"We were just coming by to see you. We can't really afford anything," Priloe said, his cheeks flushing at the admission.
"I know, silly, just sit," she said and then gave Milenette a kiss on the head. Jenny waved at an older woman who'd just come through a swinging door at the back of the diner, beckoning for her to join them.
The woman grabbed a carafe of coffee and stopped to fill a few cups on her way, responding to small talk and expertly removing empty plates. Priloe watched as she approached, admiring how easily she completed each task without breaking her stride.
"And who do we have here?" Lena reached over the counter and lightly touched Milenette's nose with the tip of her finger.
"I'm Milenette."
"That's pretty. And who is this handsome young lad?" She held her hand out.
Priloe was momentarily stymied by being the center of the woman's focus and awkwardly shook her hand. "Priloe, ma'am," he said.
"Oh, none of that here. I'm Lena, but I answer to just about anything. Did you come with your parents?" she asked.
"Uh. No," Priloe answered. He wasn't sure if Jenny had said anything about them and he looked down uncomfortably. He mentally chastised himself for looking down and giving away his discomfort. It would have earned him a beating if Sephre had witnessed it. He had to force himself to look up into the woman's face and try to salvage the conversation, although he knew he'd already given away too much.
"Lena," Jenny said sternly.
"What?" Lena asked feigning innocence and then looked over her shoulder, a customer catching her eye. "It was nice meeting you kids, but I gotta jet."
Priloe saw Jack come through the same swinging doors at the back that Lena had emerged from earlier. He was carrying a stack of clean plates and smiled when he saw Priloe and Milenette.
"I'll be right back, I've got some customers who need help," Jenny said.
No sooner had she left than Jack placed a couple of glasses of water on the counter, nodding to Priloe and winking at Milenette. He didn't stop, but continued around the diner picking up dirty plates and cups and whisking them off to the back room.
Priloe watched with amazement at how the three worked in concert to seat, feed, clear and clean up after the busy crowd. Lena had an easy way with people that made him think she might be successful in the markets of Nannandry. He'd learned to be careful with people who were so disarming.
"Here you go," Jenny said from the service side of the bar and pushed two plates with fresh orange-frosted rolls to Milenette and Priloe.
Priloe made sure that Lena wasn't within earshot and then whispered, "Jenny, I can't afford that."
"You're my guest, Pri. I told you that," she answered quietly but forcefully, leaning over the counter.
"How am I ever going to be able to pay you back?" he asked. It was becoming a big problem for him. The code of the street was you never gave anyone anything for free. There was always a trade. It kept things simple, no one ever owed anything to anyone. He decided this wasn't going to be the moment, but it would have to be addressed soon.
Someone walked by and brushed his back. It hadn't been the first time one of the patrons had gotten close, so he didn't think much about it.
Jenny brightened, putting on her best customer service smile, cutting off her conversation with Priloe.
He felt the presence of a new person sitting down on his left side. A smell hit his nose at that moment, and his blood curdled as he recognized it. It was the smell of Nannandry.
Big Happy Family
Priloe moved to get off his stool, but Sephre caught his arm. "Don't go," she said with an oily sweetness. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Agaric said you'd been skulking around that freighter, but I didn't think you'd be so foolish as to stow away."
"Leave us alone," Priloe said, immediately regretting his word choice.
"Us? You know I'd heard a rumor that you were hiding someone. Is this her?" Sephre looked appraisingly at Milenette.
"Reelo, I want to go now," Milenette said with a whine.
"Don't be scared, pretty little girl. Sephre will take good care of you. Now, Priloe, how could you withhold such a gem from me?"
"What's going on here?" Lena had approached from the aisle. "Is everything okay, Priloe?"
"Family business. None of your concern." Sephre cut her off without even looking at her.
"Priloe?" Lena pushed, looking at the boy.
Priloe looked to the open doorway and saw Agaric and Toad. The ice in their eyes chilled him to the bone. The momentary truce he'd had with Agaric was done, they'd been even when they parted and he had no reason to expect any help from the boy. Toad was one of Sephre's enforcers and Priloe knew him to have a mean streak. The two boys would take it as far as Sephre asked. He had no doubt of her vicious temper, having seen her murder Jaschot. He couldn't drag Jenny, Jack and Lena into his problem.
"No. It's alright," he lied. With Sephre there, he made sure to be convincing. If she felt he was anything else, she might decide to mix it up right here. Priloe stood up from the counter to leave, Milenette scrabbling into his arms.
Jenny stepped between Sephre and Priloe and placed her hand on the sleeve of his suit.
"Actually, would you look after Mouse for me? I need to go have a talk with the boss and work some things out," he said. It was a terrible risk to take but Sephre was after him. She could easily decide to go crazy over this betrayal. He also knew that Milenette wouldn't survive on Nannandry now that Sephre knew about her.
He handed Milenette toward Jenny, who looked at him with big concerned eyes that were starting to tear up. "Are you sure, Priloe? There has to be another way."
"There is another way. The girl's coming with us," Sephre snapped.
"I've already called station security. They'll be here in a minute," Lena said, joining the group.
"That works for me. It's why I'm here in the first place. I got a call from your precious pigeon constable, letting me know one Priloe Miles Sharp had been found on the station and they wanted his legal guardian to come fetch him. So sure, let's wait and I'll tell them that you're holding this little girl here against her family's wishes," Sephre answered, crossing her arms with a smug grin.
Priloe looked with horror at Milenette and then back to Sephre. He knew she was right about being his guardian. She'd made him go in front of an official on Nannandry when he'd joined her gang. He also knew she didn't have the same claim on Milenette.
"I'll go with you with no fuss, but leave her out of this," he said, making up his mind.
"Sorry, can't break up the family," Sephre answered.
"Let's wait, then," Lena said.
The occupants of the diner started leaving, sensing the hostilities. Priloe was surprised to see that Lena didn't budge. He imagined that the money she was due for the meals was walking out of the door, but she was seemingly oblivious.
Priloe saw Toad whispering to Agaric and watched as they entered the restaurant and took up two vacant stools. He couldn't figure out what they were up to until a man and a woman in gray law enforcement uniforms walked through the door. The boys were melding in as Sephre had taught them all to do.
"We received a complaint. Some sort of issue with an abduction?" the woman asked. She was shorter than her partner and bore the common narrow spacer build.
Sephre opened her mouth, but Lena cut in. "Just a misunderstanding, officer." She held her hand out to shake the female officer's hand but received a skeptical look in return. "We're recent emigrants to Léger Nuage and my daughter got lost and this nice young man brought her back. We're having some trouble explaining that to this woman."
"This girl isn't registered." The officer said.
"No. I don't believe she's old enough to require registration," Lena responded.
"Of course she is and there's a fine for trying to dodge our taxes by not registering an occupant. What did you say your name is?"
"Celina Dontal. We just arrived two weeks ago. It's been ve
ry hectic. I'll come down to the office right away and get it all worked out. I'm so sorry, I wasn't trying to make trouble," Lena said. Priloe was surprised to see that Lena's eyes were starting to water and her nose had turned red.
The officer pursed her lips and shook her head in disgust before turning to Sephre.
"And, how about you. Do you have a complaint in this?"
The squat, thief master looked angrily back to Lena. She'd been outplayed and she knew it. "Pigeon shite. No. I just came for my boy. Scan him if you want, but I'm his legal guardian and he's coming with me."
"Then I don't see what the problem is here," the woman officer said. "From now on, you all stay away from each other. You," indicating Sephre, "find another place to eat. And you," looking at Lena, "register your daughter by the end of the week. You might be able to avoid a fine if you get to it right away. I think you have a month to get everyone accounted for."
"Thank you, Officer. I hope you remember that we're up here. Free coffee for station personnel on Fridays," Lena said.
"Let's go, boy. We've got a shuttle in an hour," Sephre said, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him around abruptly.
"Reeloooo," Milenette wailed, watching her brother turn away from her.
Priloe couldn't bear to turn around, so he walked out with Sephre, Agaric and Toad falling in behind. Once they were in the hallway, she pushed him to Agaric who wrapped his meaty hands around Priloe's upper arm. "Don't make me hurt you, Priloe," he said.
"Have I told you the story of the lost lamb, Priloe?" Sephre asked, as she led him down the hallway.
Priloe knew there was no right answer and remained quiet.
"You probably don't even know what a lamb is, but a very long time ago, a shepherd kept losing this lamb. For some reason, it kept wandering away until one day the shepherd had had enough. Do you know what the shepherd did with this lamb?"
He knew the answer to this. "Killed it?"
Sephre laughed her deep, throaty laugh that he knew often preceded danger.
"No. See, then the lamb would have no value. The shepherd would have put all of that effort into a lamb that wouldn't produce anything for him. No, the shepherd broke that lamb's leg so the lamb had to stay close for safety. When the lamb's leg healed, it had learned where its home was. So, I ask you the question, pigeon. Do I need to break your legs?"
Sacrifice
"What do you think, Toad? Should I break Pigeon's legs?" Sephre asked.
Toad grunted to clear his throat and then replied, "No. He's right. You should kill him. He killed Jaschot."
Sephre stopped in her tracks. She nodded with an appreciative look on her face. "You get a bad rap, Toad. I think it's your name. I've thought you were dumb as a rock at times, but y'know, you make sense. It's just bad form to let a little shite like Pigeon upset our happy universe."
Agaric's grip on his arm loosened and Priloe looked into the pock-marked, red face of the boy he'd grown up with. "Fly, Pigeon," the older boy whispered unexpectedly, letting go.
Priloe jerked free from the older boy and took off at a run.
"Get him!" Sephre bellowed.
He had no idea what Agaric was thinking, but it didn't matter. He had a chance at escape and would take it. His life was forfeit if she got him back to Nannandry. Initially, he just ran. His mind raced ahead, trying to form a plan that ended up with him free from Sephre, but nothing materialized. For now, he would run and try to lose them. One corner followed another, but his pursuers didn't relent. They couldn't, Sephre wouldn't accept failure.
He found himself next to the outer wall and ran around the exterior ring. His eyes sought out the familiar stair treads that led up. At the speed they were moving it didn't take long to find the stairs and he jumped on them. He hoped to get enough of a lead that he could jump into the apartment he and Milenette had slept in the first night. He looked back to see if he was expanding his lead, but saw to his dismay that if anything, Toad was gaining on him.
Once he reached the next level, Priloe ran around the outside ring and abruptly turned down the hallway that led, like the spoke of a wheel, into the center of the station. His heart hammered and his breath was ragged. He was almost to the elevators. Maybe he could get on one and lock them out.
AI. Call an elevator, Priloe said.
The safety of the metal air-handling tunnels jumped to the forefront of his mind. He could feel a plan starting to come together. He needed more room and dared a look over his shoulder. He was concerned to discover that only Agaric still gave chase. Urgent questions presented themselves. Had Toad stumbled? Could he talk his way out of a confrontation with Agaric?
A sharp pain from his right answered the question of Toad's location. The heavy boy drove his shoulder into Priloe's side and together they rolled to a stop on the carpeted floor. Toad painfully twisted Priloe's arm behind his back and pulled him to his feet as Agaric joined them. For a moment they simply stood, wordlessly, chests heaving as they gasped for air.
"Is she coming?" Agaric finally asked, having recovered enough to talk.
Toad touched his ear and then nodded. "She's coming. Want to tell me what the frak happened back there. You can't hold onto Pigeon? What's your play here?"
"Are we just going to kill our whole clan? Priloe didn't kill Jaschot. Sephre did," Agaric answered.
"You want to join him? Get the mold off your brain, Aggy. You crossed a line."
"This is crazy. I'm all for keeping discipline, but I'm not killing my brothers."
They all turned when the heavy figure of Sephre stepped out of the nearby elevator. "I'm sorry to hear that Agaric. I always liked you."
Priloe watched as she lifted her blaster pistol up and shot Agaric in the chest. The older boy crumpled to the ground and Priloe wrenched free from a surprised Toad. He fell to his knees and cradled the one person who'd shown him any humanity.
"I'm so sorry," he said, looking into the dying boy's eyes.
"Be free, Priloe."
Priloe, still breathing hard from exertion, shuddered as he pulled him closer, trying to provide a small measure of comfort.
“Your elevator has arrived,” Priloe's AI informed him. His plan had fallen apart. It was too late.
"Grab him, Toad. We need to get out of here," Sephre said.
The older boy complied and Priloe felt rough hands pull him up.
"Why not just do him here?" Toad asked.
Priloe's arm brushed against the forgotten weapon tucked in his belt. It would be now or never. In a fluid movement he pulled the blade out and flicked it open, then pushed it back into the face of a very surprised Toad. For no reason he could imagine, the blade simply buzzed loudly when it struck the boy's face but otherwise did no damage.
"Frak!" Toad screamed.
"Don't let…" Sephre started.
Toad pushed Priloe away as hard as he could and fell back defensively. Priloe seized on the confusion and darted for the elevators. His car was closing but Priloe dove in, scraping the door on the way through.
“What is your destination, please?” the AI asked.
Twenty-seven, Priloe answered. Toad banged on the transparent, but very sturdy walls of the elevator. He watched as Sephre stepped onto an elevator on the opposite side and barked something at Toad, who peeled away from her tirade.
Priloe wished he'd spent more time exploring because he couldn't remember exactly where the air ventilation tunnel entrance was. He knew he'd remember it once he got close. He jumped from the open elevator and ran down the darkened hallways, searching.
Excited voices echoed through the empty corridors and he knew that somehow his pursuers were closing in on him. Finally, he rounded a corner and saw what he'd been looking for - the simple metal rungs of a ladder, obscured because they were painted the same color as the wall. Once again, gasping for breath, he paused beneath the first rung.
"There he is." Toad's voice announced their arrival.
With renewed energy from adrenaline, Priloe jumped
up and grabbed the bottom rung. Painfully, he pulled himself up, climbing to the panel as fast as he could go. A blaster round struck the wall somewhere below, reminding him of Sephre's ability to reach him from a distance. Fortunately, she didn't seem to be very accurate.
He pushed on the closed panel and swung it open. He scrabbled into the slick metal tunnel and crawled as fast as he could, wracking his brain, trying to remember his and Milenette's original path. And then it hit him. Find route to roof in this ventilation shaft, he said.
The loud banging of Toad's hands and knees behind him spurred him onward as the HUD lit up, showing him a path. He would have to backtrack a short distance to an intersection he'd just come through. Turning around, he saw that Toad was closing in on him, but he could make it.
Only two meters in front of the heavier boy, Priloe turned the corner and scooted down the channel. He was faster, but made so much noise that he knew he would be easy to follow. Having split his attention, Priloe missed the downward shaft in his path and fell into it. He grabbed the edge as he fell but his fingers lost grip and he plunged, feet first, downward.
So this is how it ends, he considered as he plunged downward at an ever increasing rate.
Flight of the Pigeon
After a few seconds of falling, he was struck with just how much it felt like his training with Jack and Jenny on the pod-ball court. He laughed aloud when he realized that salvation was within his grasp. He pushed his hands down and pointed his toes. Instantly the blue arc-jets of his suit fired, slowing his descent, and eventually arresting it. It was an uneven truce with gravity he'd struck, but he was in control, more or less. He pushed harder and bounced off the walls of the shaft as he sailed upward.
"You'll never escape, Pigeon." Toad called down to him as he climbed. Priloe looked up to see that Toad was hanging into the shaft staring at him.
Cutpurse (Privateer Tales Book 6) Page 5
