“Who?” I asked.
“Right behind you,” Rylah said.
I looked back over my shoulder and remembered that Elios Sevari’s son slept on the other end of the bed. The sheets would never recover from the muck he was covered in. I’d allowed Aria to bring him up with her on the condition that she’d start looking for a nice clan-family to drop him with as soon as he was rested.
“Oh, him,” I said. “That’s the orphan from the assignment I messaged you about.”
“I figured as much,” Rylah said.
I took a healthy swig from my bottle of whiskey, placed it down, and then lifted the hand-terminal so Rylah could see me, but mostly so I could see her better.
We’d met on Titan during a recent mission when I was trying to locate a serial-killing Ringer with a knack for taking out Pervenio officers. She hacked into a few local monitors for me and found his location. We’d been close ever since. I wouldn’t say I loved her, but she was the closest I think any woman had ever come to that in my life, even more than Aria’s mom. Calling over Solnet when she was millions of kilometers away on Titan was a huge step for me. Plus, I needed a distraction.
“Hey you,” I said. Sweet talk never was my strong suit.
“You look like hell,” she answered.
“I feel like hell.”
“How’s Aria?”
I checked to make sure the water in the bathroom was still running and then replied, “She’ll be okay, Ry. She’s stronger than she looks.”
Rylah grinned, and maybe it was the alcohol in my blood, but it was exactly what I needed to see. She had the kind of smile that could make a man forget everything he stood for. “Oh, trust me, I know that,” she said. “I met her, remember? Still, it’s not an easy thing sometimes to do one’s job.”
“I doubt it was for me at that age either.” I shrugged. “I can’t really remember.”
“That probably doesn’t help,” she jested. She didn’t point, but I could tell her gaze had shifted to look straight at the bottle pinned between my lap and my stomach.
I smirked as I lifted it to my lips and took another swig. Rylah rolled her eyes, but given how good our present connection was from my 5-star hotel room, she couldn’t hide her snicker, subtle as it was.
“She’ll come around,” I decided. “She always does.”
“Well, if she doesn’t soon, you bring her to me, and I’ll make sure to tell her about all her father’s ‘finer’ qualities.”
“I’ll keep that in mind if I ever come back there. You know I can’t stand the cold.”
“You’ll be back,” she said, her trademark confidence oozing into her tone. “We’ll make it warm enough for you together.”
“Seeing you this clearly is going to make it hard to stay away.”
“I’ll be sure to start some trouble to get you back quickly, then.”
“Fine by me. Just nothing too bad or I’ll have to lock you up.”
“Oh, I’ll think of something.” She put on a wicked grin for a moment, then her lips straightened. “Now go. Talk to her before you lose her and worry about me later.”
I sighed. The shower had turned off anyway, so I knew I didn’t have long before I’d have no choice.
“You’re right,” I said. “We’ll talk soon, Ry.” I wasn’t sure if I should smile and nod or blow her a kiss, so I settled on something in the middle. I can only imagine how ridiculous I probably looked to her. I really never was very good with women beyond the first night.
Her expression told me that she was doing her damnedest not to laugh. “Bye, Mal. Don’t keep me waiting here too long.”
The sound of the door to the bathroom opening with a whoosh stole my attention and caused me to miss how Rylah handled the farewell before the transmission cut out.
Aria walked out, wrapped in a plush towel as white as she was. Her skin was clean, but her lips continued to tremble as they had since the moment I shot Elios. Her Ark Ship pendant hung from her slender neck like always.
“Was that Rylah?” she asked, her voice brittle. She didn’t even look at me when she spoke. Her eyes stared forward blankly, as if she had watched a gory scene from an old horror movie repeatedly until it made her numb.
“Yeah,” I replied. “She gives her best.”
“Good . . . I like her. For you, I mean.” It was obvious she was just trying to make small talk to try to avoid the situation. I was perfectly fine with it. Aria had never known her mother, so she was constantly trying to push me to meet someone. Hell, the way she’d looked at Rylah the first time they met was half the reason I was willing to give the woman a real shot.
“Me too,” I admitted.
Aria took a seat on a couch across the room. Her hand quaked as she used it to brace herself so she didn’t fall. She stared out through the room’s viewport, and we both sat there wordlessly until the silence made me itch.
“You feel any better?” I finally mustered the willpower to ask.
“No,” she mumbled, still unable to look at me.
I raised my bottle to my lips and took another sip. “You will. These things happen.”
“I won’t,” she snapped. This time, she stared daggers in my direction. And it wasn’t merely the kind of look that every daughter gives her father when she’s upset. Aria meant it.
I returned an icy glare. I knew I’d done what I had to under the circumstances. She had to know it too. If she’d told me what was really going on, maybe I wouldn’t have pulled the trigger. Secrets always have their price.
“Are you going to hold this against me forever?” I asked. “Two weeks you disappeared with that man. Of course I thought something went wrong.”
“Like it would have made any difference? I’m not a child anymore. I took care of the job my own way.”
“Your way is dangerous. Fugitives will say anything to survive, Aria. You can’t believe a word he said to you.”
I could see tears beginning to well in the corner of her eyes again as she stared toward the floor. “We could’ve loved each other . . . I know it.”
I pointed at her with the head of my bottle and then took another sip. “There’s no room for that in the life of a collector. You’ve learned a valuable lesson.”
“What about you and Rylah?” she snapped.
“That’s different. She’s not my target.”
Aria remained silent at first. She turned her head and gazed back through the room’s viewport, her whole body trembling as if she were ready to explode.
“I was only trying to protect you,” I said before she could think of anything.
“That’s all you’ve ever been trying to do,” Aria said. “Ever since I was a girl.”
Aria sprang to her feet. I heard the child on the bed roll over to see what was going on.
“You remember that Departure on Earth?” Aria went on. “When you left me alone on a roof for hours to keep me safe. I couldn’t even see my hands it was so dark when you got back and gave me this.” She ripped the necklace off her neck and held it up. “What’s the point of being safe if you’re alone?”
“Alone? I brought you with me everywhere. Do you know what would happen if Pervenio Corp found out about that?”
“I never asked you to.”
“And I never had a choice. Not every collector has an illegitimate daughter handed off to him. Would you rather I left you with the USF in the hope they’d match you with some worthless clan-family? Girls your age dream about seeing the things you’ve seen—about walking down dark streets and knowing they can handle anything that comes at them.”
She opened her mouth to respond and then stopped herself. I could see the roll of her throat as she swallowed hard. She fell back onto the couch and returned to gazing through the viewport. “And I thank you for that, but I’m done.”
I was lifting the bottle when her words sank in. I froze. “What?” I said.
“I’m done,” she repeated. Her voice may have sounded calm, but her eyes were
glazed over and bloodshot. “You’re right. I’ve spent my whole life traveling around Sol with you, and for what? I don’t want to be a collector. I never have. I only wanted to make you happy.”
I put down the bottle, got up, and walked over to her. I figured she was just acting impulsively because of what had happened. That she needed some time to cool down. I tried to place my hand on her slender shoulder, but she turned her whole body toward the window to avoid me.
“You do,” I said. “Now get some sleep. When you wake up, I’ll even help you find Elios’s son a proper home, and we’ll put all this behind us.”
She turned her head toward me, and for the first time in my life, I saw in her face a girl who was completely shattered. The job had broken many before me, but I never thought it’d get to Aria. If I wasn’t already drunk, the sight might’ve made my stomach churn.
“You’ll put it behind you,” she whispered sharply. “I won’t. I can’t. I’m not going to hold you back anymore.”
“Aria—” I began. She silenced me.
“No, I’m done. This was my last mission either way. I sent an application to be a nurse at the new Venta Co hospital going up here before I ever met Elios. If they accept me, I’m taking the job. If not, I’m going to keep looking. You won’t have to worry about keeping me a secret anymore. I know how to get around off the grid.”
My mouth fell open. I stumbled backward, unable to believe the words I was hearing. Venta Co had been Pervenio Corp’s foremost rival since before I was born. I never cared about what’d caused it, but after years on one side of the enmity, I naturally found myself bitter toward the other.
“Venta?” I mouthed. “You don’t just go behind my back, but right to our rival?”
For a moment, Aria’s anger with me fell to the wayside, and she grew defensive. “I didn’t go behind anything!” she said. “Pervenio doesn’t have a hospital here on Mars. I’m trying to help the best that I can.”
“No.” I shook my head in disbelief. “No. I won’t allow it. You’re too damn good at this! A few more jobs and Director Sodervall won’t be able to deny you’re worth officially taking into training when I tell him all that you’ve done. You’ll be set up for life.”
She jumped back to her feet, and one of her arms accidentally slapped my pistol off the couch’s end table. She glared straight into my eyes, her cheeks flushed with indignation. “Sure,” she said, “as long as there are more of us offworlders to put down.”
I was incensed, unable to control myself as I raised the back of my hand to smack her. I stopped before I actually did it, but it was too late. She’d seen the motion, and that was all she needed to see. She didn’t even wince, as if she’d expected me to do it. She just pursed her lips, then took the Ark Ship figurine I’d given her so many years before, ripped it off her necklace, and snapped it in half. A few sparks flew out from the tracker I’d hidden in it.
“I figured out how you found me, by the way,” she said, tossing the two halves at my feet. “Some collector you are.”
“A least I know what it takes,” I said.
“Yeah. You’re such a hero.”
She stormed by me and over to the bed. I didn’t hear what she whispered to the terrified child who’d woken at some point during our argument, but she got him up and led him out of the room without looking back. She didn’t even care that she wore nothing but a towel.
I didn’t watch her leave either. I cleared my throat as I knelt to place my pistol back safely on the table. Then I shuffled back to the bed, snatched up my bottle of God knows what, and held it against my lips until it was empty…
I never did find out whether or not Aria got that job. I didn’t have the stomach to ask during one of the few occasions we exchanged messages after that day, before even that stopped. It was hard to imagine her doing anything else except helping people, though. She always had a knack for it, even if I was too blind to realize it at the time.
The memory made my chest sting far more than any other ever could. A part of me always wished that I’d gone after her, but I was too damn proud. It was the last mistake I’d ever get a chance to make with her.
I suppose that was why I lost contact with Rylah afterward. I knew she’d always remind me of that day, and so did she. But it was time to get over it. We didn’t have the best history, but I had little doubt I might be able to convince her to help for the right price. She was an information broker first and foremost. If it meant beating Zhaff to a lead, then it was worth finding out.
“Malcolm?” Zhaff said.
I realized that at some point while I was lost in thought, my hand found its way into my pocket and clutched the Ark Ship. I quickly pulled it out. Zhaff leaned in close and analyzed my face with his eye-lens. The bright overhead lights of the interrogation room drew my gaze to the mottled skin around the scar across the bridge of his nose.
“Sorry, what was that?” I asked.
“I said, if you have described her accurately, I agree that we should pursue her,” Zhaff said. “It is a sound strategy. Otherwise, we must begin investigating every incoming ship and every hangar throughout the Ring after interrogating the rest of the Piccolo’s crew.”
“I’d rather eat a bullet. That’s what Sodervall’s staff is for.” I exhaled slowly. “Fine, I’ll contact Rylah. Hopefully, she hasn’t changed too much over the years.”
I took out my hand-terminal and searched for the last bit of contact information I’d used to communicate with Rylah. It’d been roughly six years, so I wasn’t even sure it would work. I typed out a message anyway.
RY… I’M NOT SURE IF YOU STILL USE THIS LINE. SORRY IT’S BEEN SO LONG. I’VE RECOVERED A DEVICE I THINK YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT. I CAN BRING IT TO YOU ASAP. WE CAN DISCUSS PAYMENT LATER, BUT I PROMISE IT’LL BE WORTH YOUR WHILE… MAL
I stared at the screen for a few seconds, swallowed, and then hit SEND.
“There,” I said. “Now we better get down to Titan so we don’t keep her waiting if she answers.”
“Agreed,” Zhaff said. “I will request for Director Sodervall to prepare a shuttle for us as soon as possible.”
I feigned a grin and nodded to him. Whether or not it was my own fault, the mission that had started all the way back in New London was dredging up pieces of my past I would’ve rather left buried. As I watched Zhaff stroll calmly out of the room, all I could hope for was that getting it done right would be worth the trouble.
We were only halfway back to our quarters when Rylah answered, and it became too late to turn back.
I’M INTERESTED. COME MEET ME, SAME PLACE WHERE WE USED TO. DON’T KEEP ME WAITING AGAIN… RYLAH
FIFTEEN
Following the Piccolo incident, it was going to take a few hours for Director Sodervall to prepare a ship down to Titan that wouldn’t draw attention to us. When it came to meeting with Rylah, I wanted to avoid making a scene, especially after the Ring-wide address Director Sodervall decided to issue in response to the attack. I’d advised against it, but Pervenio officials had a knack for ignoring my advice.
“People of the Ring,” he’d said. “By now you’ve all heard of the horrible fate which befell the Piccolo and its loyal Earther crew members. I speak to you now, not as your director, not as the Voice of the Ring, but as one human making a solemn promise to others. The terrorists behind this attack will pay for their crimes. They call themselves the Children of Titan, but we are the people of Titan. Together, we have all helped the Ring thrive! One cowardly act will never thwart all that we have accomplished.
“I am asking—begging for your help in bringing to justice the man responsible for the unwarranted slaughter of twenty-one innocent members of the Piccolo’s crew. He is Kale Drayton, an eighteen-year-old male from level B2 of the Darien Lower Ward. We believe he was also behind a riot that took place not two days ago in the Darien Uppers and cost the lives of two veteran Security Officers. Consider him armed and extremely dangerous.
“But he is not
alone. People in league with these terrorists can be anywhere. Working beside you. Living beside you. Any accurate report of suspicious behavior will be handsomely rewarded. Anyone who is able to provide information leading directly to the arrest of Kale Drayton will personally receive one hundred thousand credits from the account of Luxarn Pervenio. It is time for us to take back the Ring from lawlessness! Lastly, anyone caught replicating the symbol of the Children of Titan anywhere in Sol will be punished by the fullest extent of USF Colonial Law.
“Your safety, no matter where you or your parents were born, is our utmost concern. The fight to ensure our survival rests in all of our hands.”
It didn’t feel right putting the blame on some kid we couldn’t find and probably never would, but as the Voice of the Ring, Sodervall made the final calls when it came to security, answering only to Luxarn Pervenio. All I could do was focus on my and Zhaff’s task, and that meant preparing my mind to see Rylah again so we could find who was responsible for New London. If Kale really was behind the Children of Titan and everything else, we’d find out in due time. But my gut told me this was bigger than some kid. Director Sodervall’s speech revealing the existence of the terror group would simply add to the tension on Titan once we arrived.
It didn’t make our short break on the station waiting for a ship very exciting either. As essentially a base of operations for gas harvesting, Pervenio station had little in the way of amenities. There were a few places to get a drink near the docks, sure, but tired laborers weren’t the best company, especially ones who were afraid the Ringer members of their crews were going to try to space them if they got the chance.
When shifts finally ended that evening, me and Zhaff were to be stuffed onto a public shuttle headed to Darien, Titan. Director Sodervall led us to the hangar early, a host of officers surrounding him. He wasn’t planning on taking any chances with the populace he oversaw, it seemed, even on his own station.
Children of Titan Series: Books 1-4: (A Space Opera Thriller Box Set) Page 16
