Peering over his shoulder Lucius saw another armour-clad stack enter the transport and head straight for him while their fellows laid down covering fire. When the first figure reached him and placed a hand on his shoulder he knew it was time to act, there was no way he’d survive a gunshot to the head and the law were well known for shooting first and asking any questions later.
Spinning on his knees he took hold of the figure and lifted the man from his feet. Without pausing he shoved him into the next in line and drove his shoulder against them as he stood. The squad’s formation broke and two of them fell to the ground with the force of his momentum. He threw the lead lawman at the rest of them and continued into their ranks. A high velocity charged round zipped past Lucius’ shoulder and struck one of boarders in the chest just as he was about to unload a double-barrelled stub gun at him. He spared a fleeting glance behind and saw Iolaus standing in the doorway taking aim at another target. Cal was preparing himself nearby, taking on a wide stance and levelling the auto cannon.
Lucius needed to move, that thing would wreak havoc in such a small space. He dived to the side, feeling a wrench in his gut that sent blossoms of pain up through his stomach and into his chest. Landing awkwardly he managed an ungainly roll before colliding with one of the loose crates that hadn’t broken apart when they’d landed. There was a heavy thud and the crate shifted slightly, then the hold was filled with the roar of the auto cannon. Lucius edged over to one of the pen’s and pressed himself against the beams. The rounds flew by with vicious disregard, striking anything that dared to stand in their path. He watched as three lawmen fell, struck numerous times before their bodies hit the ground in untidy heaps. Another crate exploded in a spray of splinters and spice as it took the full force of the barrage.
He could just about make out the begrudging shouts of retreat and watched as the well-drilled teams tried to backtrack but they were quickly cut down under the hail of gunfire. When Cal finally did let up there was no-one left standing. The whine of the cannon’s rotating barrels reverberated, ending in a high-pitched overture to the noisy reign of death it had sang only moments before.
Lucius groaned. Sepherene was doing something right but his stomach still hurt like hell.
“Are you done?” he called out.
“That depends stranger, on what you’re meaning to do now,” Cal shouted.
“I don’t mean to do anything, I only want off this lump of metal.”
“I might have to think about that a minute.”
“Oh shut up Cal,” Shon’s voice joined in. “He’s not one of them, didn’t you see him take out that squad before you went and destroyed half our cargo?”
Her scathing comment was met with silence and Lucius heard footsteps approaching where he still sat huddled out of harm’s way. When Shon appeared around the corner of the pen he was halfway to standing. She watched him, her eyes transfixed on his midriff.
“I shot you,” she spoke slowly, “you should be dead, but I don’t even see any wound.”
“You hurt me good enough,” Lucius’ face contorted with the pained effort of movement.
“That energy round should have gone straight through at that range and yet I can only see burns in your clothing. What are you?” she stepped closer.
He met her gaze and stared into the hazel depths, noting the slight slant at the edges of her eyes. “Are you from Vinh Lao?”
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
She looked away. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Absolutely nothing,” he replied quickly, feeling the heat of embarrassment on his cheeks. “I was only asking.”
“You were changing the subject more like,” she accused, as Iolaus joined them.
“You are one lucky sonofabitch,” he announced, leaning the rifle across his shoulder. “First you manage to survive our ditch into the sea while hiding in an empty holding pen and then you avoid both Shon’s pistol and Cal’s auto cannon, not to mention the two squads of lawmen.”
Lucius shrugged. “Does that mean I can go?”
Iolaus pursed his lips and stroked the line of beard that ran down his chin. “I suppose so, but I’m thinking that you owe us one.”
“How’s that exactly?”
“Not only did you get a free ride to Delphin but we just saved your arse,” he decided.
“I think I did my fair share don’t you? And your crew weren’t all that fussy about who they were shooting at either. I’ll give you the free ride though, I can’t argue that it wasn’t useful.”
Shon turned to Iolaus. “You’re not seriously considering letting him go are you?”
Iolaus clicked his tongue in consideration.
Lucius narrowed his eyes. “Do you always let your slaves speak to you like that?”
“Everyone is equal on my ship, I may run drugs but I don’t work slaves,” Iolaus gave a grim smile showing yellow-stained teeth. “What’s your name stowaway?”
“Lucius.”
“Lucius what?”
“I don’t remember.”
Iolaus chuckled. “Lucius will have to do then. Let me tell you about this theory I’ve got Lucius, it’s called the theory of favour. You see, in my book that I’m running I figure that you owe me a favour, so I’ve written down your name alongside a sum of others. This little book has got me out of more scrapes than I’d care to remember and all it’s cost me each time is one simple score through a name – a favour paid. So when I think I might need you for something, I’ll let you know.”
Lucius watched as Cal walked into view and approached one of the stricken lawmen who had started to move on the floor. Dropping the barrel of the auto cannon he fired one short burst and the lawman fell still. “We better get moving boss,” he said. “They’ll send more skimmers when they don’t get an update from this lot.”
Iolaus held out a hand. “Cal’s right, we must get on, there’s lots to do.”
Taking hold of his hand, Lucius felt the man’s grip tighten in a firm shake.
“Nice to meet you Lucius, I’m sure our paths will cross one day soon. Now you must excuse us, we have spice to move.” With that Iolaus released his hand and walked away to join Cal.
Lucius inclined his head and looked over to Shon. “It was a pleasure to meet you as well. I hope you don’t take anything I said the wrong way?”
She gave a faint smile. “I don’t,” she replied and turned her back on him to follow Iolaus. “My apologies for shooting you as well, phuc hau. Now we are even.”
Lucius made his way towards the breach struggling to think how one racial slur could be considered anywhere near comparable to being shot at point blank range, but gave up trying to figure it out when Sepherene decided to interrupt his thoughts.
We should get to the mainland before more trouble arrives. And don’t forget the cloak.
Lucius stopped and cast around for the blood-stained cloak. It was near to where he’d left it, wedged against the side of the hold by a spice crate. Moving over to where it lay he lifted the crate out of the way and picked up the swirling green mantle, stuffing it into his belt before letting the crate drop. A loud clang reverberated about the hold and he looked back at the others. They were all staring at him. Giving a subtle nod, he continued on to the jagged hole and stepped out into the dark night.
