After checking myself for trackers and coming up clean, I slid down the wall. I was in a hidden alcove far into the abandoned section of the city. Control slipped away and hot tears flooded my eyes. I bowed my head to my knees and let them flow.
Those two weren’t the first people I’d killed, but it was cold comfort. And while it was tempting to push the pain away, to bury it deep, I knew that way lay demons. Taking another person’s life, even in self-defense, was an event worth mourning. If I lost the ability to feel that pain, then I lost myself.
I poured the pain out one tear at a time until I was empty inside. Then I dried my eyes and pieced myself back together. By the time I stood, I had myself under control. Sadness still pulsed in time with my heart, but my outer armor gave away none of my inner turmoil.
In a High House only the facade mattered, so we each became experts, in our own ways, of hiding behind serene faces and sharp eyes. It was a skill that served me well now.
I worked my way home, being extra careful. The little bedroom was just how I’d left it, but tonight it felt especially empty. I mentally went through rescue scenarios. None were great and all depended heavily on information from Veronica. If she double-crossed me, I was sunk.
When I could no longer keep my eyes open, I gave up and dropped into a fitful sleep.
Bianca’s message had arrived overnight. It once again came with many sentences in all caps and dire warnings about my future health if she got her hands on me. But she’d gotten the information I needed and had not told Father.
She had, however, passed along my concerns about a looming war. Based on her oblique references, it was not the first warning they had received, but they were keeping it off the family systems. If they were worried about a spy at that level, things were dire indeed.
I decrypted the files she sent with our personal shared key: pegasaurus. It was a magical creature we’d made up as children, a cross between a dinosaur and a Pegasus. It looked like a winged, scaly horse with an extra-long neck and extra-sharp teeth.
Each family member had a secret key shared with one other family member. It kept our communications safe even from the family. Because sometimes a meddling family member was worse than an enemy.
The list she’d sent me contained six potential override codes. Richard was known to use his own codes and change them with some frequency. The latest codes in the list had been changed less than a month ago.
My entire plan rested on these sixty digits. If one of these keys didn’t work, I didn’t have a backup, and that was a problem. Today I would scope out the spaceport, see what other ships were available for commandeering at a moment’s notice. Another ship wouldn’t get us very far, but if we found one with a little offensive weaponry, we could at least slow Richard down enough to escape to a busier planet. Hopefully.
I ate two energy bars and drank a bottle and a half of water. If everything went according to plan, I wouldn’t be back here tonight. I raided Loch’s bag and shoved all of the extra energy bars and clothes into mine. I would leave the pack with Veronica when I busted Loch out. He might appreciate a spare set of clothes.
With everything ready, I set off. Ten minutes out, I turned on the insecure com. I had an encrypted message from Veronica with meeting instructions. She had managed to acquire all but one of the items I requested and she was working on the last item.
Traveling with a pack made it harder to blend in, so I decided to head to Veronica’s before checking the spaceport. Plus, if she was going to double-cross me, it was better to know now.
Her house was on the edge of the central district. It was a nicer area, where the plastech buildings were well maintained and not augmented with mud bricks. Most of the buildings on this street were two-story houses. Lights were on in several houses and a few people were out on the street. Nothing set off any alarm bells, but I kept my guard up.
I walked the block, then turned and came up behind the house. I knocked on the back door. A few minutes later, it cracked open to reveal Veronica. “I should’ve known you wouldn’t use the front door like a normal person,” she said. “Never mind that this is more suspicious-looking.” She stepped back and gestured me in.
“Just be glad I didn’t pick the lock,” I said.
The house was a minimalist’s wet dream, with white walls, faux wood floors, and just enough furniture to prove someone lived here. One look and I knew this was not her house, not with the way her shop was arranged.
“I found the blueprints to the detention center. There weren’t any surprises, so if you were hoping for a secret entrance, you’re going to be disappointed. I did have a few little birdies report on men loitering around the center, though, so I know the location of two of the outside guards.”
“Any info on whether Loch is actually inside?”
“A big man with a shaved head was dragged inside by four of ‘those new guys.’ He hasn’t come back out, but the men come and go.”
Well, damn. I had half hoped Loch had betrayed me, because then I wouldn’t feel responsible for rescuing him. And while it was still possible I was walking straight into a trap, I just couldn’t leave without trying.
“Your little birdies say how many of ‘those new guys’ are floating around?”
“At least a dozen,” she said, “but nobody can get a good enough look at them for an accurate count. Even the working ladies haven’t seen them and that’s unusual for a merc squad on-planet.”
Richard was keeping his troops on a tight leash.
“You have a plan?” she asked.
“I have a plan,” I confirmed. A crazy, ridiculous, outlandish plan, but a plan nonetheless. Now I just had to pull it off without getting myself or either of the people counting on me killed. No problem.
“I have all of your stuff in the study,” she said. “If you want to take a look.”
I nodded and followed her, just to ensure that someone wasn’t going to pop out and shoot me. Luckily for me, there was nowhere to hide in the study. A lone desk made from wood and glass held the place of honor across from the door. An uncomfortable-looking white chair sat behind it.
Someone had pulled in a folding table and loaded it down with the supplies I’d need for tonight. It was an unsightly blemish on the pristine minimalism of the room. The contrast jarred, but I’d take the messy clutter over the sterile desk any day.
Looking through the items on the table, I had to give Veronica credit—she had pulled in a lot of strange items on very short notice. Perhaps I’d offer her a House job after all, assuming we made it off-planet.
I shrugged off the pack. “I’ll need you to bring this to our meeting point because I can’t carry it while I’m rescuing Loch.”
Veronica nodded. “I’ll make sure it gets put with my stuff.”
“For now, I’m going to scope out the spaceport.”
“I will go with you.” She held up a hand when I would’ve protested. “I am frequently at the spaceport, either to meet traders or to attempt to find passage. And I often bring a companion. If I go, you are much less likely to be found.”
I dug the holster I’d requested out of the pile on the table and strapped it around my waist, then slid in my original blast pistol. The new pistol I’d picked up last night I kept hidden in my off-hand pocket. It wasn’t the safest or most convenient, but the element of surprise would be worth it.
“Let’s go,” I said.
True to her word, people nodded at Veronica but few stopped to question her. Those who did ignored me entirely. My fingers remained clenched around my pistol grip, sure every time that this time would be when she would point at me and announce me to the world.
When we entered the spaceport terminal, I finally hissed at her, “What are you doing?”
“Trust me,” she murmured.
She headed straight for the exit out to the ships. The older man in a security guard uniform looked up and smiled, then remembered to frown.
“Veronica,” he said softly, “you know no one will take you.”
“Come on, Tabo, I just want a look. Let a woman dream, won’t you?”