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Ion woke up on the floor, which was not an unfamiliar feeling for him. The warm metal hummed beneath his face, pulling him back into the dream he'd been having. In his dream, he was home on Moon Base One and, for a moment, he was relaxed; then the memories came flooding back.
He remembered being abducted by that bastard X and his friend Nial. The memory jolted him up into a sitting position. It was then that he noticed that his hands were tied behind his back with his feet tied together with wire. He struggled against his bonds for a moment, but they wouldn't give. Not that he really expected them to.
He took in his surroundings. He was in the cargo hold of a fairly large freighter, a class three by the looks of it, but he wasn't alone. Ion counted twenty other people with their hands and legs bound similarly to his. So far he was the only one awake, but hopefully it wouldn't stay that way for too much longer.
Ion heard a door open, and the girl right next to him stirred in her sleep. Desperately, Ion tried to wriggle his way closer to her to wake her up.
He didn't get that far.
With the sounds of people approaching, Ion froze. Before he could decide whether or not to fake being asleep, X entered the cargo hold, coming up behind a man with high cheekbones accompanied by a rather tough-looking woman.
The man's eyes landed on Ion only a fraction of a second before X's did.
"It appears one of our guests is awake," the man said to his companions.
"He's one of mine, Captain," X said, half bowing towards his superior.
The captain's face split into a wide grin. "The one asking questions at The Salty Mongrel?"
"Yes, sir."
The captain's gaze on Ion turned hungry as he walked between bodies to stand right at his feet. He crouched down so he could look Ion in the eye.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the captain said. "The name's Captain Jax, and you have the distinct pleasure of being aboard my vessel, The Bonny."
"The pleasure's all yours." Ion's throat stung as he spoke, bringing tears to his eyes. "Where are you taking me?"
Jax smirked. "I hear you had other questions that needed answering," he said. "Asking if anyone's seen a young girl, possibly kidnapped."
Ion glared at the captain in response.
"It seemed pretty important to you that you find her," Jax continued. "What was her name?"
"I didn't say-"
"That's right," Jax said, snapping his fingers. "Livia Wilder I believe it was."
Ion froze. "How'd you-"
"How do you think?"
The words hung in the air for a moment. The rage welled up inside Ion, and he lunged towards Jax. He didn't have a plan; his hands were literally tied, but he knew that he wanted to hurt the man crouching in front of him. He wanted to hurt him badly.
Ion saw white and a sharp pain shot throughout the side of his face. His face hit the ground as he fell over. Looking up, Ion saw the large woman glaring down at him.
"Don't you ever-"
"That's enough, Sheila," Jax said as he stood, looking down imperiously at Ion who was desperately trying to make his way back into a sitting position.
"Save your strength," Jax said. "You'll need it for what's ahead."
Ion stopped struggling, choosing to lie on the floor to regain his breath. "Where are you taking me?" he asked again.
"You'll be with your Livia soon enough," Jax said. He looked to his companions. "We have to initiate the passengers before we arrive."
The three of them turned and walked away, stopping by the captive closest to the cargo hold door. Sheila reached down and grabbed the girl, who looked no older than five or six, and carried her out the door.
Ion was once again alone, surrounded by unconscious bodies.
#
"YOU'RE GOING TO GET us killed," Ilaria called up the ladder at Arsen. He was perched at the top of a docking tube that they’d attached to the underside of the ship they’d been following. Arsen had come up with a stupid idea that involved using the tubes for purposes they were not intended for to cut through the other ship and sneak aboard. Ilaria didn’t have any other options available so she stood at the bottom, watching.
"When you come up with a better idea, let me know!" Arsen yelled back. He was wearing goggles and holding a cutting torch.
The docking tubes were only in older ships and had been designed for one ship to attach to another. Now days, they were usually only used if repairs on ships were needed and the airlocks were damaged in some way. This was close enough to what they were using it for to make the plan work, according to Arsen.
Far above Ilaria, Arsen lit up the torch and began cutting at the bottom of the ship Ion and his captors were on. Sparks showered down, and Ilaria moved away before she had to watch Arsen kill them both.
It had taken them a few hours, but they'd eventually caught up to the class three freighter. Arsen had activated some homemade device that was supposedly designed to make his ship invisible to most scanners. It had apparently worked since they'd come up to the ship with not even a transmission to indicate their presence was known.
A few minutes later, Arsen reappeared at the bottom of the docking tube. "We're in," he said with a grin. "And I was right, we're attached right to cargo hold."
"Congratulations," Ilaria said, handing Arsen his stunner. "Let's get this over with."
They climbed the ladder to the larger ship, Arsen leading the way. When they'd made it to the top, Arsen went through the hole in the ship, turning around and holding out a hand to help Ilaria up.
She swatted him away. "I can handle myself, thanks."
Arsen rolled his eyes as Ilaria climbed up. "That's the last time I try to be a gentleman."
"You haven't tried up to this point," Ilaria said, straightening up her clothes. "Why start now?"
They were standing in the middle of a pretty good-sized room; it was about thirty feet across with an assortment of crates which stood around them. A few feet away, the crates cleared to a large open space. There was only one thing in the center of it, lying on the floor.
"Ion," Ilaria said, taking a step forward.
She was grabbed by the wrist and tugged hard enough that she was sure her arm was going to come out of its socket. She spun around and found herself in the arms of Arsen with a hand over her mouth, behind a stack of the crates. Her eyes went wide in alarm, and she bit down on his hand.
Arsen hissed as blood filled Ilaria's mouth, but his hand didn't move.
"Cut it out," he breathed into her ear.
It was then that she heard the heavy footsteps as someone came down the stairs at the other end of the cargo hold.
She pulled Arsen's hand away from her face, turned around slowly so that she was facing away from him, and glanced around the corner he’d pulled her from.
There she saw one of the men that she'd seen take Ion earlier, but he wasn't alone. There was a tall, muscular woman who was picking Ion up at the moment, and another man with olive skin and prominate cheek bones standing beside them.
Ilaria hid herself again.
How many? Arsen mouthed at her.
She held up three fingers
He nodded, readying his stunner. Part of her was glad for him. She'd come to find that he wasn't the type who wasted time trying to decide what to do. Once he'd picked a course, he followed through for better or worse.
As was the case when they rounded the corner and fired at the three abductors in the room. One of the blasts hit the woman, and she fell to the floor with Ion on top of her. Ilaria aimed at the man who'd kidnapped Ion, but he was already shooting back, and she missed.
A stunner blast hit Arsen, and from the corner of her eye, Ilaria saw him falling. She gritted her teeth; she was not going to let herself lose Ion again. Her next shot hit Ion's kidnapper in the chest, and he joined the woman on the floor.
Now it was just Ilaria and the unfamiliar man exchanging blasts. They got a few out but neither was having much luck hitting his or her mark.
Ilaria's stunner beeped at her and she hid herself behind the crate as she changed battery packs.
"My men are already on their way," the man said. Ilaria could hear his footsteps moving toward her. "There's no point in fighting."
In response, Ilaria popped up over the crate again, firing at the man, but he had the reflexes of a snake. The moment his eyes met hers, Ilaria knew it was over.
The blast hit her and all she knew was pain, followed closely by blackness.
#
ARSEN SNAPPED AWAKE to the sound of Ilaria yelling obscenities at a closed door. It took him a minute to register that he had been moved while unconscious. He was hanging by his arms, which were bound above his head, holding him a few feet off of the ground. Someone had taken most of his clothing as well, leaving him with only his underwear. Ilaria was directly next to him, and they were both facing the door. The rest of the room appeared to be empty.
"Will you shut up," Arsen groaned.
Ilaria snapped her mouth shut. When he looked over at her, Arsen could see that she'd been stripped as well.
"What were you yelling for anyway?" Arsen's head was throbbing. He cursed himself for accepting payment to chase after Ion. Whoever had taken him was obviously a lot more organized than most of Outer Port’s shadier dealers.
And now they were hanging like meat from the ceiling.
"I was trying to wake you up."
"You succeeded."
"I don't think we've been in here too long," Ilaria said. "I haven't lost all feeling in my hands yet."
"That's a relief." Arsen hung his head, willing his headache to subside.
"You better not have passed out again."
"Why would I do that?" Arsen shot Ilaria a dirty look. "I presume you have a plan."
"The tie on my feet is loose," Ilaria said. "If I can get them out, I can get out of this." She sounded so sure of herself. "Then we can find Ion and get the hell-"
Arsen groaned loudly. "I swear to God if I hear Ion's name one more fucking time, I'm going to lose it. If we get out, we're leaving him here."
"Then I'll get out and leave your ass here. I'll come back for you after I've found him." Ilaria was moving her legs as she tried to free them.
"It's not worth it," Arsen said, his voice harsh with frustration. "Why can't you just let him go?"
"That's my business." Ilaria's legs moved more frantically.
"You're being unreasonable."
"That's rich coming from you."
"Will you stop it!" Arsen snapped, as his voice echoed through the room.
Ilaria obeyed, her movements ceasing.
"Why is he so damn important to you? Are you in love with him?"
Ilaria's bottom lip quivered just a fraction, but it was enough for Arsen to press the issue.
"What is going on with you two?"
"Nothing," Ilaria said, her tone hollow. "Leave it alone."
"'Nothing' has gotten me tied nearly naked from the rafters," Arsen said. "If you want me to agree to help you anymore, you'd better start explaining what makes Ion so special."
Ilaria looked away, hiding her expression from Arsen. She was quiet for so long that Arsen almost thought she wasn't going to answer, but she did.
"I can still see it." Ilaria's breathing was heavy, as if she were fighting with herself over every word. "The look in my mother's eyes when she told The Guard to shoot even though you could have killed me."
Arsen stayed quiet, letting her work through her thoughts.
"My mother, Commander Fawcett." Ilaria half laughed her mother's title. "Let's just say she can be pretty harsh. Which is great for being the commander of The United Coalition's Guard, but it's not so great for a family."
"Believe it or not," Arsen said, "I can get being brought up by someone who doesn't care for you too much. Hermes used his position to manipulate and enslave me in every sense but name."
"And as much as I hate it, I can't stand to see her disappointment in me if I show up a failure." Ilaria let out a sigh. "And since bringing Ion in was my duty, especially since it was my fault he stole a ship and left Moon Base One in the first place, I have to see that through. As much as I would love nothing better than to leave him to rot in this ship."
After his experience with Hermes, Arsen found himself nodding in understanding.
"Then my mother will at least be able to spin the story in a way that will make her look good, because I’ll look good," Ilaria continued. "She can say that I allowed myself to be captured to bring Ion Kinsley to justice. She’ll have raised a hero and not a disappointment. And we can forget about the fugitive who captured me once he's shipped off to The Belt."
"You're sure there's nothing more personal about it," Arsen said dryly.
Ilaria glared at him. "There's nothing more personal at all. He stole government property; my mother wants him brought in. That's the end of it."
Arsen smirked at Ilaria. "Fine, let's do it."
"You'll help me?"
Arsen shrugged as much as he could given his position. "You're paying me to do it."
Ilaria flashed him a weak smile. "I guess I am." She pulled one of her feet, straining for a second, then it came free from its bind and the rope fell to the floor.
She managed to pull herself up and began tugging with her teeth at the knot tying her hands together. It took less time than Arsen had expected for the knot to come untied, and Ilaria dropped to the floor, landing on her feet.
She shot Arsen a smug look and proceeded to untie his feet. In a few moments he was standing beside her on the floor, free from his restraints.
"Don't suppose they left our clothes in here," Arsen said, checking out the rest of the room. There was nothing but the rope that had bound them.
"You didn't strike me as a shy kind of guy," Ilaria said, walking to the door.
"I just don't want my body to serve as a distraction to you."
"Somehow, I think I'll be fine." Ilaria's hand hovered over the control panel to the door. "Ready?"
Before Arsen could answer, the door slid open to reveal the dark-haired man and tough-looking blond woman from earlier.
"This is a surprise." The man's eyes glistened as he stepped into the room, his hands clasped behind his back. Arsen got his first good look at the man. He’d noticed the dark hair, olive skin, and high cheekbones before, but he’d missed the fact that this man was actually quite muscular. His eyes were dark, so dark Arsen could’ve sworn they were black.
Ilaria recovered from her shock before Arsen and jumped at the man; however, the man was expecting it. He blocked her attack and the woman grabbed hold of Ilaria, putting her in a chokehold.
"I expected more of a fight from the daughter of the great Commander Fawcett," the man said. "Don't try anything," he said as he pointed a stunner at Arsen.
Arsen, who'd been about to swing at the man in the doorway, put his hands in the air and froze. He shot an apologetic look to Ilaria who nodded back even as her face turned red.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding," Arsen said slowly. He tried to inch himself closer to the man as he talked.
"You bored a hole into my ship to try and rescue someone I took in Outer Port," the man said. "Did I misunderstand something about that?"
Arsen's mouth hung open as he tried to come up with something quick and witty to say, but it seemed he was having an off day because nothing came to mind.
The man took his silence to be shock so he continued. "You aren't the first and you won't be the last to get angry when someone goes missing," the man said. "You know what happens to those people when they go looking?"
Arsen shook his head.
"They go missing too."