“And that is why I think you're perfect for this task and why I'm choosing to work with you,” she said. “Your single-minded determination is admirable. And because I know how badly you want Boygan, it gives me comfort to know that you will not stop until the job is done. Rest assured though, everything I've told you here is the truth. I have no hidden agenda. At no small risk to myself, I've entered into a contract with you to murder my boss. If word ever got back to my boss – I shudder to think what he'd do to me. So, you see, I now have as much at stake as you do. You can take me at my word, Gemma Sage.”
I nodded slowly. “I certainly hope so.”
Dyra got up, her men falling in beside her. She gave me a long look and then a small smile touched her lips.
“I don't know if you've given much though to your future once you bring your crusade to an end,” she said, “but, once this is all over, stay in touch with me. I may have need of your services.”
I chuckled wryly. “Are you offering me a job?”
She shrugged and then turned, walking away, a pronounced swish in her hips.
“I'll be in touch, Gemma Sage,” she called back over her shoulder.
Chapter Ten
“Oh, well, this just gets better and better,” Theron said. “So, we're assassins now?”
I grinned and shook my head. “Honestly, Theron,” I said. “Is there anything you won't whine about?”
Xavix looked on from his position near the ramp of the ship. Monda had completed the repairs finally and I had to once again admire his work. While the Umbra didn't look just off the showroom floor new – frankly, she was never going to look that way again – she looked damn good, thanks to that man.
Most all of the dents were gone, all of the bullet holes from our last mission had been patched to the point it looked like they'd never been there at all. He'd even somehow managed to slap on a new coat of paint. She might not look like just off the showroom floor new, but she looked like a reasonable facsimile.
Monda was an absolute wizard.
I continued to circle my ship, running my hand over the hull, marveling at the Zhakan's work. Theron was right on my heels.
“I don't think it's whining,” he said. “It's called being smart. You're climbing into bed with this Etrosian chick, whose stated goal is to run a criminal empire, by the way – ”
“At least she's honest about it,” I cut him off. “And her intentions.”
Theron looked almost apoplectic. “Did it ever occur to you that she might be lying? That she might be setting you up?”
“It occurred to me,” I said. “But, she has no reason to.”
“No reason?” he asked, his eyes wide in disbelief. “Gemma, they're trying to kill you. That seems like a good reason for her to lie to you to me!”
“You're right, Boygan and his people are trying to kill me,” I said. “And if that was Dyra's goal too, I'd be dead right now. She had more than enough time to kill me if that's what she wanted, Theron. She had more than enough opportunity. And yet, here I am, standing before you. What does that tell you?”
“It tells me that you're letting your blind hatred of Boygan lead you to making some very bad decisions,” he said. “Decisions that are going to get you – no, get us – killed.”
“Why would they go through all of that trouble just to kill me, Theron?” I asked, rounding on him, feeling my irritation soaring. “Why not just kill me when they had the chance? It makes no sense at all. If Dyra was working for Boygan, I would be dead already. Simple as that.”
He shook his head, clearly not buying what I was selling. He turned to Xavix, looking for some support.
“Tell her, Xavix,” he said. “Tell her how stupid this is.”
Xavix cocked his head and looked at him. “Ordinarily, I would be happy to,” he said. “But, in this case, Gemma is correct. Had this Dyra – and by extension, Mr. Boygan – wanted Gemma dead, she would be dead. It makes no sense for them to make a deal with her before they kill her. I would have to say that the deal is on the up and up.”
Theron groaned. “Thanks for the backup there.”
“Think of it, Theron,” I said. “We do this one job and we can bring this whole war to an end. No more raids on ships. No more near death experiences. No more air locking people?”
I smiled and tried to make a joke of it but Theron wasn't having it. I didn't know why this was any different than any other raid we'd done. Except for the fact that we weren't hitting a starship. And we were assassinating somebody.
Other than that though, this should scan like any other mission. Except, this one could be the last mission.
“Look, I know you're not crazy about certain aspects of what we do,” I said. “I know you think some of my tactics are barbaric – ”
“Think?” he asked. “I'm pretty sure shooting people out of an airlock and letting them die in the vacuum of space is the textbook definition of barbaric.”
I shrugged. “A girl's gotta get her kicks somehow.”
He rolled his eyes, clearly not amused.
“They had it coming, Theron,” I said, my voice growing more serious. “I'm sorry, but you can't possibly know what this is like for me. How personal this is for me. And that's because you didn't have to sit through the murder of your family, completely powerless to stop it. You don't know what that's like or what it does to you.”
He was silent for a long moment, looking away, refusing to meet my eyes. He knew he'd pushed me a little too far. He should have known me well enough by that point to know there were certain lines you didn't cross.
“Fine, look,” he said. “The air locking thing aside, I can't believe that you'd even consider jumping into bed with this – Dyra. How do you know you can trust her?”
“I don't.”
“Oh, great,” he says. “That's reassuring.”
I sighed. “Theron,” I said. “Do you want to be out here forever? Running raids and fighting it out with Boygan's crews day after day? Don't you want to be done with this life?”
“Of course, I do, but – ”
“To do that, we have to take a chance. We have to trust somebody,” I said. “Dyra says she knows where Boygan is. The only way I'm going to get that piece of information from her though, is to take a chance and put my trust in her.”
He shook his head. “I don't like this, Gemma,” he said. “Something about this stinks. Something just doesn't sound right.”
I ran a hand through my hair, doing my best to control my rising temper. I was more than a little frustrated by Theron's stubborn refusal to see the logic in this. To see the necessity of making this alliance – temporary, though it may be.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself down and see the bigger picture in play. Tried to see things from his perspective. And as I did, I recalled him telling me about his girlfriend here on Acrov. About how she was unlike anybody he'd ever met before – and how he loved her.
And in that moment, I realized what the problem was. He wasn't objecting to the mission because he was afraid. Or because he'd lost his nerve.
He was objecting because he had something to lose now. If he was right about Dyra, and this mission went sideways and we all ended up dead – or in Xavix's case, melted down for scrap – he was never going to be with her again.
From my perspective, I had nothing to lose. No family. No home. Nothing. I couldn't count whatever that strange thing between Kysos and I was, because it technically didn't count. It wasn't something we'd discussed, so it's not like we had a relationship or anything. No, I was out there on my own with absolutely nothing to lose. I could afford to be reckless and take chances. But Theron, with a new girl in his life, he did.
And it was only then, seeing things from his point of view, that I understood.
“Listen, Theron,” I said gently. “I'm not asking you to come do this with me – ”
“I'm part of the team, Gemma,” he said, sounding miserable.
I looked at him and co
uld tell that he was entirely conflicted. I knew that part of him felt obligated to see this through with me. And the other part wanted nothing more than to be with his girl.
“Yes, you are,” I said. “And I can never repay everything you've done for me.”
“I'm not asking you to repay – ”
“I know you're not,” I said, cutting him off. “All I'm trying to say is that I appreciate everything you've done. Everything you've put on the line for me. I know this has been a crazy ride and we've done some outlandish shit. Things I bet you never thought you'd ever do in your life.”
He grinned and a wry chuckle escaped his lips. “Yeah, you can say that again,” he said and then looked at me, his expression growing serious. “Why do I get the feeling that you're kicking me off the team?”
I gave him a gentle smile. “I'm not kicking you off of the team, Theron,” I said. “But, I think you've gone as far as you can – or should – go with us.”
“That sounds a lot like you're kicking me off the team.”
“Actually,” Xavix cut in, “kicking you off the team would probably sound more like, 'Go on, get out of here, you're not wanted anymore. Get the hell out already!' Trust me, Theron. I've heard her say as much to a few people before.”
I looked over at my robotic companion. “Gee, thanks, pal,” I said. “Glad to know you always have my back.”
“You're welcome, Gemma,” he replied and I wasn't sure if he was being a smartass or not – though, it was probably safe to assume he was.
“Theron,” I said. “What I want more than anything is for you to live a long, happy life with your lady love.”
“That's bullshit,” he said, a grin on his face. “What you want more than anything in this life is to cut off Boygan's head and mount it on top of the Umbra.”
“Okay, that may be true,” I said. “But the other thing I just said is running a very close second.”
He gave me a small smile. “I don't want you to ever feel like I'm running out on you.”
I shook my head. “And I never will,” I said. “You've done enough for me, Theron. You've risked everything and sacrificed even more. You'll never know how appreciative I am of you.”
He stepped forward and pulled me into a tight embrace. It was awkward, but I sucked it up and somehow managed to get through it. Eventually, Theron stepped back and looked at me, his eyes shining with unshed tears.
“Thank you, Gemma,” he said. “As much as you say I've done for you, you've done just as much for me. You've given me a life I never would have had back on Earth.”
I laughed. “Yeah, the life of an outlaw.”
He shrugged. “I prefer to think of it as a life of adventure and learning.”
“That's certainly one way to view it,” I said.
He took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Be careful, Gemma,” he said. “I expect to see you back on Acrov when this is done.”
“What makes you think I'm coming back to Acrov?”
He rolled his eyes. “Like we don't all know you're oh-so-secretly in love with Kysos.”
“What?” I said and laughed, feeling the heat flaring in my cheeks. “What are you talking about?”
“He is right, Gemma,” Xavix said. “You hide your affection for the Prime Minister about as well as an interstellar transport in a fleet of personal transports.”
Theron and I both looked at him for a moment and then burst into laughter. Xavix merely looked at us with those robotic eyes of his, probably thinking we'd gone mad. I was just thankful to have a reason to divert from that particular line of conversation.
“You need to work on your metaphor game, Xavix,” I said.
“I thought it was quite clever,” he said.
I turned back to Theron and gave him a warm smile. I hated to think of breaking the crew up, we'd been to hell and back together. And there was some small part of me that didn't know what to do without him. For all of his quirks, Theron had proven himself over and over again.
Although it was painful and filled me with uncertainty, I honestly believed it was the right path for us to take.
“Thank you, Theron,” I said. “For everything.”
He returned my smile. “You're welcome.”
“Now, get out of here,” I said. “Go to your woman. Be happy and make lots of babies together.”
“Maybe we will,” he said. “And if we do, Aunt Gemma had better be around to babysit for us.”
“Yeah, don't hold your breath.”
We laughed together for a moment and I realized - that very well might be the last time the three of us were together and I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness and loss.
Later, after he'd packed his things and was heading out of the hangar, part of me wanted to call him back. But, I knew it was a selfish impulse. Theron deserved to be happy.
And so, I let him go.
Chapter Eleven
It had been two days since my meeting with Dyra and I was growing anxious. My paranoid mind was shouting at me, telling me that she was setting me up. Keeping me on Acrov to give Boygan's men a chance to move in on me. And with each hour that went by, that voice only seemed to grow louder and more insistent.
And for the first time, I started to wonder if maybe I was making a mistake. If maybe I needed to reconsider this alliance with Dyra.
Xavix and I walked through the Old Town marketplace, more just to keep myself occupied than anything. I'd been cooped up in my ship for most of the time I'd been waiting to hear from Dyra and was going a little stir crazy. Part of me wanted to go see Kysos, but I knew that would be a mistake.
I looked at the various stalls, surveying the different items for sale. Nothing was really catching my eye. But then, I wasn't all that surprised. I was more or less meandering rather than shopping.
“It's a lovely day out, isn't it?” Xavix said.
I turned and arched an eyebrow at him. “What?”
“Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?”
I stopped short and Xavix turned around, cocking his head at me. “What are you babbling about, Xavix?”
“I believe that's what you humans refer to as small talk?” he said. “Making conversation.”
“The weather? Really?” I asked, chuckling. “Could you think of a more boring topic of conversation?”
Xavix paused for a moment, seeming to be considering something. A more exciting conversation starter, perhaps. Though he was my ever-faithful companion and I appreciated him, he still sometimes left a little something to be desired as a conversationalist.
But hey, when you’re flying through the empty vastness of deep space, beggars can’t really afford to be choosers.
“Well, I suppose we could talk about your relationship with the Prime Minister,” Xavix said. “Given your reaction the last time it was brought up, I suspect that would be anything but a boring conversation.”
“You're right, this is lovely weather we're having,” I said.
“But, you just said to come up with a better topic of conversation – ”
I looked around, hopeful that nobody overheard him. “Yeah, that one's not going to happen, smartass,” I said. “That conversation is off the table.”
Xavix let out a sound that was somewhere between electronic feedback and a sigh. He shook his head and turned, walking away from me.
“You humans are so confounding at times,” he called over his shoulder to me.
I laughed as I caught up and fell in step beside him. We walked through a row of stalls, most selling things I wasn't interested in. But then I stopped at one to ogle a few things that caught my eye.
“Look at that,” I said.
In a glass display case was a dagger with a long, curved blade and a handle made of what looked like ivory. It had a plain black sheath studded with emeralds. It was gorgeous.
“It seems a bit impractical,” Xavix said, apparently determined to ruin the rest of my afternoon.
“Maybe so, but it's pretty,�
� I said. “Girls like pretty things now and then.”
“That they do, my mechanical friend,” said the shopkeeper, a large, bulbous man with leathery green skin and eyes the color of blood.
“How much for the dagger?” I asked.
“Your taste is as exquisite as your beauty, my dear,” he said, his voice tinged with an accent I couldn't place.
I rolled my eyes. “Save it,” I said. “How much?”
He shrugged. “I can give it to you for five hundred,” he said. “And that's a good deal, yeah?”
“Hardly,” I said. “I'll give you two fifty for it.”
The man's red eyes grew wide and a look of pure scandal crossed his face. “Madame,” he said. “That would be robbery, I tell you. I couldn't possibly let it go for more than four hundred.”
“Two seventy five.”
“Three fifty.”
“Three hundred,” I countered. “Final offer.”
“Three twenty five?” the shopkeeper said, more of a question than anything.
I shrugged and turned to go. I hadn't made it two steps from his stall when his voice made me turn around again, a smile on my face.
“Fine, fine,” he sighed. “Three hundred. I'll have you know you're robbing me blind here.”
“I'm sure you're making out just fine,” I said as I counted out the cash and handed it over to him.
The shopkeeper looked pained as he handed me the dagger. I held it up and admired it, smiling as I watched the way the sunlight glinted off the blade. I turned to Xavix and smiled, pitching my voice low, so only he could hear me.
“Every pirate needs a pretty blade on their hip,” I said. “It's all part of the image.”
Xavix shook his head. “You humans and your obsession with image.”
I laughed, but then, in the reflection of the blade, I saw two men standing at a booth behind me and felt a lance of fear pierce my heart. They were cloaked and hooded, as many people in the marketplace were, but there was something about the pair of them that set warning bells ringing in my head.
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