Poisoned Pawn (18 page)

“I failed, sir,” he said, tired and hurting and no longer caring who knew it. “She’s dead. I let myself get distracted, I thought she was safe.”

The hatch slid closed. The other people moved quietly, stowing gear, checking the ship.

“Are you certain about that, Major?” Lowell’s voice was even, his silver eyes gave nothing away.

“She fell nine stories. Dace is dead.” Clark’s voice broke on the last word. It came out a whisper.

“Did you find a body?” Lowell asked as if he were asking about the weather.

Clark shook his head.

“Then don’t believe she’s actually dead until you do.” Lowell sat in the chair across from Clark and slid a photo across the table.

Clark picked it up and stared. Dace’s face looked back at him, her eyes open but blank. He looked at Lowell, confused.

“You haven’t been keeping up with local news, have you?” Lowell took back the photo and tucked it away in his pocket. “Headlines screaming, ‘Heiress kidnapped. Two million credits demanded as ransom from her father.’ Dace is very much alive. The actual daughter is safely hidden.”

“How…” Clark started, questions crowding faster than he could speak them.

“They probably caught her using the maglev devices they’re so good at on Ytirus. I haven’t pieced together how they got her off the planet.” Lowell studied Clark. “You did well. For someone completely untrained and unprepared for this work.”

“You pushed us this way,” Clark said, comprehension dawning on him slowly. “You manipulated cargoes. You got Dace banned from Viya. You were behind all of it.”

“Much as I’d like to take credit, I did very little of what you are accusing me of doing.” Lowell tilted his head to one side. “Dace’s value to me is difficult to categorize. She has a knack for getting herself mixed up in trouble. In less than a year, she’s collected more information for me than agents that have worked for twenty. I had vague rumors that something was going on in the Cygnus sector, but my agents couldn’t find anything solid. The only thing I manipulated was getting you hired as pilot on her ship.”

“I don’t believe that. You knew they’d kidnap her.” Clark was beginning to understand why Dace had been so paranoid about Lowell. He was also beginning to believe the stories of Lowell’s uncanny ability to arrange events to his own advantage.

“I had no idea they’d do that. I was hoping they’d show their hand and I could catch them before Dace even knew they were after her.” He slid another photo onto the table, Dace with a decent haircut and makeup, wearing an expensive dress.

Clark picked up the photo, staring at the simpering smile on Dace’s face. Not Dace, he realized, it had to be the other woman. He dropped the photo back on the table. Clark didn’t trust Lowell’s candid openness. “Where is Dace?”

“As far as I know, she’s most likely on Burundia.”

“As far as you know? You aren’t sure?” Clark asked.

“I have no solid proof that Dace is there, no. But I do know the man most likely to have kidnapped her. Luke Verity recently purchased an estate on the planet. The ransom demand is his style.”

“Why are you telling me this? Why not just pack up your Enforcers and raid his estate?”

“Because we need a way to land on Burundia inconspicuously. Burundia is under private ownership, except for the ten square miles that make up the spaceport. There is no Patrol base on Burundia. Your ship can land there without drawing undue attention.”

“Except that Dace is there. They’d know.”

“They think she’s Arramiya Daviessbrowun. What connection would she have to you? No one will suspect you have anything to do with her. You’re just a ship contracted to deliver cargo.” Lowell sat in a chair.

“I know I’m going to hate myself for getting in deeper, but who has her?”

Lowell leaned back, a look of immense satisfaction on his face. “I knew you’d see the light, Major.”

“Jasyn has to approve,” Clark said. “It’s her ship, not mine.”

“Approve what?” Jasyn said, coming out of her cabin. “Who are all of these people?”

“Good afternoon, Gentle Hom,” Lowell said, rising from his chair and bowing slightly to her.

Jasyn’s mouth tightened. She’d never met him face to face, but she had heard enough from Dace to recognize who he must be. “Get off my ship.”

“I think you will want to hear what I have to say,” Lowell said.

“He says Dace is alive,” Clark said. “And he knows where she is.”

Jasyn took a steadying breath, clutching her hands into fists. “What have you done with her?”

“I haven’t done anything,” Lowell said. “Please, sit, Jasyn. I’m going to need your help to get Dace back. In one piece and still alive if possible.”

Jasyn dropped bonelessly into a chair. Her fists landed on the table in front of her as if her hands no longer belonged to her. “Tell me,” she said, her voice tight.

“Let me start at what I believe is the beginning,” Lowell said. “Three years ago, the head of the Berrilian Syndicate was attacked in a takeover bid. The rumors said it was his groomed successor, tired of waiting. He was killed in the fight, but rumors also spoke of a shadow man, the real source of the takeover. He disappeared. A year ago he was spotted in the Cygnus sector, here as a matter of fact. He’s reported to have a criminal organization headquartered on Kiju, small stuff mostly. Petty theft, minor drug smuggling, nothing serious. Yet. He’s building his power. Brun Daviessbrowun is the major power in the Cygnus sector, Arramiya’s father. His wife was murdered quite a few years ago by another Syndicate trying to move into this territory. Daviessbrowun used his money and influence to keep them out. He put his daughter into hiding to prevent a kidnapping or worse.”

“And when they saw Dace, they assumed it was Arramiya Daviessbrowun,” Clark said, understanding the photos.

Lowell anticipated Jasyn’s questions and pushed the photos across the table towards her. “She bears a very close resemblance to the real Arramiya Daviessbrowun.”

“Who has her? What’s the man’s name?” Jasyn said in a voice icier than the winter wind outside the ship.

“He calls himself Luke Verity. He has a large estate on Burundia. He usually spends little time there, preferring to be closer to his center of activity. He moved in three weeks ago and hasn’t left since.”

“Why haven’t you arrested him?” Jasyn asked.

“We have no solid proof,” Lowell admitted. “Three of my agents have died in the last six months. They were close to his organization. He is ruthless, suspicious, and very, very good at what he does.”

“You think Dace is still alive?”

“Luke Verity is still demanding ransom from Hom Daviessbrowun. He’s made contact three times now. The Gentle Hom is on his way to Burundia right now in his private yacht with as many credits as he could liquidate.”

“And what do you want from us?” Jasyn asked, including Clark in her question.

Lowell didn’t miss the aborted gesture Clark made towards Jasyn. Her hands were still knotted in fists, her knuckles white. Clark wanted to smooth away the tension. He tucked his own hands together, lacing his fingers loosely.

“I want your ship,” Lowell said baldly.

“You can’t have it.” Jasyn stood up. “This is over. Get out.”

“I need your help,” Lowell continued. “You will be well paid.”

“And if I refuse, you’ll take what you want anyway.” Jasyn dropped back into the chair. “Why the ship? What do you want me to do?”

“As I was explaining to Clark, your ship can land on Burundia without drawing undue attention. I want you to take passengers, masquerading as crew.”

“Who?”

“Myself, Sector Chief Querran, and as many Enforcers as you have room for.” He looked beyond her, where Juen and Ilod were busy stowing gear. “Juen and Ilod as well.”

“You knew I’d agree, didn’t you,” Jasyn said. “That’s why they’re moving things in already, isn’t it.”

“There isn’t time to spare, Jasyn.” Lowell patted her hand. She pulled it away.

“We can take no more than twelve, and that’s squeezing it.” Jasyn looked around the ship, watching the men tramping through carrying large packages.

“They’ve stowed gear in your holds,” Lowell said.

Jasyn bit off whatever she was going to say, accepting the inevitable.

“There isn’t time to argue. We need to be moving as soon as possible,” Lowell said.

“Give me a few minutes to…” Jasyn swallowed hard. “To rearrange some things.” She stood, crossing the few steps to Dace’s door. She stopped, her hand on the control plate, and looked back at Lowell. “She’s alive? You’re certain?”

“There aren’t any guarantees, but, yes, reasonably certain.”

Jasyn nodded and went into Dace’s cabin.

“Twelve men aren’t going to be enough,” Clark said. “Unless you’ve got a whole fleet of traders lined up, it’s hopeless.”

“There’s no official Patrol base on Burundia. There is, however, a full research expedition from Planetary Survey. I’ve arranged for them to do a population study on carnivores in the area of Luke Verity’s estate. Of course, the request requires a much larger presence.”

“I could almost admire your deviousness,” Clark said. “Jasyn was right about you.”

“Oh?”

“She said you didn’t have a heart. She was right.”

Lowell studied the younger man, his silver eyes opaque. “I do what is necessary,” he said quietly.

Clark looked away, unable to meet Lowell’s eyes. “I’m very glad I don’t really work for you.”

“The price can be quite high,” Lowell’s smooth voice was rough on the edges, a tinge of regret the only emotion he let through.

The hatch opened again. Cold air smelling of snow swirled through the room. The lounge filled with men in black uniforms and one older woman in the silver of regular Patrol. Lowell stood, smiling a bland greeting.

“Sector Chief Querran,” Lowell said. “I trust your trip here was pleasant?”

“On a cruiser filled to capacity with Enforcers?” Querran snorted. “Not hardly.”

Clark decided he could like Sector Chief Querran, maybe. She was slender, her iron-gray hair cut short. She wore a no nonsense expression, but her eyes were kind. He stood, wondering if he should salute or not. He was not wearing a uniform. He didn’t know if he was officially still a Patrol officer or not. Lowell hadn’t been very clear on that issue. Clark hadn’t thought to ask.

“You are Major Clark?” Querran said and held out her hand, making the issue moot. “Sorry for inconveniencing you this way.”

Clark took her hand. It was firm, warm and solid as she gripped his. She broke it off, turning to look around the ship.

“Cozy,” she commented. “Which cabin?” She waved her hand at the row of doors.

“We’ll leave that up to the owner,” Lowell said. “Let’s review the plans.” He drew Querran into a chair and spread papers over the table.

Clark was dismissed, he could sense it. The ship was full of Enforcers, stowing gear, wiring up new systems in the cockpit. Ilod shouted at someone in the engines. The ship was too full, too noisy. Clark went to Dace’s cabin, knocking before opening the door and entering.

Jasyn sat on Dace’s bunk, staring at nothing, holding the lute she had bought on impulse. She shifted her look to Clark, ready to protest until she saw who it was. “What now?”

“What cabin arrangements do you want?” Clark asked.

“They can sleep in the holds, in vacuum.” She bent her head, her hair sweeping over her face, escaped from the tight braid. She plucked a single string of the instrument. “Do you really think Lowell’s telling the truth?”

“That Dace is alive? Yes. The rest? Who knows?”

“There isn’t much in here. Dace didn’t own much. We’ll have to let them use it.” She stood, the lute cradled in her arm. “I’m not sharing my cabin, though. I don’t care what Lowell’s paying.”

“I don’t blame you, Jasyn.”

She stood in front of him, close enough that he could smell the faint scent of her hair.

“I’m sorry about what I said earlier,” she said. “You aren’t bad, for a Patrol agent.” She gave him a half smile, a quirk of her lips.

“You aren’t bad yourself,” he answered.

She searched his face, her smile fading.

“We’ll get her back,” Clark promised.

“I’m sure Lowell will see to that,” she said. “The trick will be getting Lowell to let her go.”

I must have really pleased Luke. Breakfast was twice as big as normal. There were new files in the reader and more news clippings. I ate, browsing through the news while I stood at the table. Nothing much had changed. My supposed father was still distraught, unwilling to give comment. Rumors were flying that he had liquidated assets, collecting the ransom money.

I moved in front of the window, thinking about the news and chewing a last bit of pastry. The forest drank in the bright sunlight and gave back only dark green. The bird soared in the sky, circling slowly over the vast stretch of trees. I doubted that Hom Daviessbrowun was going to pay ransom for a complete stranger. The rumors meant that Lowell was most likely arranging something. I wondered what. And if I’d survive whatever he had planned. I thought back over the encounters I’d had with Lowell. He was involved, very high up, in the undercover division of the Enforcers. He was Tayvis’ commanding officer. Lowell wanted me in the Patrol, under his command. He wanted me as an agent. He had tried several times to recruit me. I wasn’t willing to give up my freedom, not for the Patrol and most definitely not for Lowell.

I grimaced. I had no freedom, not now. I watched the flyer wistfully. My prison was very comfortable, but it was still a prison. I leaned against the window, pressing my nose hard against it. My breath fogged it up. I turned away.

The furniture had been moved back into place. I pushed it all to the edges as far as it would go, clearing the floor in front of the window. I sat down and started in on the stretches and exercises I’d been neglecting.

I lost myself in the familiar routine. It was easy to forget time when I had nothing to fill it with.

“What are you doing?”

I lost my balance and tumbled onto the soft carpet. Luke stood at the top of the smaller set of stairs. He looked elegant, as usual, wearing his preferred flowing shirt and tight pants. This shirt was pale silver to match the stripes in his blue hair.