Chapter 27 #2
“Fuck you, Kira,” Martha sneered.
“That won’t be necessary.” Kira looked at Raider. “What about that thing I asked you for?”
He shook his head. “Dead end. The transmission ends in the debris belt of the Falling.”
Damn.
Martha guffawed at Kira’s expression, the sound loud and broken. “Too bad, Kira. Guess you’re out of luck this time.”
“You really are dumb, Martha. You should be working with us. Your sister is running with some very dangerous people. What do you think they’ll do to her when they don’t need her anymore?”
“Maggie knows what she’s doing.”
“Does she? Does she really?”
Kira doubted it. From Martha’s brittle expression, Kira didn’t think the other woman believed that either.
“Your sister is in over her head,” Kira said wearily.
“What do you care?” Martha snarled.
“You know what. You’re right. I don’t.” Kira jerked her chin at Finn. “Let her go.”
Finn’s eyebrows lowered slightly.
“You heard her. Let me go,” Martha demanded, sensing an opportunity.
“Are you sure?” Finn asked quietly.
“I’ve got what I wanted. I don’t need her anymore.”
Jin had left Kira a trail of breadcrumbs to follow. Martha was unnecessary baggage now.
Finn loosened his hold.
Martha jerked free, scrambling out of the room without a backwards glance.
Talon waved. “Bye now.”
“Fuck you and your wand, wizard,” Martha shouted from the hallway.
“Tuann don’t carry wands,” Kira shouted back.
They carried en-blades. On occasion, zuipis. Sometimes other weapons.
Wands, though? Not a thing.
Graydon quirked an eyebrow. “Is that what matters right now?”
“If she’s going to insult someone, the least she could do is make it accurate.”
“You’re right. How could I not know that?”
“Can we focus on the mission?” Dylan demanded in a display of impatience.
“We never stopped.” Kira stroked a finger along the scorpion’s back and the base of its tail. “Will you show me what Jin left for me?”
“Gladly, Kira.”
The scorpion scuttled to face away from her. The gems that she thought of as its eyes became mini holo-projectors displaying everything Jin had done in the past few hours.
“Jin never fails to impress me,” Raider murmured, sounding somewhat awed.
He was a genius. A mad, chaotic genius who was now in very real danger.
Because while everyone else was running around trying to figure shit out, Jin had actually done it. He’d found Belladonna’s headquarters. Not only that, he’d managed to trace a good portion of their leadership as well as provide a direct link to the Tuann rebels.
“Is this enough to prove Roake’s case?” Kira asked, staring at the hologram of a Tuann.
She recognized him from briefings she’d sat in with Harlow. The flaxen-haired Tuann on screen was the former marshal of House Dethos.
His House was one of the rebellion’s engineers. They and their Overlord capitalized on the growing discontent among Tuann over the monopoly of the major Houses, using it to turn others to their cause. Their Overlord died during the first attack but his marshal seemed to have taken up his cause.
“It’s a start.” A slow, predatory smile crossed Graydon’s face as he studied the information. “A very good start.”
Kira released her breath.
Roake was safe. Thank the Mea’Ave.
Now to ensure Caius, the children, and Jin enjoyed the same fate.
Kira quickly scanned the rest of the information.
Apparently, Belladonna had been around for over a decade, making it one of the longest lasting pirate clans Kira knew of. Perhaps because until about six months ago, they’d made every attempt to stay small, only doing odd jobs every now and then. A theft here. A con there. Mostly penny ante stuff.
Then about the time Kira entered Roake, things changed.
Suddenly, there was an uptick in activity. They gobbled up a lot of the smaller clans, forcing out or destroying any who resisted.
Belladonna went from being a two-bit clan to one whose size and activities rivaled the big three.
There were signs of them trying to muscle in on the station itself. They started collecting protection money from businesses, infringing on other clans’ territories. Those who wouldn’t pay were driven to bankruptcy or suffered mysterious accidents. Their owners were missing or dead
Interestingly, many of those businesses traced back to the same group of shell companies. All named after deadly plants.
Cat Three was included on that list. As was the Red Rabbit.
“No wonder they hit the hotel hard,” Kira murmured.
It wasn’t just about capturing the Tuann. It was about dealing with whoever was behind these shell companies.
“Schemes inside of schemes.” Kira glanced at Graydon. “I think the forty-three have something to do with this.”
“What makes you say that?”
She nodded at the list of shell companies. “Those are all plants toxic to the Tuann.” She’d know. She’d fallen afoul of a few of them. “They’re also all common on human planets.”
“I don’t follow,” Dylan said.
“Pityrodia Augustensis. That’s who owns those,” Kira said, more sure than ever of Gus’s presence on this station.
She’d been here this entire time. Jin and Kira never suspected. Not once.
“My siblings are paranoid and highly territorial. Moreover, they’re also very well trained. Only another of the forty-three could do what you see here.”
“It tracks,” Talon interjected. “Their behavior starting six months ago shows them having undergone a significant shift. A change in leadership could be the cause.”
Kira nodded. “That’s what I think too.”
Someone, probably another member of the forty-three, had co-opted Belladonna for their own purposes.
Augustensis could have bowed to pressure and joined them, but somehow Kira thought not. She couldn’t imagine one of her siblings joining forces with someone who had harmed them.
“Is this sibling the reason for the Tuann plants on Titan?” Graydon asked.
“Probably.”
There was a thoughtful look on Graydon’s face as he looked at Dylan. “That’s interesting.”
Dylan’s expression was stony as he met Graydon’s gaze. “The Mycorr are extinct.”
“Appearances would suggest otherwise,” Graydon pointed out.
“That’s not what matters right now,” Dylan said, struggling to contain his impatience. “Jin’s safety is my only priority. All else can wait.”
“He’s right,” Kira agreed.
As interesting as this conversation was, it wouldn’t help Jin or the other children.
“Can you show me where Jin is?” Kira asked the scorpion.
“Certainly.”
The lines of code dissolved, rearranging until a star map of the local sector took shape. A blue dotted line extended from the station into an expansive debris field before fading and then eventually vanishing.
“What are we looking at?” Talon asked.
“The Falling,” Kira answered, studying the hundreds of Tsavitee and human ships suspended in midair. The debris cloud they floated in was so dense that it was difficult to distinguish details of the ships inside.
That was one of the reasons salvagers made such a good living. They spent years studying the flow of the field, identifying what lay within.
“These guys are smart,” Kira said.
“Why do you say that?” Dylan asked.
Rather than answer, Kira glanced at Raider. “Where did you say you lost Martha’s ship?”
He pointed to a spot in the tail of the debris cloud. “Right about there.”
Martha, that bitch, had gotten her again.
“This is why I hate dealing with those two,” Kira muttered.
Martha knew why the beacon appeared to have gone inactive and had let them think it was because the pirates had found and deactivated it.
“Jin’s not on Titan, is he?” Finn asked.
“No. He’s not.” Kira nodded at the trail of debris. “He’s there.”
“How do you know?” Dylan asked.
“The hulls of Tsavitee ships don’t show up on radar. Comms don’t work inside them either.”
The debris would block most signals once you entered. Especially anything built in the Consortium. That was likely what had happened to Martha and Maggie’s ship too.
“It would take years to search that stretch of space,” Dylan said, looking grim.
“We don’t need years.” Kira held up the scorpion. “We have him.”
This must be why Jin allowed himself to be taken. The easiest way to track the pirates was through the use of a Trojan horse.
In this case, Jin himself.
“What are you doing?” Dylan asked as Kira collapsed the data and packaged it up neatly for transmission.
“While Jin’s beacon indicates he was removed from Titan, I can’t discount the possibility of the children being held elsewhere.”
Jin’s research suggested several possible strongholds of Belladonna right here on station and in the nearby vicinity.
“Jace and his people can hit the other locations while we take care of their base,” Kira explained.
“Humans have already shown themselves to be involved. Perhaps it would be wise to hold off on involving any more of them than we have to,” Dylan said.
“Too late. Already sent.”
Kira understood his concerns. She really did. Humans were neck deep in this and sinking further.
But then again, so were the Tuann.
Besides, what kind of friend would she be if she iced Jace out after all he’d done for them? Without his help, they stood no chance of catching all the little mice that were bound to be sent scurrying once things kicked off. She refused to let a single one escape.
This would also take care of some of her debt to Jace. Jin’s research indicated Belladonna now rivaled the most powerful pirate clans. Rolling up their operation would go a long way to restoring his former clout.
Now for the second order of business.
Kira smiled prettily at Graydon. “I hear you have a nice, fast ship.”
Graydon considered her with amusement. “I might have.”
She shifted closer, fiddling with a scale of his synth armor as she flirted with him. “I don’t suppose a girl like me could borrow it?”
“I could arrange that. For a price.”
“What kind of price?”
Graydon leaned down, his voice dropping so only she could hear. “The kind you’ll be happy to pay.”
Kira bit back a smile as he straightened. “In that case, how good is its fire power?”