The Power of Three (4 page)

“
You don’t think we’ve tried that
remotely? She’s obviously been moved into the facility. No,
Captain, you’re not sitting safely on this shuttle when one of your
soldiers is in danger. You’re coming with me, and that’s an
order.”

“
And what if I refuse?” Wassain was
sweating now, his gaze anywhere but on Esca’s.

“
Then I’ll have you
court-marshaled.”

“
My superiors would never uphold such a
conviction.”

“
Then I’ll kill you myself.” Esca
unbuckled his harness and pointed at the door. “Get out of your
seat, exit this shuttle and proceed with me to the coordinates.” He
opened the exterior hatch and turned to flick on the command
sequence for relaunch. “
Now
,
Captain.”

He waited another moment and then followed
Wassain out of the shuttle. The outside temperature was warm and
humid, and the air tasted slightly metallic. He checked his
weapons, aware of the voice of the autopilot counting down the
seconds behind him. Wassain suddenly stopped and swung around to
face him.

“
This is stupid. Private Lang isn’t
worth our lives.”

“
She’s certainly worth yours.” Esca
aimed his weapon at the coward’s heart. “Get moving.”

Wassain lowered his head and charged for the
rapidly closing door of the shuttle. Esca stepped forward and body
checked him, bringing them both to the ground. His injured leg
crumpled beneath him and he ended up underneath Wassain. Within a
second, Wassain brought his weapon down on Esca’s unprotected head,
stars exploded, and he knew no more.

* * * * *

Private Soreya Lang closed her eyes and
leaned back against the rough wall of her cell. She might as well
get comfortable. The guards had finally left and she had time to
assess the new damage to her body. They weren’t complete idiots.
They’d been careful not to break anything, but she ached all over,
and her head was throbbing from the tests their so-called scientist
had run on her.

It was obvious the facility guards had strong
opinions on females in the military and considered it their duty to
show her why she should’ve stayed home. She shivered and carefully
drew her knees up to her chest. If no one took any notice of the
ransom demand they’d sent to the ship, she could count on their
behavior deteriorating. And no one would take any notice. She was a
Class Six, the scum of the Etruscan universe. They’d be more likely
to rescue a pet fish than her.

So, she was going to die horribly.

A commotion outside her locked door made her
heart race and she skittered further along the wall into the
corner. If she were going to be executed, she’d take as many of
them down with her as she could. She braced herself as the door
opened and something was thrown in.

Dead bodies for dinner?

She wouldn’t put it past them. Except that
this one groaned. She remained where she was as the male uncurled
from his fetal position and came up on one elbow.

“
Freking assholes!”

In the dim lighting she noticed he wore the
uniform of the Pavlovan military and that he was a big guy. Like
all the Pavlovan males his size and telepathic abilities made her
instantly wary.

He groaned and rolled onto his side, his head
turned toward her dark corner.

“
Private Lang?” His voice was low and
rough and carried an unmistakable air of authority. She immediately
wanted to snap to attention and salute him. “I’m Esca.” And then
his voice added in her head. “
I’ve come to
get you out.”

“
By
getting
yourself captured?”

“
That wasn’t part of my
original plan. That idiot Wassain knocked me out, bolted like a
scared wrazen back to the shuttle and left me for dead.”

“
That’s because you’re a
telepath. He believes you have no value.”

“
I got that.”
He sighed. “
Damn
.”

She cleared her throat and spoke out loud.
“They sent a ransom note to the ship earlier. I don’t expect it
will do much good.”

He slowly sat up and inched backward toward
the nearest wall. Echoes of his pain floated through Soreya’s
mind.

“
Are you injured?”

“
My leg.”

“
Do you want some water?”

“
Yes, if there is some.”

She came out of her corner and crawled over
to the far wall where the guards had left her rations. The water
bottle was still almost full. Despite her reservations as to his
size, she crouched down beside him and handed him the container.
“Help yourself.”

He sipped a little and then a little more and
then gave it back to her.

“
Thanks.”

His shoulder bumped against hers and she
jumped. It was intoxicating to be so close to a male empath, to
hear the rhythm of his thoughts moving alongside her own. And
despite his ordeal, he even smelled good. She had the absurd desire
to press her face against the crook of his neck and simply inhale
him.

Maybe her government had a point about
keeping male and female telepaths strictly apart. She felt quite
unlike herself, all needy and—

“
You’re hurting, too.”

She glanced up at him and then wished she
hadn’t. This close, his eyes were a deep warm brown, his military
short black hair fighting a curl and his hard mouth was…

“
I can help you with that.”

He reached for her hand and she snatched it
away.

“
What’s wrong?”
he hesitated
. “Did those bastards
touch you, hurt you
?”

She shrugged which brought her even
closer into his shoulder.
“Just a little
welcom
e-
to-our-facility party.
I don’t think they appreciate female soldiers or
telepaths.
”

He reclaimed her hand.
“
Then let’s do our best to heal each
other
.”

“
I don’t know
how
.”

“
It’s easy. Just let down
your shields a little
.”

She looked at him. “
Easy? To do that
?”

He squeezed her hand.
“
I forgot you don’t live in a very tolerant
society. Your shields are extraordinary. Even most telepaths
wouldn’t get anything out of you without your
permission
.”

“
Thank you
.”
She concentrated very hard and felt his mind flow into hers. She’d
always hated leaving herself vulnerable. The shock of his intrusion
was like a jolt of caffeine. “
Oh
.”

“
Can you feed it back to
me
?”

She concentrated again, and felt him respond
in an infinite loop of healing. Within a few moments, her headache
dissipated, as did the ache in her kidneys and ribs.

“
Better?”

“
Yes, sir.” She eased her hand away.
“Thank you, sir.”

“
Esca will do fine.”

“
But you’re an officer.”

“
Captain Jong is in charge of this
operation.” He shifted position as though to test the strength in
his leg. “I’m still technically on leave.”

“
Which means no one will come after
us.”

“
I’ve arranged a pickup in
thirty-six Pavlovan hours. All we have to do is get out of here and
meet the shuttle
.” He sighed. “
Of course I didn’t expect Wassain to run off and leave me
inside the facility as opposed to breaking my way
in
.”

Soreya smiled for the first time.
“
I can get us out.”

“
Then one wonders why the
hell you’re still sitting here.
”

She glanced up at him.
“Because there was nowhere for me to
run.”

He shifted closer until his upper body
was aligned with hers against the wall.
“Wassain said you were considered natural wastage. I told him
where to stuff it
.”

“
I bet he took that
well.
”

“
So well that when I get
back I’m going to either kill him with my bare hands or have him
court-marshaled.
”

The cold fury in his words made Soreya shiver
and yet she wasn’t afraid of him. It was the first time anyone had
stood up for her since her mother was taken. She fought to get her
mind back onto the practical.

“
If they are consistent, the
guards check in about every two hours. I can create a diversion
that will fool them long enough for us to get
away.
”

“
Then do it,
Lang.
”

She nodded and walked over to the door. There
was no sound from outside but the cell doors were thick so that
could be deceptive.

Esca’s deep voice resonated in her
head. “
I can sense life forms through their
thought patterns. There’s no one out
there
.”

She focused on the wall closest to the door,
and placed her palm on it. Closing her eyes she allowed her mind to
follow the pulses of energy, sorting them into their correct forms
and identifying the systems she needed.

“
Are you ready, sir?”

He rose to his feet and came to stand beside
her. Upright he loomed over her.

“
What can I do?”

“
Do you have a map of the interior of
the facility?” He sent it to her telepathically. “Thanks. Can you
keep an eye on our escape route while I deal with the security
system?”

“
Absolutely, Lang.”

She found the five separate sources she
needed to control and pushed power into them. “Then let’s go.”

The door opened without a sound, and she
looked quickly up and down the hallway. There was no sign of any
guards, and the alarms were silent. That would change, but they’d
have to deal with it.

“
Go right
.” He
tapped her shoulder and they set out, her hand trailing along the
wall, keeping contact with the power so that she could manipulate
it at will. “
Guard on the other side of
this door. I’ll get him.
”

The door clicked open as they approached, and
the man leaning against it on the other side fell backward. Before
he even hit the ground Esca was on him. The snap of a broken neck
echoed in the silent hall. He took the guard’s weapons, and put him
behind the door before locking it again.

“
Go.”

Soreya didn’t need to be told twice. She set
off again, her heart pumping hard in her chest, her awareness split
between the delicate task of managing the facilities complex
security systems and the sheer physicality of the male beside
her.

“
Four guards approaching
down the left hallway.
”

“
I’m blocking that
entrance.
”

“
We need to turn at some
point.
”

She pictured the map.
“
Two hallways
down
.“

He stiffened as the faint wail of
sirens permeated the hallway. “
What the
hell is that?
”

“
Alarms going off in sector
one to draw them away from us
.” She blinked at the
myriad of tasks requiring her attention in her mind.
“I’m working on opening the last set of doors to
the exterior courtyard. If we get through those, we’re almost
clear.
”

“
Go for
it.
”

He locked and loaded the weapon and ran
alongside her, his breathing untroubled, his gaze ranging the
entire area. They turned left and kept running.

“
Here.
”

“
Get
down.
”

She gasped as he shoved her to one side and
raised his weapon. The crack of the shot was loud in the enclosed
space and a single guard fell in front of her. When she scrambled
over the body, she almost fell and Esca grabbed her arm, hauling
her upright and onward.

“
Can’t…silence these, but
I’ve set them all off to give us more
time.
”

As he pushed the door open, the ear-splitting
wail of a siren pierced the night sky, swiftly followed by what
sounded like a thousand others. He kept hold of her elbow, guiding
her across the bleak ditch between the tall outer walls, boosting
her up and over the first and then the second. She fell on her
face, ate soft dirt and didn’t care.

“
Where
now
?”

“
Up toward the
mountains
.”

They started to climb. Below them the
compound was in chaos, lights flashing, sirens blaring and men
swarming all over like ants. Eventually, her breathing became as
ragged as the rocky landscape and she started to slow. He drew to a
halt and grinned down at her.

“
Good work, Lang. That’s one hell of a
skill set you have there.”

“
It’s the only reason the military
tolerates me.”

He nodded, his expression once again all
business. “We have to keep moving. I’m pretty damn sure they’ll
regroup and come after us.”