Despite Rivers’ constant assurances that missing the lunar lunacy had been a blessing in disguise, Dailey felt cheated out of imagined glory. She was convinced she was destined for bigger and better things. She just needed her fifteen minutes. Thus, every perimeter patrol, every nightly round, every little traffic stop to investigate a suspicious vehicle … all became akin to the Charge of the Light Brigade. She was gung-ho, trigger happy and quick to escalate any situation, often, in his opinion, to allow her the opportunity to make her mark.
Frankly, she scared the shit out of him!
As a result, Rivers simply found her difficult to work with. She was combative, insubordinate and, most of all, unreliable, especially in situations where teamwork was crucial. When the chips were down and you needed someone covering your six, you needed to know they were there. Someone like Dailey, who had their own agenda … you never knew if you could count on them or not. Loose ends like her got people killed.
Ironically, they rarely got themselves bagged and boxed. It was usually the people who depended on them that suffered. More oft than not, the Daileys of the world got to walk away unblemished, shrugging their shoulders and murmuring, “Geez! I dunno what happened!”
The black aerocraft that descended from the sky set off every alarm bell Rivers had. He’d never seen one like it … The Authority didn’t have anything like it, not even black ops, at least not as far as he’d seen on his tour of duty. Zone Patrol sure as hell didn’t have anything close.
This was some bad juju.
He felt that familiar flutter of nerves in his stomach as his finger moved to the trigger of the laser rifle slung across his chest, but it suddenly felt inadequate. Whoever was inside a craft like that wouldn’t be toting laser rifles.
“What the fuck is that?” He heard Dailey behind him. She’d been scanning IDs at their patrol vehicle, stopping any HC that looked even remotely suspicious. Her presence did nothing to calm the roiling in his gut. He wished, for once, she’d simply do her job and continue to operate her post.
He knew, of course, that was way too much to ask.
“I dunno.” He didn’t have time to dress her down right now. His eyes locked on the trio of heavily armed men that disembarked from the craft as it hovered a few feet off the ground. They were attired in uniforms as black as the vehicle they were exiting, making it appear as if it were birthing live offspring.
Fuck! ARAs! Rivers felt his entire body tense. This day was quickly turning to shit. He glanced back over his left shoulder to Dailey.
“Bounty hunters!” he hissed.
“What’re they doing here?” she shot back, her voice cracking, even higher than the usual irritating screech that was her norm.
“I dunno … just keep your mouth shut and lemme do the talking!” As soon as he said those words, he realized it was wasted breath.
“Hello!” Three greeted the two security guards with a smile, but Rivers saw the man’s eyes were on his weapon, his sidearm. He was sizing them up, taking inventory.
“Gentlemen,” Rivers replied, eyes dancing from man to man. “What brings you to Whitesburg Estates?” He was doing the same and quickly assessed that he and Dailey were severely outgunned. The pulse rifles these boys were toting were badass. He and Dailey carried police-grade lasers. While they were designed mainly for non-lethal subjugation, those matte-black beauties the mercs brandished were designed for one thing, death and destruction. Holy fuck! They even had rocket tubes attached! These fuckers weren’t playing!
Their manner, attire and weaponry were very similar to some black ops he’d seen on Luna. These guys hadn’t been military. They’d been something else. Shadow units. They’d operated autonomously, answering to only the highest Authority officials. They carried out clandestine missions involving God-knew what … but Rivers had heard rumors. Water supplies poisoned. Colonial units infiltrated. Rebel leaders assassinated. They were ruthless and efficient in the execution of their tasks and feared by friend and foe alike.
And now, he was staring at carbon copies of those evil bastards.
“We’re here to execute a fugitive apprehension order,” Three informed Rivers matter-of-factly. “We are federally licensed Asset Retrieval Agents. As such, you are required by law to neither interfere or impede us in the course of our duties. In fact, you’re legally obligated to aid us, should we require your assistance. Are we on the same course, Officer …?” He glanced at the name patch on the guard’s body armor. “Rivers.”
“Where’s this going down?” Robbie asked. “What’s the address? Has the Zone Patrol been notified?”
The bounty hunter’s fake smile twitched ever-so-slightly, but he managed to maintain it. When he spoke again, his voice was as cold as a glacier. “That’s ‘need-to-know’ data … and a couple of rent-a-cops like you two … you’ve been told all you need to know.”
“Three …” Seven spoke up.
“Why you’re an arrogant asshole, aren’t you?” Dailey sneered at Three. “Especially for a bunch that got their asses kicked.” She saw the shadow pass across his face, the jaw clench, and delighted in the knowledge that her body blow had hit home.
“Shaddup!” Robbie shot back at her, his gut twisted into a knot.
“Fuck that!” She stepped forward, and River instantly detected the slightest tensing in the men’s stance as she mouthed off. “You don’t know who these guys are? They’re the ones who got their hats handed to them by that old rocket jockey down at the Spaceport Inn the other night. Now they wanna get all up in our cockpits.”
Three eyed the woman as if she were a cockroach. “You need to muzzle your pet there, hoss,” his voice reeked with disdain.
There was a second of intense silence while the two exchanged fiery glances. Before cooler heads could
