Page 28 of Escape Velocity

Chapter Six

Max scanned the crowd as he steered Amber past a place selling sea delicacies—grown in tanks. A flash of movement from above caught his eye, and he looked up. But he saw only a guy wavering at the railing, then turn on unsteady legs toward the bar behind him.

“What,” Amber whispered.

“Just a drunk,” he said as he led her into a walkway lined with specialty shops. They turned a corner and then stepped into the establishment he’d been heading for. It sold reproduction art, and he ushered Amber to the back where a bearded man who looked to be in his fifties was shifting through a bin of twenty-first century advertising cards. It was Harry Makro, who ran a legitimate business to cover for the money he took in under the table.

Harry looked up, a smile spreading across his face, probably because he knew Max wasn’t simply paying a social call.

“Maxwell. What can I do for you?”

“Can we talk in private?”

Harry glanced toward the front of the shop. No one else was there, and he swept aside a bright fabric curtain that hid a metal door.

He pressed his palm to the lock plate. When it opened, he stepped inside, and Max started to follow. When Amber held back, he took her arm and ushered her into a cramped office. As the door closed behind them, she went rigid.

“It’s okay,” Max said.

“Why are we locked in?”

“So, nobody knows what we’re doing here.” He looked at Harry. “My lady friend needs papers.”

Harry turned up the lighting and gave Amber a long look. “Nice disguise job.”

“You can tell?”

“Oh, come on. I’m a makeup expert.”

“I hope my work holds up better in the general population.”

“You’ll have to makeup it. I need to take a picture of her to go with the file.”

Max swore. “Since when?”

“Since too many people were taking advantage of the Danalon system.” He rummaged in one of his drawers, took out a pack of wipes and handed them to Amber. “Go in the bathroom and clean yourself up.”

Harry didn’t ask why Max had brought this woman here. He didn’t ask where she had come from and why she needed an identity. He might be curious, but he would never pry.

He pointed toward a door to his left, and she stepped inside.

When she was gone, Max said. “And one other thing.”

“Yeah, what?”

Max told him.

“You don’t trust her?”

“Just a precaution.”

The men waited for a few minutes before they heard water running inside.

“How are you paying?” Harry asked.

“Not my credit account. I brought some credits from a transaction on Palamar.”

“Okay.” Harry held out his hand, and Max laid some credit slips on his palm.

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