Red Angel: Book II: Raiders (Red Angel Series 2) (6 page)

"Captain MacLin," I said, "I'm invoking my P1A authority. Notify all crew not to engage them. They have the Coaca Virus. The crew are to find places where they can lock or fortify themselves. That's an order," I said with a command presence that should have shocked me and normally would have at any other time. Just then Red's tongue brushed my neck, relieving me of any lingering doubts. I stood listening as MacLin spoke into his Personal Comm Devise, PCD.

"Bridge, connect me with all PCDs and the ship's loudspeakers." While he waited, his eyes never left mine. "Attention, this is Captain MacLin. Five men have hijacked a shuttle and have gained access to Bay N1. You are ordered not to engage them. They're infected with the Coaca Virus. Find secure shelter and stay there until further notice. I repeat, do not engage them."

"Captain, can you keep me up to date on their location ... I'll try and lead them to one of the shuttle bays, but I won't know which one until ... later. You're going to have to open it to space—"

Kris screamed.

I ignored her.

"Here, Anna." MacLin handed me a small ear device. "This will enable me to hear and talk to you."

I took it and put it in my ear. "If I ... if you must engage them, remember they’ll be contagious for two days after they die—and that flying blood or bodily fluids from wounds will infect you." I turned to face Adrian, Kris, and Gannon and pointed at Pannell. "Stay! You can't help and would just be in the way."

I turned and ran out of the conference room as I envisioned the layout of the cruiser. I was on the third level toward the front, whereas the intruders would be on the first level toward the rear. I needed to cut them off before they got too far—the farther they got, the more risk of encountering someone out to be a hero.

I raced down the forward steps three at a time, missed a step, and slammed head first into the second floor landing. I lay there dizzy and confused until Red wound himself into my hair. That seemed to jerk me back to my present dilemma, and I slowly rose onto my knees and then managed to stand.

Holding onto the railing, I continued down as fast as my dizziness would permit. I opened the door and looked out. The hallway was clear of human life—eerie, considering there were almost five hundred navy and marine personnel on board. The containment doors did prevent me seeing to the end of the ship, but … Then I realized bay N1 was on the port side and I was on the starboard.

"Captain, where are they?" I asked.

"They've exited Bay N1 and are heading up the hallway."

A tentative plan began to develop as I found the first connecting hallway to the port side and started running. I wanted to be the first person they saw. Their entire focus was on finding me –actually, Red—therefore they would ignore everyone else once they saw me. When I reached the Port hallway, I almost panicked when I didn't see them.

"Captain?"

"They just turned into the first connecting hallway to the starboard side."

I whistled several times and then shouted. "You looking for me?"

A minute later a man's head appeared and I could hear, "She's down at the end of the hallway." A minute after that, four other men appeared and started walking toward me, laughing and joking.

I idly wondered if Red would stay with one if I was killed or would kill one or all as he did last time—of course I wasn't dead last time. I walked fast toward them, hoping to reach the middle connecting hallway to the Port side before they did.

"Captain, I'm hoping to lead them to either Bay M1 or M2," I said as I watched the men's progress. So long as they didn't run, I would beat them.

I grabbed Red and he wrapped around my arm like it was the staff of Asclepius. That caused the men to begin running, which wasn't good because that meant they would reach the connecting hallway before me. I stopped and began backing up, which caused them to run faster. I didn't want to turn and run for fear they would shoot me, but I wasn't going to make the connecting hallway behind me before they caught me, so I stopped, which caused them to slow.

"Give us the snake, sweet thing, and we won't hurt you," said the one in the middle. His rugged unshaven face was filled with brown blisters, indicating stage three or maybe four Coaca. He was average height but broad and muscular. "If you’re sweet to us you don't have to die. We'll share the snake."

"Won't work," I said to stall while I considered a revised plan. "They tried that at the hospital. The krait can only support one person." I backed up as they began arguing.

Eventually, their speaker recovered. "She's lying—and getting away."

When they started running, I held my arm with Red to my chest, drew my laser, took aim, and shot the lead man in his right leg below the knee.

He collapsed, causing them all to get caught in the resulting flaying arms and feet.

I made the hallway just as the four regained their feet and started running again. I preferred not to shoot them, as their bodily fluids would make the area contagious. I had no choice, but I hoped to keep them mobile.

Waving Red in front of me, I backed down the hallway.

Several had drawn their weapons, shard guns.

"Nice weapons, shard guns. Hard to miss, but also hard to be precise." I waved my arm and Red across my body. "Those pellets will kill a snake as well as a human." I crouched as I backed up so I could also swing my arm across my legs.

This stalemate wasn't going to last forever. The five were pointing their guns in different directions, and sooner or later someone was going to take a shot.

I shot the one trying to get a headshot at me in the shoulder of his gun arm then ran sideways, crab-like, while shooting at the walls and floor around them and waving Red.

Someone fired at my feet.

Pain shot up through my calves.

I dropped to my knees and held Red to cover my head and chest and began firing, trying to avoid shots to the chest and head.

They staggered backward. Several tripped in the mad scramble, and they all went down.

I rose and hobbled backward to the starboard hallway and began a limping run toward the shuttle bays, leaving a trail of blood. My growing panic made the pain a secondary problem that I somehow all but ignored as I pushed myself, knowing I was in a life-or-death race.

"Captain, M2," I panted, "Tell me when they turn into the hallway."

"Understood," he said.

I continued hopping-limping-running as fast as my wobbly legs and light headiness would permit, expecting any moment to hear shots.

"Now!" MacLin shouted in my ear.

I turned sideways and fired several shots.

To my surprise, they fired back.

I realized my gun arm was pointing back toward them but Red was hidden from their view. I couldn't bring myself to turn Red toward them, for fear they would hit him in the heat of the moment. I ducked into the middle connecting hallway seconds after pellets from multiple shots hit me and a scorching pain exploded through my back and side.

I was going to die if I continued this silly game.

I took a deep breath, stuck my arm with Red on it out first, then swung out partially with my laser arm and began firing to kill. I hit one in the head and one in the chest before they retreated back into the connecting hallway. As soon as they did, I began a crab-like run holding Red in front of my head. One man lay dead in the hallway as I reached the door to shuttle bay M2. I felt weak as a baby and barely managed to get it open.

"Red, if you're hungry, you had better get it now before it all runs out," I think I said in jest. I felt dizzy and was having trouble concentrating, although I did manage to lock the door behind me. When I looked around the bay, a man in a spacesuit came toward me, holding another spacesuit.

"Anna, let me help you into the suit. We don't have much time," said a voice that sounded like Pannell’s.

I let him support me as he got my legs then arms into the suit. I knew we had to hurry, but I couldn't seem to help.

He finally zipped me up and locked the helmet in place. Then he dragged me backward. We were halfway to the shuttle when the three men broke through the door.

"Now!" Pannell said.

I heard the bay door open, and we were sucked out into space.

I felt Red lying between my still developing breasts, and a sense of wellbeing spread through me. I drifted back into the darkness. I felt hot and Red struck me in the neck, and I drifted back into the darkness. I felt Red curl around my neck and his tongue brush my cheek, and I became aware of the beeping machines, smell of antiseptics, and the feeling of wires attached to my chest and arms. I sighed in resignation.

"She's awake," Kris shouted. "That was the dumbest thing you've ever done. Don't pretend you can't hear me. The monitors show you're awake. Do you know Red got hit too?" She continued her rant, but I could feel her relief and affection.

My eyes flew open and I reached up to touch Red, running my hand along his body. Halfway along, I felt the wrap.

"Yes, and you had eight," she said as she hugged me, tears running down her cheeks onto mine. When I winced in pain, she released me but continued to hold my hand.

Just then, Alexa and MacLin entered the room. She walked to the side of the bed, took my free hand in hers, and laid her head next to mine.

"Mother, why are you here?" I asked reflexively, feeling guilty as I did.

"I’m here because the love of my life was fighting for her life."

"Thank you, Mother. I guess I was a bit reckless." I hated that I had caused her to worry.

"Yes, I would like to scream at you and send you to your room, forever, but putting the safety of others above your own is one of the many things that make you special." Alexa gave me a weak smile. "I owe Chief Ransom big time."

"I agree with your mother." MacLin moved closer to Alexa so I could see him without having to move. "And I also owe you big time. I've had a long talk with Doctor Renata, and I understand the potential disaster had I followed my instincts and sent marines to subdue the intruders. If you hadn’t invoked P1A authority, I doubt I would have listened to you. As it was, I almost ignored you anyway. Only that incident at Shadow's Rest made me decide to trust you."

"Doctor Renata?"

"Hi, Anna, you don't think I would let just anyone work on you and Red," Renata said as she stepped up next to Kris. "No one wants to operate on a red-headed krait. And before you ask, Red's fine. Both pellets missed his vertebrae."

I noticed she had started calling him Red and using male pronouns. "Thank you for coming. Red and I appreciate it. We trust you. How long have I been ... here?"

"Going on six days. Red complicated your treatment because he needs your blood, so we've had to be careful what we gave you. That’s why they called me."

"Hi, Anna." Adrian sounded concerned. "Kris and I understand now why you felt you had to do it by yourself, but we have to work out a better solution, because we don't want to lose you." He moved next to Kris and patted my arm—very brave considering Red's head was lying on my shoulder. "We did some checking at the hospital were those Coaca patients were being treated. Apparently, someone came to the hospital and spread the rumor that a navy commander on the Vulcan had a red-headed krait that could cure the virus. So ten of the victims left the hospital, robbed a gun store, and attacked the navy shuttle on a supply run. They lost two at the gun store and three taking the shuttle, which is why only five made it to the Vulcan. Captain MacLin, Kris, and I believe it was the raiders’ first attempt at getting rid of us. They had no idea you would take them on alone, preventing the ship from being infected. It would have been a good plan if you had only cooperated." He laughed and leaned closer—maybe Kris's experience with Red had emboldened him. "I almost choked when you invoked P1A authority and ordered MacLin around and again when he listened."

I smiled. "As you've said in the past, 'Kris wants, so Kris gets.' I thought I would try 'Anna wants' ..." In fact, I hadn't thought, just acted. The thought of people dying because of me had driven my actions, not logic.

I spent two more days in bed. MacLin assigned Alexa a room and she spent every waking moment with me. It was wonderful. The third day, I was released for light duty and that night MacLin asked Alexa and me to join him. When we arrived, we were directed to the captain's conference room, where everyone had assembled. Before anyone could say anything, Rawls’s aide appeared and called, "Attention" as Rawls and Stauffer entered.

"At ease," Rawls said, coming over to stand next to me. "Sit, Anna. You don't look in condition to stand. "Everyone get something to drink, and we'll make this informal." She went to the opposite side of the table and sat as her aide placed a cup in front of her. "First, here's your forth Purple Heart medal. Admiral Lultrel told me to tell you she's ordering you not to get any more." Rawls looked and sounded far too serious.

"Yes, ma'am, so noted," I responded, not sure what else to say.

"She also sends her congratulations. You've been awarded the Navy Cross for your actions on the Vulcan. The award recognizes not only your courage, but also your extreme compassion. You chose to risk your life to avoid a potential Coaca outbreak on the Vulcan." She slid a velvet box across the table to me: the medal, lying on white velvet, was a gold cross with a trident in a circle in the middle of the cross and was attached to a blue ribbon with a vertical white stripe down the middle.