He glanced down at the smooth surface of the floor and then his boots, and sat down on the bottom bunk to take them off. Boots were essential around the ship. Apart from everything being hard exposed metal surfaces, most of the walkways and indeed unfurnished corridors were little more than grated grids of metal. Grids that should Paige show up with her high heel shoes on, she would rapidly find herself confined to briefing rooms for the entire trip.
He sighed, and started undoing the electromagnetic clasps, one by one. Then he hit his quantum bead with a double tap to hail Pieter. Or Paige. Or whomever was listening.
A moment later the audio connected in his implant.
“Greetings of the night upon you,” came Pieter’s overly exuberant voice.
Sean grunted. “Sounds like you’re bored shitless, mate.”
Pieter’s voice came back through his ear. “How could you tell?”
Sean grinned to himself. “Practice,” he told him. “So, I have news. We’ve located the two kidnapped victims, and found that in fact there are three of them. The two we know about, then a girl called Anne. Also Estarian.”
Pieter sounded like he was scurrying and scuffling on the other end of the line.
Sean tilted his head, listening hard. “You okay, mate?”
“Yeah, I…” there was some more scuffling. “It’s okay. I just slipped off my chair. All good now.”
Sean chuckled quietly to himself, not wanting the overly-sensitive computer tech to think he was laughing at him. Or for anyone to overhear him have a conversation with himself.
He pressed on with the intel transfer. “I think we’ve also located the equipment too. In the same section of the ship. ADAM helped Maya get access so he’ll be able to tell you the area.”
Pieter was making active listening sounds and making a note.
“We need a plan,” Sean told him. “We could take the hostages from their holding room, but then we’d have nowhere to go with them. We’d blow our cover and have no way off the ship.”
Pieter frowned. “Okay. So you’re ready for extraction then?”
Sean was quiet for a moment. “We haven’t found out anything about who is in on this. Who is responsible. At either end of the chain.”
Pieter scratched his head. “I think this conversation suddenly went way above my decision level,” he decided. “Want me to talk to Molly and come back to you?”
Sean scratched at his day-old stubble. “Sure. Have a word and maybe ping me in a short while. I’m going to get some rack time and I can probably speak privately for the next few hours.”
“Great,” Pieter responded, his voice sounding relieved. “I’ll give you a click in your implant when we’re ready and you can hit your bead to confirm we can connect.”
Sean stretched his arms out in front of him and leaned forward ready to make a move. “Okay. Sounds good. Talk soon.”
The line went dead.
Sean hauled his cyborg ass to his feet and looked around for his shower gear. Locating it, he grabbed a towel, and slipped on his room shoes, which were just about protection enough from the hard-grated floor in the corridor, and wandered out in the direction of the shower facilities.
Staðall University, Senior Common Room
Molly, Gareth and Von sat around the outside table, their teas and mochas nearly done. The courtyard behind the Senior Common Room was a little sark-trap, which got quite a bit of light at that time in the day. It was also a favorite spot for those who wanted to kick back and chill for a short while between the rigorous studying and marking of papers. Like a place of respite.
Right now it was deserted, apart from the three of them, allowing them to talk freely.
“I think we have a way forward,” Molly said, looking up from the financial model they’d been working on.
Gareth nodded his agreement. “Yes. If I can get the trust to agree on this number here,” he said pointing at the spreadsheet, “it all falls into place.” He peered up at Molly. “Leave it with me,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “I’ll get onto that this afternoon as soon as we’re done here.”
Von leaned on the table, smiling satisfied. “I think this is the easiest negotiation I’ve ever been involved in!” she remarked.
Molly grinned. “Kinda straightforward when we’re all after a shared goal.”
“Indeed,” Von commented. “Although, I suspect we’ll face continued resistance from the existing institutions. Unfortunately, they’ll likely find this whole concept quite threatening.”
Gareth’s eye saddened a little as he nodded his agreement.
Just then Molly’s holo started buzzing.
It’s Pieter, Oz informed her. It’s important.
“Excuse me, one moment,” she said to her companions. She got up from the table and walked away a few paces amongst the empty tables in the little courtyard.
“Hello,” she said, answering her holo.
It was Pieter’s voice. He sounded anxious.
“Molly. It’s Pieter. I’ve just had word from Sean. They’ve found the scientists. We could do with some direction on next steps. They’re not in immediate danger but—”
Molly interrupted. “I understand. I’ll be on my way right away. You can fill me in in the pod. Gimme a couple of minutes and I’ll call you back.”
Pieter’s voice sounded a little less strained when he heard that. “Okay, great. I’ll stand by.”
Moments later, Molly had excused herself from her new friends and was striding out into the quad to rendezvous with her pod, which whipped down with speed. She hopped in, and then the pod disappeared up beyond the stratosphere.
Chapter 14
Gaitune-67, Hangar Deck
Molly hopped out of her pod as soon as the door was open enough, and half walked, half ran across the hangar deck towards the upstairs conference room where Pieter was set up.
Is Joel on his way?
Already there.
And Paige?
On her way in.
Moments later, Molly burst into the room to find Joel and Pieter sitting in front of the telemetry screens.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
Joel nodded.
Pieter twisted round in his seat, his hair a little more unkempt than usual. “They’re okay. Not in any danger. They’ve found the hostages and now we need to decide what to do next,” he said recapping, the conversation they’d had in her pod ride back, making sure everyone was on the same page.
Paige appeared in the doorway and silently headed in and took a seat on the other side of the conference table.
“Okay,” Molly said, composing herself. “Let’s see if we can connect with Sean then.”
Pieter sent a click, and received two clicks back. He connected the audio. “We’re live with Sean’s implant.”
Molly had found a seat and sat down. “Sean?” she said.
Sean’s half-asleep voice grated onto the call. “Yeah,” he mustered.
Molly’s manner was serious and businesslike. “I understand you have the hostages and the kit, but no intel on who is behind it?”
Sean’s voice was a little muffled. “Yeah. We think the head guy on the ship is involved. Max Pike. Only coz we saw him visiting the hostages. But beyond that we’ve no idea.”
Molly frowned. “What condition are the hostages in?” she asked.
Sean sighed a little. “They seem okay, considering. At least physically. Though I don’t know how well they’re being treated. They didn’t look like they were being abused other than being locked up in a tiny room.”
Molly bobbed her head. “Any leads that we can chase down that may help?”
Sean was quiet for a moment. “I suppose you could look into Pike. Max Pike. And any communications he’s been having. He may have been in touch with either the client or someone involved even while we’ve been on board.”
Molly nodded. “Sure. Anything else out of the ordinary?�
�
“Erm... only that Brock seems to be working harder than he ever has before.”
Paige glanced up at them. “He’s in the kitchens, isn’t he?”
Sean must have heard her. “Yeah. I think he’s pissed about all the long hours and manual work he’s having to do.”
Paige’s eyes drooped in sympathy for him.
Molly tried to keep them on track. “So, are you ready for us to extract?”
“I’m not sure,” Sean confessed. “I mean, we’ve only completed half of the mission. We’ve located the hostages, but we still need to find a way to get them out safely. Even if you extracted us, there will be resistance here. They have several armed security personnel. They could kill anyone — us, the hostages, anyone who boards.”
Molly wiped her face with her hands. “Will more time help?”
Sean paused again. “I think probably yes. At the very least we can find a way to get us all to a safe place. And then even try and find out a bit more about who might be behind this.
Molly pursed her lips and nodded. “Okay. Well we’ll do some digging into this Max fella and see if we can turn up anything from this end. Continue with the regular check-ins, and we’ll reevaluate in a few days.”
Sean’s voice was still muffled. “Okay, sure,” he said, half whispering. “It’s a deal.”
Molly had cocked her head. “Sean?” she asked. “Are you okay?”
Sean sounded puzzled. “Yeah. Why?”
“Your voice sounds different.”
Sean paused for a second, and then there sounded like a ruffling on his end. “Oh. I’m doing a head stand while I’m talking to you.”
Joel slapped his hand over his mouth.
Pieter closed his eyes, tightly, screwing up his face, laughing silently and trying to keep it together.
Molly remained expressionless. “Sean? Whatever for?”
His voice sounded like he was straining now. “It helps with the shitty antigrav on these things. Keeps the circulation in the brain working.”
Molly frowned, evaluating the science behind his explanation. “Ah. Okay,” she said simply. “We’ll leave you to it then. Stay safe.”
“Righty-ho,” he responded. “Talk soon.”
Molly made a slicing movement at her neck with her flattened fingers and Pieter killed the audio link.
Joel and Pieter continued to laugh, but more vocally now that the line was cut.
Paige joined in giggling. “I wondered why he sounded so odd.” After a moment she cocked her head. “Do you think it’s a cyborg thing? Or a real thing about antigrav?”
Pieter shook his head. “I’ve never heard of anything like that before. It might be something he’s picked up in the Federation.”
Molly tilted her head slightly. “Like a disease? Or a habit?” she asked, her face still deadpan.
Joel sniggered suddenly uncontrollably. “Remind me to ask him when he gets his ass back here!”
Aboard the Flutningsaðili, Level 5, Medical bay
“Okay, you’re all set,” Jayne said, putting the little bandage over where she had just given Max a jab.
Max put his finger over the bandage making sure it was secure. “Thank you, Dr. Jayne,” he said, slipping off the examination couch.
Jayne busied herself with tidying away the needle and containers of nutrient injections. “Come see me in a week for the booster, and then you’ll be good for another couple of weeks in artificial grav,” she told him.
There was a long pause as Max rolled down his sleeve and perched against the couch. “How are our newbies settling in?” he inquired casually.
Jayne looked up briefly and then put her eyes back on her instruments. “Adapting. I think. I’ve not really spoken to the one in the kitchen since we came on board. But I see the two girls and the older guy now and again in the mess hall. They seem to be doing okay.”
Max’s tone dropped to being a little more serious. “Anything we should be aware of?”
Jayne hesitated. “I’m not sure,” she answered slowly and quietly. “The girl. The young one. She was asking about who the client was the other day.”
Max’s gaze bore into her head from across the room. “And what did you tell her?”
Jayne shrugged. “Nothing. Just that we have lots of clients.”
“Anything else?” he pushed.
Jayne thought quickly. “Well, I think I overheard her and the older guy in the mess hall mention something about drilling equipment.”
Max stood upright. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Jayne bobbed her head. “No idea why they’d be talking about it, though.”
Max folded his arms, and stroked his face with one hand. “Hmm. I heard he had found some kind of anomaly with the paperwork too. He was all for checking it out by going down there, until Mark put him off.”
Jayne suddenly spun round. “Max. Why is it so important that no one knows what we’re shipping? I don’t understand what the big deal is.”
Max glowered. “The big deal is that it’s what our clients pay us for. Discretion. We don’t know how this affects their business. Or the negotiations they might be involved in. We don’t know what kind of impact this knowledge could have in the wrong hands.”
Jayne had put one hand on her hip, and was now staring back at Max defensively. “So what, we just work hard to make sure no one finds out about it?”
“Yes. Yes, we do,” he told her definitively. “That is why we are paid the big bucks, over any other freight service.”
Jayne sighed, and turned back to what she had been doing. “Okay, fine. But I just don’t have any idea how they’re finding this stuff out.”
Max started walking across the treatment room to the door. “They must have come looking for it,” he theorized. “I suspect, Dr. Jayne, we have some spies in our midst.”
Jayne turned to follow his movement, the stress and concern showing around her eyes. “What do you want me to do?”
Max smiled. “Kill them.”
Jayne looked horrified.
“Just kidding!” he said, laughing confidently.
Jayne started laughing too, relieved. Mostly.
“I’ll do it,” he added seriously.
Then he started laughing. “Kidding!”
Jayne pointed at him. “You got me!” she said waving a tongue depressor she had picked up off the side. Though she was laughing on the outside, something niggled at her amygdala. She didn’t entirely feel safe around this man, and she didn’t know why. Why did she feel like maybe he wasn’t joking about killing these people?
Max continued laughing his fake laugh as he strode out of the med bay. The door swooshed closed behind him, and Jayne’s laughing died immediately.
She sat down in a nearby swivel chair and rummaged in the drawer to her right. Finding what she needed, she pulled it out and unclipped the cap. She took the device up to her mouth and inhaled a drag of the substance, savoring it entering her lungs and her blood stream.
* * *
Max immediately pulled up a holo call as he strode down the corridor. “Yep. It’s me. Yes, I think it’s time to round them up. The younger one, Marissa, I think she told us her name was. And Rex, in accounting.”
He listened to the person on the other end of the call as he walked. “Yes, I’ll meet you down there. Do it quietly and discreetly. No need to alert the crew or any friends they have that we’re onto them.”
Max clicked off the comm and made his way up to the fourth floor. He approached the same stark white corridor as he’d walked many a time already over the last weeks. And, in fact, on many trips before this, for various reasons. He keyed in his ID code, and let the device scan his retina, and then passed through the heavy door into the previously secret and restricted area.
He strode through the darkened warehouse, the motion-activated lights coming on as he walked. “Looks like you’ll be having some new company soon,” he
called out as he approached the glass-fronted meeting room where he had his hostages locked up.
The girl that was the most communicative came to the window. “You won’t get away with this, you asshole! People will know we’re missing. You’ll be discovered. And I’ll be there when they put you to death for kidnapping on Teshov.”
Max looked down at his nails and leaned against a desk that had a few chairs piled upside down on it. “My, my, my… what little you know about Teshov. Death sentences are only handed out to the general populous to keep them under control and afraid.”
He glanced casually up at her. “I wouldn’t fall into that category. I’m far too valuable to the people who actually have the power out there. And on Estaria, for that matter.”
The girl’s eyes flared in furry. “You won’t get away with this,” she shouted, her voice straining painfully. The older man, Dr. Brahms came up behind her and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. She seemed to calm instantly, understanding that her position was futile. The older scientist led her back away from the window and sat her down at one of the desks with her back to their captor.
Just then lights started coming on again, guiding the path for the newcomers. There were scuffed, and uneven steps.
And boots.
Lots of boots.
A few moments later the party appeared from between the stacks of equipment and boxes, brandishing their weapons and their two prisoners in cuffs.
“Well, I suppose this is one way to meet the boss to vent your concerns,” Max cooed as the two humans looked up at him.
They remained silent.
He continued. “I suppose you’re going to deny any knowledge of what’s going on here.”
Sean called over to Maya. “Don’t respond. To anything,” he told her.
Maya nodded.
“Rex, is it?” Max asked, wandering over to him. “Fancy yourself as a hero, do you?”
Sean looked straight ahead.
Max’s eyes narrowed as he looked Rex up and down. “Hmm. Do I detect military training in that disciplined defiance?”
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 144
