Recon Marines II: Marine's Heiress, The (24 page)

“
You can’t buy them off
like you did the men who helped you slip away a year
ago.”

“
Buy them off? I’m a grown
woman, able to come and go as I please. Why do you use words like
slip away as if I had to escape?”

Ben set the AI back on the desk. “Let’s
stop this dancing around. You’ll sign your shares over to me as
well as those your mother willed to you upon her death. I want the
accounts where you’ve hidden the assets.”

“
So you can disappear with
the fortune my grandfather and father made in the mining empire
they founded? The one you helped Hadrason try to steal? My mother
outsmarted you and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“
You underestimate the
means at my disposal to gain your cooperation, dear girl. Not only
will you give me what I ask, you’ll be married before this day is
out to someone who will look out for your, or should I say, my
interests.”

“
I will never do as you
want.”

Ben gave a hand signal to one of his
guards. The man spoke into a small radio on his collar. The smile
curving Ben’s mouth raised a sick feeling in Emma’s stomach. After
a few minutes a man entered the room carrying a small tray filled
with vials.

“
With your education,
namely your work with the human mind, you know there are many ways
to manipulate the brain chemistry of humans.” Ben waved the new man
closer. “Dr. First is the leading expert in his field. He was my
colleague in the military until stiff-necked types thought there
was something inhumane about delving into the psyche of the enemy.
Geoff and I have found him quite useful in our methodical takeover
of all the mining interests here on the outlying planets. You’re
the last piece, a rather big piece of my mining empire.”

Fear worked its claws deeper into Emma.
Mind control drugs had long been outlawed and the penalty for using
them involved long prison terms. Some of the illegal chemicals
caused permanent brain damage and some were designed to turn a
subject into a cooperative slave. “You’re best hope is to turn
yourself in and hope for leniency. Maybe Hadrason hasn’t implicated
you in the worst of his crimes. You might get a light sentence in
one of the kinder prisons.”

Ben laughed. “Who do you think hired
the men to do the dirty work when it was called for? I found the
men Geoff needed. The only reason he’s not blaming his crimes on me
is because I’ve managed to keep his interests profitable. Without
that income, he wouldn’t be able to live in a comfortable prison
and pay his lawyers to keep fighting for his early release. But I
need your half of the business to keep the money pouring in. I can
outsmart the army nabobs searching for me for as long as I need to.
Eventually new army and political leaders will come into power, and
I will make a triumphant return as the richest man in the known
worlds.”

“
I think you need the care
of a psychiatrist, Ben.” She knew he hated it that she wouldn’t
call him father. Anger flared in his sharp eyes, and she hurried to
turn his mind from the disrespect. His crazed plan indicated a true
break with reality and disabusing him of his delusional plans might
increase her danger. “Money can’t buy everyone. Your crimes won’t
go away because some time passes.”

Dr. First picked up a vial, eyeing Emma
as he did. “She looks like she weighs little more than a hundred
Earth pounds.” He squirted some of the drug out of the needle. “I
don’t want to make her a vegetable.”

“
Just give her enough to
make her cooperative,” Ben said with a touch of
impatience.

Emma didn’t hear the men approaching
but suddenly big hands grasped her arms and held her in place. Her
struggles might have been against iron. The doctor pinched the
muscle in her arm and injected the drug beneath her skin. The
guards released her and stepped back. She tried to still her racing
heart, knowing the faster her blood pumped the quicker it would get
to her brain.

“
Give it a few minutes.”
Dr. First stepped back, watching her with calculation.

Emma knew she had to act now before she
lost all control of her thoughts, but despair rose in her. How
could she win against all these men of twice her size?

“
Sir!” said the guard near
the far door. “We have an incoming ship. It’s a Herbone Class Star
Cruiser. We’re lucky the scanners caught it.”

“
Who would be coming to
this deserted hunk of space metal?” one of the other guards
asked.

The first guard answered, his words
sounding distant to Emma. “This place isn’t on any trade routes,
and it’s dark to most ship sensors. They could only have found us
by following us.”

Ben stood up, looming over Emma. “Who
has capabilities to follow us here? Where did they get such a ship?
No one has that type of vessel except active military.”

Emma’s vision wobbled as she looked up
at him. She tried to smile, but her lips wouldn’t cooperate. Drool
gathered in the corner of her mouth, and she could do nothing about
it. Some strange connections in her jumbled thoughts led her to
think Vin had come after her.

“
Damn you, First, you gave
her too much. She can’t even talk.”

Emma heard Ben shouting orders, the
meaning of the words lost to her. The harsh tone grated on her ears
yet she couldn’t lift her hand to block the sound. Someone picked
her up and tossed her over a hard shoulder. The person ran, causing
her belly to slam up and down on his shoulder. She fought against
sickness but couldn’t hold off the darkness moving in from the
edges of her eyes.

* * * *

A warning ping alerted Vin when the
base’s scanners fixed on him but he didn’t cut his speed or try
evasive maneuvers. Emma had arrived at the dark metal space station
at least two hours before. He jerked his thoughts away from any
speculation on what they might be doing to her.

“
Are you sure this hunk is
the right place?” Vannie had said little during the trip, even
dozing off for a little while. Sorrow had diminished the big man in
some way, leaving him haggard and weakened. “It doesn’t look like
anyone is home.

“
People don’t make their
homes on these stations. They’re run by small crews and serve as
stopovers for refueling or passenger and cargo
transfers.”

“
But there aren’t any
signs it’s open for business either.”

“
An abandoned base is a
perfect hiding place for a criminal or kidnapper.” Vin powered down
the interstellar drive and proceeded forward with the planetary
propulsion. Such stations had dozens of bays for ships to dock. The
trail he’d followed had dispersed in the artificial gravity
surrounding the station, hiding the ingress point of the admiral’s
mercenaries. The life sensors picked up only shadows through the
multiple metal walls, all the heat signatures concentrated toward
the center of the complex. The weak returns didn’t allow for an
accurate count of the enemy.

Vin flew his ship into a berth directly
in front of his approach. The bay didn’t light up at his entrance
like such a facility normally would but his ship detected
atmospheric presence. Either the people in the base meant to
conserve energy with the dark or use it to hide. His ship settled
to the metal floor, all alone in the hanger to his disappointment.
Finding the enemy ship would have been luck alone, something Recon
Marines didn’t believe in.

He gathered weapons from the locker
behind his pilot’s seat. He left the long guns behind, taking one
stun laser, a few percussion grenades and three different hand
guns. He handed Vannie two guns also. “Shoot to kill every time.
Aim center mass.”

“
I know how to shoot a
gun,” Vannie mumbled.

“
Yes, but I’ve found most
civilians hesitate to kill.”

Vannie grimaced and nodded. They exited
through the cargo bay so the length of the ship sat between them
and the entrance to the living areas. After jogging unchallenged to
the opening, Vin led the way through a warren of hallways, taking
any turn that would bring him to the central areas.

Even a small space station like this
one had dozens of rooms. During his time in service, Vin had spent
hours on many such structures. He slammed through a door and found
an empty barracks. As he expected, the next two doors revealed more
barracks though one showed signs of occupation. Twenty bunks had
bedding fixed neatly in military fashion. Officers might have their
own rooms so he estimated as many as two dozen men held Emma. They
wouldn’t be easy targets like the men from the mine on Merris
Five.

Having Vannie at his back didn’t help
Vin. The older man added another liability to his mission. The hall
ahead of them curved indicating they’d found the center. Doors now
opened on both sides of the hall. The doors on the inner wall would
lead to the living quarters of officers and important civilians.
The admiral would use one of them.

Vin leaned against the first door on
the inside wall. Not even his senses could hear through two inches
of metal but he might feel vibrations. Nothing. He eased the door
open to a dark, empty room. The next door revealed a dining room
that smelled of recent cooking but no people. The following room
showed signs of occupation but again no people.

He listened at the next door and felt
the vibrations of men walking and talking. He pointed to his ear
and then made little walking motions with his fingers. Vannie
nodded understanding, lifting both guns in preparation. The door
responded to a swipe of fingers across an electronic
panel.

The door hissed opened, exposing two
men with weapons up but not ready enough. They wilted to the ground
without firing when Vin’s shots took them in the forehead. He moved
into the room as two more guards closed in from each side of the
door. Vin killed the one on the left, and Vannie stepped in behind
him and killed the other one.

“
Stop!” a man shouted from
behind a wall of four guards aiming their weapons at Vin and
Vannie.

Vin flipped his left hand gun into the
air, knowing the mercenaries would be distracted by it. It was only
human nature. Their nature, not his. He used his free hand to flip
a visual stun grenade toward the guards and caught his gun in his
left hand at the moment of ignition. He closed his eyes for a count
of five and then dove to the right in case any of the men remained
cognizant enough to fire blindly at his last position. Hopefully
Vannie got out of the way.

When Vin opened his eyes, the four
enemies still covered their eyes. He slapped his pistol back onto
his belt and pulled the stun gun. He didn’t want to take the chance
of hitting whatever was behind the wall of men. It wasn’t a light
stunner like he’d given Emma as a gift but a military grade weapon
created to bring men down quickly and keep them down for a period
of time. Only one of them managed to discharge his weapon before
Vin hit him. The guard’s shot smacked harmlessly into the wall over
Vin’s head.

Vin leaped over the twitching bodies of
the guards and came to face to face with Admiral Ben Lester for the
first time. The bastard held Emma up with one arm around her chest
and with his other he held a syringe pressed against her neck. The
point already pierced her skin. Vin held his stunner toward Lester
and pointed his other gun at the doorway. “Move into the room,
Vannie, and cover the door.”

Emma sagged in some level of
unconsciousness. Drool ran from the side of her mouth but she
didn’t look injured. Drugged then. Rage burned white hot in Vin, a
heat like he’d felt only once before. He fought it back.

“
Stay where you are or
this dose will empty her mind forever. Who the hell are you?” the
admiral asked, his head steady on the needle dimpling Emma’s
skin.

“
I’ve been looking for
you.” Vin was surprised the man didn’t recognize him. Perhaps
letting his hair grow had disguised him more than he’d thought.
“You’re the last of the liars and betrayers. Do you want to join
Hadrason in prison or end like one of your military friends did? He
didn’t have the courage to face prison and any man who uses his
daughter as a shield seems like a coward.”

Lester paled and trembling started in
his hands. “You can’t be! You’re all dead or working for the bitch
queen of Giroux.”

“
Guess he’s a ghost then,”
Vannie said from near the door. “Let the girl go, you
bastard.”

Lester tightened his hold on Emma. “I
think not. If you shoot me, this vial will deliver its
payload.”

“
I came here for you. Let
Emma go and we’ll settle this between us.” Vin edged
closer.

“
Stop right there. Are you
saying you don’t care what happens to her?” Lester laughed and
dragged Emma toward the door behind him. “One of the reasons it was
so easy to set you up for treason was that inability to lie
engrained in your DNA. I don’t know how you came to join forces
with my treacherous stepdaughter but your dog-like loyalty can’t
stop me from leaving.”

Lester kept going until he reached the
door. “I’m going to get on my ship. As long as you don’t follow me,
my dear girl will only be groggy. Come after me and I’ll fry her
brain down to insect level.” Lester kicked the door behind him and
it slid open. He slipped out with Emma dangling in front of
him.