The 28th Gate: Volume 7

Episode 1-3

“We’ll make camp here,” Hunter said, gesturing to a small hollow tucked within a thick stand of trees.

“Not much room for a fire,” Fadar commented.

“We’re not making one,” Hunter countered, pulling his bag from one shoulder. “Here,” he added, withdrawing a few of the ready-to-eat rations packets he always carried.

The evening quickly fell dark once the sun dipped below the trees, and with the falling light so too fell the temperatures. I soon found myself regretting I had neglected to grab a warmer coat from the shuttle, but Hunter had already seen to it. He pulled out one of the two emergency blankets he always carried in his bag—a habit I’d like to think he’d acquired from me after he’d seen how useful a large bag could be. In truth, Hunter carried so much that I’d generally fallen out of the practice by the time I retired, simply because I assumed Hunter would have anything we might need.

He offered me the first of the two blankets, then tossed the second at Fadar’s feet. When I tried to hide a smile, Hunter just shot me a scowl. “Wouldn’t look good if we showed up at HedGer with him half-frozen.” Then he settled in next to one of the trees at the perimeter. “You two sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

“You still carrying that torch of yours?” I asked, referencing the beam light he’d added to his bag a subrev before.

Hunter nodded. “Better to keep it off. It’s too bright. It would just draw attention out here.”

“No fire, no light… not the way I took my family camping,” Fadar muttered mournfully. So, in an attempt to liven the chap’s spirits, I inquired further about his family, and we soon fell to a conversation about how he’d ended up on Allego IV in the first place.

“I’ve been trying to save enough to move them off the moon,” Fadar explained. “It’s terrible there. So, when I received a job offer from Mystix Corporation, I thought it could be our chance. But when I arrived, I was met by this bounty warrant. They say I did things I couldn’t have done. I wasn’t even on the planet! So, I ran. Found myself in HedGer Corporate territory.”

I nodded sympathetically, letting him continue his story, but when I was able, I stole a glance toward Hunter, curious of his reaction.

He was still facing the surrounding forest, pretending not to listen.

But I knew otherwise.

The morning light greeted us earlier than I’d have liked, but Hunter seemed more than ready for it. Within a few moments of the sun rising, he already had the bulk of our meager camp stowed and packed back into his bag. We ate more RTE rations for breakfast and then set out once more.

Much of the morning progressed uneventfully. Hunter led the party and I brought up the rear, each of us alert for signs of trouble while Fadar stumbled along through the forest between us. But it was Hunter, of course, who identified the first threat that afternoon.

Without a word, he held up a hand and stopped. I took one more step so I could place a hand on Fadar’s shoulder, then turned to follow Hunter’s gaze. The tall trees above us still served as a screen from any aerial searchers, but the brush around us had thinned as we’d moved away from the canyon lands and the trees had grown larger. Even so, I didn’t notice anything of importance. But I knew better than to question Hunter’s senses.

“There’s a small party ahead,” Hunter finally whispered, gesturing toward the northwest. “Two, maybe three. If we sweep to the northeast, we should be able to pass them.”

“Maybe they’re just campers,” Fadar suggested with a hopeful tone.

Hunter shot him a glower. “Not with the kinds of firearms they’re hauling.” His gaze met mine. “You head to the northeast. I’ll sweep around and make sure they don’t spot you.”

I nodded and pulled Fadar in the right direction. “Quiet now,” I added. “You might not like Hunter, but he’s treated you far better than some of the other contract hunters on this planet are likely to.”

Fadar frowned but nodded. Then the two of us worked our way through the brush for another couple chrons, taking a few breaks when he needed them. I figured Hunter would catch up to us from behind, or perhaps meet us from the west. But when he appeared again, he came from the north, traveling fast with that strange rolling lope caused by his overpowered right leg.

“Scouting?” I asked as he slowed to a walk.

He nodded. “There are more hunters ahead. At least two more groups. Apparently HedGer Corp’s bounty has drawn some attention.”

“Which direction do you suggest then?”

“We’ll have to divert farther to the east. It’ll add a couple of rotas, but if we go wide enough, we should be able to—”

Suddenly Hunter spun. “Get down!” he snapped.

A moment later I heard the buzz of a small automated aerial reconnaissance drone in the distance, approaching from the east. The hum of its wings echoed through the trees as it dodged through the forest, weaving an elaborate search pattern that brought it within throwing distance to the east of us. Then it continued to the north.

Hunter wore a scowl as he stood, and I shot him an inquiring glance.

“We’ll have to double back first,” he answered.

I nodded and turned to Fadar, helping him back to his feet, when I heard a crunch behind me. I spun at the same time Hunter did.

In a clearing ahead of us strode the tall broad form of Juykes Jalal.

He beamed at us with a charismatic smile, though the expression was hard to read through the strange half mask he wore over his eyes and wrapping around his head.

“Gave me a bit of a chase, you did, Erick! But I’m sure you knew I would find you eventually. So, shall we be going?”

He carried a large rifle before him, but it was still held low and across his chest. Even so, the implied threat was clear.

Hunter stepped forward. “We’re not going with you. Fadar is ours.”

“And do you expect to walk him all the way to Mystix Corp?” Juykes asked with an amused grin.

“No,” Hunter snapped. “We’re taking him to HedGer Corp for the bounty, just like you said.”

Juykes laughed. “Where did you find this one, Erick? I like him. He’s bold. But none too bright.

Hunter growled something inaudible and I felt his tension as he struggled to maintain control of his temper.

Juykes was still grinning. “You haven’t checked the HedGer listing, have you, lad?”

I shot Hunter a glance and his expression told me all. He hadn’t confirmed the listing. He’d been working on the assumption that because Juykes had told us about it, it was a legitimate offering.

That was a mistake.

Hunter’s gaze shifted as he used his implanted communications package to check the local listing. It wasn’t something he did very often, I assume because it caused more than a small degree of physical distress. But however much discomfort it caused him, what he discovered about the contract listing caused him more.

His face fell. “The bounty’s for all three of us,” he growled.

Juykes’s broad grin widened further. “Delicious, isn’t it? I get a triple payday.”

Fadar stood behind me, stock-still. At least he understood enough to stay silent, and I’d be able to push him to the ground if Juykes opened fire. We wouldn’t last long against the automatic rifle my friend was carrying, but it would buy us some modicum of reaction time.

“And what if we don’t go with you?” Hunter countered, adjusting his stance ever so slightly. If anything, it looked more like a fidget than a stratagem. But I understood the move—he was shifting weight to his powerful right leg.

“I suppose you could continue to make things difficult,” Juykes replied, nodding to the rifle in his arms.

“You know I don’t like difficult, Juykes,” I said softly, reaching my hand toward the warlock resting upon my hip.

He turned to me with a bemused grin. “Oh, come now. You wouldn’t use that thing against me, even if you were carrying the silvers to go with it, which I rather doubt.” His smile only widened as the warlock in my hand cleared its holster, though I kept it pointed low.

“And just how sure of that are you feeling?” I asked.

This time Juykes actually laughed. “You forget, old chum—I know you too well! You always bluff when you should yield.” He gestured with his rifle again. “I have everything I need to win this rota. So, I’ll be all too happy to call your bluff, if need be.”

And that, of course, is the problem with a bluff. Perhaps that was another lesson I taught Hunter, albeit inadvertently. And so, before I could lower my warlock and admit defeat, Hunter made his move.

Juykes was still facing me when Hunter sprang at the man, launching himself through the air powered by his synthetic leg. I knew well how swiftly Hunter could move, and even I was surprised by the speed of his lunge. Yet not only did Juykes manage to react to the movement before Hunter reached him, he was successful in dodging back and to the side so that Hunter rushed past without connecting his blow.

As soon as Hunter landed, he spun and leapt at Juykes again from behind. And yet once more, Juykes simply sidestepped so that Hunter rushed past, all without even turning.

“I take it you have elected to make this difficult,” he commented, raising his rifle as Hunter spun around to face him again.

I dove backward, hooking the hand still holding my empty warlock around Fadar’s waist and hauling him to the ground. An instant later a high-pitched whine of automated gunfire tore through the forest. I rolled to my side and spotted Hunter diving for cover behind a tree while Juykes laughed. But rather than pivot to follow his target, he released the trigger on his massive rifle and then let it fall to hang from a hook on his belt. Then from under his coat he drew a pair of thick automatic pistols from his back. I rose to one knee, preparing to dive at him should he turned to follow Hunter and present me his back, but instead his right hand swung around to level one of the pistols at my head.

“Not a move, old chum,” he said. At the same time, his other hand reached out in the opposite direction toward the tree that Hunter hid behind. “This game is already done.”

Hunter tucked his head around the tree and despite the obvious fact he should have been well and truly beyond Juykes’s peripheral sight range, the man opened fire the instant Hunter exposed himself. Hunter whipped back into cover, muttering a curse. Then, without another word, he dove forward again, angling toward another tree for cover. Yet Juykes’s pistol followed him as he went, and all while his right hand remained level on me.

Juykes smiled, then spun, bringing both pistols to bear on Hunter as he scrambled into cover behind a larger tree. Taking that as my moment, I leapt to my feet, preparing to tackle Juykes from behind.

But Juykes already knew I was coming.

As soon as I rose from my crouch, he spun again, leveling his left hand at me this time, while his right continued tracking Hunter’s new position.

I couldn’t see my old friend’s face, but the gratification was obvious in his voice.

“Do you still not see the futility of your struggles? I would much rather spare you the humiliation of being dragged in unconscious. But if that’s the way this must go…”