by Natalie Grey
He considered.
“No, let Grisor wait. A few days will do him good. I trust he hasn’t gotten out or created any havoc?”
“No. He’s tried to send several messages using all different sorts of encryption methods and signals. Sometimes I zap him, and sometimes I pretend they’ve gone through.”
Barnabas burst out laughing. “Shinigami, you’re an evil genius.”
“Excuse me.” She sounded prim now. “I’ll have you know this serves an important purpose. He’s trying to win at a game he’s not actually playing instead of using his technology in a way that might actually do damage.”
“Ah, yes. But was that why you did it?” Barnabas carefully marked his place and put the book on a side table. “Shinigami?”
“I think we both know the answer. Goodbye.” She signed off as the docking clamps grabbed at the ship.
Barnabas was still chuckling as he walked down the corridor toward the blast doors. Gar? Tafa? We’re at Victory Station. If you’d like to get anything, we can certainly pause here briefly—depending on what’s in Kelnamon’s message, of course.
I’ll let you know as soon as I get through the decryption, Shinigami broke in.
You haven’t broken it yet? Gar sounded worried.
I second the question, Barnabas added. He’d stopped in his tracks and was frowning at the ceiling.
Long story short, Kelnamon appears to have encrypted it with a passphrase instead of an algorithm, so now I have to figure out what sort of asinine clue he thinks we could all get. I swear, organic life forms are the worst.
Does anyone have suggestions? Barnabas asked delicately. He could hear footsteps, and he turned to look as Tafa came around the corner with Gilwar.
Srisa, Gar suggested.
Tried it, Shinigami said.
Huword? Barnabas suggested.
Ferqar, Tafa chimed in. Or—what was the section of the legal code that meant he had to float in space?
Oh, good thought. Shinigami sounded impressed. Keep sending ideas. I’ll let you know as soon as I—oh.
Did you get it? Barnabas held up a hand to stop the others from going to the door. He’d rather they just leave now for Kordinev if they were needed.
No, Shinigami reported. You’ll never guess who’s here, though.
Barnabas had an immediate thought, discarded it, and then decided it was the only thing that made sense. Still… You cannot possibly be talking about Zinqued.
Bingo.
Barnabas tipped his head back with a groan.
Oh, come on, Shinigami said. You’ve enjoyed that battle of wits.
“Battle of wits” is a very charitable term. It’s like playing chess with a deranged ferret.
Tickets to that, please.
Gar had arrived, and he and Tafa were snickering. Barnabas gave them a severe look. They shut up, but he noticed that Gilwar was not bothering to hide his amused flutters. He probably assumed that Barnabas could not interpret Jotun mannerisms.
Barnabas decided he was just going to sit on that piece of knowledge for now. A different thought had occurred to him.
Shinigami, is there any possible way they could have known we were coming here?
It is possible, Shinigami said. Anything is technically possible. I know we went past at least one checkpoint on our way to Jotuna. As far as I know, we passed none on our way here, and I did not notice anyone tailing us—which I definitely would have noticed if they’d sped up to pass us or if they’d been in front of us the whole time.
Interesting. Barnabas turned to look as Shinigami came around the corner in black pants, a tank top, and a bolero jacket that reminded him strongly of Bethany Anne. “Now that everyone is here, we might as well speak out loud. As far as we know, Zinqued doesn’t know we’re here, and I’d be incredibly surprised if he’d managed to—”
“To…” Shinigami prompted.
“You don’t think Carter told Aliana about the Srisa and this message from Kelnamon is a trap?”
Shinigami blinked. A moment later, she reported, “If it’s a trap, it’s an incredibly good one, and also incredibly stupid.”
“Well, that would track.”
“Agreed, but what Hieto or human will have access to a waypoint on Kordinev? The message definitely originated there.”
“Hmm. Just a thought. Let’s assume they don’t know we’re here, then. If anyone starts following us, we’ll report it silently and regroup here immediately. Is that clear? Whatever you’re doing, come back.”
Everyone nodded, and Gilwar raised one mechanical hand. “Just a question. Who is Zinqued?”
“It’s a long story,” Barnabas said.
“He keeps trying to steal the ship,” Shinigami reported.
“And he’s still alive?” Gilwar asked dubiously. “You never struck me as one to suffer fools.”
“I’ve come to be quite fond of these fools,” Barnabas told them honestly. He buttoned his suit jacket. “So, shall we?”
Gar was explaining their repeated run-ins with Zinqued and Tafa was chiming in about Aliana as they all walked out of the ship. Shinigami smiled at Barnabas.
“I like to think that no one here can tell I’m an android.”
“Most organic life forms probably can’t,” Barnabas agreed. “You’ve come a long way from when you first got that body.”
She shuddered. “Learning to walk was terrible.”
“I have no doubt. Now, is there anywhere you want to— Wait. Look.” Barnabas nodded to the docking area next to them.
There, not entirely unexpectedly, was Zinqued. With him was Aliana—and both of them were arguing with a tall man who was wearing far too many concealed weapons and an infuriating smirk.
“Who’s that?” Shinigami asked.
“That,” Barnabas said, “is Aliana’s ex-husband. And Carter did tell us to look after her.”
Shinigami gave him an incredulous look. “We’re going to get involved?”
“Did you have any other specific plans for this trip?” Barnabas asked her. When she said nothing, he gave a nod. “Precisely. All right, here’s my plan…”
“So, why are you on Victory Station?” Lawrence’s gaze sharpened as he looked at Aliana.
Stay calm, Aliana told herself. He doesn’t know what happened with Ria. There’s no possible way he could know.
Of course, there were plenty of ways he could know, and even a second of going down that rabbit hole threatened to make her insane.
Lawrence was smart, and he didn’t care about anyone but himself—unless he thought someone had crossed him, in which case he became obsessed with making them pay. He would use the letter of the law to string Aliana up on charges; drag everything she’d ever done into the light—
Her eyes focused abruptly on a man with reddish-brown hair coming up behind her ex-husband. The Shinigami, she thought in despair, and she had the urge to laugh hysterically.
But Barnabas only gave her a wink before disappearing into the crowd. “Trust me,” that wink said.
Or maybe she was going insane.
Lawrence had turned to follow her gaze, but Barnabas was lost in the swirl of people. The man looked at Aliana again, his eyebrows drawing together. “Are you trying to con me?”
By now, Aliana had recovered her composure. She should have gone for it when Zinqued told her about the plan. She could see that now. It would have been worth it to see the look on Lawrence’s face or even just imagine it.
She hadn’t stolen the ship, though. She was here, and that was that—and she was not planning to give Lawrence anything to work with.
“I’m not trying to con you,” she told him honestly. A little bit of honesty might go a long way here. Lawrence was good at sensing lies. “You’re not why I’m here, and I don’t actually want to see you.”
Lawrence looked at her suspiciously, but he could hear the ring of truth in her words.
And then he smiled, and something in Aliana’s stomach turned over. Why did someon
e so evil have to be so freaking good-looking? It was unfair. It was more than unfair, really; it shouldn’t be allowed.
“You don’t want to see me?” he asked her. “Why not?” He was standing far too close now. “Aliana, we had some good times together.”
Keep it together, woman. “Yes, we had some good times, which may or may not have been an elaborate con on your part.” Aliana gave him an icily pleasant smile. “After which you stole my ship—no, please, I am not interested in hearing you recall the legal technicalities—and left me nearly penniless on a remote station. And all because… Well, I have to ask now. Was there a reason? Why me? Why any of it?”
Lawrence gave her a blank look for a moment, then lifted one gorgeous shoulder. “Because I wanted to.”
She wished she hadn’t asked.
“Please go away,” Aliana told him.
He smiled meltingly at her again. “No.”
“Fine. I’ll go away.”
“Don’t.” His hand shot out and closed around her arm. “I’ve missed you. You’ve missed me.”
“No. No, I haven’t.”
He saw the lie at once. “Yes, you have. You missed the way we used to laugh together. You missed…” He gave her a meaningful look. “And you missed thinking you were better than me. That you were settling for me.”
The change in tone came so fast that she was still blinking when she felt the pain in her arm. His hand was clamping down tightly.
“You’re a con artist, Lawrence.” She didn’t cry out. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. “You like preying on people. Yes. I thought you weren’t right for me.” The fingers tightened, and she tried not to wince. “All right, this is what you want to do? Fine. I was settling for you, but it wasn’t because I was better than you. It was because Harry is better than you. That’s right. He’s dead, and he’s still a better man than you. The memory of him makes me happier than you ever could have. I am going to miss him every day for the rest of my life, and when you die, no one is going to miss you.”
The look in his eyes was truly terrifying, but Aliana wrenched her arm out of his grip and smiled recklessly at him. “You can puff up and get threatening all you want, asshole, but you took everything. There’s nothing more you can do to hurt me.”
“Excuse me,” a new voice interjected.
Aliana glanced over…and her jaw dropped. A gorgeous woman was standing in front of them. Tight black pants showed off legs that gave the impression of going on for days and her black silk tank plunged nearly down to her navel, showing a carefully-curated hint of what lay beneath. Dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her lips were painted red.
She looked familiar…
But Aliana couldn’t quite place her.
The woman looked at the Melisande. “I’m looking to buy a few more ships.” There was now a faint accent in her voice. Had she had an accent to start with? Aliana wasn’t sure. “I asked the station manager. I said, ‘Whose ship is that?’ And he told me to find you—I think.” She looked at him and Aliana, and her eyes raked dismissively over Aliana’s cargo pants and ponytail. “Are you in the market, maybe? I will give you a very good price. Severance for all your crew, of course. Or perhaps you could all come work for me.”
Her smile held a lot of promises.
Aliana knew what was coming in that instant, but it seemed to take forever to play out as Lawrence started to smile.
“Of course,” he said. “You know, she is a good ship, and if you say you’re offering a good price— Well, and of course I would be delighted to discuss future employment.” He was good at giving promising smiles too. “In fact, can I buy you a drink?”
She gave him a pleased smile. “Of course! A drink with a handsome man. And…your crew?” She waved a bored finger at Aliana.
“Former crew,” Lawrence specified, twisting the knife. “Aliana didn’t do well with the new management. You know how it is.” He put his hand in the small of the woman’s back and guided her away, pausing only to throw a glance over his shoulder at Aliana. “Oh, by the way, you told a convincing lie, but I know you were lying. Ria told me everything. I had her thrown in the station jail. Don’t worry, all those codes have been reset again.”
And he was gone—gone, with the woman in black swaying seductively in her heels as she walked. Aliana stared after him, trying to keep it together. She could do this. She’d survived his cruelty once. The Melisande wasn’t hers anymore, and she wouldn’t let him hurt her with it again—
“Is he gone?” Barnabas’ voice asked. He smiled when Aliana whirled to face him. “Good.” His eyes traveled over her and Zinqued. “Let’s talk, shall we?”
Chapter Fourteen
I hate this, Shinigami commented as she strutted away from Aliana and the others. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love how my ass looks in these pants, but this sucks otherwise. Why did I get stuck with the douche-nozzle and the rest of you get to do the fun parts?
The real question, Barnabas asked drily, is why you started having a Russian accent halfway through that conversation?
I had to amuse myself somehow!
Well, I hope you know you’re going to have to keep it up or he’ll get suspicious.
Please. He’s dazzled by this shirt. He’s not going to notice if I start speaking in actual Russian.
That is depressingly true.
Shinigami grinned and tossed a smile at Lawrence. Her assessment of attractiveness, based on the media she had been able to evaluate, showed that Lawrence had many features others might consider attractive.
He was, however, an irredeemable douche.
“Tell me about yourself,” she said to him. “How does a man with such manners come to run a cargo ship?”
His chest puffed up, but she noted from his faint evasiveness that he wasn’t quite sure how to play this. She would bet that the real question was whether he wanted to play an honest, blue-collar craftsman who would impress women with his down-to-earth attitude and callused hands, or if he wanted to pretend that he was a gentleman having a lark captaining a ship.
She started composing a douche bingo card in her head.
“How does a lady of such class come to be interested in having a fleet?” he asked her.
Sounding her out. Clever. Of course, that would make sense if he were someone who liked to con people.
“Oh,” she waved her hand, “I am sure you are too busy to hear about it.”
“No, no.” He stopped and drew her to a halt, swinging her to face him. His touch was very gentle on her elbow.
As if she hadn’t seen how hard he had been gripping Aliana’s arm. She busied herself with a new bingo card: karmically appropriate ways to hurt Lawrence. Breaking all of his finger bones was definitely on there.
“Has anyone told you how enchanting you are?” Lawrence asked winningly. “I think I could listen to you talk all day.”
Shinigami gave him a smile and ignored the urge to punch that smarmy expression off his face. She added punching to the karmic punishment card and checked off, absurd over-the-top compliment on the douche card.
“Well…” She looked around. “I’ll certainly need a drink if I’m to tell you all of it. Although I might go through several drinks, I warn you.”
“Oh, that would be just fine.” His smile was smarmy in the extreme. “And Victory Station has some truly spectacular bars, did you know? Here, let me introduce you to Gianni. He’s the bartender at Endless Reach, and he makes divine cocktails.” He kissed Shinigami’s hand.
“Oh.” She dimpled at him, not quite sure what to say. “Well, if you insist—if you think you have time—”
“I have all the time in the world for you,” he assured her.
It was a good thing for Lawrence that Shinigami didn’t have a normal stomach. If she did, she would have puked all over him. As it was, she waited until his back was turned and followed him with a massive eye roll.
It was a pity she couldn’t get drunk because this was goin
g to be a long hour or so.
Still… She perked up. Barnabas and the rest were really going to owe her after this one. Maybe she could get them to give her a second body. Or more flamethrowers.
Yes. More flamethrowers.
And she’d test them on Lawrence.
Thoroughly cheered up, she followed him with a wide smile.
“So.” Barnabas looked at Aliana and Zinqued. “Zinqued, it’s good to see you again. You know, after the battle with the Jotun fleet, I was worried about you. You came very close to being vaporized.”
Aliana glanced between the two of them, open-mouthed.
Barnabas decided to have a little bit of fun. “You won’t know about this, of course,” he told Aliana, “but Zinqued once tried to steal my ship. More than once, in fact. Isn’t that right, Zinqued? I’m sure he’s quite reformed now, though. He must be if he’s taken up with you.”
Aliana gave him a deer-in-the-headlights look.
“Just messing with you.” Barnabas gave a grin. “He’s still trying to steal the ship, and you’re helping him.”
Now they both gaped at him.
“So here’s my deal,” Barnabas said. He wasn’t going to explain the mindreading just yet. “Carter asked me to keep an eye out for you. He, of course, does not realize why you wanted to meet me on High Tortuga.”
Aliana gave a groan and dropped her head into her hands. “I didn’t want to meet you,” she said, her voice muffled. “That was the worst.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“No! I didn’t mean…” She picked her head up, now blushing furiously. “You’re not the worst, it was just the worst to— Oh, never mind.”
Zinqued was looking back and forth between them curiously.
“I’m sorry, I’m still messing with you.” Barnabas could feel his lips twitching. “This is fun. However, we have somewhat limited time. The woman you just saw distracting Lawrence was Shini—Shannon, my associate.” As far as he knew, Zinqued was still unaware that Shinigami was an avatar of the AI, and he didn’t want to spill the beans on that. “She’s agreed to keep him occupied by stringing him along and making him buy very, very overpriced drinks for her while I help you steal the ship. To clarify,” he added, “steal Lawrence’s ship, not the Shinigami.”