Warnings and disclaimers in first section.
The three men left, Mark going out the door last after giving me one last nod. I half expected to hear their voices calling out, saying they had an intruder trapped, but the accusations never came. Instead, Mark’s voice was loud and clear as he groused about the circumstances he’d found himself caught up in. Conviction made his voice clear and no one would doubt his sincerity.
People passed the door, a few at first and then a flood as word got around about what he was saying. I could hear others talking as they passed, either commenting about how they agreed or how he was going to get himself killed. I waited until the hall quieted, cracking the door and praying that the hall was clear. Seeing no one, I followed the map Mark gave me, showing me exactly where I needed to go. It may have been crude and there were a few close calls when I had to duck into a room or corner to hide from someone rushing down the hall, but Mark had known what he was talking about; his discontent was spreading, other PSP members verbally excited by the idea of someone standing up.
The manager’s room seemed to be deserted. It was more like a small apartment, with an office at the center and a small bedroom and bathroom to one side. I guessed the previous owner liked to mix business with pleasure as often as possible. I was cautious, but in a hurry as I crept through the office and into the bedroom where I could see Quatre on the bed, clothed, but clearly unconscious.
Other than a few bruises on his arms, Quatre looked unharmed. There was an IV bag hanging by the bed, feeding liquid into his body in a constant, steady drip. He’d lost some weight since the last time I saw him, but I didn’t know if that was from the captivity or before; he had always worked too hard. All in all, he didn’t look too bad for someone that had been held prisoner for a month, but appearances could be deceiving. There could have been damage on the inside that wasn’t visible, waiting under the skin like a ticking time bomb.
“Quatre, man, it’s damn good to see you breathing.” He couldn’t hear me as I pulled the IV from his arm, but I didn’t realize how much I missed the blonde shit until I had gotten to see him again. God, I was starting to regret my life; it was keeping me from those I was closest to and from the one thing I wanted the most.
“Mr. Maxwell, what a pleasure it is to finally meet you, although I hoped your ship was still out of the Witches Shoe docks.”
Yikes, I should have been in less of a hurry and checked the corners of the room before walking in. I couldn’t believe I had made such a rookie mistake as I turned and watched a man materialize from the shadows. Yeah, I’d never seen him, but it wasn’t hard to guess who he was. “You must be Harrison. I’ve had the dubious pleasure of meeting your bitch Allbright already.”
“Yes, he told me how he enjoyed beating the hell out of you for the stunt you pulled aboard your ship. If you hadn’t escaped, the damage would have been much more severe, and personal.”
If I had known that Allbright was gay, I would have put clothes on before he boarded the Hellion. I mean…yuck. Harrison didn’t really seem like he minded that Allbright wasn’t there. He didn’t need anyone to do his dirty work and he wouldn’t hesitate to use the gun he was holding in his hand on me. His grip on the handle was loose yet steady, finger already on the trigger and ready to fire. “I doubt he could have hurt me that way. He’s old and his man bits are probably half rotten, although I’m sure he can satisfy you.” Taunting him probably wasn’t the best thing I could’ve done, but what the hell. As long as he shot me somewhere that wasn’t instantly critical, I’d have a chance to take him with me. After that, Chester and Justin could put Quatre on the ship and send him and Trowa home.
“Jonathon is an honorable man, as well as a talented one.”
“Yeah, sure; it’s honorable to bribe, cheat, steal, kidnap, and rape prisoners. Oh, wait…no it’s not. I have a friend that could show you what being an honorable man is about. Hell, if Quatre was awake, he could show you.”
Harrison’s nose curled up in disgust as he looked at the man on the bed behind me; I was keeping my body between them. He’d have to shoot me to get to blondie. “Winner…bringing him here was one of the biggest mistakes Jonathon has ever made. He said we could convince Winner we were necessary, but he,” he pointed an accusing finger at Quatre as his eyes narrowed, “said that we were a perfect example of what happened when a force was without control. He said that people like us weren’t needed or wanted in today’s world. How could someone say things like that when he knows nothing of suffering? You aren’t any better, are you, Maxwell? You play at being a smuggler, acting like you care for the people that live in places like this, but you don’t know what hardship is.”
Wow. This dude was bonkers. “I grew up on L2, with no family. I fought every day to live during a war I didn’t understand and didn’t give a damn about until it took the lives of the only people I considered family. You don’t know a damn thing about me. The people that live here and places like it are my people, not yours.”
“Maybe you did understand once, but now you agree to work with people that would gladly take away our freedom and turn us into mindless robots.”
Ummm…what? This guy wasn’t bonkers, he was bat shit crazy. Did what he said make any sense? He seemed to believe it, whatever he meant. “Quatre supports freedom, he always has. The people I work with want the same thing, as long as that freedom doesn’t allow others to take more power than they can handle. Do you think that by threatening and hurting people you’re helping them? All you really want is more power.”
“I want power. Jonathon wants money. This seemed like the best way to get both without the government getting involved.”
That actually made sense. With enough money and power, you could build an army, or tear down walls that prevented you from doing what you wanted. That much power in the hands of someone like Quatre is a blessing; Allbright and Harrison would be a terrifying power that would destroy anything and anyone in their way. “Yeah, you kinda blew that idea all to hell when you took Quatre in the first place. He’s a good man with powerful friends; did you honestly think they’d just let him remain a prisoner?”
“We assumed they’d pay whatever we asked to get him back, alive or dead. What we didn’t expect was you.”
That was honest. “Why were you so worried about me?”
“Don’t be so modest. You have contacts and resources that have made you a liability. Someone like you could convince others to stand against us, as I’m assuming you’ve managed to do already. That is why most of my men are gathered in the main section of the building, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t have to do much. Your men don’t like the way they’ve been treated or the things they’ve been forced to do under your lead.” At least now I know why he had wanted rid of me, but… “Why did you put my partner in danger? Do you consider him a threat, too?”
“We wanted him gone so you would be distracted. It was easy to see that you would do what you could to keep him safe. Jon thought that if you believed him to be in danger, you would cease your search. We didn’t think you would make such a formidable team.”
“It was a surprise to us, too.” Quatre was beginning to stir behind me. I moved slightly, keeping Harrison’s focus on me so he didn’t get any nasty ideas in his head.
“Where is your partner? I’ve been looking forward to meeting him.”
Harrison wanted to kill Trowa for his part in all of this. “On his way to Earth; I thought it best to separate before he got any ideas about sticking around. He doesn’t really fit this life.” Hopefully that had been convincing even though it was a damn lie.
“So it’s only the two of us. How appropriate. I suppose I need to ask if you know the whereabouts of Jonathon. I’m certain you have a good idea of where he’s located.”
Oh, boy, he was crazy, that was for certain, but there was an intelligence there that he had been keeping well hidden. He was dangerous, more dangerous than I had first assumed. “Last I heard he was in prison. I don’t think he’s getting out anytime soon, so you should probably get a new bitch.”
“He’ll be free soon enough. I might not be able to stop the Preventers from taking over the PSP, but I think they’ll consider Winner a fair trade for my lover.”
“You’ve been in contact with them?”
“Not yet, but they won’t waste time once the agency hears my demands. What’s one prisoner compared to someone like Winner?”
So he hadn’t had a chance to give Quatre any poison. Thank god for that small favor. “You won’t be getting in contact with anyone. You’re bound to know that no one will ever let you send that message.”
“They don’t need to know who I’m going to contact.”
“They already know. I made sure of it.” Yeah, it was a bluff, one that he believed.
Of all the damn reactions I expected, having him shoot me was the last one I actually considered. It was a shock to feel the impact and look down to find blood spreading down my damn shirt. There was no pain at first, so I knew it was bad. I was moving before I could register the scent of cordite in the air, forcing my legs to work through the numbness that was spreading quickly.
The expression on his face was one of total and utter shock as I shoved Trowa’s knife between his ribs. One way or another, I was dying and this bastard was going with me. Trowa’s spirit must have been guiding my hand or something, because my aim was true, the blade going in at the perfect angle.
Harrison didn’t look mad or resigned…the fucker looked happy as we sunk to the floor, coughing up blood with a laugh. “I’ll die, but as long as Jonathon is alive, your friends will never be safe. We have people everywhere that will follow his orders, even from prison.”
Just when I had decided I really was okay with dying, he had to say that, the bastard. I shoved away from him and yanked Trowa’s knife out a bit before plunging it into him again. “You die. I’m not dying until Allbright stops breathing, you asshole.”
Tough words and I hoped to hell I could keep that promise, although it wasn’t looking good. I was losing a lot of blood. Weak and dizzy, I shuffled my way across the floor so I could lean on the bed, grunting when I was grabbed roughly by the shoulders. “He’s here, Chester! Holy mother of…he’s losing blood too fast.”
“We’ll take him to the clinic.” Chester actually seemed worried about me. Guess I was worse off than I thought.
“I can hear ya, yannow? I ain’t dead yet.”
“If you keep losing blood at this rate, it won’t be long,” Justin was already picking me up from the floor, shoving a bundled cloth against my stomach. “Keep pressure on that, Ches.”
“No way; Chester, you promised to get Quatre and Trowa off the colony.”
“As soon as we get you to the clinic…”
“Now, damn it. You have to get them gone before either of them wakes up.” I could see Quatre moving now, almost awake. “You promised.”
“Justin, get Duo to the clinic. I’ll take Winner to the ship so he’ll stop worrying. Duo, stop talking, rest, and stop bleeding, for god’s sake.”
“Wait, one more thing. Can you take Trowa’s knife back to him? He might be mad that I took it.” Where the hell had it gone?
“He has a list of things to be mad about, but I doubt he’ll consider this very important.”
Justin was making his way through the building like we didn’t originally sneak into it, letting me see that there had been a lot of destruction inside it. “What happened?”
“Stop talking, moron; while you were getting shot, some of the people here decided they didn’t want to work here anymore. There were a number of fights amongst them and the fighting has spread onto the street. We’re going to have to get through them to get you to the clinic.”
I hoped Mark and the other guys were okay. I didn’t know them, but they were willing to stand up and fight for what they believed. That took some big balls, considering they had no idea if I would actually be able to stop Harrison. I really wished my head would stop spinning so I could have looked for them.
Hey, we were being followed. Oh, damn, I hadn’t actually said that out loud, though I had been trying. “Justin, we’re being followed.” Was that really me sounding so weak and frail?
The glance behind him was brief. “Chester’s men, some of the ones captured earlier.”
“You found them.”
“Yes, Duo, we found them. Now will you please shut the hell up?”
“Get me the hell out of here, Chester. I have work to do.”
That prick had the nerve to smirk at me as he sat on the edge of the bed, arms crossed over his chest. “You were shot in the stomach, Duo. You need to take some time to recover; you aren’t indestructible, as so many seem to believe.”
“Whatever, get me out of here.”
“Ask me for something else.” Clearly, he was unmoved by my demand.
It was only the two of us in the room, where I’d been locked up since right after the hasty operation to put my guts back together. I didn’t ask how bad the damage was; I didn’t want to know. All that mattered was that I was still alive and could do the job I had promised Chester to do there before going after Allbright. I’ll be damned if anyone was going to pose a threat to my friends, not if I could do something about it. “Chester, please get me out. I’ll rest somewhere else, but these jerks keep trying to dose me when I’m not paying attention.”
“All the doctors are trying to do is ease the pain you must be in, Duo. It’s only been four days.”
“I don’t want the damn seds. I need the pain.”
Awareness was in the eyes watching me, along with understanding. There was a decided lack of sympathy and I was thankful for that. “Was your addiction that bad?”
I shoulda known he’d be aware of my problems. “Yeah, it was. Hell, it still is. If I let them take the pain away, I’ll find a way to keep it away.”
“Is all of the pain physical?”
“Most of it’s not.” It was his way of asking how much I missed Trowa and my way of answering.
“It would only take a quick call to have the ship coming back. They are still several days from the rendezvous point.”
“His life is on Earth, not here or in space.”
“Your life is with him, wherever that may be.” He sighed when I said nothing. “Will you rest if I have you moved to my apartment? You will be able to recover there without anyone trying to force anything on you, including me.”
“Do you still have a gym?”
“Of course.”
“Then I’ll stay with you until I’m on my feet, but that’s it. After that, I start finding the rest of Allbright and Harrison’s men on the colony.”
“You have plans for after you’ve completed with that task?”
“You could say that. I have some unfinished business to tend to.”
Chester was smart enough not to ask me any questions about my plans, aware I wouldn’t tell him. If I told him, he’d try to talk me out of what I intended to do and I wouldn’t allow that. “I’ll get Justin to come and get you. I’ll see you at home, Duo.”
He was gone before I could say thanks, not that I would have anyway. I blamed him, at least partially, for allowing Allbright and Harrison to get such a hold on the colony in the first place. Chester, and a few others, had the wealth, power, and influence needed to keep this kind of thing from happening, yet they had allowed it until it was too late to do anything about it. I had to wonder why.