“What’s that?” I yelled over the sound of the purring engine. “Bapz, Bapz, you’re breaking up. I can’t hear you. What did you say about leaving?”
“Master Hunt, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this channel for communication,” Bapz said. “I know you can hear me just fine.”
X opened the front gate, already giving me a line to follow to the Athens address.
“Sorry—can’t—breaking up—”
X did her part and closed the channel.
“Think he bought it?” I asked into my helmet.
“Not at all,” X answered. “But I do agree with him. We need to be careful and not draw attention to ourselves.”
“Piece of cake,” I replied as I maneuvered around the nearly nonexistent nighttime traffic in Athens. “Discretion is my middle name.”
We made it a few kilometers before the first GG patrol picked us up.
Twenty-One
I didn’t see the large praetorian patrol vehicle sitting tucked in between two buildings. I guess that was the point. To be fair, I didn’t even know what the speed limit was in the area, but I was going way too fast.
When the sirens blared behind me, I had a split-second decision to make. X had overlaid a map in the right lower section of my visor. I was only a few minutes out from reaching Amber.
I could run or try and talk my way out of it. I was too close to Amber’s house right now to run. I couldn’t just lead the praetorians there.
I pulled off to the side of the road on the hover bike. We were in a quiet business district of the city. Only a few vehicles passed us. It was getting late and most of the businesses were closed for the day.
“Remember you’re wanted,” X warned in my ear. “Keep your helmet on if you can. Turn off your bike and place your hands where they can see them. It’ll put them at ease.”
“Right,” I said, determined not to let the praetorians take me in no matter what the cost. Unlike the time I had been detained outside of the cemetery, this time, I didn’t have Captain Valentine to fall back on.
A pair of praetorians in full armor walked up on either side of me. The one on my left gave off a low whistle.
“Nice hover bike,” he said in a not unfriendly tone.
“Thanks,” I answered.
“You know what speed we clocked you at?” the other praetorian asked in a gruff voice.
“No, sir,” I said, shaking my head. “I know I was going fast. I’ll be happy to pay whatever fine I need to.”
“I’ll just need your data chip,” the praetorian on my left said. “Take off your helmet for me, please.”
“You have a permit to carry a weapon like that in Athens?” the praetorian on my right asked, motioning to my MK II. “What’s that on your belt? An axe and knife?”
I already knew the conversation wasn’t going to end well. I couldn’t remove my helmet or else they’d see who I was. Even if they didn’t recognize my face, they’d get all the data they needed from scanning my face. I didn’t have the fake ID chip with me anymore.
One thing I wasn’t, though, was a praetorian killer. I’d have to take them out quickly and quietly.
I scanned the street in both directions. In front of me, the road was empty. Behind me, the red taillights of a vehicle that had just passed.
“Sir, did you hear me?” the praetorian on the right asked. “Take your helmet off and ID chip.”
I rose from my seat on the hover bike in one fluid motion, bringing up the axe on my belt in my left hand. With the blunt side, I struck the praetorian on my left across his helmet.
Turning to my right, I drew my MK II. The praetorian on my right was also in the act of drawing his sidearm. Thanks to my augmented physique from being a Pack Protocol member, I was a little faster.
Thank the creator the rounds on my MK II were already set to the tranquilizers from my altercation with the wolves earlier that day. I stroked the trigger, sending a round into the side of his neck.
The praetorian managed to lift his weapon and aim before he fell to the ground unconscious. I turned to my left, squeezing the trigger again at the stunned praetorian.
He collapsed as well.
“Clock’s ticking now,” X told me. “They called you in when they pulled you over. If they don’t check in in a few minutes, dispatch will check in on them then send a back-up vehicle for support.”
“Then we have a few minutes,” I said, holstering my weapons. I flipped on the engine and we were off again. “I’ll switch out the hover bike for a vehicle on the way back.”
“You say switch, but I think you mean steal,” X informed me.
“Same, same,” I responded.
I maneuvered through the dark streets following X’s directions to where Amber lived. I soon found myself on a pretty road lined with small houses for Athens.
When you lived with the top ten percent like those on Mars, most houses were huge mansions. The ones on this street were small but nice. I smiled at the idea of Amber getting a house for herself and settling in.
I remembered conversations we’d have about getting a house of our own one day. We never talked about leaving Immortal Corp or the Pack Protocol program, but who didn’t want a little place of their own?
I stopped across the street from a house with a long driveway. The house was white with a grey roof and trim. Bright lights shone inside a large front room window. A table set with the aftermath of a late dinner was clearly visible.
Parking the hover bike, I turned off the ignition and removed my helmet. I was content to be a man of my word and just watch for a few moments to honor Cassie’s request.
I never said how long I’d wait. My plan was to sit there just long enough to get a glimpse of Amber through the window and then go up to the door. I felt the jitters roll through my body in anticipation of our reunion. I imagined this was what kids felt like on their birthdays or maybe even Christmas morning.
Removing my helmet in the quiet street, I sat in eager anticipation.
Then I saw her. She looked just like I remembered. Strong, a twinkle in her eye, and beautiful. I just sat there for a minute thinking of how happy she would be to see me. Joy exploded in my heart like a firework at a celebration.
I felt like an idiot. A creepy, happy idiot just sitting there staring at her from across the street. I couldn’t imagine what I looked like to any neighbor who peered from their window.
It was late, though. Any light came from the sprinkling of stars overhead, the moons, and the street lights spread out every few meters.
“What do I say to her?” I asked myself out loud, admiring the love of my life as she cleared the dinner table. “‘Hi’ just doesn’t seem right.”
“Daniel?” X asked. There was something in her voice that was cautious and worried.
“I mean, she thinks I’m dead.” I ignored X. “I can’t just knock on the door. I’m going to give her a heart attack.”
“Daniel,” X said more forcefully now.
“Yes?” I answered, ripped from my plans of grandeur. I stood up from the bike and swung a leg over to dismount.
X didn’t have to answer me. My eyes caught what she already had. Amber wasn’t alone in the house. A good-looking man joined her at the kitchen table as they both cleared the remnants of the night’s dinner. He said something and she smiled and laughed. Amber walked over to him and placed a kiss on his lips.
My eye twitched.
I stood there, trying to figure out what it meant, if it changed anything.
It’s been five years, I reminded myself. She thinks you’ve been dead for five years. Of course she’s tried to move on. That’s healthy, isn’t it? Even if she mourned you for a few years, there’s time in there for her to recover and move on with her life.
My heart tried to justify what my eyes took in. Love blinded me when I first arrived. All I saw was her. Now I took in all the details X had seen from the start.
There was a wedding ring on Amber’s finger as we
ll as the man’s. The two disappeared deeper in the house then came back after depositing the dishes. They were joking again, smiling and laughing.
The man wrapped his arms around Amber’s waist. My gut instinct was to rip the arms from his body and shove them down his throat. Amber was wearing a loose-fitting white shirt. When he hugged her, the blouse was pulled tighter, revealing a bulge around her belly.
I wasn’t around pregnant mothers much these days, but it didn’t take a doctor to tell Amber was pregnant.
My legs felt unstable like the Yakuza Hammer had just laid into me with a kidney punch. I felt nauseous. I leaned against the hover bike for support.
“I’m sorry, Daniel,” X whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
My heart tore at the same time as my mind. The selfish desire in me to be happy tried to justify itself with what I knew had to be done.
She’d pick you. She’d pick you if she knew you were alive, the devil on my shoulder tried to convince me. Just go inside. Make her choose. You can still be with her.
Another look inside at Amber and her family and I knew I wasn’t going to do that to her. I couldn’t. Like Sam in the Badlands, Amber had started her family. Unlike Sam, it seemed as though Amber had gotten out. I mean, really left the violent world we lived in behind.
“Who is he?” I managed to croak. Tears of anger and frustration fought their way to my eyes.
“Daniel,” X said softly as if she too were hurting. “Do you really want to know? Will that help?”
“Who is he?” I repeated.
A small square screen popped to life in the lower right hand corner of my vision. It was an up-close profile of Amber’s husband.
“Richard Westmoreland is a lawyer here on Athens,” X informed me. “Thirty-five, he has no previous marriages or children. No criminal record. He’s clean, an upstanding citizen, even up for a promotion at his firm.”
I closed my eyes. I rubbed my temples with the palms of my hands. My jaw clenched so hard, I thought I would shatter my teeth.
To my knowledge, I had never had a mental breakdown before, but I felt as though I was on the verge of one now.
I took a long, deep breath and one last look at Amber.
“Is she happy?” I asked X.
“Daniel,” X said in a low quiet voice.
“X, jus—please answer me,” I pushed.
“Yes, baby’s due in five months.”
“Are they okay? They have money, do they need anything?” I asked, mounting the hover bike again. Tears fell down my cheeks freely now. I didn’t care.
“His salary isn’t as substantial as many here on Mars, but it’s enough to pay the mortgage and provide for Amber and the child,” X answered.
“Can you make a deposit in their account, one that’s untraceable, and send a message along with it?” I asked, placing my helmet on my head and taking one last look at Amber and Richard.
They walked out of the kitchen smiling and out of my life forever.
“Yes, I can do that,” X informed me. “How much would you like me to send? What do you want the message to say?”
“Give them whatever they need to be comfortable. I’ve heard babies aren’t cheap,” I instructed as I started the hover bike. “In the message to Richard, tell him not to let Amber know about the money. Tell him that if he’s ever not good to her, I’ll rip his throat out with my teeth.”
With that, I took off down the street back to what I was created to do, back toward my life of violence.
Twenty-Two
We switched out the hover bike on the way back with a civilian vehicle parked on the street. X told me the local praetorian scanners were going crazy. The pair of praetorians I had neutralized had been discovered.
I lay in my bed that night for hours second-guessing myself but really knowing that I had made the right choice. Anything else would have been selfish and for me, not her.
I didn’t fall asleep until the sun was beginning to rise.
TWO DAYS UNTIL THE VOY INVASION
When I did awaken, it was because of X in my head. She was asking me something.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m awake,” I said, rubbing my eyes. Bright sun shone in through the windows. The morning hours had passed. It was already sometime during midday. My sleep schedule these days was horrific.
“We have an incoming call from Captain Zoe Valentine’s line,” X said. “I wouldn’t have woken you unless it was important.’
“It’s okay,” I said, fighting back the fog of sleep and gathering myself for the call. “I’m awake. Put her through. Zoe,” I said. “Do you have that time and place for us?”
“I do, and more than that,” Zoe said in a hushed tone on the other end of the line. “The meeting’s at eight o’clock tonight. They’ll meet at an abandoned Way settlement. The Galactic Government is bringing a contingent of Shadow Praetorians led by General Armstrong in case anything goes wrong.”
“Oh it’s going to go wrong all right,” I answered. “We’ll be there to help when it does.”
“I don’t have more information than this, but I heard General Armstrong talk about a weapon called Project Nemesis. He said they’d bring the weapon with them in case things went bad. I’m not sure what it is, but it sounds serious. When it goes off, you can’t be anywhere close.”
“Right,” I answered. “Thanks, I know this information doesn’t come easy. You’re doing the right thing here.”
“I hope so,” Zoe said with a heavy sigh. “I know what I’m doing is treason, but I also can’t shake the feeling in my gut that it’s the right thing to do. You save the GG when the Voy double-cross them. Then we’ll be united, and the GG will help when the Voy invade in two days.”
“You best believe we’re going to give them a fight to remember,” I reassured Zoe. “We’ve been busy here on my end.”
“Good, I have to go,” Zoe said. “The longer this line is open, the higher chance that someone can catch on to us.”
“Understood,” I agreed with her. “Out.”
The channel closed with a definitive click.
“Well, there we have it.” I swung myself out of bed and headed for the shower. “Time and place. What are the odds the Way settlement coordinates Zoe sent you is to the same settlement that we defended against the Voy?”
“I can take the guesswork out of that,” X answered as I jumped into the shower. “It’s the same one. Terrain they know. They understand how to assault it now after the first run.”
“They won’t make the same mistake again,” I said, thinking out loud. “They’ll come in force. Probably get in close under the guise of actually having a meeting before they spring their trap.”
“If that’s the case, will a small team halo jumping be enough to stop them?” X wondered.
“Good question,” I agreed with her. “We’ll have to bring this to Wesley and the others. A few of those Phoenix mechs jumping with us would come in useful.”
After the shower and clean clothes, I headed from my chamber to the meeting room again. X informed Bapz to call the war council to order.
As soon as I opened the door to my room, Butch greeted me with a wag of her tail. I had totally forgotten about the wolf, but she hadn’t.
Butch grinned when she saw me. I knelt and stroked the thick fur all over her head and back.
“There she is,” I cooed, smiling at the massive animal. “We’ll have to get you a bed or food bowl or something in my room.”
Butch’s tongue lolled out the side of her mouth. She closed her eyes and leaned into my hand.
As much as I’d rather stay right there and enjoy the company of my four-legged friend, there was work to be done.
I actually surprised myself by finding my own way to the war room. Wesley was already there as if he had never left, along with Julian. Both men were in deep conversation but nodded to me when I walked in.
Bapz had a spread laid out for us as usual. I needed to give that guy a raise. The ability to anticipate w
hen I needed food was something I found worthy of high praise.
“Did you keep your promise?” Cassie asked from behind as she entered the room.
“I did,” I said, looking back at her.
The Order member wasn’t in her dark robes or long jacket for the first time since I knew her. She wore dark green camo pants with black boots and a shirt. Her dark hair was in a ponytail.
In her short sleeves, I could see her augmented forearms. They looked as though she wore a pair of vambraces, but I knew better. I had seen her in action. From one of her augmented appendages, a shield would flare out like a fan. From the other, a pair of razor sharp blades.
“I hope you made the right decision.” Cassie stopped herself as I held her gaze. “No, I know you did. You did because you honestly loved her.”
“Right, thanks for the heads-up, by the way,” I said, popping a piece of cheese into my mouth.
“Would you have believed me if I told you?” Cassie served herself some of the delicious food on the banquet table. “You don’t strike me as the trusting type.”
“What kind do I strike you as?”
“Honestly?”
“Yes.”
“You’re more of the action type; shoot first and ask questions later,” Cassie said with a raised eyebrow. “Or am I wrong?”
“Not going to argue with you there,” I said. Butch sauntered over to Cassie and looked up at her with those big yellow eyes. Unlike the previous day, Butch actually looked like she wanted a pet from Cassie.
“Look at this big puppy,” Cassie said, stroking Butch’s head. “Now that your master and I aren’t at odds, can we be friends?”
Butch wasn’t going to say no.
“What’s her name?” Cassie asked.
“Butch,” I said.
“Oh, come on, you can’t be serious.” Cassie laughed.
It was the first time I had seen her laugh, and to be honest, it made me smile as well.
“If it makes a difference, it’s short for Butchess,” I answered.
Vendetta: A Near Future Thriller (Forsaken Mercenary Book 4) Page 14
