Page 29

CHAPTER 29

R ona clung to the side of the hatch and watched as Aeron fell.

In a matter of seconds, he looked no bigger than a bird in the sky.

A speck. Then she couldn’t see him at all.

She hit the button to close the hatch and rushed back up the corridor.

Her heart was in her throat.

In the cockpit, she dropped into the pilot’s seat.

The pads were still warm from Aeron’s body heat.

In front of her, overlaid across the windscreen, was a holographic bird’s-eye-view of the terrain below, captured by a special scanner mounted on the underside of the ship.

She could even see through the terrain, into the warrens of tunnels beneath.

The camera picked up the heat-signatures of the raknids scurrying throughout the tunnels.

The dead raiders were there too, though their cooling bodies had now almost blended into the surrounding rock.

At the west end of the map, she could see Murdok and Zeth.

They weren’t moving, but their bodies were still bright and warm.

A good sign.

“Please be okay,” she whispered.

She suddenly remembered that there was a mic in the cockpit.

Aeron could hear her.

Perhaps Murdok and Zeth could too.

“Guys, if you can hear this, just hang tight. Aeron is coming to get you out.”

As if on cue, something moved at the eastern side of the map.

It was Aeron. His parachute had opened safely, and he was now gliding into the landing zone outside the entrance of the mine.

He touched down and jogged to a stop.

Then he started to unfasten his harness.

“I’m down,” he said.

“Rona, can you hear me?”

“Yup! I mean, affirmative.”

She turned her attention to the space just inside the east entrance to the mine.

The spot which the Mercs had designated as Checkpoint Alpha.

Something was stirring inside.

A mutant from the looks of it.

“Aeron,” she said. “Remember that raider they took prisoner? Looks like he’s awake again.”

“Copy that. Thanks for the heads-up.”

Rona could see that Aeron had his harness off now.

He headed toward the mine with his shotgun at the ready.

At the entrance, he paused for a moment, as if looking inside.

Then he rushed in and knelt by the surviving raider.

“Restraints are still secure,” he said.

“Just kill him,” said Rona, fearing for her lover’s safety.

“No. I want one of them alive for questioning.”

Rona saw Aeron make a quick motion with the butt of his shotgun, and a sound came through the speakers like two blocks of wood knocking together.

On the screen, the raider’s body stilled.

“I’ll be back for you in a bit…”

Aeron headed deeper into the mine, following the middle of the three tunnels that branched off from the first chamber.

The same path Zeth and Murdok had followed.

After that, Rona gave him directions, guiding him through the winding network of passages.

Up on the screen, he looked like a mouse running through a maze.

Rona might have smiled at that thought, if the situation had not been so dire.

“You’re coming up on Sector Bravo,” she told him, remembering the name the Mercs had used before.

“That means you’re about halfway— oh no.”

“Rona? What’s the matter?”

There was movement outside of the mine.

A big group of white dots had appeared from the north.

A quick zoom in confirmed what Rona feared—more raiders.

“Aeron, more tangos just showed up outside. A bunch of them.”

“Good thing we kept you in the air then.”

He sounded totally unfazed.

“What about you?” Rona asked.

“I’m going to kill them,” Aeron said, as casually as if he were talking about taking out the trash.

“How many of them are there?”

Rona did a quick estimate.

“About fifty?”

“Location?”

“They’re outside the north entrance right now. Wait… now they’re splitting up. Half of them are going west, and half are going east.”

“Probably heard all the commotion and came to see what’s up. Now they’re trying to find a way into the mine.”

“They won’t be getting in from the west,” Rona said, remembering the sight of the collapsed entrance.

“Affirmative,” Aeron agreed.

“Keep an eye on the eastern group and let me know where they go. I’m going to hang tight here until we figure out what they’re up to.”

“Roger that.”

Rona had to admit, it was kind of fun playing the role of overwatch.

Or rather, it would have been fun if the three men she cared about weren’t in danger.

Two of them were buried under a heap of rubble, and the third was facing down a gang of twenty-plus bloodthirsty mutants.

He’s gonna kick their asses , Rona told herself.

The muties don’t stand a chance.

Just look at what Zeth and Murdok did to the rest of them…

Still, this felt different somehow.

Aeron was by himself down there, and he no longer had the element of surprise.

Rona kept her eyes glued to the map.

“The tangos have reached Checkpoint Alpha,” she reported in the steadiest voice she could manage.

“They went right past their unconscious buddy. Guess they thought he was dead.”

“Which way are they going now?”

“Middle tunnel, straight toward you.”

“Thought so. Most muties aren’t real smart, but some of them have a good sense of smell. They should be able to follow my scent trail right to my position. I’ll be ready for them.”

Rona didn’t like that idea.

She didn’t like it at all.

It wasn’t that she didn’t think Aeron could take on the raiders all by himself.

But facing that many head on, there was always a chance something could go wrong.

A stray bullet. An explosion.

Just look what had happened to Zeth and Murdok.

She remembered last night, when Murdok had spanked her for doubting Aeron’s ability to take care of himself.

She decided she was willing to endure another spanking if necessary.

Her eyes darted over the map.

“Babe,” she said into the mic.

“How do you feel about shooting someone in the back?”

“Zero qualms,” Aeron answered.

“In that case, I have a plan.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“The raiders are fast,” Rona said, “but you’re even faster. If you follow my directions, I can get you around behind them before they even know what you’re doing. Then you can ambush them from the rear.”

There was maybe half a second of silence.

“Sounds good. Which way?”

“See that tunnel off to your right? Take that one.”

On the overhead view, Aeron set off in the direction Rona had indicated, moving at inhuman speeds.

He was so fast, it was a challenge for Rona to call out her directions rapidly enough.

If she hadn’t already known the mine like the back of her hand, she probably wouldn’t have been able to keep up.

“I can hear them,” Aeron whispered to her through the speakers.

“Yeah, you’re getting close. Just one more turn. Go left at this next junction, and… that’s it. Be careful, they’re only about fifty yards ahead of you.”

“Not for long.”

Rona watched as Aeron moved up behind the unsuspecting mutants.

The air inside the cockpit was cool, but her body was drenched in sweat.

Her hands were welded to the armrests of her seat.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so alert, so alive.

Actually, yes she could—that night so many years before when she’d taken Tulliver’s eye.

“Twenty yards…” she whispered.

“Ten… five…”

Sounds came over the speakers.

A series of loud, quick thumps as Aeron’s auto shotgun unloaded into the raiders from behind.

The first few mutants didn’t even have a chance to scream.

A few in front actually managed to turn around and raise their weapons, but the shotgun tore them apart before they could return fire.

In a matter of seconds, it was all over, and the place where the raiders had been standing was just one big splatter of white on the screen.

A few days ago, Rona probably would have been grateful that she didn’t actually have to look at all the blood and guts.

Now she felt cheated.

“That all of ’em?” Aeron asked.

Rona grinned. “That’s it.” She paused.

“Well… except for the other group who went the other direction.”

“I’ll deal with them after I’ve freed Murdok and Zeth.”

Rona’s grin disappeared.

She got dead serious again.

“Let’s make that happen.”

With her guidance, Aeron was able to reach the western end of the mine in a few minutes.

He immediately started rolling aside pieces of fallen rubble.

It was hard to get a clear read of the situation from the hologram, so Rona just closed her eyes and listened to Aeron grunting through the speakers as he worked.

Please let them be okay, she thought.

Please, please, please…

Someone on the other end coughed.

It sounded too quiet to have been Aeron.

Rona’s heart lifted with hope.

“Fucking took you long enough,” a voice said.

Murdok’s voice.

Now Rona’s heart was doing a full-on happy dance in her chest. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t want to interrupt the two Mercs.

She could hear them both working to dig their other companion free.

After a minute, a third voice could be heard, honey-sweet but bruised.

It was the voice of an angel who had fallen from heaven and hit the ground hard.

“Ahhh, that’s quite a relief. Thank you.”

At last, Rona allowed herself to speak.

“Murdok!” she shouted.

“Zeth!”

“They’re both fine,” Aeron reported happily.

“Their equipment got damaged in the collapse, that’s why they couldn’t answer us, but no serious injuries.”

Rona wondered what counted as a serious injury for the Mercs.

Tears of joy were rolling down her cheeks.

She let them roll for a few seconds more, then she smudged them away and turned her attention back to the map.

There were still a couple dozen loose ends to tie up.

“Remember that other group of tangos?” she said.

“Well, they’re making their way around toward Checkpoint Alpha.”

“How many?”

Rona did a quick count.

“Twenty-five.”

Aeron chuckled.

“Twenty-five against three. Those are terrible odds.”

Rona didn’t have to ask who the odds were terrible for.

She watched as Aeron handed over the two pistols he’d taken with him as backups.

One for Murdok, one for Zeth.

The shotgun he kept for himself.

“So,” he said. “What’s the game plan?”

It took Rona a moment to realize the question was directed at her.

She was still on overwatch, after all.

She grinned and leaned forward to get a better look at the map.

“Listen,” she said. “Here’s what I want you to do…”