"Hiller? You there, copy?"
Hauk paused as he heard the deep voice on the short-range radios. Picking up the link closest to him, he answered with a guttural, "Yeah."
"Did you get him? I don't hear no more fighting."
"Yeah," he repeated.
"Fucking awesome. Don't forget to bag the head with the DNA sample. We get twice the payout for it. See you in a few."
Fucking awesome, indeed. Fury darkened his sight as he went into full-on rage mode. But that was fine. With the earwigs these bastards had, he could easily backtrace to the source and get a few needed answers. Whoever had hired them wouldn't be getting his head.
They would be getting one last visit.
As Hauk double-checked the ignitions to make sure they weren't biolocked, he heard the faintest of footsteps to his right. He pretended to ignore it while he got a bead on the man's location. The instant he had it, he jerked his blaster out and aimed.
"Don't!" His own weapon drawn, the man had him firmly sighted with a green laser dot hovering over Hauk's heart.
Hauk didn't flinch or move as he kept his dot between the man's eyes. "One twitch and I promise you'll be dead before I will."
That dot didn't waver from Hauk's heart. With his left hand held up, the man moved slowly forward. "Ditto."
Hauk scowled as he took in the man's ragged, unkempt condition. It was obvious that, unlike Sumi, he'd been out here on his own for a long time. His hair was ragged and trimmed to his shoulders, as if he cut it with his own knife. He wore it tied back from his face. He also had a scraggly beard. There was something vaguely familiar about him and the way he moved, but Hauk couldn't place it.
Around Darling's height, he was well muscled and held the blaster like a trained soldier, not a mercenary or civ. Likewise, he wasn't sweating or even perturbed by the fact that Hauk could kill him without flinching. This man was used to fighting for his life and had come to terms with his own mortality.
A slow smile of appreciation spread across Hauk's face. "So are we going to stand here all day, weapons drawn? I'm game if you are."
His humor caught the man off guard. He relaxed a tiny degree. Hauk watched his eyes carefully. They were always the window to say when someone was about to attack and when they were scared.
This man showed neither tendency. Rather, his dark gaze was wary and thoughtful. After a moment, he lowered his blaster, but not so much that he couldn't get a well-placed shot off if Hauk made a move he didn't like.
"I'm just here to scavenge before the others arrive. You do your thing, I do mine, and we part ways."
Hauk nodded. "You're Kirovarian?"
The blaster came right back up. "How do you know that?"
Hauk holstered his weapon. "Your accent. So what was your rank, soldier?"
He hesitated before he finally put his weapon away. "What kind of Andarion knows humans so well?"
"I was schooled with humans."
The man's eyes flared before he brought the weapon up and Hauk caught his arm before he could pull the trigger. He disarmed him. The man attacked.
Hauk deflected the blow and returned it. He dodged, twirled, and delivered a staggering fist to the man's jaw. Hauk head-butted him then flipped him to the ground. The fall raised his shirt to betray an emblem Hauk knew better than he wanted to.
Shit.
He was a Ravin. No wonder the man was so skittish and unkempt.
Hauk immediately held his hands up and backed off. "I'm not here to hunt or kill you, friend."
The man glared at him. "You're League, aren't you? Isn't that why you're here?"
Hauk scratched his chin with the back of his hand. "Used to be, and was discharged years ago. If I wasn't, I'd have killed you already. These days, I'm Sentella, only." He gestured toward the weapons on the ground he couldn't carry. Weapons this man would need if he was to live out the week. "Walk with peace, brother. Take your supplies and go. I won't stop or track you."
He wiped at the blood on his lips. Suspicion hung heavy in his eyes before he pushed himself to his feet. His gaze never wavered from Hauk as he began searching the bodies for things he could use.
Ignoring him, Hauk took a trophy of his own from one of the fallen that he bagged in the container they'd brought for his head, then he returned to studying the airbee.
"I was captain first rank. Gyron Force."
That explained why he was still alive. Gyron Force was the elite of the elite for the Kirovarian armada and infantry. Less than one percent of one percent of their soldiers qualified to wear those uniforms.
"I'm Hauk."
"Bastien Cabarro." He licked at the blood on his lips as he narrowed his gaze on Hauk. "You really Sentella?"
Not sure why Bastien was asking, Hauk slid his hand toward his blaster again. Just in case. "Yeah."
"You guys really declare war on The League?"
Hauk relaxed a degree as he heard the hatred backing those words. "Definitely."
"Then can you get this fucking chip out of me?"
Hauk winced inwardly at the man's fate and his justified outrage over it. Ravins were the targets League cadets were assigned to kill for practice and rank. As Gyron Force, Bastien would be a most coveted prize by a cadet wanting to advance. He could only imagine how many had sought to take his life. It was a nightmare he wished on no one.
"Absolutely. How long have you been implanted?"
Bastien curled his lip. "Almost eight full minsid years."
Hauk let out a low whistle of appreciation that Bastien had lived so long. Average life span for a Ravin was six to eight weeks. Because they were tagged and hunted so viciously, they couldn't risk being in any civilian population. Relegated to hellholes like this one, many ended up taking their own lives just to stop their suffering. It was physically and psychologically grueling to be hunted like an animal.
"Damn long time to be on the run."
"What can I say? I'm a stubborn bastard, fueled by venom and vengeance." Sighing, Bastien finally relaxed as he approached Hauk. "So is that your family you're traveling with?"
This time, Hauk did draw his blaster and pinned it right between Bastien's eyes again. "What do you know of them?"
Bastien held his hands up. "Nothing. I saw your camp a few days ago. Being hunted, I make it a point to check out anyone who lands here. I figured you were on a hiking trip of some sort, so I left you alone and went away. Seems to be some kind of Andarion thing around here. But usually it's only two Andarions at a time and they leave after a few weeks. Though why you guys want to vacation here, I cannot imagine. You are one fucked-up species."
Snorting, Hauk holstered his blaster. If the man only knew... "Have you been here the whole eight years?"
"Most of them. Once I realized the magnetic field and radiation play havoc with tracking devices, I decided Shithole Central suited me fine enough."
Hauk snorted at that. "Doesn't seem to be playing with mine. They haven't had any problems tracking me."
"Ah... that's why they keep hitting you. Wondered about that." Bastien frowned. "So who wants you dead?"
"That's what I'm going to find out."
Crossing his arms over his chest, Bastien nodded. "I guess being Sentella, you have a lot of friends who want to play with you."
"Yeah, but I'd rather take my ball and go home."
Bastien laughed. "Why do I doubt that?"
"Probably because I'm about to take my ball and go shove it up the ass of whoever started this."
"Spoken like a true Andarion."
"Known a lot of us?"
"Just one. Nasty-tempered bastard, but damn good in a fight." He narrowed his gaze on Hauk. "Now that I think about it, he looks a lot like you."
"Yeah, well, we all look alike."
Bastien rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't know. He's the only Andarion I've been this close to, besides you. Come to think of it, his name's also Hauk. Only it's his last name."
Hauk narrowed his gaze on the ragged human. "Friend or
foe?"
"Good friend, so if you plan to shit-talk him, you better be ready to draw again and shoot when you do so."
Hauk grinned at the man. If he, a human, knew a full-blooded Andarion named Hauk who looked like him, there was only one male it could possibly be. "I never shit-talk Fain behind his back. Only to his face. Otherwise, my brother would kick my ass."
Bastien went slack-jawed. His eyes registered recognition. "You Dancer?" he asked in total disbelief.
He inclined his head to him. "I'm Dancer."
"Well, I'll be damned. Small fucking universe. The way Fain talked about you, I thought you'd be the size and age of the kid you're with. Had no idea you were so close to his age and build." Bastien held his arm out to him. At a distance that let Hauk know he really was familiar with Andarions and their culture. "I owe Fain my life. You need a point or anchor, any time, I'm yours."
He shook his arm. "How you know my brother?"
"He used to live in my neighborhood on Kirovar. We worked out at the same gym. I was the only one who'd spar with him. After awhile, we ended up as drinking buddies."
While it was true his brother had lived on Kirovar, this story didn't sound like Fain, who couldn't stand to be around people. Other than the drinking. For all he knew, Bastien was lying his ass off. "So you must know his firstmate Durden."
Grimacing, Bastien shook his head. "Never heard him mention a Durden. Didn't know he had any friends, to be honest. Not that he ever talked much, but when he did, you're the only one he ever really talked about."
Now that did sound like Fain. And he was right. Fain didn't branch out much. Omira had seen to that.
"So did I pass?" Bastien asked.
"Pass what?"
"Your test to see if I'm really a friend of Fain's. Not that I blame you. Don't trust strangers as rule, either. But I do know Fain. I even know you have burn scars on your back from a childhood accident he blames himself for. And that his ex-wife was named Omira Antaxes."
Hauk studied Bastien carefully. They had to be tight for Fain to mention any of that to him. "He must have been drunker than hell to tell you that."
Bastien rubbed at his neck. "Yeah. It was on what would have been their tenth anniversary. He didn't handle it well. He even told me why they divorced, and I know that if I allow anything to happen to you, he'll hunt me down to the ends of the universe and gut me hard."
"That I believe he would." Hauk sat back as he started the airbee. "I'm headed up to bust ass. You joining or staying?"
Bastien grinned as he slung his leg over the airbee beside Hauk's. "Always ready for a good fight. Especially when a mighty War Hauk's involved." He powered on the engine. "And I'm harboring a serious hard-on for anyone who hunts others for a living. I'd much rather be the predator than the prey."
"Then welcome, brother." Hauk inclined his head to him before he gunned the accelerator. Though the signal from the radios was faint, he was able to trace it to the small skimmer shuttle they had docked a few ticks away.
Hauk landed the bike and turned it off.
Bastien pulled in beside him. Hauk removed the safeties and locks from his weapons while his new friend swung his dirty poncho over his shoulder and secured it so that the material wouldn't get in his way during the fight. Next, Bastien took inventory of his own weapons. Hauk secured his braids back from his face. He unwound his long brown scarf from around his neck so that he could cover his head and the lower part of his face. Then he pulled out a pair of opaque eyeshields he normally used for climbing.
Now concealed, he took the container he'd scavenged from the assassins and waited for Bastien.
Once his new friend was ready, they crept toward the shuttle where four men waited for their comrades to return with Hauk's head.
"So what are you spending your money on?" a large, grimy man asked.
"Women," his muscular companion said with a snort. "Lots of women."
"Always looking for the next ex, eh?"
"Always."
Hauk met Bastien's gaze. "Cover me."
He scowled at him. "Want to fill me in on your plan?"
"Told you already. Bust ass." Hauk rose to his feet and walked calmly toward the group. A breeze stirred, whipping the end of his scarf out while he entered their camp.
Two of them rose with their hands on their blasters.
"Can we help you?" the largest one asked. From the way the others deferred to him, Hauk assumed he must be their leader. His was also the voice he'd heard on the link, asking for a status update.
Without a word, he tossed the container in his hand at the man. It landed at his feet, on its side.
"What's this?"
Hauk slid his gaze to each target in turn, noting where the men stood in relation to one another, and how best to take them down. "A gift."
Curious, he knelt and opened the bag, then cursed as he saw the assassin's head it contained. He scrambled for his blaster.
Hauk shot his three companions before closing the distance between them. He snatched the blaster from the man's hand and pulled it back as if he was going to hit him with the stock. "Who sent you," he ground out between clenched teeth.
"W-w-what?"
Dropping the blaster, Hauk grabbed his shirt and shook him hard. "Who. Sent. You?"
Bastien came in, weapon drawn to make sure there was no one else in hiding. "Damn, Hauk. You're a selfish bastard. I thought you were going to leave some for me."
Hauk ignored Bastien as he lowered the scarf to expose his face. With one hand, he dragged the assassin, who was now kicking and screaming, toward the skimmer.
"I'm a Boldorian! My guild brothers will swarm all over you for this!"
Hauk snorted in contempt of the threat. "Let 'em take a fucking number. Now answer my question or I'm going to start eating pieces off your body, human." He pulled the knife from his belt and isolated the assassin's thumb, but not before his gaze fell to the man's forearm and a series of self-imposed marks that nauseated him even more than the man's stench. "We'll start with this, I think."
He screamed like a girl.
Grimacing, Bastien sucked his breath in audibly. "You know, friend, I'd tell the Andarion what he wants to know. They're not a patient race... and they're always, always hungry."
Sweat poured down the assassin's face as he gulped. "I-I-I don't know. I just have the ID code. That's all. I swear. You can see for yourself."
While Bastien kept the man covered, Hauk yanked the assassin's PD off his belt and turned it on. He cursed as he realized he didn't know the language it was written in.
"Cabarro? Can you read this?" He tossed it over.
Bastien took a second to look at it. "Yeah. It's the contract for your ass. Spill-kill. Bonus for your head. Damn, Hauk. If I could spend money, I'd be tempted to end you for this amount. Fain or no Fain."
Hauk shook his head, knowing Bastien wouldn't dare. "Does it say who wants me dead?"
"Nah. He's right. Just lists an anonymous ID for payment. If this armpit of the Nine Worlds had any reception, you might be able to backtrace it. But as it is..."
"See! I --" His words ended with a sharp blast to his chest.
Hauk stepped over his body.
Bastien handed him the PD. "You're one cold son of a bitch."
Hauk jerked the assassin's sleeve back to show the catalogue of kills he'd carved into his flesh as proud tribute for all the victims he'd made.
Half of them were for women and children.
"He deserved worse."
Bastien shot the body three more times.
Hauk arched a brow at his actions.
Shrugging, Bastien holstered his weapon. "He deserved worse."
"Spend a lot of time in the sun, do you?"
Bastien laughed as Hauk went inside the skimmer to see if there was anything he could use to get away from any others who might come for him.
Or better yet, if they could fly it out themselves. Unfortunately, it was low on fuel. And as he'd suspected, it was
a preprogrammed skimmer used to take the assassins to and from their outer atmosphere spaceship. Which meant there were more of them waiting for this group to return. With time, he might be able to reprogram the skimmer for manual flight.
An alarm sounded.
Or not.
"What'd you do?" Bastien asked sardonically.
Sighing, Hauk shot the control panel that housed the signal. It went instantly silent. "Must have been wired to the mission leader's vitals. It's an alarm to the mothership notifying the others that they're dead."
Bastien glared at the sky. "How many you think are up there?"
"Don't know. But they're down twenty-nine men."
"Survivors will be glad they don't have to split that wide a cut."
Hauk grunted. "Boldorians won't care about that. It's now an honor quest for them to come get me. With reinforcements."