Deuces Wild Boxed Set: Books 1-4: Beyond the Frontiers, Rampage, Labyrinth, Birthright

by Ell Leigh Clarke

  Harry’s demeanor changed in an instant. He glared at Tabitha. “I’m not telling you anything!”

  Tabitha laughed. “You have two choices. You can answer my questions like a good little snitch, or I can beat your ass around this room and then throw you out the nearest airlock.”

  Harry sneered. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  Tabitha frowned and looked at Ryu. “Wouldn’t I?”

  Ryu nodded at Harry with a sympathetic expression. “She would, and you would be glad she did by the time it happened. I would just do as she asks and hope she is feeling merciful afterward.”

  “Dammit.” She pulled out her badge. “I should just leave it untucked, save myself from conversations with scumbags.”

  “Ah, but then you would have to spend that time chasing them,” Ryu countered.

  Tabitha shrugged. “True.”

  Harry looked from Tabitha’s badge to Ryu and Hirotoshi with growing disbelief and panic on his face. “You… You’re the Rangers? No wonder you two did so well in the arena today. You fucking cheated!” He began to struggle again.

  Tabitha slapped him. “Stay focused, Harry. I know it’s difficult to do that when you’re getting a taste of what you’ve put others through, but today is your lucky day.”

  Harry spat blood on the floor. “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

  “Because I could use a dirtbag like you right now.” Tabitha grinned unpleasantly. “So start talking, before I change my mind. We’ll start with what you know about the disappearances. A woman has been taken, and the only thing I give a shit about right now is getting her back.”

  Harry slumped in the chair. “I had nothing to do with that.”

  Tabitha glanced at Hirotoshi.

  He is telling the truth, but he knows something.

  Tabitha turned and kicked Harry’s chair so it tipped back. She caught the edge of the seat between Harry’s legs with the heel of her boot to halt him mid-fall and leaned over to snarl in his face. “Never mind the crimes you’ve committed. You’ll be facing justice for all your financial fuckery soon enough. Right now I only care about Stacy. I’ll ask nicely one last time. What. Do. You. Know?”

  Harry’s reply was choked. “Stacy? Stacy’s been taken? Let me up! I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”

  “Oh. Well, I suppose I’m glad I didn’t have to space you.” Tabitha righted Harry’s chair and folded her arms expectantly. “Go ahead, talk.”

  Harry’s earlier bravado was gone. He sighed, and his shoulders dropped. “I don’t know who took the courtesans. Honest. But I think it might have been a smokescreen.”

  Tabitha frowned. “A smokescreen for what?”

  “It has to be all about the Loren. I found out someone had signed off on transport for it, but not who.”

  “‘Signed off on?’” Hirotoshi echoed.

  Harry nodded. “The Loren was contracted to remain aboard the station. It wouldn’t have left of its own volition, but if it did, its itinerary had to be logged and it was to be given an escort.”

  Hirotoshi spoke up. “Why the strict protocol?”

  “Those were its terms. Do you know anything about them as a species?”

  Hirotoshi shook his head. “No, they are new to us.”

  “We’ve seen a photo.” Tabitha repressed a shudder at the memory. “It looked like it could defend itself just fine with all those tentacles.”

  Hirotoshi frowned. “I am still missing the connection between this Loren’s disappearance and Stacy being kidnapped.”

  “Stacy was the negotiator of our Loren’s contract,” Harry explained. “The Loren are pampered, and never expected to defend themselves. The ones who leave their world only do so if they have a favorable contract in place.” Harry’s face was ashen. “Whoever has the Loren now must have arranged for her to be taken. Untie me! I have to find her.”

  Tabitha snorted. “As if. Why would you care?”

  Harry hung his head. “I have to find her. Stacy is my daughter.”

  Tabitha couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “Stacy is your what, now?”

  Harry nodded emphatically. “Please, Ranger. I’ll tell you everything about everything. I’ll go to prison. I’ll stand in front of the Empress herself and admit my crimes if you’ll just let me find my Stacy and make sure she’s safe.”

  Tabitha deflated. “Well, shit. How am I supposed to hate you now?”

  “Remember that he’s been stealing from the Order,” Hirotoshi offered.

  Tabitha tilted her head. “Oh, yeah. Still, we don’t have time to deal with him and save Stacy as well. Maybe letting him help isn’t a terrible idea. We can just stick a tracker in him to make sure he doesn’t run.”

  Harry was almost in tears. “I won’t run, I swear. She’s all I’ve got, I have to get her back.”

  Tabitha dragged another chair over and turned it around to sit with her arms resting on the back. She deliberated; was it worth the risk? She decided not. “I’m not even going to give you the opportunity. Where do we start, Harry?”

  Harry furrowed his brow in thought. “I don’t know. All I can think of is Stacy.”

  Tabitha sighed. “You can only help Stacy if you put that aside and concentrate. This whole thing, the missing courtesans, the Loren, Stacy—how is it all connected? Who benefits from it?”

  Harry’s mouth drew tight. “I really don’t know. I’ve been digging into the Loren’s disappearance, but I keep hitting a wall at every turn.”

  “We found your files, so we know the fights are just a cover. Why were you investigating in the first place?”

  “Well, I am an information broker. It’s kind of what I do. I came across the initial transaction and wondered why I hadn’t been cut in on whatever it was. Now the connection to the Loren’s disappearance is clear; it all makes perfect sense.” He scowled and shifted in the chair. “I was planning on having a contact of mine come out here to assist me, but we can’t wait. Not while my daughter is in danger. Are you going to untie me so I can start fixing this mess?”

  Tabitha shared a glance with Hirotoshi and Ryu. “You are a despicable human being, Harry. How do you sleep at night?” She begrudgingly cut him loose. “Any funny business, and you won’t live to regret it. Got me?”

  Harry stood and rubbed his sore wrists. “I’m a despicable human being who loves his daughter. I get by, same as everyone else.” He gestured to the door. “Shall we, then? We need to get to Iona.”

  “’Iona?’” Tabitha repeated. “That’s your contact?”

  “No. It’s an outpost a day or so away from here. That’s where my contact is based. But he won’t speak to a Ranger. Hell, you won’t even be able to find Iona without me, and every minute we spend talking about it is another minute we’re not tracking down whoever took my daughter.”

  Chapter 7

  Tabitha

  K’nthel System, Open Space, QBS Achronyx, Bridge

  Tabitha paced the bridge impatiently. “Achronyx, are we nearly there?”

  “We are approaching the coordinates, Ranger Tabitha. Putting a visual of the location on screen now.”

  “At last! Tell Hirotoshi and Ryu we’ve arrived, and get them to bring Harry up here.” Tabitha flopped into her chair and turned it to face the screen.

  They were a safe distance from Zaphod’s anti-tech field, out in the empty reaches at the outer edge of the system, where there was nothing to be found but rocks and space-trash. Harry’s directions had brought them to a massive hunk of free-floating rock amongst the detritus.

  In other words, they were nowhere.

  “Achronyx, there’s nothing here.”

  “Clearly there is something. If there were nothing, we would be experiencing a different dilemma entirely.”

  Tabitha chuckled. “I missed you.”

  “I have no idea what you mean,” Achronyx replied. “There is something there. I’m picking up shield signatures even though I cannot tell what is being shielded.”

  The barren rockscape b
elow them didn’t hold much promise at first glance. Tabitha gave Harry a pointed look as he entered the bridge between Hirotoshi and Ryu. “This is your black-market outpost? Where is the outpost?”

  “It’s there, you’ll see. It wouldn’t be much of a hidden outpost if just anyone could find it, would it?” Harry tapped the side of his nose with a finger. “It’s underground. Besides, we’re not quite there yet. The landing site I gave you is a little ways away from the trading post. Can’t be turning up in an Empire ship. The place will empty out quicker than a Pepsi factory during a state visit.”

  Tabitha ignored his attempt to lighten the mood. “What’s it like down there? Do we need to suit up?”

  Harry shook his head. “It’s inhospitable, but there’s enough atmosphere to breathe if you don’t mind the dust.”

  Tabitha nodded and turned to look at Hirotoshi. “Okay, I’m gonna go get us some protection against the dust. You two take Harry down to the med bay and get a tracker in him before we land.”

  Achronyx brought them down in the middle of a dust storm. Tabitha exited the ship last and paused to pull the hood of her cloak up and put her goggles on over it to hold it in place. She grimaced as she tightened her scarf around her mouth. “You weren’t kidding about the dust,” she bitched as she slid down the fine dust of the dune after the others.

  Harry rubbed the bruise on his neck where Ryu had injected the tracker. “It’s part of the charm of this place. It gets better when we get there.”

  Ryu pulled his hood low to protect his eyes. “Let’s just get going so we can get out of this storm.”

  Harry led them across the low dunes toward the hulking shadow of a cliff in the near distance. Tabitha trailed at the back, keeping a close eye on the group via the infrared function in her goggles. As they got closer to the cliff, they were able to make out the outline of a rope bridge between them and the cliff through the storm.

  “We’re nearly there now,” Harry called back.

  The rest of his words were stolen by the wind. Tabitha hoped he wasn’t saying anything too important. She trudged one labored footstep at a time through the deep dust, her nanocytes working to compensate for the underabundance of oxygen. She almost fell on her ass when they cleared the drift unexpectedly and the effort she had been applying to each step became suddenly unnecessary.

  “Where the hell did the gravity come from?” She got to her feet and smirked when it became clear she hadn’t been the only one caught out.

  Hirotoshi and Ryu dusted themselves off and turned as one to hear Harry’s explanation.

  Harry shrugged and set off toward the bridge. “Can’t say I didn’t warn you. Operators of this place are watching. Come on, before they get suspicious.”

  Visibility remained poor. Tabitha switched her goggle overlay to show radar and scanned the area around the bridge. The radar highlighted a huge chasm between them and the cliff face, which she could now see in more detail.

  They crossed the bridge one at a time, and it bucked and twisted beneath them in the scouring wind. When they reached the other side, the wind died away suddenly as they entered yet another layer of Iona’s shielding.

  The cliff was easily seen without the thick dust to screen it from sight. The bridge led to a path, which in turn led to a staircase carved into the cliff face. Tabitha could see signs of activity farther up, but at the foot of the cliff, it was empty.

  “This place is like an onion,” Tabitha quipped. “No wonder Achronyx had trouble finding out what was down here.”

  “Iona is a safe haven for anyone who wants to conduct business that is likely to draw the wrong kind of attention from the Empire.”

  Not for long. As soon as we’re done with Traveler’s Rest, this place is going to get a housekeeping visit of its own.

  Ryu coughed politely to hide his snicker.

  Harry became alarmed. “Please understand that there are literally thousands of dangerous people here at any one time. Even you three would struggle to win at those odds.”

  Tabitha laughed. “You wanna bet?”

  Harry shook his head. “I most definitely do not. I want to get in there, speak with my asset, and then get my daughter back home where she belongs.” He stalked off toward the cliff face.

  Ryu took point, Harry went next with Hirotoshi behind him, and Tabitha brought up the rear. They ascended the staircase single file without incident until they reached the top, where they were greeted by an impressive array of gun barrels.

  Tabitha brought up her Jean Dukes, which had exactly the effect it should on the guards. “I guess we aren’t staying incognito, then.” She picked out the guard with the biggest gun and waved the barrel of her Jean Dukes at him. “Hey, who’s in charge here?”

  Big Gun’s eyes flicked toward a Leath who was standing off to one side with his arms folded, observing the new arrivals with an expression of barely-concealed malice.

  Tabitha took another glance at the mob. No humans. “You didn’t mention they don’t like humans here,” she whispered aside to Harry.

  “I’ve never actually been here,” he replied shakily.

  Tabitha muttered a curse. “How do we get in to meet your contact if they don’t allow humans?”

  Hirotoshi had a suggestion. “You do love making a scene, and you’ve been so restrained on this mission.”

  Tabitha smirked. “Yes. Yes, I have. And by the way, I saw what you did in the arena. That shit was like some bad eighties movie, and I have the video. What I’m about to do goes nowhere under pain of…well, pain.” She pushed through the mob and flounced toward the Leath without a care.

  The Leath stared down at Tabitha with complete contempt. “What do you want, human? Your kind are not welcome here.”

  “Well, I was hoping to commit a crime today, and I heard Iona was the place to do that. I wasn’t expecting this warm welcome, though.” Tabitha put a hand on her hip and tilted her chin, returning the boss’s stare with a cold-eyed appraisal of her own. “I hate—and I mean hate—speciesism. It’s a deal breaker for me, I’m afraid. I thought it would be the war that prevented us from having a civilized discussion, but I can tell you now that we aren’t going to see eye to eye on this.”

  Tabitha’s nonchalant attitude was confusing the hell out of the guards. She smirked at the boss and waved a hand at the baffled guards. “I mean, humans commit crime too. Who are you to deny me the opportunity to get a slice of this?” She scowled at the Leath and turned to the guards. “Do you know what you’re missing out on? Humans are the best.”

  “You would say that,” a voice called.

  Tabitha twinkled at the guards. “All I want is to hide out on Iona and do a little business where the Empress can’t see what I’m doing. My credits are as good as anyone else’s. Now, are you going to let me in?”

  K’nthel System, Iona

  Harry followed at Tabitha’s heels as they crossed under the enormous carved stone pillars supporting the entrance and headed into the atrium of the trading post. Every inch of the cavern was carved with what Tabitha decided to call “space scrimshaw,” including the hard to reach places between the access to the upper and lower levels.

  Tabitha ran a hand down the nearest wall. “This place has a distinct Indiana Jones feel—kind of Temple of Doom-y. I like it.”

  The others looked at her blankly except Ryu, who made a face.

  Tabitha shrugged. “Never mind. Where are we meeting your contact?”

  Harry pulled back his sleeve to show Tabitha his wrist holo. “I gave all the info to Achronyx.”

  I’m sending your route map now.

  The map came up in Tabitha’s HUD, complete with directions to a small café on the lower level. Thanks, Achronyx. She twirled a finger in the air and headed for the passage that would take them there. “Let’s go.”

  The cavern at the end of the passage opened up into a massive space filled with everything from shabby stalls and rows of roughly-constructed shacks selling contraband to shining sto
refronts with bright holosignage advertising their services.

  Tabitha took note of the ones proclaiming violence for hire. Achronyx, pay special attention to the flashiest businesses. Start compiling evidence to give to Bethany Anne.

  I’m already on it, Achronyx replied.

  Good. They made their way through the crowded marketplace, keeping one eye on the route ahead and the other on their belongings. Strangely enough for an outpost exclusively populated by criminals, not a single person tried to pickpocket them. Sell them stuff, yes, but apparently honor among thieves was a thing here. Tabitha figured it was either that or there was somebody in charge who didn’t allow crime on Iona.

  They found Harry’s contact, a nervous-looking Ixtali who jumped up when Harry entered the café. He spotted Tabitha and the Tontos with Harry and skittered backward, his mandibles working erratically. “I said I would speak to you, Harry! I cannot believe you brought them with you!”

  Harry moved quickly to reassure the Ixtali, who was glancing around for an exit. “It’s okay, Hexen. They’re not here to cause trouble. My daughter has been taken. I believe it has something to do with my investigation into the Loren.”

  Hexen looked around. “Not here.” He picked up his robe and motioned for them to follow him, leading them to one of the upper rooms, an office containing a desk, a computer, and not much else. Hirotoshi stood guard outside while Hexen rushed over to close the window. He pulled down the blind and placed a couple of small devices on the windowsill. “Jammers. You can’t be too careful,” he told Tabitha in response to her questioning look.

  Tabitha shrugged in agreement and leaned against the desk. “Harry tells us you might know something about the Loren’s disappearance. It looks to be connected to the kidnapping of Harry’s daughter, so let’s skip all the dancing around and get to the point.”

  Hexen inclined his head. “As you wish.” He reached into the voluminous sleeve of his robe and extracted a small crystal memory drive, which he handed to Harry. “That is all the information you requested. I’ll expect payment by our usual method.”