Cleon Moon

by Lindsay Buroker

  Alisa could not see the exit from halfway around the dome, but she took his word for it and flew in that direction, weaving only if someone was firing at them. She did not bother returning fire to the ships along the way. She wanted to get out of there.

  Someone gripped the back of Alisa’s seat. Leblanc? She didn’t turn to look, saying only, “Tell your people to get out while they can, Chef. I doubt it’ll take these people long to get backup power going.”

  The ship’s running lights played over the dark city below—and over the hulking body of a freighter ahead of them. It was blocking the exit.

  Alisa almost cursed at Leblanc and ordered him to get his people out of the way, but that ship had the familiar gray paint of the rest of the mafia craft. It rotated toward them, weapons hot. She pulled the charger up, nearly kissing the dark dome as she contorted them in evasive maneuvers. Fiery white energy blasts lit the air, scant meters behind them. She could glimpse the dome exit behind the freighter, the forcefield down, but its bulky body was as effective as a plug.

  “These people really don’t want us to leave,” Alisa said.

  She glanced back, wondering what would happen if she had Beck roll their captive out the hatch. Did his people like him enough to fly down and get him?

  “My captain is coming,” Leblanc said as Alisa noticed a heavy freighter barreling toward the one blocking the exit. “He’s low on weapons, but he said he has an idea.”

  “Sounds alarming,” Mica said.

  Alisa did not disagree, but was relieved when the freighter that had been trying to shoot them, turned to face this new menace. The chef’s captain did not fire, but instead bore down on the mafia vessel.

  “Ah, they’re taking a maneuver from my flight manual,” Alisa said, “one that is admittedly more appealing when you’re flying someone else’s ship and don’t have to pay for repairs.”

  As the mafia freighter shifted further to face the Leblanc ship, all of its power going to its forward shields to repel the attack, the rectangular exit came into view, the first hint of a grayish dawn making it brighter than the dome interior. There wasn’t much space, but Alisa’s borrowed charger was not a big ship. She streaked around the hull of the freighter, almost skipping off its shields, and let out a triumphant whoop as they finally escaped the dome.

  She did not hesitate. She turned their nose toward the sky, the rising Rebus sun warming the charger’s belly as she aimed them into space.

  “Are we taking the scenic route?” Mica asked.

  “I figure those people wouldn’t have much trouble tracking us back to Terra Jhero if we fly straight there,” Alisa said. “Solstice didn’t want the White Dragon to know this was her ship, so if there’s a chance we can fly off their radar before coming back down to the moon, I’ll take it.”

  “Solstice?” came a slurred groan from the back of the craft. The White Dragon man. He was finally awake, and was that fear in his tone as he said the name?

  “We’re heading to Terra Jhero,” Alisa said, though she couldn’t even see the man. He was still on the floor with Beck and Abelardus keeping an eye on him.

  Another groan came from the back, one of dread.

  Maybe that meant Alisa’s concerns about Solstice arranging a trap for them had been for naught. If the White Dragon people feared her, they probably weren’t working together. Alisa shuddered to think what Solstice had done to elicit that kind of response from a powerful mafia lord.

  She looked at Leonidas as the charger accelerated toward an orbiting position, wondering if he had similar thoughts. He gazed at her, a pleased smile on his face. Ah, maybe he wasn’t contemplating Solstice at all.

  She reached over and patted his arm. “Nice thinking with the generators.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Do you think Solstice will give us that dino money and let us go?” Alisa asked.

  “We shall find out.”

  “You might have to use your charms on her again.”

  Leonidas raised his eyebrows. “You wish me to be terse and aloof with her?”

  “Apparently, she likes that.” Alisa grinned at him. “And you do it so well. You could throw in some gruffness and grumpiness to truly make her heart flutter.”

  “You are an odd woman, Alisa Marchenko.”

  “Endearingly odd, right?”

  “Perhaps.” His eyelids dropped to half-mast, making her think bedroom thoughts, even though she was positive he did not have such things in mind. Unfortunately.

  She resorted to making a joke, as usual. “Your proclamations of heartfelt adoration are making me melt into a puddle in my seat.”

  Mica made a gagging noise.

  “Still sick from my crazy flying?” Alisa asked.

  “Not your flying, no.”

  “We can’t leave Terra Jhero until we get Durant,” Abelardus said. “And the staff…” He trailed off, frowning as his eyes grew distant.

  Alisa sighed. She wouldn’t have minded a few more minutes of enjoying the fact that they had escaped certain death before having those problems dumped back in her lap again. She doubted Jelena was on this moon anymore, and she was more than ready to leave herself, but Durant might be the only one who knew where the children had been taken. As to the staff, she disliked the idea of it in the hands of people who had nearly killed Leonidas with a mental attack, but she wasn’t some protector of Starseer artifacts. Abelardus and Alejandro could go off on that mission by themselves if they wanted the staff.

  I have helped you a great deal, Abelardus said into her mind, slathering on the guilt like Beck spreading condiments on his sandwiches.

  What would you have me do? Alisa took the charger out of a low orbit and headed back toward the moon, setting a course for Terra Jhero. I’m just a pilot.

  We need a ship to get Durant to a medical facility, a good one. And for the staff… He sighed into her mind.

  Alisa glanced back and caught a forlorn expression on his face. What?

  I no longer sense the staff.

  We’re over a hundred miles from Jhero. That may be why.

  Abelardus did not answer. When Alisa looked back again, she spotted an uncharacteristically glum expression on his face.

  I’ll help you get Durant, she thought, but did not know if he was still listening. She also did not know if he would consider the offer of help particularly unselfish and noble, considering Durant was still her only lead on Jelena. We’ll find him, she added, just in case it mattered to him.

  Chapter 19

  The Terra Jhero forcefield opened before Alisa had to comm anyone to ask for permission to land. Apparently, someone there knew this was Solstice’s ship, whether it was marked or not.

  The charger glided over the city, a peaceful slumbering city waking from its night’s sleep, a stark contrast to the dome they had left behind. They had made it back down to the moon’s surface without any sign of pursuit, for which Alisa was thankful. Leblanc had been on the comm with his men, urging them to get out while they could. From his gloomy, defeated tone, she sensed that his “rescue” had been expensive, both in terms of ships and lives. She almost regretted having alerted his people to where he was, but she couldn’t, not when their involvement was the only reason she had been able to get in and out to retrieve Beck. Beck… and their prisoner, who was now sitting in a seat, staring moodily at the view screen. Beck, still devoid of clothes, leaned against the wall behind him, his arms crossed over his chest, his bruised skin sporting even more shades of blue and black than before. He needed some time on Alejandro’s exam table.

  The hangar doors were still open, and a ground guide rushed out to help them land. Alisa did not need help landing or maneuvering the craft into the hangar. She would have preferred it if Solstice and all of her people were gone, so they could simply hop out and leave without having to deal with her.

  But as soon as Alisa flew the craft into the hangar, she spotted the tawny-haired woman lounging on a sofa in a waiting area near the door. She ha
d her netdisc out, perusing who knew what. Maybe whatever channel that covered news in the White Dragon dome.

  “Doesn’t that woman sleep?” Alisa asked.

  “Maybe she doesn’t like to sleep alone and is waiting for someone handsome and muscular to come entertain her,” Mica said.

  “You haven’t been that helpful today.”

  “It’s not my fault you didn’t have any engines for me to fix.”

  Maybe Alisa should have ripped some bolts off the charger to give Mica and her mouth something to work on. Leonidas did not remark on the conversation, merely unfastening his harness as the ship came to rest in its slot.

  “I will go out first,” he said, standing up, his helmet tucked under his arm.

  “Because you suspect trouble?”

  Alisa kept herself from making a snide comment about him being eager to see Solstice. She knew that wasn’t true, and it was petty of her to be bothered by another woman finding Leonidas attractive. It wasn’t as if that was mystifying. She supposed she would feel smug instead of threatened if he were sleeping with her, but his proclamations that he intended to stay away from her in the future left her uncertain as to their status. She sighed at herself, missing the assurances of marriage for more reasons than one. Now, she felt like she was back in school, playing games and competing with other girls.

  “Always,” Leonidas said. He touched her shoulder before heading back between the seats.

  “My people in this city are coming to pick me up,” Leblanc said, also rising to his feet. “I thank you for your graciousness in helping me escape along with your own man.” He turned to face Beck, pointedly looking into his face and not any lower—actually, he was closer to addressing Beck’s forehead. “It may take me some time to get my business back in order after this fiasco, but I’ll let you know if I need freight hauled in the future. And do send your sauce and marinade sampler to me. You remember my address?”

  “Yes, Chef,” Beck said, his hand lifting as if to form a military salute. He turned it into a thump on his chest instead, and then winced when he smacked a cut. “I memorized it.”

  “Good.”

  “Take me with you,” Medric blurted as Leblanc moved to pass him. Someone had found intellicuffs to bind his wrists to each other and to the seat in front of him, and he lifted them imploringly. “Or distract Solstice so I can escape. I don’t want to be that witch’s prisoner again.”

  “You think I’ll help you, after you tortured my friend here?” Leblanc waved to Beck, who beamed brightly at the word friend. How someone with that many bruises on his face managed to beam, Alisa did not know, but he did. “And after your people destroyed many of my ships when the crews nobly came to rescue me? I hope this marks the downfall of your entire dirty clan.” Leblanc lifted his chin, fearless as he strode out the hatch after Leonidas.

  Medric looked at Beck, then at Abelardus, and finally at Alisa. His brows rose hopefully.

  “You and Solstice don’t have the best of relationships, eh?” Alisa asked.

  Beck’s forehead crinkled, as if he couldn’t understand why she was being friendly to the leader of the people who had nearly kept them from escaping that dome. Because the first inklings of a plan were forming in her mind. Maybe it was foolish to believe she could deal with Medric, but he wasn’t tough out here, with his city in ruins. Alisa wondered how many of his staff had been killed when their ship had been bombed. Maybe he didn’t have that many resources left with which to threaten people, or maybe he dreaded the idea of reporting to the rest of his family about what had happened.

  “She likes to see people in pain,” Medric said. “If you cross her, and she gets her hands on you later… Just don’t get into bed with her. She’s a vengeful woman.”

  This statement did not surprise Alisa, but it did make her worry that Leonidas would find his path made more complicated if he refused her offer of employment. She had already implied that he would. Even now, Alliance soldiers could be skulking in the hangar, preparing an ambush for him.

  “I’ll make a point to stay out of her bed,” Alisa said.

  Mica snorted.

  “If you could let me go,” Medric said, “I might someday be in a position to help you. I’ll get back on my feet. I’m the youngest in the family. I’m used to having to pick myself up after a beating.” His mouth twisted wryly at some memory—or many memories.

  “I don’t need any favors,” Alisa said, “but my friend there, the one your people tortured—”

  “With reason.” Medric’s face grew hard. “He killed one of our brothers.”

  “Actually, he didn’t.” Alisa waited for the man to look back at Beck before raising her eyebrows at Abelardus. She tried to make the gesture significant, to imply that if he could manipulate the man into believing what she said about Beck that she would appreciate it.

  Abelardus was leaning against the hull by the hatchway, his fists on his hips, looking sullen. He did not miss her look, but he spoke into her mind, rather than simply nodding as she wished.

  I’ll do my best to help you with this, as I helped you get Beck, but you must give me your word that you’ll help me.

  With Durant? I already said I would.

  With Durant and with getting the staff. Those people can’t be permitted to keep it. They’re too dangerous. They’ll use it to do something that neither you nor Alejandro wish, something that has nothing to do with the empire or the Alliance.

  Like what? You said you weren’t sure who they were.

  Agree to help me, Abelardus urged, not answering the question. Your window of opportunity with him won’t be large. The White Dragon man was glaring at Beck, who was glaring right back. He’s rattled and scared now. That won’t last. He’s a pompous ass underneath.

  I don’t know what you think I can do in regard to the staff, but I agree to help, after we find Jelena.

  Abelardus hesitated, his eyes narrowing. Very well. He nodded toward Medric. Do your best to convince him. I’ll make sure he finds the argument persuasive.

  “Did your people ever start an investigation?” Alisa asked, drawing the man’s gaze back toward her. “Or did they just assume Beck was the culprit? And if so, why would they assume that? He’s a simple man from an algae farm. Why would he pick a fight with an entire mafia clan? Who would be that foolish?”

  “My brother died at his restaurant.”

  “Yet another reason Beck couldn’t have been responsible. Who would kill a powerful mafia leader on his own doorstep? Again, it would have been foolish of him.”

  “Well, he doesn’t look that smart.” Medric eyeballed Beck again.

  “It’s hard to look smart when you’re naked and beaten,” Beck said. “If you’d like, I could put on some spectacles and nibble thoughtfully on a pencil.”

  “As if you’d nibble on something without grill marks on it,” Mica said.

  “Who said there wouldn’t be grill marks on the pencil?” Beck winked at Mica, though it seemed half-hearted. He was alternately looking at the mafia man and at Alisa, a hint of hope in his eyes.

  Alisa knew he had planned to use force on Medric, to make him tell his people to leave him alone, but she doubted that would work. He might go along with them now, but he would only turn on them later, once he was free of their influence. Of course, she also did not know if Abelardus could permanently persuade the man to leave Beck alone. Abelardus had admitted that the Starseer mind manipulations tended to be temporary and couldn’t usually get a person to deviate far from his natural tendencies. What would the tendencies of a youngest brother in a mafia clan be?

  “If you were to do a little research into what happened that night,” Alisa said, “perhaps you could discover who really killed your brother. Right now, someone is feeling very smug that they pulled a bag over the heads of your clan and got away with some plot. If you were the one to get to the bottom of what happened that day, your brothers might be proud of you, might even forgive this little mishap.” She waved vaguel
y in the direction of Terra Dhwan.

  “I…” Medric chewed on his lip, and Alisa imagined she could see Abelardus sending invisible beams of power at his head. “It would be good to be the one to avenge Alric’s death. I wouldn’t be the screw-up then. The one in the family who…” He frowned at her, as if he had forgotten she was there for a moment, that he was essentially in the hands of enemies.

  “You know Beck didn’t do it,” Alisa said. “Think of how good it will feel to find the person who did. If that person is left to roam freely, he or she could plot against your people again. You don’t want that, right? You want to be the hero, not the screw-up.”

  She felt as manipulative as Solstice for trying to twist the man around her finger so, but it seemed to be working. He was nodding, a little jerkily, but nodding all the same. Abelardus, standing out of his sight, wore that distant expression; he must be working hard to have this influence. Alisa prayed that it stuck. She refused to feel morally squeamish about what they were doing. This man belonged to the clan that had been trying to kill Beck—and anyone around him—for months, and the suns knew he must have killed countless others. He’d certainly ordered Beck tortured without any qualms.

  “The hero, yes.” Medric bit his lip. “I do want to be the hero. For once in my life.”

  Alisa’s comm beeped.

  “Alisa?” Leonidas asked. “Solstice is ready to take her ship back.”

  “I guess that means we’re supposed to clear out,” Mica said.

  Medric’s eyes widened. “Not me. I can’t get caught by her people. I—” He stood up, forgetting that his cuffs were attached to the seat in front of him.

  “Of course not,” Alisa said soothingly. “That’s the deal, right? You find out who really killed your brother, call the White Dragon attack dogs off Beck, and we turn our backs while you sneak out. Solstice never needs to know you were here.”

  “Yes. Deal.” Medric did his best to thrust his hand out with the cuffs restraining him.

  Alisa clasped his hand. “Who’s got the keys?”