The bot chirped before spinning and launching a grappling hook right between them both. Xero screamed and ducked, taking Lux down, too. She heard the hook hit something solid, then a meaty sound as the barbs penetrated. She glanced back and saw the scaly creature with the spiked back. It filled most of the hall and had moved silently to within feet of them. It snarled, that mouth full of the writhing finger-like teeth that she knew would be impossible to escape from.

  “Run!”

  How did a Furie get onboard? Her mind went through all the possibilities, but there was only one way. It must have hitched a ride on one of the dropship missions. Smart fucks, not just brainless monsters.

  Ducking around a corner, she pulled Lux close. The modified maintenance drone had little to offer in the way of weapons, but maybe Lux had thought ahead. He was looking up at her, obviously not prepared for what they had just encountered. If she hadn’t seen some of them back in Texas, she would have been just as surprised. “What else can your bot do?”

  He took the datapad from her outstretched hand. “I call him Rex.” He busied himself pulling up submenus as the sound of the creature and the rising pitch of the droid’s small, repulser drives were getting closer.

  “Make it quick, Lux.”

  “Xero, we have you and the boy on the monitor. Security is coming your way, three minutes.”

  That might as well be an eternity, and sadly, she’d realized the corner they had taken cover behind led only to a sealed storage compartment for radioactive byproduct from the enormous engines.

  The Furie’s long, claw-tipped arms came into view wrapped around the alloy upper section of the droid. Lux smiled as he saw the creature’s position. Punching one of the commands on the tablet, a drill laser instantly punched a small hole straight through the monster’s stomach. Purple blood flowed out and down over both. The Furie made a high, mewling scream of pain, then swept a tremendous blow across the front of the machine. The claw left a streak of shiny metal in sharp contrast to the dull finish on the rest of its chassis.

  “Fly Rex into the thing, push it back so we can get by,” Xero yelled.

  Lux handled the controls like he was playing one of his video games. The mass of the droid wasn’t huge, but the momentum of its flight took the injured creature off its feet giving both humans a chance to squeeze by and run for the end of the corridor. That was where they discovered access out of the deck was sealed off.

  The Furie stood; it had to duck its head to move toward them, the seven-foot ceiling short by at least a foot. It slammed the floating droid against the wall and moved past. It wanted human prey. Xero had the boy behind her pressed up against the sealed hatch. She could use her sleeve computer and override the security controls for the door, but no way to do it in the time they had left. Besides, that would just release this thing into the rest of the ship.

  Her lightning fast mind worked through the options and quickly came up with—nothing. Then the little bot suddenly righted itself and charged into the back of the creature breaking off several of the sharp spikes in the process. It extended its metal arms around the Furie and interlocked them, not stopping it, but slowing it down considerably. Still, the pair were within just a couple of yards.

  Xero glanced back at Lux, but the boy wasn’t triggering this. This was just the bot adapting or improvising on the limited programming it had. Self-preservation was an understood base of most machine code. Rex seemed to have it in abundance.

  The Furie flung itself, freed one of the bot’s arms, and drew back to slash just as the hatch they were pressed up against unexpectedly clicked opened, and a pulse rifle emerged through. Instantly, plasma rounds began tearing into the creature. Gi pulled them both back into the other section as Lux yelled for them not to hit Rex. The little bot had already figured out the situation had changed and retreated back into the corridor Lux and Xero had used earlier. The security team flowed around them, all knowing the weak areas of the scaly, greenish beast.

  “Did we get it?”

  The man was looking up into the broken grating on a small access panel.

  “You know that’s exactly how idiots die in space movies, right?” Halo said. He and Bishop had rushed down to join Gi when they heard the shooting. The man looking into the dark space stepped back several steps and raised his weapon to the high-ready position.

  “It’s wounded,” Sergeant Gi said. “I’m afraid it’s not mortally so, though. I know how hard those things are to kill.”

  “Two KIA back here, G-Force.” The Korean had passed the bodies on the way. He knew from the uniforms they were also part of the engineering contingent.

  “How could that thing have gotten on the dropship and survived the hard vacuum?” Halo asked.

  “The LT is going to want answers. Suggest taking a team and inspect the dropship. We don’t know this was the only one,” Gi said. He then directed his team to sweep the entire deck, room by room.

  Moving back through the hatch, he saw they had reunited the boy with his mother, who appeared way more frightened than Lux did. Gi moved up near Xero, who had been unnerved by the encounter but kept her shit together. “Excuse me, might I have a word?”

  They moved away from Carol and Lux and two-armed sentries Gi had assigned as a protective detail.

  “Xero, how has that monster evaded the ship’s sensors? Assuming it came up with the last dropship, it’s been on board for nearly a week.”

  She looked back toward where they’d so nearly been killed. “Did you get it?”

  “It’s wounded, many wounds,” Gi said. “Unfortunately, that could make things even worse. A wounded animal is a dangerous one. I need to know if there’s more than one, and then where that one is.”

  Xero thought about the two men out their floating toward their target. “Sergeant, I don’t have those answers. Short version is we can’t fully trust our ship’s sensors. I’ll work on it, but I have a more pressing issue to deal with. Is my workstation secure?”

  Gi was frustrated, his job right now was onboard security, but he trusted Xero knew the ship’s priorities better than himself. “No, I can’t guarantee that it is. I’d suggest relocation to engineering or the bridge. Those are hard points, naturally difficult to breech and easier to defend.”

  CHAPTER

  FIFTY-TWO

  MAINE

  I didn’t notice the wall coming down around me, nor did I notice the comms channels suddenly start working. I had used my energy reserves, and my body’s supply of adrenaline and endorphins was not only finite, using them up quickly came with a downside. Blackness took me just as I felt Sumo’s wet tongue on the side of my bare face.

  The next several hours were snatches of movement, pain, bright lights, and at one point, riding across very bumpy ground. I awoke in a darkened room. Yes, it could have just been nighttime, but my senses automatically gauged the size of whatever space I was in. The room was large but not like where I’d been held prisoner. A cold, wet towel fell off my head as I leaned up. My hands traced the outline of well-worn leather and nail heads beneath me, a sofa, likely an antique, but the feel of it screamed money.

  “Back from the dead again,” I heard Voss say nearby. Then, I realized my injured legs were in her lap on the sofa.

  “Threats?’”

  “Neutralized, for now.”

  “Acevedo was a hitman, Carlson’s assassin who came after us. I think I killed him, I was damn sure trying to. You didn’t find a body in there with me?”

  “Sorry, Joe, no bodies other than yours. We managed to get you into a loader bucket on the Agrobot I used to break through the wall. We’re in Carlson’s main house now.”

  I nodded; the movement sent a wave of nausea through me. I needed to know that she had cleared the house, but Voss was a professional, she would have done it right. Honestly, I was just glad she was here. “My legs?” I asked. I could tell she had removed my battleskin, and it felt like the wounds had been bandaged.

  “You were filleted, Joe. The cuts were nearly to the bone, but they are healing remarkably fast. You were holding onto the cream which Ada informed me was a rapid healing compound. I liberally applied it several times. It’s been eight hours, and I’d say the healing looks like you’ve been on the mend for two, maybe three weeks.”

  “Thanks, and yes, we aren’t leaving without a supply of that medicine. And the wet rag?” I smiled, holding the towel out to her.

  “I’m not domestically inclined. If you were having contractions, I would have boiled water. You have a high fever. I put a cold rag on your head. That’s the extent of my medical abilities.”

  I laughed. “I doubt very seriously that is true but thank you. I always have a fever now, my core temperature is higher than before my enhancement.”

  “I recalled that, but this seemed unusually high,” she said, folding the towel and placing it on a table. “As I recall, increased appetite is also normal. Can I get you some food?”

  “Absolutely! I am starving.” I hadn’t really thought about it until then, but yes, I could eat.

  “Well, we hit the mother load of supplies. This main kitchen has anything you can imagine, including a tank of live Maine lobsters.”

  She stood to go. “It’s just down the hall, give me a few minutes.”

  I nodded and waited for her to leave before checking in with Ada on building security, then putting in a call to Bayou.

  Voss returned just as I was logging off the lengthy call with my number two. I watched as she set a massive amount of food in front of me, including two lobsters and what appeared to be an actual steak.

  “I thought you didn’t cook.”

  “I may have implied that, but truthfully, I love to cook. It’s one of my secret passions. Plus, this place has everything, including an AI controlled oven and cooktop. No way to overcook anything.” She poured him a drink from the bar and sat it down as well. “I can get you a cold beer if you prefer.”

  I stared across the side table at the bottle and smiled. “Pappy’s is good for now.” I shoveled roasted potatoes and carrots into my mouth before taking a bite of steak. The pain in my legs, the frustration of war all disappeared. “Oh, my God, Dami, thank you.”

  I paused between bites when I noticed she was just watching me. “Are you eating?”

  She looked down at her wrist comms, “Sumo’s and mine are just finishing up. I didn’t want you to wait.”

  “Where is the big furball?” I asked.

  “He’s watching the timer on the stove,” she said rising to her feet. He slept beside you for hours, that dog loves you—he just doesn’t want you to know it.

  I carved the steak bone away from the delicious meat and set it aside for him. Then I went to work on the lobsters; the action resembled me fighting some of those damn creatures outside. It was a battle I eventually won and oh, how sweet the rewards. I might just move up to Maine permanently.

  I was sitting back sipping the expensive bourbon when they came back in. Voss set a large bowl of something on the floor for Sumo and then joined me on the couch to eat. Her meal looked delicious as well but much more low-key than what she’d given me.

  “So, what did we learn?” she asked between mouthfuls.

  I was still dwelling on what Bayou was dealing with, so it took me a minute to shift mental gears. “First, where is your Wraith?”

  She eyed the room suspiciously. “Out there patrolling. What do you think is keeping all the other creatures away?”

  “Does that work? I mean, I recall them being all over us inside the Nightmare Factory and he… or it, was there.”

  She moved a little closer and handed me a beer she’d brought back from the kitchen. “I think that was simply because we were in such a confined space, but yes, it has an effect, although I can’t tell how strong. The more highly developed ones seem more aware of it than the others. Sumo and I had our hands full waiting for you to do something creative.”

  That stung. “Sorry, I was indisposed for much of that time. What I learned is Nevis isn’t here, nowhere. The man that captured me was an assassin and also appeared to be augmented.”

  “Like you?” she asked.

  I thought about that, I really wasn’t sure. “I don’t think so, but he was certainly enhanced, but I would say he was also naturally very skilled. He is a killer. I should have ended him.”

  “You weren’t in any shape to do much more.”

  “Damiana, there is something else.” I took a deep breath before continuing. “He said he was responsible for killing your Sisters. And that it was you he was after.”

  Even in the dim lights, I could see her face darken, and that look of a predator descended once more. I took a long pull on the beer and waited. I could see the mental wheels turning in that beautiful head.

  “I need to know about the Sisters of Light.” She took another bite of her food and refused to make eye contact. “You told me not so long ago that you had resources, that we could be useful to each other if we went after these guys.”

  “There isn’t much I can tell. I am under a blood oath. I’m sorry, but that’s how it is. We go back a very long time, and we always try to fight on the side of good, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get our hands dirty.”

  I already had a good idea of what she was willing to do to accomplish a mission. She’d proven that firsthand. “Not affiliated with any state, totally independent?”

  “I can’t honestly answer that, partially because I don’t know, but more accurately, we are probably embedded in key places in most national governments, or were. We go where we are told and do the things necessary to get the job done.”

  “Who decides what the jobs are?”

  She took another bite. I wasn’t getting an answer to that question, nor how large their numbers or what kinds of resources she could call on if needed.

  “Are you using me?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Of course!” she said, her voice way too cheery for my liking. “But try to understand that doesn’t mean I am going to discard you, or my enjoyment in your company is false. I’m here, Joe, we are friends and partners.” She held up her own beer bottle and tapped the bottom against mine.

  “All women?” I asked.

  She smiled and then nodded. “Yes.”

  I’d been around top-secret intelligence most of my adult life and my dad many decades longer, yet I’d never heard a whisper about this group. That was damned impressive.

  “He said your people almost stopped the Liberty Strike.”

  “That’s what he called it? The Liberty Strike?” she asked, now on full alert.

  “Yes, I challenged him on it.” Truthfully, I could just have Ada play back our entire exchanges, but I was relatively sure I’d passed along the most relevant points.

  We sat and drank, and I ate again before she pulled me awkwardly to my feet. “Come on, handsome, this place has the most luxurious looking bed.” We had a lot to do, and staying here in the heart of the enemy’s stronghold was ridiculous, but we both needed a good night’s sleep.

  I leaned on her heavily, and since I was already stripped down to my boxers and bandages, I just lay down and damn, she was right. It was the most perfect mattress I’d ever felt; it enveloped and supported me in all the right places, constantly adjusting to my every move. God Almighty, having money was the way to go. Lobsters, Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, and now this. Damiana rolled over and kissed me. She knew I was in no shape for anything more, and that was okay. I held her close and had to admit that I loved the feeling.

  This incredibly tough, smart, and confusing woman could make me crazy, yet she could also be so tender and vulnerable. If it was all just an act, she was an incredibly gifted actress. I’d learned long ago to simply enjoy the moments. Despite my injuries, this moment was a keeper.

  CHAPTER

  FIFTY-THREE

  IAS STONE MOUNTAIN

  “What?” Hauk yelled, finally realizing Koog was in trouble. The kid was spinning clockwise at an increasing rate. The tether was twisting tighter and tighter. That EVA tether was all that kept the missile attached and allowed them to communicate.

  Hauk moved up close to slow the man down.

  “No!” Koog yelled. “Mass is too great. I will just make you spin off in the other direction.”

  Right, that makes sense, Hauk thought. The kid seemed a lot calmer than he would have been, but of course, the Marine worked up here, he didn’t. “What happened?”

  “Micrometeoroid would be my guess. I believe it clipped one of the maneuvering tanks on my SAFER unit.”

  Hauk had an identical unit strapped to his back over the life support system. It allowed them to do fine maneuvers with quick bursts of compressed gas or larger burns using the small, built-in thrusters. He was relatively sure it had to be one of the gas canisters, he could see white mist coming off one side as Koog spun by. The rotations were about once every fifteen seconds now and still increasing.

  “How can I help?”

  Koog had been busy grasping at something on his belt, but his own momentum kept making his hands miss. His responses were increasingly garbled. Hauk figured he only had minutes before he passed out.

  “Gotta jettison the MMU.”

  Shit, Hauk knew they had gone over this really quickly in the safety brief, but there’d been so much to cover. If the kid lost his maneuvering jets, though, the mission would be over. No way they could get to the target vessel, deliver the Penetrator, and get away sharing one pack.

  “Help me hit the release,” Koog said, his arms still flailing wildly.

  Hauk quickly studied the release on his own belt. Simple enough, just a two-position latch. Flip one part up and the other part back. Simple, unless you were spinning like a top. He went into combat mode. Get your head in the game, Hauk. Identify, assess, and most importantly, act. The simple procedures had been drilled into him since basic. The problem was, this wasn’t his typical battle space; his tactics were not designed for this. All he knew was losing the SAFER pack might be as bad as losing his teammate.