by Andria Stone
“Not an option,” Kamryn replied. “It’s a matter of honor.” She brought a fist to her heart, tipping her head.
Gaige watched her friends repeat the gesture. “In my world, only a great loss would precipitate a debt of honor. Am I correct in assuming since one of you escaped death, another of your comrades did not?”
“Yes,” Axel said in a near whisper.
“My heartfelt sympathies for you all. I, too, lost someone, a lifetime ago. Exacting justice cost me more than I can tell you. Nevertheless, it was a price I gladly paid. In truth, it’s the reason I’m here.” He poured two fingers of a copper colored liquid into a crystal brandy glass, swirling it before taking a sip. “Why did the mere sight of our local gendarmes cause you to run?”
Kamryn looked amused. “Many reasons. We’re not on the MPLE’s list of family or friends this week.”
He grinned. “Do you have a safe place to stay?”
She folded her arms. “We’ve been moving around.”
“I have a guest house to which you’re more than welcome. It’s in a quiet neighborhood. I use it for business meetings or merchants visiting from other domes.”
Kamryn hesitated, tossing curious looks at Mark and Axel, waiting for their input before she replied. Although Kamryn’s gut said Gaige Rayburn was 75 percent trustworthy—about as good as one could hope of a criminal—she refused to make a decision which affected everyone unless they agreed.
She got nothing. Maybe they needed more information about him first.
“Why have you engaged in a criminal enterprise when there are no laws against manufacturing your product under the dome?”
“I refuse to pay taxes. It leads to dishonest politics, as well as a corrupt government, which you’ve informed me is the current state of affairs in Aurora, proving my point.” Gaige took another sip. “Also, it hasn’t slipped by me that your name, Marixa, is a constellation discovered less than ten years ago in the Tecton Nebula. Or that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are from Old Earth literature, unheard of by most Martian criminals.”
A sheepish expression spread across Mark’s face. “Spur-of-the-moment. If I’d suspected anyone on this planet had read the classics, I would have given more thought to the names.”
Since leaving the bar, their comms as well as tablets had been switched to silent. A small electrical charge, however, could still be emitted by the tablets if an emergency code was sent. When all three felt the charge, they stood.
Axel said, “We appreciate your hospitality, Mr. Rayburn, but we’re pressed for time. If there’s no expiration on your offer, let Marixa know how to contact you. Can you have someone show us out?”
Gaige offered Kamryn his arm, which she accepted. He led them through 500 yards of tunnel to a stairway up to the surface. He waved as the Terrans hurried away while activating their comms.
Axel got through first. “What’s wrong, Ohashi?”
“Petra went out for food about an hour ago. When she didn’t return, I commed her, but she’s not responding. Since she’s not chipped, I can’t track her. I’m getting concerned.”
“Stay there. We’ll track her down.”
They separated. Kamryn checked the map on her tablet, then took off in the direction of the Palace de Mars Hotel. She ducked into every other shop, asking if anyone had seen Petra, flashing an image of Petra in the new holographic tunic.
All replies were negative.
She continued canvassing the neighborhood, block after block, thinking Petra might not have been able to resist her urge to window shop for other things besides clothes.
Still, no one had seen her.
As she neared the hotel, the sight of two men lounging against a storefront made her skin crawl. Kamryn could spot predatory behavior from a mile away. She crossed the street, pretending to look at a display while she watched the men’s reflections in the glass. They wore hats, beards, and long hair. She caught them exchanging furtive glances. To her trained eye, their body language had ‘bad guys’ written all over it. They were hiding something, and she was looking for something. Hmmm.
Although it might be a long shot, she cut across diagonally to their side, but up half a dozen stores. The first clerk she approached identified Petra’s image. Encouraged, Kamryn commed Ohashi.
“I’ve narrowed down where Petra went missing. Have two suspects in sight. The situation is fluid. Send backup, just in case.”
Kamryn set both guns to heavy stun, flipped the safeties off, licked her lips, and sashayed down to her two targets.
“Say, you two want to have a good time tonight?”
The larger one leered. “With you?”
“No, silly. My boss is putting on a mud wrestling match. Tonight—with naked girls!”
They looked dumbfounded.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of naked girl mud wrestling? It’s huge on Terra! I’ve got a vid.” She waved her tablet in the air with her left hand. “Ya wanna see a clip?”
She beckoned them with her right index finger into the mouth of the nearest alley. They followed her like baby ducks after their mama.
Kamryn stuffed the tablet in her waistband while reaching for the gun on her right hip. Without warning, she spun around with her gun drawn, stunning the larger one in the gut. As he crumbled, the smaller man looked on in disbelief. She sprang toward him, swinging her elbow in an upward arc, crashing it into his left jawbone. He stumbled back, head slamming against the wall and bouncing off to collapse to his knees before he fell on his face.
Kamryn grabbed handfuls of trash, covering them while she called out Petra’s name, racing down the alley until a muffled sound drifted back. Seconds later, she found Petra gagged and tied behind a large trash module. Kamryn cut off her bindings, but refused to touch the gag. It smelled awful.
Petra removed the gag and spat with a grimace. “Yuck. I think that was a dirty sock.”
She tried to stand, but needed Kamryn’s help. Together, they made it back to where the foiled kidnappers were waiting underneath the improvised piles of trash. Axel and Mark whipped around the corner, coming to a halt when they saw both women.
“Are you okay?” Mark asked.
Kamryn gave a thumbs up.
Petra wiped the dirty sock residue off her tongue onto her sleeve as she talked at an ever-increasing pace. “They were hiding, waiting for me, grabbed me from behind. I heard them talking. They were sent by someone who knew we were here to pick us off one by one. They have our military ID pictures. Now we have to go blonde, too. Ohashi’s not going to like that. Neither is Eva. Where is the guy that grabbed me? He groped me.”
She swiped paper off the prone bodies, finding the perpetrator.
“You pig. You lowlife friggin’…” Petra tossed a questioning look at Kamryn.
“Martian puke.”
“You lowlife Martian puke. Let’s see how you like this.” Petra kicked his legs open, then delivered a beautiful three-point punt straight to his crotch.
Chapter 9
The men retrieved the other two women from the hotel while Kamryn contacted Rayburn. She accepted his offer of a safe house, requesting a van pick them up at the far end of the alley. Ohashi disabled the GPS in every tablet before the pair of criminals were stuffed into the van.
The young driver eyed the two unconscious men. Kamryn snickered. “They can’t hold their liquor. This happens whenever we come to Mars.”
After dropping everyone off at the house, the driver handed the keycard to Kamryn, still looking unsure about the condition of the men being carried in.
She smiled at him, waving a cheery goodbye as he sped away. The small, beige house looked vacant, with an airy white interior, taupe furniture, and dated appliances. She pulled the curtains closed. Everything took place in the kitchen while Ohashi and Eva scoured the cupboards for food. Petra brushed her teeth in the sink, still trying to get the sock taste out of her mouth.
“All right, get these two ready for a few questions.” Kamryn pul
led chairs away from the table. “Let’s see what they can tell us.”
Axel tied up the prisoners.
Mark helped strap them to chairs, asking, “May I try?”
Kamryn shrugged, handing him the vial of AZ2 with the syringe of Quazar.
“What injuries did the bigger one suffer?” Mark asked.
“A heavy stun to the solar plexus.”
“The smaller one?”
“An elbow to the jaw.”
“And a swift kick in the nuts,” Petra added.
Mark checked the man’s swollen face. A ribbon of blood trailed from the corner of his mouth down his neck. “Nose is broken, multiple lacerations and contusions to the front and back of his head. Jaw’s certainly dislocated, if not broken. Can someone pass me a spoon, please? A big one?” Mark used it to pry open the mouth, peering inside. “Bit his tongue upon impact, but it’s all there.” Next, he undid the man’s pants, discovering the absence of underwear as Mark moved the spoon around to inspect his genitals.
“Eeew!” Petra whined as all the women except Kamryn hid their eyes.
“I’m a doctor trying to ascertain which prisoner is the better candidate for questioning. Besides, Petra, you weren’t wearing ballet slippers when you kicked him in the genitals. What are your boots? A size nine? If he didn’t already have children, there’s an 85 percent chance he won’t be able to have them now.” Mark redressed the prisoner. “This one is useless. We could give him pain meds, but with his jaw, he won’t speak clearly enough for us to understand him. Better concentrate on the bigger one.” Mark looked at Kamryn. “Was he the leader?”
Kamryn nodded and picked up her tablet from the table.
“Okay, here goes.”
Mark passed the vial of AZ2 under his nose, then injected a small amount of Quazar into his neck. The prisoner’s eyes fluttered open amid some coughing and choking. Mark suspected it was a residual shock to the system after being stunned and revived by chemicals. Before beginning, Mark checked to make sure Axel and Kamryn were recording the interrogation.
“By what names are you known?”
“Edward Burroughs, Edward Bradshaw, Edward Curtis, Curtis Edwards, Silent Eddie.”
Pleased to find a talkative subject, Mark continued, “Who was with you in the Cemetery today?”
“Diego and Papas.” He lapsed into a coughing spell before finally catching his breath.
“Who ordered which one to leave?” Mark asked. “Where did he go?”
“The Queen B sent Papas to the Bunker.”
“Who is the Queen B? Where is the Bunker?”
“The Queen Bitch is Valerie Parker. The Bunker’s been moved to 112B Starburst Lane.”
“Who gave you orders to kidnap the woman you were hiding?”
“The Queen B sent us to bring her as many as…we could…find.” He started sputtering, went into another coughing spasm, then his head flopped in an unnatural roll to the side.
Mark felt for the man’s pulse. Nothing. Mark checked his eyes. Fixed. Mark felt distressed, realizing he’d been the instrument of this man’s death, at a loss as to how to deal with it. Logic took over. He stepped back, shaking his head. “Probably had a pre-existing condition. The stun, together with the chemicals, might have triggered a chain reaction.” He looked around.
There was no judgement in the eyes of anyone.
Mark instructed Ohashi to send the interrogation recording to Dimitrios, plus a message about a possible unidentified spy or hacker in the MMC, MPLE, or governor’s ranks. He helped Axel haul the injured man, still strapped in his chair, out to the backyard and tossed an old tablecloth over him. Next, they cut the dead man out of his chair, carrying him out to prop him sitting up against the house as if he were in ‘time out’.
Back in the kitchen, Axel said, “We’ve got one dead, plus another who should be, and no transportation out of here. I’d like to know what happened to the ships full of guns, and where the hell Valerie Parker is.”
“Oh my god!” Ohashi yelled. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you.” She explained while assembling electronics on the kitchen table. “As ordered, we sent all the data you collected to General Dimitrios. He bounced it right back to Colonel Rushing, and man is she pissed at you—well, us—with orders to coordinate a joint raid on those two ships with MMC. The MMC General, Ryan Lance, is twice as pissed at her—us, too—because a Terran general told him all this is happening on his planet, right under his nose, and he didn’t have a clue. Minutes after I sent the message for you to leave, four warships descended on the tarmac, but not before half the mercs with one pilot left in the Argus ship. Boo. However, Parker’s ship was captured with all the prisoners trussed up like Christmas turkeys. Yay!”
“You did great,” Mark said. “Now what about Valerie Parker and Clarence Bryant?”
“Well…” Petra inched forward, holding up a finger. “That’s where things get murky. By the time MMC troops coordinated with the MPLE troops, who were ordered to wait for the proper warrants, the bunker was empty. But we know the new address—”
“I don’t give a damn about the bunker!” Axel exploded. “Where is that murdering bitch, Valerie Parker?”
Mark and Kamryn stepped in front of him while the others cringed. The unmistakable rage written on Axel’s face and the underlying desperation were impossible to miss.
Eva circled around everyone, coming at Axel from the side. Mark almost moved to stop her, but a memory from his past prevented him from interfering. With a timid smile, Eva placed her small hand on Axel’s oversized shoulder. Her eyes were full of tears as she murmured, “I miss Maeve, too.” She took his hand, patting his arm, comforting him in her soothing voice while leading him toward the living room. “She had a great sense of humor, and was oh-so brave. I could see how much she cared for you. Why don’t you come in here to tell me things about her I didn’t know?”
Petra tiptoed over to shut the door behind them. Everyone heaved a collective sigh of relief.
Incredulous, Ohashi whispered, “I didn’t know she could do that.”
“It’s a gift,” Mark said. “After our Lab was gassed on Luna, she did the same thing to me when I woke up in the hospital and trashed the place.”
Kamryn grinned. “You mean when you were naked?”
“Who told you that?”
“Axel.”
Mark shook his head. “He didn’t arrive until afterward.”
“No, he was there. Standing in a corner. Watching everything.”
Petra snickered. “Also said you were naked as a newborn and blind as a bat, but still badass.”
Mark made a mental note to sign Axel up for a double dose of payback whenever he returned to normal. “Well, badass naked means you’re twice as dangerous, doesn’t it?” With a smug grin, he remembered terrifying the inept doctor before he destroyed the hospital room.
“You’re more like Axel than you think,” Kamryn said. “He didn’t stand in your way when you went to extreme lengths to end Beth Coulter. On the contrary. He was your wingman.”
“You’re right. Now I’m his wingman. Always will be. If Valerie Parker were standing here, I’d walk away. Axel could settle things in whatever manner he thought appropriate.” He spread his hands to encompass all of them. “But the difference is we’re former military. Not this planet’s military, either. We’re guests from a different planet. We’ve inadvertently exposed, and in doing so, escalated a privately funded overthrow to its military, which includes a corrupt governor, with no clue as to how many mercs, spies, or hackers are on their payroll. Not to mention cyborgs and clones. For the record, my primary interests are trying to keep Axel from harming himself, being convicted of murder, and staying out of jail.”
***
Axel’s talk with Eva took the edge off. That, plus two hours of hard sleep, cleared the fog of hatred from his vision. He felt grounded, more aware of things happening around him. A sense of inner peace rose above his rage. He needed to keep the anger in c
heck; otherwise, he could put all his teammates—his family—in jeopardy.
No more of my people will die. Not on this planet. It would become his mantra until boarding the ship for Terra.
Axel showered, letting any leftover tension drain away. He shaved his head, then enhanced his disguise by shaving his usual stubble into a refined Van Dyke. Dressing only in leather pants, he did about 50 pushups, releasing endorphins which triggered a feeling similar to morphine.
He padded barefoot into the living room to find Mark letting Gaige Rayburn in the front door. Kamryn was sitting on the couch. Axel suspected the others were listening behind the kitchen door. Certain the young driver had reported delivering eight people to the house, Axel assumed Rayburn knew this group of Terrans might be more of a problem than he’d first thought.
Rayburn extended his arm. They shook hands. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Hyde.” He sat an arm’s length away from Marixa. “I brought news which needs to be shared in person.”
“Let’s hear it,” Axel said. Encouraged, he backed up, taking a position against the doorjamb with his arms crossed.
“Victor Parker—with several others—has been taken into custody by the MMC to an undisclosed location, which I’m certain you already knew.” Rayburn smiled as he thumbed his pinky ring. “The specific charges have not yet been made public, but none of my contacts know the current whereabouts of Valerie Parker. Yesterday, however, she was last seen at the home of Aurora’s governor, Clarence Bryant.
“One of my employees has a daughter who works there as an assistant to the Executive Chef. According to her, Bryant’s entertained a woman matching Valerie Parker's description, although she wasn’t referred to by name, for many private, late evening dinners. It may come as no surprise to you, but Bryant is making confidential demands for the release of Victor Parker, asserting he’s nothing more than an innocent bystander caught up in the MMC raid.”
