Star Raiders (8 page)

As she spoke, Greyson watched but could detect no further flickers of emotion in Damon’s eyes or facial features. When she finished, his happy-go-lucky mask snapped back into place and he let his hand drop from his pistol. Greyson let out a breath of relief.

“Welcome to our merry little band of thieves,” Damon said.

“We’re not thieves. We’re smugglers.” Shyanne’s tone held a note of exasperation.

“Minor distinction.” Damon waved his hand in dismissal and turned his back on Greyson. “So, if we’re going after Dempster, why are we hanging around this shit-hole of a planet? There’s nothing on this rock to interest him.” He leaned over Terle’s shoulder as if to study the console, but Greyson sensed it was more to annoy the other man. Terle growled a warning a split second before he jammed his shoulder into Damon’s midsection. With a strangled cough that did little to hide his laugh, the blond man straightened.

“Slave auction,” Able answered.

Greyson saw reaction ripple across Damon’s shoulders. “I’l go down with you,” he said.

Shyanne shook her head. “No. Able, Bear and I are going. You’l stay aboard
Independence
.” When Damon started to object, she held up her hand. “I won’t have a repeat of what happened last time.”

He fel silent. Terle snickered. Able shushed him.

Greyson wanted to ask what had happened but held his tongue. There was no sense stirring the pot before it began to boil. Shyanne didn’t know it yet, but he was going along as wel .

Chapter Five

“You’re not coming along. That’s final!” Shy strode down the corridor toward the shuttle bay. It annoyed her greatly how easily Greyson kept pace.

Just before they reached the lift, he grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him. “I’m going.”

“Why? Your presence isn’t necessary. Able, Bear and I can handle it. We’ve done this alone dozens of times.” Al along she’d sensed his restlessness about the delay this side trip would cause, but he hadn’t voiced any objections or made a single demand until now.

“Not this time.” He cupped her face in his palm.

The concern in his eyes weakened her resolve. Having him with them was a complication she didn’t want or need. She and Bear had a wel -rehearsed routine.

She played the role of brothel madam, while he became her enforcer. The sight of him usual y discouraged anyone from objecting to their presence. Even she wasn’t foolish enough to land on Verus by herself.

Counting on her crew was one thing; letting herself rely on Greyson was a blueprint for disaster. She’d trusted him once and look where that had gotten her.

“I can’t afford to lose you,” Greyson continued. “Without you I don’t stand a chance of catching Dempster.”

Pain kil ed the tender feelings the first part of his sentence had engendered.

As always, she was nothing more to him than a means to an end. To hide the hurt she knew flared in her eyes, she jerked around and punched the lift button.

“Fine. Come along. But keep quiet and stay out of my way.” They met Bear in the shuttle bay where her ship waited. Though old,
Liberty
was fast and maneuverable, able to move in and out of a planet’s atmosphere. One person could fly her, but she could hold a crew of two for long distances comfortably. Four would be a squeeze.

Years ago, when Shy had taken over and expanded her father’s habit of rescuing slaves, she’d converted a good portion of the cargo bay to a dormitory capable of holding twenty or so people. Though the accommodations were primitive, a cot, group lavatories and MAT unit, they were stil luxurious compared to the squalor in which most slaves lived.

She landed
Liberty
in a secluded val ey about a mile outside Discol , Verus’s largest town. From what she’d heard, cal ing Discol a town was an exaggeration.

Once every few months when a ship came by with goods to sel or trade, Verus’s population converged there. The rest of the time it consisted of a mercantile store with empty shelves and a tavern with homebrewed liquor that would kil you quicker than the planet’s inhospitable climate. By listening to the radio chatter, she’d learned the auction was to take place there.

While Able stayed aboard to keep
Liberty
safe and ready to fly, she, Bear and Greyson set out on the walk into town. They traveled in silence. Opening her mouth to speak let hot, gritty air invade her mouth and scrape her throat raw. Her eyes watered from the stinging sand that swirled around her in the endless wind whose whining drone made her head pound and her heart race with some unknown dread.

Above, the planet’s two suns beat down without mercy. What little vegetation the planet claimed grew low to the ground, its foliage as dry and dusty as the turf around it. Stinging nettles and barbs guarded the plant’s precious moisture from the planet’s meager animal population.

“Why would anyone choose to live here?” Greyson asked.

“Because they ran out of choices,” Shy said. “Without water or any marketable resources, once someone lands on Verus, they have no way of making enough credits to get off again.”

“Then why would a slaver try and sel his product here? There can’t be much profit in it.”

“They must be desperate to unload their cargo.”

“I wonder why,” he mused.

The reason made her nervous, too. This smel ed like a trap. One she had no choice but to step into. Though she knew she couldn’t save them al , once slaves crossed her path she couldn’t walk away. She knew the pain and suffering of being
owned
by another.

The pathetic little town came into view. In the middle of the dilapidated buildings people gathered around a raised platform upon which a group of ten female children, al about six years old, huddled together. Al were humanoid, though several weren’t Earthlings. Shy couldn’t determine their planets of origin. An older girl, probably no more than seventeen, attempted without success to guard them from the hungry eyes of the mil ing crowd.

Though she was female, the men’s gazes didn’t linger on Shy. Dressed in rough clothing, weapons openly displayed, her hair hacked short—the men moved aside for her to pass. Having Bear behind her didn’t hurt.

While the younger girls appeared unharmed, though obviously frightened and dirty, the older girl’s clothing was torn; her lower lip was split and her thin arms sported nasty bruises. The haunted look in her eyes told its own tale. Despite that, she stood straight and glared at the men ogling her.

Shy hated that she’d been forced to let the slavers who’d abused the girl get away. They’d dropped their cargo and left immediately. The whole situation made her uneasy, but rescuing the girls took precedence over retribution. Someday there’d be justice done. The tag on the slaver’s ship would al ow her to track them down eventual y.

At Shy’s side, Greyson radiated anger. She put a warning hand on his arm and whispered, “Let me handle this.” Lips tight and eyes hard, he gave a nod.

They reached the edge of the platform just as the auctioneer began. “Wel , gents,” the skinny, weasel-faced man began. “We have quite a treat today. It’s not often we get such a selection of merchandise here on Verus.” He grinned and motioned to the cowering children. “Open up your wal ets and let’s get the bidding started…on
this
lovely little one.”

The man’s assistant yanked a girl out of the group. When the oldest objected, he smacked her across the face. Cradling her cheek, she fel to her knees but didn’t cry out. The children al started to sob. Greyson sucked in his breath but stood rigid. Shy appreciated him letting her handle this.

She could feel Bear’s reassuring bulk behind her. Without him she was sure the mil ing men of Verus would have long since made a move. Many of them had guns, but his own impressive array of weaponry and intimidating size would make even the bravest man hesitate.

“Young and healthy, this one wil give you years of service.” The auctioneer picked up the crying child and held her aloft for the crowd to see. She dangled in his grip like a broken rag dol . “Let’s start the bidding at a thousand credits.” The crowd muttered in anger and shifted forward. The auctioneer had miscalculated, or was perhaps playing a dangerous game. Not one of the men here looked to have a hundred credits; Shy doubted they could come up with a thousand credits between them al . Besides, the older girl was what interested them. She had curves and was old enough to provide labor outside of bed. The young girls would drain limited resources for several years before the men could recoup their investment—if the girls even lived that long. What was the auctioneer playing at?

As the silence grew, sweat beaded the man’s oily skin. “Five hundred credits?

Two-fifty?”

Several men to Shy’s right argued quietly, and then one shouted, “Fifty!”

“I have a bid of fifty credits.”

Shy could hear relief in the auctioneer’s voice.

“Do I have one hundred?”

“Fifty-five,” another man cal ed out.

The price rose bit by bit as the men pooled their resources. Final y, the bid reached one hundred credits. The time was nearing to act.

Greyson shifted in place. Though he’d always known the slave trade existed, when he’d been a field agent his jobs had focused on the smuggling of goods, so he’d never seen the results firsthand. The last ten years had been spent behind a desk.

Slavery statistics on paper didn’t convey the miserable reality.

With each bid, his tension grew. He couldn’t al ow these innocent little girls to fal into the hands of Verus’s men. Though every minute of every day he regretted the death of his mother at the hands of pirates, he preferred knowing she was in a better place than this.

Shyanne had to do something or he would. What was she waiting for? Her calm demeanor in the face of this horror made him question who and what she’d become since he’d last met her. The fate of these children was in her hands. Why didn’t she bid? Could she be so coldhearted as to let one become a disposable sex toy? Maybe al of them? Could she have changed so much from the young, idealistic girl he’d known? Did she have some plan he didn’t yet know?

“Trust me,” she whispered.

Trust her? How could he? She didn’t seem to be reacting to this at al .

Yet what choice did he have? Outnumbered, the three of them didn’t have a chance of stealing the children away. If Shyanne didn’t bid, he could only stand and watch in disgust. Why hadn’t he thought to bring money on this mission? Could he risk accessing his credit line and revealing his location to his superiors to purchase the girls? Would this backwater planet even accept anything other than hard credits?

He looked up in surprise as Shyanne stepped up onto the platform and plucked the girl from the auctioneer’s hands. She buried her face in Shyanne’s neck and clung to her.

“A thousand credits”—she paused for a moment as the number sank in—“for the entire lot.”

“Th-this is most unusual. I d-don’t know,” the auctioneer sputtered, but greed glinted in his beady eyes. A thousand credits was a bargain for eleven female slaves even this far off the beaten path, but the auctioneer knew a good deal when he heard one. Grumbling started in the crowd.

Shyanne smiled. “A thousand credits to you. And…a month’s worth of free passes to every man here at the pleasure house I plan to open!” As her words sank in, the grumbles turned to cheers.

Greyson let some of the tension ease out of his body. He had to admit Shyanne’s plan was inspired. In one stroke she’d stolen the girls away from the men but proposed to give them back without any hassle or expense of maintenance. The auctioneer would get his money and the men would get their sex.

Who could object?

Even better, it was al a lie.

“No!” the older girl screamed, and launched herself at Shyanne. Greyson jumped up and caught her before her nails raked Shyanne’s face.

“Let me go!”

The girl twisted like a wildcat. She clawed his arm and sank her teeth into Greyson’s wrist. The crowd laughed and cheered him on as he subdued the frantic girl and handed her to Bear. Once in Bear’s grip she slumped in defeat.

Greyson turned his attention to helping Shyanne with the younger girls. As he approached, they crouched and huddled together on the platform, whimpering in fear. The girl Shyanne held, with her white blonde hair and sky blue eyes, reminded him painful y of the little girl who’d died along with his mother in the pirate attack so many years ago. Afterward, the girl’s parents had generously taken him into their home and named him their son, but he knew he’d never replaced their daughter in their hearts. Where Anna’s eyes had been ful of laughter and courage, this little girl’s eyes held nothing but terror.

He wanted to gather them al in his arms and chase away the demons he knew would haunt them for the rest of their lives. But he realized if he showed them any scrap of kindness or compassion, they’d crumble into hysteria. Instead, using a firm voice and hand, he herded them off the platform and through the crowd.

Cowed by their experience with the slavers, they obeyed without question. Their submissive attitude broke his heart.

After paying the auctioneer, Shyanne, with the blonde girl stil in her arms, led the way back to the ship. Greyson herded the other children behind, while Bear brought up the rear with the oldest. Though in general the crowd seemed pleased with the arrangement, Greyson noticed a few men watching them leave with calculating looks. Trouble brewed. The sooner they were off this planet, the better.

The girls’ smal legs struggled to keep pace with Shyanne’s long stride. Final y, Greyson picked up two of the smal er children. Bear put down the oldest and scooped up three others, and the oldest lifted another. Between them they were carrying seven of the ten children. The remaining three moved faster to keep up.

Their pace increased, but the trip back to the ship took twice as long as the trip into town. At last
Liberty
came into view and Greyson breathed a sigh of relief.

Carrying the children had left them unable to access their weapons. He didn’t like being vulnerable.