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

to stand beside Zem, leaning in to whisper. “Are you really going to… do what you said?”

“Alternative?” Zem looked her in the eyes.

“What do you want him to do? Maybe I can make it happen.”

“How?”

“Depend on what you want.” McCully scowled. “Come on, man. Just… let me try. If I fail, you can still do that other shit, but that’s a one-way street.”

Zem stared at her, assessing her. She didn’t seem squeamish. Maybe she did care about hurting people. Perhaps her morals were heightened. The fact she worked for Whitaker put that in doubt for him. Then again, Rita turned her which led him down a different path to consider.

I don’t think Rita would have let me do this either.

“I want him to give me the computer codes,” Zem gestured to the terminal, “and when the others get here, he needs to tell them everything’s fine. We need Loch down here.”

“Okay, I’ll make it happen.” McCully approached Biggun. “Listen, my friend’s not taking any shit, and time is of the essence. I need two things from you. First, the computer codes. Knowing that he’s going to do something awful to you, will you consider giving them to me before it goes there?”

“No.”

“Fair enough. You’re a mercenary. A pirate. We’ll pay you to jump ship on this guy.” McCully stepped closer to him. “In all honesty, we only want one thing. We’re not here for the spoils, not anything but Loch and a prisoner. You help us get those, and you can take everything. This whole compound—it’s yours.”

“You’d just walk away from this?”

“We’re Confed soldiers,” McCully said. “What the hell am I going to do with a pirate compound?”

Biggun glared for almost a minute before shaking his head. “I can’t trust you. You’ll just arrest me. Or worse, send your goons back to this planet to destroy the place. Why wouldn’t you?”

“Honestly? Because I’m certain you’ll be working with the Gold Empire soon enough. If you’re in charge here, then they’ll be looking for someone that knows the area. Regional governors. Have you ever thought of that? Do you think you’d enjoy working for Loch when he has that kind of power? Or would you rather be calling the shots?”

“That’s not going to work,” Zem said. He drew his pistol. “Just move aside. This asshole has no interest in helping us out.”

“Hold on!” Biggun shouted. “Just… wait a minute, okay? Jesus, you’re a real savage, man!” He looked at McCully. “That prick isn’t a soldier, right? He’s not one of you. There’s no way.”

“All the more reason to deal with me,” McCully replied. “Codes?”

Biggun stared at Zem, nodding emphatically. “Fine. I’ll turn them over. As long as this lug swears… as long as you swear you can keep him from doing anything insane.”

“Okay, good. Turn them over.” McCully stepped aside.

“Echo,” Biggun said, “Tango Zulu November Foxtrot Three Four Four.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

McCully slapped him in the face. “Stay with me, asshole. Just because I’m being cool doesn’t mean I won’t mess you up too. We’re not done, and you’d rather go with this plan than the alternative so just stay focused.” She turned to Zem. “Check it. Let’s make sure he’s not lying.”

“If he is,” Zem replied, “the promise I made before will be a dream come true. Believe me, I’ll drag it out until Loch gets back. I’m a field medic. I can keep his ass alive for a long time.” He entered the code. A please wait message appeared. It lingered. After twenty seconds, he took aim at Biggun’s leg.

“Holy shit, you’re impatient!” Biggun tried to back away but Nostros held him. “That system’s old! Come on! You have to give it a minute to react, for God’s sake! Just… hold on!”

The access screen popped up a moment later, granting access to the locked folders. Zem lowered his weapon. “Very good,” he said. “That works for me. Next part, McCully. Come on, keep this rolling.”

“How long before Loch gets back?” McCully asked. “How long do we have?”

“Honestly, that all depends on if he finds what he wants.” Biggun shrugged. “I have no idea how long that will be.”

Zem brought up the locked file, clicking through their inventory. Loch kept one large ship, something bigger than a destroyer but smaller than a battleship. That was likely what he took with him. Everything about it appeared to be customized. He’d hoped he might make a guess about how long it took to travel through hyperspace.

I know where this asshole’s coming from, Zem thought. And I’m pretty sure he’s coming back here. “He have another hideout he visits? Or will he return here? I need some specifics.”

“He told us he’d be back as soon as possible,” Biggun replied. “He wasn’t going to do anything else. No pickups, no deliveries, nothing.”

“And do you know what he was after?”

“Yeah, some broad that screwed us over.” Biggun shrugged. “She and her crew hosed an assignment after borrowing a bunch of cash.”

“Did he say he was bringing her back here?” McCully asked.

“Yeah.”

“You sure?” Zem clenched his fist in an effort to keep his cool. “He said he was bringing her back?”

“Yes, man. He’s bringing her back! Jesus Christ.”

“Good. When they return, we need you to make sure he comes down.” Zem gestured to the screen. “You’ll be on comms. Make sure they land without incident and you’ll get all that bullshit she offered you. But… for the record? We didn’t screw up. And if that’s the pretense this son of a bitch is going on, then you’re all a bunch of dumbasses.”

“Hey, I only know what I was told.”

“You weren’t there when Rita came then?” Zem asked. “You seem kind of important. I feel like you would’ve been involved in the