by Beth Reason
Chapter 24
Scarab closed her eyes against the pain as her face was pressed into the floor by someone's knee. Her mind reeled as she silently cursed herself out. Stupid. She'd gotten sloppy and stupid again. The very best she could hope for was to stall them long enough for Tenet to escape. She took a deep breath, then pushed with all her might against the knee.
"Hold still or you will be incapacitated!"
Scarab struggled and wiggled and slipped out from under the man's grip. She made it to her knees before a gun was pressed against her chest and she stopped fighting. At least she could see who she was up against now. She drew in deep, shaky breaths and felt the blood trickle down her nose. A soldier was holding the gun on her, a worried look in his eyes.
"She's bleeding, sir," he said over his shoulder.
"So?" came the all-too-familiar voice of Bradwin. The old man walked around the soldier to the balcony door. "Give up now and she'll live," he called into the night.
Scarab closed her eyes and prayed to the Mother to make Wren overpower Tenet. She listened, but heard no response and felt relief. She opened her eyes and looked at the soldier. "You broke my nose," she said, trying to play to his obvious discomfort.
"Aw, hell. I'm sorry," he began.
"Enough," Bradwin barked. "She's an outlaw, Jiti Ton. Don't let her try and talk you out of doing your job." He turned back to the balcony. "She's a dead woman, Tenet," he yelled. "Already her bones are broken and she's bleeding. Come back and you can end her suffering."
Scarab made herself laugh through her pain. If she couldn't get to the soldier, she could try to distract Bradwin. "I told you before I'm not worth it." She spat a mouthful of blood. "I'm a shitty wife. He's glad to be rid of me."
Bradwin closed his eyes and struggled to keep his anger in check. "I would stop talking right this minute if I were you," he said carefully.
Scarab stared at the man for a minute, her mind racing to come up with a plan. She had absolutely no doubt that she could take the soldier in front of her. While his costume would indicate he was someone of high rank, he held the gun at her chest like an amateur. It struck her then just how ill-prepared these people were for the war Bradwin waged. The soldier in front of her never saw real combat.
"Jiti Ton," Scarab repeated. "That's your name?"
Bradwin spun around. "Don't answer her. It's all trickery." He waved a hand. "Get her cuffed."
"You were once Tenet's friend, weren't you?"
Jiti Ton looked at the woman and frowned. "That was a long time ago before you abducted him."
Bradwin's nostrils flared. "Now you listen here, soldier. You will not engage this prisoner!"
"Yes, sir."
Scarab heard the slight waiver in the man's voice and a plan formed in her mind. "I never abducted anyone. I was hired to kill him and I chose not to." Scarab saw Bradwin's hand come for her face and fought her instinct to duck. She took the hit and played up the affect, though in truth she bet her five year old girl could have hit harder. The ploy had the desired effect and she had to fight a smile as Jiti Ton stammered in astonishment.
"Sir! The prisoner was under my complete control. There was no need to accost her!"
Bradwin saw the twinkle in Scarab's eye and felt the acid roil in his stomach again. Clever. Hadn't Jace kept calling her that? And he played right into whatever plan she had concocted in that vicious little head. He took a calming breath and smoothed his thin hair back. "As I have said before, Jiti Ton, this woman is more than a mere prisoner. She is an extremely manipulative killer. And you were walking right into her trap."
Jiti Ton swallowed hard, his pulse racing. He'd never seen the old man lose it like that, especially to a prisoner who was already caught, already at the mercy of the law. "She is already broken and bleeding, as you yourself have said. I see no reason for further torture."
Bradwin snorted. How was it possible that the head of his military force was so damn naive? He shook his head. "Bind her."
"I would recommend you ignore that command," Scarab said calmly when Jiti Ton reached one hand behind his back to remove the electromagnetic cuffs. He paused, casting a worried look to Bradwin. "Don't look at him."
"Don't speak to her," Bradwin commanded again.
"If you try it, you will die," Scarab warned in a cool, firm voice.
Bradwin's eyes narrowed. "She's got no weapons."
Scarab snorted. "I guarantee that will not even slow me down."
"You are the commander of the Southland militia, for goodness sake! Are you really going to let one little woman frighten you?" Bradwin made a tsking noise. "Really, Jiti Ton. I would have thought more of you than that."
Jiti Ton clenched his jaw and grabbed the cuffs off the back of his belt. Before he could even bring them around, he was pinned to the floor, the gun that had been in his own hand was pointed at his head, and he felt the hot pressure of electromagnetic cuffs on his wrists that were twisted behind him. He didn't even have time to blink and just like that, he was a dead man if that was her choice. He closed his eyes and swore.
Bradwin had been surprised at the woman's speed. An annoying flash of admiration ripped through him. Why couldn't she have been his child instead of Tenet? A woman like her, he could work with. Hell, even with the history between them, if he thought he had any chance of winning her over to work for his side, he would have moved the earth itself to make that happen. Too bad that couldn't happen, he thought to himself as he let his eyes dart around the room, trying to make a plan.
"You'll find no help here." Confident that Jiti Ton was not going to be a problem, Scarab rose and sighted the gun on Bradwin. She wanted to pull the trigger so badly that she actually had to shift her finger to make sure she didn't act on instinct. She wanted Bradwin dead, but if she had learned anything in her brief time back with these people, it was that Bradwin was not the only problem. He was the head of a snake that would simply rise again, especially if he was killed by the hand of a Borderlands outlaw. She hated fate. She hated that she had to let him live. But she'd be damned if she allowed him to become a martyr.
"You were a friend to Tenet once," Scarab said to Jiti Ton, never taking her eyes off Bradwin.
"Don't listen to her," Bradwin snapped. He wondered if he could reach his own gun before the hunter could pull that trigger. His firing hand throbbed from the impact with her face, and he knew he'd only attempt it as a last resort.
Scarab let out a cold laugh. "Are you kidding me? One of us is in charge right now, old man, and my guess would be that it's the one with the gun. Give him another order," she said, narrowing her eyes. "I dare you."
Bradwin's anger flared but he clamped his lips together tightly. He'd buy time. He'd play along. And he'd hope to hell another guard came along to get them out of this. She didn't win. Not this time.
"You knew Tenet, Jiti Ton. You knew he was a whiny, stubborn, drama queen back then."
Jiti Ton frowned. Intellectually, he knew what she was doing. They'd been trained in the Academy to ignore such manipulative tactics if they were ever taken as prisoners of war. He kept his mouth shut and made a firm resolve not to answer.
Scarab waited for some reply. When it didn't come, she gave a little shrug. "I don't need you to answer. Everyone in this room remembers how he was back then. He was...difficult. At best. But, he wasn't cruel. He wasn't cunning. He didn't plot and plan against people."
"Only my intended." Jiti Ton was sorry he blurted it out as soon as the words cleared his lips.
Scarab gave Bradwin a smug smile. "You're kidding me, right? Think about it, Jiti Ton. Did you ever see Tenet make a play for your woman? He came to me innocent in every aspect of life."
Bradwin's heart made a little skip in his chest. "She's just trying to get to you," he said quickly. "She wasn't there. She didn't see how Tenet threw himself at your girl."
Scarab gave Bradwin a droll look and quirked her eyebrow. "Really?"
"I know what you're doing and it
won't work," Jiti Ton said quickly, in spite of the niggling voice of doubt in his head.
"I'm only talking about old times with my husband's best friend," Scarab said in her most innocent voice.
"He's not your husband!" Jiti Ton bellowed. "He's your captive. Your prisoner."
"You sound like you care."
Jiti Ton pressed his lips together tightly.
"Could it be you've had second thoughts about ending your friendship?"
Bradwin felt a band of tightness in his chest. A sweat broke out on his forehead and there was a metallic taste in his mouth. He tried to focus on the hunter and her words, but things began to blur. He squeezed his eyes closed for a moment, and when he opened them, the room spun a little.
Scarab could see that Bradwin was struggling. His face had gone from its normal white paleness to a sickly gray-green tone. His forehead was covered in a sheen of sweat, and he swayed slightly. Good. She hoped he was having a heart attack. If he keeled over from a bad ticker, it certainly would make her life easier. She stepped back, so she could see Jiti Ton's face while she kept her gun on Bradwin. "You don't have to answer, Jiti Ton. I know you care. You were a young man who was in love and probably more than a little hot headed."
Jiti Ton closed his eyes and turned his head. She would not divide his loyalties. He worked too hard to get where he was to listen to the carefully constructed words of an outlaw.
"And I'm sure looking back now, you can see how wrong you were to believe Tenet could do something like that to you. Did you get a chance to see him and apologize?"
"No," Jiti Ton whispered, guilt washing over him.
Bradwin stumbled and Scarab stepped forward. "Whoa there, old boy. Let's not keel over before we get a few things out in the open."
Bradwin felt himself slump onto something soft and looked down. He was surrounded by delicate pink bedding. A baby doll looked up at him from a fluffy pillow, its smiling face making the entire evening surreal. The world was woozy, save the grinning painted face of the doll, and he suddenly realized he needed one of his pills. "My pill," he mumbled as he fumbled in his pocket.
Scarab's gun on his head stopped him and she reached in the pocket and pulled out a small packet of pills. "Allow me," she said, giving him a fake smile. She dumped out a pill then popped it into his mouth.
Bradwin knew even in his haze and confusion that she was not planning on killing him. He should have felt relief and elation. Instead, he felt the dread gather deep in his gut.
"Swallow the pill like a good boy," Scarab said.
There was definitely a twinkle in her eye. She wanted him alert. She wanted him conscious. She wanted him whole and able and aware. Bradwin considered spitting the pill out and letting his heart give up the fight. It would serve the bitch right! And yet, he chewed. And yet, he swallowed. He let her take his weapon and sat there intrigued and disgusted and pathetically aware.
When Scarab was certain the pill was consumed, she stepped back again and continued with Jiti Ton. "Don't feel too bad about throwing him aside, Jiti. Can I call you Jiti? It seems weird to me that everyone puts your last name with your first. It's rather formal, don't you think?" She did not let him answer. "Anyway, like I was saying, Jiti, you weren't the first to throw him away, so don't feel too bad. Everyone else already had. Not one person here wanted him. You were just being like everyone else."
"Stop," Bradwin said, wishing he had spat the pill out right in the hunter's face. He glanced at the door. Where the hell was everyone?
"So of course Tenet ran." Scarab glanced at Bradwin to assess his condition. He was still wobbling on the bed. She had no idea how long the pill would take to work, or if he was beyond the chemical's help. However, she knew that she had some time, at least, and crouched on the other side of Jiti Ton. She put her hand on his head so he couldn't turn away again. "He had no one here, Jiti. No one. In my years with him, I've learned just how much that must have hurt."
Jiti Ton could not take his eyes off her. His guilt and pain at her words felt like a chasm inside. "I...he wouldn't even explain..." he began.
Scarab waved her gun in dismissal. "Like I said, water under the bridge. And I'm sure you apologized, because you seem like an honorable guy." She thumped his shoulder, then stood. "Now, I was just saying that because I wanted you to think about those times, Jiti. Think about Tenet, his life, why he ran. I'm sure you've seen a thing or two working here all these years. I'm sure you've seen and heard things you told yourself you had to forget in order to look at your reflection in the mirror every morning."
Oh yes, Bradwin liked this evil hunter. If he were a younger man, he would try and claim her for himself. She was brilliant. It was hard to keep remembering she was the enemy. "Go," Bradwin said.
Scarab turned and looked at him. "Go?"
"Run. Take Tenet and that baby and go."
Scarab laughed. She threw her head back and laughed. "Just like that?" She shook her head. "Good one, old man."
"I won't send anyone after you."
"Liar," she said simply. She turned slightly, giving the appearance of keeping her attentions on Jiti Ton while in reality honing her focus on Bradwin. The pill was already working. She noticed his forehead was drier and his cheeks were pinking up. "You work for a liar, Jiti. Have you figured that out yet?"
The fog was clearing from Bradwin's vision and he felt the invisible band around his chest loosen slightly. He couldn't draw in a full breath yet, and his legs and arms still felt like jelly. But the pill was beginning to work and he was starting to feel stronger. "She's the one that's murdered people."
Scarab sighed. "Do you really want to open that can of worms, old man?" She waved the gun. "The people I killed were trying to kill me first. Jiti here is a soldier. He can understand that." She motioned to Bradwin. "What's your excuse?"
Bradwin's anger made him snort and sputter, but Jiti Ton came to his defense, desperately trying to maintain his beliefs. "Every leader must make sacrifices."
"What other leader would order the death of his own son?" Scarab snapped hotly.
"Don't listen to her!" Bradwin bellowed.
It wasn't the words of the outlaw that gave Jiti Ton pause. It was the old man yelling. His boss was clearly upset, far more than he should be if a prisoner leveled bullshit accusations at him.
"She's a liar."
Jiti Ton thought back through his years of service. There were many closed-door meetings with people who scared him, many times he had to look the other way.
"She's caught and she knows it."
But she wasn't caught, was she? She had the gun. She could have shot them both and been long gone by now. She stayed. She lingered. She risked truly getting caught, for what? There had to be a reason, more than just to tell lies.
"Any minute our troops will burst through that door and she's trying anything she can to escape."
She wasn't trying to escape. She was talking. If she was as good as Bradwin had said, and Jiti Ton had no reason to believe otherwise as the side of his face was planted on the floor and his hands were cuffed behind him, then she was not stupid. There was a reason. There had to be a reason.
"She's trying to turn you against me," Bradwin hissed. "Don't let her."
Jiti Ton remained silent and Scarab knew he was listening, really listening. "I received a bounty," she began.
"Jiti Ton, I order you to ignore her!"
"The governmental bounty was to bring Tenet in to face punishment for his illegal off-season attempt. But there was a secondary bounty with an extra incentive for proof of Tenet's death. It was a kill order, Jiti. A kill order issued by Bradwin."
Bradwin could not take it any longer. He lunged off the bed and flung himself at Scarab. The attempt was met with the butt of her gun to his head and he fell uselessly to the floor.
She stepped over Bradwin and crouched down to face Jiti Ton. "I would never have killed him, Jiti Ton. Never. Because I knew he wasn't a piece of garbage that deserved to be th
rown away. We ran and gained sanctuary in the Borderlands, with a tribal community that had no reason to accept us, but did so anyway."
Jiti Ton swallowed hard, his mind racing. "Why are you telling me this?"
"The Borderlands is filled with people who simply want to be left alone. They're good people who just want to live their lives. Ask yourself what it is that Bradwin's been hiding all these years. Ask yourself why he's so hellbent on this damn war with people who have never bothered any of you the whole time they were there." She looked at the old man. He was trying to lift himself off the floor and it was so pathetic she felt a new wave of disgust roll through her. "Ask him about the alfalfa fields. Ask him about the drug runners. Go on. Ask him the real reason behind this war."
Bradwin wheezed in a deep breath. "Jiti Ton...remember all...I've done..."
Tenet's bitter laugh echoed in the room. "Yes, Jiti Ton. Remember all he's done to manipulate and control you."
Scarab looked up and though her eyes twinkled, her brow lowered into a frown. "You should have run with Violet," she said, rising and crossing her arms over her chest.
"So Wren said." Tenet pushed off the balcony door. "I came back to see if you needed help." He motioned around the room. "Looks like you've got it all under control."
"Violet?"
Tenet shrugged. "I gave her a gun and told her to act like her Mumma." At Scarab's droll look he laughed again. "With Wren on the way to the evac point," he assured her. "Even though I'm pretty sure she could have handled the guards, now that I think about it."
"You're dammed right," Scarab said with a nod. "Took out a sheep with one shot."
Tenet's smile widened and he pulled Scarab to him. "Good work here, wife," he said quietly.
Bradwin pushed himself up onto his knees. He clutched the side of his face that burned and throbbed and squinted through the watery vision. "You're pathetic," he spat. "You always have been. A follower. She says jump and you ask how high."
Tenet's jaw tightened. It had taken every ounce of self control to keep himself from shooting his father while Scarab was handling the situation, and his hand itched once again to end it, to end the old man's reign of terror and corruption. He wanted to prove to his father once and for all that he was not lesser and weak and unworthy. And it was that desire to kill that stayed his hand. He wasn't lesser. He wasn't weak. He wasn't unworthy. He also wasn't a killer. He was better than that. The old man was pathetic. He was bitter. He was evil and nasty and because of it, he was alone.
Tenet knew that. He knew that was the difference between himself and the old man. He didn't have to prove anything. His life was all the proof that was needed. He had a home, not an ice palace. He had a wife who looked for completion with him and didn't need to hop from bed to bed to try and feel an ounce of love. His daughter would never have to escape through drugs, and if they were lucky enough to have any more children, not a damn one of them would ever feel the need to run away.
And yet, the urge to shut the old man up for good would not release its hold on him. His hand closed over the grip of the gun on his belt and the same little voice that urged him to punch Jace promised him it would feel real good to point the gun at his father's head and pull the trigger.
Scarab saw the look on Tenet's face. She warred with herself inside, wondering whether she should stop him or not. She was about to open her mouth, when everyone in the room felt an invisible wave of energy push through them a split second before an enormous boom shook the walls and rumbled through the floors. Tenet and Scarab pitched forward slightly, struggling to stay standing while Bradwin slipped sideways to the floor. The room was plunged into darkness, the only light coming from the thin strip of dawn on the horizon.
"What in the hell was that?" Tenet asked.
"War," Scarab said simply.
"War? But we didn't advance!" Bradwin shouted, struggling to try and get off the floor.
Scarab looked at Tenet. She could barely make out his face in the dark, but from what she could see, he looked as stunned as she felt. "It's got to be The Beast," she said slowly.
"Huh?"
"Weevil. He's working for Krupkie."
Tenet grinned. "You're kidding me. Weevil? How in the hell did he end up working for Krupkie?"
"I'll explain later," Scarab assured him. "We've got to get out of here."
Jiti Ton shook off his shock and realized his hands were free. Whatever hit the city disabled not only the lights, but his electronic restraints as well. Before he could let himself be overwhelmed with all the implications, he decided that the immediate need was to take control of the situation in the room. He rolled and jumped up, surprising Tenet. Tenet reached for his weapon, and Jiti Ton held up his hands. The two old friends froze and stared at each other.
"What are you waiting for?" Bradwin demanded. "Arrest them!"
Scarab flipped the switch on her gun. "The electromagnetic rounds will not function anymore. You so much as twitch and I'll shoot you with an old fashioned bullet."
Jiti Ton never took his eyes off Tenet. Though his head swam with everything he learned that night, he knew one thing for sure. Tenet was, and always had been, innocent. "I'm not your enemy here," Jiti Ton said carefully.
After a tense second, Tenet's hand lowered.
"You listen to me Jiti Ton. You're seriously compromising your future in my army!" Bradwin snapped, still struggling to get off the floor.
"Go," Jiti Ton said, nodding toward the balcony.
"Jiti Ton..." Tenet began
"Go!" Jiti Ton ordered. From the room behind them, they heard a thumping on the outer door and the shouting of the guards. "Dammit, Tenet! Go!"
Scarab grabbed Tenet's hand and pulled, and he turned and ran. Jiti Ton watched him climb over the balcony, knowing he had done the right thing and wishing life had turned out differently for them all. Bradwin was trying to rise. He was pulling himself up on the little girl's bed, and Jiti Ton looked at the man he had admired for so many years with the new light of disgust. He bent down to retrieve the electromagnetic bracelets from the floor. He looked at them in wonder. They were utterly useless. He gazed around the dark room, his soldier's mind knowing that they were well and truly defeated.
"You knew they could do this, didn't you, sir?" Jiti Ton asked, holding up the harmless bracelets.
Bradwin was sitting on the bed, mopping his brow with the sleeve of his jacket. "You let them get away!"
Jiti Ton strode forward. "You knew they could do this, didn't you, sir?" he asked again in a demanding voice. Bradwin didn't answer. The look on his face was clear, even in the faint glow of dawn, and Jiti Ton felt his stomach drop. "You knew."
"Sir! What the hell is going on?" asked a confused guard as he broke in through the door.
Bradwin appealed to the guard. "Thank goodness! Apprehend this man at once."
Jiti Ton's grip on Bradwin's arm tightened. "Take Mr. Bradwin below and lock him up."
The confused guard looked between the two men. Technically, both of them were his bosses and he warred with himself over which command to follow. "I...I can't lock up the Exalted Leader."
Jiti Ton's jaw clenched. "I am exercising my responsibility to take over command of the armed forces in a time of war, and your Exalted Leader has attempted to usurp my authority. If you do not follow established protocol, then you will face a court martial as well. Now, take him below and lock him up!"
"Soldier, listen to me," Bradwin began. "What we have here is a mutiny. If you follow Jiti Ton's orders..."
The guard swallowed hard. "I can't lock him up even if I wanted to. All of the electricity has been cut."
"Then get creative!" Jiti Ton snapped.
Udin burst in and looked around. "Where's Tenet?"
"Gone."
Udin ran to the shattered balcony door, stopping in his tracks when he saw Brawdin being passed from Jiti Ton to a guard. "What the..."
"This man is to be tried for war crimes," Jiti Ton snapped.
Jiti Ton had enough. "Do you have a problem with that, civilian?" he barked, his voice echoing in the dark room.
Udin looked at Jiti Ton. The man was different. He was forceful and commanding, as one in his position should have been all along. "What happened in here?"
"Udin, don't let them do this. It's treason," Bradwin tried.
Jiti Ton motioned to the guard that held his boss and the man dragged him away. Jiti Ton turned to Udin. He didn't need the man's support, but he certainly would appreciate it. "You have two choices. Either you can continue to work for a criminal, or you can join my team and help me figure out what in the hell is going on out there and how to stop it."
Udin was many things. He was selfish and cruel. He was a liar and a professional con artist, when he got right down to it. He was sleazy enough to sleep with his boss's wife one minute, and shaking his boss's hand with a smile on his face the next. He was dirty and rotten and about a million other unpleasant adjectives he'd never deny. However, the one thing he wasn't was stupid. Of course Bradwin was dirty and corrupt, and it surprised him that it took someone else so long to figure that out. "You better be sure about this," he said quietly. "If you go forward, you need irrefutable proof. You need to dig up a chain evidence that cannot be broken."
"That will be your job."
Udin blinked, then laughed. "You sound really sure of yourself."
Jiti Ton nodded firmly. "I am." And with that, he closed the subject. There were far more important things to worry about at the moment than a broken, tired, bitter old man. The noise from the streets was louder and growing more desperate as people struggled for answers and guidance. "Well?"
Udin shook his head and motioned to the door. "I guess we've got a long day ahead of us." And without an ounce of guilt, he jumped from one ship to the next.
