“Here goes nothing,” I said.
The elevator took us up, and in moments the doors were sliding open. I stepped out first, my weapon in my hand. It was an open floor that was completely empty. Not even the two life forms Theron had scanned were there. And not knowing where they'd gone made me nervous as hell.
But what I did see tore a cry of absolute anguish from my throat. Sitting against a wall were my aunt and my mother, still bound to their seats – both dead. My mother had a wound in her chest that matched my aunt's, the blood around it dried and crusty already. I could tell that she'd been dead for a while. Tears rolled down my cheeks and a dark, bleak rage filled my heart.
I felt Theron's hand on my shoulder and when I turned and looked at him, I saw that his face had blanched and his eyes were wide.
“Oh, God,” he said. “Gemma, I'm so sorry.”
I fell to my knees in front of my mother, taking her hands in mine, flinching at how cold they felt. Her skin was pale and eyes were wide open, staring at me – staring through me. Her eyes bored into my mind, accusing me. I hadn't been fast enough. Hadn't been good enough. My mistakes had killed her. I had killed her.
Theron's hand fell on my shoulder and he gave it a gentle squeeze. “I'm sorry Gemma, but we have to go,” he said. “Boygan's men are coming.”
I looked up at him and saw that he was looking at the hand-held. His face was tight with stress and he wore an expression of great concern. Yet, when he looked down at me, I saw nothing but compassion in his eyes.
“I'm so sorry, Gemma,” he said again. “But we need to do what we came here to do and get out of here.”
I nodded, my entire body feeling numb. I slipped the pack off my shoulders and dropped it onto the ground. Slipping the device out, I flipped a switch, turning it on. Pressing a hand gently to my mother's cheek, I slipped the device into her coat pocket.
There was a soft hum – the elevators were moving. Theron was right, we had to get out of there. I took one last look at my mom, stared into her wide, unseeing eyes.
“I'm sorry, Mom,” I whispered. “I failed you. I'm so sorry.”
Turning, I headed back toward the elevator with Theron. I wanted to break down. Wanted to grieve. Wanted to scream. But most of all, I wanted to kill Boygan.
“Now's not the time, Gemma,” Theron said, as if he could read my thoughts. “We need to get out of here.”
I nodded, doing my best to tuck all of my emotions away. I knew he was right. I knew there would be time to mourn. But first and foremost, I needed to survive. I would have my revenge on Boygan. But if I wanted to enjoy that revenge and properly mourn my mother, I had to survive.
Clenching my jaw and letting out a long breath, I tried to gather and compose myself. There was a fight coming and I needed to get my head straight.
“Dammit,” Theron muttered as he stared at the hand-held.
“What is it?”
“Four in the elevator coming down,” he said. “And four on the way up. We're going to be trapped in here.”
“Stairs,” I said quickly. “Find the stairs.”
He consulted the hand-held again and pointed to the far corner of the room. “There,” he said. “Over there.”
We sprinted to the corner of the floor and found a doorway. Pulling it open, I paused for just a moment – it was silent. As far as I could tell, there was nobody in the stairway.
“Let's go,” I said.
I pushed Theron through first and stepped through the doorway, just as I heard the elevators chime and the doors start to slide open. I darted through the doorway and followed Theron down in a hurry. A moment later, the door on the floor above us slammed open, the crash of it hitting the wall echoing down the stairwell.
“Down here,” a voice called. “They're down here.”
The sound of boots on the stairs above us, rushing down toward us, sent a bolt of adrenaline through me.
“Hurry, Theron.”
He surprised me by grabbing my hand and pulling me through an open doorway on another floor. This floor had a warren of corridors and offices and we hustled our way through until we came to a lobby where the two elevators sat.
“They were coming up from below,” he said, his breathing ragged. “Should we try the lifts?”
I shook my head. “No,” I said. “They probably have somebody on the doors,” I said. “We need to find a place to hide. They may not know what floor we ducked out on, so they're going to need to fan out a bit. Which gives us an advantage.”
“We'll check this floor,” a man called out.
The voice echoed down the corridor to us. We were out of time. I put my finger to my lips to silence Theron and grabbed his hand. I led him out of the small lobby and down a long hallway that had doors lining both sides.
I picked an office at random and quietly opened the door, pushing him ahead of me. Once inside, I closed the door behind me as quietly as I could and looked around quickly. The office looked like it had a small closet set in the wall, so I ran to the door and opened it.
“In here,” I said.
Theron got in without a word and I followed him in, shutting the door. In the hallway outside, I heard the sound of doors being kicked inward as Boygan's men searched for us. Standing in the dark, I was keenly aware of the seconds ticking by. I pushed a button on my watch for the light and took a look.
Kysos was going on any minute – which meant, we had to get the hell out of there or a lot of people were going to die.
“Give me your shock baton,” I whispered.
Theron handed it over without question and when I heard the door to the office we were hiding in come crashing inward, I pushed the button to power it up. Heavy footsteps crossed the floor and when the door was yanked open, I lunged out immediately, pressing the tip of the shock baton to the first place I was – which happened to be the man's throat. He sputtered and gasped, his eyes wide, as thousands of volts of electricity course through his body. He dropped his weapon as his hands cramped up, and a thick foamy substance came pouring out of his mouth.
I held the baton there longer than necessary just because I could. I had to admit that it felt good to hurt the man in front of me. A grim sense of satisfaction coursed through me as I watched his body spasm and twitch, listened to his gasps and gurgles.
As images of my mom flashed through my mind, I had half a mind to keep going until smoke was pouring from his eyes. But it was Theron's hand on my arm, giving me a gentle squeeze that brought me back.
“Later,” he whispered. “Now is not the time.”
I released the button, cutting off the flow of electricity and the large man fell to the floor like a limp rag. He fell into a puddle of his own vomit, as well as his own piss, and was completely still. I didn't know if I had actually killed him, but frankly, I didn't really care, either.
Theron crossed the room quickly and carefully leaned his head out, looking up one side of the hallway and then the other. He looked back at me, nodded, and motioned for me to join him. We hustled out of the office and headed back toward the stairs. From somewhere else on the floor, we heard voices and the sound of doors crashing inward. They were still looking for us.
We made it to the stairwell and carefully pulled the door open. I let out a small sigh of relief when we found it empty. They thankfully didn't have enough men to cover everything while looking for us at the same time. I glanced at my watch again and felt those knots in my stomach tighten again as a feeling of dread overwhelmed me.
“We're out of time,” I said. “Kysos is just about to go on.”
Theron's eyes widened – he understood my meaning. Turning, he started to take the stairs two at a time, with me right on his heels. We couldn't worry about the noise we were making – we just had to get the hell out of there. As we descended the stairs, I punched the button on the communicator in my ear.
“Xavix,” I said.
“There you are,” he replied. “You know – ”
“No ti
me, pal,” I said. “Flip the transmitters. Flip them now, Xavix. Now.”
Theron and I crashed down the stairs, making a horrible racket. But even over all the noise we were making, I could hear the pounding of the footsteps on the flights above. They were coming. And they were coming fast.
“Move your ass, Theron,” I shouted.
Down and down we went as second after second ticked by. Every moment were in that building was a moment closer to our deaths.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we hit the bottom floor. We crashed through the doorway and found ourselves back out on the street. Turning around, I raised my weapon and fired a shot, putting a round through the electronic keypad next to the door – sealing it shut. Those inside wouldn't be getting out. At least, not through that door.
I checked my watch one more time. Kysos had to be on by now – which meant the missile Boygan had launched from orbit was on its way. Which meant, we still weren't in the clear. My breathing was ragged and my legs were burning, but it was fear and adrenaline that was keeping me upright and moving.
“We need to go,” I said.
Theron nodded and we turned, running back down the street toward the spaceport. I heard the sound of the missile coming in. It was a high pitched whining sound. But as it streaked overhead, it sounded like a violent gust of wind.
And then everything was silent for a moment. It was as if the whole world was holding its breath. And then a second later, the world let out that breath and all hell broke loose. The sound of the explosion was deafening and the force of it was breaking windows in the buildings all around us.
I risked a glance behind us and saw the fireball erupting into the sky, smoke and fire drifting upward toward the heavens. People on the street gasped and screamed as they pointed to the explosion. Thankfully, the streets were far emptier than they had been earlier – most people were already at the venue to hear Kysos speak. But I still worried there would be civilian casualties.
I couldn't worry about that though.
“We need to keep going, Gemma,” Theron said.
I took one last look behind us, watched the tongues of fire shooting upward to lick the sky, and the thick columns of smoke billowing toward the heavens. And all I could wonder – all I could hope – was that Boygan had been in that building when the missile hit.
We made it back to theUmbra and climbed aboard. Air traffic had been suspended temporarily, so we weren't going anywhere for a little while. But at least we'd completed our mission. At least there was that.
Chapter Thirteen
“You had me worried,” Kysos said, his face on the communications screen. “I kept watching those lights on the transmitter, wondering if there was a missile coming my way.”
“We had it all under control,” I said, leaning back in my Captain's chair.
“It was smart,” he said. “To clone the transmitter like you did. I bet Boygan hadn't even considered that.”
“I'm just glad it worked,” I said.
Xavix and Theron had cloned the transmitter, building a duplicate that operated on the same frequency. I gave Kysos the one Boygan had given me – that way, if he traced it, the transmitter would show up as being at the venue. As far as Boygan knew, I'd done my job. The one I'd planted at Boygan's building – the one I'd hidden in my mother's coat – was dormant. When I told Xavix to flip the transmitters, he'd cut the signal to Boygan's and had activated ours. That way, when the missile launched, it locked on to the signal the transmitter we'd built was putting out.
It was risky. Very risky. But it was a good gamble. And it had worked out.
“I'm very sorry about your mother,” Kysos said, his voice colored with compassion.
“Thank you,” I said, giving him a grim smile.
“I took some readings while we were there,” Theron said. “She'd been dead almost as long as your aunt. Boygan killed her after he'd ended his conversation with you when you were on 51 Nyota.”
“That son of a bitch,” Kysos growled. “Gemma, I'm so sorry.”
I'd already figured that, given the dried blood around the wound I'd seen. I knew she'd been dead for a while and that in all likelihood, Boygan had killed her before we ever left 51 Nyota. Knowing that filled me with a rage darker and more abiding than anything I'd ever felt in my life.
“I appreciate that, Kysos,” I said.
“Is there anything I can do?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I don't think so,” I said. “But I appreciate the offer.”
Kysos looked hesitant and I could tell there was something he didn't want to tell me. I looked at him a long moment, waiting him out. But he was obviously conflicted, the torment on his face plain.
“What is it, Kysos?”
He sighed. “I – I don't know if I should say anything.”
“Yes,” I said. “You should.”
He hesitated for another moment and then looked down, unable to meet my gaze, before speaking.
“My investigators have been combing through the wreckage of the building,” he said. “We haven't found Boygan's body.”
“Maybe they just haven't turned over the right rock yet,” I said.
He gave me a grim smile. “Yeah, maybe.”
I wanted to be hopeful. Wanted to believe that we'd gotten him. Wanted to believe that Boygan had been blown into a million pieces by his own missile.
But deep down, in those dark recesses in my heart, I knew better. Knew that Kysos had only mentioned it because he knew he wasn't going to find Boygan's body. And he wasn't going to find Boygan's body because it wasn't there to be found.
That evil, son of a bitch had somehow gotten away. Again.
On the one hand, I was enraged. And part of me felt defeated. But the other part of me – the larger part of me – reveled in knowing that Boygan was still out there. That I could still have my revenge – and do it in a far more personal way.
I was going to hunt that son of a bitch down. And I was going to hurt him. I was going to kill him.
“What will you do now?” Kysos asked. “Will you return to Earth?”
I shook my head. “There's nothing for me there anymore.”
It would be so easy for me to go home though – go home and lose myself in misery and self-pity. I'd failed my mother – had gotten her killed – which would have given me the perfect excuse to crawl into a bottle and never come out. Nobody could have blamed me for curling up into a little ball while I waited to die.
But I found that I was actually going in the opposite direction. It sounded strange, given the circumstances, but my mother's death – her murder – had lit a fire under me that hadn't been lit in a long time. It gave me a renewed sense of focus. Of purpose.
Knowing Boygan was out there, just waiting for me to come find him, fired me up. It ignited the passion and energy I'd been missing for so long.
“I'm going to hunt Boygan,” I said. “I'm going to find him. And I'm going to kill him.”
“Be careful, Gemma,” Kysos cautioned. “He's an incredibly resourceful, incredibly dangerous man. He's powerful and well connected. If you take a shot at him, you better not miss.”
“I'm not going to miss,” I said. “Not again.”
“If there is anything I, or the IIS can do,” he said. “Don't hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you, Kysos,” I said. “I appreciate that.”
He gave me a small smile and a nod before the comm screen went dark, our transmission ended. I turned to Xavix, who was looking back at me.
“If not Earth, where are we going?” he asked.
“We're going to find Boygan,” I said. “And we're going to make him suffer.”
“Any idea where we're going to start?”
I turned and found Theron leaning against the doorway, his arms folded over his chest. I still couldn't believe the change in him that had taken place. I wasn't sure where it had come from, but he seemed like a completely different person than the one who'd been locked ab
oard my ship. It was a good change though, this newfound confidence. It suited him.
“We?” I asked.
He nodded. “We.”
“Aren't you supposed to be an Air Alliance officer?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I'd rather help you,” he said. “You help people. You really make a difference – whether you realize it or not. I want to help people too. And I think I'd stand a better chance of doing that with you than with the Air Alliance.”
He had a point. We weren't bound by the silly rules and regulations the Air Alliance was. We had a freedom to move and operate – to really do what needed to be done to help people. And I guessed that in going after Boygan, we'd be helping people. If only indirectly.
“Okay,” I said. “But you need to get one thing through that head of yours.”
“What's that?”
“My ship,” I said. “My rules. I'm the Captain and this is not a democracy.”
Theron nodded. “Understood, Captain.”
If robots could have expressions, I would have sworn that Xavix looked – pleased. Perhaps even happy. He looked at me and nodded – though, he had the decency and good graces to not say he told me so. Yeah, he'd been right about Theron. And I knew I was going to have to hear about it for a long, long time.
“So, Captain,” Xavix said. “Where to?”
I leaned back in my seat and drummed my fingers on the armrest. “The first thing we're going to do is break up a certain trafficking ring we were tipped off about. That should piss him off and put a real crimp in his finances.”
“Excellent idea,” Xavix said. “I'll plot a course for Javis.”
I nodded. “We'll need to speak with that Zhakan mechanic again.”
Theron dropped down into the seat at the nav console next to Xavix. I looked at them both – my own little crew. I worried about dragging them out on my own personal little crusade. The last thing I wanted or needed was the death of somebody else I cared about on my conscience. As it was, the stain on my soul already felt unmanageable.
Treachery: Celestial Empires Book 2 Page 10
