Page 3 of Rescued

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HEROD

The comm unit buzzed and I clicked it on, waiting for the connection to come through.

“Well, if it isn’t my long-lost brother,” I said with a smirk as Adreax’s face appeared on my screen.

My old partner grinned back at me, and just past his shoulder I could see the shape of his new partner, Tayla, hunched over her station on their bridge.

“Good to see you, too, Herod.”

“And to what do I owe this pleasure?”

I knew well enough that Adreax would not be calling on me just to chat. He always had a reason when he called, and this was confirmed when his boyish grin suddenly turned serious.

“There is another research vessel belonging to the Patrol. Tayla has located it, and we are en route.”

I groaned. I was a smuggler. A smuggler of goods, like guns and precious gems, not people. When Adreax ran off with Tayla, they had taken it upon themselves to save the women kidnapped by the Patrol, but I had chosen to go my own way, sticking to the things I knew best.

“And what does this have to do with me?” I asked hesitantly, bracing myself for the request I knew was coming.

“Seeing as you’re in the area, and not working at the moment, I wondered if you might lend us a hand?”

I harrumphed. “Not working? What do you know about my work status?”

“I know that you don’t have that gleam in your eye that happens when you’re outrunning the Patrol and headed for a paycheck. From the look of things, I’d say you’re a few days into a leisurely trip toward Kychek, and you’re in need of some excitement.”

As a matter of fact, he was wrong. I did have a job or two lined up, but I had left myself just enough time to make a quick pitstop at Kychek along the way. He couldn’t fault me for giving myself one day of leisure after so many back-to-back runs.

“Come on, Herod,” he pressed. “I’ll make sure it’s worth the trouble. I promise.”

I pulled a deep breath in through my nose, knowing I would regret what I was about to do.

“Fine. I can give you exactly one day, but after that, I have to split. Can’t keep the customers waiting. Send me the coordinates, and don’t start the party without me. Got it?”

Adreax gave me a short chuckle, but a second later, my viewscreen chimed, and the coordinates of the research vessel were locked in.

“It’s never a party until you arrive,” he shot back and then my screen went dark.

“Let’s go see what kind of trouble we can get up to,” I muttered, patting my old ship on the console before easing the throttle up and heading for the rendezvous.

After leaving Orb5, I had taken several months to get theGreedy She-Devilback in shape. She got a new engine and some handy upgrades to her interior that made her feel almost new, but deep down, she was still the same old cutter that had gotten us through so many runs before. I smiled to myself as she picked up speed and made a hard turn to get us on course.

Hours passed and the space between the stars was quiet, but I finally caught sight of the research vessel looming in the distance. I scanned the area, trying to find Adreax’s position before cutting my speed and readying my space suit.

“What’s the plan?” I called out over the comm.

“You made it. Good. Right now, they are without a military escort. That should make our jobs easy enough. Tayla and I are going in first, and we’re going to try to get their lower bay open. Once it’s open, you should be able to slide in and start clearing the way up to the work area. If we do this right, we can be in and out before they call in reinforcements. Got it?”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

There was a moment of silence as Adreax repositioned his ship and then it darted toward the research vessel. I followed close behind. Adreax’s ship slid under the research vessel, and the magnetic arm of his ship secured them to the hull. Adreax’s tiny form appeared in a spacesuit and made his way toward the cargo bay on the underside of the ship. He was only there for a few minutes before being pulled back into his ship by a cable.

Some kind of mechanical wedge forced the outer doors open, and I drummed my fingers on the throttle impatiently. By the time the device had scissored the doors open, I was already pulling in close, nosing theGreedy She-Devilinto the open space and coming to a sharp halt inside the hulking vessel.

I cut power, jumped out, and used my ship to propel myself toward the inner doors. Once I was inside, it would just be a matter of finding my way upstairs and taking out as many of the Patrol’s men as I could get my hands on.

Adreax and Tayla would have their ship parked beside mine in no time, so I had to get a move on. I turned toward the inner door, giving the control panel at its side only a cursory glance before striking it with the butt of my gun until the faceplate came loose. Looking behind the panel, I chuckled when I found what I was looking for. I yanked the colorful wires free and touched them together in various combinations until I heard the door slide open. Bingo.

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