Maisie’s lights blinked across the top of her shiny polymer egg-shaped body. After a moment, she said, “I detect three human signatures, one Lockland, one Bender, and one unknown male. Lockland’s craft is disabled. Head southwest twenty-three-point-seven kilometers and you will find them.” That was only a kilometer or two outside of Port Station.
I blew out a long sigh of relief. They were alive and close by. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘disabled’?”
She replied, “The craft has sustained critical damage that has rendered it inoperable.”
“You mean they crashed?” I asked, shocked.
“Yes, they crashed,” she said.
Before I could ask the question on everyone’s mind, Darby blurted, “Is everyone okay?” Then he clarified with, “Please relay detailed vitals on the three humans detected.”
“Specific vitals at this distance are not accessible. Chest respirations are detected. Heart rates are increased.”
Thank goodness for chest respirations and heart rates.
“The guy they took must’ve gotten at the controls or something,” I muttered, shaking my head. There was no other explanation. Lockland was an excellent pilot.
“Or he could be in possession of some technology that could interfere with the operating system of the craft,” Darby contemplated. “That kind of technology exists. If he really is from the bureau, we can’t accurately predict what they have access to.”
I shifted in my seat. “Lockland and Bender would’ve patted him down first and checked him thoroughly. They’re not amateurs.”
“This kind of thing could be as tiny as a pebble,” Darby said.
We’d know soon enough. Up ahead, Lockland’s craft came into view. From the looks of it, she’d gone straight down, nose first, which was hard to do when you had four props below you maintaining stability. That meant the front two props had failed.
It was clear something had gone horribly wrong.
Case landed a few meters away as I began to panic. No one was near the craft. “Maisie, where are they?” I asked as I lofted my door and hopped out.
Maisie answered, “Bender, Lockland, and the unknown male are a half kilometer straight west.”
I took off running, spotting Bender first. He was upright, his back propped against a tree. The other two were on the ground. By the looks of it, Bender had dragged them to this location. I rushed up, breathing heavily, sliding to a stop. “What happened? What’s going on?” I landed on my knees next to Lockland, who was prone, his face tilted to the side, blood coating the side of his head. Both he and the bureau guy were out cold.
I ripped off a glove and settled my fingers against his neck. His heart rate was steady, but it seemed to slow as I counted the beats.
“He…he…” Bender struggled to speak, bracing his chest with one arm.
Behind me, Case, Darby, and Daze caught up.
Before Bender could continue, Maisie said, “Vitals on Bender. Noncritical. Four cracked ribs, small puncture to esophageal lining, major damage to right quadriceps. Recommend seeking medical aid. Vitals on Lockland. Critical. Internal bleeding, damaged spleen, shattered sternum, cracked left femur, massive concussion, significant blood loss. Medical aid necessary. Injuries are life-threatening. Vitals on unknown male—”
“Stop,” I commanded. I didn’t give a shit about the other guy. I moaned as I turned Lockland over. He was coated in blood. “This can’t be happening.”
Darby knelt next to me. “We can fix this.”
His voice was so certain, I shot him a look, my brain working overtime. “The medi-pod at the barracks?”
“No,” he answered. “I checked it out. It’s only for minor injuries. But the medi-pod we found earlier at the abandoned building has more than enough power to heal him.” He lifted one of Lockland’s eyelids. Lockland didn’t even twitch.
“We only have one craft,” I said.
“You and I take Bender and Lockland,” Darby said. “I know you can get there quick, Holly. You’re the best pilot around. We can save him if we go now. We’ll have to leave Case and Daze here, though, but they’ll be fine. They can watch over the bureau guy until we get back.”
“It’s a risk. We don’t know for certain if that medi-pod works. We didn’t start it up,” I said, a plea in my voice. “If we take him back to the barracks, maybe the one there can mend him partway, so he’s not in danger of dying, and then we can take him to the other medi-pod.”
“No, he’s too critical. He only has one chance,” Darby answered firmly. “We’re wasting time. We need to go now.” Darby stood.
“Leave me…the fuck here,” Bender wheezed. “Take him…now.”
I stood, turning in a circle, feeling bewildered. “We’re not leaving you, so shut the hell up and let me think.”
We weren’t leaving anyone, if I could help it.
I glanced around. Case was gone.
Props sounded a second later. As he landed Seven next to us, I raced to the pilot side. As it opened, I said, “Bender’s craft is by the barracks. We can fly back there, get it, and come back—”
Case got out and grabbed me by the shoulders, shaking me slightly. “There’s no time. Bender and Lockland need help. We get them into this craft now. You go with Darby. Daze and I will handle things here. Come and get us when you can.”
I nodded, mumbling, “Okay.” He was right. There was no other way.
Rushing back to Lockland’s side, I knew I had to get him to the medi-pod in time. I didn’t do loss well.
Not even a little bit.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Getting Lockland into the craft without exacerbating his injuries had been a huge feat. Maisie had confirmed that everything was stable once he was settled. He was currently propped across Darby’s lap in the back. Bender sat next to me, holding his chest, trying to relay the story of what had happened to them as I flew at top speed.
“We checked him. I swear, we checked him,” Bender said through gritted teeth. Trying to talk with four cracked ribs and a tear in your breathing tube wasn’t ideal, but I needed details. “He had e-cuffs on and everything. Then, out of the blue, the craft starts powering off and on. Then the front two props stopped altogether, and we took a dive. There was no way to stop it. It happened so fast. The controls were powerless. The whole time it was going down, the guy was laughing. It was an evil sound, like he was enjoying himself.”
“The same thing happened with the guy I ran into at the Emporium,” I said. “He seemed eager to take himself out. It’s clear these guys are willing to sacrifice themselves—and for what? It doesn’t make any sense.” Our speed was maxed out at about three hundred kilometers an hour. The hydro-boost hadn’t been replaced since Case and I used it to outrun the UAC. But even without it, we’d be there soon.
I’d bypassed the city completely. We didn’t need any more hassles.
If the bureau didn’t already know they were missing two guys, they would soon, and I was positive there would be a full-scale counterattack. Setting foot inside the city limits, especially in Seven, would be asking for a war now.
“I’m pretty sure that asshole electrocuted himself when we crashed. His e-cuffs came off,” Bender growled, stifling a cough. “But I didn’t see any other injuries. He was in the back.”
“Case will figure it out,” I said. “I left Maisie with them. She’ll know what’s wrong with him.” We had no idea how long it would take Lockland to heal once he was inside the medi-pod, but when he was safe, I’d go back to retrieve Case and Daze. It wasn’t ideal, but Daze had rallied us, encouraging me to go. Still, the whole setup made me uneasy. They were too close to Port Station for my liking, with no way to escape.
“That bastard was lucky I didn’t kill him with my bare hands,” Bender said. “But if he dies, we lose everything in his head. I couldn’t risk it.”
“How come you dragged them so far?” I asked. “You weren’t exactly in any shape to do that.”
He shrugged,
then winced. “Because I figured the crash made enough noise for someone in Port Station to notice, and I didn’t want us out in the open like easy targets. I knew once you got back to the barracks and saw we weren’t there, you’d come find us. But it felt like it took you fucking forever.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “The process to get the Babble took some time. The bureau hired some hacks to do surveillance. They were easily sidestepped, but they had a man of their own waiting on our floor.” I left out all the LiveBot stuff. I’d fill him in later.
“Make sure nothing happens to those vials,” Bender said. “We almost died. I want it to count.”
“It will.”
In the back, Lockland moaned. Concerned, I turned, asking Darby, “Is he okay?”
“His pulse is irregular, but he’s holding,” Darby said. “For how long, I don’t know. Hurry.”
“Working on it,” I said. “According to my internal directions, the building should be fifteen kilometers up and to the right. The edge of the roof should be visible shortly.” Within moments, the roofline came into view. One part was caved in. The rest stood out starkly against the dead forest around it. I didn’t slow.
“Whoa,” Bender said. “You have to back off, or—”
At the last minute, I jammed my right hand to the side and my left straight down. The craft spun one hundred and eighty degrees as it dropped rapidly. Just as we were about to make impact, I momentarily went to full throttle to slow our descent, and we touched down. I’d managed to do it smoothly enough not to jar us too much, making a banked landing right where I’d set down before. I shut off the props and unbuckled my harness, opening my door almost simultaneously. Bender wasn’t moving. Instead, he stared at me, looking puzzled. “What?” I asked.
“I didn’t know you could do that.”
“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” I got out and hustled around to the other side. “Just wait, you stubborn oaf.” Bender was in the process of trying to extract himself on his own. “You have mangled quadriceps. How you managed to drag two grown men half a kilometer, I’ll never know.” I wasn’t superhuman, but there was a possibility Bender was. Jamming my shoulder into his armpit, I took his weight and hoisted him out. Once he was a few meters clear, I went back to the craft, bending through the door. “Darby, you’re going to have to climb out first. I need you inside starting up that machine. Lockland has to go over my shoulder, which is going to put pressure on his insides.” I winced. Lockland weighed over a hundred kilos, but there was no other way. I could manage it, but it would take everything I had. “The pod has to be ready to go once we get inside.”
“I can help you,” Bender said gruffly behind me. “You take his shoulders, I’ll take his feet.”
“You’re in no shape—”
“Don’t talk to me about what I can and can’t do.” Bender’s words practically ended on a roar. “I can stand the pain. I’m taking a ride in that medi-pod after Lockland, and this shit will end. What I have is mild compared to him. He’d do the same for me. Let’s go.” I gave him a long look and finally nodded. Darby scrambled out as Bender hobbled over. As Darby entered the building, Bender called after him, “We stacked some trash in front of the hole, but you shouldn’t have any issues clearing it out.”
“Got it,” Darby replied and disappeared inside.
Bender tried not to grimace, but his injuries weren’t insignificant, and they were getting worse with each passing moment. Clotted red blood coated his upper thigh, the material around the wound shredded. Sweat beaded his brow. He was trying to will it away, but it would catch up with him soon enough. I hoped, for his sake, that when it did, it would be when it was his turn to get in the machine.
“Getting him out of the backseat isn’t going to be easy,” I said as I crawled inside. These crafts weren’t designed with the back passengers in mind. Riders had to climb through the seats in front, as there were no doors leading to the back.
I made my way through the gap, straddling Lockland, reaching down to wrap my arms around his shoulders. As I lifted him up, he gave a sharp cry, but didn’t wake. I settled him back down, deciding on a different option, and moved toward his legs to shift them to the side. I ignored his whimpers, which was devastating, but I had no choice.
Finally, I maneuvered his feet through the space between the seats where Bender was waiting. Once Bender had a firm grip on them, I slid my body under Lockland’s torso, bracing his head and shoulders in my lap. Then I nodded. “He needs to go up and over first, or his body won’t fit through the seats. Then out.”
I don’t know how we did it, but we managed to haul him out of the craft and into the building where Darby was dutifully waiting with the medi-pod door open. He’d graciously cleared it of the skeleton we’d found inside, which probably hadn’t been easy for him. We laid Lockland inside. I stepped back and realized the thing wasn’t running.
“What’s the holdup?” I asked, making my way around to the back where Darby sat next to the liquid-hydrogen tank. A loud noise sounded from over the pod. I poked my head up to see Bender had collapsed against the wall, dispersing a pile of bones. “You okay?” I asked Bender.
He grunted, “Never better.”
I crouched next to Darby. “What’s wrong? Why won’t this thing start?”
“I don’t know. Everything seems to be in order,” Darby said. “I checked and double-checked. But the on switch is not engaging this power module.”
“Are you sure it’s all connected? It’s been a long time since this thing was up and running.” I leaned forward, running my hands along the tank. Everything felt cool to the touch. At the head, where it was attached to the pod, I felt for the connections. Without them, none of this would work. My finger tweaked a lone wire that had separated from the pack. I plucked my ultra-light out of my pocket and clicked it on, positioning it next to me. I had to squint for a few moments to get my eyes used to the brightness. Then I stuck my head inside as far as it would go, grabbing the wire. It had the connector lug attached to the end, which was a relief. I couldn’t see the housing without ripping the entire thing apart, so I used my teeth to pull off my glove and then felt with my bare hand where to insert it. Once I located the terminal, it snapped cleanly into place.
“Okay.” I sat back, hoping with all my might that it would work. “Hit the power button.”
Darby hurried around to the front, and three seconds later, the thing jumped to life like a barely restrained rocket. The motor was so powerful, the thing began to rattle the entire room, bones and all. Lights swirled and blinked on the machine, multiple beeps sounded at once, and purple ultraviolet light shot everywhere.
This thing made the medi-pod in the barracks look like a toy.
I stood, backing up a few feet, watching Darby work. He lowered the lid and pressed a few buttons, his eyes locked on the readout. “He should probably be naked for this,” Darby said. “But there’s no time. I’m choosing Hyper-Triage. It looks like it’s for emergencies.” He punched the button, and the entire medi-pod went black, powering down for a few short seconds, before sputtering back to life, the outside shell beginning to whir like a turbine.
It was an impressive piece of machinery.
Too bad it hadn’t been designed to help Mary. But I was more than thankful it could help Lockland.
I headed toward Bender. There was nothing left to do but wait. I cleared more of the bones out of the way and sat. “What can I do for you?” I asked. “We should probably try to stop the bleeding.” I gestured at his leg, then patted my vest to see what supplies I had in there. I always carried a few necessary medical supplies on me.
He shook his stubborn head, which was braced against the wall, rocking it back and forth slowly, his eyes closed. “Leave it. I’ll be in there soon enough. It just hurts to breathe.”
“It shouldn’t be too long,” I assured him, pulling out a tranq dart. “Everybody’s going to be fine.”
“Why in the hell do th
ese guys want to kill themselves?” Bender murmured, his tone quieter than I was used to. “It doesn’t add up. All we have in this world is survival. When you’re dead, you won’t give a fuck about what you left behind.”
He was right. We fought for the things we needed while we were here, and when we were gone—the beauty was you no longer had to care.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure we’re going to find out eventually,” I said, using my teeth to tug the cap off the dart. “These guys must have a long-term strategy. If the bureau’s been around for more than twenty years, based on when Roman started working for them, they certainly have a plan. It pisses me off we don’t know what it is, but we’re close to discovering their secrets.” As soon as we could give the asshole that crashed the craft some Babble. “The better question is, how could a group like this operate in our city for so long without us knowing?”
I turned to the side, positioning myself at the best angle.
Bender opened a single eye, his arms wrapped tightly in front of his chest. “What are you doing—”
“I’m tranqing you,” I said, bringing the dart down before he could object or intercede. “It’s for your own good.” The tip entered his shoulder, and he let out a roar worthy of recognition.
“The fuck, Holly? I said leave it be!” He reached for the dart, which I’d left in for good measure, and yanked it out, tossing it across the room. But the deed was done. These darts were made for immediate absorption. The dosing was nominal, but the effect was nearly instantaneous.
“When have you ever known me to leave something be?” I told him as I braced my body against his, taking his weight as he began to sag.
His words came out slow and slurred. “For once…in your life…it would be nice…if you…just…”
I eased him gently to the floor, having no choice but to disrupt even more bones to make room. They cracked together ominously. “What, Bender? If I just listened like a good girl? How would that benefit you? Now you’re not in pain. And if I have any say, it will be your turn in the medi-pod before you wake up.” I stood. Darby stared at me, openmouthed. “You, too?”
Danger's Cure: (Holly Danger Book 4) Page 11
