Executing Justice Read online

  Bending his legs, he studied the bindings. Pre-Indy War wrist restraints. He smiled. They would be old and maybe brittle. With that in mind, Tomi slowly began rubbing his legs up and down in opposite directions and was quickly rewarded with a twang as they gave. One more thing in my favor. If only he could get his hands free. The more he tugged and pulled though, the less agile his hands became. By the end, they felt swollen and useless.

  Another quick glance around the room didn’t immediately offer any solutions to his problem, so he slumped onto the unforgiving surface.

  A sound caught his attention and he glanced up in time to see the door creak open.

  A female, slight and cautious, slipped into the cell. “I brung you a drink, mister.” Her voice rasped, and the raging thirst he’d ignored grew.

  “Thank you.” He watched, noting the matting hanks of hair, dirty space coverall, and bare feet. He couldn’t see her face, but he could smell the waft of stale sweat and sex that emanated from her. His gag reflex pulsed and he swallowed hard. She stiffened for an instant, before whatever emotion melted away.

  She bobbed her head and came closer. “You done freed your feet. Master won’t be happy.”

  “Where am I?”

  The girl, he was sure she wasn’t very old, held out a cup with a straw, and he ignored any concerns of what might be on it, drawing deeply. Water, cool and fresh, slid down the back of his throat, and he felt his body relaxing.

  When she tugged the cup away, he sighed. “Thank you.”

  Her startled gaze turned his stomach. No one probably thanked her for anything, he realized.

  “You be on a boat.” As if she’d done something wrong, she whipped around. “I gotta go.” Then she hurried like a scared rabbit back through the heavy door. It thudded closed and he heard the grating turn of a lock.

  Master. She called whoever she was scared of that and it made Tomi feel ill. The man was obviously using her in every way possible. Tomi promised himself that at the end of this ordeal, when he was saved, he’d take her with him. Offer her sanctuary and help. Find her family.

  “You need to get out before you can help her.” He muttered the words, willing himself to try again. Heavy thuds and a cry filled the air and he looked up, startled, but no one came. Then it was silent again.

  * * * *

  Rain fell. The air outside turned cool and puffs of steam rose from her mouth as Gillian jogged to her car. After tonight, she was more wary than ever, and she glanced around as if she expected one of the searchers from earlier to emerge from the darkness.

  Under the solar-generated lamps, her vulnerability slammed home. There she was, on her own, with no one person she could call on for help. As Gillian waved the data key over the sensor, the door unlocked and she slumped into the vehicle seat with a grateful sigh. A touch of the ignition and a simple request for destination were attended to and she waited as the late model air-car rose in the sky.

  “Let him be safe.” As expected, there was no response.

  She traveled several miles before the car made a quiet and efficient landing on a well-guarded street. She’d never been here before, though Tomi had offered on more than one occasion for her to ‘tag along’ as he called it. Because of the depth of her feelings for him, it had always seemed wise to avoid those kinds of social and personal interactions. There had been no use in dreaming of what she couldn’t have, she’d reasoned. Now she damned herself for her foolish scruples.

  As Gillian climbed from the small vehicle, a light shone on her. “Who are you? State your business.” A young man in a tidy military uniform of gray-blue stepped forward.

  She squinted in the strong light, feeling at a disadvantage. “Madam Kumi contacted me. My name is Gillian.”

  Before she could finish her answer, he stepped back and away. “Ah yes, Madam Kumi informed me that we should expect you. Come this way.” The officer executed a perfect military one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn on his heel with a squeak before he marched out of the light.

  Gillian followed him toward a metal entry hidden behind lush shrubbery. The gate swung open in silence and beyond it she saw the silhouette of a house, a single light flickering in a window.

  The guard crunched up the path and she shadowed him, feeling insignificant and out of place. He stopped at the door, gave two precise raps then stepped back.

  The door flung open. “Gillian! I’m so pleased you’re here.” The whirlwind that was Kumi flung her arms around Gillian’s shoulder, pulling her close. “We need your help.”

  Urgent hands tugged her inside and Gillian heard the thud of a door closing at her back, but kept her eyes forward. The entrance was large but comfortable, paneled in dark wood and bronze. Kumi pulled her into another white painted room. Overstuffed couches—real antiques, Gillian was sure—vied for space among technical gadgetry, but the effect seemed right. In the corner waited a man. He was more like a hulking mountain, but Gillian knew him. He was Carmichael Snow, husband to Kumi Ito.

  Gillian stopped, unable to proceed. The last time she’d seen him was at her brother’s sentencing. She didn’t like the man all that much, not after he’d dragged her from Tomi’s office like a criminal.

  “Miss Edgemont, I’m pleased you’re here.” His voice boomed and she started.

  “Really? I doubt that, Captain. After all, you arrested me, removed me forcibly from my office. Arrested my brother…” She stopped and drew an unsteady breath. Her hand rose unconsciously to her throat.

  “I was doing my job.” He shrugged.

  She supposed he was, but it wasn’t something she could accept lightly. He’d humiliated her and now, because of his actions, her brother was incarcerated on a moon base and she was unemployable.

  “Carmichael? Gillian? Come sit down and we can discuss the problem.” Kumi moved gracefully to the seats and lowered herself into a deep chair.

  Once again, Gillian was filled with the sense of unreality. She followed Kumi’s example though and sank into the comfortable cushions. “So what do you need from me?” Gillian kept her gaze on Carmichael as she waited for his answer.

  He shifted behind her and she craned, looking to see him pick up a small, hand based unit. “Tomi was taken from his home. He only had time to set the emergency distress button on his chrono. But they are using some kind of a blocker. We can’t trace him. I need—we need you to initiate a bounce-back sequence that will allow us to override the blocking. Kumi says you have extraordinary computation skills, which I’ve seen before. But this is different. Can you do it?”

  Thinking fast, she nodded. “Depending on what kind of program his chrono device is using, I might be able to. Do you have—” The tablet was thrust into her hands and she sighed. “Okay, let me take a look.”

  Slowly, she traced her hands over the initial transmission. A Chrono-Desi-Five… Hard to hack, good quality. She’d known someone working for the company years ago, during her final years at college, and he was always yapping about the tiny glitch in the coding he’d been working on.

  “I can break this.”

  Her fingers flew over the screen, tracking the entry sequence and entering the override password he’d once let slip. Every now and again, a failsafe message would flicker on the screen. The security features of the chrono were extensive. It took several hours to make her way through the layers of security. The sun rose as she huddled over the device. At some point, a drink was thrust into her hands and she gratefully gulped it down.

  The touch of gentle fingers and a quiet, “Take a break,” broke her concentration momentarily. She looked up to see concern on Kumi’s face.

  “I’m nearly there. All I have to do is—”

  “You’ve been at it for seven hours. You need a break. If you make a mistake because you’re tired, it won’t help Tomi.” Then Kumi bit her lip, her eyes turning watery.

  Carmichael drew Kumi close and Gillian turned away, feeling like a voyeur at the intimate embrace. “We’ll find him, Kumi. If Gillian ca
n find and break the override command, access the repeating code…”

  Gillian’s heart sank at the question in his voice. Carmichael didn’t believe she could do it. Angry with him and herself, she dragged the screen close again and scrutinized the code. “There you are.” She breathed the words and smiled. She’d found the repeating code and the link to his chrono embedded within it.

  Chapter 2

  The seep of cold into Tomi’s bones was causing him issues. His bladder was full to bursting and his teeth chattered. It wasn’t so bad before, but now... Tomi huddled on the floor, wishing for a bathroom, a blanket, and rescue.

  It had been hours since the girl had brought him a drink. Hours when wherever he was had been as silent as a grave and he felt a pang of fear for the girl. Then a sliver of light had appeared and he’d breathed deeply.

  Now, after all these long hours, a creak warned him that someone was about to enter. Was it the mysterious Master, the girl, or someone else?

  It was the girl again, but this time she was unsteady on her feet.

  “Are you okay?” He leaned forward and grimaced as an arc of pain seared his shoulders.

  She flinched away and his stomach roiled. “Master says you need to pee.” She stretched out her arm, covered in the grimy coverall. In her hand was a bucket. He looked at it, revolted by the thought he’d have to relieve himself in front of her. “You stand, I’ll help.”

  “I’d rather…” The thought of doing something so intimate in front of her was more than an indignity. It stripped away the layers of civilization. Why were they doing this? And why to him? The thought he’d been grappling with since waking still had no answer.

  She shrank back. “Master says bucket.” Then she pressed the receptacle in his direction again.

  Tomi needed to go urgently and this might be his only chance for some time. He bit back the sounds of discomfort as he pushed his feet beneath himself. The girl slid a hand under his armpit and hauled. He wobbled uncertainly to his feet, focused on a point ahead of himself while the girl helped him to attend to business. When it was done, he slumped back to the floor, feeling somehow less human.

  “Why am I here?”

  He noted the way the girl stilled. “Master says not to talk.” She collected the bucket and made for the door before stopping. She glanced in the direction of the heavy barrier then back at him. Tomi could read the fear and loathing in her eyes before a single silvery tear escaped and ran down her grubby cheek. Silently, she plopped the container on the floor and tiptoed back. “He was a pilot. In the war. You are… He says you’re a senator. Important. That by holding you, they can fix what’s wrong.”

  Her words troubled him. “But I can’t change what has been agreed on. What does he think…” But she’d already turned away and grasped the knob in her hand.

  So they think that by abducting me they can…what? Gain some kind of privileges? Change the outcome of the war? The planets that had chosen to join the Federation had done so willingly. His head ached and he rested it against the wooden pole.

  “Gods, Gillian, I wish…” He swallowed the words. He’d chosen never to act on his interest before. Now it was all too late. She probably didn’t even know he was missing.

  Closing his eyes, he conjured up the sight of her—her rich red hair, the vibrant green eyes, her quirky smile. If only he—

  A rumble grew beneath his feet and his eyes snapped open. “What’s going on?”

  The roar grew louder and the floor began to buck. Thuds and shouts alerted him that there was something wrong. A crunching sound filled the air and the boat shimmied hard to the left before returning to its previous situation. Gushing sounds filled the air, replacing the rumble. A shudder rippled through the boards beneath him.

  “Barsha!” The swear word erupted from his mouth and he struggled to rise.

  The sounds of a ship in distress echoed. It occurred to him that distress was probably a mild word to use, given the list of the boat.

  Once again, Tomi tried tugging at his bonds, but they held tight, and the knot in his belly became a coil of snakes. If he didn’t get loose quickly, he might be going down with what he suspected was a doomed ship.

  The door flung open as a whine of engines split the air before petering away. Clearly, someone had gotten away from the vessel. “Master’s gone. I’ll release you.” The girl, who’d been so terrorized before, now carried a large knife.

  For a second, disquiet filled him, but he nodded. He had to get out of there and he was fairly sure she would release him. At least, he hoped that was the plan.

  She scurried behind his back like a frightened rabbit. Quick and efficient moves freed his hands and the flow of blood left him hissing as the tearing pain in his shoulders swelled before the worst gradually seeped away.

  Tomi moved further from the pole where he’d been secured for hours, grabbing the girl’s hand and dragging her. “We need to get out of here.”

  She let him lead her from the room before stopping and holding her ground. “I can’t swim.”

  Her sudden words had him whipping around. “What?”

  She raised her head, fear evident in her eyes. “I can’t swim. You must save me.”

  * * * *

  Gillian crowded into the cabin of the scout Carmichael had commandeered on short notice. The tablet remained on her lap and she kept tweaking the code, trying to stay one step ahead of its evolution.

  “Whose idea was it to have a morphing code base?” Carmichael groused, and this time, Gillian had to agree. It would have been much simpler if the script hadn’t been constantly changing.

  “It’s so that anyone who does manage to crack it can’t follow the wearer of the chrono.” Right now, that is of no help to anyone. Her stomach was curled into a million hard knots in the pit of her belly. She rubbed her hands surreptitiously over her tummy, but it didn’t ease the pain.

  “Sir, we are approaching the location given. But, uh, there’s a problem.” The pilot’s voice was perturbed and a million flies took wing in Gillian’s stomach.

  Carmichael leaned forward and cursed.

  “What’s wrong?” The mass in Gillian’s belly grew worse with the harried words of the pilot. She hunched in his direction, but the bulk of Carmichael’s back obscured her view.

  “There’s a vessel in distress. It’s sinking. If that’s it…”

  Fear clutched her and shook the small amount of comfort she’d derived from helping Carmichael look for Tomi. “The chrono is waterproofed too.” She gulped, knowing that he was out there, somewhere in the vast inky blackness of the water. And that it would keep emitting as long as she kept altering the search.

  At this time of the year, the sun wouldn’t rise until at least ten-thirty or eleven and she shuddered, letting her mind play with the fact that it might already be too late. He could already be dead and floating in the water.

  “We’ll find him, Carmichael. I know we will. He’s resourceful and used to pleasure craft.” Kumi’s voice shook, but the words offered a modicum of relief to Gillian. Surely, somehow, Kumi would know. But why should she, reality whispered. Gillian curled her fingers and the bite of her nails on the fleshy palm of her hand was a lifeline.

  The shuttle swooped, its trajectory taking them closer to the water’s surface. She could see the ripples and swirls now from the engine of the damaged ship through the large forward window. A dim glow of moonlight flickered and danced on the waves. She sat in her seat, silently willing the craft to move faster. To hurry.

  “What is that?” The pilot shifted in his seat and he fiddled with some toggles, the viewing window replaced with a screen. “Increase view five hundred degrees.” A grainy image rose, and Gillian’s stomach clenched, the bow of a ship sitting proud in the water. “Sir?”

  “Is that the ship we are looking for?” Carmichael’s voice sounded strained in the now silent cockpit.

  “It’s in the correct location. But sir, if that’s it… It could be too late.” The
pilot didn’t turn around, but he must have realized the atmosphere in the tiny craft was fraught.

  “Just do it.” Gillian gazed at Carmichael, noting the tension in his shoulders.

  “Yes, sir.”

  The scout powered on and Gillian kept her gaze on the screen. Behind her, she could hear the sound of a hiccup as Kumi took in what wasn’t said. Carmichael moved, brushing past Gillian. For a moment, she would have given anything for anyone to offer her comfort. But they didn’t. She really had no claim on Tomi, except as his past employee, so she concealed her pain and distress, bowed her head over the tablet, and kept working, even though tears blurred her vision.

  It seemed like hours until the pilot called out, “Sir, there’s someone out there!”

  She snapped her head up, and behind her, Kumi gasped.

  “I’ll get the safety harness,” Carmichael called.

  “Negative, sir. I have men trained for this.” The pilot’s voice was calm but firm, and Gillian allowed herself a small grin, though that quickly died away. After all, it might not be Tomi.

  Even as Gillian scanned the view, she noted that the pilot slipped a headpiece over his ear so he could communicate with the rescue worker. She wished she knew who was in the water, but his words were too low to overhear.

  In the main cabin, she could hear bangs and groaning equipment. The scene on the view screen changed to the belly of their craft. She could see a man dangling in the air, and in the water, someone clutching another person. She said a silent prayer that one of them was Tomi.

  Tension rose in the cabin, thick and heady. The rescuer plunged into the cold waters. A harness was handed over and gripped while the officer dealt with the other. From the movements, Gillian could tell that the person was panicked. Slowly, the first harness rose and she could tell it wasn’t Tomi, as the person had long hair and bare legs. She sucked in a breath as the second person in the water was assisted into another harness, then he or she rose with the rescuer. Even though she craned, the outline of the officer obscured her view. She sucked in an unsteady breath, clenched her hands together, and waited.