Arresting the Warlord

by Gail Koger

  “Don’t worry, she’s not going anywhere once I hit her with my freeze ray.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Jake said and teleported.

  Ten seconds later, General Jones vanished.

  I shook my uncle. “Uncle Jesse, wake up.”

  “What?” He jerked upright.

  “We’re here and Jia, the assassin, is outside.”

  “Where?”

  I zoomed the monitor in on her. “See her?”

  “Yep.” He peered at the screen. “Is that the new Falcon rocket launcher?”

  “It is.”

  “I call dibs on it.”

  “The last thing you need is another rocket launcher. Focus on the mission.” I lowered the landing ramp. “Go out there and create a distraction. The General and Jake are approaching her from the south.”

  “Okey-dokey.” Singing off key, Uncle Jesse staggered out of the shuttle. He tottered over to Jia’s tree, whipped it out and took a piss.

  I clamped a hand to my forehead. I had asked for a diversion but that wasn’t quite what I had in mind. I hurried out of the shuttle. “What are you doing?”

  “Taking a piss. You blind?”

  I threw my hands up in the air. Sometimes Uncle Jesse reminded me of a twelve-year-old and he loved putting on a show. For our audience, I yelled, “There’s a perfectly good toilet onboard the shuttle and I only stopped so you could take pictures of those stupid ruins.” I lashed out psychically and hit Jia with my freeze ray.

  She toppled out of the tree and landed at our feet.

  “Oh, look. A falling songbird,” I exclaimed.

  Uncle Jesse grabbed Jia’s rocket launcher. “With a new Falcon rocket launcher.”

  “Put it down before you blow something up,” I barked.

  Uncle Jesse scowled at me. “I know my way around weapons.”

  Bang! Flames shot from the rocket launcher. Whoosh! The missile whizzed by my ear.

  “Fuck!” I triggered my armor and knocked Uncle Jesse to the ground.

  Kablooey the shuttle blew into a thousand tiny pieces.

  I did my best to shield Uncle Jesse and Jia from the flaming debris raining down on us. “Nothing like announcing our presence to the evil scientist.”

  “It’s not my fault the controls are touchy,” Uncle Jesse retorted.

  I retracted my helmet. “It wouldn’t have been a problem if you hadn’t picked the stupid thing up.”

  “Maybe.”

  Jake crashed into my mind. “Anyone hurt? What happened?”

  “We’re all okay but I’m afraid the shuttle is a total loss and unless Giovanni is deaf and blind, he knows we’re here. Stay hidden until we see what he does.”

  The General demanded, “Where did that missile come from?”

  “Jia had a rocket launcher and Uncle Jesse accidently fired it.”

  “He what?” Jake bellowed. “I knew we should have left the old man behind.”

  A glittering blue light suddenly engulfed us. “Crap.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  When the light faded, we were sitting in an ancient dungeon complete with mummified human remains shackled to the wall.

  “Was that a transporter beam?” Uncle Jesse ran his hands over his body.

  “It was.”

  “It felt like my insides were being scattered about the universe.” Uncle Jesse blew out a relieved breath as he patted his groin. “But I’ve got all my parts.”

  I rolled my eyes and gave Jake a 180-degree view of our new accommodations. “Are you tracking us?”

  “No. The iridium is blocking our scanners.”

  I gave myself a mental head smack. Duh.

  “Can you free yourselves?” Jake’s voice was laced with concern.

  “I think so.” I tapped my bracelet. It was deader than a doornail. “My bracelet’s not working.”

  “Giovanni must have set up an energy suppression field. None of your weapons are going to work either,” Jake advised.”

  I mentally scanned the area. Eight of Giovanni’s monsters roamed the catacombs. Had they escaped or had he deliberately released them? “Be careful. Our mad scientist’s super soldiers are in the catacombs.”

  “Copy that. Is the suppression field affecting your abilities?”

  I summoned a tiny bolt of lightning. “Not at all. The cell door is as old as the catacombs, blowing it won’t be a problem.”

  “Be careful,” Jake said and gave me a fierce mental kiss.

  I kissed him back. “Don’t get dead on me.”

  “Warlords are hard to kill.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  “It is.”

  “I’m holding you to that and Giovanni’s about to find out messing with shamans is a bad idea.” In my mind’s eye I could see Jake attaching an explosive device to a security keypad. The shit was about to hit the fan.

  “I’ve found three surveillance cameras,” Uncle Jesse announced.

  “Take them out.”

  His arms and legs gyrating wildly, Uncle Jesse danced around the dungeon and yelled like a lost soul, “Hu-hu-hu-hu-hu.” Flames erupted from the cameras.

  I turned my attention to Jia. The anger in her eyes didn’t bode well for a temporary partnership. “My name is CeeCee Tsosie. My team is here to stop Giovanni from creating more monsters. I think that’s your objective too. I propose we join forces and take him down together.”

  “You’re Coletti,” Jia snarled. “Give me one good reason why I should work with you? Plus, that old fool over there blew up your shuttle and got us captured.”

  I watched Uncle Jesse switch to his Death Dance and cavort about our prison like a demented Ninja. “This is Coletti body armor, but I’m a shaman, not a warlord. That old fool is not as harmless as he looks.” I let tiny bolts of lightning form on my palm. “I can get us out of here, but Giovanni’s creatures are loose in the catacombs.” I released my freeze hold on Jia. “Truce? Oh yeah, Giovanni installed an energy suppression field in his swell dungeon and your weapons are as useless as mine.”

  “Shaman?” Jia carefully got to her feet.

  “I’m a protector of my people and I can control the weather and other things.”

  Jia gaze roved over my petite frame. “You’re Polizia?”

  “I am.”

  “What did you hit me with?”

  “I psychically stopped your ability to move.”

  “Handy talent.”

  I smiled as I felt Jia trying to breach my shields. “I know one of your abilities is to cloud people’s minds. Give it a rest. It won’t work on me. I’m also aware you’re a master thief and a paid assassin. But I’m a shaman.” I turned and blasted the cell door with a huge bolt of lightning. Kaboom! The door disintegrated.

  Jia’s eyes bugged in shock.

  “Truce, or do I leave you behind?” I hit her again with my freeze ray.

  “Truce. That bastard is using my, ah, brother as a test subject.”

  Damn. That explained a lot. I released her. “What does he look like?” The image of a tall, athletic teenager with way too many tattoos formed in my mind. His thick black hair stood up in spikes. The sneer on his mouth made me want to smack him. “Do you know where he’s being held?”

  “In Giovanni’s lab. It’s down this corridor, through a burial chamber and the second door on the left.”

  Had Jia gotten her intel from raiding Giovanni’s mind or from her brother? “What’s your brother’s name?”

  “Adam Stanka. He’s a singer in a heavy metal band.”

  That explained the attitude. “Do you have any idea how many test subjects Giovanni has here?”

  “Adam, his band mates and twenty of their fans were taken from a bar in Verona.”

  Whoa! Giovanni had to have a few cops on his payroll to pull off a stunt like that. “Did you go to the police?”

  Jia gave me a look. “No, but I hacked into their servers. They’ve do
ne this before. Almost a hundred people are missing from Verona alone.”

  “Do you know if Earth First is involved?”

  “I don’t have any hard evidence, but a lot of the test subjects are missing psychics.”

  On my private link with Jake, I asked, “You get all of that?”

  “Yes. Your father, Zarek and Trayon are here. We’re taking down Giovanni’s security systems and breeching in thirty seconds. We’ll meet you at the lab.”

  “Copy.” Boom! The floor bucked beneath my feet.

  Jia’s mouth tightened. “Your team?”

  “Yes. What has Adam been able to tell you?”

  “Not much. Giovanni keeps him sedated, but I keep getting flashes of an older Rodan injecting a blue liquid into him and the other captives.”

  My lips drew back in a feral snarl. The Rodan considered psychic brains a delicacy and human meat was a big seller at their version of a supermarket. “Are you sure that bastard’s working with the Rodan?”

  “I am.”

  Lightning bolts crackled around me as my rage grew. The Rodan had taken every living soul in White Rock, Arizona aboard their slaughter ships. Including the animals. Any human that willingly worked with them needed to put down like a rabid dog. I wanted to kill Giovanni myself, but Zarek would have a hissy fit and I didn’t want Jake or Father caught in the crossfire. “We need to take him alive.”

  “No! That monster dies today,” Jia snapped.

  “Sorry, but Zarek wants him alive so he can interrogate him.”

  Jia gasped in alarm, “You work for Zarek?”

  “I’m his new investigator.”

  A soul-haunting howl echoed through the catacombs.

  Jia shuddered. “That poor creature.”

  “Probably one of Giovanni’s lab creations. Speaking of creations, eight of Giovanni’s super soldiers are running loose in the catacombs,” I said and flashed her a picture of them.

  “Dio mio.” Jia crossed herself.

  “Shrek and my uncle are the two best healers in the galaxy. They should be able to help your brother and the others.”

  “I pray you’re right.” Her mouth a grim line, Jia pulled her sword with a dramatic flourish, and waved it around. “Those monsters die today.”

  “I agree.” I did a quick scan of the area. “And two of them are coming our way.”

  Uncle Jesse pranced down the passageway.

  “That old fool is going to get himself killed.”

  I smiled. “My uncle is many things, but his harmless act is just that. An act.”

  Two hairless, white-skinned monstrosities charged toward him.

  Golden waves of energy swirled around Uncle Jesse. Poof! Like magic, he transformed into a ginormous grizzly bear.

  Jia gaped at him. “Your uncle turned into a bear! How is that impossible?”

  “Uncle Jesse is a one of a kind Skinwalker and a damned good tow truck driver too,” I replied.

  Roaring ferociously, my uncle attacked. The super soldiers were no match for his ten-inch claws and fangs.

  I grimaced as blood and body parts splattered me. “Unfortunately, standing too close to him can get a bit messy.”

  “Merda!” Jia wiped the blood off her face and took a step back. “What kind of magic is that?”

  “Navajo.” My senses went on high alert and I warned Jia, “Rodan soldiers are in the catacombs.

  “Can’t the all-powerful Overlord deal with them?”

  Boom! Boom! The walls shuddered and bits of rocky debris rained down on us.

  I linked with Jake. Through his eyes I watched as he swung his sword and decapitated a Rodan soldier. “How many?”

  “A squad.”

  My stomach clenched. Jake was good, but he couldn’t defeat ten Rodan fighters. “I’m coming.”

  “No! We’ve got it handled.”

  There was a flash of black and Rodan heads began tumbling to the floor. Trayon was death on two legs.

  “Where’s my father and the others?”

  “They’re dealing with Giovanni’s creatures. Stay put and we’ll find you,” Jake instructed.

  Stay put? Like I was a damsel in distress that needed rescuing?

  Jia took off running. “They’re hurting Adam.”

  “Wait! It could be a trap.” I ran after her.

  Uncle Jesse charged by me and jumped on Jia, pinning her to the floor.

  Jia pulled a dagger.

  I kicked it out of her hand. “Do not stab my uncle.”

  “Let me up! I have to help him,” Jia cried.

  “You won’t do your brother any good dead. You’re an assassin. Think like one.”

  Jia stopped struggling and a coldness filled her eyes. “If anything happens to Adam…”

  “You’ll gut me like a fish?”

  “You will die a slow, agonizing death and the old man too,” Jia promised darkly.

  Uncle Jesse bared his awesome fangs and growled menacingly.

  I bit back a smile as he drooled all over Jia’s face. “Now you’ve done gone and upset my uncle.”

  “Please. I need to help my brother.” Desperation and anger warred in Jia’s voice.

  “We’re going to free all the captives and if you do anything stupid, I’ll let Uncle Jesse eat you. Understand?”

  Uncle Jesse licked Jia’s face like it was a lollipop.

  “I understand.” Jia grimaced in disgust.

  I patted Uncle Jesse’s furry shoulder. “Let her up.”

  “She does not respect my greatness.” He climbed off Jia and as she shot to her feet, he nipped her butt.

  “Touch me again you old, pervert and I’ll…” Jia yelped as Uncle Jesse’s massive jaws closed around her head.

  “Apologize or he’ll eat you.”

  “Sorry,” Jia mumbled.

  I cocked my head. “What? I didn’t quite hear you.”

  “I said, I’m sorry. Okay? Can we please go rescue Adam now?”

  Uncle Jesse opened his mouth and Jia fell to the floor. There was a noticeable tremor in her hand as she wiped the slobber off her face.

  I frowned. Jia wasn’t acting like a cold-blooded assassin. If Uncle Jesse was freaking her out this much, how was she going to handle a horny, seven-foot-tall Askole with tentacles?

  That mournful howl sounded again.

  “We’re freeing whatever that is too,” Jia announced and marched down the corridor.

  Uncle Jesse lumbered after her. “She doesn’t have the soul of a killer.”

  Jia was either an accomplished actress with awesome shields or Central Command’s records were wrong. If she couldn’t control lightning, Trayon would go hunting on his own. No one wanted that to happen. Keeping Sariel and Zarek happy was a necessity too.

  “Adam!” Jia shouted and took off at a dead run.

  Dammit! She was going to get herself killed. I followed Jia into a large burial chamber with colorful mosaics tiles covering the walls and mounds of ancient bones littering the floor. The stench of death hit me. I skidded to a stop and stared at the large pile of rotting corpses. By the monstrous deformities I knew these poor souls had been Giovanni’s test subjects.

  Jia frantically checked the bodies. “Please. Please don’t be dead. Please.”

  “Stop! Your brother’s not there.” I pulled Jia away from the awful remains. “They’ve been dead for weeks.”

  “I can’t sense Adam anymore. Our link has been severed.” Tears rolled down Jia’s cheeks.

  “You’re not an assassin or master thief, are you?”

  Jia sighed wearily. “I’m not an assassin, but my cousin Bianca is.”

  “Let me guess. She looks a lot like you and decided to borrow your identity.”

  Jia’s mouth tightened. “I’m still trying to clear my name.”

  “What psychic abilities do you have?”

  “I can cloud minds, disrupt power sources and if I get close enough,
I can zap you with enough electricity to put you down.”

  “Like a taser?”

  “Exactly.”

  Trayon wanted an Earth female who could control lightning and while Jia’s powers were electrical in nature, they didn’t quite fit his requirements. “Anything else?”

  “Animals of all kinds are drawn to me,” Jia answered.

  I rubbed the stiff muscles in my neck. With my luck, Trayon would consider them snacks. “You’re an animal lover?”

  “I am. I do rescues in my spare time.”

  Did Askole warriors even have pets? My internal radar screamed a warning as multiple glittering blue lights formed in the chamber. I shoved Jia out of the way. A crackling red energy beam missed her shoulder by an inch. I grunted as a barrage of laser fire struck my armored chest. Since my armor controls were kaput, it was a good thing the Rodan hadn’t gone for a head shot.

  Uncle Jesse pounced on the Rodan soldier firing at me and literally ripped him to pieces.

  Adrenaline burning through my veins, I incinerated two Rodan soldiers and watched Uncle Jesse pounce on the last one.

  “Behind you,” Jia yelled.

  I spun around and got smacked across the face by a skinny monstrosity’s long scaly tail. I literally saw stars. My knees buckled and down I went.

  Jake psychically pushed energy into me until the room stopped spinning around me. “Where’s your uncle?”

  “Fighting a Rodan.” I struggled up, trying to get my feet under me.

  Jia stabbed at the half-naked freak with her sword. “Shoo. Shoo.”

  “Shoo? Shoo? What kind of assassin is she?” Jake wanted to know.

  “From what she’s told me, she’s not a hired killer.”

  “Fuck! Your father and I will be there shortly.” I caught a fleeting glimpse of Father electrocuting a Rodan soldier before our link broke.

  “Shoo. Shoo.” Jia swung her sword wildly.

  The monster gave Jia a grotesque parody of a smile. “First, I’ll eat your pussy, then your heart, little girl.”

  “You won’t be eating anything but metal. Die, alligator man!” Jia swung her sword and missed the monster by a good foot.

  Giving a hissing laugh, the monstrosity whacked Jia with his tail and sent her flying across the chamber. She landed in a graceless sprawl.

  I hurled a lightning bolt at the misshapen monster.