Zaeed Massani was enraged.
He'd worked damned hard to get the Blue Suns up and running. Building their reputation. Now his partner , Vido Santiago, was gonna take it all away from him? And why? Because he'd disagreed with Vido over employing goddamn batarian terrorists. The Blue Suns were supposed to be a protection racket, nothing more. Start using batarians and you're gonna end up with slave grabs and god knows what other shit on the side. He may have questionable morals, but at least he had them.
He struggled against the six men holding him down on the shuttle's floor. Guess he shouldn't have been surprised that Vido turned them so easily against him. They were mercenaries out to make credits after all. All Vido had to do was offer them a bonus. He'd have counter-offered but Vido was the money man in the operation. Zaeed swore in his head - he wouldn't make that mistake again. Shit, he wouldn't be able to. He knew merc work ensured a low life expectancy, but he'd barely made a dent in his third decade.
"Goddamn pussy, can't even face me one on one!"
He felt the shuttle slowing down, descending, then the jolt of the landing that reverberated through his body as it lay pressed into the cold metal. Vido opened the shuttle door and jumped out, wordlessly. His traitorous stooges hauling Zaeed up, still face down, one on each limb, two with guns trained on him, as they followed Vido. Zaeed raised his head to check out his surroundings. A clearing, somewhere in the jungle area that bordered their base. Guess Vido didn't want the bother of having to get rid of his body.
He was dropped to the ground, the impact forcing a grunt from him. He was then hoisted to his knees, a man on each arm, the other four training their guns on him, as Vido pressed a pistol against his cheek.
"What's the matter, Vido? Can't face me like a real man? Big goddamn coward!"
That got him pistol-whipped.
"You'd do well to shut your face, Zaeed," Vido warned.
Zaeed laughed. Blood ran down from the cut along his cheekbone. "Or what? You'll kill me? Figured you've already got that covered, you jackass."
This time Vido punched him in the jaw.
Zaeed just looked back at him and shrugged. "Stop playing around and get it done already. My face is beginning to itch. Then I can concentrate on haunting your sorry ass."
Vido just glared back at him. "You got it, Massani. Any last wishes?"
"Yeah. Go to hell."
Vido smirked. "You first."
As Vido pressed the gun into his cut cheek and pulled the trigger, Zaeed roared-
-X-
BOOM!
The sound of a rage-filled bellow, cut short by a gun-shot, created a flurry of activity as wildlife took flight or scurried away.
But Jasmyn froze. What the hell? That sounded close. So much for uninhabited. Though she should have guessed it was too good to be true. Damn! She was so sure that this part of Zorya was still uncharted. Then again if it was gunfire there was a good chance it was mercs, and mercs could be cleared by the Alliance. What she didn't want, was colonists laying claim to the area. She needed to check it out. She had just finished her report, too. Samples had been taken, the area mapped. It was an ideal site for the company, Eldfell-Ashland Energy, who'd hired her to find them a prime location for their factory, and she needed this to come through so she could get paid.
She moved up into the trees. The close proximity of the trees to each other, their branches entwining, made it ideal for travelling without being seen, and she threaded herself through the branches, headed to where the shot had come from. It only took her a couple of minutes to find the clearing.
She peered down, watching five men laughing at something on the ground, before one headed for a shuttle, the others following. That's when she saw the man's body on the ground, on his side, his face a mess of blood and bone. She grimaced. Cold-hearted bastards. What the hell was funny about killing a man? She hated mercs.
The shuttle took off, and she waited a few more seconds until she couldn't hear it any more, before she jumped down from her perch, gingerly making her way into the clearing. She had no idea why. It's not like she could help a dead man. Nevertheless, she felt compelled to approach him, trying not to look at his face. He was unarmed. It was an execution. She wondered what the guy did to piss them off. Maybe he had a family. They'd want to know. She hesitantly moved beside him, to where his Omni-tool sat on his arm. She'd be able to find some identification on there.
As soon as she touched his arm, he jerked, his breath rattling through his destroyed face. Jas jumped back in horror. My God, he was still alive!
Zaeed was suddenly swamped in bright light and agonising pain, as he became conscious again. He struggled to breath, blood and something else hindering his airway. Why the hell wasn't he dead? It was so hard to focus, everything swimming, blackness at the periphery trying to drag him back, but he fought it. He refused to give in. He had a score to settle. He became aware of someone there, and he launched himself towards the figure, his hands grabbing a hold of a neck, an unnatural sound rising from his throat.
Jas was knocked on her back, his hands around her throat, his body pinning her down, his macabre face bleeding over her, the remainder of his face a fierce snarl.
"Please!…. I'm trying to help you!" she managed to rasp, her vision beginning to blur.
A woman's voice. He was finding it harder to breath, his breaths coming in body shaking gasps. He could feel hands on his forearms, trying to pull his hands away. Soft, weak. He tried to focus, to blink, and though his vision was strange, like he'd closed an eye, he could make out the young woman in his grasp. He loosened his grip on her throat, but kept them in place, and she gasped, her chest heaving.
"Wh-who are you?" His mouth wasn't working properly, breathing was hard.
"I'm just a location scout," she coughed out hoarsely. "I heard a gunshot and found you. Please! I'm not going to hurt you. You need help."
The man on top of her just stared for what seemed like an eternity, then he removed his hands and slid off her to the side, a rattling sound escaping from his lips. She slowly, shakily, sat up, wiping the blood from her face. Her throat hurt, and her back where she'd landed on top of her rucksack. Focus, or he'll die! She wasn't so sure he was a man worth saving, but she shook the straps off her shoulders, and quickly removed her medkit from her pack. He started to choke.
The woman was opening his mouth, a finger sweeping over his tongue, removing the debris in his mouth, then again, this time completely dislodging whatever was preventing him from breathing. Air had never felt so good, as he sucked in greedily. He tried to keep still, but the pain that was making itself known in the aftermath of his adrenaline rush, had his body writhing involuntarily, nothing coordinated. He tried to focus on her face. A mass of mahoghany curls framed a stricken face with jade green eyes. Beautiful. Young.
Jas pushed down her panic. Holy shit! This was way more than she was prepared for! She had nothing to offer him but medigel and a bandage but she used what she had, expecting him to expire at any moment. Nobody could survive that. Right?
Zaeed just stared at that face. Like an angel. She calmed the fire in his head when she touched his face. Medigel, his brain managed to supply. Next she began bandaging his head, so gentle, making sure not to obscure his good eye. She had to be a good ten years younger than him. He could feel his heart slowing from it's rampant pace, the pain still intense but manageable. Suck it up, he told himself. You're alive.
Jas felt nauseous. She had no idea how people could be medics. It was all she could do to stop herself from freaking out, not to mention puking. The responsibility of this man's life was in her hands, and she really wasn't sure she could handle it. Okay, take a deep breath, and assess the situation. She checked out the clearing. Plenty of room to land her small ship, once she'd moved the guy. She grimaced as she looked at him. She wasn't looking forward to this.
Zaeed was half-blinded by the light, when she began to move away and he'd felt panic start to propel his heart at the thought of her leaving him like this. He grabbed her arm in reflex. He cursed to himself. Since when did you start fretting like a little girl, Massani?
"I need to get you to a hospital. I need to get my ship, bring it back here, but I've got to move you, so I can land it here," she assured him, her hand hesitantly resting on his hand on her arm. He refused to acknowledge the relief that flooded him, as he let her go.
Jaz moved by his head, tentative as she tried to find a hold that wouldn't hurt him.
"Help me up," came his harsh voice, slightly mumbled. She faltered.
"You've got to be kidding me! I really don't think you should move too much."
"It'll be easier than you trying to drag my heavy ass, so don't argue."
He sat slowly up, his head screaming at him in protest, and raised an arm up to her. She instantly moved lower so he could place it round her shoulders, her own fastening around his waist. He pulled his legs up under him and pushed himself to his feet, leaning heavily on the girl. Goddamn this was painful. He involuntarily retched, his already limited vision, flaring white then dark before settling down. He pretty much stumbled all the way to the edge of the clearing, his angel struggling to keep him upright. He flopped to his knees and the girl carefully rested him against a tree.
"I'll be as quick as I can, I promise. About five minutes. Just hold on."
He couldn't make his jaw work to answer, didn't want to move his broken head any more, so he just gave a grunt. She surprised him by placing a reassuring hand on his forearm, then she ran, full pelt, out of sight. As he lay there, the sounds of the jungle's inhabitants encroaching on him, he felt every single second like it was a week, finally allowing the pain to win over his consciousness, wondering whether she would return.
Jas ran as fast as she could, recklessly really, considering the uneven ground. She burst into her landing zone and clambered aboard, foregoing those all-important flight checks, and starting up the engines. Thrusters rose the metal heap up above the tree tops, before Jas accelerated back to the man she was trying to save.
It was hard to believe that she'd been involved in this situation for less than ten minutes. Please be alive. She couldn't think of anything worse than dying alone. Then she began to worry about animals. They could smell blood, couldn't they? She forced herself to breath deep again. Chill out. You're here. She slowed to a hover and descended carefully down to the ground, immediately launching herself into the back cabin and grabbing a blanket off her bunk. She then moved the thin mattress onto the floor and exited the ship.
As she drew closer to him, she noticed he was still propped against the tree but he wasn't moving like before, and she lost her momentum. She had to force herself to keep going. He's not dead, he's not dead. She bent down, placing her hand just below his nose, breathing a sigh of relief when she felt the expelled air over her skin. He was still alive. She laid out the blanket beside him, then carefully lowered him onto his back, only needing to adjust his legs slightly so he was now completely on the blanket. Then she gathered the edge of the blanket near his head and dragged him over the ground to her ship, hitting the panel to release the small ramp at the rear, and hauling him inside, and onto the mattress, sweating from the heat and exertion. After checking him again, she closed the ramp and got back into the pilot's seat. This was going to feel like a hell of a long journey.
-x-
"Sir! We've picked up a small ship on the perimeter."
"Then, get a gunship out there and take it down!" snapped Vido.
"Wait…It's moving off. Hm, don't know what that was about. It was stationary for a moment, then left."
Vido squinted as his mind raced, approaching the screens. "Where did it land?"
"Uhh….there's a clearing right in that position. Um, the same one you were at a short while ago."
Vido started to become agitated. "Get a team together, now. I want that clearing checked out."
There was a scramble as his men left the control room, and Vido scowled at the holo-map displaying the clearing. Ten minutes later and his comm unit bleeped.
"Report!" he demanded.
"Sir, there's nothing here except a backpack. Nothing in it to ascertain who it belongs to though."
Vido could have howled in rage at that moment. Someone had found that bastard, and if they'd left with him, it meant only one thing. Zaeed Massani was alive.