Bandits (22 page)

Jade looked down at Nickel and giggled, “I always wanted a little brother.”

“Really?” Daniel raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, and Nickel is a tough little one. I guess no kid that survives on Merwin could be soft. Unlike Earthlings, we Zukar have to be tougher, and Nickel is stronger than most kids, thanks to Poppy.” She ruffled Nickel’s hair. Nickel didn’t budge.

“Well, you know my dad. He wanted us to be the better than the rest of the kids trying out for the Zukar… or at least he did, before his skills went downhill. You want me to take him to the chambers for you? I’ll get him.” Daniel stepped forward.

“No. I can carry him. I want to. It’s nice having someone around younger than me.” She moved past Daniel with Nickel in her arms.

He watched her walk down the hallway, and for the first time in a long time, he felt lucky. Turning away, he took a deep breath and went to relieve Faulk. He figured he’d tell Faulk about him and Jade after Faulk had rested. Faulk’s crush on Jade had irritated him from the beginning, but Faulk was his cousin and he hated to hurt him. Remorse twisted within him for a moment, and then he reminded himself,
Jade was mine first. She chose me. Faulk’ll get over it. I’m giving him no choice.

Gabe ran, and felt the sting of a bullet graze his shoulder. “Ouch!” Pain, he was used to. Didn’t mean he liked it though. This time, the pain just made him angrier. Being a younger brother of three, he dealt with getting beat up a lot. Being shot was an e
x
perience he’d learned when he decided to join the Zukar and go on his first snatch job, a painful lesson in me
m
bership. “I hope to hell you died from that cut, Haden. Your greed is killing Merwin.” He didn’t stop running, knowing his life depended on him getting away – at least until his father got there.

With the ship gone, a gaping opening of light seeped i
n
to the underground cave. He ran past it, going as far into the cave as he could get. Spouts of hot steam flew up in his path, but he kept running. Didn’t bother to look back, he didn’t know if they still followed.

He snatched the communicator out of the belt in his pants. With a
groan
, he punched the button to show the location of the person who last called. His father was just about there, and he knew his dad well enough to know he always came with massive backup. He just wondered if his father knew their enemy was Haden.

He listened closely, and realized that for now, he was alone. He held up the communication device to use for a light, and then came to a slow jog. His leg hurt so badly that he was afraid if he stopped running, it would completely give out on him. Blood from his wound made his pants stick to his leg. Breathing hard, he heard the thunder of incoming ships. Kno
w
ledge that his father went against the law of Merwin by flying his ship here to save him made him smile with relief.

“Daniel, you take good care of my sister bro. Save us all.” The thought of the impending death of his home planet, his fa
m
ily, and his friends frightened him. He hoped Daniel could pull this off. If anyone could, he knew his friend was the one.

He finally stopped running, legs burning, chest on fire, and sweat falling from his face. The desire to keep going pressed him, but now he knew with his father’s arrival, turning around would be worth it. If he didn’t kill Haden, he knew his father would finish the job. It was too bad
that
now, though, Haden was the least of their problems.

Grudgingly, he fought against the pain and fatigue of getting Daniel and the others to safety. He put the communic
a
tion device to his lips, took a deep breath and said, “Dad?”  He waited with bated breath for a response.

“We’re here, busting in. Where are the others?” his f
a
ther’s booming voice answered. Gabe smiled, because at that moment, he was never so thankful to hear his father’s voice. The rumbling sounds of their ships bursting through the cave above sounded around him. It felt as though the ground shook with the impact.

“I have bad news Dad. The device Daniel’s father snatched…uh, well, it activated. It’s starting to eat away at the area where it was set off. I’m on my way back there to meet you,” Gabe replied, fighting against his
aches
to speak clearly.

“No. No! Our world is doomed,” his father lamented.

“Daniel knows where it’s from. I told him to take Jade and the others to stop it. I hope he makes it back in time,” Gabe a
n
swered.

“I hope so too. Otherwise, we have to evacuate the pl
a
net. Tell me, who did this to you?” his father asked.

“Haden,” Gabe answered with venom.

“Haden? Are you sure, son?” his father answered.

“Yeah.”

Bry roared, “What the hell?  I’ll kill him!”

“Don’t beat me to it, I’m on my way to you,” Gabe said. Taking a swallow, he fought against his pain, and ran to meet his father.

Daniel made his way to Faulk after he grabbed his wea
p
ons belt. He walked into the control room and saw Faulk stan
d
ing stoically at the controls. Only a slight shiver in his shoulder r
e
vealed the pain he withstood. For the first time since he and Faulk reacquainted, Daniel realized Faulk looked in
strong –serious even
. Completely in his element, Faulk didn’t falter. He smoothly nav
i
gated their way to this unknown planet.

“How’s it going?” Daniel asked and walked up to stand b
e
hind him.

Faulk’s eyebrow lifted in thought. “Fine, dude. Only i
s
sue I have is finding this place. That location you gave me? Man, it’s seems impossible to travel
th
ere. The controls should be going crazy, but it’s like the ship remembers going to this place. Like, it’s got some homing device in it or something. Weird…, definitely weird.”  

Daniel stood at the controls. “I knew the location was odd. I had to re-read it several times in my father’s journal. I hope it’s correct. Otherwise, when we return to Merwin, it will be gone. I don’t know. I’m going to try to call Bry to see if he’s gotten Gabe.”

“I hate to ask, but do you want to take over?  I’m so tired, I could drop right here. Except the pain from the ass kicking I took is keeping me awake.” Faulk laughed brokenly.

Daniel smiled and took over the controls. “This ship has a rejuvenation chamber. Two hours is all you need. By then, we’ll be nearing this breach. I can’t figure out how the hell we’re going to get through in order to reach Purgas.”

“Good. Maybe I’ll run into my yummy hottie on the way, sneak a kiss of sympathy for saving her life and all.” Faulk hooted then winced in pain.

Daniel bit his tongue, hard. He wasn’t ready to tell Faulk about him and Jade. He didn’t want to hurt him before he healed, but Faulk tested his patience -
badly
. He turned to Faulk and said, “Jade and I already healed in the chamber. It’s on the upper floor, the last room on the left. Hurry up and get in shape, I have a feeling we’re in for more than we bargained for. I’ll call Bry while you’re resting. If you run into Jade, send her down here to me.”

“Sure, I’m out. I’m barely able to stand an
y
way. Those bastards are sadistic mother f…,” Faulk said.

Jade walked into the room. “Hey, Faulk. Hi, Daniel. Nickel is in the Therapy room. Faulk, I came to show you where it is.”

“My angel, I’ll follow you to the edges of the galaxy. Think a kiss will make me feel better?” Faulk looped his arm through Jade’s.

“Down boy. Let’s go. It may work for a moment, but I don’t give those away too easily.” Jade cast a glance at Daniel and winked.

Daniel smiled back at her and nodded, before turning back to the controls. He heard them talking while they headed off to the elevator. Racking his brain, he attempted to commun
i
cate with Bry. He tried Bry’s communication device and got no answer. His heart sank with visions of Gabe’s fate. He kept trying the conne
c
tion, and finally, he got through.

“Bry? Bry?” Daniel called through the shaky connection.

“Is that you, Daniel?” Bry’s deep voice answered.

“Yeah, did you get Gabe?” Daniel asked urgently.

“About there. You have to go to the location your father told you. That thing will kill the planet and those on it, no matter where we run. We’ll still try to out-run it if it comes to an end. Just find a way to stop this! Tell Jade…tell her, I love her.” Bry’s co
n
nection went dead.

Frustration and anger filled him. He hated flying blind. His father had given them directions to a place that, for all intent purposes, didn’t really exist. How did his father even know how to pursue this treasure? 
Think, think, think,
Daniel tried to reme
m
ber what his father had said about his journey to this treasure. Daniel remembered his father saying he’d dreamed of pulling off the ultimate snatch job. To find the fabled gift of the Lakintin, better known as Guardians of Light, a legend told by many Zukar over the centuries, but that was just an old wise tale. Daniel had always considered it as just a legend, but now he was beginning to wonder.

Daniel adjusted his stance. While he navigated their way to the planet with the answers, he pondered what he would have to say to the others to prepare them for the journey ahead. If the legend was true, they were in for the biggest challenge of their lives.

Gabe ran, limping slightly down the long tunnel leading back from where he came. The engine of the landing ship could be heard within the cave. A smirk slipped across his face, and his cheek dimpled with the thirst for vengeance. He knew Daniel would want to bring Haden to his end himself, to seek vengeance for his father, but Gabe was afraid neither he nor his father had the ability to wait.

Voices and yells vibrated in the tunnel where he ran. He came upon several of Haden’s men scattered in the distance as they ran toward the hole from where they’d drop from earlier. He assumed they were running toward the rumbling sound of the start of an attack from above.

Gabe ran up to a straggler who was running unaware of his presence. He grabbed the shorter Merwin’s braid, jerking his head back and yanking his neck forcibly to the side. Hearing a
crack
at his victim’s demise and feeling the dead weight of the unconscious body, Gabe let him drop. With a quick cursory glance around him, he bent down to grab the Merwin’s wea
p
ons. With a grunt
,
he slid on the clawed glove the fallen Me
r
win used for climbing.

Gabe shot and stabbed his way through those who stood in his way. He ran with renewed
vigor
for the fight ahead. His eyes landed on the rope that hung from the hole above and he knew then that his luck had changed. “Ah!” He jumped and grabbed the rope, and then shimmied up it.

“Die!” the command sounded with the
click
of a gun.

Gabe’s angry gaze landed on his last fallen victim who aimed a gun at his chest. Gabe grinned back at him, balanced himself on the wall with his claw, and quickly pointed his gun. “Sloppy me, shoulda made sure you were dead when I shot you!” Without a flinch he aimed, and quickly moved out of the way of the return fire of his dead opponent.

With one final
growl
, he pulled himself up into the ca
v
ern where the pakeet was slowly eating away at the top of the cave. His father’s men and Haden’s remaining ones were at a face off. A hundred or so men from his father’s crew far ou
t
numbered H
a
den’s remaining followers.

“You bastard! We trusted you!” Bry boomed, his gun pointed at Haden’s head.

Haden’s mouth bled, but he held his gun firmly pointed at Bry’s chest while his other hand favored his side. Haden spit out the excess blood and yelled back, “Trusted me?  You lie! You and Rayne trusted no one - but each other. You used me to getaway from your uptight families and the laws of your world when we were kids. I taught you both all you know, and that bastard turned around and stole my treasure then refused to tell me where he hid it
!
” He jabbed the gun toward Bry, his hold on the trigger unfaltering. “You knew about this. You were su
p
posed to report to me the location of the treasure, and betrayed me instead! Now you and your mutts are all going to die! Your sons that are on that snatch job for me – won’t be coming back. Gabe, is dead now and you’re next. Don’t worry, though, when your juicy wife r
e
turns, I’ll add her body to your grave!”

His father’s lips twitched when he caught sight of Gabe. He replied, “What about you setting off the device like a fool? All of us will die, the planet, and all of the inhabitants. None of us can outrun its destruction. I will stop you. It’s the least I can do for Rayne and his boys. I might be meeting my death with the rest of this planet, but you’re going to die by my hand today, Haden!”