The Luxorian Fugitive

by J. Alan Veerkamp

  A single solid kick crushed the second raider’s skull against the wall as Hadrian sank the blade to the hilt in the third’s chest. Using the knife as a handle, Hadrian spun the body to shield himself from three more gunshots. Dumping the dead man, he headed farther into the fray.

  Liam was mesmerized by Hadrian’s capacity for calculated violence. Every move was natural. There was no hesitation in the punishment he inflicted. There was no rage in his face. In fact, his eyes continued to be unfocused as his body wrought efficient havoc on the raiders.

  Time after time, Hadrian stepped aside at the last moment to avoid being shot, always one moment ahead of all their actions, like perfect choreography. The fourth raider died as Hadrian wove inside his defenses and snapped his neck in one ferocious twist.

  The fifth pulled his knife and attempted to fight hand to hand. From his trained stance, it was obvious the man was a deadly combatant. It didn’t matter. In two seconds, Hadrian broke the man’s left wrist, crushed his right knee, and jammed the raider’s combat knife into his upper chest. The gurgling, blood-spitting man hadn’t even hit the floor before Hadrian was stalking the last two.

  Panicked gunshots echoes bounced through the crowded space as Hadrian stepped effortlessly between them, as if he knew where they would be beforehand. Each missed shot made the remaining raiders more agitated. Liam witnessed Hadrian’s vacant stare as he pounced on the sixth man, twisting his gun hand away from him, while the seventh circled around behind them for a better vantage point. Liam was helpless to warn him. Hadrian couldn’t possibly see the last man.

  Without looking, Hadrian pulled the man’s dagger from its sheath and buried it under his chin. The sixth raider gasped and spasmed, pulling his trigger in sympathetic reflex. The bullet ricocheted off a metal crate, blowing a chasm in the approaching raider’s forehead. With a shrug, Hadrian dumped his charge to the floor with the rest of the bodies.

  It was all over so quickly. Liam was still staring in shock and disbelief. Hadrian was untouched, the blood on his hands and body clearly not his own. His stance softened, and he gave only a cursory glance at the carnage. There was no need to check the men on the floor. They weren’t moving.

  Hadrian blinked, a gradual awareness and concern solidifying as his gaze zeroed in on Liam’s. Were the lights dimming? Liam’s vision darkened as the taste of copper filled his mouth. The floor seemed colder than he remembered. Hadrian stepped forward, but the sound of a door hissing open stopped him in his tracks.

  There was shouting. Liam recognized multiple voices, but the words had become garbled nonsense with a strange echo. A blur was forming around the edges of his sight. Short, shallow breaths accompanied the cold numbness seeping into his body. The frenzied outcries became a cacophony of rage and fear.

  It was all playing in slow motion. Hadrian’s body jerked as the flash of multiple particle weapons struck him. The peculiar smell of burning flesh assaulted Liam’s nose. Hadrian slumped to the floor, unmoving and twisted, sharing space amongst the dead. Liam soundlessly screamed out his name, but his broken body remained motionless. More voices shouted his own name as the darkness came over him, and there was only numb silence.

  Chapter Five

  “WHY DID YOU call for me, Leo?”

  “I enjoy your company.”

  “But in all the time I have known you, you have never laid a hand on me. You have never asked for a single service that I am trained for.”

  “I don’t need physical intimacy from you, sweet. I would never treat you like a common prostitute.”

  “It seems like a great deal of currency for quiet companionship.”

  “It’s my money. I have more than I know what to do with.”

  “You are the only one who ever requested conversation from me.”

  “Then your other clients do you a disservice. You are an intelligent, breathtaking man, Hadrian. I don’t seek to possess you like the others.”

  “Why do you insist on calling me Hadrian?”

  “Because it’s your name, pet. No matter what that troll keeps telling you.”

  “Father has his reasons, I am sure.”

  “You know very well he’s not your father. His relationship to you has nothing to do with parentage.”

  “Father takes care of me.”

  “As long as you behave like a good little slave. Oh yes, Hadrian. I know how easy it is for him to mete out punishment. I have watched him and his consort-whore abuse you at his whim. His need to have you call him Father is rather telling, and sickening at the same time.”

  “He is one of your closest friends.”

  “Friends. Rivals. Whatever. There are a number of words to describe it, all of them contradictory. But it has allowed me to keep a close watch on you.”

  “You have been very generous on my behalf.”

  “Because in spite of all your skills, you are highly vulnerable.”

  “My life could be worse.”

  “I worry that if you outlive your usefulness, it will be.”

  “I do not believe that.”

  “Don’t placate me. You’re not a fool, Hadrian. You know as well as I do what will one day await you.”

  “I am Adonirati. I am not my own man. I do not have a say in my destiny, Leo. There is no alternative.”

  “What if I told you I had a solution? That I could engineer your freedom. Tonight.”

  “Then I would call you a cruel man. There is no real freedom for me.”

  “But there is, pet. Everything is already set in motion.”

  “That is impossible.”

  “No, Hadrian. I assure you. You’re leaving tonight.”

  “You cannot be serious. How am I supposed to leave? There is no way.”

  “Relax, Hadrian. There isn’t much time left. Before you say anything, let me be very clear. Your freedom comes at a price.”

  The darkness began to lighten as Hadrian’s consciousness rose through the mire. He opened his eyes slowly, their weight resisting the effort. Light poured in, making him wince and moan.

  “Captain, he’s waking up.” The voice was new and unfamiliar. A wave of distrust and suppressed anger with a light dose of fear washed over him. None of the emotions were his own. Beneath him, the bed was firm with harsh, clean sheets. Unspoken layers of voices whispered secrets to him. There were others nearby. He tried to rise, but a flat pressure across his chest and limbs held him down.

  Another voice growled. “The stasis field is on until we’re sure no one else will end up like those dumbass raiders.”

  As the haze lifted, Hadrian recognized Captain Danverse standing next to his bed. A quick scan made it clear he was in a hospital of some kind, or more likely the Santa Claus’s sick bay. The walls matched the ship’s cold metal structure, with flat monitors lining them. Familiar artificial light panels lit the room. There had to be more beds, but the stasis field limited his ability to move his head. Another man of slight build kept glancing between Hadrian and the monitor to the side of his bed, no doubt checking his vitals. Soft digital tones relaying the rhythm of his heartbeat came from the display above him.

  “Raiders?” Hadrian asked with a hazy awareness. He was weak, and it affected his ability to create silence. The additional voices were only adding to his confusion.

  “Do you remember what happened?” The captain’s question was insistent. “In the cargo hold?”

  “Cargo hold? Raiders?” The reply was slow and muddled until his memory rushed forward. “Liam!” He tried to rise again, but the pressure held him down.

  “Where is Liam? I cannot hear him! Where is he?” Hadrian’s eyes went wide as his own frantic terror flooded him.

  DANVERSE WANTED TO hate the man who had slaughtered seven men. Panic blossomed behind Hadrian’s eyes as he struggled to leave the sick-bay bed. Hadrian was stealing his best friend away, and he knew, deep down, there was nothing he could do about it. At first, it had seemed Hadrian was rebuffing Liam’s attentions, and Danverse had been con
tent. He knew if Hadrian ever returned those attentions, all was lost. And here Hadrian was, asking for Liam without giving even a thought to his own welfare. Damn.

  “Liam is fine. He’s in stasis to keep from waking up and injuring himself worse.” Dr. Bosch’s voice had a soothing bedside manner. “The gunshot did a lot of damage. It took me several hours to stabilize him.”

  Danverse took a closer look at the doctor. In spite of his pleasant demeanor, subtle shadows under his eyes threatened to expose his weariness. It was clear Liam’s condition was more tenuous than he was letting on.

  “Is he going to survive?” Despair rolled off Hadrian. It made Danverse reflect the emotion in sympathy; it was so genuine.

  “He’s a strong man. I have every reason to believe he’ll pull through.” Dr. Bosch was never a man who offered false promises. “Right now, I have more reason to wonder how you’re awake so soon. The dermal regenerator made quick work of your phaser burns, but you seem to be recovering much faster than expected.”

  “How long have I been in bed?”

  “Twenty-seven hours.”

  Hadrian’s voice was weak and disbelieving. “I cannot believe I was unconscious from a phaser stun for so long.”

  “Um…make that six phaser stuns. At point-blank range.” Danverse didn’t like having to admit it and tried very hard not to sound embarrassed.

  The doctor shot a dark, accusing glance at him before turning back to Hadrian. “You’re lucky to be alive.”

  “It will not be worth it if Liam does not recover.” Hadrian’s voice was thick with shame.

  “I’m sorry we shot you. It was all happening so fast. You were the only man standing. I don’t even know who fired first. But I’ve reviewed the security vids and know you weren’t responsible.” Danverse cleared his throat. “Thank you for saving Liam. If you hadn’t put those men down, I hate to think how many others might have been hurt…or worse.” He looked away from Hadrian. “I also want to apologize for shooting you twice.”

  “Why am I confined to this bed?”

  Danverse stared into Hadrian’s eyes. “Because you scare the fuck out of me. I saw what happened. I watched you kill seven armed men in seconds with your bare hands because they pissed you off. You have to understand I have a crew I’m responsible for. If there’s any chance they aren’t safe—”

  “I understand, Captain. I have never taken a life that did not try to take mine first.” The somber confession broke Danverse’s train of thought. He wanted to ask more, but for some reason, it seemed inappropriate. His own history in the military had exposed him to many horrors. He’d seen and shed his share of blood during the war. But the vid of Hadrian dispatching the group of raiders gave him pause. Deep down, he knew Hadrian was safe to set free, but the alpha male in him didn’t feel ready to let the most dangerous man he’d ever witnessed loose on his ship.

  “You are still the dominant male on the ship. That has not changed.”

  Even the doctor paused and looked at Hadrian with a tilted head and curious stare. Danverse looked deep into the stunning man’s eyes with an unnerving sense of realization.

  Dr. Bosch spoke first. “Apart from the captain’s concerns, I want to keep the immobilizing field on until I’m sure you can’t injure yourself. You were seriously wounded.”

  “I feel fine.”

  “Trust me. You’re well medicated.”

  “When Dr. Bosch clears you as fit, I don’t have any right to hold you,” Danverse said. “But I will monitor your movements on the ship until we’ve landed on Alpha Centauri.”

  “That is perfectly understandable. With your and the doctor’s permission, I would like to stay and watch over Liam, if possible.” Hadrian was sounding weaker; Danverse was going to have to work fast to get the information he wanted.

  “We’ll see. I have some more questions for you—”

  Dr. Bosch interrupted. “That’s enough of this conversation. Mr. Jamison needs to rest.” He rested a brief hand on Hadrian's shoulder. “You’re recovering quickly, but you’re far from healed. Your body is still showing signs of system shock from the multiple particle beams. I’m going to sedate you until it’s safe to turn off the immobilizing field. At this point, you need sleep more than anything else.”

  Hadrian nodded in assent. The doctor tapped a few keys on the screen and the dermal regenerators on his wrist and shoulders hissed quietly. Hadrian’s eyes grew heavy and closed. After checking a few more items on the monitor, the doctor left his slumbering patient and beckoned Danverse to follow him to his adjacent office. Bulky doors with large windows for patient observation closed behind them and the doctor sat down at his desk.

  “Doc, that man should be dead.”

  “I know.” Bosch picked up a digital pad and scanned the medical readout on the two men in sick bay. “I’ve extrapolated the range and angle of all the phaser burns. The shot to his face that I healed happened while he was unconscious on the ground.” The doctor made no effort to conceal the disdain in his voice.

  That moment of rage and despair flashed through Danverse’s mind. “I thought he killed my best friend.” Hadrian was down on the ground among the raiders. Liam was bleeding out on the floor, not responding to anyone or anything. The doctor had been summoned, but Danverse was convinced he wouldn’t arrive in time. A swell of anguish rose inside him, its deafening silence burying all rational thought. He’d stalked over and aimed his gun at the beautiful man’s head and pulled the trigger one last time.

  “That’s why I haven’t reported you.”

  “It wasn’t my proudest moment.”

  “That’s an understatement.” The doctor closed his eyes and took a slow breath. “But that’s not why I brought you in here. I’ve been so focused on Liam I haven’t had the chance to do a full medscan on Hadrian. I’m just starting the full workup on him, and I’m already finding anomalies.”

  Danverse’s brow began to rise. He didn’t like oddities. “Does he have any contagions we should be concerned with?”

  “Quite the opposite. The man is perfect. A little too perfect. I suspect some genetic tampering.”

  “That would explain his strength, speed, and recovery time, if he’s been modified.”

  “It also looks like his body is filled with subdermal circuitry.”

  “What for?”

  Bosch shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t have a medical history to compare against, so it’s going to take some time to analyze the data. I’ve only just begun my profile.”

  “I don’t like surprises on my ship, Doc. When you get your findings sorted, I want you to send me a copy. Even if it’s nothing.”

  HADRIAN SAT WITHOUT saying a word as Liam’s chest slowly rose and fell. He was out of the greatest danger but still lay in stasis to protect the fragile tissues that had been so meticulously regenerated. Soft digital tones chimed in sympathy with Liam’s vital rhythms while the devices strapped to his wrist and shoulder made his body breathe and live.

  Liam was paler than normal but looked healthy. A soft sigh escaped Hadrian as he started to believe this man who’d invaded his peace of mind might recover.

  After spending long hours meditating to block out the voices, Hadrian wished he could hear Liam once again. The stasis field limited Liam’s brain activity to autonomic functions, so he had no real responsiveness. The silence Hadrian had sought had become something he loathed.

  How did this happen? Hadrian had known many men over the years, and not one had ever made him crave their presence. He had never been allowed the experience of a real relationship, and clients’ motives could not be trusted. Hadrian had only explored romantic matters through entertainment vids and others’ stories. But the moment he’d laid eyes on the rugged sergeant, Hadrian had heard the genuine desire inside him. For the first time, he began to understand what poets wrote endless sonnets about.

  Hadrian resisted the urge to reach out and touch Liam’s skin as he slept. The thought of making real contact terrif
ied him. He wondered if he would have the courage even if the doctor hadn’t warned him not to interfere with the stasis field. Instead, he squeezed his hands into fists and pressed them against his forehead.

  THE SIGHT OF Hadrian standing watch over Liam had yet to make Danverse comfortable.

  “Thank you for allowing me to be here, Captain.” Hadrian spoke softly, his attention never wavering from Liam.

  Danverse leaned against the hull, surveying the scene. “That’s very unnerving, Mr. Jamison.”

  “I do not understand your meaning, Captain.”

  “Fine. Keep your secrets. But you’ll keep them better if you stop telegraphing that you hear things without your ears.”

  Danverse stepped closer, keeping a respectful distance. Hadrian had yet to look away from Liam, but Danverse knew he wasn’t being ignored. After everything he’d seen, he was well aware Hadrian didn’t need to look at him to know his surroundings.

  “How is he doing?” Danverse focused on his unconscious best friend. The last few days had been exceptionally stressful. Keeping the morale of the crew up without his security chief was harder than he expected. He was beginning to realize how accustomed to Liam’s counsel he had become. How many years had they been in each other’s lives?

  “He is being kept in stasis for another day or two to prevent any accidental internal bleeding. Repairing the gunshot was apparently very problematic. But the doctor says he will recover.”

  “That’s good to hear.” Danverse felt a wave of relief. He hadn’t received an update from Dr. Bosch on Liam’s condition. In truth, he’d been so busy trying to maintain the ship and calm the crew after the incident, he hadn’t had the chance to check his messages. “As much as I appreciate your saving Liam, I have to ask you a question. Why are you here in sick bay, Hadrian?”

  “I do not know.”

  “Liam is my best friend. I don’t want him hurt.”