by Lauren Dane
“I feel sorry for them then. There won’t be much left after Sera gets done.” The three made up a special team, intelligence gathering usually, but Sera, Brandt’s wife and also Ash’s wife in all but title, was not a woman to be trifled with. She’d been part of the first teams to uncover the Imperialists’ first forays into Federation territory, and with her, this was nearly a holy mission.
“At least we can cross Parron off the list now. I know that sounds merciless.” Vincenz scrubbed his hands over his face. “They must have gone in to destroy all evidence of what they’d been using. They have to know we’re on to them.”
“We have to find the processing plant here.” Andrei drank the kava, reading the reports that had come in during the last few hours. More death. More destruction, and he had no idea why.
Piper came into the room, and Andrei found himself drawn to her, needing to touch her. She smiled at Vincenz, patting his arm on the way past, moving unhesitatingly toward Andrei and into his arms.
“You should have woken me up.”
He kissed the top of her head, not caring who saw. After the tragedy of the last day, the fact that the world was so fragile that any day could be his last had hit. She was important to him, and acting as if she wasn’t would have been an insult to them both.
“You needed the rest. There’s kava over there.”
She walked over and poured herself a mug. “It’s nearly empty. Shall I make more? Have you eaten at all today?” She shook her head as both men grunted at her while reading data screens and plotting maps. “I’ll see to it.”
The kitchen was so large she stood just admiring it when she first entered. Her kitchen at home was open to the rest of the house, so it was a kitchen, a dining area, a place for the kids to do their work, where they had meetings and relaxed at the end of the day.
She smiled at the memories. And she still loved the sleek, large cooking space with high windows that sent the light streaming down into the room. So much counter space and dozens of the latest cooking technology. A large oven, she discovered after peeking, just for making breads of all sorts. A grill, a cooktop, ovens, large refrigerated bins and hot drawers, too.
“Amazing, isn’t it?”
Startled, Piper looked up from where she’d been pulling together the ingredients for a hearty morning meal.
Julian Marsters stood nearby, his hands in his pockets. Even exhausted and under a great deal of pressure, the man was still handsome. Close-cropped hair the color of the kava boiling on the cooktop. His eyes were a lighter shade, the brown in a glass of brandy with the light behind it.
She smiled. “It is. I hope you don’t mind that I poked around. I wanted to make something to eat for everyone. This is the most beautiful room I’ve ever seen.”
When he smiled, he was even more handsome. “Thank you. I can’t take credit for it, I’m sorry to say. This is Vincenz’s house. He lives here part of the standard year.”
The way he said Vincenz’s name was interesting. “How long have you two been together?”
Julian sighed as he moved to wash his hands and stand next to her at the counter as she sliced root vegetables to fry up with the aromatics she found on the windowsill above the double sink.
“It’s complicated. And new. And I don’t quite know what it is anyway. But he . . .”
He blushed.
“Is he why you look so sad? Or why you look happy right now?”
“I can see why you and Andrei connect so well. I lost someone recently. She was my best friend. A woman who we all worked with.”
“Marame?” At his nod she began to whip the eggs. “Andrei told me about her.”
“She and I always worked together. We were closer than friends.” At her questioning brow, he shook his head. “No. She was with Andrei a while, and after that she declared she’d never get involved with soldiers of any kind. Oh, my, I shouldn’t have said that about Andrei.”
Piper laughed. “You thought I’d be jealous or angry that he might have loved someone else before he and I came together again? Don’t be silly.”
“All right. I’m glad to hear it. But he didn’t love her. Not like he is with you. I’ve known him for a long time. He and I came into the corps within a year of each other. He’s never looked at anyone the way he does you. Before he went back to Asphodel, I figured he’d always be one of those men who lived and breathed the job and would be happy with the occasional woman when he thought of it. You’re different. He’s different with you. Marame wanted that and knew he’d not be that for her, so she moved on. They remained friends, but that was all.”
“Julian, thank you for telling me that.” She knew it, but it helped to hear it, too. To know others saw it. To know she was different.
He bowed slightly and began to pull out plates and tableware. “As for me and Vincenz? He knows what it is to be alone. He lets me be, and right now, that’s all I can handle.”
“That’s certainly fair enough.”
He paused and then smiled a little. “Yes, it is. I’m trying to just, you know, be.”
She couldn’t really help with whatever they were doing out there. They ate quickly, each man on his personal comm while the screens in the background streamed data. Daniel had checked in several times.
She volunteered to go over some aerial film the drones had taken over the last days. She could do that. And she could bake some bread and keep them eating. When all she really wanted to do was punch Ciro Fardelle in the face before she shot him and left him in a ditch to rot.
She wondered how it would feel for Vincenz. Knowing it was his father who’d done these terrible things. Andrei had told her he’d been arrested and transported to a death camp by his father. Some of the men assigned to move him were loyal to Vincenz and with the help of his grandmother, helped him escape. He’d worked for the military corps since then and was recently given operative status with Phantom Corps.
Phantom Corps. That had rocked her back on her heels. She’d known Andrei was some sort of specialist, but this was so far beyond that. This group of men and women who had been waging war with the Imperialists for standard years. A constant push and shove that had held the status quo until Fardelle had escalated to open and all-out war on the Federated Universes.
Now they walked on the very edge, past the place where they could prevent war. The costs had risen with real, deadly consequences. She knew Roman Lyons had launched a similar attack on Imperialist military targets.
So there would be no avoided warfare, but they still sought a way to stanch the bleeding and then push back so hard they’d never make the mistake of attacking the Federated Universes again.
The main comm system hailed an incoming transmission, and they all gathered around facing the screens, Daniel and Ellis on one and Roman Lyons on the other.
Piper’s stomach cramped as she saw the look on Roman’s face. The toll of the death of his people, she knew, weighed heavy. His wife was in the very last stages of pregnancy, and she couldn’t imagine how that would feel.
Lyons was in a lab of some sort. “There’s no way to reverse the destabilization process.” He said it hard and fast, and Piper watched Andrei stand straighter, taking on the heavier burden now on them. Love—so much love—filled her for this man of honor she’d been blessed with for most of her life. Even when he wasn’t physically present, he’d been with her.
“It’s worse.” Roman nodded toward the technician he stood next to.
“Without a duplicate machine, the portal not only collapses, but it would weaken the fabric of space/time all around the portal until nothing was left.”
Andrei started as if he’d been slapped. If this happened, the Known Universes would be completely in chaos. Trade would be interrupted, because once it wasn’t just that the portal would burn out, but the ’Verse itself would simply cease to exist. ’Verses on one side or the other of whatever ’Verse was destroyed would be cut off.
Universes on the other side of the one destroye
d would be utterly cut off from the Center. The Federation Government could not defend anyone on the outer side of a portal collapse, leaving them vulnerable. Entire ’Verses could die out because they wouldn’t be able to get their needed supplies via portal. Depending on what ’Verse was destroyed, the parade of horrible possibilities was endless.
“Yes, I see you all understand why this news is so unwelcome. All portal stations are under martial law as of last evening. There will be no more express transports. All transports will stop and be scanned at every Federation Universe Portal.”
Which was helpful, except there were private portals all over the place.
Roman spoke again. “We need the rogue portals working.”
And Andrei knew. “We need to get the parts to make our own device. The exact duplicate of the one they have.”
Ellis nodded. “Look to your comms on this. We’ve updated with more intelligence. After we plugged in the data from the Liberiam samples, we achieved enough to crack the rest of the code. The data is unlocked. We know what we have and can get there, and we know what we need from there.”
Piper nodded her head, and he wanted to toss her over his shoulder and lock her in a closet until everything was safe, but she’d never allow it.
“We will not, I repeat, we will not be going into Imperialist territory for these materials unless we have no other choice. Let’s get them to smuggle them out for us.”
“We can’t go through Asphodel at this point now that we’ve removed the Imperialists who’d been there.” Julian continued to read the data as he spoke.
“No. But I have some sources here in Mirage.” Piper hesitated and then continued to speak. “I think I can get us an invite to meet with the Imperialists here. You know they’re around somewhere.”
“Good idea. Andrei, keep cover as one of her crew. Let’s get this process moving, people. Every moment that passes means he’s closer to finishing his device. Use the private portals to avoid the checkpoints.” Ellis sighed heavily. “It would behoove you all to be extraordinarily wary and observant at this point. By that I mean to say, kill these motherfuckers first before they kill us.”
The meeting ended, and Andrei looked to Piper when she spoke. “Let’s get started. We’ll head down to the Market. I take it you’ll have a pile of credits so we can get this process moving at the swiftest of paces?”
He waved toward Julian and Vincenz, and followed her out. “Yes. I have the ability to handle a problem however it is necessary to do so.”
She put on her sunshades and looked back over her shoulder as they headed outside. “Do I get that, too? Say I bump into one of those Imperialists who were in those airships, and I could shove him out the window screen of my zipper at full speed?”
He shook his head, but she saw his smile.
Chapter 14
The streets were full of soldiers.
Soldiers who bore the same look of shock and anguish many of the citizens had. This part of Mirage was stylish. The kind of neighborhood a man posing as a tech consultant for a large multi-’Verse company would live in.
They walked the long way to the public transit stop and headed to the stretch of the Portal City called the Market. A body could find anything to buy in its long rows of shadowy stalls, at long lunch and dinner counters, past the houses of prostitution and the ale vendors.
“By the way,” she tiptoed up to whisper in his ear as the tram began to slow down for their stop, “it’s best that you pose as my lover, too. Elsewise I’d never share all this loot with someone not my family.”
She hadn’t expected him to take the role so wholeheartedly. He slung an arm around her, holding her to his side. Not that she was complaining. It was actually quite delicious, so she went with it. They had good rhythm when they worked together.
Subtly, she led him to the public house she and Kenner drank at when they were in Mirage. In the old days on Earth, bars like this one catered to pirates and brigands, to highwaymen and all those who lifted tankards with them.
They pushed their way through the doors and took a look around before heading to a table on the far side of the room. Andrei rolled his smokes and watched the room while she patiently drank some ale.
Soon enough they were approached, but before she could speak, Andrei stood and clasped forearms with the woman he then invited to sit with them. Piper tried to indicate with her eyes just how much she wanted to kill the woman for being so friendly with Piper’s man.
“Piper, this is Aya. She is the wife of another friend. Aya, this is Piper Roundtree.”
The woman turned her gaze to Piper, taking her in carefully. “Benni sends his well wishes. I can’t stay, but I wanted to say hello while I saw you.”
Andrei finally released the breath he’d been holding, and Piper figured this Benni had to be important to him.
“Of course. You’re welcome to share a drink with us if you’ve a bit of time.”
She blushed, and Piper, now charmed by the woman, wanted to pat her hand and tell her not to feel bad, that he made all sorts of women respond that way.
“I appreciate the invitation.” She turned back to Piper. “And I’m glad to have met you, Piper. But I have an appointment. I expect I’ll be seeing you here and there.”
She left quickly, and they settled back again. They’d need to be seen first. No one just rushed up on a body to seek their skills to run cargo unless they were desperate and therefore trouble, or the polis working undercover.
She knew many of the faces in the pub that afternoon. A few very good avenues to make some connections with the Imperialists. She’d bide her time and then make the move.
“You know,” Andrei spoke low as he moved his chair closer, “it’s so dark back here I bet I could make you come without putting my hand into your pants.”
My. She took several swallows of her ale, but it did nothing to cool her off. And then his hand slid up her thigh, over the material of her pants. Up some more until he reached the notch between her thighs.
Piper couldn’t believe she was not only allowing a man to make her come in public but also pressing her clit against the knuckle he had pressed against it. Even through the pants it felt good.
Being so totally exposed while having an incredibly intimate moment with him was so hot it made her a little dizzy.
He looked so casual there she knew no one suspected anything, but still, the thrill of possible discovery made her entire body tingle, especially the part he rubbed over with his knuckle.
She pushed harder against him as she scooted her chair in, and it took everything in her not to scream out when the sharp shock of climax hit her hard enough to jar her teeth.
He loved the way she looked right after he made her come. Loved the relaxed muscles and the gleam of pleasure in her gaze.
“Now I’m ready to go say hello to a few people.” She pushed to stand, and he followed, keeping his attention on the crowd. Most weren’t anyone he’d have worried about. Common thieves mainly. None of them would get close enough to Andrei or Piper to pick any pockets. No, it was the man near the back bar, the one with flat eyes and an expensive pair of boots Andrei would watch closest.
Which was easy enough when Piper’s rather greasy compatriot invited that man over after Piper had made the query about running goods for him. After Piper had paid a referral fee, of course.
“This is Arge, and he just might be able to help you.” The other man made his good-byes and left the three alone.
Arge ignored Andrei and put his focus on Piper. Andrei said nothing but moved to stand between them until Arge got the message. He told himself it was all in keeping with his cover, but it sure felt good to mark his territory in any case.
The chrono he wore was a fake and not even a very good one. The kind soldiers often wore because they couldn’t afford the real thing. His hair was short, regulation short. His clothes were nice, but not too nice. The boots were genuine, though. But Andrei was a soldier, too; he knew what a truly
well-made pair of boots could do for you when you were on your feet all the time.
Piper fenced with him, being cutting and clever. He kept an eye on the rest of the room, all while being totally confident in the way she was going about this transaction.
This Arge hadn’t the brains to be as important as Cheney and his like, but he was here in Mirage and clearly a soldier and that in and of itself made his life less than worth a damn to Andrei. His only use was to get those ingredients back to them so the lab could complete a device of their own.
His haggling showed a man with more debts than brains, but before long, Piper had finished the transaction, and they had walked away, both breathing easier to be away from that place.
The plan was in motion now, the cargo engaged. They’d hear soon when they could expect to receive the goods.
Nothing else to do then but go back to Vincenz’s house and check in.
Andrei checked over the new data and sent his report on the meet to Daniel. He needed to run some recon in town, and he anticipated reticence from Piper on being left back while he did.
So he waited until after they’d checked in and had eaten dinner. He caught her alone in their room.
“I need to do some work. Alone.”
Her eyes hardened and her spine went rigid. It annoyed him, even as he found it attractive. And then he wondered at himself for finding bossy women so hot.
“Why can’t I help? I’m your backup. That’s what Ellis said. I remember that even if you don’t.”
“I remember it, but some things I do, I need to do alone. I know my job, Piper, and I know I’m damned good at it, especially with reconnaissance. I need to go see what’s what. I need to seek out people in far seedier establishments than the one we were just in, and I need to do it alone. None of my sources will talk to me if you’re around. They don’t know you.”
She snorted. “All right. Fine. I understand that. I’m going to wait up. If you aren’t back by the moon set, I will come looking for you.”