Thieves' Guild Series (7 eBook Box Set): Military Science Fiction - Alien Invasion - Galactic War Novels

by C. G. Hatton

  Finally, the door opened and he counted seven people as they trooped in and took up position around him. The twin, his new buddy and the suit were among them, as were Kase and Martha who avoided looking at him. The last guy to enter was an older man, much older and with an aura of power about him that made the room hush. He stood immediately in front of Hil, who resisted the urge to sit up straight under an intense gaze that was directed right at him.

  “You’re late,” the man said. “We were expecting you days ago.”

  Hil stared back, eyes narrow.

  The old man gestured. “Untie his hands,” he commanded and Hil had to stifle a smirk as Scarface rushed over to release the cuffs.

  Once his hands were free, he rubbed at his chafed wrists then slouched back even further and folded his arms, still staring at the old man, wondering who he was in all this.

  “Where is the package?” the old man said quietly, his accent something vague, nuances of Earth mixed with subtle shades of Wintran.

  “Where’s Anya?” Hil replied defiantly.

  The hush in the room deepened as if they couldn’t believe he dared to speak to the old guy like that.

  There was a moment then the man smiled, a wolf’s grin that creased up his face. It vanished as fast as it had appeared. “Bring her in.”

  Chapter 26

  The Man stood and for a moment NG thought that was it. He’d never been in here so long and the thought of heading out to a cold beer and fresh air was suddenly very appealing.

  But the Man leaned forward, resting his hands on the desk. “You lost him.”

  NG looked at the two empty goblets next to the empty jug. If the Man refilled the jug, he wasn’t sure his bloodstream could handle much more. “There are occasionally times,” he said, “in some jobs when an operative has to go deep. We don’t always know exactly where they are all the time. Hilyer has been involved in that type of job several times. We trust our people and they repay that trust with loyalty.”

  He realised as he said it how shallow that sounded.

  “We’ve seen how loyal our people can be.”

  “I know Hil,” NG said. “I have no doubts – about him or LC. I might not have been able to reach every member of our crew but those two I did know. And if Hil had to go to extremes, then he did so because he believed that was the only way.”

  “It was a bold, reckless challenge that he threw down to the corporation.”

  “Hil thinks he knows his limits but when he’s pushed, he tends to surprise even himself.”

  •

  The old man broke eye contact and moved to one side to let one of the suits get to the door. Hil looked from the old man to the door, not sure what to expect. They’d decided Anya was dead. It sent a shiver through him to think she might be here. That she might still be alive. He’d have to change his plan.

  The door opened and everything Hil had planned turned on its head anyway. Anya walked into the room. He sat up then and would have stood up if it wasn’t for a heavy hand on his shoulder pushing him back into the chair.

  She stood in front of the table and leaned on it, up close. He could smell her perfume. She looked older than he remembered and sharper. She picked up the remote, slender fingers immaculate and manicured.

  “Hello Hil. My god, you’ve had us chasing all over the galaxy trying to find you.”

  Her voice was soft and seductive, more mature than he could have imagined Mend’s little girl could ever be. They’d all protected her as she grew up. As they all grew up. Even when LC had been getting close, Mendhel had warned him off, ‘keeping her safe from the hot-headed field-ops’, he’d said.

  It took everything he had to calm his heart rate as it threatened to race off with a surge of adrenaline. Anya was here. She was alive and well. And she sure as hell didn’t look like a prisoner.

  He cast a look over at Martha but her face was still impassive. He couldn’t tell from either of them if they’d known. Probably, he decided while he was sitting there dumbstruck.

  “It’s good to see you again, Hil,” she said softly. “Now tell me, where’s our package and where’s LC?”

  Hil leaned forward so she was even closer. Whoever it was behind him, stepped in again with a hand on his shoulder. Anya glanced up quickly and that was enough for them to back off. She looked down at Hil again, fondly he could imagine if he didn’t have a hundred different scenarios running through his head trying to figure out exactly how they’d all reached this point. She reached a hand up and stroked the hair back from his forehead, gently, reaching round to the back of his neck to touch the device there. She had the remote in her other hand, and for a moment he thought she was going to activate it. He tensed, as much as he tried not to.

  Quiet seconds ticked past. And instead she waved dismissively. “This isn’t necessary,” she said.

  This time the hand forced his head forward roughly and a spike of pain that seemed to last forever made his vision narrow to a dark tunnel. The device was pulled out and a malicious slap to the back of his head made his senses reel.

  He took his time looking up and all he could see was Anya’s face, the rest of the room greyed out. He tried to reckon how much time had passed since he left the ship. It was still too soon.

  “Where is he?” she asked again.

  Hil got his breathing under control, let every muscle relax and used every trick he knew.

  “LC’s dead,” he said finally. “The bio-weapon you sent us to get, well we got it. LC got it up close and personal. He got infected. We ran into trouble before the lab was destroyed. One of the guys in there was crazy and there was no way he was going to let us get away with it. He had vials of the stuff ready. LC was careless and the guy managed to inject him with it. It was all we could do to get away.”

  He paused and had the feeling the whole room was fixed on him and every word he was saying. “There never was any package. LC was the package. Everything else was destroyed. We got away but it killed him. I killed him, Anya. He was in agony and there was nothing we could do because there was nowhere we could go. He begged me. In the end I put a bullet between his eyes.”

  He stopped and calmed his breathing again. He looked up at her, trying to focus with eyes that wanted to close.

  Anya was looking at him with an expression that could have been pity, desire or distaste, he couldn’t tell. She looked aside suddenly and cocked her head ever so slightly as if listening. She couldn’t have had the implant long, that small affectation people developed early on was a dead-giveaway. A brief moment passed as she was obviously being fed information from somewhere outside the room, then she stared straight back at him.

  “Hil, that’s a very sad story, but you’re lying.” She stepped back and he got another slap to the back of the head. Crap.

  “Where is he?”

  Whatever sensors they had the room kitted out with were good, but then he hadn’t really expected otherwise.

  He looked hurt. “Anya, why are you doing this?”

  She leaned back on the table so close he could have kissed her. “Why? Hil, I didn’t do this. You did this. You and LC and my father. You and the guild. You all forced me to this.”

  Disturbingly then, Hil wondered about the sanity of his plan. She was mad. Mendhel’s little girl had manipulated them all.

  “I don’t believe it,” he whispered. “We protected you from the guild. Mendhel didn’t want you anywhere near it.”

  “That was the problem,” she whispered back harshly. “You shut me out. My whole life, all the people around me, the people I cared most about and was closest to, all part of your precious guild. All I wanted was to be a part of that. It was all I ever wanted. But now Hil, all I want is that package.”

  Hil shook his head. “I’m telling you the truth,” he said. “LC was the package. You killed him, Anya. You sent him there and it killed him. Just like you killed Mendhel. You might not have pulled the trigger, but you killed your own father.”

  Her fac
e fell and she stepped back. “What?”

  Oh crap, she didn’t know. Hil swallowed, trying to gather his wits. “Mendhel’s dead, Anya.” He glanced over at Martha and back to the woman Mend’s little girl had become. She looked dismayed but there was a flicker of disbelief.

  She shook her head and her eyes glinted. “You’re lying. You’re a cold bastard, Zach. I never trusted you. Why do you say things like that? Why do you think I would care?”

  “These people murdered him, Anya. You’ve been used.”

  “I don’t care. Mendhel was never a father to me,” she said viciously. “He sent me away, kept me at arm’s length all those years. All those expensive schools I was packed off to so he wouldn’t have to deal with his unwanted daughter being around. And I worked so hard, tried so desperately hard to be the best at everything. Just like you and LC, just so I’d be noticed and accepted into your little world. You never understood.”

  “He sent you away to protect you, Anya. Your father adored you. You were always his little girl. The guild changes people. He just wanted you kept safe from all that.”

  For a long second he thought he saw doubt in her eyes, a troubled look flashing across her face. Then it was gone as fast as it came. She held the remote up between them. “We can make this easy or very difficult for you, Hil. Tell me where LC is and tell me where our package is.”

  “Anya,” he said softly, trying desperately to think of a way to appeal to the young girl he’d first met all that time ago, “these people have used you. Come home with me.”

  Her eyes flashed with anger and he knew it hadn’t worked. “Okay, okay,” he said quickly. “I can tell you where the package is. But believe me, LC is dead. Otherwise he’d be here with me, wouldn’t he?”

  She looked uncertain then so he pushed it. “LC wanted me to find you. He asked me to take care of you, Anya. You don’t need to do this.”

  She pushed back from the table then and took a step back, listening again to whoever was speaking directly to her.

  “This is all very touching but he’s stalling,” the old man said. “The question is why?”

  Hil looked across at him, weighing up how much time he needed. “You want the truth?” he said. “We want to negotiate. You gave us the job to do because you don’t have anyone else capable of even thinking of trying it. We did it. LC has the package and he’s waiting for me to contact him. As soon as we get paid what we want, we’ll give it to you. Then we’ll disappear and you’ll never hear from us again. We don’t care what’s in the package but we want the bounty off our heads and we want fifty million.”

  Anya was still listening to someone but she glowered at him and glared at the old man. “He’s still lying,” she said. “I told you he was an arrogant, cocky son of a bitch.”

  She paused again then looked puzzled and said, “There’s something wrong. There’s a problem at the docks.”

  Hil flinched as someone grabbed the back of his neck again.

  “Wait,” Anya said.

  Before she could say anything else, Martha exclaimed, “Oh my god, Hilyer.”

  All eyes went to her and Hil could see both Kase and Martha were agitated.

  “Hil,” Martha said, stepping forward, apprehension and confusion making her brow crease, “where the hell have you been for the past week?”

  Genoa. The problem at the docks must have been Zang’s security finding Pen’s massive disruptor – Kase must have got his link. If she was back online, the first thing Genoa would have done would be to contact her partners in all this. She wouldn’t know where she’d been, but she’d know there was time missing.

  What happened next would all depend on the timing.

  “I’m not lying,” he lied. “You want the package, you have to trust me. I came here to you. I didn’t have to. You want it? The price has gone up.”

  Kase stepped forward as well, looking angry. “What have you been doing, Hil? Where the hell did you take Genoa?”

  “He did what?” Anya said aloud suddenly and turned on him. He thought she was going to hit him but she just glared, hands on her hips.

  The old man held up a hand and everyone hushed again immediately. He turned to the suit at his side. “Fiorrentino, what is going on?” he demanded.

  Kase and Martha looked to each other and over at Anya as if they didn’t know whether they should speak. It was astonishing to see Martha stuck for words.

  “Sixty million,” Hil said just for the hell of it.

  The old man turned and pointed straight at him. “Where’s my package?”

  Hil opened his mouth to speak and clamped it shut again as the door burst open. Anya spun around to face the newcomer who was two steps into the room and looking like he’d just drawn a short straw. “What now?” she snapped.

  Martha grabbed Hil’s arm. “What have you done?” she hissed at him.

  Hil ignored her and watched the guy at the door, who brushed past Anya and went to the old man, leaning in close and saying something too quietly for anyone else to hear but the suit who was standing at his side. The suit turned suddenly, anger evident.

  “Get those cuffs back on him,” he growled.

  “What’s going on?” Anya said.

  Someone grabbed Hil and pushed his face down hard onto the table. His arms were caught up and twisted behind him.

  “Oh shit,” Kase said. “Hilyer, you son of a bitch.”

  Martha must have received the same message. There was still a massive hand pushed against his head, but Hil could see Martha’s face pale from his limited vantage point.

  “What’s going on?” Anya said again, too far down the food chain to be getting the updates the others were, and not linked to a ship which suddenly had all sensors up and active.

  Tremors of a deep underground blast reverberated through the room, too distant to knock anyone off their feet but enough to send a clear message they were under attack.

  “Three Tangiers Class battle cruisers just entered orbit,” the suit said, heading for the door.

  Another blast shook the complex. Shit, their timing was just about perfect. The whole situation had a hint of deja-vu about it, except Hil knew pretty much for a fact that the Earth forces that were descending in drop ships right now wouldn’t try to take him alive this time, regardless of the deal they’d made. As far as they were concerned, they were here to pick up the package and eliminate anyone even remotely associated with it.

  Chapter 27

  The Man narrowed his eyes. “You have a great belief in our people, NG. Yet, as we have determined, several betrayed us. And the initiator of that betrayal was, by extension, one of our own. How could such a deception have been perpetrated without your knowledge?”

  There was nothing he could say. Mendhel had kept his family on Earth with full permission from the guild. They all thought they’d taken precautions to protect Anya after her mother died. He’d tried to persuade Mendhel to bring her in but a promise made long before had bound both of them. He’d had good people watching her and it had been difficult to confront the fact that their allegiance was now in question.

  The Man frowned and wandered off in the direction of the wine cabinet, sending the candle flame between them into a frenzy of dancing light.

  “Are we secure now?” the Man asked, his back to NG.

  “Yes,” he said then watched, keeping quiet, as the Man brought back a bottle and threw two pinches of the black powder into the jug.

  “It never ceases to amaze me,” the Man said, steam billowing up as he added the wine, “how destructive man can be when slighted.”

  •

  The docking manoeuvre he’d pulled off at the main Earth orbital days earlier had been only marginally better than his entrance at the station above Zang’s base in the Between. He hadn’t set fire to anything that time though and he’d walked off the ship carrying Pen’s holdall. Hil had re-engaged the power cell in the pistol before he’d docked Genoa and he could almost feel it emanating its pulse of e
nergy as he set the bag on the check-in desk to be scanned. Earth still had the tightest security cordon of all the old planets. It was impossible to land anywhere on the surface of the planet without being tracked and every orbital had stringent security procedures that hadn’t been relaxed since the colony wars centuries ago, and random rebel attacks through the decades had pretty much ensured a state of permanent high alert around the seat of empire.

  It was what he was counting on. And if anything, it looked like security was tighter than the last time he’d been here.

  He left the docks and joined a queue at arrivals. No one could enter an Earth orbital without documents and a baggage check and search. They were twitchy about bombs. Earth was twitchy about anyone trying to bring anything back to the home porch that could affect its security, ecosystem or economy.

  So the queues took a while and armed security wandered up and down the lines. Hil stood patiently and shuffled forward with the rest of them.

  At the desk, he pushed across the documents Pen had arranged for him and stepped into the scanning arch. Lights swept across him, lingering on his eyes, covering his whole body and the bag he’d dropped at his feet.

  He watched the clerk cross-reference the bio-stats. It was easy to stay calm. He’d injected Elenor’s single vial before he’d left the ship and its drug was now coursing through his system keeping every possible giveaway function steady and within normal parameters. He also had complete and utter faith in Pen so the papers would be fine. What was in his bag wasn’t and it was just a matter of time.

  The machine scanned him again.

  The clerk apologised for the delay, then started to sweat and fluster, fiddling with his cheap earpiece. No high tech implants for the minimum-wage slaves. After all his years spent relieving people of their hard-earned wealth, be it mineral, animal or on one occasion even vegetable, Hil still found it astonishing that security personnel, employed to keep people’s lives and inestimable wealth safe, were some of the most poorly paid and often inept employees in the galaxy. It was one of the great riddles of the universe.