by Susan Kelley
Vannie grabbed Moe’s arm before he swung again. “Listen, Vin, we don’t know your business, but Emma has been under our protection since she arrived here. We let you have your secrets but you’ve stepped over a line when you seduce our sweet girl. It can be a lonely life out here for such as her. We won’t have a wandering warrior taking advantage of her giving nature.”
Vin knew what seduce meant. Had he taken advantage of Emma? Hadn’t any reluctance been his? The Recon Marines had stopped taking blame when innocent a while ago. “I didn’t seduce her.”
“Then how did she wind up in your bed? She’s turned away the attentions of pretty men before.” Moe lifted his fist and shifted his weight as if getting ready to attack. “You’ve been sniffing after her since the day you helped her with Russ.”
“Her cooking smells delicious. Everyone who eats in your café sniffs it.”
Moe took another ineffectual swing and then followed it with a looping hook that Vin retreated from.
Vin heard her footsteps outside before the door opened. Emma strode in and then froze in place. Her eyes widened. “Vannie, Moe, what are you doing here?”
The two men glared at Vin and remained silent. They didn’t even turn toward Emma, very disrespectful behavior toward the women they claimed to protect.
Vin answered for them, glad he completely understood a question. “I think they were informing me that I need their permission to have you in my bed. But they’re wrong that I seduced you by helping Russ. I don’t know why it’s wrong, but they’re angry that I sniff the wonderful aromas of your cooking.”
Moe dropped his hands, relaxing his fists. He shook his head and turned to Vannie. “Either he’s the best actor I’ve ever met, or he speaks a different language.”
“I speak many languages, but I have excellent comprehension and deliverance of the common tongue you use.” Vin wondered if Moe had a disability.
Emma slammed the shop door closed and sauntered around her friends to Vin’s side. She placed her hands on her hips and faced them. “I’m sure Vin must have misunderstood. You two didn’t trap him in his shop and try to intimidate him into staying away from me, did you?”
“I don’t feel trapped, Emma, nor do I feel intimidated.” Vin wondered at the heat in her voice though it seemed directed at Moe and Vannie.
“Have you ever felt intimidated, Vin?” But Emma kept her glare on the other men.
“Not by other men.”
“Emma, dear, you know we only want what’s best for you,” Vannie said. “Did you just hear how he talked? There’s something not right about this man. We don’t even know why he’s on Merris Five. He’s inserted himself into every working of this town, made himself useful, and managed to stay close to you.”
“I know that.”
The men looked from Emma to Vin and back again. Finally Moe spoke. “You know he came here to get close to you?”
“I appreciate how you two have set yourselves as my guardians even though I never asked for your protection. But I’m not a fluff-headed young girl. I’m an experienced doctor and I figured out who Vin is and why he’s here a little while ago.”
“You did?” Vannie asked. “You didn’t share that with us?”
Emma sighed, and her angry posture relaxed. “Vin’s secrets are his to keep or not. He did come here because of me but not for me.”
Moe shook his head. “That makes no sense. Did the admiral hire him or not?”
Emma looked toward Vin, and he understood the question in her eyes. A warm spurt of joy followed that understanding. He’d been able to share unspoken communications with his brothers and for a little while with Yalo. Only people sharing a closeness of spirit could do that.
Vin switched his gaze to the two men who didn’t return his smile. “I’m looking for the admiral for my own reasons. I haven’t been able to find him, but I learned he had mounted a wide search for his stepdaughter, Emma. I found her and decided to wait at her side until the admiral comes for her.”
Vannie’s fist rose alongside Moe’s this time. “You gave her location to the admiral?”
How had Vannie deduced that from what he’d told them? Maybe he wasn’t very high on the intelligence quotient. “No.”
“You’re just going to wait here forever until he finds her?” Vannie asked.
“I have nowhere else to be. I can wait as long as it takes, but he’ll find her soon in the same way I did by eliminating places she could be.”
The two men relaxed though Vannie still looked angry. “Why do you want to find the admiral? We heard the rumors he was hiding, something about his involvement in the military trials of those infamous Recon….”
“Holy bastard in hell,” Moe cursed. “And you’re one of those Recon Marines.”
“You must not tell anyone,” Emma ordered. “Vin is supposed to be dead. Someone might come for him if word gets out.”
Warmth spread through Vin again, larger this time. He wanted the men gone so he could be alone with Emma.
“Emma, he’s dangerous.” Vannie looked at his fists and dropped them to his side. “One of the most dangerous men in the universe.”
“To his enemies but not to me. Not to us and not to Hovel Port.” Emma threaded her arm through Vin’s. “Vin’s home is with us now. The three of us have been like family and now Vin is part of it.”
Something tickled the back of Vin’s throat, and he couldn’t have spoken if he’d had something to say. There was nothing to be added to Emma’s declaration. Family and home.
“And when the admiral shows up?” Moe asked.
Before anyone could answer, Vin’s AI trilled an alert. He untangled his arm from Emma’s and walked to the table. “I have it. We’re in their memory cells and linked to their modar waves.”
“Modar waves?” Moe asked.
“All interstellar communications move in modar bundles,” Vin explained. “The military has been using them for about three years and now they’re being used by civilian corporations rich enough to afford them. They’re more difficult to intercept.”
“But you intercepted them?” Emma joined him at the table, with Vannie and Moe following along.
Vin touched the screens to get into the personal files of Underboss Lee Caoca. Schematics of the mine and its shafts filled one file, showing the deep bores made into the surface, one nearly a mile long. He slid that file aside and pulled up a geological bundle. The first survey pictured the veins of silver with the mine overlaying and following the nearly vertical lines of ore.
“Looks like they’ve about dug out all their ore,” Vannie muttered. “Not good for us or them.”
Vin nodded. “Most of the men weren’t even working when I was at their camp.”
“Why try to run us out then, if they’re going dry anyway?” Moe asked. “We’ll be gone soon after them. Once they stop using the river as sluice water, we won’t be finding any silver nuggets in it.”
“Maybe it’s plain meanness,” Vannie suggested.
Vin navigated a few more files, planning on returning to them later. He’d probably find evidence of the attacks on the village and maybe the name of the virus cooking up on his roof. One file carried the name Iris. Something about the title caught and held his attention, like it should mean something to him.
The Iris file contained another geological survey. It covered the area of Hovel Port and miles of the jungle around it. Two half circles of mineral deposit were highlighted in silver beneath the town. The half circles looked like they’d once been a ball but had split nearly evenly so one edged the north gate and the other the south gate. Only a small gap separated them. Vin judged the deposits lay less than one hundred feet beneath the surface.
“What is that?” Emma asked. “Is that our land?”
Vin pointed at the name on the file where it hovered in the upper corner of the screen. “Iris, name of an ancient goddess. The man who discovered this mineral named it after her. This deposit is why they’re trying to chase you
off.” He traced his finger around the half circles. “There’s a fortune in iridium beneath our feet.”
Chapter Twelve
“Iridium?” Emma asked at the same time as Moe and Vannie. “It’s more valuable than silver?”
“Silver is integral to the working of most communications from planet wide units to interplanetary waves.” Vin tapped the AI unit. “There’s silver in here and in the guidance systems of all flying crafts. Silver is valuable, but iridium is rarer and just as crucial for space travel. Iridium is one of the densest metals ever discovered. On old Earth, it was believed that any iridium found there came from the impact of comets or meteors. It takes special equipment to mine it and shape it into something useful. But once constructed, things made of iridium can withstand high temperatures and pressure. Almost nothing will corrode it so things made of it last a long time. The thermo-generators powering most space stations have parts made of iridium. In all the exploration done in the known universe, there’s still no known source of this rare element except deposits like this one. Probably a meteor or a piece of a comet impacted here thousands of years ago and is slowly sinking toward the center of the planet. Iridium is very heavy.”
Vannie pulled up a chair and sat beside Vin. “Is the entire deposit within the town walls?”
Vin tapped the screen, designing the outline of the town and matching its coordinates with the mineral deposits. “Looks like the iridium is nearly even with the north and south gates but extends a couple of hundred feet beyond the east and west walls. How does one come to own portions of an outlying world like this one?”
Emma leaned against Vin’s arm. “I sent in the proper forms when I settled here. Then I sold each resident their own plot. I hold the deeds for all the land between here and the property line of Hadrason’s mining town.”
“She sold each one for less than an ounce of silver,” Moe muttered.
“That’s all many of them could afford and still feed their families.” Emma would have gladly given them the plots for free but an exchange of coin made it official with the Intergalactic Ministry. One owned land on unclaimed planets only by filing with the proper government office. “It does make sense. The only way to lose your land is to desert it. If the Underboss frightens us off they can take the land.”
“The bastard might even be planning to take it without the knowledge of his superiors,” Vannie said. “He would be rich beyond what one man could use in a lifetime.”
“He still needs to get rid of us,” Emma said.
“This man has already resorted to lethal force.” Vin navigated through the screen to another file. “Maybe we can find what they’re planning next.”
“Will they know you’re snooping on them?” Moe asked.
“No. Their basic programs are older than the one I’m using. I can find anything.” Vin smiled. “Here’s a recent order for some new elevator equipment. Some of theirs needs replaced.”
Emma wondered about the satisfied smile on Vin’s face. “It’s late. Now that you’ve cracked their code you can get back into their system tomorrow. I’m still short some sleep.”
Vin looked at her and comprehension softened his intense stare. He slid his hand across the AI screen, and it went dark. He stood up, forcing Moe and Vannie to step back. “Do I need to ask these men if I can take you to bed, Doctor Emma.”
Moe slapped his hand to his forehead and started for the door. “We have a lot to talk about tomorrow.”
Vannie lingered a moment longer, shaking his finger in front of Vin’s face. “Don’t you hurt our girl.”
“I would never.”
Emma believed Vin meant it though he only thought of physical harm. Only her heart was in jeopardy from this dangerous man. But tonight she wasn’t going to worry about it.
She took Vin’s arm and led him toward the stairs. When she reached the first step he bent down and put his arm behind her knees. He lifted her and smiled when she squealed. What she wouldn’t give to keep that smile on his face. He carried her up the stairs as if she were made of paper.
The only light in the loft room came from the distant glow of the lamp near the front door. Vin set Emma down on his military perfect bed.
They took time undressing each other, touching and kissing throughout the drawn out process. When they could wait no longer to join their bodies, Emma pushed Vin to his back and straddled his hips. His gasped surprise nearly sent her over the edge. He quickly caught onto all the wonderful things he could do with his hands in the new position. His strength surprised her as he guided her hips so they both found completion.
Emma wilted across Vin’s chest, both their skins damp. He rolled her to his side and guided her head to his shoulder. She rubbed her hand across his smooth chest, enjoying the sharp definition of his muscles even though he sprawled in complete relaxation.
Though her physician mind wandered toward the epigenetics experiments that went into his making, she pushed aside any scientific curiosity and instead reveled in the heat and strength beneath her head. For this night she would enjoy her man and not worry that he wasn’t hers to keep. Tomorrow they would figure out what to do with their new wealth and the problems likely already coming their way.
* * * *
Vin stood near his shop door as Vannie and Moe addressed the entire town. The moods of the people ranged widely, few of which Vin could interpret. He’d found nothing new in the Underboss’s files but he used the early morning hours to delve deeper into the information he had found. The Hadrason’s mine’s output had declined steadily over the last year. Most mines would have closed by now with the sluggish amounts of ore they’d been pulling from the ground. Even with the low cost of using human miners instead of robotic units, their accounting showed a loss over the last two months in the silver market. The lumber shipments kept them viable but before long there would be no silver dug from the ground at all. The Underboss would turn desperate soon.
“You mean we’re all rich?” someone from the gathering said.
Vannie grinned. “We are, but our fortune is what has caused these accidents. The Underboss knows about the iridium. It’s the reason they’ve been trying to drive us off.”
“Can’t we send for help?” another man asked. “We have legal claim. Won’t the Galactic Law Enforcement send peacekeepers to protect us?”
Vannie looked to Vin. “Will they send someone if we ask?”
Vin thought of the villages just like this one that the Recon Marines had been ordered to cleanse before they’d committed treason by refusing to attack citizens. Had any of that changed since Geoff Hadrason and his compatriots in the military lost their standing? “Don’t expect help. At best it would take an Earth month of days to get someone here. And the Underboss is likely to learn of your call for assistance. It might propel him to take immediate action against you.”
The people standing in the street went oddly silent, even the energetic children pausing in their play.
“What we’re going to do is prepare,” Vannie said. “The rain will be here the day after tomorrow. We’re not going to the river to skim for nuggets. Moe and I are going to organize a list for guard duty. So far they’ve attacked us in every different way possible so we have to prepare for anything.”
Moe stepped forward. “Vin says we’ll need to bring in a robotic mining suit to dig out the iridium. Only a few pounds per year will make all of us wealthy, but we have to guard it until we can hire our own security people.”
The people raised more questions about sharing profits and the financial side of the work, but Vannie halted it. “We’ll meet during the rainy day in the café and make sure we all understand our bounty. There’s a lot of work to be done like moving our homes off the top of the deposit. But first and foremost is about our protection. All you men step up so we can assign groups. And those with children, keep them close. The last two attacks proved they don’t care who they hurt.”
Vin slipped into the café while Moe and Vannie went
about their planning. He went through the curtain, finding Emma chopping some yellow vegetable and tossing it into a pan filled with creamy sauce. The dinner would be delicious even if he didn’t know the exact ingredients. Anything she cooked for him would taste wonderful, willfully ignoring the idea that she cooked for most of the town and not just him. Vin walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
She twisted her head and kissed his cheek but went right back to her knife work. “How’s it going out there?”
Vin savored the scent of her skin and the tickle of her hair against his face. “Nothing has gone anywhere.”
She laughed. “Are Moe and Vannie getting their plan rolling?”
Vin didn’t think anything was rolling either but he understood her intention. “They’ve explained the wealth to the people and are setting guards.”
“What’s your plan for the day?” She put down her knife and turned into his arms.
He answered her after a long kiss. Only a second of guilt touched him as he realized he no longer remembered what Yalo’s kisses had been like. They couldn’t have been better or were his heart and body so capricious? “I’m on guard duty.”
She laughed again, the sound stroking his nerves in the same way her hand ran through his hair. “Everything is safe in here, soldier.”
He smiled, knowing she joked. Seeing her happy after the many stresses and concerns since he’d met her lightened his heart. “Save me some dinner.”
She squeezed, her thin arms strong for her size. “Dinner and desert later.”
Vin left through the back door, the muted conversations telling him Vannie and Moe still worked on the guard rosters. He climbed the fence and hopped down into the greenery of the jungle.
His hover craft waited only a few steps from the wall where he’d parked it when he brought the medicine back for Julie. After gaining altitude a few yards above the highest trees, Vin did a quick patrol of the entire perimeter. He set his scanners to pick up any life forms bigger than a small child. A pack of the small hairless carnivores that hunted during the daylight hours loped on the jungle floor to the west. A small moose cropped on the tender grass shoots sprouting along the north bound road. He saw no sign of human incursion.