Chapter 24 #2
“Pallas and Alexander are Ryan’s people. He wouldn’t throw them away like that.”
Jin sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Kira.
“I agree with you.”
There were easier and better ways that didn’t involve sacrificing two of his best soldiers.
Jin hit a button, expanding one of the dozen mini feeds on his scroll before flicking it over to play on the wall. “There.”
The government level came into focus. Specifically, the garden bordering the spine and the warren of elevated walkways created from the massive tree’s branches.
“Beautiful,” Graydon commented.
“It is,” Kira agreed, her gaze locked on the trio waiting somewhere in the midst of the canopy, smaller branches partially obscuring the camera’s view.
Jin squinted. “Where’s Pallas? I don’t see him. Do you?”
Tinsley and Rhett were easy to pick out. As was Alexander’s tall, muscular form off to the side.
Pallas, however, was nowhere to be seen.
“He exited our company a few days ago,” Graydon explained. “My understanding was that he’d link back up with us on Titan, but that appears not to be the case.”
“That’s not like him,” Kira said with a frown.
Once Pallas got his teeth into something, he didn’t let it go.
“I agree.”
Something in Graydon’s voice had Kira shooting him a quick glance. “What aren’t you saying?”
Graydon’s hesitation was slight. “Something Kashori’s heir showed him seemed to have had a great effect on him.”
Kira could guess what that something was.
Poor Pallas.
Of all the forty-three to pose that question to. It had to be him.
Kira’s sigh was long and heartfelt. “I was hoping for a happy ending.”
“I’m sure House Kashori was too.”
“Are they going to be a problem?”
Kira wasn’t sure how much Pallas had exposed, but judging from Graydon’s neutral expression it was quite a lot.
This was the reason the forty-three had kept their distance for so long.
None of their hands were clean. Not even Kira or Jin’s.
They were victims, yes, but also perpetrators.
It was something none of them could forget.
House Kashori might not understand that. In their grief, they might seek retribution on the very person they perceived as the one to blame.
Pallas.
Even if he’d just been defending himself.
“That depends on who else survived.”
Kira doubted it would be that simple for everyone. Tinsley’s sister would have had parents. Grandparents. Maybe an uncle like Harlow. The survival of other children might not be enough to soothe the pain and grief of their own loss.
“What are they doing?” Jin asked, staring at the feed of Alexander and the other two.
“It looks like they’re waiting for someone.” Kira glanced at Graydon. “Are the forty-three why you’re on Titan?”
“Not entirely.”
“Here. Let me,” Jin said as Graydon tapped at the forearm of his synth armor. “I’ll put it up on the screen so we can all see.”
“Hang on. Let me get Finn and Raider,” Kira said, backing toward the door. “They should probably be here for this.”
Jin grunted, too preoccupied with getting Tuann technology to “speak” with Titan’s.
Graydon waved Kira away. “I’ll stay here.”
Dylan was standing guard beside the door when Kira walked out.
“You should have let him rest,” Dylan said.
“You haven’t known Jin long enough to tell me what is best for him.”
He didn’t have their history. Their bond. His association with Jin spanned all of five minutes.
“He stayed up all night doing your bidding. He only went to bed half an hour ago,” Dylan said.
When Kira looked back, it was to find the oshota right behind her. His expression open, the stoic reserve he used to mask his emotions set aside to show the full extent of his concern.
“I don’t know him like you do. You’re right about that. But what I do know is that although his mind is that of an adult, his body is that of a child. And children need rest.”
Kira was taken aback for a split second before a wry smile touched her face. “You know, Dylan. I think I could grow to like you.”
The protectiveness he’d just displayed was exactly the sort of thing Jin needed right now.
Habit was a difficult thing to break. It hadn’t been her intention, but she’d been treating Jin the way she always had. Like a being with unlimited physical reserves. Someone to whom sleep was unnecessary.
She’d forgotten he was a boy. With the same requirements for rest and sustenance as the rest of them.
“This is more of a learning curve than I’d anticipated,” Kira admitted.
Jin wasn’t the only one who needed to get used to the new paradigm. She also had to be more careful. Jin wasn’t experienced enough to recognize his limits. She’d have to be aware for the both of them.
Kira met Dylan’s gaze and nodded. “I’ll remember that next time.”
Having achieved his desired outcome, Dylan faded back into position, resuming his role as sentry.
Kira continued on to Raider’s door, giving it a light tap before moving on. Finn’s door opened before she got the chance to knock.
“You went shopping,” Kira observed, looking him over from head to toe.
He’d ditched the traffic cone jacket, replacing it with a cloak similar in style to Dylan and Roderick’s.
The material wasn’t as nice as theirs though.
Finn stepped out of his room, letting the door slide closed behind him. A quick glimpse inside showed a bed that didn’t look like it had been slept in.
“Raider and I had a bet going on whether you would wake us before you snuck out,” Finn explained.
Raider stuck his head out of the room. “I’ll just be a moment.”
Kira nodded and leaned against the wall, talking to Finn while Raider gathered his gear. “Which side did you land on? Stay or go?”
“What do you think?”
“You lost, didn’t you?” Kira shook her head with mock sympathy. “I told you not to bet against him; he always wins.”
“We talking about the bet?” Raider asked, stepping out of his room. “I can’t believe my streak is over.”
Kira’s smile disappeared.
“Maybe I’m not the one who lacks faith,” Finn taunted.
Kira pushed off the wall, stalking back across the hall to Jin’s room. “Come on. Jin found something.”
They entered Jin’s room to find a holo vid already playing on the room’s built in entertainment system. Kira was pretty sure the system was meant for porn, but right now it showed Titan’s shipyard.
A second passed before anything happened.
Abruptly, one of the shipping containers exploded. Its wall bursting outward as metal bent and tore. Caius strolled out of the wreckage. His face and body showed extensive bruising and there was a long gash across his chest that poured blood. His synth armor was also missing.
Two cloaked figures hurried after him. The taller one, a female, tugged a much smaller one, most likely a child, in their wake.
“Caius made friends,” Raider observed.
“Do you think that’s one of the children we’re looking for?” Finn asked.
“It would be a pretty big damn coincidence if it’s not,” Raider drawled.
The child’s hood slid back, exposing an expression of absolute terror that was hard to look away from.
They were out of view in the next second.
“Is that it?” Kira asked.
Raider stared at the screen as if he could force it to show him what happened next. “It’s not much to go on.”
“I’m trying to locate the original source to see if I can access other feeds in its vicinity,” Jin announced.
“Where did you get this?” Kira asked Graydon.
“Baran uncovered it. Under rather suspicious circumstances.” At Kira’s questioning look, Graydon expanded. “Someone sent it to him. Before you ask, no, we don’t know who it was. They covered their trail.”
“I can’t either,” Jin announced. “I did, however, find the original source.”
With a flourish, Jin hit a button, and the scene started playing again. This time from a wider angle that allowed them to see more of what was going on.
Caius and his companions fled through the maze of containers. A group of about ten, armed with hot weapons, pursued them.
The piece Kira found most interesting was the ship that shadowed them from above. A ship whose wings and body had been painted a distinctive shade of pink.
“That ship belongs to the Sweet sisters,” Kira noted.
“I think you’re right,” Jin said.
“I know I am.”
She’d recognize that nauseating shade of pink anywhere. It was their signature. They customized every piece of equipment they owned with it. Including their ship.
They called it branding. Kira called it arrogance.
Raider’s eyes glittered as the net tightened around Caius and the other two. “Kira—tell me you’re going to end these assholes.”
“I always do.”
Every time she came across a ring like this, she made sure to do maximum damage. It was one of the few times she let herself be utterly merciless. She’d kill anyone, no matter how small their role, who had anything to do with the taking, experimenting on, and torture of children.
There was no room in this universe for monsters like them.
“Good,” Finn growled.
Jin hit a button freezing all action on screen and turned to face them. “This brings us to our official briefing. The cameras lose track of Caius and the other two in a moment. They’re no help after that. I’ll keep searching, but something tells me I won’t find much.”
“There was only one child.” Raider glanced at Kira. “You said you found evidence of two others?”
“At least two,” Finn volunteered.
Kira nodded an agreement.
Raider cocked his head, studying the figures on screen closely. “To me, it kind of looks like Caius is trying to protect the other two. It’s possible the child and Caius saw an opportunity to escape together and the other two children are still in custody.”
“I’d say it’s very likely,” Jin said.
Kira looked at Graydon. “This proves that Caius was an unwilling partner.”
“It’s a point in your favor, but it’s not enough,” Graydon allowed. “Danai or one of the other Houses could argue that Caius had a change of heart. Or that he and the terrorists had a falling out. You need rock solid proof that he wasn’t involved.”