Price of a Bounty

-Keira-

Who to Trust?



I woke. Dim grey light filtered through the drapes. Something isn’t right. I nudged Guy, gently at first, then harder. Someone is here. I couldn’t wait any longer. I kicked Guy hard as I reached for the gun on the bedside table. He finally stirred. I rolled off the bed, dropped to a crouch and aimed at the bedroom door. Staying low, I moved toward the closet.

The door crashed open. A gun appeared first. It pointed at the bed, at Guy. He sat up and raised his hands in surrender. Two figures appeared in the doorway. Both wore special ops uniforms. One continued to aim at the bed while the second scanned the room.

I pointed the handgun at his heart. Are they here for Guy or for me?

The soldier saw me but didn’t shoot.

“Hold your fire!” Guy said.

What’s he doing?

“Guy Bensen?”

“Sergeant McGraw.” He nodded to the soldier on the right.

“Where’s Richard Burke?”

“You’re looking at him.”

She lowered her weapon. “The girl…”

Guy lowered his hands and stood up. “She’s not your enemy.”

“Over here, sir!”

Sgt. McGraw took in the situation. Her man was in full uniform and probably wore a bulletproof vest, while I had on only a pair of lacy underwear, a tank top and my gold pendant. I raised my gun and aimed between the soldier’s eyes.

Guy turned and looked at me. “Keira, put down the gun.”

Sgt. McGraw ordered, “Private, you too.”

He lowered his gun but didn’t look away.

I backed into the closet. Only when I was out of sight did I lower my weapon.

“Stand down!” I heard Sgt. McGraw call out. How many of them are there?

I emerged a minute later. I’d slipped on a pair of jeans and fitness shoes. Guy wore the clothes he’d left in a pile by the dresser the night before, slacks and a black t-shirt.





-Guy-

The Real Question



Sgt. McGraw looked from Keira to me. “You called her Keira.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes. Keira Maddock.”

“Of course she is.” McGraw leaned through the door and gave some orders to her men. “Nemes and Davis, guard the door. No one comes in, no one goes out. The rest of you, hold tight.”

The sergeant stared at Keira. I knew she was noting the resemblance in Keira’s bright green eyes.

“Our orders are to bring in Richard Burke for questioning. The charge is, ‘unknowingly harboring a criminal.’ You’ve been seen with Madeline Jones.” She tilted her head toward Keira. “She’s the one Ramsey wants. Madeline Jones is a known Freelancer. We have quite the dossier on her. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

I looked at Keira. “Not a word,” I advised. Then I turned my attention to the sergeant. “This is Keira Maddock, Scott’s sister. Ramsey has been after her for a while. The real question is, does she know that Keira is also one of us?”

McGraw looked at Keira’s pendant. “Is this a new development?”

“That’s not the real question.” Keira looked at me and completely ignored Sgt. McGraw. “The real question is why?”

“My orders are to bring you in, dead or alive,” McGraw continued. She was still looking at Keira.

“But why?” Keira asked me again.

“Yes, why?” I said. “Why does Elaine Ramsey want you? We’re missing something.”

Sgt. McGraw gave up and leaned against the wall.

“We thought it was because you outsmarted her, but what if she outsmarted you?”

“What? No. She didn’t play me. I approached her.”

“I thought you said Scott told you about that job. What if she played both of you?”

“At one point I thought she was testing me, but it didn’t make any sense. Why would she do that if she’d already hired me?”

“But she didn’t pay you for that job, so why did she really want you?”

“So I’d have to do her bidding for free.”

“She can afford your fees, easily.”

“To get to Scott…”

“Scott is already one of her soldiers. He’s had to follow her orders ever since her husband died.” I hesitated. “Did you have anything to do with Curtis Ramsey’s death?”

“No, I thought he died from natural causes.”

“That’s how it was reported, but I had to ask.”

“She’s probably after you and Scott.”

“What if we’re wrong? What if Ramsey doesn’t have any real leads about who is who in the Resistance? What if she wants you for some other reason?”

“Then we’re back to the beginning. Why?”

Yes, why? “Keira, you once told me that Scott asked you to join the military. Why didn’t you?”

“Because I wanted to keep my independence. Scott said I could easily pass the same tests he had, but because of the rumors I…”

“The rumors about genetic screening?” I interrupted.

“Yes, and rumors about Ramsey Corps crossing the line.”

“Keira, when I first met you, you had scars. Will you show them to us?”

“What? Why?” She pulled aside the short sleeve of her tank top. The skin was smooth and soft. Next, she ran her hand over her wrist and looked at it. She glanced up in alarm, then turned and lifted her tank top. She looked over her shoulder.

I ran my hand up and down her back. “They’re all gone.” She lowered her tank top. I put my arm around her shoulders, and together we faced Sgt. McGraw.

“Sergeant?”

Sgt. McGraw shook her head. “I know what you’re going to ask, and the answer is, I don’t know.”

“What do you know?”

“Once a month, the doctors take blood and tissue samples from all of the special operatives. The samples are sent to the Ramsey Corps lab on the outskirts of Tkaron. I know the location, but I don’t have clearance.”

“Do they ever give you injections?”

“Yes, of course, vaccinations. And Special Ops are sometimes given other drugs to help us perform.”

“What kinds of drugs?”

“They improve our speed, strength and endurance.”

I thought about Keira’s missing scars. “When you’re injured, do you heal quickly?”

She pondered that. “Yes.”

“How quickly?”

“Let me think. Pulled muscles are usually better the next day.”

The other soldier spoke up. “When I broke my arm last year, it healed completely in just under a week.”

Keira and I looked at each other in surprise.

“Who are the head doctors at Ramsey Corps?” I asked.

“There’s Dr. Renaldt, Dr. Grere and Dr. Ross.”

“Dr. Ross?”

Keira looked at me in alarm. “Isn’t he the one who checked April?”

I nodded.

“He gave her an injection! But…he didn’t give me one.”

Another missing piece. “Did you eat or drink anything when you were at Ramsey’s party?”

“No, but…”

“What?”

“I drank some tea she offered me, just a couple of sips. It was the day after I met you.”

Keira put her hand to her side, then she hurried into the kitchen. The soldiers watched as she walked by. Sgt. McGraw and I were the only ones to follow her. By the time I realized what Keira was doing, it was too late to stop her. She had grabbed a steak knife and cut her left arm. Blood gushed everywhere, and the knife clattered into the sink.

I ran to a drawer and pulled out a clean towel. I pressed it against the wound. Keira put her hand on top of mine.

“Guy, let go,” she said softly.

I did as she asked. Gently, she peeled back the towel and then wiped the blood off her arm. There was no cut.

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “What did they do to me?”





-Keira-

What Ramsey Corps Did



Injuries…Lance Beckett. He’d stabbed me in the side when I’d moved in to cut his throat. I’d ignored the pain because I had to get April to safety. Yet less than an hour later, when Guy noticed the injury, there was hardly a scratch. I’d convinced myself then that the blood at my waist had been from a small surface wound. Clearly, I wasn’t hurt.

Now I knew. Something about me had changed. This cut was deep. I should have needed stitches. To say I could heal quickly…well, that was the understatement of the year!

I understood the value to Ramsey Corps. Imagine having strong, well-trained soldiers who could heal within seconds. As long as they were on your side, it was perfect.

So, why had she done this to me? I’d never been on her side. I thought about our last conversation.

“Keep in touch, Keira,” she’d said. “I may require your services in the future.”

Had she really believed she could control me? Yes, she had. And when she realized she couldn’t, she tried to eliminate the threat. Even with rapid healing, I doubt I would have survived the blast at my apartment.

I looked at Guy, and tears welled up in the corners of my eyes. “What did they do to me?”

He took both of my hands in his. “I don’t know, but we’ll find out.”

“What about Scott? What do you think they’re doing to him?” I spoke so softly I could hardly hear my own voice, but Guy heard.

He pulled me close and held me tight. “We’ll get him back.”

Then he looked at the sergeant. “We’re going in today. Can you clear the way?”

McGraw nodded.

Guy contacted Eberhardt and asked him to put together a team. They would meet us at safe house four within the hour.

McGraw briefed her men: Guy Bensen and his team would be breaking into the Ramsey Corps lab within the next few hours.

“If you are questioned about our mission here, you will report that no one was home when we arrived. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir!” a chorus of voices rang out.

“If you are called upon to assist at the Ramsey Corps lab, your primary objective is to protect the intruders. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir!”

“All right men, this is for the Resistance. Let’s spread the word.”