Chapter 15 Julie
I sat near the end of the table, my tablet open in front of me, recording the preliminary introductions.
The representative from Vossell Industries, a sharp-eyed woman in an emerald-green tailored suit, sat across from Chris.
Her posture was perfect and her expression unreadable, but it was clear she wasn’t here to waste time.
Her suit was so crisp it looked like it had been pressed moments before she walked in. The color made her skin glow, and the cut of the jacket hugged her frame in a way that was both professional and subtly intimidating. She’d introduced herself as Tessa Shaw.
It was a strange Earth custom to include the family name. We didn’t do that back on Nova Vita.
Chris leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table as he spoke to her in a low voice. “We appreciate you making the trip out here.”
“An opportunity to buy the ore straight from the source? We’d never miss it.”
Her accent was different from the ones I’d been hearing around the station: warmer, almost friendly. It sounded more like the way we spoke in Vokira, and I wondered if she was mimicking the way we spoke to make herself sound more trustworthy.
Her team sat next to her, two on either side. And two more armed guards stood behind them. They’d brought someone to record the meeting as well, a young man who was sitting on the other end of the long table.
I adjusted my dress, smoothing out the fabric.
It was one of Kat’s old outfits, one of the few things she’d managed to recover from her past life as a Nova Vitan councilor’s assistant.
The cut was professional and clean, but it was a bit loose on me.
I’d filled out in my years living with the Kadrixans, but I wasn’t as shapely a Kat.
It was also obvious that the style was a little outdated.
The fabric was too stiff, the fit just a little too boxy.
Still, I looked the part as long as you didn’t look hard enough, and that was all that mattered.
The assembly room was too much of everything.
Too big, too grand, too ostentatious for a trade negotiation with a small, backwater settlement.
The ceiling stretched high above us, adorned with intricate carvings.
The walls were lined with polished stone, with veins of gold and silver glinting brightly in the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows across the empty chairs.
The long table in the center where we sat was made of a dark, glossy material.
Grtirr and Trsak stood behind Chris, Sergio, and the rest of the Ellaston team. They were acting as guards, their forms statue-still. Tessa’s eyes kept straying to them with a mix of fear and interest.
Igor was just outside the door, and we had people stationed all the way down the hallway.
I fiddled with my earpiece as Annabel’s voice came through the speaker. “Refreshments incoming.”
As warned, there was a knock before the front door opened to several men and women pushing carts into the room. The carts were topped with domed covers and clear jugs of icy water and juice.
My mouth was suddenly too dry. A nice cold drink would be amazing right now.
When the servers lifted the cloche, it was the Vossell guards on the side of the room closest to the door who reacted first. From my position, I had a great view as Trsak and Grtirr moved too, suddenly pouncing clear over the table and across the room.
All I saw was the sleek metal of guns and weapons being lifted from inside the cloche before everything descended into chaos.
I dropped to the floor, my heart hammering in my chest, as sounds of gunfire, glasses crashing to the floor, and angry shouts filled the room.
The acrid smell of smoke and spilled alcohol burned my nose, and I pressed myself flat against the carpet, praying the chaos would end, but knowing it would not.
Grtirr gripped the edge of the table even as the rest of us scrambled away. His red knuckles lightened to a pink, and he strained against the heavy table. Then, with a roar, he overturned it.
“Get behind the table,” he ordered.
I scrambled behind the bulletproof table.
Sergio was there too. He pulled Tessa behind the thick table with him.
The woman was shaking like a leaf, and so were the others from Vossell who’d come to talk.
Our eyes met for a split second, and hers were wide with fear, eliminating the tiny thought that perhaps she was in on the attack.
The front door of the meeting room burst open, and Igor stomped in, eager to get in on the action.
“What’s going on in there?” Annabel asked through the earpiece with a panicked voice.
“The refreshments were a setup,” Sergio answered.
That was when I saw Chris leaning against a chair, his hands to his stomach.
“Chris!” I grabbed Sergio’s arm. “He’s out in the open!”
“Shit!”
“I’m fine,” Chris groaned.
“The hell you are!” I yelled back. Stupid men, always fronting, even when they had a hole in their bodies.
Sergio and I traded spaces as a round of gunfire hit the other side of the table. Well, at least we knew the claims of bulletproof furniture were no lie.
“Charlene’s hurt too,” Sergio said, his words rushed. “I don’t think I can move her.”
I looked over to see Charlene on the floor. Blood seeped onto the carpet, and she was completely still. Bile rose to my throat, and I shoved it back. I was not going to be sick and add more to the chaos.
“Let’s move the table,” I said, thinking fast.
We all pitched in, Ellaston and Vossell representatives alike, and damn was the table heavy! The thing weighed a ton. But together we were able to shove the table to the side a few feet to block their injured forms from any more stray bullets.
“Oh shit!” Annabel said over our link. “More of them are coming. Get out of there.”
Sergio relayed the information to Tessa.
She held a hand to her own ear. “Our team is reporting the same. Dressed like employees, but armed.”
Then Grtirr was there by my side, and I realized the sound of fighting in the room had stopped.
“We’ve alerted the station police,” Tessa said. “They are on their way. But I don’t think they’ll make it in time.”
Grtirr stood. “We will hold the enemies off.”
I grabbed his arm. “No. I have a better idea.” I looked over at Tessa.
“They want to stop the meeting. We are the same height and have the same hair color. Sergio and Chris look similar. Kat is also recognizable. Me, Grtirr, Kat, Trsak, and Sergio can lure them away. The Kadrixans draw attention. They’ll chase after us, thinking we’re getting away.
And Igor and the remainder of the Vossell security can stay here and protect everyone else until help gets here.
You and Chris can continue your talks.” I looked over to Charlene and Chris.
Charlene couldn’t be moved. And Chris didn’t look much better.
Grtirr let out a growl that told me he didn’t like my idea. “No, we must stay to pro—”
Chris cut him off, his voice weak. “It’s a good idea. Go. The rest of us will continue the talks.”
Tessa nodded. “Yes. I came here to negotiate, and these thugs won’t stop me.” She still looked frightened, but her face was resolute. She took off her suit jacket and handed it over to me. “This green is my signature color. They’ll see and not look too closely.”
I quickly donned her jacket.
Grtirr still looked unhappy about the arrangement, but he removed his blaster and handed it to Chris, butt-end first. “Do not die.”
Chris laughed and then choked and winced at the pain. “I won’t. Now go.”
“Yes! Less talk. More go,” Annabel said through the link. “They’re almost there.
I wasn’t given a warning as Grtirr swept me off my feet and started out the door. The movement did not help the queasiness I was already trying to keep at bay. I squeezed my eyes shut as the world rushed by around me. I didn’t open them again until I heard an accented voice.
“There they are. The monster’s got the Vossell rep. Stop them! They’re getting away!”
I couldn’t locate the man yelling, and had to squeeze my eyes shut again as a wave of nausea threatened to have me upchucking all over Grtirr and whoever was unlucky enough to get in our way.
Grtirr moved fast. And I knew when we left the assembly hall behind and exited into the station proper.
I clung onto him. His body must have been reacting to my stress, because the more we touched, the calmer I felt, even though I really had no reason to be calm.
I had to give it to him; those hormones and pheromones came in handy at a time like this.
After what felt like forever, Grtirr slowed, and I dared to open my eyes again. Nothing looked familiar. In fact, we weren’t even in the same area of the station anymore. A lush park surrounded us.
Instead of fancy corridors, we stood in the shade of trees. A soft breeze carried the scent of damp earth and blooming flowers. The air was cooler here, and the first breath calmed the queasiness in my gullet.
Grtirr let me down to the ground, and it took me a moment to get my footing.
My legs felt like jelly, and my pulse still wanted to hammer right out of my throat.
He led me behind a bush with broad waxy leaves, where, to my surprise, there was a utilitarian metal door that looked completely out of place.
Right, we weren’t really outside, and this wasn’t really a park. We were on a space station, floating next to a planet with plenty of water, but no land.
The sign on the door was small, peeling at the edges, and read: Authorized Personnel Only. Sector 7-B Maintenance Closet.
He tried the handle, and the door opened.
I’d expected pipes, maybe a breaker panel.
But the inside was more like a gardening shed than a maintenance closet.
Rakes and shovels hung along one wall in a neat row, and bags of soil were stacked two deep in the corner.
Coils of irrigation hose sat on a low shelf next to stacked plastic pots.
“Give me the jacket,” Grtirr demanded, even as he helped me out of Tessa’s beautifully tailored piece. “Stay here. I’m going to lead them away.”
The door clicked shut behind him. I stood in the dark, surrounded by the smell of soil and fertilizer, and tried to remember how to breathe.