by Jaleta Clegg
"No. Just me and Clark."
"I believe I understand why you usually stay on the ship," Mart said, his face very serious.
That threw me for a minute, until I realized he was teasing me again. When had he decided he had a sense of humor?
"It would help if you'd at least look like you were making a joke," I said. "Smile or something."
"Was it a joke?"
"Don't make me hit you. They'd arrest us both and Jasyn will quit feeding me."
I caught sight of his reflection in a shop window. He was grinning. "You're easy to tease."
"Thanks."
The Guild office was right ahead, a monstrosity of huge pillars on a building too small. Almost all of the buildings on Shamustel had pillars across their front. I headed up the steps, Mart on my heels. I pushed open the heavy front door.
Inside it was cool and quiet. The interior was floored with polished dark green stone. The walls were paneled in dark wood with gold trim. Leafy plants grew in brass pots. I crossed the floor to the reception desk at the far side.
The man there gave me one dismissive glance. His hands flew over his keypad. I waited, leaning on the desk. He finally paused and nudged a hand scanner towards me.
I knew this was coming. I still didn't want to face the truth. I didn't have much choice. I put my hand on the plate and spoke my name and ship. The man's hands stopped completely.
"I'm sorry, Captain Dace," he said in a fluid accent that I otherwise would have enjoyed listening to, "you are no longer a member of the Guild. I cannot help you."
"I know," I said with a heavy sigh, "but I had a friend leave a package for me a few weeks ago. This was the earliest I could fetch it."
"Storage and message services are restricted to members. Your friend is a member?"
"No," I had to say. "Can you please just see if there's something here in my name?"
He pursed his lips, thinking.
"Please?" I asked. "Just check and I promise to go away."
His look softened. His hands flew over his keypad. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, there is nothing in your name or your ship's name."
"Can you try one more? Search for Jericho." It was a long shot, maybe it would help.
He gave me a strange look, but he typed on his keys. "Nothing under that name, either. I am sorry I could not help you, captain."
"Thank you anyway." I turned away. Lowell obviously thought I was smarter than I was.
"Wait," the man called when we were halfway back across the lobby.
I paused and looked back. He held a slip of paper. He came from behind his desk and brought it to me.
"This was in the messages," he said. "It is yours? It has been here some time."
The paper was folded in a square. My name was scrawled across the front. I didn't recognize the handwriting.
"Thank you," I said, accepting the paper. I unfolded it. There was only an address, written hastily to judge from the shaky writing. At the very bottom of the page was a sketch of one of the necklace creatures. "How long has this been here?" I asked the man.
"It was stuck between two files," he said. "I don't know for sure, perhaps a year or more."
"Thank you again." A year? Then it had nothing to do with my current problem. I refolded it and tucked it in my pocket.
Mart trailed me out of the lobby. The street outside was hot as the sun rode high in the sky.
"Now what?" he asked as I paused in the shade of the pillars.
"We go check the shop," I said as I scanned the street for our tail. I picked him out and three more that I was sure were police even though they were dressed like tourists and shoppers. "With four police, I think we're safe enough."
"Four of them?" Mart looked startled.
"They really don't like me here."
I started down the steps. My com beeped as I reached the street. I answered it while I walked. It was Beryn, wanting to know where to meet us. I gave him directions to the nearest corner.
He was there before we were. He fell into step beside Mart.
"They finally let you out?" he said. "No luck at the Guild office?"
"There's one other place to check that I can think of," I said.
"Did you know you're being followed?" Beryn asked in a low voice.
"By at least four undercover police. Don't ask." I turned the next corner into the street where the store was.
"One of these days, you're going to tell me," Beryn said. "Caid warned me you had a knack for getting into trouble. I thought he was exaggerating, especially when he told me you flew the Swan through a jump point by yourself."
"It wasn't easy." Hero worship in any form made me nervous. I hated having people look at me the way Beryn was now. "I think this is it," I said, fishing for an excuse to change the subject.
The number on the building was right. It wasn't a music store anymore, which really didn't surprise me. I wasn't sure what it was now. The doors were plain glass and metal, no name or title, just the address number. Inside were what looked like banks of lockers. I could have smacked myself. I pushed the door open and went in.
The door swung shut behind us, cutting off the noise of the street. It was deathly still in the room. The fronts of the lockers were plain white with a single number stenciled on the front.
"Which one?" Beryn asked.
I shook my head. Maybe there was a clue on the scrap of paper. Maybe it was a false lead. I dug it out of my pocket. The numbers on it didn't seem to have anything to do with the lockers in the store.
"May I help you?" a woman asked as she glided out of the back of the room. She was pale, with dark hair tied in a complicated knot on her head. She blinked washed-out gray eyes and waited with no trace of expression on her face. She wore a simple tunic of dark gray with darker leggings underneath. I almost expected to find her wearing a fluttery necklace, but she wasn't.
"A friend left a package here for me," I said. "He forgot to tell me which locker."
A flicker of suspicion crossed her face. She hid it well. She glided over to a touchscreen on the wall and tapped it. "Your friend's name?"
"Lowell," I said.
She tapped more. "And yours?" Her fingers paused.
"Dace." I had no reason to lie, I had no idea what other name Lowell would have used.
"Please confirm your identity," she said and stepped to the side. Her lack of emotion was unsettling.
I put my hand on the screen. A light flickered, scanning my prints. I stepped back.
Beryn stood near the door, looking lazy and bored. He was keeping a very close eye on the street outside. Mart frowned at the far wall, as if he almost remembered something.
"This way," the woman said.
I had to hide my surprise. This had worked? It was that easy? Something was wrong. Lowell was never that easy. Beryn caught my nervous glance and nodded.
The woman led me to an alcove in the back. "Number three seventy," she said in a voice that reminded me of oil on water. "I cannot help you with the combination. That information is never shared."
"Thank you, I do have that," I reassured her.
She gave me a long, measuring look before gliding back away.
I stared at the lock. I had no idea what the combination was. Lowell said I had it already. The lock was a circular one that required the right combination of numbers and letters to open. I had no idea what combination Lowell would have chosen for it. I looked over my shoulder to make sure the woman was out of sight. I bent down and pulled my lockpicks from the ankle pocket. They would get me a life sentence on Shamustel if the police found them on me. Especially with my previous record.
"Is this the right place?" Mart asked.
I jumped a foot. I hadn't heard him come up behind me. "Don't sneak up on me like that," I whispered. "Stand there, so no one can see what I'm doing. If that woman comes back, keep her distracted."
He blinked a couple of times. His glance dropped to the very illegal lockpicks in my hand and the light of u
nderstanding came on. He nodded and shifted back, as casual as if he were as bored as Beryn appeared to be.
I took a steadying breath and pulled out the sonic probe. It had the best chance of cracking the code without setting off an alarm. I eased it into the central slot. The lock buzzed. I tweaked the frequency of the probe. The lock settled back down. They were sensitive ones. This was going to be tricky. And I was out of practice.
I fiddled with the probe while the lock alternately glowed and buzzed. The combination had twelve possibilities. The first two were the hardest. After that, I got a feel for the frequency. The next ones came faster. I had two left to go when Mart hissed.
"She's coming back," he whispered. He stepped away from me, humming to cover any noise I was making.
"Is everything all right?" the woman asked Mart.
"She's sorting the items right now," Mart said, leading the woman away from the alcove. "How much does it cost to rent a locker in a place like this?"
I didn't hear her answer. I concentrated totally on opening the stupid door. I cursed Lowell as sweat dripped from my face. I slipped, turning the probe too far. The lock buzzed. I twisted it back quickly. My heart hammered. I was sure the woman heard the warning buzz. Mart said something to distract her. Beryn joined in, his deeper voice rumbling. I twisted the probe again, finding the next to last number. I locked the sequence in and went after the last one.
"She's been a long time," the woman said.
"There were a lot of papers," Mart said smoothly. "We were only supposed to take a few. Someone else will be along in a week or two for the rest."
She must have bought the explanation. She didn't come to check on me. I worked as fast as I could. My hands shook from nerves. Any moment I expected our police escort to burst in and arrest me.
I locked the sequence in and pulled the probe. I had the combination now. I punched it in quickly and tucked my lockpicks away. The locker swung open.
It was empty except for a single half sheet of paper. I picked it up and read the scrawled message.
Too late. You lose. Jericho falls.
Then swore under my breath.
"Mart?" I called, trying to sound normal and failing. I stepped out into the main area.
I had all their attention now. I crumpled the paper in my hand.
"What?" Beryn asked.
"Run!"
The street in front of the store was suddenly full of flitters, dark and unmarked. The police escort stared stupidly at them.
I grabbed Mart's arm and hauled him to the back of the store. Beryn was on my heels.
"You cannot go that way," the woman protested.
The front of the store shattered as projectile bullets slammed into the glass. She stopped protesting and looked down at the front of her tunic. It was red with blood. She slumped to the floor.
"Move," I shouted and shoved Mart through the back door with Beryn on my heels.
We ran, leaving chaos behind us.
Chapter 17
We came out in a street that was just starting to take notice of the activity on the other side of the building. Police flitters screamed overhead. The black flitters rose, some firing on the police.
We slowed to a walk before someone noticed us. It wasn't going to take long before the police supervisor realized we were involved. Again. The green shipsuits we wore stuck out. We had to find somewhere to hide and fast.
"In here," Beryn said, pulling me into a shop. Mart stayed on my heels.
The store was stuffed with racks of bright clothing. Perfect. Except I had no money, but Beryn had a pocket full of credits.
The young woman at the register eyed us suspiciously, especially when the sound of sirens filtered in from outside. A handful of credits was enough to convince her she hadn't seen us, at least for an hour or two. It also bought us clothes. We grabbed the closest three tunics and pulled them on over our shipsuits. If no one looked too closely, we passed as law abiding citizens out for a noon stroll.
We walked as fast as we dared away from the commotion growing behind us. The sound of gunfire echoed from the roofs overhead. The crowd really started moving when pieces of a shattered flitter smashed into the planters and on the street. I tried not to notice the body parts. We moved faster, keeping pace with the other people.
The shopping district was emptying fast. Police were trying unsuccessfully to set up barricades around the area. No one was staying behind them, they were running away as fast as they could.
We ended up in a public terminal. Tunnels sloped down, leading to the mass transit system under the city. We picked a train at random and bought passes. I didn't start breathing normally until the doors slid closed and the train picked up speed. Lights flashed outside, growing farther apart as we drew away from the station.
"Now what?" Beryn asked. "They're going to start searching soon."
We didn't have a prayer of hiding if someone started checking id's.
"Was it the police after us?" Mart whispered.
"Didn't look like it to me," Beryn said.
"They will be soon enough," I said.
"What was in the locker?" Beryn asked.
I handed him the crumpled note. He and Mart both studied it.
"What does it mean?" Mart asked. The lost, hopeless look in his eyes was back. "They're after me, still."
"And now they're after the rest of us," I said.
We rode in silence. Beryn shoved the note into one of his pockets. The train slowed. My heart sped up, expecting a police blockade. It was only a routine stop. People got off and a few got on. My heart slowed back down.
"This isn't going to help," Beryn said after the third stop. "We're getting farther from the port every second. We need to get back on the ship and get out of here."
"We don't have a chance of that," I said. "Not without spending several months in jail first."
The train rattled on. Mart studied the glowing map above us on the side of the train car.
"What was the address?" he asked as the train began to slow. "The one from the Guild message."
"Why?" I asked as I pulled it out of my pocket. He took the paper and glanced at it.
"Come on," he said, getting to his feet.
The train swayed and slowed to a stop. We crowded onto the platform. Mart headed up a ramp, his long legs outpacing me. I hurried to catch up.
"Where are we going?" I asked as we emerged into daylight again. It was still noon. It felt like it should be hours later. We'd only been running a few minutes.
"Here," he said, holding out the paper.
"Why?" I wanted him to say because he remembered and they could help us. I wanted him to reassure me that we weren't jumping into more trouble. He wasn't going to give it to me.
"Why not? What else can we do besides keep running?"
My com beeped. It was tucked under my tunic in a pocket. I couldn't reach it without lifting my tunic up and revealing who we were. People were starting to stare at the three of us. This was a quiet residential neighborhood with a few small cafes lining the street near the station. I ducked into the nearest.
"You're hungry?" Beryn whispered, incredulously.
"May I use your restroom?" I asked a waitress, ignoring Beryn for the moment. "Please?" I put all the desperation I could into that plea. She took pity on me. She nodded and pointed to the back of the room.
I hurried through the maze of dainty white tables and chairs. The restroom was tucked discreetly behind a carved wooden screen. I pushed open the door and was relieved to find it a single. I locked the door behind me and dug out my com.
"Where have you been?" Jasyn's voice rose from the unit. I lowered the volume quickly. "Dace? Why didn't you answer?"
"Because I couldn't," I whispered into the com.
"What's happening?" Jasyn sounded frantic. "They cut off all news broadcasts. We can still hear the sirens."
"Is everyone back at the ship?" I asked.
"Except for you, Beryn and Mart. We just got b
ack when the sirens started. Dace, what is going on?"
"Get off planet, now, Jasyn. They were expecting us."
There was dead silence for several heartbeats. "What about you?" she asked, her voice strained but calm.
"We'll get out somehow. You remember Scholar and Doggo?"
"What do they— Yes."
"Go visit them. We'll catch up to you there." I clicked the com off. Not just to dodge Jasyn's questions, someone might have been listening in. I was pretty sure the police were.
I closed my eyes, leaning against the cold tile wall. The room smelled of perfume covering more organic odors. I wished with every bit of power I might possibly possess that Jasyn would do what I said, before the police detained them. Whatever they needed to do, let them get clear of this mess, I prayed to whatever Spirit might be listening. I couldn't bear the thought of someone hurting them again, because of me, because of my choices. They said it was their choice, too, but it was still my actions that pushed them into making the choice.
Reaction set in. My legs shook. I sat on the only seat in the room and put my head between my knees. The sight of those black flitters with their gunports scared me more than the police did.
The note scared me just as badly. Someone knew we would come, someone knew Lowell had left something for me. Someone was waiting for us to walk into the trap. They didn't just want Mart now, they wanted me. And I didn't know why, except I'd helped Mart. What in blazes was Jericho and why was it so important?
I wasn't going to find the answer in the stains behind the toilet. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to be calm. I slid my com into my pocket. I stood, flushed, and took a moment to wash my hands and splash cold water on my face. It helped. When I looked in the mirror, the panic wasn't immediately obvious.
Beryn and Mart leaned on a counter showcasing a selection of pastries. The waitress passed Beryn a white bag and he gave her a credit chip and a wink. She tittered and went back to her other customers.
We walked out, pretending to just be on a stroll. Beryn opened the bag and took out a pastry. He passed the bag to Mart.
"I didn't get you one," Beryn said through a mouthful of cream. I smelled chocolate on his breath. "I told her you were my sister and weren't feeling too well. Stomach trouble."