by Rachel Aukes
Cat drove through the courtyard, up the front steps, and smashed into the front door. Her vehicle had brush guards and roll bars like every other cutter—to minimize damage to the solar hull—but instead of smashing through the door and into the mansion, it bounced back, leaving the door bent, but still in place.
With the other cutter on the steps, Kit stopped parallel to the house, just off the porch. The trio exited the cutter and used it as cover from the murcs in the courtyard. Behind them, Lobo fired at the mansion’s windows, but his lasers bounced off the surface. The house had been overbuilt and looked to be in some type of lockdown mode.
More soldiers came running out from the barracks, some still fastening their clothes. Joe ignored them and focused his return-fire on those shooting at them, forcing them to take cover.
“Well, this is going great. We can’t hit them; they can’t hit us,” Rex remarked drily. “I could sure use a grenade about now.”
Kit shot a soldier making a run for the tank.
A blast from behind hit the hull inches from Kit’s face. All three looked over their shoulders at Cat. She had a smirk on her face and mouthed the word, “Oops.”
They turned back to the battle, but knowing Cat had them in her sights sent spiders crawling down Joe’s spine.
“She did that on purpose. Why is everyone shooting me today?” Kit grumbled, then he glared over his shoulder at her. “Look what you did, Cat. Someone got through.”
Joe caught the movement of a soldier disappearing into the tank. Seconds later, the turret rotated toward them. Wilco took up a position behind the cutter next to Joe, and returned fire at the soldiers shooting at them from the transports, while Lobo and Cat outlined the door behind them with explosives.
“Hey, Havoc, about what happened with Haft—” Wilco began, and her voice sounded as young as the woman who owned it.
“Don’t worry about it. No one was given much of a choice when everything went down,” Joe said, preferring to stay focused on the battle.
“The tank hasn’t fired yet. I think it realizes we’re too close to the house for a clear shot. At least we have that going for us,” Kit said.
An explosion from behind pressed Joe against the cutter, and he turned in time to see the front door fall in. Cat and Lobo ran inside, and Wilco jumped to catch up.
Joe went to follow when something caught his eye. “We have movement in the transports.”
Rex quit firing and stood. “They’re taking the transport.” He glanced at Joe. “They’re stealing my stuff!” He jumped, slid across the cutter, and started running and shooting at the transport pulling away from the other parked vehicles. It was the one nearest to the house, which made it the one holding Sloan’s valuables.
“No!” Rex kept running and shooting, oblivious to murcs shooting at him from the other transports. The tank lurched forward and followed the transport through the front gate.
Rex stopped and roared. He spun around and began firing nonstop at the soldiers hiding among the remaining transports. They no longer returned fire; they were too busy climbing into the transports and trying to escape. Transports sped off with their cargo doors still closing.
Rex trudged back.
“Looks like they’ve decided we’re not worth it and are bugging out,” Kit said.
Joe glanced at the house, then looked at Kit. “I need to get in there.”
“I know. I need to keep our exit clear. Go get Val.”
“There’d better be some good stuff left,” Rex muttered as he walked across the fallen door and through the foyer.
“I’m sure there is,” Joe said. He looked up the stairs to the second floor and around the foyer, listening for sounds of movement but hearing none. He strode to the back of the majestic staircase, where a thick steel door was partially concealed. It stood open, and he frowned. He turned back and analyzed the mansion’s floorplan, which he’d memorized.
His thoughts were interrupted by a sound coming from the office. He raised his blaster just as four murcs emerged.
“Don’t shoot!” one exclaimed. “We’re leaving. He’s all yours.”
Joe lowered his rifle a couple of inches, and they spun and ran back the way they’d come. He was surprised Rex hadn’t killed them, but he learned why when he saw Rex stuffing trinkets into his pockets. Rex’s actions reminded Joe of something, and he entered Sloan’s office. The murcs were gone, but the door on the far side of the office stood open, which Joe knew led past the dining hall, through the kitchen, and outside.
The trinket bowl still sat on the desk, and he rifled through the contents till he found the pendant, which he slid into a pocket.
“Oh goody, more stuff.” Rex came up behind him and grabbed a handful from the bowl.
He heard movement in the foyer and rushed to stand behind the wall at the doorway, holding his blaster steady. Cat, flanked by Wilco and Lobo, was coming down the stairs. When she saw Joe, she said. “He’s not on either floor.”
Joe nodded at the door tucked behind the stairway. “He has a safe room in the basement.”
Her eyes narrowed as she investigated, after clearly not having noticed the steel vault door before. She nodded to Lobo, who opened the door. Cat shot Joe a hint of a smile as she and her hunters descended the stairs.
Joe went to the door, peered down to see that they’d reached the bottom, then closed and locked the door, sealing the three Iron Guildsmen in.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Rex cocked his head. “I thought this was a rescue mission. Why’d you lock them down there with Sloan and Val?”
“Because Sloan and Val aren’t down there,” Joe said as he began inspecting the wood-paneled foyer wall near the bottom of the grand staircase. “The entire basement is a safe room, so when I saw the door was standing open, I knew Sloan wasn’t down there.”
“Then where are they?”
Joe pressed on a wood-like panel. It clicked and slid down, revealing a steel door with a screen next to it. “Hiding in his vault.”
To his right, pounding on the door to the basement ensued.
“Cat doesn’t sound happy. Good,” Rex said.
“Keep an eye on that door. Let’s hope it holds them long enough for us to get Val back,” Joe said.
“How’d you lock them in there? Safe rooms lock from the inside.”
“Val told me that Sloan used it as a dungeon, and she was right. The lock is on the outside.”
Rex rubbed his hands together. “This is so much fun, I feel like it’s my birthday.”
Joe tapped the screen, and it came to life. He pressed the intercom. “Roderick Sloan, you have a friend of ours. If you open this door and release Sheriff Vane, we’ll let you go free. If you don’t, we’ll be forced to bring in the tank and blow it open.”
Chapter Fifty-Nine
“Your guards have abandoned you. You have no one except me who can help you,” Val said.
Roderick Sloan sweated profusely as he stared at a screen displaying the image of Joe’s helmet.
“By now you must realize that if I’m dead, you’re dead.” Val desperately wanted to grab the blaster out of Sloan’s hands and use it on him, but her hands were tied behind her back. In addition, her restraints had been secured to one of the heavy shelves that lined the walls. She’d fought to free her hands, but so far, she’d accomplished nothing except scraping her wrists raw.
Sloan ignored her, just like he’d done since his personal guards quit taking his calls.
Joe’s voice came through the intercom. “We know you’re in there, Sloan.”
Sloan’s breathing quickened, and he shuffled his feet. After another minute of watching him grow more and more agitated, he spun to face Val.
“Your friends won’t kill me?”
She shook her head. “They’ll keep their word.”
His brow remained furrowed. “I need you to take me somewhere other than the silo. Darville will find me there. I can pay you. Anything you want, it’s your
s.”
She pretended to consider his offer. “And where would you like to go?”
“It has to be the Wilds. That’s the only place Darville can’t get to me.”
“I can, but I’ll need more than the contracts,” she said.
“Anything. Just get me out of here.”
She eyed him, and he seemed to shrivel. “I can’t believe they left me. I was paying them a thousand credits per day. Per day!”
“Evidently it wasn’t enough to buy their loyalty,” she said.
“No one’s loyal anymore. Not Boris, not my guards, certainly not my faceless friend. How can I possibly trust that you’ll keep your word?”
Sloan’s mention of a “faceless friend” caught her off-guard. Did he mean a person who had no face, or did he mean someone he’d never met in person? Both were possible, but the latter was far more likely—especially when she knew an individual who had a knack at pulling strings without revealing his identity. Her heart beat faster as random pieces came together. She’d hated Sloan—she still did—but now she realized that the trouble he’d caused hadn’t all been of his making. Sloan had been played, just like she had.
She realized he was still waiting for an answer. “If escorting you ensures I’ll be rid of you forever, then it’s worth it.”
He tried to gauge her sincerity and finally sighed. “All I wanted was to build enough wealth to have my own island, away from all this rot and ruin. Then everything went to hell. All of this is yours, Sheriff. My farm, properties, all of it. Just take me somewhere safe.”
She nodded. “I will.”
He lowered his blaster and turned to a panel on the wall.
She remained silent as he entered the code to open the vault. A valuable lesson she’d learned from Renzo was never to interrupt an opponent while he made a mistake.
Chapter Sixty
The vault door opened, and Rex punched Sloan in the face. He dropped like a felled tree.
“Hi Val. Oh hey, will you take a look at this?” Rex entered the vault and immediately began rummaging through the shelves.
Joe followed him in and rushed to her side. “Are you okay?” he asked as he cut her bindings.
“Fine. Thank you.” She rubbed her wrists, then walked around him to Sloan, who groaned as he groggily regained his senses.
She yanked the blaster away from the administrator.
We need him alive, were the words Joe wanted to say, but he said nothing. The pounding on the safe room door ceased, leaving only Sloan’s whimpering and Rex’s jingling.
Sloan pulled himself to his knees and cupped his cheek. His eyes focused, and he looked up at Val and the weapon in her hands.
He stammered, “But-but we had a deal! You said you’d take me to the Wilds.”
“No. I said I’d escort you to safety. I never said anything about taking you to the Wilds. I’m escorting you to death, where the world will be safe from you.” She fired twice, hitting him in the chest with both shots. He fell backward, his eyes staring lifelessly.
She stood over his body like an impassive statue. Joe crossed the vault to her. He pulled the pendant out of his pocket, reached for her hand, placed it on her palm, and wrapped her fingers around it.
“I understand why you had to do it,” he said softly.
She nodded tightly, and he noticed that her eyes were wet. “My brother’s murderer has finally been brought to justice.”
Joe could’ve told her that he didn’t believe the dead cared about justice, that it was just a comfort for the living, but he didn’t. Val wouldn’t care to hear it.
A heavy, repetitive thud began, as though a heavy object was being slammed into thick steel.
Val turned in the direction of the safe room door. “What’s that?”
Joe gulped. “We should get out of here.”
There was a screech, and Joe heard what sounded like a heavy door landing on the floor.
He winced. “Too late.”
Chapter Sixty-One
Cat looked more furious than Joe had ever seen her.
“The deal’s off.” She and her hunters had their blasters pointed at Joe, Val, and Rex, who, likewise, had their blasters aimed at them. Rex managed to have his arms full of gold jewelry too.
“It was an accident,” Joe said, though he supposed that was a stupid thing to say, since Sloan had obviously been executed. “He opened the vault door and surprised us.”
Cat didn’t look like she believed him any more than he believed himself.
“The deal was I got Sloan—alive—and I’d let you live for a month. But now that Sloan’s dead, you’re going to be dead, too,” she said.
“If you’re going to kill anyone, kill me,” Val said. “I’m the one who killed Sloan. He murdered my brother, along with countless other innocents.”
Cat glowered. “He was mine. That ticket was going to be my biggest payoff for the year.”
The two women had a stare-down, but Cat snapped her gaze to Rex. “And just what do you think you’re doing, raiding this vault? This is mine.” Her expression turned sour as she scanned the near-empty shelves. “What’s left of it.”
Rex made a dramatic show of lowering one arm at a time, switching his blaster from hand to hand, and letting the gold chains slide off. “Sorry. All yours. I just figured you were going to go after the transport that has all the good stuff.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“Sloan loaded his treasure into a transport. He was preparing to make a run for it this morning, but a couple of murcs ran off with it during the gunfight.”
“I don’t believe anything you say.” She blew him off and looked at Val.
“It’s true. Sloan loaded everything he could into a transport. What you see here is the leftovers that wouldn’t fit,” Val said.
Cat eyed them for another moment before moving her blaster to one arm. She pointed at Val. “I’ll let you live this time, out of respect for my brother. But if our paths cross again, I may not be so forgiving.”
“I understand,” Val said.
Then Cat wagged her finger at Joe and Rex. “The next time I see either of you, you’re dead.”
“But I don’t have a ticket on my head,” Rex said.
“I don’t care.” She motioned to Wilco and Lobo. “That transport’s mine.”
Rex blew her a raspberry as they left, which sounded weird through his helmet, and began scooping up the jewelry again.
Joe edged up to Rex. “You neglected to tell Cat that the transport had a tank traveling with it.”
“Yeah, I did, didn’t I.” The amusement was clear in his voice.
Joe heard a blaster shot, and went cold. “Kit…”
He sprinted outside to see Kit kneeling by the cutter. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he groaned, “but Cat took a potshot at me. Again!”
“Her accuracy’s going to improve after today. Sloan’s dead,” Joe said.
Kit frowned. “The deal’s off?”
“The deal’s off.”
Chapter Sixty-Two
Renzo stood in his command center, watching the replay of Roderick Sloan’s death via the drone feed. “Well, that settles it. Our connection with the Sloan family is officially cut.” He looked down at the specialist sitting in front of him. “How is Darville responding?”
“The tanks and ground troops are all en route to Clearwater, Commander.”
“That’s disappointing. That means the silo will, in all likelihood, be compromised. We can’t allow the MRC access to a Z-key. Activate the self-destruct sequence.”
“Yes, sir. I’m reading thirty-eight occupants.”
“So? They aren’t ours. Blow it up, Specialist.”
“Yes, Commander. I’m activating Silo Fourteen’s self-destruct sequence now.”
“Good. Put it on screen. I want to watch.”
Chapter Sixty-Three
The people who’d been enslaved emerged slowly from the long building t
hat had served as their quarters—in groups of two or three at first, then they seemed to pour out. Joe answered questions while Kit gave Rex and Val a ride to their cutters. They returned ten minutes later, and Joe was relieved to no longer be the only person on the farm with answers.
Kit ambled over to stand with Joe. They looked out over the crowd. Some appeared restless, others ecstatic, still others, numb.
“There are more than I thought,” Kit said quietly.
Rex walked by them and back into the house to steal anything he could, though Rex would be disappointed to find that the newly freed people had raided the house in his brief absence.
Val carried a mini tablet. Rather than address the people milling around the courtyard, she placed a call. “Paul? Make an announcement—Sloan’s dead. Everyone’s free. All residents can return to their homes on the surface or stay in the silo. Also, make a call for volunteers. We have a lot of people who’ll need help. Thank you.”
She tucked the tablet in her pocket and looked out across the crowd. Then she returned to her cutter and came back with a loudspeaker. “I’m Sheriff Val Vane, and I have a message for you. Roderick Sloan is dead. He can no longer hurt you and your loved ones.”
Cheers erupted. Considering how downtrodden they looked, Joe was impressed by the vigor with which they applauded Sloan’s demise.
Val continued, “Roderick’s brother, Gabriel died two months ago in Cavil. That means there are no Sloans remaining. Any contracts you were coerced into signing will be destroyed, including any property sale agreements. Roderick Sloan stole your property, your families, and even you. But he’s gone. You are free. The livestock, crops, and factories on this farm now belong to the people of Clearwater, per the land settlement agreement of 2842. Volunteers are coming to assist you. We can take you to your homes, or we have free temporary residences available to everyone in a silo on the eastern side of the lake. We can use the two MRC transports to take you wherever you want to go. All I ask in return is for your patience and assistance. There are many of you and very few of us, but by working together, we can take care of each other.”
