“Expelled from our planet of origin,” I muse as we come to a halt outside the docking station.
“Something like that,” Velkan says.
We climb out and make our way over to the security gate. Velkan scans his holographic reentry stamp first.
“Access denied,” an electronic voice announces.
He quickly scans it again, but the voice repeats the same message.
Fear spikes inside me. I throw a darting glance around the station, searching for Minders. Did someone turn Velkan in as a serf in hiding? Surely not Ayma?
Velkan frowns. “Try yours.”
I step forward and wave my hand over the interface.
“Access denied.”
My blood chills. “Someone must have ratted us out,” I whisper to Velkan.
“Let’s find out.” He grabs my hand and marches up to the control booth.
“How may I be of assistance today?” an android asks.
“We need our holographic entry stamps reactivated,” Velkan says. “We’re trying to get back to the Zebulux and for some reason, we’re being denied access.”
“Checking.” The android studies the screen in front of him before shifting his features into an expression of regret. “I’m sorry. The Zebulux departed port an hour ago.”
29
My first thought is that the android is mistaken, but then they never are. Almost immediately a sinking feeling drags me down a shaft of despair.
I turn to Velkan and see the same stricken look on his face.
“Sarth!” he says, his voice thick and faltering.
My stomach roils in response. “Do you think Buir and Ghil are on board?” I whisper.
He swallows hard but doesn’t answer me, sending my mounting trepidation spiraling into full-blown panic. “What about the crew?” I ask the android. “Did they depart with the ship? And don’t tell me you’re checking, just tell me where they are.”
“Checking.”
I shut my eyes and take a deep breath, conjuring up the two most likely scenarios, both of which are horrendous. Sarth and Crank kidnapped Buir and Ghil, or they killed them. Buir and Ghil would never leave of their own accord without us.
“No further information available,” the android replies, fixing a frosty gaze on me. “Next in line.”
I narrow my eyes at the android, but Velkan places a restraining hand on my arm. “Let’s get out of here,” he whispers. “We don’t want him alerting a Minder.”
I turn away from the booth, my thoughts swirling in a storm of emotions. I gulp back a sob jammed halfway up my windpipe.
“It’s going to be all right, Trattora.” Velkan guides me through the crowd as I blink back tears.
“How can you say that?” I snap back. “I’ve lost everything that matters to me; my best friend, the dargonite, the ship—any hope I had of saving Cwelt.”
He turns to look at me, his tender eyes moist with his own pain. “I’m still here, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”
Tears trickle freely down my cheeks. “I know, and you matter too, it’s just …”
“You don’t have to say anything, I understand what it is to speak from a place of pain.”
I wipe the tears from beneath my eyes, his quiet strength helping me calm my thoughts and think more clearly. “We need to find out if Buir and Ghil are still on board. That android knows exactly how many people departed on the Zebulux. There must be some reason he isn’t telling us.”
“Maybe.” Velkan casts a quick glance around the station. “But someone else might be willing to tell us, with a little persuasion.”
“Like who?”
“Follow me,” he says, making his way over to an elderly uniformed man seated next to a booth with a view screen inset.
“What’s he doing?” I ask.
“Trash detection,” Velkan replies. “He scans everyone going in and out. If anyone knows what goes on here, it’s him.”
“He’s the first old person I’ve seen since we docked,” I say.
Velkan grimaces. “Trash detection is a form of community service for offenders, one step above being sent to a penal colony. He’s ineligible for dermal sculpting due to his criminal record.”
Velkan walks casually up to the man and gives a polite nod. “Busy here today.”
The man lets out a snort of disgust. “These foreigners don’t use the trash vaporization chutes before exiting the station like they’re supposed to. Next thing you know, something crawling with germs falls out of their pocket on Aristozonex and the Sanitation Unit is on my case.”
Suddenly, the screen lights up and beeps. The elderly man flicks a switch with a metal finger and deploys a recycle drone which shoots out and hovers over the offending party. Please step away to the vaporization chute. Please step away to the vaporization chute. Please step away to the vaporization chute.
Velkan gives a sympathetic shake of his head. “It’s not as if there aren’t enough holographic postings of the rules.”
The elderly man curls a wrinkled lip at Velkan. “Half of these traders from primitive planets can’t read.”
I open my mouth to give him an earful but Velkan’s grip on my hand tightens, warning me not to dampen any rapport he is building.
“Yeah, you never know who these ships are bringing in,” Velkan replies. “I bet you get all kinds.”
The man throws a furtive glance over at the security gate and then leans across to Velkan. “Just this morning, Minders dragged a Syndicate fugitive off one of those foreign vessels that’s been parked here for the past couple of days.”
“A fugitive!” Velkan shakes his head, feigning disgust. “How did they know he was on the ship?”
The man’s eyes crinkle with delight at an interested audience. “Word is he stole the ship from the captain and she tracked him here. Mean-looking woman in a silver cloak, and her engineer was a beast.” The man laughs, low and rumbling, wagging his metal finger at us. “The last ship that fugitive will see will be the one that hauls him off to the penal colonies.”
“I think I saw that captain and her engineer earlier.” Velkan paints a puzzled look on his face. “Didn’t they have a young girl with them, probably crew?”
The elderly man frowns, a look of displeasure crossing his face at the possibility that he missed something. He extends his metal finger and scratches the back of his neck. “I don’t recall seeing her.”
Velkan shrugs. “I’m probably thinking of someone else. Hard to keep track with all these people coming and going.”
The screen lights up and beeps again and the elderly man’s interest switches to the offending trader. “Hey!” he yells, flicking a switch to deploy another recycle drone. “Don’t you know what a trash vaporization chute is?”
Velkan gives me a subtle nod and we slip away into the crowd.
“Buir must be on the Zebulux with them.” My voice trembles so hard the words come out slurred.
“We don’t know that. Maybe she managed to escape and hide somewhere in the docking station,” Velkan says. “Or on one of the other ships. We’ll figure out a way to get back inside the station. But first, we have to find Ghil before he’s conscripted. If he can tell us where Buir is, that will save us time looking for her.”
“Minder Brivardo will know where they took Ghil,” I say. “We can bribe him with the rest of the credits Stefanov loaded on my CipherSync.”
We hail a LevCab and ride in silence to the Minder Depot. I’m not sure how happy Brivardo’s going to be to see me again so soon after exchanging parting threats. He’s leery of the increasing risk of selling classified information, and if I arouse suspicions at the station by showing up again too soon, we could both end up being investigated.
My heart thuds as we pull up outside the station. “Wait here,” I say to Velkan. “As soon as I find out where they’re holding Ghil, I’ll be back.”
“Offer him however many credits it takes,” Velkan says, holding my gaze.
&nbs
p; I nod. “After everything Ghil’s done for us, I won’t let him down when he needs me most.”
Velkan squeezes my fingers softly as they slip through his. I climb out of the LevCab and make my way inside the building, savoring the comforting touch of his hand. If this doesn’t go well in here, at least there’s one person who will come looking for me.
“I’m here to see Minder Brivardo again.” I smile down at the surly clerk. “A follow-up to my last meeting. Tell him it’s Trattora.”
The clerk repeats what I said into her CipherSync in an irked tone. After a minute, she gives me a curt nod. “He’ll see you. You know where to go.”
“Thank you.”
She buzzes me through the security door, and I walk briskly down the corridor toward Brivardo’s office, my pulse drumming in my temples.
He looks up nervously when I come in, half rising out of his chair. The door slides closed behind me. “Sit, sit. Why are you back? You didn’t discuss our meeting with anyone, did you?” He mops his brow with the cuff of his uniform, blinking rapidly. “Do you suspect you’re being surveilled?”
“I need more information,” I say.
“I gave you everything I could access on that case.” Brivardo lowers his voice. “It was classified. That bracelet was stolen from the Syndicate Fleet Commander’s house.”
I shake my head. “Different information. A fugitive was arrested today at the docking station. I need to know where they took him.”
Brivardo scratches his temple, clearly agitated. “Why do you care about a fugitive?”
I hesitate. It’s too risky to tell him the truth. If he knows I was involved in harboring a fugitive, he might be tempted to turn me in for the reward. I need to use his greed against him. I lean across the desk. “He boasted to another captain in the dock that he knows of a dargonite mine on a planet outside the jurisdiction of the Syndicate. Naturally, I’m interested. You?”
The covetous flicker in Brivardo’s eyes is unmistakable. “How do you know he was telling the truth?”
“That kind of talk gets you arrested around here. It’s not the kind of thing people typically lie about.”
A sheen of sweat appears on Brivardo’s forehead. I can tell he’s wrestling with the decision.
“Are you in?” I ask. “You get paid up front for the information, fifty-fifty split on the back end if we locate the mine.”
“What makes you think he’ll tell you where it is?” Brivardo asks.
“Not tell me, show me.” I arch a brow at him. “My crew is going to help him escape.” I’m not sure if Velkan technically counts as crew, but it sounds better than admitting to Brivardo that Velkan is all the help I have left.
Brivardo furrows his brow. “You’ve a ship lined up to get him out of here?”
“Yes,” I lie. Had a ship. That part I need to figure out all over again.
Brivardo drums his fingers on the desk. “You realize this decision could cost me my life.”
“Or leave you set for life,” I point out, with a seductive grin.
He stands and paces like a caged animal that smells a hunk of meat just beyond its bars. “Fugitives are permitted visitors up until six hours before their conscription vessel departs. If he was arrested this morning, you’ll need to head straight to the address I give you if you want to see him. He won’t be there tomorrow. Conscription vessels always leave for the penal colonies at night—keeps the protests down.”
“So, you’re in?” I say, sliding my chair out.
Brivardo eyes me warily. “Credits first. This information is double the price.”
“Two million credits?” I stare at him, outraged.
He shrugs. “Take it or leave it.”
I tighten my lips. He knows I have no choice. Telling him a dargonite mine was at stake probably upped the price.
I transfer the credits, and Brivardo checks his CipherSync. A twisted grin spreads across his sweating face. He beckons me closer. “The holding depot for convicts earmarked for conscription to the colonies is three blocks from here, 219-073-186 Harvest Moon Boulevard.”
“219-073-186 Harvest Moon Boulevard,” I repeat, getting to my feet.
“Wait!” he says. “When do I get my split on the mine?”
“I’ll be in touch,” I say. “First, I need to find the fugitive.”
Brivardo gives a nervous nod. “I’ll be waiting and I better hear from you soon.”
I exit the Minder Depot, relieved to see Velkan waiting for me on the corner. He hurries toward me—a questioning look in his eyes.
“I got an address,” I say. “But the conscription vessel leaves tonight. Ghil only has a couple more hours to see visitors before they cut him off.”
“How are we going to get him out of there?” Velkan asks.
I let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t know. I’m still working on that, but at least we can ask him what happened to Buir.”
We take off down the street at a brisk trot, trying desperately not to break into a run and attract unwanted attention to ourselves. I’m still not sure what we’re going to say to Ghil. It’s not like we have a plan to save him or anything. But knowing him as I do, I’m hoping he might have an idea.
Security at the conscription holding depot is tight. We are ushered through two different body scanners before we are permitted to go inside the building. Armed androids dressed in scarlet jumpsuits are stationed at six-foot intervals throughout the foyer. We take our place in line at the security booth behind a woman clutching a toddler by the hand and sobbing profusely. I wonder what crime her family member committed to be dealt such a severe punishment.
When we reach the booth, Velkan steps forward. “We’re here to see the fugitive that was arrested at the docking station, berth 017-AG2.” He raises his brows apologetically. “Former employee. Shocking situation.”
The human guard casts a bored glance at us and then turns to his screen and swipes his fingers rapidly through several lists. “CipherSyncs,” he snaps.
Velkan and I obediently hold out our wrists.
“You have a ten-minute pass with the prisoner. When your CipherSync beeps, your time is up. Second corridor on the left, fourth detainment cubicle down.”
Heart pounding, I lead Velkan past the android guards and down the corridor. I come to a stop outside an eight-by-eight foot brightly-lit cubicle. The entire viewing wall is glass with an entry door and built-in comm system at varying heights, some low enough for small children to talk through. My stomach knots when I think of the woman and toddler in line in front of us.
Lying on a narrow bed buried under a white blanket is an unconscious figure.
“Ghil,” I say to him through the comm system.
Velkan steps up beside me and stares into the cell. “He sleeps hard. You need to yell.”
“Ghil!” I call out insistently.
The figure doesn’t flinch.
My heart tightens in my chest. “They might have beaten him unconscious,” I say, turning to Velkan.
He grimaces. “I’ll fetch a guard. Wait here.”
Left to my own devices, my thoughts quickly run amok. I can’t hear Ghil snoring. What if he’s already dead? Panic mounts inside me. What if we never find Buir? The pain of that thought is as bad as the thought of anything happening to my parents.
I look up at the sound of Velkan striding back down the corridor with a guard in tow.
“Visitors!” the guard barks through the intercom as he thumps on the glass with the butt of his laser gun.
There’s no response.
The guard throws me a disgruntled look and unlocks the door. He gestures to me to go in. “Don’t expect me to touch him,” he snaps.
I step inside, walk over to the sleeping figure, and squeeze his shoulder gently. My fingers stiffen when I realize it’s an android I’m trying to shake awake.
30
My heart races up my throat. The hilt of a small dagger juts out from the back of the android’s head. Ghil must have esc
aped! Willing myself to stay calm, I straighten up and walk back to the door. I give a halfhearted shrug in the guard’s direction. “Forget it. He’s out cold.” I turn to Velkan and say in a loud voice. “We fulfilled our obligation to his family. Let’s get out of here.”
Velkan’s eyes crinkle in confusion, but something in my manner convinces him to play along.
The guard locks the door behind me without as much as a glance in the sleeping figure’s direction.
Velkan and I walk nonchalantly side by side along the hallway back to the holding area foyer. I throw him a sidelong glance. He looks distraught. I desperately want to reassure him that Ghil’s all right, but the last thing I need to do is alert the guard to the fact that I’m hiding something.
As soon as we are out on the street, I pull Velkan close. “It was an android,” I whisper to him.
Velkan’s eyes grow wide. “How did Ghil pull that off?”
“There was a small dagger in the back of its neck, likely severed the wiring. I don’t know how Ghil managed to smuggle a knife in.”
“He always keeps a nylon composite knife or two in his boots,” Velkan says. “They’re harder than steel and equally as deadly, but they don’t trigger detectors.”
“So how do we find him now?” I say.
Velkan gives me a wry grin. “Ghil’s a veteran of living in the shadows. If he wants to be found, he’ll find us.”
I run a trembling hand over my brow. I’m woozy and confused, still trying to digest the fact that Ghil has escaped. I hope he cares enough about Buir not to disappear for good. I gesture to a Solar Juice Bar across the street. “Let’s grab something to drink and figure out what to do.”
Velkan orders two Delta waters and carries them out to a table on the sidewalk. He sits down heavily and drains his glass in one long gulp. “I needed that,” he says, sinking back in his chair.
I take a sip of my water. “Do you think Ghil might be watching us from some hiding place?”
Velkan throws a furtive glance around. “If he is, he has no way to contact us without exposing himself.”
Girl of Fire: The Expulsion Project Book One (A Science Fiction Dystopian Thriller) Page 23
