White Fire

by Laurie Bell

  She struggled to lift her body but her arms wouldn’t move. By flexing her fingers, she discovered her hands were chained behind her back. Cold metal bit into her wrists, tight enough to cut the blood flow to her fingers.

  Her transport didn’t appear to have any trouble carrying her weight. Boots rang out on the metal floor, four at a time—four footsteps? The sounds echoed around whatever space they were moving through.

  Her transport stopped. Toni listened as two of the feet shuffled back and forth before the sounds of buttons were punched into a touch pad somewhere to her right. She listened carefully. The different tones made a pattern; two short and low, then one long and low, followed by three short and high. The swoosh of a door told her the panel had been a door lock.

  They passed through three more doors and a crowded corridor before they stopped again. Another door, heavier than the rest, groaned open. Lifted off the solid shoulder, Toni was thrown to the ground. She stifled a cry as she landed on a cold, unforgiving floor.

  Through the haze, she heard a husky feminine voice. “What is this? I was promised a single. I refuse to pay full price for shared accommodations.” Toni tried to place the accent but it was unfamiliar to her.

  “Quiet,” snapped the rougher, male voice, probably her guard.

  “Oh, you’re leaving? But I get so few visitors.”

  “Now I’ve brought you permanent company.”

  Toni opened her eyes, blinking rapidly when they watered under the harsh overhead light. With blurry vision, she glanced at the two beds bolted against the far wall and metal toilet in the corner. The voice belonged to the woman, beaten and bloodied, lying on one of the beds. Her hair hung limp and her shirt was ripped down one sleeve, exposing an intricate armband clipped around her bicep.

  Toni had no more time to examine her roommate before the guard dragged her to her knees. Her heart beat frantically against a chest that only felt pain. Giant hands encircled her wrists and, with a tug, removed the chain. She was pushed back to the floor where she lay still for a moment, just breathing.

  “Could you remind room service I like my eggs over easy?” the woman on the bed asked.

  “Want chips with that?” the second guard grunted.

  Toni rolled to look up at the large Dobers standing in the doorway. She’d worked with Dobers before. Bodies of pure muscle wrapped around sensitive organs. They carried themselves stiffly—no neck. The two guards stared at her mouthy cellmate with no hint of expression. Interrupting before her new roommate could answer, Toni offered, “If I may? I’d like fried chey and sausages on toast, sprinkled with rim salts and a glass of tilmile-pine juice.” Her voice sounded croaky and died out on the last word. What she wouldn’t give for a glass of water right now.

  “Sure,” grunted the front guard. He scratched his head, ruffling the white streak in his hair. The man beside him snarled out a laugh, exposing sharp teeth, and slammed the cell door shut. It locked loudly.

  “I wouldn’t recommend the service here,” the woman commented after a moment of silence. Deep lines around her mouth and eyes made Toni believe the woman was older, but the way her face lit up with her laugh belied that impression. Something in the way she pronounced the ‘w’ sent a spark of recognition through Toni. Sector Two?

  “I’ll be sure to take it up with the manager.” Toni pushed herself up from the floor. “What exactly will we get?”

  “Something mushy, disgusting, and tasting of cardboard. Name’s Berni.”

  “Toni.” She shivered in her thin shirt, wondering curiously when her jacket had been removed. Her shades apparently hadn’t made the trip to the cells with her. She stretched her legs and hobbled around the room. “How long have you been here?”

  “Two days. I don’t remember much, and I don’t want to.”

  “Nice place.” Toni wondered why she’d been left alive. Whatever the reason was it couldn’t be good. She had to get out of here. Examining the cell closely, she noted one door, no windows, and the bright overhead light came from three large panels above her head—nothing to shatter. There were slits at the top of each wall. She presumed these led to more cells much like this one. She pressed her ear to each wall in turn and could just make out the sound of movement behind the back wall. Leaning closer she heard a pained groan. We’re not alone.

  For now, Toni turned back to her cellmate. “I hate to ask this, as you seem to have made yourself quite comfortable, but when did you last redecorate?”

  Berni grinned. At least Toni assumed she did. In this light, with her sensitive eyes and at this angle, it was hard to tell. “Listen, you’re wasting your time. I’ve already checked the place over.”

  “It’s my time to waste.”

  “So it is.”

  A little longer spent searching for weaknesses, Toni was forced to conclude the other woman was right. There was nothing here she could exploit. She crossed her arms, wishing again for her jacket.

  “So,” she said, sitting down on the free bunk. It was as hard as rock. The mattress, if it could be called that, was barely thicker than her finger. “How’d you get here?”

  “Long story, but as I seem to have a captive audience, I’ll start from the beginning.” The woman laughed loudly at Toni’s exaggerated groan. Berni’s posture was tense. Portraying a calm and relaxed nature didn’t hide her wariness. And pain, if the bruises were any indication. Be careful. This woman might be on the lookout for a vulnerable cellmate. Khegh it, she could be a plant. Toni wouldn’t provide her with any weakness. Play it friendly—just not honest.

  “Okay, the short version, then. I made a mistake. Delivered some merchandise for a client, got a little nosy, and my client took exception. Seems he decided I was to be removed from any future action.”

  “I see.”

  “Jumped in my own ship, if you can believe that. I managed to lock myself in, but that wasn’t as successful as I’d hoped.” Berni struggled to sit up. As she did, her torn shirt fell open just above her left breast, exposing the mark on her skin.

  Toni sucked in a sharp breath. Be very careful. “You’re a Cross?”

  “What’s the matter? The Cross steal from ya?”

  “You are a Cross?”

  “So?”

  Toni swore again. “So, the merchandise your so-called client hired you to deliver was actually smuggled goods?”

  “What’s your problem?”

  “You don’t know who I am?”

  “Should I?”

  “Agent Toni Delle, with the SPT.”

  Berni straightened, an expression of surprise crossing her face. “I should have guessed. There can’t be too many women who look like you in the galaxy. You’re Dan’s Delle, aren’t you?”

  “What?” Toni stared at the woman in disbelief. “Dan’s Delle?” she repeated. “I was never Dan’s Delle.” Fury burned in her belly.

  “Not the way he tells it, love,” Berni replied with a grin.

  I will kill him. Slowly. Toni was so angry that for a moment she couldn’t speak. With no way to vent her fury, she slumped onto the empty bed and threw a hand over her eyes. If this woman knew Colten that intimately—enough to discuss Toni in such detail—then Berni definitely couldn’t be trusted.

  “Sooo.” The smuggler stretched the word out to fill the charged silence. “You’re an agent? In that case, I might as well tell you that the merchandise I delivered was a shipment of weapons. Some sort of anti-government thing.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I might have snooped.”

  “Really?” Toni didn’t even try to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

  “After I landed on Jantiea to pick up the initial shipment, I might have followed the supplier back to his boozed-up bunk house. You know, just to get a feel for things.”

  Toni turned her head to eye the other woman. “Felt wrong transporting merchandise for someone you didn’t know, did it? However did you force yourself to go through with it?”

  Berni smirke
d. “Funny. You letting me tell this story, or what?”

  “Sure, I haven’t got anything better to do.” Huffing out a breath, Toni wriggled back on her bunk to get comfortable—it wasn’t going to happen.

  “So, the guy was a tallish, skinny looking thing. Dark-haired, but slimy—you know the type? I followed him to this rundown old hotel and found him meeting with Michaels—oh, you wouldn’t know him, he’s a smuggler from the Ten Line gang—a real khegh-loving … Well, anyway, a real sleaze, and believe me, I know. I dated him once.”

  Toni shook her head. “And the part where you found out about the secret evil plan?”

  “Getting there. Gosh, you are impatient, aren’t you? No wonder Dan has a thing for you.”

  Toni glared at that but it just bounced off the other woman’s emotional shields.

  “I overheard Kel on his communicator, talking to some guy named Dalmith. He starts listing off all these locations and numbers. So I was confused. I thought I was the only one making a delivery and here is this guy talking about more, a lot more. So I figure they’re working several gangs—all different pilots—each with no knowledge of the others. That’s not normal, you know? So once I was safely in space, I checked the contents of the crates, and, well, there you go. Clearly, planets are being secretly armed. That’s not a good thing, right?”

  “You think?” Of course, Dalmith was involved. Escaping the Carpathian prison was just a start. He’d immediately returned to his old ways.

  “I don’t smuggle guns.” Berni winced and added softly, “I can’t smuggle guns.”

  “I’m heartbroken,” Toni snapped. Her body itched with the need to get far away from this woman as she could. She knows him. Trapped in close proximity, the only thing Toni could do was mentally distance herself from the conversation. She lay down and rolled to face the wall.

  *

  Toni slept for a while, waking with a jerk from a nightmare involving a lot of white sand when the guards returned. The sight of the two Dobers filled her with trepidation. Her belly ached from hunger and her eyes hurt from the constant light, but neither mattered when the cell door flew open. Her heart quickened. One guard carried a tray while the other kept his weapon primed on both prisoners. Neither woman moved. Toni focused on the guards’ actions, hoping to find a weakness she could exploit. Not that they were doing much. If their movements were repetitive, maybe she could find a way to take advantage. The guard with the tray, the one with the white streak in his hair, walked two paces into the room. His partner kept a clear view of the cell. White Streak placed the tray on the floor and took two steps backward. The cell door slammed shut. Khegh, they’re too alert. Not once had they turned their back on their prisoners.

  After the tray was removed, Toni broke the silence. “So, what are you, Colten’s ex-girlfriend?”

  “Ex-partner, actually.” If Berni was surprised by the question, she didn’t show it.

  Toni looked the other woman up and down. “I can see what he … saw in you.” If this woman was Colten’s type—tall and voluptuous—no wonder Toni hadn’t been able to keep his interest. Anger swelled in her chest like a live beast, snorting and pawing at her skin, desperate to get out. Toni locked eyes with Berni and was startled to see amusement in them.

  “We were the best.”

  “I’m sure you were.”

  “Dan said you had a temper.”

  “What else did he tell you?” Toni had to get out of here. Not only was she locked in a cell with a Cross, but a Cross who was his ex-partner. And an ex-partner who wanted to talk about feelings. Somehow, Toni didn’t think her day could get any worse. She rolled over on the grubby mattress and placed her head in her hands. Her shoulder ached in memory.

  Her worn mattress dipped as the other woman sat on the end of her bed. Berni tapped Toni’s leg. With great reluctance Toni opened her eyes, blinking up at the cell ceiling. Without her shades, she noted the green of the chelix gas mixed with the mercury gas inside the fixtures. In the rear left hand light, the mixture was off. The green was darker, almost emerald.

  “What are you staring at?”

  “The rear light gas mix is more chelix than mercury.”

  “What?” Berni lay down beside Toni on the bunk, almost lying on top of her. Toni scooted back, shooting a glare at the woman. It made no impact. “I can’t see it. There’s no color at all.”

  “I can.”

  Berni hitched up on one shoulder. “What?”

  “I see stuff. Good eyes.” It was an internal joke. Berni wouldn’t get it. Toni’s eyesight was terrible without her shades, except in useless circumstances such as this.

  “Explosive?”

  “Unfortunately, no.”

  Unable to think of a way to escape, Toni was bored. She turned to look at the other woman. Berni was staring at her. “What?”

  “How is Tone these days?”

  “Tone?” Toni didn’t raise her head. Her thoughts were circling around her partners. Had Mate managed to get Zach up and running?

  “You know, Antonio? Still Head of the SPT?”

  “You know Ant?” She called him Tone?

  “Ant? How cute. Yes, I know him. In fact, we were once quite close.”

  Toni stared at her cellmate. She didn’t want to ask, really she didn’t. Although imagining her boss’s face when she mentioned the smuggler drove her to find out more. “Tell me about … Tone?” she asked sweetly.

  “You two wanna cut the chatter and let a guy have a little peace?” shouted a voice through the back wall.

  Toni’s eye’s popped wide. She looked at Berni and saw a surprised expression that probably echoed her own. Toni rolled off the bed and moved closer to the wall. Her heart thumped unevenly. She pressed her ear to the cold surface.

  “Dan?” Berni called out.

  “Bern? I’m glad to hear you’re not dead,” the voice called back. “Jas sent me after you. She was worried when you activated the emergency messaging system.”

  Him. Toni would recognize that voice anywhere. Her day, in a matter of seconds, had gone from worse to a total disaster. She smacked her forehead against the wall several times.

  “Who’s in there with you, Bern? I can hear two voices, but I can’t pick ’em.”

  Berni leaned close to the wall next to Toni. In a sing-song voice she called, “Oh darling, it’s your worst nightmare.”

  “What is?”

  “Two of your ex-girlfriends trapped in a tiny room together.”

  “Well, that doesn’t narrow it down, Bern,” Colten replied.

  Berni laughed, and even Toni struggled to keep a smile off her face. Don’t flatter yourself. Aloud, she called, “Colten, I told you to stay out of my case!”

  “Toni?” There was a long pause. “I thought an ex and Berni together would be bad, but you and her …”

  “Sounds like your trip here wasn’t via the Princete cruise.” Toni told herself she didn’t care if he was hurt, but her practical side suggested an escape with three would be easier than with two. An escape with two and an injured third? Not so easy.

  “No. The manager of this proud establishment wanted a chat with his new tenant. I guess he didn’t like the answers I gave him.”

  “No doubt this manager will want a word with me eventually,” Toni muttered.

  “Probably,” Berni agreed. “He’s already had a chat with me. Left me this lovely fashion statement.” She gestured to her shirt sadly. “I paid good money for this.”

  Unlikely. The shirt looked like a cheap knock-off. Toni slumped down onto her bunk, knowing she should try to catch some sleep if she was about to get dragged off for interrogation. Just the thought of it clenched her stomach. She didn’t want to think about it. Flashes of what could happen popped into her mind anyway. Her nausea increased. Block it out.

  “Toni?” Colten called after a short while.

  “What?” She lay on her side, facing the back wall. Her eyes were closed, and she was trying to imagine somewhere warm th
at didn’t involve sand.

  “You were followed on Uxt. That’s how they knew about the locker.”

  “Who?”

  “The Nymph with the red hair.”

  Toni immediately pictured the woman Colten tried to seduce at The Reef. Vague impressions of red hair flashed through her mind. “Kheghing hell, I think I saw her several times … Wait a minute, you mean—”

  “Yep, she starred in my interrogation.”

  “That bitch.”

  “I got her number, remember?”

  Berni snorted.

  Toni rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. She napped for a while, surprising given the tension twisting her body. Her empty stomach woke her by complaining loudly.

  “She’s awake,” Berni called.

  “Hey, how’d you get caught?”

  Like she wanted to answer that. Though boasting about taking out two battleships would probably heal that embarrassment. No. You don’t boast about something like that. Unlike the many embellishments Berni put into her story, Toni kept hers brief. “Pulled out of forcedspace by an ATS. You?”

  His story was just as short. Debi had taken him out on Kyth-tact where Jas has sent him after tracking Berni to Uxt. He wasn’t sorry to hear the dock master had met her end in a nasty way.

  “You mean you walked straight into it?” Berni paced the length of the cell. “I thought I’d taught you better than that.” Stopping to stretch one long leg behind her back, she raised a brow at Toni’s look but didn’t comment.

  “I had other things on my mind,” he called back. “Toni, you have to get out of here.”

  Really? “Any thought as to how I do that? I’m meant to be on Midock protecting the Vice-President. I’m doing a fabulous job of that.”

  There was a pause before he said, “I forgot.”