Chapter 19 #2
“There are places with fewer pipes.”
“You sound doubtful.”
“I'm trying to remember where.”
She laughed. He had wanted that sound all day.
“I was promised stars,” she said.
“You were.”
“I'm willing to wait for a better view.”
He set down his cup.
“I used to sit above one of the old service sheds. When the shift lights dimmed, you could see a strip of sky between the towers.”
“Were you supposed to be up there?”
“Certainly not.”
“Did Tivek learn all his habits from you?”
“A slanderous suggestion.”
She smiled into her cup.
He watched the lamp catch the curve of her cheek, the loose fall of dark hair against her shoulder. The room smelled of tea and clean fabric. Beyond the wall, the refinery kept working.
He could have stayed.
The burn had followed him through every corridor since he'd left her.
Here it sharpened with each small movement she made: her fingers against the cup, her bare foot tucked under the chair.
He had arranged his life to leave easily.
Now he sat close enough to touch her and dreaded the moment he would have to get up.
“You have to go,” she said.
“Not this instant.”
“Then stop looking at me as though you've already left.”
He went still.
She set down her cup, suddenly less certain.
“I didn't mean—”
“You did.”
“Yes.”
He reached across the small table. She put her hand in his, and he brought it toward him, resting it against his chest.
“I'm here.”
Her fingers moved against the cloth. His heart struck hard beneath her palm. He held her eyes and let her feel what the touch did to him; there was no point offering her another easy smile.
“I know,” she said softly.
“And I would like you to kiss me again,” she said.
His gaze dropped to her mouth. “I was hoping you would say that.”
She came around the table. He rose to meet her, one hand settling at her waist as she tipped her face up. Her mouth opened beneath his. He drew her closer, feeling her fingers press against his chest, and took his time with the kiss.
When he drew back, she stayed against him. “Better.”
He rested his forehead against hers for a moment, then checked the time. The guard rotation was close.
“Go do what you need to do.”
“I would rather stay.” He kissed her once more, briefly, and let his hands fall from her waist.
At the door she caught his sleeve again.
“Is that becoming a habit?” he asked.
“I'm deciding.”
“I could wear something easier to catch.”
She smiled, but her grip stayed firm.
“Come back when you can.”
“I will.”
He waited outside until her lock caught. Then he went to the holding block.
The corridor was colder than Sereya's room.
Dhomhes stood back where the light failed, his shoulder close to a pipe that vibrated steadily through the wall. From here he could see Burk's door and enough of the approach to know who came to it.
The visible guards had gone through their change. The ones waiting out of sight had checked in.
He had made the opening.
Now he waited to see whether Roemary would take it.
She did not hurry.
That was the first thing he noticed when she appeared. No halting steps, no anxious pauses at doors. She walked as though someone had given her perfectly ordinary directions and she expected to find what she wanted at the end of them.
She stopped outside the cell.
His lead released the lock. The door opened.
She glanced up at the unlit indicator above it and went inside. His lead had darkened that light along with the visible lock display. The recorder itself remained on.
Dhomhes remained still while she went in. From his angle he could see Burk lift his head. No surprise. No demand to know who she was.
Something settled coldly beneath Dhomhes's ribs.
He had suspected her. He had seen the pressure she put on Sereya, the attempt to get advance movement details, the private messages. All of those things had explanations a determined liar could rehearse.
Here she was with the male who had dragged Adryel off the ramp.
She stood over Burk, arms folded.
“The chip,” she said.
He shook his head. “She doesn't have it.”
Roemary's expression changed.
“She had it when she boarded. I confirmed it myself.”
Dhomhes kept his breathing slow. She believed she knew more than she did. He could use that, provided he did not move now and let anger finish the conversation.
“She transferred it.” Burk sounded tired. “Before we arrived. I don't know when. I don't know to who.”
“You had her.” Roemary's voice dropped. Dhomhes could hear the edge even when the machinery blurred a word. “You had her and you couldn't get a straight answer out of her.”
“She was telling the truth.” Burk looked up. “She doesn't have it on her anymore. Whoever she gave it to, they don't know what they're carrying.”
Roemary went quiet.
Dhomhes thought of Stron's hand on Adryel's face in the tunnel. Of the careful way his friend had stood close to her afterward, leaving no uncertainty about who would have to be moved before anyone reached her again.
Roemary was about to arrive at the same conclusion for a very different reason.
“It doesn't matter,” she said. “We'll find it.”
“How? It could be anyone on that transport. Anyone in the refinery.”
“It won't be just anyone.” She uncrossed her arms. “She trusted someone with it. There aren't many people she trusts.”
A pause.
“Find the person she trusts most and you'll find the chip.”
Burk said nothing.
Roemary looked down at him for a moment longer.
“Someone will be in touch,” she said.
Then she turned to leave.
The corridor light caught her hair, silver-white against the dull metal. She passed within a few feet of Dhomhes. He could have reached out and caught her arm.
He stayed where he was.
One captured operative. At least one more person somewhere beyond this block waiting for news. He needed to see where she went before she realized the visit had been watched. The guards would follow her; she would not reach another guest alone.
Roemary turned the corner.
He waited until the sound of her steps had gone, then signaled his lead.
“Stay with her. Quietly. I want to know where she goes next.”
The acknowledgment came against his wrist.
Dhomhes looked toward Burk's cell. The male sat with his head lowered. Roemary had left him behind as easily as she had sent Sereya to another seat.
He thought of the two females beside each other on the transport. Sereya speaking close to Adryel, her face carefully composed afterward. A warning given despite what it might cost her.
Then he remembered her fingers on his sleeve.
Roemary had just told Burk to look for the person Adryel trusted most.
She had been watching Sereya learn to trust someone too.
He called the guard on Sereya's corridor as he started walking.
This time he had a very particular door to get back to.