Countdown by John Walker (most life changing books TXT) 📕

“Rita Peck!” Loch chuckled. He clapped her on the shoulders, looking her in the eye. “You look like shit. I guess it was hell down there, huh? Real nasty business, fighting the Confeds. Or were you dueling the Gold Empire? It’s hard to tell whose side you’re on anymore. My sources are insanely confused.”

“Like I give a shit,” Rita said. “What’s the point of this?”

“Wow. I thought you’d want to be civil!” Loch chuckled. “I’m glad you didn’t attack my men. That would’ve been bad.”

Settle down, woman! Rita scolded herself without altering her expression. You wanted to talk your way out of this. That doesn’t involve acting like an asshole.

“I imagine,” Rita replied. “You ready to hear the story about what happened to us? You going to listen this time?”

“I want to have dinner with you. Are you hungry? I assume you must be after everything you’ve done. Fighting builds an appetite and…” Loch pulled out a silver case. “I’ve got a little of your… habit here. Oh yes, I heard. I did my homework. Naughty girl. I’m surprised they didn’t kick you out of the military for that.”

So his sources aren’t amazing. Rita shrugged. “I could eat.”

She decided to stay neutral. She had been worried about taking ether but only for so long as she thought she might survive the encounter with him. Now that things were looking up, at least temporarily, she figured it would be good to have some.

“You left your weapons onboard, I assume?” Loch asked. Rita nodded. “Excellent. Your computer will still work. You can scan this. See that it’s pure, untainted stuff. I’m not here to poison you. Take it with you. I’ll lead you to your quarters. They’ll be locked, unfortunately. Until you’re ready for dinner, that is.”

“These monkeys going to be my guards too?” Rita asked.

“Them?” Loch stepped closer to Rita, pushing her back toward the ship. She stiffened at his touch, prepared for violence that never came. “No,” he whispered. “They’re here for an example to you. A couple guys who continued to find themselves just behind you and Zem. Borden too. So I thought you’d like to see this.”

Loch tapped his computer. The telltale sound of a turret popping up came from the left. Rita tensed as it opened fire, high-pitched blasts cutting through the room. Cue died instantly, before he could even look around. Scruffy cried out, turning to run. A ball of blue energy slammed into his left leg, burning it off.

He dropped to the ground, screaming like a wild animal. Blood poured from the wound. The turret adjusted, firing again. Scruffy’s head popped, the contents scattered over the metal deck.

Loch clicked his tongue. “Well, there you go. Failure dealt with.” He backed away from Rita. “If you would’ve taken them down, I could’ve done the same to you. Something told me you were far too intelligent to jump the guards though. I figured… there’s no way she’s that stupid. After all, I trusted her with a lot of money for a reason.”

Rita stared at the bodies. “You execute the people who fail you?”

“The ones that do it as often as they did.” Loch shrugged. “Come on. You need to change.” He started toward the door. “What do you think? A dress? Maybe something especially feminine? Maybe I’ll remember you’re a woman and cut you some slack. Ever think of being a concubine?” He glanced back at her scowl. “Oh, you should see your face.”

“Go to hell,” Rita muttered. “What do you want? Seriously?”

“For you to be civil,” Loch replied. “And talk to me. You probably remember our conversation when you took my resources. Now you’ll have a chance to sell me on why I shouldn’t go through with what I said. After all, you lost what… two? Three people? Or was it four? I can’t remember.”

“It doesn’t matter, does it? You don’t really care.”

“I do. Or I would’ve had you shot the second you stepped off the ship.” Loch got to the door. Five guards waited there with weapons. “These men are taking you to quarters. When you’re ready, they’ll bring you to me. We’ll have a lovely meal and you’ll talk for your life. It’ll be grand. Like nothing you’ve ever done before. I promise.”

“Oh, looking forward to it.”

“Consider the alternative, dear!” Loch walked away, waving over his shoulder. “Tata!”

Son of a bitch.

Rita looked at the guys he left her with. They were far rougher than the two idiots in the hangar. Definitely real soldiers. The tough variety. Probably from one of the harder pirate crews. Not the standard Gold Empire fare. The gestured for her to move. She didn’t bother to argue… kept her snark to herself.

I got what I wanted, Rita thought. A chance to live. Back to the pirate’s life. I’ve been bouncing between personalities so much I’m starting to feel like I’ve got a disorder. Now I have to keep it up. Well… piracy mode engaged. Depending on how reasonable he’s feeling, I may just walk out of here alive. Even if I’m in crippling debt.

***

Zem sat on his shuttle near the pilot, tapping into their comm to reach the Morrigan. He tapped his foot in anticipation until Dorian finally picked up a good five minutes after Zem sat in a queue. The young man sounded frazzled, totally exhausted… both of which made sense after all he’d been through.

I bet the whole ship is suffering after what they’ve been through.

The added refugees likely made the trip back to Gallik fairly miserable. The life support system had to be tapped hard. He’d been on ships with that problem before. They got hot, the air stale.

And after a big fight, no one has time for that shit.

“Hi, Zem,” Dorian said. “Glad to hear from you. I hope everything’s okay on your end.”

“Not entirely.