The Bounty Hunter: Soldier's Wrath

by Joseph Anderson

  “Damage?” he barked. He wanted to curse that the other squad was getting away.

  “Minor. Armor piercing bullets but low quality.”

  “Can I engage?”

  “Yes.”

  Burke didn’t need to be told twice. He turned and felt another wave of bullets smack into his armor. He jumped down into the group and took no pleasure in the look of shock on their faces. He triggered both the shield and the blade at the same time expecting his old features of a blade in each arm. He used the shield as a weapon as much as he did the blade, carving and smashing his way through the mercenaries. He stabbed the blade through the chest of one woman and then turned, leading with the shield and knocking a man cleanly off his feet and into the wall behind him. He crashed head first into the solid wall and Burke didn’t stop to confirm the kill. He turned and finished what remained of the group. There were trails of smoke in front of his visor from the bullets that had landed on the chest of the aegis.

  “How far up are we?” he asked quickly.

  Cass quartered out the visor and displayed the outside of the building. The two men that remained of the first squad met with the other group and carried Kristen out onto the street. He could see her struggling in their arms. There was a jet bike nearby and they were strapping her to it. He had less than a minute.

  “A little over fifty storeys,” Cass answered.

  “Can we take that fall?”

  “Barely,” she said. “Yes,” she said, more firmly.

  Burke stepped away from the stairs and into the floor of the building. He had missed one of the mercenaries—a woman that had been hiding around the far corner. She opened fire at him as he stepped into the hallway. He ignored her, keeping his shield out in front of him as started into a slow run. He built up speed with long strides down the hallway and to the far window. Half way there, he moved his legs faster until he was hurtling himself down the hallway. A spray of bullets obliterated themselves on the back of his armor as he broke through the window, leading with the shield, and exited the building in a free fall.

  For the first moment as he hung in the air, he thought of his fall on Meidum. Then, the ground seemed to rocket up to meet him faster than he thought was possible. He saw the cluster of mercenaries around the base of the building. The greenery that had been so pervasive throughout the city was seen in only a few trees near Kristen’s building. He watched as he fell toward one of them, clipping through a few outer branches before he slammed into the street under them. A wave of force shot out from his armor as the kinetic barriers Cass had made released their energy. Dozens of fault lines and fissures streaked out on the ground at his feet.

  He stood up slowly, half expecting to have another broken leg. He stepped forward and felt pain shoot up from his left leg but not enough to be broken. He stepped again toward the mercenaries. None had opened fire at him yet. They stared at him in disbelief. One recovered faster than the others and began to shoot. The others followed his lead. Burke raised the shield and charged into the group of them.

  “Minor fractures in your leg,” Cass explained, as if Burke wasn’t in the midst of a battle.

  “Call Rylan. Tell him to follow the bike.”

  “Already done,” Cass answered.

  Burke triggered the blade as he punched forward into a man’s face. The blade shot through his head. He twisted his arm again, reversing the direction of the blade so it projected from the back of his elbow. He stabbed backward at another mercenary behind him. He bashed another woman with the blunt end of the shield and then led against the one behind her, jabbing out with the edge of the shield like it was another blade. He moved forward toward the jet bike with each mercenary he sent to the floor. He was a few steps from Kristen—he could see her clearly shifting in her confines on the back of the bike—just when the vehicle took off into the air and sped away down the street.

  Sirens shrieked around the building as the city’s authorities finally responded to the firefight that had broken out. As if it was with them, Burke saw the Brisbane appear overhead and roar passed them in the same direction as the jet bike. Cass changed part of Burke’s view to interface with the ship. He saw Natalie and Rylan in the helm of the Brisbane. He took off into another run, ignoring the pain in his left leg. He needed to close the distance between him and the ship if they ever caught up with the bike.

  “Natalie, do you know how to operate a ship’s weapon system?” he asked.

  “Probably better than you do,” she answered.

  Behind him, he heard more sounds of fighting as the police met what remained of the mercenaries. A few scattered bullets came in his direction—some even hit and bounced harmlessly off his armor. He kept running as fast as he could through the clean, bright streets of Stheno. As long as he could see the Brisbane in the air above him, he kept pressing himself to move faster.

  “Don’t fire at them. You might hit Kristen. They must be going for a ship. Look out for it. If you can disable their ship before they reach it then we’ll have a good chance,” Burke said, panting as he ran.

  “Roger that,” Natalie said.

  “You were in the military once?” Burke asked.

  “No,” she answered, too quickly. Burke was too focused to notice.

  He looked through his ship’s visuals more than his own. The jet bike weaved between the streets, keeping low to the ground and turning often as it made its way to the edge of the city. Rylan twisted the ship effortlessly between buildings and never lost sight of the bike for more than a second. More than once the bike turned abruptly and the pilot banked the ship just as quickly to follow them. When they neared the edge of the city, he put the ship into a dive as the jet bike ascended over the rim that protected the city from the ocean waves around it. It was then that Cass understood what was about to happen.

  “Their ship is in the water,” she said.

  The small vessel broke through the waves as if summoned by Cass’s words. Natalie fired a broad spread over the ship from the Brisbane’s forward guns. The bullets erupted in a series of small fires over the outer hull of the mercenary ship. More water sprayed and gushed from the ocean from the bullets that missed their target. The vessel opened its back door and the jet bike entered. Natalie readied another wave and locked a missile on the ship.

  “Only bullets!” Burke said quickly. “If you blow it out of the air Kristen will go down with them. Rylan, are we faster than that ship?”

  “We are, Captain,” Rylan said directly.

  “Turn around and get me,” Burke said. “If they get too far away then turn around and leave me.”

  “They won’t,” Natalie said.

  The ship turned around as Burke neared the edge of the city. His leg was throbbing. He saw through the Brisbane’s visuals as Natalie launched a missile at the mercenary vessel. He was ready to cry out when the projectile flew over the other ship and exploded above it, knocking it in place and down into the water as it was about to ascend. She readied another one as Rylan lowered the ship down into Stheno and blocked her line of sight. He whipped the vessel around and opened the front doors as Burke readied the jump mechanism in his legs. He wanted to scream out in pain as they released. He landed with a stifled groan instead on the floor of the cargo hold. He stumbled forward and grasped uselessly at his injured leg.

  The doors closed behind him and the ship turned back around. The mercenary ship had recovered and begun its ascent. Rylan didn’t waste time compensating for the sudden lurch that came when he activated Brisbane’s main thrusters. Burke stumbled again as they rocketed in pursuit of the other ship. They were close behind them when they broke out of Frey’s atmosphere.

  * * *

  Burke entered the helm. He tried to keep his left leg straight.

  “Geoff is calling you,” Cass said.

  He looked ahead at the main screen. The mercenary ship was still ahead of them. The glow of the planet from behind them was fading as they flew away from it. A warning appeared on the sc
reen: large letters indicating a missile had been locked onto them. Burke barely saw it before it was right in front of them and marveled at how quickly Rylan rolled the ship out of the way, never once losing interior gravity.

  “Fucking thing!” Rylan roared out.

  Burke changed abruptly from impressed to stunned. He had never heard the man curse so loudly. It seemed the pilot lost his usual stoic calm when he was under pressure.

  “Cass can you disable this fucking warning?” Rylan called out.

  “They go off for a reason,” Cass replied.

  A second warning covered the screen, partially blocking the ship. Natalie sent a wide spray of fire in the missile’s direction. The projectile exploded twenty meters in front of them. The Brisbane cut right passed it and toward the enemy ship.

  “I don’t need them! They get in my way!” Rylan countered.

  A third warning blared out. The letters ceased half way through. Only the noise in the helm remained. Rylan twisted the ship out of the way and surged forward, closing in on the other vessel.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “Geoff,” Cass repeated.

  “Cut off communication,” Burke said. “No need to worry the man.”

  Cass nodded. Burke stepped forward behind Natalie and looked over the weapon’s terminal. He was suddenly both restless and furious, hit with every niggling doubt and worry he had been able to push aside while down on the planet. On the ship, he was helpless and idle. He pressed down on his injured leg, coaxing a fresh wave of pain from the damage he had sustained. The stabbing pain emanated up through his thigh and then settled into a burning sensation. He gritted his teeth.

  “What do you want me to do?” Natalie asked.

  “Shooting at them is too risky now that we’re in space. Their ship is too small and we don’t know what we’ll hit,” Burke said.

  “Knocking them hard enough might stall their engine,” Rylan called out, apparently listening in.

  “Another missile near them?” Natalie asked.

  “Or I can ram them,” Rylan responded.

  “Try both,” Burke directed.

  The Brisbane surged forward. Natalie sent a missile out and Burke watched the projectile leave a thick trail of exhaust matter as it rocketed forward and in front of the vessel. The explosion was larger than the one the mercenary ship had sent at them. Rylan worked in tandem with it, diving forward and crashing the bottom of the Brisbane against the other vessel. A horrendous sound of scraping and tearing metal was felt through the ship, vibrating through Burke’s legs and causing him to wince. Then, the other ship tore away. He felt the floor underneath his feet lurch suddenly.

  “It should work eventually!” Rylan protested.

  They tried a second time. Once again, Burke felt like his leg was coming apart. The pain ceased to be a distraction and was becoming too much to ignore. Once again, the mercenary ship broke away.

  “Keep trying,” Burke said. “Cass, I need your help in the armory.”

  He walked as quickly as he could through the main corridor of the ship. The enemy vessel must have shot at them again because he felt the floor twist under his feet. Rylan must have barely avoided the missile if the ship’s gravity shifted enough that Burke felt it. He steadied himself and entered the armory. He placed his armored left hand over his right forearm. He unlocked the panel there and the manual interface with the aegis, something he hadn’t used in years. An opening emerged from the forearm and he felt the bite of a needle pierce his arm from inside.

  “Cass,” he said.

  “You should have let me do that,” she said.

  “I need something for the leg.”

  “You need to rest,” she countered.

  “I don’t think I’m done yet. Even if we stop the ship someone has to go over there and board it.”

  Cass was quiet for a moment. Then she directed him to the small box of medical supplies they kept in the lower cabinet of the armory.

  “Your blood pressure is fine. There’s no bleeding,” Cass said quickly. “A low dose of morphine. I’ll monitor it.”

  Burke followed her orders. He slotted the vial into the compartment in the armor and then sealed it up again. He felt the needle retract from his arm and then stab into him again.

  “What was that for?”

  “You didn’t do it right,” she said sweetly. “I told you, you should have let me do it.”

  He felt the interior of the aegis press against his arm more tightly. He clenched his right hand and then released it. He didn’t feel any better.

  “Captain,” Rylan’s voice filled the room. “We need you up here.”

  Burke’s leg felt a little better by the time he reached the command room. He set his jaw forward when he saw why the pilot had called him. A larger ship was stationary ahead of them, at least five times the size as the Brisbane. He watched as the mercenary vessel sent out a final missile and then docked inside the larger ship. Rylan pulled the ship up and away from the missile and then settled them back down.

  “That’s a slave ship. Cass, do you recognize the class?” Burke asked.

  “Yes,” she answered.

  “We took one of these down before we hired you,” he said to Rylan.

  The pilot nodded. Parts of the enemy vessel lit up with red target reticules, based around the rear engines of the ship. Similarly, the larger ship’s guns flashed as a series of bullets collided into the Brisbane. Cass displayed a real-time overview of their ship. The armor they had paid so extravagantly for held against the enemy bullets.

  “I’ll get us under their guns,” Rylan said.

  “I’ll help you with the missiles,” Cass said to Natalie.

  Burke held onto the podium. The other ship was too big to fit into the display as they neared it. He recognized the signs of the engines readying to power up and fly away. The target reticules pinged once, twice, and then the missiles were launched.

  “They build them too big and too cheap,” Burke said.

  The missiles crashed into the ship’s engines and erupted in a blue and orange blaze. A further series of explosions thundered throughout the rest of the ship. They weren’t close enough to hear or feel the vibrations through the vacuum of space, but Burke’s imagination seemed to fill in the sounds of those explosions for him.

  “Cass,” he said.

  “Shoot out their docking platforms?” she said for him.

  He nodded once. Rylan circled the ship once more. A trio of missiles left the ship. Another series of explosions collapsed the lower part of the slave ship.

  “Take us in,” Burke said. “Make sure the lower cargo hold is sealed off when I get down there.”

  He grabbed for his rifle and held it in his hands as he walked down the corridor, once again feeling like he was in control.

  Kristen was shoved forward by one of the guards behind her. They had removed her restraints. She stumbled a few steps but did not fall over. She didn’t want to give them the satisfaction.

  “You look exactly how I don’t remember you,” Isaac said with a sigh.

  The man looked pathetic to her, like he had been rehearsing the line for weeks to perfectly convey how little he cared about her. He was nearly shaking when he spoke. She balled her right hand into a fist and punched him across the face. He staggered back from the blow, raised his hand like he expected to find blood, and then smacked her with the back of his hand. He looked smugly at her, as if he expected that to be enough to send her to the floor. She only took one step back from the slap and then punched him again at the same side of his face. His skin went red but was not broken.

  “Restrain her! What am I paying you for!” he shrieked at the two men behind him.

  She felt a pair of arms come around her chest. She didn’t bother to struggle. She felt like her chest was on fire.

  A cat was brushing up against Isaac’s legs. He seemed to ignore it. Even from a few steps away, Kristen could hear the cat purring.

  “I should h
ave remembered how much you struggled from the last time I, ah, had you,” Isaac smiled.

  “I’m certain you do,” she spat back. She made a show of biting her teeth together. Another reminder. She took satisfaction out of how he instinctively grabbed for where she was sure she had left a scar.

  A strong vibration rumbled through the floor of the ship. The cat scampered away. Then, a stronger blast shuddered around them. The guards stumbled forward and Kristen broke free. She lunged at Isaac for a third strike, bringing her fist across his face and finally breaking skin. The cut split open below his left eye. Blood dribbled down his cheek and the man screeched. The guards recovered and grabbed again. She felt one of them slam a knee into her back.

  “That was Burke, you know,” she gasped from the pain around her spine.

  “I know,” Isaac said, wiping the blood from his face.

  “He’s going to kill you no matter what happens here.”

  “He’ll try,” the man replied.

  “He’s going to come on this ship and march right in here.”

  “Ah,” Isaac let the word hang between them. He shook for a moment, caught between fear and excitement. “But that’s exactly what I want him to do.”

  * * *

  The doors in the cargo hold closed behind Burke as he entered the room. Cass displayed a verification that the room was sealed off from the rest of the ship. She displayed a similar notification that the aegis was sealed off from the outside air around it. She ceased filtering in oxygen for Burke to breathe and supplied it from the armor’s reserves.

  The bottom doors in the cargo hold expanded slowly. She magnetized the boots of the armor to the floor as the cargo hold lost pressure as it was exposed to the space outside the ship. The cargo containers, strapped securely down to the walls and floor, still rattled for a moment around them until all of the air was removed from the lower level of the ship. When Cass released the armor from the floor, Burke stepped forward and felt like he was moving underwater.