by C. R. Daems
"I've had word from Captain MacLin. He and his pack had taken up positions at one and three light seconds from the planet and one light second from the Wave entry. They detected a cruiser leaving the planet’s orbit at seven hundred hours and approaching the Wave at fourteen hundred hours," Aguilar said, sounding disgusted at having let the raider ship leave unmolested.
"Colonel Ruiz, the four men outside. Were they all dressed alike?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"We can't be sure, but we assume those that attacked the facility are from the raider's cruiser. However, we suspect the Controller on New Zheng would leave with the raiders on their ship after the robbery. If we're right, he might choose to go with the raiders to the robbery, or he could wait at the shuttle for their return. If he went with them to the robbery, his clothing might be different from the others, since he’s been living on the planet for months." I wondered if it made a difference to our deception.
"They were all the same ... but someone did mention a car leaving the area as my team prepared to leave after having been notified the raid had begun."
"Probably the Controller," Kris said almost to herself. "Although also a raider, he probably wouldn't be part of the raiding team, just there to guide them to the facility and observe the results for future operations. I would have preferred it if they didn't know marines were waiting for them, but I'm not sure it matters. Time will tell whether it worked or not."
* * *
We were transferred to the Vulcan the next day and escorted to MacLin's office.
"Well, ladies, where would you like to go?" MacLin asked after we had fetched something to drink and sat. "Captain Aguilar was upset with you for letting that raider's cruiser escape."
"A bird in the hand versus two in the bush dilemma," I said.
"We captains tend to be a bird in the hand group, while admirals are more birds in the bush commanders. Each has its time and place," MacLin said and took a sip of his coffee.
"The two in the bush are always a gamble." Red chose to emerge just then and to lie on my shoulder. "But even if we lose the cruiser, it’s a small loss in the scheme of things."
MacLin laughed. "The raiders have good reason for wanting you and Sinclair dead. You’re in their heads playing with their minds."
"Back to Oxax, Captain. We need to see if they continue with the same communication system or they change, and we won't know that until they identify a new target."
CHAPTER TEN
Awaiting the raiders’ next move
As it was early when we arrived at the Oxax space station, Stauffer asked us to stop at the office before leaving for home. We arrived around ten hundred hours and found Adrian and Rich in the conference room with Stauffer.
"Good morning, ladies. You deserve time off after your latest adventure, but I wanted an update before you go. Rawls will want to know where we stand," Stauffer said when we entered the room.
"As you probably know, there was nothing salvageable on the destroyed cruiser." Kris paused and waited for Stauffer to nod. "The marines stopped the raid on Zuno Pharmaceutical. They killed twelve raiders, but one may have escaped. Someone was seen leaving as soon as the firefight began. That might have been the Controller. If so, he knows it was a trap. The question is whether he concludes we discovered Zuno Pharmaceutical was the target by deciphering the puzzle or by some other method. And that we won't know until the next winner or raid."
"Given they don't conclude we’ve deciphered their puzzle code, any ideas on how we stop them?" Stauffer asked.
Kris shrugged. "I think we should continue to identify the UAS and foreign merchants supporting the raiders. Even if that information doesn't lead us to eliminating the raider cruisers, it gives us the ability to close down their operations for years. It might even encourage them to give up operations in the UAS."
After Stauffer left, Adrian was first to speak. "What would you like Rich and I to work on while you take your two weeks off?"
"We need to identify the Controllers. Kris is right. Arresting the merchants would certainly disrupt their operation, but if the Controllers aren't caught, they would be back in business before long. I suspect the Controllers are the ones who organize all of the raiders’ activities."
"Rich and I will work on it," Adrian grinned. "And I'll send you any data I collect in case you get bored sitting around doing nothing."
"I won't be bored. I'll be trying to find the father of my future children. I've got to hurry before Anna gets us another assignment on those space submarines she and Red love."
"I'm just trying to help keep you on the fast track to Commodore. You got another battle ribbon in New Zheng."
* * *
"What are you going to do today, Daughter?" Alexa asked as she got ready to leave for work. "I thought next week I had take a few days off and we could have some mother-daughter time—shop, eat out, and maybe go to the theater."
"I would love that. I thought I would visit one of the firing ranges and practice." I immediately regretted saying that when I saw Alexa's smile disappear. I had caused her enough pain without reminding her people were hunting me.
She hugged me. "That's an excellent idea. Until you catch the raiders, you have to assume there could ... will be more attempts on your life, so you need to take reasonable precautions. Your marine security guard is a good start." She paused and smiled, although her eyes looked sad. "Being able to defend yourself in an emergency is not only smart but makes your mother feel less nervous." She kissed me on the forehead and left.
I decided to go to the Navy Academy, and notified my security. As a graduate, I had no trouble gaining entrance to the base or the firing range. I was surprised to find Pannell there when I arrived.
"Good morning, Anna," he said, as I was in civilian clothes. "I thought I would watch. Anything specific you want to work on?"
"Hi, Paul. Yes. I would like to learn to shoot from the waist, if that's practical."
"Why?"
"I just thought since it takes a few more seconds to raise the weapon into a normal shooting position, it would be far faster to make the first couple of shots as soon as you have it out of the holster."
He nodded. "You don't need a gun for that. That would be a waste of ammo." He left me standing with my mouth open as he walked back and talked to the range officer. When he returned, he had a gun-like weapon in his hand. "When you press the trigger mechanism, a laser beam is activated. What I want you to do is draw the weapon, aim, depress the trigger, and then determine where a projectile would have hit had it been a real weapon."
I spent the next two hours under the watchful eyes of Pannell. By the time we quit, I could at least hit the target with the laser beam, if not consistently in the kill zone. I had graduated to targets with the silhouette of a man.
"Tomorrow?" he asked as I got ready to go.
"Yes. Mother says I can expect to be attacked again, and she feels practice is a reasonable precaution."
* * *
For the rest of the week, Pannell met me every morning and worked with me using a laser, shards, and pellets. By the end of the week, I could hit the target every time, and most of the time in the general area I intended.
"Your security detail has pronounced you safe to be around," Pannell said, grinning on the last day of the week. "Hopefully, you won't have to draw your weapon, but if you do, I think you’ll hit what you’re aiming at."
"Thank you, Paul. You've been a great help. I've told Mother all you’ve been doing, and she's grateful."
The second week, Mother took off several days and as she proposed, we spent them shopping, eating out, and attending a couple of shows. It was a glorious week and I managed to ignore any thoughts of raiders.
Two days before my vacation time was up, I opened my tablet and scanned the messages from Adrian and Rich. Nothing much had happened. They had been tracking the three UAS and three FPU merchants and reviewing the police investigations of the thugs that had tried to kil
l us at Nano Technology Industries on Stone Ring and the dead raider bodies at Zeno Pharmaceutical on New Zheng. I spent the last day reviewing the material but could find nothing of significance. We needed a strategy for when the next raid was scheduled, but I didn’t have a clue what that should be.
* * *
I left for work right after Alexa did, feeling energized. When I landed at the NIA headquarters’ landing pad, I waited for my two-man security to catch up before proceeding toward the building. As I approached the entrance, I saw six Marine Military Police, MPs, and idly wondered if there was a problem. As I neared the two glass doors, the ranking corporal on my security guard held the door open.
"Ma'am, we'll be in our shuttle until shift change. Let us know if you intend to leave the building." He waited until I had entered. In the lobby, I selected the leftmost of the three checkpoint lanes. After I presented my ID, the guard verified I was authorized to carry a weapon, and I was allowed through. As I passed the guard, I noticed the six MPs entering the far right lane, and another six stood waiting near the elevators.
Red suddenly appeared, hissing as he wrapped around my neck with his head near my ear. Something was wrong—but what? Red continued to hiss as I approached the elevators. When I came even with the door to the stairs, which was ten meters from the elevator where the MPs stood watching me, I yanked the door open and hurriedly stepped inside and raced up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. I had just reached the half-way landing when I heard two men enter.
"Kill her!" shouted a base voice. "Before she sounds an alarm."
I spun around drawing my multifunctional weapon, thumbed the switch to medium spread, and fired at the scarred face of the tall man as he raised his standard marine Mfw in my direction.
Blood sprayed as several shards tore through flesh. He stumbled backward into the second man.
I didn't wait and sprang toward the second set of stairs leading to the door to the second floor offices. I flung the door open and screamed as I ran down the hallway toward our office area.
"Kris, Adrian, Rich, get your lasers. Raiders dressed as MPs are on their way up." I stopped at the end of the hallway, where I could hide partly shielded by the wall, and waited. "Hurry, they’re seconds behind me."
Just then, the elevator opened and two men came rushing out.
I thumbed a tight beam and fired twice before they could get their bearings. One fell backward dead, and the other screamed as he stumbled back into the elevator.
Just then, the door to the stairs opened and a short stocky man stepped into the hallway with his Mfw on automatic, ripping through the hallway wall and into the open room as his weapon swept from left to right.
Fortunately, I ducked back before the spray reached where I had been standing, partly exposed. I heard others shouting as they entered the hallway and more gunfire erupted, shredding partitions, chairs, and desks in the open room as well as shattering the conference room's glass partition and then the outside windows.
On a whim, I dropped to my knees, then lurched forward into a prone position with my gun and head barely peeking out into the hallway and fired knee-high several times.
Two men stumbled in mid stride as shards ripped through knees and the anterior parts of legs. Seconds later, laser fire came from the far right—my team's office area—as Kris, Adrian, and Rich began firing, scoring direct hits to two of the downed men.
I scrambled back and to my feet. "Hold them, I think Stauffer and Rawls may be in danger," I shouted as I raced to the back stairs along with several others who had been in the area to the left. They were pushing and shoving and heading down to the lobby. Fortunately, I was headed up. As I opened the door to the third floor, I saw two MPs coming out of the elevator at the other end of the hallway. I fired as I ran toward Stauffer's office, hoping to keep them inside the elevator.
They began returning fire just as I entered Stauffer's office.
"Anna ... " Stauffer said, rising from his desk, his eyes darting from me to the hallway.
"Let Rawls know raiders dressed as MPs are in the building and probably hunting her!" I shouted as I peeked out the door and fired a couple shots, hoping to keep them pinned down. Pellets sprayed in my direction, shattering office windows as they neared.
It took Stauffer several seconds before he picked up the phone and dialed. "Tell Rawls there are armed raiders in MP uniforms in the building. She could be a target."
He left the phone off the hook—a good move, since they would be able to hear the gunfire.
"Sir, head for the back stairs. I'll cover you."
He nodded as he checked his gun and joined me at the door.
When I saw he was ready, I nodded and stepped partway out and began firing from my waist at the two men advancing down the hallway, crouching and hugging the wall.
One scrambled into an office; the other I shot in the head. He screamed, dropping his weapon as he spun around crashing into the wall and collapsing.
I shot several times at the doorway to the office where the other man had disappeared, while backing down the hallway to the stairway. Stauffer had the door open, and I slipped inside and began running up. Fortunately, no one was in the stairway. I pulled open the door to the fourth-floor hallway just in time to see three MPs exchanging fire with Rawls’s marine guard, who looked to have been wounded. I sent several shots at the knees of two men who had decided to rush the marine.
The lead man went down, which tripped the second man.
Rawls’s marine and I finished the two with headshots. I heard the elevator close and a ghostly silence descended on the building. Then, just as suddenly, life returned and sobbing and muffled conversations could be heard. I spun around and headed down the stairs three at a time toward the second floor.
When I opened the door, Adrian, Kris, and Rich where kneeling behind desks facing the hallway to the elevators. They looked alive. I took a deep breath in relief as I reached inside my shirt for Red. I laughed as I felt him leave my back and slide to the front and coil around my wrist.
"That was clever, Red." I felt relieved until I saw blood on my arm and hand as I pulled him free. Tears ran down my face as I turned my arms back and forward, looking to see where he had been hit. Then I realized he hadn't—I had. I felt weak and collapsed onto my knees as Kris came sliding next to me.
"She needs a medic. Medic!" she screamed.
"So do you." I choked out a laugh, seeing blood on her jacket and leg, and hugged her in relief—she and the others were alive.
Adrian and Rich joined us a few minutes later. They both looked to have been wounded but appeared functional. We sat there smiling—happy we all had survived.
The medics arrived a short time later and made temporary repairs as they waited for the more seriously wounded to be transported first. We had just been loaded onto stretchers when Pannell and a large group of marines entered the area. He didn't say anything, but I noticed two marines followed each of us as we were wheeled away into the elevator, out the lobby, and into ambulances.
* * *
I woke confused, barely sure who I was, where I was, or why. I closed my eyes and tried to focus, listening. People were talking far off, machines humming and beeping. Taking a deep breath, I smelled antiseptics, and I knew I was in a hospital. Slowly the encounter with the raiders breached my foggy mind.
Just then someone squeezed my hand and I opened my eyes.
"Mother ... Sorry," I muttered, feeling guilty at the stress I must have caused her—again.
She wiped a tear from my cheek. "All that matters is you're alive. You had several shards in you which required surgery to remove, but they say you’ll recover fully. I'm adopting your philosophy—enjoy today—and today I've a daughter I love and life is wonderful." She kissed my forehead. "Rest now. You can tell me the gory details later."
I found out later that day that Adrian, Kris, and Rich had been taken to the Eteos City Hospital. Rich had received the most serious wounds, but even Adria
n and Kris required surgery and hospitalization for several days. As usual, I had been flown to Mercy Hospital and was under Doctor Renata's gentle care.
"You’ll be happy to hear Red wasn't injured," Renata said as she entered the room.
"He learned his lesson from last time and managed to stay out of harm's way." I smiled thinking about the way he had retreated to my lower back and the way he had changed locations as I fought. Good thing, because I had panicked and wasn't thinking about Red's whereabouts as I raced to alert everyone to the danger.
"Good. In your case he's a vital organ." She proceeded to check the monitors and waved the inside marine out so she could examine me. "I don't think Colonel Pannell’s going to let you go anywhere without a squad of marines. He can't believe you were attacked inside the NIA building. He's very fond of you, Anna."
* * *
The next day, Renata finally permitted visitors—besides my mother. The first was Pannell. He looked shy ... embarrassed as he entered.
"I apologize ... how are you doing, Commander Paulus?" he asked quietly.
"Anna, and I'm doing well. Our raiders have lots of money and are creative, which makes them doubly dangerous."
"From what we’ve been able to ascertain from the two we found alive, they were promised ten million credits and given a five million credit advance and provided uniforms and identification. Commodore Stauffer and Admiral Rawls were on the list to be assassinated. There’s no question that your team's regular workouts at the firing range saved their lives. I'm trying to make it sound like NIA security thwarted the attack, but I doubt the raiders are going to buy that story. I'm afraid it's going to make them more determined."
