“Our intelligence was right,” Jordan said. “Fleece’s ship requested permission to land this afternoon near a cattle ranch on New Haven. My troops will be in position before he touches down, so there’s no reason for you to be there.”
Cassia watched his boots while he spoke. Ever since her slipup with Kane last week, she didn’t know how to act when she was together with both of them.
“I’ll be there anyway,” Kane said.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” The general’s boots widened in stance, and Cassia could picture him with his arms folded, his head cocked, shooting daggers with his eyes. It was no secret that he still didn’t trust the newest member of their strategy sessions. She peeked up and found she was right. “I would feel better if you stayed where you are. I’ll radio you when we have Fleece in custody. You can join us during questioning.”
She shook her head. “He thinks I’m buying weapons from him, remember? I don’t want to give him any reason to doubt my story. I need to be there.” And she wanted to be there. She had no intention of staying in the abandoned quarry where Renny had hidden the ship. When her troops brought Necktie Fleece to his knees, she would stand over him and make him feel like the cockroach he was. “Send the coordinates and I’ll meet you.”
Kane elbowed her.
“We’ll meet you.”
Jordan frowned but didn’t argue. “If you insist.”
As soon as his image vanished, Kane heaved a breath and slouched over as if two minutes of polite conversation had exhausted him. “Did the military issue the pole that’s wedged up his ass, or was he born with it?”
Cassia turned on her heel and strode out of the common room. She would never say so, but Kane could take a lesson from Jordan. While Kane flirted his way through life with a perpetual wisecrack on his tongue, Jordan plotted a smooth and steady course guided by duty. There was something to be said for that.
Kane hurried after her. “Is Renny coming with us?”
“No, he won’t leave Arabelle while Fleece is on the loose.”
Kane made a noise of doubt. “Am I the only one who still thinks there’s something off about her?”
“She’s been through a lot. Besides, we scanned her twice and she came up clean.”
“But the timing’s suspicious, don’t you think?”
“Maybe I thought so at first,” Cassia admitted. “But the mafia kept her in the outer realm for two years, right? We made hundreds of deliveries all over the fringe during that time. Renny was bound to cross her path sooner or later. I’m surprised it took this long.”
“I guess that makes sense. I can’t blame him for staying with her.”
Neither could Cassia. She didn’t want Fleece in the same time zone as Doran. For that reason she’d sent Doran and Solara halfway around the globe to investigate the settler outbreak. The only problem was they’d taken the shuttle and left her without a ride. “Let’s ask Renny to drop us off south of the cattle ranch,” she decided. That would give him plenty of time to return the Banshee to its hiding place before the arrival of Necktie’s ship, and more than enough time for her to meet her troops in the field. “And wear your good boots. We’ll be doing a lot of walking.”
An hour later, she regretted those words.
“I shouldn’t have worn my good boots.” She grimaced when she stepped into another cow patty, her sole making a wet sucking noise as she pulled free. In such high grass, it was impossible to spot the land mines, and they were everywhere. So were the flies, drawn in by the hair-curling reek. She cupped a hand over her nose, but it didn’t help. The stench clung to her sinuses.
Kane flashed a toothy grin as he passed by, paying no heed to where he stepped. “What’s the matter? You don’t like the smell of money?”
“Not this particular currency.”
“It’s just honest manure. It’ll hose right off.”
“Honest manure? As opposed to what, the devious kind?”
“I’d offer to carry you piggyback, but we’re almost there.”
“Uh-huh,” she said. “Sure you would.”
All of a sudden he froze and whipped his head toward the row of trees separating the grassy pasture from the wild underbrush beyond. He raised a hand, signaling for her to stop. “I think I found your troops.”