Bounty Hunter

Chapter 55

Lobo punched Kit in the stomach, and he fell to his knees, the air gone from his lungs. They'd stripped him down to his clothing. He'd worn his exoshield so long, he'd forgotten how badly a punch hurt.

He pushed himself to his feet again, only to be sucker punched again before he was fully erect. Pain erupted in his jaw, and he felt a tooth crack. Kit landed hard on his hands and knees, and blinked away the stars in his vision. When he could somewhat see straight, he spat blood, leaned back onto his heels, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He made no attempt to get to his feet again, and knew better than to fight back. They'd unbound his wrists to remove his armor. Lobo's overconfidence in his own exoshield left Kit's hands free. He needed to conserve his energy for the right moment. He shot Lobo a hard look.

Lobo swung back to hit him again.

"That's enough for now," Cat ordered. Lobo looked at her before lowering his fist, but didn't move away.

Kit didn't look, but he knew Lobo always wore two blasters in thigh holsters and a long knife in a sheath on his right thigh...which was less than twenty-four inches from Kit's hand.

Cat stood, leaning on her desk as she scrutinized Kit, as though she could figure him out by watching him. She had his sword on her desk, inches from her hand, and he wondered if she planned to use it to execute him, though he'd never seen her get her hands dirty before. He noticed the blaster next to his sword—that complicated things.

She raised a finger. "I knew something was up when you accepted a half-payment without a single complaint. That was your first mistake."

"And my second?" Kit asked.

"Using a desk-jockey in the field." She pulled up a video feed and displayed it as a hologram. It showed Reuben very un-stealthily entering—and later exiting—the security room. Kit grimaced. "It goes to show how incompetent Sloan's soldiers are that they didn't notice." She shook her head. "But what I don't understand is why you did it. For as long as I've known you, you've been a loner who keeps to yourself. You have no friends. I know you've had qualms with the more unsavory tickets, but otherwise, you've been a solid hunter. What made you throw away a good career? More than that, what made you throw your life away? It's not like you owe those Haft hunters anything."

He could see straight now, and his breathing had leveled out: his chance was near. He answered her after a length. "Because I served with Havoc in the Revolution."

She frowned. "You fought in the Revolution?" Her frown deepened. "But Havoc's a..." she trailed off.

His lips curved upward. "A Raven."

Her eyes widened. Kit swung out and grabbed the knife. He yanked it from its sheath as he jumped to his feet. Lobo reached for his blaster. Kit stabbed the blade into Lobo's exoshield just above the hip, where the armor had less plating to allow for movement. As he stabbed, he grabbed Lobo by the shoulder and spun him toward Cat, using him as a shield. Cat's desk was near a second door. Kit had no idea what was behind it, but he knew it had to be better than trying to escape through the atrium.

Cat grabbed her blaster and started firing. Most of the shots hit either Lobo or the wall behind Kit. Most of them. One hit him in the right arm, and he lost his grip on the knife. He opened the door and shoved Lobo the last couple of feet toward Cat, sending the man toppling into his boss. Kit dove through the doorway.

He closed and locked the door behind him, knowing it bought him mere seconds. A nanosecond scan revealed the room to be living quarters. A window above a sofa let in moonlight from across the room. He sprinted, leapt onto the sofa, and smashed into the window...and was knocked back onto the floor.

Kit shook his head to clear it. The damn thing hadn't even cracked. He noticed barstools lining a tall countertop against a side wall. He grabbed a stool and jumped back onto the sofa. He was about to swing when blaster fire pelted the window and walls around him. The shots shattered the glass. He gave a mental shrug at the small bit of fortune, tossed the barstool at Cat, and jumped up and grabbed the pane. Glass shards sliced through his palms in sharp agony, but he managed to pull himself up and through the opening. More glass cut through his pants, and he rolled off the ledge.

Kit fell at least six feet and landed on his back. It took him a couple of seconds to regain his senses. He pushed to his feet and glanced up to see Cat reach the windowsill. He took off running in what he hoped was the right direction, her fire at his back. He instinctively covered his head as he sprinted to get around the next curve of the exterior.

The government building was designed as a single long atrium with multiple domed branches for offices, living quarters, and other spaces. At night, these branches resembled tumors on the otherwise smooth exterior. Blaster fire kept coming, and Kit felt heat graze his cheek. He ran around the next domed branch and leaned against the warm stone to catch his breath. Behind him, Cat let out a furious scream. He took off at a run. He held his arm close to his body as he ran, but it did little to stem the pain. Spears of pain shot through his arm with every jolt. His hands burned from the deep cuts, and he kept them fisted to help stanch the blood.

Kit reached the final edge of the building before slowing to a walk. He spotted his cutter. Silver Shark practically glowed in the moonlight, and he took off toward it. He looked left to the main entrance, where two murcs stood guard. If Cat hadn't sounded the alarms yet, it was only a matter of time before the soldiers came out of every doorway like bees protecting their hive.

The alarms sounded.