“Liberty?” said Hudson, hoping that his instinct was correct, and not just wishful thinking.
“Hudson?” came the reply.
The object was removed from his throat, and Hudson looked around to see Liberty standing in front of him, holding a pair of tonfas. He released the man, who tumbled inelegantly to the deck, and rushed towards her, pulling her into a tight embrace. The move seemed to stun Liberty, but after a couple of seconds, Hudson felt her arms tighten around his body too.
“Are you okay?” he blurted out, pulling away from her. “How did you escape from New Providence? How did you get here? No, what are you doing here?” Then he glanced down at the martial arts weapons in her hands, and added, “And where the hell did you get those?”
Liberty was completely blindsided by the onslaught of questions, and was incapable of forming a coherent response to any of them. Then the man Hudson had just wrestled to the deck climbed to his feet and stood beside Liberty, massaging his jaw. He was holding a stun gun in his other hand. Hudson frowned at the weapon, then at the man, before delivering one final question. “And who the hell is that?”
CHAPTER 8
Hudson’s question hung in the air, but the sudden, sharp clack of rock clashing against rock meant it went unanswered. Alert to the possible danger, Hudson, Liberty and Tobin all darted behind cover. Hudson remained still, barely taking a breath, as he checked his wristpad. The original blip was again moving towards them. In his shock at finding Liberty, he’d completely forgotten about the other hunter crew that was prowling nearby. Their scuffle and the subsequent loud voices had no doubt drawn attention to their location.
“We have another hunter crew heading this way,” Hudson whispered to Liberty, showing her the blip on his wristpad.
Liberty nodded, “I’ll circle around behind them. You two draw them inside.”
Hudson was about to question the wisdom of Liberty’s impulsive plan, but she had already slunk away, tonfas held ready.
“I guess that means we’re the bait,” said the young man. Then he offered his hand to Hudson. “I’m Tobin, by the way.”
Hudson took Tobin’s hand and shook it quickly, “I look forward to hearing how you two met, Tobin,” said Hudson, sounding sterner and more fatherly than he had intended. “But let’s deal with our new friends first.”
Hudson checked his wristpad again, which now showed two distinct blips; the latest one being the stealthy movements of Liberty. He pointed over to the far corner of the craft and Tobin nodded, before raising his stun pistol and slowly creeping away. Hudson followed, keeping half an eye on the blips on his wristpad.
“They’re through there,” whispered Hudson, pointing to a section of the craft’s hull that had been ripped open. “Take cover…”
They both ducked down behind a row of seats, just as a man and a woman slowly moved inside. They were dressed in hunter gear, and looked like they’d seen a few scrapes in their time. Both swept their pistols around the interior of the craft, before the woman spoke up.
“Come out, we know you’re in here,” the female hunter said, taking cover behind a partition wall. “Throw out your weapons and you won’t get hurt.”
Hudson glanced down at his wristpad again. The blip representing Liberty was now just outside, a few meters away from the new arrivals.
“Follow my lead,” whispered Hudson. Then before Tobin could protest, he stood up, holding his hands in the air.
“Hey, we’re not looking for any trouble,” said Hudson, as Tobin sprang up at his side. He also had his hands raised in surrender, but his expression betrayed his obvious unease. “We’re just hunters like you. There’s plenty for everyone on this moon; no need to take what we have.”
The woman laughed, “Yeah, but it’s much easier if we just take what you have. This moon is getting too hot already.”
Then the woman stepped out of cover, with her partner at her side. Hudson guessed they were both in their mid-thirties, and they had matching tattoos on their right shoulders. Hudson had seen the mark before; it signified they used to be part of an OPW private security unit. Guns for hire, Hudson realized. However, while they were undoubtedly dangerous, they were also brash and overconfident.
Jabbing her pistol towards the deck, the female mercenary added, “Throw down your weapons, and whatever you’ve scored so far.”
Hudson glanced behind the rival crew and saw Liberty creep inside, tonfas held ready. He smiled back at the female hunter and said, “You know, I don’t think I’m going to do that…”
The female seemed surprised and even mildly impressed by Hudson’s steely nerve, “Tough talk, mister. But I’m afraid this is just going to get ugly.”
Hudson smiled back at her. “For you maybe…”
Liberty pounced, striking both hunters cleanly across the side of the head with her tonfas. She had then spun the weapons back against her forearms, before the pair had even hit the deck.
Hudson moved around the row of seats he’d used as cover, and stared down at the knocked-out hunters. “Hey, you’re pretty good with those,” he said, nodding his head appreciatively.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” Tobin chimed in, smiling. Suddenly, Tobin’s face fell and he hastily raised his stun weapon, firing it before Hudson had chance to spot his target. For a split-second, Hudson thought he might have been shooting at Liberty, and almost turned on him. However, then he saw another man just outside the fractured entrance to the craft, spasming from the stun dart Tobin had fired into his chest.
Liberty jerked around, just as the third hunter fell to the deck, unconscious. “Thanks,” she said, closing her eyes and tilting her head back. “I’m glad you’re a good shot with that thing.”
Tobin laughed, then slumped forward on the row of seats. Hudson noticed that his hands were shaking. “I’m actually a terrible shot. That was a pure fluke!”
Hudson shook his head, “Pro-tip, Tobin… you should probably keep that sort of thing to yourself…” Then he checked his wristpad again. “Not that this thing has been particularly accurate so far, but I think we’re finally in the clear. For the time being at least.”
“We should keep moving,” said Liberty, sliding the tonfas through her belt. “Those other hunters were right about one thing; this planet is hotting up. The RGF will close down these initial hunts soon. So, we have to get the scendar back, before Cutler and Griff decide to leave.”
Hudson slapped Tobin on the shoulder to jolt him into action, then moved up beside Liberty. “It’s more important than ever that we get that crystal back,” he told her. “Morphus explained everything to me. Goliath is a much bigger threat than we ever imagined.”
Liberty frowned, “Morphus is back?”
“Yes, I’ll explain as we walk,” replied Hudson. “There’s so much I need to tell you. And there’s so much I need you to tell me too,” he cocked his head in the direction of Tobin, “especially about your new admirer over there.”
“He’s not my admirer,” Liberty answered, in the sort of despondent manner that a teenage daughter replies to embarrassing questions from her dad. “And he’s a good guy. I wouldn’t be here without him.”