The Hunted Assassin (24 page)

Jaxon walked up and leaned in between Camille and Oliver. He lowered himself down onto the edge of the control panel and crossed his arms.

“Well, boys and girls, it looks like we have our first bit of tangible information. I’ve got a location and a couple of potential contacts. As soon as we get underway, I’ll fill you all in. We’re going to Delta Station,” Jaxon said excitedly.

39

A knock came at the door. Jaxon contemplated ignoring it, not wanting to carry on an awkward conversation with Francisco, but decided otherwise. He hoisted himself off his bunk and opened the door. It slid open, revealing Camille standing in front of him, her arms crossed and frown lines between her eyes.
Oh shit,
Jaxon thought.

“Come in?” he said questioningly then stepped aside.

Camille walked past him but refrained from taking a seat. She turned and stared at him with disappointment. “What the hell?” she asked.

“I don’t follow,” Jaxon said. He knew what she meant but decided not to immediately address his decision to leave her behind.

“I thought we were a team, and you let me sleep. I could’ve been useful on the station. Francisco told me a little about what happened and—”

Jaxon held up his hand to silence Camille. “It’s okay. We took care of things and now we’re here. We got some good information, and I think, all in all, the trip to Beta Station was a success.”

“But, Clay? You couldn’t have taken Miles, or myself, for God’s sake? He’s just a boy, Jaxon.”

“He’s a man and he’s made it very clear that he’s ready for whatever the mission can throw at him. We should give him a chance,” Jaxon said, sitting on the edge of his bunk, motioning for Camille to do the same.

“Is that what this is really all about? Or was it something else? Were you afraid that I was leaving again and wouldn’t return?” Jaxon asked, knowing exactly what was going through Camille’s mind.

Camille looked away. “Can you blame me? You have no idea the pain I suffered after I thought you died.” Camille took Jaxon’s hand but looked away.

“I know that I haven’t done anything yet to regain your trust, but you have to believe me. That’s all in the past. I had my reasons and what’s done is done. If I had it to do over again, I—”

Jaxon’s words were cut off by a ship’s communication.

He reached over and opened the channel.

“Go ahead,” he said, gently squeezing Camille’s hand.

“Hey, boss. There’s a … call for you. Director Howe is on a secure channel and wants an update,” Oliver said.

“Thanks, Miles. We’ll be up in a min … I’ll be up in a minute,” Jaxon said, fumbling his words.

“I? We?” Camille asked.

“Oh, come on. I just didn’t want him to think we’re fraternizing or something behind closed doors,” Jaxon said nervously.

“So what if he did?” Camille asked, maintaining a grip on Jaxon’s hand. “It’s not like we can just forget about our past.”

Jaxon remained on the edge of his bunk. “I suppose you’re right. And honestly, I don’t think I ever want to forget what we had. I wish …”

“I know,” Camille said then leaned in and kissed his lips. “We can talk later. Best not keep the director waiting.”

Camille stood and left Jaxon’s quarters. A moment later, Jaxon took in a deep breath and headed for flight control.

As Jaxon took his seat at the pilot’s station, he brought up the communications panel and tossed the open channel onto the main screen. As the image of Director Howe materialized, Camille walked in and took a seat next to Francisco.

“Ah, great. The whole team is there,” Howe said, smiling widely. “Do you have a status update for me?”

“Well, director, it’s not going as well as we’d hoped. We’ve been to a handful of stations already, and we continue to get stonewalled at every turn. It’s like they’ve stopped production, or perhaps your intel is out of date?” Jaxon asked, choosing his words very carefully.

“No, no. I’m positive that the drug is being manufactured in the outer ring. It’s also been reported that Pablo Guzman himself is currently in the region, no doubt overseeing the operation personally.”

“Guzman’s here? When did this happen?” Jaxon asked, frustrated at the surprise information.

“We just found out. You’d already left, so we felt it best to wait and brief you now. Our sensors indicate that you’ve been on autopilot for the last hour. We figured that now was a good time.” Howe looked off screen and nodded then returned his gaze to the camera.

“Yeah, well, we are heading to another station as we speak. Thanks for the Guzman information,” Jaxon said, calming his temper.

“Any problems so far?” Howe asked.

“Nope,” Jaxon said plainly. “Just a lot of
deer-in-the-headlights
when we bring up the drug. But I’m certain we’ll find something on one of the next few stations. I feel pretty good about that,” Jaxon said. noticing the strange looks from the rest of his team.

“Is there anything I can do from here that might help?” Howe asked.

“To tell the truth, it really is hampering us on not having tech. It would be great if you could get us at least earwigs so we can communicate with each other when we’re on station.”

“Jaxon, we’ve already covered this. This is an unsanctioned mission, and you cannot be in possession of any gear designed or implemented by the GSA. We’ve given you each several thousand credits on your pods to obtain any of your needs along your way. Or did you forget?”

“No, we got that. Unfortunately, the few stations that we’ve stopped at had no communication devices to speak of. Sure, they had walkie-talkies, but for Christ’s sake, we’re in the twenty-second century. It amazes me that PCD’s are so scarce.”

“Trust me, Jaxon. I sympathize,” Howe said, appearing compassionate. “But you’ll have to do your best with what you have, and I know you can.” Howe looked off screen once again and shook his head at something being said back on earth. “If there’s nothing else, we’ll reconnect after your next station stop.”

“I don’t. Anyone else?” Jaxon looked around the control room. Blank faces stared back.

“Nope, looks like were good. On another note, is there any word on that other … situation?” Jaxon asked, wishing he was in a private conversation now.

“Listen, Jaxon. We’re doing our best. The team at Lily’s residence hasn’t found any clues on who the killer was. And as for your daughter—”

Gasps of shock lingered in the flight control.

“—she’s still missing. We’ve been trying to track her, but that’s something that you shouldn’t be worrying about right now. You have to focus on your own mission, and then you can return to help. Understood?” Howe asked sternly.

Jaxon’s anger returned two-fold. “Got it,” he said as he terminated the communication.

The room was silent.

40

Jaxon leaned back in his chair, staring at the blank video screen for several minutes. Oliver finally broke the silence.

“So … boss? Are we changing course for the next station?”

“No. Maintain course to Delta Station,” Jaxon said.

“But didn’t you just tell the director that—”

“I’m aware of what I said. I’m just not sure who we can trust right now. With the attack right after we took first orbit, and with what Clay and I ran into on the last station, it seems like somebody’s been ahead of us most of the way. Until we can determine who the mole is, we’ll need to be cautious.” Jaxon paused to turn and face the rest of the team. “For all we know, the director himself could be feeding us false information. Furthermore, he may even have eyes and ears on board this very ship.” Jaxon glanced from Oliver to Francisco, and then to Camille. “I’d rather keep this between us for the time being. If I’m right, the assassins will be camped out on or around Gamma Station, waiting for our arrival within the hour. By the time they realize that we’re not there, we’ll be just about to dock at Delta Station. Anyone have a problem with that?”

Jaxon continued looking from face to face with no obvious reaction.

“Great. If there’s nothing else,” Jaxon began.

“There is something, boss,” Oliver said. “What’s this other mission that you asked the director about? Something about an ex-wife and a daughter?” he asked, quickly glancing to Camille then back to Jaxon.

“Not ex-wife. We were never married. She was … a girlfriend from years ago, and we had a child together. A daughter; her name is Celeste. About a week ago, there was an attack at their house and Lily, my ex, was killed. It’d been more than ten years since I last spoke to her and I’ve never met my daughter.”

“My God,” Camille exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Well, I didn’t know if there was anything to tell. I would really rather be on earth looking for Celeste than here on this goddamn ship, hunting down another crazed drug lord. But Howe assures me that he’s on the situation. A team looking into Lily’s death, as well as one looking for Celeste. There’s no trace of her at the house, and nobody has seen or heard from her since.”

Jaxon looked at Camille, and her face was full of pain and sympathy. Jaxon had told Camille about Celeste before they were engaged, and the reasons for not wanting to make her aware of his existence. It was for Celeste’s protection and nothing more. Now that he’d been out of the company’s grasp for this long, there was nothing more that he wanted to do than hold his daughter in his arms, and show her that he could protect her.

“I don’t know, boss, but I think the company’s feeding you a line.”

“What makes you say that, Miles?” Jaxon asked.

“I, uh … have had some questionable dealings with the GSA in the past. Let’s just say I don’t trust them any further than I can spit,” Oliver said.

“Speculation will get us nowhere. All I know is that as soon as I’m done here, I’m getting back to earth and finding my daughter.”

“If you haven’t met her, how will you know what you’re looking for?” Francisco asked.

“Howe gave me a file before we left. In it were several images of Celeste and Lily, that were fairly recent—within a year or two.” Jaxon turned to his control panel and brought up the pictures that he’d loaded into the ship’s computers, then displayed them on the main view screen for all to see.

“She’s beautiful, Jaxon,” Camille said sincerely. “How old is this?”

“I’m not sure, maybe earlier this year?” Jaxon said. flipping through several other photos.

“Anything we can do to help, boss, just give the word,” Oliver said.

“Thanks, Miles. Means a lot. Now, what do you say about changing things up a bit? Let’s talk about Delta Station and a new approach,” Jaxon said, hoping a change of subject would take his mind off Celeste.

Murmurs echoed about the cockpit as Jaxon cleared the view screen.

“First off, we’re going to try and go in disguise. Back when we were on the last station, I picked up some accessories that should help us along with the plan.”

Jaxon spent the next hour explaining his thoughts on entering Delta Station. He was unsure if they’d be receptive to his plan and was happy that they all agreed with every detail.

At the end of the hour, they each returned to their own quarters to prepare for docking, which was another thirty minutes away.

41

Jaxon was first through the security and was surprised that the level of scrutiny for his travel papers was virtually nil. He was moving about the front lobby of the station within a few minutes.

Camille was through shortly after, an irritable glint in her eyes.

“Everything okay?” Jaxon asked.

“I’ll be fine,” she huffed. “Just a few wandering hands by one of the security goons.”

“Which one was it?” Jaxon asked, motioning toward the security fence.

“I’m fine. We have more important things to worry about,” she said, looking around the vicinity. “Let’s not stand around like tourists.”

Camille led Jaxon further onto the concourse that surrounded the large casino floor below. As they waited for Oliver and Francisco, they overlooked the crowd of degenerate gamblers and card sharks in silence.

It was nearly twenty minutes later when Francisco and Oliver stepped up next to them and peered over the rail. “Which way to the hookers?” Oliver asked dryly.

Jaxon chuckled. “I think you’ll find what you’re looking for down those stairs and through the lower promenade.”

“What was the holdup?” Camille asked, ignoring the bravado flowing freely between Jaxon and Oliver.

“Nothing that we weren’t prepared for. After getting the third degree about our reason for visiting their pristine space station, Clay actually saved the day with his naïve question: ‘Is there a wide selection of women in the Hooker Shop?’,” Oliver recounted.

“You didn’t!” Camille asked.

Francisco’s face turned red, but he didn’t deny it.

“Honest to God. Those were his exact words,” Oliver said, looking at Francisco admirably.

Camille rolled her eyes and smiled. “Clay, I can’t believe you let Miles corrupt you so easily.”