DJ's Mission (28 page)

“I can live with that. However, keep in mind that
Mörder their leader is a blood-thirsty killer without conscious but he is
pragmatic. If he is dealing with Kassinger it’s because he wants something.
Period. He would just as soon shoot the lawman as spit on him.”

“Sounds as if you know him.”

Jax chuckled. “You could say that but it’s a long
story.”

Spike gestured to himself and Sponge Bob. “Don’t
worry about us; we just want justice for Teana. We owe her that much at least.”

Jax took a deep breath. “Good, let’s all keep calm
and with a bit of luck, we’ll get through this alive.”

Pushing open the door, the three warriors stepped in
with guns drawn and stopped dead in their tracks. Judging from the their
reception, all three of them knew immediately that they were totally screwed

*   *   *   *   *

Once Commander Cline and Lieutenant Evans had found
the file they were searching for, it was time to depart. Virginia grabbed a
plasma rifle and checked power pack before powering up the weapon.

“What now?”

Alex copied her motions but also grabbed a couple
of plasma grenades. “Now we get to the bridge of the Horus.”

Virginia cocked her head to the side and flipped a
stray strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. “Why?”

“If she is as complete as I suspect, then we can
use the communication package on her to call for help.”

“Works for me.” Virginia leaned the rifle against
the wall, adjusted her belt and unzipped her jumpsuit to show off a bit more
cleavage. “I guess you want me to distract the guards.”

Alex picked up her rifle and handed it back to
her. “Nope, the time for being nice is long past. Lock and load, lieutenant.”

Virginia grinned from ear to ear and her eyes flashed
with excitement. “Yes sir!”

*   *   *   *   *

Jeffrey Kassinger, the High Sheriff of Titan, sat
across the table from the self-proclaimed pirate-king and wasn’t impressed. He
had strut in like a pretentious asshole, all proud and self-important. But to
the Sheriff, he was nothing more than a thug. He wanted something that Jeff had
tucked away and in the end, that gave him the power.

Mörder stood up, put both fists on the table and
leaned forward. “We had a deal lawman.”

Kassinger leaned back in his chair and folded his
hands across his chest, the picture of relaxation. “The Admiral had me do a
little research on those isolation pods you are wanting. It seems those
individuals are very valuable and not only to you. We’ve had other offers.”

“So…your word is worthless?”

A slightly hollow but deep voice came from his
left. “You should’ve known that going into the deal Mörder.”

Every pirate reacted the same way, pulling out an
assortment of guns and pointing them at the intruders. However, seeing the Red
Falcon flanked by two NAPD SWAT officers in full tac-armor was not what they
expected.

Mörder asked, “What are you doing here Falcon?”

Jax took a step into the room and totally ignored
all the guns aimed at him. He pointed at the Sheriff. “I’m here for Kassinger.”

It was at that moment when Spike realized how the
Falcon was going to play this out but he might need a little help with the
bluff. Calling up the warrant program on his tac-armor with the intention of
displaying a faux citation, Spike was surprised to find an active warrant
recently issued for the Sheriff. Activating the program, he stepped forward as
a small holographic projection appeared over his left shoulder. “An arrest
warrant has been issued for Jeffery Kassinger with the charges of kidnapping,
murder, wrongful imprisonment, treason and about a half-dozen other charges.”

Kassinger leaned forward and placed his feet back
on the floor. “He’s lying. Those two were my prisoners just a short while ago.”

Spike nodded. “We aren’t denying that accusation
and since we will surely be called as witnesses to some of your crimes, we
aren’t arresting you. He is.”

Mörder shrugged. “Seems legit to me. Personally, I
don’t want to cross the Falcon…at least not yet and not over a piece of filth
like you.”

Kassinger bolted upright but before he could say
anything else or press the panic button on his table, Jax fired one of his
capture nets. The titanium alloy netting wrapped up the big man and the built
in stun properties fired. Seconds later, he was trussed and unconscious.

Mörder nodded. “Simple and efficient. Now what?”

Jax decided to keep the Red Falcon bluff going and
said, “Currently you are not my mark. You and your merry band can depart.”

“What? And expose our backs to you and the pigs?”

Jax grinned even though no one could see it behind
the Red Falcon helmet. “Then I suggest we all depart. You don’t trust me at
your back and we don’t dare trust you either. So, let’s depart en mass and keep
the peace until we reach the flight deck. Once there, you and your merry men
can go your way and we go ours.”

Mörder nodded. “Works for me. You do realize that
if this is a trick, then all three of you are dead. Even with your fancy armor,
you won’t get all of us before you fall.”

Jax recognized that there was more truth in that
statement than even the pirate guessed. Moving over to the trussed up sheriff,
Jax lifted him easily due to the enhanced strength of the CSA armor. He
gestured to the door with his free hand. “After you.”

Mörder snickered. “No, after you.”

Jax chuckled, although it sounded hollow coming
from the Red Falcon helmet. “I can see that this will be difficult. What if we
let the Hurricane decide?”

Mörder threw his head back and laughed loudly. “A
woman? Ha. Their toughest decision is deciding what shoes to wear with what
outfit.”

Then all three companions noticed how the
redhead’s eyes flash with anger and it looked as if she was going to say
something but at the last second she bit her tongue; both figuratively and
literally, to keep her voice silent. 

Mörder was completely unaware of her displeasure
and pointed at some greasy haired pirate with shifty eyes near the back of the
pack. “Trotter…you’re on point and if we get jumped, it’s your neck.”

And just like that, they were on their way
topside.

Spike keyed up the tac-net. “So, this is your
whole plan?”

Sponge Bob answered. “Well, it’s working. If the
SIS jump us to try and free Kassinger, then the pirates will have to respond.”

“That was my thinking also. However, once we reach
the flight deck I’m open to suggestions.”

“We’ll think of something.” After a brief pause,
Spike asked, “Falcon…why did you single out the redhead?”

“In another place and another time, she was a
friend of mine. I wanted to make sure she truly knew how Mörder feels about
women. Besides, if this goes south...we might need her help.”

“Fair enough. If we survive this, the first round is
on me.”

*   *   *   *   *

Alex and Virginia found it easier getting to the
Horus than they expected. All of the roving patrols had been rushing topside and
not looking down side passages. Only once did they have to resort to gunfire
and that was when they reached the gangplank to the Dreadnaught. The guards
assigned to protect the huge ship were on high alert with blasters out and
seemingly itchy trigger fingers.

Alex didn’t even try to be diplomatic. He just
popped out from behind some crates and began firing.

The ten guards on the gangplank began blasting
away. Even though they outnumbered the Coalition officers by five to one, they
didn’t have the advantage of cover and it turned out that Virginia was a crack
shot. She downed three for every one that Alex got. The gunfight was fast and
furious but in the end, the Coalition officers walked across the gangplank
unimpeded and uninjured.

Alex glanced down at the bodies as they passed and
looked back to his aide. “Now I’m impressed. Where did you learn to shot like
that?”

“Eastern Kentucky,” replied Virginia and for just
a second her country accent came through. “I’ve been hunting since I was eight
and bagged my first deer at ten. You should see me with a bow.”

“Nice. Never would’ve pegged you for a country
girl.”

“We women have many talents that we keep secret.”

Alex was smart enough after two failed marriages
to keep his mouth shut and lead the way through the vast ship. He’d been
studying the plans for the last six months and knew the layout of the ship as
well as any man alive. Of course, moving through the actual ship with its
gleaming walls and bright rivets was so much more satisfying than the virtual ship
he’d been exploring as part of his new assignment.

Once they reached the bridge, Virginia immediately
headed over to the engineering console. Her hands flew over the controls. “Sir,
we have full power available on all engines. Decks thirty-five to forty-two are
not pressurized. However, hatches are responding and those decks are now sealed
off.” She paused as she slid her chair over to a different screen. “I should
add that according to my readings, we also have power to the forward plasma
cannons, numbers one through five. All other weapons are reading offline at the
moment.”

Alex sat down in the Command chair and caressed
the black leather armrests for a moment before flipping them open to reveal the
command module. “Anyone else on board?”

“Negative sir. The only life signs registering are
ours but that doesn’t preclude any androids that they might have had assigned
to do work on the ship.”

“Good point. Go to Dog-Zebra and lock the ship
down. I don’t want any interruptions.”

Virginia punched in the proper codes and every
hatch on the ship slid closed and locked. Dog Zebra was a hold over command
from the days of the wet navy when hatches had to be physically closed and
latched. Most doors, commonly known as hatches on a ship, had three different
latches. The primary latch which could be opened from either side was known as
‘Dog X-Ray’- every hatch closed and latched. Dog Zebra was one step further.
The two additional latches would be secured and if you happened to be on the
wrong side of the hatch, you were stuck there until someone opened it. It was
put in place to keep the compartmental aspect of the ship’s integrity intact.

Within seconds, her panel showed green lights all
around. “Condition Zebra set throughout the ship, sir.”

“Good, prepare to cast off just in case.”

“Sir?” Virginia swallowed hard. “Uh…sir, I don’t
think the Horus was designed for only two people to run...sir.”

Even though Alex didn’t look up, he nodded. “You
would be amazed what this ship will be able to do when she is fully operational.
And don’t worry, I don’t want to try and fly her manually unless we have no
choice.” He pointed to another panel nearby. “See if the ship’s resident AI has
been installed and if so, boot her up.”

“Aye, aye sir.”

Alex turned back to his task of contacting help.

*   *   *   *   *

Chief Warrant Officer Third Class Joey ‘Sandman’
Sanders of Alpha Flight tapped his radar display before keying up his mic.
“Tinman…did you see that?”

“What?” responded Lt. Ed ‘Tinman’ Brockbank,
Commander of Alpha Flight.

“On the very edge of our radar, I could swear I
saw a large blip of something big.”

“How big?”

“If I had to guess, I would say Battlecruiser
size.”

Tinman rubbed his chin and itched to switch his
radar from passive to active. Sandman wasn’t one to jump at ghosts. If he says
he saw something, then he saw something. The question was…what? “That can’t be
possible. All battlecruisers were either mothballed or turned into scrap at the
end of the war.”

“I know, I know. It’s just…I’ve seen that
signature before.”

Tinman paused as a coded message came in for him.
It only took second to translate and for him to read them. Keying his mic
Flight-wide, “Alright everyone, look sharp. Orders just came in. We are to
proceed to the dark side of Titan and intercept some pirates.”

Sandman switched his radar to active and set it on
long range scan. Nothing. He mumbled under his breath but fired his engines and
twisted his Dragon until he was right behind his Flight leader. “On your six,
Tinman.”

“Roger that. Let’s go hunting.”

*   *   *   *   *

The multi-limbed creature looked up from his
monitors and spoke to the darkness.

“Check.”

 *   *   *   *   *

DJ was weak from loss of blood but the med-kit he
carried with him for just such an occasion had probably saved his life. Kaitlyn
had listened carefully to all his instructions and applied clotting agents and
bandages where needed and even administered the heavy-duty pain-killers he had.
He wasn’t one-hundred percent but he was mobile and with Kaitlyn’s help and a
lot of luck, they made it topside.

The elevator she had picked had been an express
lift and let them out near the control tower for the airstrip. From there it
was just a short walk out, which was good since DJ’s energy was fading fast.
However, what they found stopped them in their tracks.

Over two dozen SIS officers and nearly the same
number of factory guards were posted up on top and behind numerous vehicles
which were parked in such a way to flank a particular entrance to the factory.
It was an ambush.

Even as DJ silently debated the ramifications and
options, he spied Jax in the Red Falcon armor flanked by the two SWAT officers
and surrounded by the pirates. They all had their weapons drawn but they were
watching each other and unaware that they were walking into a trap.

DJ glanced at his daughter. His goal had been to
rescue her and get her out safely. They could easily board on one of the nearby
ships and just slip away into the darkness. No one would ever know. They would
be free and she would be safe. He glanced back at the ex-pirate and knew what
he had to do…he had to help.