Revenge: (Space Outlaw 3) Page 11

  "Well, you learn something new every day," Phoenix said to himself.

  "Hello, handsome."

  "L?"

  "The one and only, baby!" said L.

  "How can I hear you? Where are the others? What happened? I--"

  "Whoa, whoa. Everything will be explained in due time. All I want you to do is sit tight, and I'll pick you up shortly."

  "Why are you not in the engine room?"

  Laughter chimed in Phoenix's ear. "You know I run this ship."

  Back on the ship, Phoenix was met by L, who leaped into his arms giving him a bear hug.

  "Hey, I wasn't gone that long, was I?"

  "No, but I'm glad you're safe," said L.

  "Is everyone okay? Did you pick everyone up?"

  "Yes! Everyone is fine; don't worry, silly. I took care of it."

  Phoenix untangled himself from L's embrace and stood apart from her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "What did you do?"

  "Oh...nothing, really, just save the day," L said, doing a little jig on the spot.

  "L!"

  "Fine, fine. I received a message from Midnight saying that you were in trouble--Rustem. So I flew to the docking station I left you at, but when I noticed you weren't coming I knew something was wrong. Plus the space station was jamming all communications, so I couldn't even get a message to you.

  "What I did know was that the combat gear that you all wore has tracking beacons in it."

  "Does it?" Phoenix asked.

  "Yeah, Kai and I fitted them. Anyway, once I could see your locations, I knew what to do," L said with a smile.

  "Blow the docking station to hell?"

  "No... Well, yes. I knew that once I blew a hole in the wall, everyone would come tumbling out."

  "L...that was so...risky," Phoenix said, shaking his head. "What if you'd hit one of us? What if you couldn't collect us in time, while we were hurtling through space? What if--"

  "You're telling me you would have done it any differently?" L said with a hand on her hip.

  Phoenix burst out laughing as he shook his head again. "No, I guess I wouldn't have. Thanks for the rescue," he said, kissing L on the forehead. "Where's Saoirse?"

  "In her quarters," said L.

  "Okay."

  "Phoenix! Tread carefully. This whole thing with the Council has gotten her shaken up."

  "I'll do my best. I'll do my best."

  30

  Holger played with Frank in his room. The huge room contained a large king-size bed and hundreds of toys placed along the walls. Footsteps echoed off the walls outside his room, but no one came in.

  It had been a few weeks since...what happened. He still didn't like to think about it; he still couldn't sleep because of it. He shook his head and spun round and round with his arms outstretched, Frank clutched in one hand. Eyes closed, heart beating softly, he didn't hear the knock on the door.

  "Holger!"

  Holger looked towards his door and saw Ajax with his lips set in a firm line. His hair was jet black, and the new scar he had acquired along his jaw was puffy and pink.

  "Why didn't you answer the first time I knocked?" Ajax asked.

  "Ajax, I didn't hear," Holger whined.

  Ajax surveyed the room as he entered, a sad smile gracing his lips as he stood before Holger. He knelt down on one knee so they were eye to eye. "Listen, son. There are going to be a lot of changes around here. A lot of...things have come and gone. Any other time, you would have had a few more years to be a child, even more so because you had older siblings. But that has changed. It's only you and the old man now.

  "I don't think you're ready, but today is the day you will have to become a man."

  "A man?" Holger repeated, clutching Frank close to his heart.

  "Yes, son, a man. There have always been people that wanted to hurt the family, and a few weeks ago they succeeded. Now you have to step up, Holger. You have to let go of all of this," Ajax said, waving a hand around the room, "and become something better than you are now."

  "But...but..I just wanna play, Ajax. I don't wanna--"

  "There is no 'don't want'! " Ajax let out a sigh and passed his hands through his hair. "Listen, son, your father...is not a man who likes or accepts failure. He...will do anything to protect the family name, even destroy its members, so it lives on. You are the last remnant, the last hope of that dream. Do not disappoint him."

  Ajax got up from where he knelt and brushed a hand down his uniform. The insignia of a hand wrapped around chain links forming the words "We shall never forget" appeared all the more daunting to Holger now.

  "Come on," said Ajax.

  "Where are we going?"

  "Your father...wants to show you something," Ajax said.

  Ajax led the way, and Holger stepped in line with him. The dark gloomy corridors offered nothing but long shadows as they made their way through them. Guards bowed their heads whenever Ajax passed them, and maids smiled from under their lashes. A few stopped Ajax to ask how he was, their hands lingering as they stroked his arm.

  I will be like that someday, thought Holger.

  Finally making it to their destination, Ajax knocked on a door before placing his hands behind him.

  "Come in," said a voice.

  The inside of the room dazzled Holger; he couldn't see anything but the glare of the lights. The heat they gave off made his palms wet. He wiped them on his legs as his father's voice boomed through the room.

  "Why does the boy still carry that toy?"

  Ajax turned towards Holger, and his face darkened as he saw Frank clutched between the boy's small hands.

  "My lord, I apologise, I...didn't notice he had the thing. The fault lies with me," said Ajax.

  "Get rid of it," said Holger's father.

  Ajax walked towards Holger, and Holger gripped the toy bear tighter to his chest and shook his head. The further Ajax walked towards him, the further back Holger stepped, until his back bumped against the door.

  "Mother gave this to me! This is all I have of her. Don't take it away, please!"

  Ajax's footsteps halted and his head dipped; he didn't meet Holger's eyes. He closed his outstretched hands into fists. "My lord?"

  "If you are too weak to do as I ask then I shall do it. Move out of the way."

  Hands descended towards Holger and snatched at Frank. Holger tried to hold on to Frank, but the bear was torn out of his fragile grip.

  "You are no longer a child," said his father, and with that, he tore the bear's head off its shoulders, dropping both pieces to the floor.

  Holger went to pick up the toy but Ajax held him back. Holger looked up at Ajax with tear-rimmed eyes, but Ajax shook his head.

  "I guess you want to know why you are here?" asked his father.

  "Ajax told me you wanted to show me something," said Holger.

  "That is correct. I do." His father said nothing as his footsteps echoed through the room. He came to a stop, and the silence that filled the room threatened to tear out the sobs that Holger held back.

  "There are people who want to hurt this family's name--to destroy the legacy that I created, that your grandfather created. This family's name meant nothing, fifty years ago. It meant nothing thirty years ago. But it means something now, and I will do all I can to protect it.

  "Remember, Holger, there are enemies wherever you look," said his father.

  "I know, Father."

  "Do you?"

  "I..." Holger looked up to Ajax for an answer but Ajax's thoughts were elsewhere.

  "An enemy has been living among us, sleeping among us, acting as one of our own. She leaked information that got your mother, brother and sister kidnapped. She acted in secret with the rebels, and because of that, a mighty blow has fallen upon this house. You may think it was my hand that struck them down, but I had no choice. I had to do what I had to do to keep this family's name alive," his father said, walking towards a door. His father grabbed the handle, and Holger could see the tension in his knuckles
as his hand shook on the handle.

  "Holger, I shall show you what we do to enemies of this family."

  With that, he gave a slight nod to Ajax and opened the door and went inside. As the door closed behind him, Holger couldn't take his eyes off Frank. He would be able to get him fixed; he would be able to heal him up. It would be fine. He thought, as he bent down and picked up the bear.

  "Holger, I'm sorry, son, but your father wants you to see this," said Ajax. He walked towards a section of the room where a dark glass wall stretched from corner to corner. He stood in front of a palm reader and allowed his hand to hover above it. Turning back towards Holger, he stared at the boy's face. Pain creased Ajax's brow, as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "May the gods forgive me for what I am about to do."

  His palm descended upon the reader and lit up the glass wall. As Holger moved closer towards the glass, he noticed that he could see bodies moving beyond it. He cradled Frank in his arms as he moved closer and saw what lay beyond the glass.

  He could see his father screaming at someone who hung from chains in the ceiling, but he couldn't see who it was. As the whip in his father's hand descended upon the person, droplets of blood were flicked onto the wall.

  Strike upon strike landed upon the person suspended in midair, but all Holger could see was a pair of hands floating above his father's head.

  As his father moved away, Holger could finally see who the betrayer was--who had given their family location up so freely. What he saw stopped his heart dead.

  Claire swayed naked before him, battered and bruised. She had been tortured and beaten, but he would recognise that face anywhere.

  Tears flew down Holger's cheeks as he shook his head from side to side. He wanted to scream; he wanted to cry. But nothing left his lips as he took in the scene before him.

  His hands lost all feeling and he allowed Frank to drop to the floor, where the bear stayed, unloved and forgotten.

  31

  Phoenix dragged his legs forward. The events of the past day wore on him. The bags under his eyes felt like they were weighing him down. Shifting his neck from side to side, he tapped on Saoirse's door and waited.

  He didn't hear any sound coming from within. Lifting his fist to knock again, he thought better of it. He turned to walk away but stopped when he heard a voice behind him.

  "You knocked?"

  He turned around to see Saoirse peering through a crack in her door. "Can we talk?"

  Saoirse said nothing as her eyes stared into the pit of Phoenix's soul. Phoenix shifted from foot to foot, unsure what else he should say.

  "If this isn't--"

  "No, by all means, come in." She disappeared into her room, leaving the door open. Phoenix caught a glimpse of the firm contours of her buttocks before she wrapped a towel around herself. He tried not to stare at the shapes that bulged and moved under the towel, but he knew his gaze lingered a little too long.

  "I thought you were here to discuss something," Saoirse said with a raised eyebrow.

  "Yes...sorry, I am," Phoenix said, looking for somewhere to sit. The room gave Spartan a whole new meaning. Bed, flowerpot with a cactus plant in it, and that was it.

  "You can sit on the bed, if you want," said Saoirse.

  "No, it's fine. We're both tired, so I'll try and keep this short. How well do you know Julius?"

  "Well enough," Saoirse said, crossing her arms over her chest.

  "Doesn't it seem a bit strange that we were hit by Rustem the exact moment that we left Julius' company? I mean I'm all for coincidences, but something about the whole thing doesn't sit right with me."

  "How so?"

  "How did Rustem know that we were in that restaurant? How did he know what space station we would be meeting Julius on? You yourself said that outlaw space stations like that were a dime a dozen, and space is a big place, last time I checked. So the chances of him finding us would be billions to one, wouldn't they?"

  "Phoenix, I trust the Fren family with my life. After everything they have done for me... No, I will not dishonour their good name," Saoirse said, hand on hip.

  "How can you trust a family that may or may not believe that we killed their patriarch? I---" Phoenix shook his head, sweeping his hand over his scalp.

  "I know how this may seem---"

  "Do you?"

  "Yes. I owe the Fren family my life. It pains me that Lord Fren is dead, as much as if he were my own father. Florin knows this, so I will not doubt or question his faith."

  "Saoirse, what is this hold that they have over you?"

  She gave him a smile as she walked over to the bed and sat on it, stretching her legs out in front of her. She moved each one back and forth slowly. A smile graced her lips once more as she folded her legs underneath her and tucked a lock of black hair behind her ear.

  "Hold...over me? They have none. Lord Fren found me at a time when it felt like I had lost my mind. I didn't want to live anymore, I just wanted to destroy everything around me. Myself included. I was in so much pain that he must have seen a wild creature that just wanted to be loved.

  "I had lost everything--my family, home, lover. Everything that one should honour and care for was taken from me, and I was powerless to do anything about it. Me...the great demon pirate hunter," Saoirse said with a bitter laugh.

  "Was the Warden responsible for what you lost?"

  "I lost my family and home before he showed up. That...no. The Warden was the final bolt that broke the engine, so to speak. He took away someone I loved and cared for. After all I had been through, I had found someone that made it all better, but the Warden snatched him from my grip like a thief in the night."

  "Who did he---"

  "It is not important who, just that he did," Saoirse said through gritted teeth. "Shortly after, I met Florin, who was working undercover, trying to bring down the drugs that the Portendorfer family were manufacturing. Although Florin is a lord's son, his face is not known because he shuns the limelight.

  "He has always worked to help the less fortunate, even despite his status. Something he and I have in common... Anyway, you can trust him."

  "So the Fren family found you broken, hurt and alone, and used that to their advantage?"

  "I didn't say---"

  "I know what you said, but I'm telling you how it looks. How it could be," Phoenix said, walking towards her. "Saoirse, we have enough enemies at our gates without letting so-called friends, who could very well betray us, through. The only people I care about are on Earth and on this ship. No one else matters to me. So if you think it would be in our best interest to meet with this Florin, then I'm all in."

  "That would be the most honourable thing to do," said Saoirse.

  "One day that honour will get you killed," Phoenix said, walking away.

  32

  They made the four-day journey detailed in Julius' instructions. Four long, arduous days, that involved arguing, hissy fits, and more arguing. Most of the crew hated the idea of going into the lion's den--the Fren stronghold--especially after what had happened back at the outlaw station.

  Phoenix understood their case better than anyone, but he had given his word to Saoirse that they would go, and he would not go back on it.

  "We should be approaching the planet shortly," said Kai.

  "Have I told y'all that I think this plan is stupid?"

  "Yes, Plowstow, I think you've mentioned it once or twice," said Phoenix.

  "Good...good. Because y'all know how stupid it is, going into an enemy stronghold when he knows you're coming, right?"

  "Yup," said Phoenix.

  "And you also know how stupid it is not to take the opportunity to run after they sent Rustem after us, right?"

  "Yup."

  "Good, good. Just checking, that's all. Wouldn't want to say I told you so with my last dying breath."

  Phoenix drummed his fingers along the armrest of his chair. His thoughts touched on a million things but didn't rest on any one for long.

&nbs
p; Is this safe? Should we even be going?

  Making friends with the Fren family had its advantages. For one, they would have a powerful friend on the Council, and secondly they needed all the friends that they could get, at the moment. With the whole universe out for their blood, friends were in short supply. Plus they might even get to clear their names.

  The gamble was huge, but the payoff was even bigger, and they had an enemy in common--Holger. If everything went as planned, and everyone watched their Ps and Qs, then this trip should be worthwhile.

  "You people must not like living---"

  "Plowstow!" Phoenix slammed his hand against the armrest.

  Plowstow raised his hands in the air and shook his head, putting his feet up on the console in front of him. Phoenix looked to Saoirse, who stared intently at the viewing screen. There was nothing to see, but he knew that her focus was elsewhere.

  He knew this meant more to her than anyone else, and if the whole thing went up in smoke then it would be her neck on the line. The fate of the crew rested on this decision.

  "Kai, as soon as we stop flaring I want you to tell me if you see anything on the scanners. Any ships, any anomalies, any red little dots that appear to be dangerous," said Phoenix.

  "Red little dots?" Kai said with a raised eyebrow.

  "Don't be a dick! You know what I mean."

  "We should be stopping flaring in ten, nine, eight.."

  Phoenix could feel his heart playing a drum solo against his chest. He moved his tongue around his dry mouth but it felt like sandpaper against the roof of his mouth. Gripping the armrest of his chair, the fingers on his right hand found the little indentations that his hand had formed.

  "Four, three, two..."

  He inched forward in his chair, eyes on the viewing screen.

  "One!"

  All was quiet as Kai furiously tapped away on his controls. The room held its breath awaiting the verdict.

  "It appears...all clear. Thank Soul! I think we're all okay," said Kai.

  "Kai, double and triple check. Does anything even give you a hint of suspicion?"

  "He said everything appears to be in order," Saoirse said, her lips pressed in a thin line.