Published: 2 May 2019

We sat on the couch later, Sam, me and Madame DuPree. Ja’qu’ill’s body had been bathed and clothed and taken to the undertakers.

“It has to be tonight.” Sam said. “We can’t wait for your guy to find the princess. Ryan’s more important.”

“I concur. Jared, you must save your son. Family must come first.” Madame Dupree said.

“I’m worried that they may kill her if I storm in and take Ryan.”

“I don’t think Phy-Tong-Ki was even interested in the princess. If you kill him it won’t make any difference to the slavers who have her. They’ll just sell her and be rid of the danger.” Sam interjected.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m just worried about what they may be doing to her.”

“She’s worth too much to them unsoiled. They won’t allow her to be harmed. You don’t need to worry about her until after she’s auctioned.” Madame DuPree observed.

“That actually makes sense. Ryan first then. The question now is ‘How?’. Do we use a sneak attack from underground or an all out frontal attack right down their throats?”

“Phy-Tong-Ki has Ryan in that private bunker. If you go in the front door he’ll kill him before you can get to him. Especially if he feels he’s losing!” Sam said.

“So what do you suggest then?”

“Go in underground. Take out the guards quietly and get Ryan out. Then we can deal with Phy-Tong-Ki.”

“After your little trip back there he’ll be expecting that. Maybe we should try both options at once.”

“What do you mean?”

“We find a couple of mercenaries. You take one in underground while I take the other through the front door. I’ll be your distraction. I’ll keep Phy-Tong busy while you sneak in and get Ryan. That’s the best I can think of.”

“If you can give me thirty minutes, I can help you.” Madame DuPree said.

“With what? No offense but you’re 70 years old. I’m not taking you into a battle.”

“I did not mean myself, sir. I have friends. I have family. I know people. I can get you the men you need, quickly and quietly.”

“Forgive my ignorance, please. That would be of great use. If you feel you can do so without endangering yourself, I would be very grateful.”

“It’s the least I can do. I want to be rid of that filth as much as you do. He took my nephew from me and I want my revenge too.”

“You deserve no less.”

“I’ll go right now. Expect me in about a half hour.”

Madame DuPree stood, went to the door, gathered her coat and purse and exited the apartment. I was impressed by how determined she appeared. She moved as if she were only 40 or 50, rather than 70. After she left, I sat there a few moments in quiet thought.

“What about that detonator Ja’qu’ill had?” Sam said, breaking into my introspection. “What do you think it does?”

“I’m not sure. His words were: ‘Explosive – in base – use this – kill him for me.’ ” We know it’s a detonator for ‘Explosives’, so that’s the first part. I’ve looked it over and that’s all it is. There aren’t any explosives ‘IN’ it’s ‘BASE’. So I figure he mant the old military base. My guess is there must have been a self destruct system left behind by the military. I suspect what happened was, after you two got separated, Ja’qu’ill went back for this detonator switch, got caught taking it and was injured during his escape.”

“It makes sense I guess. I just can’t figure how he knew about it, much less knew where to find it.”

“I believe our little friend knew more than he ever let on. I mean, think about it. He was able to obtain the codes for the cell doors. He knew about the armory. He knew about the sewers and underground tunnels. He knew about Phy-Tong-Ki’s private bunker. What else did he know?””Yeah, he even knew Ryan was there. Unfortunately, we’ll never know how much he really knew.”

Suddenly, Sam went quiet and tears came to her eyes. Without warning, she slid across the sofa and snuggled herself up against me. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her. It took several minutes for her to compose herself again. Even then, she stayed cuddled up against me as we continued to talk. We didn’t even seem to notice the half hour slip by. At one point, Sam was quiet and thoughtful for a couple of minutes. Then she asked a question I didn’t even see coming.

“So, where do you see our future going? I mean supposing that we survive, how do you feel about me? About us?”

“Uh… um… well… uh. I don’t think I’ve even given it any thought.”

“Gee, thanks! So, I’m just a tag along or something?”

“No! I meant… well… No! It’s just that we’ve been so occupied with our mission that I haven’t had a chance to consider, much less even think about, anything else!”

“We’ve saved each other several time now! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” she exclaimed, now sitting up next to me, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

“Sam! Hold on a minute! When I first met you, we didn’t even know each other. Yeah, we’ve gone through a lot together since then. I trust you with my life now. I’d do anything to protect you. I feel like crap for putting you through this hell. Especially after what you went through as a child. If you’re worried I’ll leave you behind once our mission is done, don’t! I’m not like that. I don’t leave my people behind!”

“You see me as crew, as people then? What an idiot I am. I should have known that a space pilot who’s spent his life alone, wouldn’t want some kid hanging around.”

“Now you’re just being foolish. I had a wife and a son once. If we can get Ryan back, I’ll have a son again. And you are definitely not a kid!”

“Then what is there for us? I ask again, how do you feel about me?”

“To begin with, you’ve become very important to me. You’re welcome on my ship as long as you wish to be there. I care about you and what happens to you. I’m ex-military is all. I dedicated a large part of my life to the crew I served with. We became family and you never turn your back on family, duty or honor. I feel… well… you’re part of my family now. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

“Do you think we could ever be more than just ‘family’?” she asked quietly.

“Oh… ah… well…” I stammered, not knowing how to respond. I suddenly found myself confronted with something I hadn’t entertained in over a hundred years.

“Look Sam,” I said softly “I’m over 150 years old by calendar dating. You’re all of 15. I lost my wife a long time ago and have never really gotten over that. I’ve never even considered having another relationship.”

“Does the age difference really matter?” I mean, how old are you physically?”

“I’m almost 45 and yeah, I suppose the age isn’t an issue these days, at least not to most people. However, to me, it still feels odd. I’m old enough to be your father I don’t know if I could get past that or not.”

“Then how about being my beloved Uncle? For now anyway.”

“I can live with that. I’d be honored to fill that place in you life, if that’s what you want. Can you be okay with that? At least for now?”

“Yeah but I reserve the right to bring this up again later though. We’re not done with this discussion!”

We both went quiet, spending our time, each deep in our thoughts. Just then, the door opened and Madame DuPree walked in, followed by two men dressed in dark clothing. She introduced them as her two stepsons.

“There will be a couple others arriving in a few minutes.” she told me. Within fifteen minutes, two other men arrived. They brought with them a duffel of weapons. They were old and some needed cleaning and a bit of repair. Once we added what Sam and I had managed to bring out with us, everyone was reasonably well equipped.

All four men had spent time either in the military or as mercenaries, so they all had some experience. What worried me though was that not one of them was under 60 years old. They all seemed to be in good health but had not seen action for many years. They all insisted they could do the job. They were totally dedicated to Madame DuPree and more than willing to avenge Ja’qu’ill’s death. By midnight we were as ready as we could be. I felt we had a good chance at success.

We left the apartment just after midnight. When we reached the sewer entrance we shook hands all around and wished each other luck. Sam hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. As we parted I couldn’t get my mind off our earlier conversation. I just hoped we would survive to continue our discussion. If not, she was really going to be mad at me. I took up a position on a rooftop across from Gregor’s Head. It had taken longer than we had thought it would to get here. There were still guards all over the place, even after two full days.

Raising my head a bit, I looked first left then right. I knew the buildings where my two compatriots were stationed. I couldn’t see them, as it should be, since they awaited my signal.Looking across an empty parking area, past the barricade which had been put up to close it off, there were probably 20 guards standing, sitting or crouching behind anything they could use as cover.

There was no way they could be expecting us. Phy-Tong-Ki wasn’t taking any chances though. Once the shooting started, more men would fall back to this spot. I just hoped Ryan was still being held in the private quarters and Sam would be able to get to him in time.

I checked my watch. It was time. I keyed my comlink twice, waited, then three times, waited, then once. Moments later the response came back, two, one, two. Sam and her guys were in position.

Lifting my rifle to my shoulder, I looked through the sight, hunting for my target. We needed to take out the big Jorrashiens first and quickly. We couldn’t fight a running ground battle with them, it was too risky. I searched the entire lot but they were not there. “Shit,” I thought, “Phy-Tong must have them inside with him.” That complicated the whole show. I was not looking forward to a close-quarters fight with those monstrosities.

There was nothing I could do about it now though. Sam needed my distraction so I picked out the one guy back by the building who looked like he may be in command. I sighted in, took a small breath and held it then closed the contact on my weapon.

The guy crumpled as a shower of blood spattered the wall and door behind him. He never even knew what happened. As soon as they saw the flash of my weapon, my two compatriots opened up as well. Within seconds we had dropped at least ten. The others began returning fire. It was time to move.

I quickly rolled to the hatch and slipped down the inside stairs. Silently, I made my way to the back room, out a window and onto the fire escape. Down two flights I was able to leap across the open alley to a small balcony. This gave into a room in the next building and access to an exit on the ground floor.

It wasn’t being watched and I was able to make a run for my secondary position. The others should be on the move as well but I couldn’t worry about them. They would have to take care of themselves right now.

I reached the fourth floor room without incident. Taking up a position on the balcony I carefully peered down into the parking area from the side. There were about thirty men down there. I was right. Our attack had drawn all of the outliers back here.

I still didn’t see any of the big Jorrashiens. For about five minutes, I picked off targets and saw the flashes of the others doing the same. Once again I made a strategic move to a new position and took out a few more. By the time I made my way down to the front of the parking area there were only a few guards firing back. I was shortly joined by one of my men. “Have you seen Dean?” he asked.

“No, just you.”

“Damn!” was his only response.

We looked at each other and our stony faces said what each of us was thinking. We worked our way across the lot, taking out the few defenders that were left. One shot winged my left calf and it stung like fire. John took a round in his right shoulder. When I started towards him to check his wound, he only waved me off and moved on, helping to mop up the last of Phy-Tong-Ki’s men. We paused outside the door and talked over our next move.

“The door’s electronically locked.” he said.

“Yeah. We’ll have to blow it. Oh, by the way, did you notice that we’re missing the big Jorrashiens?”

“Yes.” he growled, not at all happy. “They’ll be waiting inside.”

I heard my own misgivings mirrored in his voice. I slapped my only blast pack on the top of the door and he did the same with his on the bottom. Activating them both, we ran back to whatever cover we could find. Ten seconds later they let loose. When the dust cleared, the door was gone and a large jagged hole stood in its place. We looked inside but it was as black as night.

All the lights were out. They had the advantage as we did not have night vision. From the sides of the door we both tossed in sonics to at least help. As soon as they went off, laser fire erupted from inside, streaks gouging the wall and around around the doorway.

We both fired back the best we could but we couldn’t see anything. Suddenly, there was an explosion from inside the bar and the laser fire ceased.

“Okay guys, we’re clear, come on in.” It was Dean’s voice. We made our way cautiously into the bar and found Dean picking over the equipment on a dead Jorrashien. A second dead one lay against the bar and a third sprawled at the entrance of the hallway. Dean had a bloody cloth wrapped around his head and walked with a limp.

“Glad to see you old man. We thought you’d bought it.” I said.

“Almost did!” he said motioning at the bandage on his head. “Not quite though. It’d take more than a bang on the head to stop me.”

“Good! So where’d you come from?”

“I saw you two pinned down at the front door so I came in the back.”

“Huh? I didn’t see a back door on any of the plans we looked at.”

“Oh, there wasn’t, till now. Kinda made my own!” he grinned.

“Well, let’s go then. I only see three of these big guys here so I’m guessing we’ll run into a few more along the way.”

The stairs to the old military base were back behind the room where I first met Phy-Tong-Ki, so we started down the curved hallway. As soon as we moved into it however, a shot rang out from behind. We whirled around and saw one of the big guards on his elbows pointing a gun in our direction. All three of us opened up and nearly cut him in pieces. This time we were certain he was dead.

“Come on.” I said, turning back to the hall.

“No… I don’t think so.” Dean said.

I looked at him and saw a large streak of blood down his shirt that hadn’t been there before.

“Unfortunately, this is more than a bang on the head!” he said with a grimace. He reached out and put a hand on the wall. For a moment he just stared at us. Then he exhaled and pitched face first to the floor. John leaned over and placed two fingers on Dean’s throat. After a moment he looked at me and shook his head. We took Dean’s weapons and ammo and moved on, silent in the now darkened bar. We made our way down the hall, through the fruity room, out its back door and down the stairs into the old base. As we descended the stairs we kept expecting to run into more defenders but all was oddly still.

“Where is everybody?” John whispered, a worried look on his face. I knew I looked just as perplexed as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Let’s try the armory.” I whispered. “This way.”

When we got there, the door was closed and locked. I quietly picked the lock, hoping there wouldn’t be anyone inside. I slowly inched the door open, crouching on one knee. No sooner did I have enough space to see through than a rifle butt lashed out through the opening and hit me on the head. I was knocked backwards onto my ass, a ringing in my head and swimming lights flashing through my vision. There was a rifle muzzle pointed at my face and a foot on my chest.

“Don’t move or I’ll blow… uh, oh shit! Jared, it’s you! Oh crap, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know it was you!”

I found myself staring into Sam’s face. She and John hauled me to my feet and into the armory, locking the door behind us.

“What’s going on here? How’d you get here?” I asked, looking around. Sam was there and Laurant too. I didn’t see Pierre nor Ryan.

“Where’s Ryan and Pierre?”

“We lost Pierre getting in” Laurant answered.

“What about Ryan?!”

“Phy-Tong’s got him. They’re holed up in that private bunker of his. We already tried once but there’s only one way in. The hall has very little cover. We can’t get to him.” Sam explained.

She showed me on my map. She was right. The only door was at the end of a 20 foot, straight hall with no cover. I just stood there thinking. I truly hated what went through my mind then. I would rather take down this whole place, Ryan included, that let this piece of shit go free again. I had to make certain that he could never abuse anyone again.

“Where are all the kids?”

“They’re locked in their rooms down here.”

“Okay. First things first. Sam, I want you to take Laurant and John. Check every room and cell. Let them out and get them out of here. You three think you can do that?”

“Yeah sure, no problem but where are you going?” Sam asked.

“It’s time I had an honest talk with Phy-Tong-Ki. I don’t know who he is but it’s me he’s after for some reason and I want to know why.”

“I’m coming with you then.”

“No, I need you to stay out of this. I’ve already put you in too much danger as is. Besides, can either of you pick a lock?” I asked, turning to Laurant and John.

They both shook their heads no. “That’s the other reason. They need you to get the doors open. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything stupid. You can join me once all the slaves are out of danger.”

“Fine! But if you get killed, I’ll bring you back and kill you myself!”

“If I get killed and you can bring me back, you can do anything you want.” I grinned.

She slapped me and said, “I’m serious damn you!”

I took her in my arms and told her I knew that. Then I kissed her on the cheek and turned to go. “Be careful please.” she said, as I opened the door.

“I will, you’ll see.”

Are you enjoying this story? You might want to let Jared know by emailing him at: Jared at CastleRoland dot Net