Oath of Vengeance by Terry Mixon

Author:Terry Mixon [Mixon, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Faolan's Pen Publishing Inc.
Published: 2017-11-25T05:00:00+00:00

“Six people dead,” Duvall thundered. “Including a very dear girl that would never have harmed anyone.”

She and Brad were in her office. It was late in the local night, and the medical staff had been slaving away to save as many people as they could. In some cases, they managed the impossible.

Sergeant Zach Salyer—the suicidal mercenary—had pulled through. His three companions had not.

“I told you how dangerous it was for me to be here,” Brad said sadly. “Do you believe me now?”

“I believed you then,” the woman said waspishly. “And I’m not blaming you. Not much, anyway. You made a moral decision, and immoral men want to kill you for it.”

“That does nothing to bring Beth Redfield back.”

The doctor slumped in her chair. “No, it doesn’t. But I want to be very clear about this. You are not at fault here. Neither I nor my colleagues blame you for the death of our associate.

“That is not true for the Cadre or the Terror,” she continued grimly. “I’ve sent word to Ganymede and Io. Our people have been neutral up to this point, but the Cadre crossed a line when they invaded this clinic and killed one of us.”

Brad raised an eyebrow. “Forgive me, Doctor, but the Terror and his people will force you to work if required. They can use any number of punishments to make certain of your compliance.”

She smiled coldly. “Give us the credit of our convictions. He might be able to do so, but he can’t force us all. Say he orders one of us to treat a badly injured man. I would personally comply.

“That sprained wrist? Well, I think not. Will he force me and make me unwilling to save the next man? No.”

“You don’t know him like I do, Doctor,” Brad said with a shake of the head. “He will kill people to compel you. ‘Fix my wrist or I shoot that innocent person in the head.’ He’d do it, too.”

“Well, what do you want me to do?” she shouted, throwing her hands up. “I have to do something.”

He felt bad for her. She was in a mental space he was very familiar with after all these years.

“You do the best you can,” he said quietly. “Your people have been neutral until now. That lowers people’s defenses. Perhaps someone overheard something or knows something that would lead to the Cadre base. You don’t have a means to make the Terror pay. I do.”

That made her sit back and think. “You think that’s true? I would hope that if someone knew where a group of killers like the Cadre were hiding, they’d have said something long before now.”

“Probably,” he admitted. “That doesn’t mean someone didn’t pick up a clue that will add together with something else we know to point right at them. Every little bit helps. Eventually, we’ll find them.”

Duvall slumped in her chair. “I suppose you’re right. Serenade Security found the ship they came here on, by the way. They’re confident there were no others in their group, but they’ve locked the clinic down tight.

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