The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison: No More Lies (Book 3) Page 29

“Good,” she smiled. “I’ve been waiting forever.”

  “Where are Gray and Sims?” I said to the four horsemen. “You tell me now, and you might get out of this alive. It’s the only deal I’m offering.”

  “We have no need for a deal,” one answered. “You won’t live longer than the next two minutes.”

  “Benjamin, your time in the tank on my ship,” Taz whispered, leaning in close. “I gave you something. It will manifest itself when you need it.”

  I looked at Taz, but just didn’t have time to ask any questions. I tilted my head back, yelled at the top of my lungs and charged. My hands were clenched into fists as I closed the distance. The first one to step out and meet me, I caught around the waist and picked him up. I felt him pummeling my back, but that stopped when I ran into the remaining three and let him go. Two of them were piled up on the floor, but didn’t appear hurt.

  I saw the punch coming and turned my head, throwing a counter-punch into the incoming body. I pulled back, elbowing the attacker behind me in the face. My kick caught the first attacker in the knee; the crunch of it bending the wrong way was all I needed to hear. The other two were on their feet but doing nothing.

  Taz and Harry were standing a few feet away from me, but I didn’t notice them. I was about to eliminate two of the four. The one with the bloody nose came at me and I turned and dipped my shoulder, grabbing his arm as it passed over. Using his momentum, I brought him down onto his back. My boot found his head with a crunch. The one with the wounded knee retreated behind the other two, but I wasn’t stopping.

  I was wasting too much time. I eased my knife out slowly and advanced on the so-called enhanced body guards. I charged. My knife reversed in hand, I punched, pivoted and kicked and continued around, my blade slicing through tendon to the bone of a forearm. I slashed at one assailant and elbowed another in the gut. I sprang forward between them and skewered the one with the wounded knee through the throat. He seemed mesmerized, trying to figure out what he was seeing. Turning quickly, Taz had one pressed against the wall with his arm twisted behind his back. The other Harry played with; holding one arm, he punched him twice and his legs buckled, but Harry jerked him up and punched him again. The man’s head snapped back and his neck broke, the head rolling around uncontrollably.

  Harry let him go and walked over to Taz. She was talking to her captive, who seemed quite stubborn. I motioned to Harry, got his attention, and pointed at the door. His foot connected with the door and it broke the frame. The second kick sent it across the floor, and there they were. Gray had Sims around the neck and was holding a pistol to his head.

  “Harry, stand back behind the wall,” I said. He looked at me and thought for a second, then went and stood where I had told him. I still had my knife in my hand as I walked, seemingly at ease, over to Taz. I smiled at her and swung backhanded, driving the blade into the base of the skull of the man she had pinned against the wall. I held it while he twitched until his knees finally gave in to the loss of instructions from his brain.

  I smiled at Taz but forgot she couldn’t see it. “Take Harry to the shuttle. I will be along in a minute,” I said. I reached out my gloved hand and touched the helmet she wore. Her visor was up and I could see the smile on her face. I turned and walked back to the room. “Go with Taz,” I said as I walked.

  “Sorry to keep you assholes waiting, but I had to tidy up out there.”

  “I have a platoon of marines and a navy cruiser waiting for you, Jamison,” Gray said. “You’re like a cockroach. Nothing kills you, but I don’t think you’ll get away this time.”

  “Thank you for the compliment. I know some cockroaches and some marines, and I call them both friends, so that doesn’t bother me at all,” I said.

  “I just need to keep you for few more minutes,” Gray said. “How about I tell you a story while we wait.”

  Adeen’s words flashed through my head and something inside me exploded. I don’t think he had time to blink. I didn’t know I could move so fast. I drew and fired my pistol three times. I saw the clear poly wall behind them painted in red spray and shatter, and somewhere in that time I lost it totally. I fired again and again as I charged them. I hit them both like a freight train and the wall shattered. I knew I was falling.

  I hit the walkway and bounced. I couldn’t breathe, and my chest felt as if the shuttle was sitting on it. Everything went black after that. I woke once, disoriented, and blacked out again.

  I woke again to a pair of black eyes and a head of wild platinum hair.

  “Stay with me, love, you are safe,” Taz said. “Ronnie says you have to stay awake. You have concussion of the brain. I told her that couldn’t be, because you don’t have one, but she insisted she was correct.”

  I smiled at her, even though it hurt. Right now she wasn’t a queen, she was just Taz. I heard a sniffle and turned to see Mira. She looked better, but still not great. She was crying. I just smiled at her.

  “Where are we at? Is the navy chasing us?” I couldn’t speak above a whisper.

  “No, the cloak is fully functional. We passed them leaving. They detected nothing, Genius is taking us somewhere you wanted to go before leaving Athena,” Taz said.

  I reached up and took Mira by the hand. She laid on the bench seat while I was on the floor. Taz held my other hand.

  Ronnie stood over me, looking down. Taz moved over so she could look directly at me.

  “When did you develop the delusion that you could fly?” Ronnie growled. “You’re pretty bruised up and may have some internal issues, as well as this concussion.”

  “This is nothing. Stop your bitching,” I whispered.

  “Benjamin, are we done now? Can we have some kind of normal life where we work and get paid and buy shit and drink beer?” Ronnie asked, clearly trying to sound put out.

  “I can’t promise, but I say we try.”

  “Is he awake?” Shawna yelled from up front.

  “Yes,” Ronnie answered.

  “Tell him we have arrived where he wanted to go. Genius’s mom and sister are here already.”

  “Help me up please,” I asked. I felt Harry slide his hands under my arms and lift me up. I wobbled on my feet; thankfully, he hadn’t let me go.

  “Hey boss, I got as close as I could without disturbing anything,” Shawna said, seeing me standing.

  It was early morning and still dark. I had them shut all the lights off inside and opened the door. Taz went in front of me to help me down. I stepped and stumbled a little and she caught me. She took advantage of the position and kissed me passionately. Genius exited behind Harry and had his data pad in his hand.

  “It’s this way, boss,” he said as he began walking. For Taz and Harry, it was not clear where we were at, but it became clear to everyone else. It looked like a park with pathways meandering here and there, dividing it into small areas. There were benches and flower beds scattered along the paths.

  Genius stood waiting. “They’re over there, Benjamin,” he told me.

  I walked to where he indicated. I hadn’t been here in years and couldn’t have found it in the dark. A stalk came up out of the ground with a box mounted to the top of it. There was only a number on the box, along with three buttons. I pushed each one, but didn’t look up until the third was pushed.

  Three holograms now hovered over the small plot of grass. I read them to myself, and as if on cue, my knees buckled and I landed on them. I sobbed uncontrollably and clawed at the ground where my mother lay. I reached over and touched the ground where my baby sister was. I couldn’t speak; the words wouldn’t form on my tongue. I turned to the ground my father rested under and started digging with my hands.

  I felt Taz try to stop me, but I twisted and shook her hand off me. My fingers hurt, but I had managed a small hole in the ground. I worked on opening the small pack on my belt. Taz reached over and helped me, and I removed the piece of paper with the names on it and dropped it in the hole.

  Scooping the dirt in my hands,
I filled in the hole and began talking to my father. “I can’t do any more, father,” I said. “It has eaten away at me for all these years, but I finally found them and made them pay. I’m not sure I got them all, but I don’t think I would live through killing them all. I need to move on, father, so please forgive me and find peace in knowing there was vengeance served to those who deserved it on this day.”

  On my hands and knees, I spoke to the cold damp ground, and for a few moments I didn’t notice the dirt under my nails or my bruised and broken body.

  I heard sobbing behind me but didn’t turn to look. There was more than one of them crying. I moved to touch the ground above my mother and my sister again and tried to stand up. Her strong hands helped pull me up, and her arm wrapped around my waist. I looked around and saw that everyone was a little puffy-eyed. Even Genius’ mother and sister were wiping their eyes. Why didn’t he take them somewhere else so they didn’t have to hear all that? He should have spent a few minutes alone with them.

  “Let’s get going,” I croaked out.

  “We have time if you want to stay a little longer, Benjamin,” Taz said.

  “They are always with me in here, Taz,” I said softly, pointing at my heart. “When the reinforcements don’t find us at the building, they will begin searching, and you all have risked enough.”

  Taz touched my arm and motioned behind me. Genius and his family were embracing. “Yeah, we have some time, I guess.” I pushed the buttons and shut off the holos. The panel lowered itself back into the ground.

  I looked around at the people that surrounded me. A lot had changed in such a short time. Angel, Adeen and Mira needed a fresh start somewhere. The rest were with me, as far as I knew. I looked at myself. I was a bloody, dirty mess. My armor was covered in blood, and dirt stuck to the blood on my hands and arms. My armored gloves lay on the ground, red and black against the green grass.

  Taz held on to me tight, leaning her head on my shoulder. Blood stuck to her cheek, but she didn’t care. She wanted her head there, so a little blood wasn’t going to stop her. I was watching Genius with his mom and sister under each arm. His sister was holding his data pad. She looked down at it and held it up for him to read. He kissed them both quickly and ran to us.

  “The Claymore is in orbit,” he said, “and the cruiser you were wondering about is trying to overtake them.”

  “Shit! What are they doing here? The cruiser shouldn’t be able to catch them,” I said. “Are you okay? Do you need more time?”

  “I’m good, boss. When my sister finishes school, do you think we can make arrangements to transport them to wherever we are? As long as it’s not prison, of course.”

  “I don’t see why not. Just make sure that when the time comes, they know the big picture.”

  I looked around at everyone. “Thank you all for everything,” I said. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Genius ran back to his family and we made our way to the shuttle with him thirty seconds behind us.

  Chapter 36

  Shawna sat down to a number of blinking lights. They were all messages from the Claymore. I stood holding on to Taz, occupying the doorway.

  “Play them, Shawna,” I said softly. The first message was the Claymore letting us know they were in orbit, then the arrival of the Cruiser Bowie, and now there were two other ships establishing intercept points and waiting. One was the Mace and the other was the Morningstar.

  “Taz, tell Lorelei to take evasive action, and do not engage unless it’s absolutely necessary. Set a course for Trillond at max speed and have them pick us up along the way. You’re in command, Taz, now and when we reach the Claymore. Shawna, Genius, record that.”

  “It’s done, boss. How would you like to be addressed, Your Highness?” Genius asked.

  “Call me Queen Tazleaha, Bright Star, Conquer of a Thousand Stars, Empress of Cjittan and all the Heavens.”

  “Really? Um, okay,” Genius said.

  “No, Genius,” she laughed after a pause, “my court likes to make up all those glorious descriptions for state gatherings. There must be a thousand of them. I can’t keep them straight. How about you call me Taz?”

  “That’s great,” Genius said, looking relieved.

  “How about Supreme Commander?” Shawna said.

  I walked away before I could hear Taz’s answer. That would play to her personality, for sure.

  I knelt slowly at the rear of the shuttle and placed both of my hands on the floor. Ronnie was at my side within a couple of seconds.

  “Are you sick? Do you feel like throwing up?” she asked.

  I nodded slowly. She rummaged through her pack and found a bag, its purpose obvious. While I waited for the inevitable convulsions, she loaded a syringe.

  “This should make you feel better,” she said. “Less nauseous, and it should help with the pain. Whether you like it or not, I’m taking this armor off you and checking you over better.”

  That’s when it started. I hurt from my ass to the top of my head. Ronnie was watching with concern on her face as the blood and who knows what else evacuated itself from my stomach. It was like my guts were a spring someone had wound up tight. It finally ended, and I lay on the floor; the cold metal felt good against my face. I was looking forward. With my head on the floor, the view was mostly legs and a very shapely caboose. Taz stood in the doorway, still looking back and forth from Shawna and Genius to me.

  Ronnie took a cloth and wiped off my face. Rolling me over, she began unbuckling my armor. “You do know you’re not indestructible, don’t you?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure,” I said. “I get that confused with incorrigible. Guess they’re the same thing.”

  “No, they’re not!” Ronnie said. “You are incorrigible, but you are not indestructible.”

  “What did you give me in that shot?” I asked.

  “It’s a battlefield cocktail. Feeling better?”

  “Yes I am, and if you take all my clothes off maybe we could be indecent,” I mumbled.

  “I think I gave you a little too much,” she chuckled.

  “No,” I protested.

  “Well, your girlfriend over there, the Queen of Everything, would kick my ass. Plus, we have been friends too long, Benjamin, and that would complicate things.”

  “So that’s a no?”

  “Yes dear, that’s a no.”

  “Raincheck?”

  “No!”

  “Ronnie, would you come here please?” Taz asked.

  Ronnie gave me a look and stood up, walking up to the front. I saw Taz reach out like lightning, grab Ronnie and pull her into a hug. Ronnie tensed up at first then hugged her back. It looked like Taz was talking to her about something serious, but I couldn’t hear them.

  Mira was still lying across the seats and had her eyes closed. Adeen sat under Harry’s watchful eye and Snake dozed in his seat. I needed to lie here and let the nanites and buzz do their thing. I knew Ronnie; it wouldn’t last more than an hour. She wasn’t big on pain relievers; she would say we were in the wrong business if we couldn’t take some pain. She also wouldn’t have anyone get hooked on meds on her watch.

  Taz was walking towards me while Ronnie took her spot up front. “We have no pursuers, and at full speed we’ll have a two-hour lead on the Claymore,” she told me. “Aisling is positive that they can out-maneuver and outrun all three and catch up to us, with enough of a lead that slowing down to retrieve us won’t allow them to catch up.”

  “Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?”

  “Did you listen to what I just explained to you?”

  “Yes,” I answered, “they can’t catch us because my ship is badass and they are a bunch of lame ducks. Now lean down here and let’s celebrate.”

  “Ronnie, are you sure he cannot sleep right now?” Taz asked.

  “Sorry, but no. It may be all the adrenaline and effects of the drugs, but we’ll have to put up with him for a little while.”

  “Can I ha
ve a drink of water?” I asked. “I have vampire mouth.”

  Taz looked perplexed, not understanding as she took a water bottle from Ronnie’s pack and squirted water in my mouth. I rinsed first, then drank.

  “I’ll explain the vampire thing later,” Ronnie said to Taz. “He’s tasting the blood he threw up.”

  “Have you noticed how much he changes when he has had too much alcohol?” Taz asked. “Or in this case, it’s the effects of the pain-killing drugs.”

  “It’s not just him. Many people have a change in personality when they take something that has mind-altering effects,” Ronnie said.

  “Yes, I think we discussed it before.”

  “You should be happy he isn’t a mean drunk. The things he does stone cold sober would make you think he would be a monster, but he just turns into a teddy bear,” Ronnie laughed.

  “Taz, we have a message for you from the Nas Et Nass,” came the message. “It will be waiting at the Trillond border for us. They transmitted coordinates for the rendezvous.”

  “Who or what the hell is that?” I asked.

  “That is my flagship, Benjamin. You have been on it before. It followed us from Allond and has been in Trillond space awaiting my command if needed,” she told me.

  “Are you going back with them?” I asked, not liking the idea.

  “No, not unless you wish for me to. I was just going to get you and Mira taken care of. The doctor, who is quite brilliant, by the way, thinks he can help Mira without her losing everything she has experienced so far. And you will spend fifteen minutes in the tank and a day resting and be good as new.”

  “How long will it take for Mira?” I asked.

  “It’s not clear. He would like to keep her. My flagship has the latest versions of the regen system, and it is more than likely she was created on a system that was four or five hundred years old. He will clean up any bad coding and remove any destructive coding. You will not see any difference, but she will live a healthier, longer life.”

  “That’s nice, Taz. Thank you,” I said.

  “Ronnie,” she called out over her shoulder, “can we keep him on this drug you gave him? I believe I prefer this version to the other, even with the amorous overtures.”