She only had to bring up Sebastian's gaunt face to shrug off any lingering sense of guilt.
“Let's go before Henri decides he's waited long enough and comes back over.” She picked Fluffy up again, reached for her bag, and she was out the door.
She'd wasted a lot of time here, and she still had to get over to Sootko's, the restaurant where they'd eaten dinner earlier.
She just hoped Sebastian would be there.
And if he wasn't . . . she rubbed a hand against her sternum. If he wasn't, she would have to go back into the Tree to find him.
Chapter 16
When he got back into the hall, Karr had disappeared. Sebastian's gaze flicked to the staircase, but there was no sign of Karr making his way up to the floor above.
He moved through the crowd, growing rowdier now as the night wore on, and saw several other men and women dressed in the same dull gray Karr had been wearing, circulating with trays.
He could sense a few people turning to look at him, and guessed he stood out as being someone they didn't recognize.
He would need to make this fast, before someone stopped him and challenged his right to be here.
He caught a glimpse of sandy brown hair that looked like Karr's, and turned in that direction, and then relaxed a little when he saw Karr standing beside the bar at the back of the room, talking to the bartender.
Their conversation did not look happy.
He moved out of the flow of the crowd and watched.
The two were constantly interrupted as they tried to speak to each other, the bartender having to stop to serve drinks, and more than one person coming up to help themselves from Karr's tray.
The men and women present either worked in management for the Core Companies, or owned a piece of them. They dressed too garishly and laughed too loudly, and he fought to keep his lip from curling and his hands from fisting.
He needed to find out what was going on and get back to Dee. He didn't like the fact that she'd had to go off without him, and as he moved back into the flow of the crowd and made his way around to approach Karr from behind, he tamped down real anger at his teammate for forcing him to follow him and leave Dee on her own.
She didn't know Dar Raca. She was vulnerable out there.
As he stepped right up behind Karr, he turned his body to the side, trying to keep them unaware of him for as long as possible.
“I can't talk to you here.” The bartender was saying as he shot Karr a furious look.
“Then you should have met up with me earlier, instead of dodging me.” Karr pro-offered the tray to someone who approached with a fake smile.
“Can I help you?”
The bartender had spotted Sebastian, was looking straight at him, and so he stepped around Karr, and then leaned against the bar.
“Yes, you can.”
Karr was staring at him, eyes wide. “I thought . . .”
“You thought wrong.” Sebastian kept his face relaxed. “You can get me some water,” he said to the bartender. He leaned forward, and plucked a savory pastry from Karr's tray.
“Karr?” The bartender was looking between them, unbridled panic on his face.
“Calm down, Frino. This is Sebastian.” Karr grimaced.
Frino blinked. “The leader--” He shut his mouth with a snap.
“So.” Sebastian took the water Frino handed him, and took a sip. Propped himself up against the bar with an elbow. “What's happening?”
“I thought I could trust you.” Frino was staring at Karr, and Sebastian read pure terror on his face.
“Karr's told me nothing, which is why I'm asking. I saw him come in here, and I followed him.” Sebastian glanced at the bartender, and saw him take a deep breath, and relax his features.
“Well, I can't help you. I've got to go.” Frino nodded to a woman approaching them, dressed in the same gray outfit. “My shift is over.”
Karr leaned over the bar, his hand gripping Frino's forearm. “Good, you can come with us right now.”
Frino hesitated, then gave a nod.
“After you.” Sebastian wasn't going to go ahead and lose either of them.
Karr gave him a narrow-eyed look, and started to move back through the crowd, empty tray tucked against his side. Frino mumbled something to the woman as she reached the bar, tossed a cloth at her, and then edged past Sebastian and followed Karr through the crowd, an empty jug of water in his hand.
Sebastian strolled after them, making sure not to jostle anyone, or give them any cause to notice him.
Frino disappeared through the service door behind Karr, and Sebastian stepped through it less than twenty seconds afterward.
Karr lay slumped against the wall, blood oozing from a head wound.
“Hit me.” He blinked, eyes unfocused. “With water jug.”
Sebastian slid an arm under Karr's, braced himself, and heaved, lifting him to his feet.
Karr shook his head, then groaned, clutching his temples.
“We're going to walk nice and slow.” Sebastian tried to keep his voice soothing as he maneuvered Karr down the passage. They were exposed here. And if Frino was a traitor, they could expect Cores guards at any time. It took maybe half a minute, although it felt infinitely longer, but they reached the far door, and Sebastian angled himself so his shoulder nudged the door open.
Beyond was a second passageway to the left, down which he could hear the sound of voices and the clang of pots and dishes. Directly in front of him was an exit.
He half dragged Karr through it, and stepped into the humid air of the night.
“You able to keep walking?” he asked Karr. He could see people using the main entrance into the Tree to his right, but none were looking this way.
Karr nodded, taking more of his own weight, and they moved around the building, heading toward the more downtrodden end of town.
The thought of going to Sootko's again sent a shiver through him, but he couldn't decide if it was the laz hit, or the kiss he'd shared with Dee before that that had set his senses buzzing.
Karr stumbled in the poor lighting, and the wrench to his shoulder brought Sebastian back to the present.
“You going to tell me what this is about?”
Karr didn't answer. Instead, he shuffled to the first wall they came to and bent his head down. After he caught his breath, he looked up.
“Frino's an informant. An old friend I grew up with. He told me something before we left to follow Rina Fattal. Something about the Caruso.” Karr's eyes caught the light filtering down from the higher levels of the Tree and they glinted in the darkness as he turned to Sebastian. “I didn't believe him and I didn't say anything, because I didn't want to look like I gave any credence to it.”
Sebastian let his head fall back against the smooth surface behind him. “So when the Caruso attacked on the Deck?”
“I was shocked, but it was Garmen, not Lassa.”
“And when Dee told us the Caruso had plans to do the same on Lassa?”
Karr raised his own head and straightened a little. “I didn't want to believe her. And I felt guilty and angry at myself for not speaking up.”
Sebastian turned to look over at him. “And what does Frino say now?”
“Now, he says it was all a mistake, that he doesn't know anything, it was just a rumor he'd heard and he can't remember where.” Karr rubbed at his eyes.
“Did you tell him you've seen proof?”
“Yes.” Karr slowly pushed away from the wall. “And he didn't want to speak to me, and then, the moment my back was turned, he hit me over the head and ran.”
“How deep is his connection to the resistance?” Sebastian hadn't recognized him, but then, he couldn't know everyone. And he'd only just stepped into the leadership role. Or had it thrust at him.
Karr raised his shoulders. “He's sympathetic. Gives us information when he can. He doesn't come to meetings, though. He works a lot to support his family.”
Somewhere nearby, a peet-mee beg
an its hiss and snap in the darkness, and was joined by another, and then another.
Sebastian pushed away from the wall. Dee was waiting. “Can you walk? If not, I'm going to have to leave you here to meet up with Dee.”
“I can walk.” Karr fell into step, although his stride was not as quick as usual. “Where are we going?”
“Sootko's.” He hoped she was already there.
“That's where I tried to track Frino down earlier.” Karr looked at him with surprise.
“When?” A sudden chill seemed to dance down his spine.
“About an hour before I saw you.”
So, after he had been shot there by Hanran Fattal's guards.
“Gert is Frino's friend. They grew up together.” Karr touched the back of his head with careful fingers. “I tried to get a message to Frino through Gert.”
A whisper of worry stirred in Sebastian's gut.
“Gert knows you're with the resistance.”
Karr nodded. “He wouldn't help me. Said he'd pass the message on to Frino if he saw him, but he wouldn't tell me where I could track Frino down.”
“How did you find him, then?”
“I always knew where he worked. I followed him the day he told me about the Caruso.”
Sebastian lifted his brows. “So you took it seriously enough to follow him.”
Karr looked away. “You don't need to tell me I mishandled this, I already know.”
Mishandled was an understatement. “I saw Gert myself this evening. He was cooperative. I told Dee he'd help her if something went wrong and I wasn't able to meet her.”
Karr shrugged. “Maybe. She's a stranger, and there is no mercy from the Cores these days. No one wants to take too many risks. He might turn her away.”
“He saw us together. He knows she's safe.”
Karr shrugged again, and Sebastian sped up.
He took a side alley, leaving Karr to struggle on behind him. It ran toward the street that Sootko's was in, and would spit him out on the main street directly opposite the restaurant.
He slowed as he reached the end of the narrow walk way, keeping to the deep shadows.
All three moons were shining, and they lit the street in front of him in pale silver.
There was a light on in Sootko's, but he couldn't make out the interior.
Despite the late hour, people were still walking around Dar Raca. A few passed him as he stood watching for any sign of danger, two couples talking quietly together, three gen-pop workers in their gray uniforms walking together as if for safety, heading for the gate out to the dark forest, and the homes tucked out of sight.
He stepped into the weak moonlight and crossed the road, aware that Karr was just behind him.
He ran lightly up the steps to the door, over the spot where he'd been shot with a laz, and put his hand on the door to push it open.
He was the one carrying a laz now.
Chapter 17
“You're really from Garmen? I thought you were Lassian Cores.”
Gert set a glass of water in front of her, and Dee noticed a faint tremor to his hand.
“That was an elaborate ruse. I grew up in Phansi, the mining town on Garmen.” She set her bag carefully on the counter. She'd thrown out the dress so that Fluffy could fit inside.
Given the strange reactions most people had to the talu, she'd decided it was better if she was out of sight. Safer for everyone, too.
Gert wiped down the counter, looking at some people eating at a table in the corner, and his hand clenched into a fist around the cloth he was using.
She leaned forward. “What's wrong?”
His gaze jerked up to hers, startled. “Nothing. How did you get here? I heard things were the same on Garmen as they are here. You aren't allowed to leave.”
She propped her elbows on the counter, but before she could answer, the couple who'd been sitting nearby got up to make payment.
Dee noticed it was in ports, not transfer.
The same was mostly true on Garmen. Or had been until now. Portable credits had been the currency of the gen-pop. Almost no one had been wealthy enough to enter the credit transfer system. And the Cores had liked to keep it that way.
The couple left, and Dee glanced at the table of four men Gert had been eyeing earlier. They were the only customers left.
“Are you afraid of them?” she asked. Her laz dug into the small of her back, but she didn't touch it or give any indication it was there.
Gert shook his head, but he wouldn't meet her gaze. “Why are you back here?”
“It's a long story. Sebastian is meeting me here soon.” She sipped at the iced water. “When do you close?”
“When the last person leaves.” There was an undercurrent of bitterness to that statement.
She understood it.
“When those men leave, I'm happy to wait outside for Sebastian if he isn't here by then. You can close up.”
Again, Gert sent her a startled look. “Thanks.” He looked over her shoulder and went still. His expression was guilty.
Ah. Now she got it.
She shook her head at herself.
She was usually the most cynical of her colleagues. She was teased about it, because she almost always suspected the worst.
And here she was, surrounded.
In her defense, it had been a very long day.
She turned on the stool she was sitting on, leaning so her back rested against the counter behind her, her arms propping her up. Her hand dangling nice and close to where her laz was tucked into the back of her pants.
“Friends of yours, Gert?” she asked.
“Yes.” He moved from around the counter to form a neat ring around her.
“And how can I help you?”
Her words seemed to surprise them.
They were all clearly gen-pop. Not guards, just men who scraped by in the cut-throat world of the Breakaway planets.
They looked less starved than Sebastian and his team did, but they were all lean, their bodies honed and muscular from hard work.
Dee looked them over with a professional eye. She couldn't take all five of them. Even with the laz. Unless she was extremely lucky and they didn't have much training when it came to fighting.
One of them moved, a nervous, agitated gesture, and she decided maybe they weren't as much of a threat at they appeared.
“How could you help us?” The one to the far left of her, the tallest one, asked.
She shrugged. “I don't know. That's why I asked. I'm no enemy of the gen-pop of Lassa. I'm gen-pop myself, from Garmen.”
The man looked over at Gert and he shrugged.
“She was dressed like a Cores brat earlier, but she was with Sebastian, so she could be telling the truth.”
“Sebastian?”
“New leader of the resistance.” Gert wet his lips nervously.
“Him?” One of the men in the middle rounded on Gert. “The one who replaced Vahn?”
Gert nodded.
“I thought he'd disappeared, too?” There was distrust in the tone. “I heard he hasn't been seen for almost a month.”
“He was off on a mission. I don't know what he was doing or where he was going, but he came back with her in tow.” Gert nodded toward Dee.
“He went to Garmen?” The tall man's voice was incredulous.
“He did.” Dee closed her hand around the laz. “How I came back to Lassa with him is a long story, but suffice to say, I'm not in any way sympathetic to the Cores.”
“So where is Sebastian?” The tall one narrowed his eyes at her. “What are you doing running around Dar Raca pretending to be a Cores brat?”
“It doesn't sound like you're involved in the resistance, so I'd rather not say.” She gave him a polite smile.
“I'm not involved, because more than one friend of mine who has helped them in the last few months has disappeared or been hurt. If you want a Cores target on your back, help the resistance. That's how it seems to work now. So if you'
ve been running around playing games with the resistance, you're putting your life at risk. If you're from Garmen, what's happening here isn't your fight. I can't understand what you're even doing here.”
She sighed. “As I said, it's a long story. Let's get to your interest in me. You were already here when I walked in, and I didn't know I was coming here until an hour ago, so this isn't specifically about me. What's going on?”
They were silent for a long beat.
“Gert indicated you might have some ports to spare.” The tall man's voice bobbed a little.
Dee put her other elbow on the counter, drawing her laz out of her pants as she shifted position. She stared at each of them in a long, slow sweep. “So you're oppos.” She looked over at Gert. “And so are you, presumably.”
They stiffened at the accusation.
“We're starving, is what we are. And you don't belong here.” The tall one shot a look at the others.
“You didn't know that when you approached me. You were going to try to rob me, regardless.” Her quiet words seemed to fill the space.
“Gert told us you were Cores.”
Dee tipped her head. That was fair enough.
Gert moved restlessly. “She's connected to Sebastian, so maybe this isn't a good idea.”
“It was you who pointed her out.” The man next to him grabbed his shoulder. “Now, no matter what happens, we're marked.”
“Not if you genuinely thought I was Cores,” Dee said, raising a shoulder. “No one could blame you for that. I was pretending to be Cores earlier, I admit that.”
“All very civil,” the man in the middle said, his eyes so dark Dee couldn't tell their color. “But I still have a family to feed.”
“You looked like you were having a very nice meal just five minutes ago. Where was your family then?”
Her words seemed to incense him.
“Listen you--”
The door swung open. “Careful now.”
Sebastian stepped inside and the door swung closed behind him. The laz in his hand was steady. “I'm extremely fond of Dee, and I take personal exception to any insult to her.”
Dee used the distraction, as they all looked over their shoulders or turned toward Sebastian, to draw her feet up onto her stool, and then hop up onto the counter.
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