Chapter 24 #3
Somehow, Kira had a feeling he was going to say that.
In a perfect world, one where politics didn’t enter into the equation, this would be enough. But he was right. Danai especially would try to turn black into white and vice versa if they gave them a smidgeon of an opening.
The best way to protect Roake was still to find Caius and bring him back to stand trial.
Only then could they clear his name—and Roake’s.
“Jin, did the tracker I put on Flame give us anything useful?” Kira asked.
Jin nodded, used to her naming practices as Finn mouthed “Flame” to himself. “One moment, let me pull it up.”
A map of the station was displayed on screen.
“Would you look at that?” Raider drawled.
Kira nodded. “It seems all paths lead to the docks.”
Finally. A lead.
If you counted the Sweet sisters’ involvement, several of them.
“I need you two to do something for me,” Kira said, looking at Raider and Finn.
“Let me guess.” Raider pretended to think. “You’re about to send us on a wild goose chase while you investigate the docks by yourself.”
“It’s not a wild good chase. It’s an important task to secure a possible informant. Also, I won’t be alone.” Kira pointed at Graydon. “He’s coming with me.”
Graydon arched an eyebrow, looking amused. “Is that so?”
“Yes. It is.”
“I do believe the emperor ordered Roake to stay out of this. What makes you think I’d be willing to defy his orders?”
“Now you’re just being ornery,” Kira complained.
They both knew if he’d planned to honor the emperor’s wishes he would have forced her off Titan the moment they crossed paths.
“You’re going to investigate anyway, since it’s likely the same people who have the children were also the ones to attack Ta Sa’Riel. In that case, we might as well pool our efforts. As for the emperor’s orders, I’m still in compliance. All I care about are the children.”
And Caius.
But Graydon knew that.
“Also, there’s no one around to object to my presence,” Kira pointed out.
Jarek and Sariah had gone off to Mea’Ave knew where. And Rhett and Tinsley were preoccupied with the forty-three.
“What do you say?” Kira asked, looking back at Graydon.
He glanced at Finn, who was acting surprisingly calm all things considered. He’d yet to voice a single objection. Nothing so much as even a token protest.
“How am I to say no to an offer like that, coli?” Graydon drawled. “Of course, my oshota and I will be happy to accompany you on your search.”
One thing solved.
“I’ll send you a list of the places the Sweet sisters tend to frequent. Along with a photo so you can identify them,” Kira told Raider and Finn.
Jin looked disgruntled as he raised his hand. “And me? What am I going to be doing? You’re not thinking of leaving me behind, are you?”
“See—I knew you were smart.”
“Oh, come on!”
“How much sleep did you get before I showed up?” Kira asked in an abrupt shift of subject.
The slightly guilty look on his face answered her question better than words ever could.
“You need rest, Jin. And I need someone who can run overwatch and act as the operations chief to coordinate all the moving parts.”
The best part was that he’d be out of danger.
“Eventually, someone is going to have to loop Jace in. We’ll need his help.”
Kira didn’t plan to let a single one of these assholes slip away. To ensure none escaped capture, they had to hit all known hideouts.
She lacked the resources for such an operation. But Jace didn’t.
“This is so unfair,” Jin complained. “If I was still the J1N, would you be forcing me to sit on the sidelines?”
“Probably not,” Kira admitted. “But the J1N would have already finished sifting through the data it got from Jace, Chance, and Harper.”
Jin’s lips flattened as he swallowed everything he’d been about to say.
Raider tucked his hands in his armpits and looked down, pretending to be a fly on the wall as Jin flushed with embarrassment.
“I’ll have you know I’m perfectly capable of multi-tasking,” Jin exclaimed.
“Not as well as you used to be. This is the kind of job that requires focus.”
Jin’s unflinching stubbornness fizzled like a punctured balloon, his shoulders drooping.
“Your role is important too,” Kira pointed out, not entirely without sympathy.
“Fine—but take one of my spawn with you.”
“Why?” Kira asked, startled.
“If you’re leaving me behind, I want certain assurances. The mini-me gives me that.”
“Fine—but you have to rest.”
“A small nap,” Jin bargained.
Kira hummed. Dylan could decide how long that “nap” lasted. She suspected once Jin went down, he wouldn’t be getting up for a few hours.
At least.
There was a clicking sound as one of Jin’s avatars, the flying squirrel, crouched. The muscles in its back legs bunched a second before it launched itself into the air. It glided over to land on Kira’s shoulder.
She placed a hand over its body, surprised by the slightly warm feel of metal. Like living flesh.
“For someone who insists that biological bodies are inferior to machines, you sure go to a lot of trouble to create something as physically close to one as possible.”