She did have one thing. She still had Tiger’s basic plan. Find a ship, get to space and make your way to the man Tiger called Cap’n. Simple enough. She just had to figure out how to do it.
First, she had to get Lulah’s kids to safety. She’d never forgive herself if anything happened to them. She had to find someone she could trust with them. She couldn’t leave them with just anyone. She had to know without a shadow of a doubt they were safe.
But who?
Once she got them to safety, she would have to find a way off the planet. She remembered Tiger talking to someone on the moon … a Baroness. She would find a way to get to her. Amber was confident that if anyone could help her, she could.
Of course, she had somehow to travel the 238,000 miles to Luna without any funds, without her big, bushy tail, fox ears and two sets of breasts being discovered … oh, and never mind the fact she was wanted by a large, multi-billion-point corporation that would spare no expense in finding her.
Piece of cake.
Well, she wasn’t going to get there sitting here doing nothing. Time to go to work.
***
Lulah sat, desolate and cold, in the cramped troop section of the aerocraft as it raced toward Monte Sano. She thought about her children, and she wanted to sob, but she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Not in front of these bastards.
Still, her heart broke into pieces, those pieces broke into pieces, and those pieces as well … and on and on …
The genetic abomination that looked like a wolf and introduced itself as Grant was sitting in the cockpit. Like Amber, he was a stunningly beautiful creature, exquisitely designed and quite handsome. His custom-made black battle suit included a PolyRmor full torso protector, thigh and shin guards, and a gun belt featuring twin rail pistols holstered in a cross-draw fashion. He spoke very articulately and had a soothing voice, but one look in his eyes told Lulah he was also very dangerous. There was no way he could hide the glint of his lupine heritage. A real animal was lurking behind that genteel façade.
A predator. An alpha. A killer.
Cutter sat beside her, trying to comfort her, but she would have nothing to do with him. She barely even acknowledged his presence. The fact that he’d been involved in this only confirmed her suspicions. It also proved to her how badly the deck against Tiger was stacked. She silently prayed he’d somehow figured this out by now. He’d suspected it, but hadn’t been sure. Hopefully, he’d had his suspicions confirmed.
In the corner of the passenger compartment, taking up two full seats, sat the other abomination Grant had called Sherman. The very sight of it had caused her heart to skip a beat. She’d felt the creature’s eyes upon her. When she looked up, it would quickly avert them. As monstrous as it was, it seemed quite shy and awkward. And as she studied it, out of the corner of her eye, outrageous was almost an understatement. It had massive, hulking shoulders, and the black-matte body armor it wore only made them seem even more abundant. A gigantic head looked like some giant doll maker had pressed it too far down into the torso, as the neck area was virtually nil. Canines as thick as a man’s finger were visible the few times it opened its mouth to mutter something to the human merc called Seven.
At first, she’d thought its eyes were cold and emotionless, but as she stole quick, sideways glances at it, she gradually became convinced that wasn’t the case. She thought she detected a perpetual sadness. No, more like loneliness. It reminded her in many ways of the Beast in the ancient fairy tale: the one she read to Brittain from her bedtime stories holobook. Yet, unlike that poor, cursed Prince of lore, with this … thing … there had been no spell cast upon it. No love could save it. It was a creature of science, the blending of animal savagery and human cruelty for one purpose; to kill, brutally and without mercy or pause.
She also sensed the isolation that curse had wrought upon it. It hadn’t asked to be created a killer. It did what it was told. Did it hate what it did? Did it hate its lot in life? Had it reluctantly resigned itself to its fate?
She looked at Cutter, who’d leaned his head against the bulkhead, eyes closed, dozing lightly. Here was another breed of animal. One that had willingly chose to become a murderer. He seemed to enjoy what he did, with never a hint of regret. He hadn’t been made in a laboratory. He’d been spawned in the crime-infested, white-trash pod park where he’d grown up. Even a stint as a spacer couldn’t get Rocket Town out of him.
She was surrounded by killers and monsters, regardless of how or where they were released. Some were human, some not. But they all had one common denominator. Killing was just a means to an end for them.
So, what fate awaited her now? What would she be used for in this game of death and betrayal?
Grant guided the AC gunship down onto the private pad behind Senator Denton’s estate with a surprisingly deft touch. Seven pulled the hatch open as soon as the rubber wheels contacted magnicrete. He was the first one to debark, out of the craft and moved purposefully toward the mansion with a ground-eating gait.
Sherman was the next one
