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“Dallas had permission from the highest level of our organization to bring you on board. We will honor your agreement with him.” Larson shifted in his chair. “Do you intend to honor your agreement?”
And there was the question. The chains of responsibility tightened across her chest until she couldn’t breathe.
“Miss Carrizal?”
“Yes, I intend to honor my agreement.” The words felt like stones falling from her lips, each one heavier than the next. Tying her to these people. And yet there was a part of her that seemed lighter somehow, knowing she’d be part of the team a little longer. Knowing she’d be around Finn.
Larson got to his feet. “I’m glad to hear it. Now go get some rest, you look like you could use it. I’ll check in on Captain Finn tomorrow. The doctors say he’ll be ready for duty again in two or three days. We’ll hold a debrief with the rest of the crew then.”
“Yes, sir.” She resisted the urge to salute as Larson left the room. If she wasn’t careful, she’d end up thinking she actually was one of these people.
TWENTY-FOUR
Viktis found her a few hours later in the same bar where she’d first spotted him. He pulled up a chair at her table and plunked down two beers. “You look like shit. I thought you were going to go get some sleep.”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” She rubbed her gritty eyes and glared at him.
“Never mind. Forget I said anything.” Viktis’s expression turned smug. “Wall found something interesting in those drugs you gave him.”
“He’s done already?”
“Told you he was good.” Viktis took a sip of his beer, as if he knew the delay would whet her appetite. At this point she didn’t care. She needed some good news for a change.
“What did he find?”
“He’s never seen the chemical compounds before. Doesn’t know what they’re supposed to do. But the base material is clay. Someone is using the drug as a carrier.”
“So clay and…”
“That’s the interesting part. It’s a mixture of elements Wall’s never seen. It’s got a structure similar to the voidonite used in developing implants, but there’s an added component he can’t identify.” Viktis scanned the room before dropping his voice. “He thinks it could be some sort of anti-rejection drug. Like the old kind humans used to use back in the twentieth century. From what he can tell, it’s a cytotoxin that seems to lower the immune system and allow this new chemical to integrate into the nervous system.”
Renna stared down into her beer. The mercs at the facility all had had implants. Could this drug be an experimental new development to make the tech better?
“Does he have any idea where the new mineral comes from?” she asked.
“Only a few planets even contain the trace chemical. Banos Prime, Lenue, and Vall. A few others.”
Her fingers tightened around the glass as something pinged in her memory. The feeling was gone a moment later. But it was certainly convenient some of those were the same planets that had been attacked.
“What? I recognize that look. You know something.” Viktis leaned forward to stare at her.
Renna wished the Ileth were as easy to read as humans, but their angular facial structure made their expressions inscrutable most of the time. Could she trust him? Viktis always had his own agenda. As soon as it didn’t line up with hers, she’d need to watch her back.
She chose her words carefully. “The people I’m working for who want to find the boy? They’re also investigating attacks on certain planets. Some of which—if you’re right—are the same as where this chemical is found. We need to figure out how the two are connected.”
Viktis ran a hand over the bone plates on his skull. “Interesting. I bet this information would be worth a lot to them.”
“I’m sure it will. Too bad I’m not charging them for it.” She narrowed her eyes. “I work for them now, remember?”
“Right. Renna’s on the straight and narrow. An era has ended in this part of the traverse.”
“And you’ll be more than happy to step in and take my place?”
“Of course. I may not be as pretty as you, but I do have exceptional…skills.” The smirk twisting his lips left her in no doubt of the innuendo. “How about we go back to my place and I can fill you in on what I’ve learned? I promise it’ll be even better than last time.” His voice dropped to a rough growl.
For a split second, she wanted to take him up on his offer. Viktis was safe. She wouldn’t have to worry about her heart with him. And a little stress release was exactly what she needed. The things he could do with those clever fingers…
She squirmed in her seat and shook the thought away. She’d gone down that road once already. Then he’d tried to kill her.
Besides, it wasn’t Viktis that her body desperately craved. And she damn well knew it.
She smiled reluctantly. “I think I’m better off getting some of that sleep you all keep telling me I need. But thanks for the offer. Catch up with you tomorrow? We can pay a visit to Wall.”
Disappointment flashed across Viktis’ face, but he nodded. “Want me to walk you back to the ship?”
“Nah, I’m fine.” She stood up and cracked her knuckles. “I’m itching for a fight. I hope some fool decides a woman is easy prey.”
Viktis chuckled. “I feel sorry for anyone who gets on your bad side. Have a good night, love.”
Renna walked through the darkened city, inhaling cool air scented with metal and sand. Bright helolights shone down from the buildings, illuminating spots on the sidewalk, casting shadows outside the circle of light. The streets were still full of people bustling past on their way home or to the nightclubs serving as entertainment on this planet. Hover cars sped through the sky, beeping and swerving to avoid traffic. This spaceport was a backwater hellhole, but even here, the march of technology moved on. She’d spotted three new Starzales already, and they’d only been on the market for six months.
Was she an idiot for turning down Viktis? Even if it slipped into something past one night, she already knew what life would be like with him—full of adventure, good jobs. It would be so easy to slip back into that, to postpone her retirement. She wasn’t really the type to lounge on a beach anyway.
Renna sighed and shoved her hands into her pockets. She knew this urge, knew exactly what it was; she was running again. She did it every time things got too complicated. And this situation with Myka and Finn and MYTH was pretty much the definition of complicated.
