Caught by Menace (40 page)

door to her cel. He touched the gun holstered on his hip.

“Don’t make me use this, Naya.”

“Don’t make me use this, Naya.”

“I won’t.” With his twitchiness, she didn’t make any

sudden movements. Being shot by Nattie wasn’t on her

bucket list. Side by side with her brother, Naya walked

through a maze of halways. The pungent scent of fuel

and chemicals filed her nose. “Is this an old

manufacturing plant?”

Nattie glanced at her. “They used to make batteries

here before they got that newfangled solar power plant

set up across town. The size and location makes it

perfect for our needs. Besides, with al the toxic fumes

and the dump site out back, no one wants to come here

to nose around.”

Naya tried not to dwel on the effect al those toxic

fumes were having on her right now. She could almost

feel her brain cels melting.

They passed through a set of double doors and

entered the main manufacturing space of the warehouse.

Most of the equipment had been cleared. A living space

had been set up in one section and smal mess hal in

another. Dozens of hard-looking men and women

stopped what they were doing to watch her.

One entire side of the room was taken up by stacks of

crates. They bore the stamp of the central government

crates. They bore the stamp of the central government

and were labeled as perishables. Her brain pieced

together the information. There weren’t any food

shortages and the Harcos treaties weren’t demanding too

high quotas. No, some corrupt bastard in the government

was seling food supplies to the Sixers.

“It’s a good deal,” Nattie said, his gaze moving over

the floor-to-ceiling stacks of food. “We get a wholesale

price. Mama sels it to the Splinter guys for three or four

times as much as we paid. They need supplies so badly

they’l pay anything. They’l even do food-for-gun deals.

You should see the shit they hijacked last night and

traded us this morning!”

“So you get your hands on weapons and cash while

the Splinter cel gets to agitate the people of Calyx,”

Naya murmured.

“You always were the smart one.”

Naya’s gut clenched at the sound of her mother’s

husky voice. The memories of her childhood, most of

them painful and tear-ridden, flooded back. She turned

slowly to face the woman who had abandoned her.

Decked out like a low-rent general, her mother

commanded the attention of every eye in the place.

commanded the attention of every eye in the place.

“Helo, Mama.”

She didn’t reply. Instead she walked a slow circle

around Naya. “You turned out prettier than I’d imagined.

With your daddy’s genes, I was sure you’d look like

someone beat you with the ugly stick by now.”

Naya let the insult rol right off her back. Unable to

help herself, she gestured to her own cheek. “The scar’s

a nice look for you. Makes you look powerful.”

“Keep it up,” her mother warned. “I haven’t forgotten

how easy it was to make you cry. I’ve stil got my strap.”

Naya’s jaw tightened. “You don’t scare me anymore.”

“I should. Who do you think controls this city? It sure

as hel ain’t the government. It’s me.” She touched her

chest. “Me and my crew and my guns.”

“You and your crew and your guns are in big trouble.

The Harcos forces know you’re working with the

Splinter cel here on Calyx. They don’t care if they get

their hands on you or the Splinters. They just want their

weapons.”

Her mother laughed. “Honey baby, they’ve been

trying to pin me down for years. They haven’t succeeded

yet.”

“I found you in half a day,” Naya snapped. “You have

no idea what kind of pain these people are wiling to

inflict to get their answers. Al it takes is one set of loose

lips and your operation is toast.”

“Let them come.” Her mother looked gleeful. “It wil

accelerate our plans but we’re ready. People are already

on edge because of the food shortages and the riots. Al

it wil take is one spark and this populace wil rise up.”

“And what? You’l be right there to supply them with

weapons?”

“And food,” her mother gestured to the crates. “The

easiest way to win hearts and minds is to give them what

they need.”

“You are insane. This plan isn’t going to work. It’s just

going to get a lot of people kiled.” Naya pointed to a

man decked out in stolen Harcos weapons. “Look, those

weapons are fine for close-quarters combat but the sky

warriors control the high ground. They have ships and

bombs and weapons we can’t even imagine. If they think

they’ve lost this city to enemy control, they wil destroy

this whole damn place.”

“Let them.” Her mother shrugged cruely. “I’l be long

gone. Can you imagine the kind of sales volume I’l have

gone. Can you imagine the kind of sales volume I’l have

then? Every backward country bumpkin on this planet

wil want one of my weapons.”

Naya’s stomach lurched. The Splinter cel and her

mother’s Sixer crew had it al mapped out. The cost in

human lives was nothing compared to the profits they

could expect. “You’re a monster.”

“Oh, sugar baby, don’t look so sad.” Her mother

drew the weapon from her thigh holster. “You won’t be

around to see any of that.”

Before Naya could react, her mother fired three

rounds. The impact registered in her brain before the

searing pain ripping through her abdomen hit. Hands

clutching her stomach, Naya stumbled backward. Rich,

dark blood spiled into her hands. She stared at the

crimson fluid, her brain on the fritz from the shock and

trauma of actualy being shot. Even when meting out

death, her mother had chosen the cruelty of a slow,

painful demise over the mercy of a plasma weapon.

“Naya!” Nattie rushed to her aid, cradling her body as

she crumpled to the floor. He put a hand to her face.

“Mama! Why? You said you were going to give her to

one of the Splinter men.”

“You think I’m going to hand them a girl who has intel

“You think I’m going to hand them a girl who has intel

on us and our enemies? Grow up, Nattie!” Their mother

tossed a gun toward him. “Drag her into the middle of the

floor and leave her there. The rest of you? Get ready.

They’re coming.”

* * * * *

Menace nervously chewed his gum while Cipher got

his mini-drones operational. Once they’d touched down

outside The City, Halie had come through like a champ.

She’d made contact with a man who quickly put her in

touch with Dankirk. Naya’s friend had been waiting for

Halie’s cal. Menace had been sick with worry as the

man relayed Naya’s plans.

In that moment, he’d understood why Terror had been

so tempted to use her. She was tenacious—and reckless.

He’d never had such a strong urge to swat her backside.

She had to learn that her life was precious and worth

protecting. Once she was safely at his side, he intended

to do everything in his power to convince her that she

was very much loved and needed.

From the staging point, Menace had a good view of

the dilapidated factory. Their ship’s environmental

the dilapidated factory. Their ship’s environmental

sensors had gone haywire as Hazard brought them in for

a stealth and fuly cloaked landing. It seemed the place

had been a factory at one point. Most of the toxic

chemicals and byproducts were stil onsite. The sooner

they got Naya out of there the better.

His earbud clicked twice, alerting him that Pierce, their

strike team leader, was coming on the line. He stopped

chewing and listened.

“Cipher tels me we’l have drone feeds within the next

sixty seconds. The charges are set at the entry points.

Once recon is complete, we make entry on my mark.”

Menace glanced to his left where Raze and Venom

had taken up their positions. Hazard crouched down just

to his right. The pilot hadn’t been hard to convince to

take the dangerous mission. Pierce, two members of the

Shadow Force and the other three members of the SRU

team were ready to breach the old factory from another

angle. Terror had remained behind on the
Valiant
to

supervise from his war room. It was no secret that no

one wanted to go into battle with him right now.

Menace pushed his tactical glasses into place. The

polarized lenses displayed a real-time feed from Cipher’s

drones. He glanced away from the picture, not at al

drones. He glanced away from the picture, not at al

interested in the swooping turns the devices were

making.

But when a drone entered through a broken window

and provided a ful view of the main factory floor, he

grew very interested. Menace spotted the open

barracks-style housing section. The stacks of crates

stamped
perishable
interested him the most. Naya’s

stories of food shortages and riots came to mind. Was

this where al that food was going?

The silent drone began to slowly shift its view. There,

finaly, Naya came into view. She wore strange men’s

clothing. Her gait seemed off to him. Had she been

drugged or hit on the head?

As if reading his mind, Cipher came across the radio.

“Target in sight. Wil put medical on standby for possible

head injury or sedative exposure. Acquiring audio feed in

ten, nine, eight…”

Menace’s earbud crackled. A moment later, Naya’s

sweet voice filed his ear. “While the Splinter cel gets to

agitate the people of Calyx.”

A woman dressed in men’s tactical gear came into

view. He recognized her from the photos Terror had

shown him.
Turn around.
He silently urged Naya to see

shown him.
Turn around.
He silently urged Naya to see

the woman coming up behind her.

“You always were the smart one.”

Naya stiffened. She faced her mother slowly. “Helo,

Mama.”

His gut clenched as the woman took her time studying

Naya. He waited to see what she would say to her

daughter.

“You turned out prettier than I’d imagined. With your

daddy’s genes, I was sure you’d look like someone beat

you with the ugly stick by now.”

He spotted the tic in Naya’s jaw.
No, sweetheart,

don’t poke the bear.

Naya pointed to her flawless cheek. “The scar’s a nice

look for you. Makes you look powerful.”

“Shit,” Menace whispered. She simply couldn’t stop

those smart-ass remarks from leaving her mouth.

“Counting twenty-seven armed on the main floor,”

Cipher informed. “I read a dozen heat signals in other

portions of the factory. Wil engage and separate enemy

with drone missiles on command’s mark.”

“Affirmative,” Pierce answered.

Down on the factory floor, Naya and her mother

Down on the factory floor, Naya and her mother

continued to face off. He’d missed some of their

conversation. He was sure it had been a doozy.

Her mother grinned. “Let them come. It wil accelerate

our plans but we’re ready. People are already on edge

because of the food shortages and the riots. Al it wil

take is one spark and this populace wil rise up.”

The whole evil plan came to light. Menace had to

admit it was a tried-and-true method for fomenting

revolution.

“And what?” Naya shouted. “You’l be right there to

supply them with weapons?”

“And food. The easiest way to win hearts and minds is

to give them what they need.”

Naya glared at her mother. “You are insane. This plan

isn’t going to work. It’s just going to get a lot of people

kiled. Look, those weapons are fine for close-quarters

combat, but the sky warriors control the high ground.

They have ships and bombs and weapons—”

“Prepare to breach.” Pierce interrupted the feed.

“Cipher, give us a sixty-second countdown.”

“Yes, sir. Breaching in sixty seconds.”

“Can you imagine the kind of sales volume I’l have

“Can you imagine the kind of sales volume I’l have

then?” Naya’s mother asked. “Every backward country

bumpkin on this planet wil want one of my weapons.”

Naya’s shoulders slumped. “You’re a monster.”

“Breaching in forty-five.”

“Oh, sugar baby, don’t look so sad.”

Menace’s heart skipped two beats as the other