Atrophy (16 page)

Well, thank frecking stars he seemed to have some sense left in his head.

“I don’t plan on being out too long. Payton will be here to pick up the Grigorian within a few hours after we dock.” Rian took another mouthful of coffee and then swiveled his seat to look at her. “I want you to negotiate a higher price.”

She scoffed but then swallowed when Rian’s expression darkened. “We’re already charging Payton premium. Any higher and we’ll be left with a cargo hold of liquor and no money.”

“Tell him another buyer approached us and is willing to pay if he won’t.”

Crossing her arms, she shook her head. “It’s a huge risk. He’ll more than likely walk.”

Rian turned back to his crystal display. “I didn’t ask you what you thought about negotiating a higher price, I gave you an order.” Anger burned through her, stiffening her shoulders as he tabbed open a comm channel, a direct one to his suite. “Everette, I’m unlocking the door. I expect you in front of me to report in two seconds.”

Her fury at him pulling rank evaporated in a puff as she realized Rian had just asked for Tannin by name instead of calling him
scumrat
. Whatever the cause for her brother’s bad mood, Tannin couldn’t have been it.

A moment later, Tannin walked onto the bridge. He caught her gaze as he came in, questions written all over his face. His hair was disheveled and dark whiskers covered his chin and jaw, giving him a hard, but sexy edge.
So frecking sexy
…

“Report?” Rian all but barked the word, not even sparing Tannin a glance.

“Raleigh’s ship received a communication directing them to make orbit and then wait for further instructions. So while they’re not heading back to Erebus yet, they haven’t gone anywhere else. Of course, because of the delay in subspace communication getting longer the farther we got from Arleta—”

“I don’t need a scientific lecture.” Rian’s interruption came out at a growl.

Tannin shot an annoyed look at her brother then blanked his features. “I was only going to say that it’s been several hours since they got those orders, so they may have received new instructions by now and be on their way to wherever the IPC wants them to go.”

“Keep monitoring Raleigh until we reach the Rim. When we get there, you’re coming station-side with me.”

Tannin’s stance tensed. He probably wondered the same thing she did.
What do you mean he’s going station-side with you?

Clearing his throat, Tannin eased back a step from Rian. “If you don’t mind me asking, where are we going and why?”

Zahli held her breath, knowing Rian could answer the question or things could just as easily turn bloody. Her brother didn’t like people questioning him at the best of times. She could only hope the potent brandy-coffee had mellowed him.

“I’m going to make trading contacts in Huata. Lianna and Roarke will be coming as well. There’s safety in numbers. Four armed people are less likely to get attacked than three. Now get off my bridge.”

Tannin glared at Rian, who luckily didn’t see, since he stared out the viewport as he finished his coffee. Zahli grabbed Tannin’s hand and tugged, in case he decided to open his mouth again. Considering Rian’s temper, if Tannin said anything, a knife wound in the shoulder would be tame compared to what her brother could do.

As soon as she had Tannin’s attention and was sure he’d follow her, she left the bridge, hoping Rian would be in a better mood by the time they went station-side on the Rim.

Neither of them said anything until they stood outside the captain’s quarters. Tannin turned to her with a puzzled look on his face. “Should I be suspicious that, despite his
charming
temperament, Rian seems to be treating me like a decent human being? He’s not going to take me out to Huata and accidentally-on-purpose let me get killed, is he?”

She’d been trying not to let that thought cross her mind. “Truthfully? I don’t know. But I have to believe you’re more valuable to him alive. His obsession with the Reidar drives him like an addict some days. He wants you to hack Kasson Three when we get there, so killing you right now seems irrational.”

“
He
is irrational. And okay, he’s probably going to kill me once I’ve done his hacking for him anyway.”

“I think he likes you, so I doubt he’ll kill you now. But I can’t say he won’t do you some damage every now and then.” Giving into the overwhelming urge to simply touch him, she laid a palm in the middle of his chest. Tannin raised his hand and covered hers, his fingers warm and large.

He raised an eyebrow. “And how did you come to the totally illogical conclusion that he
likes
me?”

Though his tone sounded light, a dark seriousness stole through her. Tannin had become…
important
to her. But she didn’t want to examine the possible implications at this point.

“I know Rian better than anyone. I wouldn’t let you go if I thought there was a chance he had nasty plans for you.”

A wicked heat darkened Tannin’s gaze, one she’d started to recognize. He shifted a step closer to her, and the air around them became charged.

With a deep breath and a huge dose of regret, she stepped back, pulling her hand from his. “There are so many reasons why kissing me here in the corridor is not a good idea. Rian’s already in a ballistic mood.”

“Who said anything about kissing?” Tannin matched her steps, stalking her with a predatory intent that left her breathless and wanting to be caught.

She shook her head, backing along the passageway. “You’re asking for trouble.”

A devilish smile kicked up his lips. “Is that what you call it? Then
hell yeah
, I want trouble.”

He wanted her, wanted it all from her. The thought made her brain stutter to a halt and her breath caught.
Holy frecking stars
. Tannin didn’t need to ask for trouble, he
was
trouble.

“You better get back to monitoring Raleigh’s ship before Rian comes looking for you.”

He gave up his pursuit, shaking his head. “Coward.”

“Being smart is not cowardly.”

He shot her one more heated look then made his way to Rian’s office.

Zahli stood at the top of the stairs, her heart pounding relentlessly. She sensed that she’d traded more than words with Tannin. It seemed as though she’d made some sort of unspoken commitment.

No matter what Rian had ordered her to do, no matter what threats or warnings her brother might come up with, staying away from Tannin wouldn’t be as simple as making a logical decision. Whatever had started between them went far deeper than logic.

But for now, she had to start docking protocols and hope the crew didn’t get themselves killed when they went to Huata in search of a delta-shield.

Chapter Twelve

T
annin stood behind Rian, between Callan and Lianna, as the cargo bay door lowered. Last time he’d seen the ship do this, he’d been standing on the other side in the hangar back on Erebus.

His heart beat a staccato, making his stomach flip. He’d be going out among people for the first time in over twelve years. He wasn’t an inmate anymore. He’d become a regular guy accompanying his shipmates on an excursion for upgrades… Except, his shipmates were temporary, at best, the excursion would be taking them into the worst sector on the Rim, and the upgrades would be coming to them via not-so-legal means.

Rian had handed him a belt and several weapons when he’d arrived in the cargo hold a few minutes before. As Tannin had strapped himself up and holstered the two different classes of nucleon gun, one pulse pistol, and knife, Rian had condescendingly asked him if he knew how to work them all.

His answer had been a returning glare. He might not have had much practical use with them, but he’d read more than enough theory, which meant, in terms of technicalities he probably knew more about the weapons than the other three combined.

The ramp dropped the last few inches with a clang, revealing the busy inner-workings of a public spaceport. They hadn’t been assigned a private hangar, those were left to the luxury cruise ships and corporate class convoy vessels. Instead they’d been given a simple anchor in a hefty dock, which looked to easily house over a dozen ships of various shapes and sizes.

“Comm me if anything comes up,” Rian said, interrupting Tannin’s study of their surrounds.

He looked up the stairs to the landing where Zahli, Jensen, and Kira stood to watch them depart. Zahli nodded at her brother’s command and then flicked her gaze over to him, concern tightening her features. The urge to blow her a kiss or better yet, leap up the few steps to steal a kiss, spilled through him. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets and sent her a smile, one he hoped appeared reassuring.

“Hurry up, scumrat.” Rian’s voice echoed back up the ramp, and Tannin broke into a swift stride to catch up with them, since they’d moved off the ship while he’d been gazing at Zahli. Probably looking like a besotted moron with drool running down his face.

Of course, it was hard
not
to look like a besotted moron when he felt like one. In all the years he’d fantasized about escaping from Erebus, this particular scenario had never crossed his mind. He’d never dreamed he’d find someone like Zahli, never considered he’d find a position, temporary or not, serving a demented excuse for a captain, and never thought anyone would give him a place and something to do.

And as besotted as he might be with Zahli, perhaps he’d be better off heeding Rian’s warnings and try to earn himself a permanent place on Sherron’s crew.

The girl or the life
.

Why did choices always seem to come down to grand sacrifices?

Tannin jogged off the end of the ramp, pausing to avoid getting run over by an unmanned freight-hauler stacked with crates. Once it’d passed, he took a few running steps to close the distance between him and where the other three were passing by the ship in the next bay.

“Don’t wear yourself out, Everette. We’ve got some walking to do yet,” Rian said, not bothering to look back at him.

He glanced at the other two, but Callan concentrated on scanning the large area with the air of someone who knew what they were doing. Lianna stared at a ship a few anchors over that had what looked to be half its engines hanging out. And that had been the second time in a few hours Rian had called him by name. Could Zahli have been right after all, and Rian had started to…well, he wouldn’t say
like him
, but at least tolerate him?

Tannin tucked the idea away in his mind for further thought later as they walked along the short gangway connecting the hangar with the spaceport. People came and went in all directions. Some wore spaceport security uniforms, a few here and there wore business attire, some wore outfits which seemed to correspond with certain ships, while others were in plain, if what rough looking clothes like him. This was the busiest place he could remember being since before he’d been sentenced to Erebus. He never thought he’d be so damn happy to walk through a crowded spaceport.

They passed a group of IPC officers lounging by a beverage cart, duffle bags at their feet. Tannin averted his face and maneuvered to put Lianna and Callan between himself and the officers. Callan noted his move and glanced at the men, then gave a sharp nod and positioned himself more fully in officer’s line of sight. Tannin couldn’t believe the guy who’d spent the last few rotations referring to him as a
rat bastard
was now actively protecting him.

Should he really be out walking around so brazenly? Wouldn’t the officers on Erebus have plastered his face over every IPC commpad, viewer, and crystal display across the universe by now? He’d let his whiskers grow out a little, though that probably wasn’t much of a cover-up. Maybe he should have considered some kind of actual disguise before he’d left the ship.

But the officers seemed more intent on drinking their coffees than looking for escaped prisoners. Shortly after, he followed Rian out the large glass doorway into the street.

A line of wheeled land vehicles hummed in wait underneath another line of aerosphere vehicles. A pay station listed destinations and prices.

Rian pulled out a currency card and paid for a land vehicle. One rolled forward, hatch opening as it stopped in front of the pay station. Rian slid in first and Tannin got in next, not wanting to hang around outside in case there were anymore IPC officers about. Once Lianna and Callan had secured themselves, Rian tabbed the hatch closed and entered a destination. The vehicle came online, but before it moved off, Rian switched from autopilot to manual.

“Not again.” Lianna reached behind herself to pull the safety straps across her chest.

“Gutless sissy.” Callan crossed his arms and made a show of
not
putting on the harness. Tannin started to reach for his own belt when Rian took off, shooting the autocar away from the spaceport and into the traffic, amid a wail of proximity alarms.

With hasty movements, Tannin got himself strapped in, cringing when they cut by another moving vehicle and a road barrier.

Rian kept the autocar cruising faster than all the other vehicles on the road, weaving in, out, and around them as though they were stationary. Never mind worrying about IPC officers catching him, if Rian didn’t splatter them against something, Rim security would disable the vehicle and have them all arrested long before they arrived at Huata.

They remained silent throughout the trip, until Rian pulled into another waiting line of vehicles outside what looked to be a large shopping complex.

“We’ll walk the last few blocks,” Rian said.

The hatch swung open and they climbed out to skirt the crowds of people, heading away from the multiplex. This sector didn’t look as well maintained or clean as the spaceport and surrounding area. The people were living rougher, their clothes older and not as good quality.

The farther they got from the shopping complex, the less crowded the street. The buildings were more run down. For the next block and a half after that, they didn’t see a single person. The surrounding structures appeared to be monolithic factories, empty caverns that caught and echoed the slightest sound.

Rian led them into a dead-end alley and walked to the far fence of mismatched metal panels. At first, it looked liked nothing but a blockade in the street, but then Tannin discerned two moveable panels, one larger to fit vehicles through and the other man-sized.

With a firm tug, Rian got the smaller door open, the sound of metal grating on metal echoing off the nearby walls. The captain walked through without hesitation, followed closely by Callan. Tannin shared a dubious look with Lianna before the ship’s nav gave a tight shrug and disappeared through the opening. Looked like Lianna had as many doubts as he did.

On the other side of the barrier, six burly men lined the street with nucleon rifles in their hands. Rian strolled past them as if they weren’t even there, looking ahead to the trading center, which sprawled out in complete disorder. While the streets beyond the barrier were deserted, Huata itself looked packed full of people, the noise cacophonic.

“How come we couldn’t hear any of this from out in the street?” he asked Lianna as they moved into the crowd.

She motioned to the general area. “Apparently, they have some sort of advance cloaking field around the entire perimeter. That’s why you need someone like Rian who knows how and where to get in. I guess the criminals wouldn’t want just anyone walking around in here.”

“And how did Rian know where and how to get in? I wouldn’t have thought these sorts of people would want an ex-IPC war hero wandering about.”

Lianna cut him a look that seemed part worry, part warning. “There are a lot of things Rian knows that we don’t ask about. There were a few years during the war that he was missing. Zahli thought he was dead, but then he turned up, kicked some ass and pretty much won the whole war for the IPC. We don’t know exactly what happened to him while he was missing, all we do know is it had something to do with the Reidar. If you want to keep your head attached to your shoulders, I wouldn’t go poking around looking for that kind of information.”

Tannin nodded and then followed the crew through the throng, not sure what to look at first or for how long. There were merchants selling ship-parts, some selling foodstuffs, some who seemed to sell bits and pieces of everything. People gathered around large grills where exotic food cooked, and at more bars, pubs, alehouses, cardhouses, and gambling dens than he could count.

One gaudy and colorful establishment caught his eye, where women in various states of nakedness lounged, waiting for customers. A red-head wearing only thigh-high black leather boots reached out to touch him as they passed, but Tannin managed to avoid her fingers. The other three were similarly accosted; only Rian seemed to not care about the plump blonde who tried her best to gain his attention. Their captain kept on walking as if she hadn’t even been there. Lianna executed a maneuver that could have only been practiced to free herself from the same redhead who’d tried to grab him—obviously she wasn’t discriminating about where her business came from—while Callan seemed all too interested in the black-haired twins draping themselves over him.

“Roarke, save it for later. We’re here for one reason only,” Rian yelled back over his shoulder, continuing on his way without waiting for any of them.

They navigated through a blur of people and stalls until Rian passed between another brothel and a gambling house, knocking on a door in a shadowy recess. Callan took a wide legged stance with both palms resting on his guns while Tannin and Lianna stopped a few steps back.

The door opened and a hulking bald man with a short grey beard filled the entrance.

Rian nodded. “I’m here to trade with Uzair.”

The man crossed his arms, not looking like he planned on cooperating anytime soon.

Rian hooked a hand in his weapon’s belt. “I hear Erron’s sells the best beer. Guess I’ll go get a pint and come back later.”

Baldy raised an eyebrow and then stepped back to allow Rian to enter.

“What was that, some kind of coded message or something?” Tannin murmured to Lianna as they walked into the dim interior. He might have spent twelve years living on Erebus, but all this cloak-and-daggers underworld stuff was beyond him. Lianna shrugged, looking about as comfortable with this situation as Tannin felt.

They followed Rian down a short, dim concrete passage and came out in a bare room. In the middle of the space, a rectangular table with eight chairs made up the only furniture.

Rian glanced over his shoulder at Callan. “Stay back here and watch my ass. Make sure no one tries to come through with any surprises.”

Callan nodded and stood guard at the door, while Tannin and Lianna moved to stand against the wall, out of the way, after getting a sharp look from Rian

Sauntering to the table, Rian dropped into one of the chairs as the far door opened and three men walked in. One came to the table and sat opposite Rian.

“Sherron, isn’t this a surprise. How many years has it been?” The man clasped his fingers together on the table. His smile seemed more predatory than friendly.

Rian didn’t move a muscle, his blank expression betraying nothing. “Janon, I’m here to trade with Uzair, not his bitch.”

Janon’s jaw tightened. “You always did have more balls than brains. Why are you here?”

“I told you, to trade with Uzair.”

“And what makes you think you have anything of worth that Uzair would want to trade for?” Janon leaned back and slung an arm over the empty chair next to him. “How’s that sister of yours, what’s her name again? Not so pretty in face, but that body… Yeah, I’m sure we could come to some arrangement in exchange for her, whatever it is you’re after.”

A surge of white hot possessiveness and jealousy seared through him at this back-Rim-scumbag even mentioning Zahli. Despite thinking he’d kept things under wraps, Janon’s gaze narrowed on him. Tannin locked down his muscles.

“One of your men doesn’t seem to like my idea, Sherron.”

Rian half turned to glare at him. Great. What would the captain’s reaction to
this
be when they got back to the ship later?

“The way I hear it, you don’t need any more trouble on your plate, Sherron, and Uzair might think you’re too big a risk to trade with. Word is you’ve got IPC on your trail.”

Ice clogged Tannin’s veins as Janon stared at him a little too long before focusing on Rian.
The thug knew something
.

“You see, I heard about this old Nirali classer making emergency repairs on Erebus, and then that same ship had IPC officers search it on Arleta, looking for an escaped prisoner,” Janon continued, his assessing gaze returning to Tannin. “Not many Nirali junk-loads flying around these days.”