Desperado (Murphy's Lawless: Watch the Skies Book 2), Kevin Ikenberry [reading the story of the txt] 📗

who may be in town. And the J’Stull commander Sobiturni: he’s here somewhere, too.”

She was aware that her voice had trailed off, and Bo quickly asked, “What is it?”

“There’s another man. He’s…he’s not from here. Maybe he’s Ktor or Kulsian, but he’s not from R’Bak, and he’s not one of us. I can’t explain it, but he’s eluded me for several days. When this happened—” she raised her arm, “—he shot the bastard in the back. This man, this Yukannak, killed him and ran. He saved my life, Bo. We have to find him. Something tells me he’s the person Murphy will want to speak with the most.”

Above them, the whup-whup sound of the approaching Hueys filled the sky. Bo sat up, grimacing with pain. “Stewart?”

“Sir, Lieutenant Bird is on his way with the medic bag and—”

Bo waved him off. “Bring me your radio. Do we have comms with Captain Cutter?”

“I don’t know, sir. We can check with the CP.”

Bo motioned for the radio.

“I can do it,” Aliza said.

Stewart shrugged out of his rucksack and set it down beside her. He pushed the handset into Aliza’s hand. “I’m going back to the men, sir. I’ll leave a security element with you, and Bird will be here in a minute.”

Aliza met his eyes even as she passed the handset to Bo. “Thank you, Johnny.”

He touched the brim of his hat, not unlike how Bo always did. “Aliza.”

She watched him mount his whinnie with ease and ride off to the west side of town. There were still sporadic flurries of weapons fire echoing through the city. Around them, people peered out of houses and buildings. She heard Bo talking on the radio to someone, but she wasn’t paying attention. The curious face of a child appeared in a window across the street. Aliza met the little girl’s gaze and smiled. She’d hoped for a similar response, but there was none.

Maybe there’ll be a time for joy here, someday.

“Aliza?” Bo called. “Help me up, we’ve got to get going.”

“Where?” His color had returned somewhat but he was in no shape to move.

“The central bazaar. Our strike package is on the way. You’ve got to talk them in. Give them the names and locations to search. We’re going to find F’ahdn, too. He might not like it, but we’re going to hold the town per Colonel Murphy’s orders. After that, we have to secure the roads through this sector.”

Her face screwed in confusion. “The roads?”

“I met your guy Zeesar this morning on the road southwest of here. Nice enough to talk to, but I’m not taking any chances. He was waiting for friends. If he’s a warlord and one of the Satrap’s buddies, I don’t want him attacking our exposed—” Bo struggled to get to his feet.

“You stay down,” Aliza snapped. He laid down again as Lieutenant Bird and an indigenous nurse sprinted their way. “Bird is almost here and until he bandages your leg, you’re not going anywhere.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Bo snorted, and a smile appeared on his face. “Lieutenant Turan.”

“Hubert.” She scowled at him. “Now, while you’re at it, hand me the radio.”

“So, you still wanna marry me?”

With her good hand, she punched his upper arm. “I’ll go anywhere you go, Hubert Moorefield. Of course, I’ll marry you. We have too much to lose and too many gifts we fail to appreciate.”

She watched him look past her. The riderless whinnies had gathered around them in a protective circle. Like Bo, she recognized their behavior. Her grief threatened to erupt again. They’d been through so much with these aliens. They were far more than beasts of burden, and there was so much the humans could learn from them.

Finally, Bo met her eyes and nodded. “You’re right about those gifts—about everything—honey.”

She smiled in return. “It’s about time you came down from your fences.”

Before he could respond, the radio handset squawked. “Desperado Six, this is Shadower. ETA is one mike. Let’s talk. Over.”

She took the handset, winked down at him, and depressed the send toggle.

“Shadower, this is Queen of Hearts. Have location and identification of primary targets. Prepare to copy.”

# # # # #

About Kevin Ikenberry

Kevin Ikenberry is a life-long space geek and retired Army officer.  A former manager of the world-renowned U.S. Space Camp program and space operations officer, Kevin has a broad background in space and space science education.  His 2016 debut science fiction novel Sleeper Protocol was a Finalist for the Colorado Book Award and was heralded as “an emotionally powerful debut” by Publisher’s Weekly. Kevin is the author of the military science fiction / thriller novels Runs In The Family, Vendetta Protocol, and Super-Sync. Kevin is a core author in the Four Horsemen Universe where his novels include Peacemaker, Honor The Threat, Stand Or Fall, Deathangel, and Redacted Affairs (with Kevin Steverson). He is an Active Member of SFWA, and a member of International Thriller Writers. He lives in Colorado with his family – his home is seldom a boring place.

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The Caine Riordan Universe

The Caine Riordan series and Terran Republic universe deliver gritty yet doggedly optimistic hard scifi in a world that is a believable and embattled successor to our own. For those who are not familiar with the series’ hallmark blend of exploration, alien encounters, intrigue, and action, you can find them all right here:

 

The Caine Riordan series

(Baen Books)

 

Fire with Fire

Trial by Fire

Raising Caine

Caine’s Mutiny

Marque of Caine

Endangered Species (forthcoming)

Protected Species (forthcoming)

Triage (forthcoming, with Eric Flint)

The Murphy’s Lawless series

(Beyond Terra Press)

Shakes

Obligations

Man-Eater

Promises

Pearl

Waveoff

Murphy’s Lawless

 

Season Two

Sundown

Desperado