by Lara Morgan
“No idea.” Aunt Essie swiped a hand over the information and the projection vanished. “But I bet that Riley guy does. We’ve got to get to my friend in the Senate.”
Rosie wasn’t sure if that was the best idea but what else could they do? She fingered the pendant under her shirt.
“Jesus, kid, you’ve been all alone,” Aunt Essie said as she went towards the kitchen. “Why didn’t you contact me?”
“I couldn’t,” Rosie said, following her aunt. “They took my com when they trashed the flat.” Then Rosie had another frightening thought. “But that’s not how they found me,” she said. “I looked you up on the Grid when I was at Juli’s.”
Aunt Essie halted and turned to stare at her. “What? Why didn’t you tell me? Christ, Rosie, they’ll know where I live. Orbitcorp security is good, but there’s no way we’re safe here. They’re probably watching, trying to figure a way in – or waiting for us to come out.” She glanced at the timer on her wrist. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do: get you cleaned up, get some food and gear, and get out of here.”
“Right, yeah.”
Her heart racing again, Rosie ran to the bathroom. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? Of course they’d track down her aunt’s address.
Stripping off her clothes, she got under the hot shower, trying not to think of how the same men who had taken her dad could be coming for her now. When was she going to stop making stupid mistakes?
When she came out wrapped in a towel, a backpack was sitting on the kitchen counter.
“Put these on.” Aunt Essie handed her a pair of jeans and a red T-shirt. “The jeans might be a bit long but you can roll them up. Take the jacket on the bench as well.”
“Where are we going?” Rosie took the clothes.
“Firstly, out of Orbitcorp.” She handed Rosie a protein bar. “Eat this. We’ll get a proper meal later. I’m going to erase my computer files – in case.”
Apprehension running through her, Rosie ate as she dressed, then swung on her backpack and followed her aunt from the apartment.
CHAPTER 15
The corridor was empty, and bright sunlight bounced off the beige walls, filling the air with warmth.
They turned right, heading away from the lifts. Before they had gone more than a few steps though, one of the lift doors opened with a soft ping, and a voice called, “Miss Black?”
Rosie’s insides leaped as she recognised the man in the purple suit.
“Mr Yuang.” Aunt Essie’s smile was forced and she put a hand on Rosie’s shoulder as he strode towards them.
“I see the young lady found you,” Mr Yuang said. “I assume she told you she had some trouble getting in this morning.”
“So it was you who helped her. Thanks. I was just taking her out for something to eat.”
“I see.” He smiled and his gaze went to the bags they both carried.
“I have to run some errands,” Aunt Essie said. “After being in space for so long, things pile up – washing et cetera.”
“Certainly.”
Rosie couldn’t help staring at how white his teeth were against the caramel colour of his skin. The lift pinged again and a black-suited Senate guard stepped out. The man looked straight at them and Aunt Essie’s grip on her shoulder tightened.
“I’m sorry, Mr Yuang, we really have to–”
“Yes, you must get to your errands.” He walked slowly backwards towards the guard as he talked. “I won’t keep you. Well done on your last mission, Miss Black.” His eyes went once more to Rosie, before he turned. “You there,” he called to the guard. “I have a job for you. Follow me.”
“Come on,” Aunt Essie whispered, pulling her away. They hurried to the end of the corridor and Rosie glanced back as they turned the corner, and saw Mr Yuang following the guard into the lift. He winked at her then disappeared behind the doors.
Aunt Essie urged her into a jog.
“You know him?” Rosie said.
“Not really. He’s on contract to Orbitcorp. It’s weird that he helped you this morning.”
“Why?”
“I wouldn’t have thought he would need to use the main entrance, that’s all.”
“What does he do?”
“Not sure. He deals with Genesis and the outer planet programs.” Her lips tightened. “He’s a big fish though. I’ve never seen him around the living quarters before. This way.” She stopped and pushed open a door with “Stairs” stencilled on it. Their footsteps echoed in the stairwell as they ran down.
“Do you think he was really looking out for me? Checking that you found me?” Rosie said.
“Doubt it. I hardly know him. I piloted for him once – the last time I went to Genesis. He was checking on some lab stuff. It’s not like we said more than two words to each other.”
Rosie was worried. Something felt weird. Why would he help some kid get into Orbitcorp? And what had that wink meant?
“Keep up, Rosie.” Her aunt pushed open the exit to the ground floor.
Outside, a pathway wound between gardens to a courtyard in the middle of the living complexes. They walked quickly and Rosie kept checking over her shoulder, expecting to see Mr Yuang following them. But it wasn’t Mr Yuang who found them.
They’d almost crossed the courtyard when she caught movement from the corner of her eye and saw the telltale flick of dreadlocks disappearing behind a shrub. “Aunt Essie!” She grabbed her arm and tried to keep her voice low. “Pip’s here.”
“Where?” Her aunt was instantly alert.
“He was–” Rosie stopped. Riley had just stepped onto the path a few metres ahead and next Pip emerged from between the shrubs and caught her by the arm.
“Hey, Ro–” His words and air were cut off as Aunt Essie twisted his free arm behind his back and got him in a chokehold.
“Hands off!” she said.
Pip wheezed and let go of Rosie. Aunt Essie was shorter than Pip but it didn’t seem to make much difference – he was squinting with pain and making strangled sounds.
“I think he’s disabled,” Riley said quietly. Aunt Essie let go and pushed Pip in his direction. He stumbled and Riley caught him, but Pip shook him off, turning to glare at them both.
“You got lucky,” Pip choked out, rubbing his neck.
Aunt Essie half smiled. “If you say so.”
“I think Pip forgot to take you somewhere, Rosie.” Riley took a step in her direction but before Rosie could respond Aunt Essie moved between them.
“And I think you forgot your manners,” she said. “How did you get into the complex?”
“You must be Aunt Essie.” He held out his hand.
She ignored it. “I said, how did you get in here?”
He lowered his hand. “We need to talk.”
“Is that a request or a demand?”
Riley looked weary. “I didn’t take her dad, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Oh, I don’t think you want to know what I’m thinking.”
A taut smile curved his lips. “You have no idea what she’s started, have you?”
“No,” her aunt said calmly, “but I intend to find out. How about we go somewhere else and talk? I’m thinking you’re not too keen on being seen here anyway, right?”
Riley’s eyes glittered but after a moment he gave a curt nod and stepped back, sweeping a hand out before him in a mock bow. “Ladies first.”
Pip snorted.
“Come on.” Aunt Essie gave Riley a cold stare and took Rosie’s arm, leading the way.
The building Aunt Essie took them to was a research lab with white corridors that intersected like a rabbit warren. They passed half-a-dozen closed doors marked with numbered labels. Several men and women in Orbitcorp uniforms passed them, but no one challenged them and they moved through the building until they came to an unmarked door at the back.
Aunt Essie regarded Riley and Pip. “Now, don’t touch or take anything.” Her gaze settled on Pip, who gave her an inno
cent wide-eyed look. Aunt Essie pulled a small card out of her pocket and pushed it quickly into a slot. A moment later the door slid open and they went in, the door closing behind them.
They were in a long room lined with lab tables on one side and a bank of computers and whirring test chambers on the other. The only light came from a pulsing orange orb rotating in the centre of the largest test chamber.
“This way.” Aunt Essie took a step forward but Riley put a hand on her arm.
“Wait, I …”
Her aunt threw his arm off and pushed him back against the door, her forearm against his windpipe. A knife appeared in her hand and she held it to his throat.
Rosie stepped back, shocked, and Pip grabbed her arm, for what purpose she wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like she had the knife.
“Don’t do that again,” Aunt Essie said. Riley didn’t resist or make any move to fight her.
“I’m not going to hurt you or Rosie,” he said calmly.
“No, you’re not. You’re going to tell me what’s going on.” She pressed the blade against his throat.
Riley looked steadily back at her and Rosie had to give him some credit, even she was a little scared of her aunt right now. “I will tell you only what you need to know,” he said. “You can’t persuade me to tell you anything more.” Riley glanced at Rosie. “Did you tell her everything I told you?”
“Don’t talk to her,” Aunt Essie snapped. “What have you done with Adam?”
Pip’s hand tightened around Rosie’s arm but she barely felt it. Her heart was hammering as she stared at her aunt. “Aunt Essie, I don’t think he has Dad.”
Aunt Essie didn’t look at her. “I’m not so sure.”
“Listen,” Riley said. “You have no idea what these people will do to her dad. You can’t go to the Senate because they have connections everywhere. And even if we try to make a trade, it’s too late – things have already been put into motion.”
“What things?”
“That’s not important for you to know, but trust me and I can help you get your brother back alive. I know where he is.”
“Aunt Essie,” Rosie said. “What if he’s right?”
Her aunt glanced at her then looked back at Riley. Slowly, she lowered the knife. “Talk.”
“The box Rosie found, the diary and the key, people died protecting them. They give access to information that can expose the people who took Rosie’s dad.”
“And who are they?” Aunt Essie’s tone was sceptical.
“They call themselves Helios.”
“Never heard of them.”
“It’s not a name they use openly but you might have seen their symbol around Genesis.”
“The symbol Rosie described on the box? The half-sun and rider.”
“Yes,” Riley said. “They operate some … contracts on the colony.”
“On Mars?” Rosie pulled her arm from Pip’s grasp who let her go with barely a glance. All his focus was on Riley. “What do Helios do?” Rosie asked.
“Have you heard of the name Shore?”
“As in the scientists?” Aunt Essie said.
Riley nodded. “They were killed in an explosion that destroyed their lab in the Genesis colony ten years ago.”
“But what do they have to do with Helios? They worked for Orbitcorp.”
“Did they?” Riley said. “How do you know?”
Aunt Essie frowned. “Orbitcorp manages Genesis, and the lab that was destroyed was owned by Orbitcorp.”
“That’s what it looked like,” Riley said. “But Orbitcorp is a merger of many corporations. And Helios is connected to most of them. They used those connections to take over one of the labs on Genesis, to make it their own – as well as the brilliant minds who ran it.”
“But what does Shore beacon mean?” Rosie said. “We checked it out but we couldn’t see how it related to them.”
“It’s for Helios to identify them. A way to track them. It was embedded in everything they used, including that box. You see Ethan and Margaret Shore found out the work they were doing for Helios was … not what they thought. They decided to blow the lid on them.”
“So Helios shut them up first,” Aunt Essie said.
Riley looked grim. “Yes. That explosion wasn’t an accident. The Shores managed to get the diary and the key out before it happened. I found out about it two years ago and I’ve been searching for that box ever since.”
“What was Helios hiding?” Pip said in a soft voice. “What did the Shores die for?”
Rosie glanced at him. He seemed angry, upset even. Obviously, this was something Riley had never shared.
“I’m not sure,” Riley said. “But the diary and the key will give me the access I need to find out. To finish what they started.”
Pip’s jaw tightened but Riley had turned away, not noticing the flash of bitterness in his eyes. It was clear Riley hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him much of anything. That must hurt. Pip saw Rosie watching and his blue gaze narrowed. Rosie turned quickly away.
“So where is Dad then?” she asked Riley.
“They would have taken him to their original base where all their records are kept, including what the Shores were working on. They call it the Enclave. It’s forty or so kilometres from Genesis.”
“On Mars?” She stared at him. “Then how do we stop them? If you give them back some of the stuff in the box, will they let him go?”
“Sorry, Rosie, I can’t do that. There’s more than your father’s life at stake.” He glanced at her aunt. “Besides, I don’t think it would help.”
“Why not?” Rosie’s anger was starting to outweigh her fear.
“Because these aren’t the kind of people who keep bargains,” Aunt Essie said slowly and the look she gave Rosie was bleak. “Even if we gave them what he has, it’s unlikely they’d let your dad go, hon.”
Rosie felt something cold touch her spine.
“I sent them a message after I met you, Rosie,” Riley said. “I told them you had given up the box to me but they refused to deal. And now they know you’re being helped and will want to know who I am.”
“And they will be after Rosie even more now to try to find out,” her aunt said. “All because of you.” Her expression darkened, like she wanted to pull out her knife again.
“I’m sorry,” Riley said. “I was trying to help. It was a long shot but worth a try.”
“A shot you should have–”
“It doesn’t matter,” Rosie interrupted. “We have to figure out how to save Dad.”
They both paused.
“Rosie, these are dangerous people,” Aunt Essie said.
“No, she’s right,” Riley said. “We should go after them.”
“What?” Rosie’s aunt’s voice was flat and hard.
“They might not expect that. They’re more likely to think we’ll target the news or go to the Senate.”
“You think we should go to Mars?” Rosie said, and he nodded.
“No.” Aunt Essie shook her head. “No way.”
“If she stays, they’ll get to her,” Riley said. “There’s nowhere to hide.”
“That’s if what you’re saying is true,” her aunt countered.
“I have no reason to lie.”
“That’s debatable.”
“Aunt Essie,” Rosie said, “I believe him. We should go.”
“She’s right, you know,” Pip said. “Pissing around here won’t get her dad back.” Rosie glanced at him in surprise but he cut his eyes quickly away.
Her aunt studied her for a long moment then turned to Riley. “If we do go, how do we stop them murdering Adam? And why do I get the feeling you’re not telling us everything?”
“Because I’m not,” Riley said. “I have other reasons for going – things that you don’t want to be part of – but I will help you get Adam back.”
“How?” Rosie said. “What do we do even if we get to Mars?”
“I’ll give them something they w
on’t refuse. Something they want badly.”
Rosie wanted to ask what it was but the closed expression on his face prevented her.
He seemed to have convinced her aunt because after a short silence, she said, “Well, we can’t get to the colony in a corp shuttle – too many questions.”
“How about your pod?” Rosie suggested.
“It’s parked in the dock at Space Islands.” Aunt Essie met Riley’s raised eyebrows. “I keep a room there. I get a discount through Orbitcorp.”
He didn’t say anything but Rosie could see he was surprised. Space Islands was a huge hotel in stationary orbit outside Earth’s atmosphere and was more like an amusement park. Her aunt didn’t exactly seem the amusement park type.
“I might be able to get us on the next shuttle,” Pip said. “I know a bloke who works on the luggage crew.”
“We won’t need him,” Riley said. “I can get new ident cards and we can use them to buy tickets. It won’t take long.”
At Aunt Essie’s appraising look, he only said, “Follow me.” He pushed between them, heading for a door at the other end of the lab.
Aunt Essie’s eyes met Rosie’s, and Rosie could tell what she was thinking: how did he know his way around here and could they trust him?
CHAPTER 16
They left Orbitcorp through a staff exit and Riley led them down a narrow side street alongside the complex. It ended at a basement car park where the round, bubble-like roofs of white solar cars spread out before them like rows of strange lollies, clean and glowing in the dimness. Riley stopped at the first one and took a small tool from his pocket.
“It disables locking systems,” he said at Aunt Essie’s curious glance.
“Are we stealing this car?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Borrowing,” Riley answered. The door flipped open on its top hinge. “In the back, you two,” he said to Rosie and Pip.
Rosie clambered in, followed by Pip, and her aunt took the front passenger seat.
“Where are we going?” Aunt Essie asked as Riley switched on the window reflectors so no one could see in.
“To get those idents.”
“Of course,” Aunt Essie said. “Don’t bother to actually tell me where, and by the way,” she leaned over, peering at the lights on the dash, “the turbo is still on.”