“Maybe. I guess that’s a little reassuring, for if it somehow ends up in the wrong hands.” Iza took a hearty gulp of the pink drink. Her toes were feeling tingly.
Raquel looked her over. “I take it you didn’t get any answers from your aunt today?”
Iza shook her head. It had been an utter disappointment. Without planning to, she told Raquel about the whole thing. She revealed her expectations and even the part about her cousin seeming to follow them.
“Maybe he just wants to get to know you,” Raquel said.
“Then don’t skulk around creeping me out. Besides, why is he hopping ships between planets like that? Hubyria isn’t exactly a tourist destination.”
Raquel threw her head back and laughed. “Oh no,” she said, grabbing her head. “I’ve had a little too much.” Then she looked down at the empty bottle as if surprised to find it empty.
“I better go before I pass out here.” Raquel stood up and leaned to one side before catching herself.
Iza slid off the bed, tried to stand, and fell back down again. “I don’t think I can walk you to the door, sorry.”
They broke out into hysterical laughter as Raquel slid to the floor to roll around. She eventually gathered herself again. “That’s okay, I got it.”
The dog played host by following Raquel to the door.
“What’s his name?” She scratched his chin and the dog’s tail flew back and forth, pleased with the attention.
“He doesn’t have one yet.”
“He’s cute. You know, this breed was popular among the Aesir in the early years. I’d call him Sniffers, if I were you.”
“Okay.” Iza’s mind relaxed into the name as she mouthed it a few times.
Raquel opened the door and then turned back to Iza. “Hey, leave a little room for complication in your life. If you don’t, you might regret it someday.”
Raquel gave her a formal wave before stumbling out the door and down the corridor to her cabin. Iza was about to tell her she was going the wrong way when Raquel doubled back just as the door automatically slid closed. Iza waved her goodnight from the bed.
“Sniffers!” Iza called out to the dog. He bounded back to her. His curly tail wagged as he waited for her next command. “How do you feel about that name, Sniffers?”
His head tilted to one side before he huffed and lay back down, resting his head on his paws as she settled into bed.
“Okay, you can stay just this once. But only because I’m here and I say so. Got that, Sniffers?”
He whined, and she took that as consent.
Iza leaned back into her bed and her thoughts retreaded the day’s events. She had learned next to nothing about herself from her visit to Tararia. Her aunt said Iza hadn’t been told the truth about her father. No surprise there. Iza already knew her mother had been a selfish woman. How else could she walk away from a ten-year-old child? Not that it mattered now. Iza didn’t want to get caught up in her aunt’s reminiscence over the past.
So why was she crying into her pillow?
Iza tried to dry her tears by focusing on the future. Wherever the sphere led, Mr. Arvonen would use it to gain more political power. His own son had warned them of that danger.
The artifact still hummed lightly from inside the box in her drawer where she kept it hidden. Some nights like now, she pulled it out and stared at the etchings on the outside. Where does the map lead? It has to be buried treasure. It’s always buried treasure.
—
Iza didn’t remember falling asleep, but she realized she was dreaming. The rhythm of time and her sense of touch seemed heightened, electrified.
Her mother sat behind her, brushing Iza’s hair. Iza smiled up at her before turning back to her game. Her cousin sat beside her and hooted with laughter as he picked up another piece of the game, waving it at her. Iza reached for the piece, but he pulled his hand away out of reach. Her movement yanked her hair free of her mother’s hands and she scolded her. Though Iza couldn’t hear the words, Iza felt the emotional pain of it.
Her aunt said something to her mother that made her sad. The two of them argued. Her mother stormed out of the room, letting the door slam and bounce on the hinges behind her. For the first time, Iza recognized the house as her aunt’s on Tararia. Her aunt had a sad look on her face when she sat back down; she was still shaking her head when she fell to the floor. Her eyes still on Iza, her lips moved but made no sound audible over Iza’s own screams.
Her cousin came into the room. He was a man now, with an angry expression. He took her hand and led her away from her aunt on the floor.
Iza sat up gasping for air, finding her face wet with tears. The light snoring on her floor meant she hadn’t woken up the dog. Instead of activating the lights, she slid back down between the sheets with her eyes wide on the ceiling. They filled again, sliding to either side of her face and pooling near her ears. The unsettling dream sat heavy on her chest for some time before she let sleep drag her under again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
After a fitful night and half the morning, the ship was running smoothly, Trix was recharging her systems, and Karter was still out on his business.
Iza had reached the end of her patience. Every minute they were there was another day they might run into Mr. Arvonen or someone who worked for him, on top of the ridiculous docking fees stacking up. Karter better be willing to foot the bill, since he was the one holding her up.
After her late night with Raquel, Iza had lost track of the time, but now they couldn’t afford any more delays. When she’d arrived late that morning onto the flight deck and still had no other messages from Karter, it was clear he wasn’t coming.
“Prepare for departure,” Iza ordered.
Braedon turned to stare at her. “You want to leave him?” he asked.
“He’ll be fine. Trix has waited long enough. This virus thing is messing up everything and I want full control of my ship again.”
“Starting up the engines,” he said.
“The virus is still showing up in random places within the systems, so we could still lose control of navigation, not to mention other critical systems,” Viper cautioned, exchanging a worried look with Braedon.
“I understand,” Iza acknowledged with a nod. “Plot a course for Lynaeda. They may be our only hope of permanently purging the systems.”
“Hold on, we just received a priority message,” Braedon said.
Iza swore, slapping her hand against the arm of her chair. “It’s Enforcers, isn’t it?” Iza said before he identified the call sign.
“How did you know?” Jovani asked.
“Because it’s the only way this day could get any worse.”
—
The Enforcer ship sat off their nose while two shuttles flanked the Verity on both the port and starboard sides.
“This is Investigator Desirae Hyttinen requesting that you stand down and prepare to be boarded.”
So that’s why they didn’t come after us right away yesterday when we docked; the locals were waiting for Desirae to get here and do the honors. Iza held back a sigh. “What’s the charge this time?”
“You are being held on the suspicion of illegal smuggling.”
“Haven’t you already tried this tack before?” Iza needled.
“Yes, it seems we have been here before. However, you didn’t learn your lesson the first time. Now, prepare for our arrival, or I will have the port authority impound your ship while I drag you to the nearest prison. Once you’re in custody, we can sort out the details. Your choice,” Desirae said, keeping her voice sickeningly sweet and pleasant.
“What are we going to do?” Jovani asked when Iza cut the comms.
“We don’t really have a choice, do we?” Iza said, dropping her hands. “Enforcers have the right to search any ship under the suspicion of smuggling. That includes ours, so let’s all put on our best behavior and prepare to receive the Enforcers.”
As they turned to leave, Braedon ca
lled out from his console. “Wait, I’ve got Karter bringing back the other shuttle.”
Why would Karter choose this opportune time to arrive? “Let him know what’s going on,” Iza said.
“He already knows, and he’s got his comms open. Do you want me to play the audio?”
“Yes, let’s hear it.”
Iza and the others listened to the exchange while Karter docked his ship on the Verity.
“Cousin, I’m surprised to see you out here. How is your mother?” Karter asked.
“Save the pleasantries for later. I’m bringing the Verity in on suspicion of smuggling. If you don’t want to share in the arrest, you’re free to go.”
Figures, she’d let him go.
“No, I’ll be sticking around. It will be good to see you in your element.”
“Be sure to stand aside,” Desirae warned. “I would hate for you to get swept up at all of this.” Her voice razor sharp.
“As you wish,” Karter said with the same calm as if they were discussing tea.
“I’ve heard enough,” Iza stated. “Let’s go line up in the cargo area. I’d hate for them to think we were evading.”
Within minutes, Desirae had strolled onto the Verity like she’d been there a million times. In Iza’s mind, she had been.
Iza, the crew, and passengers were all waiting in the cargo area when she arrived. Karter’s shuttle had docked, and he was also waiting in line to receive the Enforcer contingent.
Iza was pleased that Braedon had cleaned up the equipment he’d been using to run his diagnostic on Trix; there was no need to draw further questions. Having everyone gathered in the cargo hold would make things easier, since Desirae would start her inspection with the cargo hold and she would want to see all the passengers and crew as early as possible in the process.
Iza kept her features neutral and her body still as Desirae approached. This time, Desirae wasn’t wearing the makeup or the soft ballgown. She was in a rigid Enforcer uniform, her face bare and holding her helmet underneath one arm. There were twelve Enforcers with her as if she expected trouble—or maybe just because she wanted to put on a show of force.
The dog, unhappy with visitors for interrupting his naptime, decided he should step up. He stood between Iza and Desirae, barring his teeth.
“Well, here we are again. I thought you’d cleaned up since the last time you were under investigation, but I guess old habits die hard. And, it seems you’ve also picked up more strays.” Desirae strolled down the line of crew and passengers.
When she reached Iza and the growling dog, Desirae pulled out her multi-handgun and activated its sonic emitter at low intensity.
The dog whined and retreated at the disturbing sound of the device.
Desirae sneered at Iza. “Are you running some kind of charity?”
“No, just honest people doing honest work.” Iza gave a significant look to the masked Enforcers over Desirae’s shoulder. “I take it the standard six Enforcers wasn’t enough for you?” Iza eyed Desirae up and down and added, “However, you don’t look as good as you did the last time I saw you.”
“Hilarious,” she said with a nod to an Enforcer on her right, who step forward. “This will be fun.”
“Aren’t we a little out of your jurisdiction, Officer?”
“Not in this case. We’ve been investigating the Blue Hills Estate robbery, and it’s led us to you.”
“It was my engagement party,” Iza said, sounding incredulous even to her own ears.
“The perfect cover for someone trying to procure enough credits to escape an unwanted engagement.”
“That’s a reach, even for you.” Iza didn’t try to hide her disdain. Fake though the engagement might be, it was hardly a cover for smuggling.
“Arrest everyone and put them into the detention cells while we search the rest of the ship,” Desirae ordered her people.
“What about the dog?” one of the Enforcers asked.
“If it doesn’t follow its master, then put him in restraints.”
“Why would you arrest us?” Iza asked as they placed stasis cuffs on all of their wrists, including Karter’s, she noted. While being dragged off by two Enforcers, Iza kept her head tilted to one side so she could hear the response.
“Standard procedure when we’re dealing with suspicion of smuggling. I don’t want to have any passengers or crew in the way. It’s just easier,” Desirae said. There was a hint of laughter in her voice as she turned away from them.
Thankfully, the dog was smart enough to follow Iza off the Verity. They dragged Iza and the others onto the Enforcer’s ship while the remaining officers searched the ship.
Iza sat with the others in a holding cell. The dog decided the only decent place to rest was on her lap, where he snuggled while she lightly stroked his fur. The dog’s comfort did little to ease her worries about Trix. Braedon and Viper had been able to contain the virus enough to risk a jump to Lynaeda, but it would no doubt overrun the Verity’s systems again without their constant upkeep of their security patches around the key systems.
There was nothing Iza could do about it now. They were under the jurisdiction of Investigator Hyttinen and her Enforcers. The offense of hauling illegal cargo was the most common and most regrettable of charges levied on a ship captain. Iza had learned early in her career that it wasn’t worth it.
“What’s her deal with you, anyway?” Braedon asked. “She’s always got it out for you.”
“We have a history,” Iza said, not really wanting to talk about her sordid past in front of everyone.
“They’ve arrested you before?” Raquel asked. “I knew I liked you.” Sitting on Iza’s left, she nudged her with an elbow.
Iza cracked a smile. “Don’t be so excited. We could be here for some time,” she said. Then she caught Viper’s agitated pacing. “Relax, this kind of thing happens all the time. We have nothing she wants; the sooner she figures it out, the sooner we can be back on the Verity.”
Today, Iza wasn’t overly anxious. Desirae didn’t hide her feelings for Karter or her hatred for Iza. They’d been in a cat-and-mouse game for years. Iza wasn’t even sure it bothered her anymore. Her engagement to Karter only made her more of a target for her jealous rival.
“Doesn’t your second cousin sort of have a thing for you?” Raquel asked Karter.
He waved away the sentiment as if it were nothing. Karter stood leaning against the wall with his eyes on Iza from across the holding cell. “She’s a second cousin by marriage, and as my engagement to Iza proves, I have no interest in Desirae Hyttinen.”
Jovani sat on Iza’s right with his legs outstretched toward her, making it impossible for Karter to sit down beside her even if he deemed it appealing. Jovani seemed lost in his own thoughts as did Cierra. She sat on the floor near Karter with her legs crossed and eyes closed.
Braedon was lying flat on his back in the middle of the cell staring up at the ceiling. “Do you mind?” he asked with a glare in Viper’s direction. “You’ll wear a hole in the floor.”
“You deal with getting arrested your way, and I’ll deal with it mine,” Viper spat back while she continued pacing.
“You’ll only tire yourself out. Use one of the meditation techniques I taught you and you wouldn’t feel so anxious,” Cierra encouraged her sister.
“I’m not anxious, not that it’s any of your business. So, the both of you, leave me alone.”
Their bickering came to a sudden stop when an Enforcer returned.
“Iza, Investigator Hyttinen will see you now,” the guard said to Iza as he released her from the cell.
Ever loyal, the dog tried to follow Iza, but she held out a hand for him to stay. He sat down and let out a huff.
Iza was led to a small office where Desirae sat behind a desk. Iza was directed into a seat facing her. An Enforcer remained in the room; perhaps that meant Desirae would be more civil, even if unfair.
“Captain Sundari, for the record, I need you to be perfect
ly honest with me. Have you been involved in any illegal hauling activities?” the Investigator asked.
Iza just stared at Desirae, trying to make her eyes blank. “No, I have not,” she said.
“Have you or any of your crew ever been under suspicion for illegal activity in the past?”
“You’ll need to be more specific than that.” Iza flashed her a smile. If she wanted to entrap her, Desirae would need to do better than that. Everyone on her crew had been in prison, of that much Desirae was aware. For Iza to lie and say that none of them had ever been under suspicion for any criminal activity would invite her wrath and Iza knew it.
“Let me be more specific. Have you or any of your crew been involved in any illegal activities while on board the Verity in the last four weeks?”
“No, ma’am.” Iza sat back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for the questioning to continue.
Instead, Desirae stood up from her chair and gestured to the door. “That is all.”
Iza stared at her for a moment, unsure whether she was being serious or facetious. She knew Desirae like to play mind games, but this was something brand new. “Aren’t you going to ask me where I was or where I was headed before you dragged me in here?” Iza asked, baiting her.
“At this time, any such information would be irrelevant. However, you could answer me one question. Where did you get a military-class jump drive?”
“It was a gift, from a friend.”
“An expensive gift. I hate to think what you must owe them to keep it. We haven’t found any information indicating that the jump drive is stolen, so for now you get to keep it.”
“Okay,” Iza said, letting her confusion show. What is she up to?
“We’re still in the middle of searching your ship for other potential contraband. If we don’t find any, you’ll be free to go about your business with no further interference from me.” Desirae gave her version of a smile, which looked more like a sneer.
The Enforcers escorted Iza back to the holding cell.
Divided Loyalties (Verity Chronicles Book 2): A Cadicle Space Opera Adventure Page 22