I slipped through the opening and released the wires at the last second, allowing the door to close behind me. Adreax would know what to do when he got there. We’d broken into our fair share of secured locations in our time. Now, I just had to focus on finding my way upstairs.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” I muttered to myself, jumping around corners and looking for a fight.
I was disappointed to find the stairs without seeing another living soul. Usually, I had maimed a man by now.
“That’s okay,” I consoled myself. “That just means there’s more fun waiting for me upstairs.”
I breached the second level of the ship and found myself at the back of a wide room. Just like last time, rows of desks with women in chains filled the space from one side to the other. And once again, they barely looked up before returning to their work and pretending I didn’t exist. I spotted a camera at the far end of the room and took aim at it, shattering the glass, causing a few of the women to duck reflexively, although they stayed mostly silent. But my mission here was not done.
I needed to find whoever was in charge and deal with them swiftly. Adreax and Tayla had the tools to free those women from their shackles and escort them to safety. I was just here to kick some ass and make sure the Patrol knew we meant business.
“Stay calm,” I bellowed to the room. “You’ll be safe soon.”
And then I turned and headed down a corridor toward what looked like the front of the ship. I kicked open the first door I came to, ready for a fight, but it was only a storage closet. Miffed, I whirled and crossed the hall to another door. This time, when I kicked, the door shuddered under the impact but did not swing free. Locked. On the other side, a woman screamed and a man hushed her.
“There you are,” I whispered, backing up a step and making another run at the door.
I planted the heel of my boot just right and broke the door free of the jamb, landing in a fighting stance as soon as I was through.
The creature staring back at me wore a ridiculous uniform covered in patches and ribbons. If he wasn’t the one in charge of this operation, he was at least close to the top. The woman shrank back against the far wall of the room, retreating from me as much as him.
“Any last words?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“How did you—?"
I didn’t wait for him to finish his question before unleashing the first shot. It struck him in the shoulder, and I reloaded, shooting another round into his abdomen. He was not going down as quickly as I hoped, but he seemed too surprised to fight back. I took two steps forward, planted the barrel of my rifle against his chest, and toppled him backward, his eyes already glassy as he fell. But at the last second, he reached up a hand and clasped my arm, sending a wave of electricity coursing through my body and making me roar in pain. The shock was over in an instant, but my nerves continued to tingle in the aftermath of the creature’s touch, shaking my focus for several seconds.
When I regained my composure, and feeling in my arm, I turned to face the woman. Her eyes grew wide as I took a step toward her. She was pretty, with her deep brown eyes and soft blonde hair falling in waves over her shoulders. I imagined that when she wasn’t frightened, her cheeks might show a rosy blush that made her look girlish. But now was not the time for those kinds of thoughts.
“Come with me.”