Dark Star (30 page)

Anger flashed bright through Gillian’s one working eye and was quickly covered. Rosie glared at him. “Leave her out of it.”

“I can’t, if you won’t help me. Tell me what I want to know and she will be left alone. It is very simple.”

“Please, Rosie,” Gillian said softly.

Alpha smiled. “You see, she wants you to cooperate.”

But he hadn’t seen what Rosie saw: the anger, the minute shake of her head as she mouthed the words,
be ready
.

Rosie felt sick with fear as she said, “I can’t.”

“Sir?” Gillian was affecting tears now.

“What?” Alpha was relaxed, unguarded.

Gillian’s face twisted with hatred. “You’re an arse!” She lunged at him and pulled his pulse pistol from its holster.

Alpha snarled, “You–” The blast hit him point-blank in the chest, slamming him back against the wall. Rosie watched frozen as he slid to the floor.

“Damn it,” Gillian said, examining the gun, “it was on a low setting.” She cautiously went to him and bent down, feeling for a pulse. “He’s only stunned, won’t be out too long.” She looked at Rosie and said, “I could kill him.”

“No, don’t.” Even after what he’d done, the thought of killing Alpha made Rosie cold. She got off the cot. She could see now that Gillian was trembling slightly.

“Got you the gun,” Gillian said.

Rosie drew her away from Alpha. “Thanks, and I’m sorry.”

“’Bout the face?” Gillian shrugged. “Not the first time. I’ll be okay. Here.” She handed Rosie the weapon. “So what now?”

Rosie took in a long breath. “Are there many operatives outside?”

“Two on the iris, that’s it. No surveillance in here either, but you probably guessed that.”

“Yeah.” She looked at the weapon in her hand. It would do. “Okay, Gillian, you’re going to have to call those operatives,” she said.

“Say what, are you insane? We’ve got his gun now. We use it get past them. Didn’t you learn anything in here?”

Rosie swallowed. “There’s something I’ve got to do first. After I do it, you call them fast, tell them I took Alpha’s gun and shot him. Can you do that?”

“What are you going to do?” Gillian said warily, and Rosie backed away a few steps.

Her heart was thudding too fast. She checked the setting on the gun, made sure it was dialled right down. “Don’t panic, okay?”

“Don’t panic?”

“I’ll be okay. I have to do this.”
Please be right, Riley
. Rosie’s hand shook as she lifted the gun and Gillian’s eye widened as she realised what she was doing.

“Rosie!” she shouted and lunged at her, but she wasn’t quick enough and Rosie pushed the barrel against her temple and shot herself in the head.

Something was wrong. Dalton had made it to near the iris that led to the cells, thanks to the stylus, but he could hear shouts, voices raised in panic and some commotion going on the other side. He stayed hidden in the small storage room nearby, gun at the ready, watching through the small crack he’d left open. A minute later the iris spiralled open and two operatives came running out pushing a medic gurney.

“We’re bringing her now!” One was shouting into his com. “Get it ready. Boss is stable, but she’s on the line.” The gurney flew past and he saw Rosie lying on it, unconscious. Gillian was running behind, her face a mask of fear, and behind her came another operative with another gurney. This one with Alpha on it. He leaned against the wall, going hot then cold all at the same time. Jesus, oh Jesus, God. Rosie. He couldn’t breathe but then he forced himself to get it together. The medibay. That was where they had to be going. He had to follow, make sure she was okay and get her out. All thoughts of going after his dad fled and he crept from the room and followed the operatives down the hall.

It was like resurfacing after being under water. Sounds were muffled, dull, and her vision was dim and blurred. She rose up through layers of darkness into a brighter light. Things becoming sharper, louder, until finally she was squinting against a white glow and the sounds became voices.

“She’ll be fine; luckily for you I know what I’m doing. The burns are superficial and the pulse was weak, all brain tests have come back positive, but I cannot believe you allowed her to become so dehydrated, to leave her in that state. Or that her previous injuries have gone untreated. I’ve gelled the burns from that damn device, but I can only say again how repelled I am by its use.” Rosie recognised the peeved, whining voice – it was the doctor who’d looked after her before. Odd, he was complaining on her behalf.

“Your opinions are noted and dismissed. Notify me when Alpha is recovered and take him to his room. He should not be in here. I’ll be in my office.”

Jebediah. Rosie waited until she was sure the sounds of his footsteps had faded along with the clang and rustle of the doctor ordering Alpha to be removed. Then she opened her eyes.

She was in the medibay. The light was too bright. It hurt and she blinked several times.

“I see you’re with us again.” The doctor appeared suddenly at her side with a handheld scanner. His lips pinched as he watched it monitor her. “Recovering well, no thanks to your stupidity.”

“Gillian?” Rosie’s mouth was parched and her words came out hoarse.

“There.” He jutted a chin to her other side. “I’m repairing her eye. No thanks to Alpha or you,” he mumbled.

Rosie rolled her head on the pillow and saw Gillian’s curling hair dark against the sheets on a bed a few metres away. “Gillian?” she called.

“Be quiet. She’s not conscious. Her eye is recovering. Drink this cell repair.” He shoved a glass of orange-coloured liquid at her. Rosie sat slowly and took the glass and the doctor went back to his bank of holos, muttering under his breath about stupid children and where else he could be.

The drink tasted like chemicals and citrus, but she forced it down, certain this time it wasn’t drugged. The doctor clearly despised her, but the way he’d spoken to Jebediah, she doubted he’d allow anything other than the cell repair in the drink. It worked fast, sending energy back into her limbs and, as she sipped it, she tried to figure out if what Riley told her to do had worked. Had that pulse shot switched her nanos back on to receiving or downloading data?

The door to the medibay opened again and Rosie could hardly believe it when she saw Dalton creep in. His face lit up as he saw her. The doctor turned around and almost fell over in his attempt to get up. “Wait!” He put out a hand, but Dalton was already on him and hit him hard on the side of the head with the butt of a gun. The man crumpled without another sound and Dalton caught him and dragged him towards her.

Rosie got off the bed. “Put him up here,” she whispered.

With a grunt, Dalton hoisted him up. Then he pulled Rosie into a tight hug. “I thought they’d killed you.”

His heart beat fast and hard against her cheek. “Not exactly, I’m okay. The surveillance?”

He pulled a stylus from his pocket. “Dealt with, don’t worry.”

“Where did you get that, and the gun?”

“I knocked out an operative.” His expression shadowed as he glanced briefly at Gillian and Rosie saw the marks on his neck from Jebediah’s hands. “She all right?”

“Yeah, are you?” There was something haunted behind his eyes, a well of pain, and she reached for his hand. “Dalton …” She didn’t know what to say. No one should have to learn what he had about his father.

But he gave her a crooked smile, covering. “Don’t worry about me. No time for it.”

No there wasn’t. “Pip got away.” She pulled him towards the orb machine, talking over her shoulder. “I came back because of what you said, about the plans you saw on your dad’s com. It’s really important, the key to everything. I have to get hold of them, upload them to my implant.”

He watched her searching the machine for the temple patches. “What are you doing?”

She unplugged the patches. “These will be the conduit from the com to my implant.”

“I thought it wasn’t working.”

“Long story.” She shoved the patches in her pocket. “Found a way to fix it. And Riley’s back. He’s got a plan, but we’ve got to get that com.”

“It’s in his vault. Wait, Riley’s back?” He shook his head. “I have been missing stuff, but Rosie, that vault is DNA linked. Only my father can open it.”

Great. She faced him. “I know he went back to his room not long ago …”

Dalton looked at the gun in his hand then up at her. “I can do it.”

“Are you sure?”

That haunted expression was back in his eyes. “I’m sure. Come on.”

“Wait, I’ve got to tell Riley.” She went back to the doctor and tugged his stylus out of his pocket and took it to his holos. She pushed it into the controls and swiftly navigated to the com system.

“Won’t it be detected?” Dalton said.

“Probably, but hopefully it will be too late then.” She dialled in and pinged her aunt’s com, messaging her.

Going to get com now from JC safe. Will need extraction asap. Dalton and Gillian too
.

“What’s he got planned?” Dalton asked.

“I don’t know,” Rosie detached the stylus, “but hopefully we can get that com by the time he gets here.”

“What about Gillian?” Dalton said.

“We’ll have to come back for her.”

They crept out into the hall and Dalton led the way to his father’s office. The corridors outside the medibay were empty of operatives and Dalton jammed the surveillance with the stylus as they went. It was still early morning, a little after six Rosie guessed, and she was glad for the cell repair drink the doctor had given her or she’d really have been running on empty.

Dalton halted at an iris at the end of the corridor. “This leads into the operatives’ wing,” he whispered. “My father’s office is at the end. If any operatives are around, jamming the surveillance won’t help.”

“Wake up is at five thirty,” Rosie said. “They should be all out.” She wasn’t confident though.

“Ready?” Dalton held up the gun.

Rosie nodded. “Go.”

He shoved in the stylus and opened the iris and they sprinted down the long corridor. High narrow windows let the sunlight in on their left and for a while, they had a clear run. The doors to the operatives’ rooms were shut, and at the end were large double doors that had to be the entrance to Jebediah’s rooms. They were so close, when a door opened behind them and a shout rang out.

“Stop!”

“Run!” Dalton fired a shot at the operative. Rosie raced ahead down the corridor, legs aching. Another door opened as they passed and an operative lunged at them. Dalton shot at the woman and she ducked back in as they sped by, but immediately she was out again and in pursuit. Orders were shouted behind them as the operatives tried to organise themselves. The pounding of their boots was terrifying. Then they were at Jebediah’s rooms and Dalton swiped his hand over the lock release. The doors slid open and they threw themselves through as an operative closed in, her face set and determined. She reached for them but the doors closed a millimetre from her fingers and Dalton fired a shot at the lock inside the room, fusing the metal. The stink of burning and a hint of smoke drifted up.

They both turned, panting, to see Jebediah sitting calmly behind a large desk watching them.

“A grand entrance, son, but that won’t keep them out for long,” he said.

“Long enough.” Dalton pointed the gun at his father and the weapon wavered slightly in his grip. “Open the safe.”

Jebediah didn’t move. “The safe?”

“You heard me.” Dalton took several steps closer. “The one behind you there.”

Jebediah cast his eyes over Rosie. “I suppose this is your idea, is it? Pity you didn’t succeed in your supposed suicide bid.”

“I didn’t try to kill myself,” she said quickly. “Dalton, don’t listen to him.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not.” Dalton’s jaw hardened and the gun became steadier. “Open the safe, Father.”

“No.”

Dalton’s breath was audibly loud. “I will do it. You don’t have to be alive for me to use your DNA.”

“No, son, you won’t.” Jebediah’s voice was smooth, overconfident and Rosie felt terribly sad for Dalton.

“After all you’ve done, you shouldn’t be so sure,” she said. “Don’t make him do it, open the safe.”