Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(76)

Or, perhaps, they were drawing me in, luring me deeper, until the trap sprang closed.

On this end of the room there were no hiding places. The warehouse was empty and from what I could see, there weren’t any other rooms off of the main one. The production line room was another story. It had desks and lab tables scattered throughout, plus the low wall between the two rooms would allow an entire platoon to hide behind it.

“I’m going to check the next room. Be prepared to run,” I said, still talking to people who might’ve already left me.

Either way, I needed to get a closer look at the production room, so I opened the door and sauntered out into the warehouse. The rubber soles of my boots squeaked against the hard floor and my pulse pounded in my ears.

Nothing moved and I slipped through the door into the production room without getting jumped. Based on the setup, this was a research area. I brought up the nearest console, but it was locked. Snooping in desks was easier than cracking passwords because scientists liked to jot down notes while they worked.

“I’m seeing references to the element,” I said into my headset. “This planet is at least involved in the research.”

I crept deeper into the production facility. A low hum from the tanks on my left caused me to freeze. Perhaps they weren’t empty after all. I climbed the ladder of the nearest one. On the top, a circular observation window was covered by a sliding panel. I slid the panel aside to reveal a tank of glowing pink liquid.

Jackpot.

I whispered to Rhys and Loch, “They have vats of the element here. This is definitely—”

“Come down, Lady Ada. Slowly, if you please,” Richard said from behind me.

I nearly fell off the tank in shock. I clutched the ladder and waited for my heart to steady.

“Richard is here—abort, abort now!” I whispered frantically while making enough noise on the ladder to cover my conversation. “Get out of the system!”

I clicked on the shield generator and palmed a flash-bang grenade in my left hand while I descended. Once on solid ground, I turned to face Richard. He was in a space suit, but he had removed his helmet. He was flanked by four guards still in full space suits. The fact that I hadn’t heard them approach meant either I was losing my touch or they were using a silencer. I hoped it was the latter.

I pulled on my public persona like armor. “Hello, Richard,” I said.

“My wayward fiancée returns,” Richard said. “And you were kind enough to bring back my ship as a wedding present.”

“Richard, we were never engaged,” I said with exaggerated patience, as if explaining to a small child for the umpteenth time.

His mouth pressed into a flat line, but he recovered quickly. “Nevertheless, you will marry me. When you do, I’ll let your friends go and even give them a shuttle to get back to populated space,” he said. “Except for Loch. He’s mine.”

Because he hadn’t included specifics when he mentioned my “friends,” I doubted he had the ship. And even if he had, he wouldn’t be offering to let them go so easily if he’d gotten a glimpse of Lin. So there was hope, however slim, that they had escaped. Now I had to focus on my own escape.

“I do not think Loch swings that way, Richard. And planning an affair so soon after our wedding?” I tutted and shook my head.

Richard took an abrupt, furious step toward me before he pulled himself together. I’d pushed him close to the end of his patience, so I double clicked the button on the end of the flash-bang grenade. A subtle vibration counted down the seconds.

“Drop your weapons, Lady Ada,” Richard said.

“Why?”

“Because they’ll stun you if you don’t,” Richard said, waving an arm at his guards.

“Not man enough to do it yourself?” I asked, as the grenade’s pulsing sped up.

“For the love of—” Richard growled, but the grenade had reached constant vibration.

“Catch!” I yelled, launching the grenade at them and darting left, farther into the room. I heard the explosion behind me. It wouldn’t cause much damage, even if he was stupid enough to catch it, but it bought me precious seconds.

I dodged through the desks and tables, trying to prevent the soldiers following me from getting a clear shot. I slammed through the doors at the end of the room into a wide hallway.

And my shield promptly took hits from multiple stun rounds. I shot both Rockhurst soldiers blocking the hall, but I could see another squad in the next room. I turned to go back the way I’d come, but Richard’s soldiers were already there. The shield took more hits and started beeping a low-power warning. I fired back and they retreated through the doors.

I couldn’t let House Rockhurst have our shielding technology. I’d left my cuff and necklace hidden in the ship for the same reason. Before the shield completely ran out of power, I clicked the middle button in a seemingly random pattern. Rhys hadn’t mentioned it because he likely didn’t know, but all House von Hasenberg advanced tech had self-destruct options built-in. A small vibration confirmed I’d gotten the code correct.

I now had ten seconds before the shield self-destructed. I had at least five people between me and the hangar and eight or more if I kept moving deeper into the facility. I decided retreat was the best option. I slung the long gun off of my back and set it to shotgun mode.