The Transporter's Favor by C.M. Simpson (pride and prejudice read .txt) 📕

and down like he was something the cat had dragged in. I did my best impression of Mack, or Tek, or every other commander I’d ever seen giving a sub-standard recruit the once over.

“Not so tough without your tangler, are you?” I said, and turned back to the waiting skimmer.

“Tangler?” my escort wanted to know.

“She was being uncooperative.”

“Mmhmm, while chained up, inside a box. Stay the fuck out of my head.”

“Tough words for a girl in cuffs.”

He might have had a point, but I wasn’t going to admit it. I heard him take a breath like he was going to say something else.

“That’s enough, Simon. Put the dog in the skimmer.”

Simon looked at me, and then walked over and set the dog down in the skimmer. I held myself very, very still as he passed, feeling the pressure of the hand wrapped tightly around my bicep, and remembering I was cuffed, and couldn’t even begin to try beating the living shit out of the man. I’ll give Simon this, he set Cascade very gently down on the skimmer floor.

I watched him straighten, and turn, and then realized I was still standing where I’d been stopped when he’d returned with the dog, that my escort had been watching him, too.

“Down!” rattled through my head, and I followed the sideways jerk that pulled me against my captor and down with him onto the pavement.

Bolts of light slashed through the place where we’d been standing, slamming Simon backward and into the skimmer.

“Stay still; they want you alive,” and the grip on my arm was gone, the warm body that had cushioned my fall, wriggling away in the dark.

Man, I hoped that was a promise he’d return.

I thought about moving, but blaster fire raged overhead and the sound of solids slamming into the skimmer and the wall of the hangar, rang too close. Even if they wanted me alive, there was no guarantee they’d stop shooting in time if I stood up in their line of fire. More shots came from Abby’s direction, and they didn’t sound like her wing-mounted cannons. All I could hope was that whatever Sharovan had hit her with would also stop anyone booting her up and flying her away.

I heard the sound of something big coming in, and realized they might not have to boot Abby up. She could always be heavy-lifted out of here. Twisting my head, I located the skimmer. It was stands-down and had a half-meter of clearance underneath, which meant I didn’t have to stand up to reach cover.

If these guys were serious, they’d have my bios dialed in, and should let me get to shelter. I mean, if I was trying to bring a bounty in, I’d let it move out of the middle of a fire-fight…

Whether the theory was correct or not, I managed to worm my way underneath the skimmer, without getting shot. Once the heavier darkness of its shadow closed around me, I stopped to catch my breath, and then tilted my head to see what else I could see.

What I was hoping, was that my original escort had hung around, and was open to undoing the cuffs… or that his body was close enough that I could find the keys and get the damn cuffs off, myself. What I saw were Simon’s legs hanging over the edge of the skimmer, shadows moving in from the hangar and the edge of the parking lot, and two very solid forms lying towards the rear edge of the skimmer.

“Thanks a lot, dipshit,” was followed by “Thought you’d never get here,” and I was dragged over to someone’s front, and pulled in tight against them. I guess there was nothing like another layer of protection against the solids flying around out there. It was a good thing I recognized the second voice.

Before I could ask him to undo the cuffs, he thumbed a control, and a panel slid open above us.

“I’ve sealed the cockpit,” came through loud and clear in my head, “and it’s got shielding.”

“Cuffs?”

“Not happening. Get climbing.”

I got, no easy feat with my hands behind my back. I even remembered to keep my head below the control console and move over so my escort and his good buddy could climb inside. They, too, kept their heads down, sitting with their backs to the console in the armored footwell.

I watched as the new guy slid the panel closed with his foot, and jacked into the control column above his head. He curled up on the floor and closed his eyes, as the skimmer vibrated into life, and I heard shouts from outside.

“Get her off the ground!” my escort shouted, but the pilot didn’t reply.

He did get the skimmer off the ground and into the air, where it rocked slightly before pivoting away from the hangar. As it took off, I felt it lurch, and hoped that Cascade didn’t slide out and get left behind. ‘Better off with you’, my ass!

“He’s fine. He was in the foot well, and Simon’s body protected him, until it fell off.”

Even to me that seemed cold.

“He wasn’t a very nice person.”

He was telling me!

“And he was the one who set up the ambush.”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed, just once.

“So, where does that leave us?”

“With room to negotiate.”

Oh…. good. Maybe…

“What about?”

“We’ll talk about it when we get back to the office.”

“And Abby?”

“Back-up is on its way.”

Sure it was. But would it get there in time?

“Should.”

“So, why’d we have to leave, then?”

“Because it wouldn’t have been in time for us.”

Well. I guess I was okay with that. I mean, they could have just pissed off and left me on the tarmac, and I really didn’t want to join Mack and Tens in a wolf lock-up. How could I break them out, if I did that?

“That puts a new light on things.”

I really was going to have to try and think outside the implant.

“With this model? You don’t have a hope in Hell.”

Now, why hadn’t Mack told me that?

Silence met