Stranded: (Space Outlaw 2) Read online

  "What do you think I mean? I'm always the one sorting out problems, fixing things, trying to make sure that we live well. You think that's easy?"

  Blake shook his head in disbelief and pointed to himself before signing aggressively.

  "Oh, so now you didn't ask for this. I see. You remember where we came from? You may forget the cold nights we worked, willing to do anything for anyone's pleasure, but I don't."

  Blake stood with such force from where he sat that his chair fell to the floor.

  "I remember the nights of tears and pain. I made a promise to you, and I kept it! No one will dare touch us again. No one will dare raise a finger to us again. But all that seems for nothing, from the fucking gratitude I get."

  Blake waved and flicked his hands with force. His body was rigid. His jaw was set.

  "You just wanted to be free and live happily with me?" Duke said with a bark of laughter. "How long do you think that would have lasted? Where would we have found work? Two ex–pleasure workers. How long do you think it would have been before people tried to take what we had?"

  Blake shrugged his shoulders and gave a dismissive wave.

  "I'm not being paranoid! You only had to do half the things I had to do. You don't get your hands dirty. You enjoy all the benefits and rewards without doing any of the work. Life is easy for you, Blake! The deal was for you to look after me and I would look after you!"

  Blake began to move his hands but was shouted down.

  "Don't interrupt! That's your problem–never wanting to listen. Do you think that fucker with the earring will be the only one hammering at our doors? If we allow them to escape–allow them to win–then all of this is done. And I will not go back to where I came from. Not for anyone!"

  A simple hand gesture. A simple question.

  "I'll tell you what we're going to do. We're going to get Kai back and lock him up for the rest of his life. Then we're going to get that sister of his and have her show us how to get into that ship of hers."

  Blake pointed to Duke, then himself, giving a short sign. His face was emotionless, as he tried to hide the torrent of emotion that ran under the surface.

  "What do you mean, then what? Then we continue as we always have."

  Blake started to walk away and didn't turn around when his name was shouted. There was no point. He had once loved the person who stood across from him, but now? Things were beginning to change. He just had to decide if he was willing to make his own changes to survive.

  28

  Phoenix and Kai ran along the rooftops, ducking plasma fire, to the shouts and cries of thugs who had seen their prize in sight.

  "Why the fuck are they firing? I thought they would want you alive," said Phoenix.

  "They aren't that smart. They haven't embraced the wonders of Soul in their hearts. They're still trapped in their rage instead of addressing it. Peace and happiness is the only true way to live," said Kai.

  Phoenix looked at Kai with one raised eyebrow but kept what he was going to say to himself. He would address that hippie shit later. Right now, he needed to keep focused.

  A head popped up over the lip of the building in front of them. Phoenix blasted it into oblivion and kept running. They jumped over the gap between the two buildings. Plasma bolts shot up from the ground below. Landing on the opposite roof, they rolled and kept on running.

  Kai had seemed to catch his second wind, but Phoenix didn't know how long that would last. They needed to lose the second hover car that followed them. It seemed the four vehicles had split up–two after Phoenix and Kai, and two after Saoirse and L.

  Phoenix just hoped the other two were okay.

  At the sound of another resounding boom, Phoenix looked over his shoulder. The building was crumbling behind him, falling away. Kai peered over his shoulder and looked back at Phoenix, eyes wide and mouth agape. He didn't say a word. He didn't need to.

  "Move!" said Phoenix.

  They leapt from one building to the next without stopping, without caring what came next. They just needed to make sure they weren't around for what was to come.

  Phoenix felt the roof shake under his feet with the sound of the third boom. He could see his escape in the distance, but his footing was unsure. He had to make it.

  Phoenix ducked and dived to avoid a plasma bolt. He leapt from one building to the next. Back on his feet, he heard a yell of shock behind him. Kai was wrapped up in what appeared to be a net. Phoenix could see his features mashed against the netting. His face was fearful but he struggled, hopeful that he might still be able to escape.

  The net appeared to be attached to an elastic rope, which was pulled taunt against its struggling prey. Kai tried his hardest to crawl free of his entrapment, but Phoenix knew that he didn't have enough time or strength to free himself. As the elastic snapped back it pulled Kai off the roof and into the unknown.

  Phoenix knew that the whole event hadn't lasted longer than ten seconds but it felt like a lifetime. He realised too late that he had been standing stationary for far too long.

  The final boom brought him from his thoughts. Phoenix's stomach dropped as he felt the roof give way below him. He saw his salvation on the opposite building; its roof–and safety–was only a hop and a leap away. He pumped his legs but it was of no use. Phoenix saw the beautiful night skyline, where old met new, and marvelled at the beauty of it. He should have taken more time to study it before it was too late.

  But none of that mattered as a deafening roar filled his ears and he dropped into the darkness below.

  L, Saoirse and Freyan sat quietly in a corner of Rusty's. L tapped her fingers along the tabletop and flicked her gaze behind her every so often. The door to the inn had not opened for a good while, but she still hoped that Phoenix and Kai would walk through the door at any minute.

  She hugged her arms around herself, as her hair changed from one shade to the next. The fire crackling in the pit kept the chill night air at bay but she still couldn't help but shudder. Running her hands up and down her arms, she let out a small sigh.

  She took another look over her shoulder.

  Nothing.

  Where the sands are they?

  She had thought that coming back home would bring all her old memories of the place back, but the longer she stayed there, the more she wanted to leave. She had romanticised the places she knew and the people that lived, breathed, worked in the city. Now she realised it was just all a dream.

  The streets were nothing more than dirt tracks and the buildings just shaky bits of metal stuck together. The people were husks with the life sucked out of them.

  This planet had that effect on people. It wanted to break them. The days were too hot to do anything but seek shade and the nights too cold to do anything but wrap up near a fire and sleep.

  L knew she shouldn't be angry at the Tingoneese. They were her people. They had endured global disaster, world wars, civil wars and everything in between. But through it all, her people didn't seem to want to...better themselves. They allowed one evil dictator after the next to lead the way.

  Before Duke had run the city, there had been someone else just as bad. No doubt the person after Duke wouldn't be any better. It was almost as though her people enjoyed being repressed.

  Her time in Dredar had made her forget the reality of her life back home. Or maybe she had just wanted to gloss it over and pretend her life there would have been better than being shut away in some cage.

  When she had been in that jail cell, she had wanted to be anywhere else–be a slave anywhere else. She had thought she would never see the light of day again. The end of the line. The only way out was through death.

  But then she had met Midnight. Midnight had given L hope. She had given L a reason to dream again–a reason to dream of somewhere better. Somewhere happier. L had hoped she would find it with this newly formed crew. She only hoped and prayed that she could take her brother along for the ride too.

  L looked over her shoulder once more and sa
w Phoenix standing in the doorway.

  He was alone.

  29

  Duke paced up and down his office. The charred carpet and a hole the size of a hover vehicle in one of the walls was a constant reminder of the earlier blast. The cold wind gusting through the hole did nothing to cool his temper.

  He couldn't contain it. It consumed him.

  "Blake! Blake!"

  He waited for a response but got no answer.

  "Where in the sands is he? He's never around when I need him."

  Duke stopped in front of the remains of what had once been his desk and stabbed his finger on a button that connected him to the warehouse holocoms. It beeped and beeped, waiting for someone–anyone–to answer it.

  "Hello?" a voice on the other end finally said.

  "Where is everyone?"

  "They appear to be still out, sir. You did say for everyone to make Kai and L a priority."

  "A priority--"

  "It means--"

  "I know what it means! I haven't got sand for brains. What is taking them so long? Did they leave on foot? We have hover cars. The job should have been done, already."

  "I can only guess, sir, that they ran into some sort of problem," the voice said through the holocom.

  "You can only guess, huh? What a fucking load of good you are to me. Inform me when they have arrived," Duke said.

  "Anything else, sir?"

  "Is... Have... I haven't seen Blake in a while, do you know where he is?"

  The only response was the howling of the wind as it came through the hole in the wall. The silence grew, and if Duke wasn't mistaken he could almost hear a gulp at the other end of the line.

  "Well, err--"

  "Spit it out," said Duke.

  "Well, the last time... No, there has been no sign of Blake anywhere. Some of the men said that he told them that he would be back later, but he had bags with him. Packed bags. I can only take a guess at where he would be now, but if he said that he would be back, then I guess he will be."

  Duke said nothing but placed both hands on his desk. His head bent low as he closed his eyes to the hot feeling that stirred in his stomach.

  So this was what it had come to? This was how it was going to end?

  "Sir?"

  "Err, report back to me if you see him. Let him know that I would like to speak to him."

  "Will do, sir."

  Duke resumed his pacing. He didn't want to dwell on the thoughts pushing their way to the surface. He didn't have time to face them, right now. They would only slow him down. They would only make him weaker. For now, he had issues that needed his attention.

  Any sign of weakness on his part would be seen as an invitation for someone to challenge him. Then he would be fighting a war on two fronts.

  No!

  He needed to appear strong. He needed to crush his enemies and spread their ashes to the winds.

  The only way he could do that was if he appeared strong, even though his world was crumbling around him.

  "Sir?" a voice from the holocom said.

  "What?"

  "They have captured Kai. He's in the building."

  A ghost of a smile graced Duke's lips. "Bring him up to me."

  Duke didn't have to wait long to hear the footsteps of his prey making their way towards him. They echoed along the halls that led to his office. He leaned against his desk, arms folded over his chest, eyes half closed, thoughts touching on a million things but never resting for long on one.

  A knock on his door made him lift his head. "Enter."

  In walked a ragged-looking Kai. Multiple cuts on his face bled freely, his lip was swollen, and one eye was forced shut, already blackening. He shuffled forward, head down, quiet as a mute. His hands were bound in front of him. His clothes appeared torn in some places and had been reduced to strips of material in others.

  Two thugs stood on either side of Kai, each holding onto one arm.

  "Really, is that any way to treat a friend?" Duke said. "Release him–this is no way to talk about business."

  One of the thugs did as he was told and cut the restraints from Kai's wrists. Kai rubbed where they had bitten into his skin. He rotated his hands around in small circles.

  "So," said Duke.

  "So," replied Kai.

  Silence dominated the room while they stared at each other.

  Duke drummed his fingers along the desk behind him. He stared deep into Kai's eyes, waiting for the fool to lower his gaze. But he did not. Something was amiss.

  "What seems to be the problem?" Duke asked.

  "Nothing. Nothing at all," Kai said sullenly.

  Duke's fingers picked up their pace along the desk. His tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth and his brow wrinkled in thought. His eyes narrowed to slits, and he slammed his hands down with force, making everyone in the room jump.

  "Come now, Kai, we can't have you all silent and moody when you're always the life of the party. Tell me what seems to be the issue. Tell me how we can both be of help to each other."

  Kai folded his arms across his chest and shook his head from side to side. His lips upturned, and Kai shook his head again.

  "Come on, Duke, why all the lies? I thought you were a son of Soul. Why go through all this when the veil has been lifted?"

  "I don't know what you mean, young Kai," Duke said, forcing a smile to his lips.

  "My sister. My blood. You had her falsely imprisoned--"

  "Who told you such lies? Your sister is a criminal, through and through. Of course she would say such things. We both know--"

  "We both know what? Never to trust the word of a criminal? If that were the case, I would rather trust blood than you, seeing as both of you are in the same boat."

  "Look, you fool! I don't know what she told you, but I went to painstaking efforts to see that she didn't pay the full price for her crimes. Do you know how much it cost me?"

  "To set her up?" said Kai.

  Duke gritted his teeth. His eyes narrowed, and he passed a hand through his hair. "I did everything I could to keep your sister safe. And because of that, we had a deal. You'd work for me, doing as I asked, and I would make sure the law went easy on her. Nothing has changed. Apart from the fact that she has destroyed my warehouse, and injured or killed some of my men. I don't care what she means to you, I can't allow this to go unpunished."

  "Listen--"

  "No, you listen. Nothing has changed. The deal still remains the same. You are indebted to me, and I am not even talking about the credits you still owe because of your VRG habit. So this is what will happen. Everything will go back to normal, and I will smooth this mess over. Is that clear?"

  Kai swept his hair out of his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. "Sorry, my brother, that won't fly--"

  The backhand Duke delivered spun Kai around and dropped him to the floor. Kai held his cheek where the blow had landed, a red bruise already forming beneath his fingers.

  Duke walked towards Kai, who shuffled back on the floor, but his back bumped against the legs of one of the thugs behind him.

  Duke squatted down so they were eye to eye. "Listen to me, you VRG fucker. I will break every bone in that worthless body of yours till you do as I say. I will start with the ones that ain't useful to me. The feet. The legs. The ribs. Then I will start chopping bits off. I will continue to do so till I find a replacement to work for me. You think you're a special little sand grain? That no one can do your job?

  "You're wrong. And I will have great pleasure inflicting pain on you–showing you just how wrong you are."

  Duke stood and straightened his clothes. He looked down his nose at the pitiful thing on the floor. "Do we understand each other?" he said.

  30

  Phoenix couldn't stand the horrified look L gave him when he walked through the door. She broke down at the sight of him, crying and screaming, while the onlookers of the inn watched the scene with amusement. Hadn't he promised her? Hadn't he given her his word?


  But yet here he was, back safe, without any injuries. And where was her brother?

  Phoenix had tried to answer her questions but none of his answers placated L. Hell, they didn't even appease him. So while L sobbed and cried on Saoirse's shoulder, Phoenix knocked back a few shots of whatever the hell was put in front of him.

  It did nothing to sooth the raging fire burning in the pit of his stomach. If anything, the alcohol was only fuel for the flames.

  "So you believe Kai is still..." said Saoirse.

  "Yes, I do believe he's alive. They captured him by net. The only reason for that would be to keep him alive. Duke still needs him. Kai is profitable to him. Too profitable to risk hurting him. So he must be safe and sound. The only thing we need to find out is how to get to him. Duke will no doubt have tripled his forces, so trying the same way as last time would be next to impossible," said Phoenix.

  "How do...you...know he's alive? I mean, anything could have happened to him," L said through tearful sobs.

  "L, trust--" Phoenix stopped himself and scratched his stubble, before letting out a sigh. "Don't trust what I say. Just think what you would do if you were Duke. Why kill the one person that makes you a daily profit? Without Kai, Duke loses control of the VRG store. It would be suicide. He needs those credits to keep a stranglehold on the city.

  "No, he won't hurt Kai. But he will come for us. A psychotic prick like that will stop at nothing to make sure that we are dealt with. His reputation demands it. And trust me, he's all about reputation."

  "Then what do we do?" L asked.

  "I'm still working on that."

  "Well, work faster! Now Duke knows I'm back in the city, he will want me to unlock the doors to my ship. The ship I slaved to build. I will not allow him to have it! It means too much to me," said L.

  "What's so important about this ship? With Duke's wealth, surely he can purchase any ship he wants," said Freyan.

  "My ship is different. It was the prototype. It has flaring twice the speed as the normal standard. Weaponry that could punch a hole through a dreadnought. Shields that can withstand punishment most ships couldn't.