Page 8 of Max
“Who are you, and why were you trying to kidnap this female?”
“I’m Maynard Carter. Driscoll, our boss said we had to bring in ten young and pretty females by the end of the week if we wanted supplies to feed our families.”
“What’s he doing with them?”
“He’s got some alien slave broker auctioning them to offworlders. We only have three more days to get four more.”
“Give me the names of the other three,” Max demanded.
“I don’t think I should… probably shouldn’t’a give mine.”
“It doesn’t matter; you’re all going to jail for human trafficking, attempted kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon for the one over there who shot me.”
“But I can’t go to jail. I got a wife and two kids. They won’t have nobody to take care of them,” Maynard protested. “She’s pretty and young enough; Driscoll might just take her and my kids and sell them to the aliens. I gotta stop him! They ain’t done nothing to deserve that.”
“But you see no irony, taking a random female from wherever you find and sending her to be sold to aliens as a slave?”
“Uh…Ah… I don’t think about it. They ain’t nothin’ to me.”
“And that’s the problem. Selling humans into slavery is a Federation offense. That will get you sent to the prison planet.”
“Oh, man! Eldon is going to be pissed. He’s got two mostly growed girls. When we don’t come through, Driscoll will take them too.
“Not if we get there first. They will be safe if we get to them. The Enclave is taking back this Territory. The people living in the ruins will all get new homes as they are built, and Enclave teams will teach them how to homestead and become self-sufficient.
Chapter Five
Max finished questioning the four gang members well before Stalker’s team arrived to pick them up. He left them sitting on the ground back-to-back with their hands cuffed behind them to join Falyn, where she had the four extra horses strung together.
“I almost feel bad for them and their families. Then, I remind myself they were planning to sell me to aliens,” Falyn mused.
“Exactly. Unfortunately, we can only charge them with attempted kidnapping and assault. They probably won’t go to the prison planet. They are cooperating, so they could be sentenced to labor for the Enclave helping to rebuild the towns and remain with their families,” Max explained, speaking softly, so the captives didn’t hear. “They are just lackies in Driscoll’s operation. They told me where to find him, and there is a secret base where fake merchant ships land.”
“What about their families?”
“Driscoll gave them till the end of the week to make their quota. I will have them evacuated before that. Stalker has an old military base where he’s housing people waiting for new homes.”
“That sounds good. Do you have to go with his people to secure these four?” Falyn knew she could handle the horses but wanted more time with Max. Something special was happening between them.
Her family had all passed on, and she had been alone on her homestead for eight years. Falyn didn’t get many visitors because her place was far from town. She’d had a couple of good scares when some males showed up during that time. She was sure they planned to get a free meal and take turns raping her. She ran them off with her shotgun.
Fortunately, they had never been back.
“No. Stalker’s team can handle it. As soon as they leave, I will help you walk the horses to your homestead,” he assured her. “Stalker found his mate weeks ago. We have barely begun getting acquainted.”
Falyn smiled at him. “I was hoping you would be able to come. Even with your help, it will take hours.”
Max gave her a shy smile. “I was counting on that. I’ve waited a hundred years to find you. Now that I have, I want to know everything about you….”
He would have said more, but they were interrupted by the whine of the hover transport coming in to land in the meadow.
“Let me get these gangers loaded, and then we will go to your home.”
Falyn watched him walk confidently toward the hovercraft. He moved with the grace of a mountain lion with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, a tight butt, and muscular arms and thighs.
She imagined how it would feel to be pressed against that muscular male chest with those strong arms wrapped around her.
This cyborg was different from other men she had known. He seemed almost innocent, as though he had no clue how to flirt or play courtship games. He knew she was his match as though it was a done deal.
