She was the one. He knew it immediately. It was something about her eyes. They held a secret. They held his secret. He couldn’t explain how he knew it, but he did. It was evident in those eyes. Experience filled them. Love, hate, trust, mistrust. It was all there. A life lived beyond simple pleasures. A life of survival and adventure. She knew what life was about. Laender was certain.
He needed to lure her in.
The moment Laender left the sector, Kat would take Reycort’s ship. It was only logical. Her history showed that she didn’t leave profit behind. Besides, thinking back to the information Laender had found on the old man’s pad, he knew what she was really after.
Unable to rip his gaze from her face, Laender reached out and unlocked his ship from Reycort’s.
As the clanking echoed through the bridge, Laender said, “So you are seeking the same thing that Mr. Reycort sought.”
He maneuvered his ship away, checked the tracking beacon that he’d left on Reycort’s hull, and then made for the nearest station, knowing that she would follow…knowing that she had his answers…knowing that soon he would finally have what he’d spent countless years searching for.
THE MASSACRE, PART THE SECOND
Max and I floated through the bridge gate. It was only a thirty yard trip, but it felt like a mile. It was hard to fight the feeling that our craniums were in the crosshairs.
Someone had to know we were coming.
First of all, it made no sense for Reycort to have abandoned ship, even for The Relic.
Second, why the hell hadn’t he spotted us yet? Sure, I hoped he wouldn’t see our ship violating his ship from behind—but I didn’t actually expect him to miss it.
All of this, everything I worried about, was my big gamble. And as I watched Max hack Reycort’s hatch open, I knew my gamble was paying off.
When we hit the mess hall, blasters up, it was obvious the ship was empty. Like ghost-town empty. Everywhere I looked there were signs that the crew had left quickly. Half-eaten boxed lunches from The Star of Anus sat on the dining table, one of which was being gnawed on by a rat. Clothing had been dropped to the ground in the rush to armor up. One crew had forgotten his chestplate latch. What was it about The Relic that made everyone a complete idiot? It was the carrot that BNG had dangled, that’s what.
“You on?” Penn asked. She was whispering but the sound still made me jump.
I bumped into a chair and sent the rat scurrying off. Max gave me a pseudo-evil eye.
“Yeah,” I answered. “Looks like no one’s here.”
“I can back you up there,” Penn said. “No life signs other than you two.”
That gave me the confidence I needed to put down my blaster and run for the bridge. Max followed, but she didn’t let her gun fall to her side. She was smarter than me like that.
I sat in Reycort’s control seat and searched for a way to send all controls to his panel. After about ten seconds of fiddling, Max leaned over my shoulder and flicked one of the switches to the down position. The control panel lit up. I looked at her and she winked.
My girls could always surprise me.
In silence, we carefully maneuvered the ship back, detaching Reycort’s portal from his target.
Soon to be our target.
I still expected to feel the brunt of a cannon blast, or the bassy barking of a self-destruct mechanism. Something, anything to jibe with Reycort’s rep as a top-notch asshole. But as we floated away, and as Max activated our weapons for the next phase of the plan, I finally stopped expecting the worst.
Which is when the fucking shitty worst happened. Sorry. It still makes me cringe to think about that fight.
“Two bogies,” Penn shouted in my ear. “No, three bog…SHIT, FIVE!”
Max instantly activated the weapons panel and I watched the nav screen. I saw seven ships, coming from every direction. It was a thieves feeding frenzy and we were the meat.
“I see seven,” I yelled.
“Nine,” Penn responded.
“Fuck,” I said.
“Eleven,” Penn said.
“Okay! Shut up! We’re screwed. I get it. Evasive maneuvers. Let’s try to get close to the closest one and use him as a shield.”
“Got it, boss,” Penn said haggardly.
How many times could we almost die in a day before we actually, really and, in fact, fucking died?
“Max,” I hollered, “you know how to fly this thing?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Take the controls. Give me weapons and communications. Maybe I can talk our way out of this.”
“That’s not likely,” a man’s voice said. I looked around, unsure where the sound was coming from. Then I looked down at my screen and saw him.
He was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. I won’t get into details because I know the truth now, but he had just about everything redeeming I ever saw in a man. Strong everything. Even his eyes danced around from screen to screen with a grace I admired.
“Who is this?” I asked him, then quickly addressed Penn. “Who is this, Penn?”
“He’s from the target ship,” she said. “And he’s hot.”
“Where’s Reycort?” I asked.
“The whereabouts of Mr. Reycort should be low on your list of pressing needs,” he answered in smooth voice. Then he tilted his head and looked at me curiously. “There is something about you,” he said. “You have promise.”
“Too bad for you that I’m about to be a collection of parts in a few seconds, then, eh?”
“Let’s test your capabilities, shall we?”
“I think we’re doing that right now, dipshit!”
“Follow my commands to the letter and you’ll survive.”
I realized that he was monitoring our situation on several screens. I couldn’t tell if he disliked our odds as much as I did, but if he did then it didn’t show.
The calmness of his face made the decision easy for me.
I’d listen to him.
For a few seconds.
“Okay,” I said, “talk to me.”
“Get close to the closest ship,” he commanded.
“Half-way there, genius,” I grunted, unimpressed.
“Closer,” he replied, unfettered. “Deactivate your weapons and prepare a ruse. You must be convincing that you have The Relic on board, for that is what they’re seeking.”
“But I don’t have it.”
“I’m fully aware of that, but your pursuers do not. Play the line well and they won’t fire upon you.”
Penn broke in with, “Kat, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. All eleven ships are arming up.”
“So they’re working together,” I muttered. “Wonderful.”
“It is,” the stranger said. “That makes them one confused target as opposed to eleven targets ruled by self-preservation. One won’t act without the other, even if it’s the death of them. Now, open frequency 98277.28 and hail them all.”
I set the mic to broadcast on all channels. “This is Kat. Chill, guys. I have The Relic.[click]”
Silence.
“Penn?” I cooed.
“They’re still armed.”
“Give it a moment,” Handsome Man said.
In the silence I had to ask. “Where’s Reycort’s crew?”
“Inconsequential,” he stated again.
This guy seemed like a cold son of a bitch.
“They’re standing down!’ Penn yelled in my ear.
“What’s your next move then, Kat?” came the growling voice of Kretch. So he was the leader of this little armada.
I switched the screen from Handsome Man to the latest thug who had it in for me.
“Hello, Kretch,” I answered, trying not to squint at the ugly mug he had to live with all day, every day…even where there were technically no days. If he wasn’t also the guy who stabbed me in the back on the Gold D job, I’d almost feel sorry for him. “My next move depends on you and your buddies there.”
&nb
sp; “Okay, then hand The Relic over and we’ll let you live,” he said.
“Uh, yeah. No.”
“We could tear up your atoms. There are nineteen missiles nose-first in your shit.”
“You’d lose The Relic.”
“Show it to us.”
“Oh, okay,” I said, patting around. “Ah, yes, I have it right here.” I raised my middle finger into clear view. “See that? Amazing, isn’t it?”
He glared. “Again, I ask you. What now?”
I didn’t get a chance to answer.
A dozen missiles launched from Handsome Man’s ship. I still have no idea where they came from. He’d been waiting for the enemy to stand down. He knew they’d all be watching our negotiation on their screens, fingers at the ready. But not ready enough.
Kretch yelled something to his crew and his screen fizzed out.
“Penn, Max, get us out of here,” I barked. I didn’t want to take any more risks that day, especially with one of our ships still crippled from the run-in with Musasho.
We maneuvered ourselves behind Handsome Man’s vessel. Just in time too. His shields took the brunt of an ion cannon hit, which gave us the chance to keep on trucking on.
I ran to the lift and took it up to the top deck. The patrol class has an excellent observation stage. It’s usually a politician’s ship where they can observe planet cuttings and bullshit like that from the comfort of a luxury rig.
‘We still have one on our tail,” Penn said as I spotted Kretch cutting a fine line through space. Damn, he was good.
Explosion after explosion behind him meant that the dozen missiles had done their jobs on his buddies. One by one I saw ships get hit and tilt off-axis at unnerving angles. Then, in the center of the small armada Kretch had brought down upon us, a nuke went off.
It was then that I knew Handsome Man was a beautiful goddamn psychopath.
The furious wave blew through whatever ships were left, except mine, Kretch’s and our new headcase. All three of us booked as hard as our afterburners could carry us.
I knew we had enough distance to escape, but I also knew that Kretch would be on us the millisecond he had the chance.
I ran to the GatGun, which lived underneath the observation stage. It was used by bodyguards to monitor all surrounding space. I slipped into the transparent globe, latched myself in and grabbed the triggers. The gun came to life and, with just a small lean to the left or the right, I was able to move around the perimeter of the whole domed deck.
Kretch obviously decided that was the right time to let loose with his ion beam. That beam tore through our hull like there was no shielding at all.
As his weapon ripped my new ship to shreds, I tried to keep my cool. But it was tough. I knew Max was about five seconds from being turned into a blue beam of light. And I’d follow her about five seconds later.
My GatGun covered a wide area with Molts, small projectiles that can cause all sorts of damage, assuming your shields are down. But they have to reach you first and the fuckers are infamously slow.
“His shields are down,” Handsome man said through the comm.
“How the fuck—” started Blue. I blocked her voice and aimed for the ion silo, best I could see it, and drowned the space between our ships with white-hot fire. Then, I said, “come on” about 374 times in my head.
Penn piped in with a brilliant, “Uh, Kat…”
“Five seconds from eternal relief from this bullshit?”
“About five, yeah.”
A silent plume of orange cloud erupted where the ion had been. Bullseye. But there was no time to celebrate. I moved the guns again and tried to settle them down enough to get a good view of Kretch’s control deck. We couldn’t take that ship down. Too big. But we could take down its captain.
Black space flooded with Molts again.
Kretch’s ship was damaged enough by the last hit that it wasn’t turning as fast as he wanted. I could see that he was trying to dodge. I also knew he wouldn’t make it.
My final round of Molts was only a few seconds away from hitting their target.
I’d won.
But even in that quiet moment, where both Kretch and I knew he was a dead man, I felt a certain sadness. One day I’d be in his position.
My sentimental moment was cut short by Kretch’s final words:
“I’ll cut your neck while I’m slashing your bitch crew with my—”
Silence.
Classy way to go.
“Max,” I asked, “you okay?”
“Still here, ma’am.”
“Good to hear. Penn?”
“All good. What do we do about the sexy crazy guy?”
“Where is he?” I asked.
“He’s headed for the Hellcat System. Repairs, is my bet.”
“Yeah, missiles will do that. Let’s go patch ourselves up, too. Too many holes in the armor. And we all need a detox.”
“So follow him?”
“Let’s go have some drinks,” I replied with a nod. “See if we can get lucky.”
DOCK-1193C
Laender had seen many females in his time, but there was something about the confidence that Kat had that kept her on his mind. It wasn’t bravado. He’d seen that before. And it wasn’t bitchiness, either, though there was plenty of that.
It was something…else.
“I can’t explain it, Father,” Laender said to the floating head as he navigated his ship into the Hellcat System. “She is different.”
“Do you believe she has the answers you seek, Laender?”
“For the first time in many years, I am hopeful.”
“How do you plan on finding out?”
“I left a trail after getting them out of trouble,” Laender said. “I’m certain that she’ll follow me. They are seeking something, and I know what it is.”
Laender put a call out to Dock-1193C, requesting permission to connect, and putting in a further request for a cleaning and repair crew. He set his robots to maintenance mode and prepared the internal security systems. Everything was in lock-down.
The clanking on the hull signaled that docking was successful, so Laender returned Father to his cube and set the column back to full opacity.
Opening the hatch, he was met with a small contingent of workers.
The foreman said, “Just a standard dusting and cleaning or are you looking for upgrades?”
“D&C is fine,” Laender answered. “There are also a few panels on the aft section in need of repair.”
“Seen a little action, eh?” the guy said with a chuckle.
Laender did not reply.
“Right,” said the guy with a shrug. “Well, uh, we’ll scour the entire ship to make sure everything is in top shape.”
“Do a good job and I’ll be sure to reward you substantially,” Laender said, pressing a 1K credits into the foreman’s hand.
The foreman’s eyes widened, “You got it, pal.”
“And I would recommend that you inform your workers to be extremely careful. I have a Scezian-12 Security System on board, and it’s active.”
“Triple-S’s cost a load,” the foreman said, growing more amazed with each verbal transaction. “Version 12 is—”
“Worth every credit, I assure you. And I’m pleased to know that you’re aware of its capabilities. Make sure your crew knows as well. I would truly hate to have them perish due to poor judgment, but I suppose that is most often the cause of one’s ultimate demise.”
“Yeah, right. Okay, buddy, you’ve got my word that we’ll take care of her for ya.”
“Be sure that you do,” Laender said before heading for the promenade.
Dock-1193C was one of those stations that had top-notch workers, shops, and security. They took safety seriously, which was refreshing when compared to most other stations. Laender assumed that the investors saw a chance to provide the Hellcat System clientele an option that was a rarity, and it worked. The wealthiest travelers that came through the system stoppe
d here for upgrades and a little of the good life.
Fights still broke out, sure. That was the nature of the lifestyle of traders and scoundrels, after all. But things never stayed out of control for long. Chaos was quickly ordered on Dock-1193C, and that provided a feeling of safety that kept the consumer consuming.
Laender was not usually one to frequent pubs, but he knew Kat was going to follow him. That meant she would look at the most obvious spots that a trader would go when on station.
So he walked in to The Warp’s Edge and took a seat at one of the side booths and waited.
“What can I get you?” said the waitress, a young blond with ample curves.
“Do you carry Mavellies?”
“We do,” she said. “It’s 800 credits per glass, 4K for the bottle.”
He handed her a 5K credit.
“I’ll bring your change.”
“Keep it,” Laender said as he waved his hand dismissively. “And please do note that I can tell a fake Mavellies, and also note that the first time I was given a forgery was at this very pub.”
She looked a bit pale as she walked to the bar and returned with both a glass and the bottle. He studied the bottle, removed the cork, and inhaled the aroma of pressed grapes. The smell confirmed the authenticity of the wine.
He nodded and she poured the glass and then returned to the bar.
Swirling the wine, Laender gazed at the doorway, pleased to find that his quarry had arrived.
FACE TO FACES
p">You sure you’re okay?” I asked Sam.
“Good shape,” she spit out between welded teeth. “Promise.”
“If you feel like you need to—”
“Ma’am, cut it. Can’t talk. Stop bugging me.”
“Did you really get Kretch?” Max cut in. “That guy was an ass.”
“I really did,” I answered. “One less competitor, I guess. Seven more will take his place though.”
Sam and Max held their right hands up high and I took turns slapping each one. I’m not big on celebrating cold kills, but, hey, better him than me.
“You ready?” I asked them.
They snapped their shoulder holsters onto their vests at the same time and smiled two of their prettiest smiles, even though one was crooked and purple.
The Relic (The Galactic Thieves Book 1) Page 6
