Crusade For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 2) Read online

  “How bad was it?” he asked seriously.

  “I have never gotten as close to being captured. If you hadn’t given me the name of that guy, I don’t think we would have survived.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more, the entire Legion was on lock down. No leave, nothing. Even the Devils were kept on a very tight leash.”

  “What you did kept us alive, so don’t worry about it. You spoken to your mother?”

  “Hah. Not a chance. The Privileged son who runs off to join the Legion as a Private soldier? Not only that, but in over sixty years, never accepts a promotion. She wouldn’t see me on her deathbed and that’s a very long way off. Sometimes, I think refusing to use the family name annoys her the most.”

  “Or it gives her the most pleasure you’re not dragging it through the mud by being Private Rousey.”

  “True. Who knows? What about your Dad? Have you managed to get word to him? You know he worries and he’ll keep it quiet.”

  “What do I say?” Julianna threw her hands up into the air. “By the way Dad, your little girl is alive and has joined the Rebellion?” She shook her head. “Oh, and it’s all cousin Chao’s fault. His war stories put ideas into my head.”

  “If you’re going to get into trouble, you might as well drag me in. This black sheep can’t get any deeper into the Family’s bad books.”

  “Anyway, enough about a family who would like absolutely nothing to do with us. Do you have any new contacts for me?” Julianna asked.

  “Right of course. I might have excited you with my stories, but you’re the one who dragged me into recruiting for the Rebellion. Who’s the one to blame?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she laughed and waggled her fingers at him. “Gimme.”

  He rolled his eyes and slid the flash drive over the table to her. “With all the rushing around they’ve had us doing, I’ve found some good ones scattered all over the place for you.”

  “Excellent. What about Shadow Company? Any luck there?”

  “Come on, Jules,” he said shaking his head. “I’ve told you before. Those guys and girls are hard core. They may not love the Privileged, but they would have followed Major Carter into a Black hole. With Forlani picked as her replacement, there is no way they would go against her. If the Legion brought someone new in to run the Company, we might have a chance, but not with Forlani running the show.”

  “OK, Chao. I hear you,” she pointed at his glass. “Looks like you’re running low. Same again?” She’d finished her original pint and was well into her second.

  His own was nearing the end and he nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.”

  “Alright, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Taking her glass, she headed to the bar and Button chuckled when he saw a few admiring glances going her way. Those doing the admiring looked over to where she came from. They swiftly diverted their gazes to their drinks under Button’s stern gaze. It was completely false, he trained his younger cousin personally while she grew up. There was not a single person in this bar she couldn’t handle. Himself excluded anyway.

  Leaning back and relaxing a bit he sipped at his pint. Determined to eke it out until Julianna returned with a fresh one. What made her join the Rebellion he wasn’t sure. He knew she loved his stories when he was back on leave and she hadn’t even turned ten, but he thought she’d follow him into the Legion.

  When he heard she died in an aircar accident he was devastated. His uncle Eli, Julianna’s father, was the only one in their family to support him. As a young man on leave and unable to go to his parents, Eli took Button in. He and Julianna became a surrogate father and sister to him.

  Ten years after the accident, Julianna approached him and, after a very long and loud argument, convinced him to join the Rebellion as a Legion recruiter. While he reminisced, his eyes scanned the crowd, partly an instinctive response to search for threats, but also admiring the women who weren’t his cousin.

  A tall bald man with tattoos on his arms moved some people out of his way, not aggressively, but with the promise of it if they didn’t do as he wanted. Someone stepped past him, through the gap he created. The shock hit Button harder than even a Pulse round to the chest. Without thinking he was out of his seat and moving through the crowd as fast as he could.

  He wasn’t gentle this time. He left a number of wet backs and chests from spilled drinks in his wake. Reaching the door leading outside, he slowed enough so it didn’t slam open and stepped outside. Looking up and down the street, he caught sight of the tattooed man going down an alley. The moment the man was hidden from view, Button sprinted to the corner and glanced round carefully.

  He was just in time to see the bald man turn down a second alley further in. Again Button sprinted forward and stopped. Cautiously, Button peeked round. A hand grabbed his jacket collar and yanked him clear round the corner, catching him completely by surprise.

  Over sixty years combat experience came to the fore. His fist lashed out in reflex, only to be blocked. Before he could attempt a second move, he was slammed bodily against the wall so hard, the breath was blasted from his lungs. His eyes snapped open and he froze as he stared into two cold, hazel eyes.

  “Major!” he gasped, almost not being able to believe what he was seeing. Standing in front of him, and holding him feet off the floor against the wall with one hand, was Major Carter. She looked different. There was none of her customary warmth in her eyes. They were colder than the most ruthless killer Button ever met. He had no doubt it was her. The woman’s strength alone was proof.

  “You’re alive,” in the back of his head, Button kicked himself, the shock causing him to state the obvious. “How is it possible?” His brain managed to take control of his mouth. “Shit. Have I interrupted a mission?” It was the only explanation. She must have been sent on deep cover after Furioso.

  The Major lowered him slightly so his feet were back on solid ground. Her pistols were still in her holsters on her thighs, but he didn’t even consider trying anything.

  “No.” The words almost grated out of her mouth. It was like she was struggling to control herself. “No missions. No more. Only one.” He could see moisture in her eyes.

  “Put him down. Now!” Julianna stood at the alleyway entrance with a Mag pistol pointed at the Major’s head.

  “Don’t kill her. Please.” Button demanded as quickly as he was able.

  “Why?” his cousin demanded.

  Button didn’t move his head from where his eyes we’re locked with the Major’s.

  “I’m not talking to you, Jules. Lower the gun. Slowly.”

  “What?” the confusion was obvious in her voice and Button couldn’t blame her, but right now he was terrified for one of the only members of his family he actually cared about.

  “Do it now,” he said as calmly as he could manage. “Trust me.”

  From the corner of his eye, he saw the gun lower and there was an almost imperceptible relaxing in the Major’s stance.

  “Guv?” Button wanted to scream in frustration. This alleyway seemed to be a major Speedway tonight. The tattooed man stood at the other end. Fortunately he hadn’t drawn his weapon and Julianna didn’t raise hers. “Everything alright?”

  The Major gently let go of Button’s jacket and stepped back. “Don’t tell anyone you’ve seen me, Button. You owe me.” It was a demand with absolutely no give in it.

  “You have my word,” he told her and meant it. Nodding, she turned her back on them and walked out, passing the tattooed man, coat flapping around her. He looked wonderingly at Button for a brief moment and followed.

  “You alright?” Julianna asked. “Who was she?”

  Button’s heart was slamming against the inside of his chest as rapidly as it did in full combat.

  “Did you get those drinks?”

  “Yeah, they’re on the table.”

  “Good. I need one.”

  Back at their table, Button downed half the pint before looking at his cousin.

  She was ga
zing at him with concern. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  There was very little humour in Button’s laugh. “You have no idea how right you are.”

  “Who was she and why did you tell her not to kill me when I had her dead to rights?” She was obviously confused, angry and concerned. She could tell he had been afraid.

  “That woman is the most dangerous person you could ever meet. She could have killed us both easily, like stepping on ants. I can see the look you’re giving me, Jules. Trust me I’ve seen her do it more times than I would care to remember.”

  “Who was she, Chao?”

  Button ran his hand through his hair. Just minutes ago made a promise but something told him this was not what the Major meant.

  “You just met Major Valerie Carter, my old CO. The one who we were told died on Furioso.”

  Julianna sat back and started to say something before stopping herself. Button could see her sorting through questions and discarding them.

  “OK. If they covered up her death she must be hunting the Rebellion.”

  “No,” Button shook his head. “Whatever is going on, it has nothing to do with the Legion.”

  “How can you tell? What did she say?”

  “Not much, but I have never seen her like that in over forty years. She was...” he paused. “She was in pain. Pain like I have never seen before. When I mentioned the missions... I can’t explain it, it was the way she reacted. I think the higher ups believe she’s dead as well.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Honestly? I have no idea. I’m certainly not going to turn her in.” They sat in silence for a moment before he came to a decision. “There’s something you need to know, Jules. She’s the one everyone calls Battleborn.”

  “What! Why didn’t you ever tell me? Billy has been looking for Battleborn for decades.”

  “That’s why. If you or anyone else approached her, she would have turned you in before you could blink. If you tried to kill her, you’d be dead. No if’s, no but’s, dead. She was Legion through and through and as loyal as they come. Now, I’m not so sure.”

  “You think I should find her?”

  “NO!” he almost shouted. “Sorry, no. Not in the state she’s in right now. The Major is liable to snap you in two and believe me, she could. Every story you have ever heard about Battleborn? They’re true. I know, I was there for most of them. Heh, it was me spreading most of the rumours.”

  “You were feeding the Battleborn legend?” she reached over the table and punched him on the arm, hard.

  “Ow!”

  “Do you have any idea how much that has set back our recruitment in the Legion? Battleborn has been the rallying cry of every Legion recruiter for decades. Your stories have drawn thousands upon thousands more people into the Legion, than the number of contacts you’ve turned.”

  “I couldn’t very well stop, could I?” he said apologetically with a shrug. “My mates in the Company would wonder why and whether I’m a rebel sympathiser.”

  “Alright. I understand, but I bet it was more from you wanting to brag about your vaunted Major. You’ve certainly told me enough tales about her.” Button didn’t even try to argue, she was pretty much right. “So what do I do then?”

  Rubbing his face with his hands, Button shook his head. “I don’t know. I need to think about this, but I know you, you’re going to follow up on it. Just promise me some things.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t go anywhere near her, imagine you want to tail me, but I’m ten times as good. That’s how hands off you need to be and please don’t tell Billy, at least not without talking to me first. Maybe and I do stress maybe, if I talked to her she might not decide to kill everyone in sight.”

  “OK, I can live with that, but not forever. She could be too important to the Rebellion.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “Arlene. You here?” Julianna called as she walked through the door to the flat she shared with the woman. After Furioso, they found they made quite a good team. Julianna always tended more towards action, while Arlene took the time to think things through. It was why the other woman survived, when the police and Legion brought the hammer down before Julianna arrived.

  When Billy decided to leave Julianna in place and picked her to run the Zeus resistance Cell, it made sense for them to be flatmates. They were of a similar age and they got on well together. Though as a recipient of Life X, Julianna could easily pass as Arlene’s daughter and often did.

  “In here,” replied Arlene from the Kitchen. “You’re back early. You said not to expect you back before two in the morning.”

  “Normally, I wouldn’t, but something came up,” Julianna told her friend as she walked into the kitchen.

  “Serious?” Arlene asked and passed Julianna a beer.

  “Well not, ‘we’ve got to run for our life’ serious, but certainly very interesting.”

  “OK, since we’re not running. Tell me.”

  Julianna went through the evenings events with her Intelligence Officer.

  “Wow. Battleborn is out in the open. That is what I call interesting.” Arlene said after Julianna finished. “And your cousin doesn’t want us to tell Billy?”

  “No. He thinks if we do, then Billy might contact Carter directly and we wouldn’t like her response. He’s seriously scared of this woman. I have never seen him like when she had him up against the wall. He was in shock yes, a dead woman had him by the collar, but he was terrified of what she would do to me and I had a gun levelled right at her head. If she blinked I would have pulled the trigger. Yet he knew she could take me. Take us both.”

  “He told you everything about Battleborn is true,” Arlene paused for a moment. “Alright, if we play it his way and stay hands off, how do we find her when we’re ready to talk?”

  “If Chao doesn’t want to be found we wouldn’t be able to find him. Carter is even harder, so let’s ignore her and look at the man she was with. I think he was a gang member and the tats on his arms prove it.” Julianna grabbed a datapad from the counter and using the virtual keyboard, she drew, as best she could, an R with a tear going through it. “Do you recognise this?”

  “No,” Arlene shook her head. “But Zeus is a big city and there are a lot of gangs. I’ll ask around.”

  “Keep it low key, very low key.”

  “Don’t worry, I wasn’t there, but I hear your cousin’s warnings loud and clear.”

  ***

  “I’ve found something on our gang member,” Arlene said as she slid into the seat opposite Julianna the next day. They were meeting for lunch at a small cafe and Julianna looked up from her coffee.

  “What have you got?”

  “The tattoo you gave me belongs to a gang under a Boss called Ripper. They’re clear over the other side of the city and you were right inside his territory when you met Button.”

  “OK, so what was Carter doing with one of Ripper’s people? Was it Ripper she was with?”

  “No, he doesn’t meet the description, but that’s where things get interesting. Ripper was recently killed and a new Boss took over. A woman called Milicevic. Details are sketchy, but the word on the street is, there was very little bloodshed and the woman in question is dark haired. She has also built something of a reputation as a scary operator.”

  “Carter.”

  “It’s a big city and I do have a couple of other possibles, but that’s who my money is on.”

  “I’m not going to disagree with you. You still know this city much better than I do. Run down the others, just in case.”

  “I’m going to. If they don’t pan out and this is her running Ripper’s old gang, what do we do?”

  “We sit tight and wait for Button. If she’s taking over a gang, then she must be settling in. There doesn’t seem to be any rush.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “Deni, have you seen the Boss?” Hanna asked.

  Looking up from where she was discussing an en
gine build with one of the mechanics, Deni shook her head.

  “No. Not all day.”

  “Hmm, that’s strange. I know she got in late last night, but she wanted to go through some stuff with me.”

  “Maybe she’s back out with Cracker again. Have you tried her com?”

  “She’s not answering.” Hanna said with a shake of her head. “Hardly unusual.”

  “What about her room?”

  “I tried there. It’s locked and I got no answer when I knocked.”

  “Sorry. I can’t help,” Deni shrugged. “You’re not worried are you? Out of every single person we know, she’s the one I’m least worried about. If something happened, we would have heard the explosions and gun fire. Blazes, everyone in the city would have!”

  “Alright. I can’t argue with that, it’s just not like her. I’ll give Cracker a call and ask him.”

  “No need,” Deni pointed over Hanna’s shoulder. “He just drove into the yard.”

  “That is what I call timing. Thanks.”

  “No charge.”

  Hanna walked out and met the Chief Enforcer just outside the Workshop.

  “Afternoon Cracker. Have you seen the Boss?”

  He shook his head and frowned. “Not since last night.”

  “Anything out of the ordinary happen?”

  “Well...” He looked around them a bit nervously. “I don’t think I should say.”

  Hanna firmed her voice. “You can to me.”

  “Alright, but don’t tell her it came from me. We met with the owner of the Green Man as planned and the Boss agreed to extend her a loan. When we left, we were tailed out of the bar by someone. I’ve never seen this guy before, but the Boss knows him. She told me to keep going, while she waited. I thought the guy was a goner and it took a bit longer than I was comfortable with, so I went back. The Boss had the guy up against the wall and a blonde woman standing to one side with her gun out. I checked with the Boss before I pulled mine, you know how she can be, and she lets them go. Afterwards she was distant, well more distant than normal, a lot more.”