Wanted

Josh had Cherry take some video of the two of them walking and then staring at the deck. When he finished, Josh projected their 3D images along with the shills on the rock. The images started behind the man's head so he couldn't see them until they walked in sight.

  He growled, "What do they want?"

  "Oh, nothing. They just want to watch you suffer like they did."

  "Listen, I saved that worthless ball of fur for you. Doesn't that count for something? What do you think you'll get out of me with a bunch of questions?"

  Josh said, "We want to know who you truly are. What's your name? What do you do in Exurbiu Entertainment?"

  "I'm just a simple deck hand on Pomodore. I have no idea why you kidnapped me."

  Cherry calmly pushed and held the button causing the device on the man's feet to flicker with a blue glow. He howled in pain as he writhed on the blanket. When Cherry stopped, he continued to flop for several seconds.

  Josh said, "We have lots of time and that box has plenty of power. Your problem is that you don't have that much time. Have you noticed that the temperature is coming up? We'll have to leave before it gets too bad, but you on the other hand…"

  The slaver screamed, "What about them? You going to cook them too?"

  "No, when we have to leave, we'll let them have a little time alone with you. The only requirement is that they leave you alive."

  "You can't do that. The cops on every planet —"

  Cherry laughed ominously. He said, "I'm sure if we looked, there's a bounty on you somewhere. We just don't think you're worth it. We'd rather see you get a foretaste of where you're going to be and let these poor kids have a little retribution."

  "Wait, is it money you want? I can give you an account number and a password. There's two hundred and fifty thousand credits in it. Take it and let me live —"

  Cherry said, "Josh, did you ask for money? I don't need any right now. I need answers a lot more, don't you?"

  "Yes, I do. Maybe after the answers, we can take the money to turn him in for the bounty. The authorities might zap him later but we'd at least give him a chance. I'd bet he has a smart lawyer somewhere."

  Cherry snarled, "Give us the account and password. We'll try it to verify what you tell us, then we'll see about giving you to the proper authorities."

  The slaver said, "You'll have to let me loose. I'll have to call. They use some visual ID plus the password."

  Cherry smirked, "You think we're that stupid?" He pressed the button to make the man writhe in pain. "I can stand here all day doing that. How long can you take it?"

  When the alien quit twitching, he glared at Josh and Cherry's 3D images. His lips thinned into a straight line across his face. Cherry continued to ask questions and jolt him with electricity on the bottoms of his feet for each sassy answer or silence.

  Finally, the little slaver gave him the account number and password for the account with 250,000 credits in it. A few seconds later, the corners of his mouth twitched up just a touch. Josh hit the mute before saying, "Cherry, that might be a good account number, but I think if we try to use that in person, we'll be in serious trouble."

  Touching the mute again, Cherry asked a few more questions. He found out the bank was on Vidar, the planet the Pomodore had supposedly headed to. Cherry asked another question and got a smart-alecky answer. He zapped the slaver until he passed out.

  Uncertain if the alien had actually passed out, Josh pushed the mute again. As he opened his mouth to speak, the comm chimed. When he answered, the Captain asked, "You having any luck?"

  Cherry answered, "He's not cooperating much – yet. I'm sure he'll come around in a few more hours."

  He glanced at Josh and when Josh gave a slight nod, he said, "He did give us an account number and password. It's supposed to have 250,000 credits in it."

  "Do you believe him?"

  "Maybe about the account and the amount of money, but something's off. I don't know that I'd want to be trying to get the money in person. I think you might be arrested for attempted theft."

  Josh said, "Or some of his friends would have you before you got out the door. He gave up the information just a little too easily."

  The Captain said, "Use a fake phone. Call in and use his image."

  Cherry squinted a little as he thought. "We might try that after we finish interrogating him. It'll have to be in a few days. We'd need to set up an account to transfer the money to."

  The Captain said, "After I get the shill to the medics, I could try to set something up. I'd have to know where the account is. Maybe I have a contact there."

  Josh said, "Thanks for the offer. Let us think about it for a bit."

  "I just want to verify the information that rat is giving you. If he's telling the truth, maybe you could get some contact information from him about the Bugs…"

  Cherry said, "We haven't forgotten, Captain. If he knows anything, we'll get it out of him."

  "Send me some video and I'll get started on it. I have a couple more hours until I get close to Orlowa."

  After Cherry sent some of the images, he hit the button to shock the alien. The little slaver moaned and twisted on the ground. Josh checked the sensor to see that the temperature had risen another five degrees.

  An hour and a half later, Cherry wanted to just let the rock drift into the sun. Josh said, "Cherry, I think he's answering more questions. We just need to pressure him a little more. What can we do to mess with his mind?"

  "Shove him straight at the sun. That worm —"

  The chime of the comm interrupted him. After he pushed the mute, Josh answered. Before he could even say hello, the Captain yelled, "Do you know who you have there? Do you?"

  Cherry said, "An obstinate slime ball that deserves to see the sun from very close."

  "NO! You can't do that. That's Cynesy. He's a top lieutenant in Exurbiu Entertainment. You need to get him back so we can get answers from him."

  Cherry snorted, "What do you think I've been doing? Sending him on a picnic? If you have any suggestions about how to get him to talk, I'm all ears."

  Josh asked, "How did you find out who he is?"

  "The shill who lost her arm recognized him. That's why the Exec shot her, not to intimidate you but to silence her. They didn't want you to get your hands on that little thug. The shill said he was on the spaceship that kidnapped her and several others off of her planet."

  Glancing at Cherry, Josh asked, "What else can we do to get some answers from him?"

  Cherry shrugged, "Anything we do now will just get answers. They may or may not be true, though. I think he's been trained to withstand torture. How much time do we have before we have more Zlata or others of their ilk coming here?"

  The Captain asked, "Do you think he has a tracking device of some sort? I want to get my hands on him. He might know about the Bugs…"

  Josh said, "You need to get those shills on Orlowa. Get the injured one to medical help. Then we need to hide your ship and this shuttle."

  "What do you mean hide my ship? Why?"

  Cherry asked, "Weren't you shooting at the pleasure palace? Don't you think they saw you? Now a bunch of Zlata are missing. I'm sure the head of Exurbiu Entertainment would really like to talk to you right now. Josh, we need to get rid of that Zlata ship in orbit, too."

  "Yeah, I guess you're right. I don't dare hide it on the planet. It's too big. I could hide the shuttle but what do I do with this ship?"

  Josh said, "Why don't you hide it on the moon? We'll take care of those ships out by the asteroids. You'll have to hide the ones that crashed on the planet and the one in orbit."

  Lemmy stepped in the door of the cockpit. She said, "Josh, you should get some of the shield nodes off of that big ship. They'll be more heavy duty than what Belle has now."

  Cherry said, "That's a lot of stuff to get done. We most likely don't have a lot of time. I'd guess three or four days at the most. Int
errogating Cynesy is going to have to take a back seat until we get the other done."

  Josh said, "Maybe we could use the time to soften him up. How long would it take to break him if we take away all sensory input? No light, no weight, no sound."

  The Captain asked, "How would you do that?"

  Cherry said "Easy. We put him in a shield and expand it. Make it block all light and sound. He'd just float in space. We could shoot enough air in it to keep him going for several days at a time. Maybe we could even figure out a way to silently scrub it and pump it back in."

  The Captain said, "Total isolation sounds like what he deserves. I'll be landing in an hour. I'll make an orbit to find the two ships that went down and get some friends started covering them up. Once I get the shills settled, I'll take off for the ship in orbit. Maybe I can hide this ship and it on the moon."

  Josh said, "We'll go get the slaver and drop the shuttle on the moon for you. Then we can high-tail it back to the asteroids to hide those two ships out there."

  Lemmy said, "Well, I need to get back to work fixing all the stuff you two destroyed. I can't leave Belle alone with you for two minutes without you tearing things up."

  Cherry's eyebrows raised, "Us tearing things up? Who was it that got that shill shot? How did you two wind up on the shuttle? You were safe on the Captain's ship."

  Josh said, "Quiet, you two. We need to get to work. We don't have time for this squabble. Captain, get moving. We'll see you in a few hours."

  He waved and broke the connection. Josh fired Belle up and pursued the asteroid with the slave on it. Lemmy moved to the cargo bay. Her mutters could be heard for several seconds. Cherry looked at Josh and shook his head. As he rolled his eyes upward, he said, "She thinks she can't leave us for two seconds. I should have let that Exec shoot her."

  Josh grinned and concentrated on closing on the asteroid. He said, "Can you get out there and get the shield set? Do we need to bring that slug on board?"

  "Naw, I'll just use a tractor beam on him. With the shield set to block all light and sound, he won't even know he's off the rock."

  "How are you going to keep him from drifting around in there?"

  "I'll put a slight repelling force on the inside. It will be just enough to keep him in the center of the shield."

  Josh said, "Good. Let's get this done. We need to drop the shuttle and get the other two ships hidden. We have no idea when we'll get company."

  Cherry left the cockpit and rushed to the cargo bay. Josh watched the sensors and saw him leave Belle as soon as they touched down. Looking at the view screen, he saw the slaver writhe in pain as Cherry hit him with a shock. When he stopped moving, Josh saw Cherry enter the shield. A few seconds later, he had the tangler removed from the man.

  Cherry disappeared from view as the inside of the shield grew dark. Josh switched to infrared to see. The form of the man floated in the center of the shield. Glancing at the outside sensors, Josh saw that the shield grew in size.

  Ten minutes after they landed, Cherry stepped into the cockpit. He said, "Give me a minute and then we can go."

  At his nod, Josh flew off the rock. Cherry used another tractor beam to grab the shuttle again. The lieutenant from Exurbiu Entertainment moaned and started talking to himself. Josh turned the sound down and made sure that any sound coming from them was muted.

  Cherry said, "We better take the long way around to get back to the planet."

  Josh looked at him, "Why?"

  "Look at your fuel gauge. By the time we get to the planet, we'll be on fumes. I don't relish buying our own fuel back."

  "Oh, good call."

  Cherry checked to see where the Captain's ship was, then readied two fuel rockets. Josh jumped through hyperspace to bring them closer to the sun. When they came back to normal space, Cherry launched the rockets.

  While they waited, Cherry space walked to return the shuttle to flyable condition. A few hours later, the fuel gauge on Belle showed three quarters full. Josh jumped close to the planet where he scanned for the derelict ship in orbit but found it missing. Aiming Belle for the moon, he waited for Cherry to get in touch with the Captain.

  When the call came, Josh followed directions to maneuver Belle over the two hidden ships. Cherry set the shuttle down nearby. As soon as the Captain settled himself in the shuttle's pilot seat, Josh headed to the asteroids. The Captain took the shuttle back to Orlowa.

  A view screen flickered, so Josh called Lemmy. "What's the matter back there? We're about to lose a view screen."

  "I'm trying to fix this mess that Twinkles made. Whatever made you think a fumble-fingered metal gizmo could make repairs to a spaceship? Give me a few minutes and I'll try to stabilize it."

  Cherry growled and shook a fist at the view screen, but Lemmy had already broken the connection. Josh turned his head to hide his grin from his friend. He finished entering coordinates into the computer. After he lit the hyper-drive, he stood up and stretched.

  Josh said, "I'm going to turn in for a few hours. This has been a long day. How long has it been since you recharged your batteries?"

  "I'm going to do it here. I want to check on our prisoner to see how he's doing. I'll call you when we come out of hyperspace."

  Josh stopped in the galley for a drink before he went to his quarters.

  The chime of the comm jerked him from an exhausted sleep. Blearily, Josh looked around for the sound. Eventually his foggy brain found the source of the noise and he reacted. Slapping the receiver, he muttered, "What?"

  Cherry said, "We just came out of hyperspace. I have one of the ships spotted. You want to sleep or would you like to come up here and fly to it?"

  "I'll be there in a few minutes. I need a shower to wake up."

  Fifteen minutes later, he strode into the cockpit. Cherry said, "It's a good thing you didn't call it beauty sleep. If it was, it didn't work."

  Josh ignored him and slid into the pilot's seat. His eyes searched the view screens to see where they were. After a few minutes, he asked, "Did you find the other ship?"

  "No, but I saw a bunch of Nagini. After we take care of that one, we should look closer around there."

  An hour later, Josh had Belle close enough for Cherry to use a tractor beam to grab the Zlata ship. Josh asked, "Should we take it back to our asteroid?"

  "That sounds like as good a place as any. The Nagini were over there in the asteroid field so I doubt any ship will be flying into there to search for missing buddies."

  "Did you scan for life forms?"

  "Yes, with no results. Unless the Zlata have a way to block scanners, there's no one left alive."

  Josh's mouth turned down as he frowned. He said, "I'd still like to search that ship before we get started. I don't want to take anyone else to our asteroid right now."

  Cherry said, "I'll go. It's easier for me to get ready to go outside. I'll take a sensor so you can see what I do."

  A hole in the hull made Cherry pause. His eyes roved around the inside following the beam of his light. Moving closer to inspect the hole, he whispered, "I think some of the smaller snakes entered here. This could get a little hair-raising if I had any hair."

  Josh said, "Just smile at them. Don't let them smell your fear."

  "Right. Just like you always do – behind a shield. I don't happen to have one of those."

  "You want to come get one?"

  "No, I think they've left. Let's get this over with."

  Two hours later, they were both satisfied that no living being was on the ship. Cherry counted fifteen dead. As soon as Cherry entered Belle's airlock, Josh started toward the asteroid. Just before they arrived, Lemmy stuck her head back in the cockpit. She said, "I'm hungry. You two didn't eat all the food, did you?"

  Cherry snapped, "No, but it'll most likely be gone in a couple of days now that you're back."

  "Oh, Twinkles, you're so funny. Are you two coming?"
br />   Josh answered, "In a minute. I want to land first. I'd just as soon get hidden as quick as we can."

  He maneuvered Belle to the asteroid and then under the land bridge. Cherry said, "You might as well take that ship inside and park it there. We have another one to get."

  Josh took Belle under the bridge and had the other ship lined up to back it into place. His hands gripped the steering yoke in a death grip. He kept his eyes glued to the view screens. As he entered the door, a flash of movement caused him to slam to a stop.

  A swarm of Nagini swirled around Belle. Josh dropped his hands to his lap. They were shaking. Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. Cherry looked at him and chuckled. He said, "You'd think you were afraid of scratching the paint or something."

  "Or something. I caught just a flash of those snakes and it almost scared the pants off of me. I think I'm close enough for a bit. Let's go eat."

  "Pick Belle up. I'll use the tractor beam to shove this ship in farther. I wonder how the former owners got ships in here."

  "I'll bet they have some sort of tractor beam to pull them in once they land out here. If we stay around, we'll have to figure out how to get it working."

  "You plan on having a lot of visitors?"

  "No, but if the Zlata want to keep sending ships, we can store them in here for them."

  They both chuckled at that thought. Cherry used the tractor beam to shove the dead ship farther into the big room. He parked it along the right hand wall. When he set it down, Josh moved Belle back under the land bridge and set her down. He flipped switches off and said, "Now, let's go eat."

  Cherry muttered, "If there's anything left."

  Lemmy shoved another spoonful of food in her mouth. As she chewed, she said, "I need some more parts. I put a list on the computer."

  Cherry looked at her in disgust. "Can't you chew with your mouth closed? Wait until you've swallowed to talk."

  She opened her mouth wider as she chewed. When she swallowed, she said, "I really need those parts before we take off again."

  Josh said, "Can't it wait? We need to get that other ship back here before we have any more visitors."

  Lemmy said, "If you don't get those parts for me and those visitors use you for target practice again, we might wind up as junk floating in space."

  Cherry said, "As bad as I hate to, I have to agree. Josh, you haven't seen the damage we sustained back there. We need to be ready to fight if we have to."

  "OK, as soon as I finish, I'll suit up and go get what I can. Lemmy, did you check the computer to see if any of those parts are in the warehouses?"

  "No, I figured that was yours and Twinkles' specialties."

  Cherry said, "I'll check it. Finish eating."

  By the time Josh had finished eating, Cherry had his list ready on a tablet. It included the part and the location. He sorted the list to group the items so Josh would only have to make one stop at each warehouse.

  Lemmy wandered back to the cargo bay as they were discussing the parts. Josh said, "Cherry, check the remote detectors. I have this itch at the base of my neck. I think we're going to have visitors before we expected them."

  "Is this your intuition speaking?"

  "Yes, I think it is."

  "It hasn't been wrong many times. Maybe we'd better take care of that other ship, then come back here for the parts."

  "What if we have to fight? No, I'll hurry as fast as I can. Just stay alert."

  Josh rushed down the passageway to the cargo bay. His eyes widened in surprise at the chaos there. Panels had been pulled off and piled on the deck. Robots were scurrying around doing repairs as he watched.

  Before he climbed into his spacesuit, Josh made sure that he had two blasters and a vibro-knife. He checked each one for a full charge. Sighing, he put the suit on and walked to the fliter. Throwing on extra tie downs, he muttered, "I want to make as few trips as possible. I'm going to load this baby down."

  He checked the remote detector in the asteroid field one last time before he entered the airlock. Seeing nothing, he blasted into the warehouse district to gather parts.

  Chapter 28