by Ann Aguirre
Reluctant to let go, he drew her in, smiling lazily as she drew circles on his chest with idle fingertips. “That was . . .”
“It was,” he agreed.
“How’s sex as a free man?”
“Perfect. I may get a doctor’s note establishing it as necessary for survival.”
Dred kissed his shoulder. “You don’t need a prescription for this, love.”
“What did you call me?”
“Don’t make a big thing of it,” she mumbled, “or you may never hear it again.”
Jael closed his eyes as incredible sweetness swept over him. But he couldn’t revel in the feeling long. A few minutes later, the bell rang, signaling a visitor. Dred was out cold beside him, so he pulled up the covers and put on a shirt and trousers.
Checking the view screen revealed Domingo Pace, quite alone, so he opened the door. The other man couldn’t be a match for them, even if his partner was currently dead to the world. He stepped back with an inviting gesture.
“I take it your efforts bore fruit?”
Pace nodded, moving past him. “I’ve explained your circumstances and set up an introduction tomorrow morning if that’s convenient.”
“Excellent. I’d prefer to conclude this matter in a timely fashion.”
“I’m always interested in making potentially helpful connections.” Pace was good at saying the right thing without revealing his agenda.
Could be, it’s that simple. He went over to the Kitchen-mate and ordered a carafe of wine, the same kind the man had offered them in the club. That should appeal to him and establish my acuity.
“A business like this one could always use a little more cash flow,” he observed.
“Indeed. You might have noticed the half-completed renovations outside. A silent investor would make my life easier.” Pace accepted a glass of wine.
Jael smiled. “If this meeting proves helpful, we’ll talk terms. What can you tell me?”
“Fatima Sorush has a finger in most of the pies in Gehenna. If you need intervention or protection, she’s your best bet.”
“That’s a good start. Anything specific I should know about her?”
“Be courteous. Don’t rush the niceties. Her family is one of the original settlers of the dome, so she takes such things seriously.”
“Got it. I won’t insult her.”
“Please don’t. My reputation is riding on your finesse.”
At that he raised a brow. “Why take that risk for a stranger?”
Pace offered a faint smile, lifting his glass for a toast. “Old Gehenna tradition, my friend. Your bank balance attests to your good character. Obviously.”
39
Not in the Stars but in Ourselves
Jael was prepping with Domingo Pace for his meeting. He’d told Dred it was a big deal, and if he brought anyone with him, it might offend his tetchy hostess. So she slipped out to see a little more of the neighborhood, wearing a casual outfit that she’d chosen and the wardrober produced fresh this morning. Small pleasures, she thought, heading downstairs.
The club was in full swing, despite the hour. Of course, with no sunrise and no sunset, time was arbitrary on Gehenna. So people could sleep whenever the hell they wanted, really. Therefore, the men who were drinking, complaining about their lives, and watching the dancer on stage didn’t seem so odd, on second thought. She passed through the bar and out onto the street, where she drew up short, astonished.
Tam, Martine, and Calypso were coming down the street toward her. It felt like much longer than a day. Pleased, she ran toward them. They’d all bathed and changed clothes, and from the looks of it, they’d had a relaxing night.
“How did you find us?”
Tam smirked. “I have my ways.”
Then she remembered Jael shouting the name of the club as they ran from the security team. “Whatever. You just want me to think you’re amazing.” He shrugged, belying the twinkle in his dark eyes, and drawled the reply, elongating the single word into multiple syllables. “Maybe.”
“Have you had any trouble from those goons at the spaceport?” Calypso cut in.
Dred shook her head. “Not so far. Jael’s talking to someone this morning about some potential business.”
“Sounds shady,” Martine said.
“This is Gehenna. Wouldn’t you be surprised if it wasn’t?” Tam said.
Calypso slung an arm across Dred’s shoulder. “I’m down for whatever as long as we don’t get locked up again.”
“Credits are power here. We should be all right,” Martine said.
“So what should we do today?” Tam asked, taking Martine’s hand.
Dred took a minute to soak it in. Her friends were walking down a street outside Perdition in new clothes, all healthy and safe. This feels like a dream. Like, it was all too good, and suddenly her hands were shaking. She pinched her own arm, hard.
“It’s real.” Martine smiled at her. “Don’t feel bad, I kept doing that yesterday. But look . . .” She flashed a smile and Dred saw that her teeth had been capped. No more terrifying smile, just a pretty, brown-skinned woman with bright eyes.
“You always said you’d do that first chance.”
The smaller woman nodded. “I had my reasons for doing it, but I’m ready to let that part of my past go.”
“Our destinies lie not in the stars but in ourselves.” Calypso sounded like she was quoting something, but Dred couldn’t place it.
No matter.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to head to the market outside the spaceport.” She glanced at the others with a tentative expression.
“What, you’re asking?” Martine grinned to allay the sting. “Queenie.”
“Don’t even. I’m not the boss of you. Hell, I never was.”
Tam seemed thoughtful. “Let me guess, you’d like to ask around. Find out about who’s chasing Jael.”
“Got it in one.”
Calypso nodded. “Questions aren’t illegal. Any information we can gather will probably help him later.”
“Let’s try not to cause trouble,” she said in a cautioning tone.
Martine grinned guiltily. “Are you talking to me?”
“Maybe.”
That settled, she hurried down the street to the stop she and Jael had used to get here. She scanned the credit stick she’d borrowed from Jael for the fare—and damn, that rankled. Dred had never been a kept woman in her life. Privately she doubted her Psi sense would be worth much, certainly not enough to warrant a full paycheck and damned if she’d let anyone own her.
Not even you, love.
The others hopped on behind her. At this hour, there was plenty of room on the vehicle though public mass transit couldn’t take you to the expensive aeries in the best part of the city. For that you had to hire a private car. Transport had tiers in Gehenna; the cheapest ran on the ground, midlevel hovers could take you to industrial and business districts, and only the priciest ones got access to the highest altitude, where there was little traffic.
Eventually, they jumped off near the port market, bustling as it had been the day before. They’d also cleaned up the damage created by the chase.
Dred beelined for the stall Jael had destroyed. It looked like only half the creatures had been rounded up, a definite loss to the tired, dispirited man running the place. He looked up, hopeful, as they approached. She bowed her head in quiet apology.
“I’m sorry, sir. I’m partially responsible for the losses you suffered yesterday.”
“What?” He leapt to his feet with an angry shout.
“If you’ll add up the cost of the merchandise, I’m happy to compensate you.”
His outrage drained away into stunned silence. Martine grabbed her arm, and whispered, “Are you crazy?”
Tam added, “Please make sure t
o give us an official item list as well, in addition to the verifiable credit value. If there are any discrepancies—”
“No problem, none at all,” the vendor assured him.
While Dred waited, the merchant tallied and named all the wee beasties that Jael had unleashed on the market. “Some of them were poisonous,” he confided. “So the guards just stomped on them instead of helping me. How was any of that my fault?” He appealed to Calypso with a sad look.
“It’s not, that’s why we’re paying you for the trouble,” the tall woman said.
“You have no idea how much I appreciate your honesty. It’s rare on Gehenna.”
Once he had the credits, he was even more talkative, exactly what Dred had hoped to accomplish—all the benefits of a bribe with the added perk of taking the moral high ground. “So . . . what can you tell me about the guards you mentioned before? Who do they work for?”
Now a couple thousand credits richer, the merchant happily spilled everything he knew.
• • •
THIS house loomed impressive even amid the others in the aerie, adorned with stately columns and a terraced approach. Jael climbed like a hundred stairs before they reached the front doors. A manicured garden sat to the side, a luxury of both botanical achievement and space. Buildings were incredibly close together in the dome, so dominating this much territory told him everything he needed to know about Fatima Sorush.
A real human servant led them to an expensively appointed antechamber, where Jael straightened his jacket and squared his shoulders. Pace gave an approving glance, and nodded at the glossy, lacquered double doors before them. Jael preceded the other man, as requested, and stepped into a lavish temple of femininity. With his acute senses, the sweetness of the perfumed air felt like an assault, and he struggled not to let his eyes water.
A woman with a fall of dark hair rose from a white chair, clad in a red robe. Everything about her was dramatic, from her beringed hands to the pattern painted on her right cheek. Her lashes were too long to be real, but she used them to good effect. He couldn’t even guess how old she was, but Rejuvenex had been kind to her. Broad, pleasant features belied the sharpness of her dark, deep-set eyes, and her wide mouth was painted with a crimson shine.
So I don’t forget she’d happily eat my heart.
Jael bowed deeply at the waist as Pace murmured a greeting and ducked out. He waited for Madame Sorush to acknowledge him, counting to thirty in his head.
At last, she said, “Please, sit. It’s always a pleasure to receive a visitor that dear Domingo deems worthy of my attention.”
That sounds like a threat. Disappoint me, and it’s his head.
“Thank you. It’s only good manners to pay your respects when you move.”
“Ah. Should I welcome you to Gehenna, then?”
“I hope that you will be so kind,” he murmured.
“Domingo gave me to understand that you knew his grandmother. How is that possible?”
“I’m older than I look,” he said, smiling.
“As am I. Domina and I were . . . friends, of a sort.” She reminisced a little, and her stories were amusing, so it was no hardship to laugh at the right times.
They made polite talk for half an hour more with Jael doing his best to keep up on the topic of arts and fine wine. Eventually, Madame Sorush tired of the pleasantries. Her smile sharpened as she set down her fine china cup. “Shall we be a little more precise?”
That had to be an invitation to set his cards on the table. So he explained the situation without coming right out and saying that he was Bred. By her expression, she understood more than he’d articulated. She probably looked into me.
“You could apply for citizenship,” she said, studying him.
“That tends to be time-consuming.”
And it’s not nearly enough protection.
“There are ways to cut through the red tape. Gehenna has a soft spot for investors. Someone who feeds the local economy with his credits, for instance, is eligible for immediate citizenship with all benefits. From what Domingo said, you’re certainly a candidate.”
“That would be an excellent start,” he replied. “But I suspect you already know, I need more of an ironclad guarantee. I want to live and work here. There are those who have made my life difficult in the past.”
“You want me to take care of them for you and seal our borders.” Her dark eyes didn’t reveal how she felt about such presumption.
“Simply make it clear that I’m not to be touched. In return, I’ll happily support any cause you advise.” In time, he could build his own empire. Right now, he needed her.
“I’ll think about your proposition,” she said.
There was nothing more he could say to sweeten the deal. Credits only went so far, even in Gehenna. But he could prove he wouldn’t be a weight around her neck. “Then I’ll get started on the citizenship investment. I suspect Mr. Pace can assist me with that.”
A faint smile curved her mouth. “I do enjoy nothing so much as initiative. Thank you for calling. My people will be in touch.”
Pace was waiting outside in the car on the platform. “Did it go well? You’re ambulatory, so that’s a good sign.” When Jael raised his brows, Pace said, “She broke somebody’s kneecaps once for being uncouth.”
“I need someone like her backing me.”
“You certainly do.”
“How much do I need to put into the bar to qualify for citizenship?”
When the other man named the figure, relief spiked strong enough in Jael’s temples for it to feel like a headache, something he ordinarily didn’t suffer from. I can afford to set everyone up. The others could pick their own properties, but the sooner they all qualified for Gehenna’s protection, the better it would be. As a real person with papers, he’d have legal means for the first time to drive the consortia back, and if they sent extraction teams after him onto private property, he’d have the legal right to defend himself.
Funny how much status mattered.
“You must feel like I’m a windfall straight from Mary’s arms,” Jael said then.
“Somewhat. But my mother always said living right is its own reward.” The serious expression sold the joke.
“Gehenna’s one of the few colonies that doesn’t have any qualifications to its citizenship eligibility, did you know that?”
That mattered more than anything. To live with Dred as an equal, he had to achieve personhood officially. Otherwise, it wouldn’t matter how many credits his account contained. The threat would never end.
“Can’t say I did. Did you know we have more prostitutes than any other settlement?”
Jael grinned. “I did not.”
“Happy to educate the newcomers. Let’s get back to Hidden Rue. Unless I miss my guess, you intend to give me a lot of money today.” Rapping the roof, he signaled to the driver to take them off the platform.
Hover cars upset Jael’s stomach, but the vertical drop was worse. “That’s first on my to-do list. If I transfer funds today, will you start the paperwork with dome administration?”
Pace was much friendlier now that they’d passed the Madame Sorush gauntlet without bodily harm. “It would be my pleasure. I know a solicitor who can file everything for you before the end of business.”
40
Unchecked Momentum
“So now we know who is after Jael,” Calypso said.
They had paused for lunch at a café near the port market, and the remnants of the meal still littered the table. It was such a novelty to order a meal from the serv-bot and have it delivered. Freedoms that others took for granted seemed marvelous to her. Hopefully that appreciation wouldn’t fade.
I don’t want to take this fresh start for granted.
“Now we should decide what to do about it.” Martine sipped her kaf, eyes slitted in app
reciation.
“We shouldn’t take action without discussing it with Jael first,” Tam cautioned.
“And our first instincts probably shouldn’t be indulged.” Calypso sounded glum.
Dred smiled. “We’ll learn to solve problems with something other than a hammer.”
“But it won’t be as much fun,” Martine muttered.
Tam finished his drink and stood. “Let’s learn what we can about the Quintel Consortium. There should be information available, we just have to find it.”
“I think I’ll leave that in your hands,” Dred said. “I’m heading back to Hidden Rue to see how the meeting went.”
The others stood as well. Martine and Calypso went off together, looking secretive, while Tam was bound for research. She paid for their meal and went to the tran stop, waiting along with a handful of other people. None of them looked twice at her. Anonymity was a strange and wonderful thing. During the trial, people spat on Dred when they saw her in public. They threw bottles and rotten food, and the officers never attempted to shield her.
We hate vigilantes. You’re scum, Devos, nothing but a cold-blooded killer.
She hopped on a transport along with everyone else and reveled in the snippets of conversation. One man was whining about long hours at his job while a woman boasted to her friend of the present she’d just gotten from her boyfriend. There was nothing portentous or vital about any of it, but no violence or danger, either. The trip ended when she hopped off a couple of blocks from Hidden Rue.
Dred took her time, watching the way other people moved. In Perdition, she always had one eye over her shoulder, and a few people walked that way in Gehenna as well. But most of them seemed to be driven by time instead, if they were running late or not.
