by Autumn Dawn
He thought furiously. He’d already killed many of the “patients” the doctor had on Polaris, but that was not enough damage. He’d beggared the man, but it was not profound enough. As he thought about what was left, a cold, malicious smile dawned on his face. There was one thing.
Vio took out his com and dialed. Maybe Vhanee didn’t realize it, but Vio knew he had a soft spot for Brandy Harrisdaughter. He’d once mentioned her as an example of someone who could use the healing benefits—if there were any—of his drug. She fit the genetic profile of a successful candidate, and it hadn’t been an accident that Vio had given her a dose, disguised as medicine, of course. When it seemed she’d left it untouched, he’d even arranged a second dose in a club, at the good doctor’s insistence. He’d gone out of his way for that conniving fiend. Now he was going to pay for betraying him.
Someone picked up on the other line. “State your business.”
Vio smiled. “I have someone for you to kill.”
It was tricky, dodging Gem’s pointed questions, but Brandy managed it by saying she was going to look for a navigator with Azor. Staying in her room would make it too easy for Gem to corner her, and she couldn’t think of anything she’d rather do, anyway.
Of course, looking for a navigator meant she’d decided to travel with Azor. Gem had plenty to say about that, too. “So, what? He kisses you a few more times and suddenly you decide it’s a good idea to trip across the solar system with him?” she demanded. “Just what are you basing your decisions on, anyway?”
“Nag, nag, nag! You’re upset if I go with him. You’re grouchy if don’t. There’s no pleasing you when you’re pregnant,” Brandy had shot back. Gem was right, of course, which only made her grumpy, too. There was no good and logical reason why she should choose Azor’s ship over some other mode of travel. Doing so would only encourage those kisses he was so freely handing out. She shot a secret glance at him.
She’d never claimed to be smart.
The spaceship yards were set farther inland, in the industrial area, a far cry from the touristy beach. The traffic was congested even in the early afternoon, and there was a great deal of scrubby growth mixed in with light, coppery colored dirt. She preferred the ordered gardens; the long stretches of carefully cultivated trees that lined the roads to the resort. With her desire for order, she probably wasn’t colonist material. She didn’t mind.
Azor parked their rented transport in the lot and held the door open for her as she eased onto the hot pavement. It was muggy and hot here, the air redolent with the sharp tang of starship fuel. It made her nose itch. Hoping to suppress a sneeze, she wrinkled it and looked around. Since the area was designed for function, not beauty, there wasn’t much in the way of scenery; ships departing and arriving were the main attraction. She could see freight being moved to the loading area, and crews busy with maintenance. “Tell me again why we need this navigator?”
He waved his hand toward a battered gray building. “Would you leave your valuable freight locked up and never check on it? Our bodies are too valuable for that.”
“Granted, by why would someone want to hire on just to baby sit why we sleep? I can’t imagine anything more dull.”
“For you. There are other beings that enjoy journeys like that. The solitude pleases them.” They entered the building and went up to the counter in the foyer. Azor looked at the secretary. “I have an appointment to look over your navigators.”
The secretary had bumpy yellow skin and the long, thin body of a cartoon chicken. She looked bored as she handed Azor a card. She pointed across the hall. “Through that door, please.” She went back to picking at the floppy red feathers that sprouted from her head.
Brandy didn’t have the chance to ask what race she represented before they were in a hallway with several booths. Each booth had a counter with two stools before it. Behind each counter sat a Guok.
Guoka were flabby white bipedals who looked like sacks of walking jelly. She knew little about them, save for the fact that their vomit rivaled sewer sludge. They’d rented a room once to an intoxicated Guok who’d puked on the bed sheets. The acid had eaten a hole in the linen and halfway through the mattress. Xera, who’d been in charge of the maids, had been livid.
Brandy wrinkled her nose, but held her peace. Presumably Azor knew what he was doing.
The Guoka spoke with curiously flat, nasal voices, and rarely made eye contact. One spoke while playing a handheld game. Another bounced a ball mindlessly, over and over. Another fidgeted constantly. All of them had rather blank expressions. She preferred the one with the game. For her, it was the least annoying habit, but after meeting them, she couldn’t understand why Azor was so hot to have one on his ship.
She waited until they left the room, and then voiced her doubts in the lobby. “I’m having reservations about this.”
He smiled slightly. “They are like an autistic human, Bran; terribly good at one thing, but not the most social. Trust me, the Guok know navigation inside and out, and won’t deviate from protocol. You want to see an agitated Guok? Try to vary routine. It’s just how they are.”
“Autistic, huh?”
“Yes. Their senses are over-stimulated planet-side, and they’re terribly brilliant. They prefer the restfulness of space.”
She gave a short sigh. “Okay, but if he gets sick, you’re cleaning it up.” She ignored his quizzical look to nod at the clerk. “So do we sign a contract, or what?” Now that she’d determined to travel with him, she was impatient to leave. The weeks of inactivity were slowly driving her mad.
“I’ll take care of it. Why don’t you call your sister and see if she’s decided where she wants to meet for dinner?”
She wasn’t very excited by the prospect of another large meal. If she kept eating like this, soon she wouldn’t fit through the ship’s cargo door. With a sigh, she pulled out her com and called her sister to finalize their plans for the evening.
Large, dark eyes set in a gaunt, wrinkled gray face watched as Brandy and Azor entered their transport and drove away from the office. Its voice was rough as it spoke into its transceiver. “Yes, they just left. I’ll find out their departure date inside.”
The smooth voice of his client was unruffled, cultured. “You’ll take the navigator’s place, of course.”
The Hatir licked his lips idly with a brown, forked tongue. “He’s dinner tonight.” There was more than one way for the shape shifter to absorb DNA. He’d never tasted Guok before. “They’ll never know the difference.” He was a superb actor, a skilled assassin. They would be dead before they knew it. “I’ll wait a couple of days and arrange an accident. I’ll dock and slip away before anyone thinks to detain me.”
“No. I want something else now.”
“Oh?” The Hatir was annoyed. He didn’t like clients who couldn’t make up their minds. He’d once killed one in irritation who’d tried to back out at the last moment.
“They’re going to see her sister, Ambassador Xera. I want her dead, too. Kill her first. I want Brandy to see it happen. You’ll enjoy the challenge,” he coaxed, when the Hatir remained silent.
That was true, but “challenge” was an understatement. The Ambassador’s adopted people weren’t known to be fools, or easy on enemies. It would take extraordinary measures to survive long enough to collect his fee. Though perhaps…there might be others who would like to see her dead? Would any of her old employers care to see her disappear? From what he’d heard, she’d caused them a great deal of trouble. They might offer a handsome reward.
The idea excited him. The hunt and the money were the only things that mattered. They were his obsession. “It will cost you.”
“Of course. It will be worth it. Do this and you can name your price.” He laughed bitterly. “Better you have it. I won’t need it soon.”
The Hatir purred in contentment. “Done. I want payment in advance on this one. You know which account. I’ll contact you once they’re in cold sleep.” He signed off and
contemplated the office building where his dinner waited. He had plans to make.
CHAPTER 11
Brandy scrolled through her messages while Azor drove. She hadn’t expected to find one from Vio Srie. She hadn’t talked to the vintner in weeks, and wondered if there was a problem with his shipment. Their business managers should have been able to handle anything that came up, but Vio liked to be personal with his business. She sent off a quick text inquiry, rather pleased to have some business to distract her. Her email had been sadly mundane lately.
She was surprised to receive a call back almost immediately. “Brandy! You’re off world? I hadn’t heard. Business or pleasure?” Vio’s rich voice inquired.
She smiled. “There’s no pleasure like good business, is there, Vio? What can I do for you?”
He laughed. “Did your sister harass you into taking a vacation? You sound grumpy about it.”
She made a non-committal noise. “I’ll survive.” Sometimes he’d get to the point if she didn’t encourage him.
“Ah, youth. So impatient. But there, you are young, and perhaps with someone more handsome than myself. I won’t trouble you with things I could speak with your manager about. One thing, though; are you still planning to attend the Vintner’s Gala? We’re drawing up a special guest list for a celebration dinner when we win the award for best new wine.”
She smiled, amused. It was arrogant of him to assume he’d win, but he had taken the trophy for the last three years. She rather admired his moxie. “Not this time. I’ll be traveling for a while yet. Give my regrets to your wife.” Vio was a bit of a playboy. It never hurt to remind him he had a wife.
The connection wasn’t the best, and encouraged him to finish up. “Ah, well. Happy journeys, then. Siayat.”
“Siayat.” She hung up.
“Business acquaintance?” Azor asked, glancing at her.
“Vio Srie. He’s preparing a guest list for an award he hasn’t won yet. You’ve got to admire his brass; though I’d like to see him get monkey slapped at least once. It’d be good for him. He does like to gloat.”
“Hm.”
She glanced at him suspiciously. “I hear an odd note in your voice.”
“You’re a good judge of character.”
“Why? What do you know about Vio?”
“Him? Not much. I arrested his son for drug trafficking, though.”
She laughed incredulously. “Vio will want your blood.”
He shrugged. “I’m not worried...though you know I bleed green, don’t you?”
She did a double, startled, then laughed. “Very funny. Turn here. The GPS says there’s a traffic jam ahead.” He could see that for himself, but she loved to needle him. Served him right for the green blood joke.
He just smiled…and introduced her as his girlfriend to the hostess when they entered the restaurant.
She waited until they were seated at their reserved table before she called him on it. “Just because I’m traveling with you doesn’t make me your girl.”
“It doesn’t?” he asked absently as he studied the appetizer menu. “But how will we explain our kissing?”
She coughed. “Once or twice counts as an aberration, I think.” Okay, so the number of times had steadily climbed up there. Depressing his aspirations made her feel more in control of her own slipping morals, though.
His eyes smiled his menu. “I’ll try to remember that when I kiss you goodnight.”
She remained silent, studying him. They needed to talk about this. He was making assumptions, and all she had to do to let him take this further was to do nothing. She’d learned enough about him over the last few weeks to understand that he was not an easy man to dissuade. Ignoring the issue wouldn’t make it go away.
They were seated on a deck overlooking the ocean. A wall formed of rough boulders as tall as her chin and wide enough to walk on protected the sidewalk from the ocean. As the tide came in, it splashed impressively over the wall and wet the sidewalk in a playful display. The water glimmered in the old fashioned streetlights and the three-quarter moon. She was more fascinated by its rhythm than the ships in the harbor. For her, they were just backdrop.
She waited until they’d placed their order for drinks and appetizers before she spoke to Azor. “It seems that I’m attracted to you.”
“Your tone of voice implies that this is not cause for rejoicing,” he said dryly.
She allowed a small smile, but said seriously, “It’s difficult, but I’ll do you the honor of believing you meant it when you told my family you were courting me.”
“Thank you,” he replied, still dry.
“And yet,” she said doggedly, “We have little in common. We’ve never discussed this issue. I don’t even know if you have any living family. I know so little about you.”
“Do you have a questionnaire? I’m afraid I didn’t bring a pen,” he said, but he looked more wry than annoyed. He thanked the waiter for their drinks and the wooden platter of delicacies he brought. “Just a moment,” he said, and answered his com. “It’s for you.” He passed to Brandy.
“Sorry, sis,” Gem apologized. “The baby is sick; nothing serious, just some tummy trouble. We took him to the doctor, and it seems to be just a passing bug. We won’t be able to make it, though.”
Brandy frowned. “It’s no problem. Take care that you don’t get sick, too.” They exchanged assurances and she hung up. She gave the com back to Azor. “They can’t make it.”
“I gathered that. I don’t mind. I’m not sure I’d want an audience for this discussion, anyway.” He popped a spiral of fried vegetable in his mouth and chewed while he regarded her. When he was done, he said easily, “I have no family. My mother is dead. It happened years ago.” A shadow passed over his face, but he didn’t let it stop him from reaching for a bright green berry.
She studied him. “Your father? Who was he?”
He looked out over the deck, rolling the berry absently in his hand. He was silent for some time. “My mother was raped,” he said finally. “It was a random thing; she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was caught, we know his identity, but I’ve never used his name as mine, of course.”
She drew a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
He shrugged. “I don’t talk about it. Anyway, it’s the sort of thing you should know.”
She nodded, but didn’t offer platitudes. He wouldn’t want them.
After a moment, he went on. “She kept me, of course. She believed that every life is precious, no matter how I came to be. Obviously, I’m grateful.” He made a face. “It took me a while to show her my appreciation, though. I’ve made my share of…mistakes.”
“Is that why you became a cop?”
He looked at his drink and flagged down the waiter. “I’ll have a beer, please. Make it two.” At her look of surprise, for he rarely ordered anything stronger than caffeine, he said, “Some discussions call for something stronger than juice.” He was silent a moment, then told her, “I actually was a stripper in my late teens, early twenties. My mom was sick and couldn’t work, and I couldn’t afford to go to school during the day and still pay the bills. I created Azure to hide my identity. She never knew.”
Brandy considered him. “When you were pretending to be Azure, you said it was your sister who was sick. She had kids.”
“It was my mom,” he said firmly. “I was an only child. Anyway, she died just before I graduated. I got my degree and joined the police force, went through the academy. They had good retirement.” He looked at her curiously. “You seem to be taking this well. I thought you’d start questioning what else I could have done.”
She shrugged. “In a way, we already covered this. Besides, it’d be unfair to accept it about Azure and hold it against you.
“To be honest, I was kind of glad Azure wasn’t too respectable. It put us on more equal ground.”
His smile was crooked. “A stripper on equal ground with a heiress? In what world?”
She gave him an even look. “You know what I mean. I make whisky for a living. Not all men appreciate that.” Not the ones looking for wives, anyway.
“Your family runs a respectable business. No one holds that against you,” he said firmly.
Warmed by his support, she said, “Anyway. You ended up on Polaris. Or were you raised there?”
He shook his head. “Nozjin. It wasn’t a bad place, but it wasn’t home after mom died. Work brought me to Polaris around the same time Blue arrived there. I was investigating drug smuggling,” he said with a wry smile. He didn’t have to remind her that it was investigation of The Spark that brought him.
She made a low sound of annoyance, but let it pass. “Why did you stay?”
He accepted a beer from the waiter and took a drink. “It was a decent little planet. I was offered a job and decided to stay a while. It worked out well.” He looked at her meaningfully.
“And then you woke up one day and decided to pursue me,” she said tartly. “Because of course, I’m completely irresistible.”
“No. I spent the first few years thinking you were a temperamental little witch. I let it slide, since I figured you thought you had cause. Besides, Blue and I were friends, and you were his sister in law.” He said it lightly, but it was obvious he was serious. He really hadn’t liked her.
Her eyes narrowed. His description was hardly flattering. “And when did the bolt of lightning strike?”
“I don’t know. Guys don’t analyze this stuff, you know. We leave that to you.” He took another drink. “I’m getting hives just talking about it.”
She exhaled softly, amused. He looked healthy enough to her. “You want to marry a woman who gives you hives?”
He looked at her seriously. “You’re loyal to your family, good with kids. You’re a hard worker, mostly honest—“
