Pixie Hazard Archibald Bradford (sneezy the snowman read aloud txt) 📖

to help him steady his nerves.

Pausing long enough to draw in a steadying breath herself, Donnie turned and gave Billy a nod to open the door.

Chapter 32:Hidey Hole

Though it had a reactor buried in its belly somewhere, along with a proper mass generator, there really wasn’t much to the facility hidden inside the asteroid.

The single docking airlock lead to a series of interconnected corridors in a rough ring around a central chamber filled with assorted laboratory equipment.

Since the hidden outpost had apparently been sculpted into the lonely rock, the floor was uneven; the back of the central lab sloping up a good three feet from the lower portion, with a trio of corridors leading off of it to other sections of the base.

In the center of the crude laboratory stood a nervous man wearing a stereotypical white coat that matched what few wisps of hair were left on his mostly bald head.

He also wore the expression of a man caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing, and had the sense to have his hands already raised when the two armoured hulks secured the room.

“We’re clear.” Donnie proclaimed.

At her side, Eva likewise lowered her weapon.

“This place badly needs a janitor.”

“Rest of the station is clear as well Captain, heading to your transponder now.” Billy announced over the coms.

The man in the lab-coat cleared his throat nervously as he waited for them.

The captain turned her focus on him while Eva poked around the lab equipment.

“Professor Calvin, I presume?”

He nodded, gray in the face.

“Before you kill me I just want to say I did everything I could to ensure that the package was safe when the raid occurred.”

“Glad to hear it. What package?”

The man’s worried expression shifted into confusion.

“I’m s-sorry?”

“What package?” Donnie repeated.

Her posture had relaxed somewhat as she bent her elbow so that her shotgun was pointed at the ceiling, but only an idiot wouldn’t be intimidated by her.

Realizing his mistake, Calvin’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re not from Outerlight. And you certainly aren’t Junkers. Who are you?”

The former marine clicked her tongue and commed Maria as Billy entered the room.

“Alright Sledge, it’s safe, you can bring the ‘package’ over.”

A couple minutes later the two lovers came into the chamber and the professor smiled brightly when he recognized the lad in the borrowed hazard suit.

“Bryan! Oh thank goodness you’re okay!”

All of the anxiety fled from his features as he lunged forwards to reach the younger man, but he had to awkwardly stop himself when he ran into a wall made of aggressive Maria.

“Keep back!” She snapped.

Her repeater lifted slightly and the man’s eyes couldn’t help but glance towards the deadly weapon.

But his look turned arrogant despite the weaponry when he concluded that they weren’t there to kill him.

“Let me guess, you couldn’t decrypt the data beyond my jump coordinates? I have terms before I agree to help you. And they are non-negotiable.”

“Good, because I’m not negotiating.” Donnie said as she pulled her helmet off, her movements the cue the others needed to do the same; “You’re talking to us when you should be talking to him.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I Professor. That’s w-why we’re here.” Bryan finally stammered after Maria helped him remove the helmet of his suit to allow him to better face the professor.

Licking his lips anxiously, Calvin turned from him to face Donnie.

“What is this? Are you people mercenaries or something?”

“Why are you still asking questions?” Billy said flatly; “You owe this young man an explanation. Explain.”

The young man in question took that as permission, so he stepped around Maria’s protective form.

“I only have one question left.”

“Look, Bryan, we can talk about all of that later. Right now though I need to-”

“No! I don’t care what you need!”

It was clear that Calvin wasn’t expecting the outburst, his mouth working as he tried to find words.

Finally he rubbed at his temples and let out an exasperated sigh.

Eva clued in to the problem before anyone else: the professor had been in the kid’s life long enough that their relationship was one similar to father and son.

In his eyes Bryan was merely acting out.

So she tapped her combat knife against her armoured thigh to get his attention.

“If you don’t start talking, I’m going to do something permanent to you.” She warned.

Fear replaced his annoyance as his eyes dropped to the tapping blade.

Tink. Tink. Tink.

The metallic sound echoed around the room until Calvin swallowed.

“What do you w-want to know?”

Bryan had to take a moment as well, unused to seeing the man so cowed.

He shook his head and drew in a deep breath to mentally brace himself for what came next.

“Was my mom involved?”

The response was surprising.

Calvin laughed in relief.

“Is that all? Of course she was! She volunteered for the project when she was doing her graduate studies. She was so excited to be part of something this groundbreaking. Certainly better than running the family farm, although she ended up doing that anyways. Funny how things turn out.”

“Hilarious.” Eva said flatly.

Everyone in the room other than the professor saw how much his careless words hurt Bryan, the kid’s face twisting with anguish.

“You are a disgrace to the scientific community.” Billy declared firmly.

Again he laughed it off though.

“Come now, let’s not overreact. Nothing I have done was illegal!”

“Except the whole kidnap and murder thing.” Donnie muttered, but he didn’t hear her.

Despite the sting of the older man’s words, Bryan had recovered his composure enough to follow up with another question.

“What about the facility? Why was it raided?”

The professor was getting more agitated by the second as he strove to justify himself, seeming to have finally realized that he had no