Page 43 of Captured
Chapter Twenty-One
Juliet
“Ladies first.” The Captain inclines his head and motions to the ship with his phaser. Behind him, his soldiers stir, their bodies tense and alert. “And just so you don’t do anything stupid. One word from me in there and your Drakian friend here gets a blast right through one of his yellow eyes.”
He didn’t believe me when I told him. He knows I do care about Rakir.
It doesn’t matter. I’m stalling for time and it’s working.
The Captain turns his head sideways. “Jackson, you’re running point. If I’m not out in five minutes, kill the Drakian. And make it hurt.”
I try not to cast one last glance at Rakir before turning, but I can’t resist. My gaze locks with his and I feel the fabric of my very soul rip, the sound almost audible, bouncing around in my ribcage.
He won’t forgive me, I know.
The ship is plunged into darkness, the only light coming from behind me as Captain Henrick uses his flashlight to guide our way. I try to walk with confidence, not to show how very scared I am. There’s no way of telling how well it works.
Henrick is still following me, so that’s all that matters.
Too soon, we enter the control room. It’s dark and foreboding now that the screens are all dead, but I know what I’m looking for. I walk to the main computer and pull out the data frame, holding its crystal clear, thin surface between my fingers.
So much has been sacrificed for this. So many lives lost, so many more could be saved.
“This is it?” The captain’s eyes shine in the low light like tiny beacons of evil. “Hand it over.”
I flick the data frame between my fingers, the thin, fragile material catching the light from the flashlight, playing furtive shadows in the darkened room. Never in my life have I played a bluff with such high stakes. Never in my life have I been so sure it was worth it.
“No yet.” I shake my head and I’m relieved to hear my voice strong and steady. “Not before the man in the sky himself tells me I’m safe.”
“You’re in no position to dictate terms.” Henrick almost spits out the words, but I can see he’s rattled, too focused on what I have between my fingers to see the game I’m playing.
Good. This might just be enough.
“So much knowledge, all packed in such a fragile piece of Drakian technology,” I muse, bringing the clear crystal into the light. “I could just break it in half, and then what?”
“You whore,” Henrick whispers, out of breath. His eyes are on the data frame, his entire body ready to snap like a twig. “You’re no one. You’re in no position to bargain with the Senators.”
I flick the data frame in the air then catch it deftly. Captain Henrick gasps, his hand rising as if to catch it.
“I think I am,” I answer with a cool that Rakir would be proud of. “I think I can have anything I want. Now let’s go back outside and call the man in the sky. He was always the one who had the power anyway. You’re just the brawn holding the gun.”
I flick the data frame in the air again, savoring every bit of the horrified face of Captain Henrick. Then I slip it inside my pocket and walk off into the total darkness of the hallways. I’m grateful Henrick is too shocked to follow closely behind me, so he cannot see the way I stagger and brace my hand on the walls, I’m that close to collapsing on myself like a badly built tower.
Please. Let this work.
I have to be strong again as the daylight washes over me and I step on the rocky shore. Rakir is still kneeling, the barrels of three Black Star soldiers pointed directly at him. He’s facing me, his back turned to the forest. The soldiers look up, all their focus on me as I walk slowly, affecting a confidence I don’t feel. Captain Henrick’s heavy footsteps sound behind me and I can almost feel the heat of his gaze on my back.
He’s not one for allowing anyone to get the best of him, especially not a woman like me.
For just one second, my mind swims in a thick ooze of terror, wiping away all clear thoughts. All I hear is the rushing of blood in my ears, the steady drum of my heartbeat.
Then it’s gone and I turn to the Captain.
“Well. Call your man in the sky.”
“You’re going to regret this,” Captain Henrick says.
He looks at me long and hard, true hatred shining in his eyes. His hand finally goes to his collar and he speaks into it, all the while never looking away from me.
