CHAPTER 026
CLOSE YOUR EYES
As I wound my way through the backstage of the Lunar Express, my main concern was that my comex battery would die before I found Burke. I couldn’t afford to dwell on what might happen after I did.
The flashing beacon on my comex guided me down one of the narrow channels that led to the middle ring of the craft. I ducked into the hatch and remained partially crouched to avoid the exposed wiring overhead. I could feel a blister forming on my sockless foot as I measured every step to keep my paces from ringing throughout the hollow metallic tube. Burke’s indicator had stopped right outside of the exit point, and I did not want to alert him to my presence. After I crossed the halfway point, I could see that the door at the opposite end had been left open. Through it, I could make out the form of Burke, still in his chef’s whites.
When I got closer, I could see that he was attempting to unlock the entrance to the inner ring of the ship. Whatever business he had with the ship’s power center could not be good. I sped up as much as I could without giving away my position. Fortunately, Burke was so concerned with the access panel that he did not hear me approaching, sock-butter sledgehammer firmly in hand.
“Put your hands up and take a step back, Burke.”
“Detective Miller.” He whirled around, gripping a slender pistol-like object. He pointed it straight at my chest. “I was wondering when I should be expecting you.”
“You should have finished the job in the freezer.”
He smirked. “I have no qualms with you. We are one in the same, remember? Two men forced to ply our talents for a pittance for people who don’t deserve us. I thought if anyone could understand where I was coming from, you would.”
I took two slow, circling steps to get my back off the wall. I did not want him to have the opportunity to pin me down. “If you don’t like your pay, renegotiate. If you don’t like your clients, branch out. There’s never any reason to take a whole ship full of innocent people hostage.”
“Innocent? You think these people are innocent?” he spat. “They take everything and leave the rest of us to survive on the scraps.”
“Is that why you sent the prototype to Stellar Engines? To finally get your piece of the pie?”
“Oh, you mean this prototype?” He brandished the sleek, black object in his hand, then trained it on my heart. “No. Like I said, I’m not the one who sent it in the first place. Did I convince that idiot Russo to steal it back? Absolutely.”
“By posing as Vance Wilder and convincing him that you’d buy it from him.”
Burke sneered. “It was too simple. One driven by greed, the other by pride, both unable to resist their basest instincts. They’re hardly better than animals.”
“What about revenge? Wouldn’t you consider that pretty low on the totem pole of emotions?” If I could get into Burke’s head, I might be able to force him to make an error. “It seems like you were so full of anger that you left plenty of holes in your plan.”
“It’s not revenge if they deserved it,” Burke spat. “It’s making things right.”
“Right? You think it was right for Archie Tamsworth to die for you to prove a point?”
“An unfortunate necessity.”
“What about Matteo Russo?”
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“He brought it upon himself. Betraying Denaro was a death sentence to begin with. I merely spared him his dignity.”
“Frankie Denaro wouldn’t have killed him for making a mistake. He’s not like that.”
“You have no idea what these people are like! You know, it’s a shame. I figured that after what happened to your family, you’d think twice before meddling in the affairs of the powers that be.” He grinned cruelly.
My blood ran cold. “What do you know about what happened to my family?”
“Personally? Very little, other than the hackjob they hired to do it made a real mess of the situation. But that was before my services were available on the market.”
“Who’s they?” I forced through gritted teeth, taking a step forward. I reminded myself to keep him long enough to get answers.
“Ah-ah-ah, detective. One more step and I will melt you from the inside out.” He jabbed the device at me threateningly.
“That’s an excellent plan, except for the fact your little prototype won’t do shit to me. I’m all natural.” I started swinging the sock in a slow loop, building momentum. I was going to enjoy this.
“Then I guess I’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way.” With his other hand, Burke produced an EDG from under his chef’s coat. I recognized it as Matteo’s. “And I know this one works on you. I’ve already seen it in action.”
I looked for a distraction, anything that would buy me a couple extra seconds. I caught a glint of something lime green shining from the shadows behind a column of ductwork. Two glowing dots of light. The eyes of G’s mask. One went dark as if she winked at me.
I couldn’t have him find her and CAT. If I fucked up and died that was one thing, but I could not have their lives on my head, too. I tried to keep him talking.
“Okay, you’ve got me,” I told him. “At least answer one question for me.”
“No no, I’ve seen how this plays out.” With a flick of his thumb, the EDG charged up.
“You’ve got me dead to rights. You have a gun and some kind of bioweapon primed for mass destruction. All I’ve got is a sock full of butter.” I slowly lowered the sock to the ground. “Here, how about now?”
He lowered the EDG. “All right, one question. Make it quick.”
“What did you need the prototype for? If you could sabotage Boiardo’s implant, that meant you already had a working model.”
“Very clever, detective. That, I am happy to answer. You see, without access to proper facilities and materials, I could only achieve so much of an amplification effect. That was enough for the purposes of gaining passage. Manipulating the good chef was all too easy. I hope he did not suffer too greatly. And now that I have my original prototype, once I hook this up to the ship’s core. It’ll have enough power to liquefy all the passengers at the same time.”
At the very least, I hoped G was paying enough attention to get all of this information back to Michelle. Even if none of us survived, those on the surface would know what had happened.
“Now, if we’re finished.” He raised the gun again. I closed my eyes, waiting for my life to flash before them.
A small metallic clunk preceded a gut-wrenching sensation that wracked my entire body. I could feel my soul escaping, my consciousness floating freely toward the ceiling.
“What the hell?” Burke said.
I opened my eyes to see him swiping for the EDG as it tumbled in the air between us. He hovered in place, rotating slowly.
G, you little genius.
I kicked off the wall behind me and propelled myself at the weapon. Burke, still preoccupied with his sudden weightlessness, got a late start but benefitted from being closer to begin with. Out of desperation, I reached out and tipped the gun hard enough to send it spiraling away from both of us.
Reduced to our bare hands, we jockeyed for position. I tried to wrap him in a bear hug but was unaware how much butter had seeped through the weave of my sock. He managed to wriggle free from my slicked grasp and maneuver around to my back, where he cinched in a chokehold of his own. Despite the size disadvantage, his form was impeccable. He evaded my thrashing attempts to grab him, and his iron grasp left me no inroads to break the hold. The pressure applied directly to my carotid left me with a little under ten seconds before I blacked out.
As my vision started to tunnel, a tinny voice came from outside the hazy edge.
“Onions bad.”
Burke convulsed and shrieked in agony. He released his death grip, allowing me to float free. I slowly turned to find CAT’s mouth clamped onto Burke’s right ass cheek, shaking his head as if he was trying to tear the whole thing off. I watched him flail futilely as I caught my breath. G giggled from the shadows.
Then, as if in a dream, the butter sock floated by. I snatched it from midair and tested the payload. It had lost a good deal of its density but it would still do the job.
“Hey, G, turn the gravity back on. And close your eyes.”