Breakeven

by Michelle Diener

  She stayed seated as he stood and moved to the counter.

  The guards watched him, but they didn't look worried. They were drinking something cold in tall glasses, and went back to their conversation almost immediately.

  Dee pivoted on her chair, angling for the door, and then ran for it, pushing her way out of the cool interior into the hot, humid night. She jumped the steps, darted across the street, and dived into the unlit alleyway between two buildings.

  She was two steps in, in total darkness, when an arm hooked around her throat, throwing her feet out from under her and choking her. She could hear Fluffy's high pitched screech of anger as her bag banged against her attacker's arm, and then, from the corner of her eye, she saw the blinking lights of a laz as it pressed against her forehead.

  She went still.

  “Now, I'm not supposed to hurt you,” the guard said, his voice regretful. “But I am to ensure you obey orders. It seems your daddy knows you all too well.”

  Chapter 13

  He and Gert pretended not to know each other as Sebastian paid the bill.

  He handed over more ports than necessary for the meal, and Gert slipped the extras into a pocket as they chatted easily.

  He heard the door close as Dee slipped out, but he didn't look around, and Gert's gaze didn't lift.

  The guards noticed, though.

  One gave a shout, and Sebastian did react to that, turning toward them, stepping in their way. “What is it?” he made his voice sound concerned.

  Both guards were on their feet, and the one closest to him tried to shove him aside.

  He was ready for it, though, bracing himself and then pretending to stagger even more into their path.

  “Out of the fucking way.”

  He was shoved at again, managed to stick out a foot and trip one of them, but the guard didn't go down, he stumbled a few steps, and then they were out.

  “They didn't pay.” Gert looked worried for the first time.

  He'd be blamed for it. That's how it worked here.

  Sebastian tossed a couple more ports at him to compensate, and then headed for the door himself.

  Just in case they got her. Although he had the sense she could really move if she wanted to.

  The guards stood in the middle of road, looking around wildly, and Sebastian felt a sense of satisfaction.

  He watched them for a few moments, then turned away from them and began walking down the street.

  “Hey!” One of the guards spotted him. “Where'd she go?”

  He raised his hands. “I'm the hired help, she doesn't tell me what she's going to do. She tells me what I'm going to do.”

  The guard turned away from him in disgust, but the other one took a step closer to him. “I don't like you.”

  The feeling's mutual.

  He'd seen guards like this when he'd been a guard on the pipelines himself. He knew how to push their buttons, and equally, how to deescalate.

  He shrugged in response, half-turned away, and felt the punch of a laz hit him in his upper right shoulder.

  Pain lanced through him and he crumpled to the ground and lay on his side, trying to breathe.

  “Shit, Bauer. You shouldn't have done that.”

  That he could hear what was being said was a good sign, but he couldn't move.

  “Accidental discharge,” Bauer said, and there was a smirk to his voice.

  “Your funeral. We're looking for the daughter of Hanran Fattal. He hears there was an accidental discharge near her, you are done for.”

  He didn't see Bauer's reaction to that, but the silence said everything it needed to.

  The asshole was nervous now.

  “Got her.”

  From his position on the floor he saw both sets of boots turn back to the street.

  “Be careful with her.” There was relief and worry in the guard's voice. “You don't want to explain any bruising.”

  “Nah, we're good. Right, princess?”

  “What have you done to my bodyguard?” Dee kept her voice steady. Cold as ice.

  Just hearing that she was all right loosened the tight grip fear had on his chest.

  “Just a little accidental discharge on the lowest stun. He'll be up and moving in ten minutes or so.”

  “Well then, I'd watch my back if I were you.” Dee said the words calmly. “No telling what kind of consequences there could be for accidents like that.”

  “Enough of this. Your daddy is waiting.”

  Sebastian couldn't see the bastard who was speaking, but he had the sense he had Dee in some kind of tight grip.

  “Bring my bodyguard along.”

  “We're not carrying him. He's a big boy. He can make his way back to the Tree when he's ready. If your father wants him back.”

  Sebastian guessed they'd make sure he was blacklisted. Especially Bauer.

  He might not like to have to come face-to-face with Sebastian on a level playing field.

  But that didn't matter now, because they were taking Dee away. And she'd be facing Hanran Fattal in a couple of hours.

  Alone.

  The one thing he'd promised her wouldn't happen.

  Dee opted to keep things low key. No sense causing a fuss when the last thing she wanted was more eyes on her than she had already.

  It meant pretending she didn't care about Sebastian, lying like a felled tree on the strip of green grass in front of the restaurant, but that couldn't be helped.

  The guards didn't seem to expect much of a reaction from her about that, anyway. But that was Cores guards for you. Seemed like the Garmen and Lassian versions were similar.

  At least Sebastian knew someone in the restaurant. She hoped they'd help him if they could.

  The guards boxed her in as they walked, and when they got to the big central building, the Tree, it was alive with light, music and people, and she was even more grateful to be hidden from view.

  She wasn't short, but the three men were all taller than she was, and they shielded her well.

  As they took her up the lift toward the suite she'd been in earlier, she wondered why Hanran Fattal was so eager to see his daughter tonight.

  She was starting to form a nasty suspicion Rina Fattal might have been more than just a spoiled daughter going where her whim led her.

  It had occurred to her that perhaps Rina Fattal was on the Felicitos Deck for a reason other than a jaunt.

  And Hanran Fattal was looking for an update.

  She suppressed a shiver.

  One of the guards opened the door to the apartment and stepped inside with her, and the other two took up position outside.

  She tilted her head to look at the one who'd entered the apartment with her, standing with feet planted apart, saying nothing.

  “Don't mind me.” It was Travi, the one who'd grabbed her in the alley. “I've got orders to make sure you're ready on time. Long as you're working toward that, I'll leave you alone.”

  She considered him for a long moment. “I'll let my father know how dedicated you were about it.” She made it sound like a threat, and it was obviously a pretty good one because he paled a little.

  “No disrespect intended.” He turned his back on her, walked to the window and stood looking out.

  She turned away herself, walking into the big bedroom, and closed and locked the door.

  She set her bag on the bed and opened it, scooping Fluffy out and crooning to her as she tried to soothe her.

  After her initial shriek of rage, the talu had gone still, and Dee had been afraid she was hurt, but she seemed all right, arching under Dee's hand, and curling up under Dee's chin when Dee lifted her close.

  “They are nasty thugs.” She turned to look at the door as she spoke. “We are going to have to get away from them, first chance we get.”

  She walked into the bathroom, ran a sink of warm water for Fluffy, and then stepped into a hot shower.

  As she rubbed cleanser through her hair, she wondered how Sebastian was doing.
Whether he was on his feet.

  And hoped he would take the chance he'd been given to get out. He needed to run and make a new plan to bring down the Cores and the Caruso.

  No matter what, she didn't see how he could get into the function she was being dragged to. Which meant he couldn't help her now.

  She was on her own.

  She was used to working as a team, had done so for a long time, but she could go solo if she had to.

  Guess that time had come.

  Chapter 14

  “You all right?” Gert crouched beside him, a cup of water in his hand.

  Sebastian levered up on his elbows, and took the water, gulped it down in a few swallows. He nodded, and then dragged himself to his feet. “I'll live.”

  He felt better as he stood, and the water helped, too. “Can I get more water?”

  Gert disappeared, and when he came back, Sebastian had worked out most of the kinks.

  He drank the water, handed the cup back, and then leaned in close. “Get word to headquarters that I'm going back to the Tree. I'll be in touch when I get Dee out.”

  He didn't wait for a response, he started walking back into the center of Dar Raca. Every minute that ticked by was important.

  He shook off the tightness in his muscles as he walked, until he was able to jog, and then run.

  He had to slow down, though, when he reached the central ring of Dar Raca, and could no longer use the back alleys.

  A running man wearing black tended to attract all the wrong attention.

  He got to the end of the last curve of buildings before the wide landscaped park around the Tree. The elevated rail was a few blocks to his left, and a hover traveled on it--silent and all lit up.

  He eyed the security arrangements. It was something he'd done before many times, but he'd never judged the risk of getting caught worth the dubious benefit of getting inside.

  Things were different now.

  Getting in was imperative.

  There were Cores guards at the street entrance, and groups of two wandered the park. He wanted to swear, because the security looked even tighter than when he'd last assessed it.

  And then he went still. Because coming out of the Tree, hurrying along a path to Sebastian's right, was Peyt. The asshole from the lift earlier this afternoon.

  Sebastian took a chance and went back a few steps so he could follow the narrow lane behind the building to his right. He reached the other end in time to see Peyt had just passed him, and was heading deliberately for one of the lower, smaller versions of the Tree that were dotted around Dar Raca. The preferred living quarters of the Cores execs.

  He fell into step behind him, pleased there were so many people around, both coming and going from the Tree.

  Peyt didn't look back, he was talking on his comm. As he ran his finger through the lock on the door, Sebastian stepped up to him, slung an arm around his shoulder and jammed his laz into his side with a smile.

  “Your apartment. Now.”

  Peyt's hand curled tight around the door he'd pushed open.

  “Ever been hit by laz fire?” Sebastian asked him, conversationally. “I have. Just today, in fact. I'll be happy to give you your own taste of how unpleasant it is.”

  Peyt dropped his hand, pushed his way through with his shoulder. He said nothing as Sebastian dropped his arm but kept close to his side, laz still touching his shirt.

  They stepped into a lift.

  Peyt hesitated, then touched the button for the third floor.

  “So, you went back to the Tree looking for Rina, even though you know she isn't really Rina, and when she didn't answer the door, you hung around waiting for her to return.” Sebastian kept his tone conversational.

  Peyt glanced at him, eyes jumping from the laz to the door, as if working out what chance he had to outrun it when they reached their floor.

  “And unfortunately, your skulking didn't pay off, because when she did come back, it was with three guards, and they've taken up position in front of her door, so you have no way to approach her.” He charged the laz, letting the hum fill the silence, and he felt Peyt slump a little in defeat as the door pivoted open.

  “So what if I did?”

  “No reason, just working out how you came to be there when you did. What was the next plan? To find her at the function?”

  “Again, so what if it was? It's got nothing to do with you.” Peyt hesitated as they stepped out into a foyer. It was a circular space, similar to the one in the Tree, but smaller, and it only had two doors off it.

  “Oh, it has a lot to do with me.”

  Peyt took a step toward the door to the left, and then stopped. “I don't know who she is, or what your game is, but I intend to find out. And I don't think you're going to stop me.”

  He tried to twist away, and Sebastian shot him, the laz flaring against his ribs. He grabbed Peyt as he fell, and then hefted him to the door, swiping his finger through the lock. He shouldered his way in to the apartment and tossed Peyt onto the ground, looking around as the door closed behind them.

  That had gone better than he'd thought it might. No witnesses. No one else home.

  The interior was poorly lit, and when he raised the lights, he found himself in a spare, surprisingly tasteful space.

  He crouched beside Peyt and went through his pockets, giving a satisfied grunt when he found the thin card he knew was the key to getting into most Cores functions.

  The resistance had managed to get their hands on a few of these through the years, but they were always cancelled when the exec realized it was missing, so it had limited, usually one-time usefulness.

  That was fine with him. One time was all he needed.

  And Peyt wasn't going to be raising the alarm any time soon.

  He straightened, then studied the unconscious man lying at his feet.

  They were a similar size, although Sebastian was a little taller, and a lot leaner.

  He walked into the bedroom and found something in a dark purple that looked like the kind of outfit a Cores exec's son would wear to a Cores function and put it on.

  He searched for and found a small bag, put his black clothes inside it, and all the ports he could find lying around the place.

  He looked longingly at the comm station tucked away in a small alcove, but he didn't have time to access interplanetary comms now. Then he decided there was no reason he and Dee couldn't come back here if they made it out safely.

  It was the perfect place to hunker down for a bit.

  He cut the straps off a couple of bags and tied Peyt up. He wasn't able to change the locks--high-level tamper-proofing, probably--so he left the door closed but unlocked when he stepped back out.

  It was time to crash a party.

  The noise coming from the function swelled and crashed over Dee as she walked toward it, tightly surrounded by Hanran Fattal's guards.

  They kept darting quick, shocked looks at her, and she didn't know whether to count that a success or a failure.

  Rina Fattal had a lot of strange clothes, and that worked out, because Dee needed to distract people from her face. She'd picked the most outrageous outfit in Rina's massive wardrobe.

  She tugged a little at the strip of cloth over one breast, making sure it was securely in place.

  The dress looked like a complex effort to tie her up, the thin straps twisting and crossing, knotting and trussing her in a weave that actually covered her fairly well, but gave the impression of near nakedness.

  The problem had been the shoes. She wanted something she could run in, so she'd chosen black boots that laced up to just below her knees, the most practical pair Rina owned, and judging from the wide-eyed stares of Travi and his two friends, it was a look that worked.

  She rarely wore makeup in her role on Leo Gaudier's top security team, but she wasn't completely incapable. She'd gone wild tonight, making herself look as different as she could, and she left her hair down, all the better to fall across her face and hide her f
eatures if necessary.

  It was the best she could do.

  As Travi opened the door and stepped aside for her, her heart jumped in her chest, and she had to hope her best would be good enough.

  She stepped into a crowded room that was circled on three sides by second floor balconies.

  They were still in the Tree, and this was obviously a Cores gathering place, people laughing and talking at volume, at ease as they ate expensive delicacies and drank fine wine.

  She knew Sebastian would probably have a hard time keeping it together here, because to look at the guests, you wouldn't think there was a crisis beyond the walls.

  People without any hope of relief.

  She realized after a few steps that the three guards were no longer behind her.

  Either they'd been stopped at the door, or they considered their duty done.

  She edged her way through the crowd, getting a little deeper into the room, and glad for once that she was of medium height.

  She was invisible here, surrounded by taller men and women.

  Fluffy had gone very still on her shoulder, and Dee guessed it was a defensive mechanism in the face of too many people. The talu had made herself completely invisible.

  “Sorry,” she murmured. “I don't want to be here, either.”

  Hopefully she could remedy that right away.

  She wormed her way through the packed space, heading for the opposite side of the room.

  When she made it across, she grabbed a door just before it closed, slipping through it into a room that was green and lush, full of exotic plants and vibrantly colored flowers.

  She looked up, saw the ceiling was made of glass, and then down when she realized even the floor was made of some kind of springy ground covering that released a delicate scent as she walked.

  Fluffy chittered in her ear, and Dee smiled as she tilted her head to try and see her little sidekick. The talu's eyes were open, taking it all in.

  A woman stepped out of a door to Dee's left, showing a bathroom beyond before it swung closed.

  “Do you know if there is an exit here?” Dee asked her as the woman headed back toward the main hall.