Breakeven

by Michelle Diener

  “They wanted Fluffy. Badly. I won't leave her because then they'll have what they want, and because . . . I just don't want to.”

  Sebastian handed her one of the weapons he'd just stolen. “I was afraid you'd say that.”

  Chapter 15

  They each had a laz.

  Sebastian noted the easy way Dee handled hers, as if she was very familiar with it. She'd told him there was most likely three guards waiting for them on the other side of the door. It didn't seem to worry her, though. She moved with a predatory focus that made the hair on the back of his neck rise up.

  It felt a little too good.

  She opened the door a crack, the laz hidden against her thigh, then leaned forward with a flirtatious smile on her face as she swung her laz up and shot. As the guards beyond gave a shout of surprise, she stepped to the side, pushing the door open for him to get a clear shot.

  She'd already shot a second time by the time he'd taken the third guard.

  They lay crumpled in a heap and not one to waste resources, he bent to collect their weapons.

  “There might be cameras here so we better hurry.” She headed for the end of the passageway and he caught sight of the curve of one glorious ass cheek as the straps that made up her ridiculous dress parted as she jogged away.

  “Sebastian, come on.” She glanced over her shoulder and glared at him, and he stumbled into a run.

  “You are not an inventory manager.” He kept his voice low as he caught up to her.

  She gave a little twist of her lips. “Well, no. But no time to talk about it now.”

  She ran down the spiral staircase to the side of the lift, and then pointed to what looked like a service entrance.

  It's the way out he'd have chosen. He followed her down a narrow, ill-lit corridor, catching a glimpse of Fluffy's eyes as they peered at him from Dee's shoulder.

  He stared back, and the talu turned away from him, tucking herself under Dee's hair, which swung in a dark, glossy wave to her shoulder blades.

  He thought back to Gorshra's nasty end, and Hanran Fattal, rocking in madness above them.

  Where the hell did Rina Fattal get the little creature, and why?

  He had a strong feeling they should release it into the wilds of the forest around Dar Raca, but Dee wasn't going to go for that. Not unless Fluffy went voluntarily.

  A man pushed through the door ahead of them with his shoulder, holding a tray in his hands, his face in profile.

  Dee gasped, and then she stopped, her body tense, her laz lifting.

  Sebastian did the same.

  The man stepped all the way through, turning to face them, and then the door swung silently shut behind him.

  Karr.

  There was a look on his face that told Sebastian he had not planned on this meeting.

  “Oh, shit, right?” Dee said to him, a sharpness to her tone.

  He blinked at that.

  Then he glanced at the closed door behind him. “I have to go.” He lifted the tray in his hands, his expression nervous. “I need to keep cover. I'll meet you later.”

  Before Sebastian could ask him where, the door swung open again, and another server pushed her way through.

  She frowned at the little gathering, and Karr straightened up.

  “You've come down the service entrance, but there is an exit through the door.” He gave a deferential bow, and walked away.

  The woman gave them a surreptitious look as she hurried past.

  “I need to go after him.” Sebastian bent to whisper the words.

  “No.” She gave a firm shake of her head.

  “I know we should stick together, but in this suit, they won't stop me. Hide outside and wait for me, or you can--”

  She pressed two fingers to his lips to stop him talking. “Hanran Fattal knew that the resistance planned to kidnap Rina, that's why he was so eager to get her back to Lassa.”

  Sebastian took a step back. “Hanran knew what we planned?”

  She tilted her head up to him, so he was looking right into her warm golden eyes. “Yes. And unless you know what Karr is doing here, I'd say he's the one who told him.”

  That made it even more vital to follow him.

  “I stole this suit from Peyt, that idiot from the lift earlier today. He's in the first smaller Tree building you come to when you leave the Tree from the main entrance. Get up to the third floor, the door on the left. I left it unlocked and Peyt tied up.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he has a full-function comm unit.”

  Her eyes widened, and he didn't know why he felt a quick spike of regret at giving her a chance to speak to Leo Gaudier again.

  She gave a nod. “Good luck then. And don't turn your back on Karr.”

  She turned to walk away.

  “Wait.” He reached out, gripped her arm, and the warmth of her skin and the spicy scent of her perfume made him want to get even closer. He drew in a deep breath. “Go to Sootko's after you've contacted your boss, it's the restaurant we ate at earlier. I'll be there in an hour. If I don't make it in time, the waiter who works there, Gert, will get you out of Dar Raca, and I'll find you at the resistance headquarters.”

  Her brows drew down and she shook her head. “I don't like that idea, so be sure to be there in an hour.”

  She turned and walked away, and he noticed the straps across her buttocks had shifted out of place again.

  He thought less of himself, but he watched her until she disappeared out of the door.

  The dress had to go.

  Dee stepped out into the warm, humid evening air, and ducked behind a big bush planted up against the wall. She fought her way out of her clothes and then pulled on the sleek, stretchy pants and shirt she'd stuffed into her bag.

  When she was ready, she hesitated.

  She'd made the choice to get to a comms unit, but she felt uneasy with Sebastian still inside the Tree.

  There was only so far his disguise would take him, and if Karr was a traitor, then he could easily sell Sebastian out to the Cores.

  She didn't want to leave him in there alone.

  She leaned back against the wall, and closed her eyes, listening to Fluffy scratching around on the ground at her feet.

  Aside from the quick, sudden flare of lust she felt every time she looked at him, Sebastian had come through for her, and she always paid her debts.

  But he was also a big boy. He ran the Lassian resistance, and he couldn't have gotten there without being able to take care of himself.

  She would have to trust him to know what he was doing.

  And she did need to contact Leo.

  She pushed away from the wall, put her hand down for Fluffy to climb onto, and walked away, keeping to the shadows.

  This was a crazy place, she decided, as she headed for the smaller Tree where Peyt lived.

  She was used to Tether Town, a dank, damp, run-down huddle of houses below Felicitos, which was as magnificent and sleek as Tether Town was downtrodden and rough.

  Dar Raca looked like a Verdant String city, all smooth pathways, recessed lighting, and the crisp, white towers that echoed the trees in the forest around it.

  There were no shanties in sight.

  The Cores had made a small town just for themselves, walled and pristine because they didn't have a Felicitos in which to live, high above the gen-pop.

  They'd made sure the gen-pop lived out of sight.

  She could tell some of the people hurrying by, heads down, were gen-pop. They had a pinched look about them and clothes that looked even worse that the usual attire in Tether Town.

  As she got closer to Peyt's building, she slowed down, watching carefully for any sign of trouble, and noting that the two people who'd entered as she approached both used the laslock on the main door.

  She wouldn't be able to get in.

  She kept walking up to the door.

  She didn't have time for an elaborate plan, the clock was ticking, and she still had to get
to Sootko's to meet Sebastian.

  She stood right in front of the door, fiddling with her bag, as if looking for something, and Fluffy hissed quietly in her ear as someone approached from behind her.

  It was a man.

  He pushed past her impatiently, flicking his finger through the lock and stalking into the building, and Dee smiled as she stepped after him, letting the door slide closed behind her and giving the man a moment to get into the lift on his own.

  When she got to the third floor, she moved more cautiously, keeping to the wall as she reached the circular foyer and studied the door on the left.

  She opened it, and sagged with relief when it gave beneath her hand. But when she stepped into the apartment, she saw the cut straps lying in a jumble on the floor and froze.

  Peyt wasn't there.

  She drew her laz and put Fluffy on the counter before she moved quietly into the bedroom.

  He wasn't there, either.

  She returned to the living area, and her gaze locked on the comm unit.

  She would have to be very, very quick.

  She thought back to Hanran Fattal's office, and hoped that the request for contact she'd sent to Leo on Fattal's assistant's comm unit had expired before Hanran Fattal's guards arrived to help him.

  With luck, they wouldn't even check it, given the state their boss had been in.

  Before she started, though, she found a saucer in the kitchen and poured some water in it for Fluffy before turning to the desk.

  She didn't dare sit, she leaned over the table and tapped in the request.

  It seemed to take forever.

  She'd had very little experience with interplanetary comms. Like Lassa, the Garmen Cores cut off all gen-pop access to it a few years ago, but she understood the technical issues. She just didn't have time for them.

  “Dee?” Finkle peered out at her.

  She leaned in, so relieved to see him looking his usual grim self she felt a little weak in the knees. “Fink. I've got to be quick.”

  “Where are you?”

  “In Dar Raca, but the plan is to get away as soon as possible.”

  “You still with Sebastian Xian?”

  She nodded. “He's not with me now, but we're meeting up in less than an hour. What do you have for me?”

  “Our Arkhoran friends have told us that a Bodivas ship will reach Lassa in a day's time. They need coordinates to pick you up.”

  She lifted her hands in frustration. “I can't say where I'll be. Somewhere close to Dar Raca, is my guess, in the forests that surround the city. I took a chance trying to reach out to you because there was a comm unit available, but I'll have to try again in a few days time.”

  “I don't like it.” Finkle scowled at her. “We've been vetting the people the Arkhorans have rounded up who went floating off the Deck when Sofie cut off the grav generator. We're checking everyone before we allow them back on Garmen, and one of them is Vur, the captain of Ruanne's trader who you were going to meet on the Deck before the Caruso attacked.”

  “What did he have to say?” She risked perching on the edge of the chair to get closer to the screen.

  “He admitted that Ruanne disappeared, is probably dead, and they've been working for the Cores for the last six months. He also said they believed their every move was being watched, and when the Arkhorans checked, there were hidden scanners, cameras and trackers on their ship. The cameras were recording, and then transmitting the footage whenever they got near a signal booster.”

  “Did anyone in Ruanne's group give the Cores information on our operation? Is that why the Garmen Cores started coming down hard on us? Because their attacks definitely ramped up in the last six months.”

  Finkle gave her a rare smile. “Interestingly, he wasn't too keen to answer that question, until he realized the Cores were no longer in charge, and then the floodgates opened. Yes, a few of Ruanne's crew thought the information would give them some extra privileges.”

  Dee sighed. “That explains so much--”

  Fluffy chittered, and Dee just made her out, up on her hind legs, looking at the door.

  “Got to go.”

  “Wait--” Fink so rarely raised his voice, she stopped.

  “Just be careful. None of Ruanne's people can be trusted now, and you were our main liaison with them. Be careful if you bump into any of them.”

  She gave a nod. “I'll try to get in touch later.” She shut down the comm on Fink's worried face, and had taken two steps to scoop up Fluffy when the door opened.

  She and Peyt stared at each other for a beat.

  Behind him was another man, mouth agape.

  “Hope you don't mind, the door was open,” Dee said. She nodded down to Fluffy as if in invitation, careful to keep her laz tucked between her hand and her body as her arm cradled the talu close to her chest. “You seemed to be interested in my pet, so I thought you wouldn't mind a visit.”

  “Not at all.” Peyt stepped inside, his expression hard to read. He turned to the man behind him. “Thanks for all your help, Henri, I'd still be lying tied up on the floor without you.”

  “Is that a talu?” Henri followed Peyt in, despite him already swinging the door shut. He pushed it aside.

  “Are you a friend of Peyt's?” Dee asked.

  “I'm his neighbor. I just took him to the med techs for a checkup.” Henri stared at Fluffy with a look that made Dee want to turn and hide her. He walked past Peyt, and Dee saw Peyt's lips thin as he realized Henri wasn't going to leave.

  “How does it work?” Henri reached out a hand to Fluffy, then dropped it.

  Dee thought back to what had happened to Gorshra and Hanran Fattal. Very dangerously.

  She remembered Fattal asking if Dee had milked Fluffy, the fear stark on his face.

  She knew there were reptiles that had to be milked of their venom to make them safer, so perhaps the method of obtaining a drug-fueled trip that wouldn't kill you was to take a safe amount of the milked venom. She couldn't think anyone would actually want to be bitten by Fluffy.

  “Let me see it.” Peyt shouldered his way past his neighbor. “I can barely make it out. I'd heard they were practically invisible, and I thought that was an exaggeration, but if anything, it's an understatement.”

  Dee bristled at his use of the word 'it' and at his creepy enthusiasm.

  “She doesn't like to be grabbed.” She took a step back.

  “A female.” Henri breathed it out. “I've heard they're more potent than the males.”

  Dee was watching Peyt, and she saw his face hardened.

  “I'll give you a piece of this, Henri. I owe you. But go back to your apartment, get into something comfortable, and when we've milked the talu, I'll bring some over to you.”

  Henri didn't like that, but Dee could see him thinking it through.

  “It'll be better if you're in your own bed, right?” Peyt asked.

  He nodded reluctantly. “You won't freeze me out?”

  “As I said, I owe you.”

  Henri gave a last look at Fluffy and then turned and walked out.

  “Interesting how you think you can decide who will and won't have a 'piece' of this,” Dee said as soon as the door closed.

  “You're the one in my apartment without an invitation.” Peyt slid his hands into his pockets. “Who are you, anyway? Why would Rina need a body double?”

  Dee had been wondering how to explain the meeting in the lift, and she kept her face blank as he handed her a reason for free. Of course Peyt would think Hanran Fattal knew she wasn't Rina, that he was in on the deception. Why else would his own guards be escorting her?

  “I am not authorized to say.” She sent him a bland smile.

  He smiled back, cajoling. “I won't tell.”

  She laughed at that, and saw his face close down in thwarted anger.

  “You tell Hanran Fattal that one of the guards protecting you followed me and attacked me in my apartment. That's why I owe Henri a favor--his guard left me tied up
here, and Henri heard me shouting and came to investigate.”

  “Which guard?”

  “The big one who looks like he skipped a few too many meals.”

  She lifted a shoulder. “Nothing to do with me. I'm not in charge. What he does off-shift is his business.”

  Her lack of sympathy obviously enraged him.

  “I'll tell Hanran Fattal myself, then. And while I'm at it, I could let him know you're moonlighting on the side, selling hits from Rina's talu.”

  “Go ahead.” She kept the bland grin on her face. “What's your position in the Cores, anyway? Someone's son? An actual exec with a job?”

  His lips narrowed to a thin line and he looked away. He was backing down, she realized in astonishment. He couldn't be anyone with real power, and it seemed he wasn't prepared to associate himself with wanting talu venom. So there had to be some taboo to it.

  “How do you milk it?” he asked, standing a little straighter, his gaze shifting to Fluffy. “And how much do you want for it?”

  “How much do you have?” She hadn't trusted him before, but something in his manner and the way he moved told her he was going to attack. She turned to put Fluffy on the counter, out of harm's way.

  “Not enough for the going rate--”

  She spun to face him as he came toward her, saw his arm was lifted up and back to strike. The calm she always felt before a violent confrontation settled on her, and she lifted the laz she held against her thigh, and shot him.

  He collapsed with an expression of shock on his face, jerked once and then went limp.

  She stood over him, looking down at him for a moment.

  She forced herself to do this every time she had someone at her feet who she'd had some hand in putting there. Sometimes, like now, they were just unconscious, sometimes, they were dead.

  Garmen had been a place of kill or be killed for too long, but she tried to hang onto her soul by acknowledging what she had done, and memorizing each face.

  It helped that she'd been part of a tight-knit team on Garmen. The sense of purpose helped.

  As she stared down at Peyt, she realized she felt the same here on Lassa. She was not sorry for this. Peyt would have at the very least hurt her and taken Fluffy. And he was part of the Cores.