Chapter 33
We stepped into the mansion itself as the guards cowered back.
Violet smiled at my support of being non-lethal.
It seemed I was going to have to be careful about not picking favorites and balancing between Lily and Violet’s needs; otherwise, they would most certainly make it my problem.
I had not expected that managing two women was going to be this much trouble.
And with that thought, I also realized that to some degree I had already accepted Violet into my life.
Several staff with slave collars locked around their necks watched us carefully as we roamed into the palatial home as uninvited guests. Most of the staff scattered, but I needed one with a spine still firm enough that they hated their boss rather than were afraid of Perez.
"You." I pointed at one who was doing their best to pretend we didn't exist and washing dishes with a stubborn set to his shoulders. "Where's your boss?"
The man looked like a red-skinned stellarie, though I knew they were a different race—the dravarii, if memory served. He had deep, dead eyes, and he stared up at me with the kind of confidence that probably got him out of a great many troubles.
"I have no idea where Mr. Perez has gone. I'm not exactly kept updated on his whereabouts. However, he took a few of his thugs and left in a hurry. There was something about a sporting event.”
“Mugball," one of the other slave-collared staff spoke up. I had no idea what mugball was, but given that Perez was a bookie, I had a pretty good idea of why he was attending.
I smiled and nodded my thanks. "Now, is there a vault or something here where he might keep his valuables?" Asking where their boss had been was one thing, but asking where the valuables needed them to hate Perez’s guts.
"His office is in the northwest corner." The dravarii still cleaned a glass. At the rate he was going, he was going to wear right through the material with enough passes of that dishcloth. "He likes to see the sunrise," the dravarii added, as if that answered some question I hadn't asked.
Whatever their situation may be, everyone looked distinctly uncomfortable at my question. A few fingered the bulky collars around their necks. Looking at the slave collars, I had to wonder if there weren't some controls under them that had them currently worried about what they'd say.
At least if I made high-tech slave collars, I could very likely put a microphone on them to remove certain potentially dangerous words from the vocabulary.
I would make a very dangerous villain, at least if I wanted to be one.
Thankfully, I had no such inclination. There happened to be much better ways to enjoy life—ones that didn't have you looking over your shoulder for the other shoe to drop.
"What was that supposed to mean?" Violet frowned at the man's words as we walked away.
"I'm guessing an office on the northeast side with something important on the east," I said, trudging up to the northeast side of the building.
The servants scattered, and the few guards who decided their job was potentially worth their life were quickly and utterly disabled by Violet.
It was almost comical to see her now that she was no longer hiding her divine nature.
The speed with which she could dispatch an average person was incredible.
It barely even fazed her to throw one of them through a wall with a simple flick of her wrist, and the man was out of our hair, and also still very much alive.
***
"What do you mean this is all you brought?" Tiri exclaimed, hands on her hips as she stared down the spaceport workers who could barely meet her eyes.
"Sorry, ma'am," one of them said quickly, his head ducked in a heavy apology.
"Well, sorry isn't going to get me back the time I've lost. You said two weeks for the repair, and now you're telling me you're going to tack on an entire extra week because you took a break?
!" She threw her hands in the air, and the worker was clearly out of his depth.
That was fine, in fact. That was the point.
Tiri felt bad for the worker only long enough to remember that they were going to be a significant source of their delay, not only for her to get back to whatever remained of her company but also the rest of their crew and their other goals.
"Sentar Spaceport has always been a wonderful harbor, and I've recommended them time and time again." Tiri put her hands on her hips as his boss clearly was coming over to extract him from an angry customer.
"There's nothing he can do," the manager tried to save the worker. But Tiri knew better than to give up her pursuit.
"Oh, so there's something you can do?" she said, with the kind of smile that caused most people to regret joining the conversation.
"There's not much I can do either." The kikai held up his hands.
"Because as the owner of one of the biggest mercantile businesses in the sector, I think you can do better.
" Tiri leaned forward. He looked hesitant, and Tiri brought out a well-worn membership card.
"Why don't you give this to whatever sales agent you report up to.
Let her know I'm quite unhappy with the services.
The delay because of local politics is unacceptable. "
He hesitated for just a moment before he realized taking the card was his way out. He snatched it from Tiri and practically bolted away.
Brick had been helping bring materials in, pausing only long enough to watch the end of that interaction as he turned to her. "Has anyone ever told you that you're downright scary when you want to be?"
Tiri spun with a smile on her face, batting her lashes. "Why, Brick, why would I be considered scary? I mean, we're on a ship with you-know-what."
Brick visibly shivered at the thought of the helivore. Tiri was still reeling from the news when Brick accidentally dropped it this morning.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner." Tiri put her hands on her hips.
"You didn't tell me about Violet," Brick grumbled.
"Yes, but she's harmless. Lily is not." Tiri waved a hand.
Brick blushed. "Things told to me in confidence will stay secret. Besides, it was more the captain's secrets than Lily's, and when the captain's around, she's completely harmless."
Tiri eyed Brick for a long moment before sighing. "Fine. One of these days, I do want to make sure there isn't anything else terrifying on this ship?"
"No, well, at least not yet. Melgara is a good doctor, and the captain isn’t anything special.” He tapped his chin. “But who knows what kind of dragon is Melgara's friend?"
"Probably just a young one." Tiri waved a hand. "Dragons are very arrogant creatures; even being friends with a short-lived race is something they might consider an insult."
"Oh," Brick said, before nodding along. "Have you met a dragon before?"
"A few times," Tiri said, tapping her lips, but before she could dive into a story, two groups approached their ship.
The first was the opposite of concerning. In fact, Tiri found a great big smile plastered on her face as a small army of engineers and mechanics descended on their little ship. Her card must have done the trick. She smiled to herself, proud that she'd been able to make some difference.
The second group, however, was troubling.
A big grogax that had been in the gambling ads led a rather unsavory group, even if they were dressed nicely.
There was always something about those who were prone to trouble.
They just had a different air about them.
And these people had that air in spades.
Tiri scowled at the group and turned to Brick. "You are out of your debt, correct?"
He bobbed his head, putting a finger across his heart. "I'm not stupid enough to lie to you."
Tiri smirked at his response. "I'd like to think it's not intelligence that keeps you from lying." She poked Brick in the stomach. “You know, I don’t really see fat grogax.”
“It’s the tertiary nervous system. Given that we can control it and the caloric difference between having it active or off is massive. Actually, in modern day, a lot of people keep it off just to save on food costs,” Brick explained, scratching at where she’d poked him.
The workers must have sensed the tension, because they grew close, only to quickly dart past Brick and Tiri. They practically ran for the interior of the ship to get started. Not that Tiri was going to complain. Instead, she stood in the cargo bay, arms crossed over her chest.
"You're not welcome here." She glared down at the men, slowly coming up to the ramp.
"What?" The big grogax, undoubtedly Perez, put a hand to his chest, deeply offended by her words. "Well, there's a first for me. Usually, the ladies are eager to get me inside," he said, with a chuckle, turning to those behind him who quickly all began laughing.
Tiri, however, wasn't in much of a laughing mood. Her arms remained crossed. "State your business and get out of here." She could feel more than see Brick doing his best to look giant behind her, and she appreciated his effort, even if it was unnecessary.
"It seems you're mistaken." He chuckled and took a puff of a cigar that was noxious enough that even at this distance, Tiri found herself wrinkling her nose.
"We're not here for you. We're here to make an offer to him.
" The grogax lifted his cigar towards Brick behind her and started coming up the ramp.
“Wait.” Tiri tried to stop whatever was happening, but Perez was before her before she could say much more and put a heavy hand on Tiri's shoulder to step around her.
"What do you want?" She growled and took a step back to guard Brick.
"What do I want? That is a good question." Perez began rubbing his chin in a mockery of thought.
"Look, I'm not here to entertain you." Tiri remained stoically standing before Brick. "If you've got a problem with him, then you've got a problem with me, and if you've got a problem with me, I'm going to solve it. Now—"
Tiri could only imagine what she must look like to Brick right now, but she wasn't about to let these men get their hooks back into him, not when he'd been trying so hard to escape from them in the first place.
"Well, then I'll just make the offer from over here," the big grogax said.
"I'll give you fifty thousand feds. All you have to do is come to a game with me and spend it.
There's no loss if you come. You spend the fifty thousand feds, maybe you win more than you spend and get to take that home.
I mean, worst-case scenario, what is it?
A free mugball game in the penthouse seat?
" he said, with a chuckle, and Tiri's eyes snapped dangerously to Brick, especially considering that it looked like he was actually going to take the offer.
"What are you doing?" Tiri hissed, and Brick looked at her just as confused as she was looking at him.
"You know where the captain is, right?" Brick whispered against the back of her ears.
"If we can stall them, then the captain can finish whatever he wants far more easily than if we let them go," Brick whispered, and then looked up at Perez.
"Sure, we'll go. Can I bring my girl?" Brick hooked a thumb at Tiri.
The cigar-smoking grogax laughed. "Sure, big guy, bring her along. I bet she's your lucky charm. With her around, there's simply no way that you can lose, right? You’ll walk out of the game richer than you came in. I bet you can pick the right answers."
Tiri looked back at Brick, genuine fear in her eyes that Brick would not return after he began gambling once again.
But Brick stuck his chin out. "Yeah, let's go. I'd love to take your money."
Tiri clung close to his side. "This is a bad idea," she said, only for Brick to shake his head.
"Let me know if there's a good idea knocking on our door that I missed." He said it like there were no good options, and he was ready to go through with the bad one.
"You know that's not what I meant," Tiri argued quickly, before she followed his gaze to the two rough men behind Perez. Both of them were looking at her like a piece of meat.
"No, but it's the present reality." Brick grimaced. "And besides, it's not like it's going to cost anything to keep him distracted."
Tiri squinted at Brick, wondering if he understood what was really happening.
She paused before shaking off the concern.
Brick was smart enough to know that an offer like this was really there to only get him hooked back on gambling.
Even if he won a little, if they could get him restarted, they could reclaim all of that and so much more in no time.
What disgusted Tiri even more was that they were able to show up at his home, when he had been working so hard to steer clear, and give him the offer. It was as bad as a drug dealer coming to an addict’s home and offering them a fix while they were trying to quit.
So as she walked quietly behind Brick, she swore up and down that she was going to end Perez if he pushed Brick too far.