Gunship (40 page)

“He wouldn’t have lasted five minutes with the detainers, so Raymond had him put in one of the medical chambers. That way he’ll be in top shape for tomorrow’s show.” Welch shook his head, feigning disgust, but underneath he was laughing with delight as he watched Reilly respond to the buttons he was pushing. He had done it, she had hope now, her sergeant was still alive. He watched as the hope turned to determination. Good, she had taken the bait.

“I tried to talk to Raymond, but he is determined to kill your man. They had a falling out a while back that has never been resolved, I take it?”

Reilly nodded and took another sip of the brandy. Welch grinned again. This was all too easy.

“What a talented man, Joby Ty. I read his records too, one of the four who survived the bloodiest alien battle in all of history. Now only two of you are left, national treasures headed for the chopping block, really a shame. So much potential will be wasted!” Welch shook his head sadly.

Reilly watched as he responded to her reactions, read her, and brought her along. It was classic interrogation 101. This was where the bargaining would begin. She wondered how long he would play the good guy before the bad guy took over. It was only a matter of time before his true self came to the surface. She waited for him to speak again, now keeping her head down as if she were still in some pain from her wounds.

Welch got up and walked to the large window and struck a dramatic pose. “The galaxy is a dangerous place, it always has been. There are aliens, pirates, slavers, and a myriad of other threats that plague the average citizen, tear the hard-won peace apart and throw it to the dogs. Homicide, genocide, fratricide, these become common, and civilization, Reilly…well, civilization goes down the toilet.”

Here it comes,
she thought to herself.

Welch turned back towards her and pointed his finger in her direction. “We, however, have a civic obligation. People like you and me, we know the evil that exists in the void, and we struggle against it. We are the last ones standing on the castle wall, defending civil society from the darkness that seeks to overwhelm it. Freedom, liberty, justice, peace…with the right tools and the right people, we can guarantee this to the galaxy. People like you and Joby Ty. You’ve already made a difference, saved hundreds and thousands from alien hoards, genocidal rampages. You have what it takes. Under a powerful central government, we can reunite the galaxy and drive out that evil…yes?”

Reilly was still looking down, but now she sat with her hand raised like a school child, shaking her head. She wanted to laugh as Welch tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

“I never figured you for a patriot, and while that all sounds pretty good, I was under the impression that once you are done with me, I get to go join my sergeant in the detainment wing for one of Crazy Ray’s special videos. I’m feeling pretty crappy right now, my head is still throbbing, and most likely I’m going to be hacked to bits in a few hours. So can you just cut the bullshit and get to the point?”

Welch forced another smile to cover his irritation. He needed Reilly Campbell…no, he
wanted
Reilly Campbell to join him. She was his perfect match, intelligent, aggressive, and experienced in the art of war. That experience could help him finish Zain and any pitiful opposition he might raise. Zain would be a small bump in the road on his way to rule the galaxy if Reilly was with him. Even she couldn’t refuse the chance to take on a role that would give her so much power. She would want it, she would join him, and so would her crew. She would say yes. How could she not? No one would be foolish enough to turn down an offer like this. Promoted from death sentence to galactic military commander in an hour, no one else could or would offer such a deal. Besides, she had her crew to think about, and Mama Bear wouldn’t want to let them down!

“How very astute of you! I can see you appreciate directness, as do I, a quality everyone should strive to develop. In a few short weeks, I will be taking on an important role in the galactic government at the request of the AOC. I was humbled to have been offered this position, but it comes at a time when we are once again on the verge of war, due to the actions of rebels and aliens. I could use someone like you at the head of our military to lead and defend the citizenry against these threats.” Welch paused and cleared his throat, then turned back to face Reilly, an eager light in his eyes. “You would be my right hand. I would not interfere with your appointments of personnel to the war council. Your crew would also be provided positions of importance. Together, we can unite the galaxy once again under the protective shield of a strong central government.”

Welch smiled to himself as he set his glass down. The fact that he was planning to implant or collar all of them didn’t need to enter into the discussion. Certain information was need-to-know, and right now all Reilly needed to know was that this was her only option for survival. He shivered slightly, delighted by the possibilities, as he waited for her to say the only words she could say, waited for her acceptance.

Reilly slowly looked up at Welch, at the expectant look he wore.
He thinks I will say yes, because I have no other option. He thinks that I will be the dagger with which he will tear the galaxy apart, that I would willing agree to help him in his tyrannical quest for galactic slavery. Damn! He’s crazier than I thought!

“What about Commander Zain? I thought he was the AOC War Council commander these days?”

She could see the darkness then. Welch tried to hide it, but the feelings were too strong, and the hate overrode his attempts to maintain his good-guy image. He flashed an evil grin at her before he spoke.

“Commander Zain has disappeared. Rumor has it that he may be attempting to restart the galactic alien war in order to take over the AOC. If that is true—and I believe it is—then it is imperative that we find someone who can stop him. And in my new role, according to the duties and powers granted to me by the AOC in these dangerous times, I can appoint whomever I would like to lead the military. There is no one else who has a…suitable military background, no one else who can fit the requirements of the position. So it must be you…I want it to be you.” Welch was pacing, animated by the anger he was trying to hide but also agitated by Reilly’s lack of a response. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He paused a moment and smoothed his hair and his shirt while he collected himself. Then he swiveled to face her. He had completely shown his hand, more than he had intended to. Now it was her turn to tell him yes.

Reilly had him. She had gotten an emotional response and had learned more in the process. The psycho wanted more than just a new military commander, that much was clear. In his mind, she had already told him yes a thousand times. So once she gave him her answer, things were going to get interesting. Either way, he had committed, he told her what he wanted. Now it was her turn to button push.

“No.”

Welch reeled for a moment, not believing what he had heard, not believing that she had turned him down. She couldn’t turn him down.

“Perhaps you didn’t understand…”

“I understand. I understand more than you know. And I’m telling you no.”

Welch’s eyes smoldered as he tried to remain calm “Then let me rephrase my offer: I would like to offer you the chance to save your own miserable life as well as the lives of your crew. It’s very simple really. I need some solid commanders for my fleet, and you have the fortunate opportunity to say yes. In exchange for your service, I spare your life and your crew’s lives. Of course, there is also the matter of the items you stole from my compound that will need to be dealt with—”

Reilly interrupted Welch again. “Well, I can’t help you out there. We sold most of that stuff to Alton on our last visit. The rest went up in flames when our ship crashed on Roen.”

Welch was caught off guard briefly and then recovered. “I see…and did you by chance come across a crate of ledgers?” he asked in a cold but nonchalant manner. He needed to know if she’d read them, if she knew what was in them.

Very interesting. How did Tiny know? Let’s see how indifferent he really is about those so-called ledgers!
Reilly thought.

“Yeah, we did. I almost forgot about them, except Alton explicitly expressed an interest in that crate. He paid us up front for it, in fact.” Reilly tossed back the rest of her drink and then motioned at Welch for another fill as if he were a servant. He walked over, barely disguising his anger now as he mechanically filled the glass with another jot of liquor.

The door opened and Marek stepped in. Welch turned with a nasty look and then pulled himself together. Good-guy Welch waved the bounty hunter over. Marek handed him a slip of paper and whispered something. Welch gave a twisted smirk and nodded, then turned back to Reilly. She took another gulp from the glass as Marek walked into the lift, his right hand showing three fingers as the door closed. Welch began to speak again.

“Poor Raymond is beside himself! He is determined to torture you and your sergeant. He is not very happy with me interfering. Still, as a civilized man, I can’t just stand idly by. Your value to our galaxy and its future is tremendous. You need to think realistically about my offer, about the difference you could make by taking a position in my government. I’m willing to give you additional time to consider, have the doctor come back to do some pain management so you can decide with a clear mind, it’s that important to our future—even if it costs me the lives of my men.” Welch paused dramatically and looked back at Reilly.

All the pieces had fallen into place now. Welch, his role in the new AOC, his hatred of Crazy Ray, his desire to use Reilly and the crew to lead his campaign against the galaxy. Everything Reilly needed to start doing some serious button pushing.

Time to shake things up,
Reilly thought, looking at Welch with contempt now.

“So he’s been killing off your men, huh? And you just take it? I mean this guy is one of the biggest dirtbags around, while you, well, you’re going to be the new commander-in-chief of the AOC! And still he’s sticking it to you! Huh…well, how about that! Maybe he was right. Maybe he is more of a man after all!” Reilly took another gulp as Welch narrowed his eyes and walked back towards the divan.

“And how do you know all that? I never mentioned my new title. Wait, let me guess—a little birdy told you?” he sneered. All traces of the refined Welch disappeared and his posture became predatory as he loosely gripped the bottle of brandy by the neck.

Reilly took a final gulp, emptying the glass, and then set it down. She needed to get to the detainment wing and soon if this was going to work. Welch would oblige her momentarily, she was sure.

“We all know. Raymond,” she said, exaggerating the name to mimic Welch’s speech, “told all of us what was in those ledgers. Said he was going to sell them to the highest bidder once you got in office and expose you for the fraud you are, expose your whole plan. I bet he’s still keeping them here right under your nose. They’re probably still in the storage bay in Hold Number Three. Why would I take a job working for the guy who got outsmarted by a psycho creep who never leaves his space station?” She grinned at him as he grabbed the half-full bottle and smashed it into the side of her head.

As she started to black out, Reilly thought to herself, and not for the first time,
I am getting too old for this shit!
She heard Welch in the distance call for Marek to transport her to the detainment wing and then heard him smashing some other items in the room. It didn’t take very long for the bad guy to come out after all. She flashed Marek a dopey grin as he hauled her to her feet. As they entered the lift, the last image she had was of Welch launching the reading lamp over the bar and into the mirror.

“You sure do know how to get folks riled up! I think I could do with a bit less of that right now, considering all the crazies round about this joint,” Marek whispered to Reilly fiercely as he pretended to check her restraints.

Reilly tried to focus as her vision blurred in and out. “I’m just getting started. You haven’t seen crazy yet!” she promised softly.

—————

Tiny was pleased with herself. It had only taken forty-five minutes to con the large man at the bar into showing her around. Another twenty-five minutes, she had convinced him to open the corridor to the torture wing. Five minutes more, and the man was taking her to see the famed Wanted Man #2 who was secured in the medical room while she hung on his arm, stroking his bicep. And exactly fifteen minutes after that, she had smashed him twice in the head, producing fractures similar to what Ty had sustained while they stood in the medical chamber room. The man had been bragging about how he had taken some extra time to rough up the sergeant before tossing him in the chamber. Tiny, feeling the need to release some seriously pent-up aggression before her dinner with Crazy Ray, had decided the timing and location were perfect. Any cameras were located outside the door of the medical chamber room, which was fortunate.

The man was the same height as Ty but weighed a bit more. Tiny struggled to roll the sergeant out of the chamber and gently onto the floor. Then she stripped her former escort and pulled him into the machine, locking it down. She paused to rest for a moment, trying to decide the best way to get Ty back to her room. She could carry him, but that would be obvious, especially when entering the main section of the detainment wing. Most of the residents were living it up in the club area this evening, so a couple hanging on each other on the way back to a room wouldn’t be unexpected. Tiny dressed Ty in the other guy’s clothes, but there was no way his face would go unrecognized. Wanted Man #2 was too big a prize. Everybody had been talking about Crazy Ray’s birthday present and the torture event of the decade.

She opened up the supply cabinets, looking for anything that might help. She settled on a surgeon’s mask for Ty and a set of scrubs for herself. Strangely enough, some of the detainers were germ freaks when they weren’t busy dismembering people, so a man in a mask wouldn’t be too odd. And she had seen several people walking around in scrubs. She got Ty dressed and then hoisted his weight onto her shoulders so it seemed like he was leaning on her.