The Coming Storm_A Pax Aeterna Novel

by Trevor Wyatt

  Loud drunken laughter filled the place, along with the occasional off-key belting of a song. Tira’s head spun. She drank while the others ate and put away more than both men. Shaking her intoxicated head, she stood.

  “I’m just below hangover level. I better get some sleep before we do this,” she said and wandered off without giving them a chance to answer.

  ***

  Dammit. For once, I wish I bruised easy, Tira thought as she stared in the mirror. Not a trace from last night’s fight remained. Jeremy was mostly right. She wasn’t beautiful by anyone’s standards, but her features were much too soft to be convincing.

  She took a deep breath, stepped to the side, and slammed her face into the wall. Biting back the pain, she looked into the mirror.

  Both eyes started to blacken, her nose pointed the wrong way, and blood ran down her chin from a split bottom lip.

  Maybe I overdid it. Nah.

  With one more deep breath to brace herself, she slammed both fists into the wall and winced as she watched her knuckles swell.

  Once the pain subsided, she gave a satisfied nod and rushed out to meet the captain’s pet smuggler.

  “You look like shit. It’s this way,” Jeremy said.

  “I’ll take that as a compliment, you ass.” She hadn’t been quite below hangover level. That, combined with the self-inflicted injuries, made for a bad mood.

  They took a right down a corridor that was lit with only auxiliary lights. They gave the ominous glow of a horror movie. It was the perfect stage for a double-cross.

  “No monkey business,” Tira warned.

  Jeremy chuckled, “You think I’ve come this far to make an enemy of Jeryl Montgomery?”

  “You don’t seem the type to get roped into political maneuvers.” In fact, Tira pegged him for the kind who waited for the dust to settle so he could rob everybody.

  “And you don’t seem the type to go undercover.”

  “Oh? What type am I?” This should be good.

  “Straight military. Guns out, ready to shoot anyone who gives you shit and beat answers out of anyone unwilling to talk.”

  “Fair enough. I’ve done my share of that. Let’s just say I’m flexible.”

  Jeremy shot her an incredulous look. He didn’t buy it. Tira scowled in irritation, She hated working with someone she didn’t know. Jeremy was quick to make assumptions about her as if they were old friends. Why did it bother her so much when that was the impression she wanted to leave with strangers? Although times had progressed, a woman in the military had to work twice as hard to prove herself. That was something this pretty boy would never understand.

  She caught the way he deflected the conversation away from him.

  Okay, so we don’t talk about you. That could be a fun challenge to work on later.

  They rounded another dimly lit corner. Only small storage facilities lined this area and the auxiliary lights saved on power. The two had to bypass hundreds of those before they gave way to the large warehouses.

  The place gave Tira the creeps. The more they walked, the more she felt eyes on her. Something was wrong here. She chalked it up to needless paranoia at first, but she trusted her gut.

  A door on either side slid open. Two shadowed figures barreled out, knocking both of them down at once. Tira was on her feet in a lightning fast kick-up, ending in a left hook that slammed her attacker against the wall. Jeremy had risen to his knees and sucker punched his man in the groin. The guy groaned and doubled over, leaving him at perfect height for a straight punch to the nose. The attacker fell over, still groaning.

  Movement behind Tira almost went unnoticed while she was distracted. She was too late and he kicked her behind the knee, making her drop to the floor again. He landed another kick to her stomach. The wind was knocked out of her and she retched. The figure of Jeremy flew over her as he tackled her assailant. She rolled the opposite direction and struggled to her feet, clutching her stomach. Two seconds later, she caught her breath and looked down. The first attacker had begun to stir. Tira gave him a kick to the head. He went still but kept breathing.

  Dammit.

  Panting, Jeremy and Tira looked at each other.

  “What the fuck was that about?” Tira asked.

  Jeremy shrugged, “Mugging, probably.”

  Tira didn’t buy it. She saw the glimmer of recognition in his eyes. He not only knew who they were, but why they attacked.

  He reached into the pockets of his leather jacket. When he pulled his hands out, he had what looked like a set of brass knuckles on each.

  “Don’t you think we’ve done enough damage?” Tira looked at his hands incredulously.

  “This is something different.”

  Tira’s attacker was slumped against the wall. Jeremy pulled his hair, yanking his head forward. He gently tapped the base of the guy’s skull, who jerked slightly. Jeremy pulled away to move to the prone bastard on the floor, rolled him to his side, and did the same thing. Pushing a tiny button to power down the accessories, he put them back in his pocket and looked pointedly at Tira.

  “They won’t remember us. No one knows about these but me.”

  Tira held up her hand in surrender, “What do you think I am, a gossipy housewife?”

  Jeremy studied her a second. Then, he nodded, deciding that she was telling the truth, and grabbed the first attacker. He dug him back into the storage unit. Tira took the hint and dragged the other man into the opposite storage unit.

  “They’ll be out a while,” Jeremy affirmed.

  They continued their trek to the warehouse sector.

  “So, why don’t all your crew to get one of those nifty toys?” Tira asked to break the silence. She was more nervous than she would ever let on. If she wasn’t convincing, they would die.

  “They were a prototype that never took off. I happened to get hold of the schematics. Call it an insurance policy.” He tilted his head, indicating the two unconscious men behind them.

  “Obviously, they were there specifically for us. They’re gonna figure it out.”

  “Yeah, but with a two-minute chunk of memory gone, they won’t know if they found us or something worse. All they know is they got their asses kicked.”

  “Good point.”

  They passed by endless rows of warehouse doors, and Jeremy stopped in front of one nestled a third of the way from the end, nearly invisible among all the others.

  “This is it,” Jeremy said.

  “Okay, let’s do this,” Tira said as she reached for the control panel.

  Jeremy grabbed her hand, “Uh, no. You go in alone. Don’t touch that panel until I’m out of sight.”

  “You slimy little toad.” Tira drew her fist back.

  “They know me. If I bring a stranger in now, it’ll blow my cover. You find them on your own. It will be suspicious, but believable.”

  “Yeah,” Tira dropped her fist, “You could’ve said that last night. Dick.”

  “Aww, that’s no fun. You got this.” He punched her shoulder like she was one of the guys and turned away with a smug grin.

  Tira stared as he walked away, wondering how she could admire his ass and want to kick it at the same time.

  Chapter 14

  Tira

  Tira walked through the darkened entryway and smelled nothing but stale air, cigarette butts, and the stink of men that have gone too long without a shower.

  The last one became even more apparent as the lights clicked on, revealing a small gathering of men that seemed to be as heavily armed as a landing party during an invasion.

  “Well, hello fellas. I guess I’ve come to the right place.” She put on the closest thing to a grin she could, hoping that a bit of humor would convince at least one of the men to drop his gun.

  “It depends, lady, on whether or not you’re nuts. Now, who the flying fuck are you?”

  “Name’s Tira. Formerly from the Terran Armada. I heard you guys are looking for new recruits?”

  A man walked ove
r to her from the corner of the room. “It depends. We’ve been having trouble finding new recruits. Last batch included a rather bloody-minded bastard that took some of our higher ups with him.”

  “Well, at least promotions are on the table. This is the Syndicate, right?” She took a step forward, hoping that her friendly tone would keep them at ease long enough to figure everything out.

  “Yeah, that’s us. Though I think we are done with Armada spies at the moment... Kyle, Luke, take this lady out back and give her a true Syndicate send off.” The leader gave Tira a sad smile. “Shame, all the lovely ones tend to be the sort we have to shoot.”

  Tira raised her hands, “Wait! I defected and have information your group needs! Just take me to whoever is in charge, I’ll prove it.”

  A couple of the men chuckled, “Well, Ms. Tira, I’m sad to say we’ll have to pass on your offer.” The leader retorted.

  One of the men sat on a chair next to Tira and poked her with his shotgun. “Oh come on, I’d love to hear what she has to say, at least in bed. Been awhile since you allowed us to bring in a hooker or two.”

  “I’m no colonial tramp selling myself out for credits. Fuck me, lose my information. Shoot me, lose my information. You want to take that risk?” Tira glanced around the room. Six men, five of them visibly armed. The man in charge didn’t seem to carry anything, though that could just mean he had something hidden in a back pocket. Not the best odds in the galaxy, but far from the worst.

  She looked at the man who wanted to bed her. “So—are you Luke or Kyle?”

  He poked her in the ribs. “Kyle. And from where I’m sitting, your ass is better than anything you can offer.”

  The leader looked at her, “Maybe it is time I let the men blow off some steam. Consider it punishment for dropping in uninvited. Afterwards, well, you can tell us what you know or get a bullet in the back of your head.”

  Only Kyle kept his gun up. The rest put their weapons down on a small table and walked over to her. The leader turned to the exit. “What? Not going to join in?”

  He snorted, “Sorry, I got a wife at home, hun.”

  As he said it, the men looked at him. A foolish decision—for them, at least.

  Tira grabbed Kyle’s shotgun and flipped it in her hand, “Damn, boy. You left the safety on.”

  Fixing it, she blew the would-be rapist away and turned to the rest. “Well, come on. Who’s next?”

  The remaining four men glanced at each other and spread out. Tira chuckled and said, “You guys aren’t as stupid as you look. Heads up—I took on bigger gangs than you and won.”

  The group rushed to her, which is exactly what she wanted. She dropped to her knees and swung her legs out, taking the man immediately in front of her while aiming at the person behind. Two more down, though the one in front would be able to walk. Eventually.

  The other two, however, tackled her before she had to opportunity to start another attack.

  A couple of punches bounced off her head, causing stars to blossom in her eyes as she looked for a weakness. Then, she realized that the taller of the two men kept avoiding using his left arm.

  She managed to reach out and grab it, leading to a gasp as the man fell off. “You bitch!” She screamed as she rolled out from under the other man.

  “Sorry, but all’s fair in love and war...” The other man stood up. He was nearly a half meter taller than Tira, though that wasn’t as much of a problem as the slender shocker handgun he pulled out of his pocket.

  It was one of the newest models, supposedly restricted to just military and special forces on missions. “Where the hell did you get that blaster?”

  He smiled and aimed carefully. “We’ve been trying to tell you—your information is worthless.”

  He aimed it at her and pulled the trigger—but there was nothing. The man smiled and said, “Friend or Foe targeting. The system thinks you are still Armada.”

  The man who had his legs kicked out from under him grabbed another gun. It was too far for Tira to dodge. The game was up.

  “Maybe the system is out of date. You think the Armada would allow one of those to go off grid and stay functioning?”

  The two men laughed, “You think we’re that dumb?”

  As the man reached for the trigger, the leader came back into the room, followed by another man. “Don’t fire!” The newcomer said. “You damned fool, an Armada officer shows up at our doorstep and you threaten to rape and kill her?”

  The man with the military shocker blanched, “We’re just doing what we’re told. And the gun didn’t fire...”

  “Of course it didn’t fire. These new prototypes need to be updated. If she just jumped ship then how would it have known?” He looked around the room. “I know the Armada trains good fighters but this is unreal. Punishment enough, don’t you say?” He looked at Tira with a small grin.

  She looked at the man for a few moments. A couple of years older than her, though the lines around his eyes betrayed greater torments than she could ever fear to experience.

  “Yeah. Good enough. Now, are you the man I need to speak with? Or did I have the damned luck to send him to hell?”

  The man who left the room earlier chuckled. “In the Syndicate, everywhere is hell. Ever since he got in charge...”

  Tira smiled inwardly. Finally, she had spotted the infamous captain that had everyone running ragged throughout known space.

  She extended a hand, “It’s good to meet you, now tell me…do you have all your recruits go through such a rigorous audition?”

  The Ghost’s captain grasped her hand and pulled her close. “Only the good ones...”

  Letting Tira go, he turned to his lieutenant and said, “Well, so much for your guards. I did warn you about bringing in bastards who only like to drink, fight, and fuck... No sense of decorum. Get the bodies out of here and see to that man’s arm. This isn’t the first fight he lost because of it.”

  Tira gave him a questioning look, which he repaid by pointing a finger at the ceiling. “I was watching the whole time. Now…let’s talk.”

  Chapter 15

  Tira

  Tira was smart enough to allow the man lead the way up to the office. She hung back by a few yards, just enough space to react well to an attack. She didn’t trust him. She didn’t trust anyone in the warehouse, and it was not just because it smelt like sewers in here.

  Two of the cardinal rules of spyfare was to not trust and to not fuck anyone. Tira wasn’t about to trust a man who led a pack of idiots that had openly tried to rape her. She was glad that she was able to send some of them to damnation.

  “I’m in,” Tira whispered softly. This was another reason why she kept a few yards of space between herself and the gang leader. She needed to communicate with Jeryl.

  “Good work,” the voice replied in her ears softly. “Awaiting confirmation.”

  The man suddenly turned around and appraised her from head to toe. Tira didn’t react instantly—to do so would’ve been to give herself away. She maintained her badass demeanor, allowing the sneer on the corner of her lips to spread.

  “So,” she said, coming to a halt a yard away from him. “Why should I trust you?”

  The man spread out his arms as though to show her his estate, which was really a dank, lowly lit warehouse with a litter of crates and the new addition of dead bodies.

  “You have no reason to,” he replied. “Not yet, anyway.”

  Then he smiled.

  The man was tall with broad shoulders and large palms that appeared and felt calloused. His speech was so clean, she couldn’t help but detect imperial education in it. His demeanor was unlike the guards she’d encountered on the warehouse floor. He was calmer, more tactful, more in control.

  His smile was fierce and intense, yet full of meaning. Tira felt uncomfortable. She felt as though he could see all the way right through her.

  She shivered.

  “Come on in,” the man said. “Wouldn’t want you catching a col
d.”

  Tira was about to rebuff the absurd idea, but the man wasn’t listening. He simply turned around and led her through a maze of corridors, and then stopped in front of what seemed to be nothing but a wall. A bright white line in the shape of a door appeared before her eyes. The new door slid open, revealing an immaculate office.

  This time, the man didn’t lead her in. Rather, he gestured for her to go in.

  Tira hesitated.

  The man took note of her hesitation, yet he didn’t comment. He just stared at her, his eyes searching her action for meaning. She could see him draw conclusions, complex calculations running through his mind.

  For the first time, Tira suspected that she might be well way in over her head.

  “Getting cold feet?” he said finally.

  Seconds later, Jeryl was speaking softly to her. To a limited degree, he could hear what transpired around her.

  “If you feel threatened, Tira, say the word,” Jeryl whispered. “You don’t have to do this. There are other ways.”

  Wrong, she replied in her mind. I have to.

  Tira knew that this was the fastest way to get what they wanted. Jeremy had made that much clear to them.

  Tira firmed up her resolve. She had a mission to do. She wasn’t alone. She had Jeryl in her ears. She was alright.

  “Cold feet?” she retorted, letting a nonchalant tone filter into her words. “Hey, I came to you, remember?”

  The man saw right through the charade, because he only shrugged and motioned for her to go in.

  Tira walked into the office.

  “Take a seat,” the man said as he headed to the small bar at the side. The door hissed to a close behind, and a soft click told Tira that she was locked in with what could be the most dangerous man on the planet.

  Tira sat at the small desk by the window. It overlooked a vast loading field, where ships fly in to load up on whatever the warehouse stocked.