Every Last Mother's Child

by William J. Carty, Jr

  Chapter 8: The Outlaw Queen

  “Martha,” A closer walked in, “Did you hear there are two company ships in orbit. Heavy freighters.”

  “That’s odd,” Martha said, “I thought the company had gotten rid of all the heavy freighters.”

  “They’re from Trojack.” The man said, “It’s a manufacturing world. So the heavy freighters handled a lot of heavy bulky freight. There are company security people on board. We could use them to get off world. They have both a heavy lift landing craft, and a small run about.”

  “Contact them,” Martha said, she had no idea that the clones aboard the ship would not be an ally.

  “Okay then that gives us a backup to get out of here,” She said a few minutes later. “Everyone is at go.”

  Of the ten or so closers that had started the operation only six remained. One had just not shown up one morning, one had been killed by the Companions and she had killed one, and another had been killed when he tried to assassinate the halfwit. She had barely enough to pull it off. She thought about just killing the clone outright, but she needed the clone alive for as long as possible just to get herself off world. The Republic had promised to get her off world if she could delay the Trenans from getting more of their people off world.

  “Let’s go over the plan,” Hozenbur said she displayed a holo of the evacuation hospital.

  “The halfwit will be ferried in by landing craft. Though she prefers to arrive as a normal patient in a car, not in landing craft, McGregor doesn’t let her go anywhere without a landing craft outside of the city. Even when she is out and about there is an Elsy air by with a full SWAT unit and medical team on board. The Elsy that will bring her will have both aboard and it will drop her off and then clear the pad.”

  “Why is that,” a woman closer asked.

  “They want to keep the pad clear for any incoming emergencies. Remember this is first an emergency hospital then a field hospital, then a normal hospital. Its primary duty is to help people in trauma. The reason Lady Wilson,” he got a nearly killing look form Hozenbur “goes there is that the OBYGN specialist there is also a bioengineered medical specialist. More importantly the doctor was trained by the chief surgeon of the Interstellar Rescue Service, Admiral Klond and there is no other medical professional that the clone trusts more.”

  “How are you planning to deal with the landing craft,” Hozenbur asked.

  “We’re planning to take it out.” Another closer spoke up. “I have a militia antiair and antispace battery hidden nearby. The militia thought it had been destroyed in place. All I have to do is wake up the new Expert System in it and anything that I want to go away will go away.”

  “Once the Elsy is off the pad, me and Reggie there will grab her and put her in the air car that you will be driving.” the first closer continued.

  “How do I avoid over watch?” Hozenbur asked.

  “You won’t have to,” He said, “One of the AI’s is in our pocket. It doesn’t like Wilson thinks that the Marshal is incompetent and has been working behind the scenes to scuttle the evacuation. It seems it is unhappy about the Wilson’s plans for the AIs and wants to cause maximum grief to the Marshal. When I made a quick trip to check on our getaway it made contact with me.”

  “Are you certain it is not a plant,” Hozenbur asked.

  “No,” The man said honestly, “but it wouldn’t take much for me to cause it a great bit of grief. A word to one of the law enforcement people would be all it would take for it to betray us, or for me to betray it. We’ll be okay.”

  “I hope so,” Hozenbur continued. “What about the distraction.”

  “Knights of God,” another woman spoke up, “are planning to disrupt a lift. They are going to blow up a landing pad near the Queen’s Own Royal Cadet Academy. It’s a heavily used LZ that will get at least one heavy lifter with a couple of containers on it, and maybe take out a couple of hundred people. They have been quiet for a couple of months choosing to make their strikes towards the end where it might prove more deadly, and cause more chaos. Also my team posing as highway workers have mined the road to the hospital. If they roll in hot on the road it won’t be there. I can’t guaranty that I will stop any response force; but I can slow it down. We expect the local cops to come blazing in. The reaction team from the hospital ship will come in on a landing craft; but they’ll be dealt with. At least until they take the AA/S out. By that time you and the clone should have gone to ground and be in the safe house near the port.”

  “Hozenbur,” the first man spoke, “We’re helping you get the clone and we’ll cover your escape; but once that is done we’re done!”

  Hozenbur looked at him with venom in her eyes.

  “The company who sent us is no longer in business. The very reason we need to retrieve this clone and return her to the company no longer exists. The only reason we are helping you at this point is because we don’t want to be killed by you.” The rest of the closers nodded. “This particular retainment is not going to be a simple case of returning the clone to the company. You are going after one of the most visible, well like people on the planted. This isn’t Cleo. This is Lady Wilson. There will be an outrage that none of us will survive. We know you plan to kill her. You had best do it fast and get off world. If you don’t when the Mounties, or the Companions, or the Black Guard catch up with you it will be ugly.”

  “I know,” Hozenbur replied. “My plan is to use the clone in a hostage incident killing her right before the Marshal’s and the Trena public’s eyes. I know I won’t get out of this alive; but before I go that halfwit is going to pay the price for destroying my way of life. Our way of life.”

  “We still have time to get out of this!” the man said. “We don’t have to do this.”

  He desperately wanted to get out of this. He didn’t trust Hozenbur at all. It wouldn’t surprise him for her to kill them all once she had Lady Wilson. She had always been unpredictable. She was totally dangerous to be around. Everyone on her team was with her because they were either as lunatic as her, or she had something on them that would get them sent to the Rock or worse. He was wanted on at least two planets for murder, planets whose legal system was swift and sure for the person who paid the judge his bribe. It didn’t matter which judge.

  “That thing has destroyed my way of life, our way of life. She is going to pay for that!” Hozenbur said with venom in her voice. “Her and that so call marshal! I don’t understand how one of the heirs to our company founder could betray us like this?”

  “Let go over it one more time,” Was all the man said wishing he could get out of it.

  Book 12: Devastation