Living in Freefall (Living on the Run Book 1)

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Living in Freefall (Living on the Run Book 1) Page 5

by Ben Patterson


  Now intrigued, Jordon focused on the boy. “Yes, Josh? Go on.”

  “At present, where are those two Talons?”

  Ericca grabbed the casserole ladle as she spoke. “They’re too big for the Cargo bay, Josh, so we have them in tow.” She added another half-portion to her plate. Mara took note of her. Ericca’s tone was soft, gentle, and pleasant, but it still set Mara’s nerves on edge. Ericca’s effort to join the conversation was understandable, but Mara would just as soon she didn’t.

  “Nobody would want those trucks in their bay,” Josh said, responding to Ericca. He set his fork down and pointed to Freefall’s stern. “But consider this. They’re right out there in the open.”

  “What of it?” asked Riley.

  “I think they were meant to be captured. But I also believe they are more than just disinformation. I think they’re being tracked right now, and I believe Freefall specifically is the Confed’s true target.”

  Ericca glowered at Capt. Kori.

  “They think this ship is a myth,” Riley said soberly. “Honestly. An old freighter with special powers? Who’d believe that? They have to think those stories are just crazy talk.”

  “Do they?” Josh asked. “Isn’t it wise to investigate a myth to be certain it’s just that—a myth? Mr. Kori, if I’m overreacting, no harm, no foul, but if I’m right, then we had better turn this situation around. If those Talons are just disinformation, then fine, but if they’re Trojan horses, and we make a beeline for home ...”

  Jordon eased forward in his chair. “Freefall?” He moved to scratch his chin, then caught himself.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Between here and home, are there any places for ambush?”

  “Yes, sir. Several areas put us at risk.”

  “So, Josh, you really believe we’re their target?”

  “Excuse me,” Ericca interrupted politely, “Mrs. Kori, you always prepare such a lovely table, and provide a delicious meal. I thank you, and I don’t mean to be rude, but there are things that require my attention.” With that, she pushed to her feet.

  “Thank you, Ericca,” Mara said, forcing a smile. “Please. By all means. We understand.”

  Ericca returned the smile, tossed her napkin onto her plate, and walked out of the room.

  Though her doing so caught everyone off guard, Joshua continued anyway. “Freefall is most likely their target, her stealth devise especially. I imagine they’ll prize her shield generators, weapons systems, long-range scanner array, and A.I. computer mainframe as well. They’ll gut this ship if they can, and set the rest adrift. And we’ll find ourselves plowing some field on Parandi, or working some radium mine on some remote Confederate moon.”

  Distaste shadowed Jordon’s face. “Freefall, plot a safe course through those places of ambush back to Providence, please.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Josh breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Captain.”

  Bothered and sullen, Jordon nodded once. “Your intuition has never been wrong, Josh. And you’re right—we can’t afford to be predictable to a ruthless enemy. I see no harm in checking out your suspicions before we head back to Providence.”

  “Sir?” said Freefall.

  “Go ahead.”

  “The new course takes us away from Saigus.”

  “No, Freefall. Include the asteroid field in the new path, will you? Make that our first stop.”

  “Yes, sir. This will bring us dangerously close to one potential place of ambush, sir.”

  “Which is?”

  “Enri, sir.”

  “Is there no other way?”

  “Sorry, sir. Not without taking us fifty-three light years out of our way.”

  “Finally,” Riley muttered under his breath.

  “Excuse me,” the captain said.

  “Nothing, sir.”

  “Go ahead, Riley. Spit it out.”

  He took and released a heavy sigh before bringing hard eyes up to his captain. “Sir, you always play it safe. Take a risk for once. Enri isn’t all that bad. It’s certainly nothing Ericca and I can’t handle.”

  “I don’t mind risk, Riley. I just don’t see a need to take undue risk when it can be avoided.”

  “Excuse me? Why in thunder are we here, Ericca and I? You like paying top dollar for nothing?”

  Now Ericca’s attitude of late was starting to make sense to Mara.

  Jordon rubbed his face with both hands. “Mr. Riley, I see no reason to look for trouble when it can be avoided. There are, however, occasions like this one where we’ll truly require your services. When we pass by Enri, we’ll need you and your sister in Viper flying cover. Just get us through the straits safely and you’ll have earned your pay for the year.”

  “Very well.”

  “Look, I keep you and Ericca on retainer because this sort of thing is bound to crop up from time to time. Your pay will double where hazards truly exist and triple if you need to face hostile fire.”

  “Sis and I just thought it would happen more often.”

  “Honestly? Do you two really have an issue with my playing it safe?”

  “No. No. Play it safe. Avoid danger. Take no risks. Just don’t expect Ericca and me to stick around if that’s all you’re going to do.”

  “Are you saying what I pay you isn’t enough to keep you?”

  “It isn’t the money. Saturn’s rings, the pay is fine, better than fine actually. I don’t expect to get near as much working for someone else. But this life, this always playing it safe, it’s too poontarded dull for us. Pardon my language. I can’t speak for Ericca, but I’d like to see more action even if it means less money.”

  “I see I’m going to have to rethink everything.”

  “No disrespect, sir, but loads of money isn’t going to keep us here if all we’re doing is twiddling our thumbs.”

  “I see.” Jordon considered the young mercenary for a moment. “You’re right. I’ve been unfair to both of you. Stick around. Let’s complete this mission, and, from here on out, I’ll see to it that your lives are more interesting. Fair enough?”

  “I’m willing to stick around and at least see what you have in mind,” Riley said. “But I can’t promise Ericca will.”

  “I’ll talk to her,” Jordon said.

  “Let her go, Jordy,” Mara said.

  “Mom, I’ll talk to her.”

  “It might be best if she found work elsewhere.”

  “She goes, I go,” Archer said.

  “Enough!” Jordon’s face was red anger, his eyes flicking from Riley to Mara and back again.

  Mara favored him with the faintest of smiles, and he turned his attention to Josh.

  “Alright. Setting that aside, let’s get back to business. Let’s assume the Talons are a trap—let’s try turning this situation to our advantage.”

  Josh cocked his head and raised a sheepish smile. “Since we’re on the subject, I could stand a raise.”

  “Me too,” Nate piped up.

  “Nice try, boys. Can we talk about that later? Right now we have a job to do.”

  “Yes sir. Where do we start?”

  “We have a shipment bound for Saigus.” Jordon said, patting his mother’s hand. “And I’ll need help. It’s high time we paid a call on relatives, don’t you think, Mom?”

  Mara leaned closer to him and spoke softly, “I don’t like believing this ship is on the Prias’s ‘To find’ list, but seeing that as so would be prudent.” She turned to Riley. “But first things first. Shouldn’t our recon team prepare to drop?”

  Startled to wide-eyed readiness, Riley perked up. “Right now? We’re not even close to Enri.”

  With her motherly instincts fully engaged, Mara turned to the young strategist. “I may be wrong, Josh, but shouldn’t we find out if those two Talon pilots made it to Hawthorn?” In her mind, she saw the two inspectors as boys their own mothers might miss should something bad have happened to them.

  The teen smiled. “Yes. I think it woul
d be best if we assumed nothing. We should tie down that loose end before anything else. Tracking down those two pilots—knowing what really happened to them—would put us ahead of the game.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Jordon said. “Riley, grab your sister and put that issue to bed, then catch up to us when you’re done. I want Viper beside us when we do Enri.”

  “Yes sir,” Riley said enthusiastically.

  “Before that,” Jordon added, “I’ll need to see you, Mom, and Josh in my office alone. I have an idea that’ll require all your input.”

  Chapter Eight

  Later, just as Ericca and Riley passed Captain Kori’s office, he called her in.

  “You want the two of us, sir?”

  “No, just you, Ericca. Please. Come in. Sit.”

  She turned to her brother. “Go on ahead. I’ll be there shortly.”

  He nodded and went on his way to Viper, their little weaponized recon spacecraft. While she had words with Kori, probably her last, Riley could prep the ship for their flight.

  “Sir,” she said, turning to her captain.

  Jordon seemed more sad than angry as he pulled a small, oak, iron banded chest from a drawer and set it in front of her. “This is for you and Riley.”

  Perplexed, she looked at the box, looked at him, then at the box once more. “What’s this?”

  “It’s what I owe you. Payment in full for your services, plus two months’ severance.”

  “Severance? So you’re firing us? I said too much, huh?”

  Rubbing his chin through his beard, he took and released an apprehensive breath. “I’m not firing you, Ericca. But I have heard you. Your boredom isn’t without reason.”

  Ericca felt awkward. This came to her as a complete surprise, and she didn’t know what to say or think.

  Jordon cleared his throat. “Fact is I want you to see Freefall as your home and us as family. In light of that, I felt that your only tie to me—” his breath caught in in his throat at the Freudian slip—“I mean, to this ship, to us, should be your heart—plain and simple—not money owed you.” She eyed him suspiciously. He diverted his eyes. “Clearly, Ericca, you need to get out more—”

  “Don’t we all?” she cut him off, purposefully plying her sexiest low voice to provoke a response. His eyes came up and his jaw dropped down. For Ericca, this had just gotten fun. Jordon was human after all. Oddly, she suddenly found his awkwardness as something cute. Funny she hadn’t noticed that before. Then she recognized the look in his eyes. He had a thing for her. And stranger still, that didn’t seem like a bad thing.

  Recovering quickly, he added, “Yes, umm, so there you go. Spending money.”

  Ericca snorted back laughter. “You mean bail money.”

  At first, when Jordon raised a faint grin, she thought she had amused him, but there was sadness in his voice. “Go ahead. Open it.”

  She turned and pressed her thumb to the touch lock. Responding to her thumbprint, the box opened. Inside were small bars of gold bullion, and an assortment of gold coin. She lifted out a bar to examine. “Gold? Seriously?”

  “It’s solid and pure. And unlike Prov or Confed notes, those are spendable anywhere. But look at one.”

  Pressed into the face of every bar was the image of a raven’s head; the coins too. “What on Earth?”

  “It’s the logo I designed for you,” Jordon said. “Not much, but I thought . . .” He shrugged. Not knowing what to do with his hands, he first gestured awkwardly to the box, put his hands on his hips, dropped them to dangle at his side, then moved to put his hands in his pockets, before finally deciding to cross his arms. Unable to help himself, one hand shot up to his chin, resting one forefinger across his lips. “You’ll notice raven’s head faces west.”

  Amused by his nervous fidgeting, Ericca, with a growing smile, lifter her eyes to his. “I don’t know what to say, Jordon.”

  His eyes widened. Before now, Ericca had never called him by his first name. It was always Captain, or Cap, or Mr. Kori. Her doing so now had its desired effect. Without wanting to, he was giving himself away. But then she suddenly felt bad for him. She was being mean. Her teasing, pushing those particular buttons of his, was just wrong. The man was being sincere, and here she was, like a cat playing with a crippled bird, toying with his affections. He deserved better from her. He deserved her respect.

  “Umm, thank you, sir,” she added, drawing back from her desire to manipulate just another man. Jordon Kori wasn’t just another man though. From day one he had made every effort to be her friend. And how did she respond? She rolled her eyes whenever he approached. She took shots at him openly and behind his back. And the more she did so, the more awkward around her he’d become. Damned vicious cycle she herself had started way back when. Why? What was it about Jordon that drove her to distraction? She didn’t like momma’s boys—never did—but was that it? Mara could be overbearing at times, but she had no other place to go. Giving her a job on his ship was simply a decent man looking after his mother. That was noble. Wasn’t it? At least Jordon had a parent. Ericca felt a twinge of jealousy. What the hell? Where were all these unbidden emotions coming from. Reining in these rogue feelings, Ericca dropped her eyes to the bar. It was cool and smooth, and—she tested its weight—heavy.

  He shrugged. “Just let us know in advance when you need a vacation so we can plan around it.”

  “I, umm . . .” Sure. I can do that.”

  “Ericca, I’ve tried to keep you safe,” he said, “I mean us. I was only trying to keep us safe.” Unfolding his arms, he drove his hands deep into his pockets, and rocked on his heels. “You understand?”

  She smiled. “Yes. I think I do.”

  “Sorry. An unintended consequence of my doing so was, well . . .” he scuffed the floor with a foot. “I certainly don’t want to make life dull for you.”

  She tried without success to stifle her smile. “Actually, my life is just starting to get interesting.”

  The look in his eyes said he didn’t know how to take that. “You are free to go. Find adventure if that’s what you need. And you’re always free to come back to me—us!” The more he tried to control his tongue, the more nervous he became, and the more readily the truth popped out into the open. He laughed nervously, then added, “Which, by the way, would be–umm–our preference. Of course. Whose preference would it be but ours; I mean the crew’s. We all want you to stay—come back!”

  “Okaaay?” Now Ericca didn’t know what to say. Their conversation was starting to get weird.

  “And from here on out I’ll seek your advice whenever I plan a heist, caper, I mean operation!” Jordon said.

  Ericca felt her smile take control of her entire face. There seemed no stopping it. She tested the gold bar’s weight once more, then returned it to the box and closed the lid. Seeing a need, feeling the need, she came around the desk to hug her captain. Awkwardly accepted, Jordon’s stiff embrace was nothing like she’d expected. In fact it surprised her. It wasn’t smooth or graceful or gallant, but it was warm and genuine; so much more than she could have guessed. Her face flushed warm. Catching her breath, she released him, and turned as if to leave, but really, she wanted to hide her sure-to-be red face from him. She took a step toward the door.

  “Hey!” he said softly.

  She stopped but didn’t look back.

  “Don’t forget this.”

  She heard him scoop up the chest. She turned to him and held it out to her.

  “Huh? Oh, uhh,” she stammered, fighting to focus her thoughts. She grabbed the surprisingly heavy oak box and brought it to her hip to carry. Smiling sheepishly, she considered his lost boy expression for a moment longer. How could she have missed how handsome the man truly was? His auburn hair was a tussled mop on his head. And the smattering of freckles on his nose and cheeks made him look younger than Ericca. Yet something in the man’s deep-set hazel eyes drew her in like . . .

  . . . she thought for a moment . . .

  T
he draw was like a gambler on the scent of a long shot. Jordon Kori was indeed a longshot. Too great was the gamble to place a real bet on. He was a momma’s boy, and Ericca doubted he’d ever break those bonds to stand on his own two feet. She smiled, dipped her head, then headed out leaving Jordon there confused. Before stepping through the hatch, she stopped. She didn’t want to look back, but then again, she did. What would she find if she did? Unable to help herself, she glanced back over her shoulder. Jordon had followed her to his door and leaned against the jam to watch her go. For a fleeting instant, she wanted to go back to him. She didn’t know why. She certainly didn’t know what to say if she did. All she knew was, seeing him standing there looking like a lost puppy watching her go, tugged at something deep inside her—something strange—something foreign—something new.

  “Ericca,” Archer’s voice crackled in her ear breaking the spell, “ship’s ready. Where are you?”

  She touched her cheek and pressed the embedded mic. “Copy, Archer. On my way.” When she looked back up, Jordon was gone. Torn, she sighed, and headed for her little recon ship.

  Ericca stepped from the hallway into the cargo deck.

  Mara—heading the other way—saw the chest and met her with a sour face. “Got your gold. Now . . . I don’t expect you’ll be back.” Her tone sounded more like an order than an accusation.

  Too happy to do anything other than smile, Ericca thumbed open the chest, drew out three large gold coins and fanned them like playing cards for Mara to see all three.

  “I don’t want your money, child, nor do I need a tip. That you’re leaving is enough.”

  Holding her smile, Ericca pocketed the three coins, closed the lid, and shoved the box into Mara’s hands. “I’ll be back for that. Count on it, witch.” Ericca stepped past the older woman, bumping her shoulder as she went. A few steps beyond, a thought stopped her cold. Turning, she saw the older woman just standing there watching her go. Ericca spun toward her and recovered the chest with a yank. “What am I doing? Hell, I don’t even trust you. And I certainly don’t need to prove anything to you.”

  “Doesn’t matter, child. You already have.”

 

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