Pursuit

by Val St. Crowe

  “Sure as hell hope not,” he said.

  * * *

  Things were going to go south.

  Gunner wasn’t sure how he knew it at first, but when he clapped eyes on Mac Non and his two companions, something went through him, and he was certain some ephemeral thing was off.

  But he couldn’t figure out what it was.

  They were meeting inside a covered garage for hexacraft, because it was pretty cold outside. Ganesh was habitable for humans, but only around the equator where the temperatures got above freezing for several hours a day. The rest of the planet was covered in ice that never melted. As a colony planet, it hadn’t been too successful, owing to the fact that crops needed to be grown in greenhouses and lots of energy was needed to heat and power everything. Most colonies relied on solar power, but on a planet like this, it was tough when the sun was often obscured by snow clouds.

  Lots of people died on Ganesh.

  But in a way that made it the perfect hideout from the Xerkabah, because it seemed unlikely anyone would go there willingly.

  Anyway, they met in the covered parking area, which wasn’t heated, but wasn’t open to the elements. They met close to the entrance, which was two tunnels, one that would have been the path inside and one that would have been the path out.

  Mac and his men stood in the left-hand tunnel. Between Mac’s people and Gunner’s there was nothing except an old trip arm (which would have kept hexacraft inside until they’d paid to leave the parking area), which had been splintered. The tunnel bent off sharply about five feet back, and so Gunner couldn’t see what was back there. On the other side, the right-hand tunnel seemed to go straight back, and it was completely empty. In front of the two tunnels was a raised divider. It came up about waist-level. Gunner ran his fingers over it as he surveyed the area.

  There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the meeting place, and so Gunner was puzzled. He decided to proceed, even though his hackles were up. He was there with Saffron and Calix, both of whom stayed close behind him. They were armed, and so was Gunner. He felt twitchy, and he wanted to draw his weapon, knowing that if he did, the other two would follow suit. But pulling out a plaspistol for no damned reason wasn’t the best way to do business. So Gunner shoved his hand in his pocket and gritted his teeth.

  Mac nodded at him. “You got the merchandise?”

  “Buried in a location not far from here,” said Gunner. “We’ll tell you once we see the money. We’ve got samples, though.” He nodded to Saffron, who had a bag slung over her shoulder. It contained the models of the guns they had minus the gas cartridges that powered them, just to be safe.

  Saffron unslung the bag, stepped forward, and held it out.

  Mac took it. He peered inside, giving the weapons a cursory look. “Yeah, looks good.” He gave Gunner a toothy grin.

  Gunner took his hand out of his pocket, but he didn’t go for his gun. He didn’t like this. Shouldn’t Mac be looking more closely at the merchandise if he wanted to deal?

  Mac reached into his back pocket and pulled out a stack of credit chips. “What would you say to seventy-five?”

  “Credits?” said Gunner.

  Mac nodded. “That’s right. I know they’re devalued these days, but this is still a decent offer, isn’t it?”

  It was decent. It was a bit generous even. Warning bells were going off in Gunner’s head. Warily, he nodded. “That would be acceptable,” he said slowly.

  “Great,” said Mac and tossed the credit stack over. “So, how’s about you tell me where the guns are buried?”

  And suddenly, it all came together for Gunner. He knew what was wrong.

  Mac didn’t have enough people with him. A man meeting strangers from offworld who arrived with guns he hadn’t even been expecting? That man would be a bit nervous. That man would bring a lot of men. Mac only had two men.

  He’d probably done that to give the appearance of not being a threat. Which meant he was a threat.

  He did have men, but Gunner couldn’t see them. The men were behind that bend in the tunnel. And no haggling over the price? That was because the minute Gunner gave the location of the weapons, those men were going to jump out and shoot the crew from the Swallow to death, then take the credits back. No money spent, nothing lost.

  Gunner shook his head. “You must think I’m a pretty stupid man, Mr. Non.”

  Mac raised his eyebrows.

  Saffron moved up beside him. “Sir?”

  Gunner saw Mac reaching for his gun. “Down!” he screamed, grabbing Saffron. They went down behind the waist-high barrier, bodies thudding against the cold concrete.

  Plasma beams zinged through the air in just the place where they’d been standing.

  Men poured out from behind the bend, just where Gunner had thought they were. There had to be at least twelve of them.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Gunner could see that Calix was still on his feet, on the opposite side of the left-hand tunnel. Calix had his blast rifle out, but he didn’t have any cover. He backed up, squeezing off red beams of energy at the coming men.

  They fired on Calix. They fired on Gunner. Mac was charging forward, screaming something unintelligible. His men followed, pushing the splintered trip arm out of their way.

  Gunner and Saffron took cover behind the barrier as best they could. They peered above and around it to squeeze off shot after shot.

  Beams of energy rent the air, making sizzling noises as they struck targets. Chunks of concrete crashed out of the walls above them, behind them.

  Two of Mac’s men down, plasma beams to the chest, but more were coming.

  Calix crouched, no cover but his gun and his arms.

  One of Mac’s men took aim at him.

  Gunner moved around the barrier to squeeze off a shot at the man.

  The man fell.

  Calix was clear.

  A shot exploded in the center of the barrier, blowing a circle in the middle. Bits of exploded material went everywhere, striking Gunner’s face, cutting his cheek and chin in multiple places. He grunted. Hell, that hurt.

  Gunner checked to see if Saffron was all right.

  She was bleeding from her forehead, her teeth clenched, her eyes bright. Nothing permanently wrong with her, anyway.

  Calix was shooting, but the other men were shooting at him too, and he was all by himself out there.

  Gunner scooted around the barrier to help his friend.

  Mac was coming, his lips peeled back from his teeth.

  Gunner shot at him.

  Mac dove out of the way of the beam.

  A scream. One of Mac’s men down. Calix had hit him.

  Mac righted himself, bringing up his gun.

  Calix cried out, clutching his shoulder. He’d been hit.

  “Cal!” yelled Gunner.

  But Mac was coming for him again.

  “I’ve got it, captain,” growled Saffron, pushing to her feet. She opened fire on the men shooting at Calix, squeezing off accurate, precise shots.

  Boom, man hit in the neck. Down he went.

  A shriek. Man hit in the back. Down he went.

  Now, they were turning to see Saffron, but she was still shooting.

  Two more men down, but they others were shooting at her now.

  Saffron had to duck. She dove for the ground and blasts flew over her head.

  And Mac was on top of Gunner now. Mac’s gun was in Gunner’s face.

  Gunner froze.

  Saffron let out a choked sound.

  Gunner moved his eyes askance to see her.

  She was clutching the side of her neck. “Just grazed, captain,” she said.

  “Hey!” said Mac.

  Gunner turned back to the other man, to the barrel of the gun in his face.

  Mac nodded at Gunner’s weapon. “Throw that down.”

  Gunner gritted his teeth. Little help here, Saffron? he thought. What the hell was she doing? He heard firing, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Mac. Fum
ing, he tossed aside his plaspistol.

  Mac sneered. Then he flipped his blast rifle and slammed the butt into Gunner’s face. It collided with his nose and there was a crunching sound.

  Blood spurted.

  Gunner couldn’t help but grunt. It hurt. It hurt a lot.

  “Where did you bury the guns?” demanded Mac.

  Gunner choked out a laugh. Blood was draining down his nose and into his throat. It tasted like copper. “If you think you’re going to get that out of me, you’re crazy.”

  Mac turned the rifle again, aiming the barrel at Gunner. “I’ll blow your head off.”

  Gunner grinned. “Then you’ll never know where the weapons are.”

  Mac let out a roar of frustration.

  Gunner took that second to reach out and grab hold of the rifle’s barrel. He shoved it toward the ceiling. He let go just as Mac pulled the trigger. Good thing, too. Would have burned his hands bad to be holding it while it fired. He dropped to his knees.

  The shot went over Gunner’s head.

  Gunner threw his head and shoulders into Mac’s midsection.

  Mac went backwards, flailing, still shooting, but not hitting a damned thing.

  Gunner landed on top of the other man. He pulled back his fist and aimed a punch right at Mac’s chin.

  Mac yelled.

  Gunner flinched. Damn if that hadn’t hurt too.

  And then finally, Saffron was there, standing over Mac, her gun pointing directly down at the man. “Drop your gun,” she said.

  Gunner looked up at her. “What have you been doing over there? Playing cards?”

  She smirked at him.

  Mac muttered under his breath, but he set down his rifle.

  Gunner snatched it up, pressing the barrel under Mac’s chin.

  Mac swallowed hard.

  “Now, listen closely,” said Gunner. “Here’s how this is going to work. I’m going to keep the credits you gave me. You’re going to go out behind this structure and walk out till you see the big, crooked tree by the fence. You know the one?”

  Mac nodded.

  “Then you dig, because that’s where the guns are buried. Then we call this a day, got it?”

  “Yeah, sure. Got it.” Mac’s voice was hoarse.

  Gunner wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

  * * *

  “That one,” said Pippa, giggling and twirling on a barstool in the tavern at the outpost.

  Eve looked over her shoulder.

  “Don’t look,” said Pippa, scandalized.

  Eve laughed. “How am I supposed to know which one you’re talking about if I don’t look?”

  “Look without being obvious about it,” said Pippa.

  Eve surveyed the drink that Pippa had purchased for her. It didn’t taste very good, very bitter, but it seemed like she had to continue drinking it, since it had been a gift and all. “Well, I don’t see how I’m supposed to do that.”

  “There’s an art to it.” Pippa took a swallow of her own drink, which she was putting away like nobody’s business. The more that she drank, the more she talked. “You maybe aren’t well-versed in it since you grew up in that Cloister place. I’ll teach you.”

  Eve let out a tiny giggle. She liked Pippa. She’d been on the ship all by herself and Pippa had approached her. She’d dragged Eve out to this tavern, and she was funny and nice. “Fine, teach me.”

  “Well,” said Pippa, sitting up straight and leaning back. “You face one way, but you move your eyes another.” She gazed askance at Eve. “You see that?”

  Eve laughed. “That’s your fancy trick?”

  “What? Do you do that in the Cloister?”

  “Well, it’s a bit boring in the Cloister. All the men there are men that I’ve known my whole life. There’s no one new to check out, regardless of whether I can do it without turning my head or not.”

  “Yeah, I guess I can see that,” said Pippa. “So, what about you?”

  “What about me?” Eve was confused.

  “Which man do you think is the sexiest in the tavern?”

  “I still haven’t seen which one you think is,” said Eve.

  “Doesn’t matter. I’m sure you have an opinion on your own.”

  Eve turned on her barstool, slowly surveying the tavern. The men in here weren’t exactly what she might call sexy, she didn’t suppose. Lots of them were older and had scarred faces or missing teeth. It was a hard life out on the colony planets. “I really don’t know.”

  “Just pick one,” said Pippa.

  “I… I can’t.” She shook her head. “Which one did you like?”

  Pippa turned on her barstool. “Oh, I can’t see him now. Wonder if he left. Just a bunch of old, ugly men now. No wonder you couldn’t pick.” She turned back around and picked up her drink. “I used to think the captain was sexy, but then he yelled at me one time too many, and that cured me of that.”

  Eve cleared her throat, feeling herself blush.

  “Do you think he’s sexy?”

  “Absolutely not,” said Eve.

  “All right, all right. No need to bite my head off.” Pippa took a drink. “Wait, you are allowed to find men sexy in the Cloister, aren’t you? You’re not all virgins or something?”

  “No,” said Eve, shaking her head. “People have visions, and then they know who they’re supposed to be with.”

  “Didn’t you have visions like that?”

  Eve picked up her glass and tried another drink. Wow. Still very bitter.

  “I guess not, since you had visions of leaving. Wouldn’t make sense for you to be with anyone in the Cloister.” Pippa’s eyes widened. “Do you have visions of someone else, some mysterious man you haven’t met yet?”

  Eve looked away, fighting against another blush. “No.”

  “Sorry,” said Pippa. “You can tell me to shut up if you want. Everyone says I pry too much.”

  Eve shook her head, trying a smile. “I would never tell you to shut up. You’re being so nice to me, buying me this drink, and talking with me, and being so open about the visions.”

  “Oh, sure, no problem,” said Pippa. “I think you’re fascinating.” She eyed Eve’s drink. “But are you sure you’re enjoying your drink?”

  “Oh, well…” Eve picked up the drink that Pippa had bought for her and took another big swallow. Ugh. She grimaced. “I’m sorry. It’s so bitter.”

  Pippa laughed. “Not a lot of alcohol in the Cloister either, I gather?”

  “Supposedly, it muddles our ability to receive visions.” Eve shrugged. “But you’re very nice to buy it for me, and I don’t want to be rude—”

  “Not at all,” said Pippa. She was reaching for Eve’s drink. “I’ll finish it if you want.”

  Eve was relieved not to have to have any more of the foul-tasting stuff. She pushed it to Pippa gratefully.

  Pippa finished her own drink in one long gulp and then picked up Eve’s. “I don’t know, I think it’s a little bit glamorous somehow, coming from the Cloister like you do. You’re different than everyone else, and you have special powers. I wish I could do something amazing like that.”

  “But you’re a pilot,” said Eve. “And you can do whatever you want.” You don’t have some crazy fate hanging over your head, she added silently. “You’re free.”

  Pippa shrugged. “I was too young for the war. Just missed it. It ended when I was just turning eighteen. I always thought that I’d do something important with my life, like fight for our freedom, but it doesn’t seem like anyone wants to fight anymore. Everyone’s too busy running and hiding. Even the captain, though he’s pretty brave.”

  Eve grimaced again.

  “What?” said Pippa. “You feeling okay?”

  “Oh, I’m fine,” said Eve. “It’s only… the captain. I don’t much care for him, I guess.”

  Pippa laughed. “He can be a bit hard to take. He’s rough around the edges. Hell, he didn’t want to take me abo
ard. Said a young thing like me shouldn’t be gallivanting about in space. Said his ship was like as not to get caught by the Xerkabah and everyone aboard could die horrible deaths, and he didn’t want my death on his conscience.”

  Eve swallowed. “Is it really that likely we’ll be caught?”

  “No.” Pippa shook her head, waving that away. “He was exaggerating. Captain’s too good to get caught. If he did, I expect he’d find some way to take the aliens down with him. He’s brave, like I said.”

  “I haven’t seen that side of him,” said Eve.

  “He’ll grow on you,” said Pippa. She took a drink of Eve’s drink. “Well, seeing as you’re getting off the ship at Hoder, there might not be enough time for him to grow on you. But if you stayed on, he would.”

  Eve doubted that very much.

  “Speak of the devil and the devil appears,” said Pippa, twirling on her barstool.

  Eve looked over her shoulder to see the captain stalking into the tavern. His face was smeared with blood. His nose was swollen. His lips were pulled into a sneer. He was flanked by two of the other crew members—Calix and Saffron if Eve had the names right—and they didn’t look very good either.

  “Pippa!” roared Gunner.

  Pippa hopped off the barstool and hurried over to the captain. “Sir?”

  “Didn’t I tell you not to go into the tavern?”

  Pippa cringed.

  Eve got off her stool and made her way over to the entrance of the bar.

  Gunner noticed her. “You.” He pointed at her. “This your doing? You tell her you had a vision of the two of you over here having a pint?”

  “No,” said Eve coolly. “I’ve been expressly forbidden to have visions, if you’ll recall. You don’t want them on your ship.”

  Gunner glared at her. Then he turned back to Pippa. “Just tell me you aren’t too drunk to fly.”

  “I’m fine,” said Pippa, grinning at him.

  He gave her a look.

  “Seriously,” she said. Then she squinted at him. “What happened to your nose?”

  * * *

  “Hold still,” Gunner said to Calix. The two were in the medic bay on the ship, and Gunner was working at a wound on Calix’s shoulder. He had a bit of skills as a field medic, only because Calix had taught him some things, but his friend, despite being a doctor or maybe because of it, was the worst patient he’d ever tended.