The Huntress (10 page)

The three of them went over the story a few times, but Regan didn’t get bored. She was excited about being part of a conspiracy, especially with these two. Stone’s new background was also interesting. She wanted to ask about his old life, but was uneasy about it; all she knew was that he’d killed people and had been put in prison for it. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know why.

The old Stone had been a smuggler and a thief working for a black market group whose leader was now frozen in Mea’s cargo bay. He’d spent a couple of years in a minimum-security correctional facility for theft, but since then he hadn’t been caught.

“I don’t feel too bad about giving him Terrik’s life. He’s scum, plain and simple. He’d sell his own child to cannibals if it turned him a profit.” Mea added with a contemptuous toss of her head, and Stone stood abruptly, pacing back and forth next to them. Mea watched him with a frown. “Don’t tell me you feel remorse?”

“You gave that guy a death sentence. I was on my way to be executed.”

“What?”
Regan exploded, but neither of the adults paid her any attention.

With an idle wave of her hand, Mea said, “I wouldn’t worry about him. He’s very good at eluding the law.”

Stone stopped and looked down at the woman, hands resting on hips.

“Executed?” Again, no response from the adults.

Mea leaned back on her hands, long legs stretched before her with ankles crossed. She looked up at Stone with a serene little smile on her face. “Believe me, Terrik deserves what he gets.”

At the use of his former name, Stone’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t move otherwise.

“Why? Why were they going to execute you?”

Without looking Regan’s way, Mea finally answered, “Because he didn’t die like a good boy and because he didn’t play nice with the other inmates.”

Before she could ask what the heck that was supposed to mean, Warren appeared.

“Mea, Mike’s on the com for you. I’ve never seen him this agitated.”

Mea rose gracefully to her feet and moved toward him. “He’s never been boss when we had a rogue before.” She patted his face as she went by. “Stop worrying so much. You’ll blow a circuit.”

She left and Warren wandered into the room, a frown creasing his forehead.

“Hey, Warren?” At Regan’s attempt to get his attention, his head lifted and his eyes focused on her, though he still seemed far away. “What’s ‘rogue’ mean?”

His gaze sharpened and he came to sit beside her. “You sure you want to know? You’re only eleven.”

She made a disgusted noise and rolled her eyes, receiving a lopsided grin in response. “Now you remember! Yeah, I wanna know.”

“In this instance, a rogue is a hunter who has become uncontrollable and unpredictable, a danger to themselves and others. Someone who ignores the law that they’ve been conditioned to believe in and makes up his or her own laws. Back when the Hunting Corp was first formed, we had a lot of rogues—the training, conditioning, and freedom to kill were too much for many hunters. We’ve got a much better psychological screening process now, but back then…” He shook his head. “It was chaos. At first they tried to take care of it in a humane fashion, bringing in the rogues and reconditioning them or incarcerating them, but this didn’t get results fast enough. The Planetary Coalition threatened to collapse the Corp entirely. So they sent other hunters after them with permission to execute. It was a damn massacre.”

He fell silent, staring off into the distance as if he could see back in time.

Regan was peripherally aware that Stone had started pacing again, but her attention was riveted on Warren and his morbid story. “So rogues are hunted down and killed?”

“When we used to have them, yes, but we haven’t had a rogue in just under twenty years. Bragan’s always been hot tempered, but he passed the psych evaluation. I don’t know why he went rogue. That’s probably what’s driving Mike crazy.”

With the quicksilver changes of youth, Regan’s attention was diverted. “Why does she call him Uncle Mike?”

“Because he raised her after we found her on a hunt.”

“She said a hunter found her after her parents were killed. That was him? You were there?”

“Yes, we were both there.” He eyed her with a speculative glint, and Regan knew with a sinking feeling that he wasn’t going to tell that particular story. “Mike and I used to be a team, like Mea and I are now. Actually, this whole ship and everything in it was a gift to her from Mike when he was promoted from active hunter to boss man. It only made sense, since he raised her on this ship and he wasn’t going to use it anymore.”

The implications of what she was hearing struck Regan and she looked down, heart thumping. If Mea had lost her parents and was raised by the hunter who found her, than why couldn’t Regan have that, too? She tried for a casual tone. “How come he raised her and not other family of hers?”

“She didn’t have other family that we could find except some distant cousins on New Mars. She could have been fostered out, but…” Warren shrugged, grinning. “She got it into her head that she wanted us. She’s always been headstrong and Mike could never say no to her.” Stone snorted as he went by, and Warren cast him a sly glance. “None of us could ever say no to her.”

With a low growl, Stone spun on his heel and stalked out. Warren chuckled to himself for a minute while Regan gave him a stern frown.

“Katie used to call that instigating.”

“Honey, I call that just plain fun!” His eyes twinkled merrily.

Regan couldn’t hold in a laugh.

Chapter 9

Regan spent the rest of the day exploring the ship and spending time with her shipmates. She finally got to see the cargo, though going back into the cargo bay had been hard after what she’d been through with Bragan. But there was little trace of what had happened, except two empty spaces where the destroyed cryotubes had been. She made a return trip to the infirmary where Ema gave her a thorough physical and pronounced her fully healed while entertaining her with a long, rambling rant on hunters in general.

She didn’t see much of Mea, who was constantly being called to the com for conversations with Uncle Mike and the technicians who found Bragan’s ship. After shadowing Stone around the ship, she finally managed to convince him to teach her how to throw a knife. They practiced this to her delight until supper. After eating, she accompanied Mea on her nightly inspection of the ‘meat popsicles’ and got the woman to tuck her into bed. Forehead still warm from Mea’s kiss goodnight, Regan fell swiftly asleep with a smile still on her face.

After a full night’s sleep, she woke and sat up slowly, looking around. There was a change in the movement of the ship. Regan slid out of bed, making short work of showering and pulling on her clothes. The others were in the control room, watching the view port. They looked tense.

“Morning, short stuff,” Warren said and Mea smiled vaguely in her direction, but most of their attention was elsewhere.

“What’s going on?” Through the port Regan saw a blue and green planet looming closer. It looked a lot like Old Earth, except that it was larger and had three moons.

“We’re almost home, but it seems Uncle Mike has decided we need an escort,” Mea answered and pointed at the viewscreen in time for Regan to see two small ships flash by. They turned and matched course and speed on either side of the
Starfire.

“Why?”

“He’s a little angry with me,” Mea murmured in a casual tone, but her lovely face hardened in a way that made Regan’s stomach flip unpleasantly.

Regan gulped. She wanted to ask a million questions.
What does he know? Did they find out about Stone? Is everything going to be okay?
But the presence of the android kept her silent. After all the work Mea did to change Warren’s memory, she didn’t want to be the one to blow it.

The
Starfire
slowed and angled for entry into the atmosphere, the two little ships still flanking. Regan was almost dancing with pent up tension by the time they settled on a landing pad.

Mea powered the ship down and took a deep breath. “Let the games begin,” she said softly.

Warren sent her a sharp look. “He’s not going to punish you for taking down a rogue. He can’t! This garbage with the escort and him yelling at you for hours is just for show. He’s got to play boss for the Coalition.”

With an affectionate smile, she ruffled his hair and stood. “Hold down the fort and don’t let those techies push you or Ema around. You have rights, too, you know. If they get frisky with you, just tell ‘em to stick their probes where the sun don’t shine. Got me?”

“Yeah, I got it.” He shook his head with a smirk as they left the control room.

There were a number of official-looking people already standing on the ramp when the hatch opened, and Regan looked up at Mea in alarm. The woman seemed serene, but Regan slipped a hand in hers anyway for reassurance and received a gentle squeeze.

“Ah, Belata. Home sweet home.”

Stepping out onto the ramp, Mea lifted her face to the morning sunshine and closed her eyes, a blissful smile on her lovely features. Regan turned her own face up when she felt warmth like gentle fingers on her skin. It had been a long time since she’d been planet-side. The sun felt good, an unexpected welcome in this foreign place. In spite of the situation, her lips turned up at the corners in an unconscious imitation of the woman next to her.

“Hunter Brin, we have orders to bring you directly and without delay to Chief Conley.”

Mea ignored them, looking around at their surroundings with a deep sigh and a smile. Then she stepped forward at an unhurried pace, still holding Regan’s hand.

The officials parted before them, except one who reached for Regan, face expressionless. “I’ll take the girl to—”

Stone struck like lightning over Regan’s shoulder and grabbed the man’s wrist. “Hands off.”

The man jerked out of his grip and straightened, face hard and angry. “I don’t know who you think you are, mister—”

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that, son,” Mea drawled, and Regan glanced over at her to see a dark smile move across her lips.

The man ignored her, staring at Stone. Regan felt her chest tighten with alarm, reading the aggression and challenge in the official’s stance.

With an impatient hiss, Mea pulled Regan out of the way and slid between the two adversaries, eyes narrowing on the official. “Let me put this in words you can understand. Until he says otherwise, this man’s my partner. He deserves the same respect you would give to any hunter. But if that means nothing, and you’re determined to get your ass kicked, than by all means…” She glided out of the way and made an exaggerated gesture for them to continue.

The man came to attention, eyes on Stone and face in bitter lines. “Yes, sir. Hands off, sir. This way.” He spun stiffly and led them to a transport.

Regan walked between Mea and Stone, eyeing the man with severe distrust. She wouldn’t put it past him to grab her again—but then he’d just get his ass kicked. She ducked her head to hide a pleased smile and climbed aboard. The seats were long and plush, the windows tinted to dim the bright sun.

“Good of him not to put me in chains right away,” Mea muttered under her breath, but Regan heard and froze, staring at her.
Chains?
The woman grinned and ran a hand over Regan’s head. “I’m just kidding. It’ll be fine.”

She wasn’t sure if she could believe that. She sat down next to Mea with Stone across from them, while the official moved to sit in the front with the pilot.

Stone stared at Mea with raised eyebrows. “Partner?” he asked in a low voice.

She shrugged. “It’s in your best interest not to say otherwise until later.”

He snorted, folded his arms across his chest, and turned his face to the window.

Regan didn’t see much of the scenery on their way to Hunter Headquarters—she was too busy worrying about what was going to happen. She didn’t see much of the headquarters either, since they hustled so quickly into the building and up a lift. The other officials must have followed them in another transport, because they were all there, surrounding the three as they left the lift and walked down a corridor.

At the end of the corridor, they entered a waiting area boasting a few comfortable looking seats against the walls and soothing sea-side colors. An older woman sat behind a desk next to an office door, looking up as they entered. She shook her head, unsmiling. “Duck and cover, Mea. That man’s been in a snit all day, growling like a bear at the least little thing.” She paused, raising her eyebrows imperiously at the officials. “What are you still doing here? Go on, away with you.”

As they left, the intercom chimed. “Is that her?”

“Yes, sir,” the woman said politely to the rough, angry voice but rolled her eyes at them.

“Front and center, Hunter! Now!”

The office door opened behind the desk, and the woman gave them a sympathetic glance when they went by. Regan felt her stomach tangle in a painful knot when she got her first look at the man standing behind his desk. He looked like a bear, very large and formidable, glowering from under his lowered, bushy brows. His anger was a live thing, focused on Mea.

Regan pressed closer to Stone and gripped his hand tightly.

“You are in a load of shit this time, girl! What the hell were you thinking?”

Mea stepped in front of his desk, placing her hands in the small of her back and squaring her shoulders. She looked calm, but Regan didn’t know how she could be. The man’s voice was like the growl of a ferocious beast, deep and thunderous.

“Why? Because I saved you the trouble of tracking down a rogue?”

He waved a dismissive hand. “No, not that! Because of him!” One thick finger stabbed through the air, pointing unerringly at Stone.

Regan shrank back even farther, squeezing Stone’s hand in panic. He knew! How could he know? She was amazed to see Mea glance over her shoulder at them with what looked like a genuinely puzzled expression.

“Stone? Why?”

Her boss shifted that finger to Mea. “Don’t you play me, girl! I know what you did.” Placing his large hands flat on the desk, he leaned toward the woman standing calmly in front of him. “He’s a murderer, for Christ’s sake! What’s wrong with you?”