Rebel (18 page)

He swallowed hard and tried again.

“Tell me how you got here. Were you kidnapped?” He knew someone was listening, but at this point, he wasn’t sure it mattered.

Bad
plan.

He threw up his hands. “Okay, Jack. You were right.”

The girl stared up at him with yet another puzzled frown. “You’re calling me Jack now?”

“No. Just talking to myself. No use pretending. I’m only here to find out if Kim’s friends are in this place. If you’re one of them, great. We’re here to rescue you. If not, we’re both fucked.” Not expecting much to come of it, he tried the door, which was, of course, securely locked.

“You’re more fucked than you think, pretty boy.” The Herpatronian’s voice came from a speaker located somewhere in the room.

“Yeah. I figured that. But I do have friends.”

The man’s laughter curdled Onca’s blood and outraged him at the same time. “For your sake, I hope you brought along an army. Not that there’ll be much left of you to find when I’m finished with you.”

Onca let out a sigh. “Yeah. I figured that too.”

Hoping the signal wasn’t blocked, he hit the panic button on his comlink.

“You’re right,” the girl blurted out. “My name is Cassie. Is Kim safe?”

“Yeah, she and Jatki are outside with the rest of my gang. I hope to hell they can get through that force field or we’re gonna be in for a rough night.”

“It might be rougher than you think,” Cassie said. “That Herp likes boys.”

“Oh, joy.”

Kim’s heart plunged to her feet, taking all the blood in her head with it as the panic signal sounded from Shemlak’s comlink.

“Time for plan B.” Shemlak stepped out of the shadows just as Val swooped down from the sky, landing lightly in front of him. “I’ll take out the Cylopean. You work on that force field.”

Shemlak swaggered up to the doorman with his pistol drawn, which, as Kim noted a moment later, was probably a mistake. The force field flickered, extending to include the station by the entrance.

“Great mother of the desert!” Shemlak thundered. “If you want to live to see tomorrow, you’ll drop that field.”

“Not likely,” the Cylopean sneered. “We know how to deal with troublemakers.”

What was left of Kim’s circulating blood froze in her veins at the thought of how such people would “deal” with Onca. If he lived through this fiasco, Jack would kill him. And if Jack didn’t kill him, Kim would be tempted to do the honors herself. “This was a
terrible
idea. I told him that, didn’t I?”

“Maybe,” Shemlak said. “Can’t remember.”

Val launched himself at the force field in full flight and ricocheted off it, flying up into the air before landing on his feet. Obviously he had no more super powers than any other large bird. Against a force field of that strength, his only use would be his ability to disable it—from the inside.

Shemlak tried next, aiming his pistol at the field, turning the setting to kill.

“No, wait!” Kim yelled. “Let’s all fire at once to weaken the field. And Draddut, you get ready to ram through it.”

Clearly unafraid and perhaps even anxious to do battle, Draddut scraped his enormous feet on the pavement as he leaned forward, positioning himself for the charge. Ganyn, Rashe, Val, Shemlak, and Roncas aimed their weapons at the door along with Kim and Jatki.

“Ready, aim, fire!” Kim shouted. The force field crackled where their pulse beams converged. “Now, Draddut!”

For a creature so large and cumbersome in appearance, the huge Darconian took off running at a surprising speed. Aiming for what was undoubtedly the weakest spot, he barreled past the beams just as Kim gave the order to cease fire. Hitting the field with an impact that was probably audible three blocks away, Draddut bounced off the barrier and landed with a thud.

The Cylopean cackled with laughter. “Your pathetic attempts are no match for our equipment.”

Kim glanced around in desperation. Most of the prudent passersby had fled, but a surprisingly large number of onlookers remained. Some of them were even cheering.

“Don’t just stand there gawking,” Kim screeched. “Do something!”

Nobody moved. Spotting a group of police officers in the crowd, she fired a couple of shots over their heads. “You guys have been chasing me for years. Now’s your chance to come and get me.”

Ignoring her taunts, the police stood their ground. One of them laughed.

Kim stood there, gaping at them. “Rashe was right. They really
are
in on it.”

***

The door slid open and two Herpatronians shouldered their way inside.

Onca pulled Cassie behind him. “Getting kinda crowded in here, don’t you think?”

“You could say that,” the Herp on the left snarled. “Get her out of here.”

Grinning, the other Herp shoved Onca aside. “Hunard’s gonna have some fun with you, pretty boy.” Grabbing Cassie by the arm, he dragged her away. The door slid shut.

Onca studied his opponent. He was no match for a full-grown Herp, and he knew it. The simian race was known for its belligerence, strength, and, unfortunately, its agility. Onca had nowhere to run or hide. Not that he had any intention of giving up without a fight.

“I’ve wanted to get my dick into one of you cat boys for a long time,” the Herp said.

Onca flicked a particle of fluff from his sleeve. “Well now—Hunard, is it? You should’ve booked an appointment while the Palace was still open. My ass isn’t for sale anymore.”

“I’m not buying,” Hunard shot back. “I’m
taking
.”

“And I’m not offering.”

“Even better,” Hunard snorted. “I’m getting hard just thinking about ripping your pants off and fucking your pretty little ass.” Parting the front of the peculiar diaper-like garment that most Herps favored, he whipped out a dick the size of Onca’s forearm. “Think you can take it?”

Onca shrugged. “I’ve seen bigger. And you know what they say—it’s not the meat, it’s the motion.”

“I’m gonna love making you scream.”

“Promises, promises…”

Agile and strong they might be, but Herps were also predictable. Onca sidestepped the first lunge with an ease that drew a growl from the outraged ape. “You might as well give up and bare your ass for me right now,
Onca
. Or did you give the girl a fake name?”

“No need for me to lie,” Onca replied. “All of my clients knew my name. Not that many of them cared, but I did at least introduce myself.”

“Bet you never bothered to dress, either.”

“Generally not. This was different.” Onca edged away from him again. Reaching the door would serve no purpose. The best he could do was to keep moving and pray his friends got to him in time. “I wasn’t actually planning to get laid. I was here on a rescue mission.”

Hunard snorted. “Some rescue.”

“Call it a reconnaissance mission, then. Either way, my friends know what’s going on in here, and they’ll break in eventually. Then we’re going to shut this place down for good. You know, kidnapping young girls—even the kind who live on the street—isn’t very nice, aside from being illegal.”

“No one cares about that shit. Not when we’ve got so many customers willing to pay.”

“By the way, how much
do
you charge?”

“Five hundred a fuck,” Hunard replied. “Big bucks no matter how you cut it.”

Onca laughed. “I got a thousand per session—but then, my clients had more discriminating tastes, and some people thought I wasn’t charging enough. I hated to seem greedy, though, and since the Palace was a legitimate business, I didn’t have to ‘cut it’ with anyone. Especially not to keep them quiet.”

Hunard’s eyes narrowed, seeming to disappear beneath his prominent brow. “What makes you think we have to do that?”

“What part of ‘kidnapping is illegal’ don’t you understand?” Slowly slipping his hand into his pocket, Onca pressed the panic button again, then tried to open a channel to Val. He might not make it out of the Den to tell the story, but if someone else were to hear this—

Hunard wasn’t quite as stupid as he looked. Taking advantage of Onca’s momentary distraction, he made a grab for him.

This time, he didn’t miss. Within seconds, Onca’s shirt lay shredded on the floor, and searing pain shot through his chest as the Herp’s huge paw scored his skin. Onca knew he had at least one advantage over a Herp. Sure, they had claws, but they also possessed the flat teeth of a herbivore. Zetithians had fangs. Onca hoped he wouldn’t have to use them. The thought of sinking his teeth into any part of a Herp made him sick. Then again, when fighting to literally save one’s ass, some sacrifices must be made.

“So, you can bleed,” Hunard said with a satisfied smirk. “I like that.”

“You would,” Onca retorted. “Never cared for it myself. But then, I’m guessing your blood isn’t as pretty and red as mine—probably a disgusting muddy brown.”

“My blood is as red as yours, cat boy. Not that you’ll be seeing any of it.”

Onca shrugged. “My loss.”

“You won’t be making jokes once I’ve split your butt apart with my dick.”

“Probably not,” Onca agreed. “But in the meantime, I mean to get in as many digs as I can, starting with how fucking ugly you are. I mean, you’re so ugly, you probably have to blindfold your boyfriends before they’ll let you near them.” He glanced downward. The Herp’s dick was not only hard, it was dripping. Obviously drawing blood appealed to him. “Ugly cock too. You ought to keep it in your diaper until you’re ready to use it.”

“I’m ready to use it, all right. You just wait until I ram it in your ass. I’ll
really
make you bleed.” His lips curled into a diabolical grin. “Then I’ll rip your nuts off so you’ll be more docile—although I do like boys with some fight in them.”

Onca had hoped the diaper jibe would piss the dude off. Obviously, he’d heard that one before—or, more likely, didn’t know what a diaper was. On the other hand, Onca understood the nut-ripping comment perfectly and doubted it was an idle threat. “Guess you ought to let me keep my balls then.” Seeing no further need for secrecy, he pulled the comlink out of his pocket.

“Toss me that comlink, and I’ll be gentle with you.”

“Nah. I think I’ll keep it. Might want to call the police or my friends.”

“You won’t have the chance.”

“No? I think—that is, I’m pretty sure Val has heard every word of our conversation. Isn’t that right, Val?”

Onca waited.

Val never said a thing and neither did anyone else.

He hadn’t really expected a call to go through, but had the panic signal worked? If not, he had a good forty-five minutes before anyone even
tried
to rescue him.

Clearly, setting the time limit at an hour was a mistake.

***

“My friends are in there,” Kim yelled at the crowd. “They were kidnapped and enslaved. Forced into sex slavery—in horrible places like this.”

The populace was unmoved, although she did get a few versions of “Hey, baby, you’re really hot” from several of the men. Moments later, a group of Terran males began to advance toward her, licking their lips in a highly lascivious manner.

Then she remembered where she was. The brothel district—where the very air they breathed was laced with powerful sex pheromones. She wasn’t sure about the Darconians, but Val and Rashe should have been affected. A glance at the two men proved this supposition to be correct. Dressed in leather, Rashe’s erection wasn’t as obvious, but Val sported a remarkable bulge in the crotch of his stretchy leggings. Roncas was still purple.

Far from recruiting anyone to help, Kim was more likely to be raped in the middle of the street. If their behavior to this point was any indication, the police wouldn’t intervene. Thankfully, Shemlak and his crew were on her side.

There had to be a way to use this to her advantage. Somehow.

The Terrans were closing in. Shemlak started toward her, but Kim put up a hand to warn him off. “Anybody who wants to get into my pants has to catch me first.”

With that, the Terrans and every other male in the horde surged forward. Kim took off toward the brothel, hoping the Cylopean might see her as a potential inmate and actually let them in.

She hit the force field running, bouncing back like a rubber ball. “Fuck!”

On the word, the field dissolved and the door swung open.

“The password is
fuck
?”

How
obvious
is
that?
Scrambling to her feet, she ran through the door, hitting the astonished Cylopean with a stun beam as she passed by.

The door and the force field closed behind her. Hoping the others had heard her expletive, she kept on going down the dark hallway.

And ran straight into a Herpatronian.

Her pistol was only set on stun, but with the business end of it rammed into the Herp’s belly, the pulse knocked him back at least two meters.

Continuing on, she came to a large room lined with cages filled with girls. Momentarily horror-struck, she couldn’t even form a word until she heard her name called. Cassie and Peska were both screaming at her, rattling their cages.

“Thank the gods!” Kim shouted. “Have you seen a Zetithian guy in here?”

Cassie pointed at an arched doorway. “Down that hall, third door on the left.”

She hadn’t seen Dalmet. Was she in that room with Onca? Surely he wouldn’t have hit the panic button if she’d been with him. He’d have taken advantage of the time to gather information from her first.

Unless he really was fucking her and had hit the panic button by mistake.

Without stopping to consider this possibility or how Cassie had known where he was, she sped down the hall, coming to a halt at the designated door, which was, of course, locked.

Electronically. With no handle or knob to jiggle or force open.

And no control panel beside it, either.

She needed Draddut, and she needed him
now
.

***

Onca was quick on his feet, but he’d underestimated the determination of a horny, homosexual Herp.

Following five minutes of circling the room exchanging insults, the Herp caught him by the belt.

“I see you finally learned how to feint,” Onca gasped as with one hand, Hunard sliced through his belt and shredded his trousers.

Taking advantage of the Herp’s tenuous grip, Onca spun away, yelping as Hunard’s claws laid open his flank.

Snarling, Hunard threw Onca’s pants against the wall. The comlink cracked and fell to the floor in pieces.

“Dammit, that link was
guaranteed
not to break. I want my money back.”

“Very funny,” Hunard sneered.

Now completely naked, Onca bared his fangs and fisted his hands. “Come a little closer, big guy, and you’ll see how funny I can be.”

“Don’t worry. I will. You know, you really are a pretty fellow,” Hunard drawled. “Love the curly hair.”

Onca rolled his eyes. “Wish I could say the same for you, Ape Dick.”

Never having faced down a rapist, Onca suspected that Hunard’s every thought and sense must’ve been focused on nailing his ass. He wasn’t even rising to the taunts anymore, and nothing seemed to faze that boner.

Discounting the possibility of divine intervention, Onca had two options left. He could take the offensive or ease off and lure the Herp into a trap. What would happen after that was anyone’s guess. Thus far, he’d only seen two Herps and a Cylopean. There were bound to be others, particularly in light of that
you
and
what
army
remark. He might eliminate this one only to have six more take his place.