Critical Path (The Critical Series Book2) (9 page)

“One down,” Gregor said as he cleaned his knife and prepared another shot of root before he headed back.

CHAPTER TEN

Charlie caressed his aching wrists. The effects of the root had worn off, his only dose in a month. His knees creaked as he crouched, and he winced after stretching his left arm, feeling a twinge in his elbow. Payback time for his body after all those active years, and cheating his age, assisted by the alien plant.

The heavy ludus gate creaked open. Raised voices echoed down the passage. Charlie moved gingerly to the cell door and looked through its small barred window out into the sunlit courtyard. Aimee and an armed, helmetless croatoan dressed in blue cotton trousers and shirt stood in the center, facing one of Augustus’ guards.

She prodded her finger into the guard’s chest. “You will take me to them, immediately. I give the orders in Unity.”

“But Augustus said I wasn’t to let—”

Aimee gestured to her croatoan sidekick. It raised its rifle. The guard fumbled on his belt and produced a ring of keys. He turned toward Charlie’s cell.

Charlie dove down and rubbed his hand across the dirt surface, erasing markings that he and Baliska had been using as a way of communication. He glanced at the large alien, who turned away. Both prisoners had come to a basic understanding. They shared a common enemy for now: Augustus.

A key clattered in the lock and the cell door swung open. Aimee stood in the gap, peering down with a neutral expression. Her green dress looked faded and tatty on closer inspection. A rifle pointed over her shoulder in the direction of Charlie’s face.

“Augustus told me that you two have previously met. I’m surprised you haven’t torn each other apart,” she said.

“What would be the point of that?” Charlie said. “My enemy’s enemy is my friend. I don’t suppose that job offer’s still open?”

Charlie didn’t expect any favors from Aimee after killing her champion, but she was clearly here for something. He’d grasp any opportunity that meant getting out of Augustus’ clutches and escaping this damned prison.

“You’re a dangerous man, Charlie Jackson. Augustus was right to call you a doom bringer.”

Aimee glanced around the quiet courtyard and stepped inside the cell—close enough for Charlie to attack. The croatoan guard remained out of striking distance, its weapon trained.

“I’m surprised Augustus allows visitors,” Charlie said.

The two aliens started to have a ticking conversation. Aimee knelt opposite him. “Augustus doesn’t know I’m here. He’s been summoned to chamber and will be tied up all morning. Unity holds its weekly committee meetings today. It’s his first one since he decided to live here permanently.”

“Why are you here?”

“Because of you, the wheels have been set in motion to destroy our planet. Did you think about the consequences when you brought down those ships?”

“Earth was being destroyed. We would have all died in the terraforming, if the croatoans didn’t kill us first. I’d say my group saved it.”

Aimee bitterly laughed. “You’re so naïve. Do you think the Croatoan Empire consisted of those two ships and the farms? They won’t let anyone get away with bringing down a colony and a terraform ship.”

He’d considered the scale of consequences, but speculation took second priority. Focus had been channeled into stamping out the immediate danger of the localized aliens and terraforming process.

“How do you know what they’ll do about it? If they destroy the planet, they’ll be destroying thousands of aliens who are still here,” Charlie said.

“We recovered Hagellan from the first escape pod. He’s just told me what to expect after recovering his galactic tracker.”

Charlie shrugged. “Hagellan? Who the fuck is that, and why should I care?”

“Hagellan ran the Earth program—he was the head of the croatoan council for this planet. There’s a precedent for when things like this happen. All croatoans involved in the operation are seen as guilty as the planet’s inhabitants. The Grand Council does not tolerate failure. They will send a planet destroyer to obliterate Earth. We’re not the first species that they’ve done this to.”

Her nonchalant delivery of the news confused Charlie. Aimee didn’t betray a flicker of emotion and waited for him to respond. “Are you serious?”

“They will smash us into a billion pieces.”

“Why are you telling me? Even if this is real—how the hell do I know you’re telling the truth? It’s not like you’ve done much to earn my trust since you took me from the escape pod. If it’s such a big deal, why can’t Hagellan do anything about it? He’s the head alien, ain’t he?”

“It is real, whether you want to believe or not. But are you willing to take the risk that I’m lying? Hagellan knows a way to stop it. Croatoan ships get to Earth by using a transport gate on a colonized planet in a neighboring galaxy. It’s not croatoan technology. If we destroy the gate, their ships won’t have the range to reach us. We need your help—and expertise.”

“What the hell do you expect me to do about it?”

“We require another bomb like the one you used to destroy the gate,” Aimee said. She leaned closer and touched Charlie’s shoulder. “We can do this, together. But I must warn you. This is a one-way mission. Once the gate is destroyed, there is no way to come back.”

“You want me to take a bomb? How do you propose getting to the gate? We don’t have the means to fly, never mind reach another galaxy.”

“Hagellan has a team of engineers working on an old grounded invasion craft. Their plan is to salvage parts from other downed ships. He thinks some of the internal infrastructure might still be intact. Once they have it working, the craft will fly to the transport area and signal the gate, ready to jump across space.”

“Why can’t one of them take a bomb if I decide to help?”

“This is your payment. The price of freedom. The planet has a similar atmosphere, and you can live out your life in peace.”

Charlie frowned. “You said the croatoans colonized it. What’s to stop them destroying that planet?”

“I don’t know those details. Only that we will be safe. You can discuss it with Hagellan when you meet him.”

“Why can’t his engineers make a bomb?”

Aimee sighed. “You smashed their local capability. Hagellan doesn’t think they can reproduce the kind of power you created. He only has vehicle engineers and those that stayed back in Unity—they just don’t have the expertise. Those that did were killed during the crash of the two ships.”

The irony of the situation dawned on Charlie. The very people who organized the killing of his family, friends and millions of others around the planet were now asking for his assistance. Wanting him to sacrifice himself for their freedom. He felt a sudden surge of anger. “Do you really expect me to help after what they did?” Charlie pointed at the two aliens. “They can die along with us. At least I’ll die having the comfort of knowing the creatures who terrorized Earth will be roasted.”

Aimee stood and took a step back. She glared at Charlie with her piercing blue eyes. “If you refuse to help, you will die in the arena. Augustus may kill you first. He’s already told me that he plans to have your head on a spike displayed outside the tavern.”

By helping the local croatoans—assuming all this wasn’t bullshit—he would at least ensure Denver and the others’ survival. But the thought of working with Hagellan sickened him. Mike would have to be part of the proposed plan. Charlie knew he’d been working on a spare bomb in case the first one malfunctioned. Charlie didn’t want to risk exposing his old friend to the danger of being around aliens or Augustus, but he couldn’t let everyone die. He needed time to think things over. The revelations were too big to come up with a snap decision.

“Will you accept the mission, or do you want to be hacked to death by him?” Aimee said, pointing at Baliska.

“I’ve beaten it once already, so that doesn’t scare me. I need some time. How long have I got?”

“I’ll be back in two hours. If you decide to help, you’ll leave this place with me. If you don’t, well…”

Charlie stood and brushed himself down. “Where does Augustus fit into all of this?”

Aimee rolled her eyes. The mention of Augustus seemed to irritate her. “He doesn’t know about the planet destroyer or that Hagellan survived. Augustus is a schemer and is more trouble than he’s worth. But he kept quiet about this place. Hagellan is furious that Augustus never informed him about Unity. We can’t trust him to be a part of our plan.”

“Why don’t you just kill him?”

“Augustus has his uses. He knows about administration and is gaining popularity because of his ludus. We need to be inclusive here, which means putting up with him—for now. If I went around killing everyone I didn’t like, our society would quickly fall apart.”

“If I agree, and I haven’t decided yet, I assume you wouldn’t let me out of your sight. What’s to stop him sending a couple of goons after me?”

Aimee swished her hand as if brushing away a fly. “I run this town. If I say you’re not to be touched, you won’t be.”

She walked out of the cell.

“Wait,” Charlie said. “Can you bring me some root?”

“I’ll think about it,” she said over her shoulder.

The door slammed shut. Charlie crouched and scraped two circles in the dirt, denoting two planets. He moved his finger from one to the other and drew a cross through the second. Baliska seemed to understand. It reached over and scraped a cross through the first.

He sat back against the wall with his head in his hands. It didn’t matter which way Charlie looked at Aimee’s suggestion. If he refused her offer, anyone left alive who he loved or cared for would end up being destroyed.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Denver sipped the hot tea from a metal cup. The campfire crackled, sending glowing sparks spiraling up through the cool morning air. His backside and legs were getting cold from sitting on a fallen tree, its log still damp from the morning dew.

The alien hunter tied to the tree stared on silently, blinking its large black eyes. Like Venrick, this one wore the adapted breathing system with the portable tanks of root-air on its back.

“Good job, Khan,” Denver said after he swallowed the bitter but flavorsome tea. “You’ll have to teach me the recipe. Where did you learn it?”

Khan smiled at the compliment and looked away awkwardly. He was still getting used to being in constant company, having been out here on his own for years.

“I just picked it up, trying out different leaves and combinations until something didn’t taste like dirt,” Khan said, shrugging away his skills.

“Who taught you how to do all this?” Denver said, indicating the fire and general camp setup.

“I found a few books with some pages intact in a burned-out library. That and plenty of experimentation. I had a lot of time on my hands.”

Although they had only stopped for a short while, Khan had created a number of cooking utensils carved from branches, created an efficient fire, and set up a lightweight shelter that protected them from rain and, most importantly, being spotted from above if a croatoan were to fly over.

Layla and Maria were preparing four rabbits Khan had caught at the far end of the camp, using a large flat boulder to prep them for cooking.

Although they brought ration packs and water, it made sense to make use of what was around in the woods while they rested up for a moment.

After Denver had shot the alien, he lashed its hands and legs together and, using a branch system, dragged his quarry back to camp for interrogation.

Throughout the two hours of questioning, it had remained quiet, just clicking softly in response.

Layla had dressed its leg wound, hoping that it would realize it wasn’t in any direct danger and would open up, but after endless attempts at connecting with it, it remained obstinately quiet.

It didn’t even have any means of communications to its tribe or whatever group it was from. From its adapted army fatigues, it was clear to Denver and the others that at some point in its time it had mixed with humans.

“Croatoan hunters, soldiers, or engineers have shown no ability to craft clothes or adapt human materials,” Layla had said when Denver first brought it back.

Finishing his tea, Denver patted Khan on the shoulder. “Thanks for the brew. That hit the spot.”

Khan winked at him. The kid had a very small stash of wild root that he had kept for emergencies and put a little into Denver’s tea after seeing how tired he was after dragging the alien a few K’s back to camp.

“I’m just going to the ladies’ restroom,” Layla said to Denver as he approached. “Could you finish up for me?” She pointed to an unskinned rabbit on the boulder.

“Sure.”

Layla lingered her gaze on him for a moment, words forming on her lips but then melting into a quick smile as she left the camp and headed into the trees.

Denver watched her go, wondering what was on her mind.

Probably concerned about Gregor and Venrick.

They hadn’t been in touch via the comms and still hadn’t returned. Denver hoped they had killed each other.

They didn’t need Venrick to know there was a settlement up ahead, and it was likely that’s where Charlie was.

All this waiting around made him anxious to get on, but with catching the hunter, it made Denver cautious. He wanted some intel first. If he was to save his dad, he needed to know what he was up against.

It stood nearly a foot taller than Denver, but wasn’t as imposing as the one he fought in Manhattan.

This one didn’t have the same kind of musculature. Considering how easy it was for Denver to take down, he knew it wasn’t as well trained either.

“You’re no hunter, are you? I saw your kind on a video, fighting with humans. I know you understand what I’m saying. I see the recognition in your eyes. Your body language gives you away. You think we’ll just let you go? I know you know where those pods are and where the person in the pod went.”

The hunter clicked in response and did that thing with its eyes that Denver recognized from Venrick. The damn thing was amused. Cocky. Arrogant. All very human of it, Denver thought.