Page 70 of Chosen By Swift

Before he made it to the docked S&R vehicles, he was intercepted by Grim. Certain the Shadow Force operative was about to start interrogating the children, Swift shook his head. “No. Not yet. They need to get back to our ship. They’re in bad shape.”

Grim narrowed his eyes in frustration but nodded. “Fine. Leave them with Drift then get back here to assess the ship.”

Swift carried the children to Drift’s S&R vehicle. The young pilot seemed staggered by the sight of the filthy, crying children. “What happened? Where did you find those?”

“In the duct work.” Swift took them to the medical bed at the rear of the vehicle. After placing them on it, he crouched down to their level and tried to speak as gently as possible. “My name is Swift. This man is Drift. We’re both pilots. We’re going to take care of you and keep you safe. What are your names?”

The little boy gawked at him, wide eyed and shaking. The girl who seemed to be the older of the two was similarly terrified but managed to squeak out, “I’m Doreen. This is my brother Diego.”

“Are you hurt?” He looked them over for any obvious wounds but didn’t see any. “Or sick?”

“Hungry,” the boy finally managed. “Hungry.”

“I bet you are.” Swift’s heart ached for the wretched situation the children were in and glanced back at Drift. “Rations?”

“Yeah. On it.” Drift rushed to the compartment that held food supplies.

“Papa’s dead,” Doreen said, her voice so quiet he barely heard her over the hum of the ship. “The bad men put him in the freezer.”

“I’m sorry,” Swift said, uncertain what else to say. “What about your mother? Was she on the ship?”

Doreen shook her head. “Mama went ahead on the first ship to ready the house.”

“Went ahead where?” Swift took a juice box from Drift and opened it for Doreen while Drift opened one for the boy.

“A colony,” she said.

“A colony? Which colony?”

“I don’t know,” she said, starting to cry. “It’s a hard name to say.”

Swift glanced at Drift for help. The younger pilot asked, “Jesco? Hastings? Cordwayne? Villanueva? Gar—?”

Doreen perked right up at the mention of Villanueva. “That one! Villa! That’s the one!”

“Your mother is on the Villanueva colony?” Swift asked, just to be sure.

“Yes, with our grandpa and grandma and our older brothers.”

“Okay. Good. Well, we’ll make sure your mother knows you’re safe,” Swift promised, hoping that he wasn’t making a vow he couldn’t keep. Certain Grim was somewhere scowling and glancing at his watch, Swift looked at Drift. “Keep them safe.”

“I will, sir.”

“You two stay here with Drift and do whatever he says. Understand?”

“Yes,” they answered in near unison.

As he left the S&R vehicle, Swift couldn’t believe the bizarre turn the mission had taken. A sabotaged ship. A pile of bodies on a flight deck. Another stack of bodies in a freezer. Two little kids falling out of the ceiling.

“What the hell is happening?” he muttered as he made his way to the cockpit.

I hope Alys is having a much more boring day than I am.

Chapter Fifteen

“So—how are you enjoying our little get-together?” Hallie dropped down onto the couch cushion next to Alys. She had a cup of punch in her hand but Alys hadn’t seen her drink a single drop of the slightly boozy mix.

“It’s very nice.” Alys had been nursing the same cup of the punch since their luncheon finished. She had never had alcohol before and didn’t want to make a fool of herself. It had been a bit shocking to see it served at a ladies lunch, but it seemed rules up here were much more relaxed.

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