AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do you, my Imdiko? I need you to recognize how deep the shit we’re wading into is.” Kila stared him in the eye. “If we encounter them, we have to stop them. If we can’t stop them, we have to escape and warn the empire so they can stop them. If we can’t escape, then we have to take ourselves out of the equation. We can’t be overpowered as the other spyship was.”
Lokmi had been forced to face a lot of hard truths in his life. It never got any easier. His stomach churned, but he forced himself to assume some of the burden Kila carried. “We can’t bring those fuckers home.”
Kila squeezed his shoulders, offering what comfort he could. His words robbed the gesture of reassurance. “No matter the cost to us, that’s exactly what we have to do.”
Chapter Thirteen
Earth II
Phased, Kuran had just reached Government Hall. He was intent on planting a nanospy on Ken Bryant but paused when his quarry stepped from the building and headed for the shuttle area, where Kuran had recently set down.
Kuran diverted. He’d attach the nanospy to the man’s collar before going to Stacy’s office to check on her. He checked the time, frowning to be showing up twenty minutes later than he’d planned. It mattered little his hours were his own to execute as he saw fit since he was the spy team leader and head of Earth security. He liked being where his schedule said he was supposed to be.
As far as schedules were concerned, where was Bryant heading off to when he should be in his office?
Kuran halted and consulted his handheld. Bryant didn’t know it, but the Nobek had gained access to his daily calendar. He checked it as religiously as he did Stacy’s, but for a different reason. He’d never trusted the lieutenant governor.
The morning’s agenda had altered since Kuran had consulted Bryant’s schedule an hour prior. Notations of in-office plans to work on legislation items had disappeared. Now the morning was notated asout of office.
Curious as to what might have changed so abruptly, Kuran headed toward the man’s shuttle. He got to it ahead of Bryant. Thanks to being phased, he was able to pass through its hull and was on board and seated when the hatch opened to admit the human.
He quickly sent a message to Stacy:Checking on something. I’ll be in a later than planned.
Her response came seconds later, as Bryant lifted the shuttle into the air.Is everything okay?
Fine. I decided to satisfy my curiosity about a small detail.
Does it have anything to do with Ken suddenly going into the city?
Kuran shook his head ruefully but grinned. His lover was far too quick for her own good.Did he tell you what he was up to?
He said there’s a dispute about a bridge inspection between the builder and the Office of Infrastructure. I thought it sounded off, but Ken told me the inspector general needed a higher up to help him yell.
Maybe it’s nothing then. I hate wasting my morning.
If you get grouchy, we’ll lock my office door for an hour.
He snickered and clicked his com off. “Don’t give me ideas that’ll cost me more work hours, woman.”
He was left to scowl at the back of Bryant’s head as the man piloted them to the heart of New Hope City. He glanced with scant interest at the soaring buildings they flew over. Earthers were funny about their insistence on planting freestanding structures on perfectly lovely landscapes, which should have remained wild. The terraformers could have easily given the planet plenty of caverns and cliffs and such to put technologically advanced working interiors in. It worked well for Kalquor, giving its residents vast stretches of unspoiled beaches, forests, and mountains to enjoy.
Bryant landed them among the cold, glittering boxes stabbing the sky. The public shuttle pad he rested his craft on was close to a bridge. Signage announced it was closed to foot, bike, and hoverboard traffic that would typically use it. Men in suits and safety gear stood at its edge, hands on hips as they spoke. Kuran left the shuttle in Bryant’s wake. He found he couldn’t hear the clustered people due to the distance, but their expressions suggested they weren’t a happy bunch.
Two men, dressed casually…very casually, downright sloppily, Kuran noted…were heading his and Bryant’s way. They spoke in low voices, apparently disinterested in Bryant’s approach.
The lieutenant general’s hand stabbed in his suit pocket and emerged gripping his handheld. As he passed the men, one of them also extended a handheld. They made no sign they noticed each other, but their devices tapped briefly. The men and Bryant continued their opposite paths, still never glancing at each other. The handhelds were tucked in pockets once more.
Kuran’s own device was in his hand, and he took pictures of the unknown pair, his heart racing. It was easy to deduce money had just changed accounts. If he were to go by the strangers’ sloppy appearance, he’d have bet it was Bryant paying them. For what?
Deepening the mystery were the surprised expressions the suits near the bridge wore when they noted Bryant’s approach. The inspector general, a harried man named Dunn, called, “Lieutenant Governor! You didn’t come here because of my com this morning?”
Kuran growled low in his throat. Stacy’s text had suggested Dunn had asked Bryant hurry to the bridge to help settle whatever dispute had risen, but it was obvious he hadn’t. Had Bryant made the trip with the express purpose of secretly paying off the men for tasks unknown? It certainly seemed so.
“You just became my priority to keep an eye on,” he snarled at the lieutenant governor as the man met the group, shaking hands and using his considerable charm to smooth things over. Still wearing a snarl, Kuran placed the nanobot on Bryant’s collar and watched as the tiny black speck crawled to a spot to record everything its subject did.
Kuran spun on his heel, eager to go after the strangers. A shuttle that had been parked near Bryant’s lifted off, and he was certain his quarry was on it. He was too late. A hurried search for the pair on side streets confirmed he’d missed his chance.
* * * *
