Marina Dre's Arc

Chapter 7 of 14

Varro circled the coral spire while Marina held the torch casing. Its charge light blinked red, then went dark. One more fight would leave Mia exposed. Marina watched the hunter pass behind a reef, then pulled Mia through a narrow break in the coral. They reached the Harbor Armory without drawing Varro close. The front doors were barred. Marina knocked three times, paused, then knocked once. Metal scraped inside. Marky Vex opened a slot in the door. She was the dealer Marina had once used for hard-to-find gear. Marky took one look at Mia, then unlatched the locks. “You brought a bounty hunter to my door,” Marky said. “I brought my daughter,” Marina said. “I need a weapon.” Marky led them into the workshop. Parts covered the benches: stripped battery packs, cracked masks, coils, and tools. Mia stood by the wall, watching the door. Marina set the dead torch down. “Can you charge it?” Marky checked the casing and shook her head. “Core is burned out. It is scrap.” Marina felt the answer settle in her chest. The torch had bought them time. It would buy nothing else. Marky opened a steel drawer and pulled out a rough baton. Colored wires ran beneath tape around its grip. “Short range. Touch him with the prongs. Hold the switch.” Marina tested its weight. “How many charges?” “Two strong hits. Maybe three.” “Enough,” Marina said. Marky placed a round EMP charge beside it. “This wakes when someone enters its field. It will give you a pulse, then kill powered gear nearby.” “His rebreather?” Mia asked. “His lights, tracker, and whatever else he trusts,” Marky said. “Not his air. I do not sell traps that drown people.” Marina studied the charge. “We need him somewhere closed.” “The flooded boathouse,” Marky said. “One main entrance. And when I say flooded I mean it. Plenty of metal for the pulse to bite.” Marina looked at Mia. “You stay with Marky.” Mia’s tail snapped once against the floor. “He wants me. He will follow me.” Marina hated the plan because it worked. She clipped the EMP charge to a length of wire. Marky checked the baton’s switch, then pressed it into Marina’s hand. At the boathouse, Marina set the charge beneath a half-sunk work platform. Mia waited where Varro could see her through the open doors. Marina crouched behind the platform, baton ready. Varro entered fast. The charge gave one sharp chirp. Marina hit the trigger. Blue light burst through the water. Varro’s lamps died. His tracker blinked out. He grabbed for the door, blind in the dark. Marina surged from cover and drove the baton into his side. The current locked his body stiff. He struck the floor and dropped his knife. Mia kicked it away. Marky’s wire net snapped over Varro’s arms and pinned him to the flooded boards. Marina did not wait to see him wake. She took Mia’s hand and left the boathouse with a working baton and Varro trapped behind them. Then Marky held up Varro’s dead tracker. Its cracked screen showed a second signal moving toward the armory. Varro had not come alone.