LEVIATHAN, Rob Astor [most read books of all time .txt] 📗

chair and strapped his arms down with metal brackets. Another encircled his stomach. Then his lower legs and skull.
Winded from the struggle, one of the soldiers said, “Sit tight. Archer will be back soon.” The veins in Gunnar’s arms stood out as he tried to pull his wrists free.
* * *
Evan squeezed back his urine so hard, his pelvic muscles hurt. He was led into a large kitchen area. To the right were a bank of grills. To the left, racks of dishes. Beyond them were deep tub-like sinks, some filled with stacks of dirty plates, others filled with water. There was a freezer to the back.
Pausing at the center of the room, Archer stood in front of Evan. He pulled a butcher knife from one of the racks and turned it over and over in his palm. Evan’s breathing quickened. His heart hammered against his ribs. Sweat beaded on his forehead. “You want to be a good boy, don’t you Evan?” Archer asked, rubbing the boy’s black and pink hair.
Shaking, Evan nodded. “Y-yes,” his voice trembled weakly.
Archer thrust the knife up to Evan’s throat, holding the blade against the jugular. Evan’s eyes closed. “What?”
“Yes,” Evan said slightly louder.
“Good.” Archer withdrew the knife. “I don’t like having to repeat myself. You remember that and we’ll get along just fine.”
Evan opened his eyes. “Okay.”
“Let’s talk about money.” Archer picked an apple from one of the plates on a rack and sliced it in half. He took a bite, smacking his lips. “Your father must’ve made a fortune. But my contacts can’t find any account records.” Evan’s face burned as he remembered the Core Chips. “Now, I want you to think about this long and hard for a bit, Evan. I want to know where your father’s money is.” Archer took another bite from the apple, holding the knife up against his left shoulder. His eyebrows raised. “Take all the time you need.”
“I-I… don’t know.”
Archer swallowed. He made a sound in his throat. Bolton moved in close and brought the knife down to Evan’s abdomen. He unleashed a powerful jab with his right fist, plowing up into Evan’s stomach. The air rushed out of Evan’s body. He fell to his knees, the inside of his pants getting dark and wet. For long moments, he couldn’t draw in a breath. When his body let air back in, Evan gasped deeply, moaning with every exhalation.
Setting the knife aside, Archer took a handful of Evan’s hair and pulled the teenager up. “I thought you wanted to be a good boy.”
“We… we…” Evan struggled to talk. “The computer wasn’t… the file transfer. It wasn’t done… when you attacked.”
Taking Evan by the back of the neck, Archer pulled him over to the grill and forced his head down close to the hot metal surface. Evan screamed, his hands seeking anything to give him leverage. He couldn’t push up against the larger man. He cried out with every breath, his cheek getting hot.
Without warning, Evan flew backward, sprawled across the floor near the sinks. Archer glared at him, his face a mask of rage. “Cool him off!”
Several hands clasped around Evan’s limbs. Before Evan had any idea what was going to happen, he was plunged down into one of the water filled sinks. They forced down on his chest as he tried to pull himself up by gripping the side. Evan hadn’t got a breath and clenched his teeth tight. Straining, his face turned red. Water burned his nasal passages. Swallowing pulled burning water down his throat.
Evan was yanked up. He coughed, sucking in a breath as he was thrust back down. Beating hard inside his brain, Evan’s heart raced. The combined strength of the soldiers easily kept him in place. Evan beat his arms on the metal sides and wiggled his body, trying to slosh the water down far enough so he could breathe. Any efforts to escape only made it more difficult to keep holding his breath. Evan’s lungs heaved to induce respiratory movement. Water trickled down his throat.
Lifted again, Evan panted heavily, coughing up water. He twisted to the side in an effort to crawl out. They pushed him down a third time. “No! No!” He frantically contorted his body. Evan took in as much air as he could. A solid hand at the back of his neck plowed his face into the metal bottom. His arms were pinned this time, held behind his back by his captors. He couldn’t even pull the plug on the drain. There was nothing Evan could do now except wait.
Evan anxiously tried to think of anything to distract himself from his desperate physical need for air. The beating of his heart grew loud. It felt like it was pounding against a vice. All too soon, Evan’s lungs burned as hot as a blast furnace. Muscles quivered. His diaphragm was on fire. Water found its way up his nose. Clenching his mouth tight, Evan squeezed his eyes shut. His chest cavity heaved repeatedly. Precious bubbles escaped from between his teeth. Unable to stop the inevitable, Evan made sounds in the back of his throat, trying to plead for his life. His throat tightened, holding back water. Seconds later, in one loud burst, Evan lost his breath, causing a state of mental delirium as tense muscles relaxed. His entire perception was fuzzy and whirling.
The next thing Evan knew, he was being dragged along a corridor behind Archer. Head spinning, Evan was too weak to try and escape. He was thrown headlong into a holding cell. Hurting and breathing hard, Evan remained on the floor.
* * *
Storming into the command center, Bolton grabbed the metal case and sat at the main computer. Raven cost me a fortune. I’ll get my money’s worth. Out of his worthless little brat in the diamond mines. He flipped the lid, revealing a Eusian computer. Archer attached cables from the main computer to slots in the Eusian device and called up a holographic file directory. The word Dreadnaught caught his attention.
“Dreadnaught?” He touched the word, bringing up the schematic of a Eusian warship. “Well what do we have here?” He grinned.
Dreadnaught was shaped like a flattened falcon’s beak with reptilian-shaped quadranium hull plating from stem to stern. At seven kilometers in length, it was one and a half times the length of a standard Leviathan. The more Archer read, the wider his smile grew.
* * *
To Gunnar, it felt like hours elapsed since being strapped into the hard metal chair. His efforts to escape renewed as soon as Archer came through the door. “You’re not going anywhere, hotshot. Now you’re a permanent guest at my labor camp. I’ll find some little asteroid for you and that twerp kid to rot away in. This system’s full of ‘em.”
“What’d you do to him?” Gunnar growled.
“Washed him up a little. You know, I can’t believe he and Raven didn’t even have the good sense to save the Frigate’s Core Chips.” Gunnar stared at Archer, trying to discern what he was after.
Bolton tapped a control on the wall. A holographic display of the chair and power level controls appeared. “Let’s you an’ me talk about the Eusians.”
“About how many you’ve enslaved and killed?”
Archer’s face hardened. He used a finger tip to activate the power and then raise it up. Gunnar thrashed around in the chair Gurgling sounds escaped his throat. Bolton turned the current off.
Breathing hard, Gunnar collected himself and glared at his captor. “You’ll have to do better ‘an that.”
Bolton boosted the power up half way to maximum. Gunnar had no control of his limbs or the sounds escaping his mouth. Hot needles jabbed into every nerve. The electrical burning stopped, but, Gunnar’s entire body vibrated, every muscle pulling against every other one.
“Let me give you some advice, Spade. I don’t like repeating myself. I get very angry when I have to keep asking the same questions over and over. Do you understand?” Gunnar nodded, face glistening with sweat. His breathing was ragged. “Good. Think long and hard about this. Take all the time you need. I’m in no hurry.” Archer smiled. He positioned himself behind Gunnar and leaned down to his right ear. “Tell me what you know about the Eusian Dreadnaught.” Gunnar’s eyes closed.
* * *
Evan’s clothes were still damp when he woke. He pushed himself off the floor with his hands and stood, stretching. Muscles he never knew existed hurt. He sat on the bench, rubbing the back of his neck.
The door opened. Gunner was flung in. He took long, uncoordinated steps and fell over, twitching. Evan rushed down to him. “Uncle Gunnar.” He grasped Gunnar’s bicep. Gunnar pulled it back, scooting over to the wall. “Uncle Gunnar, it’s me. Evan.”
Gunnar stared at him a few seconds. “Evan,” he whispered. “You okay?”
“I’ll live.” Evan took his arm.
Gunnar braced against the wall as he tried to steady himself. He leaned over on Evan, arms wrapping around him. “You’re all wet. What’s the matter? Wearing your clothes in the sonic shower isn’t enough anymore?” Gunnar stumbled over to the bench and rubbed his face. “The labor camps. They’re here.”
“What?”
“Yeah. All over this system. Archer told me.”
There was an explosion. The whole room shook violently. Evan fell on top of Gunnar on the floor. Klaxon alarms sounded. There were footsteps outside, trampling down the corridor.
“What’s goin’ on?” Evan asked. Distant gunshots echoed. Gunnar stood, bracing against the wall. Another explosion rattled the room. The power flickered. Smoke poured in from a ventilation shaft. Evan coughed. He beat his fists on the door. “Help! Somebody, help!”
The door slid open. A soldier took Evan by the arms. “Where are you taking us?”
“Admiral McMurrary decided to mount a rescue mission when you guys never returned,” he said. A second soldier braced Gunnar from under his arm. They moved as quickly as they could down the corridor.
* * *
“Thanks for coming after us, Admiral,” Gunnar said as he and Evan walked toward their Racing Corvette in the Federation Cruiser’s docking bay. “I’m sorry they got the cloaking device and the spy package. You got a traitor in your midst. I’m sure we were set up. Keep your eyes open.”
“We’re sweeping the area for Marauders. We’ll know who the informant is soon. Did Archer say anything about the package?”
“Yeah. He wanted to know about a Eusian Dreadnaught.”
McMurrary rubbed his chin. “Dreadnaught… Ominous sounding name. Given the advanced state of Eusian technology, it can’t mean anything good. I’ll call in re-enforcements. Whatever a Dreadnaught is, we can’t afford The Marauders getting their hands on it.”
“Call in some humanitarian aid, too,” Gunnar said. “This whole system’s a great big labor camp.