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  Paige jumped a little, having a new thought. “Ooh! Like how the antidote just happened to be there at the road side!”

  Molly lifted her head a little, as she digested the information. “Yeah. That too, come to think of it.”

  Her mind racing, Paige continued, “We didn’t find anything about why they might have taken the hostages?”

  Molly bit her lower lip and jerked her thumb toward Lato. He was still standing next to her, taking a moment to watch all the activity. “Lato thinks they were hired to. I’m inclined to agree.”

  Joel finished on his holo call and came over to join them. “Ok, we’re good to go with Framan,” he said, as he approached.

  Molly gave him a thumbs-up as he walked past to join Brock, Crash and Pieter.

  Lato caught him on his way past, and held out his hand to thank him. “Look, Joel, what you did out there. Incredible. You saved all those people with your quick thinking,” Lato was still shaking his hand, and smiling through the haze of tiredness that was hitting him. “I’m grateful,” he said.

  Joel looked down, then responded gruffly, “You’re welcome. I mean, it was a team effort, and we were just doing our job.”

  Lato held his cup by his side. “Yes, and if you hadn’t spotted those symptoms—those incredibly subtle symptoms—all those people would have died.”

  Joel scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed by the attention. “Yeah, well. Thanks, man,” he conceded.

  Lato turned to the rest of the gang and gave his thanks. “If you ever need help with anything around here, just give me a shout. You’re good people, and you run a tight ship,” he finished, nodding to Molly and shaking her hand.

  Molly smiled. “Thank you, Detective.” She turned to the team as Lato wandered off. He threw the dregs of his mocha on the sandy grass and scrunched up the cup for the trash.

  “Ok, folks,” Molly announced. “Time to get out of here.”

  The team waved their good byes to Detective Lato, and hopped into their Pods.

  Lato watched the doors close, not knowing how to start understanding the tech this group had. Molly gave him a little wink through the window, and then the Pods shot straight up into the sky and disappeared.

  After the Pods were out of sight, he returned his eyes to ground level, where he noticed a young Estarian over by the police tape. She seemed to be loitering with her holo out.

  He nodded at her and she smiled.

  Reporter, he thought, and turned around to head back to the temporary office.

  Maya Johnstone hit Save on her audio recording, and closed her notes. She would be making another interesting post to Whistleblown tonight.

  The Toroid Desert Club, Outskirts of Spire

  “I mean, Mac, what the fokk?”

  Jessica was pissed.

  Seriously pissed.

  Her normally glowing complexion had turned a muddy red under her blue skin. She looked dark and foreboding as a result. And then there was the glare. “This retreat was meant to be relaxing. A celebration of moving things to the next level. And now it’s just one big clusterfuck!”

  Her voice was elevated. Andus looked at the door, wondering if he needed to reel her in a little. It was a secure location, but you could never be sure of the staff.

  She glared across the table at Kerr. “You are the one who has been giving me shit for not being able to pull off a simple op, and yet you have one task—one thing to accomplish—and you’re not able to do it. At least I got the funding bill turned around.”

  Mac sank a little in his chair, waiting for the conversation to end. Jessica showed no signs of letting up, and Andus seemed to be letting her blow off steam.

  He should probably do the same.

  But then, there were a lot of times he should have just kept his mouth shut. He knew this was one of those times, but it just wasn’t his style.

  “Look, lady,” he began firmly. “It turns out that the common palm bush has the antidote in its roots. How the hell was I supposed to know that?”

  He paused for effect, and she jumped straight in again. “And how did they even know that? You assured us that it was a killer! One hundred percent certainty, you said. Lots of experience, you said.”

  Mac grimaced. “It is a killer. I used it all the time in the Outer Systems.”

  Jessica was practically spitting. “And you never figured out that there was a common antidote?”

  Mac held out his hands, exasperated by the interrogation. “No!” he protested. “We killed thousands with it, every time we needed something that wasn’t going to be traceable. They’d put it down as dysentery or something.”

  Jessica slumped back into her chair. “Well, great job, Mac,” she spat sarcastically. “They’ve turned this around, and our plan has backfired. Again.”

  “Not my fault,” he said simply.

  Jessica scowled across the table, Andus’ and Garet’s presence completely forgotten. “Dunno who else suggested that rookie maneuver.”

  “Who are you calling a rookie, Princess?” Mac spat back.

  Garet leaned forward, reaching out to place one finger pointedly on the table to focus everyone’s attention. All eyes turned on him. “Might I make a suggestion?” he asked, glancing over at Andus.

  Andus waved his hand, granting him the stage.

  Garet calmly and confidently continued, “I think it’s time to use a plan that doesn’t involve drugs or toxins. Let’s just go for straightforward sleight-of-hand.”

  Jessica leaned in, her argument with Mac dissipating in curiosity. “Tell us more…” she said cautiously.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Gaitune-67, Safe House, Kitchen

  The team sat around the safe house’s kitchen table eating fresh takeout pizza. A hush fell over the group as mouths were filled with soft doughy yumminess after the day’s activities.

  “Those Pods are quite something, eh?” Pieter mused through a mouthful of cheesy goodness. “Back in time for dinner!”

  Paige’s eyes lit up as she swallowed a mouthful of ham and pineapple. “Yeah, they’re incredible. I mean, how can they even go that fast?”

  Molly realized Paige had been looking at her when she asked the question, and was expecting an answer. Having just bitten into a slice of hot pizza herself, it couldn’t have been worse timing. Plus, Molly didn’t have the answer…yet. She struggled to work her way free of the lip-burning mozzarella long enough to shrug her shoulders.

  Thankfully the conversation moved on, leaving her to enjoy the rest of the mouthful.

  Brock was her savior on this occasion. “Well, they certainly prevented Crash from getting plastered with another fokking Spaceport ticket!” he jibed.

  Crash chuckled silently, his slight shrug more than his face giving away that he found Brock’s statement humorous. “Still have to get the last one paid,” he admitted, reaching for another slice.

  He stopped himself mid-way. “Oh, shit. That one doesn’t have any meat on it.” He picked up the box, and handed it down the table. “Get that poor excuse for food out of the way. That’s it, Paige, move it down there.” He tried to hand it off to Paige. The box was still hot.

  Paige had her hands and mouth full of pizza, so Joel leaned over and took the box from him, placing it near Molly.

  Molly, deadpan, mumbled into the pregnant pause, “Heathens.”

  The group collapsed in laughter.

  As the mirth subsided, the chewing and chomping resumed. Sean was the next one to pipe up, “Still damn hot” as he nearly burned his chin on some stray cheese.

  Paige looked at him, and cocked her head. “Thought things like that didn’t bother your nanocyte-enhanced body tissue?” she teased.

  Everyone stopped and looked at either Paige or Sean.

  Sean froze.

  Paige looked around. “What? Why you all staring?”

  No one answered.

  She flushed. “You didn’t know that he was nano-enhanced?”

  Still si
lence.

  Sean put his pizza down. “Girl, you weren’t meant to tell anyone.”

  Paige looked worried. “Sorry. I didn’t know it was a secret. I mean…you need to tell me something is a secret if you want me to not mention it!” Paige looked mortified.

  Sean held her gaze and raised one eyebrow. “Evidently,” he concluded.

  Joel grinned. “In her defense, she has a point,” he agreed, taking another bite of pizza.

  Sean, a little embarrassed, sighed. “Well, I suppose now is a good a time as any to get it out in the open.”

  Molly continued listening and chewing quietly, taking it all in. Joel watched her for any kind of reaction, but got nothing.

  Sean picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. This was complex enough without folks being distracted by him having cheese and tomato on his face. “So, yes, the truth is, I have had certain enhancements. One of them being the nanocytes.”

  Brock, unable to contain himself, interrupted. “Nanocytes. You mean, actual little bots that go into your blood and alter your fricking DNA?”

  Sean nodded, his face serious. “Yes. As a result, I don’t age. Aaaaaand I’m much older than I look.”

  Paige’s eyes had widened, and cheese slid off the pizza she had been about to bite into. “How old?” she asked.

  Sean smiled. “That, young lady, is not something I’m willing to share at this time. But it was done so that I could continue to go on missions and the Etheric Empire would retain the skills and knowledge of a trusted few.”

  Joel was watching Sean carefully now, waiting.

  Sean noticed his gaze. “Joel knows some of the rest of it. I’ve also got some cyborg components to link me to various systems, and suchlike.”

  Joel nodded. “Yep, and the way you move? Tech-enhanced for sure. No way a real human can move like that.”

  Sean grinned. “You’re just pissed I tapped more tangos than you today.”

  Joel grinned back. “Today, maybe. Tomorrow? Let’s see.”

  Pieter had been sitting quietly. “I want to know more about this Etheric Empire everyone keeps talking about. I mean, I thought it was just a place, like Ogg or Uptarlung.”

  Sean shook his head. “No. I mean, it is… It’s an empire that spreads across this galaxy and the next. But it’s far more than just a place. You’ll see. Once you guys pass the test, there will be so much more for you to discover, especially once you’re out there.”

  Pieter’s eyes lit up. “You mean, out in the Etheric Empire?”

  Sean nodded. “Probably. At least at some point.”

  Neechie had shown up and was rubbing his face against Sean’s leg. Paige noticed his arrival and ducked under the table to see. “Looks like you’ve been accepted into the family!” she giggled.

  Sean bent down and picked Neechie up. “Seems he likes it when people come clean about their secrets,” he joked.

  Molly frowned a little, mentally adding the idle comment as a data point in her understanding of the sphinx. And Sean Royale.

  Gaitune-67, Secret Basement Base, Training Facility

  Paige pounded away at the bag, but despite her efforts she was hardly making a thwack at all.

  Molly yelled over the motivational tunes she had pumping. “Keep your wrists straight or you’ll hurt yourself!”

  Paige punched the heavy bag a couple more times, then let her arms go limp. She stepped away from the bag, sweating, a pained expression on her face.

  Molly waved the music down and it responded, allowing them to talk using normal voices.

  Paige whimpered. “I don’t get it. Why can’t I just stay back out of the danger and let the GI Joels and Seans do the saving?”

  Molly frowned. “First rule of damsel school. No one’s fucking coming.”

  Paige whimpered. “But I like being a damsel.”

  She heard movement behind her and turned around. Joel was padding across the mat, having left his shoes at the door.

  Joel had a holoscreen open, but didn’t look to be in a hurry. “You really believe that?” he asked Molly.

  Paige looked at him helplessly.

  Molly responded. “Yep,” she said flatly. “Relying on someone else to be there for you doesn’t tend to work out too well.”

  Molly looked down at his holo. “What’ve you got?”

  Joel let it go. “Next mission,” he grinned.

  Paige had sat down on a bench and was drinking water. When she heard they had another mission already, she slid dramatically down onto the mat and collapsed in a spread-eagle position. “I can’t. I’m dead. Good-bye, Cruel World. You guys go on without me.”

  Molly looked at her and shook her head, smiling. She spun back around to Joel again. “So this one should make up our target, eh?” Her tone was hopeful.

  Joel grinned. “Sure will. It’s a hundred thousand credits, and an additional three hundred and fifty thousand if the boy lives.”

  Molly tilted her head. “If the boy lives?”

  Joel wrinkled one side of his face. “Right,” he said, looking down at the holoscreen, and showing her. “It’s a security escort detail. We need to safely transport an organ from a little town in the nether reaches of Estaria, a place called Dvergasteinn, to Spire. Plenty could go wrong on a trip like that, and the organ has very rigorous conditions. It needs to be transported at a specific temperature, shielded from all forms of radiation, and escorted by a bunch of Estarian priests. Plus, it’s still experimental medicine for Estarians.”

  Molly looked up at him and took a small step back. “So we can’t use the Pods?”

  Joel shook his head. “Not for the transport. Plus there is an entourage and equipment in the convoy. They have that piece all worked out.”

  Molly thought for a moment.

  She began unbandaging her hands. Paige noticed, taking it as sign that anti-damsel training was finally over. “That’s a long trip,” Molly noted. “How many hours are we thinking?”

  Joel thought for a moment. “I’m guessing it’s about twelve hours, if we don’t stop. Fourteen with breaks.”

  Molly didn’t look enthused. “And how many in the convoy?”

  Joel flicked through a few screens. “Doesn’t say exactly, but there are six doctors and then med techs and all sorts of attendants and relatives.”

  Molly shook her head. “Do we know who the boy is?”

  Joel closed his holo. “Nope. And they won’t tell us. Need-to-know, and we apparently don’t need to know.”

  Molly sucked on her bottom lip, looking pensive. She sighed. “Seems like a lot could go wrong. Lots of moving parts. And then if the boy lives or dies, it’s still out of our hands once we get the convoy there in one piece.”

  Joel perched on a nearby bench used for weights. He took a deep breath. “Yeah. It’s a gamble, that’s for sure.”

  Molly sat down on the bench Paige had left and faced Joel. Paige’s leg was still draped over the bench, and Molly moved it off, causing more dramatic harrumphs and death throes from Paige on the floor, plus the delayed thud of her foot hitting the mat.

  “Logically it’s not a good call. The odds are stacked against us, and we’ve already got most of the money banked for the General’s test. If we take this and fail, we’re out of pocket for whatever resources we use and potentially tired, or we would possibly have missed the next opportunity that might be more of a fit.”

  I concur with your logic.

  “Oz agrees with me,” she added.

  But we’ve just received a communication on that case. You’ll probably want to review it before making a decision.

  What is it?

  A letter from the parents to the medical board about their son. And an image.

  Ok, put it up on the holo.

  Molly looked down and opened her holo. “Looks like Framan sent us some more details,” she told Joel.

  Joel got up to look at the holo screen over her shoulder.

  Oz pulled up the image. It was of a little Estarian boy, may
be six years old. He was wired up to machines, presumably trying to keep him alive.

  Molly went quiet, trying to integrate this into her decision-making equation. Her brain just went foggy. She had the details, but she didn’t know how to put it all together to make a choice.

  Joel sighed and sat down on the bench next to her. Paige raised herself off the mat and peered over Molly’s arm at the picture.

  A moment later Paige was on her feet, stripping her bag gloves and wraps from her hands, her demeanor now serious and commanding. “Well, I think that decides it. I’m hitting the showers, and I’ll let the others know we’ve got a job.”

  Molly watched her leave, envying how easy it was for Paige to make a decision like this. She looked across at Joel. “So I guess that decides it?” she asked, looking for confirmation.

  Joel nodded. “It’s the right thing to do,” he said, quietly but firmly. “Every life matters.”

  Molly nodded, glad of her team’s guidance. She didn’t dare admit that she actually didn’t know what the right call was in this instance, but she was glad they were going to try and save the little boy.

  Joel got up from the bench. “I’ll have a word with the guys, see what equipment we might need and how soon we can be ready.”

  Molly nodded. “Thank you. And then Oz can let everyone know the specifics. Let’s assume we’ll use the Pods to get to the convoy, and then work from there.”

  Joel hesitated a moment, then decided he needed to say it. “You know, what you told Paige, that nobody’s coming…”

  Molly nodded. “Yeah?”

  Joel looked serious. “It’s not true,” he told her. “I need you to know that I’ll always come for you.”

  Molly smiled. “Thanks.”

  Joel shook his head. “No. You’re not hearing me. Or you’re not believing that it’s true, but I need you to understand this. No matter what happens, or how bad it gets, or what the odds are. I’m. Always. Coming.”

  His eyes were intense.

  Molly felt something in her solar plexus leap. She wasn’t used to this kind of communication. Or this kind of outright commitment. She felt the brain fog set in again.