Zero's Heart (Lathar Mercenaries: Warborne Book 1) Read online

  “Fucking hell!” Zero hissed, as they both took off at a run. “I swear I’m going to fucking throttle that bloody human.”

  The flea market, much to Skinny’s disappointment, had nothing to do with fleas after all. Even though both the humans had assured him they were in fact joking and they didn’t actually breed fleas, he’d still held out hope for something… anything… exotic.

  But no. The back-street market on Praxis-Four was just the same as every grotty back-street market in the ass-end of any system. They all had them, those places on the fringes of existence where the desperate and the morally corrupt congregated. Some days it was hard to tell which was which.

  “Anyone gets eyes on Beauty, yell,” T’Raal ordered, motioning for them to split up. His grim demeanor was a reminder that they didn’t need to watch their asses. They were all well aware that technically they were operating behind “enemy” lines. Most of them were Lathar of some kind, even Red… though no one reminded her that without either a large amount of alcohol and liquid courage in their system, or a foolproof escape plan… and the empire in its infinite wisdom had banned any incursion into Terran space. Yeah… they were breaking all kind of rules on both sides of the fence even being here.

  Skinny rolled his shoulders as he moved off toward the north sector of the market, making sure his heavy jacket sat loosely on his shoulders. He needed easy access to his weapons. Praxis-Four was Terran, but he knew better than to discount any of them as a threat. Humans could be just as mean as any Lathar, and given the right encouragement or enough alcohol, they’d take on fights they knew they couldn’t win.

  Just… because.

  “D’ya think you’ll need them guns, squire… or will your withering gaze decimate your enemies instead?” a mocking voice sounded at his side.

  Skinny bit back a sigh. Sparky. Just his luck, the lone human had decided to latch on to him.

  “Just staying loose,” he replied, turning and sweeping a gaze around. Stalls were crammed in cheek to cheek, and each of the vendors tried to yell over their competitors.

  “Penny ‘ah pound, get yer fresh vat-grown veggies ‘ere!”

  “‘Gi Sausages! The best pseudo-protein on the planet!”

  “Iso-taurine drops! Keep them levels up!”

  He drowned the noise out and focused instead on searching the crowds for the familiar form of their missing crew member. Well… not technically missing since they knew Beauty was here somewhere. He also had a habit of doing this, going on walkabouts. The quietest member of the mercenary team, none of them really knew that much about him. Not that they needed to. Like the rest of them, he’d been brought into the Warborne by T’Raal.

  Apparently, he’d been a fighter in the combat pits in the hellholes of Tarviisa. The place was a cesspit where flesh of any kind could be bought, whether that be for fighting, fucking, or killing. There were no rules on Tarviisa. Even imperial warriors didn’t linger long lest they find themselves on the wrong side of those pit barriers.

  According to T’Raal, Beauty had fought in the pits for over five years. Skinny shuddered. After living through a nightmare like that, the guy could be forgiven for being a little on the quiet side and preferring the company of his books.

  Books.

  “Hey,” Skinny slid a glance at Sparky. “Where would you get books in a place like this?”

  “Huh?” Sparky struggled to tear his attention away from something, and Skinny sidestepped to see what he was looking at. Only to spot Red bent over as she checked out some mechanical do-dad that had caught her eye a couple of stalls down.

  Skinny gave a low whistle. “Yeah… that there’s a road to bruises and broken bones, my friend. If Red wants you, believe me, she’ll let you know.”

  “Yeah?” Sparky cut him a sharp look. “You ever done her?”

  There was real jealousy behind the tone. Skinny laughed and backed up, hands in the air. “Gods no, she’d eat me alive. Oh, I’m so sorry—”

  He broke off as he was jostled from behind. Spinning around to apologize, his words trailed off as he found himself looking into the brightest pair of amber eyes he’d ever seen. Their owner was a tiny human female, masses of dark hair piled on top of her head in an elaborate hairdo that he instantly wanted to ruin by shoving his hands through it.

  “No, no…” She smiled, and he was lost, reduced to speechless wonder at the heavenly symphony of her voice. “Totally my fault,” her voice rose a little and she lifted a hand, halting the motion of the two men with her toward him. Belatedly he realized they must be her bodyguards. “Please, accept my apologies. Mr...”

  “Errrr… Altav,” he answered, surprised enough to give his real name.

  She smiled and he got it together enough to notice she was dressed far better than most of the other market-goers. The dress that swathed her curvy figure looked expensive and the jewels around her neck… he was surprised she managed to walk around a place like this unmolested. A fortune like that would have even the most law-abiding citizens here working out how quickly they could part her from her jewels and dispose of her body.

  “A pleasure to meet you, Altav.” She held out her hand with a smile, shaking her head as one of the bodyguards gave a small growl.

  Before he could take her delicate little hand though, Sparky shoulder-barged him aside. “A pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Ingrassia. But I’m afraid we really have to be going, our ship is about…” He shoulder-barged Skinny again. “To leave without us. Come on, big man. You know how pissy the boss gets if we’re late.”

  “Of course,” Miss Ingrassia smiled politely, folding her hands elegantly in front of her as Sparky all but dragged him away. Skinny managed to get a look over his shoulder, meeting her gaze one last time before the crowds shifted like sand and swallowed her up again.

  “What the fuck was that all about?” he hissed, turning on the human. “She was fucking gorgeous.”

  “Yeah.” Sparky’s expression held none of its normal jokiness. “Gorgeous and fucking deadly. That there was the poison princess, daughter of the most brutal asshole in this sector. This place,” he motioned above his head to indicate the planet and systems around them, “is run by a group of ‘elected’ premiers. The Ingrassias are among the worst of them. Believe me, you do not want to fuck with them, especially that one. If her daddy found out you’d defiled his precious little flower, he’d reach down your throat to rip your cock and balls off and then feed them back to you. That’s if little miss butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth didn’t poison you first. Her daddy’s tried to marry her off three times so far. Each time, the groom never makes it to the wedding night.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah.”

  Skinny looked back the way they’d come but there was no sign of the beautiful Miss. Ingrassia. Which was probably a good thing. He’d never had such a reaction to a woman before.

  “So,” Sparky said brightly. “Books are this way. Let’s find your boy and get the fuck off this planet.”

  It didn’t take them long to find Beauty. Sparky wove his way through the stalls like he’d lived on this backwater dustball all his life until they reached the back wall of the market. There, to his amazement, was a stall with actual books. And, pouring over them, was Beauty, his expression rapt as he looked along the decaying spines of the obsolete objects.

  “Hey, handsome,” Sparky sidled up. “Looking for anything specific?”

  Skinny sighed. Sparky really would hit on anything. Wouldn’t he?

  “Ignore him, Beaut. You got everything you need?” he asked, saving the human from a kicking. Beauty might be the quiet type, but he didn’t like people invading his personal space without warning.

  “Yeah, I’m good.” Beauty nodded, showing Skinny an armful of books. Quickly he paid the vendor with human currency. Skinny wondered briefly where he’d gotten it, but with Beauty, it was best not to ask.

  “I see you couldn’t shake the human yet,” Beauty gestured toward Sparky as the
y turned and made their way to the front of the market. Skinny had informed the others by way of a triple tap on the side of his neck where his sub-dermal comms were implanted. By now they should all be making their way toward the front of the market so they could all head back to the ship.

  “Oi! Stop! Yeah, you!”

  A shout behind them made Skinny frown and turn. One of the bodyguards that had been with Miss. Ingrassia barreled toward them, bulldozing people out of the way and waving his gun around.

  “Awww shit,” Sparky groaned. “This is gonna get ugly fast. Run!”

  And that was when the whole marketplace started shooting.

  13

  Zero and Eris sprinted down the road toward the chaos and gunfire. Concern for his team warred with fear for the tiny woman running next to him, but she’d already more than proven herself in battle. He just wished she had her suit here. He’d feel far more confident not only with the backup of what amounted to a tank on legs but also because Eris would be safely wrapped up in a metal skin. He’d studied the schematics just as much as Red had while they were mending it, and with the improvements Red had made… yeah, you’d need a bunker buster just to put a scratch on its panels now.

  It was a pity they were too far away for him to get an uplink with the ship and bring it here on remote. He checked as they ran, just in case. Yeah. Fuck. Too far away.

  He doubled down, increasing speed even as he kept an eye out around them. He’d picked up chatter on the local security services comm channel about an issue at the market, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other dangers out there. Eris had a bounty on her head and he was sure the shifty-looking clerk at the comms office had informed someone about their arrival. Dammit, he should have done a search on the origin of that message she’d picked up. Yeah, sure, it said it was from her brother, but digital IDs could be faked… hell, even comm-vids could be faked. Between them, he and Skinny could cook something up that had the emperor admitting on screen that his favorite color was pink and he wanted to give it all up to go hug trees in the outer systems.

  They could… and it was tempting. But since he was sure the emperor would personally track him down and show him what his intestines looked like, he hadn’t. He liked his innies to stay being innies, thank you very much.

  Before they got halfway toward the turn to the flea market, the rest of the Warborne spilled out onto the main concourse, firing back at what seemed like the entire population of the outpost.

  “Okay, who pissed off the locals?” Zero grinned as they caught up with the rest of the group. He and Eris slid into cover next to Red, who grunted.

  “Skinny hit on the wrong local and now they’re all trying to kill us.”

  Zero’s eyebrow shot up. Skinny would not have been his pick for dangerous flirting. Sparky… it was practically expected, but not the strong, silent type heavy-worlder. Then they all ducked as the air around them became a deadly net of shrapnel and laser beams.

  “You wankers!” a voice bellowed from the other side of the road, and Beauty ducked out of cover to fire back the way they’d come. His face was a mask of rage, one arm curled protectively around the books he carried. One of them had a hole and scorch-mark from a blaster on the back. “That was a fucking first edition!”

  Three bodies hit the ground.

  “It was signed!”

  Two more bodies hit the ground.

  “I’d say we leave Beauty to deal with the rest, but there are more on the way,” Zero yelled in warning. Seriously, he’d never seen the tactical specialist so pissed off. Ever.

  “Moving!” T’Raal yelled and half the Warborne broke from cover as the remainder laid down covering fire. Zero’s world narrowed down to firing arcs and making sure Eris was okay. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about his own skin, as long as she was okay. Despite the implants that laced her system, making her more like him than any of the others, she was still organic. Soft. Vulnerable.

  He wasn’t. His body was built for combat, his skeleton more a chassis than a biological construct, and his sub-dermal mesh was rated for ballistics. At least, it was now after Red had fired a full clip into his gut to test her theory. He still thought she’d enjoyed that a little too much.

  “Keep it together,” T’Raal ordered as they reached the edge of the outpost.

  Crammed in beside Eris behind a small tumble-down wall, Zero scanned their surroundings. This was where it got interesting. They’d parked the Sprite out of town, a couple of sand dunes away. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now though, it meant they had at least a couple of hundred meters of blasting sand and tumbleweeds between them and the nearest rise. And absolutely nothing to stop their pursuers from filling them all full of holes.

  “Defensive line!” T’Raal ordered from his cover behind a waste canister. It was amazing how such a big guy could fold himself into such a small space, but needs must when the bullets were flying. He motioned toward the sand behind them. “Zero and Red. We’ll cover, you make it to the rise.”

  It made sense. Of them all, he and Red were the fastest on their feet.

  “No can do, boss.” It was the first time he’d ever argued with a direct order. “I’m not leaving Eris.”

  She looked at him like he’d grown another head. “What the fuck?” she hissed. “Do it and get us some covering fire, you idiot!”

  Red barked a laugh. “I like her already. Okay, lurve machine… bet I can beat you to that top rise.”

  “The fuck you can!”

  He caught Eris’s chin and made her look at him. Her gaze was steady and unwavering. “Don’t get shot,” he told her. “Because if you do, I will be pissed with you. Okay?”

  Then he kissed her. Quick. Hard. Barely more than an impression of lips on lips before he broke away.

  “Okay, Scales… you’re on,” he called out to Red, getting an outraged hiss in reply. She hated to be reminded of her Krynassis heritage. Even though it was written in the scales that appeared under her skin when she was stressed and this hiss sometimes in her voice.

  “You lot had better put down covering fire,” the female mercenary yelled a warning. “Because if this lot kill me, I will fucking haunt you all. Zero, moving in three… two… one… go!”

  They both broke from cover at the same time, sprinting toward the top of the rise as the Warborne opened fire. Zero kept his head down, changing direction often as bullets and laser beams cut the air around him and slammed into the sand. About twenty feet away Red was going through the same song and dance, bellowing a wordless war cry.

  They both made it to the top at the same time, throwing themselves into cover. But there was no time to rest and recuperate. Instantly, they clawed their way back up to the top of the rise, yanking weapons from holsters. Together, they opened fire on the outposters trying to ease from cover and overwhelm their friends still hidden on the edge of town.

  Zero aimed, one of the townsfolk in his sights, and pulled the trigger. Bullets tore into the buildings, punching holes through walls and sending bodies flying. Blood sprayed scarlet to be soaked up by the ever-thirsty sand. The wind howled in triumph…

  He frowned and pulled his finger off the trigger. His personal weapons were heavy-duty, sure, but they didn’t pack that kind of punch… He and Red looked up as the wind whipped sand up around them, the ventral hull of the Sprite blotting out the sun.

  “Anyone call for a ride?” Fin’s voice boomed from the speakers as the Sprite’s forward guns cut down anyone trying to follow the team as they broke from cover and raced up the rise toward the ship. Zero grinned, waiting for Eris as she ran toward him and then bundling her up the boarding ramp ahead of him.

  “So…” he yelled over the sound of the engine and the Sprite’s guns. “What did you think of your first action with the Warborne?”

  Eris watched the boarding ramp shut behind them, the massive metal jaws swallowing them like a mama crocodile keeping her babies safe. Her ears still rang from the gunfire and her own heart
beat. She slumped against the wall next to Zero as the ship lurched, g-forces making her unsteady on her feet for a moment as they took off.

  “Hold on,” Fin’s voice came over the inter-ship comm, the words muffled. “Got turbulence in the upper atmosphere. Gonna be a little rough.”

  She grabbed a support strut at the same time everyone else made a grab for a handhold. Going for a burn when not strapped in was not fun.

  The next few minutes were hell. The ship rattled and shook around them, and she seriously hoped the boarding ramp held. Zero had rolled over, his body half over hers as he pinned her in place against the bulkhead. She didn’t argue. The warmth of his larger body was a comfort as she rested her forehead against his shoulder. And if a cyborg couldn’t hold on, what hope did she have?

  Her hearing had just about returned to normal when they hit space. The ship stopped shaking and everyone straightened up, letting go of whatever they’d grabbed to look at each other.

  “So… what the hell happened there?” T’Raal growled, looking at Skinny and Sparky. Eris wasn’t surprised that the former con was involved somehow. He always managed to find himself at the center of any shit that was going down.

  Skinny shrugged. “Not a clue, boss. Bumped into a woman and apologized. I think her guards took exception because after we found Beauty, they started shooting at us, and it all went to shit.”

  T’Raal grumbled in the back of his throat as they all filed out of the loading bay. He shot a look at Sparky. “That what happened?”

  Sparky nodded. “Honest gods truth, boss. He didn’t even ogle her. She was probably jealous ‘cause he left with me though. The ladies do love a bit of spark.”

  Eris sighed and looked away as his words were accompanied by a hip thrust she really didn’t want burned into her retinas.

  T’Raal turned his attention to her and Zero. “You guys get what you needed?”

  She smiled, rooting the message strip from her pocket. “Easy as taking candy from a baby.”