Chapter Four
Jaycen huddled into
the shadows, avoiding the bright overhead lights of the space dock. He was cold
and frightened, and he hadn’t eaten since lunch the previous day. Since it was
now after midnight, he felt like his stomach was trying to gnaw its way out
through his back bone and go off foraging on its own. He cringed when another
loud rumble from his unruly belly echoed loudly in his ears. It would be so
embarrassing if he was caught because his stomach gave him away.
Then again, he thought
sardonically, he probably wouldn’t have to worry about being embarrassed for
too long. The people who were after him were merciless killers. They were
hardly likely to keep him around long enough for him to be mortified by his
rowdy gastro-intestinal tract. Not with what he knew.
He wished he could
risk stopping for some food, but he didn’t dare. Not after the near disaster at
the hypernet cafe earlier this evening. So much for thinking it would be as
simple as getting a message out of the system to alert the intergalactic
authorities and just disappearing into the ether to await their arrival. It had
been worth a try, he guessed, but it was obvious they were on to him already.
And they weren’t mucking around.
He shivered as he
remembered how close they had come to catching him. How close they might be
right now for all he knew.
Spooked, he spun
around and peered into the dark alley formed by the two containers he was using
as a hiding spot. He could have kicked himself for acting like a frightened
kitten, but the truth was he really had no idea who was after him, or where
they might be right now. So it wasn’t such an irrational move. They could quite
conceivably walk right up behind him and knock him on the head before he even
knew they were there.
The tracing worm that
had attached itself to his outgoing netmail had certainly been there, and it
had been a nasty little bastard too. Vicious enough to block both the mail and
close down the protection system he had put in place before attempting to get
his message out. Since he was no slouch when it came to encryption and
protection coding, he knew that whoever they were using to track him down was
definitely good. And ruthless.
He hadn’t hung around
long enough to find out how close the tracer had gotten to pin-pointing him.
And he hadn’t actually spotted anyone, but he could feel them. He was almost
certain someone was out there right now, slowly closing the net around him with
every second he dawdled. Edging their way in steadily in order to take him
down. The trouble was he wasn’t sure which direction to take to avoid them. He
was too afraid to move forward in case he ran right into them, and yet he knew
he couldn’t go back.
What a mess!
“Come on,” he finally
scolded himself under his breath, “get it together and get your ass in gear.”
Standing around cogitating was just making it easier for them to catch up with him.
Peering around
fearfully, the only people he saw were the dock workers milling around and a
security team leaning back against the wall under one of the huge amber flood
lights that allowed the busy space dock to continue working day and night.
Suddenly, he heard the shrill whistle that signalled break time and knew that
it was now or never.
He waited pensively as
the workers and the guards trudged off towards their break rooms. Then, still
crouching down low, he made a mad dash along the rows of containers waiting to
be loaded, towards the huge cargo ship Orion
waiting patiently at the far end of the landing pad. He knew from hacking into
the shipping manifest earlier that it was due to leave for Centre in the next
few hours, and he prayed he could sneak on board and find a nice, safe place to
hide until they were off-world. Or, preferably, out of the Mebian system
altogether.
Silently, he thanked
his father for all the stories and titbits of information he had given him from
his time on the docks as a contract slave. He needed every advantage he could
get right now. Knowing the best way to sneak onto a freighter and the safest
places to hide on board could make the all difference. This could be his one
and only chance to get out and alert someone to what was going on here.
He knew the regular
passenger ships were out of the question. Mr Drake was sure to have covered
those. The hypernet obviously wasn’t an option anymore. And Drake had enough
power and influence to make going to the authorities in the Mebian system
almost laughable if it hadn’t been such a deadly serious situation. So dear old
dad’s long winded and often tedious tales of life on the docks might be the one
thing that saved them all.
Funny how life worked out sometimes, he
thought absently.
Suddenly, long arms
reached out of the shadows between two containers as he rushed past and wrapped
around him. They caught him completely off guard, and he didn’t even have
enough time to scream before a hand clamped firmly over his mouth.
Belatedly, he began to
struggle. He kicked and wiggled and thrashed, but it was a futile gesture. He
was helpless against the big, strong body he was dragged up against. Before he
knew what was happening, he was being manhandled back into the alleyway by his
attacker. Panic began to overwhelm him, clouding his senses with terror and the
desperate need to get free.
“Ssshhh. Calm down,
Jay. It’s me,” the man whispered urgently behind him.
His brain finally
registered the familiar scent of the man wrapped around him. But it only made
him struggle all the harder. He cried out in a muffled shout of fear into the
hand still clamped firmly around his mouth. Mounting dread threatened to swamp
him as he realized he was in Nic’s arms. The one place he had always felt safe
and secure could quite possibly be the place he took his last breath, he
realized with a sob of fear and sorrow.
What would Nic do with
him? he wondered in terror. He had no doubt the man could squash him like a bug
if he wanted to. The huge, strong hands currently struggling to hold him still
and silent could easily wrap around his neck and choke the life out of him.
How could this be
happening? Another broken sob built in his chest and threatened to break free.
“Please Jay. Listen to
me. Let me explain.”
Shaking his head
furiously, he tried to bite at the hand over his mouth and clawed at the arm
still around his waist. He was in full panic mode now and wasn’t giving it up
any time soon. Right now, panic was his friend.
He refused to listen
to a word the man said as he kicked and fought against Nic’s hold. Instead he
focused on doing his best to get away. And if he couldn’t get away, then he was
going to inflict as much damage as possible before he went down.
“Ow!” Nic cried out softly behind him as he tried to stay quiet, even while he was attacked and had to grapple to keep hold of him. “Jay! Damn it! Stop it! Just listen to me for a second. I don’t want to hurt you!”
Yeah right, he thought cynically.
`Why Jay Ran Away' available from Total-E-Bound 18th of October, 2010!