Jack This Heart, page 6
She shifted from foot to foot, peering into the bed of the hauler, shifting the tarp around.
“Could you hurry?”
Her mouth formed a tiny O, and she tossed the tarp completely off, grabbed the platform and jogged over to him. “You could have said the thing that looks like a box but isn’t a box. That would have made more sense.”
She set the platform at his feet, and he carefully maneuvered the element onto it.
“You could have just grabbed the black object that looked to be the same size. Jesus, you find excuses for everything.”
She frowned and crossed her arms. “It’s not an excuse. I’m a fan of clear communication.”
“Well, let’s clear this up then.” He motioned between them, despising how the lower part of his anatomy appreciated those wind-swept curls and the sheen of perspiration on her forehead. “I’m real good at looking and not touching. You would benefit from the same.”
“You arrogant sonuva—”
“And you might want to grab that tarp the wind’s about to carry away. That’s what’s going to keep you from spending the night on the cold hard ground.”
She spun around and took off on a dash, swearing as she went. The panic in her face, the mad flail of her arms and legs toward the tarp, had Jack almost in tears and his belly hurting from laughing so much.
He set the solar panels in place, opened the element up, exposing the coils, and flipped the switch. The element hummed to life, a noise that meant warmth would soon be theirs. Hard to believe people used to burn things as a source of fuel. Technology allowed them to use smaller engines, similar to those on the ships, to spread heat and electricity to others. Bone powder fueled them, in small quantities. Nothing like what a ship would power. Five grams could fuel a whole gang-town for months.
“That’s it!” Shannon all but hurled the tarp at him, the corner of the woven plastic sheeting hitting him in the face. “I need a drink. Tell me you packed something of the shine or ale variety.”
Jack shook his head as he folded the tarp up. “Nope, water only this trip. No sense drinking on a job. We can’t afford to be caught unaware. Especially going into unknown territory.”
“Unbelievable. I’m on a trip with a member of the Mars Protectorate. You’re a killjoy, Jack.”
He almost took offense at being compared to those stick-up-the-ass jerks that worked for the Mars Commission, but he firmly believed in being safe. “I’m responsible.”
“Being responsible only ever got someone bored. You finish the camp. I’m going to the checkpoint bar.”
“I don’t think—”
“That’s right, you don’t. I do. And, I say it’s worth a little reconnaissance. Know what we are traveling into over the border. See if there are any new disputes between gangs. Possible slither sightings. We need to be at our best. I won’t get that info huddling next to you.”
He wanted to argue against the idea, but there was a glint to her gaze that said she was set in her mind to do this. Any rebuttal would only fuel her fire. Just like my mom. “Fine, do what you want. I’m about finished anyway. Should I prepare dinner?”
“I’ll get something there,” she said, already walking away and waving off his concern. He watched her for a minute as she headed off, tempted to go with her.
Being in a room full of people would be far better than being left alone with his thoughts, with the growing realization that soon he might not even be able to lift the element at all. Or have control over his body, not just his leg.
Keep working.
That was the way to fend off horrible thoughts and ideas. He made a meal out of dried meat, a bread packet which coagulated with fresh water into a dumpling the size of his palm and seasoned vegetables, vacuum sealed for freshness. Hell, Rune had packed pickled carrots too. It was like a little feast just for him.
He enjoyed the food, paying attention to the noises. A few howls in the distance, a soft breeze, the chilly night air.
Anything to keep his focus from the potential of what would happen with failure of this mission. He gathered the tarp under his head and lay at the entrance to the tent to stare at the stars and get the blankets warm in front of the element before moving them inside the tent.
They couldn’t fail at this chance to cure the nanites, but trusting Shannon…
“Jack!”
His name was like a long cry on the wind. Funny how her voice carried to him like an audible mirage. He was damn tired, starting to imagine her crying out.
“Jack, we have to go!” Closer, louder.
Jack sprang up onto the balls of his boot-encased feet. Shannon was running toward him, panting, her eyes wide as she glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the checkpoint then back again.
He groaned. “What happened?”
“We have to leave now!”
Dust kicked up around and behind Shannon as she ran. She didn’t head for the tent, but the hauler.
She dared to look again. At least four of the ten that had been in the bar had followed. She’d planned on one drink, maybe two. Ask the locals about the latest news. Sell her story as a long-lost Zephyr returning to the roost.
Then had come the offer of a card game. A little rum-running. It had been called another name once upon a time on Earth, but the goal was always to get more throuples of suits or numbers on the table than the other person.
And you never know when to stay no.
“Jack, what the hell are you doing?” She focused back on him as she climbed into the hauler’s driver seat.
Instead of getting his ass to the vehicle as requested, Jack had the tarp and a blanket draped over one shoulder and was struggling to move fast with the heating element in both hands.
“Damn it.” She hopped out and helped him. The damn man shouldn’t have been lifting heavy things to begin with, and she’d remember that for the future.
Once the element was in the bed of the hauler and Jack had covered it with the tarp, he turned to head back to the tent.
She snagged him by the arm and pulled with all her strength. It barely stopped him. “What are you doing?”
“The tent? The food stores? We need those.”
The angry voices were closer. A pistol shot fired and the laser bolt carrying it hit the tent dead on. The electricity caused enough of a spark to catch the fabric on fire.
“Looks like they just solved the dilemma for us. We have to leave, Jack. Right now or this mission ends before it begins.”
He growled. “Fine.”
Scrambling into the hauler, she ended up in the driver’s seat, being on that side of the vehicle. More laser bolts whizzed right over head. One hit the door of the hauler with a screech of electricity against metal.
Thank heavens it didn’t get through. Too close.
“Yikes, let’s roll.” She put everything in gear and took off. Here’s hoping what supplies we still have are bolted down.
Ten solar minutes later, the checkpoint was long gone and they were officially in Auster territory.
“Do you mind telling me now what the hell happened?”
Chapter Eight
Familiar sights were already assailing her. The rock formations she’d seen any number of times on trips to the checkpoint to sell Zephyr goods and steal from visitors. Yeah, her family and her friends weren’t the most honest.
The direction they had headed in was the right one. Their only problem was they couldn’t drive all night. She was exhausted. The four drinks she’d slung back of that corn mash weren’t helping either.
“A misunderstanding is what happened.” She kept her foot on the accelerator, feeding a steady stream of fuel to the hauler’s engine.
“I think we’re well out of range you can quit speeding across open plains. We don’t need to hit something.”
She let out an uneasy breath. Her heart was still pounding in her chest. If she spoke her true feelings, Jack would think she was crazy, but she’d never felt so alive. “Another reason I’m driving. Auster doesn’t have all the wildlife.”
“Then what about that rock?”
Shannon immediately started to slow down, steering the hauler out of the way of the giant boulder dead center in their path. “Exactly why driving at night isn’t ideal.”
“We can slow down any time you want, and you can explain yourself. Since we just lost almost a week’s worth of supplies and our tent.” The low tone of Jack’s voice and the way he kept his hand locked on the frame of the hauler door were clear signs his patience was waning.
She kept driving, her hands gripping the steering wheel tight. “Like I said, they misunderstood. I went in for a drink and then a couple of the men offered to let me in on their card game. A little friendly betting, drinks and whatnot. I won a few rounds and naturally it made sense to raise the wager.”
“To what? You don’t have anything to trade.”
And she never did. “That’s why I don’t lose.”
“But if they were chasing you…”
“I never said I don’t cheat. I said I don’t lose.” And that was how she’d been found out. “A card slipped out of my sleeve at an inopportune time and those idiots were less forgiving. Even though one of them was pulling a swindle, too. Better to follow the crowd.”
Jack scoffed. “So, then you led them to our campsite.”
“Where else was I supposed to go? I didn’t have any weapons on me. I’m not exactly built to take on four grizzled, beefy men.”
She dared a glance at him, only to see him scowling at her in turn. “If you’re willing to wage a battle, then you need to be prepared to fight it.”
Shannon did her best to keep from smiling, clamping her lips together. But she had to ask. “Who told you this word of wisdom?”
“My father. A good man, with a good heart. He believed you fought the battles you chose.”
Fathers… Shannon’s opinion of them lay firmly within the definition of the word worthless. “Mine believed you steal, stab or cower from them. Let’s just say I’m not a fan of those three, but I do believe in surviving.”
A flash of light in the sky to their left caught her eye, and a glance at the clouds racing toward them had her searching for cover.
She caught sight of a cliff face in the distance, one that might have a cave or two. They just needed somewhere to keep safe. When she compressed the accelerator, the hauler sped up.
“Thought we agreed driving slower would be ideal.”
“No can do, Deputy Jack. There’s a storm headed this way.” She pointed over her shoulder at the mess barreling their direction. She didn’t miss Auster thunderstorms, especially night ones. Being raised a Zephyr, there were always warnings about getting caught above ground after dark.
Though she’d once risked it and gotten a wicked set of bruises on her legs and back from being pelted by the ice crystals raining down.
“It’s a light rainstorm, nothing to be scared of. If anything, we’ll get a free shower.”
Shannon scoffed. “You are definitely a Wespero through and through. Auster region doesn’t get your light showers. Not during this part of the year. The rotation of the planet, relation to the sun…even the terraforming couldn’t have predicted this mess. Night storms here typically involve something we call razors.”
“Razors?” The tone of his voice matched the one-eyebrow-lifted stare he tossed her way.
“Little balls of ice. They cut like the sharpest knife on exposed skin, burn a little too. On covered skin they leave nasty bruises and that’s if you’re lucky. Grown men cry after getting hit with this stuff. If they get big enough, they can even go through metal, wood…anything.”
“Then we need cover, fast.”
Now he’s getting it.
She pointed out over the dash. “See that cliff face. There is bound to be a cave or two we can take shelter in.”
“If we’re hiding there, won’t other animals be as well?”
Maybe she didn’t give Jack enough credit. He had a sharp mind when put to a task. “It’s possible, but you have the heating element so we should be able to scare most of them away.”
A lie, but one she’d tell to keep them on this path. There could be a slither in there or a half dozen other things. There was a reason she’d chosen to wander Wespero and not her home territory after ditching Kascade’s failed plan.
Lightning flashed across the sky and for a moment she got a better look at the rock wall they approached. Her stomach tightened as she glimpsed an open maw of a cave.
She’d lived for years in the darkness of the hollowed-out, underground paths of her gang-town. The moonies’ compounds on Earth’s moon weren’t much different. Monsters could hide in either place.
But I’m a monster, too.
Wind whipped up, blowing Shannon’s curls every which way. She slammed her foot on the accelerator willing the damn hauler to move faster with every atom in her body.
“Shit, it’s picking up quick.” Jack glanced over his shoulder, eyes wide at whatever he saw.
She refused to look. “We’re almost there.”
The first razors hit, small like tiny needles digging into her shoulders.
No way do I go out like this.
“You need to slow down. We can’t approach a pitch-dark space like this.”
“Too bad,” she replied right as they entered the cave. Only after they passed the entrance did she slam on the brakes. The headlights gave enough illumination for her to see a tire-killing rock and avoid it with a modest swerve. The movement was enough to get the hauler in a spin thanks to the loosely packed sand beneath the wheels.
The brakes started to jam and she eased off before slamming on them again. She winced at the grinding noise and Jack cursed repeatedly until they finally came to a halt, facing the opening they’d arrived through. Outside, the storm had hit with a ferocity of blinding razors, wind and lightning. The ground was covered in thousands of tiny balls. The beams from the headlights failed to cut through the tempest.
“See? Safe and sound.”
Jack glowered at her. His blond eyebrows bunched, and his eyes narrowed. She could only imagine how much he wanted to hurt her, though his fierce expression seemed to arouse her more than anything.
Not heading toward seduction territory again.
“I wouldn’t call this safe.”
“This storm is probably hitting the checkpoint too. We’re actually lucky we got out when we did. That shoddy tent of yours would have never held up to the razors.”
Jack hopped out of the hauler and immediately started digging in the storage bed. “Funny, you didn’t mention any of these possibilities before we left Frog Lick. Additionally, you admitted what I’ve been saying to everyone all along…you’re a cheat.”
He produced a handheld light and switched it on. The bright beam hit her square in the eyes. “The fuck? Can you watch where you point that?”
The beam swept away toward the right, Jack resituating his body to look behind the hauler as Shannon rubbed away the stars in her eyes.
“I’m not a cheat…I’m just not a loser.”
“Phrasing it differently doesn’t change your actions.” He took a few steps deeper into the cave until he stood a couple feet away from the end of the hauler. “There doesn’t appear to be any residents here at the entrance, but the cave is fairly deep. I’d recommend we don’t go any further.”
Shannon didn’t disagree with the suggestion. She exited the hauler and moved toward the heating element. “Then let’s get this block out and fired up.”
They worked together, Shannon trying not to appreciate the flex of Jack’s biceps as they set up the heating element. She also refused to continue talking about her penchant for cheating at card games.
Any game, be honest with yourself. “If life wasn’t meant to be cheated, then we wouldn’t be given the opportunity.”
Kascade had said that to her in one of his more vulnerable moments—when he’d dropped the façade of leader to the future of humanity, and embraced the fact he was still bitter about his daughter’s death. Shannon had been dumb enough to get caught up in that mess. Dumb to believe people did more for others than just use them. So, she had learned to use them back.
My father turned out to be right about one damn thing.
“There’s a cord missing…damnit.” Jack started to toss things around in the back of the hauler, his movements more erratic by the second. Shannon walked over and took a minute to grab the handheld light and sweep the back seat.
A thin, black cord lay across the floor of the hauler and Shannon snatched it up before popping into a standing position and shouting, “Found it!”
Jack’s gaze narrowed and Shannon angled the light beam on the triple pronged metal end of the cord. “That’s three, this is two.”
“Easily fixed.” Shannon shoved the handheld under her arm and applied pressure to the third prong with both her thumbs.
“Wait!”
“It will take two seconds—”
“No, that goes…” The third prong snapped off and fell to the ground. “To something else.”
“Well, now it’s going to go into the heating element so we can connect to the hauler and not risk running out of heat.” Because damn if she wasn’t almost shivering. The storm had dropped the temperature even further.
Jack snatched the cord from her hand. “Fine. Get those extra blankets out and cover up. Sit on the ground, close to the back tire, and I’ll finagle this.”
There was no sense in arguing, not when the adrenaline of their chase and escape was wearing off. Her legs ached, her eyes itched and now that the idea of sitting had been introduced into her brain, her body refused to entertain any other thought besides getting off her feet.
Immediately after putting her back against the tire of the hauler, she shut her eyes. The blanket offered little warmth, and she shivered furiously even as Jack moved the element into position.
A few minutes later, something large and warm bumped up against her. She jerked out of instinct.
“Whoa, it’s me.” Jack’s voice was low, soothing, as if he meant to provide comfort and reassurance. “Lean up against me. You’re freezing.”
