Rake gripped his pistol firmly, telling himself, No, I\u2019m not terrified. Just because there\u2019s someone out there apparently willing to break the rules to get at me\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0mean I\u2019m a dead man.<\/i><\/p>\n
Yet.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, Earthstepper, I don\u2019t have all day,\u201d the filtered voice said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d Rake demanded, checking his ammunition and charge on the weapon. Looks good. Keep him talking, and then jump out and nail him by surprise. <\/i>He did his best to ignore the nagging voice telling him that he already knew his reflexes were subpar.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes it matter, Rake? You\u2019re my payday, regardless of who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, you broke all the rules by coming into an insurance facility with gun in hand and apparently willing to shoot anyone in your way,\u201d Rake commented as he tried to recreate the room in his mind. If he\u2019s near the entrance to this room, there\u2019s no real cover there. This simulator\u2019s on the opposite side of the room, and there\u2019s good cover here. I should be able to get a clean shot at him.<\/i> \u201cThat means you\u2019re either new to the game or damned good.\u201d<\/p>\n
The filtered voice took on a dry tone. \u201cMy name is Slade.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rake swallowed hard. Great. One of the best skiptracers in the Expanse.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll admit, I thought I had you on Gallos,\u201d Slade commented. \u201cI could have sworn no one else was even close to you. But then you turn up dead, and I had to lay down a lot of credits to find out where I could catch up with you again. Of course, now you don\u2019t have all the information that made you so valuable, but I\u2019m sure we can find some way of getting that again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure,\u201d Rake repeated. \u201cWhat information did I have, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n
Slade\u2019s chuckle was colder than deep space. \u201cSee, that\u2019s the problem with your insurance policy. You got yourself killed, and you don\u2019t even know what\u2019s coming for\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n
Rake didn\u2019t bother listening to the rest, hurling himself from the simulator and twisting his gun hand toward the entrance. His finger was squeezing the trigger when he smashed into the floor.<\/p>\n
No Slade.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not bad, kid,\u201d an unfiltered male voice said as a cold barrel tapped his ear. \u201cNow drop the weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rake carefully laid the weapon down on the floor. \u201cLook, I don\u2019t know what you want from me, Skip, but we both know I don\u2019t have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I want<\/i> is your head,\u201d Slade said calmly. \u201cNow stand up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rake glared at the treacherous door. \u201cYou hijacked a soundbox for your voice, didn\u2019t you? So I\u2019d be looking the wrong direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKid, you don\u2019t get to be the best by using insurance policies,\u201d Slade said smugly. \u201cNow stand up, nice and slow, and we\u2019ll both get out of here without your insurance company paying for another body.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rake swallowed hard. Great. Trapped in a faulty body and caught by a skiptracer. This day couldn\u2019t get better.<\/i> Slowly, he rose to his feet with both hands held away from his body. \u201cI don\u2019t suppose there\u2019s any way you and I could discuss an alternative, is there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEarthstepper, a skiptracer gets a reputation by bringing in his target,\u201d the hunter said coolly. \u201cEven if you had an extra couple million credits in your back pocket\u2014which I somehow doubt\u2014to take your money and let you go would be to ruin my own reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rake tried to think, but everything had moved so fast<\/i> since he woke up in the tank. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t really have to be this way,\u201d he said offhandedly. \u201cI mean, it\u2019s not like anyone would know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI shot three of this company\u2019s personnel on the way in, and I don\u2019t doubt my face is plastered all over security cameras right now. So move.\u201d He prodded the pilot again with his gun.<\/p>\n
Rake spun, hand flashing out to knock the weapon away. Slade was caught off-guard by the sudden move and lost his grip on his carbine, allowing the two-handed gun to clatter away across the floor. Rake scooped up his pistol and sprinted straight for the exit, not bothering to turn back and fire at the skiptracer.<\/p>\n
If he lives up to his reputation, that\u2019s the last time I\u2019ll ever take him by surprise<\/i>, Rake thought as he sprinted hell-bent for freedom.<\/p>\n
He had just broken the plane of the doorway when fire blossomed in his calf. He stumbled and went down hard, smashing head-first into the hallway wall, rebounding and landing in a heap on the floor.<\/p>\n
Rake looked down and saw blood beginning to pool on the polished floor.<\/p>\n
Slade walked up to him, the carbine leveled at the fallen Rake the entire time. He didn\u2019t speak as he bent over to retrieve Rake\u2019s pistol, attaching it to his own belt with a magnetic click<\/i>. \u201cLooks like my information was wrong,\u201d he remarked. \u201cHere I thought you\u2019d be moving slower in that new body of yours, at least for a few days. Instead you damn near made a fool of me and got away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI aim to please,\u201d Rake mumbled, trying to cope with the ringing in his ears, the dizziness from running headfirst into a wall, and the throbbing in his calf. \u201cYou shot me in the back. Not very professional of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI shot you in the leg while you were fleeing,\u201d Slade corrected him. \u201cVery professional of me. Prevented your escape, and I can deliver you intact to Colonel Velles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colonel Velles? Why does that name\u2026? Oh, shit.<\/i><\/p>\n
That\u2019s not good.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cGreat,\u201d Rake said. \u201cVery professional, then. Except now I can\u2019t walk out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bounty hunter looked him over, and for the first time Rake got a good close look at the infamous skiptracer.<\/p>\n
If Slade had a last name, Rake had never heard it\u2014and he looked like a man who didn\u2019t care about such trivial things. His dark hair was gathered back in a ponytail, and he wore a dark leather duster over a heavy set of armor. His face was unmarked, revealing cold blue eyes, an over-large nose, and a plethora of scars.<\/p>\n
Slade looked every bit the fearsome skiptracer his reputation made him out to be.<\/p>\n
The armed man snorted in disgust. \u201cThought you were supposed to be tough, Earthstepper. One little bullet wound and you\u2019re too injured to walk.\u201d He reached under his duster and withdrew a small coil of rope. With practiced ease he formed a loop and pulled it over Rake\u2019s uninjured leg. He pulled it tight, wrapped the other end of the rope around his left hand, and began dragging the pilot across the polished floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t really think,\u201d Rake said from the floor as he slid along surprisingly easily, \u201cthat you\u2019re going to drag me to wherever your ship is moored.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHardly,\u201d Slade said. \u201cMy AI and my ship are already at the emergency docking collar at the hospital across the walkway. In a few minutes you\u2019ll be locked away until I can get you to Velles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rake considered his options. Well, I can try to fight him with a bad leg while my good leg is bound\u2014not to mention I\u2019m unarmed. Or I can let him drag me to his ship and try to escape from him there.<\/i><\/p>\n
I don\u2019t like either of these options.<\/i><\/p>\n
The hallways of the insurance facility were empty as Slade stalked through them, dragging his prey behind like Rake was already dead. It struck Rake as odd, until he realized that the facility was likely watching the entire thing on camera and wasn\u2019t going to risk its own personnel fighting an armed man.<\/p>\n
I hate the Core worlds. Earth or Terra VI, they\u2019re both alike. Well, they were before Earth cooked. Everyone\u2019s too damned scared to do anything,<\/i> Rake thought distastefully. That\u2019s what happens when you have all the fanciest facilities and a life of ease. You forget how to fight when you need it. This skiptracer walked into your facility, shot up people, and is dragging one of your clients out by a leg, and you sit around and wait for the weathermen to get here.<\/i><\/p>\n
Figures.<\/i><\/p>\n
The front door to the insurance facility hissed open, allowing Slade to walk out with his bound captor in his wake. He immediately turned hard to his left and didn\u2019t miss a step, even when Rake bounced off the corner of the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cOw,\u201d the pilot complained. \u201cKeep that up, and you won\u2019t be bringing me back in working order.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShut up,\u201d Slade said.<\/p>\n
With nothing else to say, Rake found himself complying, even as he tried to figure a way out of the trap he found himself caught in. Nothing brilliant came to mind.<\/p>\n
The insurance facility and the hospital, separated by less than fifty meters of walkway, were both against the edge of the Terra VI orbital station, to better allow for emergency access. Two airlocks were available in the space, allowing for a pair of ships to be offloaded at the same time. Both locks were currently occupied, the vessels visible through the transparent alloy commonly installed in viewports on space-going vessels; the skiptracer was clearly making his way for the lock closer to the insurance facility.<\/p>\n
If he gets me on his ship, I\u2019m dead,<\/i> Rake thought bleakly. Wow. What a wonderful investment the life insurance policy was this time. I would\u2019ve been better off staying dead, I think.<\/i><\/p>\n
They were ten meters away from the lock when Slade\u2019s ship blew up.<\/p>\n
The viewport took the blast without so much as a scratch\u2014it was actually tougher than the cheaper materials used to build ship hulls\u2014but the open airlock wasn\u2019t so fortunate. As the docked ship was hurled out into open space, the lock failed to close. Wind, virtually unheard of aboard space stations, quickly rose to a howl as it rushed out the compromised portal.<\/p>\n
Aboard a station this size, the chances of the airlock failure being fatal to the inhabitants was minimal\u2014it would take many minutes to empty the atmosphere into space aboard such a large space. However, that was the concern furthest from either of their minds.<\/p>\n
Slade swore, a curse Rake had never heard before. \u201cVultures!\u201d he shouted. \u201cAlways some damned vultures around to steal from me!\u201d<\/p>\n
Chips of flooring began to fly up as bullets rattled around them. Slade took a pair of them without so much as a grunt\u2014his armor deflected the projectiles\u2014but scrambled to free his mask from his belt.<\/p>\n
A figure in an assault suit stepped through the compromised airlock. Rake stared in disbelief. That takes guts<\/i>, he thought blankly as the newcomer leveled his weapon and let another burst loose at Slade. To come in that fast, he had to be sitting just about on top of Slade\u2019s ship when it blew up. Those assault suits can take a few bullets without venting into space, but shrapnel could have taken it to pieces.<\/i><\/p>\n
Another trio of bullets smacked into the skiptracer. He swore again and dropped the rope around Rake\u2019s uninjured right leg. Slade\u2019s hands ducked under his duster and came out with a pair of pistols, firing nearly non-stop toward the attacker as he half-ran for the scarce cover of a parked magnetic transport car.<\/p>\n
Rake decided this was the moment he was looking for and ran for his life.<\/p>\n
Or he would have, had his leg not had a neat hole poked through it.<\/p>\n
\u201cRake, come on!\u201d the newcomer shouted, his voice as mechanically filtered as Slade\u2019s had been in the testing room. \u201cCome on, we have to get out of here!\u201d<\/p>\n
Try to get away from them both with an injured leg and take my chances getting caught by Slade again, or go with the person I don\u2019t know.<\/i> With his calf throbbing, there really was no choice. There\u2019s no reward without risk.<\/i><\/p>\n
He crawled as quickly as he could for the newcomer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDammit, Rake, run!\u201d the attacker shouted.<\/p>\n
Deciding that some forward motion was better than none, Rake elected to continue crawling.<\/p>\n
The angry whine of bullets over his head motivated him to do better, and a glance over his shoulder confirmed that Slade, rather than risk losing his prey, had chosen to shoot him, too. Doing his best to ignore the pain, Rake forced himself unsteadily to his feet and ran as best he could, his leg on fire every step of the way to the airlock.<\/p>\n
Slade wasn\u2019t going to let him go that easily, though.<\/p>\n
The skiptracer was on the move again, this time with a different weapon in his right-hand\u2014a highly illegal, very powerful, and very difficult-to-aim one-handed rocket pistol.<\/p>\n
The newcomer apparently saw it, too. \u201cInto the airlock,\u201d he shouted frantically to Rake. \u201cNow!\u201d<\/p>\n
Hobbled by his injury, Rake knew he wouldn\u2019t make it\u2014particularly when his leg gave out again and he crashed to the deck.<\/p>\n
Slade leveled the weapon.<\/p>\n
The newcomer dove to the ground.<\/p>\n
And a new roar joined the rushing wind.<\/p>\n
Metal shrapnel sprayed out at Rake. None of it was life-threatening; the pieces were small and tumbling, though several of them flayed skin open across his exposed arms as he cradled his own head.<\/p>\n
The tortured scream of punctured, stressed metal and the ever-increasing roar of wind battled for supremacy for several seconds, before the metal surrendered the contest. Rake looked up, not understanding what had happened.<\/p>\n
Holes as large as his fist had been punched through the station\u2019s exterior. Rake\u2019s eyes widened. That ship at the hospital airlock\u2026was shooting at Slade? A starship, trying to shoot a person? <\/i>The roar in his ears continued to grow in strength. And might have killed us all.<\/i><\/p>\n
Then there were arms lifting him. Dizziness began to sweep over him. Hypoxia<\/i>, he thought. The air\u2019s moving past me too fast to get proper breaths.<\/i><\/p>\n
As his consciousness faded, he managed one last thought: I didn\u2019t have time to take out another policy.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rake gripped his pistol firmly, telling himself, No, I\u2019m not terrified. Just because there\u2019s someone out there apparently willing to break the rules to get at me\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0mean I\u2019m a dead man. Yet. \u201cCome on, Earthstepper, I don\u2019t have all day,\u201d … Continue reading