Damnation! by Joshua James & Daniel Young

Author:Joshua James & Daniel Young [James, Joshua & Young, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-11T16:00:00+00:00

Nine

Eli stormed back to his cabin, but he didn’t see Charlene anywhere. Waylon had probably stashed the weapon in his own bunk, where he could whisper dirty words to it late at night.

Eli bit back a chuckle. This was no time to get distracted.

The Boomerang shuddered violently when the Ulysses hauled her into the atmosphere. The Ulysses landed on the beach at Tunnel Bay and set the Boomerang down nearby.

Eli unsealed the aft hatch and strode onto the sand. Dozens of crewmen from the Ulysses rushed to surround the Boomerang. They swarmed all over her, firing up their welding torches. Ten of them hefted a brand-new tender toward the scorched remains of the Boomerang’s old one.

The rest of his crew retreated out of the way. They watched with wary eyes from across the beach. Eli knew how they felt. After patching the Boomerang with chewing gum and sticky tape for almost twenty-five years, the royal treatment made him nervous. He didn’t want all those strangers touching her.

He’d gotten lost in his thoughts when someone startled him by nudging his arm. “You planning your next near-death experience?”

Eli wheeled around to find Tim Knox at his elbow. “Shit, man! Send up a flare the next time you want to sneak up on me like that.”

He pulled Tim into a bear hug and slapped him on the back. Tim laughed. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”

“You’re telling me. Where’s your captain?”

Captain Heller advanced on them from the Ulysses. She stood as tall as Eli. Her square shoulders gave her a sturdy, compact air. She didn’t strike him as overtly dangerous like Yasha, but this woman could definitely hold her own. Eli never doubted that.

She extended her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person.”

Eli waved toward the Boomerang. “Thank you again for this. The old bucket ain’t what she used to be.”

Captain Heller stole a peek at Yasha, River, Waylon, and Miles, watching the repairs from a safe distance. “I don’t think your crew is very happy about you talking to me.”

“They still expect you to take the Parker-Nolan Grenade by force and either leave us in the lurch or throw us in prison.”

“I wouldn’t do that. You can hold onto the Grenade for now. I have no reason to take it until we figure out a way to deploy it.”

“Not to mention a reason to deploy it,” Tim added.

The captain’s expression changed, and she stole a sidelong peek at Tim. “Would you give us a minute, Tim? I appreciate it.”

Tim jumped a foot in the air. “Oh, sure.”

He hustled back to the Ulysses and left Eli alone with Captain Heller. She gestured toward the bay, and Eli strolled at her side along the waterline. He tried to play it casual, but she studied him too closely, with her head on one side. “You don’t know who I am, do you?”

He spun around to stare at her. “Should I? We’ve never met, have we?”

“You wouldn’t remember. I was just a kid when it happened.

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