by M. D. Cooper
“She might be Scipian too,” Nadine said. “For all we know, she’s with their government, and now she’s in charge of the GFF. I don’t like this, Kylie. I think we’re just pawns in something larger.”
“How is that news?” Rogers asked.
It wasn’t ideal, Kylie granted Nadine that. “We have to get clear of all this, stay out of more political entanglements. If the cops found Lana, we’d know, and if she got clear, she’d be on the Link telling us to get her. That means this Drex guy, and probably Vaax, has her. It makes sense, Vaax was interested in Lana. She knew all about her from the start.”
“Then they’re going to move her, fast,” Winter said. “The Futz is on lockdown right now; no one in, no one out.”
“Yeah,” Rogers said with a nod. “They’re treating this like an attempted assassination on the president. That guard was less than fifteen meters from Vaax when Lana killed him.”
The words stopped everyone for a moment and the four shared a series of long looks.
It occurred to Kylie as they stood silently, that this was the first time her four original crew members had been alone since Grayson joined them back at Trio. There was something reassuring about that. They were a team, and they could handle this.
“Once the lockdown is lifted, they’re going to get her off The Futz,” Winter said. “I hate political shit more than anyone, but if Scipio gets that tech, then they’re gonna steamroll the fringe and Silstrand. That means Gedri too—and I like Gedri.”
“You’re probably the only one,” Rogers said with a shake of his head.
“So, then we have to get Lana back before they ship her out,” Nadine said. “And then, what do we do with her? She’s turning into a liability we don’t need.”
Nadine’s voice was cold, and everyone started at her in surprise. “Dang, girl,” Winter said. “That was harsh.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Nadine took a deep breath. “Maybe it’s because I was kidnapped because of her, or I know what you all went through. I just feel like…if she’s going to behave like this, she’s going to get one of you killed.” Nadine touched Kylie’s arm. “Please, don’t think ill of me.”
“It would never happen,” Kylie said. “I know how protective of us you are and we’re the same way with you. Much as I hate to say it, when we get Lana back we need to reach out to the SSF. Not Samuel; someone else in the military. I have some contacts.”
“The space force?” Nadine’s eyes widened. “I thought you were against them having Lana?”
“I was against being arrested and thrown in jail forever. I was against them forcing their way onto my ship. Someone is going to end up with the tech and I’d rather it be Silstrand.”
“Or we could sell it,” Winter said.
“No,” Kylie said forcefully. “This isn’t the sort of thing that goes to the highest bidder, Winter.”
“Just thinking out loud, Captain.” He shrugged and stretched, his impressive shoulders and bulging pecs intended to be intimidating—and they used to be. Now, Kylie knew she could mop the floor with him—if she had to—but Nadine didn’t know the nano was inside of Kylie, and Kylie wanted to keep it that way for a little bit longer.
But soon she would have to find a way to tell her.
Marge joined the conversation.
Winter’s face turned beet red. “We’re junkers,” he all but yelled. “This is what we do. We sell things we don’t own. Things we have no real claim to.”
He looked enraged, and Kylie wondered how much of it was from guilt over losing Lana. Or over whatever they had been up to. Which was exceedingly gross.
However, there was no time to dive into that, or to pussyfoot around. “Do I need to lock you in the airlock again? I haven’t forgotten your past behavior, Winter. Don’t relapse, do I make myself clear?”
Winter nodded. “I won’t side against you again. I made that promise, and it’s one I intend to keep.”
“But Silstrand? The government?” Nadine asked. “Surely, there is something else we can do.”
Kylie wondered what else Nadine thought they could do. She was tempted to ask, but didn’t want to prolong the conversation. “Let’s find her first. If they need to get her off this planet, then one of the ships currently docked on The Futz is going to take her. We need to start poring through whatever we can find on these ships.”
Marge said.
Kylie hoped Marge had been discrete.
“Great. Once she gets that onto the shipnet, you all start going over every ship on there. We want to find ones with ties to Scipio and Vaax if we can. Look for any mention of a Drex guy too.”
“Might be Drax,” Winter added.
Kylie turned back to the airlock and stepped iside.
“And you?” Rogers asked. “Where are you going?”
Kylie gave a rueful shake of her head. “Vaax and Maverick wanted to see me. And now I have even more reason to see them.”
“Be careful,” Nadine said. “Harken is still alive. You can bet she’s going to have people looking for you.”
That certainly wasn’t anything Kylie didn’t already know. She nodded and blew Nadine a kiss.
* * * * *
Kylie’s stomach flipped.
Her heart had only one answer.
She took his silence as a sign he understood. Kylie didn’t need any complications and she certainly didn’t need Grayson sulking around her ship, no matter what it was her heart said.
She stayed in the midst of the crowds, and walked up the Tower’s stairs two steps at a time. Once inside the large foyer, she took a left and then slipped into a stairwell, went up two floors, down a hall to a lift, which she took to another floor, before taking another stairwell the rest of the way to the hundred-and-seventy-third floor.
There was no way anyone would expect her to walk that many stairs—let alone by herself—but she enjoyed the exercise, and didn’t even become winded.
Once on the hundred-and-seventy-third floor, she was met by one of Vaax’s assistants, and ushered into the president’s office.
The room was plush and opulent, but Kylie hardly noticed as Vaax stood and strode around her desk.
“You want to tell me what happened? How the hell did Harken get to stand up there and spout those lies? You were supposed to have this handled!”
“I’m here to explain and apologize—if you’ll give me a minute,” Kylie said.
; Vaax’s eyebrow ticked up. “I’m a patient woman, but I find that quality waning in your presence. It better be good.”
It wasn’t. Kylie knew her excuses were just excuses. Lana never should’ve been off the ship with Winter on an assignment. She hadn’t been ready and Kylie shouldn’t have allowed it. But what choice had she had. Stopping Lana from doing something she wanted was easier said than done.
“We had a problem. One of my crew members saw something they didn’t like and rushed off. Instead of taking Harken out, my sniper rushed after her.”
“Her?” Vaax said with distain. “What crew member is this? I want to talk to ‘her’.”
Crap, Kylie realized her mistake right away. So much for playing it close to the chest. “You can’t. She’s missing right now.”
“Missing?” Vaax laughed. “Oh, this is rich. But one thing that won’t be rich is you. You had one chance, one shot, and you blew it. The senate committee is turning against me. Even Hersch is doubtful I’ll make it through. Harken tore your story to shreds. So, unless you can produce Lana tomorrow—which I suspect you can’t—or Harken dies between now and then, we’re all in a world of hurt.”
Kylie didn’t know what to say. Good? Too bad? Instead she stood there with her hands folded neatly and gave an honest answer. “Truth is, Vaax, I’m not sure I trust you.”
Her eyes widened. “You don’t trust me? A junker doesn’t trust me?”
Kylie shrugged, glad to have gotten under the woman’s skin. “I’ve looked you up since our first meeting. It seems lot of people end up dead when you’re around. You climbed your way to the top and killed as you went; not too different from Harken if you ask me. Maybe that’s just how you get things done, but it makes me wonder what you’re after? Why do you want to be president of the GFF so bad?”
“It’s not quantum computing. It’s power. And money.” Vaax poured herself a drink but didn’t offer one to Kylie this time.
She took a sip, eyeing Kylie over the rim, and Kylie wondered what was going through the president’s mind. Chances are it wasn’t good. “Well, I hope you missing crewmember turns up,” she said with a smirk.
“So, what’s next” Kylie asked.
“You still have to live up to your end of the bargain,” Vaax said. “Kill Harken.”
As Vaax spoke, her assistant ushered Maverick into the room.
“Seems like I came at the right time. I can help with that.” He walked past Kylie to the bar and poured himself a glass of whisky.
Kylie crossed her arms and glared at him.
The coldness in his voice shut her right up and she stalked to one of the sofas and sat down.
“I don’t know if you warrant a drink, Maverick,” Vaax said.
“No?” Maverick asked. “You may be top of the heap today, but it’s only because I pushed you up there.”
Vaax leveled an icy stare at Maverick. “And if I fall, it’ll be because of you and your incompetent lackey here.”
“Hey! I—” Kylie stopped herself. “Mav. You said you can help?”
Maverick took a deep breath and nodded. “I have a lead on where Harken might be. I’ll pass it to you, but you need a way to get in there unnoticed. This will look better for all of us if Harken dies suddenly and without warning.”
Kylie thought of her Trylodyne armor. “I have just the thing.”
“Oh yeah?” Vaax asked. “Is it better than your rogue crewmember who runs off and botches assassinations?”
Maverick raised an eyebrow. “Winter ran off? That seems unlike him.”
“No, not the big white ape, some other girl,” Vaax said with narrowed eyes.
Oh crap, here it comes, Kylie thought.
“Nadine was with you,” Maverick said. “What other girl is on your ship?”
“Just someone we rescued from Harken’s brothel,” Kylie said as she rose. “I’d better get back to my ship to gear up. I can take Harken out in the next hour.”
Vaax nodded and waved her hand dismissively. “Go. Do it.”
Maverick stood stock still, staring at her over his glass of whiskey, and Kylie left without saying another word.
She strode down the corridor to the lift, when Maverick burst out of Vaax’s office.
“Kylie! Stop!”
Kylie summoned the lift and turned to wait for Maverick to catch up.
“You had her,” he hissed. “Samuel’s daughter. You actually rescued her from Harken!”
“Why do you think that?” Kylie asked, keeping her voice steady.
Maverick snorted. “Please. Don’t take me for a fool. I made you what you are today. I can see right through you. You rescued that girl, but didn’t turn her over to Samuel. That’s why the SSF is chasing you, but hasn’t issued a warrant. They don’t want everyone else in the system to know you have the prize.”
Kylie sighed as the lift doors opened and she stepped in.
“Had.”
Maverick followed after her.
“So, you lost her?”
Kylie nodded.
“Then you’d better take Harken out fast. If you had the girl, then that explains why Harken hadn’t been using her against Samuel. If Harken has her, then she really does hold all the cards.”
“If she has Lana,” Kylie said.
“Who else might have her?”
Kylie decided that taking her own suspicions and planting them in Maverick’s mind may just work to her benefit.
“Lana was to smuggle valuable tech to Scipio,” Kylie said. “Today she saw her contact sitting with Vaax. It’s very likely that Vaax is responsible for this whole mess, and that she answers to someone in Scipio.”
Maverick took a step back, his eyes widening. “That makes sense. It explains a number of inconsistencies.”
“What inconsistencies?” Kylie asked.
“Doesn’t matter.” Maverick shook his head. “I passed you what I have on Harken. Regardless of who Vaax answers to, I want Harken dead. You still work for me, Kylie Rhoads, now go do your job.”
The words burned in Kylie’s mind and she wanted to lash out at Maverick, but getting rid of Harken worked to her advantage as well.
And it was just as likely that the evil bitch had Lana as Vaax.
TAKING CARE OF MATTERS
STELLAR DATE: 09.23.8947 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: The Futz, Station Security Office 1.3, Ring 2, Freemont
REGION: Gedri System, Silstrand Alliance
Winter was checking over three of the ships on their ‘probable’ list, while Nadine and Rogers paired up to check on several others.
Winter being off on his own was fine by Nadine—he was notoriously suspicious. Over the years he had developed a protective big-brother attitude with her, but that typically limited her freedom. Rogers on the other hand, was a teddy bear who would do whatever she asked.
Putty in her hands. Nadine almost felt bad about it.
Nadine slinked into the security office, and leaned on the front counter. A solitary woman sat behind the desk staring at a holodisplay in annoyance.
She scowled as Nadine leaned on the counter and said, “What do you want, I’m busy.”
“I’m so terribly sorry to bother you,” Nadine said in her sweetest voice. “I just can’t remember where I parked!”
The security officer looked Nadine over, likely identifying her by her Link presence. “You can’t find a PetSil Scrapper class starship?”
“Well,” Nadine drawled as she twirled her hair around a finger. “I was drinking at the time. They all start to look alike after a while, don’t they?”
“No, not like yours,” the security guard said with a sigh as she stood up and leaned over to point out the window. “Down there, in Bay 12A. You can see the entrance from here.”
As the woman stretched her hand out, Nadine grabbed it and pulled the woman forward, pressing a hypospray against here neck.
“Good work,” Rogers said as he walked into the office and stepped behind the counter. He lowered the guard to the floor and tucked her under the counter while Nadine sat behind the console and looked over the system—which the guard had remained logged into.
“You’re stronger than I am. I don’t know why you make me do all the work,” Nadine said.
“Boobs,” Rogers said as he struggled with the unconscious woman, who kept flopping over.
While he was distracted, Nadine touched one of the access ports on the console and fed her own nano into it.
It wasn’t as advanced as the tech which now resided in Kylie, but she knew how to take full advantage of her nano, rather than floundering about like Kylie and Lana did.
Seconds later, she had full access to all local feeds and data, and set a small NSAI working on accessing every visual feed on The Futz.
Rogers rose and settled into a chair beside her. “Wow, you got right in there. I thought they’d have tougher security here.”
Nadine shrugged. “Or maybe I’m better at this stuff than you thought.”
Rogers grinned. “Nadine Devonire. Hacker extra-ordinaire.”
“Shut up and look through the feeds I’m passing you. They’re for four of the ships on our list,” Nadine said with a smile.
It was second nature to her now, the personality of ‘Nadine-the-communications-officer’. It wasn’t much different than who she had been fifty years ago, before she’d joined The Hand. Sometimes it was easy to pretend that this was all she was—a crewmember of the Dauntless, not an agent of a secret spy organization belonging to the secret government of a secret nation.
Once Rogers was engrossed in his task, she switched from dockside footage to a listing of all of Senator Ian’s holdings. Over the years, she had built a sizable database of all the connections and shell companies for most of the major players in the Gedri System, and Ian was no exception.
She sorted through them by proximity to the GFF’s People’s Republic Tower, cross-referencing security feeds, and wireless Link access points, looking for Harken’s tokens.