First, he disabled the camera pointing at the door and returned to the old man’s body to get his bracelet. Now that he knew how to operate the locked doors, he assumed Kaan’s old childhood friend would have the greatest access to the ship.
It was a tight fit, but Ben got the bracelet on his left wrist and used it to open the hold while he wielded the two remaining shock sticks. He was alone when the door opened.
His priority was to disable the ship to give searchers a chance to find them. He quickly moved through the ship’s lower levels, expecting an attack around every corner, and found an electrical room near the engines. He set his weapons down and opened the panels to discover one of the neatest and most intuitive labeling jobs he’d ever seen. Favoring pictographs to written descriptions, the diagram helped Ben isolate all circuits not linked to communications as he hoped to call for help. He blessed the installer’s obsession with clarity.
That’s when a guard showed up and drew his blades. He saw Ben’s weapons resting on the console next to him. He knocked them behind the unit to keep them from Ben, then grinned savagely as he launched his attack.
Now, the man was dead because Ben trained with Liliya and Evelyn, experts in knife fighting techniques and exceedingly demanding teachers. All those hours of painful drills paid off as Ben was alive.
If his math was correct, there were at least four more he’d have to face, not counting Kaan. Ben was grateful none of them had been carrying a gun. He wasn’t sure why that was, and he knew he shouldn’t depend on that continuing.
He couldn’t reach the shock sticks, so he pulled the blades from the guard’s chest and wiped them on the man’s shirt.
Ben saw the light of a flashlight bobbing as it slowly approached. The electrical room had nowhere to hide, so he launched himself into the hallway.
“AAIIIEEE!” screamed a man in a uniform. He dropped his flashlight as he tried to turn and run away.
Wrapping his arm around the man’s neck, Ben pressed the tip of the second blade against his back, making him freeze in terror. It wasn’t one of the guards.
“Who are you?” Ben demanded in a quiet but fierce voice.
“Marco! Marco Vincenti!” the man babbled.
“What do you do on the ship, Marco Vincenti?” Ben asked.
“I-I-I’m the ship’s communications officer!” Marco squeaked out.
Ben nodded. He needed this man. “And you are down here because….”
“The Captain! He ordered me to find out what happened to the ship’s power. Sadik ordered him to do it.”
“Kaan’s on the bridge?” Ben asked.
“Yes!”
“Give me your bracelet for bridge access,” Ben said, and the man quickly pulled it off. Ben took it from him as he eased his grip on the comm officer.
One of the security goons rushed at Ben at that instant. Ben shoved Marco at him, tangling the arm holding his stun baton. Ben surged forward and slammed the blade deep into the side of the guard’s throat before ripping it free in a spray of blood. He’d learned that move from Liliya… and Tatiana.
Marco watched the guard in shock as the man’s eyes rolled up, and he fell to the floor.
Ben looked at Marco and saw he was covered in blood and trembling. “Sorry about that. Go to the lounge and wait there. It’ll be over soon.”
The man nodded and looked back at Ben in relief before rushing away.
Three to go.
-=-
Kaan paced on the bridge, wondering how it had all gone so wrong. The poker game Ben claimed was won through sheer random chance. The outrageous intervention from the casino to give Ben so much credit, then he’d practically been handed four of a-Kaan’s eyes widened as he realized Ben hadn’t been working alone! The Casino’s General Manager and the dealer had been working with him. Everyone was so dazzled by Ben Shepherd they missed the subtle sleight of hand from the dealer.
The General Manager wasn’t worried about giving Ben so much money as they were guaranteed to get it all back.
“FUCK!” Kaan yelled, and the bridge crew jumped at the sudden sound. He spun to glare at them. “Where is your officer? Why hasn’t he gotten the power back on?”
“I kindly asked him not to.”
Kaan spun to look to the port side stairwell where Ben stood. In the dim glow cast by the emergency lighting, they saw his white shirt and pants were splashed with blood. Quite a lot of blood.
“You killed Marco?” the captain asked.
“No, he’s fine, just waiting in the lounge. I suggest you two go there and do the same,” Ben said calmly.
“Stay where you are! This is my ship. He doesn’t give the orders here!” Kaan barked as he reached under his shirt for the gun.
Something heavy struck his right shoulder and knocked him off his feet. His right hand went numb, and he dropped the gun as he fell. He scrambled and managed to grab it with his other hand. He heard Ben’s heavy footsteps, so he fired a shot behind him as he crab-walked for the opposite stairwell. He heard a grunt followed by an angry growl, so he ducked into the well and rapidly fired multiple shots across the bridge before stumbling down the stairs to his level. He knew Ben’s weakness, so he headed for his training room.
They’d settle the score there. He glanced down at his shoulder, which was now screaming in pain.
Blood was running down his chest from a deep wound there. What… what had Ben hit him with?
He pushed that aside as he still had to survive this, and he was a survivor!
He pushed open the cell door and peered into the darkness. Of course, there was no emergency lighting in this room. He could barely make out the huddled body of the woman who was his ticket out of this mess.
He tucked his gun into his belt behind him as he needed his left hand.
Ben’s white knight syndrome would prevent him from attacking if Kaan used the bitch as a shield. He moved to the wall, painfully pulled the key from his pocket with his working hand, and unlocked the chain from the wall.
She wasn’t there when he turned to grab the slut by her hair. He turned and saw her rush at him from the shadows and felt a sudden sharp pain in his gut. She was trembling and gasping as she leaned her body against his, feebly pressing him against the wall. Agony radiated from his shoulder and mixed with the hot pain from his stomach.
She… she’d stabbed him?
Outrage flared, and he roughly shoved her away with his left arm. She fell to the floor but looked up at him with a smile.
“Shepherd… got you… and so did I. See you in Hell, asshole,” she snarled weakly as she looked at him with contempt.
Kaan looked down at his stomach and saw the end of a shard of plastic sticking out of his lower abdomen. He frantically tugged it out and screamed in pain as he leaned back against the wall, struggling to remain on his feet.
He reached his left hand back and pulled his gun to point it at her.
She laughed.
Kaan paused as he looked into her mocking eyes. She wasn’t frightened. Her eyes glowed with defiance, but he’d beaten that from her! He’d crushed her will!
Her smile widened. “You really are… a useless piece of shi-”
Kaan fired six rounds into her before her smile finally faded. He stood, leaning against the wall, gasping when Ben suddenly appeared in the doorway and stared at the dead woman.
A smile appeared on Kaan’s face as he swung the gun to point it at Ben.
“I told you, Ben. You are nothing.”
Ben turned his face to look at Kaan. Then he smiled, but there was no warmth or humor in it. It was the smile of a predator preparing to take his prey after a long hunt, and chills ran down Kaan’s spine.
Desperately, he pulled the trigger, but the gun remained silent.
“I may not be an arms dealer, but I know what an empty gun looks like.”
Kaan stared at his SAR-9, and the slide was fully back. He’d put in a full clip, fifteen rounds! How could it be empty? His mind tried to add up his shots, but he’d panicked when he fired into the bridge and lost count.
When Ben started to walk toward him, he threw the empty gun, but Ben easily batted it away with the fire ax in his hand. Kaan froze and glanced down at his shoulder.
Ben’s smile just got colder the closer he got.
Kaan’s screams echoed across his personal suite for a surprisingly long time, but there was no one left to come to his aid.
Princess Zama heard the lock disengage, and she quickly rushed to open the door, but no one was in the hall. The ship was silent. She went to Yvonne’s door and knocked before opening it.
The woman was standing at the end of her bed with a look of panic on her face. She sagged with relief when she saw Zama, then she rushed forward to take the younger woman’s hands in hers.
“What’s happened?” she asked.
“I have no idea, but I no longer wish to remain in my room. Let us go!” Zama insisted.
They looked out the door and then rushed to the stairs. They listened, but it was still silent. Descending slowly, they looked around the corner into the lounge and saw the kitchen staff were all sitting on the couches with a man they’d not seen before. Zama boldly left the stairwell and approached them. All eyes turned in her direction, and she saw their expressions were relieved.
“Where is Ben?” Zama asked.
The stranger shook his head. “He went upstairs to go after Sadik after he sent us here.”
“Who are you?” Zama asked him.
“Marco Vincenti, Ship’s Comm Officer.”
Yvonne joined Zama. “Where is the security team?”
The head chef spoke up. “They are dead. Mr. Shepherd killed them.”
Yvonne gasped. “All of them?”
“Yes!” the man exclaimed, and the rest of the kitchen staff grinned as none of them liked the security team.
Nguyêt walked into the lounge cautiously, and Zama rushed to her side as the woman was badly bruised.
“Moon! Are you okay?” Zama gasped.
“Yes, the locks opened on the door to our room, so I came to see what had happened. There are many dead bodies in the hallways below. Much blood.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that.”