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I stared at the floor, not wanting to look at anyone right now. They all had their own agendas, but what did I want? Could I live with myself if vulnerable omegas died because I ripped my knitting over Urgoth’s behavior?
I took a deep breath.
“Fine. I’ll go back in. On my terms. I want one of those fancy watches Ryon has, so I can call the ship and get pulled out quickly if it gets dangerous. I nearly got killed last night. And you’re to promise you won’t use me again after this. Also, I want to get paid. Oh, and I want some clean fucking clothes.”
Kavat nodded. “I’ll authorize all of that. Urgoth will sign it all off when he calms down.”
“Why would he do that?” Ryon asked.
“Because if he doesn’t, I’m going to write a report to Imperial Command about how he kidnapped and coerced one of our precious few omegas and forced her to work as a spy and didn’t even put her on the payroll.”
“Omegas have special protected status,” Ryon explained to me. “Urgoth is on very thin ice.”
Everything happened quite quickly after that. Kavat found me a watch and showed me how to use it. Ryon and I were given a chance to use one of the ship’s laundry machines and take a real shower. Fresh and dressed, we returned to the trans-mat room and were sent back to Ryon’s apartment.
“That went well,” Ryon remarked as he rounded up the cups and made some more lantana tea.
“Yeah. But Urgoth’s going to be ragin’ when he finds out.”
“Not your problem. You’re getting the things you should have been offered from the start, and I’m proud of you for standing your ground. And for coming back to finish this, when you could have walked away.”
“Someone has to end this, don’t they?”
“Yeah. Someone has to. I just wish it wasn’t you.”
I nodded. “Me too.”
***
Natasha
That evening, I went back to Ghil’s place with a sense of dread. How much worse would the next task be? I didn’t even know what could be worse than killing someone in cold blood.
Fert let me in and I greeted Ghil.
“You passed last night’s test. The death is all over the news.”
“I don’t have a tablet.” It was probably for the best. It would be weird seeing news coverage about myself.
“The Enforcers are searching all over the city for the killer. They don’t have any clues to go on. How did you manage to burn the bodyjust enoughto ensure he was identifiable while destroying all evidence?”
I opened my mouth to try and lie but Ghil grinned and shook his head.
“Nah, on second thoughts, don’t tell me. If I get questioned, I want to be able to pass a truth test. But that was great work.”
Phew.I didn’t have to think of something after all.
“Good plan,” I mumbled.
“Lenor didn’t want to be seen coming here again so soon after his last visit. He wants you to meet him at an address in sector two tonight after dark. This is really high shit. You have to go alone, so I can’t send the driver with you.”
He gave me the address and I immediately set off. Once I was out of sight of prying eyes, I called Ryon on my watch and let him know where I would be. Hopefully, this meeting would lead me to whoever was pulling Lenor’s strings and then I could be done with all of it.
***
Ryon
When Natasha called and told me she was going to sector two, I wanted to be the kind of controlling asshole who forbade her from going. Whatever was happening, this was an unknown location in a part of town where I had no contacts and no local knowledge. If she needed a quick escape, I didn’t know which buildings had outdoor fire escapes and which ones had secondary exits leading to side roads. I didn’t know where the cameras were or which alleyways were blocked with fences. I was flying blind, here.
