She sighed, sipped her drink, and glanced around the resort. It was opulent. Luxurious, even. “What’s the job? I won’t steal money. I’m not your boss. You can choose for yourselves. But you know my rules.”
“It’s not stealing money, Hols,” Charly said. Her voice lowered to a conspiratorial tone. “Get this. It’s to steal back a small marble statue. It’s famous. Called Muibaus’s Might. OK? So it’s this nude male statue of a guy holding Ixion on his back. Worth millions. I have a buyer too.”
Holly ran her finger around the rim of the tall thin glass. “You said it was ‘stealing back.’ If it’s stealing back, how do you have a buyer?”
“OK, so I lied about that part. It was technically stolen from someone else. So it is kind of stealing it back. It’s just that then we’re selling to the highest offer.”
“Charly, I’ve heard of this statue,” Shiro said, from somewhere in the resort. From his end of the earpiece, Holly could hear the roar of waves. She looked around for him, but the beach was largely concealed by the natural barrier of island trees. “How is it that you heard about this job?”
“I explained that already. A Centau. He works with the government sort of, but he’s not a bureaucrat. He’s a sometime thief himself. Plays both sides.”
Holly stood and stretched. The heat was beginning to get to her, and she was starting to regret not asking Shiro to snag her something to swim in. “And did he ask you to get it?”
“Maybe. But then as I was looking into the job, I heard about a buyer. Who will pay much, much more for it. Sounds perfect, right?”
“So you know where the statue is?”
“Yeah. The Centau told me. He’s been scoping it out for months.”
“This seems…more dangerous than normal,” Shiro said. “If a government official is involved.”
Holly buckled. “Shiro, would you mind getting me something to swim in? You’re still shopping, right?”
“With pleasure, Ms. Drake. Please, no need to tell me your size. I think I can get that right. I’ve been buying clothes for ages.”
“Damn, you guys. This is one billion percent unfair,” Charly said. “I’m about to sleep, but you’re all about to have a swim.”
“You could too, Charly, if you’d nearly just risked your life for a tanker full of hydrantium. Thank you, but no,” Darius said. “I’d rather not swim and still be alive.”
Odeon rose. “Whatever Holly does, I’m with her.” He caught Holly’s eye and gestured to the nearest resort building. Holly cocked her head at him as though to ask what he meant. The Yasoan pulled the small oval communicator out of his wide black trousers, tapped a button, and then looked at Holly. His Ousaba rested on his shoulder, held there by his other hand. “I’m going to speak to my parents. I’m honor bound to. Then I’ll be back. Later, I will go see my grandmother. Would you come with me?”
She hadn’t muted her own mic, so she just nodded and flashed him what she intended to be a reassuring smile. He returned a grin before beginning a slow meander around the pool. Holly could see the stress in the angle of his brow and the tilt of his head as he walked and watched people frolic in the pool. Odeon crossed the small footbridge, passing the amorous couple who had now begun to nuzzle into each other’s necks.
Holly felt a stab of worry for her friend, but he was on his own in this one, just as she would be if she had had to face Graf were he alive, or her father—who she hadn’t spoken to in ages. She told herself they would have time on the drive to his grandmother’s cafe—a place she remembered fondly—to discuss what was troubling him. She could tell anyway—the fact that they had even come to Itzcap forced him to pay a visit to his parents. Nothing had been reconciled with them. Holly imagined Odeon would visit his rooms, and dress into the clothes befitting a traditional Yasoan son. Though Odeon was anything but. His parents had that sort of affect on him.
“Holly?” Charly’s scratchy voice came over the earpiece.
“Sorry. What?”
“You alright, girl?” Charly asked.
“Yes.”
“I was just telling you that the job is fine. Doesn’t go against your code. Tell her, Darius.”
“Charly’s mostly right, Drake.”
“Throw me under the train, Darius, thanks! What do I have wrong?” Charly yawned audibly.
Holly sat back down and finished her drink. “I don’t think I can do it. Sounds like stealing. Not my cup of tea,” Holly said. She gritted her teeth—she needed the money. Her bank account was draining quickly. Dave had nothing for them. And now it was her one line of work. Had the crew. Had the headquarters. If only it were a job that she could accept.
“Look, Drake, I know about this job. The Centau who told Charly about it isn’t a traditional Centau. They’ve done their share of thieving. And there is honor among thieves. Turning us in would endanger him. Plus, it’s not money. It’s a statue. Originally stolen out of a personal collection and placed in a fairly private museum. Only the super rich can even see it.”
Holly sat forward. That sounded classist. “You mean, not everyone can see it?”
“What sort of society has museums only for the rich? I have heard of these, Ms. Drake. They make my fur stand on end,” Shiro said. “By the way, I’m almost back. With a lovely swimming outfit for you.”
“Fur, Shiro? I always thought you were hiding something special under those hoity-toity costumes of yours,” Charly laughed.
“It’s merely an expression. But that detail seals it for me more than before. I am definitely in. I cannot stand idly by while a statue only gets seen by the richest eyes.”
Shiro was in.
“I’m also in,” Odeon said, surprising Holly. “I can’t talk much now, but this is deplorable. Art is either in a private collection, or it’s there for all.”
“Damn. The whole team?”
“That’s right, Hols, because honestly, we need this.”
“Here you go, Ms. Drake,” Shiro said. She looked up. Her eyes had been focused on a strip of sunlight reflecting on the water. Rising, she took the two-piece swimming suit from Shiro. It was brown with turquoise and orange stripes.
“Er, thanks,” she said. They had a point—about the hypocrisy of having a statue only viewable to a select group of Kotans. It bothered her. It felt classist. And if there was one thing she knew about herself, it was that upsetting the status quo was something she excelled at. She was an iconoclast. She thought of the children now under Elan’s care. Barring a miracle, none of them would be rich and elite. Same with her students at the public school where she once taught.
She met Shiro’s gaze. “There’s a lot here I don’t agree with, in this job. But, my personal morals and how unjust this is have swayed me. Count me in.”
“Boo-yah! You won’t regret it, girl. I’ve already got loads of intel on it.”
“Be ready with a loose plan by the time we’re back. Two days. I have to pay Trip for the damage to her ship.”
“Got it,” Charly said.
5
A ship that looked a lot like one of the destroyers that had pursued them soared in over the bay and presumably landed at the airstrip jutting out of the platform far out in the blue-green waters.
“Shiro,” Holly began.
“I saw it,” he said before she could say more. “Think it’s them?”
“I don’t have proof, but what are the odds that a ship looking exactly like one that chased us would land where we are shortly afterwards?"
“Hopefully they’re not looking for us,” he said. “What do you think, Ms. Drake? Seems unlikely to me.”
They were seated at a table on the patio overlooking the bay of the cafe that Odeon’s grandmother, Clio, owned. Odeon himself had gone back inside to order them drinks and ask for his grandmother. It seemed like years since Holly had last been there, though in fact it had only been a few months. The cafe was just how Holly remembered it—open and airy with a breeze blowing in off the bay that swept through open
balcony doors and an entrance that opened onto a front of store patio.
Holly turned to see what was taking Odeon so long. He was at the counter still, ordering their drinks. She spoke to Shiro without looking at him. “And if they were? They got what they wanted. I doubt they’d come after us.”
Shiro turned to look at her. The afternoon sun had dipped closer to the startlingly blue ocean. “Maybe they wanted more than just the hydrantium, Ms. Drake.” There was meaning in his eyes.
“What else is there? You? Me?”
He shrugged slightly. “You did upset their plans. You’re a thorn in their side. If they were smart, they’d get rid of you.”
“Thanks,” she said, choking back her dismay.
“I didn’t say I wanted to get rid of you. I said they would be smart to. It’s a compliment. Showing how much I respect your abilities.”
She laughed. Odeon appeared with their drinks, placing two cups of kasè down and sliding one in front of Holly and the other in front of Shiro. Odeon sat at the table near Holly and sipped his tea. The coastal breeze ruffled his silver hair, which he’d let down from the traditional bun he’d put in hours earlier for his parents.
“She’ll be out soon,” he said. His face seemed lighter and free of worry in the cafe. His bright eyes took in the view and he grinned at Holly, almost as though he couldn’t help it.
Shiro tasted his drink and then placed the cup down, glancing about as he did. “This is lovely, Odeon. You spent much of your time here as a child?”
“I did. My parents were always busy helping everyone else. Too busy to look after a boy.”
Shiro arched an eyebrow at Holly. She shrugged and glanced at the Yasoan, who was now looking back into the cafe, searching for his grandmother.
Around them humans, Consties, Centau, and Yasoan mingled or sipped beverages and played card games. The cafe was a safe zone, which shed light on Odeon’s open, accepting way. His parents weren’t like that—they were the sort of smug elitists that Holly had often seen in the city, in every race. It led to the sorts of divides that seemed impossible to surmount, but, she feared that was inevitable. After all, there was more than just skin color and biology that divided the various races. It was also the cultures that arose from biology and the things that became embedded in them back on their homeworlds. Still, it was people like Odeon who would help bridge those differences. What she and her crew did together—that was the sort of thing that overcame racial divides.
Without warning Odeon rose and took a step away from the table.
She was there, suddenly, Odeon’s grandmother, greeting him. The older woman with bright silvery hair in braids threw her arms around him, speaking excitedly in Yasoan and patting his shoulders. She kissed him four times on the cheeks, and then opened her arms wide to greet Holly. “Darling girl, seeing you again is lovely!”
Holly blushed, standing, and accepted the effusive greeting—which included besos on either cheek—then Holly turned to introduce Shiro. As she suspected he might, Shiro was as much in his element with the woman and her cafe as he had been everywhere else. Nothing ruffled him. He was smooth and adaptable, with his chameleon ability to absorb and blend.
Following the greetings and introductions, Clio sat with them.
“I see you’ve got your drinks. They were made with love, so their energy is good. It will lengthen your lives and bless your posterity.”
Shiro nearly choked on his drink, tipping it away from his mouth and setting the cup quickly back on the table. He looked around at the group, a furious blush darkening his cheeks. “Excuse me.” He coughed.
“You must not expect to live long, or you don’t wish to have children,” Clio laughed.
“Yes, I was just cursed the other day. To live a short life. So, I’m feeling caught in the middle,” Shiro said.
“Shiro thinks that he fools us, grandmother. Holly and I both know that he’s afraid to settle down and someday have a family. He’s a sworn bachelor.” Odeon drank from his tea and grinned.
“Ah, a bachelor. Who will you pass your stories on to? Your legacy?”
“Legacy?” He coughed, again. “I’m doing the universe a favor not having a family. My dear woman, I have nothing to pass on, except my sense of fashion. And I can simply start a clothing line if that’s all I hope to pass down.”
Holly had a sudden thought, and, despite the lighthearted banter, decided to voice it before the moment passed and she forgot. “Madame, pardon me, but have you heard anything having to do with a group known as the Shadow Coalition?”
The Yasoan woman stared at Holly, pursing her dark violet lips, a shadow flitting across her features. “They’re a plague. Yes, to answer you, I have heard of them.”
Odeon studied Holly, an expression of frustration crossing his brow. Holly had known him long enough to be able to name the emotions that took over his face from time to time. He shifted to the edge of his chair. “You haven’t told me this, grandmother.”
“What is there to tell?” she asked, waving a hand. “They have been passing through our small town for months. Maybe even years. They mostly leave us alone, though, occasionally there would be disturbances when they would try to recruit from the town.”
“They would try to recruit from here? Recruit who?”
“Younger people. To become part of their group. What else? They’re a scourge. I don’t like them.” She shook her head and spat.
“What is it you don’t like about them?” Holly asked.
“Aside from the general complaints, they try to pay with money that isn’t recognized by the Syndicate. And I say to them, that money isn’t good here! What will I do with it? And they put it down and take the drink. And what will l do then? Fight with them? With these?” She held out her fine lavender hands that would be more at home playing a musical instrument than hitting someone.
“Why haven’t you told me? Or Hera and Socrates?”
“Everyone knows. We tolerate them. They’re a nuisance, but they’re harmless.”
Odeon, Shiro, and Holly exchanged looks. There was no sense telling her that they weren’t harmless. It would result in too many questions that could endanger her. She burned to talk about it more with her crew-mates, however. Questions flooded her: was there a base on the moon? Perhaps the Heart was hiding somewhere nearby. If they were actively recruiting foot-soldier types on Itzcap, it meant more was going on there than just a ship landing to possibly look for them. It could mean a headquarters. Or some kind of base of operations.
“What is this look you are passing between the three of you? Tell me. No pretending that it didn’t happen, Odeon. Come now, tell your Nonna.” She made a come-hither gesture with her hands.
“Trust me, grandmother, it isn’t wise for me to tell you. I’m protecting you,” he said.
“Ah, it’s protection, then?”
“Of course. You’re the most important person to me. I want to protect you, not endanger you with information that could actually make you less safe,” he said.
She blinked, seemingly surprised at the serious tone in Odeon’s voice. “It is much worse than I feared, then,” she said, leaning back into her chair. She saw more than Holly would have thought. The woman was clever and obviously shrewd. Holly couldn’t help but admire her.
“Perhaps it is,” Odeon said.
Holly wanted to join in, but bit her tongue. Though this was the second time she’d met Clio, she felt too unfamiliar with the woman to simply butt in. So she watched, listened, and occasionally stared out at the sea. A continuous breeze had begun as the evening darkened. The large palm fronds overhead swayed and rustled, creating a subtle relentless layer of noise that soothed the nerves.
“Not telling me now makes me feel less safe, Odeon. I must know. I must know how much danger I may be in, how much danger my patrons may be in, and my workers. My little familia.”
Holly pulled her gaze from the scenery and looked at her friend. His eyes were closed. He rubbed his hand a
cross his face. He began speaking to Clio in their native tongue. While he spoke, Holly glanced at Shiro, who was staring intently at her. His look seemed to convey his own dismay at the realizations that Holly had come to—that Itzcap was perhaps more than just an escape for the wealthy to enjoy luxury.
Clio’s face changed as she listened to his explanation. She occasionally inserted a loud vocalization, and leaned forward, or covered her mouth with her hand and muttered what could only be a string of curses.
“I think this is going rather well,” Shiro observed to Holly, leaning close to her, speaking from a conspiratorial distance. “Wouldn’t you agree, Ms. Drake?” His eyes glimmered and he grinned at her.
“What do you think, Shiro? A base here? Perhaps an actual headquarters that hides the Heart?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, Ms. Drake. But I think we should be open to the possibility that it’s as good as chasing phantoms.”
“Why would you say that? There’s clearly something going on here if what Clio says is true.”
“I’m not disputing that. I’m only advising that we use caution when making a decision about it. We’ve gone on many wild goose chases,” Shiro said. “I don’t fancy many more of those. They wear a chap out. Constant moon-lag and my circadian rhythm all haywire from the different light and adapting to various time zones.”
Before they could continue further, a ruckus arose from within the cafe. Odeon halted in his lecture and turned his attention toward what was happening. Clio jumped to her feet and made a brisk beeline toward the front of the cafe, beginning to shout at the patrons at the counter.
“Speak of the devil,” Odeon muttered. “Shadow Coalition.”
Holly checked her sleeves. The knives were there, though she was still terrible at handling them. She’d left her aether gun, the Equalizer, back at Shiro’s rooms in the resort. “We’re speaking of them, and immediately they turn up at the counter and begin fighting with the clerk and Clio joins in? What—“
“Are the odds?” Shiro finished for her, winking.
The Colossus Collection : A Space Opera Adventure (Books 1-7 + Bonus Material) Page 70