Artemis Slade & The Renegades: Road to Redemption (5 page)

"
I recognize her," the second goon said. "She's the scab that Joss brought back from the strip."

Num
ber one gave Tianna the once over. "Is that so? Well it looks like Joss wasn't enough for her."

"I guess not," the second man cack
led as they both leveled their laser pistols on us. "And speaking of which," the fiend continued, glaring at Tianna through hostile eyes. "Where is Joss?"

"Taking a nap," Tianna purred giving
both men a seductive wink. "The kind you never wake up from."

Number one shook his head. "That's too bad; punk owed me money.
Guess I'll have to take it out of your sexy ass since you're the one that cost me."

Tianna smiled sweetl
y. "You're welcome to try."

The big idi
ot's lips twisted into a lewd smile as he took a step toward his prey. He was still smiling when one of the blades Tianna had quietly palmed while the morons were talking flew from her fingers and imbedded itself in his right eye.

The seco
nd buffoon had just enough time to utter a startled cry before her second blade found a home in his throat, effectively putting an end to all that noise. Unfortunately our little melee did not go unoticed.

"I think we're about to
have company," Tianna cried just as several burly goons (the Matadarans must've gotten a deal on muscle-bound meatheads at the local Thugs-R-Us) burst through the hatchway.

"I
got this," I shouted tossing her the vacu-pouch with my left hand while greeting the mook closest to me with my right. "Get the kids out!"

"What about the reactor
?" Tianna yelled back as she gracefully sidestepped the meathead trying to prevent her from leaving.

"We'll just have to improvi
se," I told her before the on-rush of goons made carrying on a coversation impossible.

I waited ju
st long enough to make sure Tianna was safely on her way then I tore into the ruffians with a ferocity that would've made my close-quarter-combat instructors beam with pride. The fact that these guys were part of a child-slaver ring added fuel to my limbs as I punched, kicked, cracked, ripped, and tore my way through my opponents. No quarter was given; no mercy was shown.

Within minutes it was over
. As I surveyed the mess I had made of the Matadaran's muscle, my eyes fell on the gleaming badge attached to one of my deceased playmate's jacket. It bore the logo of New Day, the firm that provided job placement for Emancipated orphans

A quick examination of the o
ther corpses turned up four more ND badges. I shuddered at the notion of vile scum like the Matadarans having what basically amounted to free access to a virtually endless supply of potential victims. The question now was: how did they gain such access, and how far up the New Day administration ladder did the breach go?

That's actually two questions but considering the situation, I'll
give you a pass.

"That's mighty big of you," I responded to Tianna's
jocular comment slipping into my head. "How'd it go at your end?"

Easier than I expected. The
re were only two guards by the kids' cells so I was able to free them with no problem. Right now we're moving through the central shaft.

"How many
were there?"

Se
venteen,
Tianna replied and I could feel her anger through the rapport.
With this many, I'm going to have to scrap my plans for using Joss's van.

"What's our alternative," I asked
and Tianna projected the image of the compound's schematic she was looking at into my mind. This telepathy was turning out to be a pretty useful thing.

When m
y former date brought me in through the auxilary entrance in the north section, I saw a huge ground-rover parked just inside the gate. I'm betting that's what they used to transport the kids here. The shaft we're in should allow us to circumvent the main corridors and get there undetected, but I need you to disable the security field they've got surrounding this place. The problem is, from what I can tell, everything's palm and retina activated, and I took the goody bag with me.

"Then I'll just have to aquire
a new set of...'keys' from another source, and I think I know just the donor."

Yeah that choice works for me,
Tianna said having plucked the identity of my chosen target from my head.
You'll probably find him here.
In my minds eye, a section of the schematic briefly flared brighter than the rest.
According to the schem it's his private quarters.

"Looks like i
t's two levels up from my position," I said studying the compound layout. Shouldn't be a problem...unless something like that happens," I sighed at the sudden siren blaring through the hallways. "I guess I'll be doing this the hard way. You guys stay put for a moment so I can assess the danger level."

Will do
,
Tianna responded.
Do try to keep your self in one piece, Artemis. Good lovers are hard to find.

"
Likewise," I said blowing her a mental kiss as she withdrew from my mind.

I gave the
bodies scattered around the room a quick once over to see if any of them contained any useful items. The Matadrans had stripped me of my gear and weaponry when they captured me and I was feeling woefully naked.

My search yielded
a few knives, a couple of collapsable batons, and several packs of mints. Apparantly having fresh breath was a priority for these clowns. It was to bad their boss didn't subscribeto the same level of oral maintenance. With my newly aquired gear in hand, the compound's schematic firmly in mind, and a few mints in my mouth (fresh is breath is definitely a priority for me) I slipped into the corridors in search of my prey.

Chapter 7

You're pretty good a that,
Tianna commented as I neatly broke the neck of the latest Matadaran fool trying to keep me from my objective. My pathic partner had been keeping a running tab of my adversaries as I slowly worked my way through this twisting cesspool in search of Dag-breath's quarters. The one currently slipping from grip made number twelve.

"Thanks, l
ove. How are the kids doing?"

Not bad considering the shit they just went through.
They're a pretty tough lot.

"Most orphans usually are," I said with a s
nort.

Once Tianna had gotten
her group to a more secure position, she was able to question them a bit about their ordeal and New Day's conection, with me listening in as best I could through our rapport. The data she'd been able to glean did not project a pretty holo.

New Day reps had r
ecruited them from several orphanges across the planet a few days after their Emancipation. As far as Child Services knew, this lot were on a skills-building retreat after which they would be offered employment opportunities in various companies throughout the Systems.

And the pa
rt that really burns me is the fake placement report these bastards generate and make the kids sign,
Tianna fumed, her anger a palpable presence in my mind.
With that type of documentation, neither the CS administration or the Emancipated child's Sponsor will have a clue as to the fate that befalls their former charges.

"Exactly," I mut
tered as I considered my own situation, wondering just how long the Matadarans or others like them have had this kind of access. Would I have met a similar fate had I not removed myself from the system prematurely?

Which is all the
more reason for you to get your hands on Dag and pump him for data so we can start shutting these bastards down!

"Agreed,
and it looks like I'm about to get the chance," I muttered as I rounded the corner and spotted Dag and a couple of his butt-boys moving swiftly up the corridor toward the reinforced hatcway to his office; all three of them heavily armed.

Movi
ng with a stealthy grace that would've made a cat jealous, I slipped into position behind them and trained the laser rifle I'd confiscated from one of my previous sparring partners on the man on the left. Normally I prefer a more personal touch with blades and such but with another dozen or so goons roaming the compound looking for me time was of the essence.

I gave
the trigger a light squeeze and chuckled inwardly at the bloody mess my shot made of my target's head. Before his body had a chance to hit the ground, I fired again sending goon number two to the land of the angels, or demons in his case.

Dag's startled rea
ction to the sudden demise of his cronies and the fear that etched its way across his face was a beauty to behold.

"You..." he managed to stammer before my stiffened fingers stabing into his solar
plexus robbed him of air. I would've prefered it to have been one of my blades but I needed answers.

Of course my need for
data didn't prevent me from getting in a couple of nasty shots to his ribs with my elbow that quckly doubled him over. For such a big guy he was pretty soft.

"C'mon, Daggy-boy," I whispered icily in hi
s ear as I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hauled him back up to a standing position. "You can puke on your own time." I shoved him hard against the hatch. "Right now I need you to deactivate the security grid then you're going to fill me in on your relationship with the good folks of the New Day organization."

"Go
to hell," Dag spat cradling his left side where I might've fractured a rib or two (what can I say; sometimes I get a bit overzealous). "I ain't doing or saying nothing!"

A nasty smile played across my lips
. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

Five
agonizing minutes later (well, agonizing for Dag. It's amazing how effective the applocation of a sharp blade to certain exposed areas of the body can be for extracting information from a less than agreeable source) Tianna and the kids were speeding away from the compound in the commandeered transport, while Dag spilled his guts on how certain key level officials at New Day had sold Kestan's entire orphanage database to several loathsome parties.

If we can get ac
cess to the Matadaran's network we might have a chance of tracking all the kids they've snatched,
Tianna speculated through our rapport after she had gotten the transport to the prearranged rendevous spot.

Once
the grid had been deactivated she'd been able to make contact with our orbiting shuttle which was now stealthily blasting its way to her location.

"Way ahead of you, darlin'
. I've got Dag's personal tablet which should give us everything we need."

Good boy,
Tianna teased.
And what about Dag? You think you can sneak him out of there with you? He might be able to provide us with even more useful data.

"Not unless he  can communicate it to us from
the Great Beyond," I replied as I cleaned Dag's blood off the blade I'd just used to cut his vile throat.

You do realize you've just wa
sted a potential fountain of criminal data,
Tianna said as I happily watched the life slowly ebb from the former head of the Matadaran Cartel's eyes.

"S
orry," I responded to the disapproval in her mental tone. "But this bastard's done some vile shit. As an orphan myself I couldn't allow such crimes to go unpunished any longer."

I understand,
Tianna replied engulfing my mind in a wave of compassion.
Shuttle's e.t.a. is thirteen minutes. I trust you'll be able to make it out of there on your own.

"
I'll be on my way just as soon as I pay the reactor room a little visit..."

Chapter
8

"Having any luck?" Tianna asked as she swept into the data compartment aboard our shuttle where I had spent the past several hours exposing all the dirty little secrets the late Dag-breath had locked in his tablet.

"
The bastard was even more vile than I thought," I growled feeling even better about ending his wretched life. "It's to bad that his fat carcass was atomized along with rest of his filthy compound. I would've loved to been able to broadcast a holo of him strung him up on a flagpole across the networks as a message to all the other child-slavers operating throughout the Systems."

Tianna encircled my neck and shoulders
with her arms and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. "I'm not sure such a thing would make for good family viewing."

"
Yeah, you're probably right," I agreed with a snort resting my head against her bicep. "How're the kids doing?"

"
Overall they're doing great; although I think Connie was a bit upset when she realized that you and I were something of an item," Tianna added with a teasing wink.

Her
statment brought a smile to my tired face. "Is she the tall one with the red hair?"

"
That would be her," Tianna chuckled. "Poor thing seems to have developed a serious crush on you."

"Really? Well she is
cute, and of legal age," I noted with a teasing smile that vanished at the feel of a blade pressed against my throat. It was amazing how fast my pathic playmate could bring her toys to bare.

"Don't play, Artemis,"
she whispered icily in my ear. "I tend to be the jealous type."

"Point taken," I s
aid then relaxed as the knife withdrew from my flesh and dissappeared back into its hidden sheath.

I gave
the crook of Tianna's arm a quick kiss then returned my attention to Dag's tablet only to freeze at what I saw on the small screen.

"W
hat's wrong," Tianna asked, alerted by my sudden tension.

"I've been going through
the Child Services files the Matadarans had access to," I said, my hands and voice trembling as I opened the file with the name that had grabbed my attention as effectively as a slap to the face. "This is a list of Sponsers registered with the Lazon Oprhanage where I was raised along with the children they sponsored."

"O
h my," Tianna gasped as she read the file's contents. "Veronika Kyle; that's the Commander."

"Yeah," I said through wo
oden lips. "And look at who she was sponsoring."

Tianna flinched
then stared at me. "Jeremy Arten...that's you! What the hell...?"

"My thoughts exact
ly," I muttered as I slumped into my seat. "What the hell?"

It was a question I pondered
the entire journey. I of course put on a good front in front of the rescued youths wishing them the best when they disembarked at the Civil Services where they were met by Councilor Jubal and a Medical Corp envoy.

I spent the r
emainder of the trip back to Renegade HQ submersed in the Matadaran database looking for more useful data in attempt to keep my mind of the
real
mystery: Why was one of Jones' aliases listed as my Sponsor?

The Sponsership
program had been started over a century ago by the Child Services Department in an attempt to enrich the lives of the thousands of orphans throughout the Systems, the extra funds taken in through the program offsetting the expenses incurred by the orphanages; allowing for better facilities and ameneties.

Growing up at Laz
on, I knew I had a sponsor but had never met him or her as was often the case. If the Veronika Kyle listed in the files did indeed turn out to be the Commander...Let's just say that she had a LOT of explaining to do!