by Hal Archer
"I choose to face my accuser!" Jake yelled.
The crowd's excitement filled the air.
The woman carrying Jake's blaster turned around and walked back the way she came.
Mayor Beltrax rubbed his hands together. "Bring out the accuser!"
Another door opened below the other side of the grandstands. As soon as the figure stepped a foot onto the arena floor, Jake recognized him.
The pain from Jake's injuries disappeared as his mind became singularly focused. "Hyde."
CHAPTER 32
Dewey was relieved when his replacement came to relieve him and take the next shift at his post. As occasionally happened, his future sense kicked in a couple of minutes before the woman arrived. He had already gathered his things—lunch container, notepad he liked to doodle in when he had the chance, and the small pouch filled with tiny white pills he always kept handy in case he had an episode.
He was standing in front of the bench to the right of the door to the arena when she walked down the hall toward him.
"Arianna," he said, as she drew near.
"Dewey."
She stood in front of him and smiled.
"Uh," he said, his eyes darting around rather than accidentally settling on hers or some other part of her. "You doing well?"
She inched up the caliber of her smile before replying. "Yes, Dewey. Thank you. How about you?"
He repeated a short oddly quick head nod several times. "Yes."
She chuckled.
"I mean, I'm fine. Thank you," he said.
"Good," she said, stepping to the side, and glancing at the arena door. "I heard about this one. Two in a row. Impressive."
"Yes," Dewey said. "He must've been innocent. Glad that worked out for him."
Arianna stepped closer to him. "Come on, Dewey. We both know this is bullshit."
Dewey could feel the warmth of her sweet-smelling breath. He opened his mouth a little, but only managed to quiver his lips unintentionally.
Arianna stared him in the eyes for a second, then stepped back. "OK. I'll see you tomorrow."
Dewey nodded slowly, as if it took some effort to get his head to respond to his brain. "Yes. Tomorrow."
Arianna walked over to the bench behind Dewey and sat down. "Goodbye, then."
Dewey turned to her and smiled quickly before reversing and heading down the hallway.
He walked through the corridors on his way out of the city complex running through the exchange he had with Arianna. It was the same every day. The words were a little different, but it always ended with her making him feel out of sorts. He didn't understand how he felt about her. He couldn't decide if she was being nice to him or mean to him.
He took a turn and walked through a courtyard which bridged the main part of Eon's official government complex with the port control authorities. It was the same route he took every day, so he didn't notice anything out of order at first glance when he walked into the port authority building and passed the windows of the main control room.
He walked down the hall, looking straight ahead at the elevator at the other end. The movements of the men inside the control room flickered in his peripheral vision, but he paid them no notice. Until he passed the door, which was slightly open.
"The ship's as good as ours. No way Mudd can stop us," a man inside the room said.
Dewey stopped in his tracks, standing just past the door, out of view. He heard another man inside the control room speak with a deeper voice.
"The boss said Mudd's gonna die in the arena. We don't need to worry about him."
You're wrong about that, Dewey thought.
"How many times has he tried to kill Mudd?" the other man asked.
"Yeah, well," the deep-voiced man said. "We need to get back to the others. Unless you want to stay in Eon?"
"No thanks. Too damn many people."
Dewey heard the other man laugh.
"The extraction team will pick up Hyde," the man with the deep voice said. "We need to get to the holding port now."
Dewey heard them approaching the door. He quickly scanned the hall for a place to hide, but there was nowhere he could move to get out of sight.
He started walking down the hall and made it about fifteen feet before the control room door opened.
Dewey turned his head slightly as he continued walking forward, catching the two men in his peripheral vision. He noticed they were wearing city uniforms. They were coming his way.
He kept walking. At the end of the hall, he took the only turn. He spotted the bench and water fountain he passed every day when he left work.
A flood of relief came over him when a flash of the near future came into his mind. He saw himself seated at the bench and the two men walking past him and down the hall.
He quickly sat down and pretended not to pay attention to the two men when they came around the corner and walked past him.
His heart raced, but he managed to stay seated until the men were at the end top of the stairs at the end of the hall. He got up as they began descending the steps.
He didn't know whether to follow the two men or to notify someone. He looked back down the hall toward the control room and realized he needed to check it out.
They must've taken out the staff in there, he thought.
He rushed back to the control room and opened the door. No one was there. He stepped inside, so he could check behind the desks and monitoring equipment, just to be sure. The room was empty. He decided he needed to alert security immediately. He looked around for the standard communication box every station had.
Before he found it, he heard a familiar voice at the door.
"What the hell are you doing?" Captain Fris said.
Dewey spun around and saw the Captain standing in the doorway.
"Captain, we must notify security," Dewey said. "They're going to steal Mudd's ship."
Captain Fris looked confused for a moment, then spoke. "Get your ass out here. You have no business in there." He peered inside the room. "Especially when no one else is here."
Dewey walked to the door. Fris moved back into the hall and Dewey followed him.
"Sir," Dewey said, sounding quite alarmed. "I overheard two men say they were going to steal the ship of one of the defendants, Mr. Mudd. They were here just a few minutes ago. They're headed to the holding port now." He looked down the hall. "And their partners are going to get someone named Hyde. I think he's fighting Mudd in the arena."
Captain Fris put his hand on Dewey's chest and pushed him back against the wall. "I never liked you, Dewey. Did you know that?"
"Sir?"
"Shut up. I tell you what I think." Fris glanced at the door to the port control room. "I think you got curious and decided to take a look in there. Why? I have no idea. You're a strange one. Aren't you?"
"Sir, I—"
Fris shoved his hand harder against Dewey's chest. "Quiet!" He glanced both ways down the hall. No one else was around. "I don't give a damn if some thug's ship is stolen or not. What I do care about is that you are snooping around where you shouldn't be."
Captain Fris removed his hand from Dewey's chest and stepped back. "Now go ahead. Tell me what happens next."
"What?" Dewey asked, shaken from the Captain's aggressive behavior.
"Tell me what happens next, Dewey," Fris said. "Use that little gift of yours and tell me."
Dewey didn't know what to say. He couldn't call up his visions of the near future at will. He searched his mind for few seconds, but saw nothing except the captain standing before him.
"You want me to show you?" Captain Fris asked.
"What?" Dewey didn't understand what Fris meant. Then he saw the captain's blaster swinging up toward the side of his face. Dewey felt the hit, then everything went dark.
CHAPTER 33
J ake saw a metal platform gliding through the air on a thick wire spanning the width of the arena. Dangling below it were several things he couldn't quite make out. The platform
passed over Hyde, sixty feet above him. Jake saw something drop from the bottom of the platform.
When the object moved into the brighter lights that shone nearer the arena floor, Jake saw it was a long chain, maybe ten or fifteen feet in length, with a spiked ball at one end and a short stick at the other end. He watched Hyde pick up the stick end of it.
The platform continued running the wire that stretched to the other side of the stadium. When it got close to Jake, two items dropped. He watched them fall to the ground in front of him—a round shield and a blade, flat on one side with a grip perpendicular to the blade and curved on the other side.
Couldn't just toss my blaster down here, could you?
Jake picked up the shield and slid his left forearm under the strap on the back of it.
"At least it's got those," he said, noting the two-inch blades around the outer edge of the shield.
He stepped over to the arms-length blade and picked it up by the short grip, holding it with the flat unsharpened side against the forearm of his jacket and the razor-edged curved side facing out. The blade extended past his hand about a foot, with most of its length running down his arm.
He barely noticed the roar of the crowd, though he turned around once looking up at them. He did this partly to check his surroundings for any surprises before Hyde got too close, but also, he admitted to himself, because he was enjoying the attention of the crowd.
He caught a whiff of the Zog and his beasts, and of the insect monster—all of them scattered around him.
Guess the clean-up crew doesn't come until later.
He refocused on Hyde and walked toward him.
Hyde dragged the spiked ball behind him as he stormed across the arena floor. He stopped when the two of them were close enough to see each other’s scowls. "I'm gonna kill you myself, Mudd!"
"Not today, Hyde," Jake said. "Not any day. I should've taken you down a long time ago. Could've saved a lot people. I'll have to live with that. But you won't."
"Keep dreaming, Mudd." Hyde pulled the long chain with the stick in his hand and began to swing the spiked ball around in a giant circle.
No chance he'll trade, I guess.
Jake moved his left arm under the strap on the back of the shield, making sure it was snug. He felt the air rush toward him as Hyde swung the spiked metal ball closer. He ran toward Hyde after the chain went by, but Hyde quickly shuffled backward, keeping the long-chained flail circling.
Jake couldn't get inside the arc traced by the end of Hyde's weapon. He barely got his shield in place to block the spiked ball from hitting his head on the next go around. The impact knocked the back of his shield against him and sent him stumbling to his right.
"Did you like that?" Hyde said. He laughed and let his weapon come to a rest behind him.
"Afraid to get too close?" Jake asked, steadying himself.
Hyde pulled on the chain with his free hand, bringing half if it in, then wrapped it twice around his arm holding the stick handle. "I'd rather fight you up close. I want to see the look on your face when I kill you." He gestured for Jake to come near.
Jake charged.
Hyde whipped the spike ball up, now on a five-foot leash, and swung it at Jake.
Jake ducked it and stepped within a couple feet of Hyde. He thrust his right arm at him, driving the protruding blade he held toward Hyde's head.
Hyde evaded and struck Jake's shoulder with his elbow. Hyde was strong and he outweighed Jake by quite a bit. The blow jarred Jake, but it was the one-inch steel point on Hyde’s elbow which caused Jake to lose his grip on the bladed weapon and drop it.
Jake spun around, raising the metal-toothed edge of his shield. He ripped it across Hyde's chest.
Hyde staggered backward yelling. His chest bled, but the cuts were shallow. He glanced at his chest, then back at Jake.
As Hyde looked up, Jake slammed into him with the flat side of his shield, knocking him to the ground. The chain clanked as it hit the dirt.
Jake took his left arm out of the back of the shield, stepped over to Hyde, who was still on the ground, and raised the bladed shield with both hands.
"This has been going on too long," Jake said.
"There's the Mudd I remember," Hyde said, looking up at Jake. "You're just like me."
"No," Jake said, still holding his shield above Hyde. "I'm not like you anymore. I left those days behind me. If you'd left Sarah and me alone, I wouldn't have to kill you now."
"Still hanging on to that woman, are you?" Hyde asked. "I still can't believe you named your ship after her. It's funny, considering what she told me."
Jake lowered his shield and took a step back. He didn't want to believe Hyde knew anything about Sarah that he didn't. Or that she'd tell him anything except to go to hell. But he needed to hear what Hyde had to say.
Hyde laughed at seeing Jake's expression change.
Jake felt a mix of fear and disbelief. After so many years was Hyde going to tell him something he didn't know, he wondered. He thought about killing Hyde right then. He didn't want Hyde to be able to tell him anything about Sarah he himself didn't know. But he'd already lowered his shield. He waited for Hyde to continue.
Hyde stood up, letting go of the chain and its handle. He held his arms out to his sides. "She didn't want you to leave the mercenary life. Well, not for her, anyway. She couldn't bring herself to tell you. She was going to leave you."
"You're lying!" Jake let go of the shield with his right hand and let it hang on his left in his other hand.
Hyde lifted his hand to his ear. Jake saw a small device wrapped around Hyde's ear. Hyde paused for a couple of seconds. Jake assumed he was listening to someone through the earpiece.
"Remember it clearly," Hyde said to Jake. "It was the last thing she said before I killed her."
Jake surged with rage and lifted the bladed shield to attack Hyde with it. He didn't notice the roaring sound of the sky cab swooping down into the arena. Or the man leaning out the side of the vehicle to take a shot at him.
The rifle blast clipped Jake's left shoulder. He dropped the weaponized shield and quickly shifted his stance to avoid being cut by it as it fell. He straightened himself and looked to see what had happened. He scanned past Hyde's grinning face and saw the front bumper of the sky cab just before it rammed him in his chest.
The cab was pulling to a stop, so it didn't kill Jake. But it came close to knocking him out. He laid on the hard dirt floor of the arena for a good twenty seconds before he regained his senses.
Feels like I got hit by a…
He saw the sky cab hovering in front of him. He pushed himself up to a seated position, but had to stop there because of the sharp pain in his chest. He recognized the sensation of cracked ribs, but never felt it quite so intensely as he did then. The only thing that felt worse was the bleeding hole on the side of his shoulder.
All around him, coming through the arena's speakers, he heard Mayor Beltrax screaming for security to stop Hyde and his men. Unable to get himself up, Jake watched as Hyde climbed into the sky cab, joining two other men who were in the vehicle. One of the men leaned out the open window of the cab and aimed a rifle at Jake.
"Ah, shit, Sarah," Jake said to himself, knowing the next shot would be the end of him.
Hyde reached his arm over the barrel of the other man's rifle and pushed it down. He leaned to the open window and yelled out to Jake. "I thought you should know, Mudd! We're on our way to steal your ship." He broke into laughter as he leaned back and gestured for the driver to take off.
Jake stretched his arm out toward the sky cab, but couldn't reach it or do anything to stop Hyde as the vehicle flew off. It ascended and he watched it fly out of the open top of the arena.
Jake collapsed to his knees. "Sarah."
CHAPTER 34
J ake was on his knees gazing out at the crowds in the distant stands around and above the arena floor. His breathing was heavy as the pain from his wounds washed through his body. He knew ho
w to ignore the feeling enough to function. His mind, however, was in a twisted and jumbled state. He couldn't accept he was about to lose Sarah, but he knew he had no chance of getting to her before Hyde and his men.
The grandstand was in chaos. Mayor Beltrax was screaming and his ministers were running about frantically barking orders at any city personnel they could find. Eon had never seen such a bold and defiant affront to its authority.
Jake remained where Hyde had left him. He might as well have shot me, Jake thought.
Thirty seconds later Jake saw a tiny buzzing device hovering a few feet in front of his face. It was smaller than the palm of his hand. He'd never seen such a thing. He all but ignored it. His mind was on Sarah and how he was about to lose her.
"Jake," a female voice said from the small device floating in front of him. He thought he'd imagined Sarah's voice at first, then realized it was coming from the drone.
He scrunched his brow and he cocked his head slightly.
"Jake, it's me, Tiffin."
"Tiffin?" he asked.
"Yes. Got the voice part working on this one. Are you OK?"
Jake gave a faint shrug. "Doesn't matter."
"Of course it matters!" Tiffin said through the tiny drone's speaker.
"It's Hyde," Jake said. "He's going after Sarah. They said I'm free, but I have no way to stop him."
"Look at the top of the arena," Tiffin said through her tiny drone.
Jake looked up and scanned the perimeter of the highest part of the stadium.
"Above the grandstand," Tiffin said. "To… your left."
Jake squinted and held his hand above his eyes to see where she directed him to look. He spotted a figure standing on the metal beam which ran along the outermost edge of the stands, well above the top row of seats. He couldn't see the details of the person, but saw whoever it was waving an arm.
"Don't tell me," Jake said. "That's you?"
"Not a lot of time," Tiffin said. "I'm sure they'll see me any second. I need you to be ready."
"Ready for what?" Jake asked, standing.
