Deep Space Endeavor 3 Death Match (30 page)

“And what would that reality be, Stevens?” Natora didn’t have time for games and riddles, he just wanted the information.

“The reality is that this woman has a sixteen year old daughter that has recently been brought on the
Vanguard
as an intern. She looks like a clone of Mrs. Romanov, so I did a little digging.”

“What did you find?” Natora was loving where he thought this was going.

“DNA evidence indicates she is the daughter of Jesse Marcos. A bribe to Miss Evans closest friend revealed that she illegally obtained his specimens from Fort Buffalo and used them to impregnate herself. Colonel Marcos doesn’t even know he has a daughter.”

“But Nina and Ariel do. She must be under heavy protection. Where is she now?”

“They believe no one outside of their inner circle knows the girl’s identity. They have let her leave the ship with Lieutenant Cheng and his younger sister. They are at an amusement park somewhere on Telos, I don’t know which one.”

“You have done very well, Stevens, and you shall be rewarded.” As the transmission ended, Natora laughed with delight. His mood had significantly improved. No one in the Enclave had mentioned that he couldn’t have Lana Evans killed.
Now, who I have available for the job on Telos?

______

Lana was having a great time. This was the first day she had been able to have any fun since her mom died. Aunt Ariel had kept her word and here she was with Raina at Telos’ biggest amusement park. Jason and some not so subtle security personnel were hovering not too far off, but she didn’t even mind. She was having fun with her new friend Raina and she was being left alone. Aunt Ariel had given her enough money to almost buy an air speeder. Her aunt wanted to make sure her “favorite niece” had enough money to have as much fun as she could. Lana knew that after this mini vacation, it would be unlikely she could leave the ship without protection again until her father returned. Knowing she was about to be confined to the ship for safety reasons made this excursion that much better. She took in every sight, sound and smell, wishing to savor the entire experience for as long as she could. The smell of popcorn and cotton candy was thick in the air and it made her hungry. She watched the high Gee whirl of the
Space Spinner
as it pinned people to the wall of the ride. She took in the eight story loops of the
Comet Chaser
and couldn’t wait to sit next to Raina and experience its stomach-wrenching drops and turns. Somewhere in the background, she smelled pizza among the cacophony of theme park aromas. She heard laughing, screaming, and loud engine noises and she felt the wind of a rushing coaster as it screamed past. She was close to experiencing sensory overload as she tried to take it all in at once. She was so immersed that she almost didn’t notice Raina waving her arms and calling to her.

“Lana, come on, there’s no line for the
Devastator
. I’ve been wanting to go on that one all year.” Raina grabbed Lana’s hand and laughed as they made their way over to the giant thrill ride.  The
Devastator
consisted of several loops, a one hundred fifty meter free fall, an upside down plunge into darkness underground and included a crash landing. It was not recommended to go on after eating. Lana loved every second of every ride. She considered herself a bit of a thrill addict. Raina, meanwhile, screamed through the whole ride. She was terrified and loved every second of it. When the ride ended, Lana looked at Raina and laughed. “I think you ruptured my eardrum. I don’t think it’s possible to scream any louder. You win the loudest scream ever award.” She laughed as she rubbed her right ear.

“I can’t help it,” she replied with a shy laugh. “It was scary.”

“Let’s go get some lunch, I saw some cute guys by the pizza place.”

“Cute guys and pizza, Lana, you read my mind.” They laughed some more as they went for pizza.

Jason was enjoying himself just watching his sister and Jesse’s daughter have so much fun. He was already an adult when his parents had surprised everyone with the news that they were pregnant with Raina but he had loved every minute of watching her grow up. He spoiled her every chance he got because his parents were old fashioned and made Raina work so hard for everything. He thought about Lana;
no one told me that Lana is Jesse’s daughter, I just figured it out. I’m pretty sure Ariel knows I figured it out, and sooner or later I guess we’ll talk about it. I just feel so bad for Lana. The poor girl has only just found her family, and they’re constantly in danger. I would hate to see her lose her family again. I still can’t believe that it was Admiral Natora that had tried to have Jesse assassinated. Looks like Jesse was right about him all that time.
Jason was practically lost in thought when he noticed some men he didn’t like the look of. “Hey Charlie,” he commed.  I see some potential bogeys, tighten up and get closer to Lana and Raina, would ya?”

“No problem, Lieutenant,” He replied as the detail began to adjust its position.

Suddenly, there was an explosion near the pizza place and chaos broke out. “
Vanguard
, this is Lieutenant Cheng. There’s been an explosion at the theme park. People are screaming and running all over the place and there’s smoke everywhere. I can’t see the girls, send backup immediately.”

Ariel could hear the strain in his voice and knew he was doing his best because his sister was in danger, too. Still, her concern could be heard in her strained voice. Nina had been right, it wasn’t a good idea to let Lana off the ship and now Raina was in danger, too. “Backup is on the way, Jason. Please, just find them both and bring them back safely.”
Please bring them back safely
, she prayed.

Lana was enjoying her lunch with Raina and their new friends. The two of them were doing whatever they could to impress the beautiful young ladies that had joined them for a meal. Suddenly, an explosion went off near the pizza place and things got crazy. Lana’s first thought was that Aunt Nina had been right, people were after her. She didn’t have a second as one of the boys grabbed her hand and they began to run. Lana was confused, “Why are we running this way when everyone else was running the other way?” Jason wouldn’t be able to find them over here.

“We know a shortcut,” one of the boys responded, to more confusion.
Shortcut to where?
She wondered, but her question was answered when they rounded the corner and ran right into two thugs with blasters aimed at them.

“You have done well, gentlemen,” one of the thugs said as he smiled at the two boys. He took out some money and handed it to them and then they were gone. Now Lana and Raina were alone with the thugs, and they were scared.

“One sound and I kill you, do you understand?” Thug 1 began with a menacing glare. They both shook their heads yes, as Raina began to tear up. Suddenly, the men grabbed their arms and began moving them through the smoke. “We have to do this somewhere more private,” Thug 1 said. “It can’t be traced back to the boss.” They were both looking nervously around. Lana used their indecision as she knocked over a trash receptacle, causing one of the thugs to trip.

“Run, Raina,” she yelled as she kicked the blaster from the second thugs hand and took off through the smoke. She thought they were going to make it until a searing pain tore through her leg and took her off her feet.

“Lana,” Raina screamed as she ran to her injured friend’s side.

Jason heard his sister scream and ran through the smoke to where he thought her voice was coming from. The protection detail was right behind him, hoping to find the two young ladies they had been tasked with protecting.
I can’t lose her, either of them,
he thought as he ran quickly, trying not to inhale the smoke. His eyes were beginning to water as the smoke got thicker and he couldn’t see where the girls were.

“Lana, get up, come on, get up.” Raina frantically tried helping Lana to her feet when the two thugs approached them, blasters drawn and looked at each other.

“This is becoming too much trouble, let’s just finish them here.” Thug 2 suggested. As they raised their blasters, the girls cried out and then watched in amazement as the two men hit the floor. Standing behind them, blaster drawn was a large Italian man with a grin on his face. “Come this way, girls, let’s get you back to your brother, Jason.”

“Who are you?” Raina asked in awe as she tried to help Lana get up.

“I am an associate of your brother, sort of. He stole something from me, then I tried to kill him, then we got over it and became friends. Don’t worry, it was probably before you were even born. I won’t hurt you. He bent over and picked Lana up in one giant arm. “Quick, Raina, we’re not safe here. There are a lot more of them on their way.”

She wasn’t sure, but she had no choice but to trust him. He had taken out the two men that tried to kill them, but
what did he mean he had tried to kill her brother once
?
I can’t wait to hear that story.

Lana had never been in as much pain as she was right now. Then again, she had never been shot before. She tried to speak, but all that came out was a weak moan followed by a cough as she accidentally breathed in the smoke. Her big rescuer just looked at her sadly and said, “We’re gonna get you fixed up, Lana. Don’t worry. I’m Carmine by the way, Carmine Sangia.”

“My brother has mentioned doing some work for you on occasion.” Raina remembered, feeling better about her rescuer’s intentions.

“I told you we were friends,” he pulled out his comm and talked as he carried Lana. “Hacker, I have your sister and the Marcos girl, she’s been shot but she’ll make it. Meet me behind the diner and bring some guys. I’ve spotted at least eight guys I don’t like the look of.”

“Will do,” her brother’s voice replied, “And, Carmine, thanks. I owe you big for this.”

“Don’t worry, Hacker, you know I’ll collect.” He winked at Raina and she could feel her anxiety melting away as she thought they might actually make it through this.

“I know you will. Hey, don’t spread Lana’s identity around, no one is supposed to know yet. I don’t even know how you know.”

“I got a guy.” With that, he smiled and ended the transmission. “Your brother will be joining us in a few minutes, kid. Hopefully, he’ll have enough guys to get you out of here. I can’t let it get out that I’m helping people, it would ruin my rep.” He winked again and continued through the smoke.

______

Jason was more worried than he had ever been in his life.
Thank God for Carmine, I wonder what he’s even doing here? That’s a question for another day,
he thought as he rounded the corner with eight men behind him to see his sister sitting on the ground with Lana’s head in her lap. He could see that she had been trying not to cry, but she was always a sympathetic soul. Lana was in a lot of pain and Raina didn’t want her to go through that pain alone. She smiled when she saw her brother and the bodyguards took up position around her and Lana.

Carmine smiled and shrugged when he saw Jason. He put his blaster away, donned a cap and walked out into the smoke. She knew her brother would have to return the favor someday.

“Come on, kid, let’s get you to safety.” Jason whispered as he scooped Lana up in his arms and strode towards the park’s exit. When he rounded the corner, blasterfire erupted around him. He hurried back to cover as his men began returning fire. “We need that emergency pick up now, Lana’s injured and our exit is blocked by heavy resistance.”

“It will be there momentarily, Lieutenant,” Ariel anxiously replied.
Injured? How bad? I should let them get to safety before I ask.
The blasterfire ceased when an
Eagle
assault shuttle landed right there in the park, behind the diner. The protective detail covered him as he boarded with Lana. They covered Raina as she ran in after them, then they boarded and the shuttle took off. They needed to get Lana into the
Vanguard’s
recovery pod as soon as possible.

Nina was livid. As soon as she received word that Lana was safely aboard the
Vanguard
, she made the call she had been praying she would never have to make.
I can’t believe Natora targeted a pair of sixteen year old girls. That’s a new low, even for him.
She was so angry she didn’t even feel bad when Maria Tejada picked up the transmission. “Nina?” she queried. “What’s wrong?”

“There was an attempt on my family today. The game is on.”

“Impossible, I’ve been on top of this, my intel suggests the Enclave higher ups have put a hold on going after you and Ariel. I would have known if something was up.”

“Admiral Natora just tried to assassinate Jesse’s sixteen year old daughter.