Havoc (Dred Chronicles 2)

She shook her head, kneeling to look at the unit. “No idea. I haven’t seen it in days, actually. Not since Ike died.”

All the lights on the RC unit turned green at the same time. “Pass phrase recognized, playback authorized.”

A chill ran down Jael’s spine as Ike’s voice came out of the droid. “If you’re hearing this, I’m dead. Sorry about that. Wills told me a while back that I didn’t have long. In this place, I’m guessing I didn’t die of old age. Whatever got me, I hope it was quick.”

“I’m sorry,” Jael said quietly.

The message continued, oblivious to the living. “You must be wondering what’s going on with 17 here. I recorded this and programmed him to locate you and play it if I didn’t tune him up on schedule.”

“You clever bastard,” Calypso said.

“Don’t know what’s going on, but I have some secret stashes that might be useful. I’ve been sitting on them, but now that I’m gone, there’s no point in hiding them any longer. You know what they say, you can’t take it with you. If you follow the RC unit, he’ll take you to where I’ve hidden some goodies. So I guess that’s it. Thanks for being good to an old man, and . . . I’ll see you around.”

“Message complete,” the RC unit added. “Play again?”

“Holy shit. This is like finding buried treasure. What do you think it is? Parts? Food? Weapons?” Considering the state Queensland was in, Martine seemed pretty damn excited.

Calypso lifted a palm. “Hold up. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we can’t tear off and leave Dred to fight these ass**les alone. Once the blood dries up, there will be time to see what Ike left us.”

Jael said nothing at all. This felt like hope from beyond the grave, a quiet promise that things were never as bad as they seemed.

* * *

DRED let Vost get away. The thought echoed like thunder in Tam’s head. He didn’t understand why, but he suspected it had to do with the unfinished grudge match. This is why we need the formality of the circle. If the others had come upon the fight within the usual arena, they would’ve known not to interfere. But regardless of Dred’s honor, he needed to know where the mercs were holed up. I’m not much of a spymaster without proper intel.

“I’ll track them,” he said to Dred.

Other Queenslanders got in his way, pushing and shoving, as they tried to chase the mercs. But Tam slid past them. One of the benefits to being small. A few aliens moved as if to accompany him, but Katur shouted, “Stay! Follow Keelah’s commands. I’ll be back soon.”

With each passing second, Vost got farther away. “You don’t have to—”

“I disagree.”

“Find out where he’s hiding. This isn’t over between us.” Dred gave clearance for the mission, then she beckoned the rest of the Queenslanders. “Looks like we won. And you thought it couldn’t be done! Shall we take the fight to Mungo?”

Since he and Silence had been mounting mobile strikes on Queensland for days, it was time. She has this in hand. Soon, they’d control the whole facility.

Until the next squad arrives.

But impossible things were never achieved by fixating on their insurmountable nature. Tam didn’t try to change Katur’s mind. He could’ve explained that this wasn’t an assassination; silent executions were best left to Silence and her cadre. No, Tam excelled at gathering information and deciding the best way to make use of it, and he hadn’t made up his mind about Vost. Doubtless, Katur felt differently after the massacre in the Warren.

With the other male lending his expertise, he tracked Vost. The walls were dirtier than usual here; they were encrusted with grime after turns of neglect. Tam knew all of the best places to hide on the station. He was an expert at scouting out hidey-holes and secret spots that offered shelter in an emergency. Currently, there were four that even Martine didn’t know about.

And Vost found one.

With injuries like Vost had sustained, the merc couldn’t go far. He must be in dire straits, especially since he’d harmed enough of Mungo’s and Silence’s people that they would be hunting him as well. It had to gall the mercenary commander to realize that his life might end in such a way. Men like him expected good and honorable deaths, not to be whittled down by convicts or to starve like rodents in a rotten wall.

“What do you plan to do with our enemy, once we find him?”

But that question would never be answered. Blood burbled from Katur’s mouth, and when his body fell, it revealed the Speaker’s crouched form. His blade was stained red and his eyes were bright with malice. He wasn’t a large man, but he was tall, giving him better reach, though Tam had fought better men and lived. He didn’t waste breath with accusations, and he tried to strangle the throb of rage deep inside him. A cool head prevailed in a fight. Yet he was already imagining the conversation with Keelah, a distraction he could ill afford.

“This has been a long time coming,” the Speaker said with icy calm. “I fight for the Handmaiden. You spy for your queen.” Tam didn’t realize he’d reacted until the Speaker went on, “We know that you watch us from the shadows. But it didn’t save your friend.”

This is where I’m supposed to be baited into a poorly considered lunge.

Instead, he circled, observing the way the Speaker moved. There was a reason why this man had risen through the ranks to speak for Silence instead of dying in her infernal web like the rest of her victims. The Speaker moved with serpentine speed, but his eyes flicked just before he struck. Tam banked everything on his reflexes and spun to the side just as the knife would’ve skewered him through the heart. The forward momentum pulled the Speaker off-balance, and Tam took full advantage. He came in with a strike from behind, just as the bastard had done to Katur. His blade struck true, a clean kidney shot. The assassin actually looked surprised as he fell, right next to the alien he had murdered.

The Speaker’s chest rose and fell for a few seconds. Tam expected a moment of truth or clarity, but instead of smiling as some people did in death, the man’s features tightened into pure horror, as if what he glimpsed waiting for him was terrible beyond belief. If there’s any justice, that’s true.

“Mary curse it.” Tam clenched a fist, watching as the Speaker died.

The trail to Vost was cold now. And he had to return to carry the grim news.