When all three were safely stacked side by side, he ate a third bar, drank some water from one of the bottles in the crate, and then eyed the bay door thoughtfully.
“You want to wait for them to come to us?” Velda asked.
“It’s a plan.” He thought it through. “It’ll do for one or two more groups, then they’ll start to realize something’s off.”
As he said it, the door opened again and another person walked in. Velda shot her, too.
“Milton,” she said, as she grabbed her ankles and dragged her over to the runner. “I think she’s head guard on the ship.”
While they were inside the runner, placing Milton next to her fellow crew, the launch bay door opened yet again.
Ethan crouched down, edged to the runner door and looked out.
Two people had come in, and they walked over to the open crate and then looked around, confused, as if wondering where everyone was. Before they could do anything else, he shot them in quick succession, pleased that he’d hit exactly where he meant to, both times.
Always, the voices in his head said.
“Five down.” Velda walked out, and began to pull one of the two up the ramp.
Ethan bent and lifted the other one, slung him over his shoulder and walked up behind her.
As well as being able to shoot more accurately, he was much stronger.
“How many more to go?” he wondered.
“There were six guards looking for me in here, plus the mechanic, plus Sylvester and Rist, plus Yarmouth, the medic. And Linao and the five guys still in the med bay. Plus the crew member we found unpacking the crate.”
“Fifteen. Fourteen,” he corrected himself. “Yarmouth took care of Rist. Do you recognize anyone other than Milton?”
Velda pointed to two of the guards. “I’m guessing there are more than ten more people out there.”
“Before I was shot, I walked through the lounge area. There were at least ten people in there, and the bridge was beyond. Plus there was an armory and people in there. I think we might be looking at a crew of twenty to thirty.”
That was a lot of people to find and shoot. Ethan looked at the neat line of people they’d already gotten in the ten minutes since they’d been in here.
Velda was standing beside him, calm, cool, and competent, and he pulled her in, kissed her, and she wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
Then she tucked her head under his chin and just held him. “I was so worried about you. When I had no choice but to let them find me, I pretended to be hurt, and they took me straight to you.”
“Why did the medic kill Rist?” he asked, suddenly remembering the question he had earlier.
“The silver balls persuaded him I need to be protected.” She shrugged, slightly embarrassed.
Well done, he thought, his hand brushing the back of her neck.
He felt a buzz under his fingertips, and a sense of happiness and pleasure.
“What now?” Velda asked.
“I think it’s time to rampage through the ship.”
33
They only leftone body in their wake on the way to the bridge.
Even then, no one was dead, just unconscious. Velda didn’t want to see anyone lose their lives or be seriously injured.
Ethan slowed as they got closer to the front of the ship, and carefully looked around the corner into the lounge.
