Sneak Peek - The Last Angel: The HUngry Stars, Chapter 18 (Patreon)

So I've finished these 15 pages and all that needs be done done is the editing and redrafting.

[whimpers]

In the meanwhile, enjoy this glimpse of the upcoming Interrupt. It was originally going to be the one I previewed in the long-long ago, but I'm trying to kill them in chronological order, and this provides a little more context to that one.

Enjoy, and stay tuned!

~

He’d gotten his hands on a micro camera, letting him record everything he saw on his second trip down into the lowest levels of Samhain, and he’d seen a lot. Jasper paused, catching his breath. He nervously patted his inside jacket pocket, feeling the presence of the thumb drive and all the recordings he’d made. Not enough, he knew. Not nearly enough, but it was all he could get.

He’d hoped to stay longer, but they’d noticed his first incursion. They hadn’t known it was him, but they’d figured out thatsomeone had gotten past their cordons, and they’d rigged up additional security. When Jasper went back, he triggered a silent alarm and they’d been after him. He’d barely gotten away, but they’d gotten his face. He’d ducked into Pauline’s office to hide and download the records from his camera, but she’d walked in on him.

I tried to talk sense into her, Prophet help me, I did!In the end, he’d had no choice. Now his only option was getting to the rendezvous and off this moon before the noose closed. Literally as well as figuratively; the security teams were getting closer. They only hadn’t caught him yet because this entire section was never been completed and it hadn’t wired up as well as the more lived-in parts of the station. Lighting fixtures were rudimentary, the walls hadn’t been smoothed down in places, the gravity felt off – and most importantly, there were few cameras. Those that were here, he knew how to circumvent. It had kept him one step ahead of his pursuers, but he could hear them behind him.

Jasper’s heart was almost pounding out of his chest, so when he rounded the corner to the meetup and saw a navy Marine waiting there for him, he could only fall to his knees, panting. He looked up, terror in his eyes, but the other man didn’t move towards him.

“Easy, friend,” the Marine said, raising his hands. He was wearing gloves. “You looking for a cantaloupe?”

Jasper had to take a moment before he could reply to the callsign. “Yeah,” he wheezed. “And a melon baller.”

“You need to find Cora, then.” The Marine was a big, broad man but he didn’t have any identifying markers on his person. “I’m Cora.” He extended his hand and helped Kierma to his feet.

“But you... I was expecting...”

“Yeah,” the marine said. “That was the point. Franciso Tapps, friend of a friend’s friend.” His expression turned  serious. “Our friend said you have something?”

Reflexively, Jasper reached towards his jacket pocket, but caught himself. “I do,” he agreed. “But I’ll only hand it over once we’re off this moon.”