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

by C. G. Hatton

  “And then what?”

  “Find out who it was in the guild that set us up. I’m done running, Sean.”

  They stood for a moment then she pulled away again, fixing a resolve deep inside that he wasn’t completely sure he was reading right. “Redgate is going to be difficult,” she said, back to business as if nothing had happened. “It was bad enough when I was there with Hil but we’re getting reports that the Merchants have pulled out of the airfield. So not only has the only neutral way down to the surface gone but it’s the target of the heaviest fighting Redgate has seen in years. There’s a no fly zone around the city and a twenty-four hour curfew on the ground. The situation down there looks to be deteriorating so we need to be in and out fast. Elliott says he can get us down undetected. North Shore, right?”

  She didn’t wait for him to confirm. “We’re getting maps and scans uploaded now. Hal will come with us to find Badger. He swears he’s fit enough and said you’ll get yourself in trouble if he’s not watching you. Thom’s staying here with Gallagher. DiMarco will shift the andirium – he says he knows people here. We’ll have to trust him. The weather’s worse too, total blizzard, so dress warm.” She reached up to his ear. “We need to do something about this.”

  LC brushed off her hand and tugged at the metal tag. “Can you get it off?”

  “Not here, but I can reprogramme the information burnt onto it. You’ll belong to me.” She smiled.

  Oh god, what had he got himself into?

  Chapter 29

  The candle was flickering, wax threatening to flood the wick. The chamber felt very dark.

  “Redgate?” the Man said, with disdain. “If ever a concentration of living beings was doomed to self-destruct, it was Redgate.” He lined up the discarded pieces in an immaculately neat line, perfectly parallel to the edge of the board.

  NG watched, absently rubbing a hand across his chest. He hadn’t handled the situation on Redgate well and he was still sore from the encounter.

  The Man nudged the captured white bishop into line. “You knew the Merchants were vying for a confrontation with us.” He looked up. “How did you leave it with Ballack?”

  NG moved one of his pawns. “He was very amenable once the misunderstanding had been cleared up. He said he was going to pull the Merchants out of there because the place wasn’t profitable for them any more.”

  It was that simple.

  “It’s never that simple,” the Man said. “That fool Ballack pulled his operation out of Redgate because he lost control of the game he’d been playing. You know that he was selling arms to both sides?”

  The wax spilt over the edge of the candle, cascading in streams. The flame flared, pushing back the darkness.

  NG nodded. He’d been lucky to get out alive.

  The Man reached for his queen and changed his mind, sitting back to consider the board. “Ballack’s problem was that someone somewhere else decided that Redgate was worth a substantial investment and flooded the place with weapons. They lit the fuse to the powder keg.”

  •

  An hour of running through the snow amidst a rocket bombardment and LC crouched in a doorway wondering what the hell he’d got them all into. He’d tried to argue with Sean to let him go alone but she was adamant. Duncan was just as stubborn.

  They’d made it down to the surface safely, no gun ships or missile emplacements targeting them as they descended, Elliott obnoxiously smug about the stealth capacity of the big freighter. That was another curiosity to be filed away for future reference. They’d landed on an abandoned highway about ten miles north of the river, as close to the city as they dared. Night was setting in fast. DiMarco and his guys had taken the jeep and the andirium. LC had taken a quick look at the map of the city that Elliott had compiled and they’d left the safety of the Duck, making a run through the snowstorm into the maze of battered and bombed out high-rise tenement blocks.

  It was slow going. The bombings had started about twenty minutes in.

  A missile hit the building across the street, debris flying, the blast sending the billowing snow into a flurry. He turned away, covering his head with his arms, shielding Sean as she sheltered against the door. He’d always come in through the airfield before, using the tunnels to get to the North Shore. He didn’t know this side of the city that well and the white out was making it hard to match the streets to the map in his head. And it had never been this volatile.

  “At least there are no bounty hunters after your butt out here,” Sean sent through the wire.

  Funny.

  Redgate had seemed like such a good idea at the time.

  Duncan ran in and grabbed LC’s shoulder. “We need to move,” he yelled, “we’ve got vehicles incoming.”

  They ran out into the snow and hugged the wall, ducking into a side street to get off the main road. Drifts were piling up on the pavement, building up against the walls and kerbs. His ribs were still sore but LC felt more alive than he had in a long time. He knew who they were now and having a name gave him focus. It felt like he’d turned the hunt around. It wasn’t easy to run in the snow but it felt good to be out in the cold, feeling the chill across his face and the wind cutting into the back of his neck.

  He moved faster than was safe, skidding on patches of ice where the snow cover was thin and sliding wherever he could, racing ahead to scout out the way. He headed for the river, taking turns from memory and veering away from any sounds, gunfire echoing eerily though the gaps between the tall buildings. He could feel Sean some distance behind, twitching whenever she lost sight of him. Duncan was behind her, moving more steadily, glancing back and walking backwards regularly to make sure no one was following. For someone who’d never been a team player, LC was surprised at himself. It felt good.

  They made good time and managed to avoid trouble until they reached the river. An icy wind was blowing in off the dark frozen expanse of water. Flashing lights glinted through the blizzard and snatches of angry voices drifted on the wind.

  They stopped in the shadow of the buildings that fronted onto the main road running parallel with the river. It was quiet to the west, some kind of roadblock to the east where they needed to go.

  A shell hit the street behind them, the rumble of the explosion rocking the pavement. They all ducked as debris rained down.

  “Shit,” Duncan muttered. LC could feel that the big man was fighting to ignore a headache that was building. The marine was thinking it had been a while since he’d been on the ground in the middle of a conflict like this. And the last time, he’d had a platoon of marines at his back and an armoured unit on call. “Who the hell is this guy Badger?”

  “He’s a friend,” Sean said before LC could think of an answer. She stamped her feet and blew on her hands. “And he can help us.”

  “No one can know we’re here right? How the hell do we get past that?” Duncan said.

  LC edged out and took a look. He could feel too many people closing in from all directions to double back and too many in front to make a run for it. The river was the only quiet void of peace.

  “The river,” he said. “If we can get across the road, we can jump the fence and drop down to the riverside path. We’ll be able to sneak past. They don’t know we’re here – they’re looking for rebels.”

  He turned to see Duncan staring at him. The big man wanted to ask how they were expecting Badger to help them and was wondering what the hell Sean was doing here. They’d just rescued LC from a pair of bounty hunters and here he was gallivanting around with another at his side like he was best buddies with the girl.

  LC felt the headache spike.

  “Just trust me,” he said quietly.

  Duncan frowned.

  Sean pushed between them. “Come on, boys,” she said, “let’s get the hell out of this storm.”

  She looked both ways and ran out, vanishing into the falling snow. LC took a step out to follow and caught a hit of desperate emotion that punched through the darkness. Vehicle
engines roared and gunfire erupted to their left.

  Duncan hissed, “Wait,” behind him but Sean was already out there, exposed, and LC ran after her, feeling the vehicle bearing down on them. The crack of a rifle shot and the sound of glass shattering cut through the air. He felt a black tug of vacuum, a quick instant of nothing that hit his centre, and the sound of the car changed, wheels screaming as it skidded on the ice. He could see Sean up ahead, stopping and looking around, a realisation of horror as she realised the driver was dead and the vehicle was slewing across the road right towards her.

  LC didn’t even think. Inhumanly fast reflexes sparked and he sprinted, bundled into her and shoved her aside, momentum carrying them out of the way, a fraction of a second too late.

  The car hit and he relaxed every muscle as he was bounced up against the windscreen, rolling with it and expecting the car to crash into the fence and pitch him onto the road. It hit the fence and didn’t stop. He felt it fall away from under him. There was a crash and then he was falling. He hit hard ice, right hand taking the brunt of the impact. The ice cracked and he plunged into icy water, every inch of breath forced out of his lungs with the shock. He sank, feeling the mass of the car sinking beside him.

  It felt like his heart stopped.

  There was a brief instant of nothing. Echoing, detached from reality nothing. Then his entire system reset with a burst of energy and he kicked for the surface, muscles straining.

  He could hear Sean sending a steady, “Talk to me, LC,” through the wire.

  “I’m fine,” he sent back. “Shit, this river is cold.”

  He bumped up against a solid surface and worked his way to the edge of the ice, splashing up to the surface and sucking in a breath of freezing air that stabbed needles of ice into his chest. Someone grabbed the back of his jacket and hauled him out.

  He lay on his back for a second, shivering, then rolled over and doubled up, coughing. He couldn’t help the laugh that slipped out, half hysterical and completely inappropriate. Soft white snowflakes drifted down past his nose.

  Sean knelt close and whispered in his ear, “You’re insane.” She hugged him, trying to stop the shivers but he was soaked through.

  He looked up and used her to pull himself to his feet.

  Duncan was watching the path up ahead. “We need to move,” he said. “How far is it?”

  It wasn’t far and once they’d crept past the roadblock, it didn’t take long to work their way away from the river and into Badger’s district.

  They ran at a steady pace, keeping close together. LC was struggling to stop the shivers, every bit of him wet and cold, joints beginning to seize up. Sean urged him along, taking his arm and rubbing heat into his back as they ran.

  It was quieter in the narrow streets leading to Badger’s place and it was a relief to finally make it to his door. Sean pressed the buzzer and for a long drawn out moment, LC had the sinking feeling that something was wrong when the door didn’t open. He was fumbling to get his tool kit out when the lock clicked. Sean pushed it open and pushed him inside.

  “Don’t be alarmed by anything,” she warned Duncan, stepping confidently in behind him.

  LC stood trembling and dripping onto the floor. It took an eternity for the blue beams to scan him, longer than ever before.

  “Come on, Badger, don’t be a dick,” he called out, about at the end of his patience.

  The beams lingered then faded. Sean passed the security test in seconds, Duncan only a little while longer. Badger had a twisted sense of humour.

  They made their way inside, doors opening ahead of them as they approached and it was only when LC pushed his way into Badger’s den that he realised something really was wrong.

  The room was dark and quiet, monitors off, equipment on standby, only a gentle hum from the emergency systems that were still operational breaking the silence.

  LC had never known Badger leave his gear powered down before, not to this extent.

  “He’s not here,” he said.

  Sean edged past. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” She headed for the bathroom. It was weird to see her so familiar with a place that was so sacred to the guild.

  The sound of banging was followed by running water. “Get those wet clothes off,” she yelled back at him.

  LC shrugged out of his sodden jacket, trying to shield the broken fingers on his right hand. His whole arm was throbbing, chest sore and head pounding but it was good to be somewhere safe at last.

  “Make yourself at home,” he said to Duncan.

  The big man took his coat off and pulled out a chair at the table. He looked around and leaned forward. “It’s a hell of a time to bring this up, bud,” he whispered, “but you and I need to talk.”

  “Not here,” LC muttered.

  “Yes, here. You want to tell me why it feels like my chest is on fire, why it feels like it was me that got hit by that car, like it was me in that river?” He was massaging his right hand, kneading the fingers.

  LC stared at the floor. He couldn’t explain.

  “Try,” Duncan hissed.

  It felt like he’d been punched in the chest even though he was expecting it. He turned his head and looked Duncan directly in the eyes, wondering what he could say. How the hell did you tell someone you could read their mind, see their innermost thoughts, feel every emotion and hurt they were feeling?

  The big man stared back, disbelief in his eyes.

  ‘You are shitting me,’ Duncan thought.

  ‘Wish I was,’ LC thought back, trying to figure out if thinking that way was the same or different to using the Senson. It was different, he decided, not as clear, more hazy. With the Senson you knew without doubt that someone was communicating with you via a distinct connection, tagged with whatever priorities and encryptions you decided you needed, tight as a wire strung between you both. Reading someone’s mind was more confusing; he’d been sensing Duncan’s thoughts for weeks, to hear him send a thought directly was very odd.

  ‘Shit, I thought I was going insane. Who else knows?’ he heard Duncan think, whether to him or not, he couldn’t tell.

  “No one,” LC said quietly, out loud to avoid confusion. “Absolutely no one. No one alive anyway.”

  Sean yelled him to get his ass into the bathroom and she helped him out of his wet clothing, fretting at the bruises, throwing his stuff in the drier and leaving him to it once she saw that he was alright.

  LC stood in the torrent of hot water, closing his eyes and keeping his breathing slow and steady. He felt drained, wrung out trying to keep track of what he’d revealed to whom. He felt exposed. Sean knew that he couldn’t have known about the injector in her pocket and she knew he shouldn’t have been able to withstand the shot he’d been stupid enough to punch into his neck right in front of her. It was only that she felt caught out and guilty that was stopping her from giving him a hard time about it.

  And now Duncan not only knew about the virus, he knew about the side effects. It felt like the secret was out and LC had no control over it any more. He wasn’t even planning on telling anyone at the guild about it. He hadn’t been able to imagine how he could even tell Hilyer or Pen. He’d known Hal Duncan for five minutes and now the man knew his most intimate and dangerous secret. And it could cost both of them their lives.

  His clothes were dry by the time he was done and the smell of hot chilli was wafting in from the kitchen.

  Sean and Duncan were sitting at the table, weapons spread out on a cloth. Sean stood up as he approached. “Food won’t be long,” she said and moved close, adding quietly, “Is there any chance Badger has left? Could something have happened?”

  LC shrugged. “He never powers his stuff down,” he admitted, “but all the security systems are still up and running so if he’s gone, he intends to come back. I’m sorry, this could have been a waste of time.”

  She squeezed his shoulder and sent through the wire, “LC, I know we can trust NG. Come back with me.”

 
He shook his head, feeling more and more with Badger missing that the guild was the last place he wanted to be. “Go get warmed up,” he sent back. “We’ll eat then get back. I want to try Aston next.”

  She started to object but he turned away, pulling a first aid kit from a drawer and sinking into the chair she’d vacated.

  Duncan waited until she’d gone then looked up. LC ignored him, strapping three of the fingers on his right hand, aware that the big man was watching him intently as he pulled the bindings tight.

  ‘I felt that as you hit the ice,’ Duncan thought, clenching and unclenching his right hand, thinking that his own fingers were still aching. “What happens if one of us gets seriously hurt?’

  ‘I could shoot you and tell you how it felt.’

  Duncan gave a wry smile. He was thinking about the driver of the car by the river. He’d felt it, felt that void as the guy had died, same as when he’d killed the bounty hunters on Tortuga.

  LC shrugged it off. ‘Don’t think about it.’

  Duncan swore silently to himself, deftly disassembling his gun for cleaning. “We need to get back to the Duck before it gets even worse out there,” he said out loud, while carefully wiping dry each individual component of his gun. “Whoever this Badger guy is, he’s not here.” He picked up another pistol and clicked a magazine into it. “Can you shoot left-handed?”

  LC nodded.

  The big marine passed him the handgun and continued to clean the weapons. He looked right at home. “So what is it?” he asked casually without looking up. “Assassins or thieves?”

  It came out of the blue and LC blinked in surprise, heart thumping. “What?”

  The big marine turned and folded his arms, leaning back. He stared at LC, dark eyes piercing. “This guild of yours, what is it? What are you, LC, assassin or thief?”

  Chapter 30

  “I take it the Merchants denied any move against us.”