Red Angel: Book II: Raiders (Red Angel Series 2) (2 page)

"I'll die. You don’t consider that being hurt?" I asked, positive she didn't care but stalling for time.

"You might survive the virus. Some do. But, my dear, the freedom of the Red God is more important than your petty needs. You may not be experimenting with the one you have like those medical centers were, but you've imprisoned him and made a god a slave to your needs." Her voice was soft and gentle to start but grew increasingly strident and loud. By the end of the tirade, her face was twisted in anger.

"He found me. I didn't catch him, and he's free to leave if he wants," I said, watching the men with the lasers while I debated my nonexistent options.

Their expressions hadn't changed while we talked, and I felt nothing from them—cold as ice. The man in the lab coat was nervous and wanted to leave.

The woman's emotions went from excitement to a coldness devoid of feeling to hate so strong it felt like a physical blow. "Liar! You feed him drugs so he can't leave!"

"I'll let him go if you want." I unwound Red from around my neck. He hung limp rather than wind around my arm as he usually did. She was either a wacko or a shrewd manipulator as many cult leaders were, but damn if Red didn't do things one easily interpreted as … intelligence.

"No! The Red God will only be safe with me … and his followers. Give him to me." She held out her hand and stepped closer, blocking the view of the two men with lasers.

Now or never
resonated through me like a struck tuning fork. I spun around while holding Red's head to the back of my head with his body hanging down my spine and took off running toward the trees, hoping they would be afraid to shoot me for fear of hitting Red.

"Stop her!" The woman shouted, and then she screamed, "Careful not to shoot the krait!"

I smiled as I ran, but two steps later I heard the crack of a shard gun firing and pain shot through my right calf, causing me to stumble. Two lurching steps farther, pain like a hot poker burned across my legs and they gave way. As I fell forward, I used the momentum to fling Red like a javelin, arching into the forest. I landed face first on dead leaves and damp earth and lay there laughing hysterically between waves of pain.

I didn't know how they had managed to circumvent security, but the sound of that shard gun would activate the sensors around the property, so the police would be here in less than five minutes. This group would never get away. Red was free, and Mother wasn't scheduled to arrive for at least another twenty minutes. As I lay there with my face in the dirt and dead leaves, I saw the woman's feet next to my head.

"Fredric, find that krait. You two go back to the house. Her mother's due back soon. Make sure she doesn't call for help. Kill her if necessary," she shouted.

I lay there laughing, almost enjoying the waves of pain it caused.

"You stupid girl. If you had just given me the krait, we would have left. Now you’re going to bleed to death, and you'll have been responsible for your mother's death—because she's going to try and save you."

I continued my hysterical laughing, much to her annoyance because she kicked me in the ribs several times when I wouldn't stop. Police sirens stopped her kicking and my laughing. My head spun like a cyclone, and I felt myself being sucked into darkness. I would die happy, knowing those I loved were safe.

"She'll be all right, Magistrate Bellona," said a man's voice. "She's lost a lot of blood, but the wounds aren't life threatening. I've stopped the bleeding for now."

"And we've caught the four intruders—"

"Did they have a red-headed krait?" Alexa asked, sounding desperate.

"No, ma'am. No snake of any kind."

"Then she's not all right. She'll die—"

"Mother," I tried to shout, but it came out barely above a whisper. Somehow Alexa heard and leaned closer to me. "Mother, go sit in the trees. Red will come to you, and you can bring him to me," I managed between pauses as I fought to stay conscious.

"How? Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mother. Trust … Red," I managed before I was pulled into the void.

I woke to the familiar sounds of medical equipment, the smell of antiseptics, and the feeling of being tethered to tubes and wires like a marionette. The room was dark except for the dim light emanating from the equipment's monitors. Alexa lay with her head on my bed, holding my hand, and I felt the feather light touch of Red's tongue on my cheek. I sighed with relief and drifted back to sleep.

When I woke, even with my eyes closed I could tell it was morning, as the room was bathed in sunlight. I squeezed Alexa's hand.

"You're awake." She kissed my forehead. "You were right. I had been sitting on the ground less than an hour—which felt like a lifetime worrying whether he would come—when Red crawled onto my lap and then curled around my arm. Maybe that crazy woman's right, at least in Red's case, and he's a god. He sure isn't normal like the red-headed kraits the medical people have been examining."

"I know. Just say you found him where I threw him. If anyone knew of his strange behavior, the people wanting him would increase exponentially." The thought was enough to make me break out in a sweat.

"I agree. It's our secret." she nodded and touched Red. "The security people apologized for not checking out the intruders’ story. They had claimed they were from the Windon Medical Research center and wanted to consult with you. They said you had invited them to meet you at the house. And they had it timed to within minutes. You were only a few minutes from the house when they arrived. Ironically, the man who they talked to actually worked at Windon. That won't happen again." There was steel in her voice.

Doctor Renata arrived an hour later. "You look better, Anna. You really scared me when they brought you in without Red. Lucky your mother was able to find him. Your wounds were bad but not life threatening. You got hit with shards in the right leg, where I removed three pellets. And a laser cut across both your legs, which required twelve stiches. You’re going to require rehabilitation, but you should fully recover. Thank the space gods Red wasn't hit."

The next day, Adrian and Kris arrived. Kris came to the bed, sat on the edge, and squeezed my hand. "No more heroics, Anna. If there’s even a hint of trouble, you and I are going to be Siamese twins. I knew I should have stayed with you." She gave me a hug.

I silently thanked whoever might be listening that she hadn't been along. The thought of her being killed trying to save me made my chest ache.

"It looks like you single handedly cracked the Red God case," Adrian said. "With Ms. Kellum and Mr. Driscoll from the Windon Medical Research Center in custody, I think it will only be a matter of time before we identify everyone involved and recover the kraits. Although next time, Kris and I would like to help so you can skip the hospital stay."

Before being released, I spent three days in the hospital, another two in a special rehab unit to accelerate the healing, and another ten days in physical therapy. And I was only released then because Alexa rented the equipment I needed to continue my exercises at home. The cuts from the shards, laser, and surgery were healing. It was the damaged nerves that were taking the extra time.

"What do you think Admiral Rawls wants?" I asked as I finished putting on my dress whites.

"I think your team is going to get some kind of award for solving the Red God case," Alexa said, which felt true but somehow like an evasion. Strange, as Alexa never lied to me, and she knew I could sense her emotions.

I put it down to still being tired. Recovering had taken a lot of effort. I wanted not only to return to work as soon as I could, but also to be fit for duty when I did. That morning, I flew the skimmer for the first time since the shooting. It felt liberating. We arrived at the office a little before nine and were told to report to Admiral Rawls’s conference room.

Rawls walked in only a few minutes later. Although average in height, her wiry frame and long stride combined with a stern expression on her narrow face marked her as a no-nonsense person.

"Attention," her aide shouted as she entered, and we braced to attention.

"At ease." She stood silent, examining me before continuing. "The NIA's golden team has again solved a high profile case that has baffled the local and interplanetary police. And done it in record time. You not only have identified all of the people who participated in the thefts but have also enabled us to recover the thirteen stolen kraits. In recognition of your work, Lieutenant Commanders Adrian Shrader and Kristyn Sinclair, and Lieutenant Anna Paulus are each awarded their second Distinguished Service Metal. Congratulations. In addition, Lieutenant Paulus is awarded the Purple Heart—her third—for the injuries she suffered in the line of duty … and she's promoted to Lieutenant Commander. Congratulations, Anna."

Rawls stepped up to me and handed me a gold oak-leaf-cluster collar pin and my new shoulder boards with their trident and two twelve millimeter stripes separated by a six millimeter stripe.

I stood there with my mouth open, unable to speak.

She only smiled. "We wanted to give this to you two years ago, but you were too young and it would have caused too much controversy—for the navy and you. We also considered giving you time in grade from that date when you eventually were promoted; however, that idea was thought to set an unwanted precedent. Instead, when Fleet Admiral Webb added your name to this year's promotion list, he moved your date of promotion to one day earlier—meaning you outrank everyone on this year’s list. Congratulations."

She shook my hand with little concern for Red, who had his head on my shoulder.

Then she stopped and stared at Red. "If they found a cure for the Coaca Virus, what would you do with Red?" she asked, surprising me.

Everyone in the room turned toward me and the room seemed to get quieter even though no one had been talking. Although I remained silent for a long time, no one seemed to be pressuring me to answer.

"Ma'am, I'm not used to thinking about my future. I've always considered myself to be living on borrowed time, not knowing how long Red would live or if someone would steal him. I try to get the most out of each day. But after seventeen years, I think he's earned a home on me until one of us dies." I felt a flick of his tongue on my cheek.

"Dismissed." Rawls turned to Alexa. "That's some daughter you have, Alexa. I can understand why you adopted her. She's worth saving."

"How does it feel to be a Lieutenant Commander?" Adrian asked.

"And probably the youngest in the history of the UAS," Kris added.

Alexa had taken Adrian, Kris, and me to dinner at Aughoes, one of the oldest and most expensive restaurants on Oxax.

"Unreal. Like I'm dressed up in my mother's clothes." I found it hard to reconcile my rank with the real me. In many ways, I felt like a child—I still lived at home with my mother and had no intention of leaving anytime soon, and she managed all the financial matters. In addition, I wasn't looking for a husband or considering children and didn't even date.

"Anna, I hope you don't mind the team getting the credit," Adrian said after our drinks had been served.

I laughed. "You and Kris did all the work tracking down those involved and discovering where the kraits were kept while I lay around eating ice cream, and I got equal credit, so no. One for all ..." I raised my coffee-milk concoction.

Alexa smiled as Kris and Adrian raised their glasses.

"And all for one," we chanted in unison.

As I entered the office the next day in time for our standard ten hundred hours meeting, Adrian and Kris rose.

"Anna, Admiral Rawls has called for a meeting with us in her conference room. It sounds like we may have our next assignment." Adrian smiled.

"It's about time," Kris quipped while trying to look serious. "How are we supposed to stay on the
Fast Track
for commander if we're chasing petty criminals?"

"Careful what you wish for." Adrian's gaze looked far away—maybe back to almost getting killed by revengeful smugglers on our last assignment.

I put my laser in my desk, locked it, and rushed to catch up.

When we entered the conference room, Stauffer was already there, sitting with a cup of coffee and a stack of folders. He looked up from the one he was leafing through and then stood as Rawls walked in. "Attention!" he barked.

"At ease and sit. We, the NIA, have kept this team together for the next big project. Well, it's here. Two weeks ago an armed group broke into the Eastar Art Gallery and stole artifacts and paintings worth more than four hundred million credits. Normally that would be a matter for the Eastar police; however, that was the third major heist in the UAS in the last six months. Since the thefts have occurred on three different planets, the UAS Security Commission has concluded they're raiders and have tasked the navy with the responsibility of providing the planets protection." Rawls snorted. "A nice bit of passing the buck. Of course, Fleet Admiral Web knows it's impossible for the navy to protect fifteen planets, but he's in the hot seat whether it's possible or not. In a stroke of genius, he passed the responsibility for identifying the raiders to Vice Admiral Lultrel, who passed the problem to me, a Rear Admiral. And I'm passing it on to Commodore Stauffer, since he has the best bloodhounds in the UAS—you. I'll want a weekly progress report. Good hunting." She rose and walked out, smiling and leaving us sitting there in stunned silence.