“Don’t you see an alliance between us would benefit both of us? Make us stronger against the Coalition? It wouldn’t be too much for us to align together and take them out, rule the galaxies as one instead of having to bow to them,” Credare said.
“The Coalition doesn’t bother us out here. We’re on the very fringes of their rule. It costs too much to come out here, uses too many precious resources, and as long as we don’t inconvenience them, they don’t hassle us,” Bane answered and Credare’s jaw ticked again. He was getting frustrated. To him, he was giving Bane the world with his offer of friendship and it clearly hadn’t occurred to him that he might be rejected.
Bane had worked hard to achieve his position on Dryac. He’d fostered many connections over the years, had developed his own smuggling routes and earned his title as the leader of the Syndicate. His wasn’t an easy journey and I knew that he wasn’t going to hand it over to anyone, especially not the leader of his enemy. Especially not a monster like Credare.
“Name your price,” Credare finally said, the threat in his voice obvious, but then he leaned back against the chair. I narrowed my eyes, watching as he began to relax, almost as though he’d made a decision just now.
I tensed. Fuck. That wasn’t good.
That wasn’t like him. I leaned forward, watching his expression more closely now, but he didn’t give anything away.
“I don’t have a price. I’m only meeting with you to inform you that the Syndicate has no intention of working with theAssociation, no matter what you offer. I thought that the news was best delivered in person. Man to man,” Bane replied.
Credare’s face didn’t tic this time. Instead, he did something even more terrifying. He smiled and a cold chill raced down my spine. I swallowed deeply. I wanted to warn Bane, but I didn’t know how to without giving myself away.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Credare responded, his tone cold and unyielding.
I bit my lip.
“You may stay the night on Dryac, but I expect you to be gone before noon tomorrow,” Bane warned.
“Sure. No problem at all,” Credare said. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”
Credare stood, his skin pulsing with darker twinges of green. He moved to walk out of the room, but then he stopped, and I held my breath. He turned back and stared at Bane, his face grim but also ridiculously excited.
“I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this,” he threatened, and Bane stiffened.
Credare raised his right arm, lifted just his forefinger, and bent it toward Bane, almost like he was saying goodbye.
And then all hell broke loose.
Association guards stormed the house, attacking the Syndicate with everything they had. With horror, I watched as they assaulted Bane’s guards with weapons that were equally vicious as their own. Laser cut through flesh with a frightening level ofruthlessness, tearing through limbs, splashing blood across the walls.
Bane’s men fought hard against Credare’s guards, but it soon became quickly apparent that the Association only had one goal.
Bane.
Association men flooded into the parlor, overwhelming the Syndicate guards stationed in the room. They rushed toward Bane and I watched in horror as he began to fight.
He tore two switchblades from his belt, opening them with just a flip of his wrists. He fought hard, cutting down one man after another, but even for a man as big and strong as him, it began to wear on him.
He tried to push the oncoming horde back by slashing through fingers and hands, whatever he could hit with the sharp blades he held in his fingers. He twisted hard, catching one man across the throat. Blood splattered on his gray shirt and onto the wall, but he didn’t stop. Instead, he fought even harder.
The alarm sounded and more Syndicate guards arrived, but the number of Credare’s guards already on Bane was proving to be too much. Bane’s men fought at the edges, but never really made a dent in the fight.
There were too many.
Horrified, I watched as Bane fought hard, trying to gain ground. I didn’t know what to do. Even with all my training, nothing had ever prepared me to take on what looked like fifty men all on my own. Especially those with laser weapon technology.
Credare snapped his fingers, before turning abruptly and walking out of the room and out of the house. A man in thecenter of the room held what appeared to be a grenade of some sorts and I began to panic.
He pulled out the pin, pressed on the handle and then the trigger. The grenade began to hum. A light gray-colored smoke began to spiral out of the top and he threw it forward into the center of the room.
The smoke billowed out from the grenade in great clouds and the Syndicate men began to slow, wavering from side to side as though they were drunk. Even Bane looked like he was tiring, his eyes glassy and increasingly unfocused.
Oddly, Credare’s men didn’t seem to be affected. They fought as hard and as ruthlessly as they had been before. I gritted my teeth. Whatever was in the smoke, they must have taken an antidote of some kind before. The poisonous smoke raced over the floor, rushing and surging upward and the Syndicate guards began to falter.
One man fell to the floor. Then another. Within the next few minutes, every Syndicate man had fallen. Either dead or asleep, I didn’t know.
