Page 10 of Rescued

6

HEROD

“Okay. Let’s try this again.” I tugged my headset off and set it aside, turning to face the woman properly. “My friends, Adreax and Tayla, are the ones doing the rescuing. I just came in to provide backup. I never intended for you to wind up on my ship, but things were happening too fast, and we had to get out of there. The plan was for all of you to be aboard their ship and headed for some kind of refuge they have set up at Divoron for women like you. Obviously, things didn’t go quite the way we planned, and now you’re here with me.”

I offered her a weak smile, but she didn’t even look up at me.

“And?”

“And I have every intention of keeping my word. I just have to make one quick stop, and then we’ll meet up with the others. I know it’s not what either of us wants, but we might as well make the best of it. There’s beds and food in the back, and you’re welcome to find a place to rest. If you don’t want to see me for the next few days, you don’t have to. I’ll keep to myself. I have work to be doing anyway. How does that sound?”

This time she gave me a resigned sigh, and her formerly downtrodden look improved slightly to one of mild irritation.

“I guess that would be okay,” she answered quietly.

She guessed that would be okay?

What else could I have offered her to make this arrangement acceptable? It’s not like I had a lot to work with, here. I shoved my own irritation away and tried to keep this conversation rolling smoothly.

“Can I ask your name?” I tried another smile, hoping it would smooth things over, but I could see the way she recoiled distrustfully.

“Caimbrie,” she answered flatly.

“All right, that’s a good start. Think of this as a chance to tour a new part of the universe. Maybe you’ll find it enjoyable. Anyway, I’m sure once you’re with the others, you’ll feel a lot more at home. For now, we’ll just have to learn to live together.”

Caimbrie gave me one last doleful look before nodding her understanding, and then I watched as she rose from her seat and excused herself to the back of the ship. That was fine by me. I had some business I could be attending to while I waited. Namely, I needed to confirm my next contract and schedule our pickup location so we could get in and out.

As I watched her go, I felt a tiny pang of sympathy for the woman. I knew her life hadn’t been easy upon that research vessel, and it was possible I had made things more difficult for her by whisking her away. I could almost see how defeated she was,and I wished I could go to her and comfort her somehow. But I doubted she wanted any such thing from me, and I couldn’t blame her.

When she was out of sight, I forced myself to turn back to the matter at hand. I needed any work I could get. Even with the money Adreax promised, I still had to refuel and restock the ship. And then there were the debts to be repaid.

Fixing up theGreedy She-Devilafter our crash on Orb5 hadn’t been cheap, and I didn’t have the coin to pay for it all at once. Instead, I was forced to take out a series of loans from some disreputable lenders, and it would not behoove me to miss a payment.

An alert pinged across my screen, and I opened the message immediately.

“Heard you’re up to no good.”

I smiled to myself. It was Nikathy, an old friend and a fellow smuggler working the dark side of the stars. He was always keeping tabs on me, it seemed.

“Don’t act surprised. I’ve never been up to any good,” I responded.

I waited. There was a long pause and then the console chimed again when another message came through.

“That’s why I like you. Now for the important stuff. I’m sending over the information for this job. You know the routine with this guy. Make sure the information is destroyed after you read it. We don’t want any loose ends.”

I hesitated, looking over my shoulder to the place where Caimbrie had been a few moments before. Having her on board was a big risk, but I couldn’t pass the job along. Time was money in this game, and I couldn’t afford two more days off to rid myself of her. Not when the bills were due.

“I’m on my way. Do me a favor and make sure everything’s ready when I get there? I don’t want to waste any time waiting on these guys to load up. I’ve got other commitments. I need to be in and out.”

“I’ll do my best, but you know how these guys on Korvak are. They’re so uptight about things. I’ll see if I can grease the wheels a little so we can keep you moving.”

“Much appreciated. I’ll see you there.”

This was not my first time working for the guys on Korvak, and they paid a premium for reliable movement of product. It was a partnership that I had to protect at all costs. I would just have to make sure that Caimbrie was out of sight when we landed. I didn’t want any unnecessary questions or delays, and there would almost certainly be questions if my clients caught wind of her aboard the ship.

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