The Torid Affair by Laurann Dohner

Chapter Eleven

 

Jessa ate the heated prepackaged meal. It wasn’t bad, but she longed for real food. That was one of the things about living on a large fleet vessel that she liked. The cafeteria food was free to members. She could eat all her favorites, without anything being charged to her account.

Sometimes she spent some of her earnings by splurging at one of the many restaurants and bars on the vessel. Those weren’t free. Mostly, she saved all her income for the day she got released from her contract. She’d need every penny, since she wasn’t sure if her sister was doing the same.

Her thoughts turned to Maith again. Anabel was another reason why she couldn’t mate him. She and her sister had plans. A Veslor and his grouping weren’t a part of them. The sisters were going to find a nice peaceful Earth owned planet to settle on, buy a home, and be a family together.

Jessa hadn’t ever envisioned getting married. She’d learned fast that relationships weren’t an option for someone like her. That choice wouldn’t prevent her from having kids though. She planned to buy donated sperm and raise the babies as a single parent.

She had faith that her sister would help. Maybe Anabel even wanted to have a few kids herself. It was a question she didn’t have the answer to, never daring to ask during their brief and more than likely monitored conversations.

The kitchen door opened and Maith walked in. He took a seat at the counter across from her, his expression grim.

“What’s wrong? Did the rescue teams hit a snag?”

He shook his head. “The humans in cages are giving me trouble.”

It didn’t surprise Jessa. “Entitled assholes never like seeing justice served when it involves them being on the receiving end. Did Boyd wake up yet?”

“Yes. He is going to hang my head on a pike.”

“Talk about useless threats and unrealistic expectations. He’s going to be lucky if United Earth doesn’t sentence him to death instead of life in prison. He should worry about his own head and where it’s going to end up.”

“The governor is demanding to speak to you. I told him no.”

She finished her drink and stood. “I’m so going.”

Maith growled low, glaring at her. “He will only make threats.”

“I’m sure he will. I’ve got some of my own to issue.”

“Jessa,” Maith growled.

“What? We’ve both seen firsthand how bad things are for the poorer residents on this planet. He’s responsible for all of it. I’m more than willing to talk to him if he’s demanding to see me.” She walked around him.

Maith gripped her arm, bringing her to halt. “We shouldn’t antagonize the humans.”

She snorted. “What’s he going to do? Yell at me from his cage? Besides…entitled, remember? He won’t let it drop until he gets his way. That means he’ll drive you nuts until I go speak to him. I’m sure in his dense head, he thinks he can intimidate me. It’s time to destroy that idea.” She gently tugged on her arm.

Maith released her and sighed. “Fine.”

Jessa left the kitchen and headed toward the room where the cages were kept. Maith stayed close behind her. She bypassed the code by using her implant to send a signal and entered the room containing their prisoners.

It did her heart good to see Boyd and Carlton in those cages. Especially Carlton, since he’d harassed her from the first hour she’d stepped foot on Torid. She stopped about six feet from Boyd’s cage.

His expression was mutinous as he glared at her from where he sat up. Some of the other prisoners must have passed him their pillows, since he had at least three shoved between his back and the barred wall, to help prop him up. One of his hands covered the bandage on his wound.

“I heard you wanted to speak to me. I’m Dr. Jessa Brick, member of the fleet, assigned to Defcon Red.”

“Under ordinance seven-nine of colony laws, I demand you release me.”

She accessed those files stored in her implanted memory and then snorted. “I think you meant ordinance six-two, clause seven.”

Boyd’s eyes widened and uncertainty crossed his features.

“Seven-nine refers to housing. As in, you have the right to be given a home that is habitable. Emphasis on home, not incarceration conditions. Six-two covers everything regarding laws and the consequences of breaking them. Clause seven, in particular, is the one about how a government official can only be arrested or charged with a crime if other officials voted and won the majority to do so.” She paused. “Oh, and by the way, isn’t it your job to know this stuff inside and out? I live on a fleet ship and haven’t ever settled on a colony planet. It’s kind of sad and pathetic that I know the laws better than you do, Governor Boyd.”

“You have no right to lock me up!” he raged, his temper exploding.

“Ordinance one, first clause, states that all persons living on a colony planet are subject to United Earth rule, which shall be delegated to the fleet to uphold. That’s the gist of it, since we’d be here for hours if I read it off word by word. Whoever wrote those damn ordinances really loved their job. The physical print packet is almost three thousand pages.”

“We’ve filed for separation from United Earth.”

Jessa chuckled.

“You think that’s funny?” Boyd sputtered.

“It’s hilarious. United Earth owns this planet—and they paid to colonize it. Every structure, every travel cost to get people here, came out of their pocket. Not yours. You’re basically the hired help, demanding to be given ownership of where he works because he’s ridiculous enough to believe he deserves to take what isn’t his. How fast did they deny you? I’m betting it was instant.”

“I haven’t heard back from them yet. I filed the paperwork yesterday and transmitted the request. That means you have no authority here.”

Jessa turned to Maith. “Are you sure you didn’t give him pain meds? It would explain why he’s so delusional.” She faced Boyd. “Maybe I should get my scanner to make sure you’re not delirious with a fever. Not even you can be that stupid.”

“Listen to him, you cunt,” Carlton hissed. “We’ve broken away from United Earth. I was a witness that he sent the request.”

“Well, as the only fleet representative on scene, since we’re all trapped in this bunker after you blew up the mansion above us, let me give you a direct answer. Fuck no.” Jessa shook her head. “The only request either of you can make that United Earth or the fleet might consider approving is if you want a lethal injection or life in prison. It will depend on what panel of judges you end up in front of, and all the charges you’ll be facing.”

Boyd sucked in a sharp breath.

Jessa focused on him. “I’ll give you a spoiler alert. The fleet was about to arrest you before you got stabbed. You’re in so much trouble that it’s almost sad…except you’re an asshole who treated people under your control like absolute shit, so I have zero sympathy. Oh, and the rescue team should arrive soon. They know we’re trapped down here, and that you survived. The only place you’re going when they dig us out is to a holding cell on Defcon Red until you’re transferred back to Earth to face a trail.”

Boyd paled and clutched at his chest.

“Please get my kit,” Jessa whispered to Maith. She shouldn’t have lost her temper. The last thing she wanted was the governor to have a stroke or heart attack. That would mean he might not live to face punishment.

Maith snarled and rushed out of the room.

“I could be wrong,” she lied, stepping closer. “Take slow, deep breaths. Your personal assistant has been really nasty to me since I met him.” She activated her artificial eye, scanning Boyd. His body temperature seemed stable. The wound on his stomach wasn’t actively bleeding either, or she’d pick that up.

“Hey, cunt.”

She glanced at Carlton.

He grinned—and pointed a small laser gun at her. It was about the size of his hand. “The stupid alien didn’t pat me down.” He shoved at his cage door and it opened. “We just needed leverage to use against the animal. I saw him get shot but it didn’t hurt him. You can’t say the same if we shoot you. He’ll do whatever we want if you’re our hostage. You’re dead if he doesn’t.”

She watched as Boyd released his chest and struggled to his feet, wincing a little as he clutched one hand over his stab wound, then headed toward his cage door. She was close enough to spot the burn mark on the inside of the lock as the door swung open.

The bastards had obviously fried the locks from the inside. The damage was hidden until the doors swung open. Maith probably didn’t smell it was because the air was recycled. It also meant they’d been able to open their cages for a good hour or so, since that’s how frequently fresh air pumped in from the vents.

The woman who’d tried to attack her previously lunged from her bunk and shoved open her own cage door. Even the guard suffering from drug withdrawal managed to get up and stagger out of his cage. His eyes squinted, since light had to hurt him, and his coloring was too pale. A sheen of sweat covered his face too. It was obvious he was in some serious pain.

“Fuck,” Jessa muttered, backing up.

Carlton shot at her, making her jerk to avoid being hit.

“That was a warning. Don’t move again, cunt. Grab her, Dean.”

Dean, the guard, stumbled forward. He seemed to have a hard time opening his eyes enough to see her as he advanced. The others remained near their open cage doors.

She needed to stall them. “Stop and think about this. There’s no way out of this bunker and the rescue teams are just going to arrest you when they dig us out. This is stupid and pointless.”

“Wrong!” Carlton bellowed, startling her. “We have a way out. It’s a hidden tunnel and there’s even a shuttle. We’re going to that hidden section to wait it out until your fucked-up fleet leaves the system.”

No one needed to tell her that they were going to kill her anyway. Maith, too, if they’d hidden more weapons. Wilma and Ned would also be murdered.

Dean staggered closer, lifting a hand to grab her by the throat.

Jessa sent a strong surge of electrical power to her artificial eye. The sudden blinding glow was going to hurt—but Dean suffered from light sensitivity. It would hurt him just as much, if not more.

She felt her artificial eye heat up too fast, causing a burning sensation behind it, but it worked. Her eye glowed so bright that Dean jerked back, groaning, and threw up both arms to shield his eyes.

Jessa lunged forward, ignoring the loss of half her sight when the ocular implant overheated from the power surge and completely shut down. She grabbed Dean by his hips and used all her strength to spin the much bigger man around.

He nearly tripped and thew out his arms to the sides, trying to find his balance.

That was all Jessa needed. She’d put the big guard between herself and Carlton. She spun, mentally sending the unlock signal to the pad, hoping her brain implant could still transmit and hadn’t also overheated, since they were physically so close together.

The pad flashed green as she ran at the door. Carlton screamed a curse and fired again. A laser burn blasted the door but missed Jessa. She grabbed the handle and made it out, slamming the door behind her. She spun, staring at the pad to give her something to focus on. The lock engaged.

“Jessa?” Maith’s snarl sounded but she didn’t dare turn away from what she was doing to glance at him coming her way down the hall. She located the power source inside the pad and shut it down. The pad lights died.

She shoved away from the door when she heard laser fire from the other side, just as Maith reached her. He dropped the med kit and grabbed her. “What happened?”

“They’re free in there. I killed the power to the lock so they won’t be able to override it from the other side. It’s totally dead. Carlton had a small laser handgun stashed somewhere on his person. They wanted to get me alone to use as a hostage to force you to help them. That fucking Boyd was faking a possible heart attack to get you to leave the room. Fuckers!”

Maith snarled as he turned her to face him. It was strangely unsettling to only see out of one eye. The slight burning sensation had decreased but her artificial eye didn’t come back online. That wasn’t good. She might have damaged it worse than she’d predicted. That would mean it needed to be repaired before it would work again.

Maith released her arm and suddenly cupped her face in his large hands, forcing her head up. He seemed fixated on her artificial eye as he made a strange hissing noise she’d never heard before. “They shot you in the face?” His thumb pad gently brushed against the side of her eye socket, and he leaned in closer. “Your eye appears damaged and the skin around it is slightly red. The center part isn’t blue anymore. It’s black, and the white part appears yellow.”

“Shit. That’s not good news.”

“They shot you in the eye?”

“No. I sent a strong jolt of power to make the light in my eye quickly flare to full strength to keep Dean from getting his meaty hands on me. I knew I might overload it for a bit, but black means more damage occurred than I’d bargained for. I must have fried some components or wiring.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Light causes pain to someone in Dean’s condition. It was the only advantage I had, blinding him for a few seconds and making him flinch away.”

“How do I fix your eye?”

More laser fire hit the other side of the door. Jessa attempted to pull away from Maith. “We can’t. I’m going to need a med bed with programmed surgery and the spare components stored in my lab. Let go. We’ve got more important things to deal with.”

Maith snarled but released her. “Are you in pain?”

“No.”

“Can you see out of it at all?”

“It’s totally dead and not responding to me, but I have vision in my natural eye.”

“Your eyelid on that side isn’t working. The redness alarms me. It seems to be getting worse.”

She attempted to squeeze her eyes closed. “I might have suffered mild burns from when the implant overheated. Nothing that can’t be fixed or healed. How about now?”

“Your fake one is still open.”

“Damn. I’ll worry and deal with it later.” She turned away from him to stare at the door. “Do you think they can cut their way out? These are security-grade doors but they aren’t prison strength. The interiors have weak spots.”

“I don’t know.”

“Get weapons.” She stepped away from him and lifted her kit. “I’ll hold them off until you return if they do get it open.” She stood against the wall next to the door and gripped the med kit handle with both hands. “I did want to beat on them with this thing. I’m going to regret damaging it but I’d hate for them to get away even more. There’s some secret way out of this bunker. No way are we letting them escape.”

Maith didn’t rush away. Instead, he began stripping out of his clothes.

Jessa gaped at him until he stood totally naked just feet away.

“I don’t need your human weapons. Go get the pregnant female and take her to the cub. Barricade inside that room. I will handle the humans if they get out.” He lifted his wrist, tapped it, and the holograph keyboard appeared. He tapped fast. “Updating my grouping on the situation so they know they could face enemies when they breach the bunker.”

Jessa didn’t move. “I’m not leaving you. There are four of them.” She gripped her kit tighter. “I’ll take down whoever you don’t.”

“Jessa,” he snarled. “Protect the pregnant female and the cub. You are hurt.”

“I’m blind on one side and have probably suffered some minor burns. It isn’t anything debilitating. I’m fine. I’ll be damned if even one of them gets away. Did you hear me about some secret tunnel out of here? They have a shuttle too. It now makes sense why they blew up the mansion. They had a way out of here as long as they hid and waited until the fleet left. Those bastards planned this well in advance if the fleet ever came after them.”

“Jessa.” He snarled at her, taking a step closer. “Go barricade in with the female and cub.”

Laser fire could be heard on the other side of the door, and she smelled something burning. Metal. “No. They’re obviously cooking the door hinges inside. We don’t have time to argue. We’re a team, remember? Shift if you’re going to do it!”

Maith flashed his sharp fangs, then he dropped forward to brace his hands on the floor. He was flexible, she’d give him that. Bones began to pop, and she flinched a little at the uncomfortable-sounding noises. He shifted fast, until the male she was used to seeing was gone, replaced by a terrifying, leathery-textured alien cat beast. He roared, glaring at her with his green eyes.

“I know. You can yell at me later.”

He backed up, moving his gaze from her to the door. She took some deep breaths. When that door opened, she really didn’t want to be shot, but the prisoners only seemed to have one weapon. The odds were good that Maith would target the one holding the laser first. She’d only have to keep the other three from running to wherever the hidden escape tunnel was located. It could be anywhere—except the room the prisoners were currently in, since they were so desperate to break out.

She looked up at the lights along the ceiling and had an idea. Maith could see in the dark. Humans didn’t have that ability. She could try to use her brain implant to remote link to the electrical system, since it had worked on the door pad when she’d shut the power down, but she glimpsed the light switch down the hallway. She pushed off the wall and rushed toward it.

Maith made a low snarl.

“I know what I’m doing,” she yelled, running down the hall until she reached the switch. Then she flipped it down. The overhead lights went off and total blackness surrounded her.

“Another advantage,” she told Maith, reaching out with one hand to feel the wall and head back toward the way she’d come.

 

Maith quickly rushed to Jessa as she blindly tried to maneuver down the hallway. He brushed against her side and shoved at the kit in his way. Jessa dropped it. By her soft curse, she hadn’t meant to. He growled at her, not happy. He wanted her to go lock in with the pregnant female and cub, where she’d be safe.

“Leave me and go watch that door,” she ordered.

He pushed her against the wall and pinned her there, snarling. He opened his mouth and lightly gripped her wrist, biting down just enough to get a good hold, but not enough to hurt her with his fangs. He lightly tugged, indicating he wanted her on the floor.

She almost fell. He pushed his body even tighter against her to pin her to the wall.

“Damn it, Maith!” she complained. “Go watch the door. I’ll make my way back to it and hit anything that comes out.”

He snarled and shook his head. Then he tugged again on her wrist again.

“Fine. I’ll stay here.”

He released her wrist and backed off slowly, making sure she didn’t fall. Jessa slowly slid down to her hands and knees, staying close to the wall.

“Push my kit at me, please. I can’t see it. Then get back to that door.”

He used his paw to slide the kit to Jessa. She felt for the top and nodded. “Got it.”

He made a low rumbling noise, hoping she’d understand that he wanted her to stay. He’d shift and talk to her but he’d need his energy if the humans escaped from the room. Transforming back and forth in a short amount of time would exhaust him fast.

The smell of burning metal grew stronger, and when he turned his head, staring at the door containing the bad humans, he saw that the left side had a faint red glow, where the hinges on the inside would be. It would be caused by the metal heating.

He rushed forward but didn’t get too close. Jessa turning off the lighting in the hallway had been smart. The humans would be blind beyond the light that was inside the room. Once they moved far enough away, they wouldn’t see him coming at them in the dark.

His wrist vibrated but he couldn’t communicate with his grouping while in battle form. Then he heard a loud boom from the other side of the door. It sounded as if they were using something heavy to hit it. Part of the door moved where the hinges were located and a little bit of light shone through. He backed up more into the darkness and crouched.

“They’re going to break out,” Jessa whispered from about twelve feet away down the hall.

Frustration filled Maith, and so did rage. She should have listened to him and gone to lock in with the pregnant female and cub. He didn’t like her being there, and with the lights off, she wouldn’t be able to help him anyway. Humans made little sense to him at times. Now he not only had to deal with their enemies, but worry about Jessa getting hurt if one of them fired a weapon in a panic and it happened to go in her direction.

Another boom sounded and the door gave more, the light streaming from the room growing brighter. The lock side was still engaged but without the hinges on the other side, they’d be able to squeeze out if they were able to get the door open wide enough.

He threw his head back, roaring loudly. He hoped the threat caused them enough fear to cease their escape attempt.

“That fucking alien is out there,” a female sobbed. “Stop or it’s going to get in!”

“Shut the fuck up!” Carlton yelled. “I’ll shoot it.”

“Give me the weapon.” Dean sounded pissed. “You couldn’t even hit that bitch doctor.”

“I meant to miss,” Carlton argued.

“No, you didn’t. We all know you want to hurt the bitch. You missed both times. Hand it over.”

“You can’t even stand up straight and you’re panting,” Carlton seethed. “Shut up, Dean. All you had to do was grab the cunt and hold her to keep the alien from attacking us.”

“Both of you shut up.” That was the governor. “You heard that doctor. The fleet knows we’re alive down here and are coming. We need to be gone by the time they arrive.”

“Give me the codes to access the tunnel and shuttle.” Carlton’s tone took on a pleading tone.

“No,” Boyd snapped. “You’d have already abandoned me if I had. No one gets out of here unless we go together. You also need me to access all the funds we’ve pocketed. It’s in locked boxes that will incinerate the contents if they’re tampered with. How long do you think you’ll survive without being caught if you can’t bribe anyone? Now stop whining.”

Fury filled Maith. The humans weren’t going to get away. He knew the fleet and Jessa wanted all of them alive to see Earth justice, but he would kill them if he must to prevent them from leaving the bunker. He wasn’t about to forget about the cub, Toby, who’d nearly burned to death. Or the still-unconscious near-adult cub they’d found dying in one of the cages. Anyone who would hurt their own young couldn’t be allowed to do it again.

There was another boom, and the door opened farther. He spotted the guard, Dean, grab part of it. The large male didn’t look healthy or at full strength but he was big for a human. He wrestled with the door and managed to get it free from the lock on the other side. The door fell forward into the hallway with a crash.

“Give me the pistol,” the guard demanded, his fists up as he frantically darted a look around the dark hallway from where he stood at the doorway of the lit room. He lifted one foot and placed his shoe on the door.

“No fucking way.” Carlton cowered behind him, brandishing the smallest Earth laser weapon Maith had ever seen.

He almost snorted. Did they believe they could kill him with that? It appeared to be a child’s toy instead of a weapon. Then he glanced at the downed door, seeing the melted metal that used to be hinges. A reminder that the toy could indeed do some damage. It was more like a laser scalpel in his mind, with a longer range.

Every muscle in his body tensed and he turned to glance toward Jessa.

The light spilling out of the room didn’t reach either of them. She was hidden in darkness. At least he hoped none of the humans were able to see her. He could. She had flattened her body to the floor, the kit partially in front of her, and she held a bag of something in one hand. He had no idea what it was.

Perhaps she’d toss it at the humans. She would be able to see Dean, the guard. The others wouldn’t be in her line of sight until they stepped out of the room, into the hallway.

“I don’t see anything,” Dean whispered. “Find a light.”

Boyd pushed past Carlton, speaking low. “There’s a light switch down the hall, at the end where it curves. Go turn it on so we can see where we’re going.” He stayed behind the larger human guard. “We need to make it to the kitchen.”

“That’s where the hidden tunnel is?” Carlton asked. “Give me the access code and I’ll run ahead to get it open.”

“I’m not a moron, Carl,” Boyd snapped. “We go together.”

Carlton appeared pissed. “I wouldn’t leave you. You’re the only one authorized to activate the autopilot on the shuttle—hell, to even enter it. We need each other. I’m not a moron either!”

Maith grew even more irritated. The humans just stayed in the room arguing, rather than doing anything. Maybe they wanted him to come into the light where they could see him.

The female wasn’t within sight. It was possible they’d set a trap and had access to more weapons. He wasn’t falling for it. He would wait them out. Veslors had patience. At some point, they’d have to leave that room.