by Susan Kelley
As Vin ghosted deeper into the shadows of the nearby buildings, his thoughts turned back to Emma. He knew he was doing the right thing staying near the admiral, but every fiber of his being urged him to seek her out and assure himself of her well-being. And damn, he wanted to hold her in his arms and press his face into her thick golden curls.
The admiral would have the contacts to find Emma. Vin would watch and Lester would lead him to Emma. Vin vowed he would save her though memories of another woman’s death shook his belief in the sanctity of his pledge.
* * * *
Emma paced the length of the room. Again. Vannie had been in surgery for over two hours. The grumpy surgeon had refused to allow her assistance or presence in the operating room. Instead he’d ordered the soldiers who’d brought her and Vannie into the small army base to see that she ate and was given quarters. The meal sat untouched on the table in this tiny waiting room adjacent to the surgery. What was taking so long? And where was Vin?
She stopped her pacing and stared out the window where the entrance gate remained closed and locked. Had Vin escaped, or had the guards shot him? He no longer had his body armor. Or had Ben captured him again? Would her stepfather offer Vin in trade if she would follow through on their agreement?
The doctor returned and startled her from her bleak thoughts. He still wore his bloody surgery apron and appeared ready to bite someone rather than speak. “He made it through surgery. He’s a strong man and the bullet missed anything vital, but he might have bled out if I hadn’t been on duty.”
Emma understood the egos of physicians so she didn’t tell this one that she could have operated on her friend herself. “Thank you. May I see him?”
He pointed to a door near the surgery room. “He’s probably in a room by now, but he’ll be groggy.”
Emma pushed through the door into a hallway lined with patient rooms. All the doors hung open. She found Vannie in the second room on the right. Two male attendants wheeled a transport bed out of the room before she could enter. They said nothing, only nodded.
Vannie’s eyes were slits as if he hadn’t the energy to open them completely. “Any news from Vin?”
Emma pulled a chair from the corner and settled in it near Vannie’s head. She lifted his hand and held on. “No. But I don’t think he would come here. I’m not sure what his legal status is with the military.”
“I hope the lad got away. I hate to think of him in the hands of that Nemon monster.”
Emma couldn’t let her mind go to that image. “He’s smart and better able to escape without us to worry about.”
Vannie opened his eyes a little wider. “Did you get to send your message?”
“I did, and the officer in charge sent one also. Seems they’re pretty anxious to get their hands on Ben.” Emma had liked the professional soldier, a Captain Dane Edow. He’d told her that General Drant wanted to personally handle any reports of Admiral Ben Lester’s whereabouts. “Two days and this thing with my stepfather will be over. I should have come out of hiding earlier.”
“Glad you didn’t. Don’t know how we could have kept you away from Lester if not for Vin.”
Guilt tightened Emma’s empty stomach. “I’ll never forgive myself for Moe.”
Vannie closed his eyes, and a tear leaked from the corner of his eye. “Emma darling, those bastards hired by your stepfather killed him, not you.”
Emma’s eyes overflowed. “I wish he hadn’t tried to stop them. It wasn’t worth his life.”
This time Vannie squeezed her hand. “It was to him. Giving his life to protect you would be the way he wished to go. He didn’t want to die an old man kneading bread dough.”
Instead of comforting her, Vannie’s words raised the memories of all the hours she’d spent in the kitchen with Moe. They’d talked of everything and laughed so often. It had been Moe she first trusted with her true identity. She hoped he’d known how much she loved him. He and Vannie were her fathers, not Ben Lester.
What kind of vengeance would she get for Moe? She sat at Vannie’s side long after he fell asleep. Did she have the strength to kill Ben Lester and get him out of her life once and for all? A guilty voice told her that Vin might do the killing for her and take the blood onto his hands instead of hers. She could use him as the living weapon he’d been created to be. But she could never forgive herself even if Vin wanted to deal out the deserved death. She wouldn’t let Vin be a killer anymore.
Chapter Eighteen
Vin couldn’t watch all the exits from the castle, and he had to leave to rearm. He could steal some weapons from the military barracks, but that would take time to scout. In the two hours since the admiral entered the gates, no one had come and gone.
To stay out of the way of curious civilians, Vin scaled the rear of the four story eatery near the courtyard fronting the castle. He stayed low near a chimney. Aromas curled up through the metal stack from the café below. It provided good cover for him as he spied on the fortress.
A flurry of movement on the street pulled his attention away from the perusal of the castle. Nemon and seven more mercenaries rode in on a handful of small hovers. The castle gate opened for them and gave Vin another quick peek at the numerous men watching over manicured gardens. Just like in a book.
Vin worried what the admiral might be planning by pulling all his men together, but it did mean he wasn’t going off world any time soon. And Vin’s weapons and armor was on the unprotected ship. He waited until dark though he had no way of knowing how long the light and dark cycles lasted on this world. Hopefully the admiral would stay put during the dark time.
The stolen hover sat where Vin had left it. With little traffic or people about he made good time to the port. His perfect sense of direction and ability to recall routes meant he could run the hover at top speed. The port hummed with activity even at the late hour. Ships came and went while men shouted orders and machinery moved merchandise. After leaving the hover in the parking area, Vin picked up a pry bar from a tool box sitting beside a ship.
Vin didn’t run through the chaos though he wanted to. He watched the ship from cover but couldn’t tell if they’d left someone on board. Did they think he had run away to hide? One thing Vin had learned in the last six months was that he couldn’t predict what other people might think, not even other soldiers. Regular soldiers. But they also didn’t understand his mind. He gambled they didn’t expect him to return to the place of his imprisonment.
As casually as his urgency allowed, he crossed the open area separating the admiral’s ship from the smaller ships. The boarding ramp still sat against the crew door, easing his way to the entrance. The crew and owner would have the remote to open it. Vin had the long thin pry bar instead of a key. He levered open the panel behind the remote sensor. A few twisted wires later, the door slid open.
Vin listened for a moment, hearing no breathing or rustling of cloth. Confident no one waited right inside for him, he ducked into the opening and then listened some more. The stuffy interior convinced him further that no one remained on board. He hurried through the ship and found his armor and weapons in a storage locker. Everything except his stun pistol was there for his taking.
The armor had some burnt areas where bullets had hit it but the surface retained its integrity and its camouflage properties. He suited up and then searched the ship for anything he might use. A large store room held a few larger weapons, grenade launchers and a rapid fire rifle so large it had to be specially made for Nemon. Vin left all their things behind except for a set of spy goggles. The device had night vision and could see distant objects. The heat signature setting would work through most types of wall material.
Within fifteen minutes of entering the ship, Vin walked out of the port to his hover. He paused before mounting up. A general store remained open nearby, catering to the ship crews who worked all hours. His watch might drag on for a while. He gathered up bags of water, dried meat and fruit. His thumb on a bank scanner transferred funds to
pay for it.
Ten minutes later he parked his hover out of sight behind the waste catcher serving one of the buildings near the castle. Once back on the roof, he found himself with little appetite but ate anyway.
The city appeared asleep except for the light marking the space port. Where was Emma sleeping this night? Did she think of him at all? Everything Emma did seemed so sincere including the warmth in her eyes when she looked at him. But what did he know of such things?
Vin settled in to spy on the castle. The sooner he dealt with the admiral the sooner he could look for Emma. Too many walls stood between his position and the interior of the building to see what went on inside. Vin counted the guards on roving duty inside the exterior wall, four patrolled a circuit around the fortress.
He spotted cameras and sensors along the top of the wall. They would have to be taken out before he tried to ingress to find the admiral. The door resisted the spy goggles, indicating some metal reinforcement and the windows on the first two floors bent the light like the high pressure glass used in space vehicles. He couldn’t break into it with any of the weapons he had. But the upper floors appeared to have regular glass.
Vin settled on his side, glad for his armor as the night brought the cold with it. He dozed off and on, startling awake each time he reached the state of dreaming. A golden hint of dawn grew on the horizon when the front gate opened. Nemon led a dozen guards out, all on foot and lightly armed. He suspected they intended to scour the city for Emma. Should he follow them?
The gate closed again. Vin picked up the goggles but still couldn’t see enough. Frustrated at his inaction, he planned his infiltration. Though the guards made some attempt to make their circuits irregular, they still tended toward patterns and never varied their speed. He decided which cameras he needed to disable, where to go over the wall and how to enter the main building. If Nemon and his crew found Emma and brought her here, he was ready to go in. If the admiral left, Vin would follow him.
The hours passed as Vin’s nerves quivered in battle anticipation. The end of his quest for vengeance neared, tempting him to enter the castle and finish it. But that would mean killing a lot of men. What would Emma think? So he waited, hoping for the opportunity to capture the admiral instead of kill him.
* * * *
Emma dozed beside Vannie’s bed until the military doctor led her to another room and insisted she lay down. She thought worry for Vin would keep her awake but her exhausted body won out over stress. A soft knock on her door woke her some time later. Faint golden light gleamed through the small oval window over her head. The knock returned with more force.
“Miss?”
Emma rose, thinking she must look like a street gypsy. Wrinkles covered her clothing and her hair needed at least an hour’s attention from a comb. But what did it matter when someone knocked at such an hour? It could only mean trouble.
She hobbled over to the door, feeling achy and sore in every part of her body. Too much sleeping on floors, chairs and then the too hard hospital bed. She pulled the door open to find a young soldier preparing to knock again.
He shifted from foot to foot and his gaze flinched away from her. She smiled to put him at ease. She’d met many young soldiers who behaved awkwardly around women.
“Sorry to wake you, miss, but your friend has taken a bad turn.”
Emma turned away for a quick moment to slide her feet into the flimsy shoes. “I forget the way to his room.” She’d been too tired to notice.
“Follow me, miss.”
She trotted to keep up with the soldier’s long strides but she didn’t care as long as they got there quicker. “What happened? Did he start to bleed again or start a fever?”
“Not sure, miss, only following orders to fetch you.”
They kept going, turning this way and that. Perhaps the young man had taken her by a different route because she didn’t recall going so far. “Did they change his room?” The words caught in her throat. Had they had to move him to an intensive care room or back to the operating room?
“Just through here, miss.” The young man opened a door and the cool dawn air rushed into the hall. And with it came Nemon, pushing her guide aside.
Emma screamed and stepped back but the big man grabbed her. He wrapped one arm around her waist and picked her up. His other hand covered her mouth and nose, suffocating her. She kicked at his shins and dug at his fingers to no avail. Her chest grew tight and her vision narrowed as Nemon ran with her out into the night. He threw her over his shoulder, freeing her mouth and nose to inhale a deep breath.
She gathered herself to scream but Nemon slapped her thigh hard enough to bruise. “Anyone who comes to your aid will be killed. So be quiet.”
Even carrying her, the big man set a brisk pace. He used a long, smooth stride but her stomach still bounced harshly about on her shoulder. They kept to narrow, dark lanes that echoed their footsteps until it sounded like a thousand boots traveled in the shadows of the buildings. She made out at least ten men behind them and thought a few more ran in front of Nemon. When they finally turned onto a wider street, Emma gasped in recognition. She knew where they were. Her home planet of Brand, and they ran toward her home.
Her mind raced as her stomach rumbled with discomfort. The Brand estate was built like a fortress with all the latest security technology. Add Ben’s guards and Nemon, and the site would be impregnable. But Emma knew her childhood home better than he did. His military duties had kept him off world for months at a time when she was growing up. Perhaps she could find a way to escape.
The young soldier had lied about Vannie so at least her friend must be all right. If her message brought the help she expected, she might only need to hold on for another day or two.
From her upside down position, Emma couldn’t spot anyone on the street. She doubted anyone would stop the brutal men kidnapping her anyway. One of the men spoke into a comm unit.
Emma lifted her aching head and recognized the neighborhood. The pace picked up and she fought back bile climbing her throat.
Nemon panted as they raced through the gate. More men met them and slammed the gate shut behind them. They didn’t stop running until they entered the manor. Nemon put her down in the three story foyer in front of her stepfather.
Emma tried not to sway but her head spun and she struggled not to gag. She straightened and took a few deep breaths. “A bold move to come back here, Ben.”
“I should have done this in the first place. We can both be comfortable while we finish this.”
“Finish?” Emma forced a laugh. “Why would I cooperate now that you don’t have my friends as hostages?”
“And you don’t have them to protect you. I should have killed that Recon Marine as soon as I recognized him. I’m sure you would have given in to protect the fat man.”
“I guess from the frightened way your men scurried here that Vin is still out there.” Emma laughed for real. “So you came here because you think these walls will keep him out?”
Nemon growled, but Ben smiled. “Not even your killer can get in here. I’m surprised you aligned yourself with such a man, a professional healer like you. I know your medical training would have included studies of his kind. I seem to have underestimated you, dear daughter. I always think of you as a pampered rich bitch but there you were, living in squalor with those dirty miners and making friends with one of the most blood thirsty beings ever to walk a world.”
The longer Ben talked, the more time for help to come. “Those people you call dirty miners live like kings compared to you. How is the life of a wanted fugitive? What prison will they send someone like you to? Who wants you more, the civilian courts or the military judicial court?”
Ben swept his gaze over her. “Did you let that Recon Marine touch you, Miss Rich Bitch? All those men you turned away while you lived here and then you take that freak to your bed? Is that why he came so quickly to your rescue and took on odds so far out of his favor?”
“Yo
u call Vin a freak?” Emma gestured to Nemon standing at Ben’s side. The monster’s emotionless glare fixed on her. “What is this creature traveling with you?”
“Nemon is an example of the improvements we made after the difficulties we had with those first defective first models.”
“Defective? You mean they discovered they were human and wouldn’t blindly follow your orders? I saw the news feeds. I know how you and Geoff Hadrason used the Recon Marines and then convicted them for refusing to kill innocent people.”
Ben didn’t deny her accusation. “The Recon Marines disobeyed direct orders, a death sentence offense. They thought themselves capable of making decisions of right and wrong by themselves.” He walked around Nemon, looking the big mercenary up and down. “We didn’t make the same mistake with this next generation. We didn’t stop at genetic improvements. The finest neurologists and behavior scientists in the known worlds rearranged the parts of Nemon’s brain that would drive him to ambition beyond what he’s told to do.”
“You destroyed parts of his frontal lobe?”
“Nothing so archaic. Just a few neurons, a few synapses that won’t fire.” Ben leered at her. “For example, now that I know you like laboratory meat between your thighs, I could order Nemon to strip you naked. But unless I give the command, he wouldn’t have his way with you. These other men might be overcome with lust, but Nemon follows orders. He can make decisions on how best to complete his assignment, but he will complete it.”
“What kind of people are you to do that to someone? You took away everything that makes him human. You made him into a machine.”
“Machines are more efficient than men. It’s what we attempted with the first batch but it didn’t work out as intended. We thought training them the correct way would instill obedience but since it didn’t we had to consider other ways to get the soldier we wanted.”
“But he’s nothing but a thug, not a soldier. I know you didn’t have official approval to create another group of super soldiers.” Emma had read reports of the political and social pressure that forced the military to never experiment with epigenetics again after they created the original fifty Recon Marines. Fifty? Did dozens more Nemons exist also? “Where are the rest of them?”
