“He’s…okay.”
Justyn heard the hesitation but let it go. He knew he wouldn’t want to tangle with Nera Darc. The woman was deadly.
“You mentioned a job?” Dare asked.
Dathan nodded. “An artifact has been stolen from the Galactic Institute of Historical Preservation.”
“So?” Rynan rested his steepled hands on the console.
“A thief stole the US Constitution from the New Metropolitan Museum on Davyn V during a gala dinner.”
Justyn blinked. Holy space dust. “TheUS Constitution.”
“Is there another one?” Dathan asked dryly.
“I assume there’s a finder’s fee?” Dare asked, one eyebrow raised.
“Yep,” Dathan replied. “A big one.”
“The news hasn’t been made public yet,” Eos added. “I only just found out from an old colleague at the Institute. I’m sure the GSS has been activated to search for the thief, but once the word gets out, every treasure hunter, collector, and thief will be after the fifty million e-creds.”
Justyn whistled. That amount of money would tempt the scum of the galaxy. “But the document is worth far more than that, right? They could keep the document and sell it.”
Dathan nodded. “Sure, but it would be difficult to fence something like that. Still, there’d be a few buyers willing to risk the wrath of the government, the Institute, and the GSS to acquire it.”
Eos made a frustrated noise. “Enough talk about money. The Constitution is more important than that. It is a vital piece ofthis galaxy’s history. One of the five documents that all our law is based on?—”
“She always like this?” Justyn asked.
“Yep,” Dathan answered. When his wife jabbed her elbow in his ribs, he groaned. “I kind of like it.”
Justyn had to admit, Eos Rai-Phoenix’s face had lit up during her impassioned little speech.
She made noise in her throat. “I want that document returned to the Institute, where it belongs.”
“We’re too far away to catch the thief.” Dathan fiddled with the ends of Eos’ hair. “We’ve heard he’s headed to Galaxy’s Edge.”
Eos leaned forward. “The finder’s fee will be yours. Please, find the Constitution.”
Justyn looked at his brothers, eyebrows raised. This wasn’t their usual gig, but he had to admit he was tempted.
Rynan shrugged and Dare gave a slight nod.
“Okay, we’ll do it,” Justyn said.
Eos released a breath. “Thank you.”
Justyn nodded. “So, who’s this thief and where do we find him?”
“My informants tell me it’s a gridrunner by the name of Hewett Kenth,” Eos said.
“Kenth?” Justyn laughed. “No way Kenth could have pulled this off. Guy’s keen, has a good ship, but he couldn’t organize his way out of an empty space dock.”
Dathan looked thoughtful. “Someone else must be the brains behind this, but has handed it off to him.”
“Who?” Dare’s voice was crisp.
“No idea. I haven’t heard even the hint of a whisper. Only Kenth’s name came up, along with confirmation he’s been hightailing it through the quadrant on his way to the Edge.”
