Stealing Mercury (Arena Dogs Book 1)

by Charlee Allden

  At the top, she was able to get a glimpse of the compound above. The quiet three story building, mostly abandoned now, sprawled across a barren plain.

  Halfway between the grate and the building, a high charged fence surrounded the facility. She couldn’t see any guards, but they’d be there. A minimum of three, according to Rachel. Satisfied that everything was as described, Samantha climbed back down into the tunnel and made her way to the empty station. The doors to the stairs had been welded shut, but one blast from her purloined weapon on full force managed to break the hinges on one side. Samantha squeezed through the small opening then moved quickly up the stairs.

  She waited at the top, listening for any sign of the guards. She wondered again what she thought she was doing. She had no business going after Hera. What if she made things worse? She should’ve waited for help. No. According to Rachel, Owens had plans underway to move Hera tonight.

  She heard Mercury’s voice in her head. How many times had he called her courageous? She had to do this for him. For all of them. She gave the last set of doors between her and the juvenile center a gentle shove and cringed at the racket it made as it slid open.

  She squeezed through the gap and pushed the door back into place. A quick look around showed no sign of patrols. Rachel had promised the surveillance cameras weren’t operational. If she’d been wrong she’d know soon enough. Samantha sprinted down the corridor to the first turn and stopped, back pressed against the wall, waiting for some alarm to sound or for a group of armed men to come charging out, but she heard nothing.

  The rooms on the ground level all appeared to be schoolrooms. Instead of miniature chairs and tables, stacks of gear and wrestling mats sat in a corner waiting for children to need them again. If she had her way, not another child would be allowed to grow up in those dreary rooms.

  Once she felt confident there was no guard at this end of the building, Samantha headed for the stairwell that led to the second level. The moment she got to the top she heard the guard patrolling the corridor. Samantha waited for him to round the corner and get a good distance away then headed for the nearest window. She took in the narrow ledge and decided it was better than a wide hall where she’d have to face at least one guard.

  She made her way along the ledge and to the bedroom window of the building’s only resident. She found Hera sitting on her bed—no evidence of the child in the shape of her body.

  Hera wore familiar black pants and a matching tunic. Her long, ebony hair had been pulled back from her face in a tight braid. The severity of the style emphasized her high cheekbones and wide, black eyes. Her nostrils flared as Samantha dropped into the room. Holding a finger to her lips in the universal sign for quiet, she approached the woman and sat on the bed.

  “I’m a friend of Carn’s. I’m here to help you.”

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Hera whispered, panic flaring in her eyes. “Carn can’t come here. Don’t let him come here.”

  “He doesn’t know where we are. We’re going to have to go to him, okay?”

  “I can’t leave. There are guards and a fence and no way off the planet. Please go before they find you here.”

  Samantha had known Hera had been created and trained to be submissive, but she hadn’t expected her to be timid to the point of refusing to participate in her own rescue. She put her arm around Hera’s shoulders.

  “I know you’re afraid, but you have to be brave. We need to get your baby out of here. Okay?”

  “Baby?” Hera’s eyes widened as she edged away from Samantha’s touch. She stopped at the end of the bed, but continued shifting like a tethered camule unable to get out of the path of an approaching sandstorm. “There are no babies here.”

  Samantha allowed her eyelids to slip down over her tired eyes. Why would Rachel have lied? Or had Roma used her to bait a trap?

  Samantha pushed to her feet. If it was the latter, she was in real trouble. “We have to get out of here now. Is there more than one guard on this floor?”

  “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” Samantha considered the window ledge, but this time she chose speed over stealth. “I’m going to go stand over in the corner. When I give the signal, you call out. I’ll stun them when they come in.” And she’d have to hope catching them by surprise was a big enough advantage. “As soon as the guard is down, you have to be ready.”

  “The fence?”

  “I have a different way out. You follow me.”

  “Okay.” Hera visibly straightened. “I’m ready.”

  Samantha stepped softly across the room and froze as a symbol carved into the wall caught her eye. She traced her fingers over the rough etching. It was one the symbols from the terraformers back on G45987. Mercury had been right. The terraformers and the surrogates must have been one and the same. She stored that bit of knowledge for later.

  Turning back to Hera, she gave the signal. Hera shouted out for help. The door banged open and a uniformed guard strode through.

  Samantha waited. If there was more than one, she wanted them both to come through, but no one followed and the first guard was already starting to turn. Samantha fired. He fell to the ground like a stone and she wanted to jump for joy, but there would be time for celebration later.

  Samantha took a deep breath then peered into the hall. No one. Could she be that lucky?

  She started to wave Hera forward, but instinct told her to be methodical, take every weapon available. She dashed over to the fallen guard and dropped to her knees. She took his weapon first then rifled through his pockets and came up with some keys and a remote unit that looked right for the fence. It was always good to have more options. She shoved the remote and keys into her jacket pocket and pressed the weapon into Hera’s hands.

  “I couldn’t.”

  “It’s point and shoot. Easy.”

  Hera shook her head frantically. “Please, I can’t.”

  “Okay.” Samantha shoved one of the weapons into her belt and kept the other and the stunner in her hands as she led Hera into the hall. They made it to the stairwell and down. Her pulse was pounding so loud in her ears she knew she wouldn’t be able to hear a guard patrolling if there was one. She’d have to hope Hera would have the sense to warn her, if she heard something.

  The hall was clear.

  She led Hera back to the station entrance, a ball of worry growing in her belly. It was too easy. Too quickly they reached the door down into the station.

  Samantha stopped.

  She pressed her shoulder against the smooth surface.

  She looked back to Hera wanting reassurance that Hera wasn’t hearing any movement.

  Before the panic on Hera’s face registered the door was shoved against her. She’d been right there and the guard had shoved the door hard. It knocked her off her feet. The pistol went skittering across the floor.

  The guard came at her, smooth and efficient. He kicked the stunner from her right hand. Pain exploded through her knuckles and wrist. She bit her tongue to hold back her scream. She didn’t want to alert any more guards and she didn’t want to frighten Hera. Carn’s mate had stepped back and plastered her body against the wall.

  The guard made a grab for Samantha, but she rolled away and pulled herself toward the stunner that lay just out of reach.

  A booted foot crushed the weapon then connected with her ribs and something snapped. For a heartbeat she stopped, unable even to breath. All the oxygen had been sucked out of her lungs and she couldn’t get anything back in. The pain eased then throbbed again as the guard pulled her up by the back of her collar.

  Samantha reached blindly behind her, sliding the heel of her hand down his body until she found his cock. She dug her fingers into his balls and tightened with all her strength. He released her so fast she nearly fell. She got her feet under her and spun. Dots of light danced in her vision as she pulled back a fist and punched him hard in the nose.

  He collapsed to the ground, not out comple
tely, but dazed.

  She pulled her last weapon from her belt and held out a hand for Hera. “Come on.”

  The woman’s fingers trembled as they slid into hers. “There are more down those stairs,” Hera warned.

  “Damn!” Samantha trusted Hera’s nose and hearing so she tugged the woman toward the nearest door out of the building, pain in every step. They’d have to find another way. Samantha pulled her through the door, muscles tensed and ready to run.

  “No,” Hera warned, but too late.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Owens Juvenile Center, Roma

  Earth Alliance Beta Sector

  2210.185

  Samantha stumbled as Hera slammed into her back.

  She reached behind her to steady the clinging woman.

  “I tried to tell you,” Hera murmured.

  Less than fifty meters away, Drake and two guards stood between them and the gate in the high pulse-fence. In the back of her mind, she’d been thinking they could get out that way, but that was no longer a possibility. The guards only carried stun-sticks, but Drake had a pulse-pistol aimed at them, negating any advantage they might have gained from the distance between them. A smile spilt Drake’s face and he held his trademark whip in a loop in his other hand.

  Samantha jerked her gaze away to search for another way out.

  “Don’t even think of making a run for it,” Drake shouted. “Even if you could make it before I shot you, you’d be out the moment you touched the fence.”

  This couldn’t be happening.

  Had Rachel set her up or had Sevti broken under interrogation? She didn’t want to contemplate what they might have done to him to get the information. And Rachel…if she was working for Owens, there would be no one coming to help.

  “What are we going to do?” Hera’s voice trembled.

  “Do you see anyone outside the fence?” Samantha kept her voice low.

  “No,” said Hera. “No one.”

  “Stay behind me,” Samantha whispered. “Keep me between you and Drake.”

  She pointed the pistol in Drake’s general direction, knowing the time had come to make the sort of life and death decision Mercury had faced over and over in the arena. Kill or be killed. If it were only her life, she might make a different decision. But Hera stood terrified behind her and Carn would never get over her death. Carn. Wise, kind Carn.

  “Oh, no.” In a flash of insight, Samantha understood. Realization stabbed hard in her belly. It slithered under her ribcage and slogged upward, like a writhing snake forcing its way up her throat. Mercury hadn’t come back to Roma for Hera. He’d done it for Carn.

  Samantha could hear the whoosh of her pulse in her ears. Mercury had come back to Roma for Carn. That bit of wisdom echoed loud above the sudden surge of her heart rate. She shut it away for later consideration and focused on the moment.

  As long as there weren’t any guards beyond the fence, getting over it seemed like their best option. Beyond the dangerous barrier, the land was bereft of foliage, but it wasn’t level. A ditch or a rise could serve as cover, either for a rescuer or for them, if they could clear the fence.

  “Be smart, Sam,” said Drake. “Put the weapon down.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Drake’s pistol was the real problem. The guards would have to chase them down to use the stun-sticks and Samantha was willing to bet Hera could make it to the fence before they could close the distance.

  The thought of what she was about to do made Samantha lightheaded. Her belly clenched and bile rose up the back of her throat.

  Samantha pressed her lips together.

  She lifted the pistol higher and took aim at the center of Drake’s chest.

  She squeezed the trigger.

  And nothing happened.

  Frustration and…relief warred in her gut. Her hands shook with the reality of what she’d been willing to do. For Mercury. Not for Hera. Not for Carn. For the man she loved more than her own moral high ground.

  Drake shook his head. “Sam, I’m so disappointed. Did you really think I’d let you get your hands on a functioning weapon?” Smug confidence etched his features like the macabre grin of a slither-constrictor with a squirming rodent halfway down its gullet.

  Sam dropped the gun and held her hands out.

  “Rachel.” Against her will, the name came out with all the grief she was feeling. Grief for what the woman had put Lo through. Grief for the chance that help would come that had just slipped away.

  If the gun was a plant, the remote might be, too.

  Drake laughed—a cruel sound. “Poor, ugly Rachel has no idea what she’s done. She doesn’t even know we’ve been watching her for months. It was easy to make sure she overheard exactly what we wanted her to and even easier to swap out the pistol she left you. She led you right to us.”

  Samantha sucked in that bit of information like a fire chasing after fuel. If Rachel hadn’t been working against them, she might still be able to send help.

  Drake started walking toward them to close the distance. “It’s time to be sensible. If you cooperate, I can guarantee you won’t be harmed.”

  Samantha shook her head. “You’ll let me go? I don’t think so.”

  “I’ll hand you over to the Alliance law officers and you’ll get a fair trial,” he promised.

  He knew she had Cerrillian blood. That she could never get fair treatment from the Alliance authorities. She wanted to laugh at the absurdity, but she needed to keep him talking so she could think. “What charges?”

  “I’m not negotiating here,” he shouted back. “I’m offering you a way out of this that doesn’t end in you never leaving this estate.” Drake shoved the pistol into a sheath hanging from his waste and tapped the whip against his hip.

  Samantha’s heart raced right into her throat. Drake’s arrogance might have given them a chance. Samantha pitched her voice low again, for Hera. “Reach down to the pocket on my left thigh.” Drake was watching Samantha and paying no attention to where Hera’s hands were. “There’s a sparker—a small metal strip. Pull it out and when I say, snap it and toss it ten meters in front of us, but don’t look at it.” She raised her voice for Drake’s benefit. “Why should I make it easy on you?”

  “Because things can always be worse.” Drake started uncoiling the whip in his hands.

  Hera, bless her, managed to get the sparker out of her pocket without freaking out.

  Under her breath, Samantha said, “can you get over the fence, if I bring the power down?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  Drake was close enough to speak without shouting and his face said his patience was at an end. “What are we doing here, Sam?”

  “What’s the hurry?” Samantha shrugged and slowly lowered her hands in the direction of her jacket pockets.

  Drake grinned. “I know you don’t have any more weapons. You can’t fake me out, Sam.”

  “I wouldn’t even think of it,” she said sweetly. She slipped her hands into the folds of fabric and carefully fingered her jammer and the remote she’d taken off the guard. If she could trigger the remote, and it was for the fence, then she could jam the signal to keep it from going back up while they climbed. “Look around, your real targets aren’t anywhere to be seen. Isn’t Hera supposed to be the bait? Why don’t we wait and see if anyone else turns up?”

  He frowned. “I have to say, I wasn’t expecting the Dogs to send you after the bitch.”

  “I didn’t have anything better to do.”

  “I see them.” Hera’s whispered words were laced with excitement. “Mercury, Carn, Lo. They’re coming.”

  The news was bittersweet. Drake was getting close. Odds they could both get over the fence weren’t good. Samantha tightened her hands around the remote. “Tell Mercury—”

  “No!”

  “Shh. Tell, Mercury, this is my choice. I knew what I was doing when I came after you. Tell him this isn’t his fault. Promise me.”

  Hera m
ade a yipping noise then nodded. “I promise.”

  Samantha triggered the remote and watched the red light at the top of the fence posts go dim. She triggered the jammer. “Okay. Now!”

  Hera tossed the sparker and they both turned and ran. Even with her back turned, the light flashed in her vision and the crackle and pop made her ears ring. With any luck, Drake would be temporarily blind and disoriented.

  Samantha pumped arms and legs, adrenalin helping her ignore the pain in her ribs, but she couldn’t keep up with Hera. The woman might not have the aggression of the males of her species, but she clearly matched them for strength. She went up and over the fence without looking back.

  Samantha knew she wouldn’t make it up the fence in time, but she continued to struggle forward, her mind unwilling to accept that she might never again see her mother’s smile or lay in Mercury and Lo’s arms. She hadn’t gotten enough of either.

  The slap of Drake’s whip against her boot shot bolts of fear through her body, but Samantha didn’t stop. She put her whole heart into pushing forward. A brutal tug yanked her foot back and her body slammed hard against the ground. A sickening snap and a flash of icy cold gripped the arm she’d thrown out instinctively to protect her face. She would’ve screamed, if she hadn’t lost her breath from the impact.

  Samantha pushed up with her good arm and searched for Hera through the fence. She’d made it out forty meters where the men had run out to meet her. Mercury was in the lead, that amazing speed of his, but Lo and Carn were close behind.

  Hera threw herself into Mercury’s arms. Samantha watched as her love’s arms closed around the female he’d bonded with then a tug on her boot jerked her back again. Her arm gave out and her face slapped against the hard packed ground. Lights flickered behind her eyelids as pain radiated out from her cheekbone but it couldn’t compare to the pain in her heart.

  Hera and the others would be safe. Satisfaction pushed her fear and her grief aside for a moment and she clung to it, let it fill her heart.

  As the weight of Drake’s shadow fell over her, she closed her eyes and imagined them all happy, living together, looking out for each other. Drake’s boot came down on her wrist and he dug into her pocket and came up with the remote.