Havoc (Dred Chronicles 2)

The ceiling was low enough that he and Martine had to hunch over. She continued down to the end, then darted into a small room that was more of an alcove, with odds and ends in it, things she’d scavenged and hidden away for her personal enjoyment. He examined the items, including the cushions and the electronics affixed to the wall.

“Portable entertainment unit, broken when I found it. Ike got it running for me.”

Now Tam understood. This was a quieter homage than was going on currently in Queensland. “That’s Ike for you. He could fix anything.”

She nodded. “It has sixteen old vids on it, and I’ve watched them so many times that I can quote all of the lines. Some of them are truly terrible, but I thought you might like to watch them with me.”

Tam considered refusing. This was a sort of closeness he’d eschewed for turns. Instead, he let her draw him into the nest she’d made, then Martine flicked on the screen. For the first time in longer than he could recall, he didn’t feel alone.

* * *

“THEY have a fragging Peacemaker.” Casto slammed a fist into the wall, rattling the sensitive equipment stacked on the shelves above. “Any other surprises, Commander?”

“I’m sure there will be many before we’re through here.” Vost kept his tone mild.

“This is bullshit. I say we cut line and bug out. Who’s with me?” The flash of teeth presented the words as a joke, but those eyes were dead serious.

Mary curse it. Casto was skating pretty close to mutiny, and Vost was hanging on to his men by the scruff of their necks. This wasn’t the in-and-out, easy money they had been promised. But since when did anything ever pan out that way?

“We won’t be dividing up into patrols anymore.” He spoke over the rumble of discontent, hoping to reassure the mercs. “Given what we know of our enemy, we can’t assume that a small squad will be sufficient to take them out.”

“Wish you’d made that call before so many of us died,” Casto muttered.

Too far.

Vost knew exactly what he could tolerate—what could be written off and what had to be dealt with. Casto was now an obstacle to overcome. He whirled and slammed his lieutenant to the ground in a move that he’d learned on Nicu Tertius. The other merc didn’t look so cocky staring up from his back with a man’s boot on his chest.

“You think I’m looking for a performance review from you, soldier?”

Casto looked like he wanted to shoot Vost in the face, but he got the respectful words out. “No, sir.”

“Then you shut the f**k up and listen.” Vost glanced around the room, seeing the right mixture of awe and respect back in his men’s faces. “Any of the rest of you have something to say?”

They shook their heads.

Pointedly, he didn’t let Casto up. This is what you get when you cross me. “I don’t like dissent among the ranks. I know this op has gone to shit. Trust me, I’m very aware. That just means we have to adapt. Or do you agree with Casto that scumbags armed with forks and spears are too much for us?”

“Like hell,” Duran said.

“Exactly my point. We patrol together from here on out. And f**k the Conglomerate’s ban on weapons that’ll f**k up the facility.”

“Does this mean I get to use the grenade launcher?” Redmond asked.

“Why not? I don’t give two shits how much it costs the suits to patch this place up once we’re done with it. They try to dock our pay for damages and we’ll . . . discuss that difference of opinion.”

“Just like you did with Casto?” Duran grinned.

From the twist of Casto’s mouth, he was plenty pissed. Good. Remember how it feels when you cross me. Vost leaned down. “Next time I hear anything like that from you, I don’t knock you down. I take you out and promote from within. Understood?”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

Vost then showed he could be a good sport by towing his lieutenant to his feet. “Redmond, you lead the watch. The rest of us will catch forty winks.”

“You got it, sir.”

Wearily, Vost moved down the hall to the room he’d apportioned for the barracks. The men who weren’t standing guard followed suit. Nobody said much as they stripped out of their armor, but they were all professional enough to secure it before crashing out. Like everyone else, he had a thermal blanket to roll up into. It seemed like forever since he’d had a hot meal or a proper wash. He was wary of using too much water as he didn’t control the facility resources.

Yet.

Nearby, his squad dropped off quicker than he did, turns of soldiering combined with the fact that their decisions didn’t mean life or death for men depending on them. Vost tried to turn his brain off, and he succeeded in dropping into a light sleep. That readiness saved his life. When the blade shinged down toward him, he rolled before his eyes were open.

That fast, he was fighting for his life. His rifle would do more harm than good in close quarters, so he drew his knife as men shouted in the dark. Someone hit the lights to reveal sixteen silent killers, all with war paint on, eyes dark as bottomless pits. Their blades flashed in an elegant whirlwind of death. Blood spurted from the merc next to Vost—up-close carnage—and he was already screaming in his head at the watchmen who’d let this happen.

Unless they’re all dead.

Grimly, he squared off against three assassins. There was no time to gear up, no time for tactics. Right, then. Bring it.

Soon the command post rang with the screams of dying men, but it was more horrifying to watch the ones who died without so much as a whisper.

21

Sex-Pain Pleasure Games

Dred left the wake early.

It didn’t surprise her when Jael broke away from the group he was drinking with and went with her as she left the common room. Her stomach roiled with grief and cheap liquor; the stuff they produced in the still barely qualified as a nontoxic substance. But it would’ve been out of place if she’d refused to drink in Ike’s honor. The Queenslanders would continue all night, getting drunk and telling stories.

“I’m not in the mood to talk,” she said, without turning around.

“Neither am I.”

“Yet here we are. Talking.”

When his hand came down on her shoulder, she reacted. She spun and slammed him against the wall. Pain and regret lashed her like gale-force winds, and she was barely holding together. She had no patience for his bullshit at the moment. Whatever he had in mind, she just wanted to be left alone. The scene kept playing through her head while she tried to figure out if there was a way she could’ve saved everyone.