Priloe cut his flight short and dodged into a horizontal shaft a level below.
Find a new route to the roof, he requested.
He risked a look back up the shaft and wasn't surprised to see Toad sliding down, having braced his arms, legs, and back against the walls of the vertical shaft.
"I'm coming for you," he taunted.
Priloe ducked back in and followed the AI's directions. A closed panel loomed ahead and he knew something was wrong. His roof access was at least another level up. He'd also committed himself to a long shaft that didn't appear to have any exits.
He pushed on the panel. It didn't budge.
"I seeee you," Toad called from ten meters back. Priloe had precious few seconds to escape.
He flipped onto his back and banged with his feet. Sunlight flooded the shaft and a strong gust of air propelled him forward. He turned and grabbed the edge of the opening, stopping himself from falling out.
"Where you going, Pigeon?"
Toad's voice reminded Priloe that he had to move quickly. The blast of air had slowed and he stuck his head out and looked around. A half meter wide ledge was the only thing between him and falling into the clouds below. Looking up, he could see reasonable hand-holds on the side of the city's exterior. He'd climbed worse, although not this far off the ground.
Grabbing hold, he pulled himself upward, wedging his feet and hands into the crevices of the city's exterior. He felt a hand clumsily brush his foot and he kicked at it. If Toad got a good grip, he'd no doubt pull him off. Priloe focused on his climb and his next handhold, pulling away from Toad's reach.
"You're dead, you know?" Toad screamed at him, his words all but lost in the strong winds gusting around them.
Priloe pushed everything out of his mind. Toad would not follow him this time.
The climb wasn't as hard as it could have been. From a distance, the white city looked like a solid mass. Up close, however, the panels were connected in such a way as to allow for the structure to flex in the strong winds. The gaps were plenty wide for Priloe to lock an arm into and climb.
He finally pulled himself over a railing and landed on slotted metal roof decking. For a few minutes he stared upward into the sky. It was late in the evening and the sun had gone behind Grünholz and left a beautiful view of the stars above him. It was the same view he enjoyed from the pod-ball court.
He figured it wouldn't take Sephre and Toad very long to figure out where he'd gone, so once he'd recovered sufficiently, he jumped up and ran back through the abandoned restaurant.
Show quickest route to the pod-ball court.
He sprinted down the corridors, choosing speed over stealth. The lights on this level were low already, so as long as he didn't make too much noise he'd be okay. He finally slid through the door of the pod-ball court and slunk into the locker room. Surely, no one would find him there, he hoped silently.
For twenty minutes he hid, standing on a toilet so even if someone entered the locker room they wouldn't be able to see him. Finally, he accepted that he hadn't been followed and exited the locker room.
"Nice place you have here."
He looked over to find Sephre lounging on the couch by the window where he and Jenny had stared out at the stars together. He looked to the exit and saw Toad standing by the door, blocking his escape.
"How?"
"I own you, Pigeon. Do you really think I wouldn't have a way to track down my property?"
"You killed Agaric."
"True. But he was soft. It's funny, too. It makes me less inclined to kill you. I'll need a good cutpurse and you are certainly one of my best. You've cost me a lot today though, so it might not be that pleasant for a while."
Priloe was drained of the ability to feel fear at that point. The long chase had come to an end, but he wasn't going down without a fight. He turned to the panel that he'd seen Jack operate several times before and slid his fingers along the surface. The gravity in the room immediately dropped from .6g to .0g.
Blaster fire stitched the wall above him. "You frakking ingrate. I would have kept you alive. Get him, Toad!" Sephre sounded as mad as he'd ever heard her, but he'd stopped caring.
He clumsily jetted over to the clump of tables. Sephre had pushed off and was gliding at him. He grabbed a table and pushed it at her, knowing she wouldn't be able to shift in mid-flight to avoid it. He turned to see that Toad was keeping his position on the only exit.
A couple of poorly placed shots lanced over his head as he moved away from where Sephre would land. She'd neatly grabbed the table and used it to change her direction. She was now headed toward the control panel.
"Open the door, Toad and hold on to something," she said. Then she looked at Priloe with a cruel smile. "It's over, Pigeon. Goodbye."
She turned and fired at him. And once again, she missed - only she didn't. Priloe turned to see the blaster bolts shatter the thick transparent panel at the end of the pod-ball court. Wind gushed through the open door and rushed out, pulling Priloe along with it. He tumbled in the maelstrom, trying to right himself, but it wouldn't happen in time. He and the contents of the room were being sucked out of the opening.
A peace filled him as he finally turned to look at his eventual destination. There was no escape behind him, and while he doubted he could save himself with his arc jets, he would at least try. He knew that once he escaped the gravity generator of the pod-ball court, he would be pulled down to the surface of Nannandry if he didn't successfully latch onto the station.
Just before he passed through the opening, however, a large ship crossed his field of vision. He laughed at the absurd coincidence of it all, as it was the ship he'd stowed away on.
"You hear me, Pri?"
He shook his head. It was Jenny. He'd totally forgotten about the comm device.
"Everything okay with Mouse?" he asked.
"It's us," she said.
"Us who?" he asked.
"It's me on the ship, don't resist. We're going to grab you. Hold on to her," Jenny said.
Priloe had just crossed the lip of the window of the pod-ball court. The gusting wind was making it difficult for him to see, but he caught sight of the sole figure of a woman in a sleek vac-suit with bright, burning arc-jets flying at him. Their collision knocked the wind out of him, but he grabbed onto her.
She spun and lifted him in a move he could barely comprehend, much less have hoped to execute. She then easily directed them both back toward the ship and landed in the open cargo bay. Once again irony struck him, it had been the very bay he'd stowed away in.
Epilogue
"We're in, Love."
"Love?" Priloe asked.
He was looking at the tall woman he'd seen leaving the Market of Nannandry when he'd stolen the weapon from one of her companions. She touched the side of her helmet and the faceplate disappeared, the remaining part of the helmet sagging onto her back. She pulled a copper colored braided pony tail out of her suit and flipped it behind her back.
"Was talking to my boy there. He's the pilot. Damn good one too. My name's Tabby," she said, holding out her hand.
"You were amazing. You saved me."
The excitement was getting to him and he felt like he might cry. He pushed it down. He couldn't show weakness.
The ramp of the cargo bay closed and Tabby crossed the expanse of the empty hold, opening the door that Priloe had never considered opening previously.
"Are you on? Are you okay?" Jenny's voice came through the comm channel.
"I'm okay, Jenny," he said. "How is Mouse?"
"Listen, bub. Stop calling her Mouse. Her name is either Milenette or Millie. Got it? She's not a rodent. And she's okay. You caused quite a ruckus though. The station police are going nuts. Something about a murder."
"Hey, Jenny. It's Tabby. Can we talk when we get down? We need to get Priloe checked out," she said.
"Oh, sure. Sorry," Jenny said.
If Priloe wondered how they were all taking together, he didn't
let on.
For the millionth time that day, Priloe's heart sank into his stomach. The large woman he'd swiped the weapon from was seated on the second level of the ship. She was as powerfully built as she was tall. He doubted even Sephre would be able to stand against her. He lowered his eyes, trying to avoid contact.
"Marny, I'd like to introduce you to our guest – Priloe," Tabby said.
He was stuck. If he didn't acknowledge her, it would be suspicious. He decided to play it bold, so he looked up at her and smiled. She'd extended her hand to him and smiled back. He shook her offered hand.
"Ah, the cutpurse. I think you might have something of mine," she said.
Tabby looked at her with confusion. "You think this is the same boy who stole your nano-blade?" She looked back at Priloe.
They'd just saved his life and he would take whatever punishment the woman decided to mete out. He reached into his waistband and pulled out the nano-blade. He was disappointed to give it up, but knew it wasn't his to keep.
Marny accepted the nano-blade and pushed it into her own waistband. "I've been in a lot of places and run into a lot of ruffs, but that had to be one of the neatest picks I've seen. Getting that bully to chase you down had me so distracted I didn't even think about your contact. You have a light touch, little man. Tell you what, when you get a little older, like seventeen or eighteen stans, I'll show you how to use a blade like that. For now, though, I think I'll keep it."
"I'm sorry," Priloe said. He knew it was the right thing to say. The fact was, however, he wasn't sorry at all. That single object had been the catalyst for his and Milenette's escape.
"We're good," she said. "You should take him up and introduce him to Cap before we dock. We're just about back to the bay."
Tabby walked him forward to two elevated chairs.
Priloe's eyes grew big as he looked through the transparent glass of the cockpit. The white exterior of the city gleamed and he could also see the stars above. It was an amazing view.
Tabby reached over, placed her hand under his jaw and lifted up, causing his mouth to close.
"Nicely done, Tabbs. I couldn't have done that better, myself." The voice came from the man sitting in one of the two chairs that made up the cockpit.
"Captain Liam Hoffen, meet Priloe," Tabby said.
"Good to meet you, Priloe. Just a second and I'll get us landed."
"I agree," Tabby said.
"On what?" The dark haired man asked, still not turning to look at them.
"You definitely couldn't have done better," she said.
The man just shook his head as he sailed in close to the city. He landed on one of the many flat, teardrop shaped appendages that provided access to the city at this particular level. Once they were down, he hopped up.
"Mr. Priloe, good to meet you. You've got some worried ladies waiting for you."
They followed Tabby off the bridge, down the lift, through a couple doors and down the steps onto the platform. Jenny was holding Milenette next to the large opening that he knew led inside. He ran over to them and grabbed Milenette into his arms, hugging her to him.
"Why are you crying, Reelo?" Milenette asked when she got bored with the affection.
"Just happy to see you," he said.
Lena, who'd been quietly standing by, stepped forward and asked, "Any interest in that dinner you missed?"
"Is the mean lady coming back?" Milenette finally asked when they'd all loaded into the elevator and were headed for level twenty-four.
"Did they get her yet?" Tabby asked Lena.
"Sounds like it. The station is back on status green. We've been red since shortly after she took Priloe."
The elevator car stopped and they all got out. It was a short walk to Lena's Diner. Jack looked up happily as the group arrived. It was late in the night and there were just a couple of people drinking coffee in a booth, killing time.
"How did you know where to find me?" Priloe finally asked Jenny. "And how did you get a ship there so fast?"
"I was tracking you, silly. Look at your sleeve," Jenny said.
Priloe looked down and remembered the moment when he'd handed Milenette to her and she'd grabbed his wrist. Only she wasn't grabbing it, she was placing a tracker on him. Again.
She continued, "I asked Liam, Tabby and Marny to go save you when you were climbing up the side of the city, but they got there too late. I hope you're not mad, but we have a video feed in the pod-ball court. When I saw that woman come in, I knew you were in trouble."
Lena pushed a glass of water and a plate with a sandwich on it across the bar to Priloe. He drank the water greedily and then set it down.
"Why would you help us?" he asked, looking around.
The one they called Captain Liam answered, "Why wouldn't we? There's no one in this room who hasn't needed the help of others. The universe needs more people who help because it's the right thing to do, not because there's something in it for them."
Priloe nodded. He wanted to believe Liam, but that certainly wasn't a world he was familiar with.
They all turned toward the doorway when they heard a woman clearing her throat. Ordinarily, Priloe would have panicked at the sight of law enforcement personnel, but he was unable to muster any more concern. He looked at the station security officer he'd met earlier that night and considered how she might make his life more difficult.
"How can I help you, officer?" Lena moved to the end of the bar on the service side, giving the woman her full attention. She held her hand out.
This time the officer accepted her hand. "Call me Officer Morgan," she replied. "The reason for the visit is I've been looking over some security footage from this evening and I have a couple of questions for you and the boy, Priloe Sharpe."
"Is there a problem?"
"No need to be defensive. I know you haven't been completely straight with me. But I think it was probably for good reason. No, it turns out that's not actually why I'm here. I guess for tonight, I need to know if he has a safe place to stay," she said.
"Yup, we've got it," Lena answered.
"Good. I've got some questions about the woman who was in your diner earlier this evening. I don't want to get into details here, but she was involved in some rather disturbing events. I was hoping you and the boy could come to the station tomorrow and talk us though things."
"Should I get legal representation?" Lena asked.
"You can. But I doubt it will be necessary. I think I have a pretty good idea of what happened here. I just want to fill in some details. The second thing is that with his next of kin in custody, the law says we'll have to send him back planet side." Officer Morgan shifted uneasily.
"You're not saying everything," Lena pushed.
"Thing is the boy is only two stans from being able to make his own decisions. Sending him back to Nannandry certainly ends poorly for him. I'm not oblivious to the conditions down there. I also happen to know the Justice who presides over Léger Nuage and she has a soft spot for bending the rules for the benefit of kids. Hypothetically, if he had a sponsor family, she might see fit to issue him a temporary visa that, with good behavior, he could convert into citizenship."
"How do you know that?" Lena asked.
"Completely hypothetical. But it might have been the topic of a conversation between myself and my sister," Officer Morgan replied.
"Oh. I understand. Thank you, Officer Morgan. Priloe and I will be there first thing in the morning."
"Justice Morgan gets in at 1000. I'll see that you have her first appointment." The woman looked back into the diner at the knot of people who were all pretending not to have been listening to the exchange and smiled. "Looks like you have a good lot here. Welcome to Léger Nuage."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jamie McFarlane is happily married, the father of three and lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. He spends his days engaged in a hi-tech career and his nights and weekends writing works of fiction. He's also the author of:
Privateer Ta
les
Rookie Privateer
Fool Me Once
Parley
Big Pete
Smuggler's Dilemma
Guardians of Gaeland
Lesser Prince
Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review at Amazon, even if it's only a line or two. It would make all the difference and would be very much appreciated.
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CONTACT JAMIE
Blog and Website: fickledragon.com
Facebook: facebook.com/jamiemcfarlaneauthor
Twitter: twitter.com/mcfarlaneauthor
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To Diane Greenwood Muir for excellence in editing and fine word-smithery. My wife, Janet, for carefully and kindly pointing out my poor grammatical habits. I cannot imagine working through these projects without you both.
To my beta readers: Dave Muir, Carol Greenwood, Kelli Whyte, Robert Long, Larry Payton and Nancy Higgins Quist for wonderful and thoughtful suggestions. It is a joy to work with this wonderful group of people.
Cutpurse (Privateer Tales Book 6) Page 6