Looking around the perimeter of the hangar, Hayden saw no sign of the Custodians he had expected to be waiting for them, though he did spot an active pair of Shields flanking the space. If he didn’t move quickly the two bots could become a major problem. He turned his body, crawling onto one of the wings, staying low to keep from being decapitated by the spinning rotor. The huge motor would help him remain out of sight when Rasha’s forces arrived.

  And they would come. He was certain of that.

  The Osprey reached the ground a handful of seconds later. As soon as it settled onto its landing gear the engine powered down, the rotor beginning to slow. Hayden shifted to a crouch beneath the rotors, pressing against the nacelle and drawing both revolvers.

  There was still no activity inside the hangar, a clear indication that something was about to happen. The Shields shifted from their flanking positions, moving conspicuously behind the tail of the aircraft.

  Then a door on each side of the hangar slid open, an entire platoon of Custodians pouring into the large enclosure. They spread out, taking cover behind the dormant mechs and the containers scattered around the hangar before bringing their rifles to bear on the Osprey. A voice echoed through the hangar, emitted from loudspeakers positioned around the area.

  “Sheriff Duke, I presume?” a man said. “Whatever you think you would be able to accomplish by hijacking my aircraft and threatening my pilot, I assure you that you won’t get it. The aircraft is surrounded. Come out with your hands up, and I might remain benevolent enough to allow you to live.”

  Hayden scoffed at the fake promise. He assumed the voice belonged to Rasha. He had expected the man to be arrogant, and he wasn’t disappointed.

  A quiet click echoed through the cavernous hangar. Then the hatch to the Osprey opened. The ramp at the back began to move at the same time, the hydraulics humming slightly as it dropped.

  “Fine,” Fairy shouted into the hangar, poking her head out of the hatch. “You got me. I surrender.”

  “You?” Rasha said, showing he was able to see the interior of the hangar from wherever he was, though he obviously couldn’t see the top of the Osprey. “Where’s Vazquez?”

  “I strapped an explosive to her chest,” Fairy said, distracting most of the Custodians from the back ramp as it finished descending. “One wrong move and boom!” She turned her hand over, showing off one of the extra cells for the plasma rifle. It looked enough like a detonator from a distance, and she sold it well.

  “How the—” Rasha started to say as Zorro ambled down the rear ramp.

  Hayden made his move, coming out from behind the engine nacelle and opening fire on the nearest Custodian as he ran for the back of the craft. His first round cracked the man’s visor and the second blasted through it, killing him instantly.

  He holstered his guns as he approached the tail, dropping into a slide that carried him between the two vertical stabilizers and off the trailing edge of the tail. Smoothly into Zorro’s saddle. Digging his heels into the stallion’s flanks, Hayden slipped the sniper rifle from the loops in the saddle, bringing it into firing position as Zorro broke around the side of the Osprey.

  Zorro galloped toward the left side of the hangar bay, almost directly toward the Custodians positioned there, while the Shields behind the Osprey joined the chase. Zorro cut to the right almost instinctively as the Custodians took aim. At the same time, Hayden began shooting, single rounds cracking like thunder in the enclosed space. The close range enabled the powerful shells to punch through his oppositions’ armor and helmets. He successfully eliminated two more targets before Zorro passed the crates the Custodians hid behind, popping up to fire at him.

  Plasma bolts suddenly flashed out across the divide. Looking to his right, he saw Fairy tucked behind the Osprey’s hatch, her steady rhythm of superheated gas spears pounding the crates to keep the Custodians down behind them. Gunfire erupted from the other side of the aircraft, slamming the armored fuselage in an effort to get to her.

  Zorro raced past the crates, Hayden spinning him around as they reached the back wall. He kicked the big black stallion into a run straight at the crates as he continued unleashing single rounds at the defenders behind them. While not every hit was fatal, single shots to the heads of three Custodians was all it took to remove them from the fight.

  Bending low in the saddle, Hayden let Zorro know exactly what he wanted. The big stallion didn’t break stride, but he could feel the stallion’s haunch muscles bunch an instant before he leaped the crates, scattering the handful of Custodians still active on his flank.

  Fairy took out two of them as they stood up to fire at Hayden’s back. He whirled the stallion back around and threw himself out of the saddle. Arms wide, he hit a pair of Custodians, his momentum knocking both men backwards into the crates. One recovered quickly. Still holding his rifle, he swung the stock upwards at Hayden’s chin. He blocked the blow with his left forearm and drew the microspear with his right, stabbing it into the Custodian’s chest.

  Still on his back, the other man brought up his rifle and took aim at Hayden. Zorro barreled at him, rearing with a piercing bugle, his heavy hooves smashing through the man’s visor. The man went limp and wilted beneath Zorro’s pounding hooves. The stallion made sure the enemy who’d threatened Hayden was down for good.

  Hayden leaped up and grabbed the stallion’s reins and then his bridle. “Easy, boy,” he cajoled, struggling to get the wild-eyed stallion under control. The horse’s muscles quivered as he finally settled, nosing Hayden in the shoulder. “That’s a good boy.” Hayden launched himself into the saddle, shoving his boots into the stirrups and turning Z toward the targets he could see through the crates. He dropped the stallion’s reins and brought his rifle up to bear again, firing rounds at them as he kicked the horse into a gallop straight for the Custodians threatening to overwhelm Fairy.

  Hayden killed two of her attackers and took aim at a third, but when he pulled the trigger, the rifle finally clicked empty, its heavy shells expended. He didn’t hesitate, dropping the weapon to the floor and pulling his high-caliber revolver, dumping the spent casings and using a speedloader to slip six fresh rounds into the cylinder. He slapped it closed just in time to brace himself as Zorro reached the next line of crates, hind legs flexing to carry them over.

  When they came down, one unlucky Custodian found himself directly in Zorro’s path. He tried to backpedal but Zorro plowed into him, his broad chest knocking the Custodian down under his hooves. Hayden and Zorro found themselves in the middle of six enemy soldiers. Zorro reared, his hooves flailing at their heads as they struggled to get a bead on Hayden, and when they couldn’t manage that, they took aim at the great stallion’s broad chest and head, but they never got the chance to shoot Hayden’s horse out from under him. He fired the revolver repeatedly at nearly point-blank range, the rounds slamming through helmets and dropping the enemies around him. A nudge from his knee and Zorro spun almost in place, putting Hayden in line with the targets on his other flank so he could cut them down too.

  A round of gunfire streamed in toward them, a few of the slugs hitting Hayden’s duster without breaking through the bulletproof weave. Zorro turned in the direction of the gunfire and bolted forward again, charging through the soldiers, scattering them like bowling pins.

  With the left flank clear, Fairy moved around the front of the Osprey, peppering the remaining line of Custodian defenders with plasma fire, the rounds sizzling against the Butcher bots the Custodians were using for cover.

  Hayden reached the last group of combatants just as he finished reloading his revolver. Switching it to his left hand, he threw his leg over the saddle horn and slid sideways off the saddle. Zorro kept moving, forcing them to scatter which gave Hayden time to aim and fire.

  The remaining Custodians couldn’t defend against both Fairy’s barrage and Hayden’s at the same time. The last human fighter went down, falling to Hayden’s last round. He opened the cylinder, emptying it and reloading just as the grinding whir of first one and then another Shield drew his attention. It was gaining fast on his position. At the same time, three of the Butchers in the line in front of him suddenly activated, their heavy bodies turning his way.

  Rasha. When this was done he was going to find the man, wherever he was hiding, and end him.

  He eyed the distance between the Shields, the Butchers and Zorro. His mount wouldn’t make it back to him in time. Thinking fast, he pivoted toward the Butchers, charging the bots. They raised their axe-handed arms. He dove beneath their chopping attacks, but he wasn’t quite fast enough. An axe put a notch in his ear on the way past. He ignored the sting, racing toward the Osprey with Zorro tracking to intercept.

  The Shields slowed to get around the Butchers that had turned to give chase. It gave Hayden just enough time to grab onto Zorro’s saddle horn with both hands as the stallion galloped past. He drew his knees up and then his legs shot back down, his boots rebounding off the hangar deck into a one-bounce mount.

  They charged toward the Osprey’s open cargo door, Hayden pulling the horse up when they reached it. He jumped off and slapped Zorro on the rump to send him up the ramp and into the Osprey. Hayden raced along the fuselage, the composite riddled with bullet holes, toward the hangar’s inner door. There was no sign of Fairy. He could only hope she was safely back inside, staying clear of the bots’ attention.

  Hayden tapped on the door controls, one eye on the bots as he entered the master code. The Shields were faster than the Butchers and they pulled ahead of the heavier machines, metal feet thudding on the stone floor of the hangar as they charged toward him. Fighting not to rush and make a mistake, Hayden made sure to enter each character in the master code correctly the first time. Rewarded when the door slid open, he threw himself across the threshold, grabbing his other revolver and emptying it at the machines on his heels. The rounds sparked against their armor, slowing them by fractions.

  Fractions was all he needed.

  He hit the inner door control, the hatch sliding closed just ahead of the bots, cutting them off. Then he quickly entered the master code, locally overriding Rasha’s ability to re-open the hatch from wherever he was hiding.

  When the LED on the panel flashed red he turned and slumped against the wall, giving himself a second to catch his breath.

  He couldn’t linger long.

  He was just getting started.

  19

  Hayden

  Hayden pushed himself away from the wall, reloading both revolvers and starting down the corridor away from the hangar. The bots’ control systems didn’t allow them to try to break through the door to come after him, and they weren’t independently intelligent enough to go after anyone on board the Osprey. Zorro, Thomas, Maya and Fairy should be safe for now, but he still wanted to be out of here as quickly as possible. He had no idea if there were additional reinforcements Lieutenant Colonel Rasha could pull in from the surrounding area, and he didn’t want to find out the hard way.

  He also didn’t know how many additional Custodians might still be inside the base, either headed his way or hunkered down wherever Rasha was hiding. Red alert klaxons flashed along every corridor, signaling the occupants to the trouble Hayden had brought with him.

  Uncertain of how to get where he wanted to go—the CIC, Rasha’s office or quarters—he hurried through the corridors, balancing speed and caution, revolvers in hand, ready for confrontation. He pointed one gun in each direction as he went through intersections, his peripheral vision sharp enough to identify if there was anyone in the passages he crossed. A minute passed. Another. No sign of additional Custodians. No effort to stop him.

  Hayden reached another corner, easing one shoulder around it. The passageway remained clear like the others, but he heard a slight click and froze, his eyes shifting to a door a half dozen meters down the corridor. He started toward it, stepping as lightly as he could to stand just outside the door. He heard fingers tapping on a keyboard inside. Hayden tried the handle. It was locked, but there was a security panel on the wall beside it. He entered the master code, shouldering the door open as soon as he heard the lock click.

  Bullets launched over his head, hitting the corridor wall behind him as he ducked inside. He spotted the black-clad legs of his attacker behind the only desk in the room. He aimed and fired, shooting the Custodian in both calves, the man crying out in pain as he fell to the floor.

  Hayden ran around to the back of the desk, his guns coming to bear on the man curled up there in an almost fetal position. The legs of his black uniform were covered in blood, the wound he clutched leaking enough blood to tell Hayden he’d hit an artery. The man’s other hand held the sidearm he’d pulled from a simple gun belt. The hand trembled, but Hayden had no doubt that this close, the man could hit what he was aiming at.

  “Drop it,” he ordered.

  The Custodian stared up at him, fear obvious in his eyes. But he didn’t let go of the gun.

  “I said drop it,” Hayden repeated.

  The man continued staring at him for a few more seconds. Then he let the gun fall from his grip. Hayden stepped forward, kicking it across the room before glancing at the monitor on top of the desk. The prompt indicated it was rapidly deleting files from the system, destroying information before Hayden could gather it.

  “Stop the wipe,” Hayden said, glaring back at him.

  “You can’t stop it, Sheriff,” he replied. “You can’t stop what’s coming, either.”

  “What is that?” he asked.

  “The answer.”

  “What’s the question?”

  He started to laugh. “It doesn’t matter. You’re too late.”

  “The alien rock. Where can I find it?”

  “You’re too late,” he repeated.

  “Then you won’t mind telling me.”

  “I’m not telling you a damn thing.”

  Hayden stood over him, putting his gun to the Custodian’s head. “Where can I find it?”

  “Go ahead and shoot me, Sheriff. If it makes you feel better. You’re too late.”

  “Are you Rasha?” Hayden growled.

  The man shrugged. “Yeah.”

  Hayden watched the Custodian’s eyes. They shifted almost imperceptibly, probably subconsciously. But the motion told Hayden he was lying. “Where’s Lieutenant Colonel Rasha?”

  “I told you, I’m Rasha.”

  “Bullshit. You’re a lousy liar.”

  The man laughed. “It’s probably the gunshots. It doesn’t matter, Sheriff. He won’t tell you either.”

  Hayden crouched in front of the Custodian. The man’s expression remained defiant, but Hayden could still see fear in his eyes. And pain. The wounds on his legs had to hurt pretty bad.

  “You’re bleeding out, you know. If you give me the right answers, I could still save your life.”

  The man smirked. “Not a chance.”

  “Look, I need the location of the rock, or I need Rasha. Tell me and I’ll help you. I don’t want to do it this way, but there’s too much at stake.”

  “You have no idea what’s at stake,” the Custodian said, laughing and crying at the same time. “We’ve worked too hard for you to ruin this. The Trust cut us loose. Proxima disowned us. They deserve what’s coming. So do you. Even the Sheriff can’t stop what’s coming.”

  “Tell me where to find Rasha.”

  “Go to hell, Sheriff.”

  Hayden stood and lifted his boot, hesitating before pressing it down on the gunshot wound. He despised torture. He hated himself for resorting to it. But this wasn’t just about him. If the Custodians planned to bring the trife back to Earth, if they planned something worse, he had to stop it now. “Rasha,” he growled.

  “I thought I told you to go to hell,” the Custodian said through gritted teeth.

  Hayden pressed down even harder. “Stop! Damn it!” the man cried out. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. Down the hall, make a right. Left at the first junction. Control is there. Rasha’s holed up with a squad of our best. They’ll kill you if you try to go in.”

  “Just like the platoon in the hangar killed me?” Hayden said, taking his foot off the man’s leg. The Custodian immediately slumped back against the wall behind him, clearly in heavy pain. Hayden leaned over him, adjusting his grip on his revolver. “I’m sure you have a medi-bot in here somewhere. I suggest fixing your legs and then getting far away from here. This place is going to be swarming with Ruger’s militia inside of a week.”

  “It doesn’t matter, you can’t stop it. Not with any number of soldiers. Enjoy the time you have left, Sheriff.”

  Hayden didn’t respond. Instead, he retreated from the room, using the master code to lock the door from the outside, trapping the wounded Custodian. Then he sprinted along the corridor, following the directions to Control.

  He slowed as he rounded the last corner, spying the secured blast door into what had to be the control room. There were no guards posted outside it. Hayden wasn’t convinced there were any Custodians, including Rasha, still inside. There had to be a bolt hole out of the facility somewhere.

  But that didn’t mean they’d use it.

  He reloaded as he approached the door, replacing the spent casings in his revolvers with new rounds from his bandolier. He holstered the revolvers. Needing one hand free to work the control panel, he drew the Axon gun from his belt. He wasn’t as accurate with the alien firearm, but the larger number of shots meant he didn’t need to be. He just had to find the gaps in the plates of their armor, and what he couldn’t do with precision he could make up for with volume.

  And if they weren’t wearing armor? The gun would be messy but effective.

  He entered the master code. Heavy lock bolts thunked loudly, making Hayden wince. He had just warned anyone inside they were about to have unwanted company.