'Aha!' Fink pulled out a first-aid kit and popped the latch on it. 'This will do.'
He found an emergency hypo of immunoboost and peeled the plastic wrapper off with his left hand and his teeth. Holding the hypo up, he turned and glared at Clay's body and then jabbed the hypo in his neck. There was a quick
'Shit, at least it ain't broken. Just dislocated.' He muttered to himself and then yanked his arm outward, popping the bones back in place. 'Fuck!' he screamed.
'Well, come over here and I'll break it for you, if you like,' Dee spat at him.
'You've got spunk, kid. I give you that much. Most kids in your position could be spoiled little worthless brats. But you're not. Oh, well, sometimes life is a meat grinder.'
'You are a disgrace, Fink. A murdering goddamned disgrace and for certain not a U.S. Marine.' Dee struggled against the chair briefly, until she realized that she wasn't going to pull free and was only cutting her bonds more deeply into her wrists. She screamed again in anger.
'Hey, haven't you heard the saying, 'Once a marine always a marine'?' Fink gave her an evil look.
'Yeah, well, apparently, it's just an expression, you piece of shit.'
Chapter 13
July 1, 2394 AD
Sol System, Oort Cloud
Friday, 2:17 PM, Earth Eastern Standard Time
DeathRay finally had a few minutes to himself to relax. Fish had asked him if he wanted to hit the galley and get a drink or two, but it had been a fairly long day already. He pulled his boots off and slid out of his flight suit down to his underwear and crashed onto his rack.
'Long day,' he said audibly. When he was alone he liked to talk to Candis through the speakers in his cabin. Jack had been in the Navy for more than twenty years and didn't see family much. In fact, he only kept in touch with his grandfather, who lived in Texas. Otherwise, he was pretty much alone other than his military family. Candis was as close to a wife as he had. If a small sunflower-seed–sized plastic-coated artificial-intelligence computer installed in his brain counted. He closed his eyes and did a few relaxation breaths. 'We should go on a vacation sometime. Maybe skiing, or to a beach somewhere.'
'You got that right, Jack. You've been saying we were gonna do that for about five years now.' His AIC changed the subject. ' How about that First Daughter?'
'Not bad. Sure not what I'd have expected had I not met her father and mother on a few different occasions. That apple sure didn't fall far from the tree.'
'I think she was kind of, well, interested in you, Captain.'
'What? You're out of your mind, Candis.'
'I'm not so sure, sir. She eyed you pretty closely and hung on every word you said.' Candis had a slight hint of goading in her voice.
'She was in love with the FM- 12s, Candis. Not me.'
'Whatever you say, Jack.'
Jack kept his eyes closed and let his mind wander. He'd been controlling his thoughts all day; driving the quantum mechanics of the DTM links of fighting mecha took a heavy toll on the mental faculties. Most good pilots learned to relax after flying to let their physical body recuperate while letting the mind rest as well.
'No, she sure didn't. I thought she was going to get you for a second there.'
'Not a chance. Just letting her feel that false sense of security before I
