Page 84 of Stealing Mercury
Samantha froze. His words had a chilling effect on the entire room. She met Moira’s gaze where she hovered next to a storage chest. “Be careful how you talk about my mother. I’d be damn proud to be half as strong and wise as Moira.” She wouldn’t admit aloud that she saw her mother’s relationship with her father as weak. It had been her only weakness. And Samantha wouldn’t explain that she peeled the fruit or poured cream over the grain because the food at her mother’s table was unfamiliar to Mercury and his pack brothers.
“We were talking about helping Sammie.” Knock piped up. “In case anyone wanted to get back on topic.”
“Right,” said Mikal. “So, we heard you scuttled one of Roma’s ships and stole a Raptor class transport.”
“Chief didn’t tell you that.”
“No,” said Knock. “That’s in all the latest Alliance bulletins.”
This news rang in her ears like the reverberation of a hangar door slamming shut.
Mikal swallowed a mouthful of the grain and nut mixture. “We were worried about you, Sammie.”
“Right.” She laughed, a mirthless sound that came more from grief than humor. Mikal had been the first one of her father’s crew to acknowledge her. He’d taught her tool slinging and made it possible for her to join her father’s ship. “Like you were worried about me on Sydney-3?”
“I was worried. But I’m not a young man and I knew when your old man died my retirement plan died with him. I needed the job.”
“Right. Gods forbid anyone get in the way of your retirement.” Samantha pushed away the year old hurt. The touch of Mercury’s hand steadied her. “Okay. Let’s pretend for one minute you really came because you were worried about me, or what was the first excuse, oh yeah, to ask for my forgiveness. Well, you can see I’m fine and forgiveness isn’t in the cards for today, so feel free to leave any time.”
Knock fingered the edge of his plate then pushed back from the table. “Okay, Sammie. You have good reason to be furious with us all.” He got to his feet and swatted Mikal on his way past. “Come on.”
Samantha stood to watch him walk out, but he stopped at the opening to Moira’s tent. “One more thing. You should check your father’s lock box. Whatever’s in there has Shred worried. And keep it in the back of your head that, if there is ever anything you need, anything, I won’t let you down again.”
Mikal surprised her when he faced her with genuine emotion on his face. “And don’t forget, the indies are here for you, too. We were all sad when you joined up on one of them fancy corporate haulers. I mean, don’t expect anything from Shred, but just about anyone else would spin a moon for you. We all loved your old man and you’re the chip off the block.”
Samantha closed her eyes as they left. Her mother’s scent filled the tent and her gown swished softly as she moved. Blinking rapidly, Samantha opened her eyes to take in the subtle hues of color decorating her mother’s skin. How many times had she wished to be more like her serene mother? Instead, she became more and more like her father. Even Mikal could see it. Ironically, she was no longer sure exactly who her father had been.
Chapter Twenty-Six
TheTreasure,Haverlee,Krena
GollerraSector
2210.171
Most buildings outside the port itself had been made of scraps or converted from one purpose to another. The Treasure was housed in a building that had once been a gambling house. The previous owner had installed extra security measures to keep the place honest and to protect profits. Now it protected whatever the indies who frequented the port considered valuable. For some it was credit markers or account numbers. For others it was halo-vid projectors or alien artifacts they hoped would be worth something one day. Samantha didn’t know what her father had considered valuable, but she was about to find out.
She didn’t recognize the guard at the door, but she recognized the one inside.
“Jebedi.” She’d been prepared to be ignored or looked at with pity, but he did neither. His face scrunched in a grin.
“Hey short stuff! Been too long.” He reached over to rub her head the way he had when she’d been thirteen and hanging around the port after her shift at the wormery.
Mercury tensed beside her, but he managed to let Jebedi finish the motion and withdraw his hand. It was a good thing Lo had waited outside.
“Jebedi, this is Mercury.” She reached over and squeezed Mercury’s hand. “Jebedi has worked here as long as I remember.”
Jebedi laughed, rocking back on his heels. “Surely, not so long as that. I remember you already had engine grease under your nails by the time I first laid eyes on you.”
The familiar teasing went a long way toward putting her at ease when she hadn’t expected anything about clearing her father’s box to be easy. “You’re probably right about that.”
Mercury shifted to edge between them. “We’re here to open her father’s box.”
“So much for easing into the process,” Samantha muttered.
Jebedi kept his smile in place, but he crossed his beefy arms over his barrel chest. He’d picked up on the disapproval of their reminiscing that was radiating from Mercury like a soundless warning siren. “Well, nothing to fear in that box, short stuff. Even if your father stuck a sand-viper in there it’d be dead by now. Those boxes have an airtight seal and no one’s been in his box for at least a year.”
A year. Her father had been gone more than a year. “Is that your way of telling me I put this off too long?” And she’d probably have left it forever if she’d stayed on theReliableslinging tools for some mammoth corporation.
