Into the Black Hole

Chapter 42: Fanning the Flames

Luckily, not many Cosmics are up and about, and the ones who are mind their own business as they pass. Duarte and Eshe walk in front, my drones hovering over their heads, while Timour and I are partially concealed behind them. I glance at the Liansan now. He said my name when he first woke up, but he hasn't spoken to me since. He hasn't even looked me in the eye, and I would chalk it up to post-traumatic stress if he weren't openly communicating with the other two Keepers.

He's clad in a gray jumpsuit and black boots we snagged from a janitor's closet, and he winces each time a loose piece of fabric rubs against his tender skin. Although the clothes hide his injuries, I'll never forget the pure suffering on his face when we coerced him to put them on.

I resist the urge to ask if he's alright. It's a dumb question, because plainly, he's not.

Unexpectedly, Duarte and Eshe stop, listening to their helmets, and I almost bump into the Lieutenant.

"Damn it!" exclaims Duarte. "The pirates destroyed our cargo ship."

"Plan B?" I wonder.

"Plan B was an escape dropship that we piloted here. They know it doesn't belong to Titan, and they know we're here, which means they're preparing an ambush. We'll have to find another way out."

"I've disabled security, but it's possible they can override it." I address Timour, "What about the dropship you were working on?"

He doesn't look at me when he asks, "What's the date?"

"October... sixth. Time is around zero-four-hundred-hours," I reply.

He chuckles morosely. "Missed the cutoff point by four hours. The dropship requires a password to undock, and the password I stole was only good for thirty days. It'll take more time than we have to obtain the new one." He spares me a glance. "Where's Felix? He's the Captain of DeLarge, so shouldn't he have access to it?"

I really wish people would quit bringing him up. "Felix is dead." Timour's eyebrows shoot up. "He died saving me from... I'll explain later."

"I'm sorry," he says, and his authentic apology makes me feel guilty. Yes, losing Felix was—is—excruciating, but I'm certainly not about to compare it to Timour's month-long torture extravaganza.

"Who's Felix?" queries Duarte.

"Later," I repeat. "Commander Orlov raises a viable solution, because I have access to DeLarge."

"You want us to escape in a giant, Alameda-class battleship with a bright red logo?" Eshe asks caustically.

I shrug. "Unless you have a better idea."

And that's how we end up racing toward the center of Titan, utilizing routes that I know less people travel through. If somebody recognizes me, we're finished, but the few Cosmics we run by seem to think what's going on is above their pay grade.

Until we reach the bottom of the steel elevator connected to DeLarge's entrance.

And right there is Nupan in a bulletproof vest, blocking our exit. She points her machine gun at Duarte, and he and Eshe aim their coilguns at her in a standoff. "You cannot take her," Nupan states. "Boss wants her."

"We don't give a shit," Duarte retorts. "You don't have a right to kidnap."

"The IF has been killing my people for as long as I can remember, Martians and Cosmics alike," she argues stolidly. "We have the right to put her in a grave; be grateful that Boss has an undue liking for her."

Duarte flexes his hand, primed to shoot, when a dart from the left punctures Nupan's throat. Her eyes widen, her aim wavers, and she follows our gaze to Doctor River, who's emerging from the left hallway. The doctor's wearing regular clothes as opposed to her wonted hospital garb, a tranquilizer gun in one hand.