Forsaken Realms (Bounty Hunters United Book 1) (4 page)

“Okay.” She sighed. “But I want my fee paid in untraceable universal credits. This is a drop-off, pure and simple. Any ensuing political backlash falls squarely on Naveen’s shoulders. I want no further involvement.”

“Agreed.” The guard turned to shout over his shoulder. “Bring out Syan!”

Gemmina faced the open bay doors of the complex. Shouts and several loud howls rang from within.

The guard mumbled into the communicator. “What’s going on in there? Ms. Nayar is waiting to collect the retrieval.”

A frantic response burst from the device. “He ripped the second silence collar off! We’re replacing it now.”

The guard appeared visibly shaken. “The collar’s made of carbon compound. How did he do that? This is not good. Obviously, we can’t count on the collar. Don’t you have him sedated?”

“The sedation burns through him. We’ve given him enough to knock a rhino down.”

“Then try something stronger.” The guard scowled.

A burst of static buzzed from the communicator. “Kironian physiognomy is tricky shit. This guy’s a puzzle. There’s something weird going on with his blood. He keeps adapting to whatever sedation we give him.”

The guard glanced up. His eyes widened when he realized she had heard the conversation. “I have Ms. Nayar right beside me. I advise we use force cuffs on the subject, even if they violate intergalactic ethics protocols. They work. Treat the sedation as back up.”

“Gotcha.”

“Force cuffs?” A wave of disgust curled her lips. “Really? Are we living in the Dark Ages? Not that I feel a great deal of pity for a psychopath who nuked innocent people, but it looks bad on my side. The cuffs are notorious for causing nerve and tissue damage, and they’re considered cruel and unusual. I’ve never had to use them to get a retrieval under control.”

“Once you’re out of Naveen’s orbit you’re free to do things your way, but I advise you to not let your guard down with this guy.”

A shiver of apprehension gripped her. What the hell had she gotten herself into? Considering she had extensive experience with many humanoid species, she should have felt confident in her abilities. But she didn't know exactly what a Kironian was.

“Listen, guys, even with access to a warp tunnel for part of the journey, Penal Colony X57 is eighty flight hours away. I cannot leave a man in force cuffs that long. Add to that the fact he’s Kironian and under political sequester and none of us are legally authorized to punish or even interact with this species. I see a perfect recipe for disaster. I don’t want to harm him and cause an intergalactic incident. What are we talking about here? How humanoid is a Kironian?”

“Very human.” The guard was quick to answer. “But better—smarter, and stronger. Most are peace-loving except for this character, who seems to be something of a rogue. I’ll bet the Kironians will cheer when they discover we took him out of the equation.”

Four guards wearing head-to-toe body armor and face shields, and carrying ionized bang sticks with the tips glowing hot, marched toward her, dragging a semi-conscious man between them. The captive was slumped forward with head hanging and a tousle of dark, wavy hair concealing his face. His splayed legs hung limp, and the toes of his heavy boots dug deep furrows into the beach. The current sedation seemed to be effective.

A guard stepped forward. “Opened the skimmer’s bay wider. This is a big guy.”

Gemmina carefully lifted her feet and dared to take a shaky step or two across the rolling glass-bead beach.

“Hold on. Let me have a look at him before I take custody.”

She removed a handheld scanner from a hip pocket, activated it, and waved it over the inert captive.

“I’m looking for possible broken bones, signs of abuse, bruising, internal injuries, slow-acting poisons, et cetera…. In short, anything that I don’t want to be held legally responsible for. I’m making a complete virtual record of his physical condition at the time he was taken into my custody.”

She scanned the man’s powerful limbs. Syan wore a snug, black pressure suit made of stretchy fabric that emphasized the curved sweep of thick biceps and broad thighs. The man was built. Best guess was he’d be at least a head and a half taller than she was.  He appeared to be pure muscle and was likely at least twice her weight. Without a doubt, he was going to be a challenge to transport, and she wished she had a bigger ship with a secure gravity-plus chamber to lock him inside.

The guard who had removed his face shield appeared concerned. “Is everything all right?”

“Aside from mild dehydration, so far everything’s fine, but don’t rush me. Taking a virtual report is serious business. If a judge ever discovered that I let it slide before I—”

The guard interrupted. “No one’s rushing you! Take your time.” Then he made the spinning fingers motion, which was the universal sign for
hurry-up
.

With a gentle touch, she explored the top of Syan’s head. His hair was unlike that of any species she’d ever seen. It was dense, and the glossy locks that hung to his chin were such a deep black they shimmered with a purple iridescence reminiscent of a raven’s feather. Fascinated, she rubbed a few strands between her fingertips. Kironian hair was gorgeous and felt like silk. Touching it was mesmerizing.

The guard frowned. “What are you looking at? Is something wrong?”

“I’m examining him. I’ve never seen a Kironian before.” She knelt to Syan’s level, brushed his long hair aside, and cautiously lifted his chin. Her breath caught. He was stunning with heavy, black brows and rugged features paired with flawless, coppery skin. He looked like a refugee from Mount Olympus now collared and bound. He was too damn perfect in a provocative way.

Syan opened his eyes, which were ringed with lush, black lashes. Just that one movement appeared to tax him, and the first moments his attention seemed to drift before coming into focus, but, when it did, his gaze was laser-sharp. Without blinking he looked directly at her. He had large, commanding black eyes with the slightest violet sheen. The intensity of a bird of prey shone in their depths.

His gaze narrowed and for a moment she imagined he was attempting to speak to her, in code or through looks. A weird sense of telepathic connection lingered. Suddenly a rush of jumbled images raced through her mind. The images were disturbing and violent, and churned unsettling emotions. He opened his mouth as if he were silently screaming, wriggled one arm free of the guards and lunged toward her throat with teeth bared.

“Whoa!” Gemmina leaped backward, toppled, and crawled away on her elbows like a crab until she sank into the beach sand. “Holy crap! What was that about? This man’s not sedated!”

The guards surrounded Syan and delivered a crackling volley of stunning bursts from their blast sticks until their captive shuddered, fell, and lay limp on the ground with a trickle of blood running from his bitten lip.

“That’s enough!” she shouted.

Syan trembled on the ground but managed to open one eye and stare so intently at her, she could almost hear his thoughts. She sensed he felt terrible guilt and conflict within his silent appeal for help. Of course she’d seen that look before. No one enjoyed being brought to justice. In her line of work she saw a lot of sad puppy eyes, but, damn, this man did not come across as an emotionally detached psychopath at all.

“Before I go any further with this. Why is this man even here? What does he want with Naveen Corp?”

The guard closest froze. “Isn’t it enough that he trespassed on private property and killed human clones?”

“That part is not in question. I’m asking why did he come to Naveen in the first place? This is mighty far from the old neighborhood. Aren’t there tropical beaches to plunder and security guards to slaughter on Kiron?”

“We believe Syan is an eco-terrorist with an unnatural appetite for destroying pristine environments.”

“Why do you think that? Kiron’s under political sequester. He doubled his risks coming here. It doesn’t make sense. What do you think he wanted to accomplish in your little private paradise?”

“Syan is like an arsonist who loves to watch things burn, and this planetoid is a virgin realm. Employ a little abstract imagery, and you’ll understand what’s motivating this guy.”

“Well, I can honestly say I’ve never brought an eco-rapist to justice.”

The guard barked. “This is a serious matter!”

She planted her fist on her hip. “Did I say something that made you think I don’t take this seriously?”

“Ms. Nayar.” A second guard removed a holographic screen from inside his armor and punched in a command. “Take a look at this.”

A small, three-dimensional image appeared of what looked like scorched earth cluttered with sooty, twisted bits of burnt twigs or shattered pottery. She squinted at the visual chaos. “What am I looking at?”

“Those are the bodies of Syan’s victims—an entire village. Those were men, women, and children. Sarnans build with stone and hunt with spears. I doubt they knew what hit them. This creep used some sort of energy weapon to blast them apart from inside out with such force the minerals in their bones vitrified. Keep that image in mind and don’t feel sorry for this guy.”

Her stomach clenched at the sickening sight. “I won’t.”

The guards grabbed Syan, hauled him to his feet and dragged him toward the skimmer. “Get this door open,” one called out. “We want this guy out of here before Mr. Naveen becomes conscious.”

Gemmina staggered toward the skimmer, struggling to avoid sinking any deeper into the sand. She’d already sunk to the ankles, where she remained. “I think I’m going to need some help here.”

A guard stomped over, picked her up, and shoved her feet first through the partially opened hatch of the skimmer.

“Thanks.” With gritted teeth she watched as a multitude of tiny glass beads fell from her boots and went
plink, plink, plink
onto the skimmer’s floor before rolling away to cause havoc later. As soon as she had her balance she opened the hatch wider so Syan could be carried inside.

The guards marched him aboard. She glanced around. What was the best way to secure her retrieval? There weren’t many choices. Until they safely reached orbit, locking him in a plain old jump seat was probably the best solution. The towering jump seat was a huge padded chair with wrap-around arms that featured a sturdy body-cage restraint that descended and held the head and spine in alignment and also locked around the shoulders and waist, preventing any violent jarring during turbulence. “Set him over here.”

“Are you sure it can hold him?” A guard sounded surprised. “Don’t you have a gravity-plus tank?”

“No, I don’t. Not on this ship. We’ll have to make due. Tell Mr. Naveen when he wakes up that it was a big mistake not to tell me who and what my retrieval was.”

“Oh well, so the Kironian breaks loose. It’s not like it’s going to affect the outcome.” Several guards laughed.

She bristled. “I don’t care for your attitude. This man won’t break loose, and, if he does, I can handle it. By the way, what the hell do you mean 'affect the outcome?' What is that about?”

A guard looked at her with dull eyes. “You’ll be fine.”

Whoa!
All of Gemmina’s hunter instincts flashed glaring red flags. These guys were lying. Not one of them expected her to succeed. Considering she’d been hired as an expert in her field, this was highly disturbing.

“What’s going on here?”

“You better be on your way. We’ll transfer those universal credits right now. They’ll be deposited in your account as soon as the authorization clears.” The guards exited the skimmer and walked inside the building and closed the bay door. The faux rock wall and foliage glided into place. Once again the complex resembled a simple cliff covered in palms and tropical brush.

“That was weird. I can’t say I’m sorry they’re gone.” Gemmina turned to face Syan. Once eye contact was made his dark gaze locked onto hers and wouldn’t let go. He was a breathtakingly handsome man. The slightly exotic set of his eyes reminded her of a tiger. The more she looked, the more she liked what she saw. Long moments passed as she stood frozen and stared into the depths of his eyes. Suddenly there was no sense of time. The seconds simply faded away. External thoughts did not exist. Syan was her sole focus. Her eyes started to feel dry, but looking away was impossible. So was blinking. Her pulse beat softly. She knew something wasn’t right, but she felt powerless to do anything about it. A dreamy state overcame her as if she were swaying carefree in the breeze like a palm frond, unable to think or resist being drawn deeper.

“Stop it!” It required colossal effort, but she broke eye contact with the Kironian. She feared he was using some sort of mind control technique. “I don‘t know what you’re up to, but I’m not falling for it.” With force she brought the body cage over his shoulders and locked him securely into the seat. “The restraints are made of light-weight diamond-matrix carbon. Big guy or not, I doubt you can break free.”

“I am not a murderer. You are in no danger from me.”

Gemmina immediately checked the silence collar. It was in place with its tiny green light pulsing.

“How did you do that? How did you speak? I can telepathically track an individual based on where they are and how they feel. I know if they’re injured, in pain, or lying to me, but I can’t read minds. Not this clearly. What’s with you?”

His lips remained still
. “Kironians are telepathic in certain situations of arousal or stress with chosen individuals. We are compatible.”

“I can’t say I’m pleased to be compatible with a monster like you.”

“You’ll soon see I’m not a monster. I did not do what I’m accused of. I need your help.”

She sat in the captain’s chair and watched him from the corner of her eye.

“You need to be quiet and stop trying to manipulate me. I hear denial all the time. Everybody’s innocent. No one does anything wrong. I’ve been a bounty hunter my entire adult life. I’m immune to this crap, so don’t even start.”