Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary - Chapter 371

Chapter 371: Chapter 371 Avery’s Parents in Danger
“Robert, I’m back.”

Serena walked through the door to her apartment after having rushed home from her job.

The store had been closed early due to the enormous pirate group descending on the system. Not many people wanted to go out shopping in the face of a possible attack.

There had also been an emergency station wide announcement that people were urged to either stay in their homes or seek shelter at designated areas across the colony.

Robert and Serena had been discussing what they should do when Urs had contacted them and asked them to wait in their apartment for him.

He had also stressed that they not let anyone in until he arrived, no matter what. Something that the two of them found to be odd, but considering what was going on, perhaps Urs was just being extra cautious.

“That man has certainly been around a lot more often than before. When did the two of you get so close?” Serena asked her husband as he prepared a cup of tea for her.

“Well, we’ve been getting together more often ever since Avery left. It’s just that recently, instead of going out, he’s been coming over here. He said something about wanting a quieter atmosphere, which has been fine by me.

“It has let us talk more openly, and I’ve learned a lot about what Avery’s been up to from Urs. That boy only sends us good news about his adventures out in space. Obviously trying not to worry us. But he confides in Urs, so I’ve heard what our son is really going through out there. It’s not been easy for him, and he’s gotten himself into a lot of big messes. Still, he’s doing well as a mercenary from what Urs can tell, so we shouldn’t be too concerned.”

Naturally, learning that there was more to hear about Avery, Serena asked her husband why he had not told her about it already.

She teased him a bit about it, stating that Avery must have inherited his desire not to worry those close to him from his father.

“You might have me there. From what I’ve heard from Urs, our son has been getting himself in a lot of danger. I suppose that I didn’t mention it until now because things have been going well for us here and I didn’t want you to lose fret about it.” Robert said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

Of course, he could not keep anything from his wife for long, so he divulged the sort of jobs that Avery had been involved in, and the immense threats that he had faced.

“I knew that being a mercenary wasn’t particularly safe, but that boy seems to have a knack for getting into trouble. How has he ended up fighting terrorist and prolific drug smugglers so quickly. He hasn’t even been a mercenary for two years yet.”

In many ways, Avery had been involved in several battles of enormous scale already that most mercenaries might only experience once or twice in their entire career.

His life had been fraught with unbelievable perils that the average person would only read about or watch in dramatized holonovels.

While the two of them were talking about their son and expressing their concern for him, a notification that someone was at the door echoed through the apartment.

“That must be Urs. I’ll go let him in.” Robert said, getting up and walking over to the door.

However, before he opened it, he checked the visual display from the door camera just to make sure that it was Urs.

To his surprise though, it was not.

“What’s the matter, dear?” Serena asked, heading over to the door herself when she noticed her husband’s hesitancy.

When she reached the door and looked at the image on the door control panel, she saw that their visitors were not Urs. Instead, it was a man and woman pair, both wearing the uniform of the Alliance Police.

There was another ding through the apartment as the people outside pressed the button that notified the residents that they had guests.

“Robert, why haven’t you let them in?”

“Well, Urs told us not to answer the door for anyone until he arrived. Shouldn’t we wait until he gets here?”

“I’m sure that he didn’t mean the police. There’s probably something important going on if they’re here during an emergency. Perhaps the whole building is being evacuated for some reason and they’re going door to door to make sure everyone gets out.” Serena said, moving to open the door.

Robert thought the same as well, but a slight nagging in the back of his head would not let up.

If there was some sort of building wide emergency, surely the internal system would have sent them some sort of notification. Also, what would the Alliance Police want with the two of them. They were just average citizens. Hardly any different from everyone else.

Still, he could not come up with a real reason to not open the door, so he did not stop Serena as she did so.

“What can we do for you officers? Is there something wrong?” Serena asked politely.

“I’m afraid so. We’ll need the two of you to come with us. We just received word that a dangerous group of people are targeting both of you. They’re enemies of your son looking for revenge, and we believe that they might try to take advantage of this chaos to target you. But don’t worry, the Alliance Police are ahead of this matter. We’ll escort you to somewhere where you’ll be safe.”

Both Serena and Robert were understandably shocked by what they had just been told.

For normal people like them, hearing that a criminal organization was targeting them was terrifying and unsettling.

Fortunately, the Alliance Police were here to help them. That allowed them to calm down more quickly than they otherwise would have. The authorities were going to protect them, so everything should be fine.

“Thank you for coming and telling us this. Can we have a few moments to grab some of our stuff? I promise we’ll be quick. It will take less than a minute.” Serena said, a hint of panic in her expression.

“Sorry, but there’s no time for that. We need to get going now.” The male officer that had been quiet until now said somewhat forcefully.

“I understandable that there’s some urgency, but a friend of ours, Urs Orso, should be here very soon. If we could just grab a few items, I’m sure he’ll be here by the time we’re done.”

What Robert said certainly sounded reasonable, but at the mention of Urs’ name, the two officers showed a clear reaction.

“That won’t be necessary. Urs Orso is the one that contacted the Alliance Police. He’s been keeping an eye on you two for a bit now to make sure that you both remain safe, but he felt that it was too much for him to continue handling alone. We’re here instead of him, so he won’t be coming. Now, let’s go. Time is of the essence, and we don’t have any more to waste.”

There was a bit stronger of a commanding tone in the female officer’s voice now than there had been before, and the male officer had visually tensed up.

Feeling pressured by the two officers, Robert and Serena were about to go with them when something wholly unexpected happened.

Both officers suddenly seized up and they began shaking uncontrollably.

A moment later there was a smell of burning flesh and the two fell over onto the ground. Unconscious but still occasionally twitching.

Now that their bodies were no longer blocking the way, Serena and Robert could see what looked like two disembodied arms sticking out of the air. Each of them holding a stun rod that had obviously been used to electrocute the officers.

Immediately Robert moved to close the door, but a leg that had been previously hidden stuck out and prevented the entrance from being sealed.

“Get behind me.” Robert said, moving to protect his wife despite being scared himself.

“There’s no need for that. I’m not here to hurt you two.”

Walking through the doorway, the partially invisible figure removed the hood over his head and disengaged the cloaking device in his mantle.

“”Urs!”” Both Robert and Serena yelled in unison.

“Yeah, sorry I’m a bit late. I ran into some trouble outside that I had to deal with first. Now, we need to get moving, this place isn’t safe.”

Urs then moved to lead the way out, but Avery’s parents were too shocked by the current situation to blindly follow him.

“What’s going on?! Those are Alliance Police officers! Why did you tase them like that?! Serena asked frantically.

From her perspective, Urs had just committed a pretty grave crime. He would be looking at a heavy fine and some serious jail time for assaulting two officers.

“I highly doubt that they are, and that’s why I used my stun rods just in case. I heard what they said though, and I certainly never contacted the Alliance Police. These two are imposters that we’re trying to lead you both into a trap.”