Page 39 of Synnr's Ride

Why lock an empty drawer?

She jolted to the side, knocking the desk chair out of the way and waiting for the trap to close. A blaster? A camera? An alarm? What was it going to be?

But after several seconds, nothing happened. The drawer wasn't rigged to catch her. It was just empty.

Hanna didn't give up that easily. She stuck her hand inside and felt around, testing for a false bottom, and her work paid off when she touched the back. Not a false bottom, then.

She pulled the drawer out as far as she could and slid the fake backing out to reveal a small compartment with a ring of half a dozen keys and nothing else.

Keys with no lock were useless, but she had dozens of pictures of the pages from the safe. There could be an address in code.

The keys were supposed to be hidden. How often did Kark really check they were there?

Something thumped in the hallway and Hanna jolted into action. She slid the keys into her pocket and grabbed the false backing to slide it back into the drawer, wincing as it tore at her skin.

She closed the drawer, heart beating wildly. She strained to hear, but the door was thick enough to muffle most sound.

And then the knob started to turn.

Hanna had no place to hide. There was no window to jump out of and she was about to be caught in the act. Her eyes darted around, working the problem, until they skimmed over the couch.

She launched herself at it and was pulling the blanket over her as the door opened and Zilly stepped in.

"Are you napping?" she asked, incredulous.

Hanna had to keep her breathing under control, which was difficult given the utter panic that had assailed her. "No, I mean, not really. I'm sorry, is it super busy out there?" She had to sound guilty for getting caught slacking, not spying.

Zilly huffed a laugh. "Not really. But you've been gone awhile and I needed to make sure you hadn't gotten crushed by a pile of crates. Come on. Morn will freak if he knows you were in here. But as far as I'm concerned, that's on him for forgetting to lock the door. I won't tell if you won't. And if you go and clean up the puke in the booth. A couple of kids came in and couldn't hold their liquor."

Hanna made a face and Zilly laughed. "Yeah, I'll get the bucket," Hanna grumbled.

She pushed herself up from the couch and hid her wince as the fabric irritated the wound on her hand. "Are the guys back yet?"

"No, not yet. Come on, I should lock this up behind you. We wouldn't want some nosy customer snooping."

Hanna followed Zilly out and grabbed the mop and bucket from the cleaning closet. Zilly didn't seem suspicious at all, but Hanna couldn't shake the dread of the close call.

Her communicator was burning a hole in her pocket and she was ready to go home and get to work.

13

Jori's armhurt enough that he was starting to worry. The other guys had been hit by plenty of spark and there were bruises, but he and Kark were the only ones bleeding.

Rexx had blood on his boots and flecks on his pants, but none of it was his own.

All Jori wanted was some med gel, a painkiller, and a soft bed. If Hanna was there to fuss just a bit, he wouldn't complain.

He had that weirdly empty post adrenaline hangover that made his hands a bit shaky and the world feel not quite real. The last place he wanted to be was The Docking Station.

But Jursor and Maisum led the gang inside with calls for a bottle of whiskey and for all the rabble to get out. Before Jori took his seat, the bar was almost completely clear of anyone not in Kark's crew. And by the time Zilly put the bottle on the table and Hanna set down a tray of tumblers, the place was empty.

Zilly got one look at Kark and went running for the med kit. She sat it down on the table in front of him and then started tending to his wounds with the seriousness of a battle nurse. Kark tried to push her away twice, but she wouldn't be rebuffed, and when she came back with a wound cleansing spray a third time, he submitted.

Maisum regaled Zilly with the tale of his bravery, apparently fending off a rat the size of a small child while the rest of them fought Fally and his patrons. Zilly giggled at all the right places, but her focus never strayed from Kark.

Did they have something real? Jori didn't understand how anyone could find Kark anything but loathsome. But it seemed that even the worst people could find love.

"Are you alright?" Hanna took the empty chair next to him, her eyes locked on his arm.

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