He sighed. “What do you want, Marchenko?”
“Just to know if Admiral Tiang is still aboard your ship.”
“Why?” he asked suspiciously.
“He has expertise that one of my crew members is in need of.”
“Your cyborg.”
“He’s not my cyborg. But he’s a friend.”
“I’ll bet.”
Alisa clenched her teeth to keep from making a retort.
“Admiral Tiang’s whereabouts are classified,” Tomich said.
“Does that mean he’s not aboard your ship anymore?”
“Alisa,” he said, sighing again, a tired-sounding sigh this time. “Please don’t do anything to make matters worse. You’re already… in trouble. I shouldn’t be talking to you. Distance yourself from those imperial loyalists so you won’t be caught in the cross fire.”
She grimaced. Did that mean that someone was right now gunning for Leonidas and Alejandro? Oh, she knew the Alliance probably still wanted Leonidas for his supposed knowledge of the prince’s whereabouts, but had that escalated into something else? Was he designated shoot-on-sight? If so, Mica’s prediction about grenades might have been more accurate than she realized.
“Is there any information you would consider a fair trade for the location of the admiral?” Alisa asked. “We just want to talk to him.”
And force him to perform a surgery…
“He’s on leave, and he’s not coming back to my ship afterward. I couldn’t give you his whereabouts even if I wanted to. I can’t put him in harm’s way.”
“Even if I—”
“You want to end this transmission now, Marchenko. Trust me.”
She opened her mouth, not sure whether she meant to argue further for her cause or simply say goodbye.
“Don’t comm again,” Tomich said.
The line closed.
Alisa leaned back in her chair, trying not to feel stung. What had she expected? Even though she did not wish it, they were on different sides now. Still, she had a feeling he had kept her from staying on long enough for his lieutenant to complete the trace.
“On leave, huh?”
Alisa typed the admiral’s name into her netdisc search, wondering if he might have family on the planet. Why would he take leave right now if not for something important? Between the wrap-up in the aftermath of the war, the dimension-shifting space station, and the reemergence of the powerful Starseer artifact, it was a busy time for the Alliance military. She couldn’t imagine that Headquarters was letting many people go off on tropical vacations for rest and relaxation.
She found articles on the admiral from the time period when he had first defected and joined the Alliance. It had been considered a great coup to get him. She swiped through several stories listing his accolades and research expertise, hoping for mentions of family members.
Finally, in the twentieth article she looked at, she found one with a photo of him arm-in-arm with a woman about his age. His wife, it said, and the article also mentioned an only daughter. Alisa looked up both. The wife had passed away three years earlier, during an imperial attack on Outer Trason, the first planet officially taken over by the Alliance. In its attempt to get it back, the imperials had been responsible for the bombings of several military facilities, including a space station in orbit, one where his wife, a doctor, had been working. She had been killed, along with hundreds of others.
“That might explain his willingness to defect,” Alisa said.
But it didn’t explain his shore leave on Arkadius. She looked up the daughter, weeding through several women with the same name to come up with Dr. Suyin Tiang who lived in…
Alisa sat upright with a lurch. Laikagrad Vostok. That was the suburb they had flown over along the coast, less than forty miles from here. She ran a few double-checks to make sure that was, indeed, the Suyin who was the admiral’s daughter. Yes, and there was an announcement for an engagement and a wedding too. A wedding for—Alisa checked the local date—three days from now.
“Bet he’s coming down to attend his only daughter’s wedding.”
Alisa leaned back in her seat. Interesting, but what could she do with the information? Tell Leonidas, so he could plan a kidnapping? Surely, kidnapping the admiral right before his daughter’s wedding wouldn’t be a tactful way to get his help. He might be less crabby if the kidnapping happened after the wedding, but probably not significantly so. What if Alisa managed to contact him through the daughter’s publicly listed office information? It looked like Suyin worked at Tolstoy University, the campus in the same suburb where she lived. Could Alisa finagle a deal on Leonidas’s behalf? But what could she offer that might entice a man of power who presumably had everything he needed?
Out of curiosity, she looked up the daughter’s position at the university, wondering if she might have followed in her father’s footsteps. Maybe Alisa could find some kinship with another woman and have an easier time convincing her to help with Leonidas. What woman wouldn’t be charmed by his handsome and noble self? So what if he’d been—and still was—loyal to the empire…
Suyin was also a doctor, doing research and teaching in the field of biotribology. Whatever that was. It didn’t sound like anything that would include a knowledge of fixing cyborg penises or nightmares. So, Alisa would have to focus on Admiral Tiang. At least she now had an idea as to where he should be in the next couple of days.
“Alisa,” Leonidas said, sticking his head through the hatchway.
She flinched, almost lunging to turn off the netdisc display, as if she had been caught doing something illicit. Nosy, perhaps, but not illicit. She turned, prepared to explain that she had been snooping into his affairs, but he wasn’t looking at the display.
“Dr. Dominguez is ready to go,” he said. “After listening to his plan, I decided that you would make a more likely nurse than I would.”
“Me?” Alisa blinked. “Because my sarcastic mouth makes for good bedside manner?”
“Because you don’t look like anyone’s bodyguard.”
“No? Not even when I do this?” She pushed up a sleeve and flexed her biceps.
“It will be better for Abelardus and me to follow along behind in case the doctor gets into trouble,” Leonidas said, not pausing to admire her bared flesh. “We’ll stay low and try to avoid notice unless we have to move.”
“You and Abelardus will avoid notice? How? Neither of you fits into a crowd.”
“We’d fit even less well into hospital uniforms.”
“What? Abelardus can’t tuck his staff discreetly into scrubs?”
“My staff is far too large to fit into scrubs,” came Abelardus’s voice from the corridor.
Alisa sighed as he tried to shoulder-butt Leonidas to the side and also lean into NavCom. Leonidas did not move.
“It’s been a problem since puberty,” Abelardus added, unfazed as he winked past Leonidas’s shoulder at Alisa.
Alisa did not know how she felt about going along on Alejandro’s hospital infiltration, but if the others thought it was best, she couldn’t shirk the responsibility. She needed to know what was inside of Durant’s head more than anyone else here. But she found her gaze drawn to the holomap Mica had left running. Search drones continued to cruise over the city, looking for the Nomad. What if they found her freighter while she was gone? Yumi, Beck, and Mica wouldn’t be able to fly it away. Even if they could, the old freighter would be easily shot down by city defenses once it was targeted. Even with her at the helm, and even if they succeeded at getting into and out of the hospital unnoticed, they were going to have a hard time slipping out of the city.
“Alisa?” Leonidas asked. “Will you do it?”
She held back an aggrieved sigh, reminding herself that Leonidas was willing to go along when he had less of a reason to help than she did. He might want to know what was in Durant’s head so he could ensure the prince was safe, but the prince wasn’t his kin, his son. And knowing the boy’s location would only
make the Alliance want Leonidas more.
“I’ll do it,” Alisa said, and closed down her netdisc.
Going along meant she could make sure Leonidas didn’t run off on his own mission, but she didn’t need to hand him the information that Tiang might only be forty miles away, not until she could consider how they could both put that to use.
Chapter 5
Alisa found it hard to feel discreet with a hoverboard carrying an unconscious man floating along behind her. A tarp stretched over Durant’s still form, as it had when Ostberg first brought him to the Nomad, but she was certain the passersby were scrutinizing it as she and Alejandro strode through the busy streets of Laikagrad.
“Just moving some furniture, people,” Alisa murmured. “Carry on, carry on.”
Alejandro frowned over at her, and she shut her mouth. She should sound confident enacting their plan, not nervous. Optimistic. That was what Mica always accused her of being. They would find a way to make this work. Slip in, acquire the information that would allow Alejandro to find a way to wake up Durant, and slip out. Simple. Alisa gave Alejandro her best confident and optimistic smile.
His frown only twisted before he faced forward again, and they stepped onto a moving sidewalk that followed the wide boulevard. He had changed out of his usual gray robe and wore a suit Alisa had never seen before. She didn’t know if he’d had it all along or if it represented a recent purchase, but it did make him look respectable—and well off. His religious pendant still dangled below his collar, but he clearly wasn’t trying to pass as a Trinity monk today. A doctor’s monocle scanner also dangled on a chain around his neck, and he carried his medical kit, so even without a hospital uniform, he had the appearance of a surgeon.
After debating the meager choices in her own wardrobe, Alisa had selected a blouse and the only pair of trousers not adorned with holes or scorch marks from blazer fire. Even though it was warm out, with two suns throwing their reflections against the copious glass of the downtown skyscrapers, she had also grabbed her battered Alliance flight jacket. She didn’t have any “nurse” clothing, so the best she could do was appear to be a loyal Alliance citizen. Nobody that the police should stop and harass, definitely not. Once they got into the hospital, maybe she could find a uniform to borrow.
As she and Alejandro jostled past people to step off the busy moving sidewalk and onto another one that arched over an intersection, Alisa sneaked a look behind her. Leonidas and Abelardus had promised to follow discreetly, but she didn’t expect either of them to be good at it, so she thought she would catch a glimpse of them. She didn’t. They must be staying farther back. Even though it was good that they weren’t sticking out, she would have been more reassured by seeing them. An Alliance city should have felt like a safe haven to her, but she scrutinized every uniformed person they passed and every hover bike that zipped by with a patroller on it. This plan would unravel quickly if her group was caught before they even reached Alejandro’s contact.
We’re here, Abelardus spoke into her mind. We’re bonding.
I’ll bet, Alisa responded.
We’re discussing how the cyborg should, if he gets his penis fixed, go out and sample from the copious female options in the system instead of sticking to one woman.
I bet that’s a one-sided conversation, she said, irritated at the idea of Abelardus bugging Leonidas with his self-centered chatter.
You really shouldn’t deprive him of that. After so long, he probably needs to redevelop his skills as a lover. If he ever had them. I, on the other hand—
I’d appreciate it if instead of inflicting your bonding on Leonidas, you let me know if you see—sense, whatever—any police around.
I’m watching, but it’s hard for me to pick out individuals with this mass of people all around. I don’t care for cities. Too many people crammed together in such a small space. Don’t you agree? You must prefer the open solitude between the stars.
All the people and the towering buildings did give Alisa a sense of claustrophobia, but she wouldn’t admit that to him. The walkway had ended, and Alejandro led the hoverboard down a ramp under another intersection. It led to an underground shopping mall, with rows of small stores and kiosks stretching away to either side of the passageway. Alejandro turned left instead of continuing out the other side, heading through the crowded center aisle. The hoverboard occasionally jostled people, who turned to glare at him, but either his expensive clothing or the haughty tilt to his chin kept others from complaining to his face. If Alisa had been driving the thing, she would have gotten complaints no matter what she wore.
A neon sign with a medical cross came into view over the heads of people. The pharmacy where they were meeting his contact? It wasn’t exactly a quiet and out-of-the-way spot.
The crowd thinned somewhat as they approached it, one of the larger shops in the mall. In addition to promising to fill prescriptions and providing all manner of over-the-counter drugs, the pharmacy also had a busy kiosk offering “taste-enhanced” and “vitamin-packed” fruit and vegetable concoctions. The menu promised the “mineral shot” add-ons that had been mined from the pristine environs of asteroids. Having visited several asteroids, Alisa didn’t know how pristine she considered them, but a long line stretched from the kiosk out into the mall proper.
“Watch our patient,” Alejandro said, handing Alisa the remote for the hoverboard.
Alisa accepted it, though she was aware of people who were trying to get into line glowering at the large floating obstacle. She tried to maneuver it out of the way as Alejandro approached a man sitting at one of the scattered tables and drinking a slushy purple beverage. He wore a jacket over a white hospital uniform and appeared younger than Alejandro, with no gray in his brown hair, but something about the perfect symmetry of his face made Alisa suspect he’d had work done, so they might be the same age.
Alejandro slid into the seat across from him and leaned over the table, speaking quietly. At the kiosk behind them, a pair of robots worked, accepting orders, and slicing and dicing fruits in the air before thrusting them into blenders built into their torso units. Once done, they dispensed frothy drinks to the waiting customers.
Alisa put her back to a column at the front of the pharmacy so she could watch the mall in either direction. She soon spotted two uniformed men heading in her direction. She pulled out her netdisc and looked down at it to hide her face, while watching them come closer. They wore the blue and gray of the city police. Not good. Her Etcher and the stun gun the planet patrol man had left behind were snugged into her belt holsters, but the last thing she wanted was to start shooting at the police in the middle of a crowded mall.
She hadn’t spoken a word to Alejandro’s contact, but she already hated him for choosing such a ridiculously public meeting spot, especially when she was carrying an unconscious body around. Maybe this was the trap she had anticipated. The police were definitely continuing straight toward her.
Biting her lip, she pulled up the local map and tried to figure out if there was a back way out of the shopping mall. An elevator at the far end, yes. But the police were looking at her, so it was too late to slink away.
She spotted a head of dark brown braids in the crowd behind them. Abelardus? she asked in her mind.
He didn’t answer.
It was probably him. Maybe she could ask him to convince the police that they weren’t interested in her. She started to lift her comm unit—why couldn’t he be monitoring her thoughts now?—but one of the men broke into a jog, heading straight for her.
Wonderful.
“Ma’am?” the officer said, stopping in front of her.
“Yes, officer?” she asked, trying to sound reasonable, innocent, and definitely not like someone smuggling a comatose Starseer through the city. At the same time, she kept her gaze toward her netdisc, as if something incredibly important—such as her move in a chess game—demanded her attention. It was probably futile, but she hoped he wouldn’t recognize her face.
r /> “Your luggage is too large for the mall, and people are complaining.” He pointed at the hoverboard.
Luggage? She could work with that.
“So you need me to move it?” Alisa peered up and down the arcade. “What’s the closest way out?”
She would be relieved to get out. Alejandro and his new buddy could come find her back up on the sidewalk.
“That way.” The police officer pointed in the direction of the elevator, but he frowned, looking at her instead of toward the crowds.
His expression turned suspicious, and Alisa groped for something to say that might keep him from rubbing his brain cells together until he got a spark. He waved over his buddy, who had been eyeing the drink menu.
“Sergeant, do you have—”
“Is there a problem, officers?” a smooth voice asked.
Alejandro’s buddy—Gutteridge—strolled over, his shoulders back and his hand-tailored jacket open to reveal electronic fobs on diamond-encrusted chains. He walked with his chin up, like a king who owned all around him. Before the police responded, he tapped a badge on his chest, and a holo ident floated into view, identifying him as a surgeon at the local hospital. Alisa snorted. As if the police would care that he was a doctor.
The officers shared glances, as if something about the ident was a warning to them. Alejandro came up to his colleague’s side, but did not speak, instead frowning at Alisa as if she had done something to attract this unwanted attention.
“No problem, Dr. Gutteridge,” the one who had spoken to Alisa said. “We just need this hoverboard moved out of the way.”
“We can certainly do that,” Gutteridge said, and waved for Alisa to lead the board back into the mall.
She did so promptly, turning her back on the police.
“Here you go, gentlemen,” she heard Gutteridge saying. “Have a drink on me during your next break.”
Alisa kept walking, not certain that was exactly a bribe—she wouldn’t expect that police could be bought off for the cost of a mineral-enhanced smoothie—but not wanting to stick around to get the details. Alejandro hurried to catch up, and she handed him the remote. Let him attract the police for bumping into people.