“That’s all for tonight.” Iza stood up and shook out her legs. “Go get some rest, and we’ll meet in the cargo area for an 09:00 departure.”
Braedon and Viper filed out and were already talking VR before they reached the threshold. Trix stood at the front of the flight deck looking out the viewport as she monitored the ship's systems.
Jovani hung back. “Did you consider what I said about the artifact?”
Iza had thought long and hard about his words. They had motivated her to try so hard to keep the sphere from Mr. Arvonen. It seemed that little object had the potential to shift the balance of power in the Taran Empire, and it was in everyone’s interest that he not get his hands on it. However, Jovani hadn’t been forthcoming about where he’d learned the information; more than likely, it was directly from the TSS. She didn’t trust him with the sphere, either.
“Good night, Jovani. I’m tired.”
Jovani looked at her with his head tilted as if trying to read her thoughts. Iza kept her face neutral and her eyes on his. Those bomaxed brown contacts are covering his brilliant blue eyes.
He squared his shoulders. “Sure, see you tomorrow.”
Iza followed him to the threshold and watched when he turned into his cabin. She’d hurt him, but it remained out of her control. If she apologized for it now, it wouldn’t change things, not with so much at stake. Though her pull toward him felt real, it might be an Agent trick—using his abilities to fool her into feeling connected to him. She’d heard of things like that happening, though she didn’t understand how. Until he came to her with the truth, she wouldn’t risk trusting him.
Iza turned and walked over to where Trix stood and spoke, keeping her voice to a low whisper. “Tomorrow, no matter what, make sure you end up with the box. I don’t trust any of the others to get it back to me.”
Trix nodded. “Yes, Captain.”
—
The afternoon sun on Hubyria warmed Iza’s skin under her jacket. The rocky terrain was difficult to traverse, but she’d done it enough times in the dark to be familiar with how best to avoid tripping and falling.
Jovani seemed the most comfortable hiking over the rocks, as well, while Braedon stumbled as if it were his first time, despite her firsthand knowledge of his previous outings. Jovani had to catch him from falling several times to prevent him from soiling his dress clothes. Trix and Viper carefully followed along behind Iza, quiet and focused in preparation for the task ahead.
The settlement appeared so much more welcoming than it had on the night her ship had been brought down by an EMP. Having the auction on Hubyria was ingenious. No one would think to pay much attention to a border planet with residual animosity for the local Enforcers. They had updated the former hotel restaurant, she noticed; a new face for the same old shady dealings. It fit with the information Viper had given them about the auction taking place in a large cavern underneath the miner’s hangout.
Yeaga and the rest of the miners had broken free from their corporate employers a month prior. Their coup against the Enforcers included taking down hauling ships to bring the entire mining business to a halt. It had worked. Their efforts had forced the corporations to pay a fair price for the ore used in key manufacturing industries. As a result, the people of Hubyria now did business with whoever they chose.
Iza had heard rumors about groups on other planets rising up in a similar fashion. Since the leadership change on Tararia four years prior, there was a clear trend of the Outer Colony worlds turning their strong political opinions into action. In some cases, that manifested as voicing additional support for the central Taran government and a desire to be more connected to the rest of the Empire; in other instances, there were calls for greater independence and autonomy. If that trend continued, Yeaga and the miners on Hubyria might soon find themselves in the company of many others seeking to forge their own way.
Iza stopped in the narrow passage between two buildings opposite the town’s old hotel. It wasn’t much cover, so they didn’t waste time. Everyone knew what to do. With a nod from Iza, they were on the move. Braedon, with Jovani providing private security, went in the front using his pass while Trix and Viper circled around the back.
As with many jobs, their success would come down to timing. Iza started the count on her handheld. She would need to wait until the auction started before she began her distraction. They didn’t know in what order they would present the items—not that it mattered, since her people would cover both the front and the back.
Her role was to draw the attention of the security, and from the look of the two guards out front, it wouldn’t be too hard. Both of them wore bored expressions on their faces and their pulse handguns were on their hips. Neither spoke as people entered through the door, only glanced down at their digital passes and either allowed them access or didn’t.
Eventually, the stream of people stopped. The auction was underway.
Iza waited several minutes before she stepped out from between the two buildings and headed for the old hotel serving as the auction house.
As she came out in the open, she caught sight of a young man dipping in between two buildings on the other side of the street. His broad shoulders and the way he moved was familiar. He looked into a window then knelt down to avoid being seen. Something made him turn her way.
There was a bolt of electricity when his gaze met hers. Not the bond she felt with Jovani, but an electrical compatibility that she’d never experience before. He started to stand, and she took a step toward him. Before she could place where she’d seen him before, a voice spoke behind her.
“I thought I told you that you weren’t welcome here, Captain Sundari.” The soft rasp unmistakably belonged to Yeaga, the leader of the miners.
Iza turned to face her and smiled. Yeaga had pulled back her blonde hair from her face in a long ponytail segmented with brown elastic bands all the way to the end. Her brown eyes narrowed as she looked Iza over from head to toe.
“Yeaga, I assumed you’d be at the auction,” Iza said with a glance at the front doors and the two apathetic guards. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be gone before you know it. It will be like I was never here.”
“Like you were never here,” Yeaga repeated. “That’s not quite the same thing as never being here. I see you’re trying to get into that auction. That’s not going to happen, so whatever it is you were hoping to buy, they’ll sell it to someone else. You’re coming with me.”
Iza pulled out her handgun from the inside of her jacket and held it up to Yeaga’s small nose. “I’m sorry, I’m in a bit of a hurry. You understand,” Iza said. Then, she felt the cold metal barrel of a gun at the base of her neck.
“You mistook it for a suggestion. You’re coming with me. Now.” Yeaga nodded, and the man holding the handgun on Iza reached around to disarm her. He grabbed her right arm, and a woman came forward and grabbed her other arm. They hauled her off.
“Look, you’ve got this all wrong, I swear,” Iza said raising her voice and dragging her feet. It wouldn’t be enough to cause a disturbance. Worse, this was much too soon. Her crew wouldn’t have a way out of the building, and they’d all get caught.
Yeaga brought Iza into a small bakery next to the hotel. The bread-maker ignored them as they dragged Iza to the back. Hot ovens in the small kitchen, covered in baking flour, drew beads of sweat from Iza’s brow. The aroma of cooking bread filled her nostrils, reminding her that’s she’s only had a light breakfast hours ago.
They dragged her through a set of glass doors into a storeroom beyond the kitchen. She was shoved into a chair and they cuffed her hands behind her back. She was facing a small desk, where Yeaga sat down across from her. The muscle who had dragged Iza took posts on either side of her, also facing Yeaga with their backs to the door.
“I warned you about coming back here.”
Iza didn’t respond. Yeaga loved to listen to herself talk.
“Our system works, no thanks to you. However, I’m cur
ious if you brought the former TSS Agent with you.”
“I did not,” Iza said, looking the woman in the eye. That’s mostly true, since I actually have a current Agent with me.
“Hmm, no doubt you’re lying. I remember you going through a lot of trouble to come back for him. Have you had a falling out already?” Yeaga laughed to herself then placed her hands in front of her on the desk. “What are you doing here?”
“Just taking in the sights,” Iza said with a smile. The man on her right punched her in the face. Her vision went from dark to bright and then dark again when she realized her eyes were now closed. Her jaw ached; any harder a hit would have dislocated it.
“Let’s try again,” Yeaga said, leaning forward over her hands. “Why were you skulking around the auction house?”
Iza worked her jaw, testing the feeling. It would be bad later but nothing her medical nanites couldn’t handle. “I heard about the score and wanted to see if there was anything I could pick up. I’ve got a few more credits than the last time we met.”
“Do you think I’m a fool?”
Iza tilted her head and raised her eyebrows as she looked down at the floor, indicating she didn’t want to answer that one honestly.
“You’re engaged to a Lower Dynasty heir who just specializes in selling the transport vehicles that haul the rock we mine. You’re not here for the auction; you’re here to get rock off of Hubyria behind my back.”
“To be fair, I’ve been more help than Douketis. Instead, he’s the one setting up an auction of illegal goods right now.”
Yeaga glared at her. “Douketis knows how to pay his debts. He made sure we got paid for our work. You didn’t glance in the rearview on your way off-planet. For that, I should chain you up and throw you in a mine to rot.”
Iza realized her mistake. She had helped the miners, but not through Yeaga. From Yeaga’s vantage, Iza was still in the red. She’d have to think fast if she wanted to get out of this one.
An alarm sounded in the building next door, followed by a loud boom.
Iza’s stomach dropped. She’d missed her window. Who set off the explosion as a distraction?
Yeaga looked out the window behind her and shrugged as if it were just another day in the streets. She turned back to Iza. “When are you going to tell me the truth?”
A knock sounded behind Iza. She looked over her shoulder and was surprised to see Jovani standing beside Karter on the other side of the glass doors. If Jovani’s here, who’s with Braedon?
“Open the doors but don’t let them through,” Yeaga said. When the doors had been swung open, she settled back in her chair. “Gentlemen?”
The alarm stopped but people were still yelling next door.
“Yeaga, it’s been too long.” Jovani took a step forward and was stopped by the guards. “What’s all this?”
“Sorry, precautions,” Yeaga said casually. “The last time you were here you left in a hurry, and we’d been having such a good time.”
Iza kept still while Yeaga watched her face for a reaction.
“Understood, which is why I brought a friend with me,” Jovani replied. “I didn’t want you to think I’d forgotten about you. You must have heard I suffered an extreme injury.”
“Yes, you lost an arm, if the rumors are true.” Yeaga got up from the desk and moved around to stand behind Iza.
“I did, in fact, but it’s obvious you’ve done well without me,” Jovani said to her back.
With a nod of her head, Yeaga’s people turned Iza’s seat around so she could watch the exchange between them.
“What are you and your people really doing here?” Yeaga crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her right foot.
“I’m escorting these two love-birds into town. This is Karter Hyttinen, he was here hoping to gets some babbles for his fiancée at the auction. But there was a problem over there.”
“Why are you still following her around? I could have made you such a nice warm bed,” Yeaga said with an appreciative glance up and down Jovani’s frame.
“You still could, but at the moment I’m working,” he responded with a pout on his lips that made Iza tighten her jaw. “I’ve got to get these two out of here before someone recognizes them. You know how unforgiving the Sensationals can be.”
Yeaga reached out and ran her hand suggestively down his arm. “I can’t let you just leave. What’s in it for the miners? Times are hard you know,” she said in a loud whisper.
Karter cleared his throat. “Perhaps I can help you with that.” He pulled out a new handheld, angling the screen so only Yeaga could read it. Her eyes widened and mouth pinched. “Will that be enough to get my fiancée back?” Karter asked.
“Is he for real?” Yeaga questioned.
Jovani nodded, careful not to say anything. Though Iza thought he would glance in her direction, he kept his eyes off of her during the entire exchange. “Do we have a deal?”
Yeaga waved a hand and the two guards took a step back. The man took the cuffs off Iza and gestured that she was free to go.
Iza wanted to see how many credits had freed her, but there was no time to sneak a peek at Karter’s handheld. If he and Jovani were there, it meant the shuttle had to be close and Douketis would spot them if they didn’t hurry.
“Thank you, and I hope there are no more hard feelings,” Jovani said to Yeaga.
“No, we’re good. If you ever tire of trailing after her, you’ve always got a home here,” Yeaga said.
Jovani nodded fell into step behind Karter, leaving Iza to follow them out. She hurried after them, trying to erase the sight of Yeaga stroking Jovani’s arm.
“We need to hurry,” Jovani said the moment they were outside the bakery. He turned left, away from the commotion at the auction house.
“Wait, you’re going the wrong way.” Iza stopped, and Karter took the opportunity to grab her arm and wrap it around his back. She was about to pull away but through better of it, realizing it was in all of their interest to pretend like they were a happy couple.
The three of them casually strolled down the settlement road, with Jovani playing up the role of private security once again.
“We’re this way,” Karter said.
“What about Braedon, Trix, and Viper?” Iza whispered to him.
“They’re already heading back to the shuttle and will be on their way to the Verity. We need to get ourselves to safety. That little diversion of Karter’s isn’t going to last.”
“What did he do?”
“I had to improvise,” Karter said.
They walked until they were beyond the settlement’s lights. As they approached a vertical rock face up ahead, Iza looked back and noticed they were being followed.
“They’re on to us,” Jovani said at the same moment.
Iza was about to break into a run to get ahead of their pursuers, but Karter pulled her back.
“Relax, we’re almost there.”
“Where are we going?” Iza asked him.
“Here.” Karter led the way around the side of the rock face, which jutted up in a semi-circular ring just large enough to park a shuttle inside. Iza immediately recognized the sleek craft hidden behind the wall as being a similar model to shuttle that had chauffeured her to Blue Hills Estate. The side hatch opened.
“Get in.” Karter motioned her inside.
Seeing the unexpected shuttle was one thing, but the pilot was another.
“Hey, how are you?” Raquel asked.
Iza did a double-take. “Raquel, what are you doing here?”
“It’s a long story. We need to bolt. Strap in, there are two shuttles headed our way,” the archaeologist said as Karter seated himself in the copilot seat beside her.
“Can you get us out of here?” he asked.
“Of course, I can.” Raquel entered coordinates into the front console as the shuttle lifted off the ground.
It darted toward space.
Iza needed answers. “Is this the shuttle you u
sed to get down here?”
Karter nodded. “Yes. I arranged to meet with Raquel, since she was already in town. The Verity’s side airlock is equipped with an umbilical compatible with this vessel.”
That part made sense. And it also followed that Raquel, a wealthy archaeologist, would attend an auction of rare and valuable items. However, none of that explained how Jovani ended up paired with Karter rather than Braedon.
She focused her attention on the TSS Agent next to her. “Did you go to the auction? How did you get out of there?”
“Karter sent Raquel inside to bid on some items for him while he waited outside. When he saw you get grabbed on the street, he messaged me, figuring we’d need some help. With a little impromptu coordination, he rigged up an explosion as a distraction so we could grab the artifact and escape.”
“You’re welcome,” Karter said with a smug look at his fingernails.
“After we made it outside, Karter told me who’d grabbed you. I figured that Yeaga would agree to meet with me, since we left on good terms last time, so I went with Karter to get you back.”
“You didn’t really give her the money, did you?” Iza asked.
Karter was about to answer, when plasma beam fire hit the shuttle’s shield and sent them spinning.
“What’s going on?” Iza yelled.
“Someone’s firing at us,” Raquel called out.
“It’s Arvonen,” Jovani said.
Of course, it is. Iza tightened her flight harness.
Raquel dove the shuttle back toward the ground, seeking cover in the foothills and rocks.
“Is Mr. Arvonen here himself?” Iza asked.
“I’m not sure,” Karter responded. “However, it was certain that he’d at least send a rep to bid on your item. That’s why I thought it pertinent that Raquel represent me at the auction, since it wasn’t wise to show my face.”
“Did you get—”
“Incoming communication for you, Iza,” Raquel interrupted.
“Arvonen?”
Divided Loyalties (Verity Chronicles Book 2): A Cadicle Space Opera Adventure Page 17