Page 90 of Stealing Mercury
Samantha jerked as if she’d been struck by a lash. “Are you saying...?”
“That I can get you in touch with the person who helped your father forge your papers the first time?” The lines reappeared at the corner of the woman’s mouth. “I wasn’t always old and conservative. Your father and I had to walk on the wrong side of the law a time or two when we were younger.”
Samantha fell back in her chair, with a laugh. “You and he were runners together. I had a feeling.”
The captain nodded. “But I don’t like to let that part of my personal history get around. Earth Alliance still has open warrants for anyone who helped the refugees during the refugee uprisings. The fewer people that know a secret, the easier it is to keep.”
“Of course, but I have to tell you that’s part of why I contacted you.”
“So, tell me what you need, Sammie. Whatever it is, you’ll have it along with a new identity and transport for your friends.”
Mercury’s guts twisted. “We aren’t going anywhere without Samantha.” He wasn’t letting anyone separate them. Only Samantha could do that, and he didn’t think he’d be able to allow it. The captain offered her a way to return to being a pilot. Why would she choose to stay with him when he could offer her only danger and a life of struggle?
Carn stood, his chair scraped loudly across the floor as he shoved away from the table. “We aren’t being sent anywhere.”
The crew members at the far end of the room all got to their feet, but the captain remained seated and waved them off. “It’s an offer gentleman, not an edict. You’re free men here. You’ll do as you choose. I didn’t help relocate thousands of refugees because I was looking for folks to oppress.”
Samantha turned to face Carn. “I know you have no reason to trust me. I know I’m not a Dog. But I do keep my promises, Carn, and the captain may be able to help me do that.”
Carn eased back into his seat. “I didn’t say I don’t trust you.”
Samantha stilled as if his words struck her unaware. It squeezed Mercury’s heart to think she didn’t feel certain of their trust after all they’d been through. He stroked a hand along her thigh to urge her to continue.
She nodded, almost to herself then turned back to the captain. “I can’t tell you how much your generous offer means to me. What we need most right now is a way to get back to Roma without being seen.”
Knock pounded a fist on the table, making it shake. “Why in hell would you want to go back there?”
Samantha scowled. “Seems someone got left behind.”
Mercury let satisfaction slip over him as her careful word choice scored a hit on the man. Knock’s mouth tightened. Real regret or anger that she wouldn’t let him off the hook?
“Okay,” said the captain, drawing everyone’s attention back to her. “What’s your plan?”
“I’ve heard a lot of the runners had a captain’s closet. If theGwendellahad something like that, I thought it might give us a chance of getting into the port undetected.”
“All of you,” asked the captain.
Samantha nodded. “Plus one more on the outbound journey. It should help that your last port of record will be Sedona instead of Haverlee. I doubt Owens or many of the Alliance port workers would even know Sedona and Haverlee are on the same planet.”
“Allendson’s Port Chief there now.” She narrowed her eyes. “But you knew that.”
Samantha licked her lips. “I don’t expect him to be a problem.”
“No,” said the captain. “I don’t expect so.”
The serving woman brought another pitcher of whatever the captain and her crew had been drinking and extra glasses. The room went quiet as she poured out glasses for Samantha, him and his brothers. The woman put a hand on his shoulder as she leaned across him to fill his tankard. He shifted his shoulder to discourage the woman. She moved on to Lo, but not before Samantha noticed the woman’s touch.
When the serving woman left the room again the captain sipped her drink then spoke again. “I do have a closet and it should meet your needs. We’re not scheduled into Roma, but I can arrange something. Roma’s not so far off our route that it would raise suspicion for us to detour there.”
“Perfect.” Samantha’s response to the news that her plan was coming together seemed subdued.
He reached for her, but she avoided his touch in favor of adjusting her mug as if the precise angle of the handle required all her attention. Was it Hera on her mind or did she think him so fickle as to be distracted by the serving woman’s touch? He didn’t know how to reassure her, so he returned to the task at hand. “You didn’t mention this closet before,” he said as softly as his rough voice would allow.
“I wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to count on it.” She wrapped her hands around her mug. “Some indies have a smuggler’s hold—a compartment built into the floor of the ship’s decking. It’s hidden and shielded, so goods can be smuggled without being detected even by sensor sweep. The closet works on the same principle, but it’s built into the walls and it’s hooked into the environmental controls. For carrying people, not cargo.”
Mercury said, “We could hide in this closet?”
“Yes. Even if Owens sends in a search team, we’d be safe.”
