A couple of steps in front of her brother-in-law, a tear formed under her right eye.
“Hello, Ryonna, you look . . . emotional.”
She nodded.
“Where are my manners, please come in,” said Jonas as he gestured her inside.
“Thank you, Jonas.” She discreetly wiped the tear from her eye.
The first thing she noticed inside the flat was the extensive research on a holo-glass. A quick look, and she knew instantly that Jonas was still investigating Jax’s death.
“So, you have something important to tell me?”
She nodded gravely.
“After our last conversation I didn’t expect us to ever talk together, you know.”
“I’m sorry, Jonas; even more so after what I’ve just learned.”
He gestured with his head towards the couch and sat opposite her. “What have you learned?”
“Someone told me that Jax was murdered.”
“That would be me, but you didn’t want to hear it at the time. At first, I put it down to your grief, but it became increasingly clear as time went by that you didn’t want to hear it. So imagine my surprise seeing you here, especially discussing that subject.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“You said that already. We both said things we wished we could take back.”
“That we did.”
“So who told you about Jax and, more importantly, what did they tell you? Do you know who did it and why?”
“I wish I did. As for the information, I got it from a dying man. Someone named Grolax, a scumbag I used to work for while . . .”
“While on the run?”
“Yes.”
“And you believe him?”
“Well, in my experience, things people say just before they die tend to be true.”
“How did he die?”
“I spaced him.”
“What? Why didn’t you get more info about Jax before you did?”
“I tried, but there was a malfunction aboard the ship, and I didn’t manage to stop the airlock from opening.”
“I see. What did he say exactly?”
“That he knew who killed Jax.”
Jonas ground his teeth. “You mentioned you needed my help?”
“Yes, I’ve brought you this.” She took Grolax’s glass computer from her pocket and handed it to Jonas.
“What’s on this?”
“I’m not sure. I thought it would be preferable for you look at the data. You’re more versed in such things. I’ve made sure it’s unlocked.”
“That should make it easier. What kind of data do you need from it?”
“Anything you can find that could give us a hint about Jax’s killer.”
“I take it this belongs to this Grolax?”
“Yes it does.”
“I’ll get on it right away, then.”
“If it would be possible to locate someone on Droxia for me first, I would be very grateful.”
Jonas made a face. “What exactly would be more important than finding your husband’s—my brother’s—murderer?”
“Ronan.”
“What about him? I thought he’d be with you.”
“You don’t know?”
“Know what?”
“As you know, there’s a bounty on me, placed by the Obsidian. I wonder if it could have anything to do with all of this, but to get to me they took Ronan.”
Jonas jumped out of his chair. “What do you mean they took him? Where?”
“He’s in Hellstar prison.”
Jonas fell back on his chair and took his head in his hands. “This is bad.”
“I’m gonna get him out of there, even if it kills me.”
“I have no doubts about that, but Hellstar . . . of all places.”
“I know. Grolax gave me the name of a retired structural engineer, H. Raknod. I need to find him and get any information I can use to break Ronan out of there.”
“You should have told me about Ronan. He’s my nephew. In fact, you should have come to me the minute they got their hands on him.”
“At the time I didn’t think you’d help, and I was running for my life. Believe me, these past few days I’ve been chased, stranded on a deserted planet, shot at multiple times and stabbed, to mention only the highlights.”
“I’m glad you’re okay. I will do anything I can to help you get Ronan out, and then we’ll get after the bastard who killed my brother, right?”
“Absolutely. He or she is going down!”
Jonas attempted a smile. “What’s your plan to get to Hellstar? They don’t allow visitors.”
“First I need to figure a sure way out, then I can worry about getting sent there.”
“Except nothing short of murder will get you sent to Hellstar.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.”
“Alright. Can I offer you a drink?”
“Anything strong would be really great right about now.”
“Speedball?”
“Perfect.”
Jonas went to the nearest wall and waved his hand in front of a glass control. A square part of the wall dematerialized, revealing a small bar with plenty of different colored and shaped bottles. He prepared the drink and poured it into a hexagonal-shaped thin glass.
“Neat?”
“Actually, I’d love a few ice cubes.”
Jonas pressed a barely visible touch control on the glass. “Three cubes,” he said out loud. The top of the glass shone bright blue. For a second it looked like a small force field, and from there three cubes of ice dropped into the drink, which changed color from bright red to a mix of red and purple filaments, dancing in the liquid as the ice came in contact with the drink. It made the drink look alive.
“That’s pretty fancy.”
“You know me. Anything that can be achieved with technology will pique my interest.”
She raised her glass to him and they both drank the strong, reddish liquid.
It went to Ryonna’s head pretty quickly, probably because of her currently weakened state, and the fact she hadn’t consumed alcohol in a very long time. Speedball was not only illegal on Droxia, but very few had the stomach for it. It was definitely an acquired taste, but one they’d always shared. Jax, on the other hand, didn’t like any mood-enhancing drinks. She liked that about him. He wouldn’t touch anything chemical with a ten-foot pole. Such a gentle soul . . .
Why would anyone want to kill him?
“You seem pensive.” Jonas finished the rest of his drink.
“I wondered why anyone would want to kill someone as sweet as Jax.”
“I’ve asked myself that as well. But I think he must have been hiding something from us. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Jax being deceptive? I don’t believe it.”
“Well, we’ll know soon enough, hopefully.” Jonas tapped the glass computer she had handed him a few minutes earlier. “But for now, let’s find this Mr. Raknod.”
He stood and moved towards his holo-glass. He swiped his entire research to the side, pinched all the data into a single folder that he pinned to the top right corner of the holo-glass. He then brought up a database and looked for the name H. Raknod. The holo-glass flashed briefly red.
“What was that?”
“Looks like I found a match, but his personal information is classified.”
“Why would a structural engineer’s info be classified?”
“He might have had a career in the military before he joined Hellstar. That’s not unusual, in fact. Hellstar doesn’t employ many people. Most of it is run by machine and drones. But when they hire someone, they tend to look for the best in their field.”
Makes sense, thought Ryonna.
“Anything you can do to find his info elsewhere?”
“I can use my DT access to crack through it.”
“You still work for them?”
“I don’t work for the Datalight Thieves.
I just consult for them from time to time. In fact, I only do it so I can access their gigantic CPU farms for times like these, when I need to get into protected systems that would take forever to crack otherwise.”
“As long as you’re aware of the risks of doing business with them.”
“I can take care of myself, don’t worry. Plus, you’ll owe me one, right?”
“You bet,” she said, beaming him a smile.
She had dreaded seeing Jonas again, but he had been more understanding than she expected. On the other hand, Jonas wasn’t really the problem and Ryonna knew it. She knew how stubborn she could be sometimes. She looked at him work and served herself another speedball.
C H A P T E R
VII
When Ryonna opened her eyes, Jonas was still working on his holo-glass.
“Any luck?”
“I got it about ten minutes ago, but you seemed like you needed to rest.”
“How long have I been out?”
“Barely an hour.”
“I shouldn’t have had that second speedball.”
“Headache?”
“Yeah. The mother lode, in fact.”
“I can get you something for that. Hang on.”
He left the room and returned shortly.
“Hold still.” Jonas approached her with his thumb held upright.
“No pill?”
“This acts faster and is much more efficient.”
“What is it?”
“Epidermal patch. It will rid you of that headache in less than a minute.”
He applied his thumb to her forehand and she felt a cold sensation for a few seconds. Immediately her headache started to fade.
“I see what you mean by faster.”
“Yeah, I never leave the house without them. Here, take the rest of them.”
He handed her a tiny, round, plasti-glass container, barely an inch in diameter.
“Thanks, Jonas. Where is H. Raknod located? I should greet him as soon as possible.”
He handed her a thin, glass-shaped tablet, similar to Grolax’s computer: much thinner but slightly wider; barely thicker than a piece of translucent paper. He activated it and it projected a holo-map in 3D. It drew a path from Jonas’ place to the target destination.
“You have a means of transportation?”
“I left my speed bike at Ran’Dar park.”
“That’s a good ten minutes from here. I could drop you there by speeder.”
“That’s okay. I can use a run to clear my head.”
“You’ll come back here before going to get Ronan? Perhaps I can come with you.”
“I will come back, but no way we both risk our lives getting into Hellstar.”
“I want to help, Ryonna.”
“You are, a lot, but your time will be better spent finding more info about Jax.”
It looked as if Jonas wanted to argue, but the mention of his brother’s name gave him pause and he resigned himself to agreeing with Ryonna.
“Very well, but please be careful.”
She smiled, got up from the couch and took Jonas in her arms.
At first he seemed surprised, but he embraced her back and squeezed harder.
“Thank you,” said Ryonna.
“Anytime, sister.”
A few minutes later she was back in the streets, in full holo-suit disguise. She informed Alix of her next move and they agreed to meet together at her next stop. Then she started running towards the park.
* * *
Alix was waiting for her near the small house belonging to the man she hoped would give her vital information about how to break out of Hellstar, one of the most secure prisons in the sector, if not the universe.
“Looks like your brother-in-law came through.”
“Yes.”
“You’re okay? You seemed a little rattled.”
“Seeing Jonas brought up some pretty painful memories, but at least seeing him did some good.”
“How did he take the news about Jax?”
“It only fueled his obsession, but since he was right to begin with, I can’t blame him. I want to find who killed my husband too, but Ronan has to come first.”
“Yeah, one crisis at the time. You don’t want to spread yourself too thin.”
“Exactly.”
“Should we go in?”
“Absolutely . . .”
“What is it?” asked Alix, sensing something was bothering her.
“Nothing, it’s just there aren’t many single houses on Droxia.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s not an efficient use of space and resources. Droxians live in city skyscrapers; it’s more efficient. Houses like these tend to be expensive.”
“And that matters why?”
“Well, if I need to bribe him for info, his asking price might be way outside of my range.”
“I’m sure Jonas can help you access funds from Grolax’s fortune. If not, I’ll front you the cash you need.”
“Thanks. I really need to get to Hellstar as soon as possible.”
“Then perhaps you should dispense with the pleasantries and use your usual tactics.”
That hit Ryonna. The last few days she had used torture more than she liked.
“Did I say anything wrong?”
“No, it’s okay. I guess I’m a little tired. A lot has happened in the last couple of days.”
Alix nodded. “Should we go?”
“I’ll go alone. You stay here in case he tries to make a run for it.”
“Alright. Be careful.”
“I will.”
Ryonna approached the porch of the house. It looked old and in poor shape. She hadn’t reached the door before a red laser shone on her chest.
“That’s far enough,” said a male voice, booming from nearby speakers. “Who are you and what do you want?”
“I need your help with something. I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Not interested.”
“I really need to talk with you.”
“If you value your life, you’ll start walking the way you came. This is my last warning.”
“I can’t go. I need to talk to you about my son. He’s being held in Hellstar.”
“Then I’m sorry, but he’s lost, and there’s nothing I can do for you.”
“I know you worked there. Please let me enter.”
There was a long pause and the laser turned off. But soon a flying, metallic, sphere-shaped drone approached her. It was rusty and barely functional. Ryonna could barely see the red light of its looking-glass eye through all the dust.
“Please let my associate scan you.”
Ryonna nodded in agreement.
A ray of light scanned her from head to toe and bleeped frantically as a result.
“You’ll have to leave your weapons on the ground before I let you enter.”
She dropped her blaster and her arsenal of blades and knives to the ground. As soon as she dropped the last piece, the drone fired a beam of blue light on her weapons that projected a force field around them.
The door opened in front of her.
“Please come in.”
Ryonna was surprised by the stark contrast between the outside and inside of the house. While it looked as though it was barely standing—rusty and ready to be demolished—from the outside, the inside told a different story. Everything was pristine, looked brand new and the level of tech was impressive. A tall man approached her. She was surprised to see he was a Brin.
“My name is Ryonna.”
“I’m Hens Raknod. I’m sorry for my security measures. You can never be too sure these days.”
“You’re not Droxian.”
“You have a keen sense of observation,” replied Hens, not trying to mask the sarcasm.
“It’s just there aren’t many non-Droxians on the planet. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“That’s alright and you are right. Your people aren’t too keen on strangers fro
m other worlds living on their planet, but with the right contacts and the right amount of, should we say, resources, it’s doable. I’m hardly the first, though.”
“You’re the first I’ve met anyway.”
“You may want to disable your holo-suit now. You don’t need it here. My security system is top of the line. Nobody will see your real face but me; but I don’t trust people whose real eyes I can’t look into.”
Ryonna turned off the hologram projection of her fake persona.
“That’s better, thank you. Nice to meet you, Ryonna. Have a seat.” Hens gestured her towards the couch in the middle of the living room.
“Thank you. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask a few questions about Hellstar.”
“I understood, but I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do for you. I’ve signed non-disclosure agreements with my former employer, and I’m a man of my word.”
Ryonna didn’t believe a word he said, but his demeanor and acting were extremely convincing. And while Droxians were highly empathic, she was surprised that he somehow managed to defeat her innate abilities. But her instinct, and the fact he worked with Grolax, told her he was deceiving her. That raised a red flag. She wondered what to say next. Should she try to finesse some info out of the man? Or go straight at him with the info she had? She decided to go with the latter, patience not being her strong suit.
“The same employer you deceived by bringing contraband in and out of the prison?”
His expression changed.
There it is.
“How could you possibly know that?”
“Look, I’m not here to make trouble, but I don’t have time for games. I need you to tell me how to get out of Hellstar, and I’ll be on my way.”
“You’re direct, I’ll grant you that. I like that. But I’m afraid there’s no escaping Hellstar.”
“That’s not an answer I can accept. Surely there’s a way. You worked as a structural engineer there, so if there are any weaknesses to exploit, you should know about them.”
Ryonna's Trials: Novella 1 (Universe in Flames Book 20) Page 5