Double Cross_From the Athena Lee Universe

by T S Paul

  With a tilt of the head, Rea signaled that she knew what to do, and was the one in charge. She’d arrange for the ride over. Steve knew the best route to take from here. He studied the map over and over. The city was large, but the roads were well laid out. For once, a city engineer didn’t have his head up his butt. That was nice for a change.

  It wasn’t long before Rea exited. She was followed by a large cab that would hold the team. Nicole and B113 didn’t join them. Once the inspector was done, they had returned to the ship. It didn’t surprise Steve. Nicole preferred to stay on the Rossi. He wasn’t sure why, but he also wasn’t going to question it.

  The crew jumped into the taxi, making it cramped as could be. Steve didn’t like it much. At least he was next to Lindsey and the window. He needed to make sure they took a route that was direct.

  For once, the job went as planned. The driver took the quickest path to the meeting point and wasn’t one of those “I’m going to kill you” type of taxi drivers. Steve had had his fair share of those in the Empire. It was a nice change of pace.

  The streets went by, showing a city that wasn’t much different than any other in the Empire. Mostly generic buildings. And people. Tons and tons of people. Even with the war and the clones killing humans, there were so many still free.

  It only took twenty minutes to reach the meeting point. The first contact was at a restaurant called Gaiety’s. It wasn’t much to look at, but when he exited the car, a nice aroma filled the air. Too bad they weren’t here to eat. They would be going around back.

  Steve waited for the others before making his way to the rear of the building. The Marine was vigilant in making sure no one or thing surprised him.

  Even though Steve saw no signs of a trap, nothing to say this was wrong, he was still worried, fearful that they would be set up or killed. The rest followed him. As he rounded the last corner, a lone man appeared. His face was covered, leaving only his eyes exposed.

  “Greetings,” he said in a thick accent that Steve didn’t recognize. “I am Wade.”

  Rea stepped forward. “Hello, Wade. Where to?”

  “Follow me,” Wade said.

  He spun and started to walk. It wasn’t long before they were back on the main street and several blocks away. They stopped in front of a warehouse with a logo that reminded Steve of the pirate who had hired them. Drake. He had it on some of the packages in the building they met him at.

  Otherwise, Steve wasn’t familiar with it. Now, he wished he had looked it up. It might be handy to know who this was.

  Inside, they were greeted by several men, and Wade was gone.

  “Hello,” another person said. “I’m a friend of Drake’s.”

  Steve’s Marine senses were tingling. “Hello, friend of Drake.”

  The friend led them into a similar area they had been in when they had met with Drake. It was large, but this time, it didn’t have anything inside. No boxes. Nothing.

  Now, Steve was really on edge. This was wrong. They were supposed to get some sort of cargo. They had to have something to leave with. Otherwise, this whole trip would register wrong. The authorities would know that something was amiss.

  As if reading his mind, Rea asked, “Where is our cargo?”

  “About that,” the shady man said. “We don’t have any.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Rea couldn’t believe her ears. They needed the cargo to legitimatize this job. Things were going bad and fast. If they don’t find something to haul off this rock, they’d be exposed. Not completely. Ship call signs could be changed. Outsides redone, but still, it would take a while to get back on their feet.

  Most smugglers went through this from time to time, but Rea hadn’t. It was one of the many things she had avoided up to this point as captain of the Rossi. She would like to keep it that way.

  “What is Drake playing at?” Rea asked. “He promised a smooth job.”

  “I don’t know about that. All I do know is that soon, you won’t be leaving this planet.”

  Steve stepped forward, grabbed the man, and lifted him into the air by his neck. “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “I…” The man was unable to talk with the grip Steve had.

  Steve let him slump to the ground.

  The man stood and dusted himself off. “I informed the authorities that a ship that arrived has the Stone of Detroit.”

  “Time to go,” Rea said.

  The team dashed out of the building and followed the plan to get back to the ship as fast as possible. Rea called up the taxi they had used, and it arrived in a few minutes. It drove through town much quicker this time. The generous upfront payment did the trick. No questions asked.

  When they arrived back at the landing pad, everything appeared to be okay. Steve with the others in tow went to the ship while Rea lingered back to make sure it was clear. So far, no one approached them.

  “Just who I was looking for.”

  Rea spun to see Inspector James. The last person she wanted to see, and of course, he was looking of her.

  “Me?” she asked, hoping it sounded like she was surprised.

  “Why, yes,” James said. “The most curious call came in shortly after you left.”

  Rea titled her head. “Oh. What was that about?”

  Her heart raced, and her palms were sweaty. She was sure he could see how anxious she was. Never in her life had Rea been this scared, so frightened that she was going to blow it. Not even when she had been fighting on a Navy ship. It had been easier than this. She knew then what would happen. The not knowing what they would do to her really put her on edge.

  “Saying that the Rossi had a secret cargo bay.” James laughed like it was the craziest thing in the world. “I’ve heard of some crazy stuff, and that isn’t the half of it.”

  Rea’s eyes widened. “Oh. What could be worse than that?”

  James leaned in. “The Stone of Detroit. That is our cargo.”

  Rea stepped back. “The what?”

  James eyed her with a curious face.

  Rea looked over her shoulder, and Steve was walking over. That was her out. She just had to last until he arrived. Rea feared that he didn’t believe her, that she had overdone it.

  “You do have it,” James said. “I can’t believe it. Oh, my. Oh, my.”

  He started and stumbled back. Before Rea could react, he pressed his tablet, and an alarm sounded. Rea couldn’t believe it. They were goners.

  Steve dashed around her and slugged James. He turned to her. “Time to go.”

  Together, they sprinted to the Rossi, up the ramp, and on the ship. It was already nearly ready to take off.

  “Get this girl in the air,” Rea said.

  “Engines ready,” Lindsey said.

  “Good.” Rea and Steve sprinted through the corridors of the ship to the bridge. When they arrived, Aldis was frantically working.

  “Thank god,” he said when she saw them. “I’m ready.”

  “Get us out of here,” Rea said.

  “Roger that, Captain.”

  The ship lurched off the ground, slowly ascending into the sky. Over the communications system, several of the planet's authorities contacted them. Rea ignored them all. They had to get out of here. There was no way to talk their way out of this.

  “Get us into space and fast,” Rea said. “We need to jump.”

  The Rossi began to pick of speed. Rea knew that if they could get out of the atmosphere, they would be able to jump. It didn’t matter to where so long as they weren’t here.

  Steve had walked over to the radar. “Fighters incoming.”

  “Great. Just great.” They wouldn’t be able to fight off a fleet. Just a dozen or so would be too much if they didn’t get off the planet.

  Aldis continued to maneuver the Rossi. He was taking the ship as vertical as it could go. It wasn’t really made for fast take off. Currently, Rea decided that was a flaw in the smuggler’s ship, one she intended to fix. Not that she wanted to do
this again, but just in case, it would be nice to be in space already.

  As it was, they were getting close, and the fighters had yet to arrive, though it was a matter of moments, ones that were precious.

  Rea stepped up and took control of the ship herself. This wasn’t something she often did and hadn’t in years.

  Aldis nodded and went to prepping the systems for the first jump. He frantically worked as did Steve.

  The Marine turned to her. “ETA on fighters, thirty seconds.”

  Rea glanced down. She’d get them off the planet in thirty and then the jump a few seconds later. That was cutting it close, but they should be able to get away, assuming nothing was waiting for them.

  “Anything on the scans off the planet?” Rea asked. The ship moved, picking up to full thrust. Luckily, they had requested a refueling, and it was done. They wouldn’t have had enough to get far away without it.

  “Nothing,” Steve replied.

  Thankfully something good for a change.

  They reached the edge of space just as the fighters opened fire.

  “Make sure the shields have power.”

  Steve dashed to another console. “Powered and at one hundred percent.”

  The first blast reached the shield and dissipated. Rea sighed. She had hoped to avoid being fired on. It was wishful thinking, but still, one she had hoped. Only another few seconds until they were deep enough to jump.

  “Ready the ship to jump,” Rea said.

  Aldis groaned. “It’s ready. I’m ready. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Rea smiled. “Jump.”

  The ship shook and jumped to who knows where.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The Rossi sped through space far away from New Detroit, and that was all that mattered to Steve. Soon, they would be out of the first jump, and safe, or at least Steve hoped they would be. There was a lingering fear he had of them jumping right into a trap. It seemed par for the course these days. First with Taylor and now with Drake and this job. Nothing went according to plan. It was beyond frustrating.

  To help work through his irritation, Steve went to his home away from home. In the gym, he centered himself and worked through his routines.

  Lindsey entered the gym and waved at him. Steve did enjoy her company. He hoped this became a regular habit of hers. Being in the gym alone was fine, but having company was better.

  “We are about to arrive,” she said as she sat on the bench not too far from Steve.

  “And where is here?” Steve walked over to another bench, grabbed a towel, and patted himself dry. He had worked up a sweat going through the forms. It was a good distraction.

  “Not far from where we started this job.”

  “Great. Just great.”

  “Might not be too bad.” Lindsay stood up. She patted him on the shoulder and crinkled her nose. “You need a shower. Captain wants you on the bridge in twenty.”

  “Roger,” Steve said. He ignored the shower comment. Steve watched as she walked out of the gym.

  He took her advice after all and showered before making his way to the bridge.

  <<<>>>

  Steve entered the bridge as the Rossi exited the jump. As they did, right on the screen was a familiar ship.

  “Oh no,” Aldis said.

  It was the ship of the pirate who had started this for them, just about one of the last people in the galaxy that Steve wanted to see. Almost instantaneously, the pirate hailed the ship.

  “Put it up,” Rea said.

  “What are you doing here?” the gnarly pirate asked.

  “You mean what are we doing alive and free from New Detroit?”

  The pirate’s eyes were wide. He was clearly surprised by the name of New Detroit. “That wasn’t what I was told. They said New Reno and New Texas or possibly New Greenland.”

  All of those would have been better than what it was. Steve wasn’t sure if he trusted the man, but he did appear to be genuine.

  “We’ve been a long way,” Rea said. “Lots has happened. Do you even know who hired you to contact us?”

  The grizzled pirate nodded. “Drake.”

  “He double-crossed us.”

  The pirate blinked, again shocked by what he heard. “Drake is one of the more noble pirates. That doesn’t seem right.”

  Steve crinkled his nose. Noble and pirates didn’t belong in the same sentence, especially after what Drake did to them.

  “He does seem to be rather well funded,” Rea said.

  The pirate nodded. “He has his fingers in many pots, not just the looting one. A legitimate businessman.”

  “I see,” Rea said.

  Steve swore he saw the wheels spinning in her head. The same could be said for the pirate. He almost appeared to see Rea for the first time. That made him step back too.

  “What else can you tell me about him?” she asked.

  A few moments of silence followed. It was as if the pirate wasn’t sure if he was going to get into trouble for talking or not. “It was as if he appeared out of thin air ten years ago. Became rich fast and used it to gain favor on Celtica. Many say he isn’t from there but can’t prove it.”

  Rea pursed her lips. She was thinking a lot, trying to figure this out, and Steve wished he could help her. This wasn’t his area of work. Point him at something and say “punch.” Then he knew what to do. This was so far out of his area that it concerned him even more.

  “We need to go,” Rea said. “We’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Drake about this.”

  “Trust me,” he said. “I’m not talking about this at all.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Rea paced in her quarters, trying to decide what to do. Drake had betrayed them and had lied to too many people to do it. The worst part was that she couldn’t stop thinking that she knew him from somewhere. He was so familiar to her, and it angered her that she hadn’t realized it sooner.

  She wasn’t the only one who put it together. The pirate who set this all in motion had too.

  A knock on the door sounded.

  “Come in.”

  To Rea’s surprise, it was Nicole. She rarely visited.

  “Captain,” the CATT said.

  “Hello,” Rea said. “What can I do for you?”

  The CATT sat and licked her paw before responding. CATTs confused Rea to no end. Nicole was instrumental to the ship running well. Once she finished, she looked up at Rea and then off into the distance as if talking to another person.

  “Sorry. My boss wanted to relay a message to you.”

  This wasn’t the first time that Nicole mentioned a boss. No matter how many times Rea tried to get answers, Nicole refused. It wasn’t imperative.

  “What’s the message?”

  “That it’s all related.”

  Rea scratched her head. That wasn’t much help. “What’s related?”

  “Taylor, Drake, you. The Stone.”

  That was the first time she had thought about Taylor being part of this. “How so?”

  Nicole was silent for several minutes. “Can’t say. Just is.”

  “Thanks,” Rea said.

  <<<>>>

  On the bridge, Rea stood with Aldis and Steve. It had been a day since Nicole mentioned Taylor and Drake being tied together.

  Aldis pulled of security footage of the attack that had been unavailable until now. Rea didn’t ask how he found it. All that mattered was that he had. They needed to view it. It played on the big screen on the bridge. For now, Rea had ordered Lindsey and Parker to stay away. She told them it was training in case they had to make a fast getaway again.

  Lying to part of the crew wasn’t fun, but Rea wanted to make sure she was right and didn’t get their hopes up. They might be able to help, but contrary to some people’s opinions, there could be too many cooks at a time. Rea didn’t want to get distracted.

  As the footage played, the three watched.

  “Pause it,” Steve said.

  In the center of th
e frame was the young pirate who had attacked them.

  Rea had worried he might be part of this, more than just a guy going off a rumor. This was proof of it. He was a person they needed to talk to.

  “Aldis find him,” she ordered.

  Roberts was a young pirate and finding just one guy in the entire Empire would be no easy task. He could be anywhere, doing anything. Aldis was good but not perfect. Rea wasn’t even sure that Nicole could find him.

  Aldis slaved over his terminal. His fingers danced on the keyboard as beads of sweat ran down his face.

  “I think I found his ship,” the computer tech finally said. “The one that attacked us is docked at New Paris.”

  “Then we are heading there,” Rea said.

  Rea left the bridge to find Parker and Lindsey to tell them what they had discovered and where they were heading.

  Chapter Nineteen

  New Paris wasn’t a massive system or planet. That made it easy for the crew to find Roberts, and that made Steve happy. He had a few questions for the kid, and he wasn’t going to ask them nicely.

  It might not be easy to get to the young pirate, though. He seemed to be well connected and had access to technology he shouldn’t, but that didn’t scare Steve. This little punk was going to get what he deserved.

  Attacking them and kidnapping a crew member wasn’t going to go unpunished. That was certain. Steve wasn’t one prone to inflicting pain just to do it, but with Roberts, he might make an expectation.

  Steve had never been to New Paris, so he wasn’t familiar with the procedures. As he walked the halls of the Rossi to the bridge, all the Marine thought about was getting his revenge and figuring out why his crew member was taken. Steve wished he had told Taylor he was a friend.

  On the bridge, Aldis was going through the process to land. It appeared they would be connected to a space station and then shuttled to the planet. That was good news for this mission because that meant Roberts might not have a lot of his men with him.