Diddee took a finger to her lips and Kary made a hand sign for her to stay behind him. He put the Zimo to his shoulder and went ahead, silently.
He finally saw her. There was a curtain at the end of the corridor after he cleared the rooms with the open doors. It wasn’t completely closed. And that’s when he saw her. Nurse Eiste, or Nina Zauer, or whoever she was. She was there. Barely clothed. Smoking a cigarette. Wearing lipstick. Red lipstick. She wore black high boots, a black mini-skirt and black lace bra. That was it. She was looking with a smile at something Kary couldn’t quite see. Diddee had brought him to the lion’s den. This was dangerous. It was too close. He moved a bit. Always quiet. There. There was another woman. A blonde. She was naked. She was chained to the wall. She was on her knees. She had her head down, and her weak body was having difficulty standing up.
Then Nina Zauer put out the cigarette on a metal ashtray. She went forward, and she blew the smoke into the blonde’s face. The prisoner coughed a little and Nina smacked her hard. Then she put her hand under her skirt and rubbed her crotch. And then she took her wet fingers and shoved them hard into the mouth of the blonde, who gagged and squirmed, trying in vain to spit them out.
There was a knock on the door and Nina stopped what she was doing and went to open. An XX lüivettenand with a black uniform came in. He looked in disdain towards the blonde and around the room.
“The Korroner apologises.” Said the officer. “He will be unable to attend. He has a dinner appointment with Mr.Yeno that is running late.”
“That’s a shame…”
“I see you started without him.”
“I’m sure he won’t mind.”
Kary was trying to decide what to do. After a moment, though, he decided just to leave quietly. Apparently, Nina Zauer was well, accepted by the Axxians, not compromised. All Kary had to do was to go away and follow her signal. But then he felt cold steel in the back of his neck. The barrel of a gun.
“Please go on in, Mr.Spy.” Said Diddee behind him. “They’ll be happy to see you. Leave your weapon on the floor.”
Kary hesitated for a second, but he knew he’d better obey. He left his Zimo on the floor and went past the curtain.
“Excuse me.” Said Diddee, as they walked into the room.
The lüivettenand took his pistol from the holster and Nina took a hand to her mouth, surprised.
“Kary! How did you get here?”
“Hello, Miss Diddee.” Said the officer. “Is this him?”
Erbay looked back a bit before Diddee pushed him on a little.
“Sorry about this.” She said.
“Why did you bring me here?” He asked. “Why not kill me before?”
“They want you alive. Put your hands up.”
Kary raised his hands.
“Well!” Said Nina Zauer, smiling at him. “Isn’t this a beautiful reunion?”
“You know who he is?” Asked the lüivettenand.
“Sure. His name is Kary Erbay. At least that’s the name I know. He was at the hospital with Admiral Cavo.”
“That’s good to know. I’m sure he’ll have a lot to tell us. Anything else you want to say, Miss Zauer?”
There was something in the tone of voice of the lüivettenand that surprised Nina. She looked at him with a frown.
“What do you mean?”
The lüivettenand funnily raised his shoulders.
“Well, the Korroner asked me to give you something. Now that Miss Diddee and Mr Erbay are here, I think it’s time to deliver.”
Everyone in the room realised what would be happening next. Nina tried to speak, the blond slave raised her head, Diddee paid attention.
*
Now, before I go further, I have to tell you something. As you know by now, I was raised training martial arts. And, over the years, I became really skilled in them. I was able to defeat most of the people that I faced in the gym or in action if I had the chance to meet them in hand-to-hand combat.
What you don’t know is that through the years and since the war, I had the pleasure of facing Kary Erbay six times in the ring, in friendly training. Of those six times, I was unable to beat him a single time. He’s the fastest man I know, and his skill is flawless. His style is fluid and deadly. He’s the only man I could never beat.
*
As the XX lüivettenand raised his gun and shot Nina Zauer in the face, Erbay moved. He turned, deviating Diddee’s gun with an arm and twisting behind her. A hidden blade appeared in his right hand, and it suddenly flew through the room and entered the lüivettenand’s neck. Diddee tried to turn around, but Kary’s left arm stopped her. His left foot hit her knee, and she fell on it. And then Erbay took her head in his hands and twisted it quickly, breaking her neck. The body fell on the floor, lifeless.
The Axxian lüivettenand was still alive, blood pouring heavily from his throat, trying to lift his gun to point at Erbay. The spy calmly picked up the silenced Zima submachine gun from Diddee’s dead hands, checked it and cocked it and shot a short burst into the Axxian’s chest. And that was it.
*
Kary Erbay looked around. This whole thing was a mess. How was it possible for the Farmer’s Fumu cell to be this compromised? There were three bodies on the floor, and one of them was the agent he was using to infiltrate the enemy. Dammit!
Erbay sat on the couch, for a minute.
“I guess you didn’t want her dead.” The blond prisoner said suddenly in perfect webburian. “The brunette?”
Kary raised his head. Who was that woman? She was speaking in a low, weak voice, but she wasn’t stupid. He didn’t say anything.
“She said you were with Admiral Cavo. Is that true?”
Kary kept looking at her in silence. She was bruised and battered. She must have been sold to the Axxians by some slave trader. That kind of thing was pretty common in Raven. She spoke again.
“You wanted her near the Korroner? Maybe you were tracking her? I know he’s departing tomorrow. Into the Dark Sea, somewhere. A ship they have out there.”
“Listen…” Said Kary, finally. “What’s your name?”
“Mira.” Said the blonde. “My name is Mira.”
“You’re a Webburian?”
“Yes.”
Kary sighed.
“Listen… I have no way to take you out of here. I’m sorry.”
She smiled. Or she seemed to smile. She spit blood on the floor. Nina must have hurt her with her fingers in her mouth, or the smack.
“I know.” She said. “I figured as much. But maybe I can help you.”
He still didn’t trust her.
“You don’t need to do that.”
She moved, trying to be more comfortable in the chains.
“He’s going to take me.”
Erbay raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?”
“The Korroner. He bought me. He’s going to take me with him.”
Erbay stared at her. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?
“He’s gonna take you?”
She nodded.
“Yes. I know that you can’t save me now, but if you track me, if there’s any way I can signal to you where I am, maybe I’ll take you where you want to go, and maybe you can save me there, what do you say?”
Erbay thought for a moment. He was running out of time. At any moment, Nahan and Joff would start blowing stuff up, or someone else might come knocking on the door of the bungalow. He had to decide quickly.
The woman spoke again:
“What’s the worst that can happen?”
Erbay looked around. She was right. The signal was compromised already. The operation would be dead if he didn’t do this. It was worth the risk.
“I can’t guarantee anything. You might die anyway.”
“At least I’ll be helping the war effort. At least I’ll stick it to them. And in truth, if you can’t get to me, I’m better off dead anyway.”
Erbay nodded.
“Okay. C
an you take a device with you?”
She looked at him.
“How big?”
Kary pointed at Nina’s body.
“She’s carrying it in a tooth.”
She nodded.
“Give it to me. I’ll swallow it.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure. I promise I won’t lose it.”
Erbay picked up his blade from the officer’s neck, cleaned it in the black uniform, then went to Nina’s body and opened her mouth. Using the blade, he took one of her back teeth. He looked at it, all bloody, then looked around. There were some bottles of liquor in a corner.
“What’s your poison?” He asked.
“Awrey.” She answered.
He picked a bottle of awrey and used it to clean up Nina’s tooth the best he could. He then approached the slave and looked her in the eyes.
“Want me to tell someone I saw you? Family?”
She waved her head.
“Better not.” She said, with a weak voice. “If all goes well, I’ll tell them myself. If not… Well… Better not.”
Erbay nodded, put Nina’s tooth in her mouth and gave her a drink of awry to wash it in.
“Thank you.” She said.
“You’re going to need to explain what happened here. Nina was supposed to bring a chip with information for the Axxians. Think she might still have it?”
Mira looked at the body.
“Try the medallion around her neck. She values that shit way too much.”
Kary looked for the medallion. He was able to open it. The chip was there. He took it.
“Good call.” He said. “When they come, tell them I was here to kill her and take the chip. They’ll believe you.”
She nodded and he prepared to leave. He looked at her one last time.
“Thank you.” He said.
“You’re welcome. Please don’t leave me out there.”
He nodded.
“I’ll do what I can.”
And he left.
*
With his Zimo in his hand, Erbay retraced the steps back to the pipe and the hole they’d used to enter the compound. He could see that Nahan and Joff hadn’t come back yet, as their climbing devices were still there. He also found the pressure meter. He looked at it. No jumps in pressure through the pipe. He was ready to go.
He attached his device to the cable and dropped into the freezing water. The water was a bit higher than before, but still, about half the pipe was free, so he could breathe. He clicked the right button on the device, and the wheels started pulling him along the cable, through the current. The water was freezing, and he tried to swim a bit, use his arm to help push. But then the other hand slipped. He lost control. His head went under water, he swallowed liquid, he pushed with his leg, was able to take a breath and then his foot slipped, and he went under once more. His hands moved frantically in the air, and suddenly he found the cable. He grabbed it desperately, and the other hand found it as well. And he pulled himself up and took a breath. But now the device was stuck. It wasn’t working. Erbay was able to lower a hand to it and find the right buttons, or so he thought, but the wheels wouldn’t spin.
He calmed himself. His training paid off and he was able to calm himself. And he knew he had to decide fast. The water could rise very quickly: he had two minutes for a safe crossing, and they had passed already, for sure. And he would be getting tired soon. So he decided.
With his left hand, he detached himself from his device. As soon as he did, the device lost grip on the cable and fell into the water, disappearing. Right now, only his right hand, protected by a glove, was securing him to the cable.
Now he had to move. He grabbed the cable with his left hand above the right one. And then the right one above the left. And so on. Little by little he advanced. He wasn’t very far from the exit; he could see the light a short distance away. But he was getting tired. The water was freezing, and the current was pushing him back. He moved solely by the strength of his arms, and it took tremendous effort. He almost sighed when his left hand finally found the opening. Now he had to pull himself up.
But just then, he heard a loud noise, and he instantly knew what it was. It was the water. The pipe was going to fill up quickly. The current would be impossibly strong. He had to climb out of there. He pulled with the other hand, and his torso was already out into the dry room when suddenly the water was pulling him with incredible force. He almost lost it, but he grabbed another pipe and put his two arms around it and held tight, as his legs were being pulled relentlessly. Five, ten seconds. He thought for a moment he wouldn’t be able to hold. But then his left foot found a foothold and he pushed, and the next minute the water pressure increased even more and instead of pulling him in it pushed him out, and he was thrown into the ground while a torrent of water just sprayed the site.
For a minute or so, Kary wasn’t able to do anything else but lay on the floor exhausted while he waited for the water to stop pouring. But it finally did. And that’s when he heard the explosions and the sirens. Nahan and Joff had completed their mission. Guess those ones weren’t traitors…
Erbay got up and changed his clothes. And then he picked up his comms and sent out a message: «Apple», it said.
*
A few moments later he saw the two bombers turn out in the pipe and he helped them come out of it. They were ecstatic. They had been able to blow up several tanks and render the Axxian dock useless for a while. The excitement subsided, though, when Kary told them about Diddee. They’d have to be careful, from then on – and indeed the Fumu Webburian cell pretty much died that day, and the remainders of the group had to evacuate the dwarf planet in the next few days, erasing all signs of existence and complying with Erbay’s suggestion.
That day, Kary Erbay left them behind right after they told him all that was going on in Fumu. How Yeno was plotting vendettas and a real alliance with Axx. Then he used Diddee’s motorbike to cross the city towards the dock. That’s where he was able to climb on top of the train and show up in my carriage. And he almost got shot doing it.
INTERLUDE e – PASSENGER
Worf Tinnzer joined Karolu, the Engineer, in the engine room. They both looked at the reactor, a piece that injected extra energy into the main engines and kept them cool.
“Will it hold?”
Karolu made a face.
“It should, for a while, Kapt. But we can’t keep going on like this.”
“Shit.”
“It will have to be replaced. And we can’t do that here in Fumu. They have a good facility, but no parts. Nor anyone I’d trust to do the surgery. We need to go back home.”
Worf sighed.
“I’ve asked upstairs for that. Waiting for the reply. But you know how it is. Got denied twice already.”
Karolu made a face, again. Worf smiled a little.
“That means we wait. That means we won’t be going out before we have an answer. So relax and go get a beer or two like everybody else.”
“Yes, Kapt.”
*
Worf and Urster were drinking in the mess hall of the Ext-Compt, which was the name they gave to the Axxian compound in the Raven dwarf planet, just beyond Fumu city. The night-slash-artificial-day was young, and they had been there for less than half an hour when Rukt, the Navigator, came to join them, a bit agitated.
“Have you heard?”
Worf looked at Urster, who looked back.
“What?”
“All hell is breaking loose in the city.”
“What do you mean?” Asked Urster, frowning.
“Everybody is killing everybody. A gang war or something. I hear it’s getting really bad. The B.K.O. is calling everyone in, and the security detail is getting on high alert. They’re closing the Ext-Compt down.”
“The savages can’t get in here, right?” Urster frowned even more.
“They would have to be crazy to try, but…”
An explosion interrupted that sentence. Som
ewhere very near the mess hall, a bomb had gone off. And then another one. The officers immediately got to their feet. They started running towards the exit, to find out what was going on, but Worf pulled the other two by their shoulders.
“Find the crew. I want everyone in the boat right now. Ready to leave.”
The officers nodded.
“Yes, Kapt.”
Then they went outside. Apparently, an oxygen tank had exploded. Clearly sabotage. And it had taken a grain silo with it, and a few more buildings. The explosion had been massive, even though the tank had safety measures.
*
In less than an hour, S62 was ready to leave. Worf knew he still didn’t have the permission to go or the approval of his return to Axx, so he and Urster tried to have a meeting with the B.K.O., the Base Commanding Officer, or Bazzekommandiertohvizkaptin. He was a man of considerable experience with the rank of Kommandant-Mayor, with a deep sense of duty and loyal to the Addmiralis. As the compound was on high alert, he wasn’t too happy to concede the meeting.
“What is it Tinnzer? What do you want?” He said, in a strict annoyed tone.
“Ver-Kommandant, I was coming to urge you to let us leave. Our ship is useless there in the dock. We should be heading home right now. The UZ is the only place where we can get properly repaired and back into the fight.”
The B.K.O.’s face started to show his anger.
“You come to me with this at a time like this?! Have you received your orders? Has the Addmiralis give you permission to go home? No? Then what the hell are you doing here?!”
Worf remained calm. Sometimes Urster thought the kaptin had cold water in his veins.
“With respect, Ver-Kommandant, I’m sure the Addmiralis is occupied with the rest of the fleet. Or the orders are stuck somewhere. You have other things to worry about, and our ship is here sucking your supplies and attention. For what? There’s nothing we can do but go home! You have the authority. Send us to UZ89, to be repaired and get back to the war.”
The senior officer couldn’t contain himself any longer. He crashed his fist on the table and shouted:
“GET OUT OF HERE! RIGHT NOW! GET OUT OF HERE! You will have your orders when you have your orders! Stop wasting my time! Go get drunk, gamble, fuck each other in the ass, see if I care! Just don’t leave the compound and don’t bother me again! You’ll depart when your orders arrive and not before! GO!”
Shark-Killer (The Dark Sea War Chronicles Book 3) Page 2
