Gabe (Moon Hunter's Inc. Book 6) Read online

  There really wasn’t much more to say. Gabe finished his meal in silence. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night,” Gabe said as he walked off dropping his silverware, cup, and plate in different tubs before setting his tray in a rack.

  He bet they never cleaned the trays. The food dried and eventually flaked off. That would have to be good enough. Gabe glanced at the assembled lab employees. Most of these guys didn’t care anyway. It was time to head back to his room and try to get a call in before Cash went all protective. Gabe didn’t have any siblings as far as he knew, but if he had an older brother, he imagined would be just like Cash.

  The halls were deserted on this lowest level of Theta. People were told this level didn’t exist and the bottom was strictly ornamental and hollow. The level ran all the way across the station but it narrowed on both ends. To him, the station looked like a giant fish and they were located in the seamy underbelly. It fit with the purpose of the labs and he suspected this lab had been here since the station was new fifty years ago.

  Gabe had picked up some gossip, but most of the doctors and guards kept their mouths shut. One thing he’d figured out on his own was that almost everyone in the lowest level had a secret. His secret might be the whopper of them all, but he bet a few of them came close.

  His door was to his right and turned the knob before he unlocked it. An old habit that was now serving him well. The door wasn’t locked even though he’d locked it. Someone had been here so his first job was to look for bugs of any variety. Moving to the dresser, he pulled out what looked like reading glasses but actually picked up electronics.

  The first bug he found was on the floor and he moved to it and stepped on it. It made a satisfying crunch. The second was hidden on a picture of a woman. “Damn sweetheart, you sure are ugly.” He took the picture down and shook it. The bug fell off and he stepped on it. Another crunch that made him feel good.

  Looking around, there were no other signs of bugs in the bedroom. Now he went into the bathroom. There was one on the towel rack over the toilet. He reached for a towel and knocked the bug into the toilet. Setting the towel on top of the toilet tank, he started to undress.

  There was another bug on the shower head. Once he was naked, he got in the shower and adjusted the head. Hitting the bug, he knocked it to the shower floor where it not only got wet, but it was stepped on just to be sure it didn’t work. If they were monitoring, and he was sure they were, it would all appear quite accidental.

  Sure, they would wonder because he had knocked all the bugs out. They wouldn’t be sure and they would put more in and wait and watch. This would be his last call to Cash before the raid. Now that he was unobserved, he got his comm out of the jar of peanut butter. The bottom came off and he tapped the top. It slid right out.

  “Cash, it’s Gabe. Are you there?”

  “Gabe?” It was Cash and he sounded like he’d been woke up.

  “Yeah, everything is going good, but they had four bugs in my quarters.”

  “I’m sure they bug all the employee’s rooms, especially the new ones.”

  “I agree. They haven’t acted suspicious so I believe I’m safe. However, since I had to destroy four bugs, I won’t be checking in anymore.”

  “Okay. It won’t be long now. We have two ships nearby keeping an ear on communications. Be careful, Gabe.”

  “Always.” He answered but it wasn’t true. All Hunters tended to be a bit rash and he was no exception.

  The line went dead and he put his equipment up. He wouldn’t need it anymore. They would put more bugs in his room and this time he would leave them there. Gabe didn’t like the idea of someone watching and listening to his every move, but it was part of the job. Every job had its downside.

  Now that his call to Cash was done, he felt revved up and full of energy. A good workout would help him use up that energy and keep in good shape. The guards here were mostly out of shape middle- aged guys who couldn’t find a job as guards anywhere else. There were a few exceptions and Darren was one of them. That was who was in the gym when he entered it.

  He supposed some women might be drawn to the muscled up male with all of his tattoos. His head was bald and he had the tattoo of a Devil on the back of his head. That was what Gabe was staring at right now. The Devil had a cock on him that would be about a foot long with balls sized to match if the Devil was six feet tall. The red color of his Devil’s flesh really stood out and his eyes were black as the ace of spades.

  Darren wore briefs to exercise in and sweat ran down his back and his legs. Gabe thought he should be ugly, because Darren was evil on the inside. Everyone knew what Darren did to the subjects, but no one said a thing. If they did, Darren would turn the abuse on them. None of the other guards could stand toe to toe with Darren and have any hope of surviving. That man had killed coworkers before. Devil was Darren’s nickname because of the tattoo on his head and because he was a complete asshole.

  “Why you in here, Gabe? Pussy’s don’t need to work out.” Darren said.

  “Then why are you in here?” Gabe returned.

  “Good one. You’re not as stupid as you look. Why don’t we spar a bit? Unless you’re afraid I’ll hurt your pretty face?”

  “Not everyone has to be butt ugly like you are. I think I can protect my handsome face well enough. I’d like a little action on the side. How about an unfriendly bet?”

  “What do you feel like losing?” Darren wondered.

  “How about a week’s pay, just to make it interesting?”

  “I make more than you do.”

  “We’ll go with what you make. You can show me a screen shot of your deposit when it comes time to pay.”

  “Sounds fair. I could use some new workout gear, Fool.”

  “Let’s get with it.” Gabe said. He wasn’t stupid enough to underestimate the man, and he hoped Darren was seriously underestimating him. That would be seen soon enough.

  They moved to the circle and it was like someone had put the word out. Off-duty guards and even a few that should have been working began to wander in and form a circle outside of the roped off area. Darren was already gloating and bragging to a couple of the guards that he was close to. The guy was counting his money before the fight had even started.

  Gabe was ready to go, but Darren was stalling. He was probably wanting a big crowd for his anticipated victory. The desire to beat Darren washed over Gabe and his heart rate sped up. The asshole needed to go down. The pleasure it would give Gabe was immense.

  Darren was a sadistic asshole who abused not only the subjects, but the guards and even some the doctors. One of the guards, an older man about to leave, told him Darren had forced himself on one of the young female doctors. She had been locked into a contract for six months and by the time she had left, the girl had been driven insane by the abuse.

  If he beat the asshole, he would be punishing a habitual and sadistic abuser. It would give him a great feeling of satisfaction to hand out the punishment in front of a crowd. Gabe was ready to get the fight underway. When Jameson, the manager of the lab made an entrance, it became clear what Darren was waiting for.

  “Ready, wimp?” Darren taunted.

  “Seems like if I was really a wimp, you wouldn’t gather the whole station to watch the fight,” Gabe taunted.

  “You’re a better adversary than the other guards, but still nowhere near my caliber.”

  “I’ll admit you’re a grade A asshole and conceited as hell. Let’s get started now unless you’ve invited someone else?”

  “I’m ready,” Darren said as he joined Gabe in the center of the ring.

  He threw a punch before he even came to a stop but Gabe ducked. “You’re kinda slow there, Devil.” Darren glared at him and rushed in.

  Gabe tripped him and gave him a good kick in the side as he fell. He knew hearing his nickname would piss the guy off. Now he waited for Darren to get his ass off the floor. When he was up, Gabe slipped in and gave him the old one two. That ought to rin
g his bell. Darren paused and gave him a long hard stare.

  “I guess I underestimated you, Pretty Boy.”

  “Ah, you say the sweetest things. You’re not my type, but thanks anyway.”

  “I bet you’d learn to like it if I bent you over,” Darren taunted.

  “Nah, I don’t like small unskilled pricks.”

  That pissed Darren off and he came in punching. None of them landed, but Gabe did get a good hit in to Darren’s stomach and used his knee to smash his nose. “Oops. That won’t hurt you much. You’re ugly as hell anyway.” Some of the guys standing nearby chuckled until Darren stared at them.

  “Want to stop now?” Gabe asked.

  “Like fuck. You haven’t beaten me yet,” Darren insisted as blood gushed from his broken nose. He wiped it off with his hand and now it was covered with blood, too.

  Gabe got in closer and punched Darren in the eye before he danced out of range. The eye swelled shut but the bastard still wanted to fight. “I didn’t want to dance, Sweetheart. I wanted to fight,” Darren insisted.

  “Don’t you feel like you’ve been in a fight? I see enough blood to make me believe it,” Gabe said. Darren tried to hit him and if the blow had landed, damn, it would have hurt.

  Gabe was lucky as hell that Darren was like a big ass bull. He was powerful, but slow. Not terribly slow, just slow compared to Gabe. His best move was landing a punch and dancing out of range. It really pissed Darren off too. All he had to do to end this fight was take out Darren’s other eye. The sad thing was he would get treated in the med bay and be ready to fight the very next day.

  There was no way Darren would let this go unanswered. He was famous for luring enemies into meetings with him and a crew of helpers. No man could take on half a dozen adversaries unharmed. Gabe also knew better than to kill Darren. The manager would know it was on purpose and he’d become a subject. That would piss Cash off so it was to be avoided at all costs.

  Meanwhile, he danced just out of Darren’s reach as he tried to land a punch over and over without any luck. It was time to end this. He danced to the side with the swollen eye and circled around him. The punch when it landed made a crunching noise and Darren fell to the floor. That guy was completely out and the fight was over. Gabe’s eyes met those of the manager who narrowed his eyes as he examined him.

  This whole thing probably hadn’t been wise. The top guy was now suspicious of him. “Where’d you learn to fight like that?” Jameson asked.

  “I used to fight underground free-for-alls to make a little money. This pays more consistently with a hell of a lot less risk,” Gabe explained. Jameson grunted.

  “You guys get Darren to the med bay,” Jameson instructed. No one moved as they all looked around hoping he wasn’t talking to them. “Now!” He yelled and they all moved. “What was the bet?”

  “A week’s worth of his wages,” Gabe answered.

  “I’ll pay it. It was worth it to see him knocked down a few notches. He’ll do a better job with a little humility.” Jameson turned on his heels and walked away. Darren had been carried away and the other guys were slowly drifting back to wherever they’d come from.

  “Hey. You didn’t tell me you could kick ass like that.” His newly made friend Steve said.

  “I didn’t know if I could beat him until I did.”

  “You beat him the way he usually beats his opponents. He really deserved it after all the shit he’s done.”

  “He’ll be back to normal tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, that’s too bad,” Steve said then he left.

  Gabe figured it was time for him to go back to his room where he was living in a well-documented fishbowl. This time when he entered his room he saw four cameras spread out everywhere when he put his glasses on. They were definitely suspicious of him now. There was nothing to do, but kick back and wait until the raid went down. He took a shower, put on some shorts and read a book until he was tired and then he went to sleep.

  When he got up in the morning, he dressed in his uniform and headed to the cafeteria. Today was the continental style breakfast. Gabe made himself a huge bowl of oatmeal and added cinnamon, sugar, and nuts. At least, he hoped they were nuts. He put a couple Danish on his tray, some boiled eggs, and he grabbed some fruit. This was the breakfast he preferred but they only had it twice a week when some of the kitchen staff had their days off.

  Guards only got off two weeks a year when they were allowed off station to take a vacation. Days off wouldn’t be any good anyway since they weren’t allowed on the other levels of the station. On this level, themed bay, the gym, and the cafeteria were the only places they could go when they were off work. It was no wonder the guards were generally unhappy.

  Darren came into the cafeteria while Gabe was eating. Everyone looked away from him quickly. He shot a hateful look to Gabe and then he ignored him. He was making the usual friends on this mission he made on most of his missions. Gabe couldn’t abide bullies and that word described Darren exactly. There were a few more descriptive words he could use but why bother? Once the lab was raided, Darren would either die in the fight or be sent to prison for the rest of his life. There the only people he could hurt would be others just like him.

  He was relieved when Darren sat as far from him as he could. Gabe finished eating his breakfast and then he clocked in. There was an envelope in his mail slot by the time clock. When he opened it, he saw it was the money Darren owed him. Had Jameson not paid it, he was sure Darren never would have. It would be a nice bonus if everything went off like he hoped it would.

  Gabe headed into work to start delivering the meals that were on the cart that the kitchen help would have delivered. Guards and medical personnel were the only ones that had contact with the subjects. The kitchen help had no idea what went on in the sections subjects were kept.

  Once a week, subject’s rooms were cleaned with a high pressure hose and they were allowed to take a shower and change clothes. Their sheets were supposed to be changed too and Gabe did it, but some of the other guards didn’t do their jobs. Gabe hated the conditions these people had been forced to live in all their lives.

  The one that bothered him the most was Donnie. She was so beautiful and sweet. A woman like that didn’t belong in a place like this. He knew she was strong even if she didn’t look it. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have survived so long in this place.

  He’d been told Donnie had been born and bred in this lab, never having known anything else. That made him sad and he hoped someday soon he could take her away from here. She deserved so much better than this.

  Chapter 3

  Lab Life

  Today was a bad day because for some reason, Gabe had been assigned to another sections of the cells. Her section had Darren who was in a foul mood. Probably because Gabe had handed him his ass last night and Darren was a bully who thought he was all that.

  Now he was taking out his frustration and humiliation on the subjects who were at his mercy. She’d already heard half a dozen of the people in her section scream out in pain. He was in the cell next to her, pushing Kizzy around.

  “Don’t worry, Sweetheart. You’re next on the list.” Darren growled at her.

  She hated having him in her section. He was rough and he watched the subjects as they showered, leering at the women and shaming the men. No one was safe from the asshole. Darren shoved Kizzy into the bars and held her there.

  “You women are lucky this section is hands off or I’d bend you over and introduce you to a real man,” Darren threatened.

  Donnie didn’t know why they were off limits but she knew they harvested eggs, blood, and who knew what from each of them yearly. She could have a dozen kids and never know it. It broke her heart when she thought about it, so she tried not to think at all. That was also usually the best way to deal with Darren, but his mood was more foul than usual.

  She didn’t realize until now how nice it was to have Gabe around.

  “Get your ass out of the cell,” Dar
ren demanded.

  Quickly, she walked out and he waved for her to walk in front of him. When she did, he shoved her and she tripped and fell to the floor. Her face hit and she felt her lip bleeding. “Clumsy cow.” He grabbed her arm and jerked her upright. That would leave a bruise.

  “This is going to take all damn day,” Darren complained. It was set up to take all day, he just liked to goof off. Nothing ever pleased this asshole. “Strip. Yeah, that’s it Sugar. Take it all off.”

  Donnie had no choice and she slid her shift off her shoulder and took a quick and efficient shower. Ignoring the catcalls and comments Darren made, she dried off and dressed fast. “That wasn’t very entertaining,” Darren said and reached out and pinched her breast. What was one more bruise? “Get your ass back in your cell, now or I’ll help you.”

  Donnie moved fast. Everyone knew that Darren had killed subjects for no reason at all. Life sucked here but she wasn’t ready to die. She was still young and had hope. The guards talked about labs being raided all the time. Who knew, this one could be next. What if she died today and her friends were freed tomorrow?

  Not likely, but anything was possible. A girl could dream and that was really all they had to keep them going in a place like this. She moved to her cot and laid down. Someday, her dreams would die. She’d seen it happen to the older subjects. Some killed themselves and some acted up until they were killed.

  Darren moved to the next cell. His interest was no longer in her. “Come on, let’s see that little twig between your legs. You’re more like a woman than a man. Once you get out of that shower, you’ll smell pretty too. Maybe I’ll bend you over since I can’t have the women in this section.” Darren growled.

  He really was a sick fuck. The man was mean to everyone and no one escaped his sharp tongue or his brutality. She couldn’t make out his words anymore and for that she was glad. That he was still talking was evident by the buzzing sound she could hear from the shower room.

  Eb, the man in the cell next to her, was a good guy. He wasn’t strong, but that was because they weren’t fed enough to develop muscles. They were kept underfed and poorly cared for. The only thing they got plenty of was rest. That was because there was nothing else to do.