by Lauren Dane
He needed to focus. Methodically, he set to erase their presence. Down came his alarms, up went the listening devices. He wiped surfaces down with DNA wipes. Enough cross data to confuse anyone.
In the background he heard Andrei come back into the room. They’d play at having a conversation still in their cover. Now that he’d taken the jammers down, chances were they’d be overheard, so it was crucial to sound like the people they were supposed to be. “We should go and wait to get off. I know she’s anxious,” Andrei said it as he tossed their packs up into the hold.
He laughed, feeling only numb as he did everything he needed to. The noise came from down the hall, a few cabins away. Yelling, some screaming. A child’s cry.
He ruthlessly shut off his pain at hearing a child in fear. He could not help. He had a job and someone he could save. He got up and into the hold just as the door banged open and soldiers swarmed the room.
She trembled behind him but made no sound. He squeezed her ankle to reassure her. This wasn’t the first such incident like this he’d been in, so he found that quiet place in his head and went there. Normally it would have been easy, but normally he wouldn’t be in a cramped crawl space with the woman he was head over ass in love with. And she was scared. And the men below wanted to kill them all.
All he could do was keep a hand on her ankle, but it worked; her trembling stopped, and they continued to wait. The soldiers ransacked the cabin and upon finding nothing of use, they stormed out.
He wasn’t sure how long they waited, but finally he poked a head from the hold and motioned for Andrei and Carina to stay. She shook her head wildly, but he went, replacing the seal, leaving them safely hidden.
He stood at the door, ear pressed to it. No more screams. The noise seemed to have died off. By that time they would have offloaded the ship, and there’d be a mandatory turnaround hold before the transport could be used again. They had to get off the transport before the new crew came on, but not so close to the offload that the soldiers might still be watching.
As he stood there, a soldier opened the door. Before he could jump with surprise, Daniel reached out, grabbed him, pulled him in, twisted his neck and closed the door quietly.
He hated dead bodies. They were heavy and awkward to move, and there was always the pesky issue of disposal.
Andrei peeked some moments later, angling out to help Daniel lug the body and secret it in the hold. Carina’s face had been priceless, though he did feel bad that she had to see it. She skirted past the body, surprising Daniel when she helped shove it back into a far corner with a muffled curse.
“Clearly we have to split up!” she hissed in his ear once he’d crawled back up. He’d already figured that out but hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself. The soldiers were looking for a woman and a man, or even two men.
“I’m not going to let you do that,” he growled into her ear.
“You’re an idiot. Stop thinking with your heart and think with your head.”
Andrei shrugged, leaving it up to Daniel.
“Damn it. I’m not going to. What if they take you? It’s too big a risk. I can’t let you.”
She put her hand over his mouth, shaking her head violently. “Let? Listen here, these are Skorpios. They know we’re trying to leave. We have to split up to get the hells off this transport, and you know it. Why don’t you admit it?”
“Because I don’t know if I could survive you getting hurt or taken.”
Everything got quiet. He hadn’t meant to say it that way. Wasn’t sure he ever meant to say it out loud to start with. But it was out, and her lips quivered as she launched herself at him in the tiny space.
“I love you, too, you big, brainless idiot. Now, find a way to make this work. I’m counting on you.”
Love? He hadn’t said that, but leave it to her to infer it. “Great.”
She grinned like an aforementioned idiot.
And yet he found himself back in the room, handing her a uniform he’d nicked from the employee dormitory. She’d pass herself off as an employee to get out of there. He’d stick as a civilian, but she and Andrei would wear uniforms. It should work. He hoped it would work, or he’d burn Caelinus down if anything happened to her.
“You go first,” Andrei said, indicating Daniel. “You follow,” he said to Carina, “I’ll go last. That way we can stagger it.” Andrei looked to Daniel. “It’ll be fine. You’re the best at this. No one better.”
Daniel rolled his eyes and finally agreed.
Those minutes were the worst in his life. Walking out of the transport with her back there, exposed in ways he’d never wanted, broke his heart. He held on to his emotions ruthlessly, pushed them far, far down as he touched the paved streets.
He kept walking, heading to the boardinghouse where they were to meet in an hour standard. This part of Silesia was modern, sleek and wealthy by comparison to the other Edge territories and the ’Verses they’d just run through. There were parts of the Imperium like this, mainly the ones seen on vid screens and where any sort of negotiations or talks were held.
Despite the prosperity here and the higher level of freedom compared to the ’Verses closer to the Capital Center, there was an air of sadness, too. One he’d always associated with Imperial ’Verses. Even when drinking and kicking their heels up, sadness showed in every citizen’s eyes. Not even hopelessness; they didn’t have that much to start with, things were what they were and that was accepted for the most part.
And the shine wore off the farther one got from the portal until all that remained was chaos and lawlessness. The real Silesia and as far as Daniel was concerned, the real Imperium. Lost citizens, mistreated and left to fend for themselves, quite often turning on each other or worse, the weak who couldn’t defend themselves and had no hope their government would.
There were no individual ’Verse governments in the Imperial Universes. It was all Fardelle, all the time, and he held a heavy hand through his ministers. It made Daniel angry, the way the man simply squeezed people, not caring about truly leading.
It left them all right where they were, on the verge of a war started by a man too stunted or bored to build his ’Verses up, choosing to tear those in the Federation down instead.
Enough. He needed to get himself together and appear as casually hopeless as the rest of them.
His hands trembled a moment when he sat, back to the wall, facing the door they would come through. “Smokes and an ale,” he told the server when she swished over.
She laid a tin of hand-rolled smokes on the table and left to get his ale. Normally he’d take the time to have a meal, but his stomach was lead, his appetite gone.
Up to that very moment, he’d never felt fear over not completing a task. He’d simply done his job. If people got caught up in it, he’d do his best to protect them and get out, but if there had been civilian impact, he accepted it as one of the unavoidable tragedies of what he did.
He lit the smoke and breathed deeply. The sweetness of the burning herbs filled his lungs, wisped around his face. The ale arrived, and he sipped and thought, sipped and smoked, sipped and waited.
He loved her. He had not imagined being in that place so soon after meeting a woman. At the same time, he’d been with women, with enough of them over enough experiences to know the difference between a woman he enjoyed and what he felt for Carina. Yes, it was sudden; it was soon and unexpected and beyond complicated. But it was there and it was strong and he wanted it, wanted her like he’d never allowed himself to want anything in his entire life.
Yes, she didn’t have the same experience he did, and he supposed he should encourage her to see some other men so she never felt cheated, but, since he was ruminating in his head and all, fuck that. No one could protect her and love her like he could, and she didn’t need to fuck fifteen more men to know that.
“Lotta soldiers here today,” he said casually to the server when she brought him another ale.
“Affectin’ business, that i
s. They come through here three times already today. Every transport in and out boarded. Lockup is full of people. This is my place; me and my man run it. We can’t afford this silliness. Lost a well, they tell me. Town supply here went to nothing. Can’t run a cantina without water. And what happened? I asked. No one will say. We’ve been searched every few turns. People are afraid to travel nowadays. Portal shut down in Krater. Still. We can’t get our usual supplies, so others are charging dear. I don’t know what they’re thinking, but like I said, it’s affectin’ business, and I don’t like it.”
He nodded. “Been traveling for a few turns. It’s been this way at every ’Verse.”
A woman walked in, one he knew very well. She saw him and headed straight over. “You owe me a drink, Neil.” Marame Fisk, one of his operatives who’d been out in the Edge for some time, working with the local mercenaries to locate all the rogue portals used to smuggle information and weapons back to Fardelle.
She sat with a cat’s grin. “My sister is around here somewhere. You should have one more before she arrives. Maybe two if she’s still as mad at you as she was this morn.”
“A mulled wine for my friend, please.” His heart sped at the mention of this other woman he hoped was Carina.
The server sashayed off, and he turned back to the woman at his table. “It’s unexpected to see you.”
He looked her over. She had short, black hair that often stood up in spikes because she ran her fingers through it idly, a tic of personality, he supposed. She was unforgettable in her own way: striking, bold, with facial features that were unique rather than conventionally pretty. More important, as far as he was concerned, Marame was one of his best tacticians. A smart planner, good with people. A leader. And right now, that skill made Carina even safer.
“My man sent me. He’s here somewhere. He’ll be by shortly.” Marame spoke cheerfully, but her pale blue eyes took in the room as sharply as he was sure his own did.
Her man? He wondered who she was with, which one of his operatives had accompanied her on the trip. In any case, it was good to have skilled hands he could trust completely at his back. Most likely Julian Marsters. He and Marame worked together quite often, and Julian was a gifted pilot and one of his very best hand-to-hand fighters. It made a solid team—Daniel, Andrei, Marame and Julian. They usually worked in teams of five, but four would do just fine. The backup would definitely help.
“And your sister?” he asked. “You’ve seen her? We got separated; surely she can’t hold me responsible for that.” He sent her a lazy grin, but he itched to know, to hear Carina was safe.
“She’ll be along shortly. We found her down the way. Karl planned to take her to the house to drop her bags off. She was naturally opposed to this and bloodied Karl’s nose in the offing.” Marame’s mouth tried to resist a smile, but lost.
“I should hope my cousin also helped?” Meaning Andrei.
“He came along shortly afterward. There was a slight . . . negotiation, and they all went together.”
Andrei would have killed anyone who posed a threat to Carina, but he found himself relieved and admiring at hearing she’d managed to fight off a man as large and imposing as Julian or any of his operatives. He smiled as he inhaled the smoke, Carina was no easy mark.
Just then his heart soared as she came in. He stood, not giving one fuck what anyone thought, moving to her as if no one else existed in the Known ’Verses.
Carina had been scared beyond sanity when the big man had stepped into her path and told her he was there to help her drop her things off and to take her to Neil. She didn’t recognize him, and she’d taken in every face she came across while on the transport. She’d never seen this man in her life, and there was no way she planned to go anywhere with him.
He’d tried to wheedle her, tried to reach out, and when he did, she reared back and punched him square in the nose, sending him reeling, stumbling. A woman came over then, trying not to laugh at the man Carina had punched.
She, too, had said they were old friends of Neil’s and again, Carina had told them both to fuck right off. She had to be somewhere, somewhere Daniel waited for her. Carina knew he’d be worried, feeling panicked that he’d let her go this part alone. She needed to get to him, and no giant man and his pretty sidekick would keep Carina away.
Andrei was suddenly there. She hadn’t even heard him approach, but he put himself between her and the newcomers. He held no weapons, but his stance told her and the people he faced that he didn’t need any weapons to damage them.
It was then that Andrei must have recognized the two, because he relaxed and turned back to Carina, telling her it was all right, that they were part of their family.
They’d walked over a few streets to a small house surrounded by fruit trees, and she’d dropped her bag off. The man had introduced himself as Karl, the lady was May. It was this May who’d gone to Daniel while Carina and Andrei had briefed this Karl, who was clearly not a Karl, on what they’d seen.
Disorientation and doubt began to edge its way into her system. Did he send others to keep her away from him? No, he’d told her he cared about her, and she believed that. Had seen it, felt it over and over. Regardless, even if he had done it, she had no plans to let him get away with it. She finally stood and demanded to see Neil, and they escorted her to the public house where Daniel waited.
All the doubt passed when he caught sight of her, and his face changed, softened. He’d stood and began to walk over, and shivers of delight passed over her skin at the way he saw no one else but her.
“I hear you got lost.” He tipped her chin up and kissed her quickly. “I’m glad my family found you.”
He hugged her, and she felt his own fear melt away with hers. Everyone was all right, and after the fear she’d had since she’d opened her eyes that very morning, that knowledge left her weak in the knees.
“I’m starving,” she whispered.
“Adrenaline does that. Come on then, I suddenly have my appetite back, and it’ll be coming on to the midday meal. We’ll see what Karl and May have to say about what’s good here.”
“I missed you,” she said, pressing herself closer to him.
“You’re all right, and that’s what matters.”
What mattered is that he loved her, and his arms around her, the way he looked at her, told her he did.
“We figured you might be hungry.” May joined them. “We’ve got some meal plans, and another family member who can’t wait to see you. Come on then.” She led the way out, and they followed.
The trek wasn’t far. The walk was quite lovely, despite the presence of soldiers all over the place. Again, Carina thought as they made their way to the little house, this ’Verse had so much potential and her father wasted it. It wasn’t even that he controlled it the way he did elsewhere, it was that he took and never gave back. It was that this prosperity was possible for so few in a ’Verse where the majority suffered. His vision of Imperial rule was not working, and because of that, people suffered. It was a stupid waste.
The fruit trees at the front of the house shaded the lot and also lent privacy. Privacy was at a premium, highly sought after. She imagined this house cost quite a few credits and wondered how these soldiers had ended up there.
“Come on in,” Karl said, leading them all through the front door and into the house. Carina remained silent when Daniel said nothing. He’d let her know when it was safe to talk, even though she was dying to know what was going on.
She figured these people must be Daniel’s—his soldiers or his team. There was no way he wasn’t in charge, that much was clear. First, she wasn’t being vain when she assumed they’d only send the best to get her. Caelinus would have been dangerous to get to, and as she’d experienced, the Imperium was dangerous to get out of. More telling, though, was the way they all deferred to him. All of them. A slight drop of the gaze, the way they waited for him to set a pace and tone. Daniel was the boss here, not that this surprised her. He was a very
bossy man, after all. Which made it a very good thing that she was a very bossy woman. Daniel Haws would run over a weaker woman, not out of cruelty, but out of his drive and will. He needed a woman who would push back when he went too far. A woman who could match that drive, that will, that determination to get the job done. Carina Fardelle, princess or not, was that woman.
They followed Karl through the house and down into a basement. Carina wasn’t surprised to see Karl push back a set of shelves, less surprised to discover a door lay behind that. More number pads and retinal scanners existed behind the plain wooden door into another room.
“You can speak freely now,” Karl called back as they entered a long tunnel, sealing off wherever they’d just been.
Everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
“I’m sorry about your nose,” Carina called out to Karl, who turned and grinned.
“Hazard of the job. No permanent harm done. I’m Julian, and this is Marame.” He turned to Daniel and bowed. “We’re glad to see the three of you safe.”
Daniel nodded, touching Julian’s shoulder briefly. “Excellent job, Julian. I assume this is one of our places?”
“We liberated it from a smuggler. He happily gave us access in exchange for walking out of lockup.” Julian shrugged.
They began to walk down a long tunnel, glow lights casting yellow light on them as they went, dying out in their wake.
“Julian and Marame are soldiers, too. Some of the very best,” Daniel said as they continued to walk.
Marame turned and looked over her shoulder at Daniel. “Thank you. Coming from you, Daniel, that’s high praise.” Marame grinned, shifting her gaze to Carina. “I’m impressed with that punch, Carina. I’m glad to see you’ve received some hand-to-hand training.”
“My father insisted. I wasn’t allowed as much as my brother, but I’m proficient enough.”
Daniel laughed. “Julian is one of the best hand-to-hand fighters I know. Even I’d be hard-pressed to bloody his nose.”
Julian snorted without turning around. He called back, “Please. I’ve seen you knock Ellis on his ass a time or two, and the man is wilier than a fox and thicker than a tree trunk. Still, it’s best we don’t test that. Besides, your pretty princess there caught me by surprise, but she didn’t hesitate or pull it. It was very nicely done.”
