by Zen DiPietro
“Exactly,” agreed Fallon.
“We’ll have to lock him down pretty hard,” Raptor mused. “Here, and especially on Dragonfire. Without him realizing we’re doing it. Monitor his transmissions, make sure he isn’t calling an attack on us or transmitting information about our activities or access to the station’s systems.”
She’d had time to think about that, too. “We’ll dummy up the station’s records and status. Anything he accesses will be what we want him to see. The real details will be under such tight security even the rest of the Dragonfire crew won’t have it.”
Hawk whistled. “Think Nevitt will agree to that? That’s going to impact her ability to do her job. And if there’s an attack on Dragonfire while we’re providing false data, there will be major chaos.”
“She’ll have to agree. We can’t give Colb access to the station’s real data, and we can’t let him know he’s locked out, either.”
Hawk grinned. “Sounds fun. We’ve definitely never run an op like it.”
“We’ll have to create the program over the next day, so it’s ready when we dock. Then we’ll have to keep Colb occupied and away from any voicecom access long enough to install it.” Her eyes went to Raptor. As their hacker extraordinaire, a lot of this would fall on him.
He straightened. “No problem.”
“Good. In the meantime, we have to be very careful not to let on to Colb that we know his game. No slip-ups,” she ordered. She glared at her team. “This is serious. Quit looking so happy.”
Each of her teammates, Ross included, wore a kid-in-a-candy-store smile.
Hawk stood and moved to put his arm around her. “Aw, lighten up, Chief. Think of how epic it’ll be when we pull it off. We’ll be legends.”
She’d thought of that too, and the legend part didn’t matter to her. But the intricacy of the job appealed. “Among ourselves, and to the scant few people who know about it—if they don’t end up incarcerated for the rest of their lives.”
“Exactly!” Hawk thumped her on the back.
She couldn’t resist. She grinned back at her team. “Fine. It’s going to be awesome. But only if we win.”
“Of course we’ll win.” Hawk lifted a fist into the air. “We’re Avian Unit. Blood and bone!”
The others raised their fists.
“Blood and bone!” Fallon said with them.
5
Fallon wasn’t surprised when Raptor came to her quarters that night.
“You doing okay?” His face showed a caring concern that she hadn’t yet gotten entirely accustomed to.
“Yeah. Other than being a little concerned about my parents and brother, I’m good.”
He made a hum of understanding and sat next to her on her bunk. “Your parents have been in the game longer than you have. I’m sure they’ve seen a lot and know how to take care of themselves.”
“They’ve always done on-the-books work. They don’t have experience with the kind of stuff we’re doing. Colb knows that I’ve been to see them. Under normal circumstances, they’d mention that to a close family friend. Since they didn’t, he must suspect they know something.”
Raptor made another sound of agreement. He put a chummy arm around her. “But,” he said, “what if they know that he knows we know he knows they know?”
She laughed. “They probably don’t. But maybe they suspect.”
“Whew. Glad you followed that. I’m not sure I did.” He gave her a playful jiggle. “Don’t get too far inside your own head. Just do the job. Work the problems as they come.”
“That’s pretty much been my whole approach to life, until recently.”
“And now?” He sounded genuinely curious, no longer teasing.
“I find myself caught up in feelings and relationships. Why do you suppose that is?”
He turned his head at an awkward angle so he could look at her. “Are you looking for platitudes, or truth?”
“Let’s try platitudes,” she decided.
“It’s a temporary thing because of your situation. Once we get past this threat to the PAC, things will sort themselves out and you’ll get back to normal.”
She mulled that over. It was possible. If life went back to normal and she threw herself back into her job, the rest of it all might recede. But she didn’t think so. “Okay, let’s try truth.”
“We’ve all been changed by what’s happened to us. Being split up. Having to fight to get back together, and to stay together. Having to battle our own handlers. We’ve had to become more than we ever intended to be.”
Unfortunately, that had the ring of truth. “How do you feel about that?” she asked. “About how it affects your life, I mean.”
“It is what it is. I’ve never given much thought to what-ifs. I mean, think about it. We’re tiny specks in the cosmos. Not even that. When you compare us to all the galaxies and planets and stars, we don’t even register. There’s an infinite amount of everything my life is not. There’s only a tiny bit of what my life actually is. So I choose to focus on that.”
Somehow that was what she’d needed to hear. She didn’t want to spend her time reflecting and philosophizing about her life. She wanted to live it. “That was kind of wise. Maybe you should teach at the academy when all this is over.”
The humor returned to his voice. “Me, a teacher? Nah. I need a job where I get up each day never knowing if I’m going to have to jump out of a plane or hide in a swamp.”
She smiled. “The Obafuran mission.”
“Yeah,” he said wistfully. “Good times.”
“If you call a thousand mosquito bites and the rotten stench of swamp good.”
“Well, not at the time. Damn bugs chewed my face up. But it was a good mission.”
“It was,” she agreed. She had to admit that she liked diving out of planes, too. She glanced at the chronometer and stood, causing Raptor’s arm to fall to his side. “I have to get to the bridge and relieve Ross. My shift starts in five minutes.”
“I’ll walk you up there.”
It was a silly thing for him to do, but she decided to live in the moment. “Let’s go.”
Upon docking at Dragonfire Station, the Nefarious was treated to a grand welcome, including a personal visit from Captain Nevitt.
“Admiral Colb.” The captain bowed. “Welcome to Dragonfire. We’re pleased to have you.”
Fallon stepped through the airlock as the pair exchanged pleasantries. As far as Colb was concerned, Nevitt was only a station captain.
Fallon smiled, outwardly as a greeting, but secretly in pleasure at imagining the noose tightening around Colb’s neck. She could feel herself getting closer to her goal. Maybe one day, she’d reflect on the betrayal of someone who’d been like one of her family. At present, she cared only about her job—protecting the PAC and its citizens.
“Please allow me to give you a tour of the station before showing you to your quarters,” Nevitt said to Colb as they stepped out of the docking bay.
To refuse would be terribly rude, so Colb was forced to smile and say, “It’s my pleasure, thank you.”
And away they went, providing Avian Unit with the time they needed to dummy up the station’s computers. At least, Fallon hoped they’d have enough time. Even with Raptor’s skills, it would be tight.
In her security office, they worked. Ross monitored Nevitt and Colb progressing through the station while the rest of the team installed and implemented the program Raptor had written while on the Nefarious.
The last step was to run the software and test it. They tried accessing the station’s specs, the security protocols and codes. Every time, they received either the appropriately wrong information or a security lockout. Perfect.
By the time Nevitt joined the team, they were floating on a cloud of success. As soon as she stepped in and cast a keen eye around the room, she nodded.
“I gather you accomplished your mission.”
“Yes, Captain,” Fallon said. Nevitt arched an eyebrow at her and Fallon c
orrected herself. “Hesta. Colb won’t be able to gather any intelligence that could potentially hurt us.”
“Good. The idea of that man on my station makes me itch,” Nevitt said.
“Thank you for keeping him busy,” Raptor said. “You did an excellent job.”
“Of course I did. I’m fantastic at my job.” Her dry tone made Fallon smile. “Now what?”
“Now we wait for him to lay his trap for us, and we figure out how to walk into it and make it snap closed on him and Krazinski instead.” Fallon had no doubt they’d succeed.
“I’m not sure whether to be excited or terrified,” Nevitt admitted.
“Be excited,” Hawk advised. “When we get the job done, you can brag about how you knew all along it would work.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
He shrugged. “We’ll all be dead and having been terrified won’t have helped any.”
Nevitt narrowed her eyes at him, and then her lips curled into a small smile. “Hawk, I’m beginning to like you.”
Fallon and Raptor monitored every outgoing and incoming signal with excruciating diligence. Colb wasn’t foolish enough to attempt any communication with Krazinski. But it sure would have been helpful to Fallon if he had. Where was a little arrogance from the admiralty when she needed it?
She’d expected Colb to launch right into whatever he had planned for them, but he seemed to be in no rush. Was he doing reconnaissance, or was he stalling? The idea of him stalling made Fallon wonder if her team should hit Blackout at Jamestown immediately, hoping Krazinski wouldn’t be ready for them. But the logistics were far less than ideal, and she’d be walking her team into an unknown situation when she had an alternative. She just had to wait for Colb to set them up.
While she waited for the chance to double-cross Colb’s double-cross, she still had her job to do as the station’s chief of security. So she did it.
She made her midday rounds as usual. The boardwalk was extra lively, which was the norm when the Onari was visiting. Fallon suspected that enthusiasm would fade, now that Dragonfire served as its home base.
Thinking of that reminded her that she hadn’t talked to Brannin yet about the Onari’s presence at Dragonfire. Hesta had said that she’d need to be the one to deliver the news. They didn’t want to step on his toes, or make him think his skills were inadequate. But she couldn’t tell him about her real reason for wanting her allies close at hand. So the situation would require finesse.
She put that thought away for later when she saw Nix and her friend Robert come trotting out of Cabot Layne’s shop, beaming at her.
“Hi, Chief!”
“Hey, Chief!”
Their ringing greetings made her smile. “Hey, you two. What do you have there?” She peered at the bundle in Nix’s arms.
“Art supplies,” Nix answered. “We’re supposed to create something in the neo-industrial style.”
“Huh,” Fallon said. Neo-industrial always seemed to her less like art and more like mechanics that did nothing. But far be it from her to second-guess the academic instruction on Dragonfire. “Well, good luck with it. I’ve never been very artistic, myself. I can barely draw a straight line.”
The young teens laughed. “I’m sure you do fine,” Robert assured her.
“I promise you, I’m really bad at it. But that’s okay. We all have things we’re good at.”
A sly expression slid onto Nix’s face. “Speaking of which. You said that if I did well in my classes, you’d arrange a security internship for me. The year’s about up, and I’ll be taking my final exams next week.”
Fallon groaned inwardly. She wanted to see Nix flourish, but this was not a good time. “Do your best and we’ll see what we can arrange,” she promised.
“I’m going to get all firsts, like you said.” The spark of determination in Nix’s eyes reminded Fallon of herself at a younger age. She had to smile.
“I believe you.”
Robert tugged on Nix’s upper arm. “We’d better get back. Lunch period is almost over. Want me to carry that?”
“Nope. I got it. Bye, Chief!”
The two disappeared as fast as they’d popped up. Fallon stood looking after them, thinking how nice it would be to have such simple goals.
“Bundle of energy, aren’t they?” Cabot stepped out of his shop.
“Oh, yes. I’m always glad to see them.”
“They make me smile, too.” He gave her a proper bow, in accordance with her status on the station.
“You don’t have to bow,” she told him. “I think we’re friends enough that we can dispense with it.”
“Is that right?” He seemed surprised. “I’ll have to think about that. I don’t know that I’d feel right not bowing to you.” Cabot gestured to the door of his shop. “Would you like to come in for a minute?”
“Thank you. That would be nice.”
He followed her in and closed the door behind them. This was not unusual behavior in his shop, since he always offered complete discretion. No one would take it amiss.
“You okay, Chief?” He guided her to a chair and materialized a cup of hot tea from somewhere, then pressed it into her hand.
“Yes. Of course. I just have a lot of people depending on me.”
He nodded slowly as he sat across from her. “I’m sure that’s a great deal of pressure.”
“No,” she denied. “I actually like doing security. I like making sure people are okay.”
“But…” he prodded.
“No, there’s no but. I’ve been working hard lately. That’s all.”
“Would it help if I told you I’m glad you’re the one doing…whatever thing you’re doing?”
She had to chuckle. “A little.” He probably knew, or at least suspected, a lot more than he let on.
“If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.” He stared at her hard. “I mean it. Anything.”
Okay, he definitely knew more than he let on.
“Understood. Thanks.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as her father had taught her to do as a child when she needed to focus. “I should get back to work.”
“One second.” He rose. “I want to give you something.” He disappeared into the back of his store, behind the counter. He returned only a moment later, grasping something.
He placed it on the table in front of her. It was a small silver rectangle.
“What is it?” she asked.
“It’s a good-luck piece. Davitrian. Ancient. The legends say that it has so much luck in it, it could suck up all the power within a nine-meter radius.” He laughed. “Perhaps its luck will rub off on you.”
She stared at the thing. It was no more ancient than she was. It was cutting-edge technology. And from what he was saying, it would temporarily knock out all electrical systems within ten meters. She wanted to ask him where he’d gotten it, but she couldn’t. If he knew what he was giving her and she knew what she was receiving, it would make them both criminals. Not that she wasn’t already one, technically, but there was no reason to bring him along for the ride.
“Thank you. I could use some luck.”
He smiled, and the light in his eyes showed amusement at their subterfuge. “And you deserve it.” He started to bow, but caught himself. “I’ll work on the bowing thing.”
She gave him a deep bow, far more than a PAC officer would ever give a shopkeep. “It’s my honor, Cabot. You’re a good friend.”
He looked surprised, then pleased, and finally he reverted to his benign, pleasant expression. “Whatever I can do.”
“One of these days, we’re going to have a very long talk.”
He laughed as he showed her out.
She finished her rounds with a sense of contentment. The exchange with Cabot probably shouldn’t have mattered to her, in the grand scheme of everything she was trying to do, but it did. It was nice to have a friend.
When Fallon finished her duty shift, she still struggled under the burden
of not having discovered Colb’s plans. Rather than brood over events she couldn’t control, she allowed herself to feel a moment of serenity in the eye of the storm. The next phase would happen when it happened, and when it did, she’d be ready.
Since her last task of the day had taken her to Deck One, Fallon stopped by the Bennite restaurant. She cradled a warm bundle of stew and bread as she walked to the lift, looking forward to a quiet evening in her quarters.
Until she saw Wren waiting for her.
“Hi,” Fallon said, not knowing what to expect.
“Hi.” Wren twinkled with playfulness.
Since Wren just stood there smiling at her, Fallon asked, “What’s up?”
“I thought I’d catch you at the lift to see if we could have dinner, but you already have that covered.” Wren’s gaze bounced down to the package Fallon held and back up.
“Sorry. Maybe tomorrow?”
“How about I grab some takeout of my own and meet you at your quarters?”
Peregrine might be there, but Fallon didn’t mind that. She tried to think of some other reason to decline, but couldn’t. “All right,” she finally agreed.
“Great! I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.” Wren turned to go.
“Actually, I’ll wait here for you. That way you won’t need a temporary passcode for Deck Four.”
“Great. I’ll be right back.”
Fallon’s food would stay plenty warm, so she didn’t mind waiting. But she wondered what Wren wanted. Not that she had to want something. Fallon still had no handle on where they stood with each other. She leaned against a bulkhead with her dinner warming her chest and her arms, trying to figure out how to approach the evening. Like a date? Like a get-together with a pal? She had no tactical plan.
Within minutes Wren was back, holding her own bundle of food. “Let’s go! I’m starved.”
“Busy day?” Fallon asked as they rode the lift up.
“Oh, that doesn’t even begin to cover it. I had to interview mechanics via the voicecom. I talked to eight people and though they all seemed decent enough, none of them is half as good as Josef. He and I work so well together. He’s one of those coworkers that you can’t replace, you know?”
