Gunship (52 page)

Trace nodded and followed Reilly down to the medical bay. They arrived to find Tiny helping Ty to sit up at the edge of the bed. He frowned when they appeared.

“Something wrong, Sergeant?” Reilly asked, noting the look.

“Are you all going to be down here for my walk of shame?” he asked dolefully.

“That was the plan,” said Trace. “I’m heading back over today, so I wanted to see you before I left. Is there anything you need?” He helped Ty swing his other leg around slowly and get his balance.

“Well, do you think you could find me some sweatpants and my shaving kit? I’m going to try to get a shower in after my walk today.” Ty blinked as Tiny injected him with some extra painkillers before his trek.

“Good, because I didn’t want to tell you, but man you stink!” Trace pretended to keel over from the smell while Ty aimed a fake punch at his head. “Yeah, I can grab you some stuff. Where’s your bunk?”

“C’mon, I’ll show you.” Reilly motioned for Trace to follow. “Be right back.”

Ty watched after them as they disappeared. Then he focused his attention back on Tiny as she pulled a pair of socks on him. He half grinned as she stood back up, looking at him questioningly.

“What?”

“I feel like a geriatric case, can’t even put on my own socks,” Ty groused at her. “What will I do without you once I finally get released?”

Tiny shook her head as she began to strip the sheets off the other bed and ball them up. “I imagine you’ll be fine. And probably looking for someone to fight or shoot. I’d rather it not be me for a change.”

Ty thought about that, trying to come up with some sort of joke, but he couldn’t. Tiny realized the silence had gone on too long and turned back to see what was wrong. Ty was scratching his head, looking nervous.

“I’m a pretty independent cuss for the most part, so I’m not sure how this is going to work.” Ty looked back at her. “I think we can keep it under wraps from the Captain while I’m here. It will be harder once I move back to my bunk again, but I’m not going to be able to do this all myself. At least not for a while.”

Tiny looked at Ty uncertainly. What was he asking?

Ty looked down, embarrassed. “I know I have no right to ask you, but I’m not okay right now. I can’t sleep without these images coming back, sometimes it hurts a lot. But if you’re around, we can talk, and even if you just sit with me it helps. I have to get through this or I’m going to be no good to anyone. So can you do that?”

“Do what?” Tiny asked, mystified.

“When I move back to my room, will you still come stay with me, at least until I fall asleep?” He swallowed again, uncertainly. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’d really appreciate it.” Ty waited for her response.

Before Tiny could reply, Reilly and Trace returned carrying some clothes and a shaving kit.

“I brought you some clean clothes, and some underwear too!” Trace pulled out a pink negligee he had found in Ty’s locker, earning him a solid punch from Reilly as Ty tried to grab for it. “Thought you could use some motivation on the walk to the showers!”

“I tried to get that from him before we came down here,” Reilly said as she grabbed for the negligee, “but he told me he had left it back in your bunk!”

Trace dodged and waved the pink thing around again, disappearing down the hall with a wicked laugh. Even Reilly couldn’t help but snort. Ty shook his head, laughing too, his face beet red. Tiny shot them both a small grin as she finished making the other bed. Trace’s hand appeared in the corridor outside the hatch, making the negligee perform an enticing jig as Ty cursed him and began to pull on his sweatpants with difficulty as he hitched up his hospital gown. In another moment, he was moving towards the door at a slow pace with Tiny and Reilly on each side as Trace danced down the hall in front of them, waving the pink underwear like a banner as Ty threw threats his way. But even Ty couldn’t keep from laughing, and before long, Trace’s fiendish antics had them all roaring as they made steady progress towards the showers. Showers in space were a limited event. Water was stored on board in a closed system that recycled every drop. After being used, the water was run through a series of magnets and radiation to remove the dirt and oils, along with any bacteria. Then it was pumped back into storage to await its next use. The process worked pretty well, but after a period of months, the water would take on more of a slimy consistency as the magnets wore out. When the ship docked, the water was drained, magnets replaced, and a fresh lot was pumped in before the system got sealed back up. Since this was more of a luxury, though, many ships bypassed even maintaining the things.

Everyone had access to UV sanitizers, which were the primary way to stay clean while on board a ship. Step into one of the tubes and turn it on. Three minutes later, you emerge bacteria and dirt free, although you never felt quite as clean as you did after a shower. No water involved. Ty stood in the warmth, just listening to the sound of the wet stuff bouncing all around him. It was simple, peaceful. He lathered up and leaned into the blast of water, letting it wash everything away, drowning out the world with its hushed tones. Slowly he examined the new scars that his latest adventure had earned him. A long cut down his shoulder had messed up the bottom of his Death Adder tattoo, creating a jagged tear in the fierce serpent’s body. He decided he’d get it touched up when they got to port. Another scrape across his chest had dug in deeply. Ty couldn’t remember what it was from, only that it had happened recently and complemented the parallel scar along his abdomen that he had earned a long time ago in a knife fight for his life.

The shower system beeped a one-minute warning, prompting him to finish his rinsing as the water slowed then died. Ty toweled off and pulled on his sweat pants, then padded over to the metal mirror to shave. Rough stubble covered his face and he gingerly began to cut through it, revealing green and yellow bruises from a broken jaw.

He reached down to rinse the razor, then looked back at the mirror and flinched. The face of the young bounty hunter stared back at him. Ty backed off from the sink, knowing this was just a flashback as he watched the water in the basin turn into blood. The face in the mirror turned into his, bloody and battered, as Ty slowly sat on the floor, trying to get away from the images. He grabbed the razor as the corners of the shower room seemed to darken. The door opened. Crazy Ray grinned at him and walked in his direction as Ty struggled to get to his feet, keeping the razor in front of him.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Sergeant Ty,” Crazy Ray promised as he stepped closer. “I’m here to help you.”

“I’m going to kill you, you bastard!” Ty charged Crazy Ray, knocking him to the floor as they both fought for the razor. Ty wrenched it away and slashed the arms dealer’s forearm wide open. Blood cascaded to the floor, forming a pool. Ty grinned and looked up, ready to go for the kill. His eyes widened as he saw Tiny kneeling before him, her face guarded as she held her hand out, gesturing for him to stop. Ty dropped the razor, stunned, as she raised her forearm, tying off the pressure point with her belt to staunch the flow of blood. Reilly and Trace came through the door moments later, blasters drawn after hearing Ty yell. Reilly leaned back out and punched the comms link.

“Chang, I need you down here now with a med kit!” Reilly clicked off as Trace pulled off his jacket and used it to put pressure on the wound.

“I’m fine,” Tiny growled, trying to help Trace hold the jacket in place. He firmly pushed her hand away, ignoring the threatening stare she tried to give him, and helped her to her feet.

“Walk with me,” he ordered as he helped Tiny navigate the hatch into the corridor beyond. Blood dripped down her arm, dark and red, as they disappeared towards the medical bay.

Ty stared, still locked in disbelief, as Reilly holstered her blaster and picked up the razor, taking it from his sight. She squatted near him, trying to get his attention. Finally, he looked at her.

“There you are. Do you know who I am?” Reilly asked him, her gray eyes lit with concern.

“Yes. You’re my squad lead, you’re my squad lead!” Ty moaned and then let out a roar of frustration. He shook his head and began to shudder again on the cold, wet floor as the blood slowly flowed towards the shower grates. “I didn’t mean it, it wasn’t her, it was Alton.” He looked at Reilly, insistent now. “I didn’t mean it.”

Reilly knelt down next to him as he hid his face. She pulled him in, holding his head against her shoulder as they sat on the cold, dark metal floor together.

“I know you didn’t, Ty, I know. We’re going to get through this.”

—————

Crazy Ray leaned comfortably in the doorway of the main hall outside Welch’s receiving area, waiting. A few of the female staff walked nervously by while he amused himself by giving them his most dastardly stare, undressing them with his eyes as they passed. Not that he could possibly ever be truly interested in any of them, especially since his mystery woman had come into his life. He had watched the tapes of her and Campbell as they cleared their way through Welch’s cruiser in order to steal two fighters for their escape. Campbell fought like one would expect a military expert to fight. But his woman, as he had taken to calling her lately—she was a natural. Even her stance was predatory, as if she had been bred for killing. He still wasn’t sure what to make of their getaway. She was his other half, of that much he was certain. Perhaps she thought he had been killed. Maybe Campbell had bribed her to help her get off of the station. Or maybe she had decided to help Campbell escape just to spite Welch. That made him chuckle. He re-lived the moment she told Welch that she didn’t work for him, and of course the knives, his favorite part. If only they hadn’t been interrupted, it could have been such an interesting evening.

His contact walked by and continued down the hall, pausing in the atrium briefly before moving on to the observation deck. There were a few cameras here, but the area was large enough to provide sufficient blind spots if you knew where to stand. Crazy Ray joined him a moment later.

“So the King Imbecile still has no idea you’re working for me?” Crazy Ray looked out at the stars whipping by them.

“None. His plans are moving along well…excuse me, your plans, I mean.” The man smiled briefly, but there was no joy in it.

“Good. Let’s keep it that way. I prefer to stay in the shadows as much as possible until I know all the players in this great game.”

“He has plans for you when you arrive at Galant.”

“I know. Let him think I am ignorant of them, then we can surprise him when they don’t work. And the boy?”

“He is interested in him, but so far he has found nothing. He is still searching, but I have him looped. He believes the boy is probably from one of the poorer planets, no one is missing him, so no family. His death would go unnoticed like his life has if he decided to kill him. I am still following some links for you, but his records you have already seen. Do you want to keep him or should I dispose of him?”

“Why waste an intelligent and skillful asset? He is aggressive and smart. Let’s see what uses we can find for him instead. For now, he stays in solitary, it will make him easier to break.”

“I must go or I will be missed. Any other orders?” the man asked.

“No. Keep doing what you have been doing and let him think all is well. We’ll wait until the last moment to spring our trap.”

Crazy Ray turned and walked the opposite direction, back towards his torture wing, thinking about the vid of his last dinner date. Maybe he’d watch that again tonight to keep his mystery woman off his mind. It was terrible to be this distracted by a woman, but wonderful at the same time. The angst it caused was deliciously painful. He’d have to find some new projects in the morning—at this rate, he’d have used up all of Welch’s girls by evening. Jamie had been brilliant in his latest efforts. It was only fitting that he find the boy some new canvas to work with. Once he had control of all the implants, it wouldn’t be an issue. They would be begging to perform for him. He smiled at the thought. For now, he only needed one under his control.

As Alton departed the observation deck, the man he had met walked deliberately in the opposite direction towards Welch’s quarters. A few minutes later, he arrived at the main suite and was admitted by security. He shrugged off his dark jacket and took his usual seat along the side of the wall.

“You’re late,” Welch commented to his director of operations as he lifted a glass of brandy to his lips.

“My apologies, I stopped on the observation deck briefly and your guest felt the need to come hassle me,” Dobbin replied.

“Irritating, isn’t he?” Welch mused. “Raymond won’t be our guest for too much longer, though. I have plans for him.”

Dobbin smiled in response to Welch’s comment. He wasn’t the only one with plans.

—————

Reilly sat on the bridge, watching the planet below. It had been a full two weeks since the space station mission. They had been hiding out in a fringe solar system with no settlements so they could refit and recover in safety. Already, it felt like they had stayed too long. The whole crew was anxious to move on.

“The beacon is located here.” Trace indicated the position roughly on the star chart. “I’m not sure where it will direct us to from there, so we’d better fuel up.”

“Wherever we go, we will be looked for.” Chang sat in the corner, listening as Reilly and Trace planned their route.

“Which is why I think we need to go back to Roen,” Reilly argued. “At least there, we have home field advantage—we know the people, the planet, and the system.”

“And I have about a dozen emergency flight plans to get us in and out of there.” Duv stepped through the hatch, giving Reilly a nod as he stood by the table. “I’m your man…pilot…figure of speech—so when are we leaving?” Duv stuttered as Reilly raised an eyebrow at him, Chang shook his head, and Trace just stared.

Reilly came around the table as Trace turned to Chang, pointing out a few features he was concerned with in the starfield near Roen. She pulled Duv to one side and looked at him. His eyes were clear and he looked like he had gotten some sleep.