Maniacs: 01 - The Krittika Conflict

by Nick S. Thomas

  “That’s Avery. He’s coming all right!” he shouted to Mason.

  The Captain got to the rooftop and rushed to the edge, but Avery’s truck came in too close and smashed into the structure, causing it to shake and almost take them off their feet.

  “Onto the roof!” Mason ordered.

  He climbed onto the ledge and fired two shots into the canvas before leaping and hoping for the best. Hella and Hughes were close behind, and all three crashed through the canvas, landing hard in the cargo bay with no finesse at all.

  “Go!” Mason screamed.

  The truck pulled away as fragments of the wall it had crashed into collapsed down behind them. Hughes was the first up and lifted his rifle to fire some covering shots, but laser pulses flew at them. One clipped part of his exoskeleton, and he twisted violently and dropped down below the tailgate. Mason rushed to fill his place. There was no time for checking on him as they made a break for it.

  He took a few shots, but Avery turned quickly and put the prison building between them and most of the shooters. They were gaining speed and were quickly out of range. He turned back. Hughes was trying to pull himself up onto the raised side runners of the bed. Hella was sitting back and dusting off her coat, ignoring him completely. It was the first realisation for Mason that she really was what had been suspected.

  She shows no emotion or empathy at all.

  Mason reached down and hauled him up into a seated position.

  ‘You all right?”

  He looked down at the wound. His trousers and skin beneath had been clipped badly below the knee.

  “I can’t feel that far down, anyway.”

  Mason looked back up at his face to see he was telling the truth, but the exoskeleton support was also snapped beside the wound.

  “I ain’t gonna be walking anytime soon.”

  A laser rushed past the side of the truck as he said it.

  “Can you still shoot?”

  Mason reached down, took a hold of his rifle, and threw it into the soldier’s hands. They could see two copters approaching rapidly. They were far faster and more nimble than the hulking vehicle they were making their getaway in. Mason fired quickly; the shot knocked one of the militia off the lead vehicle. Hughes joined in, but Mason looked back to Hella. She was still sitting calmly behind him. He pulled his pistol and tried to give it to her. She refused.

  “Until I can use it to perfection, I’m not using it at all.”

  “We ain’t got time for your bullshit. Take the damn gun!”

  She snatched it from his hands and moved up between the two of them.

  “Shoot something!” he yelled.

  She loosed off a shot, but it went far wide of its target.

  “Shit, you really can’t shoot.”

  “Screw you!” she shouted as she tried harder.

  One of the copters zoomed past into their blind spot.

  “This one’s mine!”

  She flipped out onto the rooftop as she had done before and quickly leapt onto the vehicle that was coming up beside them. She was out of the other two’s view, so they turned their attention on the other vehicle.

  “Take their fans out!” Mason yelled.

  They both focused their fire on the front fans of the quadcopter, and within seconds smoke was pouring from them, and the vehicle shut down. Mason took a hold of the rear of the roof and jumped onto the tailgate to check on Hella. She was at the controls of the vehicle. The two occupants were dead. He smiled back in response and sat back down opposite Hughes.

  “She okay?”

  “More than okay. Maybe she can’t shoot for shit, but God help any of us if we end up in a knife fight with her.”

  They eventually rolled back into town to cautious looks from the few who were out to see them, and the many others who watched from their windows. Liu was waiting in the porch of the bar and looked in disbelief. He hadn’t expected Mason to return any other way except battered.

  Avery stopped the truck outside the Digger to a cheer of applause from the crew who came out to join Liu. Mason leapt off the back and helped Hughes down. He could only stand on one leg while Mason helped him hobble along. Erin was quick out the door to assist his other side as Hella rode the copter up and parked behind them. The bodies were still sitting in the seats behind her. It was an uncomfortable sight to behold.

  “You get him?” asked Liu. Mitchell stumbled and fell out the back of the truck.

  “Yeah, but he’s a mess.”

  “No more than you,” snapped Mitchell from his position in the dirt.

  “Avery! Damn fine job you did out there!”

  He turned to the others. “Saved our lives.”

  “Avery!”

  There was no response.

  Liu stepped up beside the cab of the vehicle. His face turned to stone. He pulled the door open and reached inside. He looked back at the others with sad eyes.

  “He’s dead,” he said solemnly.

  Mason handed Hughes over to Kaper who had come to greet them and stepped up to the cab himself. A laser shot had struck him through the cab and inflicted a mortal wound on his torso.

  “He held on till he got you back safe,” said Liu.

  “A brave man.”

  “Yes, but no less dead.”

  The two of them stepped down from the truck. Viktor stood at the door of the bar with his arms crossed and looking moody.

  “Great job, brought one man back at the loss of another. Great work.”

  “Not now, Vik,” Mason sighed.

  “I never knew you cared about these folk.”

  “I don’t, Liu, but I’d like to think I wasn’t working for a man who’d risk a load of our lives for one.”

  “Have you no soul?” asked Erin.

  Viktor smiled back. “I’m in this life for number one, me. I’ll fight for money, but not some misplaced sense of loyalty.”

  “That why you were kicked out of the Alliance Army?” Hughes asked.

  Viktor strode up to the wounded ex-soldier still being held up by Kaper and Erin. He smiled for a second, and then quickly punched Hughes in the face. He dropped from their grip and almost hit the ground.

  “Viktor!”

  He snapped around, glaring at the Captain. Mason could feel trouble brewing, and he knew it was time to have it out while they still had the luxury of doing so.

  “We’re in this together, Vik. We all agreed it, so let’s start acting like professionals.”

  “Exactly my point,” he replied. “Ever since we got this job, you have failed at every opportunity to seal the deal and get paid. I could have killed Volkov with one shot. One shot! One, bang, down. Instant pay cheque. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, move on, next job. But no, you had to protect everyone and let him go, and where are we now? One man dead and one a fucking wreck.”

  “You want to leave this crew, you’re welcome to anytime, but while you’re here, you follow my orders whether you like it or not!”

  Hughes was helped back to his feet and spat out blood on the floor. It partly spread over onto Viktor’s boots. He looked down in disgust, and his hand grew nearer to his pistol.

  “Don’t even think about it, Vik. Remember who the boss is here.”

  “The Boss? ‘Cos that’s a title and a job you ain’t seemed happy about since I came on board. Looks like you aren’t up to the job. Maybe you don’t even want it. Maybe it’s time someone more capable takes it on, huh?” he asked the group.

  None of them seemed to give their approval, and Erin look on with absolute horror of what was even happening while she was supporting a wounded man; and a dead one lay in the vehicle beside them.

  “So we are a team, and the best man should lead. Maybe it’s my turn?” he asked.

  Hella began to circle behind him, but he had already anticipated her move and turned, pointing his finger at her.

  “Don’t even think about it, you crazy bitch. Next time you touch me will be your last.”

  She he
ld up her hands as if to look innocent and took a few paces back.

  “Didn’t know you were so emotional about it,” she replied.

  Mason could see it was escalating and knew only he could put an end to it.

  “Viktor!”

  The hulking man turned around to face off against him. He waited for Mason to speak and clenched his fists.

  “All right, so you want a shot at being the Captain.”

  “Max?”

  “No, no, Liu, if he wants a shot at me, he’s welcome to take it.”

  “What the hell are we doing here? Fighting each other with the enemy on our doorstep?”

  Ben Liu approached him so they could talk privately, but Mason interrupted him.

  “We need him. I put him in his place, and he’s the weapon we need him to be. We put him down now, and we’re down a fighter worth more than his weight in credits.”

  “And if you can’t beat him?”

  Mason looked at him in surprise. “Your confidence is overwhelming.”

  “Just being realistic.” He turned and looked at Vik’s intimidating presence.

  “I want this cleared up before the real fight begins. I want to know I can rely on everyone in the team when the time comes.”

  Ben shook his head. “I hope you’re right.”

  “Okay, Vik,” said Mason. “Here’s the deal. No guns, no blades, no weapons of any kind. We fight it out here and now till one of us submits or can no longer fight.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “But let’s be clear about this. If you win, you can step up to run this gig. If I win, you accept by command and start respecting my authority.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  Erin was speechless. She let go of Hughes and stepped forward to intervene, but Hella grabbed her arm and stopped her.

  “They need to do this.”

  “Why? What is there to prove?”

  “Who calls the shots.”

  “A team divided is a team broken,” Hughes explained.

  “So, what? You want this?”

  “Yeah, sure, just as long as the Captain wins.”

  None of them wanted to imagine the possibility of Viktor taking charge of the outfit. Vik pulled off his coat, revealing his strong physique. He looked like a man born naturally large and who’d worked with his body his entire life. He smiled as he unclipped his gun belt and dropped it down beside his coat. Mason could see he was looking forward to the fight. He threw off his own gear, and the two of them stepped out into the middle of the road.

  Viktor stood a full head taller than Mason, and despite the Captain being well built himself, he looked like a boy compared to the towering ex Alliance soldier.

  “We’re gonna get this sorted and have the job done by morning.”

  “Keep dreaming, Viktor.”

  Viktor lunged forward quickly with a right hook which was surprisingly swift, and Mason narrowly ducked under. He knew he couldn’t afford to get tied up by the heavier fighter. He kicked to the inside of Vik’s leg, but it barely wobbled him. Vik responded with a barrage of jabs and hooks, closing the distance. Mason fended them off, but Viktor was on top of him. He protected his head, but Vik dropped low and hit up with an uppercut that took the wind out of him.

  The Captain was hunched over from the impact, and Viktor shoved him over onto the hard surface of the street.

  “Come on, I haven’t had my fun yet!” Viktor sneered.

  Mason coughed and spluttered as he tried to refill his lungs with air.

  “Is this the man you follow? You’re paid to fight, and you want him leading you?”

  Mason got to his feet and took up a stance to continue. Viktor came back at him with the same three combination, two jabs and a right hook. Mason voided to his left and hit him full on in the face, following it with a left, causing him to stumble back. He could see it was a shock to Viktor.

  Vik came right back at Mason with a jab, and then quickly closed the distance and got into a standing clinch. He drove a knee up into Mason, further compounding his painful ribs, pushed between Mason’s arm and head, driving an elbow down onto his neck.

  The strike drove Mason down onto his knees and almost broke his collarbone. He quickly reacted by hitting Viktor in the groin with the hardest punch he could deliver, followed by a second and a third. Viktor howled in pain. Mason launched up with an uppercut to his jaw, sending him crashing to the ground like falling timber, but he wasn’t finished. Mason stamped on his stomach and punched him in the face. Blood to burst from his nose.

  Despite the punishment, Vik was still trying to get up. Mason offered out his hand to help him up. Viktor took it, as he knew he would. He hauled him up and twisted to his right side, driving his elbow into Vik’s shoulder blade, still maintaining a grip on the arm and driving him face down into the ground. All of Mason’s weight was on his back, and he held the arm back at the very limit before it would break in the socket. Viktor groaned but despite the pain, refused to go as far as screaming.

  “Tap out, Vik, Tap out!”

  He tried to fight it, but Mason only drove his elbow in deeper.

  “All right, all right!”

  “All right, what?” asked Mason.

  “All right, you win.”

  “And?”

  “And I accept you’re the Boss.”

  “No, I’m the Captain. And what else?”

  “And… I’ll follow your orders.”

  “Well, all right then.”

  Mason released his grip, spun him over, and hauled him to his feet. Both were nursing wounds. Vik still had a smile on his face even though blood was dripping into his mouth, but it was now an amused grin. Mason could see he had won the man’s respect.

  “You fight dirty.”

  “Only as dirty as I have to, Vik,” he replied, patting him on the back. Mason strolled back to the others triumphantly, but still holding his painful ribs.

  “All that worth it?” asked Erin.

  He stopped and replied sternly.

  “Yes. Look at him. In a fight he’s worth two or three of you, and now he’s on our side.”

  Chapter 11

  Mason lay in bed. The sun had hardly gone down, but he was nursing his wounds. He knew the medipads he was wearing would fix the worst of it overnight, but right then it still hurt like hell. His body hurt all over from a combination of everything that had happened that day. The lights were low, but he couldn't sleep. He heard footsteps approaching from the hallway, and a soft shadow was cast into the room. The footsteps were too light to be any of the men, and not light enough to be Hella.

  "What can I do for you, Erin?"

  She stepped through into the room and sat down on the edge of his bed.

  "How are you feeling?"

  "Peachy."

  "What if you'd have lost?"

  "But I didn't lose, did I? Think of losing and you will."

  "Was it worth it?"

  "Yes," he replied confidently. "Vik never wanted to run this outfit. He just wanted to know I was capable of doing so."

  "And beating him into submission did that?"

  Mason nodded in response. "I just guaranteed his loyalty for at least a good while, and that's a valuable thing."

  "Is every mission you do this eventful?"

  "They have their moments, but this one is certainly on the edge. We choose the jobs we take carefully, but hitting ground on this planet was not our choice. It was never an ideal situation or a perfect job to take from the beginning."

  "So why did you take it?"

  "Because the money was too good to say no, and with it in arm’s reach, it was hard to say no."

  "I thought..."

  "What?"

  "I thought maybe you were doing it for these people."

  "Wealthy landowners who are too stupid to fight for what's theirs? Come on."

  "I don't buy it. Nobody risks this much for money."

  "Really? Go ask Hughes how he lost the use of his legs, and how mu
ch he got paid for the privilege."

  Erin could see the good in Mason and wasn't willing to accept he was a mercenary first and foremost. Maybe he had started to feel a little for the town’s people, but he still wouldn't have helped without the paycheque.

  "How's Mitchell doing?" he asked.

  "A mess. He's coming down from a major trip, and he's sweating buckets, but he'll live. That was impressive, you risking all to get one of the crew back. Would you do the same for any of us?"

  "Yes."

  "Why?"

  "Because when I go into combat, I want to know that everyone on the team would do the same for me if it ever came to it."

  "And that's what is most important to you, trust?"

  "I guess so. In the end what we do is just a job. What matters is the team."

  "So you're a family?"

  Mason thought about it for a moment. "I guess so. Never really had one, and you?"

  "What?"

  "Family?"

  "I barely knew them. They died when I was young. I was brought up on Mikula."

  "You don't sound much like an orphan."

  "My guardians were wealthy, is all."

  "Were?"

  "They aren't my guardians anymore."

  "So you've parted ways with your old life?"

  "Yes, I was heading to Veni before I got captured."

  "Why?"

  "Because I used to live there a long time ago, and I have business there."

  "What kind of business?"

  She looked away and refused to answer.

  "Fine, you keep it to yourself. But if and when that business becomes profitable, and you want someone to work with you, you let me know."

  She nodded in agreement, but Mason got the sense it wasn't a job that she meant. He opened his mouth to pry further, but she quickly retorted with a change of subject.

  “All we’ve been through here, and we aren’t any closer to doing what we were paid to do. Feels like we’re slowly being ground down.”

  “I’ll admit it hasn’t gone too smoothly so far, but we’ve now got the whole team together. Volkov’s ultimatum is fast approaching, and he can’t walk away. He has to come at us or look foolish and weak.”