Haywire (11 page)

The Titan stared at Alicia for a moment before looking down at the floor of the rover. “All d-dead-dead now. But we’re… we’re next.”

Shawn stooped down next to her and rubbed his forehead. “She’s glitching.”

Alicia didn’t like the sound of that. “Glitching?”

“
Yeah, like when a computer gets hit by a virus. Her code is glitching.”

“
But she’s not a computer. She’s a person.”

Shawn looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “You of all people know better than that.”

“
You must-must help me,” the Titan said.

Tension radiating through Alicia’s body in waves. “How? Help you how?”

Small spikes rose and fell across her armored skin, and the Titan winced. “I n-need to see the doctor. Groesbeck can help me.”

“
I’m afraid it’s too late for that,” Alicia replied, unsure if the Titan really didn’t know what year it was, or if her ignorance was caused by the infection she’d mentioned.

“
No, I-I-,” the Titan said before reaching out and grabbing Alicia’s arm in a tight grip.

“
Let me go!” Alicia shouted in pain as she tried to pull her arm away.

The Titan released her grip, but Alicia barely stepped back when a gleaming whip cracked through the air to her right and wrapped around the Titan’s neck. The flexible metal cable sparked as electricity coursed down its length. The Titan convulsed for a moment, her armor skittering across her body in waves that made Alicia nauseous, before falling to the floor in an unconscious heap.

“
That is enough of that,” Laroux said. He flicked his wrist, and the electric whip loosened from the Titan’s neck. Another flick caused it to coil up in a tight circle, which he then tucked into the tool belt of the stolen delivery uniform he wore over his biosuit.

In spite of the pain the Titan had caused by her manic grasp, Alicia rose to protest, but as she stood up a device in her pocket chirped. She withdrew a small computer pad and read the display.

“
Your packages have arrived, oui?” Laroux asked.

Alicia nodded and tucked her computer back into her pocket.

The pirate captain picked up an older model space suit and tossed it to her with a smirk that made her want to gouge his eyes out. “Then let us get to it.” He then handed her a small flesh-colored piece of plastic. “Press that to the skin behind your ear. No one will see it, but it will transmit everything you say and hear directly to me. If you indicate in any way that something is wrong, know that you will be forfeiting your son’s life in the process.”

“
I understand,” she replied, taking the plastic dot and settling it at the base of her right ear. It was so small and light she couldn’t even feel it as it adhered to her skin.

“
I hope so, for both your sakes. Now, everyone, suit up and load mademoiselle’s cargo. We have a schedule to keep.”

As the pirates, whose numbers had increased since she’d been pulled from her home, opened a crate and withdrew their suits, Laroux walked to Shawn and took hold of his arm. “You will come with me to the driver’s cab. Pray that everything goes smoothly.”

Alicia’s heart thudded in heavy beats as she looked at her son. She wanted desperately to reach out and clutch him to her, but she knew she couldn’t, so instead she gave him a smile she didn’t feel. “It’s going to be okay, Shawn. Trust me. In a couple of hours this will all be over. I love you. I love you so much.”

Shawn just had time to reply, “I love you too,” before he was carried away through the airlock that separated the rover’s front cabin from the rear cargo area. Once the door closed behind him, Alicia sighed and put on her space suit. Her limbs felt heavy, and as she glanced down at the armored Titan on the floor next to her, they felt heavier still.

Gimble hoped the sweat pouring down his body wasn’t noticeable to anyone else in the rover’s cab. Sitting behind the steering wheel, a fake badge clipped to the chest of his stolen space suit, it was all he could do to keep his shaking hands on the wheel and lock his eyes forward. He hated missions that required subterfuge and stealth, preferring an upfront confrontation if the odds were in his favor, and a quick exit if they weren’t. Knowing his life depended on the success of their current mission didn’t help matters.

Next to him was Doctor Campbell, her son, and the captain. It was a tight fit in the cab of the delivery rover as it rumbled across the icy surface of Callisto. To make things worse, the trek from the landing pad to the museum was longer than he’d expected it to be, and much bumpier. It felt like hours before they crested a shallow crater and saw a large transparent dome appear directly ahead of them.

“
Our destination, oui?” Laroux asked.

Doctor Campbell nodded. “Yes. The GPS will lead us to the service airlock entrance around the back.”

Gimble, eyes forward, tightened his grip and steered the truck into the dead center of the path displayed on the window before him. Nearing the museum, he couldn’t help but admire the view. Sitting over everything was a triple pressure dome structure, which ensured the safety and comfort of those within it. Inside the dome was a massive crater, and at its center was the museum. The crater was blackened and ragged, like some great burning hand had reached down from the stars and clawed the lunar surface open, but the museum was a sleek counterpoint made all the more beautiful by its surroundings.

A thin whistle slid through his teeth. “Those alien buggers really did a number on it.”

Doctor Campbell nodded. “Most of the items on display in the museum are from labs Dr. Groesbeck had elsewhere. There wasn’t much left of this site after the Hezrin were done blasting it. Just melted bits of equipment and burnt corpses. Until today I’d had no reason to think anything else existed.”

“
Then perhaps my visit isn’t all to the bad, eh?” Laroux smiled like a cat putting a welcome sign outside his mouth. Gimble had seen that grin before, and he pitied the doctor and her son.

Far to their left, a mag-tram glided past them bringing people from Arcadia to the museum. If everything went to plan, the patrons would never know the Crimson Kings had been among them. Gimble hurriedly crossed himself to ward off the fates he’d just tempted.

Eventually they neared the rear service airlock, and as they did Doctor Campbell said, “Press that button to your right to broadcast the rover’s identification. That will open the outer airlock and get us to the security checkpoint. Once we’re stopped, allow me do the talking.”

Gimble looked at Laroux, who gave him a small nod, then pressed the indicated button. Sure enough, doors set in the outer dome parted, revealing a clear tunnel that ran between the dome layers. As they crossed into the tunnel Gimble knew they’d reached the point of no return. It was either do or die. There was a strange sort of comfort in that.

After the outer door closed behind them, the tunnel was pressurized, and then the inner door opened. He put the truck’s transmission in gear and drove them to the security station that sat to the left of the inner airlock. A man in a uniform approached the driver’s door. Gimble pressed the button that lowered the window next to him.

“
Manifest and ID’s please,” the guard said. His voice was steady and authoritative.

Doctor Campbell stretched across Gimble’s lap to lean out the window, and Gimble nearly blushed when her body pressed into his.

“
Good morning, Oscar,” she said. A broad smile spread across her face, and Gimble was impressed with the authenticity of it. She had a gun at her back, and no one would have known.

“
Oh, good morning, Dr. Campbell,” the guard replied, a return smile flashing on his face. “I didn’t know you’d be bringing in the cargo yourself.”

She laughed. “Joseph didn’t tell you? I called him this morning to let him know. I’ve been waiting a long time to get these pieces into the museum, and when I woke up I knew I had to be with them every step of the way.” She then leaned back and pulled her badge from her pocket. “Here you go, Oscar. Everything should be in order.”

The guard took her badge, set it against his scanner plate, and then handed it back. “Very good, Dr. Campbell. You’re free to head in then. Have a great day.”

“
Thank you, Oscar,” she replied. “The same to you.” After a wave, she pushed away from the window and settled into the seat.

Laroux’s eyebrows rose in respect. “Nice performance, Doctor.”

The doctor’s eyes turned cold and dark, and she stared forward while patting her son’s leg. “I did what I had to do.”

The captain chuckled. “Very good. Keep that in mind as we go forward.”

Taking that as his cue, Gimble put the rover in drive. The loading dock was off to their right, so with a turn of the massive steering wheel he drove around until he had the dock’s roll-up doorway lined up as best he could with the rear of the truck. He backed up slowly, taking every care not to raise any red flags. Loud beeps escorted the truck as it rolled in reverse. Everything went smoothly until the rear bumper hit the dock, sending a dull shudder through the vehicle.

“
Sorry,” he said, slipping the truck into neutral and pulling the hand break. “Been a while since I drove anything what had wheels on it.”

“
It’s fine,” the doctor said. “Let’s just… get this over with.”

Gimble looked through the side and front window, hoping no one working in the area was looking back, but there were few people outside the cab, and none of them seemed to have noticed. Grateful for small favors, he opened his door and dropped to the cold lunar surface.

He climbed up to the dock and approached the rover’s rear door. Laroux appeared from the other side, the doctor and her son in front of him. Both of them looked pensive, but in the young man’s eyes there were daggers. Gimble couldn’t blame him, but while his courage was admirable, it was also inching him closer to an early death.

“
Dr. Campbell, if you’d be so kind,” Laroux said, gesturing toward the control panel that operated the loading area’s doors. He then lifted an eyebrow at a camera looking down on the dock over his right shoulder, its red recording light bright and steady. “Oh, and please, disable all the cameras. No use leaving more evidence behind than we must, no?”

The doctor nodded as she went to the control panel and hit a series of buttons. The door opposite the truck rolled up seconds later, and soon after the red light on the camera turned off. Gimble glanced at the other cameras in the docking area, and all of them turned off as well.

“
Very good,” Laroux said. He then looked at Gimble and gestured at the back of the truck. “Open it.”

Gimble unlocked the back of the rover, hit the depressurize switch, and then pushed the door up. The pirates – all of them dressed in delivery uniforms – were already getting crates loaded onto dollies.

“
Where’s the Titan?” Doctor Campbell said as she entered the truck bed and looked around.

Laroux gestured toward a large crate at the back, next to the one that contained the unconscious delivery men. “She is in there. It took all of us to lift her into it. She is… quite heavy.”

“
Cry me a river,” the doctor’s son said under his breath.

Gimble leaned over to him and whispered, “The next time you want to get smart, consider how your mother will look weeping over your dead body.”

The doctor grabbed her son’s arm and pulled him toward her. They’d barely moved a step before a voice called out from the dock behind them.

“
Dr. Campbell, I take it things went well at the landing pad?”

Everyone inside the truck bed turned to see an officious young man standing just inside the dock. His clothes were tight and stuffy, and the look on his face said he hadn’t had the best of days. Gimble shook his head, chuckling at the pompous git. If this was a bad day for him, he didn’t know how good he had it.

Beside Gimble Crowe said, “Fluffy bugger, isn’t he?”

“
Indeed,” Gimble replied.

The doctor dusted her hands and walked out of the truck casually. “Yes, Joseph. This has been a… unique experience.”

Her assistant smiled, but the expression went no further than his lips. “I’m sure. Well, we’ve been rather busy here, with calls coming in nonstop. Speaking of which, your
boyfriend
called to reconfirm your lunch date. I told him you would call him back.”

Gimble could see a pained expression cross the doctor’s face, but she buried it quickly.

“
Thank you. I’ll do that as soon as I can.”

Her assistant looked around for a moment, then turned toward a group of men near the back of the dock, each one with a loading dolly. “Very well. Shall I take over the unloading of the new pieces?”

“
Oh, no need for that,” the doctor replied with a shake of her head. “Your time would be better spent making sure the new display room is ready. That way we can get these pieces out on the floor as quickly as possible.”

“
But what about the inspection?” her assistant asked, his mouth puckered to the side of his face as though he’d bitten into something that bit back. “The inventory system will need to be updated as well.”

Doctor Campbell waved her hand dismissively. “I will take care of all that.”

“
Not if you want to make that lunch date.”