He went to the residence to get pants for Curtis, like he told you on the phone,” Gia said.

  “Bullshit, I just come from there,” Decca said. “I didn’t see anyone. Something’s not right. That’s why we’re here. You don’t fool us. You got that scientist on your side, didn’t you?”

  There was no way to signal Case. When one of us went for it, the other would have to follow. I was just about to make my move when a very familiar sound clicked right next to my ear.

  The cold barrel eased into the crease of my neck, and hot breath landed on my cheek. “What are you doing here, bit—”

  I pivoted, smashing my elbow into his face. He arced backward, surprised, as I scooped his legs out from under him with my foot. If Bender had taught me anything, it was to strike immediately. At the onset of a confrontation, there were only a few precious seconds before your opponent reacted. For some reason, most people liked to announce they were going to assault you, and if you were a girl like me, they always waited a few beats too long.

  This guy could’ve benefited from a little Bender 101.

  I mean, if he’d just shot me, I’d be dead and he wouldn’t be lying on the ground looking up at the barrel of my Gem.

  We’d made enough noise to attract attention, and I heard Case shout from the other side of the dome. I needed to get out there and back him and Gia up. I didn’t have my taser out, and I didn’t know if this was one of the men who deserved to live, so I lowered my Gem and shot him in the thigh. He screamed as I rounded the corner in less than six seconds.

  Case had his gun leveled on the one I thought was Decca, since he had his weapon trained on Gia, so I aimed mine at Marvin, who had his pointed at the two scientists huddled
on the ground. I could be wrong about who was who, but it didn’t matter.

  At first glance, the scientist didn’t seem to be as old as Walt, but he was old enough to have been alive before the meteor strike.

  “Where are your friends?” Case asked Decca.

  “Wouldn’t you like to—” Decca dropped to his knees, his hands going to his throat.

  Case met my gaze, surprise on his face. He hadn’t shot him.

  “What’s going on?” Marvin yelled, right as he fell to the ground, his hands scratching at his cheeks hard enough to draw blood.

  Decca was rolling around, vomiting blood now. Gia took a few steps back, looking stunned.

  I lowered my weapons as the female scientist stood, helping up the older man, who had more hair than Walt. She met my gaze. She had a weathered look in her eyes. “They’re dying. It’s okay, leave them be.”

  “There are still at least two unaccounted for, possibly three,” I said, making my way toward them.

  “No, there aren’t,” she replied. “Two are inside, and I believe this man took out one on the other side of the dome.” She gestured toward Case, who nodded. “That’s all of them. We warned them this day would come. They were well aware. This isn’t a surprise. We were content to wait for it, knowing they would use us as leverage to wage their battles at some point, hoping to do this when we knew help was on the way. You’re that help.” She held out her hand. “I’m Nareen, and this is Elond. Walt told us you were coming. We welcome you.”

  I shook her hand. “Walt didn’t mention he had contact with you.” If he had, the plan would’ve most certainly been tweaked.

  “We’re scientists. We have our ways, and most of them are sneaky. He was only able to get us a message after you’d left his residence. If you’re wondering why we waited this long, living with a militia—it’s because it has served its purpose over the years protecting the area and leaving us alone, for the most part. But the game they are waging with the faction up north is too dangerous. Under such a brutal regime, our lives would be in imminent peril. It was time to act, and you came at the exact right time.” She grabbed on to Elond’s arm to steady him. He was at least ten years older than she was and several centimeters shorter. Nareen had a refined elegance to her, even though her nice, compact bun had been mussed by her interaction with Marvin.