HostileIntent (5 page)

The captain sighed but didn’t push for answers.

Apparently goodbyes were not this couple’s specialty.

“Thanks for—” she started. But Michael pulled her to him and
kissed her passionately before pulling away to whisper something into her ear.

Okay, so maybe they weren’t all that bad at goodbyes. Adam
could admit when he was wrong.

“You’re welcome,” Michael said, stepping away from her. “Now
go. Save the people from some indefinable, yet horrible, fate.” He studied Adam
for a moment before returning his attention to her and saying, “And make sure
you watch that lovely ass of yours. I’ve grown rather fond of the way it looks
bent over a table.”

So Michael did still have doubts about him. That was
interesting. And as long as Michael didn’t share those doubts with the captain,
he decided not to press it.

The captain, fortunately, seemed unaware of the undercurrent
passing between the two men. “Your concern is touching. I’ll try to make sure
nothing happens to it. Or to the rest of me.”

The couple kissed again before the captain turned for the
door. Adam followed her out of the house but didn’t say anything until a closed
door sat between them and the journalist. “Must be hard juggling your career
and relationships.”

She shook her head, her smile an echo of sadness that made
his heart ache just a little. “Wouldn’t know. I don’t have relationships.”

With that she put on her helmet and climbed on her glider. The
conversation was over.

They raced on their gliders back through the forest and over
the cityscape. And as the landscape changed from one to the other he knew he’d
let his chance to overtake her slip by. But he was surprised to find he wasn’t
mourning the lost opportunity. Instead a new idea was starting to take shape in
the back of his head.

From everything he’d seen and from what he’d heard while
pretending to be drugged, she appeared to be fair. And she’d worked with
Michael against the government—against
her
government. She’d even gone
so far as to promise to keep an eye open for corruption in the military ranks.

If he somehow showed her what the military was really
capable of, would she work against them? It was risky but knowing about future
raids—having warning—would be priceless.

But to get her to trust him enough to even listen to him,
let alone take a field trip to one of the “terrorist colonies” where she could
see for herself what was going on, would take time. And time was one thing he
wasn’t sure of. But there was someone who did know the timetable for the
mission. And more importantly, who would help him stall if necessary. His
partner, McNeal.

After they pulled onto the docking station and secured the
gliders, finding McNeal was easy enough. He was exactly where he should be,
tinkering around in the mechanic’s quarters of the
Hawk
. Though when he
walked into the room, McNeal didn’t seem as happy to find Adam there.

“What the hell are you doing back? I thought you’d be
halfway to the rendezvous point by now.” McNeal kept his voice to a whisper but
his gaze constantly flickered over Adam’s as if expecting to be watched.

His original intentions must have been apparent. At least to
the one other person who knew who he really was. His stomach churned with
nervous energy but he refused to walk away. This was right. He could do this. “That
was my original plan but while we were gone I got to thinking about the
mission.”

“Thinking? You got to thinking?” McNeal slapped him in the
head as he spoke. “We don’t have the time or the luxury to be dicking around
right now. Or did it escape your attention that we aren’t the only ones making
a play for the captain?”

“No. I didn’t miss the attack.”

“Then what were you so busy thinking about that you forgot
to complete your mission?”

“I didn’t forget. I came to the realization that we’re on
the wrong mission.” Even as he said the words though, he could see McNeal’s
expression close off. How did he ever think he could sell this?

“You can’t possibly be switching sides.”

He almost laughed at the idea. “No, not me. Her.”

“Are you insane? She’s been in the military for over ten
years, her father is a career politician—and is responsible for drafting most
of legislation that funds this damned war.” McNeal put down the tool he’d been
playing with and stood so they were on equal footing. “She’s not going to turn.”

“She might surprise you.” She sure as hell had shocked him.
“The girl has integrity.”

“And you seriously think a little ‘integrity’ is enough to
throw away our only chance of getting this bill voted down? You do remember
what this little piece of legislation would enable the government to do, don’t
you?”

“It would make it so the military could order a burn off
without presenting its case to a judge first.” He hadn’t forgotten anything.

“And don’t forget about the part that lets the military
start using Subservients to do the burn offs. Assembly-line soldiers who can
read minds, break codes and are virtually indestructible would be burning
civilians out of their homes, no questions asked.”

“I know what’s at stake. But I’m telling you, if she knew
what was going on, she’d be on our side. We could still make the kidnapping
look legit but when we gave her back we’d have an insider with a high rank in
the military.” Hope sparked in his chest as he said the words out loud for the
first time. “We’d end the legislation and we’d finally have someone who could
warn us about the raids. Think of what that’d mean.” His fingertips itched to
touch his scar but he forced them to remain still.

“We’d be able to evacuate women and children before the
burn.” The words sounded as if they’d been given grudgingly, but they’d been
given and that’s all Adam cared about. McNeal stared at him for a second. “To
turn her, you’ll have to tell her who we are.”

“I know.” It was a big risk but a calculated one. “She’s got
a conscience. She’ll do what’s right.”

“She’s a military pilot.”

“She’s turned on the government before. She was the source
for the sex-slave investigations. And she’s friends with the reporter who broke
the Subservient story.” He still remembered where he was when he’d heard the
military had created a sentient life form. As amazing as the story was, that
the story made it out to the citizens was even harder for him to believe. Adam
could only imagine the threats Michael had received. He almost regretted not
telling Michael who he was when he had the chance. But too much depended on him
staying anonymous right now.

“There’s a big difference between turning in corrupt
politicians and turning on the military, Adam. They broke the law. The
government isn’t breaking any laws.”

“That’s because they make and change the laws to suit their
best interest. She’ll see that.”

McNeal ran his fingers through his hair and let out a
tortured breath. “Fine, I’ll pass along the idea. But until we hear something
back, we proceed with the original mission.”

He took his first deep breath since he’d started making his
case. This would work. It had to. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. This is a long shot at best.”

“I know.”

“You’d better go do your preflight checks. The captain will
suspect something’s up if we don’t keep up appearances. Oh, and channel
seventy-five on the comm is secure. Use it for any mission communication.”

“Will do.”

It wasn’t a long walk to his quarters but the vicious
thumping of his heart made the corridors of the small ship seem longer. If
anyone could convince the Coalition to change course, it was McNeal. But could
Adam convince the captain to switch sides? That was the real question. When he’d
been pitching the idea, it’d seemed completely possible—even plausible. But he’d
heard the disdain in her voice when she talked about the Coalition. Yes, she
had honor. Did that honor outweigh her hatred for the rebel movement though? He
had a feeling that everything would depend on the answer to that question.
Punching in his access code, Adam took a deep breath as the door opened
smoothly in front of him.

The room was exactly as he left it. With the exception of
the view screen. It’d been fixed and all the wires were once again connected
and tucked under the sleek desk.

Sitting down at his console, he did the preflight check and
strapped himself in. There was always the possibility of a bumpy ride but after
his talk with McNeal he was optimistic that things would go smoother now that a
new mission had been laid out.

And that optimism grew after an easy takeoff until he found
he was actually humming. But when the captain’s question about a system’s
malfunction was met with communicator silence, his stomach twisted hard in his
gut. There was only one reason McNeal would ignore the captain. The Coalition
had decided to stick with the original mission. And with another party after
the captain, they’d need to make their move quickly. He didn’t need to see the
three ships simultaneously jump onto his radar screen to know everything was
about to go to hell.

“Three hostiles on screen, Sans. Let’s charge up those
torpedo bays and show them we aren’t going down without a fight.”

He typed in the codes to charge the weapons but one of the
ships fired an EMP field at them and the room went black.

Damn! They hadn’t been ready for a fight. With the vessel
only minimally shielded, critical systems like life support and communications
would’ve been spared from the pulse, but everything else would be offline until
McNeal got them back on. And if he was correct in his assumptions, McNeal
wouldn’t be exactly rushing to their aid. They were a dead bird.

“Sans, we need you on the bridge.”

The captain’s always calm voice sounded frazzled as the
hollow thud of another ship docking with theirs echoed through the silence.

“On my way, Captain.” His eyes had adjusted to the dark so
finding his way to the hatch wasn’t a problem. When he punched in his code,
though, nothing happened.

Tapping on his communicator, he said, “Sans to McNeal, I’m
locked in the armory.”

When there was no reply, he switched his comm to the secure
channel and tried again. “I need out of here, McNeal. My cover depends on it.”

There was a high-pitched drilling noise as the
Hawk
was breached.

“I need out of here, McNeal!”

“Sans, report.” The captain’s voice was tense even over the
communicator static.

Switching channels, he said, “I’m locked in the armory. I’ve
tried to get McNeal on the comm but he’s not responding.”

“We’ve been breached. I need my security here with me on the
bridge.”

“Working on it, Captain.”

He needed to get out of this damn room. Picking up a
flashlight, he ran it over the crates in the room. There were a couple weapons
that still used explosives instead of electric charge. If he could find one, he
might be able to cut, or even blow, through the door.

It only took him a minute to find a gun that resembled a
blowtorch and dig a lighter out of his flak jacket but time was short and that
minute felt like forever.

“Cutting my way out of here, Captain.”

“Make it quick, Sans.”

But already he could hear the sound of feet running past the
armory toward the bridge. He was never going to make it. That didn’t mean he
should stop trying though. He aimed the torch at the hinges of the door and
kept the fire burning against the metal until first one gave and then the
other. He was free. But he was going to need a miracle to save the captain.

Another blast rocked the ship as he raced toward the bridge.
They were already crippled. Why would the Coalition fire on them? He decided it
didn’t really matter. The only thing he cared about was finding and protecting
the captain.

Unfortunately in order to do that, he’d have to shoot his
way through a throng of Coalition soldiers who were currently between him and
the door. These men were his friends. They fought together. It wasn’t supposed
to go like this. He raised his weapon and took aim at the first man. It was
just a matter of squeezing the trigger.

The ship shifted again as it was hit by another volley of
weapons fire and he was knocked off balance before he could get the shot off.
The man he’d been aiming at gave a quick arm gesture before shouting, “Mission’s
been compromised. Retreat.”

Adam shook his head to try to figure out what was going on.
There was no way the man had been talking about Adam. He couldn’t have known he’d
been in the crosshairs just seconds before. And if he did, he would’ve fired on
Adam. He wouldn’t have issued a retreat order. So what made the Coalition
retreat when they were winning? He stepped back into the shadows of the
corridor and watched as the men ran past him. They were obviously not going to
give him any answers.

He waited until he was alone to advance on the hatch. “Captain,
I’m on the other side of the door. Release the lock.”

“Are you alone?”

“I am. They gave the order to retreat, sir.”

The door sprung open with a hiss. “That’s what I was afraid
of.” The captain’s voice echoed as he heard it from her and through his comm
just a second later. “Sorry about that.” She turned off the comm and smiled
weakly.

He stepped past her to look at the bridge view screen and
his breath whooshed out of him. “There are five ships now.”

“Three are Coalition. They’re marked.” She zoomed in on the
Coalition insignia emblazoned on the vessels. “But two are an unknown faction.”

He watched as the ships attacked each other for a few
minutes before one of them remembered to fire on the
Hawk
. “I guess it’s
helping us that they’re fighting each other as well.”

“The Coalition ships are withdrawing, though. As soon as
they’re gone, we’re going to have their undivided attention.” She grabbed her
head as she spoke.