Chapter 9 Lyra #2
“Well, I’m sure you can guess what happened next.
I created a small distraction and in the confusion, managed to steal the book and high-tail it out of Minaris,” I say.
“The Triumvirate followed me, of course, but by the time I got to Ooneryx, I was in Brill’s territory and they weren’t about to launch a full-blown turf war against him for some book.
Still, I’m not allowed to set foot in the city, on the planet, or have any business dealings with Triumvirate partners.
Fobos still has a price on my head, but so far no one is fool enough to take me from Brill and turn me in. ”
“Stars, Lyra, you are trouble,” Orion mutters, his voice halfway between amused and exasperated.
I grin and throw my arms up in the air. “I never claimed to be otherwise, Your Goodliness.”
“So where do I come in?” Orion asks, dishing food onto a plate and sliding it across the table to me. “You want me to show up at the Red Sands Casino and start another incident so you have some company on the Triumvirate’s list of hunted?”
“Hopefully not,” I say, uncertainly. “But who knows? I told you this whole mission was a big, bad, dangerous mistake.”
I bite into the omelet and nearly swoon—the eggs are tender and fluffy, the sauteed vegetables a perfect balance of savory and spicy. It’s probably the best food I’ve had since…I can’t remember when and it’s already got my hangover headache on the run. Stupid, sexy Ranger.
“Well?” he asks, clearly anxious about my opinion. It’s…cute.
“Damn, Ranger, where did you learn to cook like this? This is amazing,” I say between forkfuls of food.
“My ex taught me,” he says, filling his own plate and coming to sit across from me.
The food turns to lead in my gut.
“Your ex,” I echo, unappealing jealousy raging through me like a tidal wave. I force myself to swallow. “They must’ve been quite a catch.”
Orion smiles, but there’s pain in his eyes. I don’t have the fortitude to push for more, especially since I’m still fighting to tamp down the envy that threatens to set off my vellia. Orion isn’t mine to claim or fight for. In fact, he probably still wants to turn me in to the Feds.
“I’m not asking you to steal anything, but you are going to break into their vault,” I hedge.
“Why am I going to do that?” Orion asks, an unpleasant edge to his voice.
“Technically, because we made a deal and I’m doing my part to prove that my information is valid,” I reply.
“But more specifically, because I have a list of all the things I’ve acquired for the Triumvirate in the past and you’ll be able to see I’m telling the truth.
Besides, I happen to have it on good authority there are a couple Xylothian artifacts in their vault that you might want to see for yourself.
If you bring some proof to the Feds, maybe they’ll be less likely to sweep the corruption within their ranks under the proverbial rug. ”
Orion’s fork pauses in front of his mouth.
“What Xylothian artifacts?” he asks.
“A necklace and a pair of earrings,” I answer. “I didn’t steal them, before you ask. But they've been on the black market for a while. The jewels come as a set. I can’t remember what they’re called, but they’re pretty blue things.”
“The Nebula Gems,” Orion says, anger and excitement warring in his eyes. “They’ve been missing for years. You’re certain the Triumvirate has them?”
“Well, Fobos did the last time I was there. The gems were marked to sell at the same auction, but I heard the Triumvirate locked everything back up after my little adventure. I haven’t heard anything else about them floating around the black market, though, so I’m assuming they’re still there,” I say.
“That doesn’t sound like much to go on if you haven’t been to Minaris in years,” Orion says.
“If you’re too scared to break into the vault, I don’t blame you. We can always turn around and go back to Xylothia and forget this whole thing ever happened.” I smirk at him and he glares back at me, pushing his empty plate across the table.
“I cooked, you get to wash the dishes,” he says.
“And I’m not afraid of the Triumvirate. But I am a bit concerned that you’re sending me into a den of angry lupitians alone.
I’m a capable fighter when the situation calls for it, but I’m not suicidal.
Where will you be while I’m allegedly breaking into this vault?
Kicking your feet up onboard, waiting for the perfect moment to fly off and leave me behind? ”
“I resent that. Leaving you in Minaris never even crossed my mind,” I lie.
Obviously, it did, but my brain keeps inventing excuses to keep him around—we have a deal, I like looking at him shirtless, and he’ll send the Feds after me the first moment he can.
“I’ll be creating a distraction in the casino so you can get in and get out without too much trouble. ”
“Oh boy. Before you freak me out with whatever ‘distraction’ plan you have, can you at least tell me how I’m just supposed to get into a casino vault?” he asks, leaning back in his chair.
“Right. So, when I say vault, it’s not actually a vault, per se, but more of a sort of library with really, really good security.
I’ve thought about getting in before, but the problem was always getting back out with whatever goodies I tried to keep.
It’ll be way easier for you to go in because you’re not actually trying to take anything,” I explain.
“And it’s not really breaking in, so much as it’s more…
being invited in under false pretenses.”
Orion narrows his eyes. “You wouldn’t be stalling, would you? Perhaps because you don’t actually have a plan for getting into this room?”
“Oh, I do. It’s just…you’re not going to like it,” I laugh.
“I don’t like anything about this,” he grumbles.
I stand to clear the dishes, then begin picking up the already-tidy mess he made while making us breakfast. Stars, even the messes he makes are more organized than my entire ship.
“Yeah, but you’re not going to be able to just walk up to Fobos and be like, ‘Hey, can I take a peek inside your vault? I hear you have some of my people’s priceless treasures stored in there’ and expect him to welcome you with open arms,” I tell him.
“The only way you’re going to get in is to be invited. ”
“That seems about as unlikely as breaking in,” he says. “So I hope you’ve got a good idea rattling around that criminal brain of yours.”
“Good is subjective,” I say with an airy wave. “But I think it’ll work. You’re going to go in as a dealer.”
“And what am I dealing?” Orion asks warily, coming to lean against the counter where I’m washing dishes.
“The Solar Mother idol,” I answer.
“Absolutely not. No way. That is going right back to the temple on Xylothia and until then, it stays locked in the stasis cabinet in the lab,” he argues firmly.
“You aren’t going to actually sell it, you’re just going to use it to get inside the vault,” I say.
“Once you get in, you can say you’ve got other interested parties and leave.
It’s that simple. Unless, of course, you can admit that you actually trust me enough to believe my information is good and we don’t need to go through this little charade to prove that it is. ”
He eyes me up and down, making the desire heat in my blood. When he frowns and shakes his head, I refuse to examine how much it stings.
“You’re going to have to trust me one way or another,” I complain, my headache returning with a throb of irritation. “Either you trust me to send you into the vault, or you trust that I wouldn’t lie about who I’ve sold to and had dealings with.”
He rubs a hand across his chin, considering.
“If I’m going to the Feds about the smuggling, they’ll want proof.
I’m going to record everything I see in that vault and shove it in their faces,” he says grimly.
“Then, they’ll have to do something about the looting.
I can’t be a one-man army on Xylothia anymore. ”
“Well, then you better practice acting like an entitled, good-for-nothing criminal, because that’s the only way you’re going to get proof,” I say.
“You go in, act like you’re going to sell the idol, and get invited into the vault for negotiations.
I’ll create a diversion to draw them out and while they’re distracted, you can record everything you need for the Feds.
Then, assuming it all goes to plan, we get the hell out of the casino and jet off to someplace resembling safety. ”
“What kind of a distraction were you thinking?” he asks. “It better be big enough to draw out everyone—including Fobos—while I stay locked inside.”
“I haven’t worked that out yet, but I will. We have a few days,” I say, finishing up the last of the dishes.
He seems less than satisfied with that answer, but I need time to work something out between now and then.
“What did you do last time you were here?” Orion asks with a stretch, grabbing his towel and making for the door.
I follow him out, heading for my room.
“I blew up the casino.”
I can’t help but enjoy the horrified shock painted across his handsome face.
Over the next few days, Orion and I settle into something of a routine.
Ever since our time on Amphitreas and subsequent drunken evening, he stopped avoiding me around the ship, which is nicer than I care to admit.
While he spends most of his time tending the biosphere and perusing my collection of books, in the evenings we sit together in the cockpit after dinner, reading in companionable silence.
He’s taken it upon himself to care for the little plant he bought me, which turned out to be a rare species from Terrin-4 and eats nothing but animal bones.
I don’t ask where Orion gets the bones, but despite his people’s beliefs about eating meat and his strict vegetarianism, he seems to enjoy taking care of the little guy. He’s even named it Spike.
When we’re about a day out from Minaris, it’s finally time for us to sit down and work through the details of our plan.
Orion has been practicing his entitled, wealthy criminal act—which he scathingly declared is modeled after me—and I’ve got to hand it to him.
The swagger and confidence he wears as he struts around the ship is extremely sexy.
Granted, I’ve begun to think just about everything he does is sexy—even when he’s being infuriatingly upstanding and good.
“Stop fidgeting with your suit!”
I tug the suit jacket over his shoulders and straighten the shirt he’s rumpling.
“Who wears these clothes? Why are they so uncomfortable? I feel like I’m being strangled,” he huffs.
“It’s an old Earth style. A lot of the dealers like to wear them, so you’ll blend in. Besides, it hides your Xylothian coloring and your, uh, freckles,” I say, distractedly enjoying the solid feel of muscle beneath the silky fabric.
“Freckles?” He arches a brow.
“Yeah, the dark purple spots on your skin that like…flicker.” I finish straightening the suit and step back.
“Ah. They’re not freckles, they’re synesfores. All Xylothians have them. They shift form and color depending on our emotions. Not quite so useful as vellia, I’d imagine, but more of a holdover from the age when we all lived naked in the rainforests.”
Images of a nude Orion surrounded by nature pull my attention away from our conversation momentarily.
“Lyra?”
“Right, yes, sorry. Minaris! Ada is going to alter our registration and ship name so we can actually land. She’s going to say you’re the owner.
Once we land, you’ve got to make your way to the Red Sands Casino and head straight to the front desk.
When you’re there, you tell them you’d like to speak with the manager about a private party.
One of the Triumvirate goons will come out, then—they’ll know you’ve got something to sell.
We’re going to keep the idol in this case here, but you’ll have to insist on opening it in the vault,” I explain.
“What if he won’t take me to the vault?” Orion asks.
“Oh, he will. This is how every bargain begins. He’ll take you in the back to meet with Fobos, who runs the casino.
You’ll show Fobos the idol and tell him all about it—how you found it, how you stole it, how the Xylothians have prized it for eons, and all that.
Now, this is important, so pay attention. ”
Orion leans forward, staring intently at the holographic map projected between us. I gesture to the casino blueprints.
“While you’re inside, I’m going to sneak in through the delivery chute, make my way to the casino floor and create a distraction.
” I hold up a small purple box. “This is a Velusian-style stun grenade. It works with the vellia in our blood. A few drops go in, you press the button, and the box basically atomizes the chemical components that make people go a little nutty—essentially the same thing as being one-on-one with a Velusian, except with a wider, broader blast radius. The trade-off is that it doesn’t last for very long and like I said before, vellia isn’t entirely universal, but it should cause enough chaos on the casino floor to draw out most of the Triumvirate security and give you a window of time to get your proof. You remember how to work the holocord?”
He nods, pulling out the small box that will record holograms of the vault.
“Great. You get what you need, then duck out of there in a hurry. We’ll meet back at the landing bay and then, stars willing, get the heck out of there.”
“Mmm.” Orion’s brow furrows. “Slice of cake.”
I stare. “What?”
“I read that expression in one of your books,” he says. “It’s an Earth saying, is it not? It will be easy.”
I chuckle, oddly charmed by his mistaking the expression.
“Yeah, no worries. Slice of cake.”