[05] Elite: Reclamation (24 page)

Salomé tensed. The man behind the desk was looking at her intently. She looked back at him, feeling his eyes scan up and down her body. Something about her intrigued him, she saw a flicker of puzzlement cross his face as he appraised her appearance. She stood up even straighter and returned his gaze without flinching. The man licked his lips.

‘Canos,’ Hassan said, by way of an introduction.

‘Hassan, good to see you again so soon.’

‘Got that ID for us?’ Hassan asked.

Canos got to his feet. ‘One thing at a time, my young friend. You’re forgetting your manners. Aren’t you going to introduce me to your delightful companion?’

Hassan sighed. ‘Look we’re in a hurry.’

Canos leant back in his chair, his voice firm. ‘Indulge me.’

Salomé looked across at Hassan, who nodded briefly.

‘My name is Salomé,’ she said.

She saw Canos’ eyebrows rise as she spoke. Evidently he was surprised. Her tone of voice, perhaps? Hassan had said she sounded posh.

‘Welcome to our humble abode, m’lady,’ Canos said, waving his hands in a flowery manner and bowing his head. ‘What can we do for you?’

‘I need an ID.’ She looked at Hassan. ‘He says you can get me one. Is he right?’

Canos nodded. ‘He is, sweetness, he is indeed. But fake IDs are illegal, how do I know this isn’t some elaborate sting by the local enforcers? You don’t sound like the sort of person who needs an ID. In fact, I can’t help wondering why you need an ID at all.’

‘That’s none of your business,’ Salomé replied.

‘Maybe, maybe not,’ Canos admitted, ‘but you won’t get one anywhere else around here, so you can humour me.’

Canos folded his arms and stretched back in his chair, propping his feet up on his desk.

‘We don’t want any trouble,’ Hassan said.

‘I’m not giving you any trouble, fella,’ Canos said, picking up a small bracelet from a tray in front of him. ‘Got your ID right here and a hundred credits to get her going. I just want to know where your little pretty here thinks she’s going all dolled up in that fetching ship’s onesie. She isn’t a spacer, that much is clear.’

‘I told you she’s a passenger,’ Hassan said.

‘So where you going, pretty?’ Canos asked, ignoring Hassan. Salomé didn’t answer.

Canos snorted. ‘Where you come from? Can you tell me that? No?’

Hassan stepped forward. Salomé saw the bouncer move in behind him.

‘Sale’s been done. You’ve got the Imperial tech …’

‘And you have your cargo as agreed. Deal’s changed though, kid. You didn’t level with me.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Hassan’s voice shot up an octave.

Canos leant back. Salomé was aware his gaze rested on her for a moment.

‘Your woman here is hot and not just as a piece of pretty. She’s got an appointment with a very important person and I’m here to make sure she makes it.’

She saw Hassan’s anger and frustration as he jumped forward, but he only made half a step before Danz grabbed him and swiftly immobilised him.

‘We had a deal …’

‘You messed with Octavia Quinton, kid,’ Canos said with a shrug. ‘That was a dumb call. You really thought you could take her for a ride and survive? There’s Elite pilots out there that wouldn’t face her down. Gotta admire your pluck, but she owns this entire sector and she’s got deep pockets.’

‘You’re going to turn us over?’

Canos shrugged. ‘You’re catching on. She’ll be here inside the hour. She’ll have her fun with you, but you’re not what she’s after. Octavia wants something else. She wants …’ Canos turned to look at Salomé, ‘… you.’

Salomé retreated a step. Hassan struggled, but Danz clamped down on him. Hassan yelped and relented.

Canos got to his feet and walked around his desk, pulling a gun and pointing it towards her.

‘I thought you said we could trust him,’ she snapped at Hassan, not taking her eyes off the gun.

‘Business is always a fluid thing, pretty,’ Canos replied. ‘Turn around and put your hands behind your back.’

Salomé glared, but slowly turned around. Sound more than sight told her Canos had holstered his gun. She tipped her head and glimpsed a pair of wrist binders. She felt flesh as his hand closed round one of her wrists. His other hand snaked around her waist, giving a slight squeeze.

‘Nice …’

A red mist flooded her vision, anger coursing through her, burning hot. Another man trying to take advantage, using her for his own ends.

She spun, not thinking, just reacting. She grabbed his wrist with a deft twist of her own, stepping back and pulling him off balance. The binders flew across the room. Canos’ yell choked as Salomé’s fist crunched into his windpipe. He staggered back, gasping for air, stumbling across his desk. Salomé leapt forward to snatch the carafe, smashing the top. Liquid and glass sprayed in an arc around her.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Danz push Hassan into the nearest wall and move to pull his gun on her, advancing rapidly.

With a sharp cry she drove the jagged shards of the carafe into Canos’ chest. Blood soaked into his shirt and splashed across her face.

Danz’ gun came up, she spun deftly around. Canos yelled and his body jerked spasmodically for a few moments before lying still. Whether it was the yell or her own blood-splattered visage that gave him pause she wasn’t sure, but Danz hesitated for a brief moment …

A kick sent the gun flying. Salomé raced forward, the blood-stained carafe still clenched in her hand. She struck. Danz tried to avoid it, raising an arm to protect himself. The jagged glass sliced deep. More blood. A yell of fear, anger and pain. He lashed back at her, a blow connecting with the side of her head, sending her reeling backwards.

She hit the floor hard. Pain jabbed across her ribs and back, knocking the breath from her. She had to move, there could be no respite. She saw Danz moving forward to finish her, blood gushing out of his lacerated arm. She cast around her, seeing his gun just out of arms reach. She saw Danz aiming a brutal kick at her. She rolled aside, grabbing the gun and turning it on him. She fired, the gun jolting painfully in her hands, the noise shocking in the confined space. The bullet missed, ricocheting off the ceiling. His kick went wide as he ducked instinctively.

 Danz had a moment to contemplate his own existence before it was snatched away. Salomé adjusted her aim and fired again. Danz was thrown backwards and still the shots came. Her lips curled back and with a sharp yell of anger and hate she kept firing until the gun clicked onto an empty cylinder. Danz slumped to the floor, his body a mess of ripped and bloodied flesh.

Salomé’s cry petered out and she slowly lowered the gun.

In the sudden silence she got to her feet, her body trembling and her hands shaking. Her breath came in ragged gasps. A thin haze of smoke filled the room laced with a stench of strong liquor. The gun fell from her fingers and clattered to the deck. She looked across to Hassan, who was cowering in the corner, staring back at her with terror etched on his face.

‘Who the fucking hell are you, lady?’ he managed to croak.

‘I didn’t mean to kill …’ Her voice was soft again, almost puzzled.

Salomé staggered to one side, stumbling over to the desk and falling to her knees beside it. Hassan got to his feet and pushed Canos’ lifeless body to the floor. He picked up the ID bracelet, clipping it onto her arm. She was staring at the bloodied body in shock.

‘Salomé? Salomé!’

She didn’t respond. He wiped away the worst of the blood with his hand. She looked up.

‘We got the ID. We’ve got to get out of here.’

He pulled her to her feet, dragging her out by the arm.

‘Move!’

***

Dalk heard the sound of booted feet heading across the terminal floor. The rhythmic thumping making him turn his head. He saw a squad of local law enforcers heading past. He eyed them suspiciously; it didn’t look routine. The number of people in the terminal was increasing as more ships landed. It was a busy time of day.

He strode up a wide flight of stairs to the higher shopping level, looking down across the massed ranks of visitors. There was still no sign of the pilot.

A bolt of lightning flickered across the sky, lighting up the interior of the terminal. The sun faded out behind the thick clouds as the storm moved across the city.

***

Salomé and Hassan ran around the back of Canos’ complex. A series of service corridors led down through the rear section of the building, connecting the various rooms and allowing food, beverages and staff to move around without disturbing the guests. The corridors were a maze, with several routes leading in different directions.

‘This way,’ Hassan shouted, pulling Salomé behind him.

They ran onwards, finding a sealed doorway at the end of the corridor. They frantically unbolted it and stumbled out into the brightly lit flight terminal. The crowds had built up dramatically since they’d arrived. A dozen passenger vessels had disgorged their contents. The place was teeming with visitors.

‘We’ve got to get to the ship,’ Hassan said over the hubbub of noise. ‘Somebody will find the bodies, we’ve got to move. We need to get that transponder swapped over so we can clear out of here.’

He pushed through the crowd, still dragging Salomé behind him. She seemed to be in a daze, stumbling along behind him. People glanced in their direction, eyeing Salomé’s blood-stained clothes with surprise and consternation. Hassan continued pushing onwards.

‘What, haven’t you seen a nosebleed before?’

The crowd thickened as they crossed a queue. People jostled them, angry at being disturbed and defensively holding their place in the line-up. A large man turned and shoved at Hassan, he lost Salomé’s hand in the crush.

‘Salomé …’

He saw her a few metres away, getting back to her feet, trying to force her way towards him.

‘Get to the ship,’ she called. ‘I’ll catch you!’

Hassan nodded and pushed onwards.

***

Dalk saw the crowd of people grow denser about fifty metres further up the terminal. From his position he could see there was some kind of disturbance. He moved across a connecting bridge to get a better look. People were jostling in one of the bio-check queues. A man was lifting somebody off the floor. As he watched a woman’s figure was revealed, clothed in a grubby spacers outfit, stained with something dark and red.

As she stood up she turned, looked around and stared straight at him.

***

Salomé had been knocked to the floor, the breath knocked out of her.

‘Sorry luv, thought you were trying to jump t’queue.’

A big hand lifted her back to her feet. She brushed it off angrily, trying to see where Hassan had gone.

‘Only tryin’ t’help.’

Salomé spun around and looked up. The crowds parted for a moment. A darkly attired man was standing there on a gantry, looking down at her, his body silhouetted against the expansive windows. Salomé gasped. The black cloak in her memory solidified into a thick and heavy dark overcoat, the image of the man’s face sending shivers of fear and fright through her. Her throat constricted and she struggled to draw breath, feeling her heart hammering in her chest. A voice echoed though her mind; dimly she recognised it as her own.

Murderer!

She was rooted to the spot, as more memories flooded back. The sword again, piercing her chest … a hand holding the hilt … an arm, a body cloaked … no not a cloak, an overcoat … a thick and heavy overcoat. His stance, stature and the expression on his face were suddenly familiar. She knew this man somehow. He had tried very hard to kill her. No, he had killed her!

A crackle of lightning flickered and smashed its way across the sky, startling her with its noise and ferocity. The echoing rumble of thunder battered at the terminal.

‘You all right, luv?’

The man on the gantry raised his arm, pointing directly at her with some kind of gesture. She stumbled back a step. The man started after her immediately, running across the connecting bridge and heading down the nearest flight of stairs, closing the gap across the terminal. Salomé fled in panic, running as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

***

Dalk swore.

It’s her, she’s been revived!

He started after her immediately, running down the stairway onto the floor of the terminal. Immediately the crowd surged between them, slowing his progress. He roughly pushed people aside, forcing his way through with little concern for the consternation and anger he caused.

One man, shoved out of the way, turned and tried to hold Dalk back. The altercation was brief and meaningful. Dalk continued unhindered whilst the man writhed in a silent agony clutching a broken wrist. Folks began moving out of his way, reading the fierce determination etched on his face.

Salomé had run across the terminal, then right through the exit doors and out onto the flight apron, heedless of the danger of approaching ships. Rain was falling now. The old Eagle starship nestled amidst the larger vessels parked on the wet, glistening landing pad just a few hundred metres away. The crowd thinned, she wasn’t far ahead. Dalk picked up his pace, striding rapidly towards the ship.

***

Rain hammered down in thick sheets, the sky darkening to a thick gloomy grey. Salomé was completely soaked by the time she reached the
Talon’s
loading ramp. A bolt of lightning flashed, momentarily illuminating the landing apron around her with an intense glare and impenetrable shadows. The deep boom of thunder reverberated around her, instinctively causing her to flinch and duck. She sheltered herself as much as she could and ran up the loading ramp, checking behind her as she did so. Was the man still pursuing her? He must have seen where she’d gone. She turned and ran straight into Hassan who was bolting up the transponder.

‘You made it, we’ll be …’

‘We’ve got to get out of here, now.’ Salomé hit the control to seal the hold, shaking her head to clear the rain out of her eyes. The hydraulic struts whirred and began pulling up the loading ramp.