Chapter 13
Fee glanced behind her as the runner pulled away from the river-front house.
Trayla’s boss, Lieutenant Grogan, stood on the pavement beside the gate, watching them leave, and then began walking at a fast pace in the same direction of travel.
“He doesn’t look happy,” she said.
“He’s not.” Trayla lifted her shoulders—more of a hunch than a shrug.
“He feels like we don’t know enough about what’s going on to be blundering around, looking into things.
And if the Grih get caught by the Balcoan government doing something that exceeds our authority down here, it’ll set relations back years. ”
“He’s not wrong about not knowing enough. But hopefully Eazi and the admiral will be able to get some information for us by the end of the day.”
Eazi told her he would be eavesdropping on the security officers who’d arrested the Balcoans from the warehouse, as well as those who’d searched the premises; and the admiral was contacting all the spies and well-placed informants she had access to, trying to see if they had heard anything that seemed strange.
“Maybe we don’t know enough, but that’s not my fault,” Trayla said, a little aggrieved.
“He’s putting it on you?” Fiona glanced across.
“Not exactly, but he’s being very short and snappy with me.” Trayla gave another shoulder hunch. “And now he’s going to spend the day watching us.”
Fee glanced back again, but they had left Grogan far behind. Or it looked as if they had.
“Was it my imagination, or was there tension between him and Natta’s boss this morning?” Fee had come down to the kitchen for breakfast and thought there’d been a distinct chill in the air.
“Yes. Lieutenant Crin wanted to go in Natta’s place and watch us today, given it was her spy who was down, but Grogan pulled rank—he’s been a lieutenant for longer—and she wasn’t happy about it.” Trayla eased into the heavier flow of traffic as they got closer to the city center.
“And do you think he’s watching us now?” Fee wondered what vehicle he’d taken to follow them after they’d left him on the curb.
“He’s probably ahead of us,” Trayla said, lips twisting. “I told him where we would start the shopping spree, and I’ve been going relatively slowly.”
“Well, we can just pretend he isn’t there, and we’d be doing our jobs,” Fee pointed out, and Trayla laughed.
“I suppose.” She pulled into a small parking area for runners, stacking their one into a third level slot, and they took the charming spiral stairs down to the ground.
Trayla consulted her portable comm unit. “The first place is a couple of buildings down from here. A large boutique with plenty of choice. I thought we might get lucky and find something there, but if not, there are more exclusive places we can go to afterward.”
Fiona had entered the brightly lit store with its neatly arranged racks with a sense of optimism, but they’d struck out there, and in the two other places Trayla had on her list. She ended up defeated two hours later, sitting in a restaurant, glad to be off her feet.
“I thought this would be fun,” Trayla said.
Fee gave a laugh. “Me, too.” She leaned back as their food arrived, and then neither of them spoke for a while.
When she felt more herself again, she glanced around the place, wondering where Grogan had managed to wedge himself.
He’d flitted across her line of sight a few times earlier that day, but she hadn’t seen him in a while.
Unlike with Natta, there was no playful banter via the earpieces with Grogan. He was all business.
“Guess we have to go for the very top end,” Trayla said, pushing her plate away. “The last one on my list.”
“If that’s a bust, I’ll have to go back to that little place near the park and get the green dress,” Fee said.
“And I’ll have to go back to the first place and get the black.” Trayla sipped her water. “We’ve got . . .” She checked her wrist unit. “Four hours before we need to head home and get ready, and we still need shoes.”
Fee had forgotten about shoes. She groaned. Stood up. “Then let’s go. Hope springs eternal we’ll find what we want at this next place.”
They stepped out onto what was a busy street. Fee admired the early afternoon sun shining through the lush green trees that lined the road on either side, the sense of excitement and happiness at being on planet gripping her again.
“Which way?” she asked Trayla.
Trayla glanced down at her portable comm. “Left.”
Fee took a step, the move bringing her level with Trayla, just as the first shockgun shot hit.
The bracelet took it easily, no wobble, no sense of a shudder like with the laser cannon, and she turned in the direction the attack had come from.
Although it was too fast to track exactly, she saw the effect of the ricochet when a Balcoan standing in the shade of one of the trees collapsed, his shockgun clattering to the ground.
“Move.” Trayla grabbed her arm and pulled her along, head on a swivel as they walked at a fast clip away from the restaurant entrance.
“Where’s Grogan?” Fee asked. “Do you see him?”
“No.” Trayla slowed for a moment, then angled her body so she could look behind them. “If he’s following, he’s not visible.” She tapped her earpiece. “Lieutenant. Lieutenant.”
“He’s not answering?” Fee frowned. “Eazi, can you see him anywhere?”
“I can’t. The trees are too thick for me to get a good view. His comm unit would be simple enough to follow, but it’s been off since this morning, I gather to make sure the Balcoans couldn’t track him.”
“Lieutenant Crin.” Trayla had obviously reached out to Natta’s handler. “Have you heard from Lieutenant Grogan? We’ve been shot at in the city, and we just want to make sure he’s all right.”
Fee watched her face, saw her wince at whatever response she received.
“We’ll get to a safe place,” she said. “We were heading for a boutique, and we’re nearly there anyway, so we’ll go inside.” She gave the shop’s name and then breathed out a sigh as they climbed the steps up to the frosted silver door.
“She’s freaking out?” Fee guessed.
“Panic stations.” Trayla made another face and then pushed the door open.
Inside, the strange music Fiona associated with the Balcoans was playing. It was rhythmic in the sense that water falling into a pool was rhythmic, with no seeming intentional melody. She didn’t mind it, and it was always played very softly.
There was a faint perfume in the air, and a hush about the space, some of which was down to the thick carpet on the floor.
A woman glided out from a side door as they stood, gathering themselves, and dipped her head. “Can I help you?”
“We’re looking for dresses for an event,” Trayla said, smoothly. “Is it all right if we browse?”
“Of course, ring the chime hanging over the counter if you need me.” The woman stepped back, and closed the door behind her.
Fee checked the time, guessed she was taking time off for lunch.
“We’re not actually going to shop, are we?” she asked.
“We’ve . . . I’ve been ordered to stay here and not leave until I get word.” Trayla lifted her shoulders. “We do actually still need outfits, so why not?”
“How did they know to wait for us outside the restaurant?” Fee asked. “Have they been following us, and if they have, how did they know where we were?”
“You’re saying if they knew all that, they may know this place is on our list, too?” Trayla shook her head. “Only Grogan and Crin knew we were coming here, other than me.”
“And Grogan isn’t answering his comms.” Fee held out her hand, palm upward.
“No.” Trayla shook her head. “He may be bad-tempered, but he’s not a traitor.”
“I’m not saying he is. I’m saying they might have grabbed him and got his comms unit, found out that way.”
“They who? And why?” Trayla moved to the window that looked out onto the street, leaning close against the wall so she wasn’t silhouetted.
“I agree that it isn’t safe for you in there,” Eazi said.
“The building has two exits, other than the front entrance. There’s a room to the right as you come in which leads to a back alley, and there’s a long passage behind the front counter that links with a business next door, as they share facilities, and there’s an alleyway exit there, as well. ”
“Trayla.” Fiona pointed to the front counter. “Let’s go.”
As Trayla began to move toward her, the window she’d been looking out of exploded.
Fiona leaped toward Trayla, putting her arms around her as the bracelet flared.
Tiny pieces of glass flew outward, and Fee grabbed Trayla’s arm and hauled her toward the back passageway.
The corridor had been turned into a place to store stock, so they passed rows of beautiful dresses and jackets, before they came out into a basic, utilitarian shared space.
“Eazi says that leads to the back alley.” Fiona ran toward the door, and pushed it open, stepping out first just in case there was someone waiting to shoot them back there.
The alley was dark and seemed to be empty.
“The runner’s not that far from here,” Trayla said. “That seems like the best option.”
Fiona nodded, following her as she ducked between two buildings behind the one they’d been in, bringing them onto a parallel street.
“If they knew where we’d be, do they know about the rental house by the river?” Fee asked Eazi.
“I don’t know. Don’t go back there,” Eazi said.
“I’ve booked a hotel for you as suggested last night, so head there, check in.
I noticed you were having difficulty with clothing so I made you and Trayla something based on the outfits you liked the most today.
You’ve got six hours until the dinner, which means I can get it down from Larga Ways to you in good time. ”
“You think we should go tonight?” Fiona wanted to go. She wanted to confront Baruke as things got crazier and crazier, but she didn’t want to put others in danger while she did it.
“I don’t know. I feel like it’s a risk, either way.” Eazi always sounded more robotic when he was stressed.
“Same. It could blow up in our faces, or really get to the bottom of things, but not going feels like hiding and I don’t want to do that.” Fiona came to a stop as Trayla climbed the stairs to the runner and brought it back down to street level.
She hopped in. “We’re going to the Star of Distani, not back to the rental,” she said.
“Fancy.” Trayla turned into the traffic. “If it’s not safe for us at the rental, it’s not safe for Natta.”
“Agreed. Eazi’s already told Battle Center we suspect it’s compromised, so Natta will be moved.” Fee looked behind them, searching for anything out of place. “Can you get hold of Lieutenant Crin?”
Trayla thunked her head on the back of the head rest. “I haven’t even tried.”
“I’ll do it.” Fee didn’t have time for formalities or whatever dressing down Trayla thought she’d get. She asked Eazi, and he put her through straight away.
“Crin.” The lieutenant sounded angry.
“Lieutenant, it’s Fiona Russell. We’re just checking in with you. We were attacked again while we were taking cover from the first attack. We’re worried that if they knew our whereabouts, you might be in danger in the house.”
Crin was silent for a beat. “Thank you for letting me know. I came to the same conclusion and am taking Natta to the Grihan military facility here in Distani. Are the two of you all right?”
“Yes, thanks. Trayla’s piloting the runner, getting us away from the scene. We’ll find somewhere safe to go for now and keep in touch.” Fiona could hear Natta asking her something softly. “Is Natta feeling better?”
“He’s fine. Did you hear from or see Lieutenant Grogan after you were attacked?”
“No. That’s obviously very worrying. Eazi says his comm unit has been off for hours, but assumed it was to prevent the Balcoans tracking him.” Now she wondered if he’d been taken out before they’d even reached the restaurant.
“When last did you see him with your own eyes?” Crin asked, and Fee guessed their minds were walking down the same path.
“I last saw him inside the first place we went to, and then in the street briefly as we walked to the next boutique. When we got there, he had gotten ahead of us and was leaning against a tree, as if he were reading messages on his comm unit.” She glanced at Trayla. “Did you see him after that?”
She shook her head. “I saw him by the tree as well, but not again.”
“That would have been a good two hours before we went to lunch.” Fiona told Crin. And if he’d been taken shortly after that, then he had already been in enemy hands for a long time.
“We’re sending people to look for him. You let me know when and where you’ve found a place to wait this out, and I’ll tell you what I can.” Crin gave a curt farewell and cut the call.
“We could have told her where we were going already,” Trayla said, but not in a way that said she was sorry they hadn’t.
“We could, but I think it’s best no one knows, don’t you?” She’d rather have Eazi as their contact than anyone else.
“I’m not like you,” Trayla said. “I’ve got to follow orders.”
“Well, let’s get some from the admiral, then.” Fee didn’t want to cut Trayla loose. She was glad to have her company, although she didn’t know if she would be safer away from Fee or with her.
“The admiral.” Trayla sighed.
“It’s not you going over their heads, it’s me,” Fee consoled her. “And I’m guessing the admiral won’t mind a bit.”