by Shéa MacLeod
Zala turned around in the cramped space. “It’s better than nothing, I guess.”
“But you’d rather be back on the Justice.” She nodded. “I feel naked here. Like part of me is missing. I haven’t slept outside its bulkheads in years.”
He couldn’t even fathom being in one place that long. Well, he supposed she wasn’t really in one place, since they travelled plenty, but having a place to call home? He hadn’t had that in longer than he cared to remember.
“So what’s the plan?” he blurted, shaking off the maudlin thoughts. “By the time the ship is fixed, and we’re on our way, Tannen will be long gone. We’ll have to pick up his trail all over again.”
“You mean wait until he leaves another dead body to find.”
She pursed her lips, looking desolate.
“What if there was a better way?”
She cocked her head, eyes brightening. Deity, was she beautiful. “I’m all ears.”
“I know some people on Tesla 2.”
“Tesla 2 is uninhabitable.”
He grinned. “That’s what the Syndicate thinks.”
“I take it these people aren’t exactly prime citizens,” she said, crossing her arms.
“Not exactly, no.”
“How can they help us?”
“They can keep an eye on Tannen. Track him for us. Once we get off this rock, we’ll know exactly where he is, swoop in, job done.”
“Sounds too easy.”
“This is Tannen,” he said dryly. “Ain’t gonna be easy.”
“How do you contact these friends of yours?”
“Leave that to me.”
Chapter Fifteen
ZALA DIDN’T LOVE THE idea of trusting a virtual stranger. A bunch of strangers, at that. But what other choice did she have?
She nodded. “Do it.”
Xander disappeared out the door. A moment later, Audley popped his head in. “Hey, boss. This our new digs?”
“Until the ship’s fixed, yes. Did they say how long?”
“Couple days.” Jeric sidled around him, a frown plastered on his wrinkled face. He took a blanket off one of the bunks, crawled into the bottom of another, and tucked the blanket vertically into the bedframe, forming a barrier against the world. She doubted they’d see him again until they were ready to leave.
“Where’s Xander?” Audley asked.
“He went to contact some friends of his. Any way you can speed up repairs?”
“Maybe. I got some, ah, contraband aboard. Could bribe ’em.”
She shook her head. “I really don’t want to know.” Audley was always bringing mysterious crates on board, usually stuffed with illegal liquor.
“But you really want them to get done fast.”
“Pretty much.”
He flashed a grin. “Consider it done.” It was his turn to disappear.
She sank down on one of the bunks with a sigh. They were stuck on this rock until the ship was fixed. Tannen was running around doing deity knew what, and her only hope of finding him again was a loose cannon she’d picked up from a mercenary on a backwater world. She’d lost her freakin’ mind.
Since she had nothing better to do, she decided a visit to the bar was in order. She doubted she’d learn anything, but she was hungry. And there was always booze.
“Jeric, want to grab a bite?”
There was no answer. She left him alone. There was a whisky out there with her name on it.
THE TESLAN WHISKY WENT down smooth and sweet. It was like nothing she’d ever had before. Most whiskies were loamy or peaty or something, but this was totally different. She wondered vaguely if it was the soil.
She was a little tipsy, and her nanos started swarming her bloodstream to neutralize the liquor. She ordered the implants to back the frag down. She wanted the buzz. She needed to let loose for a minute. Just a minute.
She stared at the brown liquid shimmering in her glass. How was she going to find Tannen again? Waiting for the next body to drop was not an option. Xander had promised he could help, but so far... Speaking of, what was she going to do about him? She’d promised to let him go once they caught Tannen, but could she do that? Should she? It would be tantamount to treason.
She could almost hear her mother tsking in disappointment. Zala frowned. The woman was never satisfied.
“Fancy meeting you here.” A man dropped into the chair across from her, his face half in shadow.
She forced herself to focus. Oh, shiyat. “Jacquinus. What are you doing here?” She’d left him sleeping it off on Omicron 5. Had he followed her, or was his presence a bizarre coincidence? She didn’t believe in coincidences. And she didn’t like the expression on his face.
“You know what you did to me back there on Omicron?” he said, his voice low and gravelly and full of anger.
“I stopped you from ripping me off, that’s what.” She let her nanos loose and a second later lost her buzz.
He sneered. “You humiliated me in front of my comrades.”
She stared at him, unmoved. “If you can’t take it, don’t dish it out.”
His face turned nearly purple. “In my world, reputation is everything,” he said. “And you ruined mine.”
“Is that so?” She leaned back, toying with her weapon. Could she get it out of its holster before Jacquinus shot her? Likely not. “I think you were doing a fine job of that on your own. Double-crossing a client? I can imagine how your business will plummet when that little tidbit gets out.”
“Good thing for me it won’t.” He lifted his gun and pulled the trigger.
But not before she threw herself hard to the left. The blast whizzed past her cheek and scorched the wall behind her. She surged to her feet, upended the table on top of Jacquinus, yanked her blaster out of its holster, and blasted a hole in the middle of it. Jacquinus rolled out of the way just in time.
With a bellow of rage, he leaped over the table and tackled her to the ground. Her implants surged to life, clearing her bloodstream of the last vestiges of alcohol and boosting power to her muscles. She punched him in the face. He grunted but was otherwise unaffected. He brought his gun up, but she batted it away. Infuriated, he smacked her open-handed.
He was starting to piss her off.She drove her fingers toward his eye sockets. He turned his head, and her nails scraped furrows on his cheek instead. It put him off balance, and she was able to drive her knee up into his balls. Not as hard as she would have liked, but he doubled over, retching. She punched him hard in the jaw, knocking him into a man drinking at the next table.
Jacquinus’s head connected sharply with the man’s chair. The man’s beer connected with the tabletop before splashing onto the floor. With a bellow of rage, the man jumped up, spun around, and grabbed Jacquinus by the throat. He threw Jacquinus like a rag doll, knocking over several more drinks. Angry cries followed, and soon there was an all-out bar brawl. Blood and spit flew everywhere, and Jacquinus was lost in the crowd.
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she stumbled to her feet and ran for the sleeping room. Once there she locked the door behind her. On the other side, the fight raged on.
Audley looked up from his bunk, where he was reading an e-comic. “What up?”
“Start packing. I think they’re gonna throw us off this rock.”
He winced. “What’d ya do now?”
She shrugged. “A minor altercation with someone in the bar.”
“Really, Zala. I can’t take you anywhere.”
Chapter Sixteen
XANDER WAS SURPRISED when he got the call from Audley to meet them back at the ship. “Surely it’s not ready yet.”
“Ain’t.” Audley’s voice crackled over the comms. “But we’ve been banned from the bar.”
“Deity. What happened?”
“Zala started a bar fight.”
“Excuse me?”
“Ain’t the first time. I’ll tell you when you get back.” He ended the call.
Xander turned to his c
ontact. The ratty little man huddled in the corner of his sleep unit, gazing at Xander suspiciously.
“You ain’t gonna go back on your word, are ya?” he asked in a whiny tone. “’Cuz I got primo intel, man.”
“A promise is a promise, Krick,” he assured him. “Next Syndicate station I get to, I’ll transfer the credits to your wife.” That Krick was actually married never ceased to amaze him. The man was a slimy two-timer and ugly to boot. What woman would put up with such a creature? Apparently, Mrs. Krick. “You have my IOU. You know I’m good for it.”
Krick nodded and handed Xander a crystal info chip. “It’s all on there. All you need.”
“You sure it’s him? Tannen?”
“Sure as I can be. My sources ain’t never failed before.”
Xander nodded. “If it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough for me.”
Krick gave him a wobbly smile. “Just don’t forget.”
“I won’t.”
“Good. ‘Cuz I’d hate to send Merck after you.”
Xander swallowed. “Merck? Really?”
Krick’s smile took on an evil edge. “I’m the nice one.”
“I told you I’d pay, and I will.” He glanced around the grimy little room. “How’d you end up on Tesla 3?”
Krick shrugged. “Long story. Ain’t that interesting. But it suits my purpose, this dingy little rock.” A clever gleam lurked in his beady, dark eyes. Krick may have looked like a rat, but he had the cunning of a snake.
“Got it. Well, you take care of yourself, Krick. If this intel is good, you’ll be a rich man.”
“Never rich enough,” Krick mumbled.
Xander headed for the ship. He couldn’t get off this dump fast enough.
TANNEN LEANED BACK in his chair, pleased with himself. Calling in those credits had been worth it. He’d finally shaken Captain Lei and her nosey crew.
He had no intention of losing her forever. His game with her was not yet finished. It wouldn’t be until he felt her blood sliding over his fingers. Until her last breath caressed his cheek.
He shuddered with pleasure at the thought.
“Milord?” A timid voice interrupted his thoughts.
“I said I did not want to be disturbed,” he snarled. “What do you want?”
The tiny little thing blanched, and her eyes dilated until the pupils took up the entire iris. She looked like she was on the verge of fainting. Her fear exhilarated him. He scanned her, but she was free of implants. Too bad. Perhaps he could break with tradition this once. She looked so sweet.
But no. The game had rules, and they must not be changed on a whim.
“I said, what do you want?” he barked, irritated he had to repeat himself.
The girl, hardly more than a teenager, lifted the carafe. “Your tonic, milord. The doctor insisted.”
“Frag the doctor,” he snapped. She flinched. “Very well. Give it here.”
She poured thick, greenish liquid into a glass and held it out, her hand shaking so badly, she nearly dropped the glass. With a roll of his eyes, he snatched it and drank the foul drink.
“You may tell Herr Doktor I took my medicine like a good little boy.”
“Milord?”
“Get out!” he roared, smashing the glass against the flagstones.
She ran like a gazelle, disappearing through the heavy door that banged shut behind her. He sighed. He really must stop frightening the staff. What he needed was another player in the game.
What he needed was another hunt.
“ABOUT TIME YOU GOT back,” Zala said without looking away from the viewscreen. She could see Xander well enough out of the corner of her eye.
“Seriously? I—”
“Did you get the intel?” She was pretty sure he growled. This time she looked up. “Well?”
The muscles in his jaw flexed. “I got the intel.” He held up a crystal chip.
“Oh, come to papa.” Audley snatched it from him before plugging it into his comp. “Beautiful,” he crooned. “Where’d you get this?”
“From my contacts,” Xander said.
His irritation amused Zala. Did he expect her to pat him on the head and tell him he was a good boy for doing his job? “Anything good on there?” she asked Audley. That irked Xander further. “No way,” Audley gasped. “You ain’t gonna believe this.”
Zala gave a huff of exasperation. “Believe what?”
“Here.” He tapped a key, and an image appeared on the viewscreen.
It was Tannen dressed in some sort of fancy robe and wearing a gold circlet on his head. He looked stern and imposing, and yet somehow kindly and approachable at the same time. Very regal.
“What the Hades?” Xander blurted. “Is he in some sort of ancient Earth historical reenactment group?”
“Better.” Audley smirked. “He’s the governor of Regis.”
She was stunned. Granted, Regis was a backwater planet, but still. Governor? “How did that happen?”
“No clue, but it looks like he’s been hiding out there for years, using it as home base. He’s highly respected. Pillar of the community.”
“I’m guessing he’s managed to keep himself from murdering every woman in sight,” Zala said dryly.
“Apparently,” Audley said. “Regis has a very low crime rate and an especially low murder rate.”
That made sense. A murderer keeping other killers at bay. Like sending a cat burglar to secure a museum against other cat burglars. No way would Tannen want other violent criminals infringing on his turf.
“But how has this never come up?” she wondered aloud. “You’d think that having one of the most wanted serial killers in the galaxy as a planetary governor would have come to the Syndicate’s attention.”
Audley shrugged. “Real good tech, I’m guessing. Tech’s good enough, you can fake identity easy.”
It was the only explanation. “But his image?”
“That ain’t on any database. Official records list him as being against having his image captured. Religious reasons.”
“Shiyat,” Xander said with feeling. “That totally fits Regis. They’re out there living like it’s fragdamn medieval times.”
It was true. Regis had been settled by a group of people who believed success would come with living a simpler life. That meant living like it was 1200 AD. The Syndicate had let them do as they would but drew the line at allowing them to set up a king. They did, however, allow the settlers to build a castle for the serving governor, who, at the moment, happened to be a serial killer.
“Audley, set a course.”
“To Regis?”
“To Regis.”
Chapter Seventeen
THE ALLEY RAN BETWEEN two stone and timber buildings, one of which looked like it was in danger of imminent collapse. The angle of the wall blocked most of the sunlight, leaving the narrow passage in a permanent state of twilight. Scummy green water dripped down the walls, pooling in slick puddles. Gravel crunched underfoot as Zala shifted for a better view.
The central square of Regis’s capitol city was vast. Flat paving stones in mellow gold tones shone dully in the afternoon sun. The square was ringed by vendor stalls with brightly colored canvas roofs and piles of exotic goods. Everything from fresh fragrant fruits to aromatic spices to hand-carved toys. Market day.
“Remember, if you don’t hack Tannen before he hacks me, I’m fragged.” She glanced over at Xander and had the sudden desire to run back to the safety of the ship. She hadn’t been this nervous since the day she first set foot on the Infinite Justice as its new captain. “Please don’t let him hack me.”
“I promise.” He gave her arm a gentle squeeze.
She felt a zing of energy at his touch and frowned. This was no time for her implants to act up. She needed to focus unless she wanted her mind taken over by a mad man.
The fear of being hacked was a very real one. There were few entities in the known universe who could hack implants like hers. The Syndicate, of course
, though technically she supposed that wouldn’t be hacking since they kind of owned her implants. And her, if you thought about it.
Thanks to her mother and the power of House Lei, Zala’s implants were the most recent available. Their internal systems would allow her to stop an attempt to breech security, but hackers like Xander could get around that. It was how he’d brought down House Lodai. He’d shut down the brains of their entire fleet, as well as their top scions and the patriarch. In one fell swoop, the House had collapsed.
Afterward, they’d branded Xander a traitor. Some argued the innocent had suffered along with the guilty, but they’d been involved in trafficking sentient beings and the entire clan knew about it. There were no innocents in House Lodai in her estimation.
Hackers like Tannen used their skills for far more evil purposes. The Lodaians had eventually recovered, though too late to prevent expulsion from the Syndicate. The killer’s victims could not recover. They lay now beneath the ground or burned to ash, forever gone from loved ones.
She didn’t want to end up dead, but there were worse things. Tannen hadn’t successfully killed an early victim, but her implants had been so damaged, and her mind so scarred, she remained a vegetable, locked away from the world, suffering an eternity of horrors.
She laid her hand over Xander’s. The warmth of his skin steadied her. She steeled her courage. She could do this. And if not.... “Promise me something.”
It was almost like he read her mind. “If the worst happens, I’ll end it. I promise.”
Relieved, she released his hand, turning her attention to the view from the alley. “There he is.”
Tannen stood in the center of the town square, across from their hiding place. He was dressed in full military formal dress, complete with epaulets and medals despite having never served in any legal branch of any military in the known universe. He’d stationed himself directly in front of the gold-plated statute of Dwight Regis, hero of Regis’s civil war. Tannen was attempting to draw a parallel between himself and the local hero. His laughter boomed across the market as he handed out sweets to the village kids and shook hands with their parents.
