Page 101 of Smuggler's Beauty

Pearl watched as Ivan informed the man of the company’s complicity in the Tanalian coup attempt. Tobias denied any knowledge of the planet, let alone of broadcasting their videos halfway across the galaxy.

“It would be an inefficient use of resources,” he stammered, staring at the knife in Ivan’s hand. Ivan traced the blade down the man’s face, a gentle scrape that didn’t actually cut the flesh so much as make him aware of how sharp the blade was. A chunk of his terrible mustache fluttered to the floor. Pearl considered that a favor.

Several more questions yielded similarly useless answers. The chief technician’s cluelessness in the face of his terror led Pearl to suggest an audit of their systems. Since the alternative was Ivan skinning off Mr. Nista’s face, the server access codes were handed over without argument. Pearl always preferred to negotiate from a place of strength. Making your position the only sensible one was usually made much easier with the threat of flaying.

Not that Pearl would actually flay anyone.

She wasn’t that good with a knife. She’d have just aimed her blaster at increasingly sensitive bits of flesh until they cracked. It was far less messy.

Ivan tied the manager to his own chair and dragged in another to sit in while he poked around their systems. Three hours later, Pearl was about to find a sock to shove in Nista’smouth to stop the sound of his fevered pleading when Ivan finally found a message:

Nice company you're keeping, Pearl. I'd return your deposit on this one.

He turned the monitor to her, smirking. Pearl responded with a rude hand gesture.

Another three hours of searching had led to an encrypted file. Nista had trembled the entire time. The file only contained another short message:

I will say you are diligent. Trail ends here, but have fun looking for us. xx

“What did this outfit do to piss them off?” Ivan asked as they left the office, copies of the pertinent data on transfer sticks.

“Lillian doesn’t like it when people don’t deliver,” Pearl said. “She has a long memory. I don’t think the guy that filched on their deal even works here anymore.”

Ivan snorted and shut down the computer terminal. Pearl knew that he appreciated a vengeful streak. They were easy to monetize.

Maybe he’s learned more from Anika than I thought.

When they returned to their ship, they initiated a secure communications call with their boss. Ivan liked working for Anika Kahn more than Pearl did. Their employer almost never complained when their expenses included strange items, and she could navigate polite society with the same ease as a back alley slum. Ivan was hopeless in polite society. He had too hard a time faking with his eyes. That was a big reason Pearl had stuck around. She couldn’t let him loose in the universe.

“So what you’re telling me is that they’ve vanished into thin air? My two best problem solvers, and the solution you have is to just . . . what, shrug?” Anika drummed her fingers on the arms of her chair.

“I’m saying that whoever is behind the coup attempt managed to pick one of the best crews in the galaxy to hide this woman and armed the hell out of them. We don’t know what technology they’re packing. They didn’t hire anyone like us; they hired smugglers with white hats. They won’t be bought. Their whole thing is not getting caught with cargo they’re not supposed to have. Hell, you’ve worked with them. You know what they’re capable of,” Pearl said. She examined her cuticles. She had a hangnail that she’d been picking at since Ivan found the first message. She needed to trim it off lest she start gnawing at her hands. Anxious tells were not good in their line of work.

“And they’re not off galavanting around? Drinking in disreputable bars?” Anika asked.

“TheDawnis nowhere to be found.”

“They’re also mad at you,” Ivan said. Pearl moved her glare from her nails to his face. “What? It’s true. It’s an element.”

“It’s true. The advantage we would have there is negated by the fact that they know us.”

“And while I may be able to pay better for intelligence,” Anika said, “the crew of theRising Dawnis uncanny at inspiring loyalty.”

“Speaking of intelligence, we still haven’t finished combing through Emil’s files. He’s hiding something, I know it,” Pearl said. She hoped it wasn’t obvious that she was trying to deflect blame onto the PM.

“We’re not going to find her until they want us to,” Ivan said. “There is no shame in respecting an enemy’s capabilities. We work within the reality we have. It’s only a matter of time before the story hits the galactic news stations.”

Anika quirked an eyebrow. “Well, that does have some interesting implications.”

Pearl’s stomach sank. She knew exactly what wheels were turning in their heads.

She knew if she went down this route with them, any chance at reconciliation would be firmly out of the question.

She may have burned her bridges, but you could rebuild a bridge.

You couldn’t un-detonate a nuke.

Pearl bit off the hangnail.