Paying the Price (Book 5 of The Empire of Bones Saga)

by Terry Mixon

  “Don’t torture me.”

  “That depends on how well the date goes.”

  The car pulled into the station and Carl was out the moment the doors opened. It was identical to the station on the other end of the line.

  Angela and the senator climbed out with the gear. Carl pressed the button on the console and sent the car back for the rest of the team. Fifteen minutes and two trips later, everyone was there.

  The lift was smaller on this end, so they needed two trips to get everyone into the emperor’s suite. The designers had stashed the exit behind a bookcase in the library. Carl supposed that made it useful when the empress wanted to fool the emperor.

  Being in his liege’s home made him feel awkward. It seemed as though the man might just walk through the door at any moment.

  The marines put on unpowered armor while Carl assembled the smaller ring. Angela looked over his shoulder. “So, tell me again why this one doesn’t need power?”

  “The connection between the two ends serves to power them both. What’s the plan?”

  “I’ll go with Princess Elise and the senator. I’ll take the men. That leaves you here alone to bring the rest of the marines in. If something goes wrong, you should be safe here.”

  “What if I don’t want to be safe?”

  “Deal with it. I get to be the hero this time.”

  He smiled at her. “And a hero needs something special. I can’t pass the hammer on to you, but I did bring you something.”

  Carl dug into a bag and pulled out an arm brace that looked familiar to her. It was the portable shield he’d been working on.

  “Strap this on and activate it with this code.” He sent her a string of code through her implants. “There are two settings. Round and tall. Pick which works best and try not to get shot this time.”

  Angela took it with a grin. “This will come in handy. Thanks.”

  She raised her voice. “Okay, listen up, people. We’ll head directly to the medical center. We might get lucky and not hit a checkpoint. Or we might get into a shootout. Stun only and protect the civilians. Let’s go.”

  She started for the door, paused, and turned around. “I want you to hold onto something for me,” she said to Carl.

  Angela grabbed him, pulled him into a hug, and kissed him thoroughly. She grinned when he swayed a bit after she let him go. “See you soon, nerd boy.”

  * * * * *

  Elise followed the marines into the corridor. No guards. They probably considered the sophisticated alarm and lock system good enough inside the Palace.

  The medical center was close to the emperor’s suite, for obvious reasons. They were fine until they neared the target. Angela checked the corridor with a device that peered around the corner.

  “I see at least three guards outside the medical center,” she said softly. “The angle is bad to see the whole area. The curve in the hallway obscures too much.”

  “That’s my cue,” Elise said. “Senator, you’re with me. If things go bad, Major, come right on in.”

  “Wait.” Angela handed her the device Carl had given her. “Strap this on and here’s the code. Keep it round, I think. This should keep you from being hit.”

  She took it, but frowned. “This is to keep you safe.”

  “I’m not the one running the risks right now. Just do it. If things go bad, both of you haul butt back here.”

  Elise let the senator precede her and stayed to the right. She had her neural disruptor held behind her back. She’d only get one shot, even on wide beam. The sleeve of her jacket concealed the shield.

  Their caution proved warranted when they saw an additional two guards just around the bend. They were all the way up at the other end of the hall, talking as they came toward the medical center.

  The men in front of the entrance straightened as they saw her and the senator. “Halt! Identify yourselves,” one of them called as they all raised their weapons.

  Breckenridge raised his hands a little. “I’m Imperial Senator Nathaniel Breckenridge. The Imperial Senate sent me to get an update on the emperor’s health. Didn’t the gate tell you I was here?”

  That allayed their fear enough for them to lower their weapons slightly. They must’ve recognized him. Just as Elise had hoped.

  She pushed the neural disruptor past Breckenridge and fired. The three men just in front of the entrance to the medical center dropped. The other two did, too, but only so they could bring their weapons to bear from the floor. They were out of stunning range.

  That’s where the plan went a little awry. Senator Breckenridge ran back the way they’d come, but Elise took advantage of the guard’s momentary shock to race forward.

  She activated the shield just in time. The bullets struck the invisible field and ricocheted into the walls. She threw herself into the medical center just as they opened fire.

  A bullet smashed into her lower leg at the last moment, making her stumble, but she managed to slap the emergency lock on the door. It slid closed and sealed. Now only someone inside could open the door.

  The medical people stared at her in shock. The emperor’s personal physician stormed up. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  She deactivated the shield and gestured for him to step back with her neural disruptor. “I’m not here to hurt the emperor. I’m here to save him. Doctor Stone sent me.”

  “I can’t use anything she sent,” the man said as he backed up. “The heir gave orders not to trust anyone that might be compromised.”

  “Small wonder, since he poisoned him to begin with. Well, I’m going to save him and you can’t stop me. Everyone, against the wall. How is he, Doctor?”

  The man shook his head. “Worse than I’d hoped. He’ll be gone soon.”

  “So, you really have nothing to lose. Why not give this a try?”

  He gave her a lopsided smile. “Who am I to argue with the woman with a gun?”

  Elise hobbled over to the emperor’s bed. He was so pale. He almost looked dead already.

  She brought out the vial and found an injector. Stone had trained her how to use one, so it was simple enough to slip the antidote into place and empty it into the man’s arm.

  There. It was done. Now all they could do was wait. She sent a signal to Major Ellis that she’d accomplished the primary mission.

  “If I might be so bold,” the doctor said. “You’re bleeding on my floor. Let me examine your wound.”

  Elise sat heavily in a handy chair and raised her leg. “Why not? Don’t try anything funny or I can’t tell you about what we just gave the emperor.”

  He gathered some instruments and supplies. “You have my word.”

  * * * * *

  Angela ran forward when Senator Breckenridge dove back toward them. She expected Princess Elise to follow, but the crazy woman ran for the medical center. She made it.

  Two quick shots from her neural disruptor took those men down, but others popped up both ahead of them and behind. They had her pinned down.

  She dragged Breckenridge back against the wall and let her men cover ahead of them while she fired at the guards behind them.

  Kick it, Carl. They know we’re here.

  Bullets struck all around her and some bounced off her armor as they edged toward the medical center. A round grazed the back of her left hand. It hurt like the devil.

  They stunned enough of the guards to make it to the medical center doors. She signaled the princess to let them in.

  A moment later, just as enemy reinforcements arrived, the doors slid open. They tumbled inside as a frightened nurse rapidly backed away. Angela found the manual lock and sealed the doors. Now the guards would have to cut it open. They wouldn’t dare risk explosives.

  One of the marines had a minor wound, but the senator had taken a shot to the side of his abdomen. “I need a medic over here!”

  She leaned over Breckenridge. “Good timing, getting shot outside a medical center with a handy trauma team.”

  He g
rinned through his obvious pain. “I’ve always been lucky. Now I’m a wounded hero. What politician couldn’t use that kind of thing? Did the princess save the emperor?”

  “She gave him the shot. Now we wait to see if it works. We’ve done all we can.”

  The doctor left what he was doing to Elise to a nurse and took charge of getting the senator onto an operating table.

  She set the marines to watching the door and walked over to the princess. “That was stupid. You could’ve been killed.”

  “I’m pretty sure that it’s a requirement to do something crazy to be part of this club. Do I get a card and a secret handshake?”

  Princess Elise pulled the shield off her forearm and handed it to Angela. “That came in handy. Too bad I turned it at the last moment or I might have gotten off without a scratch.”

  “Let that be a lesson, then. Leave this kind of thing to the professionals.”

  The princess gasped as the nurse dug into the wound with some kind of long pliers and pulled out the slug. She dropped the bloody lump of metal onto the tray and started cleaning out the wound.

  Angela smiled. “You deserve a medal after all that.” She found something to stop the bleeding on her hand. Her marine implants would know the moment other marines made it into the Palace.

  “Come on, Carl,” she said softly. “Don’t blow it now.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Talbot stood in the university fusion plant work area, watching Professor Bedford and a group of technicians examined the power connections.

  “Professor, this isn’t the time for something to go wrong.”

  “Give me a moment,” the old man said testily. “One of the connections must be loose.”

  “We don’t have a moment. This isn’t your latest lab experiment. Lives are on the line. Make the magic happen.”

  “Found it,” one of the techs said triumphantly. “One second… Try the power again.”

  Someone threw a switch and the surface of the panel across the opening turned silver.

  “Go! Go! Go!” Talbot shouted at the waiting marines. Their power-armored forms ducked through the reflective surface with their weapons at the ready.

  “Keep this open until we get back or I personally tell you to shut it down,” Talbot said. “Clear?”

  The scientist nodded. “Good luck, Major.”

  Talbot awkwardly locked his helmet into place. He’d be the next best thing to useless with this broken arm, but he was in armor like his men. He was going for Kelsey and he had no pity for anyone who tried to stop him.

  He was the last one through the ring. Armored men filled the Imperial suite, getting ready to make a push for the cells under the old security wing.

  Carl stood off to the side. “They got the medicine to the emperor. They’re holed up in the medical center. Only one seriously injured. The senator.

  “Well, I’ll be double damned,” Talbot said. “I suppose he was serious after all. I’ll detail a few men to stay with you.”

  The young man held up the hammer. “I’m good. Go save Kelsey and the admiral.”

  “I can afford a few men to secure our way out. If you need to, go back through the ring. I’m serious. Don’t get shot trying to hold this position. Leave that to us.”

  He sent orders to his men to execute the plan. They fit through the doors with only minor damage. The lead team headed right for the security wing to block any response from the men there. The second team, led by Talbot, headed for the detention center.

  The rest fanned out as they moved. He detached a squad to guard the emperor’s suite. The last team headed for the medical center. They’d make certain no one harmed the emperor or Angela’s people.

  In their powered armor, his people were invulnerable to all but the most deadly weaponry. Nothing they’d see inside the building could hurt them. And if they did, they’d deal with it like marines.

  Almost immediately, Talbot had to grab a vase that the man in front of him brushed up against. With one hand, and in powered armor, he was astonished he managed to save it from destruction. He carefully set it back on the table. It was undoubtedly worth a fortune.

  “Be careful of the art,” he said. “Let’s not destroy our heritage.”

  The various teams began running into resistance almost immediately. They bulled through and stunned everyone in sight. Their attack was so unexpected and overwhelming that they made it to the security lifts in only five minutes.

  The lift wouldn’t respond, but that was expected.

  “Open it up, Corporal Riviera.”

  The marine punched his hands through the armored metal and tore the doors out. “The lift is down below. On point.” He jumped down without waiting for the order.

  “By the numbers, marines. Secure our people.”

  They poured down the shaft, no doubt occasionally landing on one another. The armor could take it. His last squad held the lift for the retreat.

  He stayed with the team up top. Someone started shooting at him from behind, but the bullets didn’t worry him. He hardly staggered when they hit him with a rocket launcher. He gave them a friendly wave and started stunning people.

  If everything went according to schedule, they’d be on the way back out in just a few minutes. He wanted this area under control by then.

  * * * * *

  Ethan sat beside that idiot Wallace Breckenridge on the Imperial yacht. They were going up to Orbital One to relieve Admiral Yeats and put Fleet under Ethan’s thumb. After the stunt at the Palace, he couldn’t afford to have the man with a knife at his back.

  Unfortunately, he could already tell Breckenridge was going to be an interim appointment. He wasn’t smart enough to fight a war. Not and win.

  He’d been waiting for the news of his father’s death, so he wasn’t surprised when his com sounded. He put on a suitably somber expression and answered it. His moment of triumph was at hand.

  “Yes?”

  “Highness, we have a problem,” his man in the Imperial Guard said. “Heavily armed intruders have broken into the Palace. Sir, they have control of the medical center.”

  “Shit! It has to be Mertz’s people. Get someone in there right now. Stop them at all costs. And protect my father.” His emphasis on protect should give the man the right idea. To shoot the emperor during his “rescue” attempt.

  “Highness, these people are in some kind of heavy armor. We can’t get in without using a level of force that would be guaranteed to kill the emperor.”

  So, they couldn’t attack that way. The majority of the Imperial Guard wouldn’t stand for it. He’d just have to hope his father died anyway.

  “Then see to the prisoners. Personally.”

  “I can’t, Highness. They sent even more people down there. We’re trying to retake the security lift, but I’m not holding out much hope.”

  “Do what you can. Call me as soon as you have an idea what’s happening.”

  He cut the call and looked at Breckenridge. “Mertz is making a play. He has people with the emperor now and odds are he’ll be free of his cell in short order.”

  “I knew it!” the disgraced Fleet officer said. “He’s staging a coup. There’s no way we can gain control of Fleet before he’s loose, but I have a plan that will allow us to salvage the situation. It’s risky, but the odds of victory are better than letting him take us into custody.”

  How could the man be so stupid? He still believed Mertz was behind everything. Unbelievable.

  Still, what choice did he have? Once his enemies were free, they’d put him under lock and key. His play for the Throne had failed. Unless, of course, the emperor died. Then he’d have a chance. It would probably mean a civil war, but that was a price he was willing to pay.

  “Tell me your plan,” he said.

  * * * * *

  Jared knew something was up when an explosion tossed him off his bunk and onto the floor. He crawled under it, just in case something came loose from the ceiling.

 
; A check through his implants showed marines on his level. This was a rescue.

  Things must really be desperate.

  The door to his cell swung open and an Imperial Guardsmen’s boots stood in Jared’s line of view. Whatever the man had been about to do, someone stunned him first. He dropped like a stone.

  “Admiral, are you in there?” a marine in powered armor said from outside. He couldn’t fit through the door.

  “Right here.” Jared rolled out from under the bunk and stood. “What’s the situation?”

  “We have control of this section of the Palace. We’re taking you back up to the medical center.”

  Another marine opened Kelsey’s door and she came out spoiling for trouble. “Where’s Ethan?”

  The marine managed a shrug in his heavy armor. “Sorry, Highness, I don’t know. We have a line to take you back up. Major Talbot is waiting.”

  She smiled. “You found him! Excellent. Let’s go.”

  The marines lifted the two of them back up to the main level with a line. Kelsey threw her arms around her lover. “Thank God you’re okay.”

  She frowned. “Why are you favoring your arm?”

  “It’s busted. Come on. We need to make our way to the medical center. We’ve cleared the area, but I don’t want to chance someone doing something rash.”

  His sister’s expression told Jared she intended to do something rash to whoever hurt Talbot.

  Jared stayed in the middle of the cluster of marines as they moved to the medical center. Whatever resistance they’d encountered getting in had pulled back, though some people with white bands around their arms were carrying out the bodies of Imperial Guardsmen. Stunned, he hoped.

  “How much trouble are we in, Talbot?” he asked. “What’s the penalty for breaking us out of custody?”

  The marine grinned. “That depends on who wins, sir. If we got to the emperor in time, maybe nothing. We’ll see.”

  The first thing Jared saw as they entered the medical center was Carl Owlet assembling some kind of device. One he’d never seen before.