The atmosphere inside the gang’s hideout on Sussex Prime was thick with tension. Renée quickly realized that the gang members had already ingested the bomb implants via their pizza. As the team arrived, they found Pete Humphrey taunting the gang members, who were pointing their guns at him.
Renée readied Maelstrom’s bomb signal jammer, hoping it would work, while Spacedawg and Njord took to the shadows. “You’re surrounded,” Renée warned the gang members. “You should listen to Humphrey. We’ve seen the aftermath of these implants before.”
The gang members scoffed at her, disbelief etched on their faces. Renée held up the jammer. “This is the only thing keeping you alive right now. But it’s not perfect.” One gang member, skeptical, tried to leave the jammer’s range. He collapsed immediately, oozing from every orifice.
Seeing the reaction, Renée taunted, “It would be easy to walk away and let the implants do their job.”
From his position, Spacedawg noticed a sniper aiming at Renée. With a swift motion, he threw his axe, Fyrs-Ond, and took out the sniper, who fell at the feet of the gang leaders. Spacedawg stepped out, calling his axe back to his hand.
Renée seized the moment. “You know who this is,” she said, introducing Spacedawg. “And you should take him seriously.”
The jammer began losing power, and Renée turned to Humphrey. “Please, do the right thing.”
Humphrey began to weep. “They killed my wife and took my children,” he cried.
A message came through Renée’s communicator. “Your family is safe,” she told him.
Spacedawg stepped forward. “Pete, is this really the answer? Death is finite. A lifetime of imprisonment sends a stronger message.”
Humphrey looked skeptical. “What do you know about loss? You’re a prince.”
Spacedawg sighed. “I was stranded on an asteroid, drifting in a cryopod for hundreds of years. Everyone I knew is gone. My crew became my family.”
At that moment, Humphrey’s children arrived with an armed escort. Overwhelmed with relief, Humphrey handed Spacedawg the detonation device.
As the jammer lost power, Spacedawg checked the device. He pressed the button, hoping for the best. Moments later, the gang members began collapsing, one by one.
Renée looked horrified. “It was an accident,” she reassured Spacedawg. “No one will prosecute a foreign prince.”
She smiled wryly. “This saves a lot of paperwork and taxpayer money.”
Preliminary scans revealed differences between Humphrey’s device and the earlier implants. Humphrey was taken into custody, and Renée noted, “Humphrey likely won’t see any time. Technically, he didn’t ‘pull the trigger.’ No proof ties him to the killings.”
