Sean allowed himself a secret smile at Sam’s strategy. This way the captain could control the amount of reaction hitting Catherine from the other courtesans. Anyone got out of line she could have Belle cut the feed.
“One minute please.” The AI hummed for a few seconds. “I am piping the feed into Sean’s quarters via the wall monitor.”
The picture of a serene countryside dissolved into a series of squares displaying the remaining crew members, mimicking what they all currently were watching in their suites. Kendra waved at Catherine, who waved back. The other members didn’t speak but Sean caught a wide grin on Harry’s face as he dared to wink at the stranded executive.
“April, Harry, Kendra, Bianca—” Sam frowned. “Where’s Jenny?”
“I’ll listen in.” The cheerful voice chirped out of the speakers. “I’m in the undercarriage working on a few things. Don’t need me to be on camera anyway.”
“Roger that.” Sam drew a deep breath. “First, thanks to everyone for not swarming me to find out what was going on. It’s been a rough few hours but let me lay out what we’ve got so far.” She reached out and took another shortbread cookie. “Marshal LeClair’s notified the Service and it’s been decided he’s going to swing around, dock with the Belle and pluck Ms. Rogers out of here and speed to the nearest Justice base. We changed course as soon as I discovered the seriousness of the situation and while it’s put a bit of time on Dan—Marshal LeClair’s travel time, it was the best decision.” She looked at Catherine. “It’s the best and safest place for you to be before you testify.”
“Excuse me.” Bianca raised her hand. “What ‘situation’ are you talking about? I thought we just picked up a survivor from a ship explosion.” She narrowed her gaze. “We could drop her off anywhere. Why a Justice base?”
“The explosion wasn’t an accident,” Catherine said.
It was a statement, not a question.
Bianca’s eyes went wide.
April pressed her lips into a tight line while Kendra watched with a stoic expression.
Harry cocked his head to one side, obviously confused.
“As you heard when I came on board, I’m an executive for Global Transport.” Catherine’s voice rose to boardroom level, calm and collected. “I contacted the authorities some time ago about discrepancies in our books that led me to believe defective metal was being used in the construction of our vessels.”
“Defective as in causing people to die,” Harry said.
“Yes.” Catherine didn’t mince words. “I was supposed to testify against my bosses. Obviously someone didn’t want that to happen.”
“Don’t they have enough evidence without you?” Bianca asked.
Catherine shrugged. “In theory they could do their own investigation and try to dig up the files on their own. But a living witness tends to sway a jury more than a dry reading of documents and tossing around numbers. Good people died on those ships and I want to get it across to those jurors that it was done for nothing but cold hard cash.”
Harry grunted.
“An admirable goal.” April tilted her head to one side. “Except now we could all die in the process of seeking justice. The odds are there’s no way the ship explosion was an accident, given this new information.”
Sam shook her head. “The Service doesn’t think so. Neither do I—it was blind luck we were in the right place to come and get you. The sabotage aboard your ship was perfect. You were in a dead zone, no other ships within reach of the distress call and definitely none that could come and retrieve your life pod in time.”
“Except for you.” The whispered response from Catherine sent a shiver down Sean’s spine. He imagined her slowly dying in the life pod, floating in space until her oxygen ran out.
“Except for us.” Sam smiled. “And I have no doubt we’ll pay for that good deed somewhere down the line. We think your killers will find out you survived and will figure out it was the Belle that saved you. They’ll take further measures to make sure you don’t make it to trial.” A stern look crossed her face. “There’s always been men willing to do someone’s dirty work. Pirates are a nice term for them.”
“I agree. They’ll pay for someone to make a run on you. To finish the job.” Catherine’s tone was solid and professional as if she were negotiating a business contract. “Get the job done and erase all survivors. Including this ship and the crew.”
Her gaze flickered to him for a brief second before returning to the teapot, a nice neutral target.
“Exactly. And as you all know, Mercy ships are prohibited from carrying any external weapons.” Sam rubbed the back of her neck, fingers brushing her short-cropped red hair. “The long and short of it is that we’re running at top speed to get to a base while the marshal’s ship is racing to intercept us. We’re alone and not likely to get any help on the way.”
“There’s nothing else closer? Maybe a mining base, the one we were headed for?” Bianca asked.
“A mining base isn’t going to have much more in the way of defenses,” Sam replied. “We’ll only be giving the killers more targets. Putting civilians in the line of fire isn’t going to win any points with the UNS or the Guild.”
“Okay. Then maybe we meet up with a UNS cruiser?” Bianca said. “I know there’s bigger spaceships out there, I’ve seen them on the news. A marshal’s scout isn’t much to hide behind. I don’t care how big his guns are, it’s not going to protect us if these pirates have bigger ones.”
Kendra pressed her lips into a tight thin line, bobbing slightly as she tried not to laugh at Bianca’s phrasing. A fast glance at the other courtesans showed the same reaction.
Harry, who hadn’t bothered to wear a shirt to the briefing, flexed his right bicep with a silent kiss.
“Calm down, kids.” Sam held up her hands. “I don’t like it any more than you do but it’s all we’ve got. Marshal LeClair’s keeping an eye out as he makes his run to get to us and if he spots anything or anyone he’ll let the Justice base know. He’s at the very edge of his route so it’s going to take some time. We’re more or less on our own for the next few days. That’s the best we can do. I wanted to brief you all in case you had some ideas on what to do. I’m open to any suggestions.”
“How do I transfer off this crazy ship?” Harry said with a wide grin.
Kendra laughed, joined in a second later by the rest of the crew. “Welcome to the Bonnie Belle,” Sam quipped. “Our motto is ‘Never Boring.’ I’ll get Jenny to paint that on the bow along with a big fat target.”
“Can we call anyone else for help?” Sean said as he watched Catherine calmly finish off the last cookie. “Cargo ships, mining transports, anyone?”
“There’s no one within a reasonable distance—that’s why they couldn’t assist in the rescue effort. And even if some were willing to change their course and come to escort us they’d be a target as well. I don’t see a lot of private companies willing to put their crews and their ships on the line for this. And the military isn’t going to get involved with a criminal case.” There was a rough edge to the captain’s voice. “They’re going to stay clear of this even if they did lose personnel in those bad ships. Putting out a general call might also bring some gawkers looking to board a Mercy ship without making an appointment and we don’t need the added trouble. Not to mention most civilian ships don’t carry weapons. Not legit ones anyway and those who do aren’t the ones we want to be hanging with.” She chuckled. “As it is Grendel’s growling and chomping at the bit.”
“Grendel?” Catherine asked.
“Our Guild representative,” Sean said before Sam could answer. “He’s a bit of an arse. He’s all about the money.”
“Ah.” Catherine smiled. “You can tell him I’m good for the cash. Global Transport doesn’t welsh on their bills and I’m willing to pay out of my own savings
.”
“Yes, about the cost.” This came from Bianca, occupying the lower left window. “I assume we’re tossing on an extra charge for putting us all in danger. Aside from the price of full gravity, that is. This is quite out of the ordinary and I think we should be compensated fairly for the trouble.” Her lower lip jutted out as if to accentuate her point.
“That’s not important right now. What’s important is to get her to safety.” Sam stared at the young brunette.
Sean winced. Sam had been cutting Bianca a lot of slack after the loss of her lover but her patience would only stretch so far.
So far seemed to have arrived.
“That’s all fine and dandy for you to say. But we’re the ones taking the risk, taking the chance we’re going to get blown to bits because you went ahead and broke the rules by bringing her on board.” Bianca shook her head. “It’s not good business.”
Sam got to her feet with slow, measured moves. It reminded Sean of a lioness preparing to spring on her prey.
She stood in front of the screen, her hands on her hips.
Kendra wore a knowing smile. Harry’s attention fell to something in his lap. April raised a small tea cup to her mouth and sipped.
“If I ran by the rules all the time, things would be quite different around here. Such as your constant requests to Jenny for supplies only obtainable through the black market. It would be a shame if your needs went unfilled for a few weeks or maybe months,” Sam said, focused on Bianca and Bianca alone.
Bianca locked eyes with the captain for only a few seconds before dropping her gaze to the floor of her cabin.
Sean held back a smile. It took little imagination to see Sam leading her infantry squad into battle, in command and not taking crap from anyone.
Daniel definitely had his hands full.
Sam glanced at the other courtesans on the monitor before returning to glare at Bianca. “Feel free to log a complaint with Grendel after we get out of this if you’d like. But we’re in this now and we’re not taking a vote on what to do. In case you didn’t figure it out when you signed your contracts, this ship is not a democracy. Never has been and never will be.” She paused for a second before continuing. “You all signed on to help people survive out here, make it possible to mine the asteroids and the dead planets with the promise of time with a civilized woman or man—fulfilling fantasies keeping these people going. You sell happiness and hope, love and comfort.” She spun and pointed at Catherine. “Consider this assignment an extension of your services. Keeping her alive will give justice to those families who lost their loved ones in those ships made with defective metal, who didn’t even have bodies to bury because they were shot out into space.”
Bianca didn’t say anything.
Harry’s jaw was so tense Sean feared it’d snap if he tried to speak.
Kendra gave an approving nod while April bowed her head a fraction, signaling her acceptance of Sam’s statement.
Sam gave a polite nod, the start to ending the discussion. “We’re done here for now. Everyone feel free to speak up if you have any ideas about how to create defenses for us or how to make the Belle run faster, no matter how crazy they might be. Right now Jenny’s open to anything and everything you can suggest and she promises not to laugh. We need a little inspiration and imagination and I think you’re the best bunch around to supply that.” She looked up. “Belle, please end the session. And deactivate your presence in this suite, returning to Sean’s original status.”
The screen blanked out for a second before returning to the image of the serene countryside.
She looked at Catherine. “The same goes for you. If you think of anything, no matter how outlandish you think it sounds, ask Belle and she’ll put you through to either Jenny or myself.” Sam gave a final nod. “Meanwhile I’ll let you get back to relaxing and recovering. Consider that your priority right now.”
Catherine gave her a sad smile. “Captain, what do you think I could come up with? I’m an executive. I push papers and numbers and do presentations. I’m no mechanic or—”
“No you’re not.” Sam agreed. “But you’re one tough broad, who survived having her ship shot out from under her, and you’re willing to go the distance to put these bastards down.” She turned to Sean. “I’ve got to get back to the bridge and give Grendel a report. We’ll chat later.” Sam moved toward the hatch. “Thanks for the cookies.”
Sean waited until the door had closed before turning back to Catherine. The executive hadn’t batted an eye at the exchange between the crew and Sam. Given her dislike of Mercy ships, it must have been hard to keep her feelings under control—especially when Bianca started whining.
Grace under pressure.
“Your captain seems very capable. Ex-military I assume from both her uniform and attitude.” Catherine piled the cups back on the tray. “How did she end up here?”
Sean cocked his head to one side with a sly smile.
“Of course. Why should I expect an answer?” Her tone was a mixture of sadness and a touch of anger. “Your business is all about keeping secrets.”
“Of course.” He snagged a last shortbread crumb, dotting it on his finger before popping it into his mouth. “What else did you expect on a Mercy ship?”
* * *
What else indeed.
The reality of her situation kept slamming into the illusion in front of her, the quiet comfort of sipping tea and nibbling shortbread with a handsome man chipping at the edges with the harsh truth that someone had tried to kill her.
Would continue to try and kill her.
Had killed her friends already and now would come after her rescuers.
“Are you okay?” Sean reached across the table and took her hand. His touch was hot, almost scalding her skin.
“I just—” Her breath caught in her throat, threatening to strangle her. “I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe they’d go to this degree to silence me.”
“Can the case go ahead without you?” Sean asked.
“It could but it’d lose a lot of momentum with only my taped testimony.” Her hand drifted to the locket. “It’s one thing to read a stack of transcripts or watch someone on a screen, another to have me on the stand. The jury deserves to have me there.” She didn’t mention placing herself under the scrutiny of the high-priced lawyers her enemies were sure to have on hand. It’d be tough questioning but she had the truth on her side.
Sean nodded. “And the penalties for your fellow execs?”
“The worst that could happen with a conviction is that they’d go to jail, pay fines and lose contracts. It isn’t like they’d be executed, although I wish the bastards could be. The ships and the people killed for money—” She reached for the teacup, trying to control her shaking fingers. “Years in prison. But they wouldn’t die.”
“No but they’d lose control.” His hand covered hers, squeezing gently. “For men like that losing control is the last thing they want. It’s almost as bad as dying, not to be in charge of everything and everyone around them.”
“You sound like you’ve had some experience in this area.” Catherine fed on the simple touch, relishing the contact.
“We’re talking about you, not me.” He smiled.
The non-answer confirmed her thought.
“Ah. Guild rules.” She felt the walls starting to close in around her. “I’m not a big fan of Mercy ships, as you know.”
“But I don’t know.” His tone was measured and calm. “I know you’ve been married and divorced. That much is in your official biography. I don’t know why a woman like you hasn’t been able to find a good man.”
Catherine stood up, the hollowness in her heart growing. “Because good men come onto Mercy ships.”
Chapter Six
Sean waited until the h
atch closed behind Catherine before speaking.
“Belle?” He paused, not hearing the AI activate. “Buttercup.”
The security word brought the ship’s computer online in his quarters.
“Yes?” Belle answered.
“I’ve read Catherine’s biography. It lists an ex-husband. There wasn’t much detail about the divorce—can you dig up further information? Rumors and the like, I’m not fussy.” He sat down at the table and poured the remaining tea into his cup.
“Her second husband divorced her a year ago. It was described as a mutual agreement. He sold off his stock and that allowed him to retire from his position on the board of Global Transport.”
“Ouch.” Sean took a sip and frowned.
The tea was bitter. It’d been left to sit too long.
He rubbed his chin. “What’s the gossip say? No one leaves a good woman like that without a reason.”
“There was a rumor through various tabloid sources her husband frequented the Kelly Pryde several times, making a point of taking private trips to meet the ship between scheduled stops.” Belle’s disapproving tone made him smile despite the topic of conversation. “The ship was allowed to dock with Global Transport vessels and conduct business transactions with the permission of the captain and Guild approval.”
“Another Mercy ship?” Sean placed the cups on the tray and picked it up.
“A Mercy ship on a Level One circuit.” Belle did everything but let out a whistle at the fact. Only a handful of ships received permission to travel on the top routes, accessing only luxury resorts for the privileged.
Even the rich loved a Mercy woman. Or man.
Sean almost dropped the tray, doing an impromptu juggling act to keep it upright. “How did you find this information? All Guild transactions are guaranteed to be kept private.”
“Unless the parties involved wish it to be made public,” Belle replied. “In this case the courtesan came forward and paid off her contract at the same time as Michael Dumacher initiated divorce proceedings with Catherine Rogers and announced his upcoming wedding to the courtesan. The divorce was processed with an unusual amount of efficiency and was legal within a month. Two days later Mr. Dumacher married the courtesan in a private ceremony and resigned from the Global Transport board, liquidating his assets to pay for an emigration flight. At last mention they were living in a small colony with a stable income.” Belle paused for a few seconds. “The reason it was not included in Ms. Rogers’s official biography is evident. The Guild also went to great lengths to downplay the situation due to the risk of other courtesans and customers attempting to pursue the same course.”
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