Dragonfly by Erica Hayes

There we sat, Dragonfly and I, playing cards, drinking, me smiling and glancing sidelong, him leaning toward me to whisper, his fingertips brushing my arm. The pictures made me cringe. I’d done a pretty good job of flirting with him. We looked about ready to drag each other out the back and get on with it.
    If I hadn’t known he was an ice-blooded killer with shit for morals, I might have considered it. I’d been pretty drunk, and even sober I had to admit he was good-looking and charming. Good thing for me that Nikita and I had won the game, the easiest way to get rid of Dragonfly. The loser never gets the girl.
    “Well, if it isn’t the delectable Lady Curious.”
    My heart thudded, and my head whipped around before I could stop it.
    Dragonfly slouched against the open hatchway, his hands shoved in his pockets, a sweet little smile turning his lips. He wore a grey silk suit, cufflinks glinting, dark hair tumbling about his shoulders, his tie loose like he’d wandered in from the bar.
    Flushing, I turned back and flicked away from the pictures so he wouldn’t see. I should shoot him right now, get his irritating face off my radar. Suited me. Only I wasn’t convinced Nikita would let me live if I defied my orders, and I had to admit Dragonfly’s murky plans intrigued me.
    “Go away, I’m working.”
    “As it happens, so am I. And on the same thing, judging by that set-up of yours.”
    He sauntered up to peer over my shoulder, and I squirmed. Scented soap, whisky, a hint of spice. Damn.
    He pulled a golden hyperchip from his pocket and flipped it over his knuckles. “You’re full of surprises, Lady Curious. I’m captivated. Now move over, you’re in the way.”
    “Stop calling me that. It’s Lazuli, if you must know.”
    “Enchanted, Lazuli. You’re still in the way.”
    I split the display contacts, and the projection vanished. I stuffed the slim set away into my thigh pocket, but didn’t step aside. “Be my guest. I’ve got what I came for.”
    “By grace of my icebreaker, if I’m not mistaken. Leaving now, are you?”
    He leaned past me over the neurospace, running his fingers delicately over the bio-skin, probing for the right receptor for his chip. My own skin shivered warm in sympathy, and inwardly I cursed. This was no time to get distracted.
    “Dragonfly, right? The insurrection’s favorite armed robber?” No way was I asking his real name. I didn’t care. Vermin didn’t have names. “Kinda thought you’d be taller.”
    He grinned, careless, but color brightened his face in the green light. “You’ve heard of me. I’m flattered.”
    “Don’t be. They say it’s the vault you’re after, and that makes you either a genius or an idiot. I know which one I’m betting on.”
    “Can’t argue with your betting skills after last night.”
    He slotted the chip, and all the bio-diodes flickered out.
    I gasped. He’d just put the entire autonomous portion of the neurospace to sleep. “How did you do that?”
    Static crackled and popped, and above our heads the laser security grid snapped off. Dragonfly studied the data columns, flicking his gaze up and down. “Wouldn’t you love to know? Okay, we’re on our way. You want to keep an eye on this?”
    “What?”
    He slipped a smooth hand around my arm and pulled me closer. My skin burned. I tensed, my throat tight, but he just pointed at the glowing column. “If you’re going to stand there, you might as well help. See that synapse voltage? Anything below twelve nano is bad.”
    I glanced at him, intrigued despite myself. “How bad?”
    “Alarm-screeching, tear-gas-up-your-nose, laser-rifle-in-the-face bad.”
    He pulled a glittering plastic cube from his pocket and twisted it in half. Faint yellow light speared up a hand’s-width wide, a remote display. Keeping half an eye on the data column, I sneaked a look. He fingered lightly through encrypted directories and hidden files, flicking what he wanted onto his hyperchip. I had to