"What's taking so long?" Greg muttered under his breath. The transaction had been going on for far too long. Eric and the buyer had disappeared into the back room and hadn't come out since. His gut twisted. Something wasn't right.
He pushed open the door. The room beyond was small, a table at the center with two chairs on either side. Empty.
Greg stepped inside, scanning the corners. Then he noticed it, a faint seam in the wall, just behind the table. He pressed his hand against it. The panel shifted, sliding aside to reveal a narrow passage dimly lit by flickering tubes.
The realization hit him like a jolt of current. Eric had run off with his money.
But Greg wasn't about to let that happen.
He darted into the passage, boots pounding against the metal floor. The air grew colder as he ran, the hum of distant engines echoing through the tunnel. One point seven million taps, the thought of it burned in his mind. He couldn't let it go. Not now. Not ever.
The passage opened suddenly into a wide garage filled with shuttles. He stopped for a second, breath sharp and shallow, and spotted them across the floor, Eric and the buyer, standing beside a sleek white shuttle surrounded by three others Greg didn't recognize.
The buyer's hood was down now, and when Greg saw his face, his heart sank. Just a human. The glowing veins and pale skin from before had been nothing but paint.
The whole thing had been a setup. They hadn't bought the core. They had stolen it.
The shuttle's engines flared to life, a low whine filling the air. Greg didn't think. He sprinted forward.
"Hey! You bastards! Give me my core!"
His voice cracked through the hangar, raw and furious.
Eric and the fake buyer quickly entered the shuttle at the sight of him. The other three came for him instead. He was outnumbered, but Greg didn't care. The core was all that mattered.
The first one sprinted forward, a Cadvian. They were built like humans, only with green skin, and Greg knew their weakness, electric shocks. He charged to meet him, pulled out his teaser blade, and plunged it forward while pressing the button. The blade struck, releasing a surge of current.
The Cadvian jerked violently, the jolt throwing him backward. He slammed into the second attacker, a Wever, and both crashed into the wall.
That left only one, a Gillar, charging in his moisture suit. Greg ran to meet him, but the Gillar was faster. He caught Greg's arm mid strike and twisted it hard, sending him tumbling to the floor. Greg hit the ground and winced. The Gillar was stronger than he looked, though it wasn't surprising, they came from the same planet as the Wevers.
Greg pushed himself up. He needed to use the Gillar's weakness against him. The alien swung again, heavy punches that Greg barely dodged. He ducked, turned, and swept his leg low. The Gillar tripped and fell, but before he hit the floor, Greg grabbed him by the back of his suit.
He pressed the teaser blade against the material and activated it. A burst of energy burned through the suit, sending a beam of heat across the Gillar's back. The alien screamed, thrashing as the moisture inside his suit hissed and evaporated.
Greg let go, and the Gillar collapsed, struggling to stay still and conserve what little moisture he had left.
Without looking back, Greg ran toward the shuttle. It was already hovering, its engines roaring to full power.
He ran faster as the shuttle lifted off the ground. Its thrusters glowed white, heat waves rippling through the air. It was small, sleek, the size of a cable car but with a smoother frame and two vertical thrusters beneath.
He jumped just as it rose. His hands caught the edge of the side door. The force of the lift almost tore him off. Wind whipped against his face as he clung tight, feet kicking in the air.
Inside, the fake buyer's head turned in shock. "He's on it!"
Eric leaned from the passenger side. "Then get rid of him!"
The shuttle jerked sideways, spinning slightly as it climbed. Greg's grip nearly slipped, his arm burning from the strain. He reached for a hold on the underside and caught a support bar near the thruster panel. Sparks flew as the heat brushed his boots.
He pulled himself closer, pressing his body against the hull. The wind roared so loud it drowned out every other sound. Through the tinted glass above, he could see Eric arguing with the others, faces flashing with panic.
The shuttle tilted again, trying to throw him off. He held tight. His jaw clenched, muscles shaking. He wasn't letting go.
Greg shifted his weight, reaching toward the door handle. His fingers brushed it once before the shuttle dipped violently. He lost his grip for a moment, his body swinging out over empty air. A sharp breath escaped him. He swung his arm back and caught the handle again just as the shuttle steadied.
Inside, Eric shouted something he couldn't hear. The fake buyer leaned out halfway with a pistol, aiming straight at him. Greg reacted on instinct. He slammed the teaser-blade against the door's seam. A bright spark cut through the lock. The door hissed open, and the suction pulled him halfway inside.
The man fired. The shot grazed Greg's shoulder, burning hot, but it only fueled his rage. He swung the teaser-blade upward, hitting the man's hand. The pistol flew out, spinning into the air.
Greg kicked his way fully inside, landing between the two seats. The cabin was small and shaking. Eric grabbed the control stick, shouting, "Get him out!"
Greg drove a punch into Eric's jaw, then swung the teaser-blade toward the buyer. The hum of its charge filled the space. The buyer stumbled back, tripping against the side door.
The shuttle swerved again, diving low over the hangar roof. Greg steadied himself on the seat frame, breathing hard. His shoulder throbbed, the wound warm and wet.
Eric spat blood, glaring up at him. "You're insane, you know that?"
Greg's reply came through clenched teeth. "Maybe. But you're not taking what's mine... Now where's my energy core?"
Eric's hand darted for the controls, blood streaking his knuckles. "You don't know what you're doing!" he shouted.
Greg grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the console. The shuttle jerked sideways, alarms blaring as sparks rained from the dashboard. They were too low, skimming just above the outer wall of the building across the garage . Through the glass, the lights of Rekov streaked by in flashes of white and blue.
Eric fought back, clawing at Greg's wrist. "You'll kill us both!" The words came out weak.
"Then you should've stayed honest." Greg's voice hardened. "Where's the core?"
The shuttle spun hard. The engines screamed. A burst of fire flared from the left thruster. Greg felt the heat on his face just before the whole craft pitched downward. The view outside tilted into chaos, metal roofs, flashing signals and rising ground.
The impact came like a thunderclap.
The shuttle crashed through the large glass windows of the building, tearing through a bio-lab. Lab fluids hissed over the windshield. Greg was thrown forward, slammed against the seat frame, the breath crushed out of his lungs. The world turned to noise, metal grinding, glass shattering, the deep hum of energy dying out.
When it finally stopped, smoke filled the cabin, shattered glass strewn all around. The smell of fuel and scorched metal burned in his nose.
He coughed, pushing himself up. Eric was half-conscious beside him, blood dripping from a gash above his eyebrow. The fake buyer was gone, flung somewhere outside in the lab.
Greg blinked through the haze. The capsule containing the core lay beside Eric's leg, cracked open slightly, showing the core's faint blue light pulsing like a heartbeat.
He reached for it.
Then he heard the sirens.
A row of bright beams cut through the smoke outside, followed by the mechanical stomp of Rekov security drones. The air filled with orders barked through speakers. "Drop all weapons! Hands visible! This is restricted area."
Greg's pulse kicked hard. He looked at the core, then at the shattered side hatch. He could run, if his leg would move fast enough but the shimmer of the drones' stun barrels glowed through the smoke. They were too close already.
He lifted his hands slowly, fingers trembling. "Wait. I can explain, this isn't what it looks like."
A drone projected a blinding cone of light over him. "Unregistered energy device detected. Massive property damage. Subject under arrest."
Greg's breath hitched. "It's not what you think—"
A pulse of white energy slammed into his chest. He gasped as every muscle locked, then he hit the floor, twitching, sight dimming. The last thing he saw before everything went black was the core rolling out of reach, its light flickering faintly as a security officer stepped forward and lifted it into a containment unit.