“Go home.” Iza gave her new friend a light push toward the door. It seemed to work, as she turned and slowly made her way out while guests rushed past her toward their own transports.
Iza headed up the stairs. She hoped rather than believed the thieves hadn’t bothered with the guest rooms.
—
By the time she reached her room, Iza had a sinking feeling. All of the doors leading to her suite were flung open and the contents of the rooms were spilling out into the hall. It appeared anything small and valuable had been taken, no doubt to be sold for credits within a day.
When Iza reached her suite, the door was open like the others. She cautiously stepped inside and surveyed the damage. Most of the furniture had been turned over, and a handful of small items were missing.
A light whimper from behind the bathroom door made Iza’s heart leap into her chest. She cracked open the door and the dog almost leaped into her arms. He continued to whimper and lick at her face.
“Sorry about that, boy. You did your best. You probably have a strong bite but they had pulse rifles.”
Whoever had gone through her room had been thorough. Even the decorative pillows from the bed were on the floor along with the bedding
The sphere had been in its box inside the nightstand. When she reached for the drawer and found it missing, she wasn’t surprised. It was an organized, timed effort and the crew had been efficient.
Her backpack underneath the bed had been opened but her clothes were of no value and remained inside.
She was dressed and ready to leave in under five minutes. The bag felt lighter and empty without the sphere, but this wasn’t the time to worry about it. She’d go after Douketis and get what was hers.
She raced for the front doors with the dog bounding after her.
When she reached the foyer, her path was barred by Investigator Desirae Hyttinen. She was trying to round up the guests again and keep them all from leaving. Iza swore as she bolted to the side.
Desirae didn’t seem to notice her in all the chaos, but more Enforcers were arriving. They were directing the guests into the other rooms and away from the crime scene. Iza had to get out of there or she’d be kept with the rest of the guests and questioned for hours while the Iron Dog got away.
Iza debated for a second about telling the Enforcers about the Iron Dog, but she didn’t have evidence to prove that it was Douketis behind the job. He’d been at the party and Reis had been with him, but other than the Iron Dog being in orbit, she couldn’t be sure. Viper was with them, as well, which could mean it was more than one crew making out on the robbery. It made sense considering how many moving parts were involved and the number of rooms that had been searched in such a short time.
No, with all the bureaucracy involved when dealing with the Enforcers, she’d be much better off on her own.
Now, if she could only get past Desirae without being spotted. Fortunately, Karter’s arrival provided just the opportunity she needed to make her exit with the dog. He saw the problem immediately, it seemed, because not only did he lead the distraction, he made sure that Desirae’s back was to the door. Iza heard him speaking as she slipped past them.
“I want them to pay for this. Bring the criminals to me.”
“Of course, I’m sorry that your party was ruined.” Desirae didn’t sound sorry. Iza wondered if Karter had heard the false note in her response.
“I’ll be away while all of this gets sorted out. If you have any questions for me, I’ll be happy to answer them.”
“You may need to come in, but for now, I won’t hold you. I know how to contact you.”
Iza was outside by the time Karter spoke his next words. She didn’t look back as she ran for her shuttle.
Karter wasn’t far behind her, and he caught up to her midway down the path to the line of transports waiting to transport guests home.
His handheld signaled, and he answered it without hesitation. The voice of the speaker carried in cold night air. “Karter, where are you? The Enforcers are trying to get a statement from everyone, but you and your bride are nowhere to be found.”
“Don’t worry Mother, I’ll be safe. You should leave the estate but don’t go home. It might be safer for you if you stayed at our cottage instead.”
“The cottage? A woman of my station can hardly be seen socializing with country folk at that cottage,” she said with disdain.
Karter shook his head. “Have it your way, Mother. I’ll be out of touch for a bit while I get my affairs in order. Take care of yourself.”
“I always do,” she said then ended the call.
Iza snatched the handheld from him and threw it onto the pavement. A credit to its design, it didn’t shatter into a million pieces as she’d thought it would.
Karter blinked at her. “What did you do that for?”
She spoke to him as she would a confused child. “Someone is trying to kill you or abduct you. We can’t take the risk that your devices aren’t being tracked.”
“Can’t I just disable—”
“Not good enough.” She picked up the device and smashed it against the rocks ringing a bush next to the path.
“You enjoyed that,” Karter commented.
Iza couldn’t argue with that.
When they reached her shuttle, the hatch opened. Iza climbed inside and the dog hopped in after her. Jovani was in the pilot’s chair and Cierra was seated beside him.
Iza saw the tension in Jovani’s shoulders when Karter climbed aboard. He stared from her to Karter, his expression cold. He lifted the shuttle off the ground.
“Some party you throw there,” Cierra said. It seemed she was doing her best to diffuse the tension, and Iza was grateful.
“I assure you, the robbery was not intended to be the entertainment,” Karter said. “About the robbery— Wait, what did you do to my shuttle?” He glanced around the interior of the craft.
“It was never yours. You were a salesman and you sold it to me years ago.” At the time, the small craft had been filled with useless finishes that interfered with her ability to fit more cargo. Though its exposed components, wiring, and mismatched furnishings might now look rough around the edges to someone stuffy like Karter, her modifications had made the vessel far more functional for her needs.
Karter folded his arms with a huff as he leaned back on the bench seat.
There were more Enforcer patrol craft circling the area around Blue Hills Estate. Iza wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone else that evening.
“Slow and steady,” Iza said to Jovani’s back, “we don’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves or they’ll never let us leave.”
"If you’d bothered to take care of this shuttle, it wouldn’t look like an outer colony criminal was trying to get away with something,” Karter muttered.
Iza rounded on him. “You don’t get to have an opinion about my things. I’ve owned this shuttle outright for years, like the Verity is mine now, too. If you want to complain about the scorch marks on the hull, well you can thank yourself, because some of your shadier dealings have had a tendency to get me shot at.” She pointed to one of the patches on the interior bulkhead. “When that happened, I believe your response to the situation was something along the lines of, ‘You’re on your own’.”
“I see.” Karter crossed his arms. “Well, you assured me I’d be safer with you, but from the damage to this shuttle, I’m not so sure that’s true. As I was about to say before, do you really think the robbery was about the items or about me?”
“I’m not sure, but I plan to get back the items those thieves stole, and I expect to be paid for my work. If anything happens to you, I won’t get what I want, so I’ll be keeping you very safe,” Iza said with a wink.
Karter cleared his throat and turned to Cierra. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure.” He turned over his palm in formal greeting and she returned it.
“Cierra Quetzali, Healer.”
“Ah, of course.
You were the one who cared for Jovani before he was turned over to my team.”
Iza saw Jovani’s back straighten. Something more must have happened between them while he’d been seeing the doctors on Beurias, though she couldn’t imagine what Karter would want with him.
Jovani managed to pilot the shuttle to the Verity without a word or glance behind him.
There was no way for her to explain to Jovani her reasons for being engaged to Karter. Karter had virtually tied her hands in that department. Bomaxed contract. What does Karter hope to gain by driving me away from Jovani?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Once the shuttle was docked on the Verity, it was time to get down to business. “Jovani, secure the shuttle and meet me on the flight deck,” Iza instructed as she opened the shuttle’s exit hatch.
“Yes, Captain.”
Ouch, and there it is. She’d expected him to be angry and this was the result. She already missed hearing him say her name.
Iza reasoned with herself a moment. She couldn’t tell him everything, but some of the truth would be better than nothing.
I could say something like: ‘So, I want to introduce you all to my fiancé. Yes, I hate him but we’re getting married.’ No, that doesn’t sound right.
Iza led the way off to the shuttle with Karter falling behind at his casual speed. Karter never seemed to move with any hurry, and running didn’t seem to be in his skill set. The dog lagged behind, sniffing the cargo hold for unfamiliar scents.
“Cierra, it’s best you join us on the flight deck,” Iza said. “What I have to say concerns you, too. Karter, try to keep up.”
As soon as the group entered the flight deck, Braedon turned around in his usual seat. “Wait, what’s he doing here?” He eyed Karter.
“He’s with me,” she said simply. “Trix, I can’t believe it’s you.” Iza moved to her friend, looking into her eyes to make sure she was back.
“I am functioning normally, though there are gaps in my internal clock.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get it all sorted out. I’m just glad you’re back to you.”
“I’m incapable of being anyone else.”
Iza smiled. “That’s true.”
“May I ask about your engagement to Karter?” Trix tilted her head.
“I’ll get to that soon enough. It’s not a long story.”
“What? Just tell us it’s fake.” Braedon stared at her wide-eyed. “You hate him. I’m pretty sure you hate him. Maybe hate is a strong word, but, no, I’m pretty sure you hated him,” Braedon rambled. He was talking so much there was no way to get a word in. She waited for him to finish.
“It’s complicated,” she said.
“In the past, you have remarked, ‘He’s such a conniving weasel. Remind me not to underestimate that parasite.’” Trix imitated Iza’s voice perfectly.
“That’s an insult to the parasite community,” Jovani commented under his breath.
“Who happens to be my fiancé,” Iza reminded everyone, keeping her tone gentle.
“Still here.” Karter gave a slight wave of his hand.
“Would you like me to find him an empty cabin or will he be lodging with you?” Cierra asked.
Iza raised an eyebrow. “Look who’s suddenly full of jokes. I’ll worry about Karter’s accommodations. We have some things to discuss beforehand. It’s best that we’re all together for this, including you.”
“Is he going to be with us for a while?” Braedon asked with a disdainful glance at Karter’s satchel.
“It’s undecided, and like I said—complicated. Moving on. Were you able to track the Iron Dog before they jumped?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
Iza’s hands dropped to her sides. They were too late.
“I did, however, find another way to track where they’re headed,” Braedon said, sitting back with his legs outstretched and his hands behind his head.
“Well, out with it!” Iza groaned.
“People dealing with stolen goods need to off-load it, and fast. While you were heading back here, I did some digging. I found a suspicious auction going down in several days, and up for grabs are some pieces that may interest us. For example, dynastic heirlooms, jewels, rings, necklaces, earrings of all kinds. In the mix are some pulse rifles. There aren’t pictures of anything, but it certainly sounds like the kind of stuff taken tonight, and likely the weapons used in the heist.’”
“That does sound like our stuff,” Iza assessed. “Do you have a location?”
“Yes. If we start now, we can use the conventional jump drive to keep up appearances and still make it to Hubyria a day early.”
“What do you mean by ‘conventional jump drive’?” Karter asked. “As opposed to…?”
Iza ignored him. “Hubyria? Why in the world would they host an auction on that barren rock?”
“I’ll admit I’ve had occasion to pass by during one of Hubyria’s auctions,” said Braedon. “The items are genuine, unique, the guest list is limited, and their sales discreet.”
“I see. I take it you know all of this from personal experience?” she asked.
Braedon gave her a significant look. “I have a past. We all do.”
Iza had been wondering why Braedon had been to the mining colony before. It also went a long way to explain how Yeaga had been able to fund the miner’s rebellion. Iza had always suspected that those sorts of underground dealings were more common in the Outer Colonies than anyone realized. People had been living on the edge, just trying to get by, for a long time. Any side income steams—especially those that didn’t get reported to the central authorities—could make life a lot more comfortable.
“Plot a course to Hubyria,” Iza instructed.
“Wait, didn’t you hear me?” Braedon scoffed. “Sometimes I feel like you’re just ignoring half of everything I say. This proves it. Is it because I’m younger than you?”
Iza put her hands on her hips and waited for him to get to the point, knowing that an interruption would only lengthen the delay.
He got the hint. “This event is invite only, and we’re not on the list.”
“But you can get us on the list,” Jovani said. He seemed to have perked up at the revelation about Hubyria having an underground auction house.
“Of course, I can.” Braedon threw up his hands in the air as if insulted. “The thing is, we don’t have enough credits to get a buy-in, and that’s the only way in after they’ve sent the invitations out. So unless you’ve got ten thousand credits lying around, we’re going to have to find another way in.”
“You’ll have your credits to get in, and enough for a plus one,” Karter offered.
Braedon raised his eyebrows and looked to Iza for confirmation. Good, she didn’t want Karter getting any ideas about telling her people what to do.
“Do it.”
“You’ve got it,” Braedon said. “I’ll request two buy-ins. We should have our answer by the time we arrive.” He paused. “Wait a minute, pictures of the party are just hitting the Sensationals. Wow, Iz, your body is amazing in that dress! Please tell me you kept it.”
—
As soon as they were in route, Iza made the choice to begin disseminating pertinent information. She took a deep breath and looked around at everyone in the room.
“As you know, Karter is the owner and sole proprietor of Apex Manufacturing Enterprises. Apex is a subsidiary of DGE and has afforded many captains with the opportunity to earn their ships. Karter gave me such an opportunity with the Verity.” True. “During that time, not only did I learn he was an excellent businessman, but he would make an excellent match for me.” Lie. “We were engaged shortly after and now our engagement is public.”
Iza kept her voice monotone and businesslike. Even with the lies, she felt like getting everything out in the open had lifted a weight off her chest. Then she saw the look on Jovani’s face and she wanted to curl into a ball and hide. The betrayal and disappointment were clear.
�
��That being said, we decided on our private engagement before I knew any of you.” Lie. “I apologize for the deception, but it was in our best interest that the news not be public until we wanted to.” Truth. “Now that you all know, you will understand my reasons for wanting to keep Karter safe.”
She’d done her best to keep the truths and the lies straight and hoped she’d sounded at least half-convincing. Though she knew it would be a hard story for anyone to accept.
Iza waited for Trix to ask her inevitable question.
“You once said Karter was a snake that could never be trusted. Have you since changed your opinion of him?” She never disappointed her.
“Ouch.” Karter rubbed his chest as if stabbed in the heart.
“Heat of the moment,” she said.
“I’m offended.”
Iza looked up to see Jovani staring back at her. She told the truth. “Nobody’s perfect.”
She took another deep breath, resting her fists on her hips, then changed her mind and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Before we reach the Iron Dog, there’s something you should know. When I originally purchased the Verity, I found something in the hold in a compartment behind the stairs.” Iza glanced up and caught Braedon’s eye. His mouth fell open in understanding.
“Yeah, I didn’t mention it before because, well, it was none of your business. All sales being final and all that. I figured whatever it was might fetch a good price at some point. It was a small box made of an organic material like wood. I couldn’t get it open for the longest time, but then one day it opened. A little sphere made of metal, like nothing I’ve ever seen before, popped out. I kept it hidden at first because I didn’t know it had any significance. That was before Mr. Arvonen caught up to us.”
“Stars! You’ve had the map this whole time?” Braedon shook his head. “You’ve known about it from the beginning?”
Divided Loyalties (Verity Chronicles Book 2): A Cadicle Space Opera Adventure Page 12
