“Why?” Ryu asked as they touched the ground.
“Hell if I know, but I am damned interested to find out.” She headed into the crowd and pulled him along behind her. “Stay close. When I let you go off on your own, you start dancing.”
Chapter 12
Tabitha
City of Karkat, Six-Story-Tall Run-down Hotel
Tabitha looked around with a sniff and finally sat on the floor with a shake of her head. “This is terrible.”
“I would think you have crashed in far worse places than this.” Ryu raised his eyebrows as he lounged back on the couch. “It’s soft. That’s mostly what I care about. And before you mention diseases, remember we can’t get sick.”
“That we know of,” Tabitha argued. “Maybe we can. Maybe this place has alien bugs.”
“Of course.”
“Germs.” She eyed him.
“Herpes.”
Ryu rolled his eyes, but Tabitha noticed he sat up and made sure not to touch the couch with his bare hands.
“And, yeah, I’ve crashed on a lot of people’s couches, but that wasn’t because I wanted to,” she pointed out. “I’m not looking back on that time fondly or anything.”
“It’s not like you really have to stay here. We can probably leave in…how long, would you say?”
“I hope it’s soon. I want Achronyx to have a look at this data.” Tabitha waved the data stick. “Figures. I bust ass breaking into a government office, I get good stuff—oh, it’s so good—and then I can’t even go to the ship and revel in it.” She looked around. “But I’m stuck here!”
“We should go to clubs more often.” Ryu worked his shoulders. “That was fun. All you had to do was dance and yell, and everyone got happy. It’s a simple life,” he stated mock-wistfully.
“You forget how much alcohol it takes to make that fun night after night.” Tabitha smirked. “Speaking of which, I saw that bill, and you’re taking the next call from Bethany Anne about our expenses.”
Tabitha was joking to calm her nerves. The fact was, what she had found made it very clear why the police were after them. They’d seen police searching through the crowds behind them long after she thought they’d give up, too, and now they were stuck here without the rest of her team, and without being able to have Achronyx crunch the data.
Ryu must have noticed. “So, what did you find?” He leaned forward on the couch. “Also, how do you think sitting on the floor is safer?”
“Have you considered what people do on that couch?” Tabitha asked him, one eyebrow raised.
Ryu looked down, a small look of disgust on his face as he stood up and came to sit with her on the floor.
“So, Etoy Walce,” Tabitha began, snickering at Ryu’s expression. “He’s a criminal. We knew that. He’s stealing all sorts of stuff, and just killing the people who have it so they won’t make a fuss. Well, he’s also one of their government agents.”
Ryu whistled.
That’s what you were going to tell me later? Achronyx asked.
“Yep,” Tabitha told him. Since Achronyx could hear her either way, she preferred to speak out loud when she didn’t have to be quiet.
“So is that why the police were after us?” Ryu asked. “I figured it was just because of the lounge.”
“I thought so, too, but I’m beginning to wonder. They tailed us for a really long time.” Tabitha frowned. “Here’s the thing… That hit on us was put out by their government black ops group.”
Ryu whistled once more. He caught himself slouching and sat up straight the way Hirotoshi would have, and Tabitha gave him a look, raising an eyebrow like Bethany Anne would. Two can play this game!
“Continuing with your weird-ass impersonation?”
“I am trying to bring a little dignity to this mission,” Ryu corrected loftily.
Tabitha smiled, but he noted she looked a little bit worried. “If we had done more research on Walce before coming in, we might have figured out that he was a government agent as well as a criminal.”
“Is he really a criminal if he works for them?” Ryu asked philosophically.
“I don’t think he steals things for them, he just also does that… Or, wait—are you suggesting that Karkat is poaching building supplies and food from other planets? That would be cold.”
“It can’t be the first time it’s happened, though. Human countries used to encourage piracy against one another’s ships. Why pay for supplies for their civilians when they could just steal them?”
“That makes sense.” Tabitha considered. “We should get some rest. We’ll head back as soon as Achronyx says the coast is clear.”
I’ll keep watch, Achronyx told them. Right now, there are still police canvassing the area. They already came to this building but were told that there was no one matching your description.
“Yeah.” Tabitha grinned. “I told them I was Ryu’s mistress, and he’d pay a lot to make sure his wife couldn’t find me. I said she was some government bigwig. Look at how this hotel is kept up! They aren’t going to like the police.”
“You said you were my what?” Ryu asked plaintively.
She eyed him. “Don’t look so insulted. The receptionist was only surprised you hadn’t put a ring on my finger to lock this down.” Tabitha smacked her ass, somewhat impeded by the fact that she was sitting on the floor.
Ryu grumbled, but he pulled his coat off and used it as a pillow so he could drift off to sleep.
Tabitha did the same, but she frowned up at the ceiling as she drifted off. Twice now she had underestimated Etoy Walce. She had gone to the government building expecting to find a dossier that would lead her to some of his hiding places. He was a well-known criminal, after all.
Instead, she’d gotten tangled up in something larger than she’d expected.
She should have brought the rest of the team. She crossed her arms over her chest, gave a pleased grin, and fell asleep.
The police patrols have withdrawn to specific points in the city to keep watch, Achronyx reported a few hours later. I have charted a path for you that will take you through the dead zones in their surveillance.
“I'm up,” Tabitha muttered, picking her head up and squinting. “Mostly.” She stood up with a groan and shook herself out. One thing that didn’t change when you became a vampire was that pins and needles still knocked you for a loop. She flapped her arm, annoyed. “This is a pain in the ass.”
“And you look ridiculous,” Ryu added.
“Thanks. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have the support of my team. Achronyx, are they watching the ship?”
No, they seem to think you’ll stay in the city.
“Their loss. Come on.” Tabitha led Ryu out the window. “I got this place for the week, so they won’t come looking for us for a while.”
“We’d come out every so often anyway, right?”
“They think we’re going at it like rabbits. They’re not going to walk in there.
Ryu gave a pained look.
They went to the edge of town and retrieved their bikes, heading quickly and quietly into the darkness.
City of Karkat, Outskirts, QBS Achronyx
Tabitha pulled her antigrav bike into the Pod bay of the Achronyx and turned it sideways to skid to a stop. She had thought the effect would be a little less amazing without squealing tires, but she wanted to swish her ponytail dramatically.
Not only did the ponytail-swish go exactly according to plan, but it also turned out that skidding sideways to a stop on an antigrav bike was even cooler than one on tires.
“Aw, hell yeah.” She swung her leg over the bike and struck a pose. “Mama likes these. Great for finding guys to add to my list.”
“You and your list,” Ryu grumbled as he pulled his bike neatly into position and dismounted. “Are you going to park properly?”
“Why are you so boring?” Tabitha groused, but she got back on the bike and pulled it alongside his. “There. Is that good enough for you, Ryu-t
oshi?”
Ryu just shook his head as they walked toward the bridge.
“Welcome back, Ranger Tabitha,” Achronyx said. “I have news for you regarding the bounty for your death. It has been increased.”
“I know. No one’s gonna put a lousy fifteen-thousand-credit hit on me. Achronyx, can you tell if anyone actually interesting is on the job now?”
“You’re insane.” Ryu shook his head, annoyed. “Your ego and pride are way bigger than your bodaciousness.”
Tabitha stopped dead, looking at him. “You take that back!”
“Never,” Ryu retorted. “You might end up paying for your own hitman!”
“What I was referring to,” Achronyx raised his voice above theirs, “is that the original group has increased the bounty. The total now stands at a hundred and eighty-five thousand credits.”
Tabitha whistled. “Now that’s some good shit. They’re all gonna be coming after this.” She looked down at her armor with a self-satisfied grin. “And I’m gonna look fine as hell while I show each and every one of those fish-fucking, dick-headed, no-balled sphincter-brains what it means to fuck with a Ranger.” She gave Ryu a grin.
He looked at her, his eyes blinking with no emotion on his face. “You’re not at all upset, are you?”
“I’m going to kill whoever decided to put the hit out on me,” Tabitha assured him as if this solved everything. “I just didn’t want it to be open mic night at the hit-club. I want the pros.” She shrugged off her coat and slid sideways into the captain’s chair, draping herself over it with a grin. “Achronyx, find out who specifically is running the bounty, and I’ll add his name to the list of people whose ass I plan to kick.”
“Yes, Ranger Tabitha.” Achronyx’s voice was bland.
Ryu gave a look at the speakers and shook his head. He knew that Achronyx was often sarcastic, but sometimes it was genuinely hard to tell if the EI knew how ridiculous Tabitha was being.
Still draped over the chair, head hanging upside down, Tabitha held up a memory stick with a flourish.
“This is the information I got on their computers,” she announced. “Ryu, would you plug it in? I want to have Achronyx take a look at it.”
With a good-natured sigh, Ryu stood up and retrieved the stick. He plugged it in, and Achronyx began to bring the files up on the main screen. Tabitha sat up to watch, curling her legs under her and narrowing her eyes every once in a while.
After a few minutes, having sorted the information Tabitha found into relevant groups, Achronyx told them, “There is much interesting information here. Most likely, I will need several hours to do a thorough analysis.”
“Anything interesting right now?” Tabitha pouted slightly. “I want to get back out there now.”
“You should get some rest,” Ryu advised. “Actual rest, on a bed that isn’t coated with alien…stuff.” He looked a little queasy.
Tabitha gave a full-body shudder. “We should probably take showers before we get any diseases.”
“Agreed.”
They both stood up, and Tabitha was starting to leave when she did a double-take at the screen. “Who’s that?”
“Dev Zancred,” Achronyx reported. The full dossier came up on the screen.
Tabitha strolled closer to look. “Hmm. Interesting. Oh, that’s very interesting. I like that.”
Ryu peered at the screen. “What, exactly, do you like? This man is a revolutionary. He provides help to groups who back all kinds of shady people.”
“Bethany Anne is a revolutionary.”
“Bethany Anne overthrows violent dictatorships. This man supports them.”
“He’s cute, though.”
“He’s…what?” Ryu’s jaw dropped.
“Look, just because he has bad political leanings doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be able to date him. Tack him onto my list, Achronyx.”
“The list of individuals whose asses you plan on kicking?”
“No, you Intel Celeron Neanderthal, the ones I plan on overcoming with my skills and overwhelming attractions.” Tabitha trailed her hands down her sides with a grin. “I’ll show up and show him the time of his life, and he’ll come to the light side of the Force. I promise. I can pull it off. I’m that good.”
She strutted off, tapping her hip to a beat Ryu couldn’t hear, and Ryu stared after her with a frown.
Ryu, Achronyx asked privately, do you think she knows that he is part of a group who abstains from sex? Also, they are strictly focused on their own species. They ban members from mating with non-Torcellans. This male would not mate with a human.
Can we confirm that Tabitha is even human? Ryu countered with a grin. She could have been changed in the Pod-doc—just enough.
He shook his head. After Shin’s death, she had regressed back to a younger version of herself, not quite the Ranger she had been before. He and Hirotoshi had been working hard—hell all of the Tontos had been working hard—to help her pick up the pieces.
He just hoped she reconnected with the old Tabitha before she made one too many mistakes.
“I finally feel human again.” Tabitha emerged from her room a few hours later, swishing her newly-clean hair back and forth. She was dressed in a pair of spotless black pants with a leather-and-wool top.
“I still think we should both take a turn in the Pod-doc,” Ryu joked. “I took three showers, and I’m not sure I’m clean yet. How did they think we’d spend a week in that room without dying?”
“Alien herpes doesn’t kill you, it just screws up your junk.” Tabitha grinned. “It’s incurable, and everybody knows what messed-up shit you’ve been doing.”
“The badge of shame for your bits,” Ryu joked.
“It’s an achievement!”
“If you are both quite finished,” Achronyx interrupted, “I have found multiple locations for you to investigate. Three, to be precise.”
“None of them are grungy motels, right?” Tabitha asked as she sat cross-legged in one of the chairs. “Let’s see ‘em.”
“The first location is of a Flexxent named Kenet Aljun’ra.”
“Kenet Aljun’ra, Benet Aljun’ra…” Ryu frowned.
“They are siblings.”
“Who are the rest of them?” Tabitha quipped. “Tenet, Menet, Wenet?”
“Wenet, Renet, and Flenet,” Achronyx replied.
Tabitha and Ryu looked at one another.
“Are you messing with us?” Tabitha asked.
“I would never do that. In any case, it is my guess that after the incident at Benet’s lounge, Kenet became aware of your presence on the planet.”
“Wait a sec.” Ryu took a sip of his coffee and frowned. “Are you suggesting that because we smashed up Benet’s lounge, the Karkat black ops team has it in for us? Or is it just a wild abuse of power on Kenet’s part?”
“It is difficult to say at this time. Nevertheless, I have conclusively traced the origin of the hit to him. He can be found here in Karkat, in one of the mansions in the city’s gated district.”
“Schmancy,” Tabitha mocked. “Wonder how he’ll get when he realizes gates don’t keep people out?”
“Bet he runs,” Ryu suggested wickedly.
“Bet he cries.”
Ryu sniffed. “Obviously.”
“The second location,” Achronyx said, struggling to keep them on task, “is that of Grule Jino’sha, a well-known Flexxent assassin who seems to be tracking Tabitha. I received word of his interest in the case. I believe he is waiting at this location near where Tabitha was last seen.”
Tabitha nodded.
“And this,” Achronyx continued, “is the third location. Ranger Tabitha, this is the home of Dev Zancred.”
“Ooooh.”
Why are you giving her the location of a revolutionary she wants to bone? Ryu asked Achronyx.
I should think it was obvious, the EI replied. To make things interesting.
Ryu grumbled internally.
“Achronyx, you keep an eye on Dev,”
Tabitha directed. She grinned at the screen and made a kissy face. “I’m coming for you, baby. Yes, that was a double entendre. Damn, I’m good. Just gotta take out that assassin first.”
Ryu relaxed slightly. “Yes, I agree. We don’t want to get close to taking Kenet out, only to have an assassin suddenly in the mix.”
“Exactly.” Tabitha headed for the door. “Let’s go into town and get all these annoying bastards out of our hair. Then I can seduce the revolutionary and—”
“Kemosabe, what about Etoy Walce?”
She threw a hand up in the air, annoyed. “Gott Verdammt! I’d forgotten about him.”
Ryu rolled his eyes and followed her from the room.
Chapter 13
Tabitha
City of Karkat
The antigrav bike ride back to town was pleasant. It was a beautiful fall day—or, at least, from the weather it would have been a beautiful fall day on Earth, with the sun shining and a brisk breeze as the antigrav bikes cut through the landscape.
Karkat came up quickly in their view. Most of the planet wasn’t occupied, so the main city had simply taken the same name. A bit confusing sometimes for planning hits, but rarely misleading.
“Our first target is close to the center of town,” Ryu told Tabitha. “Achronyx says he hasn’t moved far.”
They slowed down and stowed their bikes in an abandoned building, making sure to pick a different one from before. Tabitha had learned back when she was fending for herself not to let patterns help people find her. You didn’t park in the same place every time, sneak into a building the same way every time, or even go into a computer system the same way every time.
That was how you got caught. And then dead.
She adjusted her coat as they walked, making sure to look all around her as if she were a tourist, not a trained killer.
Sometimes it was useful to be five foot four. When John Grimes walked into a room, everyone knew to be afraid—well, the armor usually helped with that impression—but when Tabitha showed up, many people didn’t know to take her seriously.
Deuces Wild Boxed Set: Books 1-4: Beyond the Frontiers, Rampage, Labyrinth, Birthright Page 31