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Ignoring his rhetorical question, I continued. “They took me to Cadium to…interrogate me. Eventually they decided to kill me. I was rescued by…” I gestured to Ethan and hesitated, not sure what to label him. What he told me the first time I asked him would have to suffice. “By a meteorologist. They’ve pursued us ever since. We finally got off Cadium, but the ship was damaged in the process. Esmuna was as far as we could go. There’s no way for me to get off this bloody planet without someone finding out I’m IPF and killing me.” I shrugged. “You’re the only criminal I know. Well, the only criminal I would ask for help.”
“How did you find me?”
“Promised I wouldn’t tell. Let’s just say in the time we spent together I learned a lot about you and your habits.”
Steel was looking at Ethan now, rather intently. “There’s no way you’re a meteorologist.”
Ethan raised his eyebrows at him, seemingly offended by his words. “Racist much? And I’m not exactly a meteorologist. I’m a climatologist. I have a degree in meteorology.”
“It has nothing to do with race.”
“Then what? Because anyone can be a climatologist. There’s nothing special about me that would cause someone to think that I couldn’t possibly be a climatologist at all.”
Steel’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve got the look, the one that says you’ve killed before. I know it well. It’s instinct.”
“So, yourinstinctsare racist then.”
Emerson rolled his eyes. “Drop the act, Novem. We all know you’re a drug slinger. No need to act all high and mighty.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing. Steel at least had the decency not to comment. Emerson shook his head and looked back at me. “What do you expect me to do? Fly you to Viridis?”
I hesitated but shrugged. “At least off-planet. How else am I going to get off Esmuna?”
“Not my problem.”
I sighed.I guess I didn’t expect him to immediately agree to help me, but he’s determined to make me work for it.“Have a heart, Emerson. I wouldn’t have asked if I had any other possibility, even a remote one.”
“No. The answer is no.”
“You owe me.”
“I don’t owe you anything.” He turned away from me. “We worked together and then went our separate ways. As far as I’m concerned, we’re square.”
“I’ll help you find Archuleta’s shipment.”
That made him pause. I didn’t think that would be the thing to hook him, but his situation must have frustrated him enough to be willing to accept my help. He watched me with narrowed eyes for several seconds while the gears turned in his mind. “If you help me reacquire his shipment, then I’ll get you off-planet safely. You have my word. And you’ll owe me one.”
Well, that’s a relief. I couldn’t help but let some of my muscles relax. I nodded. “Deal.”
He still didn’t seem happy about it, but he nodded back. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”
Steel stood up from the desk and my muscles tensed again. He walked over to me, looked me up and down, and then walked around me in a slow circle. I swallowed while he was behind me so he couldn’t see it and forced myself to project confidence. “Stop sniffing me out. It’s creepy.”
He ignored me, instead glancing at Emerson. “So, she’s an ally? That’s what we’ve decided?”
Emerson looked between all three of us before answering. “Yeah, something like that. She’s a friend of a friend. Leave her be.”
Steel didn’t seem upset by the pronouncement, which surprised me. My impression was that he was waiting for an excuse to kill me, and I expected him to be upset when Emerson took that option away. Instead, some of his predatory bravado disappeared. I realized then that he was putting on just as much of a front as I was, and I felt foolish for not realizing it sooner.
“Then you need to sit down.” Steel reached for a chair and pulled it over in front of me. “You’re wounded.”
I sighed. I thought I’d been hiding it well enough. I looked from the chair to Steel and grudgingly sat down. “How could you tell?”
“You’re pale, and it’s not from fear. When you walk, you move sluggishly and favor your side. It wasn’t hard to guess.”
Ethan’s concerned look returned. “You need to rest.”
Emerson walked over, his eyes sweeping over me. “What happened?”
