When they got into the correct airlock, she slammed the door behind them and hit the seal. It began to cycle, closing off the station side and releasing the lock on the door attached to their ship. They heard a few muted curses from the other side as they left the airlock, but their pursuers stayed out of range of the camera pickups.
Jason flung up his hands. “Easy there, buddy.” Sparky stood at the entrance, aiming the largest gun he’d ever seen at him. It took both hands and looked like something meant to shoot rockets.
The weapon tilted down. “Everything okay?”
Sparrow was down on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Considering how much shorter she was than him, she probably ran twice the number of steps. Not that he wasn’t winded with his heart pounding.
It took her a few moments to speak. “Did we get any of the deliveries yet?”
“Ya. Jensen. Twenty, maybe thirty minutes ago.” It was the most complete sentence Jason heard from the burly man.
“Well shit,” she muttered. “Maybe those guys weren’t from Jensen and Jensen, but I saw those two outside their store when we left and then again when we were in the Emporium.”
Jason helped her stand. “Should we launch?”
She bit her lip. “No. I’m not leaving without your food. I don’t think they’ll try boarding us.” Her eyes got hard, and she blew out a breath. “Unless they’re from your father. Were there many people at the bank who recognized you?”
“Umm.” Visions of a groveling Bank Manager, several underlings offering refreshments, the woman he walked in on, the two security guards that escorted him to the door, all danced in his head. “Not really.” He’d never been good at lying.
She stared at him. “Exactly how much did you take out?”
“Umm. Forty.” He glanced at Sparky for help. “Million.”
Shocked, she widened her eyes. “Are you crazy? You’re walking around with forty million Shabin dollars?”
“Don’t be silly.” He tucked his shirt back in. “The last time I left the system, every time I used Shabin dollars I got screwed on the exchange rate. I took it out in IGC.”
She threw her hands in the air. “Oh, my God! You’re freaking insane. Are you planning on buying a moon?”
“Once my father knows I’m gone, he could freeze my accounts. I’m still a minor.” Jason shrugged. “It’s only a small portion of the inheritance from my grandfather.”
Sparky clapped him on the shoulder and let out a loud bark of a laugh. “Ha! Drinks on you.” He slung the gun over his shoulder and left them standing in the cargo bay.
Chapter Five
An hour later they were still waiting for the last of the deliveries. There were a few tense moments when someone showed up with a few items Tina had purchased during the stay, but nothing had come of it.
Sparrow was giving Jason a tour of the rest of the ship when she asked, “So, are you going to tell me what this is all about?” She opened the door to one of the cargo bays and bright lights switched on, revealing palette after palette of items marked with the Shabin Industries logo. Hundreds of cases and crates linked together like a child’s set of building blocks.
Sitting on a crate, he stretched out his legs. “My father killed my uncle. I walked in on him. He freaked and killed me.”
“That makes no sense. You’re still alive.” She took a seat next to him — the box too tall, her legs dangled.
He was uncomfortably aware of her being so close, but still, it was a good nervousness, causing his heart to rapidly flutter. “It was in the Mirre. I went to talk to my uncle and found my father in the room next to his body. How about you tell me why you thought Jensen and Jensen was behind our little chase.”
“Maybe I wasn’t being fair to them.” She pulled her braid to the front and idly played with it. The action reminded him of the girl in the shop, provocatively swinging her tail. “They have a history of being involved with some of the darker aspects of the station. So, you didn’t actually witness him killing your uncle?”
“Well, no, but he went crazy when he saw me and threw a punch hard enough to kill.” With hindsight and a few hours of sleep, leaving the planet seemed a little extreme to him now. He’d been too panicked and distraught to think straight. Deserting everyone in the palace to endure his father’s wrath was a cowardly act on his part. It didn’t sit well with Jason and seemed a betrayal of everything Martin had taught him.
Nodding, she released the braid and placed a hand on his knee. “Is he a violent person?”
His body stiffened in response to her touch. “I’ve always thought of him as more unethical rather than evil, but he’s been different lately. He’s had outbursts. Some of them destructive.” Why was she squeezing his knee? Comfort or something else? Condensation formed in his palms as his heart beat faster. He hated interacting with people in real life. If they were in the Mirre, it would be so much easier to take a risk. He leaned closer, allowing their bodies to touch.
“So, does he know that you know anything?”
“Hmm, hard to say. He wouldn’t know anything about my experience in the Mirre.” Jason rubbed a hand over his head. “But he could’ve used his Mirre to talk to me dozens of times by now to find out where I’ve gone and why. I can’t be sure how I would react to his questions.”
“Why not? I thought you said this Mirre thing was like having realistic conversations with people.” Her hand left his knee and went back to waving the braid as if it was a tail.
Did that mean something? Did he do something wrong? He stretched back, removing the comforting link between them. “Well, it is.” Covertly he let out a long breath and watched the side of her face. “But just think of how different you’d react to a person asking if you’re lying about eating the last donut with a smile on their face versus gripping your arms and screaming the question at you. He could rerun the questioning over and over again, looking for any change in my story.”
She nodded in understanding, and they sat quietly for a few moments, watching a few maintenance robots wandering around the bay like oversized turtles. They scanned and tested the integrity of the crates. Their small wheels thumped with every floor grate they rolled over, filling the bay with a percussion that seemed like ancient tribal music.
She turned and examined his face. “Do you have any idea why he’d be mad at your uncle?”
“Nope.” Although, there’d been the unexpected vacation offer and the cryptic note, which was still crumpled in his pocket.
“Do you know what you’re going to do?”
He put his head in his hands and bent forward to his knees. “Nope.” A wave of anguish took him every time he thought of Martin.
Her nails dug into his scalp and scratched. “Well.” She spoke with a motherly tenderness that seemed a little out of character. “You’re welcome to stay with us for now, but we’re going to have to get you a new identity.”
He started to giggle at the absurdity. “I’ll become Peter Argot, smuggler and thief.”
“Who?” The gentle scratching continued.
“Nothing. Just my alter ego.”
“Sparrow.” Tina’s voice called out over the phone. “I think your food is here.”
She removed her hand. The loss of her touch sent an emptiness through him. The moment gone, they stood. She spoke into the phone on her wrist. “Tell Sparky to get ready for trouble. We’ll be there in a minute.”
“Do you want me there also?”
Sparrow bit her lip. It was so damned cute when she did that every time she needed to make a decision. “No. Get on the bridge and be ready to unclamp us from the station.”
“Already there.” Tina’s musical voice added a few extra syllables.
Jason asked, “Do you think they’ll be back?”
They left the cargo bay and headed a few doors down to the bay connected to the station. “I’d rather be prepared. I don’t think anyone is dumb enough to start firing explosive weapons close to the outer hull, but you
can never predict stupid.”
He stopped short. “I can.”
Her head swung up, and her mouth widened into a grin. “Yes. You can, can’t you.”
“It’ll take a few minutes.”
“How long?”
“It all happens in real time. If I spend five minutes in the Mirre, it’ll take five minutes.”
“Okay.” She bit her lip. “I’ll stall. Do you need anything?”
“I need to see the person the first time or have enough information about them to make the connection.”
“Go.” She shoved him toward a chair in front of a control panel then ran out of the bay.
He focused on the airlock monitor, showing the delivery man. The man made a dramatic yawn into his hand. The tiny picture made the link a little more difficult and time-consuming to form since Jason didn’t know the man, but years of practice still kept the process simple. Average looking man — either Michael or Lester — a bored expression anticipating another day of moving boxes from one end of the station to the other. Jason sent the Mirre out to capture a copy of the man. The delivery man. Show me accepting the packages. His eyes turned to snow, and the Mirre took over his senses.
Jason stood in the dream cargo bay and went to the door. Running his hand over the panel, it opened.
“Where ya want it, mate?” A man of medium height and a nose showing the early signs of heavy drinking leaned on a robo-dolly stacked with boxes.
Remembering what the cashier back at the store had said, he asked, “Are you Michael or Lester?”
The man grinned. “Michael.” He pointed to the robot. “That’s Lester.”
Jason nodded and gestured for him to enter. “Bring it in here.” He didn’t know where the stuff belonged, but he just wanted to make sure the guy wasn’t planning on trying something.
“Move ya self, Lester.” The robo-dolly followed the Mirre version of Michael inside.
Jason walked him to an empty spot near a corner. “I guess just pile it up here. We can move it later if we need to.”
“Righty-O, buddy” He began shifting the boxes with the practice of years. “Goin’ on a long trip, are ya?”
Jason eyed him closely. He seemed harmless enough. “I bought more than I needed. It’s a habit.”
“Right, right. I spent a week one time between nodes without food.” He finished his stacking and pulled a comm out of his pocket. “It sucks I can tell ya. Palm please.”
“What?”
“I need ya to accept the delivery. It tells my boss I didn’t steal or break nothin’.”
Jason was probably supposed to inventory everything before signing, but he didn’t care and swiped his hand over the comm. Reflexively, he tacked on one of his Jason-special tips.
Michael grinned, showing a few missing teeth. “Why, thank ya.” He looked at Jason’s face closely for a moment then bowed. It seemed more of a friendly joke than knowledge of who he was. Considering they were in the loading bay of an antique ship, maybe Michael recognized a similarity but disbelieved the truth.
“Thank you.” Jason waved in return and let the Mirre fall away. His eyes pulled back down and into focus.
Sparrow stood next to him. “Well?”
He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes. “He’s harmless.”
Sparky had shown up with his massive phallic symbol weapon while Jason was in the Mirre. Sparrow frowned at the sight of the gun. “Hide that thing. Nobody’s shooting anything in here.”
Sparky wiped a hand over his forehead. “Ya? Certain?”
“Put it away, Sparky. It’s just the delivery guy.” Jason stood.
Sparrow added, “Just stand to the side and look imposing.”
“Posing?” Sparky seemed confused.
Sparrow said something Jason didn’t understand. Sparky set his weapon behind a crate and thumped his chest. “Fierce.”
She giggled. “He’s such a pussycat. I doubt he’s ever thrown a punch.” She released the airlock, and the door slid open.
A man on the better side of middle-age stood leaning against a robo-dolly stacked with boxes. He wore a jumpsuit with the Zagara’s logo on it. “Where ya want it, mates?” It came out with the disinterest of someone who’s done the same job far too long.
“Come on.” She waved him inside.
“Move ya self, Lester.” The robo-dolly followed him in.
“Hi, Michael,” Jason called. The man didn’t acknowledge Jason knowing his name.
She led him to a caged area where he could stack the boxes. “Just put everything that doesn’t need refrigeration in here. We’ll take the rest up to the galley ourselves.”
“Righty-O, love.” He began shifting boxes off the dolly and onto a shelf.
Sparky laughed at all the food and clapped Jason hard on the back. “Eat good. You grow.”
Sparrow kept a sharp eye on the delivery man, waiting for him to pull out a weapon. A stirring of family pride went through Jason. Her doubt was a little insulting to him and his ability. She’d learn.
After stacking the last of the food, Michael turned and thrust his hand out, offering his comm. “Need a delivery acceptance from one of ya.”
A bead of sweat dripped into Jason’s eye, and he wiped his face. “I’ll do it.”
Sparky picked up a few boxes destined for the freezer. “I go.”
“Tell Tina to send the docking fee and request permission to undock.” Sparrow waved him away.
Sparky heaved the boxes onto his shoulder with a grunt and a few unintelligible words while Jason ran his hand over the comm and entered in a tip. A reasonable tip. The man didn’t bow this time and Sparrow walked him to the airlock.
Which is when the two goons dashed in. The hulking men clad in black had swung around the side of the door. One of them grabbed Sparrow, wrapped a meaty arm around her throat, and held a gun to her head. The other snatched up Mr. Delivery and used a knife to the neck in the same manner.
“Time to give it up, Jason.” The man holding Sparrow was as wide as his father, if not so tall, but he spoke with the pompous capital accent Jason knew well. It was out of place for a random station thug, but they weren’t in imperial uniforms. The weapon didn’t have the charging pack associated with a nervion, but it still looked lethal.
“Let them go. It’s me you want.” He couldn’t allow anyone to get hurt because of him. “If my father wants me back.” He reconciled himself to the situation and sighed. “I’ll go.”
The two men glanced at each other. The one holding the knife spoke up. “Couldn’t care less about your father.” It was a far more guttural voice attached to the other man. Poor Michael, finally interested in his surroundings, was frozen in terror while Sparrow struggled furiously.
So these guys weren’t an imperial security force. They were after money. He wasn’t sure if that made the situation better or worse for Sparrow. He already stowed the larger currency chips back with his gear in her cabin. He hoped they weren’t going to stand around and scan the balance of the one he still had with him. Shoving one hand in his pocket, he held out his other palm. “Okay, okay. You can have it.”
Sparrow threw her elbow into her assailant’s gut. He let out a grunt, but it wasn’t enough to break his hold, and he shoved the weapon into the side of her forehead with enough force to make her wince in pain. “Now, now, little girl. Let’s all stay calm.” He squeezed the crook of his elbow, cutting off her oxygen.
Panicked, Jason shouted. “Stop! Stop!”
Pulled up on her tiptoes, Sparrow choked and gasped wordlessly.
Meanwhile, the man holding the knife said, “Get that hand out of your pocket and get over here.”
Jason slowly removed his hand, showing the chip. “Here. I don’t have a weapon.” Gesturing to the innocent bystander, he said, “Let him go, and you can have it.”
The man looked to his companion for direction. His friend said, “Go on. That one doesn’t matter.”
Michael was shoved backward and trip
ped over Lester. He scrambled to his feet and ran out of the ship. The one who seemed in charge said, “There, we can be reasonable. However, we’re low on time now that we let him go. So if you please, Prince Jason.” His squeezing on Sparrow had relaxed enough to allow her to breathe. She had a furious glare in her eye, but she stopped her thrashing.
The cultured-voice was getting on his nerves. He’d never been robbed before, but this seemed far too polite. Jason stretched out his arm and extended the chip. A fire alarm rang out through the station beyond. Thank you, Michael. Jason felt guilty about the small tip.
A horrified expression washed over the hireling and his hand flashed out. The knife slashed across the back of Jason’s wrist, and the chip dropped to the ground as blood poured down and covered it. Mr. Sophisticated said, “Charles, that was so unnecessary. Gather it up.”
Charles waved his knife menacingly, forcing Jason to step back. He must not have liked the idea of touching the blood because he pulled out some sort of food wrapper from his pocket and used it to cover the chip with a hint of disgust on his face. He backed away. “Will this work?” He growled to his boss.
“I think so. Thank you, Jason. It’s been a pleasure.” A cheery-grin spread over his face. He pushed Sparrow with enough force to cause her to stumble a few times before she knocked out Jason’s knees. They landed on the ground together, her face too close. The sound of booted footsteps quickly leaving reverberated the deck.
Her lips almost touching his, she whispered, “Are you alright?”
“Yea,” he whispered back. Her knee was on his cut, sending another round of pain up his arm, but he wouldn’t have mentioned it for the world. “How about you?”
She gulped and nodded her head. “Yea. I’m gonna go chase them down and kill that asshole.” Her body shifted, but he gripped her tight.
“Don’t. The chip doesn’t matter.” A stillness washed over them. They became motionless, looking into each other’s eyes. He wanted to kiss her. Considering the situation, it seemed like bad timing, but that didn’t stop less cerebral parts of his body from pressing him to act.
With depressingly bad timing, Tina called through the phone. “Sparrow? Is everything alright down there? The security office on the station just called me.”
Shabin- The Reluctant Prince of Rhime Page 5