Starbourne, page 30
Perhaps the sensation is a signal of something unseen, she thought to herself. Like skin reacting to heat above a flame. While moving ahead through the throng of people, Teagen mentally checked her firewalls and threat managements. All her reports came back clear; nothing had tried to breach her systems. But then why the sudden anxiety?
“Teagen! Help!” a familiar voice called out somewhere behind her.
Teagen whirled, almost colliding with a man walking behind her. The stranger cursed at her, making a rude gesture as he maneuvered around her. Teagen paid the man no attention, focused on trying to locate the source of the voice. Alexander’s voice. He had called out from somewhere behind her, she was sure of it.
“Over here!” Hoss called out again, this time from her left side.
Her heart started to race as her eyes darted through the crowd. She scanned face after face but could not find any trace of Alexander in the rabble. She noticed a sparsely populated alley that jetted off the main street. Alex might have called out from there. Teagen cut her way through the mob towards the passage.
“Please! Teagen!” Hoss’ voice echoed from down the alley.
Whatever Alexander was doing down this backstreet, whyever he was calling for her in such a frenzied manor; Teagen knew there was trouble and she had to help him. He would do the same for her. Without a moment’s hesitation, she marched down the alley towards the voice, all the while preparing herself for whatever may be lurking in the dark.
Maybe there was a change of plans, and Alexander couldn’t risk contacting her through voice channels. Maybe something had happened to Jaeden, and they needed to regroup to strategize. She began to mentally search through cyberspace to check if there were any updates on their heist. Maybe the security teams had—
Agonizing pain violently shot through Teagen.
She staggered through the alley, losing her balance and colliding with a few stacked garbage cans. Teagen and the cans fell into a heap on the ground with a clatter. The case slipped from her hand and toppled onto the ground beside her. The pain was ferocious, unlike any she had felt before, and it reverberated down to her very bones. It felt as though her entire body was ablaze, skin and muscle melting away from extreme heat and flames. So severe and sudden was the pain, it had left her defenceless, as all she could do was focus on the suffering.
Without warning, the agony stopped, but her body convulsed as her pain receptors ebbed and flowed with memory of the torture. She gasped for breath as her limbs finally began to move to her will once more. Teagen scrambled across the pavement, dragging herself away from the heap of cans and garbage she had fallen into and pushing herself up. As she rose, she reached for her pistol, and with a shaky hand, withdrew the weapon.
She scanned the corridor for her assailant, her mind still struggling to focus on anything other than the burning sensation fresh all over her body. Her mind was scattered, and she could feel her consciousness slipping. Even in this disoriented state, Teagen had the wherewithal to realize she was being hacked. That knowledge alone gave her the least bit of hope to survive long enough to mitigate the damage.
The clear sound of a boot splashing in a puddle behind her echoed through the dimly lit alleyway. Teagen spun around, gun at the ready. While turning, she dropped to one knee, to better steady her aim for whoever had snuck up on her. As her knee connected with the ground and she extended her arm out, her assailant came into full view, although not at all as she expected.
The attacker stood motionless in front of her, slightly crouched. Their arm was fully extended out to their side, and they held a gleaming katana blade. Teagen’s eyes raced up the length of the blade and saw it was coated in a thick red fluid. Teagen furrowed her brow in confusion as her arm holding the pistol became overwhelmingly exhausted.
The gun slipped from her hand, and at the same time, the world whirled around Teagen. A nagging itch spread across her torso, and she looked down to see a wide crimson streak had been painted across her clothes. Underneath, a wicked wound had been spilling blood; the strike had been delivered so fast she had not even realized.
Warnings and errors clouded her peripherals, and her breathing became labored as she all but collapsed back onto the cold ground. Teagen tried to scramble for the second time, but her limbs refused to operate as they should. She felt drunk as her arms slid across the ground, fumbling to accomplish anything at all. The footsteps of her assassin rang out as they walked past her, towards the garbage cans and the case she had dropped.
“Sucks to suck, Streetie,” a familiar voice jeered.
“You…” was all Teagen could muster as she writhed in agony.
“It always amazes me how high you street rats think you can climb,” The condescending voice of Nyx rang out. “I’d say see you around, but I don’t make it a habit to rummage through the dumpsters. So… Bye.” With that final insult, the sound of footsteps receded into the distance.
Teagen’s thoughts quickly turned to Alexander as overwhelming regret and fear overtook her. With all the energy she could muster, Teagen pictured Alexander’s face in her mind to attempt establishing a voice channel. As the image of his face filled her mind, her bottom lip began to quiver. She focused deeply on his eyes, and his smile, and tears welled up in her eyes.
The sound of rain and the crowded street in the distance began to fade, as if rapidly receding from her. The warm honey glow in her eyes faded as the warning and error messages in her peripherals faded to black. A final breath escaped her lips, and her head tilted towards the pavement. She felt a single warm tear slip from her eye and stream across her cheek. And then, she felt nothing.
“The Frontier Collective was rebranded as the Frontier Corporate Collective. The newly reformed Collective began imposing sanctions and restrictions on their own employees to inflict damage to the U.C.G.”
(Sol Annals, citing the F.C.C. reform circa 2766)
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Hoss noticed the atmosphere in the hovercar on the drive back to New Parora from the badlands seemed a bit tense. Something was bothering Jaeden, and he was being particularly distant. Hoss, on the other hand, was nearly bursting he was so ecstatic. Sure, the job may not have gone entirely according to plan, but a successful job was a successful job, nevertheless. And now, the group stood to make a fortune for their success.
Hoss was in the process of parking the hovercar in the alley behind The Wishing Well, but before the vehicle had even touched the ground, Jaeden threw the passenger door open. He hopped out of the car and stormed into the bar. Confused at his friend’s frustration, Hoss finished landing the hovercar, powered off the engine and followed Jaeden into the building. Hoss found Jaeden sitting on a stool at the bar, pouring himself a drink.
“You’re two steps ahead of me!” Hoss called out, strolling up to the bar. He leaned over the counter and grabbed his liquor of choice. “Drinks on me!” He laughed.
“Why are you so damn excited about this?” demanded Jaeden, taking a shot of his liquor.
“That was the biggest payday we’ve ever had, my guy!” Hoss said, turning on the music player. “A cool six million, can you–”
“What?” Jaeden asked, wiping a hand across his lip.
Hoss had forgotten about the split and had nearly given himself away. While the job was paying six, he was going to give Jaeden and Teagen a million each, keeping four for himself.
It was only by Hoss’ ambitions that they had the opportunity to make the credits in the first place, and he felt he was owed more for it. At least, that was the plan originally. Now that the event had wrapped up, and seeing what Jaeden and Teagen went through, maybe they did deserve more.
But how could he come clean about the total amount now? If he admitted to it being six million all along, Jaeden and Teagen would never forgive him. Could he say they got a bonus for doing such a good job? Even if that was true, they probably wouldn’t believe him. There had to be a way to change the number of credits without making himself look greedy.
“Yeah,” Hoss said, “Six million. One for each of us.” Hoss said, hoping the mathematical error would cover his scheme. He grabbed the liquor bottle by the neck and took a deep swig of it.
“One million each is only three million, Hoss,” Jaeden said, his nose wrinkled tightly. “If the payout was six million, we’d each get two.”
This is my chance, Hoss thought.
“Wait what?” Hoss exclaimed, placing both hands on his cheeks. “Six is… two… so you’re saying we each get two million credits?”
Jaeden turned in his seat and cocked his head to the side. “What the hades are you talking about?”
“We’re multi-millionaires my guy!” Hoss continued, careful not to lay into his performance too heavily.
“How much was that job paying?” Jaeden asked, through slitted eyes.
Hoss ran a hand over his face and forced an expression of contemplation. “Well, he said six million, which I thought was one each. But I guess I botched my math! You’re right, it’s two each!”
“How do you botch six divided by three?” Jaeden asked.
“Math isn’t my strong suit Jae, you know that.” Hoss replied, “But man, two million each! Isn’t that great?”
“I know you struggle with basic shaz Hoss, but don’t give me that,” Jaeden said, rising to his feet.
Hoss rubbed the back of his neck and avoided looking at Jaeden. He took another swig from his bottle. “Common my guy, it was a simple mistake.”
“Like hades it was. Either you lied to us, or you’re a bigger idiot than I thought.” Jaeden spat.
Nellie appeared from one of the backrooms. Hoss looked at her as she strolled into the bar, carrying a case of cans. He didn’t want to have this conversation in front of Nellie and looked for a way to calm things down.
“My mistake, I’m sorry, okay? Nellie, do you need a hand with anything” Hoss asked, turning to the bartender.
“Don’t try to slither your way out of this, you snake.” Jaeden pressed. He took a step forward and raised a hand to his ribs. Hoss hadn’t noticed it before, but it looked like Jaeden’s abdomen was hurt.
“What’s going on, guys?” Nellie asked innocently.
“Nothing, just relaxing after another job is all,” Hoss said.
“Damnit, Hoss, way too many people died. This is going to be global news.” Jaeden spat; his words laced with anger.
“Woah, what did you guys do?” Nellie asked, placing the case on the counter.
“You’re blowing things out of position,” Hoss said, waving a hand through the air.
“Proportion, I think, hon.” Nellie corrected.
Hoss shrugged and drank from the bottle again. “Whatever. We had it all covered. Nobody will know anything.” Hoss continued. “We just made more credits in one day than we’ve made our entire lives.”
“Every security branch in the sector is going to be watching for us, you moron,” Jaeden exclaimed. “Not to mention any bounty hunters they hire out.”
“Easy, fellas. What are we talking about here?” Nellie tried to interject again, the mention of security forces catching her attention.
“Desmond will clean it for us, don’t you worry,” Hoss said, raising a hand to his mouth.
“Why are you so into that guy, Hoss? What’s so great about that loser?” Jaeden demanded, leaning against the counter.
“Okay, I’ll just see myself out then,” Nellie said, slipping out into the backroom.
“Yeah, no worries, Nellie. Go ahead and skedaddle. We’re going to hang here and celebrate a bit longer.” Hoss said. He drank the last few drops out of his bottle and placed it on the counter. Hoss could already feel the effect of the alcohol kicking in, and he moved to get a second bottle.
“Shut up about celebrating a win!” Jaeden yelled. “Would you just stop already?”
“The hades is your problem, kid?” Hoss yelled back. His patience was getting thin, and Jaeden was getting on his nerves now. “You know, you’ve been a real ungrateful shaz since we picked you up off the street.”
“My problem is you; running around like some sort of space cowboy, without a care in the world!” Jaeden said, moving to close the distance between the two.
“So you’re pissed at me because I take chances on making it?” Hoss retorted to Jaeden. He grabbed hold of another bottle of liquor and stepped out from behind the bar. “Would you rather I just sat on my ass and cried that nothing was fair everyday, like you?”
“Screw you, man,” Jaeden said, waving Hoss off.
Hoss had enough of the conversation. “Why don’t you take a hike, my guy.” He said, uncorking the lid of the bottle. He took a deep drink and pushed passed Jaeden making sure his shoulder hit his friend as he walked by.
Jaeden reached out and shoved Hoss forcibly away from him. Hoss stumbled backwards and collided with a table behind him, nearly losing his grip on the bottle but managing to save it at the last minute.
“Who the hades do you think you are; to push me in my own place.” Hoss spat, steadying himself. He drank another sip from the liquor bottle.
Jaeden squared his shoulders. “Think about what we just did. Think about Teagen. We haven’t heard from her yet. What if–”
“I do think about Teagen.” Hoss snapped. “More than you ever did. I’m always there for her, I never ran off and left her behind for a year while I was playing ‘working boy’.”
Jaeden scoffed at Hoss, waving a hand. “Would you stop that record already, it’s boring.”
“Oh, it’s boring? That’s boring?” Hoss said, taking another drink from his bottle. “You’re boring. You bore me.”
“You need to grow up,” Jaeden said.
“You need to get out of my face.” Hoss spat, walking towards Jaeden. He closed the distance and jabbed his index finger into Jaeden’s chest as he spoke. “You should be thanking me on your hands and knees.”
Jaeden slapped Hoss hand away from him. Hoss took a step back and laughed. He raised the bottle to take another sip. Jaeden reached out and slapped the bottle from his hand. It slipped free from Hoss’ hand and shattered on the floor.
Hoss looked at the shards of glass on the floor, and the puddle that had formed underneath his boot. His head felt heavy, and he wobbled for a moment, but anger quickly filled him. He looked up at the smug Jaeden, shaking his head back and forth as if he was disappointed in Hoss.
Who are you to judge me? Hoss thought, You smug little piece of shaz.
Hoss reached his hand out and clapped Jaeden on the shoulder. His friend opened his mouth, likely to insult him again. Hoss rocketed his fist into Jaeden’s stomach to stop the insult before it left his lips. Jeaden hunched over from the impact and pushed away from Hoss.
Hoss wobbled in place, watching his friend regain his breath. “I don’t want to hear another word out–”
Jaeden lunged forward and threw a heavy punch. It collided with Hoss’ jaw cleanly, and the two men stumbled. Hoss yelled out in pain, as he felt his check swell. He reached out and grabbed Jaeden by the shoulders, pushing him against the bar counter.
Jaeden put his own arm around Hoss’ shoulder and launched several punches into Hoss’ stomach. One, two, three punches landed, and Hoss winced in agony. Hoss slid a hand over Jaeden’s collarbone and pressed his forearm against Jaeden’s throat.
With his free hand, Hoss targeted Jaeden’s damaged ribs and threw some punches of his own. Each punch sent waves of shutters through Jaeden’s entire body.
“See what happens when I’m not there to protect you?” Hoss spat, peppering his friend with more and more punches. “See how I always have to save you?”
Suddenly, a glass bottle collided with the side of Hoss’ face, and he lost his grip on Jaeden. Stumbling backwards, he touched a hand to his face. Withdrawing his hand, he saw it was stained with blood. The side of his face throbbed, as a combination of warm blood and liquor poured down the side of his cheek.
He looked up at Jaeden, still leaning against the bar. He was breathing heavy and holding the side of his chest. The neck of a broken bottle in his hand.
“Are you crazy?” Hoss spat. “You could have killed me!”
Coughing, Jaeden wiped the blood away from the corner of his mouth. “Screw you.”
“Yeah?” Hoss said, his anger boiling over inside, “Screw me?” He took a step forward and reached into his jacket to pull free his pistol. He pointed it with lethal intent at Jaeden, who froze in place. “What’d you gotta’ say now, tough guy?”
“Put the gun down, Hoss,” Jaeden said, hunching over, protecting his damaged ribs.
Hoss ignored the request, instead readjusting his sweaty grip on the pistol. Jaeden needed to learn to respect Hoss. He had always treated Jaeden as an equal partner, but maybe it was time Jaeden was treated like his number two.
“I said put that thing away!” Jaeden called again.
“You don’t tell me what to do!” Hoss shouted back. “I don’t know where your self-righteousness came from, Jae, but I don’t work for you, man.”
Just then Nellie walked back into the room. The commotion likely bringing her back to see what was happening. Hoss glanced quickly over to her, and then back to Jaeden. His cheeks burned with embarrassment. He didn’t want Nellie to see this, but enough was enough. Jaeden had been talking down to Hoss ever since he showed up from that shipyard. Hoss had given him the food in his stomach, the roof over his head, the clothes on his back, the credits in his pocket, and a weapon to defend himself.
“What the hades are you doing, Alexander?” Nellie demanded.
“Stay out of this, Nellie,” Hoss snapped back.
“I said get that thing away from me!” Jaeden shouted, reaching to slap the gun away from his face.
“What did I tell you about giving me orders!” Hoss shouted back. He lunged forward and grabbed Jaeden by the collar with his free hand. The two shoved each other back and forth, then Hoss pressed the barrel of his pistol into Jaeden’s neck.
