Revenge: (Space Outlaw 3)

  REVENGE

  (SPACE OUTLAW 3)

  Dominique Mondesir

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Epilogue

  61. Author Note

  Also by Dominique Mondesir

  Copyright © 2017 by Dominique Mondesir

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover art by streetlightgraphics

  Edited by Andrea Harding

  Created with Vellum

  1

  Trex peered over his glasses and sighed at the screen. He took a sip from his glass and shook his head. His fingers resumed punching codes and numbers into a floating data pad in front of his face. He scowled once again at the message that the screen displayed.

  Bold red letters flashed irritatingly on the screen, mocking his attempts.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes and let out a sigh. His fingers flew across the data pad as he tried once more, but the outcome was still the same. The red letters appeared to be bolder this time, louder in their mockery of him.

  "Argh! This is getting us nowhere!" Trex shouted in frustration.

  His colleagues lifted their heads from behind their screens, spread around the room. A few buried their heads deeper into the work they were trying to do. Screen shots of planets littered the walls of the room along with graphs--some with numbers scrawled across them and others with red crosses slashed through them.

  "What do you expect?" asked Bill, who sat next to him.

  "I didn't expect it to be this hard. I mean, the job was simple enough. The job itself is easy. But we can't do anything if the Council are watching our every step. He does know that, doesn't he? We weren't all blessed with a powerful father," said Trex.

  "Trex!" Bill said with a glare.

  "Oh, what? Don't give me that. Everyone in there is thinking the same thing. Everyone knows what a pain he can be. Everyone else is just too cowardly to say it."

  Murmurs swept through the room like the rustling of leaves.

  "Oh, shut up! I'm still the head researcher in this facility, and if anyone so much as breathes about what is spoken in this room, I will know it has come from one of you. You think what we do here is dangerous because the Council may find out?" said Trex, his glare sweeping the room. "Just let me to go back to Holger empty-handed and I'll show you dangerous. What the Council might do will pale in comparison to what he will do to us. To our families--"

  "Trex, this won't help morale--"

  "I don't care if it helps morale or not. All I care about is getting results. Results will allow us to go back to our families. This planet needs to be found. I can't stall him any longer." Trex breathed out a heavy sigh as he once again pinched the bridge of his nose. He picked up the papers scattered across his desk and, giving them another passing glance, threw them into the air.

  He turned in his chair and took in his colleagues. Each one sat in front of a screen and a data pad similar to his. Everyone who had been turned his way now ducked down behind their monitors, furrowed brows adorning every face.

  Trex pushed his horn-rimmed glasses back up the bridge of his nose and found Bill still looking his way. "What?"

  "Why do you bother with those ridiculous things on your face? I mean do they even have a function?" Bill asked.

  "When I visited the planet known as Earth, people who were vision impaired wore them."

  "That still doesn't answer my question. Plus, you are not vision impaired. The surgery for corrective eyesight is hardly expensive," said Bill.

  "It's something called fashion. I know the concept is a hard one for you to--"

  A high-pitched wail filled the room and echoed through the surrounding halls. Trex shot up from his chair, knocking it to the floor. Faces turned to him in confusion.

  "That's the security alarm," said Bill.

  "I know very well what it is, you incompetent halfwit. What I want to know is why it is going off. The guards aren't running another systems drill, are they?"

  Bill looked at him and offered a small shrug.

  "Oh, for goodness' sake! Why do I even keep you around?" Trex marched towards the holocom embedded in the wall and said, "What is the meaning of this? We are not scheduled for another security drill any time this month. This won't do! We are doing important work here! Work that must not be interrupted--"

  Three explosions shook the room and knocked everyone off their feet. The overhead lights blinked out and were replaced with the dim glow of the emergency ones. Screens fell off desks and smashed on the floor.

  Trex began to make his way to his feet, but he was once again knocked to the ground as another explosion shook the building. His colleagues' screams of pain and fright bounced from wall to wall.

  Trex stayed on his hands and knees and surveyed the room. Blood oozed from a wound on one woman's scalp. Others tried to stem the bleeding, but even from where he crouched, Trex could see that they were losing the battle.

  "Shut up, all of you! This is not a drill," Trex said, crawling towards his desk on his hands and knees.

  "What do you think is happening?" Bill asked.

  "As you well know, Bill, I'm not psychic, so I don't know."

  "Do you think it could be pirates?

  "No. All the major players have been paid off, and the ones that haven't been aren't big enough to worry about. Plus they wouldn't dare--they know who this lab belongs to."

  Gunshots could be heard in the distance, hinting at things to come. Screams came from outside the lab, silencing the ones inside it. No one spoke, and everyone looked at each other with wide-eyed stares.

  "Trex, what shall we do?" Bill asked.

  "I'll tell you what we won't do--we won't panic. That's what we won't do. Keep calm, everyone. I mean, I mean... This... This. I'm sure everything is under control. I'm sure that the guards are dealing with the perpetrators as we speak. There is nothing to worry about, absolutely--"

&nbs
p; "Trex, I don't think--"

  "Didn't I tell you not to worry, Bill!" Trex's head snapped left to right, his eyes darting to the only exit in the room. "Quiet! We mustn't make a racket. Look, you see, we'll be alright; the metal shutters are coming down."

  With a jerk and a start, the metal shutters sealed the only entrance and exit to the lab. They met the floor with a final slam that any casket would be proud to make. The windows were covered by metal, and the faint glow from the overhead lights cast long shadows on everyone's face.

  "See, everything is going to be all right. I told you, didn't I? I told you that all this needless worrying would get you nowhere. We have food and water capsules in here that will last us weeks--till help arrives."

  A knocking came from the metal shutters. It was faint; no one would've heard it, if a tortured silence hadn't been ruling inside the lab.

  Heads turned and people glanced at each other in shocked silence. Trex licked his lips, pulling at the collar of his shirt.

  The knocking came again; three deliberate taps.

  Trex placed his fingers to his lips and crawled backwards, away from the metal shutters. His hands left wet imprints on the stone floor. His back touched a wooden desk behind him, and he yelped in surprise, bringing his hand up to smother the sound.

  Three taps rang out for the third time.

  "We know you're in there! Come out, come out!" sang a voice from outside of the metal shutters.

  The sound came again.

  Everyone held their breath inside the lab, sitting in silence, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for something to come out from the shadows.

  "We know you're in there! Open up! Trust me, if you don't you're not going to like what's about to happen..."

  Beating hearts pounded against chests but nobody broke the silence.

  "They can't get in," mouthed Trex.

  The metal shutters shook and rattled but held tight. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, but it was short lived as the metal exploded inwards. Shrapnel flew in all directions, merely injuring the lucky and killing those closest to the shutters.

  Trex held his breath until the smoke cleared and the debris settled to the floor. Coughs could be heard all around him, and he covered his mouth with his hands.

  A black male, with a bone earring in one ear, strode through the hole. He stood in the centre of the lab and cast a disappointed gaze over the scene. "All this could have been avoided," he said, waving a hand at the dead and wounded. "It's a shame it had to end this way. I would like to say you're all innocent parties in this, but we know that isn't true, don't we? We all know what you've been doing here."

  A midnight-blue female walked through the hole, accompanied by a green brute who was all of seven feet tall. They both folded their arms across their chests.

  "Now, I will take all the data you've researched and gathered for Holger, and you'd better make it fast," said the black male.

  "And why would we do that?" Trex asked.

  "Because if you don't, you have...oh..." He looked at his wrist and gave a shake of his head. "Five minutes before this place blows up. And seeing as we are blocking the only way out of here, I suggest that you start gathering that data."

  "No matter where you go, he will find out who you are. He will come for you," said Trex.

  With a laugh that boomed through the room, the man shook his head and said, "Tell Holger that Phoenix Jones is coming for him."

  2

  The bedsheets were bloody and ruffled; pillows and cushions littered the floor. An overturned table lay in the centre of the room, the contents that once adorned its top now scattered across the floor. Leather-bound chains hung from the bedroom ceiling, their movements now still.

  Holger lay in his bed with a female servant, who stared at him hollow-eyed. His eyes were closed, but he could still feel her gaze resting on him. Turning his head slightly, he peered through half-closed eyes at her. Her once perfect form was now battered and bruised.

  It was a shame that none of them lasted longer. His fun was always cut short.

  She reached down towards her arm and tried to stop the bleeding that stemmed from the scratches there. Bringing the sheets to her lips, she wiped yet more blood on them.

  Didn't she know how much these sheets cost? He let out an inward sigh at the thought of having to wait for more to be bought.

  "Can you please not do that?" said Holger.

  "But...my lord, my cuts... They hurt, they sting."

  Holger brought a hand up to his face and uttered a muffled groan. "That is of no concern to me. Your job is to please me, to satisfy my needs. You do a good enough job and you are paid well. If not...then I always have replacements."

  "But, my lord, my family still have not received the credits you promised. It has been some time now, since we last spoke."

  Holger rolled over onto his side, turning his back on her.

  "It's just that my mother...she needs the credits. Her health is getting worse by the day, and my father has his hands full with my siblings, so he can't do much. And my siblings are all too young to provide for the family. That is why I took--"

  Holger sat straight up and snapped his head in her direction. "I do not care about your pitiful troubles! We all have problems. Deal with it like everyone else. Drink, take drugs or find other ways to forget your problems."

  "Is that why I am here? So you can forget your problems?" mumbled the servant.

  "What did you--"

  A knock at the door interrupted Holger, but his eyes glazed with wrath that made the servant back away, pulling the sheets up to her chin.

  "My lord! You know I wouldn't normally disturb you, but this is important," a voice said through the door.

  Holger's attention was still focused on the female next to him. He ran his fingers along her scratches before encircling her arm with his hands. She tried to pull away, but he held on tight.

  "My lord!"

  Holger released his grip but a hand mark still remained on her skin. "Yes! What is it?"

  "It's Ajax, my lord. He has been calling your holocom for the past hour, because he hasn't been able to get through."

  "I'll deal with it," said Holger, getting up from his bed. He made his way towards his wardrobe, picking out a military jacket. He grunted as he slipped the jacket on, the material stretching to breaking point.

  "Why are you still here?" Holger asked over his shoulder.

  "Er...about--"

  "Get out!"

  The servant hurried out the door as Holger checked his reflection in a mirror. He licked his palm and passed it over his hair before giving himself a small nod. Turning back around, he looked over the room, nose raised in disgust at the mess. He would need to get someone to clean this up; someone like him couldn't allow a room like that to clutter his thoughts.

  He made his way into his office and sat behind his desk. He propped his feet up on the desk and leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together behind his head. Letting out a small sigh, he allowed a small grin to spread across his face.

  With a press of a button he checked the time, nodded, and went back to waiting.

  "Sir, Ajax has once again asked for your whereabouts. What should I say?" said a voice through his office holocom.

  Holger didn't respond but closed his eyes and leaned further back in his chair. A tuneless whistle escaped his lips, as he counted down the seconds and minutes. Holger checked the time once more. Satisfied, he wiped the smile from his face, sat up, straightened his jacket, and placed a stack of papers in front of him. Pressing a button to allow Ajax's call through brought a holographic image of the man to life.

  "Ajax, what can I do for you? Make it quick. As you can see, I'm busy," Holger said, not bothering to look up from his papers.

  When no response was forthcoming, Holger lifted his gaze to look Ajax's way. The scar that ran along Ajax's clenched jaw shone like the moon on a cloudless night, and a vein pulsed at his temple.

  "Aj
ax, I haven't got all day. I. Am. Busy," said Holger slowly.

  "Boy, why have you not landed on Tanera Mor? You should have been there weeks ago! Your father is livid at your actions."

  "How funny he didn't take the time out to call me himself, to let me know."

  "You know he is busy--"

  "As am I. Now, if there is nothing else..." said Holger with a wave of the hand.

  "No, there are rumours--talk--about the things you are up to. Things that I would not like to believe, if the sources I heard them from were not so reliable."

  "Things such as?"

  "Don't play with me, boy! You think you can get away with what you are up to? I already told you the Council is on a manhunt for anyone playing outside the rules. And what you are doing--will have you testifying in front of them before the month is out," said Ajax.

  "Ajax, if I'm not told what I am not to do, how can I stop doing it?"

  "Holger, listen to me, son. This...this urge that you have to prove that you are better than your father needs to stop. Give up trying to find another planet for its resources and go to Tanera Mor. Trust me, it is not too late."

  "The families on the Council--my father, you--have done things ten times worse than what you believe I am doing. I do not see any harm in staking out my future, like people before me have done--"

  "Things have changed," said Ajax.

  "Not for me."

  "Boy, your father knows a lot more than you think he does. He knows all of your plans, even the ones you think he doesn't."

  "Well, Ajax, when I next see him, he can discipline me himself. But, in the meantime, I shall carve a path to glory as I see fit. Goodbye."

  3

  Phoenix sat in his captain's chair with the other members of his crew gathered around. His hands curled together in a ball, and he rested them under his chin. His eyes were closed as he listened to the hum of the ship. The rumble from being in flaring vibrated through his seat. He had thought he would get used to the feeling but it still placed him slightly on edge.

  It reminded him of the first time he had been on a ship. Then that thought spiralled into his being taken away from home. Then that thought led to home. Then to the twins...