I grabbed his other ear and he reached for the pen. His hand was shaking. “Shawna, hold the paper for him.” I didn’t let go of his ear or move the knife. If he didn’t write something that would help me, he was about to be earless.
“Dad, Lorelei is on her way back,” my com crackled.
“Copy that.”
“Pick up the pace, asshole,” I said, “and I’ll get you some help, but I'm losing patience. By the time they get to you there won’t be much left.
“Your dad . . . he was my friend,” Gray said.
“Great,” I snapped back at him. “Shut the fuck up and start writing. Sims has something to do with this, I’m sure of it. When I didn’t get killed on the damn genesis ship, he disappeared.”
“Yes, he wanted your dad’s job, but would have never done anything on his own. There were others who wanted your dad dead so it was a win-win for Sims,” he said between sobs.
“Write his name down anyway. If they are military or political, I want their rank and title and whether they are retired,” I said.
“You know they will catch on after the first couple deaths and come after you, or at least get a black ops squad to come after you.”
“Let them come,” I said. “I don’t owe any one anything there on Athena.”
“What about your grandfather? Do you owe him anything?” I saw him writing my grandfather’s name down.
“What is this bullshit? You trying to get me to kill my grandfather?”
Gray sat back, breathing heavily from the pain, and tried to explain. “When your grandfather was younger he was the leader of an organization. It was an organization that secretly worked within the government to effect change in political standing. If a politician was found to be corrupt, they took action and made adjustments. Some of those adjustments cost the person their life. Your father was the popular candidate within the organization to succeed your grandfather. We had been so busy we didn’t see the corruption right under our noses in our own organization. I was a member and worked the military side of the house. People like Randolph who had no business being in charge of people’s lives were on the list to eliminate.”
“Names, I need names. Write them down. I will deal with all of them, including my grandfather,” I said. “I took care of Randolph for you, old man.”
The general wrote six names of people he knew to still be alive. He said there were others, but I would need to get the names from the people on the list.
“Hey boss, are you about done in there? You have quite a crowd waiting for you.”
“Keep it shut two more minutes, then let it go and head for the shuttle,” I said. “It should be here. Once you’re inside, lock it up until you see us coming.”
I put the list in my shirt pocket and pulled a wad of gauze out of a cargo pocket in my pants and laid it on the table. Gray looked like he was about to collapse. I grabbed his arm and pressed his wrist hard against the table.
“Don’t move,” I said. “This is going to hurt, but you'll have some help in a few minutes.”
“They are going to shoot you,” he told me. “If you manage to escape that, they will chase you down.”
“You let me worry about that, old man.” I jerked the knife straight up while he was distracted by our conversation.
“Shawna, put some of this on both sides of his hand and wrap it. Then press one against his head and wrap it.” I turned back to him.
“If I find out you played me, old man, I’ll be back for you. There won’t be any warning, but you'll feel my hand on your mouth as I slit your throat from ear to ear.”
Shawna wrapped him up professionally; I was impressed.
“So Shawna,” I said, “what did you want to talk to me about? My schedule is suddenly clear, but my time is limited.”
“You’re funny,” she said. “I was going to ask you if I could go with you, but it doesn’t look like you're going anywhere.”
I walked over and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her in against me, my arms wrapped around her and my knife against her throat.
“You want to rephrase that?” I pressed my lips to her ear. “I'm not going to hurt you. We just need to put on a show. Struggle a little but not too much.” I wiped the general’s blood on her face and neck off the knife.
“Gross! You asshole, why did you do that?”
“Shhhh,” I said. “Genius, open the door.”
There was quite a crowd outside the door. I slipped into my crazy man persona again and started yelling at them.
“Get back, Damnit, or I’ll kill her, I swear. I will open her up from ear to ear. Move it.” I pushed her forward and they backed up. It was natural; they did it without thinking. I only moved us out about a foot and then moved along sideways with my back against the wall.
“Listen up,” I said. “I have Aisling on my ship. If you even try to stop me from leaving I’ll kill them both. Genius, jam the coms from the Warhammer.”
Half a dozen people were yelling into their com for the captain but got no answer. I was moving Shawna along and we had gotten to a point we were in sync. I stopped before entering the shuttle bay to see if there were any surprises waiting for me. There was one, but they backed off when I started yelling murder and mayhem and jerked Shawna around a little. The shuttle door opened and we got inside. Genius shut it and locked it.
“Get us the fuck out of here,” I yelled. The shuttle lifted and was in space a second later. I realized I was still holding Shawna with a knife at her throat. I let her go and put my knife away.
“Hey, wait a minute. Come here.” Shawna crossed her arms, looking at me. I stepped over to her, expecting some kind of retaliation for treating her the way I did. She turned and fell back into me and I wrapped my arms around her out of reflex.
“Okay, that’s much better,” she said with a grin. “I kinda like it right here.”
I held her there for a little over a minute and kissed her on the top of the head.
“You did well. I think I should tell you quickly what you’re in for, so if you want to go back you can.”
“I kinda got the gist of it, I think. Some bad people killed your family and you’re going after them, right?” she said. “Twenty years, give or take, after the fact, and you will have to hunt them down. I assume you plan on killing them.”
“That’s it. You were paying attention in class, weren’t you!”
“Do you always joke around?” she asked. “Is that your coping mechanism when you know it’s been or going to get ugly?”
“If you’re some kind of shrink, you can get on the shuttle out of here. This ship is full of crazy people,” I told her.
“No,” she said, “I just want to understand you. I happen to like a little crazy, if you couldn’t tell.”
“Are you here because you have some infatuation with me? That may not turn out well, and I don’t want you hurt.”
“I'm a big girl,” she said. “Not some fragile girly-girl who can’t handle rejection.”
“Okay, well get ready. We have to face Aisling now.”
zzz
“What! What did you do? How could you use me and violate my trust? I can’t believe you, Benjamin.” Aisling was livid.
“Nobody died or even came close,” I said. “Actually, nobody else was even hurt.”
“Shawna, is that your blood?” she asked. “Did he hurt you, standing here lying to me straight to my face?”
“No ma'am,” Shawna answered. “He didn’t hurt me, it’s not my blood. It’s the general’s, he just made me look injured for effect.”
“Calm down, Aisling,” I interjected. “He will be fine. In less than a week no one will be able to tell.”
“I can’t calm down. I felt sorry for you, losing Andrea, then being kidnapped and held captive on that ship,” she said.
“You can stop,” I told her. “I don’t need your pity. I needed someone to give me information on the killers, and he is the only one I knew how to find. All he had to do wa
s tell me. But no, he had to keep his deep, dark secrets. So I will tell you what I told him: if he has lied to me, given me bad info, I’ll be back for him. Then I’ll kill him. Is that clear?”
“Crystal clear.”
“Good.” The whole damn crew was standing there, listening to the argument. I turned to them. “Last chance — you don’t like what I'm doing, where we're going, then get on the shuttle and go back with her.”
Aisling had a few things in her hands of Andrea's she had picked out. She was watching everyone to see if anyone was coming with her. I stepped closer.
“She knew how important this was to me. Like you, she probably wouldn’t have liked my methods, but at the same time would've known I needed answers. Why don’t you put that stuff down and take a couple of minutes to say goodbye? It might possibly be the last time you see any of us again.”
I left her standing, looking at everyone. I went to the bridge to make sure someone was monitoring the Warhammer. Binda was there watching.
“Did someone tell you to stay here or did you just do it?” I asked her.
“I knew you were up to something, Benjamin, when you got back and they all went back there. I knew I should watch our backs.”
“Thank you, Binda. Have I told you I’m glad you chose to stay with us?”
“So tell me what you did to get her so upset with you?” Binda asked, clearly curious, ignoring my question.
“I cut off a general’s ear and stabbed him through his hand. Oh, and punched him in the face a couple of times.”
She laughed, of all things. “Did it pay off?”
“He better hope so,” I replied. “Tag this location while I'm thinking about it, in case I need to come back here.” I moved forward to get a closer look. “Move us away from the Warhammer and plot a course for Trillond Prime. Keep your hands near the thrusters and shields just in case.”
“Do you think she would fire on us?” Binda asked.
“I don’t know, has the shuttle left?”
“No, not yet.”
“I'm going back, get us moving.”
The group seemed to be displaying a varying array of emotions. Those who didn’t know Aisling just stood listening and trying to figure things out. My team thanked her, and Ronnie even gave her a hug. Matt and Bill were more standoffish about it and held out their hands. Aisling wasn’t. It was clear she liked both of the marine sergeants. I stood in back behind everyone, just watching. Natalia went last. They hugged the longest.
“If you want to stay with me you can,” Aisling told her. “You don’t have to go. You have options, and you’re too young to be following him on some mission of revenge.”
“He will keep me safe, and so will the others. Do you see her?” Natalia motioned to Imelda, lying on the far side of the hold. “She talks to me in my head, like E'Aria used to. She says she will protect me because I am his daughter.”
Aisling kissed Natalia on the forehead and looked up at the crowd. Her eyes locked on mine for a few seconds, then she walked into the shuttle.
“That’s my cue,” Lorelei said and followed her onboard. We watched it go for a few seconds.
I had the feeling that Aisling's love affair with me was over. It seemed a number of ties would be severed on this trip, and I wasn’t sure I could do anything to stop it. She wouldn’t have done anything to assist me in getting the information I needed other than ask, and I had tried that.
Time would only tell, and I had enough on my plate. The next stop was Trillond, with a short layover on the way. E'Aria must have been hurt very deeply for her to just leave, and I still didn’t know why. Then again, I could be wrong, and maybe she had been wanting to leave. Maybe a convenient excuse was all she needed?
There were some things about women I was still clueless about. I recognized this in general, but when it came to specifics I figured it changed with the female involved. I watched the shuttle as it moved off in the distance. I believed that one was lost to me now as well.
Chapter 8
“Captain, they’re departing. The other warship is remaining in its orbit.”
“Good. We'll come back and deal with them later. That warship would make a very nice prize, but we are not prepared to engage them in battle. Even with the aid of the cloak, we do not have the weaponry or manpower,” the blue-eyed captain said.
“Yes, Captain, I agree,” her first officer replied.
“Follow the Allond warship, it has almost no crew. Surprise and overwhelming numbers should be all we need and that warship will be ours.”
“At least two to one, unless you want to bring everyone.”
“No, leave the bridge crew, the ship ready for immediate departure, and a guard. Things sometimes do not go as planned, and a hasty departure will be the result.”
“Captain, forgive my asking,” the officer said, “The crew and I, well, we don’t know your name.”
She had wondered if the day would come where someone would ask her what her name was. It seemed to be an important element of life in general to have an identifier. The master had never given her a name; he just spoke to her or her sister and they knew who he was talking to.
The human had called her Andrea and Blue Eyes. The first she didn’t want, and the other seemed too simple to be a proper name.
“For now just call me Captain,” she said. “There is only one captain, so it shouldn’t be confusing to anyone.”
“As you wish, Captain. If you don’t wish to reveal your true name, it is the tradition for a pirate captain to have a name they wish to be known throughout the galaxy. Some are very theatrical, invented to fit the reputation they have earned.”
“I have no reputation yet. How about Captain Blue Eyes?” she asked.
“Captain, if I may, you're no doubt the most beautiful pirate captain in the galaxy, but it wouldn't serve you or us to have a beautiful name. Pirates are a hard lot and pretty names would imply weakness. No, you need a name they will fear when they hear it.”
“By your logic, and what happens when they see me, the fearsome name would lose its power, wouldn’t it?” she asked.
“Eh, maybe, maybe not. You kill a couple of them and they won’t care about either, they'll just want to kill you. You kill a few more and boom, you have the reputation.”
“Boom?”
“Pirates are not the most educated lot, Captain. We kinda have our own way of speakin’. I have some education and served in a certain navy before I deserted. But with some of the crew you will need me or one of the others to translate for you. You also may have to set some of them straight from time to time. They mightn't be able to speak clearly, but they do have a code. You earned a little respect killin’ the former captain, but they'll need a refresher course sooner or later so keep your wits about you.”
“What is your name, first officer?”
“I go by Bale, Captain. You can call me that instead of first officer. It would be keepin with the pirate way, Captain, we are not as formal as the navy.”
“Bale, continue to follow them, and at the first sign of a change, course or speed, let me know. I’ll be in my quarters.”
zzz
Imelda, how are you feeling? Are you hungry? I’m thinking of having the captain stop at a fuel depot, so we can feed you and go ahead and top off the fuel.
If we do not, how long will I have to endure before I can feed again?
Possibly four or five days. The location I found is a little out of the way, sparsely populated and no government presence even though it falls under Trillond rule. It’s in the same system as Lothan and I'm not sure I am welcome there.
If you feel the captain would do this, then I would be grateful.
I wanted you to have a chance to get out and run. Maybe there will be a fresh meal in the forest, I don’t know. We can figure it out when we get there.
Thank you, Benjamin.
Don’t thank me yet, I have to go talk to the witches of the bridge.
Everything was qu
iet on the bridge. They were all engrossed in something or another. I know they heard me, but none of them bothered to look up.
“Whatever it is, the answer is no, I don’t know, or don’t wanna know,” Lorelei said.
“I have some coordinates for you, and I need you to make a stop to top off the fuel.”
“We don’t need to top off the fuel, we have enough to get to Trillond.” Lorelei said.
“I would rather top off here,” I answered noticing nobody was looking at me.
“Like I said, no!”
“Lorelei, Imelda needs a break, she’s been cooped up on this ship for weeks. She also needs to eat, plus we can top off the fuel and stretch our legs.”
She sighed. “Let me look at these coordinates and I'll let you know.”
It seemed she was done talking to me. She went back to the ignoring posture she had had when I walked in. Nedra, Binda and Matt were looking at me, waiting for something I guess, but I didn’t know what and was already tired of being there. Shawna just smiled, not caring one way or another.
I went looking for my daughter. She wasn’t in her quarters. I checked with Adam but he hadn’t seen her. I grabbed a sandwich from the cooler and some water and continued on.
I paused at the door to Taz's quarters and heard muffled talking, so I asked to enter. The door slid open and there was a half dozen or more people in her room. They were all dressed for a workout. Taz was the only one not present. She came out a second later in a skin-tight body suit, barefoot and with her hair in pigtails. I had to stop staring. Genius and Bill found the room interesting all of the sudden and Snake couldn’t help himself — he just stared at her. She was like a Scandinavian warrior goddess, Valkyrie, her facial features more Elvish than human, with exotic black eyes. It was time to go; the love-hate thing inside of me was warring away.
They had even numbers for working out, so I decided I wouldn’t join them. I would look at the data for our destination planet to see if there would be a chance for Imelda to hunt. If she couldn’t hunt, she could at least get some exercise and enjoy being out. She was a member of the crew and they would have to work with her special needs. If they didn’t, they would figure it out the first time she ate one of the crew because she was starving. If she did, I would drag Lorelei's ass back to her for her next meal.
The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison: No More Lies (Book 3) Page 6
