Time Siege by Wesley Chu

he snarled, his anger boiling over. His frustrations from the past weeks overcame him as he turned on the figure holding onto his exo-chain. The man pulled out a pistol and fired. The beam of light went wide left, but seared James’s left arm, spinning him around. James continued charging, ducking underneath another shot before he pounced on top of the man. Two quick looping punches on the crown of his head folded the man in a crumpled heap. The handle to the exo-chain dropped to the ground and powered off.
    James powered on his exo and shot coils from his body, wrapping them around his assailants and lifting them up into the air. Two of them were unconscious; one moaned softy. The three of them looked like nothing more than thieves.
    â€œPlease,” the one still conscious, the woman, begged. “Don’t kill us. We’re just trying hock some gear for food and air. We’ll leave the colony. We won’t bother anyone anymore. I promise!”
    James was unsure what to do with them. A quick squeeze of the coils would end them. They deserved it. Who knew how many people they had entrapped with this scheme. Still, he was tired of all this killing. These shits were young, barely in their twenties, probably getting by the only way they could. They got their hands on the exo-chain and decided it was going to pave their way. He saw a lot of himself in them.
    He looked at the exo-chain lying on the ground, and for a second considered confiscating it to sell. He picked it up and examined its condition. It was a moderately valuable piece of tech. Then he noticed how worn it looked and wondered how many people this gang had entrapped with it. There was blood on this thing. He created an additional coil and smashed it.
    â€œI’m sending your prints and images to the Puck Pirates,” he said. “I don’t know what they’re going to do with this information once they receive it. I’m sure you don’t either. You might want to reconsider your scheme at Bulk’s Head.”
    James dropped the broken fragments of the exo-chain on the ground and stormed out of the room. He made the long walk back up the main stairwell in silence. His face ached in several places, and the laser burn on his shoulder stung. It had been a closer call than he cared to admit. Anyone semi-competent would have been able to finish him off three-versus-one once he got caught in the exo-chain.
    He was angry at himself. He should have known better. The old James would have for sure. He had gotten desperate. These three punks had probably scouted him out, knowing that he was making the rounds. They probably sent the information to Grace right after his last rejection to entrap him. If he had been anyone else, a Tier-3 or lower, they would have succeeded. Probably forced him to give up his bands and then jettisoned him out into space, never to be seen again.
    Deflated, James dragged his exhausted and hurt body back up to the main levels and made his way to the residence. He had been up nearly twenty hours now, working fervently to find solutions to his many problems before hitting that dead end. Well, it seemed the end was in sight now, and he had still made no headway. It was over. He had failed.
    The longer he was away from Earth, the likelier it was that something was going to happen to Elise and Sasha. He just needed to go home. It made him feel slightly guilty that the fight with the three hooligans had felt good. He was so frustrated recently that he had been itching to break something. Break someone.
    He passed the now-familiar hallway leading to the Drink Anomaly, and the neon sign blinking pink, bathing the area in its sugary glow. He stopped and stared. Of all the times he had needed a drink and forced himself to keep walking, this was the time he might actually deserve one.
    â€œThe past is already dead,” a soft voice whispered.
    He stood there and watched the patrons walk in and out. The alcohol inside