Forced Handfasting (18 page)

Chapter 17

The convoy of roamer cycles stopped at the indicated destination. The area was a hidden behind an enormous rock formation that stretched more than a mile wide, and at least three hundred feet into the air. It provided excellent coverage because it formed a circle with a small entrance way into the center. Thankfully the area inside the rock formation was large enough to accommodate all the cycles, and the four ships that carried the soldiers.

Jahan eased his tired body off his cycle and looked around for his brothers. Marco was just rolling into the enclosure, and Vito was already off his cycle, and directing the incoming cycles. Tully was also in motion with the traffic directing.

He walked over to Niko, who was setting up a collapsible building they intended to use as their headquarters. The building itself hovered inches above the ground as it was pulled out of the supply ship. It would eventually unfolded itself, and open up into a building large enough for ten men to sleep as well as be used as their headquarters.

An hour later, the building was set up, and they were pouring over the maps of the area. A drone had been sent out to scan the area for the missing details that they needed in order to complete their plans.

“I want to move out at dusk. The closer we can get be by the time full darkness occurs the better. Has the drone returned yet?” Jahan was anxious to get moving again. Sam was in the clutches of a madman, and he wanted her back. He prayed to the goddess while riding, and promised the Goddess of Life he would return Sam to her planet if she so wished it, even if it broke his heart. Up until Sam had been kidnapped, his feelings for her had been deep. Now, he knew that she was his soul mate, and would die if anything ever happened to her. He was willing to let her go if she chose to return home, and leave him forever.

“Sir, the drone, has returned, and the data is being filtered now,” Tully said.

Jahan moved over to the portable table and studied the new maps. From what he could gather there was a narrow strip of land that connected the island to the mainland. The best part was that the area nearing the land bridge was surrounded by tall trees. Way out here, away from the mountain, the land was untouched by the war Rahman started. It was as if none of the horrors had ever occurred as he looked at the green trees clinging to the deep brown dirt of the planet. He could even see a few flowers that bloomed near the water surrounding the island.

Unfortunately, he knew it wouldn’t take long for the effects the war to eventually reach way out here, bringing the teeming life here to an abrupt halt. Whatever chemicals had been used to burn the ground near the mountain, and on it, would spread through the water system of Uxslore. Considering Uxslore wasn’t a very large planet, it would only take a matter of months before the planet would be rendered uninhabitable.

“How close do you think we can get before being detected?” he asked Tully.

“From the look of things, we should be able to get very close. The drone didn’t show any guards posted near the land bridge on either side. Our most vulnerable time will be when we try to cross it.” Tully tapped a finger on the two areas he spoke about.

One side of the land bridge offered the security of the trees, but the opposite end had little to no cover. They would be completely exposed.

“How deep is the water?” Niko asked.

“Anywhere from two to eleven feet. Not too bad but bad enough. Maybe if we send a team across first by swimming, we can get a better hold.” Tully offered his idea that struck them with excitement.

“Damn, Tully. I knew Jahan kept you around for something!” Niko slapped the commanding soldier on the back. “What do you think about that?” Niko looked to Jahan and Marco.

“I think that’s the best we can go with. That way we get a team across undetected and scout out the rest of the area.” Jahan rubbed a hand over his face. “I’ll be on the first team. I have to get in there, and find Sam before Rahman knows we’re there.”

“I’ll go with you,” Marco tuned in.

“Good. Marco, I want you to take a team to the trees, and wait. I’ll signal you when I think it’s safe for you to cross. Vito, I need you to wait here with the ships. Once we get inside, and have Sam, I want you to start taking the place out. As soon as I have Sam, I will send out a message to your communication devices. Once I get her to the bridge, you’ll have a certain amount of time before the ships start taking out anything that moves. Got it?”

Jahan looked around at the men surrounding him. He had known these men all his life, and didn’t want to lose any of them, but in times of war, it was a chance he had to take. Sam’s life depended upon him finding her and getting them both out of there in one piece. If he had the opportunity to take Rahman out, he would. The traitor didn’t deserve to live, and would die by his hands.

“Got it, boss,” Niko said for everyone.

“Let’s get ready to move out. It will be dark soon.”

The enclosed area of the rock formation was again busy with activity. Jahan’s team of men suited up and waited at the mouth of the enclosure. They waited until it was virtually dark before they proceeded to the trees. With a special eyewear they wore, they were able to see clear across to the other side of the land bridge. The device gave them a tremendous advantage since it was a relatively new weapon. He just prayed that the ex-councilman hadn’t got his hands on the devices before he declared war.

As soon as they reached the tree line, Jahan kneeled down and waved his team the rest of the way over. He didn’t use any voice commands in order to direct his men, rather he used hand motions to indicate they were about to enter the water.

Jahan and Niko crawled on their bellies to the edge of the water then stopped. They looked the area over closely before signaling the men to enter the cold water. Jahan slipped into the water without making a sound or a ripple. Behind him, his men did the same thing then swam silently behind him and Niko. The water deepened quickly the farther they got away from the shore. Soon he was no longer able to touch the bottom, and had to propel himself with the power of his legs.

Thankfully their weapons were waterproof so there was no need to protect them. The laser guns were virtually indestructible as well as water-proof, their clothes, on the other hand, were not.

It didn’t take long for the chill of the cold water to reach the skin beneath their clothing. With the mild temperatures on Uxslore, the water temperature was always chilly especially at night when the temperatures dropped.

It took about ten minutes to swim the stretch of water. The opposite shore was a bit tricky to climb over since it wasn’t a clean slant of the land. Large boulders blocked part of the area up onto the flat land they needed to get to but it wasn’t undoable. Slithering out of the water like a serpent, Jahan slid across the muddy ground until his head poked out from behind a large rock.

Using his night vision device, he scanned the area to find it empty. Not a thing moved or made a sound. If he didn’t know better, he would think it was all a setup.

As he promised, he sent a message across his communication device to all his men involved. Those waiting on the other side of the water were to carefully move across the strip of land, and take up defensive positions. He and Niko were to move close to a single building that stood on the island. For some reason, he got the feeling that the building he was looking at wasn’t the main one, but he wouldn’t know for sure until he got closer.

“I’m moving over there,” he whispered in Niko’s ear. Niko acknowledged him with a simple nod.

He quietly, and stealthily crossed the short distance to the simple metal building. He leaned his back against the cold metal frame and breathed. His warrior training was kicking in full force. All thoughts of being found out fled his mind to be replaced with one mission in mind, to find his wife at all costs.

A loud clatter to his left had him ducking down into the shadows. An unknown figure came around the corner of the building smoking. The bright tip of the cigar lit up the man’s face. Without any warning, the cigar fell to the ground, and the man collapsed into a heap. Another figure edged around the corner, and waved. Niko stood there like a fool giving him a thumbs up.

“Idiot!” he hissed under his breath. He shook his head then smiled. Niko could always be counted on when he got into a bind.

Niko walked alongside the outer wall of the building until he was standing next to him. “I wasn’t about to let you go in there alone, boss.”

He nodded in response then continued on his way. “Where’s the fucking entrance to this damn place,” he asked Niko.

“It’s over on the other side. It’s hard to see at night, but I saw it when that guy over there came out of it. I got a brief look in, and I got to say, this place is a mystery to me.”

“Why’s that?”

“From what I could see the inside of the building is completely bare. I didn’t see any other movement, just one big room.” Niko checked his laser gun then repositioned his night vision device over his eyes.

“It’s now or never. Let’s get this done!” he took a deep breath then made his move.

Together they slipped to the other side of the building. Niko moved closer first since he knew where the door was. Jahan followed close behind and waited for Niko to open the door a crack.

The inside of the building was just as Niko had reported. A big open space contained nothing. It had perplexed him for several moments before he noticed a faint light coming from an area on the floor. It was directly in the center of the room and baffled him until he realized there must be a door in the floor that lead underground. How could he have been so stupid! Of course! The island was a cover-up for Rahman’s command center that must lay beneath the ground!

“Son of a bitch! The bastard planned this well,” he said and pointed in the direction of the light.

Without wasting any more time, they moved to a hidden door. Waiting to see if they heard anything coming from beneath their feet, they pulled up the door to reveal a set of stairs that curved down into the unknown. He couldn’t see any further than about ten steps down when the staircase turned.

Jahan made the first move to go down. He prayed that the steps wouldn’t creek as he descended, and held his breath as he went down. Niko stayed close behind guarding his back. Near the turn, he peered around to see what lay ahead, and found another set of steps still heading downward. He continued down until he finally came to the end of the stairs. A long, narrow, dim hallway stretched before him. He could hear sounds coming from farther down the hallway but couldn’t be sure how far down.

As cautiously as he and Niko could move, they snuck down the hallway passing closed doors that were locked. They had no idea what might be behind those doors, and needed to find some way into each, and every door for a look for Sam.

No luck was found by the time they neared the end of the hall. They were about to turn back around when suddenly the dim lights in the hallway turned into bright spotlights. 

“Jahan! It’s so good of you to join us!”

Jahan’s hearts plummeted, and his anger rose. It had been a setup! He looked at Niko, who was pinned against the wall by one of Rahman’s henchman.

“All I want is my wife, Rahman.”

Rahman cackled. “Oh, oh, oh! We have something in common then. Would you care to visit with her?” He nodded at his group of men that filtered out of the numerous doors that were now wide open.

Jahan was trapped, and surrounded. The soldiers easily subdued him by relieving him of his weapon then by pinning his arms behind his back. A set of laser cuffs was placed around his wrists that burned into his skin. The laser cuffs were designed to prevent a prisoner from getting the cuffs off. The cuffs would sense when the prisoner was struggling to get them off, and would retaliate by sinking deeper into the skin.

After he was securely cuffed, he was marched into the room Rahman had stepped out of. It smelled musky and was partly in darkness. There was no way for him to tell how big the room was since he no longer had the use of his night vision device.

Rahman followed him into the dark room then stepped around to confront him. “I see that you came for your precious human.” He looked Jahan up and down with a look of disgust.

“You better not have laid a hand on her!” He lunged forward but was quickly pulled back, and jabbed hard in the stomach with the butt of a soldier’s gun. The wind was knocked out of him, and he doubled over until he could regain his air source.

“Jahan, Jahan. You should know me by now that I wouldn’t touch a female who is breeding, especially a human one.”

What little he had succeeded in drawing into his lungs was swiftly knocked out again with Rahman’s news. Was Sam pregnant? By the gods!

“I see this is news to you, am I correct?” Rahman asked.

“You lie!” There was every possibility that Sam could be pregnant with his baby. She had been with him over two months now, and they had lain together numerous times in that time frame.

“No, no, no, my dear Jahan. When my medics saw to her injuries they discovered that she is breeding, granted she’s not that far along, but still breeding nevertheless.” Rahman turned to walk into the darkness.

“I want to see her!” he screamed at his enemy’s back.

“Your wish is my command. Lights!”