Politics Equals Death: From the Athena Lee Universe (Smuggle Life Book 2)

by T S Paul

  Before leaving, they had decided the most logical place for Parker to be was the Governor’s office. They made their way to it with minimal resistance. Steve was thankful for that since he wasn’t at one-hundred percent.

  The door to the room was ajar, and inside, Steve could see Parker sitting in a chair. Behind her, Todd stood with a knife pressed against her throat.

  “One step closer and I’ll kill her,” Todd hissed. He spat as he talked. To Steve, he looked like a rabid animal, one that needed to be put down.

  “You do,” Steve replied calmly and took a step closer, “and I’ll kill you.”

  Parker had been crying and had been hit more than once. The sight sickened Steve. The Governor would pay for all his crimes.

  “You are filth,” Lindsey yelled from behind Steve.

  “Me?” Todd laughed. His eyes were wild, and he looked like he was about to go over the edge.

  “Yes, you.”

  Steve darted across the with a speed of a cat and landed a punch on the Governor. Todd’s eye went wide in shock. Before anyone could react, Steve had the man on the ground.

  Rea and Lindsey rushed to free Parker.

  “Thank you. Thank you,” Parker sobbed over and over.

  Aldis joined Steve in securing the Governor.

  Todd stared up at him, giving Steve a nasty look. “Let me go. I’m in charge here.”

  “Not anymore.” Steve backhanded him. The Marine wanted to do more but held back. He had to be better than the scum on this planet. He needed to show everyone that he hadn’t stooped to their level and still had his pride.

  Once Parker was completely free of her bindings and safely crying in Lindsey’s arms, the discarded restraints were used to tie up Todd. The crew carried the struggling man out of the building.

  Most of the chaos in the building had died down, leaving only a few small skirmishes. Most of the people had fled already outside or were hiding.

  Chapter Twenty

  Rea and the team dragged the Governor out of the building. They stopped at the top of the steps to a huge roar from the watching crowd. The streets were filled with people cheering, screams of joy and excitement.

  Walking up the steps was Major McGee. She was all smiles. At the top of the steps, she gave Rea a hug and eyed the Governor.

  “Good,” the Major said. “We can take him from here. The planet is filled with the news of all that he has done. Your people have spread the word, and it is starting to get off the planet.”

  That was great news to hear. Rea figured that Nicole was working in overdrive to spread the word so that the Empire learned of it all. They wanted no one to doubt what had happened here. They also wanted to make sure no one tried to free the Governor once he was in prison.

  “Great.” Rea gestured to the man. “You can take him in. Just make sure our ship is free of his men.”

  “It will be done,” McGee said. “They won’t trouble you.”

  “Good,” Lindsey said. It was clear that she wanted to get back to the ship and fix it up. From her slightly abstract look, it was apparent that the engineer was already planning the work to get the ship operational. Then they could kick the dust from New Philly off their shoes and get moving.

  The two men who held Todd walked forward. It was clear that Steve wanted to kill the man. Before they could hand him off to McGee’s men, a loud band sounded, and the Governor's head exploded. The shower of blood splashed everyone around, covering Steve and Aldis.

  Aldis screamed in reactive terror while Steve just stood there, staring at the shooter. Rea followed his gaze.

  The Captain caught her breath and exclaimed, “Drake!”

  “I’m going to kill him,” Steve said. The Marine was furious and ready to fight, but there just wasn’t a way for him to do that, not in his current condition and not with Drake so far away.

  “No.” Rea held up her arm.

  Sure, they wanted Drake, but this wasn’t the time or place. Rea needed to talk to him. Why he killed the Governor, she didn’t know, but it wasn’t important.

  Next to him was a tall woman, someone that Rea didn’t recognize. That must be the mysterious backer.

  “We will get him later,” she said firmly.

  Drake nodded his head in acknowledgment and walked away. It grated Rea to let him go, but they didn’t stand a chance to get to him. The streets were filled with people, and he was on the other side of the crowd. He and his companion had been standing on the steps of the restaurant there, about the same level as the Rossi crew.

  The shot had been perfect, something to be envied and admired. The pirate had planned his attack well.

  It confused Rea as to why he didn’t kill her or her crew. He could have at least tried. The man was an enigma. What was he up to? Rea couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

  And the female with him, she was not even vaguely familiar to Rea. The Captain didn’t have a clue as to why she wanted to harm the Rossi and its crew. They needed to learn more about her. Perhaps Nicole or Aldis could find more on her if they could get a good photo of her. That wasn’t going to be easy.

  “What just happened?” McGee asked.

  Rea shrugged. “You saved some money.”

  <<<>>>

  The rest of the night was tough on Parker. They took her back to the ship and let her rest while they prepared to leave. It amazed the girl that the ship wasn’t guarded anymore. The news of the Governor being killed traveled fast, and many people flipped sides in a heartbeat.

  Steve, who was actually hurt, kneeled next to her in her quarters as she laid on her bed. “You okay?”

  She nodded. “For the most part. I knew you would save me.”

  “I did. We did. I’m sorry you had to deal with that, kid.”

  Parker smiled. For once, she was happy to hear him call her “kid.” She needed his protection and support. It was what got her through the ordeal with Todd and Eric.

  “I saw Drake while I was there,” she said.

  “Really?”

  Parker told the Marine about what happened, all of it, not just the talk with Drake. She wanted to tell someone to get it off her chest, so she could then forget it all. Maybe talking would help her heal. She knew if she bottled it up, she wouldn’t be able to handle it.

  “I was so scared,” she said. Before she knew it, she was crying.

  “It’s okay.”

  He held her and let her deal with the pain, let it out. She appreciated it. His hug said he wouldn’t allow it to happen again, that she would live forever if he had anything to do with it.

  “Thank you.”

  Steve bent over her and kissed her on the forehead, “You’re welcome. Sleep.”

  Parker closed her eyes and fell asleep. She was greeted with nightmares and hope. She knew that soon she would be off the planet and back to normal, but it was impossible to not relive the kidnapping in her dreams.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Steve sat healing on the Rossi as Lindsey and B113 repaired the ship. It was amazing how fast the city and planet had shifted. It was like night and day on one level, and yet in some ways just the same. Major McGee was now second in command to a former low-level politician.

  They arrested anyone who remained loyal to Todd. Not many did, but Steve feared it would take a while for New Philly to be rid of the vermin that Todd allowed to grow. The little rodents would linger, biding their time in the darkness.

  But that didn’t mean much to Steve since they would be gone soon. The ship would be ready to depart as quickly as they could get it repaired. As crazy as it sounded, Steve was prepared to get back on board and continue the search. The time here wasn’t close to what he had expected, and he hoped the next job would actually be a simple one. Though with how this one had gone, Steve had better be prepared for anything. That was becoming more and more clear. The Rossi wasn’t going to have an easy job anytime soon.

  It grated on Steve that Drake had slipped through their hands again. Worse, he had
killed Todd when Steve had wanted to. He had held back and let the Governor live, and now, the Marine regretted that. It irritated him to no end that Drake did what he wanted to do. For so many reasons, it got under Steve’s skin.

  He felt like he was slipping down a deep, dark hole. Wanting revenge was not an honorable reason to kill a man. Maybe he was no longer the upright protector of his crew that he saw himself being. It made him question his own self-worth. It was time to get back to his old self. Back to being secure in who he was.

  Steve stood and left his room to venture onto the bridge. They would be looking for Drake and the woman. At least they had a visual of her. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

  It was a slow walk to the bridge, and Steve thought about it all, how it was all connected. Clearly, it had to be since Drake showed up. Why or how it was related to Taylor, Steve didn’t know.

  As he walked, he thought about the job here. It had been bad and went downhill to even worse. It wasn’t until earlier today that they had learned that one of the people under McGee who had attended the meeting had been a spy for the Governor. None of the resistance had even known that Todd knew about them, let alone that they had a spy amongst them.

  Apparently, the Governor didn’t care too much about the slaves being liberated. At least, not one of the compounds, since he felt like he had a large supply of people to pick from. Losing a few hundred was no big deal. But getting kidnapped himself, that wasn’t going to happen. The trap he had set was brilliant. Even the Marine could admit that, though it pained him to do so.

  On the bridge, Rea stood with Aldis and an unexpected person, Cody.

  “Steve,” Rea said.

  “When we are leaving?” he asked.

  “A few hours. Parker should be back with the last of the supplies by then. Lindsey and B113 should be done any minute.”

  Parker needed some space, so they let her go alone, the city was safer than it had ever been. It also let Parker feel like she helped more.

  “Great. We get a new crew member?” Steve gestured to Cody.

  “We did.”

  That was a surprise but welcome. The ship wasn’t easy to fly and having more crew on it would be useful.

  “That works,” Steve said. “What’s our destination?”

  “Nicole got a job lined up for us.”

  “Nice,” Steve said. He was ready to get out of this place. “Where at?”

  “You’ll love this.”

  Rea looked pleased and happy, more so than she had in a long time. This must be a good one. There were a few planets or systems that Steve would love to visit.

  “Stop toying with me.” Steve did his best not to appear annoyed, but it was tough. With how he felt, he just wasn’t in the mood to play games or guess.

  “Fine. Mars.”

  “Is that even safe, being that close to Earth?”

  The war was raging, and while he hadn’t heard much of it in relation to Mars, that didn’t necessarily mean that it was safe or not a part of the conflict. The Marine swore he had heard about the first failed attack on Mars.

  “Sure is.”

  “Okay.” Steve wasn’t as sure, but he wasn’t going to argue. Going to Mars would be an interesting trip. Not many people, even smugglers, traveled to it. It was its own planet and separate from the Empire. It was also the most powerful planet around.

  That was going to a fun job, one that Steve was going to enjoy.

  Author Notes – Nathan Howe

  Politics Equals Death was an interesting story to write. If I'm honest, I find book two in any series to be one of the hardest to write. I’m not sure why, but I never find it easy. This one was both different and the same. I enjoyed writing about the crew of the Rossi. They are an interesting cast of characters.

  Learning more about them is fun and seeing where the adventure takes them is a blast. I do hope you enjoyed it as well. More will be learned in the next about Drake, and the mystery woman, along with Taylor.

  I’d like to acknowledge and thank my writing group Phoenix Prime. Without them, this story wouldn’t be possible. Especially Scott, Kat, Diane, Dorene, and Ni-cole. Their help and encouragement make each story better.

  My stories wouldn’t be possible without my family and friends. They give me the support I need to write each and every day. You, the reader, are a big reason why I write too. Without you, this story wouldn’t exist. Thank you.

  I’m already working on getting the next book in Smuggle Life ready for you. It shouldn’t take too long. The crew of the Rossi has many adventures in front of them.

  Author Introduction – Nathan Howe

  Nathan is a writer of science fiction and fantasy. He has superhero stories as well as dystopian, apocalyptic. time travel, and YA fantasy. Nathan loves writing across many genres as they allow him to create varied and interesting stories.

  His hobbies are vast but include reading, exercising, video games, Netflix, and going to movies. Outside of writing, Nathan is proud of his time in the Military. Nathan also loves his cat, Luna. She spends her days plotting to distract him and is usually successful.

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  The Ardent Saga

  Not all heroes are equal

  Djinn Park

  Burning Out

  Power Sink

  The Gadget King

  Frozen Aura

  The Ardent Saga Volume One (1-5)

  The Stone of Azuria

  The Butcher of Djinn Park

  The Ascension of Natalia

  Remy’s Aghast

  Enter Assassin

  Assault of the Mechajunks

  Even Superheroes Fall in Love

  Collab with Kris Endicott - Mysterious Hearts

  Rise of Lacerate – Coming Soon

  Emerge

  Origin. Superheroes. Apocalyptic.

  Emerge: Cataclysm

  The Cretun Chronicles

  Young Adult. Survival. Adventure.

  Phoenix Galactic (Harper)

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  Aiden

  Philip

  Mason – Coming Soon

  The Elementalist

  Young Adult Elemental Magic

  The Prophecy - Phoenix Prime FO Anthology

  Flight of the Phoenix (Scheme of the Wind)

  The Goblin and the Grocer (The Draft and Her Mother)

  An Absent Gale

  Time Marshal

  Time Travel. Cops. Protection.

  Time Marshal

  First Trip - Ticking of the Phoenix Clock - Coming Soon

  Urban Fantasy Series

  Supernaturals running for their lives

  The Shattered Veil

  First Dawn – Coming Soon

  Alastair – Badger Hole Bar – Coming Soon

  Boxed Sets/Collections

  The Ardent Saga Volume One

  The Ardent Saga Volume Two

  Anthologies

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  Snapshots of Life I

  Haunted Hearts I

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  Primed for Action: Defending Home

  Author Notes - T. S. Paul

  Thanks for giving Book Two of Smuggle Life a try. The Athena Lee Universe is growing with leaps and bounds this year. Nathan is expanding it like I never would have imagined. This is just the beginning for the series, we have six books total mapped out. Next up will be Book Three, Cut and Run.

  Nathan isn’t the only one writing in the Universe this year. Author Freddie Kim is joining us soon with Athena Lee Books Eleven and Twelve. When we last saw Athena she was basking in a victory that could have been a defeat. The new Earth Empire is coming, and nothing she or her friends can do will stop them.

  Over in my other Universe, Agatha Blackmore i
s returning soon in Book Eight, Child of Darkness. What she confronts will shock her and her team. A long-awaited plot will be exposed, and the events that follow will set the tone for the rest of the series to come. But that is what happens after. First members of A.R.C.A.N.E. must do battle with the Demonic threat left by the Strega and the Missionaries of Death. False Gods is coming soon.

  Be sure to take a step back in time, as well. The new Jack Dalton, Monster Hunter series is now available monthly. Who knows what evil he will find next? Get yours today or read it for free on the third Wednesday of every month.

  As always follow me on Facebook, Amazon, and my author page for updates and more. Book Bub and Goodreads fans will be pleased to find me on those sites as well.

  <<<>>>

  Writing is hard. But it has become the driving force in my life, and I cannot think of my life without it. The book you have just completed was my sole focus for many months just to be able to place it in your hand and on your reader. I hope you enjoyed it.

  The many worlds of TS Paul have grown over the past two years. On the Science Fiction side, empires have risen, and tyrants have fallen. Zombies rule the skies as clones do battle on strange worlds. Here on Earth, the FBI uses Witchcraft to fight crime and bring justice to the oppressed. Alternate or History? The books abound. And the worlds grow.

  Expect many new books this year. For 2018 I have more than two dozen planned that will delight and surprise even my most die-hard fan. Follow me on Facebook, my website, author page, and Goodreads to learn more.

  Author Introduction – T S Paul

  I’m now into my second year as a published author. With over 25 works under my belt already my pace is relentless. Writing was never a goal of mine growing up. I really did fall into this accidentally. My wife and family knew of my love of books and urged me to try writing. It wasn’t until an author i befriended gave me a short push off a long pier that i really gave it a go. And what a go that was!

  Athena Lee and Agatha Blackmore have given way to over 50 short stories. I write a lot. The future is in books and I’m in it for the long haul. Keep your eyes peeled for new and exciting things coming from me this year. Don’t forget to check the Blog every week for a new Wilson or Fergus story.