Star Runners 2: Revelation Protocol (9 page)

Two laser blasts echoed throughout the hall. No other workers tried to help the exhausted men who remained on the floor. More laser shots flashed. Josh struggled to put one foot in front of the other.

No one spoke, not even the guards.

When they entered the common area, Josh collapsed onto the ground next to Delmar. His friend tapped him on the shoulder as Josh rolled over on his back.

“Rest, my friend,” Delmar whispered.

“Don’t worry.” Josh took in a long, slow breath. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being there.” Josh blinked and closed his eyes. “Nice to have a friend.”

Delmar murmured an affirmative as others collapsed around them. The workers fell to the ground in a heap. Snores filled the air in seconds. After staring at the rock about him for a moment, Josh drifted into a dreamless sleep.

A hand the size of a baseball glove wrapped around his ankle, a strong force sliding him across the cave floor. His head banged on the rock. His teeth buried into his tongue. The salty taste of blood filled his mouth. When he stopped moving, he tried to stand, but his muscles refused. The massive hands clasped his shoulders and thrust him into the air like a doll. He gasped for breath, but a hand pressed against his mouth.

“Stay quiet or I will snap your neck.”

Despite the darkness, Josh knew it was the smuggler leader. The man’s massive silhouette loomed over him. Josh nodded, and the man removed his hand, placing him on the cave floor. The rest of the workers slept in the darkness. A pirate guard at the cave’s entrance faced the other way, his attention on lighting some kind of cigarette.

“What do you want?” Josh breathed.

The man leaned in, close enough Josh smelled the stench of his breath. “They say you are a pilot?”

“Who says that?”

“The other prisoners here.”

Josh thought for a moment. “Aren’t you a smuggler?”

“I am captain of the vessel Traveler. I am not a pilot.” He gripped Josh’s shoulder hard. “I ask you one last time; are you a pilot?”

Josh winced, his muscles sore as the man buried his fingers into his shoulder. “Yes. I’m a pilot. What of it? It’s not going to do us any good.”

The hands took a harder grip on Josh’s shoulders and pushed him into the wall. Josh clenched his teeth, trying to keep from making a sound.

“What do you fly?” the man asked.

“Fighters.”

The smuggler leaned in close, the heat of his breath on Josh’s face. “You are military? You are a Zahl pilot?”

“No.”

He shook Josh. “Legion then?”

“I am a prisoner like you!” Josh snapped. “What the hell does it matter what I did before? You wanna talk the night away or did you wake me for some purpose?”

The man smiled, keeping his vice-like grip on Josh’s shoulder. “Getting angry, little man?”

Josh grabbed for the man’s wrist, but his strength could not move the massive arm. He sighed. “Yeah, I’m pissed off I have to be in here with you when I could be sleeping. Tell me what you want before I have to start a fight I’ll lose.”

The grip lightened, and the man snorted as he steadied Josh against the rock. “You have balls.”

Josh shook his head. “I’ve got nothing to lose. What does it matter? I’ve been here longer than you, and I don’t have the strength to work another day, much less fight you all night.” He looked into the man’s eyes. “If you’re going to do something, do it.”

The man released his grip and gestured to the rock floor. “Sit.”

Josh fell to the ground and leaned up against the rock. His body went limp. He gazed into the darkness. The man sat next to him and grunted.

“I don’t want to go out like this,” the man whispered. “My crew expected better.”

Josh shrugged. “This wasn’t on my list of plans either.”

The man grunted, burying his hand inside his bushy red beard. “My name is Waylon Neary.”

“I’m Josh.” He rested his head in his hands for a moment, hoping the pounding headache would eventually subside. “So did you really wake me up to find a pilot or did you just want to fight?”

Waylon exhaled. “I really don’t know. Maybe both.”

“Well, if you have a plan to get out of here, I’d like to hear it.”

Waylon folded his arms across his chest and stared into the darkness. “I have something in mind but haven’t worked out the details.”

For the first time in a long while, Josh felt a sense of hope. His heart raced as he thought of escaping this rock. “And what would this plan entail? It’s not like there are a lot of choices out there.”

Waylon sighed. “When they brought us in, a line of freighters had landed with an assortment of supplies. It seemed regular, like it was scheduled.”

“A scheduled delivery? The freighters left?”

Waylon nodded. “Seemed like they were prepping for takeoff.”

Among other less than savory practices, the Tyral Pirates were known throughout Quadrant Eight for stealing ships of all kinds, stripping them, and selling off the pieces to the highest bidder. As for their supplies, his CO on Tarton’s Junction said Dax Rodon stole all the resources he used to create his sad little empire. Josh had never heard of them doing any business that would result in a scheduled delivery. Who would be doing business with the pirates?  

“What was on the freighter?”

“Crates of some kind, looked official. Some kind of military equipment. I didn’t get a chance to linger, you know?”

Josh gestured toward the guards. “They never go away, so how in the world do you expect to get off this rock.”

“I’m working on it. We’ll have to keep an eye on the next prize the pirates bring in here. Do they move us often?”

Josh gazed at the floor. “I’ve been on this rock for a while—I don’t know how long. We work long hours, and I’ve lost track of the time, but ships are coming and going all the time. They bring in freighters for us to strip. When we’re not doing that, they put us in these caves to mine this mineral.”

“It’s Lutimite.”

Josh shook his head. “How do you know?”

Waylon shrugged. “It’s what powers ships in the Zahl Empire. Pretty common in those space lanes, but we don’t see a lot of it in Quadrant Eight. Powers the Lutimite Reactors, but that’s beyond me. Zahlians pay a pretty penny for it.”

Josh chewed on his bottom lip, staring off into the darkness. “So we need to steal a ship.”

“I’d recommend that over escaping through an airlock on your own. I think you’d get farther.”

Josh shook his head. “Right.” He nodded. “Okay, I can help you but Delmar is coming with us.”

“Who?”

“My friend. He’s the man next to me today in the pits.”

“The old man?”

“Yes,” Josh said, looking at him. “Either he comes with us, or I’m out.”

Waylon nodded. “You promise you can fly whatever we decide to steal coming through that hangar, and you can bring anyone you want.”

The shrouded vehicle shot across the grass at the entrance of Kadyn's neighborhood, invisible tires shredding through the grass. Austin turned back, saw two trenches splitting the entrance in front of the subdivision sign. Mud and grass clippings littered the roadway. 

"Watch it!" Austin yelled.

"No time." Sharkey pressed down on the gas, and Austin gripped the door handle. "Where?"

"Second left," Austin said through clenched teeth. "Then about a mile down the road."

"You don't think anything has happened to her?" Austin felt a wave of uneasiness.

"We'll find out soon enough."

The car moved into the left lane and around a winding curve at the front of the subdivision. The tires screeched. Sharkey eased off the gas and let the momentum carry them through the turn. He accelerated through a stop sign and slammed on the brakes to prepare to turn onto the second street.

"Hang on, Lieutenant."

Austin gripped his seat and the door handle, preparing for the worst. Sharkey yanked the wheel left, the car fishtailing into the turn. Austin kept his mouth shut, ignoring the desire to scream. Sweat ran down his face as Sharkey sped into the last straight away.

"Number?"

"It's three-eighteen on the right."

Sharkey nodded. "When I slow, I want you to hop out and run the rest of the way. Her house is probably under surveillance, so I wouldn't use the front door. I'll give you ten minutes to get her out and in the car.

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Knock on her window, Romeo.”

Austin frowned. “Her room is on the second floor.”

“You’ll figure it out.”

“What about her parents?”

Sharkey shook his head. “Just get her out. We know she’s one of your contacts. If they try to destroy the house, her family would just be collateral damage. Whoever is targeting Star Runners is trying to disrupt operations.” He slowed the car. “You got your sidearm?"

Austin shook his head. “They took it at Base Prime.”

Sharkey yanked a pistol with a silencer attached from inside his jacket and handed it to Austin. "Alright, get ready."

The gun felt heavy in his hands. “This a real gun?”

“You think I handed you a toy?”

“No, I mean a gun firing bullets? What about the laser pistol I trained on?”

Sharkey shrugged. “Same principal, just louder with smoke. It’s prohibited. Off world tech. You ever shot a man?”

Austin swallowed. “No.”

“Whoever these guys are, they are hardened mercs, hired guns. They will kill you. You have to kill them first.”

“Okay.”

Sharkey eased off the gas, allowing the car to coast toward the house. “Stay ready.”

Austin controlled his breathing as he watched the familiar houses pass. A hundred times before, he’d visited this neighborhood. He remembered children playing in the yards, jumping through sprinklers and shooting each other with water pistols. The houses appeared different in the darkness, looming on each side of the street. Nothing moved.

His fingers rested on the pistol in his jacket. He felt perspiration icing down his back. He hadn't seen Kadyn since before college. What would she say? He glanced at Sharkey, wanted to ask him what would happen next, but decided it had to wait. Would they take her to a secure location? Where would that be?

"Ready?" Sharkey asked.

He wanted to say he wasn't. He wished he were somewhere else. His Mom moaned in the backseat, still suffering the effects of the gas. Whoever had done this to Mom, now targeted Kadyn.

Concentrate.

"Go!" Sharkey barked.

Austin cracked open the door and hesitated.

"Go! Now!"

He leaped out the door. He turned his head to look back at the vehicle, but only saw the remnants of the car's tires splitting the damp street. The sound of the engine faded, then disappeared. Searching nearby houses for any sign of disturbance, he found nothing. His heart thudded in his ears as he slowly moved to a crouching position inside the flowerbed.

Ignoring a stray thought of a sniper zeroing in on his head, Austin sprinted across the lawn. He slowed at the side of Kadyn's house and leaned against the brick wall, feeling the coolness on his back. He held his breath and listened.

With his hand on the gun resting in his jacket pocket, Austin crept toward the back yard. He walked carefully to the edge of the home and risked a glance into the back yard.

A sole light illuminated the back porch, sending far-reaching shadows like dark fingers stretching across the grass. He squinted, surveying the woods behind Kadyn's house. He didn't know how deep these woods stretched into the night.

Turning back to the house, he craned his neck for a view of her bedroom window on the second floor. Dark, of course.

He bent down, searching for a pebble to toss at the window. Instead, he found a heavy pinecone. He hesitated. A pinecone thrown hard enough could break through the window, and that wasn't exactly the result he was shooting for in this situation. The bark of a pine tree a dozen feet from the edge of the house looked promising. Perhaps that could work.

He eased over to the tree and stripped off a piece of the loose bark. Looking up at Kadyn's window, he tossed the bark. The piece hit the brick of the house and shattered without much more than a sound. In fact, the lumbering air conditioning units made more noise in the night. After trying unsuccessfully three more times, he looked back to the pinecone. If he didn't do something soon, Sharkey would assume the worst and come after him.

He gripped the pinecone and stared at the window. If he threw it too hard, he might wake the entire house.

Please don't break, he thought.

Stepping away from the house, he hurled the pinecone into the air and hurried back to the wall. The pinecone bounced below the window and rolled up the side of the house, skipping across the glass as it did so.

Man, that was loud.

He pressed himself against the side of the house. He focused on the window. The bedroom light came on, and a shadow loomed in the room. Kadyn must be awake; the pinecone had done its job. Another noise would attract her to the window. Austin bent down, grabbed another piece of bark and threw it at the glass. The lock slid back on the window and the pane slid up.

A bearded face poked against the screen.

Mr. Joyce.

Austin fell into the grass. He swore silently, pressing into the damp ground at the base of the house in hopes Kadyn's dad wouldn't see him.

"Hello?" the deep voice called into the night.

Austin flinched. Had the man called at him? Did he throw the pinecone at the wrong window? 

"Listen, my daughter is asleep," Mr. Joyce said with a sigh. "If you don't leave, I'll have to call the cops."

The windowpane closed, and the light went off. Austin exhaled and leaned against the house. What now?

He looked back at the window and sighed. So Kadyn was home, but her father guarded her every move. Nothing new there. He remembered for the prom when Kadyn had been chased by Jason Pruitt, the dorky defensive lineman on the football team. Austin had thought about asking Kadyn to go as friends, but that was right about the time Jason had been lurking beside Kadyn’s locker after every class. He followed her around, asking after school every day. Kadyn finally relented, and Austin went to prom with his cousin Holly.

Kadyn told him about the story when the parents gathered at her house for photos before they left. Kadyn said Mr. Joyce hovered around her like a helicopter, watching Jason’s hands as they posed for the photos. Austin knew Sharkey was waiting in the car. Think.

As he looked around for inspiration, he heard the window open again. Great, he thought. Mr. Joyce was coming out with his hunting rifle.  

“Jeremy?” Kadyn whispered. “Is that you?”

Austin stepped back from the house. “Kadyn!”

“Who is that?” she asked. “I told you not to come here.”

“It’s me, Austin!”

She paused. “Austin? Are you serious?”

“I need to talk with you,” he said. He glanced at the pistol and shoved it into his jacket. “Can you?”

Austin couldn’t see her face, but her head peered out of the cracked window. If there were agents watching the house, they could see her. He needed to get her out of here.

“My dad’s going to kill me! I’ll be right down,” she said with a sigh. “This had better be good.”

He looked around the back yard as he waited. He hadn’t spoken to Kadyn in a live conversation of any kind in weeks. Now, he woke her up in the middle of the night. He had no idea what he would say to her. The forest seemed to have eyes. He had to get her out of here.

A minute passed.

Austin gripped the pistol, his fingers resting lightly on the side. The gun felt heavier than his laser pistol. The grass rustled from the other side of the house. Somebody was coming. He knelt down, raising the gun slightly.

“Hey!”

He spun around, the sharp whisper blasting through the silence like thunder. “What the—I’m sorry,” he said.

Kadyn, dressed in pink pajamas and tennis shoes, ran the last steps and threw her arms around him. Her hair band fell off, releasing her brown hair from the ponytail and falling around her shoulders. She smelled of honey and flowers.

“Oh my, God,” she breathed in his ear. “What are you doing here?”

“Be quiet,” he whispered, pulling her into the bushes. He placed a finger over her lips and listened.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Austin pulled her down to the ground and put his free hand on her shoulder. “You need to listen to me. I don’t have time to explain this, but I’ve got to take you away from here right now, okay?”

Kadyn’s face grew rigid. “What are you talking about?”

“I can’t explain it right now.” He gripped her hand. “We have to leave.”

“Leave for where?” Her face, once filled with excitement, faded to terror. “You’re scaring me.”

Austin lifted his head over the bushes. “You need to trust me. Okay?” 

Now that he made contact, Sharkey would be waiting at the street. If the enemy was not currently watching the house, they would be able to simply walk up to the shrouded vehicle and leave.

Austin looked back at Kadyn. “Grab my hand and everything will be alright. I promise. No matter what else happens, just trust me and I’ll get you out of here.”

She reached out her hand before recoiling back. “Oh my, God! Is that a gun?”

Austin sighed. “We have to go!”

“Oh, Austin. You’re not going to rob a store or something, are you? I know you need money, but this isn’t the way.”

His face contorted. “What? No. You need to come now. It’ll be okay.”

She took his hand carefully as if he would tear it off. He squeezed it, but she didn’t return the favor. With Kadyn falling in behind him, they made their way along the side of the house to the front yard. Two houses down, the wet pavement split as Sharkey’s shrouded car crept down the street. Austin paused at the corner of the house.

“We need to cut across the neighbor’s yard and head for the street. If anything happens, I need you to keep running for the street. You got it?”

She nodded, her chin trembling. “Austin, are you a drug dealer?”

He closed his eyes, his pulse pounding in his ears. His throat constricted, his muscles tightening. “Right now, I wish I was. You ready?”

“Okay,” she said, squeezing his hand back for the first time. “I trust you.”

He nodded at her, trying to fake a smile. When he turned back, he lowered his gaze. The light shifted in the street in front of the house, just beneath the neighbor’s tree. Although it was difficult to make out any details, it looked to be the shape of the sedan he drove to Atlanta from the Tizona Campus.

“Now!” he whispered.

They broke for the neighbor’s yard, his feet slipping on the wet grass. Kadyn clasped his hand hard enough to make his fingers numb. She gasped for breath as they sprinted. If they could make it to Sharkey’s shrouded car, the terror of the night could end. 

A faint light flashed across the front yard from across the street. Sparks exploded from the largest tree in Kadyn’s front yard, showering speckles of light down into the grass. Austin ducked, his heart pounding in his ears. He didn’t see the laser bolt, but knew from the sparks a laser gun targeted them. That meant off-world technology, which meant the mercenary force had found them.

“What was that?” Kadyn yelled.

Another shot blasted into the tree, the lasers still invisible. Small fires sparkled into the bark. He thrust Kadyn to the ground, gently pressing his knee into her back as he searched the woods. Staying low to the ground, Austin gripped his pistol and searched the dense forest across the street. He saw nothing.

An engine rumbled close.

“Come on,” he said, gripping Kadyn’s shoulder, “we have to crawl.”

“Crawl to where?” she asked, her face wet with the morning dew from the grass. Behind her, small flames flickered from the burning bark littering the front yard.