|
Excerpt:
IR
721.05.08 10:13:21
Skimmaria
“Under Regime
order, open this hatch!” A Regime soldier pounded on the exterior hatch
of the shuttle.
“Nononononono!” Perry said, running to the rear hatch. “Storm! We got
company!”
Storm appeared
from one of the storerooms. “What?” She’d been storing the food she
and Cartell had purchased in the market place. Though they’d argued,
Storm managed to allow him to slow long enough to get some food stock
for the shuttle.
“Regime
soldiers at the rear hatch!”
Storm
disappeared back into the room, and re--emerged with two blasters, one
strapped to her hip, the other in her hand.
Cartell
emerged from the same room, holding a blaster--rifle.
“Stay back,”
Storm said, to him, pushing him into the room.
“Are you
nuts?” He grabbed her arm. “You need me.”
“If they
identify you, you’re dead.”
“So are you!”
Storm pulled
away from him. “Stay back as much as you can.”
Cartell
nodded.
“Perry,” Storm
called out. “Let them in.”
“Wait,” Perry
called back. “I got an idea.” He looked at Cartell as he headed toward
the cockpit. “Can you distract them for a bit?”
Cartell
nodded, and worked his way back to the hatch.
Perry sprinted
into the cockpit, and sealed the door.
Storm stood
there, a blaster in each hand, ready to fire at the Regime soldiers.
Cartell, with
the blaster rifle over his shoulder, was about to the door, when a broad
smile spread across his face.
“Put your
blasters away…” Cartell said as he walked toward the door. He started
pulling his clothes off, stripping down to his underwear.
“What are you
doing?”
“Trust me.”
Cartell winked at her. “Go take that tunic off and wrap yourself up in
a blanket.” He messed up his hair. “And take those braids down, look
like you got out of bed.”
“What? Why?”
“Do it! And
don’t come out until I say so.”
“I do not
think…” Storm countered.
“I don’t care,
do it!” Cartell yelled. He headed for the rear hatch where the banging
and the hiss--snap of an override card opening the lock came from.
Storm started
after him, the blaster still in her hand.
“By order of
the Regime, we are coming in!”
“I’m busy!”
Cartell yelled back.
“What are you
doing?” Storm demanded, her hands on her hips.
“Would you do
what I said?” He palmed the panel. “Give me a second.”
“If you think
I am going to do everything you say when you say it, you are insane!”
Storm yelled at Cartell.
He faced
Storm. “You need to trust me!”
“Why? Because
you have been so helpful in my life so far?”
“You’re still
alive, aren’t you?”
“No thanks to
you,” Storm snapped back.
The door
opened behind them, and six Regime soldiers poured into the shuttle.
“What do you
want?” Storm snapped at the soldiers.
“Drop your
weapon!” one soldier yelled at her, and three had their weapons trained
on her.
Storm threw
the blaster to the ground, facing Cartell. “Because of you, I have lost
my job, lost my income, and have no control over myself anymore!”
“Now listen,”
Cartell said. “You didn’t lose your job because of me!”
“Black
Shesma!” Storm spat at him.
“Knock it
off!” one of the soldiers yelled.
Both stopped
and looked at the Regime troops standing in the entryway.
“We have
orders to search all vessels for fugitives of the Regime,” the head
said, nodding to two other. The two broke off and started searching the
rooms closest to the entrance.
“There’s no
fugitives on this ship, only a stubborn, know--it--all woman!” Cartell
spat at Storm.
“Oh really?”
Storm snapped at Cartell. She paid the soldiers little mind. “How dare
you presume that I am the stubborn one, you overgrown, muscle--bound
primitive!” Storm flicked her eyes to Cartell, who stood about two
meters in front of her, naked from the waist up. She clenched her
teeth, and pivoted on her heal, heading back toward the galley. She
wanted to hit him!
“I’m
primitive? You’re the one who…” Cartell said, stomping toward her.
“Listen you
two! I don’t care what’s going on between you! This is Regime
business!” the commanding soldier said.
Storm and
Cartell froze and looked over at the soldiers. “We did not ask you to
board our ship!” Storm spat at the soldier.
“Look, woman,
I can have you arrested!” the Regime soldier snapped back at her.
“You won’t
touch her!” Cartell said, stepping in front of Storm.
Storm pushed
him away. “I can handle this myself. I do not need you trying to
protect me, you primitive!”
Cartell
started after her. “You should have listened to me in the first
place!”
“What? So you
can command me? I am not one of your pa--kees.”
“If you were,
you’d listen to me!”
Storm pivoted
on her heal, and headed back away from him.
“Freeze!” one
of the soldiers yelled.
Storm stopped
and spun around. “Do you mind? I have to finish educating this
primitive!”
“Why you!”
Cartell yelled at her. “I’d kill myself before I’d command you. You
can’t listen to anyone!”
“No one owns
me,” Storm cried out, strode toward him, stopping centimeters from his
face.
“Which is why
you’re here and not at your job!”
“My loyalty
was never in question!”
“Oh, so that’s
why they fired you so readily?” Cartell yelled back at her.
Storm brought
her fist back to hit Cartell, but he caught her hand, and pulled it to
her side.
“Don’t.” He
pressed her against his chest. His body heat filtered through her
tunic, making even more adrenalin run through her body, but this kind of
adrenalin was different than the fiery argument.
“Do not order
me!” Storm spat, trying to pull away, but Cartell kept her crushed
against him.
“You need to
trust me,” he said, his lips above hers. He pulled her up against him
in a hard kiss. Storm felt her body flatten against him, and he wrapped
an arm around her, grabbing her bottom and pulling her into him. Her
whole body shivered and she dug her fingernails into Cartell’s
shoulders.
“Listen,” the
head soldier said. “It’s obvious you two have things to discuss.” The
rest of the soldiers remained near the entrance, hesitant to proceed.
Cartell pulled
back, a bit breathless. “Damn straight we do.” He let go of Storm, and
she felt herself sighing at the loss. She licked her lips, and could
still taste Cartell on her mouth, which sent a new rush of pleasure
through her.
The commander
was about to speak, but he froze, his hand going up, making a fist, and
touched his ear. He looked at the ground, then back up at the others.
“New orders.”
The six
soldiers backed out of the entry.
One stopped
long enough to speak. “Sorry to bother you.” Cartell followed them to
the hatch, sealing it behind them.
As he walked
back, a primal look covered Cartell’s face. Primal, but still calm. He
approached her like a predator.
“You almost
had us arrested.”
“I did? You
are the one who wanted me undressed.”
A feral grin
crept across Cartell’s face. “Never a bad idea.”
Storm stepped
backwards, into the galley wall. “Being naked in your vicinity is not a
smart idea.”
“‘Smart’ is
not what I’d call this situation, either.” He now stood less than a
meter away from her, and he kept advancing.
“Then what
would you call it?”
Cartell loomed
over her. “Right.” He kissed her, scorching her lips. Powerless, she
fell limp into him, her body responding against her right mind, craving
the intimate contact more than she needed air. He put his hands behind
her head, pulling her deeper into the kiss, and she wrapped her arms
around his back, her fingers digging into his flesh.
“Guys that was
great!” Perry said, coming out of the cockpit.
Cartell broke
away from Storm, his defined chest panting.
“Oh,” Perry
said, staring at them. “Yeah, well, uh, okay.” Perry walked past them
to the rear hatch. He started pressing a few keys. “This’ll take me a
while to repair. Those override cards they use can do a number on
locks.” He glanced back at Storm and Cartell. “I’ll get this bucket
into orbit. We don’t need any more searches.”
“Good,”
Cartell said. He stepped closer to Storm, and put his hand on her arm.
“I need some rest,” he said, pulling her against him. “And so do you.”
“And so do I,” Storm said.
|