by Laurie Bell
Zaambuka’s neck muscles tensed. “Get the money in by tomorrow, Toni. All of it.”
“Then pay me quicker, Ant.” He actually cringed at the nickname. Warmth spread up from her belly. It clearly drove him mad every time she used it, which, come to think of it, was why she used it. “Last time I had to survive on my game winnings for over a month before payroll reimbursed me.” And she needed that coin. She imagined rubbing her hands together. Two days, two days and she’d be at the game.
He leaned forward, his voice lowering. “Toni …”
Her palms started to sweat. No. No way.
“A call came in last night. You’re the only one available.”
“You promised me a break. I need a break. You owe me four weeks, Ant.” Her finger hovered an inch above the yellow AZ—Antonio Zaambuka—panic button she’d installed a year ago. All she had to do was press it and the call would be cut off in a burst of static, leaving him unable to reconnect for days.
“You’ve got a game planned, haven’t you?”
How in the name of Xendia did he figure that out? She didn’t bat an eyelid. “Been organized for over a year now—biggest names and wallets. I won’t cancel, Ant, not even if you—”
“I owe you a break; you’re right.” He leaned back. “So who have you got lined up?”
“ZehBa, Jasm, and the Boppli twins. And what do you mean, I’m right?”
“Don’t concern yourself with it. Agent Nar is closer.” Zaambuka glanced toward her hand. It was still hidden out of sight.
Does he think I’ll fall for that? She breathed deeply. I need a break. But apart from the game, what was she going to do? Sit on a beach somewhere? She shuddered internally. Shenghi, that sounded awful. She glanced at her hand again. Maybe … “How much would I get?” Her hand left the panic button and reappeared on the table beside her. Sometimes she was her own worst enemy.
“You’d get more from your”—he grimaced—“card game.”
“Are you angry I didn’t invite you? You’re right, I’ll get more from the game. And it will be entertaining. Speaking of, didn’t I give you that tie?”
While she would always admit the suits he wore looked damned good, not even she could have found a tie that clashed so badly with the dark blue tones of his jacket. Not for lack of trying. The tie wasn’t one of hers, but oh how she wished it was. The habit survived generations of human settlement. It should have died with the last of the original refugees. Toni was positive Antonio Zaambuka was trying to bring it back.
“Your choice in ties is worse than a Drait with snow blindness, but no, you didn’t send this. If you had, I would never have worn it.”
Toni grinned. “Whoever sent it must really hate you.”
“A gift from Vice-President Cat Ramo.”
“How can she hate you that much?”
“I assume she knows nothing about it. It’s likely her aides sent it.” He glanced down at the multi-colored monstrosity in disgust. Then his stare hardened—Toni’s distraction had expired. “Do you recall the weapons ring you broke on Waystation EEXDU?”
“Two years ago? It was my first case, of course I remember. What about it? Dalmith is breathing ferdsk gas at the Carpathian prison colony.” A wave of cold washed over her, predicting his next words.
“He escaped.”
“What?” She straightened. “How? No one can escape a Carpathian prison.”
“He did.”
There goes the game. Her head started to pound. No, he could put someone else on Dalmith. Don’t mention Gallian.
Zaambuka ran a hand over his closely cropped hair in an unusual display of frustration. “We’ve intercepted some interesting chatter, rumors that link a number of important disappearances to these weapons. All of the connections track back to one individual.”
“Who?”
“Gallian.” Zaambuka spoke the name without inflection, but fury barely contained showed in the way his shoulders and jaw tightened.
Khegh it. Now I have to tell him. After Toni’s disappearance during the Frosk assignment last year, Zaambuka had been forced to work a case himself. Toni had returned to find the SPT headquarters in chaos, Antonio Zaambuka mad as a razor bee in a tal-boar pit, and a new name added to her Most Wanted list—Gallian.
“You think Gallian has moved onto running guns?” Shenghi! That confirmed her suspicion, didn’t it? “That’s a change from his usual style. Too direct.” Zaambuka was obsessed with Gallian, and Toni knew her admission was going to send her boss into orbit. After all, Gallian didn’t leave evidence behind. It was why no one had caught him yet.
“Agent Darning infiltrated the lower levels of the distribution ring looking for a connection. He was to advise us of the routes the shipments were traveling so we could intercept them. He missed his check-in. I presume he has been discovered.” Zaambuka paused. His eyes shifted away.
Khegh! Her boss always took the death of one of his agents badly. She understood now how personally he was taking this case. From memory, Agent Darning had a couple of kids. I have to tell him. “I think I can confirm your sources. Or at least add another rumor to the noise.”
Zaambuka straightened. “What?”
“Tubby let the name slip. In relation to his stack of weapons.”
“I knew it.”
“Boss, we still have no definitive—”
“I know he’s behind it.”
She bit back a sigh. Her sinuses ached and she wanted to pinch her nose, but the movement would imply something else to her boss. “Who’s the source of the other rumors?”
Zaambuka sighed, avoiding eye contact. “We have received several messages out of a certain smuggler camp.”
A flame burst to life inside Toni. “You can’t trust the word of a smuggler. If your only evidence is from those traitorous kalfj—” She sucked in a deep breath, pressing her hand to her chest. Zaambuka had betrayed her. Not just her, he’d betrayed the agents’ code as well. “We don’t work with criminals. This is your mandate, Boss. You drill it into us at the Academy. No blackmail, no paying contacts for information, no torture and no working with criminals. How can you …” Her face heated, knowing she’d broken one or two of those commandments herself. Then her stomach bottomed out as she thought about what he was actually saying. She slammed her mind down on the memory, not wanting to see his face and rubbed at the sudden ache in her shoulder.
“I know you’ve had painful experiences with smugglers in the past, Toni, but the data they sent pans out. We intend to use it.”
Painful experiences? Yeah, you could say that. “How can we rely on information from smugglers? They’ll do whatever it takes to get us off their backs and …” She trailed off when he didn’t meet her eye. Why was he telling her this? He knew what her response would be. Her skin became clammy as realization dawned. “You made a deal with a smuggler? Who?”
He didn’t so much as twitch. “I’ve agreed, albeit grudgingly, to allow one small group clemency for six months and a full pardon to those who assist in Gallian’s capture.”
“We have to find Gallian first,” she snapped. Beyond angry, she knew she should have pushed that panic button as soon as she saw the look on Zaambuka’s face. She scratched her shoulder. In a low voice she asked, “Which group?”
“The Cross.”
“What?” Her cry was so loud, the sound adjusters on Zaambuka’s end of the communication must have struggled to compensate given his wince. No! Oh no! Her stomach flipped and bile rose in her throat.
“Toni, the deal has been made.”
She opened her mouth to respond but he cut her off. “You won’t have to work with them. Just use the information. If you run into any member of the Cross, make no arrests. Not for six months.”
Sucking in an unsteady breath, she closed her eyes. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. Don’t let him see how much this hurts. “What was the information?” There was no way she would ask which Cross smuggler sent the data. A shooting pain speared through her palm. She glanced
down to see her fist clenched so tightly, her fingernails had drawn blood.
“Did you read the report on Doctor Rober Telksh?”
“The scientist?” Toni took the distraction, thankful for it. “He disappeared right before he was scheduled to make a big announcement on the hypersonic wave resistance mag-rifle, right?”
“That’s the one.”
“You think he’s behind the weapons caches?”
“Sources tell us …”
Toni grimaced again at the suggestion of smuggler supplied data.
“… whoever took him wanted the specs for these rifles.”
“I thought the doc was a white coat? I mean sure, he designed an incredibly dangerous weapon, but it’s a weapon for the good guys, right? What makes you link him to the shipments, other than the obvious? We didn’t find any mag-rifles amongst the original haul.”
“Our team discovered references to his name at one of the bust sites. Agent Delle, your priority is to find the evidence that confirms Gallian is behind these operations and locate Doctor Telksh.”
See, it’s nothing to do with him. “Where exactly do you suggest I start?”
“His ex-partner is a man named Roch’alie Myres.”
“Ex-partner?”
“Doctor Telksh and Roch’alie Myres worked together at the Institute of Technological Research on Melbar Prime. Both men are mechanical engineers, though they have also studied biochemical mechanical dispersal systems.”
“Sounds like a lot of scientific gobbledygook to me.”
“The report I received suggests they designed the mag-rifle together.”
She tapped her fingers against the console. “What split them up?”
“We do not know. They ended their working partnership right before Telksh disappeared.”
“And you think Myres knows something. Where do we find him?”
“Apparently Myres has a bit of a gambling problem. Should be right up your alley.” Zaambuka typed a command into his board. “Good luck, Toni.” The screen returned to the stars of the Agents Association emblem.
Toni sighed and rubbed at her eyes. Her good day had turned to shenghi. Hot steamy piles of shenghi. A case with potential connections to Daniel Colten set her shoulder ablaze. Why now? It had been years since she’d even heard his name. How was the Cross connected to Telksh? Or were they linked to Gallian? That was an interesting thought. A memory from long ago skated to the front of her consciousness. Gall. Colten’s CII had said the name. Gallian? Colten had been involved in stealing guns from Dalmith. The coincidences were stacking up to form a very nasty picture.
Mate, listening to the entire exchange from beneath the console at her feet, looked up at her tilting his head to one side. “Well, that was interesting. Now what?”
“How in Xendia should I know?”
If he picked up on her annoyance, he ignored it. Moving out from under the console, he peered at the monitor beside her hand. “Zach?”
The monitor to Toni’s left blinked on to display Zach’s pixilated face. Strangely, he too had remained silent during the entire exchange.
“I ain’t doing this. I ain’t working with the smuggler. Nope, no way.”
Toni stared blankly at him, “Did you alter your voice parameters?”
“Yup!”
She scowled. “You sound like a kid.”
“Incoming message. Need a clearance code, boss. Level one prio.”
Level one? “Okay, Zach, clearance code …” Shenghi, what was the order again? “Seven alpha WID two zeta Toni.”
“Accessing.” Several files popped onto the screen. As she read through the first, Zach scanned ahead. “Hey, I think we got a lead.”
“Do you really think this guy Myres can help us?” Mate asked.
“Well, he worked with Telksh, so I’m guessing he knew him pretty well. You have to think Myres knows something about Telksh’s disappearance. Or, khegh it, maybe he is behind the disappearance.”
Zach’s grumbling floated up from the speakers, but his face had yet to return to the monitor.
“What is it, Zach?” she asked.
“I’m looking at the holonet coding.” The CII sounded upset.
“Zach,” she warned. Had Colten sent the material? The possibility was there. It came from the Cross, and he was a member. But would he really contact the SPT, given their history? It was hard to imagine. She scratched at her shoulder again. The itch was buried deep under her skin.
“I’m seeing streams from a dozen different networks and half a dozen more holonet relays. I’m just saying, Boss, I don’t like it. Can we even trust this stuff?”
“I’m not saying we follow it blindly, Zach. Run a search. Let’s corroborate the information if we can. Mate, help him.” Toni tugged her black hide jacket tighter across her chest, feeling cold. I don’t want to see him. She spun her chair around, glancing at the stark cockpit. I really need to get more stuff in here. With bright colors. If she didn’t keep gaming her winnings away, maybe she’d have enough to purchase some furnishings.
Mate spoke up. “I can confirm Roch’alie Myres is on Uxt. I have three security reports here from the casino.”
“Put it up.” A message fragment appeared, and Toni’s memories of dancing on the bar filled her mind. “The Reef, huh?” Coincidence? Too many links to her past were popping up into this case. The Cross and now The Reef? She was getting a bad feeling low in her stomach, like she’d eaten something that disagreed with her.
“I’ve found three reports on Myres for drunken brawling, and an arrest for counting cards,” Zach replied.
“That’s it?” Mate asked.
“Yep. Not much to go on, huh Boss? It’s been a while since you worked The Reef.”
“It’s a start. Set a course for Uxt, Zach,” Toni huffed sadly. “And link me through to Jas. I’ve got to cancel that game.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Show me your modified phaser plans.”
“I don’t have them,” Toni said, hoping Myres wouldn’t be too offended by the sarcasm coloring her tone. Convincing the man she had a unique weapon to sell had proved remarkably easy. It was like he wanted to believe she had something.
Myres breathed heavily, sniffing mucus up his nose and clearing his throat with an irritating consistency. His hands trembled when he wiped at the sweat beading on his ruddy forehead. He stopped dead in the center of the dark corridor and peered furtively around. Toni would bet her next holiday pay the tunnel they were in led to a dead end. His next sniff sent twitches across her skin. “Like Xendia you don’t. Come on, kid. I just want to see them.”
Yeah, I bet you do.
The porous walls surrounding them seeped water, slicking the rock with a damp sheen. Drips from the roof above sounded a constant plop, plop. The whole maintenance tunnel reeked of mold and something fishy. Toni eyed the closest battery-operated lamp. It did little to fight the gloom.
“I’ll make you a deal,” she said, lowering her voice. Mate moved close behind her. “Tell me where to find Doctor Telksh, and if there’s a new mag-rifle on the other market, and I won’t inform the pit boss upstairs you were cheating.”
“Cheating?”
Toni hid a wince at the sound of his squeak.
“There isn’t a modified phaser, is there?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“I should have realized you weren’t a legit seller. I mean, look at you.” He snorted and cleared his throat again. “A freak like you could never remain incognito.”
“Freak like me,” she repeated. The words triggered a memory. Colten had told her she wasn’t a freak. Ha. Well, she knew he was a liar.
Myres inhaled raggedly. “Thank gods it’s dark. I feel sick just looking at you.”
Well, now he had her full attention.
“Don’t think I won’t shoot you.” Her hands clenched into fists. She stepped forward, her voice cold and clipped as she demanded, “Tell me what I want to know.”
He threw
up his hands. “All right. What do you want?”
“Doctor Telksh’s location.”
“Who are you?”
“Does it matter?”
The large man grumbled and shuffled back a few steps. “I might have some information, but swear you won’t—”
“I wouldn’t go back upstairs if you paid me. Unless you give me a reason. Where is Doctor Telksh?”
Myres glanced over both shoulders. “That’s what I want to know. That kalfj threw me out after all the years we worked together. Half those designs are mine. If he’s producing a working copy of the Resonator then I want my coin. He owes me—”
“You sound angry.”
He sniffed loudly. “Well, yeah, sure. What, you think I had something to do with his disappearance?”
“Did you?”
“Of course not. We were partners and he fired me. You can’t fire your partner. And now he’s making mag-rifles to sell? After he said he had problems with the design. Too dangerous! Then he accused me of—”
“The guns are dangerous? How so?”
He huffed. “The mag-rifles work a little too well, if you know what I mean. We could have been rich. We had buyers, you know. I had calls from everywhere. But Doctor Do-Gooder said we couldn’t sell them. And the next day, he fires me. I only wish I’d made that kheghing shenghi disappear.”
“Sounds like you’ve been keeping an eye out for these weapons.”
“Kheghing right. I want to get my hands on one. If any of it is based on my design, I want what I’m owed.”
“Do you know where the good doctor is now?”
“No.” Myres made a snorting sound and rubbed a hand over his face.
“What about the weapons? Do you know who ordered them?”
“No idea. As I said, there were a lot of buyers interested. There’s a storeroom on sub-level twenty-three that they’re paranoid about. Won’t let anyone near it.” Myres peered around again. “Speaking of which …”
Toni copied him, searching the gloomy tunnel for movement. Myres’ behavior was starting to affect her. Her skin crawled with the feeling they were being watched. She inched closer to hear his next words.
