Page 13 of Written in the Stars

I recognized one of the pair. Mondix had always been a relatively friendly face among the protection collectors. The kind who seemed to think they were providing a service, not just extorting money.

“Hold up. What’s your business here?” The other guard pulled a nasty looking stun stick from his holster and pointed it at Drask. The damned things lacked range, but I knew how much they hurt from unpleasant personal experience.

Mondix put a restraining hand on his colleague’s forearm. “Morning, Megan. This fucker bothering you?”

He indicated Drask with a nod, and I shook my head with a smile.

“Jury’s still out on that, Mondix, but I don’t need to be rescued from him, if that’s what you’re asking.” Beside me, Drask stood still as a statue, and I really didn’t want these guys to push him. Starting a fight here would more than double the trouble we were in. Time to be charming. “How’re the kids? I’ve turned up a couple of new books I think they’d love.”

Mondix smiled. It wasn’t reassuring—his mouth would best be described as ‘sharklike’ and any expression that bared his teeth looked threatening rather than friendly. But he was at least a known quality.

“It is nice of you to remember them,” he said. “I will come by when things are calmer. What brings you up here, though? You did not come to tell me about some new books.”

“We’ve got to see your boss, Mondix.” I held up my hands as he started to say ‘no.’ “I know, I know, but it’s important, and he’ll want to take this meeting. Trust me.”

“And if you’re wrong, it’s me that gets the blame.”

“Us.” Mondix’s colleague growled, stunstick still in hand. “We both get blamed.”

He was shorter than Mondix, with long, powerful-looking arms covered in purple fur. His speech wasn’t very clear, probably because of the mess of fangs in his mouth. I shivered, and Drask took over the conversation.

“I have a business opportunity for the Stellar Kings, and your boss will get a bargain out of it,” my alien lover said, still unnervingly motionless aside from his mouth.

“Boss doesn’t do business with anyone who doesn’t come with a proper introduction. We don’t know you.” Mondix sounded disappointed, which gave me some hope.

“You knowme,though. And you can trust me. For god’s sake, Mondix, we’ve known each other since you first shook me down, and I’ve always paid up on time.”

The two guards looked at each other, then turned back to us. “You’d best be right about this,” Mondix said, standing aside and ushering us into the club.

Yeah, I hope so too.I smiled and waved as the door slid shut behind us. In here, too, the mood was subdued. Loud music boomed over the speakers, but there were hardly any clients to enjoy it. A handful of bored dancers went through the motions on stages scattered around the room, the lighting focused on them. The patrons, too, but we weren’t here to speak to a few random guys.

At the far side of the room, on a small, raised platform, one table was full. That was our destination.

Drask took the lead, drawing me across the room. The carpet stuck to our feet as we walked, making me shudder and keep my gaze up. I didn’t want to see what we were treading in if I could help it.

Another pair of guards stood in our way, and these were more professional than those on the door. They patted us down quickly before waving us through onto the platform, looking warily at Drask when they found no weapons.

At the head of the table sat a gold-skinned giant of a man. Taller even than Drask and broad with it, he’d once have been a terrifying foe. Now, though? While I wouldn’t want to fight him, his muscle had gone to fat and flab, and he wore a stained robe of fine fabric that looked too restrictive to fight in.

Compared to Drask, he didn’t look like much of a warrior. That didn’t stop him from being imposing, though. He wore crossed bandoliers over his robes, various weapons hanging from them. Pistols, knives, grenades, all ready for use at a moment’s notice.

Completing the image of a decadent crime lord, he sat flanked by a pair of scantily clad women. They lay against him, covering their boredom with plastic smiles.

The rest of the people around the table were exactly what I’d expected. A multi-species cross section of the Stellar Kings, all of them looking at us.

“Well?” The boss snapped out his question in an annoyed bark. “Who’s this, and why are you in my club bothering me?”

One of the gangsters next to him whispered something, lost under the pounding beat of the music.

“Ah, yes. The bookseller.” Contempt dripped from his words and Drask tensed beside me. I offered up a silent prayer that we’d get through this without him deciding to kill the boss for insulting me. “What d’you want? What’s so important you’ve got to speak to me about it?”

“We’ve got a proposal for you, sir.” I did my best to keep my voice confident and level, but I was sure anyone looking at me would see the panic. I swallowed and bulled ahead. “You’re having some trouble with the Black Hole Gang, right?”

“Nothing we can’t handle,” the boss said, waving it off as though the gang war hadn’t paralyzed this whole station level. “You just keep paying up, and we’ll keep ‘em off your back.”

Riiiiight. Sure, that’ll happen.I hoped my skepticism didn’t show. “Of course, but they’ve already made a mess of my place and they’re demanding money I can’t afford. So, uh, my friend and I would like to do our part to help. If you can tell us where to find their boss, we’ll deal with him for you.”

That got everyone’s attention. Even the girls flanking the boss looked at me, shocked. I half-expected the music to come to a screeching halt, but apparently whatever AI was running the playlist didn’t have a sense of humor.

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