Reason For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 1) (25 page)

She saw the kick coming and this time her experience worked.  She managed to move with it but it still blasted the breath out of her lungs and left her coughing.

“That’s no good.”  His voice was still sweet and calm.  “There was an order in for those items and they should have been delivered two days ago.”  Hanna’s stomach sank.  This was going to be bad.

“I took you in.  I trained you.”  Really bad.  “I ask this one thing of you, even after that simple grab Job.”  Really, really bad.  The foot came in again and this time it was her head that was the target.  It left her groaning, vision darkening and her thoughts groggy.

She felt him grab her by her upper right arm.  His strong, podgy fingers gripping tightly as he lifted her to her feet.  With all of her will power, Hanna managed to get her feet under her and although they wobbled, her legs supported her.  Tern respected strength, as long as it didn’t threaten him anyway.  She had to stand on her own.

Looking up into his wide face, she saw the rage there and something told her, there was no way out this time.  He was going to beat her to death.  Time seemed to slow as his right arm went up and back, hand clenched tightly in a fist.

Here was the end Hanna had seen so many others experience.  Beaten in a small alleyway, a life snuffed out for no real reason other than it embarrassed someone else, just like her mother.  This is what Hanna spent her entire short life striving to avoid and now it had come.

The fist didn’t move.  It stayed where it was, just out of her sight behind his shoulder.  She looked at his face and saw his eyes widen in shock, followed quickly by pain and he let go of her arm.  It was a good thing too, he suddenly went bodily sideways to Hanna’s left and his face crunched into the wall.

This revealed a dark haired woman in a long dark coat.  She held Tern’s wrist in her right hand with her left under his shoulder.  The woman did not even look at Hanna as she relaxed her grip for a moment.  Tern’s head slumped away from the wall, his mouth and nose broken and bloody.

Hanna watched dumbfounded as the woman stepped in slightly and twisted Tern’s arm.  The snap and crack of his bones was swiftly followed by an almighty scream.  While still holding on to his arm, the woman let Tern get his feet under him before she drove her left boot heel into his knee.  Now Tern shrieked, his voice rising higher than Hanna thought was possible.  As he wailed he was thrown onto his back in front of her.

Looking up at the woman’s face, Hanna saw the coldest expression she had ever seen.  It was like her face was made of a battleship’s carbon steel in that deepest and darkest recess of space between solar systems.  The woman was not looking at Hanna, only at Tern as he shrieked in his pain.  She seemed to be waiting for something, Hanna didn’t have a clue what is was.

Not daring to move, Hanna stood there like a rabbit in headlights.  Every part of her, every instinct she had developed in her harsh life, were calling on her to run, but something held her in place.  Finally Tern quietened and started blubbering.

“Please don’t.  I can pay you.  Just don’t, please don’t…”  On it continued, Hanna could barely believe that this man, who terrified her for years, was doing this.  He, who scorned anyone who did not have the strength to stand, was begging and pleading for his life.

The woman let it go on and on.  “I won’t do it again, I won’t, I-  ARGHK.”  Tern was cut off suddenly as the woman stepped forward, raised her foot and slammed her heel right into his throat, crushing it so completely blood spurted out.  She must have broken his neck as well, his body became the still of the dead, instantly.

The woman looked at Hanna for the first time.  When their eyes met, the cold mask slipped for the barest moment.  It was no more than a flicker and then she was the instant freeze of deep space again.

“Tell no one.”  The woman said before turning and walking out of the alley. 

Hanna stood there shaking for a long time.  She had seen many deaths, but none were as cold and as casual as that.  Tern was a rag doll in that woman’s hands.  She flung him about as though he was nothing.  Shaking her head, she let her instincts finally kick in and staggered out of the alley as fast as her knee would let her.  For a moment she considered running back to her apartment and hiding for the rest of her life.  That wasn’t in her nature.  She composed herself and walked into the bar.

The woman was right where Hanna saw her the last time she walked in, sat in the furthest corner, wearing her dark coat, with her bottle of whisky and her eyes on the table, looking at nothing.  Hanna swallowed hard and diverted her gaze, not wanting to meet those eyes again.

Sneaker, Troll and Barney were still at their table and looked surprised to see her.  Hanna walked over as casually as she could and slid back into her seat.  Her beer still sat on the table in front of her untouched.  She hadn’t actually been going to drink much of it beyond a few sips.  Small, young and under nourished as she was, alcohol tended to affect her quickly and badly.  Mainly she avoided it as she did not want to end up like her mother.  She really needed it this time and began to gulp it down as fast as she could.

“Whoa.  Slow down, kid,” Sneaker exclaimed.  “What happened?  Where’s Tern?”

Putting the glass down, Hanna was surprised to find she’d emptied half of it and was even more surprised when a large belch forced its way out.

“Oops.  Sorry,” she almost giggled.  Getting herself under control she looked at Sneaker and simply said.  “Dead.”

He leaned forward, his expression serious.  “What happened?  This could blow back on all of us.  I need to know.”

The image of that cold face dispelled any thought of the truth.  “He threw me to the ground, kicked me in the stomach and then in the head.”  She told them, keeping as close to what happened as she could.  “He must have knocked me out and it wasn’t for long.  When I came to I found him lying there.  He’d been beaten and his throat smashed.”  A small lie mixed with truth normally worked best.  “I have no idea who did it.”

Troll gave out a low whistle.  “I think someone finally got fed up of him and he didn’t have enough dirt on them to stop it.”  Half a pint wasn’t enough and Hanna started on the rest.  “What now, Boss?  I bet this has changed the plans.”

“Yes it has.  We need to move the timetable up.  I’ll get in touch with Rush and Judge.  You two go and get the warehouse set up.  We’ll want to run through the plan a few times before we actually go.” 

Troll nodded.  “What about that piece of meat outside.  Do you want us to dispose of it?  I know a great pig farm that would work a treat.  Incinerators are really the easiest thing to use, but there’s just something right about a fat pig like that being eaten by his brothers and sisters.”

“Very tempting,” Sneaker chuckled.  “Personally I’d like to go out there and shit on his head.  We can’t do that.  We have to stay as far away from that body as we can.  No one is going to miss him, but the Tops are going to be looking for answers, so let’s not complicate the issue.”

“Alright, Boss.  You know best,” the red haired woman said.

“Lightning right I do,” sneaker answered.  Hanna saw Barney look sideways at her.  Sneaker must have seen it too.  “Don’t worry about Hanna.  I’ll look after her, now go.”

Troll and Barney downed their beers and got up from the table.  “On it, Boss.”  Troll said and Barney followed her out of the bar.

Sneaker and Hanna sat there in silence as they both drank there beers.  Hanna quite a bit quicker than Sneaker and he waited until she put down her empty glass.

“Are you going to be alright?”  Hanna only nodded in response.

“Very well,” Sneaker said, something obviously on his mind.  “As of now, you’re one of my Crew.  You know about the Job and with Tern dead there is nothing stopping us making it official.  Anyone asks, you send them to me.”

“OK.”  Hanna said, nodding.  “That’s fair.”  She took a deep breath, knowing she was pushing her luck.  “What about Deni?”

Sneaker paused, considering for a moment.  “Alright, she’s in officially.  She stays out of the Job though.  We don’t need her for it, so there’s no point telling someone who doesn’t need to know.”  The look he gave Hanna, gave her the distinct impression he expected her to ask for more and she shook her head.  “Good.  Always stick by your friends and never push a bargaining point too far,” he said with a smile.

“Here.  You better have this back.”  He passed her datapad back over to her and she took it gratefully.  “That really was some excellent programming.”

“Thanks.”  She was still pretty shaken up and she could tell Sneaker could see that.  He was trying to distract her and Hanna let him.  “As I said, it was the code key that took the most work.  I had to slide in a triple quantum algorithm to split it enough to sneak that virus you gave me inside.  Once that was done, the coding just came naturally really.”

Sneaker was looking her now with a speculative expression.  “Very good work.  Let me have your Quartz in a couple of days and I’ll set up that upgrade we discussed.”

“I can’t afford it now Tern’s Job went bad.”  Hanna said, shaking her head.

“Don’t worry about it.”  Sneaker waved his hand in a throwing away gesture.  “You’re part of my Crew now so it comes under investment.”  He finished his beer.  “Now come on, I’ll walk you home and you can tell Deni the good news.” 

Standing up with Sneaker, Hanna felt the room spin and leaned on the table.  “Oof.  Maybe I shouldn’t have drunk that.”

Putting an arm around her gently, Sneaker supported her and started to guide Hanna out of the bar.  “Maybe not with your injuries and a kick to the head to boot, if you’ll pardon the expression, but I think you needed it.”  With Sneaker holding her up, they left the bar.

“Blast,” Sneaker said as he deactivated his com.

“What’s wrong, Boss?  Where’s Judge?”  Troll asked.

“That’s the problem.”  Sneaker said with his voice full of frustration.  “He got fingered for that Duston Job and has to lie low in Pompeii for a while.  He can’t do the heist.  We need another Enforcer.”

Hanna sat on some crates in the large warehouse.  It had been fitted out with false walls to create fake corridors and rooms.  She was currently in the middle of one of those rooms with the Crew.  Sneaker was the Boss as well as the Hacker, he would be calling the shots and keeping the Blaze PD off their backs.  Rush, a short, brown haired man in his mid-twenties was the Driver, unsurprisingly he would be doing the getaway vehicle.  Troll and Barney were the Enforcers.  With Judge, they were meant to be up close and personal with their target’s guards.  She was the Thief of the group and it was up to her to get them inside.  After Sneaker was so impressed with her skills on the aircar keys he gave her the role of Hacking the target as well.

“Hobbs,” Barney rumbled.

“Nah.”  Troll disagreed.  “He can’t do it.  He’s out of town as well.  Don’t you remember?  He was telling us a couple of months ago that he was off on holiday this week and next.  He’s sunning himself and drinking lots of cool, long cocktails.  It’s not like he can’t get enough sun around here.  When was the last time we got a nice cool drop of rain, hey?”

“Then what do we do?”  Rush asked.  “Who else can we bring in this late in the day?”

“I’m thinking,” sneaker said shaking his head.  “But I really am struggling.”

“How about Headstrong?”  Rush suggested.  “She’s good and available.”

“You wish.”  Troll shot at him and they all could see him blush.

“No.”  Sneaker said shaking his head.  “First of all, there’s a reason she’s called that and secondly, I really need someone tight on this Job.  It’s our first as a Crew and it’s vital we get it right, if we want to be taken seriously.”

“Erm.”  Hanna began and put her hand up.

“You don’t need to put your hand up.”  Sneaker said, laughing gently.  “You’re one of the Crew.  Your voice counts as much of any of ours.”

“Not as much as yours,” Troll said in a not very subtle voice.

“Be that as it may,” Sneaker said, casting a look at Troll.  “If you have an idea please go ahead.”

“I might know someone who can help.”  Hanna said hesitantly.  “I’ll need to speak to them first.”

“Who?” Sneaker asked.

“I’d rather not say at the moment,” Hanna said with a grimace.  “They’re not really what you would call high profile in the gangs.  Give me a couple of hours and I’ll let you know.”

Sneaker looked her for a minute, considering carefully.  “OK,” he said.  “Don’t tell them any specifics.  Just say you need an Enforcer on a Crew.  It’s a good pay-out and short on time.  You have your two hours.”

“What?  Really?”  Rush said incredulously.  “No offence, Hanna, but we’re letting a child do our recruiting for us now?”

Hanna shrugged to show she hadn’t taken any.  She really hadn’t.  It was a long shot at best.  Sneaker stepped in a bit more firmly.

“We go with it, Rush, unless you have a better idea.  Hanna is a member of this team, just as you are.  If we don’t get someone in, we have to rewrite the plan from scratch.  What’s more, I don’t think it can be done without three Enforcers.”

“No.”  Rush said with a sigh and a shake of his head.  “I don’t have a better idea,” he shrugged.  “Go for it, kid.”

After a nod from Sneaker, Hanna hopped off the crate and left the warehouse.

***

It took a little over half an hour to get where she needed to be and Hanna walked into the Dawning Sun.  The woman was sitting right where Hanna expected her to be.  She sat in exactly the same pose, eyes down, bottle of whiskey on the table and glass in hand. 

Swallowing hard, Hanna pushed down her rising anxiety, marched over to the table and dropped down into the chair opposite.

“Hi,” she said brightly.  “I’m Hanna.”  The woman did not acknowledge Hanna, nor did she even pause in her steady drinking.  Trying not to be perturbed by this, Hanna continued in the same tone.

“I’m sorry it took so long, but I wanted to say thank you for saving my life.”  There was still no response.  “So thank you.  No one has ever done anything like that for me before.”  That was the truth.  Even Deni hadn’t protected her like that, nor had Hanna done it for Deni for that matter, though it was really down to not having the capability.  Both of them gladly would save the other if they could.

“That was quite something you did,” Hanna said.  “Tern is, well, was, a big man and he had no chance against you.  I know you took him by surprise, but I don’t think that would have mattered.  I’ve seen fights before, they happen a lot around here.  I have never seen anyone less worried than you were.”

The glass paused.  “What do you want?”  The woman said her voice raspy as though it hadn’t been used in a long time.

“Well I could do with your help again.”

“I’m regretting getting involved the last time.  I don’t see anyone threatening you now so go away.”  The words were said in a complete monotone.  There was no life to them.  It was as though everything had been drawn out of this woman with nothing left.

“It will only take a few days, a week at the most and you’ll get paid very well.”  Hanna said, trying to entice this woman.

“Do I look like I need money?  Go away.”

“What else do you have to do?” Hanna asked, leaning forward on the table.  “Have you got somewhere else you need to be?  I have seen you sitting here, at the same table, every time I’ve come in here, for months.  Come out into the sun and do something different.  This table will still be here next week and they won’t have run out of whisky while you are gone.”

For the first time there was a hint of emotion as the woman sighed slightly.  “This is where I need to be.  Now.  Go.  Away.”

Frustrated, Hanna searched for something else, another way to catch this woman’s attention.  “OK.  Cards on the table.  You don’t know me and you don’t owe me anything.  You saved my life and it’s me that owes you.  My life is shit, it has always been shit and right now I have a chance of making it better.  That chance began with you killing my Boss.  Please.  Without you it could all get worse.”  There was a catch in Hanna’s voice at the end.  She said more than she wanted to, given away more than she meant to and didn’t really know why.

The woman looked up slowly.  It was as though she did not want to, but, like the rising sun, it was inevitable.  Cold hazel eyes met Hanna’s blue ones across the table.  Again there was that flicker of emotion, just like the alleyway.  Hanna held her breath and could not look away.  The woman stared at her for the longest time.  She didn’t have the slightest clue what was going through the woman’s mind.

The woman finally looked back to her glass and swirled the amber liquid around gently.  In one motion she threw her head back and downed the whisky.  Placing the glass carefully back on the table.

“I’m a drunk.  Why trust a drunk?” she said with her eyes down. 

Hanna felt she had broken through some barrier in the woman.  “I know drunks and you certainly drink enough to qualify, but there was nothing of a drunk in what you did to Tern.  You moved with a precision and purpose most sober people would not have been able to match.”

“Hah.”  The woman grunted.  “What does a kid like you know about it?” she reached for the bottle.

“I’ve been hit by enough people, drunk and sober, to know the difference.”  Hanna shot back.

The woman paused with the bottle in the air.  Again she seemed deep in thought.  Slowly she placed the bottle back with her glass still empty.

“Fine,” she said.  “You’re right.  What do I have to do?”

“Thank you,” Hanna said with a big smile.  “Let me make a call and I’ll see how my Boss wants to handle it.  Erm, what’s your name?  He’ll want to know.” 

“Carter, Valerie Carter.” 

“OK, I’ll be right back.”  Leaving the woman at the table, Hanna stepped away to a quiet spot in the bar and dialled Sneaker’s combination on her com.

“Well?” he answered without any greeting or preamble.

“She’s in.”

“OK, I’ll need to meet her and check out her skills.  Can you bring her to the Sun?”

“Erm.  Well, that won’t be a problem.  We’re already here.”

There was a pause on the other end while Sneaker thought about that.  Hanna knew he was trying to work out who she spoke to.  “Alright,” he said, refraining from asking any questions.  “We’ll be with you shortly.  Who is she?”

“Her name’s Valerie Carter and I’d come in alone if I were you.  I don’t think it would be a good idea to overwhelm or spook her with the entire Crew.”  The thought of what Valerie would do if she thought she was threatened really concerned Hanna and she didn’t want anyone to get hurt.

“You’re really pushing this, Hanna.” Sneaker said sternly.

“I know, I know.  You did say you trust me though.”  She couldn’t keep an edge of impishness out of her voice.

The pause was longer this time.  “Yeah, I did.  I’ll see you soon,” the com clicked as Sneaker cancelled the call. 

Letting out a long sigh, Hanna shook her head.  She was taking quite a risk.  This was the first Crew she had worked on, it was her first Job and here she was vouching for someone.  It could all go horribly wrong and she would be out on her ear.  Looking back to where Valerie sat, Hanna could feel deep in her gut that this was the right decision.  There was something about Valerie telling Hanna she could trust her.

Making sure there was a smile on her face, she went back to the table.

“Good news,” she told Valerie.  “My Boss is coming to see you.  He’ll be here in about half an hour.”  The only response Hanna got was a slight nod.

They sat there in a silence only broken by Valerie taking a trip to the toilet.  Hanna tried to start several conversations, but it seemed Valerie had used up whatever store of energy she had to talk and refused to answer.  The encouraging thing was that while they waited, Valerie did not touch the bottle of whisky.  Her glass stayed empty and on her way back from the toilet, she picked up a large jug of water and a fresh glass from the bar.  That was not the behaviour of an addict.

By the time he arrived, Hanna was very glad to see Sneaker.  She also saw Troll and Barney enter and take seats at the bar.  A glance at Valerie told Hanna she wasn’t the only one to notice them.  As Sneaker sat down, Hanna saw Valerie make a noticeable point of looking at the two Enforcers before turning to Sneaker.

He just shrugged in reply to the look.  “What did you expect?  I don’t know you.”  After Valerie did not say anything, he introduced himself.  “My name’s Sneaker and I run a small Crew.  We have the need for another Enforcer and Hanna tells me you would be a good fit.  Tell me why.”

There was a pause as though Valerie was thinking how to answer.  “I’m the best you’ll ever see.  The best in this forsaken system.  If I chose, to I could kill you, your two friends and everyone else here in this bar and walk out unscathed.  That’s why I can do whatever you want me for.”  She said it in such a cold, even voice, Hanna did not doubt Valerie meant every single word.

Sneaker did not respond at first, but just starred at Valerie, as though he could decide if he believed her or not just by looking at her.  Finally he said.  “OK.  Please excuse me for not taking your word for it.  It’s that whole not knowing you, nor even of hearing about you and believe me, if you were that good, I would know.”  

“I’ve never worked here before.  My Jobs have been on other planets, and no, I am not going to tell you where.”  Valerie replied in that same tone.

“OK,” Sneaker said.  “Would you be up for a demonstration of that?”

“What type?”  Valerie asked.

“A simple sim would do the trick.  I have a set with me and we can run it in one of the empty rooms upstairs.”

Valerie cocked her head slightly and then shrugged.  “OK.  Let’s go.”

The three of them headed to the back of the bar with Sneaker leading and Troll and Barney dropping in behind them.  Sneaker took them to a door that led to some stairs.  Looking around with interest as she hadn’t been up there before, Hanna saw the stairs took them to a corridor with several rooms along it.  The doors were open and she could see some old tables, chairs and other items the current owners stored in the first couple of rooms.  The subsequent ones were cluttered with older stuff, probably left over from the old Boss’s operation.

The corridor ended in a door leading into a large, wide open room with a high ceiling that must belong to the next floor up.  Looking around, Hanna knew she was right, there was a balcony running all round the room, where the building’s third floor would have been.  Someone converted the building in the past and opened up this room for something.

The room was mostly empty, with only a few tables and chairs scattered around the edges.  The centre was clear and Sneaker led them all to the middle

“It’s a simple building clearance sim,” he said as he pulled out a set of dark blue glasses and two separate hand grips.  “What weapons would you like?”