Looking at Trouble

Being able to see trouble at a glance is a fine hobby, but when it becomes a career, her life is turned upside down.

Reeda works in the marketplace selling her mother’s scarves. Each one is a custom weave and no two are alike. When her friends at the marketplace need her, she comes running and takes care of business when peacekeepers are too far away.

Each intervention requires her to record her use of her assessment talent with the peacekeepers in order to make sure she isn’t misusing it. When a Citadel recruiter comes calling, she has to negotiate with Reeda’s formidable mother before she will be allowed to leave home.

A nine-foot member of the spider species, l’nal, raised Reeda. Mother has been attentive, protective and an excellent educator. She negotiates the best deal for Reeda and gets her into the Citadel with a tremendous salary and built-in vacations.

Bilro is a Guardian in training on Balen when he meets Reeda, and the moment he takes in the way she studies, he is charmed. When he finds her witty, he is smitten, and when the call summons him to his new post, he is gone.

What are the odds of them meeting again when Reeda goes looking for trouble?

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Looking at Trouble

Copyright © 2015 Viola Grace

ISBN: 978-1-4874-0356-0

Cover art by Carmen Waters

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

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Looking at Trouble

Tales of the Citadel Book 47

By

Viola Grace

Reeda finished wrapping the l’nal silk scarf for her client and handed the slim box to the young man who wanted to present it to his fiancée.

He was probably no older than she was, but Reeda could not remember ever looking that young.

He left the kiosk, and she perched on her stool, attentive and enjoying the wild push and pull of the marketplace.

The bright banners of silk waved in the morning sun, each strong enough to stop a projectile but light enough to feel like a breath of air against the skin.

Reeda was just reaching for her caf when her wrist alarm went off. She sighed, triggered the force shield around her kiosk and sprinted down toward the jewellery section of the market.

It was a five hundred-metre run, but with the crowds, she had to get creative with the route she took. Reeda nodded to some of the vendors, and she quickly moved behind their stalls, running through the stocking lane where the supply rail was. It was tricky to use the lane, because anyone could call for stock from storage at any time, but Reeda needed to take the risk.

She heard the approaching unit and dodged back into the market a moment before the large storage device whipped past the spot she had previously occupied.

She slowed her pace as she entered the small jewellery store. Everyone was tense with Liimar—the shop owner—fumbling with the lock on a case. A young Selna female was with a young Krigat male, and both of them were tense with a perverse excitement.

Reeda took in the situation, and she moved to see if the tension would break. “Liimar, are you ready for lunch?”

He looked at her with a tense smile. “No. I am afraid not. I don’t have anyone to watch the store for me. I need to get something for these customers.”

“Do you need some help?”

The Selna female looked at her without turning her body and snarled, “Listen, bitch, he doesn’t want to go to lunch with you.”

“I think he does. Get down, Liimar.”

Liimar dropped, and Reeda slipped around to face the couple, noting the nasty burn blaster that the male was carrying and the knife the young woman was holding.

Her vision changed, and she could see the path that his blast would take and where the girl would place the knife. Reeda lunged forward and struck the male’s shoulder, spinning him toward his companion a moment before he pulled the trigger. The girl stabbed him in the abdomen a moment before she ended up with a gaping hole in her chest.

The Krigat coughed in surprise and fell to his knees. The Selna had pierced his blood sack with her knife, and he was bleeding out.

Reeda sighed and put pressure on the wound. “Did you call the peacekeepers?”

Liimar got to his feet. “I did, but they are delayed, as always. They stabbed Malkor, hit him in the head and left him in the back.”

“Can you attend to him?”

“I will. Are you really trying to save his life?”

Reeda looked at his pale-yellow features with surprise. “Of course. How many dead bodies do you want in your shop today?”

He grimaced. “I will check on Malkor.”

“Good idea.” Reeda looked down at the young man on the floor and at his slate-grey skin. “Hang on. You will make it through this.”

He looked up at her and blinked slowly. “She’s dead.”

“Yes.”

He relaxed. “Thank the stars. She had me under her control. I feel free.”

His body was paling rapidly as his blood relocated to his abdomen.

“Hang on, junior. Hang on.” Reeda felt the pounding of his pulse under her hands slow.

The peacekeepers strode in and took in the situation. “Hey, Reeda.” Officer Na smiled and waved.

“Do you have a med cart with you?”

“It’s coming. What happened?”

Reeda applied more pressure to the wound, and the pulse sped up a bit. “They tried to rob Liimar. This one accidently shot her a moment after she accidentally stabbed him.”

Officer Na caught the med cart and arranged it next to Reeda. “I am ready to take over.”

“You have the stasis field? The compression band?”

“I do. Ready when you are.”

Reeda nodded, waited until Na was in place and she said, “Now.”

Officer Na snapped a compression band around the wound, activated the stasis field and started a drip with fluids. The medics arrived a moment later and groaned when they saw the dead Selna on the floor.

Reeda sighed. “Concentrate on the live one. Call the coroner for this one.” She flicked her fingers toward the young woman. Purple blood arced through the air and struck the dead woman.

Reeda scowled, and Officer Na handed her a wipe. Her hands were covered in blood to mid-forearm. She gripped the wipe and jerked her head toward the back. “Na, there is also an injury. Malkor was stabbed and knocked out.”

Na sighed. “I will attend him until backup can arrive.”

Reeda nodded. “I am going to go and wash up unless you need images.”

Officer Meejo raised his head. “We will take a scan.”

He set the scanner to run around her body and take in the splashes of blood and the scorch mark across her abdomen. “How were you alerted?”

“Liimar found out you were delayed, so he sent for me.” Reeda nodded. “I am sure you can guess the rest.”

The medical team had the Krigat on the med board and were guiding him out of the shop.

The scanner chirped that it was complete, and Reeda went to the back of the shop to use the lav and wash her hands. The purple blood had started to dry, so she had to scrub to get it out of her skin. She was still stained, but at least he had a chance to survive.

After blotting her hands with the towel, she came out to see the coroner wrapping the body and Malkor still getting first aid from Officer Na. Everyone was in the front of the shop, and the cleaners were waiting outside.

No shop was left in unusable condition at the Hrevek Marketplace. Even a death could not stop commerce.

She looked over at Liimar. “I am heading back to my stall. Have a good day.”

Officer Meejo nodded. “I will be over for a statement shortly, Miss Rrkra.”

She nodded. “I can’t wait. See you later, Liimar.”

“Thanks, Reeda.”

She smiled as he called out and made her way through the crowds to her kiosk. She had proper detergents at her stand, and she should be able to get the stain out of her skin.

Reeda dropped the shield on her stand and dug around until she found the supplies. She sat and chatted with shoppers and other vendors while she slowly got the blood off her hands.

When the peacekeepers arrived to take her statement, she kept it to the basics. She had checked the situation, verified that the couple had had hostile intent and she had acted.

Officer Meeja looked at her with a quirked brow over his central eye. “And how did you know their intent?”

She sighed. “I have a talent for knowing when I am looking at trouble.”

Meeja put his recorder away. “Your registration please?”

She extended her wrist, and he scanned her talent chip.

He checked the scanner. “This is your fourth incident in six weeks.”

She nodded. “Yes, it is.”

“You will have to come in for an interview.”

Reeda sighed. “I understand. Can I come in after the close of the market today?”

“No. You need to be in our offices by three in the afternoon. There are analysis specialists in today, and you would benefit from speaking to them.” Officer Meeja smiled at her. “I think it would benefit you and your family greatly.”

There was something under his words, and she didn’t get any warning signs. He was trying to give her an opportunity.

“I will be there. If the files are ready, I can go now.”

He chuckled and winked two out of his five eyes. “Give me an hour. Not all of us are as quick witted as you.”

She blinked and nodded in agreement. “One hour from now I will leave the kiosk and head for the station.”

“Done. I will make sure they are ready for you.”

Reeda nodded. “Done.”

He put his scanner away and chuckled as he left, “Like anyone is ever ready for you.”

She grinned as he disappeared into the crowd. Officer Na was more affectionate, but Meeja was no-nonsense and by the book. That he would make a quip like that was a good sign.

Reeda sold six more scarves in the next hour; each customer wanted to know about the attempted robbery and how she had thwarted it. Each client walked away with a scarf and a completely different story. The truth wasn’t inside any of the tales, and it amused Reeda’s neighbours to listen in.

At the hour, she locked up the kiosk again and headed the six blocks to the peacekeeper station.

A long line had formed outside the doors, but she headed to the central archway and scanned herself inside. She had been to the station often enough that her talent code opened the security doors.

Officers were managing the crowd, but she slipped past those who were waiting in line so that she could register at the desk.

“Hello, Officer Korad.” She smiled brightly.

He smiled at her with his savagely pointed teeth. “What happened today, Reeda?”

“One injury, one fatality.” She shrugged.

“Your abdomen looks a little scorched.”

“No worse than a sunburn. My mom will web it over when I go home. It will be healed in no time.”

“We will call you when your turn comes up. You know the procedure.” He grinned again.

“Yes, yes, I do.” She headed to the bench and took a seat.

The line moved slowly forward, and Reeda noticed that most—if not all—of those in line had talent-code markings.

Her name was called, and she got to her feet, smiling at the officer who escorted her to an interview room.

She waved at a few officers that had interviewed her in the past before she was settled in the room with the interview officer across from her.

He spoke into the recorder. “Officer Quiddad interviewing Reeda Rrkra.”

He took her through the morning from the first call to the last moments with the Krigat before the medical staff took him.

“Ms. Rrkra, do you feel that your talent was used in a controlled manner that benefited the maximum amount of citizens?”

She blinked. No one had asked her that question before. “I do believe that my talent was used to not only keep my personal form safe but that of the person who had called me for help.”

“Could you have avoided the fatality?”