The Pack (17 page)

Nothing. There is nothing on him. Nowhere is there anything on him. This is unbelievable. Well, I guess they would have to seal the files on the head of the Security Force. Any information on him could be used against the Force. Dang it,
she thought, and then she kicked
the desk lightly in frustration.

“Let's see. Let me search this Renu,” she said. Tapping her foot lightly, she typed in the name she got from Thor. Nothing came up, absolutely nothing. She typed the name “Thor” and pulled up his criminal record from Earth.

“Oh, I should have hurt you worse, much worse, you scab,” she growled while looking at his criminal record. Murder, prostitution, and drug trafficking were the reasons he had served time in jail. He got a new lease on life, it seemed, when he was chosen to move to Mars. Many convicted criminals that showed no improvement on Earth five years prior to the Mars colonization got exterminated. Earth's new directive to become a world of peace and prosperity meant those considered unfit were sent to the Waters.

The Waters was a place on Earth where they drowned and disposed of criminals who were too deadly to make the cut to be moved to Mars. Those criminals couldn't go through the chemical and programmable rehabilitation to be moved to Mars. The government and Security Force Elite members were the only people that knew of the plan until the year when the Security Force left Earth to build Mars.

“Hmm… Thor, with your record, you normally wouldn't be chosen. Oh, but I forgot, you did these crimes five years prior to the directive for the Mars movement. Who told you to behave, Thor?” she asked the screen, looking at a much younger Thor. Rubbing her eyes, she ran her hands through her hair. She stood up and decided it
was time to get dressed. Stripping, she walked to the bathroom. Her clothes fell on the floor and she walked to the shower. She was in a hurry but really wanted to disappear in the warm shower. Thinking of David, she wanted to make a pit stop before she headed to meet the boys—somewhere that would remind her of him.

After showering, she dressed in full gear. Glancing down at her hand, she frowned, realizing she still had Thor's ring on her finger. A smirk formed on her full lips.
Serves him right.
Then she tucked her collapsed saber in her belt. She took her damp, wavy hair and wrapped it at her nape in a firm ball, put on her glasses, and decided she was ready to go.

She slid on Pearl and looked up at the darkening sky.
Funny how now that I can see, all I see is darkness.
Realizing she was staying up all night and sleeping during most of the day, she chuckled to herself. Valens' face came to her mind, and she wondered if he did the same. She erased his face and focused on the road ahead of her. Ending up at the playground where she had last taken David, she climbed off her bike and walked around in thought.

Remembering David, she wondered if she could catch a faint scent of him here.
I know I can't, but I'll take what I can get.
Just the thought of this being the last place she brought him made her feel close to him.

She looked up at the sky and closed her eyes. Placing her hands in her pocket, she was relieved that no one was out there that night. She didn't want to share this peaceful memory of David
running off to play. Inhaling, she thought of David and caught scents of others approaching.
I guess time for dreaming is ended. I'm back in hell.
Slowly, she placed her left hand in her coat and touched the hilt of her saber.

The saber was one of her favorite weapons, and her dad had it made especially for her. She smiled at the thought. It fit her hand like a glove and was collapsed to appear like a small club. When she held it and swung it with a specific amount of pressure, it extended. It was controlled by various sequences that would allow it to change from a club to a saber to extend sharp miniature knives from the length of the saber's blade.
Yep, this is definitely my favorite toy for an unfair fight,
she confirmed and tapped into her power.

With her eyes held shut, she sensed them. One was running fast toward her. Unfortunately for him, he would get cut today. She opened her eyes as he was several feet away, smiled, and swung her saber down his coat. It met skin and sliced through his scream. Her mind was calm, but her beast was excited, and she smiled then swung at the next man to run in for the attack. Then, she saw him. It was Thor in the distance, sending his feeble minions to do his dirty work.

He looked at her calmly, and she knew he wanted his ring back.
He tracked me to get it.
She quickly grabbed a flat disk from her belt, and with a flick of her wrist, it cut the hand from the attacker who attempted to shoot her with a gun. She looked around and realized there were twenty or so ready to attack. She knew running would be her best option, and letting her power free could be
dangerous. She was more afraid of it than these men.

Squinting, she saw two motorcycles approaching in the distance. Rapid and steady feet followed. She sniffed and knew Mitch and Anthony were bringing up the rear of the group. Maybe she could win today, or maybe she would be dragging them away with her. She fought, kicked, punched, and ducked numerous blows as they came like a river to attack. Her eyes never left Thor, who stood in the distance and watched with detachment as his men attacked her and she fought. He studied her with hatred, and she made sure he saw the ring on her finger. Taunting him, she got careless and took a blow to the face. She growled as another blow hit her in the stomach and someone grabbed her from behind.

Two men held each leg and her arms. She growled, the beast fighting to get out, and her skin started to tingle. “No!!!” she screamed to back the power down. She looked up to see Mitch and Anthony beating down opponents one after the other to make their way to her.

“Get him! Get Thor!” she yelled at them. A burst of fire from her gut forced out a flame of strength and adrenaline, and released her rage. She jerked her feet from her captors to land a kick in the face of the men closest to her. Her saber, once slack in her hand, was now firmly in place as she tighted her grip. She jerked her weight down to land on one knee as the men scrambled to regain control. A flick of the wrist, and her saber blade was riddled with small protruding knives, and she swung it at the largest of the gang that
had grabbed her neck. “No thoughts, no hesitations,” her father always taught her. She suppressed any emotion, pity, or compassion while she fought through the men that had tried to capture her. They fell around her, and an opening appeared.

She ran to her motorcycle and climbed on. Looking past the men who had tried to attack her, she saw Mitch and Anthony take a sedated Thor with them to their bikes. They lifted him as if he weighed nothing.
How can this be?
Mitch wore a form-fitting leather riding suit with a tight hood and motioned to her to follow them. The attackers started to shoot at them, and they took off at top speed. Shamira caught up and flew behind them. Laser fire jerked her forward as it hit her shoulder after she took off.

Forcing away the pain and the smell of burning cloth and flesh, she was glad the beast now rested. She was so close to losing control. The last time that happened she was younger, much younger. That time, she almost killed someone. She didn't remember exactly what happened, all she wanted to do was forget it.

They led her to the Outlands, several miles from Valens' hideout. The land was barren, and the only light was from the moons above. Halting their bikes in an unknown location, Shamira noticed they were talking to Valens from their earlinks. Mitch motioned for her to come closer, and she slid off her bike to follow him. The wind was heavy in this part of the Outlands, and sand kicked up in her face. Her eyes had night vision and allowed her to see Mitch while he dug into the sand for something while being directed by Valens.

Anthony held Thor in a neck hold that would break Thor's neck if he tried to awaken.
Impressive. Anthony definitely knows how to take care of himself, and he has the size to do it well. Maybe he was holding back in our training session,
she wondered. Mitch stepped back while a transparent cylinder rose out of the ground. The cylinder was about seven feet in height and about ten feet wide. Shamira observed it had a metal bar in the middle and strapping off the bar that could be easily adjusted.

She watched as Anthony threw a sleeping Thor over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Mitch put in a sequence on the side of the cylinder door, and it opened. Anthony secured Thor to the pole. As Anthony stepped out, Mitch quickly punched in a code on the door. They stepped back and watched the cylinder lower into the ground with Thor contained.

Mitch motioned for Shamira to come closer. “Hey, are you okay? You took a hit back there,” Mitch said, looking Shamira over like she was a speck of dirt.

“I'm fine. It's just a scratch,” she said, and then stood straighter.

She didn't want to appear weak or hurt in front of these guys, but the truth was, the wound hurt badly. Luckily, when it came to lasers, wounds burned closed, so they seldom proved fatal, provided no poison was purposely ejected with the laser or no vital organs were hit. She figured if it had been poison, she would be lying flat on the ground by now, so she could deal with the pain and the scar. It
was the second scar she had gotten since she gained eyesight.
Yep, sight is definitely making me lazy.

Mitch lifted an eyebrow. “Suit yourself. Help us put dirt back over this. Valens said his dad used the cylinders for his experiments. We need to keep this thing hidden,” Mitch said while he bent down to push the dirt into the hole.

“Hey, how's he going to breathe in there?” Anthony asked Mitch. “But then on second thought, after what the creep did to Hedi, he can suffocate for all I care.”

“Valens said that thing is monitored from his place. He said since it was used for experiments, he controls the air and temperature. We can see and communicate with this scum while we're at Valens',” Mitch said, and then grunted with a powerful push.

“I'd hate to be him. There ain't a toilet in that thing. Damn,” Anthony said while pushing more dirt over the top of the canister.

Mitch pushed another mound of dirt over it. “That's his problem. Lucky for him, there are vents in the bottom that release liquids. Trust me, when he wakes up, he's not going to be so damn arrogant,” Mitch spat out.

“He deserves much more. He's an evil bastard. What were Earth officials thinking to let this guy pass the board to get here? Mars was supposed to be for petty criminals trying to start a new life. Looks like someone cut a slimy deal, and Mars got stuck with the junk,” Anthony said while he stomped down the ground with Shamira and Mitch.

Shamira snorted at the comment. “Oh, someone tipped him off all right. He was a real good boy for five years before the program launched. He came highly recommended for rehabilitation on Mars. I smell a stink of corruption somewhere.”

“Corruption? You don't know the half of it. We'll talk more at Valens'. Since I've been most all places Monev is involved in, I'll clue everyone in on the sadistic bastards we're dealing with,” Anthony said and stood with a stretch.

Shamira studied them for a moment. “Hey, what happened back there? You both were super strong.”

Anthony slowly took off his hood, and wires connected to flat metal tags on his scalp. It appeared to be attached to something under the skin.

“Does that hurt?” she asked.

“Hell, yeah. These are his prototypes. The new ones won't have to stick into the skin. Valens was tracking you and wanted us to be able to help you, so we volunteered to try them out and make sure you were safe. He thinks Thor's ring is a tracking or homing device of some kind. All of Monev's head henchmen have one. Valens knew you still had Thor's and thought Thor would come looking for it. Mitch and I just wanted to come to kick some butt and get some revenge,” Anthony said, shadow boxing with a big grin. He looked silly. He was a huge kid, almost as tall as Thor, and sturdy in frame. She turned to Mitch, and his unfailing frown found her.

“I just came to save a comrade—a life for a life,” Mitch said,
then turned and walked to his cycle.

She smiled.
Hmm. He called me “a comrade”
she thought.
Coming from Mitch, that means a lot.
She followed them to Valens', holding her warm feelings of true acceptance deep within her and pushing down the sharp ache from her burned skin.

They waited at the designated spot, and she took a look around to make sure the area was still deserted. With the lair Valens' dad made, she knew he had surveillance around the perimeter also. Most of the high-tech equipment on Mars had to be shipped from Earth. The Mars Security Force didn't allow any technology to be manufactured on Mars, knowing it could get out of control. The ramp opened, and they drove forward to park their motorcycles. Standing in front of the hidden doorway in the wall, she closed her eyes and
felt the slight warmth of a beam.
Leave it to Valens to take security to a whole new level,
she smirked and opened her eyes.

She followed Mitch and Anthony as they quickly walked forward. The door wasted not a second in closing behind her when she entered.

“Come back to the lab. The door is open,” she heard Valens say from the speakers in the ceiling.

Walking down the hall, she remembered her last encounter with Valens, and a tingling in the pit of her stomach reminded her she wasn't doing a good job at pushing him away. Actually, after that night, she wanted him so badly that she disgusted herself. Well, she wouldn't give in—not now, not ever, and especially when there were so many people at risk. She couldn't afford a soft spot for anyone, except for David. Her family was the only sure thing she knew of, the only people she could count on and trust. Remembering that would save her heart, her trust, and the walls she had created to protect herself.