“All right, stay calm Mitchell. Listen to me carefully. I need to know everything about these guys.”
“Just get here and sort them out!” he screamed.
“We’re coming, but I can’t guarantee we’ll make it in time. So do what I say.”
“All right,” he said in a quivering tone.
The comms went silent again for a moment, and the crew in the bar waited with baited breath to hear the news. Only Viktor seemed to show little care and continued with his drink as he had done before.
“They’ve got dusters like the Sheriff wore, and badges.”
“Right, you hold on tight. We’ll sort you out.”
Mason leapt to his feet.
“Liu, Erin, Hughes. You work on securing the town’s defences. Viktor, you’re with me!”
“Finally some action!” he replied.
* * *
“I ain’t coming out, and you can’t force me!” Mitchell yelled.
He looked through the small piece of reinforced glass of the door that divided them.
“I am Deputy Rondel, and this here is a warrant for your arrest. Now you can either come peacefully, or this is gonna be messy!”
Mitchell shook his head.
“I haven’t done anything that gives you the right to come after my ass. Whatever charges you’ve made up, I ain’t biting!”
The Deputy studied the door carefully. They both knew the weapons they carried couldn’t get through it. One of the others stepped up to Rondel and spoke.
“We aren’t gonna get through that.”
Mitchell smiled. “That’s right, boys. Blast doors. My friends with big guns are on the way. When they get here, you better be long gone!” Mitchell shouted and broke out into laughter.
“His buddies are in town. We got twenty minutes maximum to get him out,” said Rondel.
“I can’t see how that could be possible.”
They all went silent for a moment, and Mitchell was delighting in their loss, but the smile was wiped from his face with the Deputy’s next words.
“When we came in, I saw some parts on the ground and work being done; tough for a single guy to work on a ship like this. Probably at least another guy on board, find him!”
“No, no, it’s just me here, you hear!”
Rondel pointed for his two colleagues to sweep the ship. Mitchell knew it wouldn’t be long until they found Andrews. He lifted up his comms.
“Mason, you need to get here quick!”
“We’re on our way!” the call came back.
Only a few minutes later, they hauled Andrews up to the door of the cockpit. His face was bloodied where a pistol grip had been smashed into his face. Mitchell looked away.
“Mitchell!” Rondel shouted. “We came here for you. This man means nothing to us. Come peacefully, and he will not be harmed!”
He didn’t respond, but he heard them hit Andrews across the face a second time.
“Mitchell, you come here and look at your friend!”
The pilot edged to the window. He didn’t want to see, but he couldn’t give up on a friend. A gun was pointed to Andrews’ head.
“We will do whatever is necessary to take you into custody. That could include killing this man. His death will be on your hands, as he is of no interest to us!”
One of the men struck Andrews again, but it didn’t seem to change Mitchell’s mind.
“We haven’t got much time,” one of them said to the Deputy.
Rondel lifted his pistol and held it to Archibald’s leg.
“You come out or I fire, three, two, one.”
Light flashed and he fired. Andrews screamed in pain as the laser passed through his upper leg. Mitchell turned away and put his back to the door. He didn’t want to see any more.
“Mitchell! We have five minutes left. That’s all the time we need to finish your friend here. Next shot will be his other leg, then his arms, and then his head. It’s your choice!”
There was silence. Eventually Rondel rested his pistol on Andrew’s other leg.
“This is it, Mitchell. The other leg! Three, two, one…”
The door lock slid aside, and Mitchell pulled the door open. He looked down at Andrews who was reaching breaking point.
“Thank you,” he muttered through the pain.
Rondel reached forward, hauling Mitchell through the door and over the wounded Andrews. The Deputy stopped to deliver a message to the Archibald.
“You tell your Captain his pilot is being arrested for flying commercially while banned. Flying under the influence of narcotics, flying without logging flight plans with the Alliance, and negligence at the control of a vessel."
"Narcotics? What? I've been clean for years."
"Oh, yes, I almost forgot."
The Deputy quickly lifted up a metal syringe and plunged it into his neck before he could respond. Mitchell stumbled back as the drugs quickly took effect, and he was helpless to fight back.
"A terrible thing, flying under the influence of hard drugs. He’ll be shipped off world for sentence. Mr Volkov says to tell you that you can all leave here if you wish. Lay down you’re weapons, and you will be given safe passage to the nearest IPA facility.”
Andrews spat out blood before going eye to eye with the Deputy.
“You picked the wrong crew to tangle with, son.”
“No, you picked the wrong planet to come down on. Get your asses out of here, or you’ll be buried where you landed.”
They turned to move, but as they passed, Andrews took a hold of Mitchell’s arm.
“We’ll come for you, I promise.”
Mitchell grumbled but was out of it from whatever had been pumped into his system. The deputies hauled him away and out of his grasp. Andrews knew he was helpless to do anything else. He only took relief in the knowledge that Mason was on the way. He could hear their vehicle racing off into the distance, but it was another twenty minutes before he heard another approaching. Two sets of footsteps rushed inside, and he prayed they were friendly this time.
“Andrews? Mitchell?” Mason called.
“Here!”
The heat of the laser had sealed the wound, but it still hurt like hell. Mason rushed to his side to assess how bad it was.
“What the hell happened here?”
“They took Mitchell on a flying violation. A Deputy Rondel.”
“You fight back?’ Viktor asked.
Andrews turned and looked at the towering man he didn’t recognise.
“Who the hell is that?”
“Say hello to one of the two new crew we hired. This is Viktor. He’s a bit of a son of a bitch, but you’d be thankful for having him in a fight.”
Viktor smiled, appreciating the description. Mason reached down and hauled Andrews to his feet. He carried him to the cargo bay, sitting him down on one of the chairs where they had played their card game. The old hand was close to silence, despite his injuries.
"I shouldn't have left you without protection."
"Oh, quit that sorry bullshit. You couldn't know this would be their play."
Viktor looked down at his wound, lifting part of the ripped fabric of his trousers up to see where the laser had struck his thigh.
"I've had worse."
"That's really reassuring."
Mason leant over to look. "We're gonna have to get you to town."
"My work isn't done here."
"Ours either, but something tells me we aren't leaving this world anytime soon. You need medical attention, and you aren't doing any work in this state."
"We used to leave men in your state to the enemy."
"And you wonder why I never signed up, Viktor," Mason said.
Mason grabbed the medipack and wrapped the wound quickly. There was little bleeding from the laser blast, but he needed to keep the wound clean during their journey. Andrews had little feeling or control in the leg. He hauled him to his feet and carried him over to the copter.
"Get the rest of our
ammunition, Viktor."
"Would if I knew where. First time I've been on this hulk."
"Hey!" Andrews shouted. "Nobody talks about the Lady like that."
"The Lady?" he asked, looking around the ship. "Looks more like a well worn whore."
The two of them stopped and glared at Viktor.
"She's called the Foxy Lady, and if you expect to get off this world anytime soon, you'll start respecting her," stated Andrews.
"Wow, okay. Didn't think anyone ever got so attached to a lump of metal."
Mason pointed at the Griswold on his side.
"You put any value on that lump of metal, or would you sooner trade it in for something a little sharper?"
Viktor's hands shot down over the grip of the pistol protectively, turning it slightly away from them.
"Nobody touches my Martha."
Mason smiled in response as he protected the gun like his own child.
"Little sentimental there?"
"Me and Martha have been through a lot together."
"Now you know how we feel about the Foxy Lady."
Viktor drew out his pistol, which gave them both pause for concern, but he simply held it out in his two palms and looked upon his beloved Martha. It quickly sparked a world of memories. He finally looked up and around the interior of the ship. It was as weathered and full of character as his Griswold was. He holstered his pistol again and smiled. It seemed he found comfort in the ship.
"So this place is my new home?"
"If you survive the mission, and we get her flying again."
"Don't know about you, but I intend to survive to spend that ten mil."
"Five percent of," Mason reminded him.
"Yeah, yeah, of course."
Mason got the distinct impression he was not a man to be fully trusted, but he was also the best fighter they'd find who was willing to help.
"You think you can see yourself working with us?"
"You keep getting jobs that put money in my hand, and I can see this working."
Mason helped Andrews up into the copter.
"He's Alliance, isn't he, Captain?"
"How'd you know?"
"A gun like that, and you see his belt buckle?"
Mason looked back and could see a heavily worn steel hexagonal buckle. It was standard issue within the Alliance.
"Where on earth did you learn to recognise those two things?"
"I've been alive a little longer than you, Captain. You learn things along the way. He's not still serving, is he?"
"I figure he wouldn't be down here getting drunk and looking for work if he was."
Andrews grimaced. "I don't like it. Guy like that could really screw us over if he saw the chance to take us for everything we have."
"So he ain't completely trustworthy. That's the life we lead."
"The Boss would never have hired anyone like him."
"Yeah, well, if the Boss was here to help, maybe we wouldn't have to."
Andrews couldn't argue with that. Mason got down from the copter and headed for the lockers.
"Over here," he called for Viktor.
Viktor stopped as he sore VASI stamps on some of the ammunition crates. Then he turned to see Alliance ones beside them.
"You buy from both sides?"
"Doesn't mean anything to me, and it shouldn't to you either. You aren't fighting for anyone but yourself anymore, are you?"
He said nothing.
"So you still feel allegiance to the Alliance?"
He shook his head.
"Maybe I did once, but when your own boss shoots you in the back, it makes you think."
Mason suspected he meant it literally, but he wasn't going to pry.
"And yet you still wear that, and carry that gun."
"You think I'm gonna buy a new belt when this one still does the job? And Martha, nobody gets their hands on my girl."
"Well, okay, then."
He grabbed two of the boxes and pointed for Viktor to grab the others. They threw them aboard and climbed in. Mason rode the copter up to the entrance, hit the door close button, and raced out as the ramp began to lift. Andrews watched the hatch slam shut.
"That ain't gonna keep a determined thief out."
"I'd be more worried about scavengers stripping the metal," Viktor laughed.
Andrews looked over to Mason in horror.
"Let's hope we have a ship to come back to," he said.
"I'd be more worried about getting back with our lives."
Chapter 9
They arrived at the town, and Andrews was treated to the finest of care, but Mason saw the fear in many of the locals’ faces when they saw the second member of his team injured. Andrews was laid out on one of the tables in Kaper's bar. They had now been given rooms there upstairs. Liu was leaning up against the front door, looking out at the town going about its business. Mason went up to him. He could see concern overshadowed the former detective, but Liu spoke first as he approached.
"They're scared, Max. Look at their faces. Frightful of what's coming next. They could be helping to reinforce and defend their town, but they have already resigned themselves to accept defeat. Doing what they always do is all they know how."
"How would you feel, Ben? We're a step behind them every time, and we may have given more than we got, but we can afford far fewer losses."
"And what about Mitchell?"
"We can't just leave him."
"Can't we? He’s a junkie and always will be. Maybe we're better off finding a new pilot?"
"No way, aren't you forgetting who saved our asses on Sharini?"
"Don't let that go to your head. Doing your job right sometimes, doesn't excuse your fuck ups the rest of the time."
"You think you’re being fair? I know how you feel about his habits, but he's been clean a long time now. Either way, we aren't leaving him to their mercy, and that's final."
"They're just buying time to gather their forces," Viktor joined them.
They turned to see the hulking fighter had crept up on them and had been listening in. He lit up his pipe to a look of disgust from Kaper. The barman wouldn't speak out, but neither would Mason.
"Why?" asked Liu.
"Because by now he's probably realised who he's dealing with. I've heard of your crew before. The Captain's name was different then, but I know about a few of your ops. If I heard that along the road, Volkov will know it by now. Your reputation is for going in hard and fast. Surprised you haven't to be honest."
"Well, you aren't as dumb as you look."
He grinned at Liu and puffed smoke out from his pipe.
"But they could also be using it to draw our forces out of the town and secure it themselves," added Liu.
"Not likely."
"Come on, Viktor, you clearly know more than you’re letting on, so spit it out."
They both waited for him to answer, and he took his time, taking another puff and blowing it out calmly.
"Volkov only keeps a small troop around him at any time. He calls on the few militia stationed nearby when he has to, but if trouble really strikes, he has to ask for help from larger Alliance worlds."
"And you know this, how?"
"I know because I know, like I know lots of things. Like you used to be a cop."
"That's really fucking observant," replied Liu.
"All right!" yelled Mason. "How many fighters does he have right now, and what do you think we can expect?"
"Maybe fifty that he will have called in. The other towns can't afford to give up any more than that. He won't want to call on the Alliance because then he'd have to explain this mess. So he'll bring in hired guns. That'll take a couple of days."
"We could strike now?" asked Liu.
"Long as you don't mind letting your pilot go."
"Why?" Mason asked.
"’Cos the Sheriff's department will have him off world by morning. That's how they work."
Mason shook his head. He was now torn between the two
options.
"As I said, Volkov needed to buy some time."
Mason looked to Liu for answers. He looked as suspicious of Viktor as he had done the first time.
“He could be right.”
Liu tilted his head as if to ask, ‘really?’
“Take it or leave it. Drag your heels and your buddy is gone.”
“He’s part of your crew too,” stated Mason.
“Yeah, well I ain’t ever met him.”
Mason stepped up to Viktor and hauled him off to one side, though he only just moved due to his bulk. Mason leaned in to whisper.
“You signed up to this crew, so did Mitchell. We have a responsibility towards each other. You were a soldier, you must understand that?”
Viktor shook his head and sighed.
“You said you never fought in the war, and I can see it plain. If you had, you’d know how much bullshit that comment is. The war was every man for himself. There were as many enemies at my back as there were in front, and cowards and aplenty.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I don’t want your sympathy. Just don’t expect me to care about people like they were my brothers.”
Mason could see there was no convincing him.
“Well, if you won’t care, will you at least help?”
“It was already offered. It’s what I’m being paid for, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
They stepped back to Liu. He could see Liu hated everything Viktor was, but like Mason, he accepted the thug as a necessary element of their job.
“Right, let’s start this again. I want Mitchell back in one piece, so how do we go about it?”
They went silent.
“Don’t look at me. I don’t know this planet any better than you,” Liu said.
The silence was broken by shouts coming from outside. They rushed to the door and saw a column of three vehicles coming down the street. Armed gunmen were on top of the fore and aft vehicles. They were all heavy wheeled and with substantial armour, but the middle one was completely enclosed in mirrored glass.
“Liu, get to the roof.”
He stepped to the middle of the room.
“Looks like Volkov is incoming! Three vehicles coming from the east. Everyone to their positions!”
Maniacs: 01 - The Krittika Conflict Page 13
