by M. Garnet
With the side ramp down, he let go and dropped to the ground to start running, to get into the ship himself. He let Poly take the teacher into the bay as he ran through the different sections to get to the bridge. Before he even sat down, he was moving fingers over glowing buttons, putting in information to move the ship away. The power of the Adamant immediately turned its nose upward and was leaving the library planet.
"Hey, how about a little warning, boss?" Bruno's voice was a grunt while he hung onto the door of the bridge when he tried to enter against the push of the take-off. Bruno was a stocky man with a different type of strength than Keenan's. Where Keenan's was something magical and given to him from his birth on a faraway planet, Bruno's was just a part of genes and a lot of work. He spent time daily in the big bay, working out on mats and punching a bag. He even worked out with Keenan when he wanted to collect some bruises.
Using those strong legs now, Bruno worked his way up to what was his favorite position on the front of the bridge. It was in a chair surrounded by a curved dash that controlled the stealth mode and the weapons. He also could bring up most of the other components as needed. Not only that, like his boss, he loved the comfortable seats on this ship.
At last, they were able to level out, and Keenan began to look for the closest jump point. Getting away from this system was important. Keenan wasn't sure about the laws connected with the Organization Of Worlds and the secret prison on Dupa, the library planet. Regardless, he didn't want to stick around for any discussions. He had another problem with the Preacher and a crime lord to chase. A crime lord just as bad as the Preacher.
"Will, someone tell this damn bucket of bolts to let me go before I turn the shit into a mixer?" It was the teacher being carried into the bridge.
"I bring," Poly spoke in that calm cultured voice with the short sentences, as usual.
There was a loud whistle from Bruno at the same time as a guttural sound came from the female when Poly dropped the teacher to the floor.
"Holy shit, boss. You brought me a present." Bruno was turned around in his chair, looking with a big smile at the beauty that was picking herself up from the floor.
"Don't get your hopes up, idiot boy. Touch me, and you lose your damn arm."
Raising an arm, Keenan was smiling. "Bruno, this is the teacher the Preacher sent us to break out of jail. Theadore Megan, meet my two crewmembers, the big guy is Bruno, the gambler, and the one that saved you is Poly. Please don't cuss at her since she just saved your life."
Sitting with a silly grin pasted on his face, Bruno faced the lady. "You're the teacher? What classes did you teach, ladies tea service?"
"Funny, asshole." The beauty frowned at Bruno and then instantly turned, and almost as fast as one of Keenan's movements, she had the heel of her foot an inch from Bruno's nose. Both froze for a second, and she dropped back to stand and smile with innocence.
"I teach self-defense to the students. I am an expert in all types, from Ah-bat and Kanta-sa and even some of the ancient types of Judo and Aikido. Don't push your luck, and you can call me Thea."
The lady turned and looked at the bot bobbing by the entrance that looked like an airlock door. "Sorry er, Poly."
"Self-defense. Also, killing tools. Use care." Poly's cultured voice did not match her limited vocabulary.
"I need a new pair of shoes with damn good heels," Thea spoke to the room as she stepped forward and claimed the co-pilot's seat. Turning it around a couple of times, she stopped it at the dash. Leaning forward, she put a handout and watched the lights turn on.
"Hey, Thea. Hands off my fucking ship." The beauty with the thin waist was no longer amusing Keenan as she touched his most important possession.
"Shit, I've been checked out on several types of ships. Although I admit, this one is unusual. Where did it get built?"
"Look, lady, I have a good co-pilot. And the place where this ship was built would not be of interest to you. So again, hands-off." With the limited AI and navigator set, Keenan leaned back and relaxed, at least as much as he could with this female firecracker playing with his console.
"Okay, Captain." Thea also slid back into her chair and drew her feet up to hug her knees. "Where are we heading?"
"Well, first, we want to drop you off wherever you need to go. The man who hired us to break you out said that we should take you to whatever place of your choice. Give us a location, and that is our first destination."
Bruno looked over at his friend, thinking the man's language was as clean as it had been when the child had been on the ship. That had been their last assignment. Pick up a child and take her to her mother. Sounded simple, but it also was a project for the Preacher, and nothing for the Preacher was simple. After the deed was finally done, they had ended up with an illegal robot called Poly. But Bruno liked Poly, so not everything was ended with a pathetic ending.
"Well damn, boys. I don't have any plans. So, I guess I will hang out with you for a while. I like this ship, and it looks like fun, but I do need some great shoes."
Now both Bruno and Keenan glanced at each other with deep frowns. Fuck.
Thinking about the situation, Keenan had a serious project to finish, revenge for his family's deaths. He didn't need the distraction of a beautiful teacher underfoot. At last, he put the ship into action, deciding that perhaps a shock might change this woman's mind. He needed to see an evil man in one of the dirtiest cities in a place on the fringe, and maybe this lady from a fine school would recoil from the sights and smells.
Once the ship was set for the first jump, Keenan got up and left the bridge to get some food, but the pantry was empty. Damn, now they needed to make a quick stop to pick up supplies. Keenan stopped and thought for a moment, did they have enough water to get through to Grey's Corp. planet? He opened one cabinet, and there were a half dozen unopened whiskey bottles, all lined up.
Well, maybe they had enough supplies to get through the next few days to get to see the Preacher. At that point, he could instruct Bruno to go into Morgan's Point, the so-called city near where the Preacher had his hideout. Bruno could re-stock the ship and see that the lady got her shoes or perhaps decided to leave them. There were a lot of ships that moved through that location and would give the teacher a choice of transportation.
The Adamant stood out at Morgan's Point spaceport like a diamond dropped in coal. Its silver sides reflected the lights from the field, and the sleek design leading to that pointed nose drew attention. The best part was that the ship could protect itself from anyone who tried to board it without the recognition of the limited AI. More importantly, there was Poly to keep anyone out that was not expected. Poly had weapons that no one wanted to face.
Keenan gave both the ship and Poly instructions that only he, Bruno, and Thea were allowed access to the ship. With his instructions in place, Keenan took off on the long trip on a free but ugly tram ride to get to the distant mines. It was what the locals called going to church.
Past all the starving families out in this dark area, Keenan ignored the beggars. At last, going into the large mines that had been the income for so many until the ore was no longer needed, that now had a different use.
The mines were solid and huge, going deep into the rigid rock that made up the surface of this planet. The bedrock had developed miles deep, and it made the original mining interesting. It was difficult to blast and drill through the hard surface; on the other hand, the caves and holes and long tall underground chambers did not need support. The vaults were their support of solid prehistoric rock.
Once the mining had stopped, these large chambers had developed into better use. Homes for the homeless and an unusual center for the protection of a particular person in this particular area. Including a secure hiding place for someone who needed to be out of the reach of the law. The man called the Preacher that Keenan needed to have a conversation with when this large rattling elevator finally took him down to the correct level.
No one got down this low into
the mines without an escort. These men were soldiers with weapons and strength training, surrounding Keenan in silence. In a large high cavern with lights everywhere and the noise level low, the rooms and buildings in this area were barracks for a large number of soldiers.
They finally came to a tall wall that blocked off the entire end, and its only decorations were standard-size doors. Keenan was walked up to one that wasn't any different from any other, but it was opened for him. Without any conversation, he just walked into the inner sanctum of a man who ruled an entire system—an evil man who order numbers to be killed and changed the winds on some planets.
The Preacher looked up with his dead grey eyes and smiled across the wooden desk that he sat behind to wave Keenan to come forward. This was becoming a habit as the tall man walked across the room, glancing up at the many screens showing all the information that came into this room. Keenan pulled over a chair closer to the desk and sat down.
"You are an amazing person, Veldan. Job well done. I can always depend on you to complete a project. I could use so many like you." As he spoke, the average-looking man was pulling out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses from a drawer in his desk. He poured for both of them and slid one glass over for Keenan.
Taking the glass, Keenan looked over at the man who had so much power and thought about another who was said to be just as evil.
"What do you know about the head of a group called the Transformed?"
The man with the hopeless gray eyes took a long drink from his glass. Finally, he looked over at his guest. "A strange question from a rogue. Because I would say that what I have heard of that crowd, it is only made up of rogues."
"Well, I need more information than I can get from the strange library world called Dupa, or even the small one you have here in the mines. I need the information that you have on the man at the top and why he would order a hit on a Veldan modifier." Keenan also took a long slug of his drink.
The small man looked over and made a small tsk, tsk sound. "Now, even you must know that my personal knowledge has a price on it since it comes from my internal observations and contacts. I can't have anything dangerous come back at me with twice the results."
Nodding, Keenan finished his drink and slammed the glass down on the desk. "I have always agreed to pay your prices. I will not back away on the next one. This one is close to me, and there is no price too high."
Chapter Five
Heading back to his ship, Keenan was reviewing the information that the Preacher had supplied to him. Some of it had been sent through, and Poly had archived it for future studies. Checking with Poly, he found out that his friend Bruno was still out.
"The lady out too," Poly reported in her cultured voice but short sentences. Although Keenan appreciated the beauty of the teacher they had picked up, he hoped he never saw her again. But as long as they were near his favorite bar, a bit of good whiskey with a chaser and perhaps the help of a pro would ease his body.
Jumping off the moving tram, Keenan made his way through the dirty streets with intermittent lights. The shops, bars, and sex shops put out more light than the lamps or handing lights.
Walking into the doors of the bar with thick smoke and the smell of unwashed bodies and urine, Keenan smiled. He decided it had the aroma of fucking welcome. This room was full of thieves, whores, and drunks, his kind of people. The people he had hidden among for years before that Elder bitch had drawn him back into Veldan's business.
But where one Elder had done what he expected and insulted him to try to use him, another Elder surprised him. Elder Mar of the Veldan council had given him information on who had killed Keenan's family. Now, before Keenan went out on the hunt, he needed to get into a card game, drink too much whiskey, and sink deep into a female. Looking around this large murky room, this was just the hellhole for all three needs to be satisfied.
Going to the bar, the woman behind nodded and soon sat a short whiskey and a tall cold beer in front of him. Turning and leaning against the bar, he looked at the two tables full of players after chasing the whiskey with a slug of the beer. Both were full, but he did see one that would soon have an opening, as a drunk was down to a small pile and betting like the world was ending soon.
The drunk had tapped out before Keenan was done with his beer, and the seat was empty. That didn't mean the man left without needing help. It seemed that drunks who lost all their money also brought out their stupidity. This one screamed that the entire bar had cheated him, and he threw a chair before a couple of big guys appeared to escort him out the front door. The three disappeared, things were straightened up, and the music got louder.
Picking up the tossed chair, Keenan brought it over to the game and took his place in the game. He played slow, drank the beer the bartender sent over, and relaxed. After a few hands, Keenan had a small pile built up in front of him, and at a wink to the bartender, he felt the warm hands of a female on his neck.
Glancing up, he was sorry that it wasn't his favorite whore Bettae, but that lady had been killed in her room near this bar. It was an unfortunate fact of life for most of the people who earned their coin servicing others. Yet Keenan trusted the bartender and believed she would only send over one of the top and clean pros.
Fuck, this woman was good, as she had her hand down below his belt before he could play his next hand.
"Sweetheart, hold on. I hate to make my cards dirty by squirting all over them." Everyone at the table laughed at his words as Keenan threw in his hand and stood up, pulling her hand out of his pants.
"Let's find some privacy to finish this, babe." He was halfway down the back hallway to the alley when he remembered the last time he was there. It had been with Bettae, and he was going to fuck the pro with full attention when it was interrupted. First, there had been some humans who thought they could steal his winnings, but that wasn't bad enough. He never did finish the good action of the warm mouth of Bettae on his cock, as there were some males from his homeworld of Veldan.
Fuck no; he wasn't going out to that alley again. Besides, he had a hard-on now that was hurting inside his tight pants. He pushed into the restroom door, and fortunately, it was empty, so with the pro inside with him, he leaned back against the door. It was hard to believe that this small room with broken urinals and stained washbowls smelled worse than the front bar room.
Still, the pro got his mind off everything as she pulled the contacts apart on his pants and had hot hands on the most important part demanding attention. From her hands to her mouth and he was in heaven, as he locked his legs and tossed his head back with eyes closed.
This lady was down on her knees with one hand on his thigh and the other cupping his balls, and she was good. He moved his hips forward just as Poly chirped in his ear.
"Captain, trouble."
"Right now, there is heaven." Keenan could feel that roar building that all males had a different name for as balls tightened and veins swelled.
"Captain, important." Now there was a shrill whistle in his ear that hurt.
Jerking, Keenan accidentally pushed the pro across the small room, and he put a hand to his neck, right below his ear. "What the fuck, Poly? That hurt. I was in the middle of something."
"Problem with lady. Bruno missing. Go to Sele's."
"One minute." The two words was a grunt as Keenan took his heavy member in his hand and pumped a couple of times. The release was so close; those two movements were all it took as thick liquid spilled out to mix with the other undetermined items on the sidewall. At least he turned enough to miss the pro, who was trying to get to her feet.
"What the hell, big guy. I was willing to do that for you myself." The pro was thinking she was saying goodbye to her fee.
Grabbing a paper towel from the machine on the wall, Keenan spoke softly. "Sorry, honey. Don't worry. You'll get your coin and a tip for the shove across the floor. My fucking crewmate called me in my ear at the wrong time. I have to find a way to turn the damn thing off."
&nb
sp; Cleaned up and pants in place, Keenan got some real coin from a pocket and, after kissing the pro's hand, dropped them into it and left her in the ugly room. He didn't know why they used the ancient term 'restroom' on these smelly places. No one rested in the fucking places.
Speaking out loud to Poly, he needed information. "Where is Sele's?"
"Two alleys north. Big sign."
Jogging through the dark of Morgan's Point, every corner looked identical to the last one. Drunks asleep or pissing on a wall with paper floating past and dust kicking up everywhere so that you never knew where you were without the signs that glowed in businesses.
There were some bodies lying on the outside of the door, with a couple standing by them as Keenan approached the sign that announced he had reached Sele's.
"Problem?" Keenan pointed inside as he looked at what seemed to be what was left over from a bar fight.
"Over now." One of the standing guys announced. "You need to stay out."
"Not likely; I've a friend in there." Keenan gave one of the glares that let a touch of flame show in his eyes, and neither male seemed about to stop him. He entered through the door to see a crowd around something on the floor near the bar.
The room was in shambles, broken glass and furniture everywhere. A couple of workers were trying to pick up chairs and set things upright. People moved out of his way as he walked towards the bar, and there on the floor was Thea.
"Fuck." He knelt on one knee to be close to her face. This was bad as she was in a restraint net. He had only seen one of these wicked controllers used once before, as they were unusual and dangerous. The restraint was a product that looked like a net in dark brown fibers that wrapped around an object to hold a person in place. What made them dangerous was that when you moved, it just tightened. Any movement made it tighten, and he had heard rumors of restraint nets tightening on fighting people and killing them.
This was one smart lady, and as she had felt the net enclosing her, she had brought her hands up to form a small tent with her elbows and hands from her chest to her nose. She was taking small shallow breaths to not give signals to the net to tighten around her diaphragm. There was no panic in those pretty blue eyes, just anger.
