IGO: Sudden Snow (11 page)

They’re targeting me. Why
?

Chapter 12

“Get back!” Darryl roared, his chest heaving against his rising fury. How dare they even attempt to come at him? No one was getting near Cricket. “She’s under IGO protection!”

The first of the three traders stepped forward, smirking with uncontrolled malice. Greasy black hair hung limp on either side of his square face. A jagged scar snaked from his mouth to his ear as if someone had taken a blade and tried to extend that cold grin literally from ear to ear. Glistening green eyes stuck out from the fall of untidy hair. His eyes fell on Darryl and the bastard’s grin broadened.

Darryl brandished his laser gun, its scarlet eye ready and bright, fully charged. The other men exchanged glances before displaying their own hardware with gusto. He was faintly aware of people shifting out of the commons area, fleeing for the exits. An exodus rippled with heady murmurs across the air. Their fear pushed against him, and his anger shoved it back.

No bags, packs, or other of the traders’ usual carrying devices were in evidence. Usually the traders carried one or all to stow their loot and ill gotten credits. These three had none of those.

They hadn’t come to pillage or steal from tourists and unsuspecting soldiers. They had come for
her
.

“Three to one. Your odds ain’t so great, soldier,” the dark-haired one spat. His drawl hinted of Earth Prime, not the educated speech of outposts. Earth was a pathetic little planet, and the siring ground for humanity. But the entire planet was a waste.

“Send over that sweet honeypot there and all will go well for you,” the trader said. “Now.”

Surely this scrap of poor DNA stock doesn’t think I’ll give her up that easily
. “The penal colony on Titan isn’t fun,” Darryl warned, his finger twitching against the trigger.

Cricket set her fighting stance, ready to hop into the fray. She peered at them, and her eyebrows bent down. Angry.
That’s my girl. Get pissed
. From experience he knew that rage blew fear out of the water. His own annoyance increased.

“Penal colony?” the dirty thief sniggered as if it was all a big joke. Scrawny and stupid -- a perfect combination for disaster.

His cronies joined in like back-up singers to a laugh track. They didn’t know what Darryl would do to protect the woman he loved from harm. Too bad for them.

Wow. Yes, I haven’t told her yet, but I do love her
.

Darryl smiled to himself. Not only did he lust for her sizzling body, but he craved her love -- longed for it with every fiber of his being. The impulse to cradle that flame in his heart forever sometimes left him breathless.

Time to take care of this trash
.

Before the idiots finished chuckling, Darryl fired three rapid shots, his hand a blur of pale flesh and black plastic. With surprise springing from face to face, the three would-be thieves collapsed to the floor.

“You didn’t --” Cricket asked, her hand gripping his arm. “Darryl?”

“No. They’re stunned.”

He heard the relief in her voice and suppressed the urge to ask her for details. He was a soldier. At some point he was going to have to kill, maim, and wound in the course of IGO life. How would the woman he loved be able to handle that?

I can’t think about that now. No distractions
. “Come on,” he said.

He adjusted his stance, relaxing his legs and arms before stepping over the pile of traders. He walked to the EPSS docking bay with Cricket in tow. No doubt the security guards were on their way. Laser gun fire initiated an emergency signal at the EPSS central hub.

Every muscle in his body tensed as his footfalls bounded ever closer to the doors. Outside the commons area a horde thrashed about, vying for spots to squeeze through the small circular exit tunnels. Judging from the noise, the guards brought their own hardware to the dance. Someone screamed and thunderous shouts of “Move!” and “Security coming through!” was met with hostile and loud disgruntlement.

“Three of them,” Cricket said, her voice a rod of determination. “No more. They can’t know my identity. I’m not sure how far Wang’s reach extends.”

“Got it,” he said, before stowing his gun. He knew it.

The crowd created a safety nightmare. How best to keep her secure when smashed against scores of people? Any one of them could stab her, stun her, or snatch her from his loose hold on her hand.

Shunting those vile scenarios to the side, he walked quickly, putting distance between them and the stunned thieves. He and Cricket merged into the thicket of people, burrowing further into the fray. Crammed with the others in the corridor, Darryl tried to look as innocent and as panicked.

“You think those men saw us?” Cricket asked, her hands crossed over her chest. Her warmth washed over him, a tidal wave of bodily heat.

Hugging herself made her look like the scores of others huddled outside the commons area. But he knew she wasn’t doing it to appear helpless, but to protect her upper body from possible attacks -- or groping. Visibly crying, some civilians were being comforted and others were fleeing through the corridor’s sphere.

Who could he trust? None of
The Inquiry’s
crewmembers or scientists stuck out from the horde of scared and sweaty faces. They must’ve headed to the market section to shop. Or they had already returned to the ship. This excursion wasn’t supposed to last more than a few hours.

“I dunno,” Darryl said with a sigh. He sorely wanted to lie, to spare her the terror he was certain was vibrating to her core, but he couldn’t. She had to know the truth of how desperate the situation had become. Cricket would accept nothing else. “But, they could’ve caught it on video or watched it on surveillance.”

She groaned. With a long look, Cricket let him pull her into his embrace. She needed holding and he
wanted
to hold her. Truth be known, he craved holding too. Who knew the next time he’d be able to do so.

He listened to the murmurings fall to nothing as the sound of footfalls came closer and stopped. At the end of one of the exit spheres, Darryl counted three guards popping through the circular entrance. Blocked up, no one had been able to leave via the other four exit spheres. They had been locked down once Darryl fired his laser gun. Now the guards had arrived. They would open the exits, but not before they’d gotten a handle on the situation.

“Sir,” shouted one of the guards, a woman dressed in a beige one-piece. “Have you seen anything odd?”

Darryl could feel her eyes drift over his face, stopping at his scar. The guard gave him a long, steady look, fist gripping her electromagnetic baton. The other two security personnel headed toward the agonizing groans of the three hoodlums inside the commons area.

“Joanna! Over here!”

“Tyson, get the double halos,” the female guard sternly replied, relinquishing her gaze from Darryl. She shot Darryl one more stern expression before darting off to join the others.

Darryl shoved ahead faster, trying to keep Cricket with him. The last thing he wanted was to be separated. Once those idiots regained consciousness and the nausea had been extinguished, they’d talk to the guards all about him and Cricket. Then again, maybe not if they really were hired as warm bodies for the Kem Core Corporation. Either way Darryl longed to be back on
The Inquiry
by then.

“Let’s go,” he ordered, slicing through the hordes and pulling her along with ease. They emptied out on the opposite side, along with a slew of others. “Hurry!”

He didn’t wait. He pushed forward, still holding Cricket’s hand tightly in his as he lurched through the throng.

“Darryl, slow down!” she shouted, huffing and puffing behind him.

“In a minute,” he said. “We’re two steps to the ship. Once onboard, we’ll be safe.”

His heart thundered in his chest and tunnel vision took over. All he could see was the docking bay and safety. Hopefully, he sounded more certain than he felt, and he winked at her.

Once he got her back on the ship, everything would be fine. Everything would be all right.

Chapter 13

Cricket’s breath came in sharp pains to her waist, little daggers stabbing her side. So quickly had Darryl bowled through the EPSS’s hallways, she was winded and crushed. With her hands on her hips, she greedily sucked in air as they crossed over into the cargo bay. The doors hushed close, slicing off the drone. And danger.

“Enough!” she gasped, clutching the stitch in her side. “Enough!”

Darryl began to punch the panel beside the cargo doors’ release, keying in some sequences, his attention never deviating. It was as if he hadn’t heard a single word she said.

Cricket’s labored breathing slowed, and she walked in circles to keep the cramps at bay. Panic pushed at her throat. She longed to flee to her quarters and lock the doors, but she wanted Darryl to come with her.

One glance at his face told her he wasn’t in the romantic mood. And the burning steel in his eyes warned he was in no mood for giving up either. Soldier shot out from his face -- all about the mission.

“Let’s go up,” she said, calming down, but a residue of uneasiness glazed her spirit. What had just gone down defied a positive explanation. Those traders wanted to kidnap her. Just how far did Wang’s reach extend? To the upper echelons of the EPSS? Earth Prime’s centralized president? How far?

“Something’s wrong,” he said, a severe scowl drifting over his face. He rubbed his scar with the back of his hand. “No one’s answering in the ’shoe and security is offline.”

“Maintenance?”

“No. This is different. Commander Taylor, Privates Rojas and Kovacs, even Lee aren’t answering their comms. Something is very wrong here. Someone should be monitoring us, responding to us, and to my hails.”

A dark look shadowed his face. The turbo lift’s doors gaped between them -- Darryl on one side and Cricket the other. No one exited.

He started into the circular lift, removing his grimace in the process. His hand fell to his laser gun. Face stoic, he stopped before fully entering the fray and looked back at her. “Stay here,” he ordered with a sweeping glance over his shoulder.

“Nuh uh,” Cricket said, scampering to catch up with him.

No, he wasn’t leaving her to the unknown. She trusted him, and if he died, she wanted to be with him, if only to ferry his soul home or to hold his hand as he crossed from this solar system to some alternate one.

“No,” he thundered louder than before. It echoed across the vacant cargo bay.

Cricket flinched at his volume. “Um, yes,” she retorted, and walked into him.

He barred her entrance with both arms stretched wide.

“I’m going with you,” she said sternly, pinning him with her eyes. “We don’t know what’s up there and we don’t know what’s down here either. The danger be damned, because I’m going.”

His face twisted in emotions as he sighed. Shoulders slumped in defeat. He opened his eyes to meet hers. She glimpsed sorrow and… and fear.

“I can’t have you in harm’s way,” he said, his voice ragged with shame. “If this is bad or it goes wrong, I, I, won’t… I can’t… Cricket…”

Cricket leapt into his arms and with a kiss swallowed his worries and his fear for her well-being.
I love this man
.

At first, Darryl froze at her actions, but soon her hot love melted his icy terror. Cricket glowed inside as she felt his arms meld around her as if old hat. Succumbing to her intensity, he clutched her tight, and soon he took the lead, stealing her momentum as if this kiss were their last.

It ended as abruptly as it began.

His steely eyes locked on hers. “Stay behind me -- close,” he ordered, his hand on her chin, holding her gaze. Then his face softened and he brushed her lips again with his, painting them with his desire. “I love you, Dr. Moore.”

“And I you, Sergeant Snow,” she breathed, her heart swelling at the sheer depth of his love pooling in his eyes.

He grinned, forcing his scar to bulge. Then it was gone as if she’d touched a screen -- the happy, in love Darryl blinked off. In the next, the IGO sergeant emerged.

Weapon first, Darryl entered the lift. The gun’s long barrel sliced the manufactured air with clean strokes. Cricket followed him, but not too closely, as he stepped fully into the lift.

No one was inside. She scampered as far back from the doors as she could and then inched her way around the arc to her right. Darryl waited for the doors to close behind him before turning to his left.

Cricket watched in surprise as he transferred the gun to his left hand and he dug his fingers into the square panel above the screen. He ripped open the paneling, popping the plastic tacks keeping it hidden. With rapid snatches, the multi-colored wires sprawled out like bowels. He disconnected the video feed. She could make out the familiar raised blue vf cord. Darryl disabled and rerouted the vine-like cables with one hand.

“There. Now, they can’t trace our heat signatures and I’ve disabled the video to all four turbo lift cameras.”

“What are you expecting?” she asked quietly. “I mean, it could be nothing except routine maintenance, a glitch or some other common issue.”

His beautiful back, clad in the standard, mundane IGO gray one piece uniform, mocked her calm question. With a sweeping glance over his shoulder, he sighed. “I’m the head of security. I know it better than anyone. This is -- is
off
. Those men were targeting us, you. Paid to do so, no doubt, to create a diversion. To kidnap you. Best to err on the side of caution. I’ll not lose you now that I’ve found you.”

Cricket nodded. She understood his concern. None of the situation was on par.
The Inquiry
was his home and it had been inundated with threats. If anyone understood displacement, she did. Having lost her home and security on Io’s outpost, Cricket missed the familiarity of a “home.” She’d been grossly violated when Wang expelled her from the outpost on Io. For Darryl, Cricket was certain the situation was worse. The very security he oversaw had been used against him.