From the Ashes (Conquest Book 1)

by Jeff Taylor

  CHAPTER 19

  HOSTILE

  Eve flipped the switch on the treadmill controls and the machine ground to a halt. There was no use in trying. She was too distracted to finish her workout today. Even with her ocular implants projecting images into her mind of running through the fields of her grandparent’s farm where she’d been raised, she simply could not focus on anything but the words her husband uttered to Mbenago:

  “Then we’ll kill her.”

  Another control nodule was pressed and the intense rock music blaring in her ears ceased. She was desperately trying to put those words out of her mind by any means necessary. Fierce workouts, loud music, painting, target practice, any activity that brought her fulfillment. At first, she tried to justify what he’d said, hoping Nelsonn was only telling his subordinate what he wanted to hear. But the doubt still gnawed at her. Since that night on the Stranovsky Asteroid she accommodated his every wish, wanting to alleviate any doubts he may have about her loyalty. Even when he told her it was necessary for them to return to the moon for some vague, unfinished business, she did not object.

  She did voice the obvious objection that they were fugitives and that someone might either recognize or come looking for them. To assuage her fears, he showed her the press release declaring him to be dead along with the remainder of the victims of the Apollo Prison tragedy. She then agreed it would not be as much of a risk for them to return.

  “Besides,” he had reassured her, “we’ll be on the other side of the world. No one will think to look for us on the Selene station.”

  She hadn’t been so convinced. “That place is very high on security. Dead or not, if someone recognizes you they won’t ask questions until after they’ve detained you. How do you plan to get on board, much less down to the surface?”

  His eyes sparkled and a playful smile curled his lips. “We’ll walk right through the front door without anyone even knowing we’re there”

  “And how do you plan to do that?”

  “I have my ways,” he said, slyly.

  The small beads of sweat clung to her skin like watery sequins as she dabbed her face, bare arms and shoulders with the towel clipped around her waist. She had pushed herself hard this morning, much harder than usual. Her long legs ached from the stress of the hour-long run, but she didn’t care. She wanted to feel the pain somewhere other than her heart. She removed the bag of water hanging on the pillar of the yacht’s gym next to her and inserted the tip into her mouth. While she squeezed the liquid into her fatigued body, she looked out the viewport at the vast star field engulfing the universe.

  Nearly three months after boarding the cruise ship, Mbenago discovered that it was not returning to the moon but changing course and going straight to Earth because of some big to do happening on the Selene I station. Thinking it was time to get off anyway, they gladly abandoned their cramped cabins for the large staterooms of the Distant Horizon, which Eve had attached to the train of other yachts and personal craft trailing the cruiser in case they needed it.

  Looking out at the starfield, Eve couldn’t help but think about how different this trip on the yacht was than the first one. The view was the same, the comfort of the yacht was just as luxurious and the food just as fabulous as the last time. But there was a decidedly different feel to it.

  After only a few days of honeymooning on the asteroid, she and Nelsonn were going back to the moon to take care of his “business.” He wouldn’t tell her what it was and she knew well enough not to ask, though she wouldn’t be kept in the dark for long. She didn’t really mind the detour, though. In theory, it just gave them more time together. But the threat against her life had added an element of distrust that she could not overcome, especially now that they were taking some excess human refuse with them.

  At least three times a day she found herself cleaning up after Nelsonn’s goons. The dwarf, Bledri, was an absolute pig, constantly leaving a trail of finger smudges, soiled clothing and remnants of whatever he’d eaten that day floating in the hall. Mbenago, the large Sudanese, was only slightly better. For some reason, he found it amusing to glide about the ship wearing nothing more than his boxer shorts. Eve had complained once, but he mistook her offense as an attempt at flirtation and now she avoids the port side of the ship altogether. Kim Pen-hu was at least clean, but he insisted on preparing the foulest smelling meals. She hated to use the ship’s oxygen supply to flush the air out of the kitchen, but many days she had no choice, otherwise it would be impossible to go in there. All of these annoyances Eve could deal with. She’d been a soldier once and shared barracks with other disgusting men. But it was the presence of the other uninvited passenger that agitated her the most.

  Regina Dumaré grated on Eve like finely manicured fingernails on a chalkboard. Eve hated everything about her. Her perfect poise and posture, and her glamorous and seductive appeal made Eve feel inadequate when comparing her own athletic, almost masculine, frame. But what incensed Eve the most was how Regina giggled at everything Nelsonn had to say. She made no effort to hide her feelings for their leader, often stroking his arms or face unabashedly, or pressing up against him while Eve was in the same room. She was not a threat to her and Eve wouldn’t have been surprised to know that the woman was plotting to kill her when Nelsonn wasn’t looking. Or would it be while he was looking?

  Before they had ever met, Eve had been aware of Regina’s reputation as a master of espionage and deception and at first, she had felt some admiration for her work. After living with her for the last few months, however, that admiration had vaporized. For instance, just the night before, Regina had insisted that she didn’t know how to use the clothes washer and practically begged Eve to do her laundry for her. At first, Eve was going to tell her to do it herself or go naked, but thought better of it. What made the situation worse was Nelsonn siding with Regina, something he was making a habit of doing.

  “Oh, come on, Evie,” he’d said. “Help her out.”

  Livid at being reduced to the ship’s maid, Eve took the bundle of clothing and washed it. But that was it. When they were clean, and partially shrunken, she’d dumped them in a heap, unfolded, outside Regina’s cabin. And of course, in zero-gravity, they didn’t stay there long. Before Regina had noticed, half her clothes were floating all over the ship. It took her hours to track them all down and those she did were the size of doll clothes. The pieces she still hadn’t been able to find were most likely sucked up into the ventilation ducts.

  When she confronted Eve about her carelessness, Eve’s reply was simply, “You only asked me to wash them. You didn’t say how or where to put them when I was done.” That had been a good day, one of the few since leaving the asteroid resort and Eve let herself smile at the thought of it.

  As she contemplated accidentally poisoning Regina’s food or trapping her in the airlock, she was reminded of another annoyance that had plagued her on this trip. Aeron Bledri was relentlessly flirting with her. The little man simply would not take a hint, even when they were not so subtle. He smelled awful, he dressed (if at all) poorly, and his manners were outright vulgar. She couldn’t stand the sight of him and yet he was constantly beside her, trying his best to lure her away from her husband

  While she unstrapped herself from the treadmill she was fully aware that he would be right outside the gymnasium door waiting to seduce her with his usual, chivalrous tone. “Good morning, fair lady. You’re looking fabulously well this morning. I trust you slept peacefully.” But that wouldn’t last long. Gradually he would then revert to spewing innuendo and less-than-subtle remarks like a backed-up garbage disposal. After the third joke, she would threaten to tie him into a shamrock and he would leave her alone for the rest of the morning.

  “Can I prepare any other workout for you, Mrs. Johnson?” a friendly female voice sounded from overhead. To hide their identities from anyone scanning the ship’s logs, Nelsonn and Eve and given the ship’s computer the false surname of Johnson.

  “Not righ
t now,” Eve said, “although, I may come back later for some sparring practice.” The holographic ninjas in the gym’s database had actually been a lot of fun, even if they weren’t real. She could definitely go for a round or three later, when her limbs had time to recover.

  “Very well, Mrs. Johnson. I will have the program on stand-by for your convenience,” the computer said, pleasantly.

  “Thank you,” Eve replied. “It’s nice to have someone on this ship who doesn’t only think of herself.”

  Eve extended her arms and took hold of the pair of chrome rails strategically placed above the treadmill. Using them as leverage, she catapulted her nimble body to the next pair in the center of the room. There were longer guide rails circulating about the room to help navigate against the micro-gravity, but Eve preferred to test her agility and body control by hurtling through the air using the smaller handholds. Just before she reached for the last hold near the exit, the padded double door whisked open to reveal Bledri’s sly grin beaming up at her. Everything inside Eve urged her keep her momentum going and slam the putrid little man in the chest with her trainers. Instead, she found herself hanging limply as if gravity suddenly clutched its unseen hand tightly around her.

  “Why, hello, gorgeous,” Bledri oozed. “Fancy meeting you here.”

  Eve sighed and shook her head. “Watching me on the surveillance monitors again?”

  Bledri shrugged. “There wasn’t anything good on the telie today so thought I’d find something else to distract me.”

  “Get out of my way, you disgusting little pervert,” she said as she swung her legs forward and back, then let herself glide toward the next set of holds. Bledri was not willing to comply. He slithered ahead to get in position just below the holds. The magnets in his boots held him in place as he caught her knees at his chest and held them there.

  “Let go,” she snarled.

  “Now, now, I kind of like this. The only thing I think would be nicer is if you dropped down here and gave us a kiss. How about it, princess?” he said, squeezing the back of her thighs.

  She was beyond anger. She now felt violated and only one response was deserving of his advance. A warm, friendly smile formed on her thin, flush lips. One by one she let her fingers uncoil around the chrome handles above her. Bledri’s eyes widened to the size of grapefruits. A broad surprised grin distorted his square face. Slowly, she eased her body down, guided by Bledri’s eager hands. When her feet lighted on the deck, she activated the magnetic controls in her cross-training shoes then took half a step back.

  Bledri was beside himself with anticipation. “Just one right here,” he said, gesturing to his puckered lips. “Unless you want more.”

  Eve’s own expression brightened. “Oh, I guarantee there will be more where this came from,” she said, her voice smooth as silk. Bledri closed his expectant eyes and awaited her touch.

  With the speed of a rattlesnake, Eve’s right hand jabbed Bledri’s nose, instantly breaking it. Reflexively, the little man recoiled back but she didn’t let him go too far. The agony in her clenched fist as it smashed onto the side of his head pulsed with rage and satisfaction. With every blow she struck against his diminutive frame, all the anger, all the frustration of the past few days flowed from her. He staggered back at the onslaught, but she wasn’t through yet. She struck again and again, unleashing a barrage of bone-shattering kicks and punches that the overly-matched Welshman had no time to defend. She was unconscious. Her movements were automatic in their execution, requiring little forethought in hitting their mark. Years of experience breaking and killing her victims had conditioned her mind and body to react on their own, independent of her commands. For the last four months, she had tried to subdue those instincts, tried to forget the vacuum compressing all feeling in her heart with every kill. Despite her efforts, though, Bledri’s advances had ignited her. The unsuspecting dwarf had not realized until too late, the hell he would unleash once that fuse was lit.

  Her foot connected with his bulging belly and the tremendous force overcame his boots’ hold on the deck, lifting him into the artificial air and flailing into the opposite wall, his inertia propelling him violently against it. The padded walls of the gym did little to cushion the impact and he sunk to the floor.

  “Leave me alone!” he screamed. The exit only a few feet from him may as well have been miles away as he crawled on his stomach, using only his left arm for locomotion, his right one obviously separated from its socket.

  “Funny,” she said, walking toward him with the calm of a crocodile. “I’ve been saying that to you for days. Why it should work for you and not me?”

  With each step she took toward him, his pace quickened, digging his nails into the pillowed floor, clawing his way toward his escape. She easily could have ended him with a single motion, but she wanted him to feel it, to suffer.

  “Pathetic,” she chided, yanking him to his feet by the lapels of his pleather jacket. A flick of her thumb on his waist and the magnet controls for his suit released. He was now suspended in the air, completely at her mercy.

  “NO!” wailed the little man.

  Bloody globules streamed from his bruised and mangled face like drops in a lava lamp. A few drops passed harmlessly between Eve and her prey and she watched their weightless dance in the artificial air while she continued to hold him in her grip. The scarlet liquid ebbed in every direction, moving nowhere in particular, silently rising like a diminishing soda bubble, unaware of where it would go or how it would end. She was entranced as other globs joined it, filling the air around her as if she stood in a crimson rain.

  “No,” she muttered to herself. Her green eyes cast downward. This was wrong. She would not kill again. The momentary peace that had come from her fixation on the blood calmed her rage and now she again saw clearly her past and the path she desperately wanted to abandon. Once more, she looked at Bledri’s face, this time with pity rather than anger.

  “Perhaps,” she said softly, “you should go have Regina look at that.” Gently, she released his jacket, smiled apologetically, and turned away toward the exit.

  The look on Bledri’s face belayed his consternation. His fear now gave way first to disbelief then absolute confusion.

  “That’s it?” he cried. “You beat me senseless and now you’re just going to walk away while I float here a bloody mess? You’re nothing like the Eve I’ve heard about. You’re weak, just like Nelsonn says you are!”

  Just like Nelsonn says you are!

  The words blistered her ears, searing into her memory as if Bledri had pressed a burning brand into her gray matter. Her commitment not to kill was instantly forgotten and all she felt now was undeniable rage.

  “Ye-aaaaahhhh!” she screamed. The heel of her silver running shoe flew at him at the end of a vicious roundhouse kick, landing squarely on the side of his head.

  With no gravity and no handholds to slow him down, a terrified Bledri soared toward the opposite wall, crashing against it with a bone-crunching thump. His limp form floated in the recycled air, pearls of blood parading from his head.

  “Oh, crap,” she muttered. “Dumaré,” she said into the intercom, “get down to the gym on the double. Medical emergency.”

  Eve ran over to him. He was out. The gym door whisked open behind her and she cast a glance over her shoulder. A scowling Nelsonn stood in the doorway with Regina, as always, close behind him.

  “What is going on down here?” he demanded. “I heard the banging all the way up on the bridge.”

  Eve frowned and turned her attention back to reviving her victim. “He made me an offer I had to refuse.”

  Soon Nelsonn was beside her. “Do you realize what you may have done,” he snarled, snaring her forearm. “Regina, see what you can do for him.”

  Regina was the only one in Nelsonn’s crew with formal medical training and Eve was glad to hand over the nursing duties to her rival. The midnight-haired seductress assessed Bledri’s injuries and then called for Mbenago t
o come help her direct him to the medical bay. When they had left with the unconscious Welshman in tow, Nelsonn turned toward Eve, his face red with rage.

  “Do you know what you’ve done?” he asked. “Bledri is essential to my plan. We dock at the moon station in two days. How am I supposed to get another explosives expert ready by that time? I’ll have to reassign Kim to do his job and then someone else to do Kim’s!” His voice increased in volume as he spoke. Eve did not appreciate the tone and ripped her arm from his grip.

  “Excuse me?” she asked, incredulous. “That man assaulted your wife and all you care about is his importance to your grand plan?” It was her turn now to be incensed. “Maybe you should just kill me now like you’ve planned all along so I don’t interfere with your secret plan any more than I have.”

  Nelsonn’s jaw clenched, but he remained silent.

  “I don’t believe this,” she said, “Did it ever occur to you that I could play a part in your precious plan? Hmm? I am the most wanted assassin in the solar system and yet you hire that lawn gnome to place a few detonators at a tourist trap instead of asking me?”

  Her tone was firm and angry, free of any remorse for what she’d done to Bledri. From Nelsonn’s hard stare she could see that he was mulling over how to handle his next step.

  “Tell me,” she said, interrupting his thoughts, “was our marriage as a means to an end? Was I just your way of getting out of prison and now that you’re out you have no further use for me?”

  Still Nelsonn said nothing. She expected him to reassure her, to promise her in his smooth, charming way that of course that wasn’t true, that he loved her and would never do anything to harm her. Instead, he just stared blankly, a bleak coldness in his face. She gasped at the realization that her words spoken in anger were true. The shock stunned her more than she could’ve ever imagined. To be used so blatantly, with no remorse, wounded her infinitely more than anything she’d done to Bledri.