Chapter Eighteen

"Y ou want me to do what ?"

Naya ignored Danny's outburst and continued to rifle through the box of clothing in the safe house bedroom. "I want you to go to your communications guy and wait for a message from Hallie."

"Why the hell would I do that? She's one of them."

Naya sat back on her heels and glared at Dankirk. "She most definitely is not. I'm sure she got my message by now. I also know that Terror is probably shitting bricks trying to track me down. She's his best chance at finding me. If she thinks she can help me, she'll do it. So you go back to your com man and wait."

"For what?" Dankirk grabbed the first-aid kit and sat down on the edge of the small bed. "Give me your wrist. You're bleeding again."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have jabbed your knife four inches into my arm!" Her wrist throbbed incessantly. Her friend's surgical skills were sorely lacking but he'd gotten the job done.

"I told you I didn't know what I was doing." He unwrapped her arm and applied another wad of thick gauze on top of the already soaked dressing. Like her, he'd learned enough first aid to know that removing the bottom layer of a dressing and dislodging the clotted blood was a no-no. "We need to get you some antibiotics."

"Why? I'm probably going to be dead by sunrise."

"Don't say that," he admonished. "You're going to make it out of this."

"And do what?" She'd been asking herself the same thing. The one thing she wanted she couldn't have anymore.

"Look, I know you loved him, but he turned his back on you."

The need to defend Menace overwhelmed her. "You don't know him. You don't know Terror either." All the things she had been thinking during the long flight to Calyx poured of her mouth. "I don't think he willingly gave me up. I think Terror played us both. Menace is so damn decent he probably believed that lawyers and judges would sort this out. He believes Terror is his friend. He has no idea what that man is really like."

"Maybe," Danny said with an unhappy grumble. "It doesn't really matter now. You can't go back to that world. In a few months, you won't even remember him anymore."

She didn't think that was possible. What she'd shared with Menace eclipsed anything she'd ever felt for any other man. She didn't know if her heart would ever recover from this one.

"Let me come with you," Danny pleaded as he wrapped her arm. "I can help you."

She shook her head. "You can help me more by getting a message to Hallie. She needs to know where they take me so the Harcos team that comes to retrieve me can get their hands on the weapons, the Sixers and maybe even the Splinter cell. If Terror gets what he wants, he'll leave Hallie and Menace alone."

Dankirk put up both hands. "Wait. Back up. Who is going to take you where?"

She rolled her eyes. "The Sixers, Danny! Finding their headquarters is going to be impossible. You don't even know where it is. Anyone who does know sure as heck isn't going to tell us. The only way to get to their stronghold is to have them drag me right into it."

"So what? You're going let them take you?"

"I'm not going to give them a choice. I'm going to make the rounds of the underground and drop crumbs. They'll have to come get me so they can question me. They'll want to pump me for information before they finish me off."

Dankirk grimaced. "It's a big risk, Naya. They might just walk up to you and pop you right on the street."

She swallowed hard. "They might."

"I'll put my eyes and ears on you but I'll tell them to stay back. They won't lose you. You better hope Hallie comes through."

"She will." Naya didn't doubt her new friend for a moment. If Hallie could help, she would.

"If those sky warriors engage the Sixer crew, the distraction ought to buy you some time to escape. It won't be much time but it's a chance."

"If I get an opportunity, I'll take it," Naya promised. "I'd love to see my twentyfourth birthday next month, but it's out of my hands."

Her arm patched up and her plan laid out, Naya dug through the secondhand clothing until she found an outfit. She stripped down to her undies and bra and hopped into the loose-fitting cargo pants and a blue-and-white-flannel shirt. An old belt helped keep her pants in place. She stuffed her feet in a pair of slightly too-large men's boots and shrugged into a brown jacket with an even darker hood. Winter had come a few weeks early to Calyx. She needed to stay warm.

"Here." Dankirk thrust a sheathed knife and small pistol into her hands. "You'll need these."

"Thanks." She slipped the knife into her boot and tucked the gun into the back of her waistband.

"My offer still stands, Naya. You can come with me and we'll go to the colonies. You can leave all this behind."

"I can't." She turned him down gently. "If it was just about me, I'd be tempted to say yes. I can't let Hallie or Menace get hurt."

"Even though he hurt you?"

Naya sighed. "It's not that simple, Danny. You can't possibly understand the kind of pressure Terror exerts. It's not like the secret police here. This guy—he's unfeeling. He's a monster. He doesn't care who gets hurt so long as he accomplishes his mission. I know what he did to make me come here and attempt this. I can only imagine how he twisted Menace's arm."

He looked as though he wanted to argue with her but didn't. Instead he hugged her tightly. "Good luck, Naya. Be safe."

She lingered in her friend's embrace, enjoying the comfort of another person's heat and strength. His friendship and love bolstered her courage. Pulling back, she cleared her throat. "I'll see you soon."

Naya fled the safe house through a side door. She breathed in the cold, crisp winter air. She'd gotten so used to the climate-controlled interiors of the Valiant that the chilly wind burning her cheeks and nose was something of a novelty. She burrowed down a little deeper into the brown coat and pushed her hands into the pockets.

Head down, she traversed the dirty streets in search of the bars, pawnshops and secret gambling dens where the kind of lowlifes she needed were sure to be found. She made sure to talk loudly and stupidly at every stop. She wanted people to hear her asking for a place to buy a gun or that she was looking for work of the smuggling variety. She wanted a big, honking sign on her back that said "kidnap me!"

She stopped for lunch midafternoon. The food carts that lined the retail sector of the city drew her closer. Danny had given her some money to tide her over. It was more than enough to buy a hot meal and a drink. She found a discarded cable spool and joined the handful of day laborers gathered there to eat. She savored every bite of the sloppy, spicy sandwich, fully aware it might be her last meal.

Her gaze moved around the bustling sector. A series of paper advertisements plastered on the crumbling walls caught her eye. The shock of recognizing an old acquaintance arced through her. Elladee, a fellow homeless child and orphan, had been part of Dankirk's pack of street urchins.

Even back then, Ella had been strikingly beautiful. Naya couldn't believe where that gorgeous face had gotten her. Apparently she'd risen from humble beginnings to find a career as a designer's muse. Naya was happy to see someone had escaped that hellish existence.

She finished her meal and drank the last of her tea. Naya scanned the area while she dumped her trash. The sensation of being watched had grown stronger. She'd spotted one of Danny's tails earlier but had lost track of her in the crowd. This felt different. No doubt the Sixers or maybe even the Splinter cell they worked with had gotten wind of her.

Flipping up the hood on her coat, Naya hugged her arms across her chest and started walking again. Her heartbeat fluttered wildly. She made a split-second decision to take a less crowded side street, knowing full well she was probably going to be accosted. She said a silent prayer that they wouldn't try to knock her out with a club of some kind. Nothing like a head injury to slow her down when the seconds counted…

It seemed the universe heard her plea and decided to do her a solid. She heard the rushing footsteps but didn't try to outrun them. Before she could turn around, two arms grabbed her around the waist. She threw back both elbows and hit her mark. Her attacker grunted but got the upper hand by smashing a wet cloth to her face. The sicklysweet scent invaded her burning nostrils. Her body went slack but she fought the urge to black out.

Her assailant turned her in his arms. Her sleepy eyes widened briefly at the sight of the familiar face before she slipped into an unconscious state. Nattie.

When she woke, her head pounded so hard it made her nauseous. She rolled onto her side, wincing as cold, unyielding stone pressed into her flesh, and pushed up onto her hands and knees. The urge to vomit was too strong to deny. She retched pitifully onto the dirty stone floor. So much for her last meal…

"Here, pet." Nattie's familiar voice filtered through her dry-heaving. "Drink this."

Still groggy and unsteady, Naya crawled away from the mess she'd made and tried to adjust her hazy vision. She was in a dank cell. Her brother crouched on the other side of the bars and wiggled a bottle of water at her. "Nattie?"

"I think I hit you with too much of the sleepy juice," he said with an apologetic smile. "You'll be fine though."

Limbs trembling, she made her way across the cell to the bars and flopped down on her butt. Her nose burned so badly. She rubbed her forehead. "Why did you do that to me?"

He pressed the water into her hands. "Why did you come back?"

She fought with the lid and finally managed to twist it open. "You know why."

He sighed heavily. "It won't change anything."

Naya swished a mouthful of water and spit it into the corner. She gulped a few swallows of the expensive purified water and eased the pain in her throat. Her vision started to clear and she got her first good look at her brother. He looked even worse than the photograph she'd seen. Something had happened to his right eye. The iris was milky-gray. Red streaks marred the sclera. The pockmarks on his face were even deeper and harsher. His teeth were brown nubs in spots.

"Hell, Nattie." She reached through the bars and gripped his hand. "When did you start using Impulse?"

He glanced away from her. "After Sindee died."

"Sindee is dead? How?"

"A new strain of the cough got her in Safe Harbor," he said. "It came off one of the sky warrior ships. They took too long giving the treatment to the hospitals in the colonies."

She stroked his hand. "I'm so sorry, Nattie."

He shrugged, the movement twitchy and jerky. "It was a long time ago."

"That doesn't mean it hurts any less," she countered.

"Is that how you feel about me taking your money?"

Her belly lurched as the pain of his betrayal became fresh again. "Sometimes," she admitted.

"It was wrong of me to do that. I know what you risked and how hard you worked to get that money together. I should have taken you with me."

She sighed. "It was a long time ago, Nattie. We can't change what happened."

He didn't say anything. Instead he pointed to the ceiling. "They told me you got taken by one of the sky warriors."

She nodded. "His name is Menace."

"Menace?" he repeated with a laugh. "Not exactly warm and fuzzy."

"No," she agreed with a smile.

"Do you love him?"

"It's complicated," she answered honestly. "And what I feel doesn't matter. We're not together anymore."

"But you're doing his bidding," Nattie said and scratched at a phantom bug on his neck.

"I'm not doing his bidding. It's another man who sent me here. A very, very dangerous man," she insisted. "You don't want to be here when he comes."

Regret and sadness flashed across his good eye. "I don't have anywhere else to go, pet."

Even though Nattie had hurt her so much, she couldn't shake the need to gather him close. He'd always been so weak and so easily manipulated. It was no wonder he'd ended up in this position. "You could come with me."

He seemed to be considering her offer. Eventually he shook his head. "Where you're going, I'm not keen to follow. Come on." He rose slowly, using the bars for support. "Mama wants to see you."

Not exactly thrilled by the thought of her impending family reunion, Naya took her sweet time climbing to her feet. She took another drink of water. Shivering with cold, she finally realized they'd taken her coat and pistol. A flex of her ankle told her the knife was gone too.

Defenseless, she stood back as Nattie opened the door to her cell. He touched the gun holstered on his hip. "Don't make me use this, Naya."

"I won't." With his twitchiness, she didn't make any sudden movements. Being shot by Nattie wasn't on her bucket list. Side by side with her brother, Naya walked through a maze of hallways. The pungent scent of fuel and chemicals filled her nose. "Is this an old manufacturing plant?"

Nattie glanced at her. "They used to make batteries here before they got that newfangled solar power plant set up across town. The size and location makes it perfect for our needs. Besides, with all the toxic fumes and the dump site out back, no one wants to come here to nose around."

Naya tried not to dwell on the effect all those toxic fumes were having on her right now. She could almost feel her brain cells melting.

They passed through a set of double doors and entered the main manufacturing space of the warehouse. Most of the equipment had been cleared. A living space had been set up in one section and small mess hall in another. Dozens of hard-looking men and women stopped what they were doing to watch her.

One entire side of the room was taken up by stacks of crates. They bore the stamp of the central government and were labeled as perishables. Her brain pieced together the information. There weren't any food shortages and the Harcos treaties weren't demanding too high quotas. No, some corrupt bastard in the government was selling food supplies to the Sixers.

"It's a good deal," Nattie said, his gaze moving over the floor-to-ceiling stacks of food. "We get a wholesale price. Mama sells it to the Splinter guys for three or four times as much as we paid. They need supplies so badly they'll pay anything. They'll even do food-for-gun deals. You should see the shit they hijacked last night and traded us this morning!"

"So you get your hands on weapons and cash while the Splinter cell gets to agitate the people of Calyx," Naya murmured.

"You always were the smart one."

Naya's gut clenched at the sound of her mother's husky voice. The memories of her childhood, most of them painful and tear-ridden, flooded back. She turned slowly to face the woman who had abandoned her. Decked out like a low-rent general, her mother commanded the attention of every eye in the place.

"Hello, Mama."

She didn't reply. Instead she walked a slow circle around Naya. "You turned out prettier than I'd imagined. With your daddy's genes, I was sure you'd look like someone beat you with the ugly stick by now."

Naya let the insult roll right off her back. Unable to help herself, she gestured to her own cheek. "The scar's a nice look for you. Makes you look powerful."

"Keep it up," her mother warned. "I haven't forgotten how easy it was to make you cry. I've still got my strap."

Naya's jaw tightened. "You don't scare me anymore."

"I should. Who do you think controls this city? It sure as hell ain't the government. It's me." She touched her chest. "Me and my crew and my guns."

"You and your crew and your guns are in big trouble. The Harcos forces know you're working with the Splinter cell here on Calyx. They don't care if they get their hands on you or the Splinters. They just want their weapons."

Her mother laughed. "Honey baby, they've been trying to pin me down for years. They haven't succeeded yet."

"I found you in half a day," Naya snapped. "You have no idea what kind of pain these people are willing to inflict to get their answers. All it takes is one set of loose lips and your operation is toast."

"Let them come." Her mother looked gleeful. "It will accelerate our plans but we're ready. People are already on edge because of the food shortages and the riots. All it will take is one spark and this populace will rise up."

"And what? You'll be right there to supply them with weapons?"

"And food," her mother gestured to the crates. "The easiest way to win hearts and minds is to give them what they need."

"You are insane. This plan isn't going to work. It's just going to get a lot of people killed." Naya pointed to a man decked out in stolen Harcos weapons. "Look, those weapons are fine for close-quarters combat but the sky warriors control the high ground. They have ships and bombs and weapons we can't even imagine. If they think they've lost this city to enemy control, they will destroy this whole damn place."

"Let them." Her mother shrugged cruelly. "I'll be long gone. Can you imagine the kind of sales volume I'll have then? Every backward country bumpkin on this planet will want one of my weapons."

Naya's stomach lurched. The Splinter cell and her mother's Sixer crew had it all mapped out. The cost in human lives was nothing compared to the profits they could expect. "You're a monster."

"Oh, sugar baby, don't look so sad." Her mother drew the weapon from her thigh holster. "You won't be around to see any of that."

Before Naya could react, her mother fired three rounds. The impact registered in her brain before the searing pain ripping through her abdomen hit. Hands clutching her stomach, Naya stumbled backward. Rich, dark blood spilled into her hands. She stared at the crimson fluid, her brain on the fritz from the shock and trauma of actually being shot. Even when meting out death, her mother had chosen the cruelty of a slow, painful demise over the mercy of a plasma weapon.

"Naya!" Nattie rushed to her aid, cradling her body as she crumpled to the floor. He put a hand to her face. "Mama! Why? You said you were going to give her to one of the Splinter men."

"You think I'm going to hand them a girl who has intel on us and our enemies? Grow up, Nattie!" Their mother tossed a gun toward him. "Drag her into the middle of the floor and leave her there. The rest of you? Get ready. They're coming."

***

Menace nervously chewed his gum while Cipher got his mini-drones operational. Once they'd touched down outside The City, Hallie had come through like a champ. She'd made contact with a man who quickly put her in touch with Dankirk. Naya's friend had been waiting for Hallie's call. Menace had been sick with worry as the man relayed Naya's plans.

In that moment, he'd understood why Terror had been so tempted to use her. She was tenacious—and reckless. He'd never had such a strong urge to swat her backside. She had to learn that her life was precious and worth protecting. Once she was safely at his side, he intended to do everything in his power to convince her that she was very much loved and needed.

From the staging point, Menace had a good view of the dilapidated factory. Their ship's environmental sensors had gone haywire as Hazard brought them in for a stealth and fully cloaked landing. It seemed the place had been a factory at one point. Most of the toxic chemicals and byproducts were still onsite. The sooner they got Naya out of there the better.

His earbud clicked twice, alerting him that Pierce, their strike team leader, was coming on the line. He stopped chewing and listened.

"Cipher tells me we'll have drone feeds within the next sixty seconds. The charges are set at the entry points. Once recon is complete, we make entry on my mark."

Menace glanced to his left where Raze and Venom had taken up their positions. Hazard crouched down just to his right. The pilot hadn't been hard to convince to take the dangerous mission. Pierce, two members of the Shadow Force and the other three members of the SRU team were ready to breach the old factory from another angle. Terror had remained behind on the Valiant to supervise from his war room. It was no secret that no one wanted to go into battle with him right now.

Menace pushed his tactical glasses into place. The polarized lenses displayed a realtime feed from Cipher's drones. He glanced away from the picture, not at all interested in the swooping turns the devices were making.

But when a drone entered through a broken window and provided a full view of the main factory floor, he grew very interested. Menace spotted the open barracks-style housing section. The stacks of crates stamped perishable interested him the most. Naya's stories of food shortages and riots came to mind. Was this where all that food was going?

The silent drone began to slowly shift its view. There, finally, Naya came into view. She wore strange men's clothing. Her gait seemed off to him. Had she been drugged or hit on the head?

As if reading his mind, Cipher came across the radio. "Target in sight. Will put medical on standby for possible head injury or sedative exposure. Acquiring audio feed in ten, nine, eight…"

Menace's earbud crackled. A moment later, Naya's sweet voice filled his ear. "While the Splinter cell gets to agitate the people of Calyx."

A woman dressed in men's tactical gear came into view. He recognized her from the photos Terror had shown him. Turn around. He silently urged Naya to see the woman coming up behind her.

"You always were the smart one."

Naya stiffened. She faced her mother slowly. "Hello, Mama."

His gut clenched as the woman took her time studying Naya. He waited to see what she would say to her daughter.

"You turned out prettier than I'd imagined. With your daddy's genes, I was sure you'd look like someone beat you with the ugly stick by now."

He spotted the tic in Naya's jaw. No, sweetheart, don't poke the bear.

Naya pointed to her flawless cheek. "The scar's a nice look for you. Makes you look powerful."

"Shit," Menace whispered. She simply couldn't stop those smart-ass remarks from leaving her mouth.

"Counting twenty-seven armed on the main floor," Cipher informed. "I read a dozen heat signals in other portions of the factory. Will engage and separate enemy with drone missiles on command's mark."

"Affirmative," Pierce answered.

Down on the factory floor, Naya and her mother continued to face off. He'd missed some of their conversation. He was sure it had been a doozy.

Her mother grinned. "Let them come. It will accelerate our plans but we're ready. People are already on edge because of the food shortages and the riots. All it will take is one spark and this populace will rise up."

The whole evil plan came to light. Menace had to admit it was a tried-and-true method for fomenting revolution.

"And what?" Naya shouted. "You'll be right there to supply them with weapons?"

"And food. The easiest way to win hearts and minds is to give them what they need."

Naya glared at her mother. "You are insane. This plan isn't going to work. It's just going to get a lot of people killed. Look, those weapons are fine for close-quarters combat, but the sky warriors control the high ground. They have ships and bombs and weapons—"

"Prepare to breach." Pierce interrupted the feed. "Cipher, give us a sixty-second countdown."

"Yes, sir. Breaching in sixty seconds."

"Can you imagine the kind of sales volume I'll have then?" Naya's mother asked. "Every backward country bumpkin on this planet will want one of my weapons." Naya's shoulders slumped. "You're a monster."

"Breaching in forty-five."

"Oh, sugar baby, don't look so sad."

Menace's heart skipped two beats as the other woman raised her weapon and aimed right at Naya. Before he could even shout the word no, Naya took three to the stomach. The world went still around him. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He choked on his gum as his instinctive swallow pulled it down his throat. Awash in horror, Menace watched Naya fall backward into her brother's thin arms.

Blood soaked her shirt and spilled onto her hands. He'd seen enough stomach wounds to know that she didn't have much time. They had to get to her. Now.

"Breach! Move! Move!" Pierce shouted the order. "Cipher, blow that back room."

On autopilot, Menace ran forward with his team. Small, controlled explosions rocked the facility. Tunnel vision took hold. His only thought was of reaching Naya in time. The reality that she could die alone clawed at him. If she died without knowing how much he loved her, Menace wouldn't be able to live with himself. It would be too cruel for her to leave this world without knowing the warmth of his love.

Two explosions Pierce's men had set took out the doors and granted them access to the building. They hit the factory hard and fast. The sight of Naya in a pool of blood in the center of the floor made his heart leap into his throat. Bloody streaks marked the path she had been dragged. Rapid gunfire and plasma bursts rocketed over her writhing, hemorrhaging body.

Raze and Venom were pinned down on one side of the room. Hazard had a shield with him but he was too far back. Every time he took a step, he drew heavy fire. Frantic, Menace looked around for something, anything, to use as a shield so he could pull her out of harm's way.

"Hang on, Menace. I'm coming for you."

The shock of hearing Terror's voice in his ear left him momentarily stunned. In another instant, the Shadow Force operative was at his side with a heavy shield. Terror grabbed his arm. "Let's move."

He didn't even ask how Terror had gotten there. He didn't care. This was his only chance to save Naya. He was grasping it with both hands.

Bullets and plasma bursts ricocheted off the heavy-duty and specially coated shield. They kept low and moved quickly. Pierce shouted commands over the radio, ordering Venom into a sniper position. Whether he would get there in time to help Menace and Terror extricate Naya was anyone's guess.

Menace dropped to his knees next to Naya. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. He shook his head. "Don't talk. Conserve your energy."

"We don't have much time, Menace. Work quickly," Terror grunted as he kept the shield in place, shifting it ever so slightly to provide the most coverage for Naya.

Menace grabbed a trauma dressing from the med kit strapped to his thigh and pressed it hard to her belly. She cried out in pain. Blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth. "Just hold on, sweetheart."

She gripped his wrist. "I'm sorry. I should have told you but—"

"Don't," he cut her off before she could finish the apology. "None of that matters now." He caressed her face. "I love you, Naya. I love you. Just focus on that, sweetheart."

Her pained, panicked expression softened. "I love you too."

"Touching as this is, we need to move." Terror glanced over his shoulder and frowned at them. "Get her up, Menace."

Even though he worried lifting her would cause even more damage to her internal organs, there was no other choice. If they stayed here, she was going to die. She screamed in pain as he gathered her in his arms. Her hot, slick blood coated his hands and soaked his uniform. The bitter scent of it made his stomach churn.

With Terror at his back, Menace ran toward their team, who provided constant suppressive fire. Up above, Venom picked off the enemy one by one. Finally unpinned, Hazard rushed out to join Terror with another shield, providing enough coverage to fully protect Naya's wounded body. Bullets whizzed and snapped by them, but the two men ran them out of the factory.

A second ship, this one a so-called dart, often used to evacuate medical casualties, waited near the ship Menace and the team had used. Was that how Terror had gotten to the surface? Even though the dart could make the surface-to- Valiant trip in less than an hour, it was still too much time for Naya.

Hallie came running out of the bigger ship where she'd been waiting with Cipher. Her pale face said it all. Two medics ran out of the dart and hurried to assess Naya's injuries. Menace carefully placed her on the stretcher. Unconscious now, she was barely breathing.

"Take the dart, Menace," Terror urged. "Get her to the Mercy . She won't make it to the Valiant in this shape. The medical installation is still in lower orbit. It's fifteen minutes tops."

Menace nodded and rushed after the two medics who carted her to the safety of the dart. Inside, the pilot was already prepared to take off and was in the process of radioing the installation to let them know a critical patient was incoming. Both medics attached tether cords hooked to harnesses on their jumpsuits to clips dangling from the ceiling to minimize their jostling and the effect of the upcoming gravity loss as they worked. The second her stretcher was secured, the pilot lifted off and began the rough, fast ascent.

One of the medics pushed Menace into a chair to get him out of the way. As he buckled his safety belts, he stared at Naya's limp body. Blood poured onto the floor. Vents strategically placed under the stretcher clamps drained it away so the medics had a safe working space.

They hooked her up to various monitoring devices, stuck her with multiple IVs and pumped her full of medications. She was intubated and placed on a ventilator. Trauma dressings were soaked with synthesized clotting preparations to stem the massive blood loss. Plasma and units of blood were dispensed via the overhead med box. It seemed that as fast as they pushed it into her, it ran out onto the floor.

Needing to feel her, Menace reached out and grabbed her cold hand. Holding it tight, he dropped his head. For the first time since childhood, he prayed.