Extensis Vitae (14 page)

“I didn’t take orders from him by choice. He has something of mine.”

Reznik looked at Dr. Kane and the other women. “Is what she says true? Did she harm any of the colonists?”

Dr. Kane shook his head. “I never saw her harm anyone. In fact, she was usually the one that gave us food and water when the others neglected to. But she certainly never did anything to resist them or put a halt to what they were doing, either.”

“That bitch was with them the whole time,” Carmen said with some heat. She glared at Rin. “You disgust me! Just sitting there and doing nothing while those animals raped and beat us. It’s as bad as if you were joining in. It’s especially disgusting that another woman would tolerate such behavior!”

Rin had pulled June to the side a bit so she could face them. Her eyes were cold as she glanced at the others, but kept her focus on Reznik.

He thought he could probably hit her in the throat or eye with one of the throwing knives he had tucked into his belt, but with her speed, it would be risky. He found himself reluctant to attack her, and not just because of the possibility of June getting hurt or killed.
What if what she said was true? What if she was a hostage to Haze and his gang?
In a way, he kind of respected this fierce woman. She didn’t seem the type to lie to save her own skin.

***

Rin realized this wasn’t going as planned. She feared it would turn violent, and she didn’t want to have to hurt any of the civilians. Talking her way out of the situation didn’t appear to be working, either. When she chose to speak, she was blunt and to the point. She had never been gifted with a persuasive tongue.

She knew if she couldn’t bargain with them for her freedom that it would be pointless to try to flee. She had to find the token first, and it would be a loss to have to leave her katana behind, as well.

The stranger spoke up again. “Haze is dead now; you don’t have to fear him any longer. If you surrender, I will see to it that you are treated fairly when we get back.” He turned to the doctor. “Will she be put on trial? I don’t know how the justice system works in these colonies.”

The doctor scratched at his beard. “I’m not sure what will happen, honestly, Mr. Reznik. Administrator Swanson always decides what happens if any rules are broken and what type of punishment will be handed out. We don’t have a legal system like what you are thinking of.”

The man they called Reznik was silent for a moment. “What is it that Haze took from you?” he asked Rin.

“It’s a token. A small device with three intertwined triangles marked on it.”

“Is this what you want?” He stuck a hand in his cargo pocket and pulled out her token.

***

Reznik could see some of the tension drain out of Rin’s face even before she nodded. He knew he had her outmaneuvered now that he had a bargaining chip. “All right, Rin, here’s the deal I’m going to make you: surrender peacefully and come back with us without making any more trouble. In return, I will give you back your token, provided I am satisfied that it won’t prove a threat to anyone. I also give you my word that I will do whatever is in my power to see that you are treated fairly and judged according to your crimes. Maybe I can help you, maybe not; however, you will still have to face the justice of the administrator no matter what. That’s the best deal you are going to get, so I suggest you take it.”

Rin held his gaze for a long moment, and then gave a curt nod. She released June and stood calmly aside.

June rubbed at the red marks on her neck and glared at the outlaw woman. Realizing the standoff was over, she returned to stowing the packs in the cargo area of the cart.

Fortunately, the electric cart still had enough battery power to make it back to Colony 12. June got behind the wheel with Dr. Kane riding shotgun. Sara and Carmen took the middle seats, and Reznik climbed into the back with Rin so he could keep an eye on her. She was true to her word, though, and made no other attempts to escape.

As they passed the carnage in the tunnel from the earlier battle, Reznik watched Rin’s face as she surveyed the remains. He thought there might have been a trace of satisfaction as she looked at the corpses of Haze and the others.

Once they got in range of Colony 12 and Reznik could pick up a signal on his Datalink, he activated it and called Myrna.

“Michael, is everything all right?” she answered immediately.

“Yes, it’s all over. We’re heading back now. You might want to get the welcome wagon ready for us.”

“My father—is he okay?”

“He’s fine.”

“That’s great news.” He could hear the relief in her voice. “And you? What about you?”

“Not too bad, all things considered. They definitely gave me a little bit of a workout. I’m a little worn out, but that’s not a big deal. I really don’t think we’d be having this conversation, though, if it hadn’t been for you working your magic with the augmentations and everything.”

“I’m so glad to hear it. I’ll go inform the administrator and let everybody else know.” She sounded like she wanted to say more, but didn’t.

“Okay, you do that. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Chapter 11

T
he vault door to Colony 12 was already open when they arrived, the colonists evidently having monitored their progress on camera. When Myrna had said she’d let everybody else know, she hadn’t been kidding. A large group of what looked to be about a hundred people awaited them, jammed inside the portal room.

June stopped the cart just inside the scant remaining open space of the portal room. Dr. Kane was barely out of the cart when Myrna rushed up and embraced him. Some scattered applause broke out at first, and then the crowd surged forward. Everyone began talking and asking questions at once.

A security detail forced its way through the crowd and attempted to clear some space around Reznik and the others. Swanson stepped out from behind them and surveyed the former hostages. Reznik recognized June’s parents as they came forward and embraced their daughter, tears in their eyes.

This hero thing could grow on me
, he thought. It was a stark change from his past life of covert missions where the government wouldn’t even acknowledge the existence of his unit, let alone what they did. In that case, more often than not, it was better that the public didn’t know any of the details. Reznik thought it would probably be best for the people here if they didn’t know too many specifics, either. He suspected Swanson would see to it that they would be kept in the dark as much as possible.

Swanson was beaming as he shook hands and chatted with Dr. Kane. Sara and Carmen were looking overwhelmed by all of the attention, until Dr. Kane introduced them to Swanson. Reznik noted Rin observing everything with interest where she remained seated on the back of the cart.

“Well, looks like you’re the big hero,” Myrna said with a big smile, interrupting his thoughts. She came up and gave him a warm embrace, her green eyes still wet with tears. “I’m glad you’re safe,” she whispered into his chest.

“Me, too,” he replied. He hugged her back. “I just wish I could have saved more of them. The rest had already been taken to the surface when I got there.”

She stepped back, frowning as she noticed his shredded and bloodstained uniform. “My goodness, are you okay?”

He smiled. “It’s all right—most of it isn’t mine.”

Just then, Swanson came over, looking more pleased than Reznik had ever seen him. “Mr. Reznik, well done, my friend!” he boomed. “I knew we put our faith in the right hands.”

Reznik shook his hand. “I’m glad that I was able to bring them back. I wouldn’t say ‘unharmed,’ but alive, at least.”

Swanson nodded. “Yes, that’s unfortunate. We will have a meeting tomorrow and you can fill me in on the details then.” His eyes shifted to Rin. “And what have we here? She sure doesn’t look like much in those shackles, does she?” His look of disgust was met with a silent stare.

Reznik spoke up. “Mr. Swanson, I made a deal with this woman to get her to surrender peacefully. I told her that she wouldn’t be harmed or mistreated until she could be judged accordingly. I’ll take responsibility for her if you’ll let me.”

Swanson waved a dismissive hand. “Sure, but I’m the one who will make the ultimate decision about what to do with her. Once I hear everyone’s statements and think it over, I will pass judgment. But we can worry about that later. Right now, I think we should celebrate!” He waved Officer Cole over. “Put the prisoner in the holding cell. Nobody sees her except myself and Mr. Reznik here.” He gestured in dismissal and Cole and another guard grabbed Rin’s arms and marched her away. “I don’t want any harm coming to her, either,” Swanson called after them.

“There’s one other thing,” Reznik added with a stern look at Swanson. “I know you have a ‘no weapons’ policy here, but everything I recovered, I keep. Spoils of war, I guess you can call it. Think of it as an insurance policy in case I get thrown into another situation like this one again.”

Swanson looked as if he would argue the point for a second, but then he seemed to do a double take, as if noticing the blood covering Reznik’s tattered outfit for the first time. “Er, I suppose that’s fair enough, since you did all the dirty work. Just make sure that nobody else gets their hands on any of it.” He looked around, conscious of all the expectant faces watching him. “Where were we? Oh yes, time to celebrate!”

***

Reznik took the opportunity during the hour prior to the start of the celebration to grab a hot shower and a change of clothes. The colonists proved to be extremely efficient in getting everything set up in such a short time.

The celebration consisted of a feast and the tapping of a beer keg. A ham-like meat substance was served with potatoes and gravy and rolls and carrots and corn. It tasted delicious to Reznik, famished as he was. Under different circumstances, he might have been a lot more discriminating, but it had been a long day. The beer wasn’t bad, either—a little watery, but it had been forever since Reznik’s last cold one.

A dais had been erected in the dining hall, and Reznik sat at the high table. He was joined by Myrna and her father, along with June and her parents farther down. Swanson sat at the head of the table. Across from Reznik were Carmen, Sara, and some of the Colony 12 elders that he hadn’t met.

“On behalf of the good people of Colony 12,” Swanson began by way of introduction, his loud voice easily cutting through the chatter, “I would like to thank Mr. Reznik for his valiant service! He rescued two of our own as well as two ladies from our sister colony. Let us have a toast in his honor!” The crowd cheered and Reznik raised his mug in acknowledgment.
Interesting what he left unsaid…I wonder how much the people really know about what happened over there, and how much of it is distorted according to what Swanson wants them to know.

The celebration continued, and other than the good food and drink, it ended up being a rather boring affair. Swanson and the elders gave some fairly long-winded speeches, and there was a lot of applause and cheering.

Although the colonists were a lot friendlier than they had been before his mission, he also noticed that it was not a happy event for everyone. There were some bleak looks and tears from the loved ones of those who hadn’t returned. He wondered which was worse: knowing your loved one had been murdered, or the uncertainty of their fate other than knowing they had been taken to the dreaded unknown of the surface by a gang of brutal killers.

After everyone had eaten and was making small talk, June and her family came over. Reznik was surprised to see her back in her duty uniform already.

“Aren’t you entitled to some time off?” he asked her.

She smiled, cheeks flushed from the beer. “I thought it best to get back to work right away to keep my mind off of things.”

“I suppose that isn’t a bad idea,” he said.

“I just wanted to thank you—I didn’t get a chance before since there was so much going on. So, thank you for everything.” She extended her hand and Reznik shook it warmly.

“Glad to be able to help,” he told her sincerely. Her parents thanked him heartily, as well, and he assured them that he was happy to have been of service. He also told them that they should be proud of how strong their daughter had been throughout the ordeal. June blushed at the praise.

After they had left, Reznik finished his beer and was wondering what the best way would be to bow out. Myrna must have read his mind, as she bumped his knee with hers. “Want to get out of here?” she asked with a mischievous smile.