Malfunction, page 26
Balls. There was that bad feeling again. “What have you done?”
“You have ten minutes, and then the Trakis One blows, with all of us on it. So you have a choice. You can let me go, and then you might have time to find the bomb and disable it—I know you’re good at that. Or you can stay there and we all blow up.”
He gritted his teeth. His life was full of crappy choices right now. “Why don’t I leave the tank here and go defuse the bomb?”
Could he shoot the shuttle down, blast her to pieces? But these tanks weren’t designed for shooting inside a spaceship. There was a good chance they’d breach the hull, and they’d all be sucked into space. Which would hardly help matters.
“If you’re a good boy and get out of my way, then I’ll give you a head start and tell you where the bomb is. You’ll never find it in time otherwise.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“I never wanted to kill you, Logan. I don’t want you to die now. I like you. But time is running out.”
More balls.
He shifted the tank into reverse and rolled it out of the way. Then he was up and out of the hatch, jumping to the floor of the docking bay. “Where’s the bomb, Layla?”
Chapter Thirty
Logan held his breath as the shuttle’s engines roared.
Was she telling the truth? Would she tell him where the bomb was? Was there even a bomb at all?
Damned if he knew. She’d clearly lost her sanity somewhere along the way. But he was guessing yes, at least to the latter. The door to the airlock was already sliding open. Soon she’d be gone. The shuttle moved slowly out of the docking bay, into the airlock, and the doors were sliding shut. As the shuttle disappeared from sight, Layla’s voice came over the comm unit.
“Engine room. You’d better run.”
He released his breath, and his shoulders slumped. For a second, his mind was blank, and he couldn’t work out what he was supposed to be doing. Engine room. Fast.
Katia ran up, skidding to a halt in front of him. “We have to get out of here.”
He wished. But he shook his head. “I can’t.”
For a second, she closed her eyes. When they opened, her expression was resigned. “Why the hell did I fall for a goddamn hero?”
“Just bad luck, I guess.”
She didn’t move.
“Go.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Hell, no. Take the other shuttle and get out of here.”
“Not happening,” she growled.
“We’ll take the other shuttle and get out of here,” Adam said, coming up beside them. “You have thirty seconds to join us or…not. You owe these people nothing.”
That was beside the point. He couldn’t turn his back on this. He was trained—perhaps the only person in the fleet who could stop this bomb. Maybe they weren’t his people, but that made no difference.
“Have you got through to Rico?” Katia asked Adam.
“No. We can’t get a signal out. She must have jammed it. Once we’re away from here, we’ll try again. Good luck. You’ll need it.” Adam hurried away to where Dylan waited still in wolf form on the ramp of the last shuttle. He paused at the door and turned back to them. “We’ll send the shuttle back—if there’s anything left to send it back to.” They both disappeared inside.
Logan touched Katia lightly on the arm. “You should go.” He wanted her to go, and at the same time he couldn’t bear to see her leave. Looked like it wasn’t his choice anyway. She wasn’t budging. And he had to move. He had no time for this. But he couldn’t make himself turn away.
“We’ll go together or not at all,” she said. “I have faith in you. But if you don’t stop arguing, we’re all going to go boom.”
He sighed, but she was right. Then he turned and ran for the door, Katia behind him. Which way was the goddamn engine room?
“Turn left,” Katia shouted.
They were running flat out when someone called out from behind. “Surrender.”
Balls.
He cast a glance over his shoulder. Six guys in military uniform were coming up on them fast. He turned a corner and skidded to a halt, drew his weapon.
“Surrender or we open fire.”
“Double balls,” he muttered.
“Give me your pistol,” Katia said. “I’ll hold them off.” He looked at her. “You’ve got to stop that bomb or I’ll be dead anyway.”
She was right, but he hated it. He handed her the pistol. “Just delay them for a couple of minutes. That’s all I need. And don’t take any stupid risks. Whatever you fucking do, don’t die.” He leaned in and kissed her briefly then turned and sped off. He forced himself not to look back as he heard the first shots blast out.
He paused just inside the engine room. The place was huge and circular but almost empty. The engine, inside a silver casing, gave out a muted hum. It seemed impossible that it could be powering this ship, could have kept her moving for five hundred years. There were few places to hide a bomb, and he moved methodically through the room. A cabinet ran around the far wall, and he opened the doors one by one. At the third one, he found his bomb—a rectangle of some sort of plastic explosive—enough to blow a huge hole in the engine room—with a detonator and a timer. He had less than four minutes.
“Don’t move.”
For all of one second, he remained motionless. But time had nearly run out, and he turned slowly. Pryce stood in the doorway, his weapon drawn and aimed straight at Logan.
Time seemed to stand still. Pryce’s finger tightened on the trigger. Logan could almost feel the bullet ripping into him. This wasn’t happening.
Panic clawed inside him. Something shifted in his head, and he swayed, fighting for balance. What the hell?
Concentrate.
Breathe.
“Did you know there’s a bomb in here?” His voice came out rusty, and he cleared his throat.
Pryce ignored the comment. “Have you seen Layla?”
The question took him unawares. What did Pryce know? He decided the truth was his only option. “She’s gone.”
Pryce’s eyes widened. He stepped through the door, looking around him as though Logan might have Layla hidden away somewhere in the room. “What do you mean ‘gone’?”
“Got in a shuttle and flown away. But she has left us a little present.”
Pryce shook his head. The hand with the gun wavered slightly. “She wouldn’t go. We were supposed to…” He shook his head again. “You’re lying.”
“Nope. Not about Layla and not about the bomb.” Though he had a funny idea Pryce knew about the bomb. “You and Layla, you’re…” He wasn’t sure how to word the question, and the timer was running down. He had three minutes before the whole ship would blow.
His skin prickled, and sharp pains shot through his arms and legs. The air around him shimmered, and black spots danced in front of his eyes. Concussion?
“She loves me,” Pryce said.
No fool like an old fool. A red fog filled his brain, blurring his vision. And he was hot. So hot. He shook his head, forcing his thoughts to focus. What was his best option: to go along with it or try and get through to the other man? “She’s played you for a fool, Pryce. She told me you gave her the creeps. That you were an old tosser. She came on to me from the moment she met me. Said that she hated being surrounded by old guys.”
“No, she was playing you. It was the plan. That was all. It was me she wanted. Me she turned to when her family was gone and she was alone.”
“You knew?”
“She told me. She told me my family was dead as well. My brother and his children. Gone. Replaced by strangers. She killed them for me. We were going to have a life together. She can’t be gone.”
Christ. “Why don’t you go check the docking bay? Maybe she’s not gone after all. Or maybe she’s come back for you. She probably does love you.” Steeling himself, waiting for the bullet.
Pain was building inside him now, flames streaking along his limbs, a ball of fire roiling in his belly, burning him from the inside. And Adam’s words came back to him… Feels like your whole body is on fire.
No!
Not happening. Not now.
His vision blurred as he stared at the bomb then sharpened so he could see everything more clearly. No more time. He had to stop it. He couldn’t do this. But he crashed to his knees, out of control. The crack of bones was loud in his ears. His spine arched, snapped, and he threw back his head and screamed.
…
Katia was out of bullets. Any moment now they would realize she wasn’t shooting back, and she’d be overrun. Then the shooting stopped. Just like that. She peered around the corner. They were all disappearing in the opposite direction.
What the hell?
She pivoted and raced after Logan. Hopefully, he would have dealt with the bomb, but just in case…
She was almost at the engine room when a piercing scream tore through the air. A second later, the scream turned to a howl.
Holy hell, no.
Skidding to a halt at the door, she peered inside. A huge dark blond wolf lay on its side, panting. It raised its head and stared at her out of purple eyes.
Not good. In fact, very, very bad.
Pryce was standing over him, a pistol in his hand, eyes wide, jaw slack. He must have heard her because his gaze shifted to her, and he slowly raised the gun and aimed it at her chest. His finger tightened on the trigger. She was going to die. Then the bomb would explode and Logan would die. Not happening.
Willing the change over herself, she leaped toward Pryce while still shifting, crashed into him. The roar of the gun filled her ears. Ignoring the pain that sliced through her side, she ripped at his throat, her mouth filling with the warm, metallic taste of blood.
Without checking if he was dead, she shifted back, scrambled to her feet, and crashed to her knees besides Logan. His wolf’s eyes were wide, staring at something behind her. She twisted, followed his gaze. An open cupboard. The bomb. Ticking down. Less than a minute. No off switch.
For a moment, panic clouded her mind, her heart hammering, blood pounding. Then she turned back to Logan, dug her hands into his thick fur of his neck. “Logan, I know you’re in there. Come back. I don’t know how to stop it.” Nothing. She shook him. “God damnit. I’ll freaking die if you don’t come back right now. We’ll all die. There’s a freaking bomb about to go off.”
Yup. They were going to die.
Then the air shimmered around her, and a moment later, he was back.
He dragged himself up, almost falling against the wall.
The timer showed they had fifteen seconds. They weren’t going to make it.
Sweat rolled down Logan’s forehead as he studied the device. She hoped he knew what he was doing.
He had only one chance at this. He reached out a hand then dropped it to his side again.
Do it!
She held her breath as he reached out again, pulled out the red wire…and the timer stopped. One second to go.
She blew out her breath as Logan rested his arms against the wall then his head against his arms. He was naked. His clothes were in shreds on the floor where he’d shifted. She was still in the red dress, though it was ripped down one side.
But they’d done it. She’d honestly thought they were dead. She’d never known a new shifter with any sort of control.
Finally, he turned to face her. “Well, that was interesting.”
“You did it. That’s all that matters. We’re safe.”
“Thank God.”
She heard a short, harsh laugh. Pryce. Not dead after all. It looked like she’d missed his jugular, but his throat was a bloody mess.
Logan crossed the room to stand over him. “What do you know?”
The bad feeling that had been an almost constant companion was back again and stronger than ever. Blood bubbled from Pryce’s crimson lips. She was pretty sure the man was dying, and she couldn’t feel sad about that. He was clearly one of the bad guys here. But how? Why? Had he been working with Layla all along?
“It’s too late,” Pryce whispered, his voice hoarse, his breath labored. “Even if you stopped the bomb, it was already too late. Don’t you see? The people who did this have to be punished. They have to die. Layla knew that.”
“Do you know what he means?” she asked Logan.
“I have no clue. But, apparently, he’s in love,” Logan said.
“With Layla?” She couldn’t seem to get her brain working, was finding it hard to come back from that place of certain death. “We need to find out what the hell he’s talking about.”
“Too late. He’s dead.” His frown deepened. “What about the ones following you? Where are they?”
“I don’t know. Something happened and they disappeared.”
Then the shrill buzz of an alarm filled her ears.
Chapter Thirty-One
What the fuck now?
Logan couldn’t cope with this. He’d changed into a goddamn wolf. And it had hurt. A lot.
Now he was naked. Searching the room, he identified the remains of his pants. He picked them up, pulled them on. The fastener was gone, and he tied them together with a strip from his torn shirt. It would have to do. Now he could cope.
The alarm was cut abruptly.
Logan stared at Katia.
What was their next move? He’d defused the bomb, done his duty, saved the goddamn ship, and now he wanted off it. Even if it meant he was going AWOL. He’d worry about that once he was down on firm land. Pryce’s last words were churning in his mind. It was too late. That was a load of balls. But too late for what? Did he want to stay and find out? Hell no! Unfortunately, there were no shuttles left.
How long would it take for Adam and Dylan to return to the Trakis Two and send the shuttle back? About an hour and a half at a guess. They’d only been gone about twenty minutes. Just don’t panic and stay alive.
He looked at Katia. She appeared dazed. “Any ideas?”
Before she could answer, the shrill of the alarm started up again, and the main lights went out, replaced by a flashing red light. Something was happening, and he was guessing it wasn’t anything good. A booming voice filled the engine room, and he heard it echoing through the corridor outside.
“All personnel return to your quarters. This is an order from your captain. All personnel to your quarters.”
Like that was going to happen.
He headed across to where Pryce lay, his eyes open and staring, blood staining his mouth. Crouching down, he released the comms unit from his wrist. But who to call?
He tried to get a link out, but nothing was happening, and he shoved the comm unit in his pocket. Next, he grabbed Pryce’s pistol, which he shoved into his waistband at the back. Now they needed to find out exactly what was going on. “Come on,” he said.
He headed out of the room and along the corridor. Then he stopped at a junction. The corridors all looked the same to him. He glanced at Katia beside him. “The bridge?” he said.
She gave a nod and ran off up the corridor to the left. He followed at a jog. The alarms were still ringing.
The doors to the bridge were shut, and there was no response when he pressed his palm to the panel. He didn’t even hesitate, just drew Pryce’s pistol and shot at the lock. Except the pistol was empty. Fuck. He turned it in his hand and smashed the panel with the grip. Sparks flew and the doors slid open. Inside, he could see the same dull red light flashing. It was as annoying as hell. He glanced at Katia. “Stay here.”
“Yeah, right,” she muttered.
At first, he thought the bridge was empty. He squinted into the dim light then spotted Stevens in the big captain’s chair. Hunched and shrunken, she glanced up, her eyes narrowing on Logan. “All crew are to stay in their quarters.”
Logan thought about pointing out that he was not crew and he didn’t actually have any quarters but decided it was a pointless exercise. There was a strange expression in Stevens’ eyes. The woman looked manic, her white hair on end. “What’s happening?” he asked.
“You should go to your quarters. Make your peace with God.”
“Balls to that.” He moved farther into the room, keeping his eyes on Stevens.
“There’s nothing we can do. This is divine retribution.”
Okay. So the captain had lost it. Totally. “What. Is. Happening?” He spoke the words slowly, enunciating each one in the hope they would get through.
The captain gave a small smile. “The guidance system has been locked, and we’re heading straight to Hell.” She reached down and pressed a button on the arm of the chair, and around the room, the screens came to life.
It took Logan a moment to work out what he was seeing. He stood in the center of the room and stared at the images on the screens. The same image on each one. It was official—they were heading into Hell.
His eyes were drawn to the whirling mass of flames that filled the screens.
“Holy crap,” Katia said from behind him.
In the center was a black hole. Stygian black. He remembered Callum mentioning there was a black hole at the edge of the system they were heading for and that they would need to avoid it. Except it looked like they were making a direct route right for the center. Logan couldn’t drag his eyes from the darkness filling the monitors. In a strange way, it was beautiful, a vision of whirling iridescent gases surrounding a gaping maw of blackness. The hole didn’t quite fill the screen, and off to the left he could see a planet—extremely inhospitable looking, ocher with rings shading from palest yellow to blood crimson circling it, and a single moon in orbit. And every second, the black hole loomed closer as though all the brightness was being sucked from the world.
He dragged his gaze away and back to Stevens. “Maybe it might be a good idea to change course,” he suggested in what he thought was a reasonable tone considering the circumstances.
