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Rage flooded me at her confirmation of Conii’s deception. Only with great restraint did I resist crushing KV’s skull right there. “If I find you’ve lied about your involvement, you’ll pray for death before the end.”
She collapsed, sobbing and begging incoherently as I stormed out. One more vile pawn in Conii’s games. At least now I knew how she must have manufactured “evidence” against Havek. But KV was useless for connecting Conii directly to the crime. I needed more.
The next name to arise in my search was an elusive Agent Velas who exchanged encrypted communications with Conii in the weeks preceding Havek’s arrest. The content was indecipherable, but my gut said this Velas figure was integral. I had to unmask them.
This time, my inquiries led me to a private docking slip in Thodos Station’s affluent inner rings. Supposedly this was a business front for a Zentari mercenary who offered discrete, no-questions assassination services.
An ideal middleman for Conii’s scheme.
Approaching the nondescript hangar, I noted the peculiar lack of any identifying markings. I nearly reached the access panel when the barrel of a carbine pressed to the base of my skull halted me cold.
“You are trespassing on restricted property,” a rasping mechanized voice intoned. “State your business immediately or you will be neutralized.”
I raised my hands slowly. “I’m seeking Agent Velas at Conii Haldek’s behest. She assured me Velas could assist with a matter of mutual interest.”
“Lies,” the automated voice replied. “You are syndicate filth, here to threaten or coerce. But you will find no mercy. Leave now and you may yet escape termination.”
The pressure of the gun ground painfully against my vertebrae. I had seconds to turn the tide before this sentry executed me.
In a move too fast to follow I spun, knocking the weapon upward as I slashed with my knife. The blade lodged deep in the metal chassis of the combat mech, sending up sparks. Wrenching the knife free, I dove for cover as blaster-fire streaked overhead, the mech’s calm tones alarmingly dissonant against the onslaught.
From behind a cargo container, I launched into a sprint for the hangar entrance. The heavy footfalls of the damaged mech pursued me as searing plasma bolts bored into the perma-crete at my heels. I slammed my palm against the access panel and dove through as the door hissed open.
Blaster smoldering in the mech’s grip, I snarled in frustration as the impenetrable entrance sealed shut once more. This Velas would remain untraceable for now. And I was no closer to clearing Havek’s name.
But I would not be deterred. The threat of more false leads and bloodshed could not stand between me and justice. Conii’s web would unravel, no matter how I had to tear it apart. Havek’s freedom depended on my persistence.
Returning to the safehouse, my bleak mood sinking lower, I nearly missed the innocuous payment entry to one “JP.” I traced back, heart pounding. There—a meeting with Jaxus Plarr mere days before the falsified reports condemned Havek.
This was it—the connection tying Conii to the frameup directly. After days of dead ends, finally, my vital lead!
Tomorrow could not come fast enough.
* * *
I watchedEmma closely as I shared the scant details about Plarr, hungry for her insights. Her gaze grew distant in that endearing way which meant her agile mind spun into overdrive. Moments later, her eyes refocused, alight with revelation.
“He met with Conii right before the evidence appeared?” At my confirmation, she continued eagerly. “Then the timing is key. We need to look for changes—anything out of the ordinary that happened right after.”
We poured over the files she copied, searching for the breadcrumb that would lead us to JP. Somewhere in this labyrinth of figures and aliases, the path to freedom awaited. We just had to find the first step.
“There has to be something we’re missing,” Emma muttered, scrolling intently through shipping inventories for the third time. “Some detail we glanced over that will make the rest fall into place.”
Her unwavering faith fueled me. My extraordinary mate, worthy partner in this quest. With her at my side, no mystery could elude us for long.
My eyes scanned columns of transactions, blurring together. There—an anomalous entry, a payment to “Kesh Ventures” days after Plarr’s meeting with Conii. Ventures implied business dealings. I cross-checked Conii’s recent meetings and messages. Nothing. Dead end.
I pushed back from the terminal with a frustrated growl. We were running out of time. If I couldn’t decode Conii’s web of deception soon, there would be no hope for Havek.
Sensing my darkening mood, Emma squeezed my hand. “We’ll find it,” she said firmly. “There’s always a clue, remember? We just have to keep...”
She trailed off, staring fixedly at the screen. I followed her gaze to the payment log, heart suddenly pounding. Kesh Ventures, with an address. KV. The informant who crafted false documents to frame Havek.
But this address was somewhere different from where I had been before.
“KV helped manufacture evidence against Havek, didn’t they? What if JP is their contact with the underworld, recruiting false witnesses?” Emma’s eyes shone with excitement. “Maybe even one himself?”
I pulled her into a crushing embrace.
