Phoenix in Flames

by Jaleta Clegg

  The wall was typical for a small ship. Storage lockers lined every space possible. I rolled on my side and looked under the bunk. Access led into the ship's wiring and systems.

  The chain between my ankles clinked. It might be tricky reaching the panels. I crawled to the end of the bed and climbed off onto the floor. It took some creative wiggling to work my way under the bunk, but I did it. My feet hung in the air, bending my knees in an uncomfortable backwards way, but I could ignore it.

  I popped the cover on the first access panel. I was out of luck. It was the ship's secondary plumbing systems. There wasn't anything in there I could break without tools. I put the cover back on and squirmed farther under the bunk.

  The second access panel was better. It had most of the lighting circuits wired through it. I traced wires, trying to figure out which controlled what on the ship. I could black out most of the ship. And then what? I was still chained. What I really needed was a short bit of stiff wire. Then I could pick the lock on my ankles.

  Ren Matthias had to have the key to the cuffs. I could knock out the lights, after I picked the lock on my ankles. In the confusion, I would find Matthias and beat him until he gave me the key. And then I'd fly the ship home. It was a nice dream.

  I poked through the access hatch, but there were no bits of stray wires or lockpicks left lying in the bottom. I put the panel back on and squirmed out from under the bunk.

  The door slid open. I pretended to be completely innocent. I didn't fool Largo. He saw me sitting in a ridiculous position on the floor, with my feet in the air, and smiled.

  "Not very smart, Dace," he said.

  He was grinning like a maniac when he punched me. I did my best to fight back, but with my feet chained to a locker handle, there wasn't much I could do. I did zap him with the force cuffs at least once. He wasn't smiling when he finally finished beating me. I lay on the floor, breathing hard and feeling my eye swell shut. My nose was bleeding again.

  "Mister Matthias wants you to dine with him this evening," he said. He unlocked my ankles and dragged me to my feet. "Just try it," he whispered, his breath hot on my neck. I hung limply from his hand. He shook me a final time before marching me out into the main room.

  Matthias was still sitting at the table. There was food on it. It was reconstituted, but it was food. My stomach growled.

  Largo marched me over to a chair and slammed me down into it.

  "Have you been misbehaving yourself?" Matthias asked as Largo chained my feet to the legs of the chair. Matthias shook his head, clucking his tongue. "Those who misbehave don't eat."

  He made me sit there and watch him eat. He made me sit while the rest of the crew ate. I stared at the table and pretended I was somewhere else.

  The crew consisted of two women and three men. Kolly was the captain of the ship. None of the crew acknowledged my existence. The crew ate and cleaned up the galley. Matthias snapped his fingers at Largo.

  "Fetch Captain Dace her dinner," he ordered. "I hear she's particularly fond of chicken noodle."

  Largo placed a cup in front of me. It was one of the more disgusting brands of freeze dried chicken noodle. Usually I wouldn't touch it, but I was starving. I'd eat anything once I got hungry enough. I was hungry enough. I lifted my cuffed hands.

  "Can I have these off? At least while I eat?" It wouldn't hurt to ask. Well, maybe it would, but I wanted to see how far I could push Matthias.

  "Do I look stupid?"

  "Yes, but that isn't the question," I answered before I could think better of it. Largo smacked me across the back of my head.

  "Do you really enjoy playing with Largo?" Matthias asked me.

  "It would be more fun if you took the cuffs off first."

  He shook his head. "But then you might possibly win and I can't allow that. No, Captain, you keep the cuffs on. And you stay out of the ship's access panels. Or I will have to punish you. Eat your soup."

  I picked up the cup in both hands and drank it. It was horrible, barely lukewarm, but it was food. I ate it all.

  "Greedy, greedy," Matthias chided me. "Lock her back up, Largo."

  Largo took the cup from me and put it on the table. He hit me for the fun of it before he bent down to undo my ankles. I was really tempted to kick him in the face, but the look on Matthias' face warned me against trying it. Largo yanked me to my feet and walked me out of the room, back into the cabin. He shoved me into the bathroom.

  "You got two minutes," he said. He planted himself in the doorway, blocking it from closing.

  I pretended he wasn't there. I splashed water over my face and hands after I was through. Largo decided I was stalling and pulled me out of the bathroom. He twisted his hand into the shoulder of my shipsuit.

  "You aren't going to try anything?" He sounded disappointed.

  I shook my head. I hurt enough for one day and it wouldn't have accomplished anything to get beaten up further. He didn't seem to care that I wasn't giving him an excuse. He kicked my feet out from under me and dropped me on the floor. I landed heavily. I just lay still, waiting for the beating I was sure was coming.

  "Get up," Largo said. He nudged me with his foot. I flinched but didn't move. Largo muttered under his breath. He picked me up and hauled me back out of the cabin.

  "Since you found our accommodations too tempting," Matthias said to me as Largo marched me across the main room, "I found you a new set. Enjoy, Captain Dace."

  Largo took me to the back of the main room and stopped in front of a bank of large lockers, a secondary cargo bay. Largo did something to the lockers. They swung open as a unit, revealing a new space behind them. Largo pushed me into the space. The bank of lockers swung back shut.

  I shifted in the sudden darkness. The space was barely four feet long and maybe three wide. I lay down and resigned myself to it. The space was empty of anything remotely useful.

  Kolly was a smuggler. He and his crew weren't going to be sympathetic to me. I doubted they had ties to the Gypsies. No help there. I sighed and closed my eyes. There wasn't any help. I had to help myself this time.

  Maybe I could find some way to get my hands on their com. I could send Jasyn a message. Except I had no idea where we were going. And they weren't going to let me anywhere near their equipment.

  They knew who I was. They knew what I could do. And so far, Matthias was playing it smart. Or so he thought. Had he made any mistakes? Other than kidnapping me, I added. No, that didn't seem to be a mistake. What happened to Lowell's promise that no one would dare touch me after Xqtl?

  Lowell was finished. I had to face that. His power had crumbled. He couldn't protect himself anymore. There was no way he could protect me.

  Jasyn and her Gypsy family would come. Or maybe not. I had caused them more than a few problems. Maybe they were happy to get rid of me.

  I had to quit thinking. I was depressing myself. Someone would come for me, I had to believe that. Until they came, I was determined to do everything I could to rescue myself.

  It would be nice if Tayvis came through the door, but I knew that was nothing more than wishful thinking. He was gone. He'd walked out of my life for good.

  I lay down on the floor, curling up in the narrow space. I closed my eyes and pretended I was asleep. I dreamed of flying.

  Chapter 21

  The alleyway was dark. Clouds moved in until moonlight no longer dripped into the darkness. The streetlights and port lights didn't reach far enough to dispel anything. Clark waited in the silence. Ananda stood next to him, he held her arm to keep her from bolting. Beryn hid somewhere behind him. Ginni had disappeared into the maze of catwalks that crisscrossed over the alley.

  "He'll be here." Ananda pried his fingers, trying to release them from her arm. "He won't resist the chance to get even with me."

  Clark took her arm more firmly. "I'm not letting go of you until I have what I want."

  She looked disheveled, her hair trailing out of the elaborate curls. Her dress was smudged. They hadn't had much ch
oice about dragging her with them. He didn't like forcing her, but he saw no other way to get the information they needed.

  The Blue Sheep Bar was much too crowded. They'd gone to ground in a nearby warehouse instead. Ginni proved quite adept at picking locks, not as good as Dace, but definitely better than a law abiding person should be. Darus had called McKane from the ship. He'd arranged a meeting for them.

  The alley was handy, nothing more. Clark scouted it and decided it would work. There were plenty of boltholes and escape routes. As well as places to hide and shoot. He glanced behind him and hoped it wouldn't come to that. He knew Jasyn would never stay out of the line of fire. It would kill him if she got hurt.

  "He's late," Clark said.

  "He usually is." Ananda shifted her weight to her other foot. "You do know he'll kill me. Once you leave, I'm dead. He doesn't forgive people who sell him out."

  "That isn't my problem."

  "Yes, it is. You dragged me into this."

  "You got yourself involved when you tried pumping Beryn for information."

  "Is that his name? I got nothing from him. McKane got his information on you from someone else."

  Clark glanced overhead. He could barely see Ginni. She lay on a crosswalk overhead, watching him through the grate.

  "You gave McKane my name. He won't let me walk."

  "What do you want me to do?"

  "Take me with you when you leave. I could make it very worth your while." She wriggled suggestively.

  "And my wife really will hurt you."

  The smile dropped from her face. She looked young and scared. "Then let me find some other way to pay you. I'm serious about McKane killing me. And you aren't really as mean as you want me to believe."

  "Let me think about it." He heard footsteps at the far end of the alley. His grip tightened on Ananda's arm. "Show me how willing you are to help me. Convince McKane to talk to me."

  "He hates me, he won't listen."

  A full half dozen men came down the alley towards Clark. All of them were armed. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at Ananda. The group of men stopped a dozen yards away.

  "Is that supposed to be a threat?" the leader asked. "Because if it is, it won't work. I don't care what you do to her."

  "Then maybe you'll care what I do to you." Clark shifted his aim to the man standing next to McKane. The sound of weapons cocking echoed in the alley. "Tell me what I want to know and no one has to shoot anyone."

  "Why should I?" McKane asked. "Seems to me I'm holding the cards here. You've got nothing."

  "Are you sure about that?" Clark asked. "I've got people hidden everywhere. We could kill you before you got off a shot."

  The men moved uneasily. McKane held up his hand.

  "Why are you threatening me?" He flicked a glance over Ananda before returning it to Clark.

  "You took something that I want back," Clark said.

  "You'll have to be more specific. I take a lot of things."

  "She's short, rather a handful. Answers to the name Dace."

  "Ah, that something." McKane folded his arms. "You're too late. She's long gone."

  "Tell me where or we'll start shooting. Starting with you." He looked at the man next to McKane.

  "You shoot any of my men and you'll die."

  "Just tell me who took her and where they went and we'll pretend none of this ever happened."

  McKane kept his arms folded. He sniffed once. "What does she have to do with this?" He nodded at Ananda.

  "She was paid to snoop around my ship."

  "I didn't pay her."

  "I told you he hates me," Ananda muttered.

  "She said you paid her," Clark countered.

  McKane smiled. "Maybe I did. And maybe I didn't. It doesn't matter. It seems to me that you're the one in the weaker position. Why should I tell you anything?"

  A shot struck the pavement in front of McKane. He shifted his boot away from the scorch mark on the plascrete. His men moved back, their guns held up and ready.

  "Dace has a lot of friends and they aren't too shy about shooting," Clark said. "We can make it worth your while. It doesn't have to be violent here. You tell me what I want and I'll give Ananda to you."

  "I don't want her."

  "Then we'll pay you for your information."

  "And I won't have you arrested," a new voice said from behind McKane.

  Clark heard boots behind him. They were surrounded.

  "Put the weapons down," the new voice ordered. The man moved into the light. He was Patrol, and there were at least ten others in uniform behind him.

  Clark swore under his breath. This was not a complication he wanted.

  "You didn't call them in?" Ananda asked.

  "Drop the weapons!" the Patrol officer shouted.

  McKane's men weren't very smart. They turned and started shooting. Clark ducked for the shelter of a doorway, pulling Ananda with him. Shots scorched the spot they'd been standing. Within minutes the alley was shrouded in smoke. The sound of weapons shooting almost drowned out the screaming. McKane and his men broke and ran. Most of the Patrol chased them. Others began searching the alley.

  "This way," Ananda whispered. She had the door behind them open. "Unless you'd rather talk to the Patrol," she added when he hesitated.

  She slipped through the partly open door. Clark followed her. It was dark inside. He stopped, not wanting to run into something. Ananda stood very close to him, easing the door shut and relocking it.

  "I really could make it very worth your while to help me," she breathed in his ear. "And your wife won't have to know."

  "You don't know my wife," he answered. "How do we get out of here?"

  She stepped back. He heard a tiny click. A very weak beam of light illuminated the area around them. He saw the shadow of boxes stacked around them. She waved the tiny light she held.

  "This way. I assume you want to go back to your ship." She walked away from him and paused by a stack of boxes. "Promise you'll take me with you or I'll leave you here." She flicked the light back off.

  He was blind in the dark. He heard the Patrol shouting in the alley behind him. He didn't have much choice. Ananda or the Patrol? It really wasn't much of a decision. They could always leave her somewhere.

  "All right. You have my promise, but only if we aren't caught. If the Patrol gets its hands on me or the rest of the crew, all bets are off."

  She clicked the light back on. She studied him in the dim light. "Why does the Patrol want you so badly?"

  "Guess."

  The door behind them rattled. He hurried away from it towards her.

  "If we don't move soon, you'll find out," he said as he caught up with her.

  She whirled around and moved through the maze of boxes. He was right on her heels. She reached the far side of the warehouse and eased the door open.

  "It's clear," she whispered.

  "Then move it," he answered.

  They slipped into the dark streets. It was quiet here, but he heard the Patrol shouting in the background. They were searching the streets. Ananda headed away from the shouting, circling around to reach the port from a different direction. Clark grabbed her arm, unwilling to let his last source of information slip away. She didn't seem to mind. She matched steps with him.

  "It won't take them long to figure out what ship you're from," she said once they left the warehouse district behind.

  "That can't be helped. We were leaving tonight anyway."

  "To go where?" she asked.

  He shrugged. "I'm the pilot, not the navigator."

  "And I'm the Emperor's consort," Ananda shot back. "Why is she so important to you?"

  "She's family," he answered.

  "She's trouble," Ananda said. "Why else would McKane be involved?"

  "If McKane didn't pay you, who did?" He pulled her to a stop. "Why should you want to leave on my ship? Who's still paying you to spy on us?"

  "No one," she said, swallowing at the hard look on his f
ace. "I swear. They'll kill me if you leave me here."

  "Who?" he demanded.

  "I don't know for sure," she said.

  "You don't know anything unless it's convenient for you to remember it."

  "McKane wasn't paying me but he was working for the same people. I think it was the Dortai Syndicate. The person who contacted me usually works for them."

  "And who is that?"

  She sighed and looked away from him. He was inclined to trust her answer this time, although she could be playing him for a fool.

  "Ren Matthias. He doesn't usually come here, to Tireo. His territory is closer to Vreyburn. He's the reason I moved here. I didn't want any closer to him than I had to be."

  "We'll see how accurate your information is."

  She looked behind him. "You'd better move if you want to find out."

  "Hold it there!" the Patrol officer shouted behind them.

  Clark swore under his breath. He raised his hands in surrender. Ananda stepped away from him. She was going to run, he could see it in her eyes.

  "Hands on your heads!" the officer shouted.

  Clark put his hands on his head. Ananda turned and dashed away, her skirt lifted high enough to show a lot of shapely leg. She darted around a corner.

  "After her, you idiots!" the officer shouted at the three men who were with him. They pounded away down the street, sliding around the corner she had taken.

  Clark tensed. With only one, he might have a chance of breaking free.

  "Don't do it, Major," the man said.

  Clark turned quickly, his hands dropping.

  The officer shook his head. "I know more about you than you want me to. You don't have much time. The rest of your crew is already on their way to your ship. I made sure they got out of that alley. You have about fifteen minutes before the Patrol will start chasing you. Contact Brannigan on Lukator. She's putting a trace on Matthias for you."

  "Why are you doing this?"

  "You sent the message," the man answered. "You have a lot of friends in the Patrol, even if we can't help you openly. My cousin was on Vallius."