A look of pride flitted across Tianna's face. "Yeah we do; especially for something like this." Her eyes flashed angrily. "Slavery is a nasty bit of business; particularly when children are the primary focus."
"Agreed," I said grimly focusing my attention back to the schem. "So I take it we'll sneak into the system using one of the outer exhaust ports, make our way to the kids, and liberate them."
"That will be your job," Tianna said. "Once you've got the kids out, you can use the vents to get them to the garage."
My left eyebrow arched upward. "I see, and what will you be doing?"
Tianna flashed me a wicked smile. "Making sure there's a vehicle waiting for you, and rigging the core to blow once we're clear."
"Sounds a bit dangerous," I said a note of concern in my voice. "You sure you don't want to switch jobs; I'm rated in demolitions."
Tianna gave my lips a quick kiss and my cheek a sharp slap. "Don't ever do that again, Artemis."
"Do what?" I asked rubbing my cheek in confusion.
Tianna's expression turned severe. "Treat me like a piece of fine crystal or girlfriend you have to protect. I'm a Renegade, and don't you ever forget it."
"I won't," I assured her then flinched at the feel of a blade pressed against my throat.
"You promise?" The glow around Tianna's intensified as she waited for my answer.
Realizing that this, too, was some type of test I relaxed, but only a fraction. Her blade was very sharp. "I promise," I whispered then deftly disarmed her and reversed our position with some of the nasty little moves they teach you in Sanction school for situations such as this.
The smile that curved Tianna's lips right before she pressed them hungrily against mine told me that I successfully passed this test as well. It also signaled an end to our planning session.
Chapter 6
Our arrival at Kraston was pretty uneventful. After disembarking from our shuttle we were put through the brutally efficient customs process which consists of being placed in an unfiltered holding room for thirty minutes. If you survive Kraston's inimical atmosphere, you're cleared. If not...well, you get the point.
Once the proof of our heritage was established we were subjected to the standard questions of why we were here and how long we were staying. When all queries had been answered to the bored port master's satisfaction, our travel papers were given the stamp of approval and we were promptly kicked out of the customs station.
After retrieving our luggage, which consisted of two carry-alls containing a number of innocuous items that could be assembled into a wide variety of weapons, we hailed an auto cab and set off for Port City's Paradise Sector; a seedy area where the Matadarans were reputed to frequent during their culling raids.
Once there, we secured a room at a quaint little motel whose front sign read, "If it ain't involving us, we won't make a fuss!" Not the most inspiring slogan but perfect for those who wished to be left alone.
Our plan was simple; Tianna would don her most alluring, innocent-waif attire and cruise the local clubs and hotspots in attempt to attract the Matadaran's attention. Once contact was made I would then tail them to what would hopefully be their compound.
We quickly organized our gear and set out for the social strip. The freaks were definitely out, and Tianna's skimpy outfit and lost-waif façade rapidly drew them to her.
I wasn't overly thrilled with Tianna going in solo but we had no choice. Plus Tianna's psychic ability did give us an advantage in terms staying in contact. True, she couldn't read or import thoughts into my mind, but the empathic rapport we had established allowed us to sense one another's presence. I just hoped it would be enough to allow me to get her out of whatever cesspool she was dragged to.
About an hour into our club crawl at a swank club called The Loins, we hit the nucleus; a tall burly fellow, who's features bore more than a striking resemblance to the Matadaran holos we had on file, sidled up to Tianna as she stood at the bar awaiting the drink she had ordered. A brief conversation insued and within minutes the two of them were headed arm and arm for the door.
I waited until they exited then casually rose from one of the upper-tier tables where I had assumed a surveillance position and followed them out into the steady flow of pedestrian traffic, the aid of the rapport allowing me to tail them at a discreet distance. Tianna's new friend guided them smoothly away from the tangled mass of shops and people, eventually turning onto a side street that led to a quieter section of the district. Several cafe's lined the street and Tianna's guide steered her toward a quaint little coffee lounge nestled between two upscale restaraunts.
I gave them a twenty second lead then casually made my way through the lounge's ornately carved wooden door. The smell of various coffee brews assailed my nose while my eyes adjusted to the interior's dim lighting.
Tianna and her companion were seated at a table just left of the serving counter, and I gave the area a cursory scan to determine which table would suit me best. It was then that I noticed a peculiar tingling at the base of my skull, almost as if...
My hand dropped to the compact pistol in my jacket pocket as realization of what was happening dawned on me, but it was already to late. With a cruel swiftness, the synaptic disrupter that someone had aimed at me turned off my mental lights.
*
When I finally came to the first thing I noticed was the throbbing pain in my forehead; an indication that someone had tried to use a mind-tap on me while I was unconscious.
A grim smile tugged at my lips as I imagined the frustration my captors had felt over what was obviously a failed attempt to strip the secrets from my mind.
The mental lock-down tricks I'd learned during my training with Sanction Group were second to none. True, they weren't that effective when it came to repelling a focused mental assault, as my current captured state clearly displayed, but it did guarantee that the data in my head stayed in my head.
"Ah, you're awake," a gravelly voice sounded in front of me. "And judging by the cocky smile on your face you're obviously feeling somewhat optimistic about your predicament." The temperature of the voice dropped several degrees. "You really shouldn't."
On that ominous note I decided it was time I opened my eyes where I found, much to my distaste, that I was suspended vertically in a stasis field in what appeared to be the standard bad guy interrogation cell.
"And you are?" I croaked at the man standing in front of me through dry lips although I had already identified his beady-eyed, square-jawed face: Dagan Matadaran; head of their cartel.
Ole' Dag released a disgusted snort and I had to fight back the wave of nausea induced by his rank breath. "Come now, Mister Slade; you know perfectly well who I am."
My jaw tightened at his casual use of my name and a nasty smile creased his wide lips. "Oh yes I know who you are. Your face is well known throughout the circles in which I travel."
"And which circles would those be?" I questioned trying to put forth a bravado I wasn't feeling considering the fact that I was currentlty at the mercy of a sadistic kidnapper who knew my name.
Dagan moved in closer, his steely gaze boring into me. "The circles that are also populated with the likes of Darek and Chumsy Wellts; at least it was until you Sanctioned them."
"Me?" I cried feigning ignorance of the act I was rightfully being accused of. "From what I saw on the networks, the Wellts brothers were a couple of two-bit drug pushers from Draston's Colony who got what they deserved in a deal gone bad. What makes you think I had anything to do with their demise?"
Dagan's expression hardened. "The fact that your face was plastered all over the vids recorded by Chumsy's cybnertic eye as you were choking the life out of him."
"Ah," I said fuming inwardly at the SG work-up crew that had failed to include that little byte of data in Chumsy's dossier. Had I known he was packing that type hardware in his oversized head I would've yanked the damn eye out, and took it with me!
"Circutlating your image amongst a few
well placed contacts provided your identity making you a marked man for my Cartel and several other interested parties that didn't take kindly to what you did to the Welts boys."
"So what happens now?" I drawled, my mind working overtime trying to figure a way out of this mess. It was obvious that Dag-Face was taking the deaths personally, and personal vendettas tended to make situations far more complicated than they needed to be.
On the plus side the fact that my apprehension appeared to be a random stroke of luck for the Matadaras meant that Tianna's cover was still intact. Hopefully she had seen my situation and had planned accordingly. If not...
Dag stepped back and flashed me a toothy grin. "Now we put the word out that you've been captured then auction your murdering carcass off to the highest bidder."
I was about to respond when I felt a slight tingling at the base of my skull. At first I stiffened thinking it was the Matadaran trying to slip through my mental defenses with another probe while old Dag-butt had me distracted, but I relaxed when I recognized the familiar feel of Tinna's presence. She was alive! And from the strength of her signal, she was close. The question now was: how close?
Actually I'm in a storage closet on the level right above the holding room where they have you.
"Don't like the sound of that do you?" Dagan misinterpreted my startled reaction to Tianna's voice in my head. "Well I'm pretty sure you won't like some of the other nifty things that whoever gets you has planned either."
"What, you don't want the honor of beheading me your self?" I spoke aloud while trying to regain my composure after my partner's unexpected entry into my brain.
Oblivious to my internal angst, Dag-boy threw his head back and released a hearty guffaw. "'Fraid not. As much as I'd love to be the one to rip your beating heart out of your chest and shove it down your throat, there's no profit in that."
"And you're all about profit, aren't you," I said putting as much disgust into my voice as I could sensing Tianna's similar feelings on the matter. "Particularly the profit garnered from the sale of abducted children."
"A man's got to eat," Dag replied with an indifferent shrug. "At any rate, how I make my money will no longer be a concern of yours; nor will anything else for that matter," he chortled as he made his way toward the rooms reinforced hatch.
"Leaving so soon?" I called hiding my relief at his departure. Considering that Tianna and I had a few things to discuss, I could use the privacy.
Dag shrugged again. "I'm afraid duty calls but don't worry." He flashed me another of his toothy grins. "As soon as our asking price for you is met I'll send a couple of the boys down to...prep you for delivery."
The moment the hatch to my cell sealed itself shut, I rounded angrily on Tianna. I thought you were only an empath?
I never said "only", her amused voice echoed through my fuming brain. But seeing as how revolted you were by the whole "mind-reading" thing I figured keeping you in the dark on the full scope of my abilities would make our time together a lot more enjoyable. Considering how much fun you and I had on the flight here, I'd say I was right; wouldn't you?
When this mission is over you and I are SO getting into this, I replied refusing to rise to her lure. In the meantime why don't you bring me up to speed on what's been happening since my untimely apprehension.
Tianna quickly filled me in on the…"initiation" she'd been forced to endure with the geek from the coffee house before being allowed to accompany him back to the Matadaran compound. The residual images of the sordid affair passed to my mind from hers made my blood boil, but the next set showing the vicious price that my partner had exacted from his filthy hide soon after their arrival at the compound instantly cooled it.
Nice job on the payback. I take it you're using the hand you severed from your date's left arm to move freely through the compound?
That and his right eye, Tianna projected, and the image of a small bloody orb flashed briefly through my mind. The compound's security is a two-tiered affair requiring palm and retina verification.
Nice. How much time do you think you have before your trophies deteriorate and become unusable.
Maybe twenty to thirty minutes, Tianna replied after a brief pause. That should give me enough time to break you out and get to the reactor.
Sounds good. How soon before you reach my position?
My question was answered by the chirp and click of the hatch to my cell.
"Hello handsome," Tianna smiled as she swept into the room and deftly sealed the hatch behind her before making her way to the stasis field's control panel. "Have you free in a sec."
A moment later the field deactivated and I released a relieved sigh.
"Hmm, I can think of a few ways to loosen you up," she purred as I completed a series of yoga poses to stretch stiff muscles.
"I'll just bet you can," I said giving her lips a quick kiss that turned serious the moment our lips touched.
"Just what the doctor ordered," Tianna whispered when we finally came up for air.
"It sure was," I agreed giving her lips a final peck before we seperated. "I take it that while I was detained you had time to gather some data and work out a plan for us to finish this sortie?"
"As a matter of fact I did," Tianna smiled sweetly. "The cells holding the kids are down the corridor thirty meters left of this one. Use these to get them out." She passed me the vacu-pouch where she had stored her grisly trophies. "Then use the South corridor to get to the compound's garage. I've got a transport already prepped."
"Arent you the over-achieving Renegade," I teased.
Tianna released an amused snort. "Well I had to do something while you were letting yourself get captured."
I gave the hand and eye a dubious look. "Won't you need them to access the reactor room?"
"According to the info I plucked from my late guide's addled brain that section's not secure. I should be able to slip in undetected."
My eyes narrowed. "And what about slipping out? I'm sure whatever you have planned for the reactor will set off all types of alarms."
"Not if I do it quietly," she said presssing her lips into mine for another kiss that could've turned into something else had the hatch not cycled open at that precise moment.
"Well what do we have here?" one of the muscle-bound goons that stomped through the entryway crowed as he caught sight of me and Tianna. "The boss said there was only one scab that needed prepping."
"I recognize her," the second goon said. "She's the scab that Joss brought back from the strip."
Number one gave Tianna the once over. "Is that so? Well it looks like Joss wasn't enough for her."
"I guess not," the second man cackled as they both leveled their laser pistols on us. "And speaking of which," the fiend continued, glaring at Tianna through hostile eyes. "Where is Joss?"
"Taking a nap," Tianna purred giving both men a seductive wink. "The kind you never wake up from."
Number one shook his head. "That's too bad; punk owed me money. Guess I'll have to take it out of your sexy ass since you're the one that cost me."
Tianna smiled sweetly. "You're welcome to try."
The big idiot's lips twisted into a lewd smile as he took a step toward his prey. He was still smiling when one of the blades Tianna had quietly palmed while the morons were talking flew from her fingers and imbedded itself in his right eye.
The second buffoon had just enough time to utter a startled cry before her second blade found a home in his throat, effectively putting an end to all that noise. Unfortunately our little melee did not go unoticed.
"I think we're about to have company," Tianna cried just as several burly goons (the Matadarans must've gotten a deal on muscle-bound meatheads at the local Thugs-R-Us) burst through the hatchway.
"I got this," I shouted tossing her the vacu-pouch with my left hand while greeting the mook closest to me with my right. "Get the kids out!"
"What about the reactor?" Tianna yelled back as she gracefully sidestepped the meath
ead trying to prevent her from leaving.
"We'll just have to improvise," I told her before the on-rush of goons made carrying on a coversation impossible.
I waited just long enough to make sure Tianna was safely on her way then I tore into the ruffians with a ferocity that would've made my close-quarter-combat instructors beam with pride. The fact that these guys were part of a child-slaver ring added fuel to my limbs as I punched, kicked, cracked, ripped, and tore my way through my opponents. No quarter was given; no mercy was shown.
Within minutes it was over. As I surveyed the mess I had made of the Matadaran's muscle, my eyes fell on the gleaming badge attached to one of my deceased playmate's jacket. It bore the logo of New Day, the firm that provided job placement for Emancipated orphans
A quick examination of the other corpses turned up four more ND badges. I shuddered at the notion of vile scum like the Matadarans having what basically amounted to free access to a virtually endless supply of potential victims. The question now was: how did they gain such access, and how far up the New Day administration ladder did the breach go?
That's actually two questions but considering the situation, I'll give you a pass.
"That's mighty big of you," I responded to Tianna's jocular comment slipping into my head. "How'd it go at your end?"
Easier than I expected. There were only two guards by the kids' cells so I was able to free them with no problem. Right now we're moving through the central shaft.
"How many were there?"
Seventeen, Tianna replied and I could feel her anger through the rapport. With this many, I'm going to have to scrap my plans for using Joss's van.
"What's our alternative," I asked and Tianna projected the image of the compound's schematic she was looking at into my mind. This telepathy was turning out to be a pretty useful thing.
When my former date brought me in through the auxilary entrance in the north section, I saw a huge ground-rover parked just inside the gate. I'm betting that's what they used to transport the kids here. The shaft we're in should allow us to circumvent the main corridors and get there undetected, but I need you to disable the security field they've got surrounding this place. The problem is, from what I can tell, everything's palm and retina activated, and I took the goody bag with me.
Artemis Slade & The Renegades: Road to Redemption Page 4
