“Ozzy,” said Gragas. “I’m sorry what the High Judge and this bounty hunter are doing to you, but don’t do this. You need to tuck yourself into your hiding spot at Olympus Mons.”
“No can do, Gragas. Sonya Zeld is in Olympus Mons somewhere, and we can’t find her. She’s just as dangerous as this piece of shit, Quad.”
“He is far more deadly,” said Gragas, pulling out a dagger. The metal against the holster made it sing. He examined it and then holstered it again. “I’ll have to help.”
“That was my plan.”
“Your chess plan?”
Ozzy nodded. “Well, yeah. You’re our backup.”
Gragas shook his head. “I’m by your side, not your backup.”
“Got ‘em,” Jozi yelled from the storage bay.
Ozzy glanced out of the cockpit window and watched as the inside door to the mine creaked open.
He slapped Gragas on the shoulder. “Let’s go.” He rushed down the ladder and hurried to the storage bay ramp where he pushed a button and a door hissed. Steam expelled when the ramp unsealed and opened. It then lowered to the ground and clanked against the pavement.
The smell of burnt rock wafted to his nose. It was the aroma of Pollack Mine.
Jozi handed Ozzy his weapons. He holstered the photon pistol and strapped the rifle over his shoulder.
With confidence, they strode down the ramp like a special ops team ready for business. At least, that’s what Ozzy hoped they looked like.
“Stick together,” said Jozi.
“Agreed,” mumbled Gragas.
The inside mine door loudly pinged when it opened fully.
Miners packed the area and were walking back and forth, wearing dirty mining suits and headgear with flashlights on their foreheads.
In the middle of the mine was a large, dimly lit hole, decked out with steep roads, train rails, and elevators. Outbuildings, offices, and mining vehicles lined the hole and were as dirty as the miner’s outfits.
Why didn’t Lou greet them when the inside door opened?
“Ozzy,” yelled a man who was trotting toward him and fully decked out in an EVA uniform. Several people, also in the same type of EVA’s, surrounded the guy.
It was his brother’s voice.
“Why in Mars’s name are they in EVA’s? That’s never a mining protocol,” Ozzy said softly.
“They may be hiding,” responded Gragas. “They might be masking their faces from Quad.”
“Might is a strong word there, Gragas.”
Jozi eyed the EVA-wearing men and women. “Maybe your brother is playing his own game of chess?”
Ozzy slid his hand over his holster. A miner walked toward him. Was that an actual miner or someone disguised as one? “Or Quad may be playing a little better than we are.”
7
Pollack Mine, Mars
“You led trouble my way.” It was Lou in the miner’s EVA. He strode up to Ozzy, his EVA suit helmet visor blackened. “Leave, quickly. This is a setup. He made me and a few others wear these EVA’s. He synthesized my voice with his in order to fool you when you called. He’s disguised in an EVA right now.”
Ozzy’s chest tightened.
“Where was he the last time you saw him?” Ozzy asked as he glanced around.
“Right behind you,” came a gruff, robotic-sounding voice.
Ozzy turned with a start. A man twice his size, muscles almost bulging out of his battle suit, wore a masked helmet lined with a Mohawk-like Roman helmet from old Earth. He stood ten meters away with two swords drawn and his arms bent at the elbows. An EVA suit was on the ground next to him, torn to shreds. He must have cut the disguise off a few seconds ago. A large EVA helmet rested on the ground as well, something that was somehow big enough to fit his mask and helmet underneath.
He was ready to pounce.
Shiiiiiing!
Gragas unsheathed his swords from the back of his battle suit. He cocked his head to the side and grinned. “Hi, Quad.”
Before Ozzy could draw his rifle, Gragas rushed forward. “Get your brother on the ship, now,” he yelled.
Gragas came down with one of his swords. Quad crisscrossed his swords and blocked Gragas’s thrust. A clang reverberated across the mine.
Quad flung a sword toward Gragas’s head. Gragas ducked then quickly stood, kicking Quad in the side.
Quad grunted and fell to one knee.
Men and women rushed Quad. The bounty hunter jumped to his feet and swung his sword in their direction. He missed. Gragas sidestepped and stood in front of the miners, blocking them from coming any farther.
One miner didn’t get the hint.
Gragas pushed the miner aside. “Go. You don’t have the ability to fight this man.”
Quad laughed. “You should have seen them when I arrived with a rifle in my hand. They were too easily controlled.” He gave Lou a look. “Signs of a weak leader.”
Gragas sheathed his swords and, just as quickly, pulled his rifle from his shoulder. He aimed at Quad. “Ozzy, do what I said. Get your brother on the ship.”
Quad unstrapped his own rifle and pointed it at Gragas. “Yeah, get him on the ship. I’ll be along soon…after I maim Gragas here…the famous Galactic Knight.”
Ozzy grabbed his brother’s arm, Jozi grabbed the other, and they rushed him toward Relic.
Lou pulled his arms free. “Let me go.”
“Lou, we can’t. We have to get you to safety. The High Judge hired this bounty hunter to kill everyone I know in order to get to me.” Or so Ozzy speculated.
Lou huffed. “Then let him kill you. That way I’ll be free of you.”
Lou had a point.
Wapooh!
A photon blast cracked the ground, sending up chunks of rock and soil against Lou. He toppled on his side, making an oomph sound when he landed.
Gragas returned fire, slamming a photon bolt into Quad’s battle suit. Electricity twirled around his armor. Quad jerked back, lost his footing, and fell to his knees. He thrust his chest outward, shooting the electricity in Gragas’s direction, which zapped Gragas.
Ozzy’s eyes about burst out of his head. He had never seen armor technology do anything remotely like that.
Gragas was being electrocuted and was jerking left and right. He fell on his back, and Ozzy could hear him panting.
Quad turned and ran toward Ozzy.
“Yeah, we gotta go.” Ozzy pulled his brother to his feet, guiding him to Relic’s rear ramp.
Jozi stopped halfway up the ramp, unstrapped her rifle, and twirled around. She aimed at Quad and pulled the trigger. The weapon recoiled against her shoulder, expelling a photon charge, and smoke swirled out of the muzzle.
Quad leaped out of the way and rushed onward. Ozzy pushed his brother up the ramp and inside the storage bay.
“Get a rifle,” Ozzy ordered.
His brother hurried to the rifle rack. Ozzy went to one knee, waiting for the perfect shot. Jozi backed up and sent multiple photon blasts at Quad.
The guy was fast and moved out of the way of each fired shot.
But Gragas was just as fast and running after Quad.
Ozzy sent a shot, which Quad ducked out of the way for the umpteenth time.
Gragas leaped, wrapping his arms around Quad’s neck, and pulled him to the ground. He swiftly pulled off a black, metallic device from his leg, dropped it on Quad’s stomach, and rolled away.
The device expanded, cracked open, and dug into the ground, clamping Quad in a vice grip.
Gragas rushed up Relic’s ramp. “Shut the door.”
Ozzy slapped the button, and the ramp hissed and began lifting.
Quad grasped the device around him and pushed, grunting loudly. A loud clank sounded. The device broke free from the cement, and he threw it to the side and got to his feet.
Relic’s ramp was still in the process of shutting.
Ozzy backed up while pointing his gun. “Oh boy, here he comes.”
8
Poll
ack Mine, Mars
Quad leaped, sending a loud pang against the door. He was a second too late, successfully meeting the ship’s exterior.
Lou bolted toward the ramp door. “Let me out. My people need me.”
Gragas slammed the butt of his gun against the grated floor. The sound startled Lou and shut him up for a moment.“ Unless your miners attack Quad, he’ll have no interest in them. Does your mine carry weapons?”
Lou shook his head, holding up his fist. “My workers have their hands.”
Gragas nodded. “That won’t faze him. Don’t worry. Your miners will be fine. He isn’t paid to kill them. He is paid to secure or kill Ozzy. He wouldn’t waste his energy on your workers. He is focused on using family members to lure Ozzy in and grab him.”
“Aren’t I the lucky one?” Ozzy raced up the ladder with Jozi closely behind. “Open the outside door, Lou.”
“It won’t open until you close the inside door,” yelled Lou, running into the cockpit after Ozzy. “I’ll patch into my computer using—”
“Just do it,” Ozzy said as he rushed to the pilot’s seat and plopped in the chair.
Jozi sat next to him, and Lou leaned against the flight console, panting through his EVA suit. He brought up his credentials and tapped a few key commands. The inside doors of the mine began to close.
Lou crossed his arms. “The outside door will open when that inside door closes. Got it?”
Ozzy gave his brother a curt nod. “Got it, now find a seat in the storage bay.”
Gragas entered, crowding the cockpit. “You need to get more seats up here.”
“No can do. I’m a one-person operation. I didn’t think I’d have a random family wanting to move in.”
“You’ll thank us later,” Gragas said.
“Yeah, we’ll see about that.”
“Okay, let me off, Ozzy. I’ll be fine outside in my EVA suit until you exit the premises and I can re-enter.” Lou stood tall, adamant at getting as far away from his brother as possible.
Ozzy powered on the engines. “The inside door is closed, and the outside door is opening.” He gave Lou a hard look. “Like I said, find a seat. There’s no telling what Quad will do to you. I’m saving your ass.”
“No,” growled his brother. “For once in your life, understand that criminal activity and hostiles follow whenever you are around. You are not saving me, Ozzy. Your very existence is endangering me.”
A ball of fire rose in Ozzy’s belly. He wanted to stand and knock his brother off his feet. This was an old pattern between the two of them rearing its ugly head, and Ozzy wasn’t having any more of it. This had everything to do with their parents and the day they were purposely blown up in their hovercar.
All because of the High Judge, not because of Ozzy.
“How many times do I have to tell you that I was set up? I didn’t kill mom and dad. The damn High Judge did. I didn’t abandon my daughter, either. The High Judge threatened to kill her if I was even a city stop away from her.”
“Bullshit, Ozzy. You were always a deviant growing up, and you still haven’t changed.”
Jozi cleared her throat to get their attention. She pointed at the mine’s outside open door. “Get going.”
Quad came into view, holding a large cannon against his hip.
Where the hell did he get that?
Ozzy initiated thrusters. “Everyone, sit. We’re heading to the Face on Mars.” He lifted Relic into the air then blasted her forward. Gragas stood and held the back of Ozzy’s seat, and Lou sat with his back against the wall.
“Mars’s flames, we’re going to Ares Monument?” Lou swore. “You get me back on the ground this instant.”
“Nope, Brother. Take over the controls, Jozi.” Ozzy stood. “I’m going to rip my brother’s helmet off and shut his ass up.”
Jozi put her hand out, stopping Ozzy from moving forward. “Don’t you dare.”
Ozzy huffed and gave his brother an ominous stare before dropping back into his seat. “This is the gratitude I get for saving his ass? He’s been a spoiled brat his entire life. It must be nice when everything is given to you.”
Gragas helped Lou to his feet. He stepped around him and paused, staring at something on Lou’s back. “We have a challenge, Ozzy. There is a reason Quad had them wear EVA’s other than helping disguise himself. They are bugged.” He pulled a round device off of Lou’s EVA and dropped it on the floor. He stomped on it and smashed it to pieces. “Quad is probably in his ship right now and heard you say we’re going to the Face on Mars. Change your destination, quickly.”
Ozzy quieted. “Get down into the storage bay.” He typed in coordinates on his flight console and veered his ship in a tight turn, flying low to the ground and sending crimson dust into the air.
Jozi grabbed Ozzy’s arm. “You just set the coordinates to Ares Monument. You can’t be serious.”
“I have a job to do and ain’t no bounty hunter going to stop me.” It was his only way to get enough money to get him and his family, including Lou, off of this red rock.
Lou placed his hands on his hips. “Wait, you have a job to do? What job?”
“I have a dig. All of you are joining me. This will guarantee me enough auric credits to get us off Mars and to a safer place.”
Lou stared out of the cockpit window, pounding his fist into his thigh and using a controlled tone, “I’m confused. You’re taking us to an archaeological dig, a place that Quad knows we’re going, and then you’re going to sell your find for money?”
Ozzy shrugged, doing his best to show his brother it wasn’t that big of a deal. “Yeah, and lots of money too.”
“You little…” Lou reached for Ozzy.
Gragas grabbed Lou around the chest and lifted him off his feet, moving him several meters away from Ozzy.
Ozzy leveled Relic then stood. “Trust me, Louey. I know what I’m doing.”
“You know how to get us killed…is what you’re doing,” Lou said, his voice raised. He was trying to grab at Ozzy, but Gragas held him at bay.
A beep sounded across the cockpit. Jozi pounded her head with her fist. “We have inbound, six o’clock. It’s Quad.”
Ozzy sat in his chair. “Does he have weapons lock?”
“No,” Gragas said. “He doesn’t charge his weapon’s array on his ship. He prefers to do things by hand. You’ll have no problem with him in the air. It’ll be a fight when we land.”
“And if the techbots didn’t disarm Relic,” said Ozzy under his breath. “We’d blast him out of the sky.”
“Turn around, Ozzy,” Lou said as spittle built up in the corners of his mouth. “Drop me off at my house and be on your way. The last thing I need is for Gloria to become a widow. She wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
Ozzy bit his lower lip. “No. You’re coming with us.” The pit of his stomach sank lower. He had to tell his brother sooner rather than later.
Your wife is dead.
The thought was terrifying, and it would rip his brother apart.
“Tell him, Ozzy,” said Jozi.
Ozzy shot her a look. He couldn’t believe she just said that.
Gragas continued to hold Lou back.
Ozzy briefly closed his eyes. “Not yet.” The Face on Mars was in the distance but in view. It was in Outlaw Zone Seven covered with sand but still visible to the naked eye. It wasn’t as pristine as it was when the Ancients engraved it all those thousands of years ago out of the mountain it sat upon, but it was still immaculate, to say the least.
“Then I’ll tell him,” she said. “You owe him that much.” She swiveled around in her chair, ready to open her mouth and spill the truth.
“Don’t you dare,” said Ozzy, his brows furrowing.
The cockpit dinged again. Quad’s ship was getting closer.
“Tell me what?” Lou said, his voice low. He clearly knew something was wrong, and Ozzy could tell his brother didn’t want to hear it but had to.
“Nothing,” said Ozzy, k
eeping his eyes forward and steering the ship to the coordinates on the map.
Jozi stood. Her eyes sad and her tone gentle, she said, “That your wife—”
“Shut it!”
“That my wife, what?” asked Lou, his arms dangling at his sides and his shoulder’s drooped. A tinge of worry clouded his eyes. “Don’t tell me.”
Ozzy eyed his lap. He blinked several times and took a shallow breath. “I came upon Gloria this morning. She…uh…she—”
A loud gasp shot out of Lou’s mouth, and he stepped back. “No, no, no.” He shook his head. “You’re lying. Please, please, tell me you’re lying?”
Ozzy turned and gazed at his brother. “I’m sorry. I went to your house to warn you and Gloria, but Quad had already been there.”
Lou’s lower lip trembled, his chin wavered, and his eyes welled up. “What the Mars are you doing to me, Brother? Why have you been so hell-bent on ruining your family’s lives? My life?” He curled his fingers into a fist. “I can’t—” He went to take a step forward but instead fell to the floor, sobbing.
Ozzy stood and slowly walked toward Lou. Gragas stepped out of the way. Ozzy lowered into a crouch and placed his hand on Lou’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Lou reared back, bringing his arm into a punching position.
Ozzy deserved it, and he’d take it and a hundred more. He just ruined his brother’s life. It was probably true: he was a disease to his family.
Lou dropped his arm onto his leg and wailed in pain. “I can’t believe it. I can’t—”
The ship shook and slowed. Jozi pressed several buttons on the holodisplay then pressed the hovering lever down, wiping away a tear. The landing skids whined as they extended.
The ship jostled when it touched the ground.
They had landed and were parked next to Ares Monument—the Face on Mars.
Martian Insurrection (Mars Colony Chronicles Book 3) Page 4
