Deserter: Chapter Fifteen-Losing Time

James watched as the ship took off in a cloud of dust. He watched blood splatter on the ground around him and forced himself upwards. He had to get to the hospital or he’d bleed to death. He kid had missed his jugular by a millimeter... If that. James was lucky to be alive. James hadn’t known Rain had anyone working with her, but he should have. He’d been unprepared and might end up paying for it with his life.

He stumbled into the hotel and growled at the old man behind the counter to call an ambulance before collapsing on the floor. He woke up in a mend chamber. He reached for his throat and felt that the cut was gone. His shoulder didn’t feel ready to explode anymore either. James leaned his head back against the wall and stared out at the white walls beyond the clear chamber. A young doctor watched him and leaned over to speak into a microphone.

“How are you feeling, Sir?” The young man’s voice slid into the chamber and James flashed a thumbs up. The doctor flipped a few switches on a board near the door and the mend chamber lifted to let him out.

James opened his mouth to speak and found he couldn’t. He cupped his throat and shot the doctor a panicked look. “Oh, sir, that. When your throat was cut it damaged a lot of your vocal cords. You will be able to speak, but the mend chamber has a lot of trouble with delicate things like that. You’ll always have scars from the attack and your voice will be scratchy, more than likely. Another hour in the chamber and you’ll be close to normal, though, if that’s what you’d like?”

James nodded numbly, still covering his throat and slept off another hour in the mend chamber. When he woke up the doctor was there again and this time he was able to speak. “I have to get out of here,” he rasped impatiently.

“Of course, sir. Right away. I’ll have a ride ready to take you wherever you need to be.” James nodded and dressed back in his clothes, removing the flimsy paper gown he’d been dressed in.

Two hours later he was airborne and hot on Rain’s trail. He had a fix on her location and his ship was a lot faster than hers. This would be over in thirty-six hours.

~~~

Gyn Wolf sat at the bar with her friend and sipped her whiskey around her grin. Drey laughed out loud and slapped his thigh.

“So that’s how you caught him?” he questioned incredulously.

“Can you imagine? One of the galaxies toughest criminals and all it took to break him was my feminine whiles?” Gyn answered, downing the whiskey in a quick gulp.

“Damn, woman, I didn’t think you had it in you to use that one... Shoulda known better. You deserve extra for almost having to fornicate with that bastard though,” Drey stated solemnly... before cracking up again.

“Okay! Okay!” Gyn begged. “My ribs are starting to hurt. So are you gonna take this jerk off my hands, or what? I’m getting sick of his threats and leering. He’s annoying.”

“All right, I’ll haul his ass over to HQ, but this better be good whatever you’re looking for.”

“Oh, it is, Drey. It is.” Gyn stood up and extended her hand to Drey. “Hope to see you again sometime soon, Reese. You take care, all right?”

“Will do, buddy. I’ll chain Jacobs to your cargo and you can pick him up whenever. He’ll live a few more hours without food or water.” They laughed again and Gyn headed for her ship.

When she entered Kris was swearing a blue streak. Running her up one side and down the other with words that would make most peoples ears burn. She shrugged it off with her usual nonchalant attitude and checked his locks.

“Time for you to switch owners, animal,” she said, grabbing the lead around his neck and dragging him after her down the ship’s cargo ramp. He tried to tug away and she yanked hard, pulling him to his knees. “Now, now. Let’s not play this game. I think you’ll like my friend. He has a solar shower and now you can get clean.”

Gyn dragged him over to Drey’s ship and found the cargo stacked up beside his cargo hatch to be loaded on board later. She chained him to a stack of heavy metal boxes then pulled a gun out of her waistband. “Run,” she ordered.

Kris stared at her as if she were crazy. Gyn rolled her eyes and sighed. “I said, RUN!”

Kris took off running and was brought short on his chain, falling to the ground. The boxes didn’t budge. Gyn replaced her revolver and grinned. “Perfect. You’re not goin’ anywhere. At least until my buddy turns up. Then you’re going to prison for a very long time. Have a shitty life!” she called and strode away. Now to find Ven and Brand.

~~~

“Brand.” Brand turned to look at Sam. He lifted one dark brow and sat up straight. Sam sat down next to him. “Don’t worry about that guy, kid. All the burly guys in uniform at criminals. They’re on a work project for this town. We give them training and they work the hard cases. That way if they have any... ‘accidents’ per say no one cares. It was just cheaper than executing them.”

Brand nodded. “Is Ven gonna live?”

“Oh, yeah. Ven is gonna be fine. Your pretty friend patched her up real well. She’s in a mend chamber right now getting the healing treatment. She’ll be good as new in two hours.”

Brand sighed and slumped backwards in his chair. “Thank you, Sam.” Then he passed out.

~~~

Rain stood outside the two matching chambers. No one new about her back. She didn’t know if she trusted mend chambers. Nothing good old fashion bandages and stitches couldn’t fix... well, sorta.

Ven would be out in a half hour, and Brand in one full hour. Her back burned. Sam was watching her curiously and she bristled beneath his gaze.

“What?” she finally demanded, turning on him. He withdrew and she felt the usual stab of fear when people saw her eyes.

“Nothing. You just seem... tired. Were you wounded with them?” he asked, regaining his confidence.

Rain shrugged. “Nothing major.”

“Can I see?” he asked.

Another shrug. “Sure.” Rain turned her back to him and whipped off her shirt. She heard him suck in a sharp breath.

“Those are bleeding... And there’s a lot of them.”

“So?” She pulled her shirt back on and turned to face him.

“You wanna let me take a look at them?”

“You just did,” she stated, turning back to the mend chambers to keep watch on Ven and Brand. Brand mostly. She wished he was her little brother. That Ven was her sister. That they were looking for her and that they’d finally all found each other. She hoped Gyn knew how lucky she was.

“Those need treatment or they’re gonna get infected.”

“I need to keep an eye on Brand,” she answered stoically. She refused to leave the kid alone in that tube.

Sam turned Rain to face him. “No you don’t. He’s fine in there, and Ven will be up in twenty minutes. She can watch him when she wakes up.”

Deciding that her back did hurt a lot and that Sam was definitely attractive, she let him lead her away. Eye candy had always made her feel better. He directed her to take off her shirt and lay face down on the padded examination table. She did as he said and felt him begin to remove the bandages.

“Damn, woman, these are bad. Who cleaned them?”

“Brand,” she answered, feeling she should defend the kid. He’d done the best he could in his condition.

“No wonder. He was half dead himself. At least he got all the fragments of whatever it was out. What did this, anyway?” Sam questioned, gathering stuff to clean her back with.

“I was pushed through a glass door. It came down on my back.” Rain hissed as he applied something that stung to her back.

“Sorry. A door, you say? Damn lucky to be alive, aren’t you? Don’t suppose I could talk you into climbing in one of those mend chambers, could I? It would only take ten to twenty minutes to fix you up.” He started on another cut.

“No,” she growled. “These aren’t that serious. Clean, stitch, bandage. Whatever. Just finish it and let me go back to Brand.”

Sam bandaged up the two cuts he’d cleaned already. “You really care about that kid don’t you?” he asked.

Rain froze. “He patched me up,” she answered, avoiding his probing question.

“Naw, it’s more than that. You practically ignore Ven compared to the boy. But you care about her, too. No relation to them, though, I don’t think. Am I right?”

“You’re right.” She lifted a shoulder. “And I guess I care about him.” It felt weird, she thought to herself. Saying those words out loud. She’d never cared about anyone. Maybe she finally could.

***

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