Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Marisol only glanced at the four clones wearing stolen security guard uniforms as they met at the flight pad. The human pilot stood outside the shuttle parked there. The second he spotted her, he appeared shocked. “Ms. Florigo.”
“You are?”
“Don Titon.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Are we ready to lift off?”
“No one informed me that you were my passenger.”
“That’s because it’s above your pay grade.” She gave her best bitchy face glower. “Top secret stuff direct from my grandfather. Let’s go.”
He hesitated.
“Now,” Marisol ordered, her tone firm. “You’ve got your orders. Follow them, or I’ll contact Straton Miller. You do know he is the leading authority right under my grandfather. He will fire you. I’d prefer not to do that if you don’t mind. We have a tight schedule to keep. That means not wasting time.”
“Of course.” The pilot spun and marched inside the shuttle. She followed, her clone ‘security team’ at her back.
“This isn’t a luxury shuttle. My apologies, Ms. Florigo.” The pilot turned once again to look at her. “Do you wish for me to request an upgrade?”
“That’s not going to happen. Were the boxes and two stasis units that were sent by Mr. Miller loaded?”
“Yes. They are secured inside the cargo hold.”
She sighed. “I’m going to share a secret with you and swear you to silence. Are you ready?”
Don Titon’s eyes widened. “Of course.”
“My gramps is sending me on a secret mission to talk to some of the entertainment on Jabler. Clones are great and all, but we’d like some human talent added here. It’s a promotional thing. I’m going in under the radar. That means not showing up in one of our family space yachts.”
The pilot nodded along. He seemed to be believing the lies.
“My gramps is depending on us to do this quietly and quickly. The owners of Jabler would be pissed if they realized that we’re about to poach some of their top entertainers. We’re going to arrive, and by the time they begin to question why I’m there, we’ll already be on our way home with two of their top acts hidden onboard. Their security might scan us for life signs, so we need to put them in stasis. No heartbeats to be picked up. Now let’s go.”
“Yes, Ms. Florigo.”
“Silence, Mr. Titon. You don’t breathe a word that I’m onboard to anyone. Mr. Miller and my grandfather are the only two people who are aware of my mission. This is going to bring in a lot more tourists. You don’t want to be the man who screws that up. My grandfather would not be pleased.” It was a threat. Rico Florigo had a vicious reputation. Everyone knew it.
“Of course.” He hurried to the front of the shuttle.
Once he was gone, Marisol blew out a relieved breath. They just needed to lift off the planet, and then they’d deal with the pilot. She gave her attention to the four clones who stood waiting.
“Take seats and put on your belts. Three of you can fit on the couch.” She walked to a lone chair and buckled in.
She noticed the worried expressions of her medic clone team. A lot could go wrong. They had enough plasma stored in those boxes to last the five of them for half a year. Where they’d go or how they’d get more later was something they’d deal with in the future. For now, it was all about escaping.
“Do you―”
“Not now,” she snapped at MC-1. Marisol glanced around the passenger area of the cabin. “Ears,” she mouthed. It was possible the pilot was listening from the cockpit.
The engines came online, and she breathed easier. When the shuttle lifted off the flight pad, she closed her eyes. Once they reached space, they’d be out of the ground cannon’s firing range. She started to pray that they’d make it.
The longest minutes of her life passed until Marisol felt relief when the gravity inside the cabin left. They’d made it into orbit. She opened her eyes right as artificial gravity stabilized. The clones looked a little unsettled over the experience. It was their first time traveling in space. She unbelted from her seat and quickly stood.
“Just like we rehearsed,” she muttered, heading toward the cockpit.
MC-4 followed.
The cockpit door stood open, and Marisol stepped in, motioning for the female clone to stay out of sight. “That was a very smooth takeoff.”
The pilot twisted in his seat and smiled at her. “That’s a compliment coming from you, Ms. Florigo.”
Marisol reached her hand back, and MC-4 passed her the syringe. She moved forward, hiding it behind her back. “Wow. I love the view from here. I always wanted to learn how to fly a shuttle.”
“Really?” His gaze ran down her body. “I’d love to show you whatever you want.”
She hesitated just behind his seat. “What’s that red button for on your left? The one by the green one. It looks important.”
He leaned forward a little. “That’s―”
She struck, jabbing the uncapped needle into his neck, and injected the sedative. He gasped and tried to hit her. MC-4 was suddenly there, grabbing him from behind his seat.
The pilot struggled, attempting to reach something on the front console. Marisol threw her body between him and it, partially landing on his lap as she grabbed his arms. He quickly went limp.
Marisol wiggled off him to stand again, sighing. “How long do you think that will keep him out?”
The female clone stepped forward. “He’s larger in size than we estimated. I think anywhere from seven to nine hours at most. For certain, six hours.”
“Bring in the males to carry him to the emergency pod. Have them eject him in four hours. The pod will send out an automated distress signal, so by the time he wakes up, someone from Clone World will have hopefully retrieved him already.”
“Wouldn’t it be safer for us to eject him farther from the planet?”
Marisol knew the clone was right. “I won’t risk his life. Once we leave this solar system, the possibility of a pod being picked up by pirates is high. Those thieving bastards are always looking for shuttles that experience mechanical difficulties to target. A pod would be easy pickings for them. I want to make sure this pilot is close enough to Clone World for them to be able to retrieve him as quickly as possible.”
It was clear that the clone wanted to argue more.
“I won’t kill someone,” Marisol firmly stated. “Pirates will demand a ransom if they capture him. My grandfather won’t pay to save his life. We’ll have a four-hour head start. Straton Miller wouldn’t put me on a defenseless shuttle in bad repair. He’d be too terrified of my grandfather’s wrath.” She took a seat once MC-4 dragged the unconscious pilot from it. “I’m going to shut off the transponder.”
“You know how to do that?”
“I’ve taken a lot of trips, and you’d be surprised by how much pilots will share when they are trying to impress the only known relative of Rico Florigo. I planned to escape once before and learned how to fly shuttles. And how to make it impossible for them to be tracked.” She flipped off the autopilot and prepared to reprogram the flight path. “They’ll believe we’re heading to Jabler, but then I’ll change course.”
“What is our destination?”
Marisol hesitated. “We’re going to intercept a transport heading this way from Earth and watch it. The important thing is that we’re off Clone World. There’s enough plasma to last us for half a year. My luggage is filled with energy bars. We won’t starve. There’s enough water in the tanks on these shuttles to last us for months if we ration it. For right now, we’re going to stay on course to Jabler until after jettisoning that escape pod.”
“Do you believe your grandfather will think you’ve been kidnapped?”
“Not when that pilot is questioned by Clone World security. He should remember that I’m the one who stuck him with the needle. I think my gramps will realize I know the truth about being a clone after he learns that not only am I gone, but I took you four with me.”
A slight sound had Marisol turn. Two of the clones entered the cramped cockpit to carry the unconscious pilot away. MC-2 and MC-3 were easily able to lift him from the floor. Clones were created to be strong.
“Be very careful with him,” Marisol ordered. “Put the pilot in the emergency pod and eject him in four hours,” she repeated her original orders, too. “I don’t want him hurt in any way.”
“It would be better if we didn’t do that. You’re not expected to be back for eight days, correct?”
She stared up at MC-1, who’d entered the cockpit. He had a grim expression on his face after speaking.
Marisol stood from her seat to face off against the tallest clone. “We’re not murderers. I’m also not willing to keep a human hostage onboard. That not only puts us at risk of him trying to fight to regain control of the shuttle, but he’ll be a drain on our limited resources. We might all be free now, but I’m still in charge.”
She hoped so, at least. There was a small possibility that they could revolt against her. “I could have left you behind, but I didn’t. I wouldn’t. Because I’m not a murderer. Please tell me that I didn’t save you, only to learn that you’re capable of killing someone. That pilot’s only crime is being desperate enough to work for Clone World. He’s just an employee.”
The tall clone shook his head. “We don’t want to kill. I just believe we’ll have a better chance of not being captured if we hang onto the pilot for a few days before releasing him in the emergency pod. There’s only one. I checked.”
“I know, but if we don’t release him soon, we’d have to stop at a station or a colony settlement to drop him off and keep the pod.” She lifted her right hand, glancing at her palm. “I have passed identification scanners on stations that say I’m a human when I’ve taken trips for business, but that doesn’t mean we’re safe to keep doing that. My gramps could realize at any time that you four are gone and get suspicious before we release the pilot. That means we need to avoid anywhere that alerts can be sent to us. No station stops to drop him off. I knew we’d lose the emergency pod when I started plotting to get us this shuttle.”
“We all could die without a pod if the shuttle is damaged.”
“I’m aware.” Marisol sighed, holding MC-1’s gaze. “I warned you that this was risky, and we might die out here in space if we left the surface. That we probably would in time. What matters most to you? Feeling a temporary sense of safety existing on Clone World for as long as you serve a purpose or being free?”
“Freedom,” MC-1 answered.
“I have reason to believe some other freed clones are out here in space.” Marisol hadn’t shared that news with them before. “I have an idea of how to find them. One of them ordered an unblanked clone to be created, and it recently shipped from Earth. It’s on the way to Clone World now. We’re going to fly toward that transport and hopefully reach it before that illegal clone is taken off it by the escaped ones. There’s no way they’d allow that clone to reach Clone World.” She paused, studying their faces for a reaction.
MC-1 frowned. “No other clones have ever escaped.”
“That’s not true.” Marisol retook the pilot’s seat and checked the long-range sensors. They were heading out of the solar system. “Six of them got away three years ago. I helped them escape. I believed they were all dead, but then that unblanked clone was ordered from the factory on Earth. It was one of those six who did it.”
“How do you know that with certainty?” MC-1 crouched next to her.
She turned to meet his shocked gray gaze. “Because whoever ordered that illegal clone used a hidden fund account that was set up just for their escape.”
“Hidden?” MC-4 frowned.
“Two of the clones worked in financing with me and helped steal money from my grandfather. Nine plasma cases and one illegal clone were recently charged to that account.”
MC-1 appeared confused.
“I didn’t place that order. One of the escaped clones did. Each shipment account is notified when an order is fulfilled and given the transport shipping information. It means I can also track the progress of that order.”
“That’s a lot of plasma for one ordered clone.”
Marisol glanced at MC-4. “I’m aware. That amount isn’t just for the newly created clone. We’ve had other transport shipments carrying plasma destroyed since those clones escaped. It was written off as an accident or idiot pirates targeting the wrong ships since that kind of cargo is worthless to humans. It happens. Transport ships carrying what is deemed unprofitable cargo are autopiloted by computers. Now I’m wondering if they were purposely targeted and the plasma cases being shipped to us were stolen by the clone escapees.”
“How much plasma could they need?” MC-1 scowled. “How many transports were destroyed?”
“I don’t have an actual figure.” Marisol shrugged. “My guess now that I know some of the original six clones survived is that they are stockpiling a large supply. That’s good news for us when we find them since we need plasma to live, too.”
“Is it possible more clones have escaped from Clone World than just those six?”
Marisol shook her head. “No, MC-1. One of my main duties is ordering clones. I always demand explanations if anything needs to be replaced. The staff thinks I do it because I’m a penny pincher, but in actuality, if supervisors abuse clones to the point of terminating them, I refuse to order more to meet the same fate. It makes the humans in charge of clones treat them better. Some increases were expected when we expanded the resort and needed more staff. Those I approved. No clone has been replaced without me fully investigating what happened to the first one.”
“You didn’t know about us,” MC-4 whispered.
“Wrong. I double-checked after learning about you. Officially, you’re assigned as part of my gramps backup medical team. The request stated he wanted clones and his human med team in case there was ever an outbreak of one of the flu viruses that originally sprang up on Earth and spread to other resort planets. Clones are immune. With my grandfather’s advanced age, it wouldn’t trigger any suspicion from me or anyone else when you were ordered. It looked more like a precautionary measure on his part.”
“You plan to intercept that cargo? The one carrying the unblanked clone?”
“Yes and no.” Marisol hesitated. “The escaped clones will retrieve the one they ordered. I even figured out what section of space where it will most likely happen. I pulled all the information on other plasma shipments that were lost. We should make it there before that transport is targeted.”
“Are we going to attack the transport?” MC-4 appeared worried.
“No.” Marisol shook her head. “We’re going to trail it and watch from a distance. Once the cargo is taken, we’ll follow whatever shuttle or transport that has it.”
MC-1 scowled. “Will the escaped clones attempt to kill us?”
“No.” At least, Marisol hoped not. “We’re clones too. Besides, I did help them escape. Wherever they have been living will become our new home. They can accept five more of us.”
The two clones left her in the cockpit as she double-checked that no signal was emitting from the shuttle. She stared at the dark space, thinking about Free.
Does he still love me? Did he ever love me at all, or was it a ruse to gain my help so they could escape? Is he even still alive? How will he react when I find him?
Marisol knew it was possible that Free had ordered the illegal clone. That would really piss her off. She’d spent the past three years grieving his loss. He owed her more than to replace her with someone else.
“I’ll find out. I have nothing to lose.”