by Susan Kelley
* * * *
They used an effective method of control when they took them one at a time to use the bathing facilities. Four guards again, but they asked Emma to come out first. Then Nemon held a stunner tight to her temple, a kill spot, while Vannie and Vin took their turns in the comfort room. Vin took his boots off and showered in his clothing. The special material was designed to be washed while on the body. His heat would dry it within minutes.
Nemon held a real gun to Vannie’s head while Emma used the facilities. A short time later they again brought food. Vin memorized their faces, which hand they favored and what weapons they carried. If Nemon had been a smart leader, he would have used the same guards each time. Instead the men rotated in turns so by the end of the second day Vin knew there were at least nine other guards helping Nemon.
The lock on the door presented little problem. Vin watched and listened each time they opened it, memorizing tones and hand movements as they keyed in the code. It would only take him seconds to open it.
An easy jump would allow him to disarm the camera. He’d worked out the how to escape but not the when. If the admiral had spoken the truth to Emma they would land within the next twelve hours. Would it be a civilian or military outpost? The admiral needed a court to make his theft of Emma’s inheritance legal so probably they headed toward a civilian port. Crowds of people could provide cover once they fought free of the ship.
Emma carried a bottle of pain relievers from the med kit and came to stand beside Vin. She had a pair of tweezers in the other hand. “Do you think this will help your ribs feel better?” She turned her back to the camera. Using the point of the tweezers, she pointed at letters on the bottle’s use directions. Moving quickly from letter to letter and then pausing to start a new word. I need to send a message. Need intergalactic comm unit.
Vin took the tweezers. Now?
As soon as we land.
I plan our escape.
This message will stop it all if we can capture Ben in illegal act.
Kidnapping is illegal.
Emma smiled and took the medicine over to Vannie. She ordered him to take some of the pain meds.
Vin wondered who Emma intended to contact. He had little trust in any high level politician or the military complex. Along with the obscenely rich Hadrason, people in both organizations had conspired to frame, convict and see the end of the Recon Marines. If there was someone powerful enough to keep Emma safe from her stepfather, why hadn’t she contacted that person before now?
Moving back to the bars and leaning against them as he did for hours at a time, Vin absorbed the minute vibrations of the ship. He’d studied the sounds of the people moving near the front of the ship and looked around as much as he could each time they allowed him to use the facilities. Any ship approaching a port had to drop out of hyper speed to avoid collision and assure a safe landing, usually miles before arrival.
Most people on a large luxury ship like this wouldn’t even notice the change in flight speed, but Vin would. Once again he planned blindly but now he understood better what he faced. Up to a dozen guards and Nemon who equaled half a dozen men all by himself. Vannie was more liability than help. But Vin thought if they could get off the ship they could escape in the congestion of a busy port. Once free of pursuit, Vin would find a safe spot for Emma to send her message. The list of things that could go wrong grew each time he mentally reviewed his plan.
He leaned on the bar for another half an hour before he felt the ship drop out of hyper speed and settle into sub-mach. Nearly time.
Chapter Seventeen
“Get ready.” Vin said quietly to Vannie and Emma as he sauntered near them. “Move toward the door.”
Emma copied his casual meandering pacing and wandered toward the door. Vannie walked straight over to the bars and braced his arms against them. The whine of engine reverse startled Emma. They were landing already? She’d thought it would be another half day. She grasped the bars, though most landings were soft. This one was good but not so perfect that she didn’t feel the jolt up through her legs.
Vin stopped in the corner beneath the camera. He bent his knees a wee bit and sprang from the floor. His fist crushed the camera. His feet barely touched the floor and then he took three steps to the cell door. He thrust his hands between the bars and without seeing the lock punched in numbers. The door clicked open.
“How did you do that?” Vannie asked.
“I pay attention.” Vin pushed the door open and walked free, going in the direction of the bathing facilities.
Emma followed with Vannie bringing up the rear. From somewhere behind them she heard her stepfather giving orders. She walked faster to stay close to Vin. “Where are we going?”
Though she spoke quietly, Vin put his finger to his lips. He whispered his answer. “In this ship design, the cargo area is behind the crew quarters.”
She’d traveled in enough spacecrafts to know that made sense. They came to a door that opened into a lift. They hurried in and Vin punched the control to descend. It took only the space of a few breaths and the door hissed open in the dark cargo bay.
Vin moved away from them and soon a set of dim lights illuminated a long narrow room. Forty yards away from them rose the two story high cargo doors. Before they started toward them, Vin jogged toward the adjacent wall. He leaped incredibly high and caught a metal strut that supported the ceiling. He held on with one hand and used the other to destroy another camera. He let go of the strut and dropped lightly to the floor.
“Something special, our lad, isn’t he?” Vannie whispered to Emma as they followed Vin to the doors.
Vin waited for them at the control panel. He swept a stern gaze over Vannie and Emma. “I’m going out first. I’ll tell you which direction to head. Try to lose yourself in the crowds I hope are out there. We’re probably parked in the most isolated part of the port they could manage though big ships like this have to go where they’re instructed. If you see any port authority guards seek their protection.”
“What about you?” Emma didn’t like the plan already.
“You’re the one he needs. No matter what happens, you keep moving.” Vin narrowed his eyes and glared at Vannie. “You too. Don’t stop no matter what anyone says. You make sure she’s safe.”
“What about you?” Emma repeated.
“I’m going to make sure they don’t catch you.”
‘No.” Emma grabbed his arm. “We’re all getting away.”
Vin squeezed her hand and then tugged it free of his arm. “I don’t know who you’re sending your message to but I don’t think you should trust anybody except Vannie.” Vin looked pained for a moment. “And my brothers on Giroux will help you. And perhaps General Drant, commander-in-chief of all galactic military forces.”
“We’re not leaving you behind,” Emma said, a vice of fear closing on her heart.
Vin looked at Vannie. “Follow your orders.” He turned back to the controls and punched in a command.
The overhead doors lifted slowly, revealing a busy spaceport like so many Emma had seen over the years. Vin pointed toward a low slung ship sitting nearby. The exterior had a few dings and dents from hard contact with space junk or small asteroid strikes. It didn’t look space worthy. “Run toward that. It’s sturdy enough to provide cover. Hopefully they won’t shoot with all these people around. I’ll be rear guard.”
Before Emma could argue Vannie grabbed her arm and started running. Even injured he set a good pace and used a grip she couldn’t break. She looked over her shoulder and saw Vin a few steps behind them, but he was also looking over his shoulder. She followed his gaze and stumbled.
Nemon and at least half a dozen more guards had spotted them. The big man chased after them with long strides, moving so fast it seemed she and Vannie moved at a walk. They would not make cover before Nemon caught up to them. Except Vin stopped to face the monster.
The huge mercenary grinned, a demented expression. Not a very professional di
agnosis from a psychiatrist.
“Hurry!” Vannie dragged Emma onward.
But she resisted, unable to leave Vin to face the giant and all the armed guards straining to catch up to their leader. Other people going about their business in the space port started to notice the disruption. More and more of them stopped their work to stare at the people racing across the tarmac.
Nemon pounded straight at Vin, lifting his big fists in front of him as if he meant to pound his opponent into the floor with hands and feet. But Vin wasn’t there when Nemon pounced. Vin dropped and rolled at the last moment, not to the side but directly into Nemon’s shins. The mercenary’s momentum carried him forward. He tumbled head over heels but came back up to his feet with a grace every much like Vin’s.
Vannie panted and wheezed out a curse. “Must move faster.”
Behind them Vin rose to face Nemon who had given up the chase to deal with Vin. But the other guards dodged around the combatants, gaining relentlessly on Emma and Vannie.
“Hurry, girl. If we get away, Vin can just run away from that behemoth. But he’ll stay there until we’re out of sight.”
Vannie made sense. Emma stopped watching the battle behind her and charged toward the cover of the battered ship. Now she dragged Vannie along. They dodged behind the ship but didn’t slow. Emma knew the general setup of most large stations like this one. She led Vannie toward the smaller ships nearer the civilian entrance and the residential areas.
Once among the smaller ships it became easier to move from one cover to the next but there were also more people getting in their way.
“I can’t keep going.” Vannie stopped and put his hands on his knees. “You go ahead.”
Even with all the witnesses about Emma didn’t trust their pursuers to not kill Vannie out of sheer meanness. After a quick look around, she saw a cluster of four small military ships parked in close formation. She took Vannie’s hand and pulled him toward the stylish crafts. Two uniformed men stood guard, looking comfortable but alert. Until she and Vannie ran toward them.
The two soldiers pulled weapons. They held their ground and waited for Vannie and Emma to come to them.
“Help us,” Emma cried. “Those men chasing us kidnapped me. Please help us!”
Emma didn’t hear a gun, but Vannie went down suddenly and took her with him. She landed on top of him, her hands encountering hot, wet blood.
“Stop!” one of the shoulders shouted. “Stay where you are and lower your weapons.”
Emma looked her shoulder. Ben’s hired thugs hesitated and then turned and ran. The real soldiers didn’t fire on them. One stood with his gun up while the other knelt beside Emma and Vannie.
“How can I help, miss?”
Emma slid off Vannie. He cried out. She did a cursory exam and found one bullet wound low on his left side. Hopefully, it pierced only skin and muscle. “I need medical care for my friend and protection from those men. Also, I need to send a message to the Philmore Galaxy. I have another friend confronting more of those criminals near the largest ship in the docking area. He needs help.”
“I’ll for a med unit, miss, but for the rest of that I’ll have to ask my captain.”
She nodded. Vin could outrun Nemon if he hadn’t been hurt but the huge man. “Go, sir, and get some help for me and my friends. As fast as you can.”
* * * *
Vin dodged another punch that would have crushed his head if it had connected. Despite Nemon’s impressive speed, he wasn’t as agile as Vin nor as well trained in the fighting arts. As long as the other guards held back and didn’t engage him, Vin could stay out of the stronger man’s reach. He’d managed to land a few glancing blows of his own. But the big man didn’t flinch from the strikes, not even when Vin caught him in the face.
Only one man had ever defeated Vin in hand to hand combat, Joe the Recon Marine leader. But Vin saw no way he could defeat this foe. He could keep him busy so he couldn’t chase down Emma and Vannie.
Nemon charged again, a tactic that probably worked for him against slower opponents, but Vin slipped out of his path at the last second. He directed a kick at Nemon’s knee that didn’t even knock the bastard off balance. As he ducked and spun out of Nemon’s reach he noticed the return of the guards who had chased after Vannie and Emma. They returned empty handed.
Elation surged though Vin. He leaped in the air and hit Nemon in the chest with both feet and all his weight. He used the mercenary’s body as a springboard to do a back flip. He landed on his feet and sprinted toward the crowd of people hovering at a safe distance watching the fight. Bullets thudded into the floor, and he heard one pass by his head. Somewhere to his right the admiral shouted orders to cease fire as the civilians scattered with shrieks.
Vin joined the panicked crowds. He ducked into the cover of the first ship he came to and then slowed to a jog and then a walk. When he saw a tall stack of cargo boxes he lingered near them. He watched until no one was looking his way and then climbed the stack. The tower of crates stretched thirty feet in the air and no less than fifty feet long and wide. He lay flat on his stomach on the top, his perch a great lookout spot over the entire bay.
The admiral’s cruiser shared the large ship section of the bay with only one other vessel. The rest of the sprawling facility held a scattering of small personal vessels and cargo ships. Four military crafts were grouped together near the space entrance.
Vin couldn’t distinguish the faces of individual people at such a distance but Vannie and Emma had headed in the direction of the military ships. Numerous persons scurried about near the army ships and soldiers manned a perimeter. Would Emma have trusted the military considering who her stepfather was? Even though the admiral had been charged with serious misconduct, he would still have friends and connections within the command structure.
Turning his attention back toward the admiral’s ship, he saw the guards gathering near the open cargo doors. He could distinguish Nemon from the rest of them even at this distance. Vin hoped he never had to fight the mercenary again. Not even Joe could beat Nemon.
After a few minutes the gathering of guards split apart. Nemon and some others entered the ship but a group of about half a dozen walked straight toward Vin’s hiding place. They carried only side arms and blended in with the other security personnel moving about the busy bay. In the center of the little circle strode Admiral Ben Lester. That he walked so boldly despite being a wanted man confirmed he had friends on this planet.
Vin waited until they passed out of his sight before clamoring down from his post and following them. He had no idea where to look for Vannie and Emma, but the only danger to her was Ben Lester. But what should he do about the admiral?
Before meeting Emma, Vin had decided the admiral wouldn’t make it to prison. He had dropped some of the lesser criminals connected to Hadrason outside law keeper’s station or where the military police would find them. But next to Hadrason, the admiral was the man most responsible for the betrayal of the Recon Marines. Ben Lester didn’t deserve to live. But he was Emma’s stepfather. Emma was a doctor, dedicated to preserving life. What would she think of Vin killing the man involved in raising her? Would she see it as murder or a warranted execution? And though Lester was her stepfather, it was still a type of father. Weren’t fathers important?
Vin maintained his distance from the entourage, blending into the crowds as they left the port and entered a trading and warehouse area. Judging by crowds and the amount of commerce the planet was a large one.
The admiral continued into the streets of the city growing around the port. A large hover craft waited for him. The guards settled on benches around the edges of the hover so they had a view of the entire perimeter. Lester piloted it himself, setting off at a sedate pace into the busy streets.
Vin saw a row of smaller hover crafts parked in an area designated for them. He walked over, not very confident in his ability to blend since Emma had figured out his identity so easily. The newer hovers had id
entification security on them so Vin selected an older model. The admiral pulled further away while Vin ran through dozen of startup codes on the machine he selected. It came to life as his prey turned a corner three blocks away.
The wide streets were laid out in even grids and flanked by buildings made of fabricated wood and metal roofs. Duel suns warmed the air and lit the streets to sharp brightness. The admiral’s hover stood out for its size and the manner he bullied his way through traffic. Vin lagged behind, betting on the ineptitude of Lester’s hired men.
They traveled for a bit more than a mile before the admiral took a left onto another wide street. Less traffic forced Vin to lag further behind. They passed through a part of the city composed of shops and places of entertainment, an alien place to Vin. Laughing citizens moved in small groups or as couples, going about their safe lives. Vin never expected to understand or experience such an existence. Hovel Port was big enough. But seeing the happy couples inspired images of him and Emma strolling in such a carefree manner.
The street opened up to a circle area with a fountain spraying in its center. No traffic moved into the wide open courtyard except the admiral’s hover. Vin settled his vehicle alongside an eatery where others had parked and hurried forward on foot. His prey rode around the fountain to the large building across the way. A wall surrounded the structure but its majesty towered over it.
Vin had only seen pictures of them, but he recognized the building as a real castle. He’d thought they were things of children’s tales. The gate swung open and admitted the admiral and giving Vin a quick look at the interior. Armed guards watched the entrance and the wall looked solid. It made sense that the admiral would have rich, powerful friends.
Though he never stormed a castle before Vin figured it differed little from other assault objectives. He would scout the exterior, note all the exits and the quality of the security. Lester’s connections insured military grade equipment. And he needed to rearm.
