by James Wisher
They must be right at the edge of the assassin’s jamming. “I repeat, I need an emergency pickup at the hotel, acknowledge.”
“Pickup at the hotel, acknowledged. One minute to arrival.”
Oliver severed the connection. One minute, they had to hold out for one minute.
Max came over to him. “Holmes and Andy have engaged the assassins. Orders, sir?”
Oliver shook his head. He had nothing, no plans, no plots, nothing. Either the jet would arrive before the assassins or they were dead.
“Grandfather.” He looked Celine’s way and she pointed.
A blue dot in the distance, tiny but growing fast. Thank god, the jet. Maybe they’d get out of this.
“Someone’s coming, sir.” One of the guards by the door said.
Max pointed at the guards. “Hold that door, soldiers.”
Both men leaned against the door, though what good that would do if the assassins started blasting Oliver couldn’t imagine. He looked up. The jet had only seconds to go before it reached them.
Muffled blaster fire came from behind the door. The jet hovered over them for a second then descended. The door to the roof glowed red, forcing the guards to step back from the heat. When the jet landed, the boarding ramp lowered. Everyone ran. Oliver motioned Celine up the ramp ahead of him then followed. Max and the three guards staggered up the ramp a second before the door blew off its hinges.
Oliver looked back as they flew off. Three assassins stood on the roof firing at them, their shots skipping off the jet’s shield. They’d survived for the moment at least. Voidwalker would regret that failure. Oliver would gather an assault team and raise that prison to the ground with Voidwalker inside.
“Sir,” the pilot’s voice came over the jet’s internal speaker. “You’re on TV, I mean the old you is.”
The old me? What the hell did that mean? Celine found the remote and turned on the TV built into the front wall of the cabin. Oliver’s wrinkled, sagging face filled the screen above a stock ticker.
He slumped in one of the plush leather seats. “Turn it up.”
“Barely survived an attempt on my life,” the old him said. “It pains me to say this, but my granddaughter and an unknown man tried to kill me today. By some miracle I escaped. I ask for everyone’s help in finding and bring these criminals to justice.”
A picture of Celine and Oliver appeared on the screen. Old him continued, “If you see these two please contact the authorities at once. They are armed and violent. Be sure not to approach them.”
Celine clicked off the TV. “What are we going to do now?”
Oliver shook his head. Somehow Voidwalker had gained control of his old body and was using it to discredit him. It was a brilliant move, he hated to admit. Oliver should have insisted on destroying the husk himself, but in the moment after the transference his mind hadn’t been clear. He never considered Voidwalker might have a use for his old body. Now he had to suffer the consequences for his lack of imagination.
CHAPTER FOUR
“If you want to go see her, let’s just go.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow at Solomon’s comment. “I thought you wanted to check out that virtual reality place. You’ve been talking about it nonstop for a month.”
“I couldn’t enjoy myself with you mooning over her.” Solomon brightened. “Maybe all three of us could go.”
Marcus smiled and thought of a variety of virtual realities he’s like to explore with Iaka. “That’s not a bad idea. She could probably use a vacation.”
The comm beeped. The two men exchanged a look. They weren’t expecting any calls for a few days if not weeks. Solomon pushed the connect button. Iaka’s face filled the screen.
Marcus grinned. Talk about good timing. His grin vanished when he looked closer at her. Iaka’s face looked pale and a thin sheen of sweat covered her. Something was wrong.
“We were just talking about—”
“I’m in trouble, Solomon.” The tremor in her voice more than the words told Marcus how deep in it she’d fallen. “I’m stuck planet side—”
The screen went dead. “Iaka!” Marcus looked to his partner. “What happened?”
“Something severed the connection.” Solomon’s fingers flew across his keyboard.
“Can you get it back?”
“What do you think I’m trying to do? She didn’t hang up. Whatever cut the connection destroyed the hyperspace relay. I’m tracing it back now.”
Marcus clenched his teeth and watched Solomon work. What the hell had she gotten herself into now? He hadn’t seen much of the background, but it didn’t look like her tent on Alpha. The little he’d seen made him think of a public comm booth. Unless they’d done a lot of improvements on the jungle planet she had to be off world.
“Got it. The call originated on Milosh Prime at the spaceport near the city of Tren. That system’s a two hour jump away. I laid in a course.”
Marcus clapped his friend on the shoulder and hit the thrusters. The instant the hyperspace vortex appeared he hit it at full speed.
***
They emerged from hyperspace on the dark side of Milosh Prime. Two small space stations orbited the planet, but Marcus saw nothing resembling a capital ship or planetary defenses. Getting on and off planet shouldn’t cause a problem.
“Where’s the spaceport?”
Solomon typed a command and the nav grid overlaid his view-screen. A line showed the optimal path to their destination. “You need to hear this.” Solomon put a local news report on the cockpit speaker.
Apparently one or more masked terrorists attacked space station one then proceeded planet side to continue their rampage at Tren City’s spaceport. Solomon killed the feed. “No way that’s a coincidence.”
“Agreed. Can we even land at the spaceport if a terrorist is on the loose?”
Solomon shook his head. “Reports say the local authorities have the port on lockdown. No one in or out.”
“Damn it!” Marcus reached the point above the planet where the computer said he should descend. Except there was no point in descending if he couldn’t land. “Scan the area and try to find somewhere we can put down near the city.”
Solomon worked the scanners while Marcus fumed. Iaka had a knack for trouble. As far as he knew she hadn’t left Alpha 114 since he dropped her off six months ago and she already had at least one person trying to kill her. How was that even possible?
“I found a field ten miles from the city. There’s nothing in the area to bother us, but how are we going to get past their air defenses?”
“Well, you’ve been asking to try the cloaking device. This looks like a good time to try it.”
Solomon’s face lit up like a kid at Christmas. “Awesome. I’ll adjust your landing coordinates and fire it up.”
The star roared down toward the planet. Whether his new cloaking device worked or not Marcus couldn’t tell. From inside the ship looked the same as always. They rattled through the atmosphere. The friction between the air and the hull would make it appear like an invisible asteroid passed through the atmosphere if anyone looked up.
Once they reached the lower atmosphere Marcus slowed to just under mach one. No sense announcing their arrival with a sonic boom. They received no warnings or threats from air traffic control so he assumed the cloak worked like it should. Marcus circled the clearing, he spotted tables and some playground equipment, must be a park for the locals. He set down as far from the playground as possible without hitting the trees. When the ship had settled on its landing gear he powered down everything nonessential. The cloak should now serve as optical camouflage, so as long as no one got too close they’d be invisible.
“According to local news,” Solomon said. “The terrorist blasted his way through the spaceport leaving a trail of bodies. He was last seen headed to the city with the local police attempting to stop him.”
“Any mention of Iaka?”
Solomon shook his head. “I’ll check and see if th
e city has much surveillance. If they do I can hack their cameras and try to spot her.”
“Okay, I’ll try her comm.” Marcus typed Iaka’s comm number, but it went to her message system. If she checked she’d see he called and hopefully get back to him.
“The city has an extensive camera network. I’ll need a few minutes to run a facial recognition program on all the footage.”
“I’ll head in to the city and look around. Call me if you find her, or there’s anything else I need to know about.”
“Will do. Are you going to take your armor?”
“No, to obvious. I’d probably end up fighting with the security forces. I’ll take the hover bike and my gauntlet. I should be able to pass as a tourist, for a while anyway.”
“Good luck.”
Marcus grabbed his gauntlet and headed toward the hold. He walked past a powered down Herc and over the far wall where he’d secured his hover bike. He disconnected the charging cable and released the tie-downs. The core powered up and the bike hovered three inches above the floor. He pushed it down the ramp and outside. Marcus tapped the button to close the ramp and looked back. He shook his head and grinned. He’d have to give the techs some serious complements. Aside from an occasional shimmer the cloak rendered the star invisible.
He hopped on the bike and hit the jets. According to the map Solomon provided the road to the city waited on the other side of the tree line.
***
Marcus spotted the barricades a block before he reached them. A hundred or so people stood on his side talking and pointing. Looked like the security guys weren’t letting anyone within half a mile of the spaceport. He powered down the bike, activated the antitheft system, and walked toward the civilians gathered near the barricades.
Marcus gravitated toward a stiff in a suit pacing and grumbling. “Any idea when they’re going to let us through?”
The stiff looked away from his watch and at Marcus. “What?”
“I said when are they going to let us through? I’ve got a shuttle to catch.”
“You and me both, pal. I heard they’re reopening the spaceport in a couple hours. Word is the action’s moved into the city proper. Some masked asshole is blasting up the art district.”
“Better than the business district.”
The stiff laughed, just as Marcus expected. “You said it.”
Marcus left his new friend to wait and retreated to his bike. “Solomon, can you here me?”
“Loud and clear, go ahead.”
“Focus your search on the arts district and send me directions.”
“Roger, sending the info to your bike’s nav.”
Marcus powered up the bike and found the new directions on the small central screen. It was only a couple miles, but he had to get past half a dozen road blocks. Not impossible, but it would slow him down. He dialed Iaka’s comm again, but it went to message. Damn it, where was she?
Marcus sped off to the East, he managed four blocks before he had to turn onto a side street to avoid a road block. He wove through the city, never going more than a quarter mile in a straight line. The streets were quiet, almost empty of locals. Probably hiding in their apartments hoping not to get blasted.
“Marcus?”
He swerved to a stop. “Go ahead.”
“I can’t find Iaka, but I have video of the masked man.”
The video filled the bike’s small screen. A figure all in black blasted a security vehicle and sent it flying. Armed police fired at the man, but as far as Marcus could tell they weren’t having much luck. “Where is that?”
“Five blocks north of your position. I can’t see any way for you to bypass the blockades.”
***
Iaka ran, weaving her way through terrified locals. The killer sprayed disruptor blasts without a care for who he hit. She winced ever time she caught a bright flash out of the corner of her eye. So many dead and it was all her fault, her and David’s. What the hell did he learn that was so important someone would slaughter dozens of innocent beings to stop it from getting out?
The high pitched whine of blaster fire caught her attention. She chanced a glance back. More security officers had arrived to engage the killer. That gave her a chance. If she could get out of his sight maybe she could escape. Up ahead more security officers waved people through the doors out of the spaceport. She joined the flood of people streaming out. If any of the security personnel realized the killer had targeted her they gave no sign, treating her like any other victim.
Outside she looked around for some kind of transport. A few hover cars idled by the curb, their owners standing nearby. Her comm vibrated, but she ignored it. Whoever called could leave a message, she had more pressing matters to deal with. The security people waved them towards a group of waiting buses. She hesitated. If the killer tracked her she didn’t want to get on a bus with a couple hundred innocent people. She walked toward the nearest car, a sleek, gray two seater she figured would get her out of there in a hurry, and away from all these people.
An agitated man paced by the car, his tail twitching side to side. Iaka came up behind him and put him in a choke hold. He struggled for a few seconds before he went weak in the knees and passed out.
She lowered him to the ground. “I am so sorry.”
Iaka patted his pockets looking for keys. She found an oblong control pod at the same moment a shout went up. She looked up in time to spot the killer in black emerge from the terminal. Security guards tried to engage, but their weapons had no effect on his shield.
The killer turned toward her. She pressed the central button on the pod, the car powered up and the driver’s side door opened. Iaka slid across the hood an instant ahead of a laser blast that burned through the carbon fiber car body. She slipped behind the wheel, yanked the door shut and slammed her foot down on the accelerator. The car swerved then straightened and shot forward. The back window shattered. She risked a glance over her shoulder and almost got her head blown off when a laser blast streaked through broken rear window and out the windshield.
The spaceport dwindled behind her and for the first time in hours she breathed freely. A wide three lane highway led away from the spaceport toward the city proper. Traffic was nonexistent, she assumed because security forces stopped anyone attempting to travel to the spaceport. She streaked along at just under a hundred miles an hour. She’d reach the city in minutes.
The car sputtered and smoke billowed out the back. Iaka slammed her fists on the steering wheel. One of the blasts must have damaged the engine. A sign on the side of the highway said she had two miles to go. If this piece of crap could hold out that long.
A red streak shot past the driver’s side mirror. Barely visible through the smoke, a black security service vehicle pursued her. A familiar, multi-barreled weapon stuck out the window. Son of a bitch! How did he track her so easily? Another blast streaked past, closer than the last. She wove side to side, trying to make his job as difficult as possible while not finishing off the damaged car.
She swerved across two lanes and hit the off ramp at twice the recommended speed. The passenger’s side scrapped against guardrails, metal screamed, Iaka over corrected and slammed into the rails on her side. Sweat plastered her hair to her head as she fought to get the car back under control. After a short battle she maneuvered back into the center of her lane.
The car continued to slow despite her jamming the accelerator to the floor. Behind her smoke billowed thicker than before. She needed to get out of the car before it blew. At the end of the ramp, as she expected, four security vehicles blocked the on ramp. One of the officers waved for her to stop. Iaka hit the brakes and nothing happened.
Iaka stuck her hand out the window and waved the officer aside. She had no breaks, minimal steering, and a strong suspicion that her car would explode with the least provocation. A green blast streaked by and hit the officer in her way, reducing him to his component molecules. His partners open fire with little concern for which car
they hit. Her poor car rattled and shook under the withering blaster fire. Iaka ducked down, using the dash as a shield. She couldn’t see where she was going and at this point had no control even if she could.
The car came to a groaning, rattling stop. Iaka’s head popped up like a meerkat lookout. No one shot at her, so far so good. The stench of burning cables stung her nose and eyes. Somewhere in the car a fire still burned. She tried the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Iaka settled for crawling out the shattered windshield.
The car stopped against the side of a rundown building in a derelict part of the city. Heavy equipment sat beside a pair of partially demolished buildings nearby. The whole area appeared to be in the process of rebuilding. Good, there’d be fewer innocent targets for the masked man to kill. In the distance blaster fire rang out. The security forces still tried to take down the killer. Perhaps they’d get lucky. She ran into the ruins, hoping to lose herself amid the rubble.
***
Iaka collapsed on a filthy abandoned mattress on the second floor of a partially demolished apartment building. She felt like she’d been running forever. Her legs ached and her eyes felt gritty. God what she wouldn’t give for a couple hours sleep. She didn’t dare do more than close her eyes for a second. She hadn’t seen anyone, but she found signs painted on the walls that showed someone still spent time in this rundown part of the city, probably criminals. It wouldn’t do to get killed by ordinary criminals while running from an extraordinary one.
Iaka’s comm vibrated and her eyes popped open. Had she fallen asleep? Light still streamed through the holes in the wall so she couldn’t have been asleep long. She pulled the comm out and saw Marcus’s number. She slumped in relief. He made it on planet at least. That was the first good news she’d gotten in a while. She hit connect, but got only silence. She’d missed him.
Something crunched outside her hiding place. Iaka took a breath and held it, listening, footsteps, more than one. It wasn’t the killer at least, but maybe someone just as bad. Lucky for her the building had so many holes she could sneak out with no one the wiser.
