Burn Out (19 page)

I checked the oxygen reader on my Infinity, and called through the helmet coms. “The air reading looks okay, only a little lower than normal.”

Alec removed his helmet and frowned at me. “That’s
weird. Wasn’t that gaping hole I just saw outside because of your shot?”

“Her slightly misguided shot,” Britta added, but smiled.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because the air shouldn’t be okay. It would mean someone sealed off the area around the damaged wing to keep the levels stable. And that would mean—”

“Survivors.”

I jumped at Kale’s voice and whipped my head around. He strode up to Alec and shook his hand. “I’m Kale. Nice to see they rescued someone with some brains.”

Alec looked leery, but forced a smile. “Thanks, I’m Alec.”

I sucked my breath in when James walked in behind him. This time he didn’t avoid eye contact and his hazel eyes locked on mine—until Kale turned around. Then his eyes flicked to Kale. “James and I have scoped out the starboard side and haven’t found anyone yet. Those bastards have to be here somewhere. Help us check out this side, then we just need to raid the med room, grab the spare parts, and go.”

They’d been in the room with me for ten whole seconds and hadn’t started shooting. Maybe Kale had changed his mind, or James had changed it for him. We moved down the hallway and an acrid smell of smoke filled the air. The hallways were black and burned, like fire had ripped through the ship. It must have been caused by the explosion when the ship crashed. I touched one of the walls, and
came away with black ash covering my finger.

We came to a room with a huge window into the hallway, allowing us to view the suspended sleep pad and various medical equipment inside.

“Great. The med room. We’ll stop here on the way back,” Kale said.

We started moving past it when a laser came through the door, narrowly missing Britta. She dove and rolled on the floor, coming up on the other side of the door frame.

“Now!” Kale yelled and charged into the med room. James and Britta followed him, while I stood back with Alec and Markus. The room looked empty but there was a large white cabinet under the suspended sleep pad.

Kale’s voice sounded calm and deadly. “We know you’re back there, and there are six of us and only one of you.”

It reminded me of the day when I was the one facing them, and I felt a little sorry for the guy. For about a minute. I had to do something to make Kale think I was with him one hundred percent, and my gun wasn’t named B.K. for nothing. If it worked on boulders, taking out a med cabinet would be easy. With one shot from my gun, the cabinet vanished, bits of thermoplastic showering the air around the startled soldier. His eyes darted around the room, as if checking for other hiding spots. Not finding one, he dropped his gun and raised his hands in the air.

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

“What the—” I stopped midsentence as the soldier fell to the ground.

Kale and James continued firing until he stopped moving. Markus stood frozen, gun down at his side, and Alec’s mouth hung open. They hadn’t been kidding about the “no enemy survivors” thing. I tried to wrap my brain around the fact that James just shot an unarmed person. An unarmed person who had tried to surrender. James, who was supposed to save people with his medical skills.

Kale’s head whipped around toward Britta. Her unfired weapon hadn’t gone unnoticed. She held her head high, in clear defiance of yet another order. She’d refused to kill an unarmed soldier despite knowing Kale’s rule. That earned her more points in my book. After what seemed like the most awkward silence ever, he turned away from her and nodded at James.

James walked over to me. “Hey, Tora.”

My stupid heart skidded in my chest at the sound of his voice. Not like anyone would accuse his words of being romantic or anything, but still. He wouldn’t have warned me to stay away if he didn’t care about me a little. He reached down to touch my hand, and my knees almost buckled.

Until he jerked B.K. out of my hand. Before I could react, he passed it over to Kale. “Sorry about this.”

“Nothing personal,” Kale said, turning the gun over in his hand. “If there hadn’t been survivors on board, I would’ve done this sooner.” He raised an eyebrow. “James?”

James nodded. He pulled my hands in front of me. I
tried to pull away but in one quick movement he’d slapped handcuffs around my wrists. Old-school cuffs that required a real key rather than an electronic one. At least he’d cuffed my hands in front of me rather than behind my back. I’d spent all this time thinking James was really on my side, and it took him mere seconds to set me straight. The sun was turning out to be the least of my adversaries. At least it didn’t discriminate with its destruction—I knew what to expect.

Markus held up a hand. “Whoa. No need for that, is there, captain? She just wanted to help a guy out.”

“Yeah,” said Alec. “It’s my fault … sir. I begged her to come get me.”

Kale stood taller. “Standard protocol. I just can’t have her kidnapping my soldiers again.” He stared at me. “I’m the only one with the key to those by the way.” So that was why I didn’t have the electronic cuffs. He was worried that someone might help me out. The thought gave me hope.

Britta’s chest puffed up like she was about to give Kale a piece of her mind, but I shook my head slightly at her. Pissing Kale off wouldn’t help me. Killing him would.

Kale sprang into commander mode. “Listen up. Britta and I will make sure the control room is clear. Markus, you and Alec move the parts and the last crate over to my ship. James, you stay here in the med room with this one.” He nodded toward me. “Take whatever supplies you need, and we’ll get out of here.”

This one. I didn’t even warrant use of my name. I’d
seen enough videos on my Infinity to know that the no-name character was the first to go. I was the red shirt.

“Can’t Britta come with us?” Markus asked, his brow furrowed.

“Yeah, maybe we should all stay together,” James added.

I gaped at James, not believing he’d questioned Kale’s order. Especially not when he’d just disarmed and restrained me.

Kale shook his head. “I need backup, and you’re the only one who knows what med stuff we need. I want to do this as quickly as possible. We’ll see you in ten.”

Britta ran to Markus and kissed him lightly on the lips. “Don’t worry. See you soon.” She glared at James with defiance. “Take good care of Tora. I mean it.”

James met her eyes and gave a slight nod. She and Kale turned toward the front of the ship. They moved slowly with their weapons drawn.

Markus hesitated, then winked at me. He leaned in close to my ear. “Don’t worry. We still have our guns and have no intention of handing them over. You’ll be fine.” He must have concluded that James was deceiving Kale. I wasn’t so sure any longer.

Alec didn’t look sure either. “You sure you’ll be okay with this guy?”

James’ jaw clenched. “I don’t think anyone asked for your opinion.”

Alec’s chest puffed up and he took a step toward James.

Markus tugged his sleeve. “Easy there, big guy. She’s fine.” He pulled Alec out the door toward the main hatch.

That left me alone in the med room with James.

While being alone with James might have been my dream come true earlier, now it felt like a death sentence. At least I still had T.O. in my bag, and could probably grab it despite the handcuffs.

James packed some meds in a bag with his back turned toward me. I knew the com system was on but had to know why he was still going along with Kale. “James, I—”

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

I jumped at the sound of the gun, and my stomach dropped. It had come from somewhere inside the ship. James ran out of the room toward the sound. I followed as quickly as possible with my limited arm movement. He shouted at me to stay behind him, like there was a chance I could outrun him.

I had no idea what we were about to find, but my gut twisted inside. Either Kale was dead, which would be very good, or something very, very bad had happened.

J
AMES RACED TOWARD THE FRONT OF THE SHIP
. I
TRIED TO
stay right behind him, which lasted all of five seconds before he shot ahead. Beyond the lingering scent of smoke, I smelled something else. It was nauseating but I couldn’t place it, so I focused on my surroundings. A room up ahead had electronic metal panels along the walls on both sides. James leapt over something, not breaking stride. He went through the center of that room and disappeared through the next doorway. The smell grew stronger.

I panted as I ran, my hands useless in front of me. Panels with small holes for laser guns covered the walls of the room. It had to be weapons control. I pushed myself to run faster and catch up to James.

“What the hell is that smell?” I asked nobody in particular.

Then I tripped and fell on top of them.

Charred bodies lay on the floor underneath me. The smell was burned flesh. There were seven or eight bodies around me. I struggled to get up without the use of my hands but slipped on one of them. Skin slid off and stuck to my shoe as I tried to stand. Arms grabbed at me as I vomited onto the pile of corpses.

Alec and Markus stood on either side, helping to steady me. “Where’d you guys come from?” I asked, wiping my chin.

“Heard the gunshots from the ship and hauled ass … thought you were in trouble,” Markus said.

Alec smiled. “You saved me. I thought it only right to return the favor.”

Markus pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “Found them on Kale’s ship. Thought they’d be mighty useful to you.” He jingled the keys, and held up the smallest of the bunch. “This one looks about the right size.”

A smile crossed my face. “Hurry.”

“Patience, princess.” Markus slipped the key in the lock and turned it. There was a soft click before the lock released. “Keep them on. Make it look like you’re still locked up until we know what’s going on.”

I nodded and tried to ignore the stench invading my nostrils.

Markus surveyed the floor again. “Damn. That’s nasty.” He patted my back as I gagged again. “Pull yourself together, woman. What’s ahead may not be much better.”

I let them help me along until we’d gotten past the bodies. They’d died while attempting to kill us, but that didn’t make me feel any better about it.

I gasped for breath as I jogged with my hands in front of me, and turned to Markus. “Can we please take Kale down now?”

“I think it’s definitely time for a little mutiny,” Markus agreed. “We outnumber him and can take his weapon. Easy.”

I wasn’t so sure about the easy part, but wanted to give it a try. Alec and Markus had their weapons in hand and I picked up the pace as we ran through the next doorway.

“You don’t love guns much, do you, Markus?” I asked.

“Not really. Why?” he asked.

“Just a little funny for a gunrunner not to love guns, don’t ya think?”

“Not really. How many people have worked jobs they didn’t love because the money was good?” He stopped short as we reached the last room on the ship.

The control room.

Kale stood near the front of the room, facing the control panel. James bent over next to him, crouching over something on the floor. More dead bodies littered the room and the stench seeped out into the hallway. Bile roiled in my stomach but I forced it down. We stepped through the
door. The bodies in here weren’t as burned as the other ones. They must have succumbed to smoke inhalation.

“What’s going on? Everyone okay?” Markus asked. He glanced at the bodies on the floor. “Where’s Britta?”

No one answered. Behind Kale, I glimpsed Britta’s skinny legs sprawled on the floor. James bent over her, holding her limp hand in his. He took it and rested it on her stomach, then stood to face us. His eyes flitted briefly to Alec, assessing him, before turning to Markus.

“She’s gone. There’s nothing I could do.” James’ face looked carved from stone. Expressionless.

“No!” Markus ran to Britta, and pushed James out of the way. Bright red blood seeped from the center of her chest. The shot had gone straight through her heart. The gun fell from Markus’ hand as he sank to his knees in front of her body. “Dammit Britta, how could you die on me?”

Markus leaned down and touched his lips to hers. Though I’d thought about killing her myself little more than a day ago, something inside me broke. She’d been a scrapper, a survivor—like me. Markus had seemed happy when they were together. Now she was nothing. Gone.

Sadness and anger fought for control. Britta would tell me tears were for apocawusses. Sadness wouldn’t help me now. Anger might.

“What happened?” I asked, staring hard at Kale. I knew what he thought about his enemies, and I wouldn’t put much past him. Had he killed her?

“Bastard shot her,” said Kale, pointing at one of the
bodies wearing a mask on the floor. “We thought they were all dead, but he got her when she came in the door. I took care of him, but not in time.” He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and shook his head as he looked down at her body. “It’s my fault. I should have gone first.”

Yeah, you should have
. Maybe he thought some were alive and that Britta would make a good, disposable decoy. It was hard to know what to believe. The masked body on the floor did indeed have a gun in his hand and a chest full of fresh blast holes. Alec looked horrified and confused by the scene in front of him. James walked over to the Consulate soldier’s body, stooping to take the gun.

“Can’t hurt to have another gun,” James said, then rose and brought the gun over to Kale. Great—now he had two guns.

Kale accepted the offering and turned to Markus. “I’m sorry. I know you had feelings for her.”

James wore an odd expression on his face. “Nice work, captain,” James said. “There don’t seem to be any other survivors.” I noticed him looking Alec up and down. Maybe he was a little jealous.

This was it. My heart raced and my palms started sweating. Stay calm, Tora. I’d have to take him out now, or we’d all be toast. Markus still crouched on the ground by Britta, seemingly confused and overwhelmed with grief. I didn’t think he would be super-helpful in his current condition, so I flashed a look at Alec, hoping he’d catch on and jump in.