Page 381 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

It didn’t sound like Akri, but I knew it was him.

“You were right,” he said. He didn’t say about what, but I knew he meant that he shouldn’t have taken this risk, that it hadn’t been worth it, like I’d warned.

I didn’t feel anything but sadness; it would have been nice for him to discover a magical way to control the ‘violent’ urges he was so worried about.

Listening closely to his instructions, I hoped I could remember what he wanted me to do; there were quite a lot of steps. The computerized voice made it sound like there was no urgency, but I felt it anyway. Akri wouldn’t put me at risk to mount a rescue if he weren’t in serious trouble.

Opening the cell was no trouble at all. The door responded to my hand wave, just like Akri had promised me. I gathered our things in case we’d need them later, and then I was off down the corridor, my fingers crossed the entire way as I fervently hoped I wouldn’t run into any guards.

The hallways I had to follow, according to Akri’s directions, were blessedly empty, but I didn’t breathe easy until I’d counted down the doors and found the one I needed.

It opened for me when I swished my palm over the hand scanner, and I froze in place when I saw what was on the other side of the door.

It was the sound of voices coming from far away that spurred me into action.

I ducked inside, and low lights flickered on, displaying the rows upon rows of laser rifles neatly stored in several racks.

This was a freaking armory that Akri had sent me to.

What did he want me to do—storm the lab on my lonesome?

“Biosignatures indicate you have reached the armory without incident,” the mechanical voice said from the datapad I was clutching against my chest. “There should be a box on a shelf to your left. Open it. The inventory indicates there are communication devices inside.” I rushed to follow his instructions.

What did he have in mind? Was I just here to call for help?

I followed the instructions he gave me carefully to set it up so it could interface with the translation implants in my head.

My palms were a little sweaty and clumsy as I worked, the urgency to help him riding me hard.

I couldn’t explain it, other than that I just knew he wouldn’t ask me for help unless he really needed it.

“Good job. I can hear you if you speak to me now. Are you okay, Jenny? It’s going to be all right.

” He still sounded like a machine, which could only mean that he was not actually speaking to me; he was sending his thoughts to me through the network of this base.

That meant he was hooked up to a device that allowed him access.

I hoped that he wasn’t stretching himself too far; his condition when he’d been brought to the cell earlier had been horrible.

I didn’t want him to end up like that a second time.

“I’ll believe that when we’re back together.

Where are you? What’s happening?” I asked in a hushed whisper.

I couldn’t hear voices now, but I wasn’t convinced it was safe just because it was quiet at the moment.

There was no way I could be so lucky as to avoid guards entirely when I made my way down to him.

And he’d better help me get down there, since I wasn’t going to let him send me away.

“Okay, Lekri is preparing to remove my right Liades so he can dissect it. You’re going to have to break me out.

I don’t plan on losing a limb here.” The voice was calm—without inflection—but that didn’t stop me from imagining the panic Akri had to be feeling.

He’d thought he was going to be prodded in a painful way, not undergo some kind of amputation. No wonder he was asking for help.

“Step outside and take a left. The hallway should be empty,” he said.I hesitated at the door of the armory.

Should I take a weapon with me? In the end, I tucked the datapad into Arki’s satchel and snatched one of the high-tech tasers from a shelf.

I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but I felt better having it on me.

It had worked last time; I’d make it work this time, if I had to.

The hallway was empty, as promised, and I broke into a run to save time.

The voice in my ear directed me through several turns, then had me backtrack a section when I encountered a group of guards standing around.

The lost time made me extremely anxious, but finally, I was standing around the corner from the hallway with the single elevator down to the basement levels.

This time, not one, but six guards were standing in front of it.

“Now what?” I whispered after updating Akri on the situation.

And for the first time since we’d met, he cursed, the words sounding odd when spoken by a computer instead of his real voice.

It made me realize that he was really worried.

How close was that scientist to finishing his preparations? Was he about to start cutting?

“I have provided a distraction. Hurry, darling,” Akri said, right as an alarm started blaring and red lights began flashing above my head.

Some kind of emergency alarm. Had he just pulled the ‘fire alarm,’ hoping to get everyone to evacuate?

That seemed too simple; I didn’t think these guards were allowed to leave their posts unless they had confirmation of some kind.

I could hear them talking excitedly around the corner, and I listened closely to make sure they were leaving before I risked looking. “There’s an armed breach in Section Eight. We’re closest. Let’s go!” one of them said, and then, to my horror, “Specks, you stay behind. The rest of you, follow.”

Oh shit, that meant I still had one guard to deal with. I could ask Akri for more help, but he’d already given this his best shot. I couldn’t dawdle, either, so I waited only long enough to make sure that the others were far enough away that they couldn’t hear us.

I snuck a quick glance and grinned when I realized the guard was standing with his back to me, watching the direction his buddies had left in.

He didn’t even have his weapon at the ready—it was on his back, hanging by the strap while he fiddled with his hands in front of his body, doing something I couldn’t see.

Considering that he was an Ovt, he was probably chewing Garga, a type of stimulant they used with their toothless mouths.

Making my footsteps as quiet as I could, while still being quick, was aided by the still-blaring alarm that masked much of the noise I made.

I held the taser at the ready, relieved that this particular Ovt was of fairly small stature; I could easily reach the back of his head and neck.

Ensuring I hit him on bare skin was the best way to bring him down.

He felt my approach at the last moment, turning around as he sensed me. A shocked expression crossed his face just as I smacked the taser into his cheek, and down he went, crumpling to the floor in an awkward heap.

If I had time, I might have straightened him out so he wouldn’t wake up with a crick in his neck, but I didn’t.

I leaped for the elevator, which opened before I’d even reached it, briefly making me fear that a contingent of guards was about to rush out.

It was empty, and Akri’s voice in my ear told me he’d called it for me.

Then I was smoothly gliding down to the third basement level, just like yesterday.

I was fully prepared to leap from the elevator to tackle another guard—there had been one last time—but the hallway was empty.

Akri had done something to clear my path.

“Go left, then right. You are almost there; I just need you to distract them.”

He didn’t explain who this “them” was, the scientist and an assistant?

Guards? Would a distraction even be enough?

Akri was probably restrained, or worse, under the influence of some kind of paralytic.

If he wasn’t, he would have been able to rescue himself, wouldn’t he?

I’d seen the way he fought more than once now; when he got started, he was unstoppable.

“Down this corridor, second lab on your left,” Akri said, and this time, I heard something that shot ice down my spine.

The mechanical voice that had been guiding me so far had stuttered.

That stutter could only mean that Akri was struggling to concentrate; something bad was happening to him right now. Was I too late?