DusktoDust_Final3 (23 page)

Castle shook his head.
“
Carpenter, when has that ever stopped you before?
”
He put his arm around David
’
s shoulders.
“
Let me take you back. Do you remember that colonist couple on Mars? When we suspected the husband of providing arms to the resistance. What did you do?
”

“
This has nothing to do with-
”

“
What did you do!?
”
Castle barked.
“
I
’
ll tell you what you did?
”
Castle walked over to Alana.
“
You didn
’
t touch the man. You left him alone. Instead you went after the wife.
”

“
Those were orders, Castle, and you know it,
”
David protested.

Castle pulled out a multitool and continued his narrative.
“
You had me hold her hands on the table and took out a pair of pliers.
”

Seeing what was happening, David tried to break free. The troopers held him tight.
“
Don
’
t you do it, Castle!
”

The lieutenant smiled. He grabbed one of Alana
’
s hands and then in one swift motion grabbed hold of the fingernail on her little finger and ripped it out. Alana let out a blood curdling scream.

David lunged at Castle, once again being held back. Alana
’
s pain was fueling his rage.
“
I am going to kill you!
”

“
I doubt it,
”
Castle said matter-of-factly. He then reached out and removed another fingernail.

“
Ahhhhhhhh!
”
she screamed.

David attempted to reason with the monster.
“
What do you want, Castle?
”

“
This is exactly what I want!
”
he snapped, standing up.
“
I want to watch you suffer. You ruined my life! I am going to ruin yours, before I take it from you.
”

“
You think
I
ruined your life?
”

“
Of course it was you! You taught me how to do my job, and then when the shit hit the fan you abandoned me. You testified
against
me!
”

David exploded.
“
Of course I did! What you did was wrong! I taught you how to torture, but I also taught you to only use torture when ordered to. You were never ordered to go after those men.
”

“
I was following a lead. Everyone knew that they were guilty.
”

“
They may have been guilty, but that
’
s not why you tortured them. You tortured them because you liked it.
”

Castle stared him down.
“
Maybe you
’
re right, Carpenter,
”
he said slowly.
“
Maybe I do like it. Maybe I do like the control, the dominance.
”
He calmly paced across the room.
“
And if I like it, what does that make me?
”

“
A psychopath,
”
Alana spit out.

“
A psychopath!
”
Castle reveled.
“
And in a scenario like this, what would a psychopath do? Oh, I know.
”

The next two seconds David witnessed in perfect clarity. It was as if all actions happened in slow motion. Castle stepped in front of Alana and once again locked eyes with David. He slowly pulled out his pistol and placed it against Alana
’
s forehead. There was nothing David could do.

The next motion was the movement of Castle
’
s trigger finger. This was followed by a muzzle flash and the recoil of the slide. Then the bullet entered Alana
’
s skull, passed through her brain, and exited, leaving a large exit wound. Her death was instantaneous and nearly painless. It was the most horrible sight that David had ever seen.

“
Noooooooo!
”
He lunged at his partner
’
s lifeless body. His adrenaline induced frenzy made the troopers
’
hold on him insignificant.

Castle showed little emotion.

Tears welled up in David
’
s eyes. He was falling apart as Alana
’
s blood stained his clothes. He wanted to act, to leap up and kill every trooper in the room, starting with Castle. But he couldn
’
t. He couldn
’
t let go of Alana. Her body was still warm with signs of life, but she was never coming back. She was his only real friend in the galaxy. After all they had been through together, she was his family, his only family. And now she was dead.

Castle stepped in front of David.
“
You know, it is really sad to see a grown man cry.
”
David shot him a piercing look. Castle smiled and lifted his pistol.
“
Well, I have accomplished my first goal of making you suffer.
”
He aimed at David
’
s head.
“
Now I will take your life.
”

Suddenly, a fusillade of bullets filled the room. David ducked instinctively. When he looked up, four of the troopers were down and Castle was grabbing his arm. His pistol lay on the ground. David seized the opportunity.

“
Ahhhhh!
”
He sprang up and with his cuffed hands grabbed Castle
’
s neck and slammed him against the airlock door. David squeezed and watched the color drain from the man
’
s face.

The machine gun fire continued behind him.
“
Carpenter, we gotta go now!
”

David didn
’
t know whose voice it was and he didn
’
t care. He squeezed tighter. Castle flailed but could not stop the smuggler. David
’
s rage was focused and determined. He was going to keep his promise. He was going to kill Castle.

The man
’
s eyes bulged out of his head, but at the last moment he made one last ditch effort to stop David
’
s attack. He swung his hand against the airlock door, smashing the manual release. The door hissed open.

With the loss of the door backstop, David and Castle tumbled backwards, into the airlock. Castle was the first to recover. Even as he sucked in preciously need oxygen, he threw a left hook. David reeled back. With the increased separation, Castle kicked him square in the chest.

David was thrown back out of the airlock, and Castle was able to seal the room shut, locking himself inside.

David banged his fist on the door, staring at his enemy through the thick plexi window.
“
Coward!
”
he screamed.

The gunfire continued behind him.
“
Damnit, Carpenter!
”
the same voice screamed again.
“
I
’
m almost out of ammo! We gotta go
now
!
”

David wheeled around. For a split second his rage subsided. He had been so preoccupied with Castle that he had no idea why this gunfight had started. What he saw was unexpected.

There were now six troopers lying dead or incapacitated with bullet holes in their armor. Another trooper crouched in the airlock antechamber doorway, firing his weapon at unseen assailants. What confused David was why the man was not firing at him.

“
Don
’
t just stand there!
”
the man screamed at him through his trooper helmet.

David leaped into action. Running across the room, he grabbed a rifle from one of the fallen troopers and joined his savior at the doorway. He peaked around the corner, his curiosity rewarded with gunfire. Four more troopers were in the hallway, and they were not very happy.

“
What the hell is going on?
”
David demanded.

The trooper continued to shoot down the hallway.
“
I
’
m not a trooper,
”
he said between volleys.

David still refrained from firing. Whatever was going on, he didn
’
t trust this man. This could all be an elaborate trap.
“
You could
’
ve fooled me.
”

The trooper was clearly annoyed. Seeking cover behind the bulkhead, he stripped his helmet off.
“
Happy now.
”
He continued firing down the hallway.

It was the black Peacekeeper from back on Prospect.
What the hell?
David was even more confused now. This wasn
’
t possible.
“
How the hell did you get here?
”

“
Carpenter, I think we have more pressing matters to attend to than my life story.
”

Even though David wanted a complete explanation, the PK was right. He gritted his teeth.
“
Fine. What
’
s the plan?
”

“
This wasn
’
t exactly well thought out,
”
the PK shouted over the gunfire.
“
But maybe you should fire your weapon.
”

David nodded, lifting the rifle and aiming in on one of the troopers in the hallway. They were dug in well, using the cover of various shipping crates and barrels.
“
We
’
re not getting out that way,
”
David observed.
“
Even if we kill these guys, the raiders will be responding any minute.
”

“
Well, that
’
s the only way out,
”
the PK argued.
“
Unless you want to take a walk through space.
”

And Castle
, David thought. As much as he wanted to finish the man off, that was not a viable escape option. He looked around the antechamber.
“
Maybe it
’
s not the only way.
”

The PK turned to where he was looking. It was an air duct. The vent was at ground level and about half a meter square. It would be a tight fit, but they could make it.

“
Are you kidding me?
”
the PK protested.

“
I don
’
t hear you having any great ideas.
”
David peaked around the corner again. The volume of fire had increased. He was pleasantly surprised to see a team of raiders augmenting the troopers.
“
Oh, great.
”

The PK saw the same development and fired off a burst. Then he turned back to the vent.
“
Bloody hell.
”
He ran over and started pounding on it with the stock of his rifle. After three hits, the panel clattered to the ground. He looked down the shaft.
“
Where does it lead?
”

He couldn
’
t possibly expect David to know.
“
Anywhere but here.
”
He joined the man at the duct.

“
You first,
”
the PK directed.

David hesitated. He glanced one last time at Alana. Her body lay lifeless in the antechamber, ringed by a pool of blood. He hated having to leave her here in this awful place. She deserved far better. It should be him lying dead here.

The PK shoved him.
“
We can
’
t take her with us, Carpenter,
”
he said urgently.
“
She
’
s dead, just like we
’
re gonna be if you don
’
t move now!
”

David nodded. He took one last look at his partner. Then he disappeared into the duct.

Letsego didn
’
t know why he had done it, why he had saved Carpenter. It did not increase his probability of survival. Likely, he was now public enemy number one on this asteroid, followed closely by the smuggler. It was not because Letsego thought the man deserved saving. Carpenter had murdered Jankowski and nearly gotten the rest of Letsego
’
s team killed. The man was an outlaw.

As Letsego crawled on his hands and knees through the stuffy air duct, he continued to ask himself why. But there was no good answer. He had acted on impulse, raising his weapon and dropping two troopers in his first burst. It was all a blur after that. The why didn
’
t matter. It was the here and now he had to focus on.

He continued to crawl. Letsego didn
’
t know where Carpenter was leading them but the intelligence operative followed blindly. He didn
’
t hear any signs of raiders following them, which was a good sign.

It was at least fifteen minutes before Carpenter found an exit. Letsego followed him out. As he cleared the duct he was abruptly yanked to his feet.

“
What the hell is going on?!
”
Carpenter demanded, slamming Letsego against the bulkhead.

The PK struggled against him.
“
I saved your ass. You should be grateful.
”

“
I
’
ll be grateful when you tell me how the hell you got here.
”

“
I
’
m a spook. I have my ways.
”

Carpenter seethed.
“
Are you telling me you
’
ve been following us since Prospect?
”
He slammed him harder against the wall.
“
What do the Peaks have on us? Are they on their way?
”

“
No,
”
Letsego said,
“
but you
’
d be far better off if they were.
”

“
What are you talking about?
”

Letsego studied Carpenter
’
s eyes.
“
You really have no idea what you
’
ve gotten yourself into?
”

“
What? Windcorp getting in league with raiders?. It
’
s not the weirdest thing I
’
ve heard today.
”

Letsego laughed.
“
It
’
s a lot deeper than that.
”

Carpenter wasn
’
t amused.
“
You are going to tell me what
’
s going on right now or I swear I
’
ll put a bullet in you.
”

“
It
’
d be easier if I showed you.
”
He pointed to his helmet which lay on the ground.

“
What, you want me to put that on?
”

“
There
’
s a recording on there that shows everything that Windcorp is up to.
”

“
And what
’
s to stop you from killing me while I
’
m watching it.
”

“
If I wanted you dead, I would have shot you back there.
”
But I might change my mind later
, Letsego thought to himself.
“
But if it makes you happy
…”
he reached into his belt and pulled out a pair of cuffs.

Carpenter cuffed him to a pipe in the storeroom they now stood in. Then he put the helmet on and pressed play. Twenty minutes later he took it off. There was a disturbed look on his face.

“
I told you,
”
Letsego said flatly.

It took a moment for Carpenter to find his words.
“
What was that?
”

“
Some kind of alien tech. And now the Federation has gotten their hands on it.
”

“
You
’
re telling me that Windcorp is selling alien weaponry to the Federation. That
’
s why you
’
re here?
”

“
No, I
’
m here tracking you, the scumbag smuggler who delivered the stuff.
”
Before Carpenter could counter, Letsego continued.
“
Look, Carpenter. I followed you here without orders. That means command doesn
’
t know that I
’
m here. That means that as much as I want to put a bullet in your brain for what you did to my team, I
’
m not going to, because you are the best, hell, you are the only way I am getting off of this asteroid.
”

Carpenter looked at him quizzically.
“
What are you talking about? Why don
’
t you call the cavalry? Tell your Peak buddies to come and crash this party.
”

“
Did you hear what I said? I am out here on my own. I don
’
t have any way of contacting them, and if I did I don
’
t think they
’
d come. You
’
re the pilot. I need you to fly me out of here.
”
Carpenter did not look convinced.
“
You saw the recording. You saw what that weapon can do. The Federation is on its way right now to Prospect. I don
’
t care what side of the law you are on. You cannot let this happen!
”

After a long moment, Carpenter reached out and grabbed Letsego
’
s wrist.
“
I guess I don
’
t have a choice.
”
He unlocked the cuffs.
“
I
’
m never going to be able to steal a ship without help. I guess I have to trust you.
”
He handed the helmet back to him.
“
Who are you anyway?
”

“
Staff Sergeant Letsego, Peacekeeper Intelligence.
”

“
So what
’
s the plan, Staff Sergeant?
”
Carpenter patronized.

Security was clearly heightened throughout the base. David and Letsego made their way cautiously through the corridors in the direction of the landing bays. They had traded in their previous outfits for some more appropriate attire attained from a raider
’
s unsecured locker. David now wore a tattered tunic and armored spacers pants. They fit well enough but smelled like a garbage heap. Letsego was dressed similarly.

David let the PK lead. It seemed like he had a general idea of the layout of the base. And from behind David could keep a better eye on his new partner. Contrary to what he had previously said, he didn
’
t trust the intelligence operative. How could he? The man had let Alana die.

David tried to contain his anger. Part of him knew that blaming Letsego for her death was flawed. It was Castle who deserved to pay. But another part of him wanted to strangle Letsego for not acting sooner. And another part of David wished that he hadn
’
t acted at all, that he would have been allowed to die in that airlock.

These morbid thoughts plagued David
’
s mind as he navigated the asteroid. He finally he quelled his impulses, reasoning that if he died on this rock Alana
’
s death would be in vain. And he couldn
’
t get off the asteroid without the help of the Peacekeeper.

They reached the landing bay. It wasn
’
t the same one that
Catalyst
had landed in, but it would do. Raiders were moving about conducting maintenance and loading and unloading equipment. There were dozens of craft scattered about the landing pads, all in different states of repair. David just needed one.

“
What now?
”
David said. This was the Peacekeeper
’
s plan. He
’
d rather step back and watch him screw it up.

“
Can you fly any of these?
”
Letsego asked.

“
A handful.
”
David scanned the ships. There were a wide variety. He figured he could handle most of them. The real question was what condition were they in.
“
That one.
”
He nodded towards a sleek interceptor that he recognized.
“
She
’
s fast and looks to be well maintained. She
’
ll do.
”

“
How long will it take to get her started?
”

“
At least five minutes. You sure this plan will work?
”

Letsego hefted his rifle.
“
You just get that thing started. I
’
ll take care of the rest.
”

David grabbed his arm.
“
Hey, we
’
re not going anywhere if you don
’
t open the bay doors. Once you draw the guards away you gotta get to the control room.
”

Letsego shook out of his grasp.
“
Don
’
t worry, Carpenter. If I fail, you
’
ll know pretty damn quickly.
”
With that he disappeared down the corridor.

David didn
’
t like this plan one bit. It relied far too much on the Peacekeeper successfully accomplishing his part and not enough on David. David
’
s task was easy; get the ship started. The Peacekeeper had the more difficult task; distract the raiders and open the landing bay doors. The first part would be easy. The second was more difficult. The controls for the door were located in a control room somewhere. Letsego would have to find it, open the doors and get back to the ship before the raiders realized what was going on. There were a lot of places the plan could go wrong. David would have felt a lot better if his partner was someone he trusted, like Alana.

David moved into the bay and made his way towards the ship. The interceptor was small, some type of modified Harbinger class. It would be a tight fit for two people, but what it lacked in comfort it would make up for in speed and agility. And they would need both if they were going to escape the Belt.

The interceptor sat in a corner of the bay. There were two raiders working on it. They were in the middle of detaching a fuel hose. David approached them casually.

“
She almost ready to go?
”
he said in a gruff voice.
“
The boss wants me to take her out.
”

One of the raiders looked at him puzzled.
“
What are you talking about? This is my ride. Who the hell are you?
”

“
Is she almost ready to go?
”
David repeated.

“
She
’
s topped off on fuel. Just have to load the missiles.
”
The raider puffed his chest out.
“
But you ain
’
t taking her anywhere, buddy. This here
’
s my bitch.
”

This was good. David wouldn
’
t have to worry about fueling the ship. The lack of ammo was unfortunate, but hopefully he wouldn
’
t need it anyway. He smiled at the raider.
“
Thanks.
”
The response further confused the man.

“
Did you hear what I-
”

Before he could finish, David had struck. The blow from the butt of his rifle sent the raider to the ground. Another blow sent a spray of blood into the air and left the man unconscious, his nose shattered and a large gash on his forehead.

The other raider dropped the hose he was carrying and reached for his own weapon. He didn
’
t have a chance. David was on top of him before he could draw. He grabbed the raider from behind and brought him to the ground with a choke. Ten seconds later he was also knocked out.

David stood up and looked around. He was relieved to see that his actions had gone unnoticed by the other raiders in the bay. Wasting no time, he dragged the two bodies into the shadows and then returned to the interceptor. He did a quick walk around of it. He was going to have to expedite the preflight inspection. Luckily, everything looked in order.

He climbed into the cockpit. The controls were a familiar layout. He would definitely be able to pilot it. Now he just needed the Peacekeeper to create the distraction. He couldn
’
t start the engines now or all the raiders in the bay would be alerted.

His hand hovered over the engine ignition. Letsego was late. It should have gone off by now. David started thinking of his options. If Letsego had failed he was now on his own.

But he hadn
’
t failed. At the far end of the landing bay an explosion ripped two starships apart. Immediately every raider in the vicinity rushed over, grabbing firefighting equipment. Secondary explosions from ordinance and fuel continued to rock the asteroid. The diversion was working.

David punched the ignition and the interceptor
’
s twin engines roared to life, though, with the commotion across the bay he was the only one who noticed. He took a deep breath to clear his head. Then he systematically started checking all of the interceptor
’
s systems, every few seconds glancing up at the bay doors. Each time they had failed to open.
Damnit, Peak
, he cursed to himself.
This whole charade is worthless if you don’t open those doors
.