“Good luck,” Jael said to Anjon and Gazel.
The two nodded, but they didn’t seem to want to leave the ship first. He didn’t blame them. Whatever they did now, they’d kept their part of the bargain, so he beckoned the others.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Can’t come soon enough for me,” Martine mumbled.
“The things I’m going to eat . . .” Calypso practically ran for the hatch doors.
Maybe they should’ve planned this better, but Jael stuck close to Dred as they exited. He paid the entry fee for everyone, then they had the green light to do whatever they wanted. Credits could solve anything on Gehenna.
The smell of engine oil and unwashed bodies swept over him, in some ways similar to Perdition, but in others, it was completely different. Because these people had the choice to bathe or not. They could pack up and go on a whim. He breathed in the chemical tang, then cut a path across the hangar to the public exit. Things had changed a little in so many turns, even inside the dome. There was a moving walkway now, so he grabbed Dred’s hand and hopped on it. The speed whisked them away from the others, and Dred glanced over her shoulder, as if alarmed.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find them later.”
“If you say so.” From her expression, she was a little overwhelmed.
Gehenna could hit you like that. Neon everywhere, half-naked people roaming about, signs promising all manner of exotic pleasure. The walkway dumped them off in the market just outside the spaceport. And this, this hadn’t changed much. The stalls were still small and close together, selling fresh food, chem, slaves, weapons, and now, alien tech. Hawkers tried to attract his attention with fast patter, but Jael kept his head down.
“Where are we going?” Dred demanded.
“Quiet, you.”
“Are you showing off right now?”
“No, I’m taking care of business.”
That did settle her down, but her narrow-eyed look said he’d pay for it later. Worth it. Jael stopped at a stall that sold encrypted cred sticks. From what he could tell, most people used wrist-pay, but he wasn’t in a hurry to have something like that implanted. There was no telling how his physiology would impact the integrated tech, plus the tech doc who did the install would notice anomalies.
“You prefer the old way, eh?” the old man said.
Jael nodded. “Nothing like the classics.”
The vendor spat on the floor. “Between you and me, son, you’re smart not to have that junk in your body. I think they use it to track your movements. And plus, I heard it gives you health problems. I knew this guy whose son had one of the first units put in. Two turns later, his nervous system is shot, and he can’t hold a job. Coincidence? I don’t think so.”
He got three in total and loaded credits on all of them. Though he didn’t explain, he planned to give them to Tam, who would presumably share with Martine and Calypso. He had money to burn these days, and nothing would make him happier than giving his fellow convicts a leg up out in the world.
“You meet the most interesting people,” Dred said, as they walked away.
“Don’t I?”
The other three caught up with them as they walked back toward the spaceport. Calypso slapped Jael on the shoulder. “Were you trying to drop us at the first opportunity?”
He grinned. “Not a chance. I’m offering you a chance to party. On me.” Then he handed out the cred sticks. “You two share, don’t worry, I gave you each the same amount as Calypso.”
“Are you sure about this?” Tam asked.
He probably suspected it wasn’t a trivial amount, based on what he’d seen on Anjon’s skin unit. Jael only nodded.
“Then let’s meet up tomorrow,” Martine said.
“Hidden Rue,” he said.
But before they could make concrete plans, a commotion started on the other side of the market promenade. Jael glimpsed a handful of men in uniforms, never a good sign. They seemed to be private security, and since Gehenna had ten different companies striving for control on any given day, that didn’t automatically mean trouble. But he’d had shit blow up in his face often enough that Jael knew to run.
He was already moving, Dred’s hand in his, when someone shouted, “That’s him!”
The other three scattered. Maybe he should let Dred go, too, but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t. She didn’t seem to want him to, either. Her hold tightened on his hand as they ran, dodging around stalls, leaping over piles of merchandise, and ducking under shelving. On the last, he miscalculated on purpose and slammed his skull straight through a display of jarred creepy crawlies that hit the floor running and caused mayhem behind them.
“Who are they?” Dred gasped out.
“Not sure. Guessing Holland bounced a message, and they’re working for the new consortium that wants to run new and exciting experiments on me.”
“Then we should kill them.”
Jael wished he could pause to kiss her. “While I love your problem-solving instincts, that won’t work. It’ll only raise our profile and get us in trouble. Right now, we haven’t done anything, so we can expect some protection. We’ve paid our docking fee and hadn’t violated any laws when they gave chase.”
“You think they’ll offer sanctuary?”
“When they find out how much money I plan to spend here? Probably. But first we have to talk to someone in power.”
“Who the hell runs this place?” she wondered.
“That, love, is the billion-credit question.”
Guttural swearing mingled with shrill screams while they dealt with the beasties he’d unleashed. Now he had a reason to do things right, no more careless carnage. It was past time for the universe to forget about him and leave him be.
And everything on Gehenna has a price.
36
Give Me This Much
Tam and Martine ran until they couldn’t anymore. The scenery had changed by the time Tam paused. The buildings were squat and run-down, and the pedestrians were careful not to make eye contact. Since Martine was still wearing a bloodstained shirt, he understood why. The first order of business had to be new clothes, whatever would help them blend in best.
“That was novel,” Martine said, breathless.
“What was?”
“Fleeing from men in uniform and having them chase someone else.” She flashed a sharp grin that made Tam want to kiss her.
He’d had his own plan for getting off Perdition, but it went nothing like this. Since Einar had died, his whole life was one huge digression. And . . . he didn’t mind. Sometimes it felt good to set aside all of the calculations and just be. He offered his hand to Martine.
Who took it with an almost shy smile. “So what should we do first?”
“Shopping, I think. But if you’d rather do something else, we can just grab you a shirt.” He indicated one of the auto-kiosks that sold GEHENNA FOREVER gear. Snagging the cred stick, Martine promptly bought it and pulled it out of the machine.
She shrugged into it quickly. “What do you think? Am I pulling it off?”
“Totally.”
“So what now?” she asked.
“That’s up to you. I’m happy just breathing as a free man.”
Her look turned pensive as she gazed down the narrow street, teeming with people who suspected nothing. “We can never tell anyone, you know.”
“That we escaped?” Tam didn’t even say the name of the place aloud.
“Exactly.”
“You’ll find that I’m quite adept at keeping secrets.”
“I’m counting on that.” Martine leaned over and whispered in his ear.
His smile widened quite without his volition. “I hate to disillusion you, mistress, but that’s not a secret.”
Martine leaned over casually and bit his shoulder. The twinned
pleasure and pain of it stole his breath even in the busy thoroughfare. He could hardly wait to get her alone. Those teeth . . . He’d be sorry when and if she had them capped.
“We all thought you were her pet, you know.”
“Who?”
“Dred.”
“I’ve never been anyone’s pet,” he said.
“Oh really?”
“I prefer the word ‘plaything.’ As you well know.” A teasing glance.
She grinned, but she didn’t press on that topic. Instead, her expression sobered as she took in the dazzling attractions. “Part of me wants to do nothing but eat delicious food and roll around in bed with you.”
“I’m waiting for the downside of that plan,” Tam said.
“Well, we’d be wasting Jael’s money, for one. And . . . I don’t want to act like an escaped convict, living like my freedom could be taken away from me at any moment. I want . . . to make plans, I guess. Are we staying on Gehenna? If not, where? Do we need new papers to travel? And more importantly—”
“Are we staying together?” he cut in.
“That’s not what I was going to ask.” She seemed not to realize he was.
“I know. That’s my question. Because it impacts everything else. We got together in a dark place at a dark time. I would understand if you wanted to cut loose and start again.”
White teeth sank into her lower lip. “Damn. That’s deep for a walking conversation.”
“Should we talk about it over a meal?” His heart contracted into a hard, thorny knot in anticipation of her response.
Yes, Tam. It was fun while it lasted. But . . .
“No, let’s just find a place to sit.” Martine led the way to a bench out of the foot traffic; it had a good view of the vendors across the way.
The rich and powerful smell of incense wafted to him. A woman in a veil was tending a brazier not far away. He watched her instead of looking at Martine.
“Well?” he prompted.
“I never once thought I’d get out of there. You might’ve had schemes, but I ended up feeling like, well, this is it. No matter how bad it gets, I won’t let it break me.”
“It didn’t.”
“There’s somebody I love, someone I made a deal to protect. I used to lay awake thinking about her, hoping she was happy. If she was, I thought it was worth it, right? No matter who I slept with inside, she was always the brightest part of my heart.”
This hurts . . . more than I expected.
Tam nodded. “Do you plan to search for her now?”
“Just let me finish, you idiot.” She seemed impatient for some reason, angling to gaze at him intensely. “So I didn’t even notice when the game I was playing with you got real.”
“Excuse me?”
“We’re not just sexually compatible, I’m in love with you. So yeah. It’d be good for me if you stuck around.” Her eyes were liquid warmth, and her hand on his knee made his heart pound like he was fifteen turns again. “It doesn’t matter to me where we met, though I warn you, if people ask how, I’ll make up a different story each time.”
“That works for me. Because I’m mad about you.”
“Back to my original questions, then.”
“For what it’s worth, I agree with you about not living like convicts. I’d rather start as we mean to go on, as people of great worth.”
“You know what they say, the future starts now,” she said, and drew him in for a kiss.
• • •
VOST went straight to the guild building from the spaceport. With any luck, he should be able to cash out and get a ship out before anyone realized what he had done to Holland. There would be a reckoning, but not before he kept his promise. He played it cool, nodding here and there at mercs who recognized him.
The offices were open twenty-four/seven on a hub like Gehenna, a point in his favor. The Pretty Robotics model working the front desk gave him a facsimile of a smile. “Good to see you again, Commander Vost. What brings you to Ronin headquarters?”
“I need to empty my account.”
All assets would be frozen when the guild found out he’d sided with a bunch of felons and a Bred monster over a fellow merc. True, technically, Holland stepped on his toes first since Jael was in his company. That made the Bred bastard his catch. But they would’ve fined her for that; the matter wouldn’t have ended with the whole crew ghosted.
Her face froze as her fact-finding protocol kicked in. “Is there a problem?”
“My son is sick. It’s going to clean me out to pay for his next treatment.”
The Perdition payday should’ve gotten him the operation that would save his life, but there was no more money coming in. So he’d liquidate. He had some property to sell, too. Maybe he’d end up a destitute fugitive, but it would all be worth it. Soon, I’ll be there soon.
“Sorry to hear that. But you realize there is a penalty—”
“It’s fine. Cash it out. Put every available credit here.” He held out his wrist.
There was some risk of being jacked. Occasionally, junkies would just take your money at the wrist, but unless the mark was an idiot, it was usually pretty hard to tell who had enough credits to be worth the violence. Pickpockets were pretty much out of luck, but thieves always figured out another way. Only matters how far you’ll go.
He fought the urge to break out in a cold sweat while she ran the numbers and eventually gave him a figure, lower than he hoped, but it was all he could raise. This will have to do. Probably, he should be drinking his guilt away. Redmond. Duran. Everyone on the Stargazer, but he only straightened his shoulders, accepted the deposit, and strode out.
Back to the spaceport.
Vost paid for a private hire ride back. He’d taken public transport, but time mattered as much as money. Trying not to look desperate, he scanned the various kiosks. Twelve different transport companies ran ships out of Gehenna, and none of them were particularly aboveboard. Finally, he went up to the one with the slogan: “Where you go is your business and nobody else’s.” Quantifiable bullshit, of course, as secrets were always for sale, but better than, “We’ll get you there. Probably,” with a smiley face dripping blood.
Somebody’s got a dark sense of humor.
The electronic face on the screen brightened when he stepped up. “Name your destination, we can get you there. If it’s not on our regular route, ask about a charter deal!”
Awesome. The perky VI package.
“I need to get to Ankaraj as soon as possible. When’s the next ship out?”
“Tomorrow morning. We have four berths available. Would you like to purchase one?”
Swearing, he said, “Maybe” and left the kiosk hanging. As luck would have it, the only ship leaving tonight came from Bloody Good Shipping aka “We’ll get you there. Probably.”
But their vessel was heading out in four hours, and they had one ticket left.
“I’ll take it,” he said, holding out his wrist.
I’m coming, he told the orange sky. Hang on for me. I’ll keep this promise if it’s the last thing I do.
Once he had his documents, Vost headed to the lounge to wait. The other passengers were shady as frag, shifty-eyed, and one had a bag that seemed to be . . . oozing. A woman strode in, surveyed the lot of them, then turned around. Maybe she reconsidered her travel plans. He didn’t speak to anyone. I’m not here to make friends. I just need those Bloody Good bastards not to crash the transport.
And for the guild not to learn anything before my ship leaves.
Come on, universe. Give me this much.
37
If Dreams Come True
Once they lost their pursuers, Dred went with Jael on public transport, away from the spaceport. The security team searching for him wouldn’t give up easily, but there were countless places to lose yourself in G
ehenna. Jael seemed to know the city, so she trusted him and got off in a seedy-looking district. She hadn’t spent much time in the dome, only one stop on a merc ship, long ago. She’d stayed near the spaceport, just done a little drinking before shipping out the next day.
They ended up on a narrow street lined with bars. Some of them were little more than stalls, open-faced shops with plastique tables and chairs and in some cases, buckets and crates, where people could drown their sorrows. A woman in a dirty apron tried to convince them to sample her soup, boiling away on an open fire. Jael shook his head politely as they strolled by.
Right, we’re not in a hurry.
“Are we looking for something in particular?” she asked.
He appeared to be scanning each building with an assessing eye. Jael turned to her with a faint smile. “It’s driving you crazy for me to be in charge, isn’t it?”
“Maybe a little.”
“In payment for your honesty, yes, there’s a club where we should be able to make contact with some players. I haven’t been here in turns, though, so I don’t remember exactly—aha. Here we are.”
Glancing past him she read HIDDEN RUE in blue, flashing letters. The building looked ancient, but it also showed some signs of recent renovation. A few scruffy bastards loitered outside, one of them smoking, and herbal-scented puffs scented the air as they passed by. She got a slight rush just from the secondhand inhalation, so whatever chem he had, it must be good. One of them aimed a smile and a wink at her. Dred laughed.
Holy shit. I’m in Gehenna. He has no idea who I am. He’s hitting on me.
It was hard to control the wave of hysterical euphoria that rose up in her chest. I have no idea how to act or what to do. But Jael had ahold of her hand, so she went into the club. Inside, everything was dark and red-tinted. An elevated stage ran across the back of the bar, with cages hung high on either side. Right now, they were empty, and there weren’t too many people drinking or watching the heavily scarred woman undulate; she wore nothing but crisscrossed straps with judiciously placed buckles and a pair of lethal-looking shoes.