by Jamie Grey
Viktis walked at a sedate pace—not fast enough to look like he had a purpose, but not slow enough that people would jump him. Renna held back, keeping to the shadows.
Eventually, he turned down another street, navigating toward a three-story building that had seen better days. Boarded-up windows looked like blind eyes in the flaking wooden façade, and garbage had drifted against one side, piling up higher than her thighs. The place fit Viktis’s personality perfectly.
He stopped and looked behind him. Renna flattened herself against the building across the street. Her stomach tightened as his gaze raked the alley where she hid. A few moments later, he turned and went inside. Renna let out a breath. Viktis knew most of her tricks. If anyone had been able to spot her, it would have been him.
She darted across the alley and studied the building. There weren’t any open windows she could use to sneak in. No basement access panels or ventilation shafts. She was going to have to go in the front door. Blind.
Again.
Somebody seriously wanted to test her skills.
“Building plan,” she ordered. The schematics down-loaded, showing her the first floor was one large room, with a staircase off to the right leading up to the second floor. There seemed to be a back entrance opening into a small garden. Maybe she should try sneaking in that way. But if Viktis caught wind that she was coming… She couldn’t risk him fleeing with Myka.
“Heat signatures.”
“One individual detected.”
Renna rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck. Viktis was unpredictable, and after her stunt with the sleeping drugs… Well, he wasn’t exactly going to welcome her with open arms.
Her hands were steady as she pushed open the door. She did a quick sweep of the space with her gaze. It had once been the first floor of a house, but the plaster had been removed, leaving only the wooden frame behind. Wallpaper peeled from the few perimeter walls left, and the floor was scraped wood, worn and dusty with age. It smelled of must and mold and something else she didn’t want to think about.
Across the room, Viktis froze, his violet eyes widening. “Renna.”
“Miss me, Viktis?” She shifted lightly on her feet. Her gun was still in its holster at her waist, but she could get to it in a split second if he made any sudden moves.
“You have no idea.” His smile was cold. “You should have killed me when you had the chance.”
“Where’s the boy?” She moved farther into the room, and Viktis circled away from her, maintaining the fifteen or so feet that separated them.
“He doesn’t matter. You and your new employer owe me a ship.”
She shook her head. “Why? Did you lose it playing poker?”
His hands clenched at his side. “I lost it when they frakking attacked me.”
He lunged forward, breaking into the no-man’s land between them. One golden arm arced out, aiming for her head.
She stepped out of the way, and he swung wide. “What are you talking about? The Athena didn’t attack you.”
He struck out again with a combination jab and uppercut. She feinted to the side, then blocked his blow, countering with a right hook to his jaw. Pain raced down her fist at the impact, and she tried not to wince.
His head snapped back with a growl. “They were waiting for us when we landed here. My men went to drop off the kid, but it was a trap. They killed the crew, blew up my ship. I only escaped because they thought I got caught in the blast.” He doubled back, his gaze cold and steady. Without warning, his fist shot out and caught her in the stomach.
Sparks blossomed in her vision, and she danced away. Renna gasped, but she almost enjoyed the pain. At least it made her feel alive. Her words came out in a raspy gasp. “Sucks to be you.”
“You have no idea. Everything I had is gone. The kid, my ship, my haul. You owe me, Renna. Big time.”
“I don’t owe you anything. I didn’t have anything to do with that. Who are these people you think attacked you?”
“Think? You think I made up the destruction of my entire life?” With a roar, he charged her again. When his fist flew out, she caught his forearm and wrenched it to the side, leveraging their difference in height to put an additional strain against his elbow.
“I’m going to kill you,” he snarled.
The hatred in his voice made her skin shiver. She’d only heard that tone once before. When he’d killed his parents’ murderer.
“You couldn’t do it five years ago. You certainly won’t be able to do it now.” Renna forced herself to stay calm, loose. If Viktis got a hold of her, it would be all over. “Listen to me. I just want to know where the boy is. I swear I had nothing to do with your ship being destroyed.”
“You’re an awful liar, Renna. I saw their uniforms. Same as what your crew was wearing.”
“You’re wrong. The people I’m working for are the ones looking for Myka.” She flexed her fingers and looked for a way to end the fight, but Viktis’s words swirled through her mind. Maybe the branch of MYTH stationed on this planet had been looking for the kid, too.
Maybe they’d found him and he was already safe.
Viktis took advantage of her momentary distraction to jerk out of her grip. “I don’t care who did it. I want revenge,” he growled. “These people are going to pay.” He grabbed her by the throat. “You’re going to pay.”
The air wheezed from her lungs as he tightened his fingers. Before panic could claw its way into her chest, she twisted and swept her leg under him.
They toppled to the floor together in a pile of arms and legs and bruises. She lashed out as he scrambled to grab her again, and her fist connected with the hard muscles of his stomach. Viktis’s hot breath whooshed out against her face in a grunt. He looped an arm around her waist and flipped her over so he was on top of her, straddling her hips.
Renna grinned up at him. “Feels familiar.”
“Shut up.” His arm came up again. Before he could strike her again, she twisted, throwing him off-balance enough to slip from beneath him and jump to her feet.
“I don’t know who destroyed your ship or why, Viktis. But if you help me find the kid, we both get what we want. Revenge and justice.”
A muscle twitched in the tawny skin of his jaw, but he didn’t go after her. “How are you going to find them?” he asked.
“I have connections. You scratch my back, I scratch yours.”
“I think you’ve done more than scratch, my dear.” He wiped a trickle of golden blood from beneath his nose.
“You’re lucky it wasn’t worse.” Her gaze fell on her bag, dropped on the floor when Viktis had first attacked. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone if she was going to be sticking around a few hours longer. She shrugged her shoulders. “How about we work out a deal? I need to find an unregistered lab on this planet. I have something I need tested.”
“And what do I get out of it?”
“A clean shot at the people who destroyed your ship and killed your crew. Once the kid is safe with us. And I’ll owe you. You know I always make good on my debts.”
He growled and turned away, shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. As he paced, Renna kept her hand on the butt of her gun. They hadn’t come to an agreement yet, and she fully believed in keeping her friends close and her enemies closer.
Finally, Viktis spun on his heel. “Fine. I’ll help you with this. But I want restitution from the people you’re working for.”
“I can’t promise that. I honestly don’t think they were involved in destroying your ship. But I promise I’ll talk to them about it.”
Shit. Another promise she might not be able to keep.
He sighed and rubbed a hand over the ridges on his head. “That will have to do. Come with me. I know a clay dealer who has a lab in on the outskirts of the city. He should have the tools to analyze whatever you have.”
“No traps, Viktis.”
“No traps. I want to kill those people more than I want to kill you. Right now
at least.” He smiled, but it didn’t erase the cold fury swirling in his eyes.
Viktis was more upset about the death of his crew than she’d imagined. Maybe he’d grown up since the last time they’d worked together. Maybe he’d actually started taking responsibility for the people he worked with.
Unlike her.
The Warehouse District crowded the edge of the spaceport like a tumor on the city. It was little more than a dingy circle of concrete buildings and steel roofs protecting the rest of the city from the winds blowing across the rocky plain. In the distance loomed the large mountain that provided work for most of the residents in the city. Miners dug into the rocky soil, searching for voidonite, a mineral used in developing medicines.
It was also a key component in clay.
Viktis knocked at a thick wooden door, and a six-inch window at eye level slid open. A brown human eye gazed back.
“I need to see Wall,” Viktis said. “I have some business for him.”
The eye blinked once before the small window shut and the door rattled open. A short, dark-haired man with a scar over one bushy brow grinned at them. “He’s in back. With his guards.” He let that little tidbit of information sink in before suggesting, “Behave.”
“I always do,” Viktis said. “A word of warning, Ren? The guy fancies himself a philosopher. Speaks in quotes half the time. Just ignore him.”
Renna nodded as they passed into the musty building. “I’ll just go with it. He can’t be any odder than that pair of Synesian twins we met up with on Clava Six. Speaking in rhyme does not work well when you’re under attack and trying to issue orders.”
Viktis chuckled. “I forgot about them. Drove me insane every time they opened their mouths.”
They walked the length of the warehouse, past dinged crates and wooden boxes full of straw. A smoky, burnt-sugar smell hung in the air. It made Renna’s skin crawl and her eyes water.
Clay.
She tried to ignore the bins of it stacked in the corner, the faint orange dust covering the floor. Her fingers curled into fists as she walked through the warehouse. She’d never get over the slightly sweet scent, the way it seemed to clog the very air, as if its mere presence was enough to contaminate it. Or the nightmarish memories it evoked.
But right now she had other goals. And this man, despite selling the stuff, could help her reach them.
Wall greeted them at the door to his lab, his massive frame taking up most of the space. “Viktis.” He clapped the Ileth on the back with a meaty, ochre-colored hand. “What the hell are you doing here? And I’m on a deadline, so as the Bard says, ‘Speak on but be not over-tedious.’” He smiled behind his thick brown beard and pushed up the wire-framed glasses that slid down his hawk-like nose. The light of a data stream glowed from one of the lenses.
Viktis leaned against the lab table, arms crossed. “We needed some help, and you were the first person I thought of.”
Wall’s chuckle rumbled through the room. “Doesn’t that make me feel warm and fuzzy? Who’s the doll?”
Viktis’s eyes flicked to her, a smirk making his thin lips curl up at the corners. “Renna Carrizal.”
Wall’s eyes widened. “You have to be shitting me.”
Renna shifted her weight and looked away. She always hated this part. She never knew how to react when people realized who she was. She’d worked hard to earn her reputation, and part of her wanted to preen at the obvious attention, but unease made her shoulders tense around her ears as she shook his hand.
Wall beamed at her. “By the gods, you’re the last person I ever expected to show up in my warehouse.”
“Thanks for seeing us.” She smiled back at the man and forced herself to relax. This was no big deal, just a business transaction.
Wall shook his head. “Not every day you get to meet one of the best thieves out there. What can I do for you two?”
She opened her bag and pulled out the bottle of pills. “I need a drug analyzed. We need to know what it is and what it does. And it needs to stay completely between us.”
“You have my word.”
She placed a single orange pill on his well-lined palm. Wall’s thick fingers were surprisingly delicate as he turned it over and studied it. “Homemade. No pharma signature on the casing.” He took it to one of his superscopes and pulled out a slide. With a sharp knife, he split the pill in half, and fine orange sand spilled out onto the glass. He poured some of it into a beaker and the rest onto the scope’s pad.
“Give me a few hours and I’ll have an analysis for you. I’ll get a hold of Viktis when I’m ready.”
“How much is this going to cost me?” she asked. Men like him charged a premium for their services. Maybe she could talk him down.
“‘No profit grows where is no pleasure taken,’” he replied with a smile. “Shakespeare again. Taming of the Shrew.”
Viktis’s bark of laughter echoed through the warehouse. “My friend, you have no idea how true that is.”
Renna glared at him. “Keep it up, Ileth. I know where your soft spots are.”
Wall leaned back against the table and studied her. “I enjoy solving mysteries. Consider it a favor.”
Owing favors to men like him was dangerous, but did she really have much choice? Finally she nodded. “Deal. We’ll be back in a few hours.”
“‘We only part to meet again.’ John Gay.” Wall saluted. “I’ll be in touch.”
TWENTY-THREE
Outside, Renna gave Viktis an appraising once-over. “Thought for sure you’d set me up.”
“I’m hurt you don’t trust me,” he said, pressing his hand against his heart. “I told you. I’m more interested in revenge right now. The men who killed my crew need to pay.”
“Who is this new Viktis and what did you do with my old enemy?”
He shrugged. “Things change. You can believe me or not. In the meantime, I’m going to go wait at the bar. Care to join me?”
Renna shook her head. “I have some things I need to do first. Comm me when you have Wall’s info.”
Viktis paused to study her. “When’s the last time you got some sleep? You look like shit.”
She scowled at him, rocking back on her heels. “You sure know the way to a girl’s heart, don’t you?”
“Get some rest before we go any further, Ren. These people aren’t screwing around. We need you at your best.”
“I’ll try.” She walked away, waving goodbye over her shoulder. Viktis’s gaze burned between her shoulder blades until she turned the corner. Once she was out of sight, her whole body slumped. He was right. She was exhausted, mentally and physically. And no closer to an answer than she had been earlier.
Run now or stay and save the galaxy?
She wandered toward the hospital. Maybe she’d make sure Finn was all right before she decided. A few more hours couldn’t hurt, and she had to wait for Wall anyway…
Excuses, excuses.
Renna found Lieutenant Keva pacing the hallway outside of Captain Finn’s room. Her usually immaculate uniform hung in wrinkles from her thin frame, and she’d pulled her silver hair back into a messy ponytail. Dark smudges framed her eyes.
Gods, was the prognosis that bad? Renna had to clear her throat before asking, “What’s the news, Lieutenant?”
Keva’s head snapped up at the sound of her voice. “He’s out of surgery. Doc says he stopped the bleeding. Captain’s going to make it.”
The muscles in Renna’s stomach unclenched in a giddy wave of relief. “That’s great news. Hey, why don’t you go get some rest? You’ve been here all day. I’ll watch him for a while.”
Keva glanced at Finn’s door, then down at the floor. “I don’t know. I think…”
“I think you should get back to the ship, update the crew, and get some sleep. Finn will be fine, and I’ll make sure he knows what’s going on the second he wakes up.”
“Okay.” Keva nodded slowly. “I’d like to make sure the crew is all right. There were some
repairs we needed to make.” She smiled at Renna before turning to leave. “I’m glad you were around to rescue the captain. I know we didn’t get off to the best start, but I’m happy I was wrong about you.” Even exhausted, the woman still marched like a soldier as she walked toward the elevators.
Renna sank onto one of the benches lining the wall and played with her implant, downloading the schematics of the hospital, plotting out where the lab safes were, even inspecting the rankings of this place compared with the other galactic hospitals in the traverse. A few nurses bustled down the hallway, not paying any attention to her. Then a gurney bearing a familiar body rolled by, pushed by two orderlies.
She shot to her feet, pulse hammering in her ears. An ugly purple bruise shadowed Finn’s jaw, but the thing that shook her was how still and waxy he looked lying motionless on the bed.
He looked dead.
The air left Renna’s lungs in a violent whoosh. Had Keva been wrong? Did the doctor give her the wrong information? Had something else happened?
She couldn’t do this again. She’d already lost him once. Her hands curled into fists, her nails digging into her palms as she fought the wave of nausea that threatened to take her down.
“Miss? Is everything all right?” one of the orderlies asked. He put a hand on her arm, jerking her out of the spiraling panic that threatened to take hold.
“What?”
“Are you all right?” he asked again, looking concerned.
“The captain. How is he?” The words came out on a shrill whisper, but she didn’t care. She could only stare, wide-eyed, as a smile washed over his face.
“Yes, of course.” He shook his head. “Don’t worry, he’s still asleep from the surgery. It went very well. We stopped the internal bleeding, and his ribs should be mended in a few days. We’re going to get him comfortable before you go in to see him.”
Her knees went weak, and she sat down heavily in her chair. Finn was going to be fine. But as the fear drained away, the tsunami of relief was even more unsettling.
She cared what happened to him. Too much.
