AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The bar was filled with the sound of clinking glasses, murmured and sometimes not-so-murmured conversation, and the occasional burst of either raucous laughter or a bar fight. Yet the area around their table remained quiet and serene, as though a force field surrounded them. Silence reigned as the Reapers communed with their first quiet beer of the evening. It was likely to be followed by several rather louder ones very shortly.
Seated around the table were the rest of his team. Ryke sat with his back against the wall, as always, his ice-blue eyes constantly scanning the bar for signs of danger. Anson didn’t bother; sitting with his back to the room. But every so often, hiske’lathflared as he used the security cameras in the bar to check what was going on around them.
Technically, it was illegal for him to hack systems like that. But even if the owners and staff in many of the facilities they’d visited knew what he was doing, no one had ever challenged Anson on it.
Opposite Covak was Tell, sitting with one hand wrapped around his beer, eyeing it as though it held the meaning to life itself. Covak watched him for a while. He really did look just like any other Lathar, apart from those strange, round-pupiled eyes. But he was a damn good engineer and an even better fighter.
Covak’s brows snapped together. So many of the Lathar seemed to think that humans were small and weak, but that didn’t match what he’d seen. The two human males he’d met were definitely more dangerous than many Lathar. Not as dangerous as a Vorr or a Vorrtan, but no one was perfect. Apart from him, of course.
Sitting next to Ryke, reading through something on a datapad, was Rann, the big, heavy-worlder who was their second in command. He was the one Covak knew the least about… an airof mystery surrounding him that none of them had quite worked out yet. Apparently, only Ryke knew his history, and he wasn’t talking.
The chair beneath him creaked as Covak shifted his weight. He blew out a sigh, finally satisfied after devouring four huge steaks, his belly warm and full. It was rare to find such good food this far out from the center of civilization. Picking up his glass, he slid his fingers against the droplets of condensation that had formed on the outside and lifted it to take a long swallow. The crisp, bitter taste hit his taste buds and slid down his throat like iced silk.Perfect.He drained the glass, set it down with a thud on the table, and then looked around.
“Not bad for something this far out,” he commented. “Food’s good, drink’s good, not seen a fight yet, but we can work on that.”
Anson chuckled, his dark features alight with amusement. “Four steaks? I have no idea how you even fit them in that stomach of yours without puking.”
Laughter filled the air around the table, and Covak grinned, flashing his fangs. “Still a growing boy, me. Takes a lot to fuel this body. You should try eating more sometimes, might put some muscle on those puny little arms of yours.”
“Anson’s all about quality over quantity.” Ryke leaned forward, grinning. “He’s not a food waste disposal unit like you.”
Anson rolled his eyes. “Well, yes, I would have had more than one steak, but Covak had already ordered the kitchen out.”
He grinned, unrepentant. “Yeah, well, just get your order in quicker next time.”
Ryke set his drink down on the table. It was a specific movement, one they were all attuned to. He leaned forward, no amusement in his eyes now; instead, his expression held a seriousness that demanded their attention. Reaching into histhigh pocket, he pulled out a small dataflex and laid it on the table.
“Okay,” his voice cut through the quiet as he leaned forward and pressed a button on the display. Something pushed against Covak’s ear drums as a sound suppression field activated. “We’ve got some new information from the Warborne regarding our target.”
He leaned forward in interest, bracing his muscled forearms on the table. The hum of the bar receded into the background as he focused.
“So this is what we know. Our target’s name is Jane,” Ryke continued, tapping the tablet again. An image flared to life above the tablet in the center of the table, a holographic display that projected a rotating image of the woman Covak had seen before. “Now, that’s obviously not her real name. That’s just the name the humans have given her. We don’t know her real name or where she came from, but the Warborne have sent us everything they could gather on her.”
Ryke tapped away again, and more information joined the holographic image of Jane. His eyes flickered over the information as his mind cataloged every detail.
“She’s not an ordinary target,” Ryke continued. “She’s got some kind of weird DNA; it looks human, but it isn’t. Whatever she is, someone went to great lengths to keep her secret, even from the human authorities. Apparently, none of the human government organizations know anything about her. She’s been moved from place to place, never staying long in one facility.”
He sat back, taking in the information. “So she’s human but not. Why do they want her?”
Ryke raised an eyebrow. “That is a very good point. As far as we can work out from the accounts of the two scientists who were involved in projects around her, she has a specificgenetic makeup that is very similar, apparently, to Zero from the Warborne.”
Anson blinked. “Well, why don’t we just ask him about her then?”
Ryke inclined his head. “That would be the simple answer. Wouldn’t it? Apart from the fact that Zero has absolutely no memory of anything prior to being rescued by the Warborne years ago. He cannot remember where he came from or where he got the cybernetic implants that run through his body.”
Covak blinked. “Well, that’s a pain in the ass.”
“Definitely,” Ryke said, grinning with a flash of straight white teeth. “But when were things ever easy? Things would be boring that way. Wouldn’t they?”
A rumble of chuckles came from around the table, and then the holo-projection changed to show the schematics of a heavily fortified compound. Covak folded his arms. Despite the fact it was obviously human, he recognized the type immediately. It was one of those places where getting in was only half the battle.
“So we’ve just had confirmation that they’re keeping her in this facility,” Ryke said. “It’s high security with multiple guard shifts and what looks like advanced—well, advanced for humans, anyway—tech defenses.”
As one, the Reapers turned to look at Tell. Being human, he knew more about these things than any of them. His expression didn’t alter as he looked over the schematics and then reached out a hand to turn it around and examine it from all angles. Then he nodded.
“Yeah, looks like an Anselm safehouse facility.”
The words meant nothing to Covak. “Anselm? What thedraanthis that?”
