Marcus watched the street lights pass by the window as the train sped thru the early morning hours. A light drizzle made the streets seem to ripple in the window.
Mr. Anderson and Marcus had worked quickly reviewing every piece of evidence of Veronica’s last movements. They had found one scrap of video surveillance footage from a street camera, just blocks from the club. There was the image of Veronicas hover car being forced off the street by two other cars boxing her in. Once at a stop two dark figures rushed the car and dragged her out and into the car in back. It could be seen speeding away , north across the Covenginton River.
It took Marcus and Anderson another hour to determine where the kidnappers were going. An out of the way hanger at the far end of the space port. Owned by a front company for Cleveland Powers, it saw little traffic.
As the train speed across the River toward the space port he read the data pad, a bio on the mysterious person T’Ros wanted killed. A second rate gangster, rumored to be bucking Cleveland Powers hold on the prostitution trade in the north sector of Omega Prime. Normally Powers would take care of such a nuisance himself, but the public exposure of recent events prevented him from taking action. That and Marcus was sure this was just a test of his and T’Ros hold on him.
Well, the leash is broken now, he thought as he cut the data padd off and the train came to a stop.
It was only an hour before sunrise by the time he had made his way around the space port and found the small hanger with a single guard posted outside the front door.
“Are you so sure of yourself?” Marcus muttered to himself.
The clouds let up their rain just as he came around the corner driving a cargo carrier as fast as it would go. The guard looked up in amazement, just as it crashed over him, ripping his torso to shreds. It kept on going straight into the door, smashing it bits and tossing Marcus over the dash and rolling across the floor. Across the hanger two more guards jerked around and started firing phasers at the hover car, but Marcus was well clear now and in with two easy shots brought both men down.
Veronica sat, tied to a chair with a blindfold, like some old style gangster movie. In seconds Marcus was ripping the blindfold off and cutting the ropes from her waist.
“Oh God Marcus.” she cried.
“Its Ok..Its Ok. I’ve got you now.”
He picked her up and ran from the building. Once at a safe distance he laid her down next to a cargo container.
“Wait here.”
“Where are you going?” she pleaded.
“To clean up. Just hang on a minute.”
He ran back toward the hanger just as a hover car sped around from the back. With out stopping he fired his phaser at the forward sensors and it careened into the side of the building. In a smooth motion he pulled a photon grenade from his overcoat and tossed it thru a broken window and ran like hell back to Veronica.
Just as he picked her up and continued toward the perimeter fence a massive fire ball erupted behind him. The hanger was no more than a puddle of glowing plazsteel and blood.
***
As the morning light shone thru the window of Marcus Apartment he brought her a glass of juice. She sat up in his bed and took the drink.
“What’s in this?” she asked.
“Just a mild sedative. To calm your nerves.”
She looked up at him. “I don’t want my nerves calmed. I want to go kill whoever did this.”
Marcus smiled and stroked her hair. “I’ve made a start on that.”
She put the drink down on the table next to the bed. “I want to help finish it.”
“Are you sure?”
Throwing the bed covers aside. “Dam straight I’m sure.”
He watched her as she dressed. “Ok then. Lets go pay Mr. Powers a visit shall we?”
Off:
Marcus Dinn
Owner of Ricks and Oz
Phoenix Colony
Phoenix Federation
