Poisoned Pawn

by Jaleta Clegg

  “It’s early summer,” Trey said. “The real heat hasn’t started yet.”

  “The Gentle Hom hasn’t contacted me, and he won’t.” Lowell looked up. “Transmissions can be intercepted. And I wouldn’t put it past Luke Verity to have all sorts of equipment he shouldn’t.”

  “Who’s Luke Verity?” Trey asked.

  “The man who owns the house,” Lowell said. “He’s also connected to some of the most powerful crime syndicates in the Empire. He’s here to try to establish new territory.”

  “He’ll have to get through me first,” Querran said.

  “You’ll have to get to him before I do,” Lowell said. His voice was cold steel.

  “Why are you after him here?” Trey asked. “His house is like a fortress. Why not wait until he’s more vulnerable somewhere else?”

  “So we don’t interrupt your research? We can’t wait. We’ve waited too long already.”

  “Why the hurry?” Trey asked. “He’s only been there a few weeks.”

  “He’s got something I want back.” Lowell pushed the sheet aside. The top picture showed the land around the house, its manicured grounds showing clearly against the surrounding forest.

  “Any idea where he’s keeping her?” Querran asked.

  “Who? And why is Hom Daviessbrowun involved? He hates nature.” They looked at Trey. “I applied for grants from him. All of them were turned down.”

  “Have you seen any news lately?” Lowell asked, leaning back in the rickety chair. It protested, making loud clicking sounds. Lowell sat forward, leaning on the table instead.

  “We don’t usually bother, unless it involves the cause,” Trey said.

  “Hom Daviessbrowun received a ransom note three weeks ago,” Lowell said. “His daughter was supposedly kidnapped by men who work with Luke Verity. Daviessbrowun is the biggest obstacle to Verity’s bid to set up a syndicate in this sector.”

  “His daughter’s down there?” Trey asked. “That’s who you’re after?”

  “Not his daughter, no,” Lowell answered. “Someone who looks exactly like her. I want her back.”

  “Oh,” Trey said, his eyes big.

  “So here’s your chance to be part of a major operation,” Lowell said. “We’re almost positive Verity has her in his mansion. It isn’t like him to stay so far out of touch without a very good reason.” He pulled the aerial shot closer, to the middle of the table. “We need whatever information you can give us. How many people do you have out in the field and where are they?”

  Trey leaned over the photo. He tapped it to the map overlay. “There are seven out collecting data right now.” He tapped the page controls. leaving blue smudges on the map. “Here, and here. Three this way, and one down here. The last one, a new guy, hasn’t reported in yet. He’s supposed to be checking population counts along this valley.” His thumb traced a line just over the ridge from the house. “It’s a major meeting place for the bushies. Eight of their territories overlap.”

  “He hasn’t reported in? Why not?” Querran asked.

  “He’s one of the Survey guys. His com was acting up the second day out. His beacon is still moving.” Trey shrugged. “It’s normal to have problems with coms up in that area. The substrate is high in metals that interfere with signals.”

  “Can you contact them?”

  Trey nodded. “You want them back at base?”

  “No, they’re useful out there. I want them to meet my men as I send them out and help them find the best positions. And then fall back.”

  “They’ll have noticed your flitters,” Trey said. “I’ll call them and tell them we have a summer expedition here from Cygnus University doing field studies. We have designated spots to meet up.” He tapped the controls and left red marks behind. “Your men can meet them there. It won’t alert anyone because we do it anytime we get new staff.”

  “Good thinking,” Lowell said, impressed. Trey showed potential.

  “What do you need from me?” Querran asked.

  “A plan of attack.” Lowell studied the map, blue smudges and red smudges and the square of the grounds. Somewhere in the middle of it, he hoped to find Dace.

  “We have your men meet up at those points,” Querran said, indicating the red marks. “Set up the missile launchers here and here. Where do the flitters come from? What flight path?” She looked at Trey.

  “Over this ridge,” Trey said, drawing a line on the map. “The wind is tricky in this whole area. Lots of thermals. About the only way to fly in is over the ridge.”

  “Move one set of launchers here,” Querran amended, considering Trey’s information. “Men here and here. Wait until dark and blow the main gate. Have another set over the walls here and here. The gate’s a distraction.”

  “I’ll send out scouts tonight,” Lowell said. “We need to find out how many men are there, which rooms are being used, the usual.” He touched the map. “What’s on this ridge here? We’ll put the scouts there to watch the house.”

  “Better views from these spots,” Trey said and indicated three different sites. “Good cover as well. The rocks mess up scans. One reason we’re using ground teams instead of aerial scanners.” He pointed to a different spot on the map. “Have them move back here to call in reports. We have a ground line in to there. It’s shielded.”

  “Have you ever considered a career in covert operations?” Lowell asked.

  Trey blushed. “I did some protest work in college, before I got in with EcoSystems. We did a bit of spying. Should I be confessing this to you?”

  “We won’t arrest you,” Querran said. “Just don’t do it again.”

  “Unless you’re doing it for me,” Lowell amended.

  “When are you planning to attack?” Querran asked.

  “Give the scouts two days, another day after that for the teams to get into position. We attack after dark in three days,” Lowell answered. He leaned back, fingers folded under his chin, looking at Trey. “I need you to brief the men on what wildlife to watch out for.”

  “The bushies,” Trey answered. “The rest can be avoided easily enough.”

  “Just what are bushies?” Querran asked.

  “Very large carnivores that we suspect are at least minimally intelligent. They learned how to spring our traps without getting caught within the first week we were here. We think they communicate with each other. Within two days, all of the traps were broken in the whole study area.” Trey warmed to his subject. “They’re bigger than a person, weigh more than an adult human usually does. They have four legs, the beginnings of opposable thumbs, and a very long tail. They can climb trees and run twice as fast as a man in good shape. They don’t attack unless they are hungry and can’t find anything else. But they will follow people, they’re very curious. And protective of their cubs.” Trey touched the map, several spots glowed green. “These are the den sites we know about. Don’t have your people go anywhere near them. I have some pictures and vids of them.”

  “Can you show them after lunch?” Lowell asked. “And tell my men what else to look out for.”

  “Sure thing,” Trey said. “If we get lunch.”

  Lowell chuckled. “Jasyn will come through. Considering the state of your kitchen, though, it may be a while.”

  “Leila wasn’t much good at it, but we didn’t have any other volunteers and no budget for a real cook. If you can even get one to come out here in the first place.” Trey sighed. “We lose more staff over the food than anything else.”

  “I’ve got a very good chef who needs a place to lay low for a while,” Lowell said. “I’ll send him your way.”

  “Only if he doesn’t have half the sector chasing him,” Trey said.

  “He won’t. Most of the people who were chasing him came down with severe cases of food poisoning.”

  “Maybe I don’t want him.”

  Lowell grinned. “I’ll see what I can do about funding a real kitchen and cook for you.”

  “You were kidding, weren
’t you? About the poisoning?”

  “I wouldn’t be too sure,” Querran said.

  Lowell stood, picking up the sheet. “We’ve got work to do.”

  * * *

  Jasyn sat on the floor, surrounded by piles of food supplies. She frowned, angry and frustrated, mostly at Lowell. How had she ever ended up here?

  “Jasyn?” Clark stood uncertainly out by the tables.

  “Are you here to demand lunch?” she asked, irritated.

  “I’m supposed to help you,” he said.

  “Then come help me.” She sighed and tugged her braid. “You have any suggestions on how to cook this stuff? I’ve never even seen most of it before. What are dried tirthas anyway?”

  “You got me there,” Clark admitted. “They want lunch soon.”

  “Then they can eat ration bars, there’s enough of them.” She nudged a stack of boxes with her foot. “Put these outside and tell them to start eating. There’s some canned juice back there as well.”

  He picked up a box of ration bars and headed for the door. Jasyn got up, brushing dust off her backside. She could do a halfway decent stew for dinner. She wished, not for the first time, that she had access to some of the spices left on the ship. She found the big pot and started opening packages.

  “Which juice?” Clark asked, coming back.

  “I don’t care. I’d quit except then Lowell would send me safely out of the way somewhere.” She dumped a package into the pot. “If he lied to me, he’s going to lose several body parts.”

  “Lowell doesn’t lie,” Clark said. “He’s got the reputation that you can believe what he says, but watch out for what he doesn’t.”

  “How well do you know him?” Jasyn asked. “Did you work for him before?”

  Clark shook his head. “I told you, I was just a pilot until he approached me about you. Dace, actually.” He picked up a case of juice. The cans rattled.

  “Do you think Dace is really alive?” Jasyn asked in a small voice.

  “Lowell values her, Jasyn. He’ll find her if anyone can.” He headed for the door.

  “If she’s there to find,” Jasyn said.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Luke kept me with him constantly the next two days, letting me leave only to change for dinner. He entertained more of his men in the evenings. I watched the flitters land, wrapped in a blank fog, my only protection from the madness I knew waited if I ever dared hope again. I couldn’t steal a flitter, I would never escape.

  Luke kept touching me, light caresses along my bare shoulders, across my cheek, his hand on my back. I retreated farther into the unfeeling fog, trying to become a shadow who didn’t care, who didn’t shiver at Luke’s touch. It wouldn’t do to make Luke unhappy. I pretended to smile.

  Nightmares interrupted what sleep I managed to get. I spent time sitting in the shower, letting the force of water beat against me. I wanted to be numb, I wanted to not think, not feel. It was safer that way. I slipped farther away from reality. I couldn’t face it any longer.

  I found breakfast waiting in my room on the third morning, a reprieve from Luke’s constant presence. I preferred the solitude and silence. I didn’t have to pretend anything. I stared at the sky, searching for the lone bird, but it wasn’t circling over the endless forests.

  Rinth came for me at lunch. He shuffled his feet at the door. I stood next to him, smelling the slight muskiness of his fur.

  “You come now.” He sounded very unhappy.

  “I will come now,” I reassured him.

  He shook his thick hands in a weird gesture, flapping them as he gave voice to a high-pitched whine. “You come.”

  “You’re as much a prisoner as I am, aren’t you?” I patted his furry head.

  Rinth froze, his pebble eyes staring at me. He puffed out a heavy sigh, his fur rising around his mouth. His hand took my wrist in its rubbery grip. “You come now.”

  “I come, yes.”

  He took me to Luke’s office, leaving me standing outside the open door.

  Luke sat in a thickly padded chair, leaning back. His long legs were stretched out under an elegantly carved wooden desk. His face was a mask, his smile pasted on. It didn’t even begin to touch the coldness of his eyes as he studied me. He motioned me inside his office.

  “Sit, Miya.”

  I took a chair. I stared at the carpet underfoot.

  “Why does your father hesitate and bargain with me?”

  I said nothing. I had nothing to say.

  “He called me this morning. He has been here three days. He waited until this morning to call. He offered me half of what I asked for your safe return.” Luke tapped his finger on the desk. “Why does he refuse to pay me? I told him I would accept half payment, but only if I collected the other half from you. He did not seem to care much, Miya. Why not?”

  I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to shrink so small Luke wouldn’t notice me. My unwitting deception was over. I couldn’t look at him, he would see the truth in my eyes. I retreated into the blank fog in my mind, not thinking, not feeling.

  I heard him get up from his chair. He crossed the room to stand in front of me. I smelled his cologne, spicy with deep musk. I stared at his shoes, impeccable and expensive, like everything he owned.

  “Look at me, Miya.”

  I slowly raised my head. I forced myself to meet his gaze.

  “Is that fear I see in your eyes?” Luke planted his hands on the arms of my chair, trapping me. His dark eyes studied me, unreadable. His blue hair caught the light from the window. “Why do you fear me, Miya my sweet? What have you done, Miya, that would make me hurt you?”

  “Nothing,” I whispered. My heart pounded. He would kill me if he knew the truth, but it wasn’t anything I’d done, only something he’d assumed.

  He licked his lips, the end of his tongue moving suggestively. I shuddered and closed my eyes. He laughed and let me go.

  “Tonight,” he said, moving away from me, back behind his desk, “I am dining with someone I hope to form a close relationship with. Business, of course,” he added, his smile showing teeth and the tip of his tongue. “You will dress appropriately. I expect you to charm them. And me. Perhaps I should invite your father.” He paused, watching me from his cold eyes. “No, I think not. You may go to your rooms and prepare for this evening.”

  I stood, trying not to show how eager I was to escape him.

  “Miya, I’m almost wishing your father refuses to pay. I look forward to collecting payment from you.”

  My hand shook as I reached to open the door. His threat was a promise. Luke would get what he wanted. I fled into the hall and let Rinth take me back to my room.

  I spent the afternoon watching the bird soaring over the trees, wishing I had wings so I could fly away. I turned, reluctantly, when the sunlight turned gold with late afternoon. I let the shower beat me numb before facing the closet. I didn’t want to wear any of the dresses. I stood, wrapped in a towel, unable to make myself pick one. I was running out of time. I finally closed my eyes and just grabbed one. It wouldn’t make any difference to Luke whether it covered me or not. I pulled the dress on. I shivered as the full skirt, layers of tissue-thin fabric in shades of green, brushed against my legs.

  I forced myself to comb my hair and apply cosmetics. Luke would not be happy. It was not good to make Luke unhappy. I stared at my face in the mirror when I finished. I’d gotten good at applying the cosmetics. I was a stranger even to myself. I looked as scared as I felt.

  Rinth opened my door, shuffling his hairy feet across the thick carpet. He waved his hands in a strange gesture then patted my hand. He blinked his gray pebble eyes. “You not come,” he said, his high voice keening. He shuffled his feet. “You come now?”

  “I have to, Rinth.”

  “Not rinth,” he said firmly. He uttered a string of musical hooting. “Not rinth.”

  “Hoowah?” I ventured, trying to repeat what I could of the hooting.

  Rinth patted my
hand and repeated the gesture in the air with his thick fingers. “You come now.” He closed his hand around my wrist, gently.

  “I come now,” I agreed.

  We went to the dining room. Rinth left me at the door with a final pat. He scuttled away as Luke approached. Luke gave Rinth a suspicious look before turning to me. His eyes were hard and flat, giving nothing away.

  “I see you have managed to charm Rinth,” he said quietly. The room behind him was full of people. The noise of their conversation washed over me like the sound of an ocean. Luke took my hand and lifted it to his lips. “I trust you will be as charming to my guests.”

  He turned away, still holding my hand trapped in his. “I believe dinner is served,” he announced to the room.

  There was a general movement to the long table, fully set tonight. Luke led me to the far end and stood me next to him. He lifted a goblet of blood-red liquid.

  “A toast to a long and profitable partnership.”

  I looked over the people at the table while they drank. I knew some of them, vaguely familiar faces of Luke’s top men and women. I looked over the new faces, making myself memorize them. It kept the madness at bay.

  Halfway down the far side I saw a face I knew. Dysun Farr studied my face, a tiny frown pinching his brow. I made myself look past him, not giving away anything. Dysun Farr was a miserable excuse for a pirate. He’d saved my life once on Dadilan, before betraying me to someone else. I’d thought he was still in prison.

  I glanced at Luke as he finished his toast, forcing myself to smile.

  He set his glass down. The others followed suit.

  “May I introduce my guest?” Luke took my hand again. “Arramiya Daviessbrowun is staying with me until her father decides to cooperate with us.” He lifted my hand and kissed it. His tongue flicked over my knuckles. I swallowed nausea and looked away.

  Luke sat. I sat. Everyone else sat. I dropped my eyes to the table and kept them there. The dinner was served. Talk started up again. Luke leaned close. “Charming, Miya,” he breathed into my ear, a threat unspoken behind the command.

  I forced myself to smile. The man sitting next to me asked me questions about Daviessbrowun, pumping me for information I didn’t have. I made noncommittal answers, keeping them short. I let my low neckline distract him. Luke seemed pleased, although the glint of suspicion in his eyes was growing.