Impossible.
“Be careful.” Smith whispered the words to me as I used the unconscious guard’s hand on the scanner and opened the door.
Kayson picked up the other guard’s ion blaster and nodded as he pushed Smith behind him. She made a small noise of protest but didn’t fight him. Smart girl. No fucking way she was walking into this room first, queen’s orders or not.
I could feel the nervous energy radiating off Smith, yet she put on a brave face and stepped forward with us, staying close.
The door was old, the hand scanner deactivating the lock but not sliding the door open. This one was on hinges like the more primitive parts of Viken. Outside of the few large cities, most people preferred to live a much simpler life.
I swung the door open on silent hinges. A blast of cold air poured out of the dark room before us. I swallowed hard, desire to take a step back and carry Smith away from danger rising in my throat. I glanced at Kayson, trying to gauge how my friend was holding up. Kayson was an experienced fighter. His gaze was alert, his posture loose and ready as he looked into the darkness. Smith stood firm behind him and nodded for me to continue.
Moving silently, I stepped into the hallway, expecting a surprise attack at any moment. I paused, listening for any sound in the darkness. Nothing. My feet moved slowly as I crept further in. Somewhere down the hall, I heard the low hum of a machine of some sort, but nothing else. I expected to hear voices, weapons being drawn, but no one was here. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw that the hallway split in two directions. I motioned for Kayson to follow and began to move down the left path.
It was too fucking quiet.
A loud crash came from the hallway behind Kayson.
Smith!
The sound of metal clanging against metal echoed off the walls. An icy chill ran down my spine. I rushed back the way I had come, Kayson at my side. Before we took two steps a man emerged from the darkness, a blaster in his hand.
"Where are my guards, Mal?" Master Gee stood with a blaster pointed directly at my head. He wouldn’t miss, not like the amateurish guards we’d dispatched at the door.
"Alive." That was all I would give him.
A feminine scream of rage echoed through the room behind him.
How had we lost Smith and not noticed? Fuck. This was my fault. She should have been between us where we could keep an eye on her.
Master Gee moved the blaster, indicated that we should move toward the sounds of a physical altercation. I tensed to run to Smith, to help her. I saw Kayson make a similar move.
An ion blast hit the floor directly in front of me. The force created a hole nearly the size of my head.
That thing was set to kill. Maximum power.
“Fuck,” Kayson mumbled under his breath. He knew what the damage meant just as I did.
"Don't even think about it." Master Gee motioned with the blaster, indicating Mal and I should move farther into the room. Once inside he nodded to a plush sofa. “Sit. Don’t fucking move or you die.”
“Where is she?” I didn’t care if I died. Not if it meant Kayson could get to Smith and get her out of here.
As if on cue, Smith yelled several more times. No words, more sounds of rage. A male voice came through as well, cursing. Loud thuds indicated Smith was putting up a fight.
Our captor chuckled. "Brought me a feisty one as well? This is turning into a very good night."
“If she’s hurt, I will rip you apart.” I looked at Kayson. We’d been in enough fights together he would know what I was asking with the slight movement of my eyes in Master Gee’s direction.
Kayson shook his head. I squeezed down my rage and fought for patience. Smith was alive. We could hear her. Charging this fucker might be our only option, but I would save it for a last resort.
"You are in no position to make threats."
A buff young man with a buzzed head and a tattoo peeking out of the collar of his shirt stepped over to stand in front of Master Gee. "Can I break her, boss?"
"Amok, really? Took two of you to handle one little girl?"
"Gale has her." The man wiped a smear of blood off his lip. His eye was going to be swollen shut soon, unless they had a ReGen wand handy to heal his wounds. Which they probably did. Still, I was proud of Smith for causing such damage. She was fierce. A fighter. We would get out of this.
"So beautiful you don't want me to get a good look?" The sinister chuckle was back. "No, Amok, I don’t think so. This one is mine.”
