quickly anywhere. Of course, the goon in station security get-up hiding in the backroom probably had something to do with it. We won’t get anything out of him short of a mind probe.”
“Damn.”
“Item two: the Confederacy of the Howling Stars definitely has a chapter on this station, and they’re well connected. I saw two of them having a quiet chat with the guy who inspected our ship. No mistaking the affiliation – they wore gang tattoos. I’d say there’s a good chance the Jackals are interested in us.”
“And the organized crime section is pretty sure they’re in deep with the Sécurité Spéciale .” Talyn nodded.
“Yup. Item three: I was tailed by more of the Jackals from the moment I left the docking arm to the moment I returned, and they weren’t too subtle about it.”
“Item four: I saw a military-looking type with an Avalon corporate pin on his suit having a drink with the head Jackal I spotted when we first went ashore. Both took a good long look at me, like they’d seen pictures of Zack Decker and figured I could be related to him. Somehow, the idea that one of the biggest private military corporations is in cahoots with mobsters doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies.”
“Either Captain Ulrich didn’t find whoever was leaking information to the Sécurité Spéciale ,” Talyn replied after digesting Zack’s report, “or they have a new source in place, or it could just be coincidence related to the search for the late Harmon Amali and his yacht.”
“Occam’s Razor, honey.” Decker tried to shrug in the confined space. “Our mission was tightly compartmentalized. I doubt the bastards know we’re Fleet. Chances are good there’s a substantial bounty on Syrah , enough to get the Jackals interested, and because of that, every ship within the right tonnage range and of similar configuration is under the microscope. Avalon involvement is a no-brainer. They almost caught us right after we stole the ship and their management will have had its collective butt kicked for not closing the deal.”
“Most likely,” she conceded. “My paranoia does have me jump to the worst case scenario all too often. Considering the Amali family has enough money to make it interesting, the possibility of a bounty seems pretty good, now that I think of it, especially if the rest of the Coalition inner circle kicks in a few million creds of their own.”
“What do we do?”
“We leave. There’s no way we’ll pick up a trace on Kilia now. The station’s management has apparently been co-opted by Sécurité Spéciale goons via their Jackal puppets.”
“So much for this place staying on the straight and narrow.”
“When the choice is between keeping gangsters with a gun at your head happy and keeping the Fleet happy when it only sends a frigate through the system four times a year, it’s no contest.”
Zack grunted. After a moment, he said, “I can wipe out all of the bugs at once the moment you want me to. A small electromagnetic pulse will do it. They can’t put enough shielding on things that tiny. It won’t do squat to our systems, though we should make sure all of our loose items are stored in a shielded box. Of course, the moment I do that, they’ll know we’re on to them. A few devices failing would be normal. All of them at once, no.”
“The bigger question is undocking and getting away if they’re inclined to keep us put until they can get confirmation. Unless we’re willing to tear off part of the airlock and brave their guns, they can keep us here at will, and I’m not ready to risk damaging the ship.”
Zack’s mouth curved into a smile.
“Leave it to me.”
“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”
“Because I never bluff unless I have something up my sleeve?”
“No, that’s not it. Perhaps because you have the habit of doing unexpected things that both frighten and irritate those of us doomed to
“Damn.”
“Item two: the Confederacy of the Howling Stars definitely has a chapter on this station, and they’re well connected. I saw two of them having a quiet chat with the guy who inspected our ship. No mistaking the affiliation – they wore gang tattoos. I’d say there’s a good chance the Jackals are interested in us.”
“And the organized crime section is pretty sure they’re in deep with the Sécurité Spéciale .” Talyn nodded.
“Yup. Item three: I was tailed by more of the Jackals from the moment I left the docking arm to the moment I returned, and they weren’t too subtle about it.”
“Item four: I saw a military-looking type with an Avalon corporate pin on his suit having a drink with the head Jackal I spotted when we first went ashore. Both took a good long look at me, like they’d seen pictures of Zack Decker and figured I could be related to him. Somehow, the idea that one of the biggest private military corporations is in cahoots with mobsters doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies.”
“Either Captain Ulrich didn’t find whoever was leaking information to the Sécurité Spéciale ,” Talyn replied after digesting Zack’s report, “or they have a new source in place, or it could just be coincidence related to the search for the late Harmon Amali and his yacht.”
“Occam’s Razor, honey.” Decker tried to shrug in the confined space. “Our mission was tightly compartmentalized. I doubt the bastards know we’re Fleet. Chances are good there’s a substantial bounty on Syrah , enough to get the Jackals interested, and because of that, every ship within the right tonnage range and of similar configuration is under the microscope. Avalon involvement is a no-brainer. They almost caught us right after we stole the ship and their management will have had its collective butt kicked for not closing the deal.”
“Most likely,” she conceded. “My paranoia does have me jump to the worst case scenario all too often. Considering the Amali family has enough money to make it interesting, the possibility of a bounty seems pretty good, now that I think of it, especially if the rest of the Coalition inner circle kicks in a few million creds of their own.”
“What do we do?”
“We leave. There’s no way we’ll pick up a trace on Kilia now. The station’s management has apparently been co-opted by Sécurité Spéciale goons via their Jackal puppets.”
“So much for this place staying on the straight and narrow.”
“When the choice is between keeping gangsters with a gun at your head happy and keeping the Fleet happy when it only sends a frigate through the system four times a year, it’s no contest.”
Zack grunted. After a moment, he said, “I can wipe out all of the bugs at once the moment you want me to. A small electromagnetic pulse will do it. They can’t put enough shielding on things that tiny. It won’t do squat to our systems, though we should make sure all of our loose items are stored in a shielded box. Of course, the moment I do that, they’ll know we’re on to them. A few devices failing would be normal. All of them at once, no.”
“The bigger question is undocking and getting away if they’re inclined to keep us put until they can get confirmation. Unless we’re willing to tear off part of the airlock and brave their guns, they can keep us here at will, and I’m not ready to risk damaging the ship.”
Zack’s mouth curved into a smile.
“Leave it to me.”
“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”
“Because I never bluff unless I have something up my sleeve?”
“No, that’s not it. Perhaps because you have the habit of doing unexpected things that both frighten and irritate those of us doomed to
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