Predator - Incursion Read Free

Dearing said, and Liliya wondered whether he knew what that meant. She turned around. He was already stepping back from them, lifting the gun, not quite aiming it at her but ready to swing it up at a moment’s notice.
    “You don’t need that,” she said, staring him in the eye. He paused, just for a moment. Then he backed away three more steps until he was pressed against the soft bulkhead beside the access to the remaining escape pod. Here in the officers’ compartment, they even dressed the walls of the emergency bay.
    The ship’s engines pulsed again through Liliya’s feet, and she wondered if the others sensed it as well. Probably not. There was a lot she could perceive that would escape them. Dearing’s increased heartbeat, the dribble of sweat at his temple, and the whitening of his knuckles around the pulse rifle’s trigger.
    “Dearing…” she said.
    “They’re only designed for one person,” he said. He looked back and forth between Liliya and Roberts, as if trying to decide who might come at him first.
    “There are a dozen other ships in this system at any one time,” Roberts said. “We’ll be picked up in a matter of days. It’ll be cozy, but all three of us can get in there.”
    Yet that’s not what I want
, Liliya thought.
I don’t want to be picked up—not by anyone but the Founders
. She should have known better than to bring them along.
    Dearing lifted the rifle.
    She was fast, but probably not fast enough.
    “Roberts is right,” Liliya said. “It’ll be tight, the launch will be rough, but three of us can last in there for days. You think they wouldn’t give the officers enough food and water? You think they don’t consider a bit of comfort?”
    Dearing glanced to the side and touched a panel on the wall. His eyes were wide with the excitement of imminent escape.
    “You can’t leave us here to die!” Roberts said.
    “There are more lifeboats aft,” he said.
    “That’s half a mile away!” she shouted.
    “Quiet,” Liliya said firmly, but it had already gone too far. There was a dynamic here that she hadn’t perceived, and Roberts’ next statement exposed it all.
    “Don’t I mean anything to you?” she asked.
    Liliya took a step forward as Dearing’s face dropped. He saw her, and drifted the gun barrel in her direction.
    She heard the scattering, scampering sound as one of the things came at them. It had been following their trail, perhaps homing in on the sound of their voices. She didn’t think Dearing had heard it yet. She had moments to react, and in that time everything rushed in at her.
    The risks she had taken to be posted on the
Evelyn-Tew,
the favors that had been called in, the machinations behind the scenes by Wordsworth and the other Founders.
    The responsibility she bore, the importance of the information she now carried on her person.
    The disaster and deaths she had caused by effectively releasing the creatures.
    The implications if she didn’t succeed.
    Every part of her fought against what she did next. But her commitment to Wordsworth was greater than her own strength, instinct, or the moral code she had developed through her life. His dedication to his cause was absolute.
    Liliya stepped behind Roberts, grabbed her beneath the arms, and shoved her at Dearing.
    The pulse rifle boomed. The woman jerked once, hard, and slammed back against her. Liliya kept her footing, threw Roberts again, and followed. Dearing staggered back against the wall with the bloodied, dying woman splayed against him. As she slid to the floor, one hand grasping at his clothing and leaving a bloody trail across his chest, he freed the rifle from between them and lifted it at Liliya.
    She slapped it aside. Something broke in her hand, and the rifle clattered to the floor, sliding across the bay and coming to rest beside the door through which they entered.
    A shadow danced beyond, hard limbs and dark hisses.
    “What the fuck?” Dearing shouted. He wasn’t looking at