what, he did like that in a woman.
In fact, he liked her more than he wanted to admit. And that, he realized ruefully, made it personal.
He had to get her out of the way or abort, because once it got personal, almost every mission failed. Denny was right about that much, anyway.
14
'I think we lost them,' Jason said, alternating his gaze between the view screen, which showed little but dark, muddy water and the hanging roots of the grasses above them, and the various scanners and sonar the computer was running.
'Good,' Tina said, breathing a sigh of relief. 'Now what?'
'We need to find a place to dock,' he said, engaging the engines and easing the damaged Scorpion through the water. It lacked much of its normal grace and was running on about half its usual power. The currents that would normally be of little consequences buffeted the craft with disturbing force. Jason looked over the damage report again, and knew he needed time to do some repairs on the craft and to try to get it in a position where he had more power and control.
'We'll make port in Blue Whale Bay,' he said. 'I can try to make some repairs there. While I'm doing that, you need to get to the village, pick up your grandfather and get out of here.'
'I think we've had this conversation before,' she said.
'The last time we had this conversation, it was a discussion. This time, it's an order. I need to get you to safety.'
Tina didn't protest any further, which made him automatically suspicious. He knew he was going to have difficulty getting her to comply. His only ace in the hole was that he knew she would want to keep her grandfather safe and unharmed.
They slowly glided to shallow water, and the Scorpion's legs found land. He guided the machine behind a large rock formation that jutted out into the water. The jostling was made even worse by the damage they had taken in battle. He looked at his maintenance monitor again and realized that he was leaking fluid from one of the legs and it was barely supporting any weight. Jason didn't wait for the shutdown, but ordered the internal repairs that the system could do on its own. All of the damage couldn't be righted with the repair, but he thought it should be enough to stabilize the machine.
Jason tried to scan the area for life before they left the Scorpion, but was unable to get that sensor array up and running. They'd just have to take their chances. He popped the door and he and Tina slid down to the ground. Cramped legs and freezing temperatures made them both move a little more slowly than normal. Jason scanned the water's edge, but couldn't even detect a small ripple.
'Looks like we…'
The words weren't completely out of his mouth before Tina's scream rent the air. Jason turned, poised to shoot, but paused when he saw Sheriff Giles holding a gun under her chin. Tina's struggling stopped when he cocked the pistol.
'Giles, what the hell are you doing?' she yelled.
'Let her go, Sheriff,' Jason said. 'She isn't a threat to you.'
'Oh, I beg to differ,' Chris said, stepping out of the shadows, flanked by his friend Troy. 'Ever since you showed up, our little Tina has become quite the nuisance.' They moved to stand next to the sheriff, both of them with guns drawn and pointed at Jason.
He didn't blink.
Jason took each breath carefully, waiting for the opportune moment. He inched forward, pressing his body weight onto the balls of his feet, seeking that minute second when he could strike.
'I wouldn't do that if I were you,' a voice said from behind him.
Jason glanced and saw his brother moving closer, aiming a nice new Russian assault rifle at his midsection. He turned more fully to stare past the rifle and into Jesse's eyes. He had already made the decision that he was going to have to kill him, but if they hurt Tina, he mentally promised a slow death. Surprised at the intensity of his own feelings, he pushed them aside.
'So,' Jason sneered, 'are you actually going to shoot me with the rifle or just hold it and keep on playing soldier?'
Jesse shrugged, indifferent. 'You or your girlfriend,
'How nice for you,' Jason said.
Chris moved away from the group and walked around the Scorpion, then tried to take a look inside. Jason had already set the vehicle to automatically lock if unoccupied for more than two minutes. Chris pried at the door, but it wouldn't budge. He jogged away then returned with a crowbar. Jason couldn't help but laugh.
'You think it's funny to have your little toy smashed?' Chris said.
'No,' Jason said. 'I think it's funny that you're going to try. The shell is a modified titanium skin, and it's been positively charged.'
'What the hell does that mean?' Chris demanded.
'It means that the locking mechanisms have been engaged,' Jason replied, 'and there's no way in hell you're getting in without a key.'
'Yeah, well, I have my skeleton key right here.'
Chris took a swing at the Scorpion. The crowbar connected with the hull, and the ion field immediately reacted to the negatively charged magnetic particles in the crowbar. Twenty-five thousand volts of electricity arced through the metal with the tangy smell of ozone and a buzzing noise, tossing Chris to the ground in a jerking heap.
'That's a pretty lousy key you've got there, Chris,' Jason said. 'And as for what a positively charged field does, I think you probably understand it better now than I could ever explain it to you. Am I right?'
'That's enough!' Giles barked. 'Chris, get up, damn it.'
Troy moved to help Chris up, and Jason thought about using that moment to launch an assault, but even as he tensed his muscles, he saw that Jesse's gaze wasn't the least bit distracted. 'You're not that fast,' he said.
Jason felt the muscles along his jawline clench in frustration, but he knew that his brother was speaking the truth. No one was that fast.
'All right,' Giles said. 'Let's get back to base. Troy, you and Chris in the first truck, with Jesse and Jason in the back. Tina can ride with me. That way, the hero won't get any funny notions about a rescue attempt.'
'Fine,' Chris snapped. 'Let's do it. I know there are a few questions that I would like some answers to.'
'What about the machine?' Troy asked.
'Leave it,' Chris said. 'We don't need it right away and it's not going anywhere. Besides, there are other things that I'd like to focus my attention on right now. There's some information that I need, and Tina and I are way overdue for our heart-to-heart conversation.' He turned a leering grin in her direction. 'Isn't that right, my dear?'
He leaned in closer to Tina and ran a finger along her cheek. She tilted her head invitingly and he dropped his head closer to hers. Jason saw her muscles tense and knew what she had planned. She launched forward, slamming her head into his nose with a resounding crunch.
Chris screamed in agony, and it was enough of a distraction, moving Jesse's eyes just a fraction of an inch. Jason spun and grabbed the barrel of the rifle, yanking it forward and out of Jesse's hands.
'Wha…' Chris managed to get out before Jason spun the rifle like a baton and drove the stock into his brother's chin with a crack.
Tina jumped away from Giles and Chris, moving to his side, and they began to run when Giles shouted, 'Don't!' A shot from his pistol ricocheted off the rocks. They slammed to a halt.
As Jesse grabbed the rifle from Jason's hands, Chris got to his feet, blood pouring from his shattered nose. 'Oh, you fucking bitch,' he said. 'I knew you wouldn't come quietly.'
'She isn't the one that's going to have the information your boss wants,' Giles said. 'We should kill her and be done with it. We've wasted enough time.'
