by R. M. Olson
Lev, to his credit, had hardly reacted beyond a slight stiffening of his posture, and had politely bid them goodnight. And if there had been a trace of grimness to his expression since then, Tae couldn’t exactly blame him.
“Alright,” said Lev, making a mark with his forefinger on his own screen. “If we can get Radic and Anya, that brings us up to fifteen. Ivan, you said you thought Anya could get you in touch with some of your other prison friends?”
Ivan nodded. “I’d say at least five, maybe up to eight or nine, depending.”
Lev nodded. “Tanya? Do you have any connections you could use?”
Tanya looked up from her own holoscreen. “I believe I do. I could probably get … maybe ten more. Not much more than that, honestly.”
Lev frowned down at the screen. “Alright. So Ivan, if everyone you think you might be able to contact made it, and Tanya was able to bring ten more—” he paused a moment. “That brings us to twenty-eight or twenty-nine.” He bit the inside of his lip, still frowning. “That may be enough, barely. But we’ll have to play some of the parts ourselves, if that’s the case.”
“I could play a part,” said Ivan, and Tae didn’t have to look at him to see the smile on his face. “I have some experience as a server, anyways. And as an added bonus, I’d be able to pick out most of Grigory’s people, at least the ones who were on the ship with us, and I doubt they’d recognize me. That’s the advantage of being a server—you’re interchangeable for anyone else in the same uniform.”
There was that familiar mild good humour in his voice, and Tae wasn’t sure why his stomach clenched at the thought of Ivan in danger.
Actually, no, he knew exactly why. Because the last damn time he’d seen Ivan working as a server had been the time he’d been seconds away from being blown into bloody pieces if Tae hadn’t solved the puzzle Zhenya, the mafia Pakan had set for him. And he’d solved with only seconds to spare.
Even the thought still had the power to make him shaky.
“You alright?” Ivan whispered into to his ear in his kind, concerned tone, which did nothing to help with the shakiness.
“I’m fine,” Tae whispered back, trying to keep the sharp worry from his voice.
“Alright,” said Lev at last, putting a hand over his com and shutting down the holoscreen. “I guess that’s all for tonight. We’ll put the call out first thing tomorrow morning.” He turned to Tae. “How’s the tech coming?”
Tae sighed and shook his head. “I’m wiring in the sound and the camera system, and the silent alert system that Masha asked for. I’m getting there, but it’s going to take me a while.”
“Tae, listen,” said Ivan, turning to him, and again Tae’s stomach tightened slightly, with a warmth that wasn’t unpleasant. “Don’t run yourself ragged, alright? I’ve seen you when you get working. You need to sleep sometimes, too.”
“Agreed,” said Lev, and there was a touch of amusement under his voice. “Ivan, I’ll put you in charge of making sure our tech-head gets enough sleep to be able to do his job.”
Tae rolled his eyes, but he didn’t dare look at Ivan, because it was late and he was tired and he was pretty sure that his brain would start doing things he really didn’t want it to do if he looked over and saw the small smile-creases that formed around Ivan’s eyes, and the concern in his face.
He had enough damn things to worry about right now. Like trying to keep all of them alive.
“Alright then,” said Tanya, standing. “If that’s all we’re doing tonight, I’d better go. I don’t know if Ysbel will survive Misko much longer than this.”
Tae bit back a small smile, despite everything. Ysbel was right, this was Tanya’s expertise at the moment. But the thought of the gruff, taciturn mass murderer being run ragged by her six-year-old was more amusing than it probably should be.
Three days later, Lev stood on the balcony beside Tanya, looking down over the open lobby below.
It was almost unrecognizable from the place it had been a week ago. Every trace of decay and rot had been swept away, replaced by a sort of decadent grander.
What he’d always imagined a pleasure house to look like, honestly.
The courtyard outside was the same, the grass short and soft, the bushes and trees covered in blossoms that released a thick, heavy scent that was almost oppressively sweet, and gilded alcoves walled off tastefully here and there.
And, of course, the part he was least happy about. The cages, displayed in the centre of the room. They were decorated, of course, the bars gilt an opulent rose-gold.
A place to display the entertainment.
He’d felt slightly sick the first time he’d realized what the workers were constructing. He still felt slightly sick just looking at them, if he were being honest.
“So,” said Tanya quietly. “What do you think?”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
It had been just under a week, and they’d all been working hard enough that they probably could have fallen asleep standing up. Galina, especially, had been working herself ragged, to the point that Jez had intervened and told her that if she didn’t get some rest, Jez was going to lock the damn bedroom door and sit outside it to make sure she didn’t come out.
He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes for a moment. The list of things that absolutely had to be taken care of felt like it was tattooed into the backs of his eyelids, but he was so tired that he wasn’t sure he trusted his memory.
He looked up at Tanya, and saw the same weariness behind her eyes.
“In a perfect world, we’d have a year to set this up,” he said quietly. “Even six months would be something, although that would be pushing it.”
“And we’ve had a week,” said Tanya, that quiet humour in her voice.
He nodded, with a wry smile. “Yes. That’s about the size of it. But—considering our time frame, I think we’re as ready as we’re going to be.”
Tanya nodded, and they looked out over the lobby again.
The vaulted ceiling stretched up in a huge dome, heavy with gold paint. The floors were smooth, polished stone, a light grey marbled with gold. Yes, it was just a thin layer painted over prefab blocks, but from here it looked genuine, and absurdly expensive.
Tae was huddled in one corner, working, Lev hoped, on getting the security system up and running.
And in front of every door, one of Olyessa’s grim-faced boyeviki stood, weapons displayed prominently in their holsters.
They were taking no part in the proceedings, and for that Lev was heartily grateful.
Yes, he understood their necessity. But the fact that they were under the constant watchful eyes of at least six people with the firepower to murder them all without breaking a sweat was not the most comforting experience.
He turned back to Tanya. She gave him a small smile. “Well?”
“I suppose there’s no point in putting it off longer,” he said, with clear reluctance. She gestured him ahead of her, and he crossed over to the long, spiralling staircase. There were lifts, of course, but right now there was a tight knot of nerves in his chest, and he’d much rather be moving.
He tapped his com. “Masha?”
“Yes, Lev?” Her voice was as calm as always.
“Could you meet me in the lobby, please?”
“Of course.” Her line clicked off, and he took a deep breath and crossed the wide, open space to where Tae sat in the corner.
Tae glanced up at his approach, still scowling in concentration.
“How’s it coming, Tae?” Lev asked.
Tae sighed and shook his head. “I’m getting there. It’s a complicated system if we want it to do everything you and Galina asked for.”
Lev nodded, and for a moment they were silent. At last Tae sighed, a familiar worry in his face. “We’re going to put the word out?”
Lev nodded. “Time to let Grigory know we’re here.”
Tae paused a moment, reluctance clear in his posture. “Y
ou know once we do this, we’re committed. We’ll have to be ready, whether we are or not.”
Tanya raised an eyebrow. “Well, on the bright side, I imagine Grigory has already repaired his ship and started to look for us. So either way we’re about to be hunted by a mafia kresnaya who’s entire reputation depends on how gruesomely he can kill us. I don’t know that there’s all that much to lose.”
Tae stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m not sure how I ever managed to sign on with a crew that thinks that’s the kind of thing that will make me feel better,” he muttered, but he was smiling reluctantly. “Alright, let’s get it done, I suppose.”
Masha was waiting for them over by the grand lobby check-in. She was dressed, as usual, in her worn pilot’s coat, and the strain and exhaustion under her expression were barely visible, unless you knew her as well as Lev and the rest of them did. And for a moment he felt a strange pang. Because if he were being honest with himself, he’d valued Masha’s insights. He’d never completely trusted her, but he’d believed her. And he’d enjoyed working with her.
That had been what she’d wanted, of course, because that was the only way she could have betrayed them like she had.
But he hadn’t expected how much losing that friendship—if that’s what it had been—would hurt.
He gave her a pleasant smile as they came up to her. “Masha. I believe we’re ready.”
She smiled back. “I expected nothing less.” She glanced at Tae. “Something subtle, I think. He needs to know what we’re doing, and who is doing it, but if we make it too obvious—” she shrugged. “He’s an intelligent man. I’d hate to insult him.”
Tae gave a brief nod, his lips pressed tightly together. Lev glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
Tae had taken Masha’s betrayal harder than any of them, and he hadn’t spoken more than a handful of words to her since that evening on the casino ship. If Lev hadn’t known Tae like he did, he might have thought it was anger. But he could see the sharp hurt behind the kid’s stoic expression, and he was certain Masha could as well.
“I’m turning the com to the general channel,” Tae said quietly. “It will be in with the rest of the chatter, but I’ve tagged it just a bit. Not enough to be noticeable, but enough that this will rise to the top of the chatter, and replay a few times.” He paused a moment. “Start talking. I’ll hit the com part-way through the conversation.”
Lev nodded and took a deep breath. “Alright.” He turned to Masha. “How close are we, do you think?” he asked in a low voice. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Tae hit the com button half-way through his sentence.
“Close enough,” said Masha, in the same low tone. “I think this will be everything we need it to be. I have a feeling business will be flocking to our section of town. This should be a very profitable endeavour.”
“In addition to its other advantages,” said Lev. He paused a moment. “Well, at any rate, I suppose we may as well get the word out. No point in keeping it secret much longer.”
Masha hesitated. “I’d prefer to wait until we’re no longer vulnerable,” she said at last. “But, as you say—” She sighed. “I doubt that particular vulnerability will go away until we’ve been running for a few months’ time. So I suppose you’re right.”
Half-way through her last sentence, Tae tapped the com off, and gave them a quick nod. Masha stopped speaking, and she and Lev turned to him.
“Well,” said Tae after a moment. “Every word you said is out there now. And if what you guessed is correct, and he’s listening for us, he’ll pick that up. There’s no way he misses that, not if he has anyone with technical skills scanning the general lines.”
For a moment, they were quiet, looking at each other. Masha’s face was unreadable as ever. Tae’s expression was hard, and Tanya’s eyes were narrowed, her face slightly grim.
“And you think we can pull this off,” Lev said, turning to Masha.
“You do, at least,” she said. “Or you wouldn’t have followed me here.”
“There’s a difference between necessity and reasonableness,” said Lev. “You didn’t give us much choice.”
“Well,” said Masha briskly, “at the very least, you believed that this had a higher chance of success than simply letting Grigory hunt you down. Based on my past experiences with this crew, I would say that gives us a higher chance of survival than ought to be possible for this sort of endeavour.” She paused. “At any rate, we don’t have time to worry about it now. I give it a week before he contacts us, maybe less, and we have plenty left to do in that time.”
She turned briskly and strode off, and Lev watched her go.
“Well, at least we know she’ll survive it,” Tae said under his breath. His tone was sharp and bitter.
Lev turned to him, and managed a slight smile despite the worry twisting in his chest. “I suppose then, Tae, it’s up to us to make sure the rest of us do as well.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
TAE WAS JUST stepping out of his room, blinking against the light and tying the laces on his tunic, when someone clapped him on the shoulder hard enough that he almost staggered.
“Tae!” said a familiar voice, and he turned in surprise to see Radic.
The lanky man was smiling broadly. His face was burned three shades darker than it had been in prison, his dark hair longer than the regulation prison length and the scar on the corner of his eye lending a rakish look to his appearance.
“When did you get here?” asked Tae, smiling despite himself. “What have you been doing since prison?”
Radic winked. “Keeping busy. Like usual. Honestly, it’s just as well you called me, because I happen to have gotten on the bad side of the police on the planet I was laying low on.”
Jez’s door opened, and Jez stepped out, grinning broadly. “Radic, you dirty cheating bastard! Thought the police would have thrown you back in prison ages ago!”
“Hey kid, who you calling a cheat?” Radic said. “If I recall correctly, you were the one who cheated me out of my lunches for a week when they punished me by sending you as my cell mate.” He crossed over to her in two strides and grabbed her in a bear hug. “I see you’re as scrawny as ever.”
She hugged him back. “Yeah? Well, since you’re as ugly as ever, guess that’s only fair.”
They were both grinning delightedly, and Tae shook his head in a sort of bewildered amusement.
There was a soft chuckle from beside him, and he turned to see Ivan standing next to him, smiling.
“Between those two, I’m not sure any one of us will make it through this alive,” he said in a low, amused voice.
“Well, there certainly won’t be a dull moment,” said Tae wryly.
Ivan chuckled again. “He got in this morning. He said there should be a few others coming in on the transport ship later today, but he hitched a ride on one of the cargo ships.”
Galina emerged from Jez’s room, blinking, and Radic turned to her, raising his eyebrows. “Alright Jez, introduce me to your friend.”
“Sorry you bastard, she’s taken,” said Jez with a grin, slipping her arm around Galina’s waist. “Also, she’s your new damn boss, so you’d better learn some respect. Galina, this is a skinny plaguer I met in prison and taught how to play fool’s tokens.”
“Hey kid,” said Radic in mock offence. “I’m not sure that ‘cheating someone blind’ is in the definition of teaching. And whatever the hell you were playing, pretty sure it wasn’t fool’s tokens.”
Tae rolled his eyes at Ivan. “Come on, let’s get some breakfast. Those two will be insulting each other for at least another twenty minutes.”
By the time breakfast was finished, three more of Ivan and Tanya’s prison friends had arrived. Tae smiled at one of them, a young woman with a wide smile and a businesslike air. “Hey Anya. It’s good to see you.”
She grinned back at him. “Good to be working with you again. I know tech, but I’ve never seen anyone do what you
do. I’d have come just for the chance to watch you, maybe pick up some tips.”
Ivan was greeting the others. He turned to where Tae and Anya stood, a broad smile on his face. “Tae. I’m not sure if you remember these two. This is Artur and Lia. Artur, Lia, Tae. The one who saved all our lives in that prison breakout.”
Tae looked down, heat rising to his face. “It’s—nice to meet you again,” he muttered. “Um. I think Lev wanted everyone up in the conference room.” He turned to Anya. “Have you eaten yet? Grab some breakfast and come up when you’re ready.”
For some reason, though, the sight of Radic’s and Anya’s familiar faces seemed to have loosened the tight knot in his chest that had been there since they landed on this damn planet.
By the time they were all up the stairs and gathered in the conference room, their number had swelled by another four.
Lev was bent over his holoscreen frowning, and Masha sat beside him, wearing her usual bland smile. Lev glanced up as they entered, then shut down his holoscreen and stretched, wincing slightly.
“Alright,” he said, when everyone had taken their seats. Jez and Radic were in the back of the room, swapping increasingly unbelievable stories and increasingly offensive insults, both of them grinning broadly. Galina came in after them, but Lev beckoned her over and cleared his throat.
“Alright,” he said, into the silence that was punctuated only by Jez and Radic’s whispering.
He cleared this throat again and scowled in Jez’s direction, and finally she looked up, gave him a wink, and stopped talking.
“Alright,” Lev said again. “This is Galina Drosdova. She’s going to be organizing this. Masha and I have asked you to come because of skills you have that we may need. However, we have limited resources. No matter how valuable you may be as a hacker or a pickpocket, we’ll need you to take a role. We don’t have the time or space for people who can’t. Galina will give you the parts each of you is to play, and will help you figure out your roles. I don’t need to tell you how vital it is that what we do here looks completely genuine. The people we’re working against will not hesitate to kill every last one of us in very painful ways if they for one moment suspect what we’re doing. So I’ll need your commitment to work as hard and as long as it takes to make this perfect, understood?”
