Kyele’s eyes
glittered. “He hinted that the traitor is closer than we think and laughed. I
got the feeling Arlo thinks he’s not going to face justice.”
Jaron frowned.
“They’ll send someone to assassinate him before he reaches Dorlo.”
It was a typical
Marenian safeguard maneuver. “Then this was a waste and we’re no closer than we
were before.”
“Let him escape.”
“What?” Torkel
froze and tried to see if Kyele was joking but as usual he couldn’t read the
man’s straight face unless he wanted him to.
Kyle leaned a hip
on the counter behind him, his back to the two way mirror. “If we control his
escape, follow him to where he scurries off to, it might lead us to Lothar or
someone else in the organization who’s more willing to turn on him.”
Torkel liked it.
“Tell Faruk and have Team Two tail him. I want something, Kyele even if it’s
only the name of the leak.”
“And if it’s
someone close?” Jaron asked.
Torkel didn’t
flinch. “No quarter.”
Jaron agreed.
“Team One has first shift. I’ll have Gregir bring him something to drink.
Loosen the bonds and let the Marenian overpower him.”
“Use Arak,” Torkel
corrected. “He’ll heal faster if the Marenian decides unnecessary force is
necessary.”
Kyele cracked a
smile. “Better hope the kitty doesn’t kill him by accident.”
“Warn Arak to have
a care,” Torkel added to Jaron, seeing the wisdom of the precaution. “We want
him to actually get away.”
“On it.”
The men separated
when they left the room. Torkel headed to the recreation room, knowing Rydak
would be there waiting for an update. They might need him to read the Marenian’s
thoughts even if it caused his team leader excruciating pain. Torkel hoped it
didn’t come to that. He skipped the elevator and took the stairs while his mind
tried to figure out the puzzling facts. The answer was right there, he just
needed to see it clearly. He reached the appropriate floor no closer to
figuring out a solution. Torkel shoved the stairwell door open harder than
necessary.
The explosion
rocked the building as he turned down the narrow corridor.
Chapter 18
Alarms shrieked
overhead. Torkel braced a hand on the wall for balance as the floor shook
beneath his feet. The door to the recreation room burst open and Rydak raced
out. Weapon up and at the ready, he paused when he spotted Torkel. Torkel waved
him over as they ran back toward the stairway door. He tapped the
mini-communicator in his ear to patch into Jaron.
“Jaron, update.
What the fuck?!” Torkel asked as he leaped down the stairs two at a time to
head back to the Comm Center he’d just left. Thunder boomed over head but the
building built for such attacks rumbled and held firm
Jaron’s voice came
through on a shout. “Blast on the back end. Heading there now, cameras out. I
can’t see shit.”
Torkel stopped on
the second floor landing of the stairwell as the direction of the attack sunk
in. His quarters were on the back end. There had already been one attempt to
get Faye. Could this be another? The thought congealed in his stomach as he turned
and headed back up. Rydak didn’t question his change in direction but the two
men were side by side as they ran up to the third floor.
“Arlo’s out, too,”
Jaron added. “Arak loosened his bonds as we planned but the explosion
distracted him. Arlo managed to get by him. Have your guard up.”
Torkel cursed and
cursed again, his heart beating double time. The Marenian wouldn’t care who he
hurt or killed in his bid to escape. “Warn the others. Have everyone on a
central line with the communicators.”
“On it.”
“Get a hold of
Faye on the communicator in my room, Jaron.” The team lead should be wired in
to everyone and would have access to reach his Chosen.
“Already tried. Communicator’s
out. Nothing.”
Let her be okay,
Torkel prayed as they reached the fourth level. He slammed the door open, chest
heaving as he ran through. Across the way, the elevator doors on his floor
opened and Arak joined them sprinting through the widening gap as soon as they parted.
Acrid smoke curled around the ceiling, white strobe lights flickered in an
eerie pattern on the walls as the alarms continued to sound.
“The hit was
concentrated in your quarters, Torkel,” Arak announced, zooming passed them.
“Breach! Breach!
We have a breach in unit leader’s quarters.” The over head speakers blared the
message.
Fear spurred Torkel
on.
***
Sleep eluded Faye.
She’d decided to wait up for Torkel but her eyes kept drifting. The thump
behind her startled Faye enough she sat up on the sofa. A dark dressed man
leaped from the shadows. Fear spiked as she launched from the sofa but the
intruder snagged her around the waist and they fell to the floor in a tangle of
limbs.
Faye screamed, her
fists beating against the chest pinning her down. He must not have expected her
to fight back. When he curled up to protect himself, she rolled away and jumped
to her feet. Faye took one step but he grabbed her foot and she hit the floor
hard, her elbows took the brunt and red hot fire shot up her arms.
“Noooo!” This
couldn’t be happening again.
“Breach! Breach!
We have a breach in unit leader’s quarters.”
The overhead
announcement startled the intruder enough for Faye to scramble away but he
lunged and landed on her back. The barrel of a black laser angled inches from
her face followed by glass shattering. Faye lifted her head to see broken
frames where the balcony doors once were. Another man stepped through the
wreckage from outside.
“Grab the bitch! Let’s
go!”
Faye froze and
terror numbed her limbs. A Marenian. Unlike the first attacker, he wasn’t
masked. Two black horns extended from his forehead, the one on the left
misshapen and twisted.
A dark hood was
thrown over her head. Blinded, Faye only had her other senses to rely on. Impressions
flashed through her mind. Rough hands, harsh voices from her two kidnappers and
barked orders. Adrenaline surged within. Her hands were yanked behind her back
and cuffs pinched her wrists moments later.
“Who are you?
What’s going on?” She asked, panic lending her strength as she bucked. Her head
hit the floor with a thump as she was shoved aside. More noises and scuffles. Then
someone lifted her in their arms.
“Let’s go!”
Cool air hit her
arms and legs. For a moment Faye was airborne. She shrieked as her body jerked
and swung suspended from a harness of some sort around her waist. More hands
grappled with her body as she was lifted and carried once more. Pounding
footsteps and a loud roar filled her ears.
The man holding
her cursed and his gait sped up. Faye bounced in his hold, arms jolting in pain
as her legs flopped about.
“Torkel! Help!”
She fought against her abductors. Her fingers curled and tore at the arms
around her. If she stalled them long enough Torkel and his men would have a
chance of stopping whoever sought to take her away.
“Shut her up,” a
voice snapped over her shoulder.
The heavy blow
landed on the side of her face and pain burst beneath her eye. Faye cried out
but her assailants didn’t slow. Stars splayed across her vision and darkness crawled
in. The creak of a door and suddenly she was tossed on a hard floor. She hit
hard. Rough hands turned her onto her back adding pressure on her cuffed hands
and pulling her shoulders back awkwardly.
“Where you’re
going no one will hear you scream again.” The voice niggled at her conscious
but she couldn’t place it. “Hope you enjoy it Earthling whore.”
The door slammed
close and the vibrations of a hover car taking off rumbled beneath her.
Soul deep terror
roared through her.
***
Torkel’s muscles
swelled as he hurdled through the hall. When he reached his empty quarters,
anger and fear took over. He raced to the balcony, boots crunching over glass
fragments. Arak reached his side.
“They’ve got a few
minutes on us.” With that, Arak braced one hand on the railing and leaped over.
Torkel glanced
down as Arak landed on his feet and took off running. Rydak jerked on his arm.
“Let’s go back down. We can’t make that jump and they didn’t leave a cable for
you to rip your hands open this time.”
Torkel hesitated.
Going through the building to get down would take longer. Urgency strummed
through his veins. He had no choice. Unlike Arak, he wouldn’t survive a jump
that high off the ground without a safety net. He took off almost leaving Rydak
behind.
“Torkel, Kyele’s
on the move. They’re getting in a black hover car,” Jaron reported in his ear.
He wasn’t going to
make it. Wasn’t going to get to her in time. “Faye? My Chosen. Do they have
her?”
Not even a second
passed before his worst nightmares were confirmed.
“Affirmative.”
Worry crashed into
the pit of his stomach. Torkel growled, hitting the steps two at a time as he
leaped to the bottom. He burst through the lower door and into the back of the
building only to have his men converge on him.
“They’re gone,
Torkel.”
Torkel fought
their hold. He had to get to Faye.
“Listen.” Faruk
got in his face. “We plan it out. Same as always. We’ll get her back.”
It wasn’t enough.
Arak prowled over. Desperation had Torkel panting. “Their scent, did you get
anything?”
“Nothing,” Arak
snarled. “The fire and the chemicals used to create the bomb have everything
messed up.”
“Kyele.” Torkel
searched the night for him even as he questioned the location of his team
member.
“He lost the trail
three blocks out,” Jaron answered, fists clenched. “He’s on his way back.”
“Why?” Torkel
snapped. “Why have they taken her?”
It didn’t make
sense. What did they want with his Chosen? His knees weakened.
“We’ll get her
back, Torkel.” Jaron steadied him with a hand to the shoulder.
Chapter 19
Blinding light hit
Faye’s eyes the moment the hood tore from her head. She barely had a chance to
orient herself before the guard shoved her forward. Faye stumbled into the dark,
abyss. She blinked and made out the walls of a damp cell. Small and tight. Memories
of a childhood accident teased along the edges of Faye’s memories. Youthful
screams. Bone numbing terror.
The horrible
stench forced back the past and made her eyes burned. Mildew, waste and food
gone rotten. The Marenian pushed her again until she tripped and fell on the
floor. The chain around her wrists was removed only to be replaced with a single
chain on her ankle. Faye tugged and realized the length was imbedded into the
stone wall high above a dusty pallet on the floor.
When something
skittered passed her feet, Faye jumped. The guards laughed and left, the barred
door slamming with a note of finality. Someone groaned. Staying close to the
musty wall and using her hand on the clammy stones as a guide, Faye inched away
from where the sound had emanated. Her toe bumped into a bundle of cloth.
“Welcome to chez
beautiful. I’m sorry the heat is out and we’re low on refreshments.”
The feminine voice
held an edge of humor. Faye squinted in the dark, the meager light from the
ceiling fixture made it difficult to see. The bundle unrolled into the form of
a prone woman with stringy hair about her face and familiar blue eyes.
Impossible.
“Lindsey, is that
you?” Faye couldn’t believe her eyes when the blonde she’d met so long ago blinked
her weary eyes.
Faye reached as
far as the chain around her ankle would let her and knelt on the unforgiving
ground to hug her friend. “How’d you get here?”
Lindsey sat up and
offered her a fraction of the perky smile Faye remembered. “I went to the
market. Wanted to surprise my husbands with a special dinner. Stupid suckers
snatched me right there.”
Faye ran a hand
through the tangled blonde hair and soothed Lindsey. Judging by her dirty
clothes she looked as if she’d been here a while. “I guess you got those two
men you were dreaming about, huh?”
Lindsey rolled to
her side, using the wall to help prop her up. She gripped Faye’s hand and her
eyes burned brightly. “They’re wonderful, Faye. I couldn’t ask for better men
in my life.”
Faye kissed her on
the head. “I’m happy for you.”
Lindsey’s head
tilted. “What about you? How did the chosen deal work out? Got a hot Enotian
at home?”
Faye snickered as
she thought of Torkel’s rough hewn features. She adored his looks much more
than the refined beauty of the Enotian men. “Not Enotian.” She lowered her
voice and whispered in Lindsey’s ear. “Marenian.”
“What?” Lindsey
jerked up in the chains and fell off the thin mat she’d rested on. “You’re with
one of those jerks? A slaver?”
“No,” Faye hissed.
“Lower your voice. He was adopted. He’s a Jutak warrior.”
Her friend’s face
paled and her mouth made a silent moue. “A Jutak warrior? Seriously even I’ve
heard of them on Garulax. They’re like bad ass SEALS.”
Faye grinned.
“Yep.”
“Do you think
he’ll find us in time?”
Lindsey’s eager
expression gave her hope. Faye scooted closer as the chill in their cell
increased. “I know Torkel will tear the galaxy apart looking for me. He loves
me as much as I love him.”
Lindsey’s
shoulders eased. “Thank fuck.”
A snort escaped
from Faye. “I’m sure your fine men will too.”
Lindsey grinned
back. “My husbands work for the government, so no elaborate rescue from them
without creating a political scandal.”
“What about a
ransom?” Faye asked.
A frown pierced
Lindsey’s brow. “You must have missed it, Faye. They plan to sell us as sex
slaves.”
Faye’s stomach
dropped. Never. She’d never become a sex slave. She clasped Lindsey’s hand in
hers. “Torkel will come. He and his men will rescue us long before we’re sold.
I promise.”
Faye believed with
all her heart in her Chosen. He wouldn’t let her down.
Two Weeks Later
“Tell me about
your Jutak again,” Lindsey asked in a slurred voice.
Faye wrapped the
thin blanket they were forced to share around the blonde’s shaking shoulders
and smoothed a hand over her forehead. The skin burned with fever. Faye had
asked for extra water from the guards but they’d laughed in her face and tossed
food scraps on the dirty ground out of reach.
“Torkel is brave
and strong,” she murmured because it was night and the guards could hear better
under the cover of dark when the other prisoners settled down to sleep.
“Like a SEAL?”
“Hmmm.” Faye
agreed. They had this conversation each night. Sometimes over and over. It was
all they had to cling to. The only hope they had that they might make it out of
the hell they’d been thrown into.
“What’s he gonna
do when he gets here?”
Another
predictable question. Lindsey loved the answer Faye gave the first time so she
gave it again as she always did. “He and his team are gonna kick Marenian ass.”
Lindsey smiled and
settled down. “If I didn’t already have two husbands I’d steal him from you,
Faye.”
She laughed. “Hang
in there, Lindsey. We’re both going home.”
No response.
Lindsey was asleep. Worry set in. Faye wasn’t sure what would happen to them. Lindsey’s
shabby pants were loose and the bones of her face had become more pronounced.
What little food they received was sour or bug infested. The cell they’d been
placed in was drafty and Faye didn’t think she’d ever feel warm again.
Footsteps thudded
down the hall followed by the clink of keys. Faye stiffened and hunched her
shoulders.
Keep walking. Keep walking
.
The steps halted
outside the prison cell she shared with Lindsey. The keys rattled and the door
swung open. Faye wrapped her arms tight around her friend but Lindsey pushed
up, awakened by the heavy boot falls.
“Back for more,”
Lindsey challenged in a voice that didn’t hint at how sick she was.
Faye cringed. This
too had been repeated nightly. She jerked on Lindsey’s arm but her friend
shoved to her feet and stood between Faye and the two guards. The flicker of
their hand lights blinded Faye for a second as she rose and wrapped her arms
around Lindsey.
“You’re mouthy for
a slave,” the first guard declared with a sneer.
He was Marenian.
And so was the guard who entered behind him. It wasn’t their gold skin, dark
hair and dark eyes that gave away their heritage. It was the two curled horns
that protruded from their temples. Torkel didn’t have those thanks to his
mother’s foresight. Faye wasn’t sure she would have been able to see beyond the
sharp black extensions to the man beneath.
“Why don’t you
come closer and say that?” Lindsey threatened, raising both fists.
Faye stepped back,
pulling Lindsey with her. She couldn’t understand why Lindsey did this. She
taunted the guards and they both paid for it when they punched and kicked them
until they blacked out.
“You should know
your place, suare.”
Faye flinched.
Thanks to her implanted translator she knew the word meant a woman who sex
shared with a man for credits. She’d explained the term to Lindsey when they
first heard the Marenian word. She’d laughed for a good five minutes. Like now.
“Lame suckers.”
The first guard
swung before Faye could predict his move. She staggered under Lindsey’s weight
as they both fell backward into the wall and tripped over the blankets.
“You’re lucky a
couple of buyers are coming in a few days to look you over or I’d show you.”
“Whatever,”
Lindsey declared, getting back to her feet.
Faye stood with
her as the two of them presented a weak but united front. The guard on the
right aimed a laser at them. At Faye. His mouth curved in a cruel grin. “Come
quietly or you’re friend pays.”
“No!” Lindsey
pushed in front of Faye.
Her heart pounded
in her chest but Faye guided her friend to the side. “No need to shoot. I’ll
come.”
Lindsey glared at
her with misty eyes but Faye forced her feet to move forward. This was the
first time they’d wanted to remove either of them from the cell. She wondered
if today was the day. The day she’d be sold. Trepidation crawled over her spine
leaving chills behind as she waited.
The guard kept his
weapon aimed at Lindsey while the other used his key to undo the bolt around Faye’s
ankle. The chain clinked as it hit the floor. A rush of relief ran through her
at the rare sense of freedom. Too short to enjoy as they grabbed her arms and
pulled her from the cell she shared with Lindsey. Her stomach tightened with
anxiety and her palms grew damp but she followed the guards.
Her time would
come. Time where she’d plan and risk an escape but not yet. Not without
Lindsey. A hood lowered over her head and Faye choked.
Screams. Cries
for help. Loving arms an eternity later.
The darkness and
abuse brought back the childhood nightmares she’d long since thought behind her
but this time she didn’t have Lindsey to distract her.
“Keep moving,” one
of the Marenian’s growled.
Faye tried to hide
her rising panic with bravado. “What you’re doing is wrong. You can’t enslave
people.”
A snort to the
left of her. “Earthlings are the worst. You all believe you’re so special and
above others.”
Keep him talking,
Faye counseled herself. “You broke into a Jutak facility.”
Surely they didn’t
believe they’d go unpunished for such a bold act.
Laughter met her
ears. “Jutaks are
punans
.”
Faye flinched from
the harsh expletive. They led her down a hall of some sort. Her senses,
familiar with the darkness she’d existed in over the last weeks, tuned into her
surroundings. Dripping water, the wet slap of their feet against the rough
uneven pavers on the floor, moans and cries from others on both sides of her.
Prisoners? More likely innocents snatched by the Marenians. These were the
people Torkel hunted and for good reason.
A jerk of her arm
turned Faye in the direction they wanted. Moments later one of them removed the
hood. When her vision cleared, she froze. In the middle of the room a table
held center stage. Manacles dangled from the top and bottom of the metal
structure.
Another Marenian
had joined them. Faye didn’t recognize this third man from her regular guards.
“Bring her here,”
he snapped.
Faye battled a
wave of dizziness as the guard jerked her over. “W-what are you planning?”
His dark eyes
glowed and when he smiled, Faye’s knees shook. “You’ll see.”
She locked her
legs and stopped inches from him.
“Put her on the
table,” he instructed the others.
Faye broke. Arms
pin wheeling, she aimed for any body parts. Caught off guard by the suddenness
of her attack, Faye managed to land a few blows and sprinted across the room.
She got close. So close the rough texture of the doorknob brushed her fingers
before one of her captures jerked her back against a broad chest. His arm
clamped around her waist cutting off her air flow and Faye wheezed as her legs
kicked uselessly above the floor.
“Bring her now!”
The man carrying
her turned and Faye noticed the blood on the Marenian’s face. One of her fists
had struck him over the lip and the small split gave her vicious pleasure.
He noticed her
smile and grumbled. “We’ll see how much you enjoy what I have in store for
you.”
Her heart banged
hard inside her chest to the point Faye worried she’d have a heart attack. The
guard slammed her on top of the table and her back stung with the pain of it.
Her hands and legs were quickly strapped down. Faye yelled but they ignored
her. One last restraint was placed over her neck, keeping her head immobile.
She fought for breath. Pain gave way to shock. “Torkel will kill you!”
Her captor leaned
forward, his heavy breath puffing over her face. “We’ll see about that.” He
turned to the others. “Leave us.”
Unable to move her
head much, Faye’s eyes twitched to the side. Both men glared and stormed from
the cell, locking the door behind them.
He dragged a rough
finger down her cheek, across her collarbone and stabbed at her chest with the
blunt digit. “Where should we start?”
Faye licked her
dry and cracked lips. “With the Jutaks killing you.”
Smack!
Her
head snapped back on the table. Faye blinked and tasted blood in her mouth.
He reached for her
hand, the short length of chain allowing him to lift it a few inches from the
table. “Tell me everything you know about the Jutaks.”
What? “I-I don’t
know what you’re talking about.”
Snap.
Excruciating pain burst from her hand. Screaming, Faye glanced down and tried
to clear her fuzzy vision. Her pinky finger stuck out at an odd angle.
“Let’s try again,”
her tormentor whispered. “Tell me their names, their specialties. Everything
you know about them.”
Too stunned to
cry, Faye asked in a befuddled voice. “Why? Why are you doing this?”
He smiled. Slow
and wicked. The cut on his lip cracked and blood formed on the fleshy part to
mirror the splatter on his chin from where she’d struck him. “The Jutaks are
blocking free trade, Faye Reid.”
He knew her name.
Oh, God he knew her name.
“Once we know
their secrets, we can exploit their weaknesses.”
Never. Faye would
never surrender the men she’d grown to love like an extended family. Using a
phrase from Lindsey’s arsenal, Faye snarled, “Kick rocks and die.”
Bam!
This
time the blow didn’t surprise her. She’d expected it. Knew the minute she
muttered it that the Marenian would retaliate.