Chapter 29 #2
Renner opened the main section. Inside, he found two identical set of clothes and a pair of sturdy boots in his size, alongside two kits of basic toiletries.
Her two similar sets of clothes and his gear weren’t packed so much as stuffed in like she’d shoplifted them.
He couldn’t imagine when she’d had time to even think of it in the first place.
He made a mental note to ask her what had happened after Wutala’s crew ambushed him in the snow outside Kooga’s soup kitchen.
He hoped the Cyborg Queen and her sanctuary had survived the brutal raids.
Not to mention the people who had given Arco her mental shields.
“Wutala wasn’t lying,” Arco said. Her voice carried a thread of regret.
“The CPS has kill orders out for me and practically every other byline journalist in Ridderth. My name is even higher on the hit parade list than Tapio’s.
Fame at last.” She wiggled her fingers in a fluttery, mocking celebration.
“The orders got sent to every member planet. They’re baseless and illegal, but if I’ve learned nothing else in the past few years, it’s that the CPS will use any means necessary to keep the galactic peace. They’ll only stop when I’m dead.”
Her uncharacteristic bitterness rubbed him raw.
She was hurting deeply. He hated seeing her light dimmed by the same ruthless agency that had nearly succeeded in leaving him buried in the rubble.
He couldn’t think of anything else to do other than to sit on the bed closest to her and listen.
The way Neirra had done for him when he’d been invisible to the universe.
“Fucking hell,” Arco swore softly, scrolling through another feed. “They’ll probably promote Pennington-Smythe to the Marshal position, assuming Shattered Chain really did manage to take out Temhathor.”
She set the tablet aside. She stood abruptly and turned to face him. “I need to change the game. I can’t win the one the CPS is playing. Arco Charrascos has to die.”
Renner’s heart stuttered in shock. “What?”
“I have to do it right now, before we reach the jump point,” she said, her words spilling out in a decisive clip.
“I can’t use any of my pen names ever again, either.
I have to be on the Ridderth casualty list and convince them I’m dead.
It’s the only way to stop the CPS from doing whatever it takes to kill me. ”
Relief washed through his chest as his brain caught up with her logic. “What will you do after you die?”
Arco shook her head. “I don’t know. I can’t let the CPS hurt anyone else because of me.”
Renner recognized the weight of her guilt. He understood the desperate need to protect the people she loved. “You’ll need untraceable funds and a new identity. And before you get any other self-sacrificing ideas, I’m staying with you. I’ll need a new identity, too.”
“Not as my employee, right? I was an asshole for taking advantage of you. I had other options.” A vulnerable softness entered her eyes. “I asked you because I was attracted to you. I admire you.”
He stood and pulled her into a solid, grounding embrace. “Ally. Partner.” A well of emotion took his voice to a whisper. “Friend. Lover.” He dropped his head to her ear. “Whatever you need.”
“You. This.” She pulled back just enough to press her warm palm against his jaw. “May I kiss you?”
He kissed her softly instead, intending to seal his promise.
Instead, his blood ignited. He was entirely lost in the overwhelming sensation of her.
Her soft body pressed flush against his hard angles.
A wisp of her hair brushed his face. The taste of her flooded his senses.
The reality of holding her far surpassed every fevered dream that visited his lonely nights.
She pulled back gently, her breath ragged. “I want to continue this, and soon. But I need to kill Arco first, while I still have my empire at my disposal and ways to get myself on official mortality lists.”
He loosened his embrace. Fighting the overwhelming desire to tumble her onto the narrow bunk and kiss her senseless, he forced practical, matter-of-fact words. “Want me to tell the team that you’re dead?”
Arco laughed. “Yeah, with just that tone. Please don’t leave them hanging.
You may as well tell the Jumpers, too.” She sighed and patted the left side of his chest. “It’ll take me about thirty minutes.
I’ll have to modify my old ‘final arrangements’ plan.
I didn’t think I’d be the one executing it. ”
Renner reached up and gently pushed the stray strand of hair back from her face. “Are you hurting?” Comforting someone was a profoundly novel experience for him. He wasn’t sure he was any good at it.
“Yes, I am,” she admitted, leaning into his touch. “I worked so hard for my career. It’s my… it was my calling. Starting over is scary.” A small, watery smile touched her lips. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. “I think you have experience with this. Maybe you can help me.”
“You’ll find a new purpose. I did.”
Arco looked up at him. “What is it?”
Eloquent words would never be his strength. He relied on the raw truth. “You. You’re my red angel.”
Her smile widened, reaching her eyes. “You never lie to me about important things. I love you, too.”
Renner kissed her, pouring deep reverence and absolute devotion into the contact. He stepped back, giving her the space she needed to dismantle her life. “Work your magic. I’ll find our team and tell them the news.”
Renner checked a wall display. One hour to go before the ship jumped to transit.
He had just finished an exploration of the freighter, starting with the small storerooms in the cargo hold and ending the nav and engine pods where Soleil and her volunteer crew operated the ship.
Old security habits died hard. His decision to scout reminded him of his first day with Arco at the Novo Granica building, but this time, no one treated him like an invisible tool or a hostile intruder.
The ship’s nine decks featured hasty, practical modifications for passenger transport. The join points on some of the interior walls gleamed with fresh sealant. Temporary corridor lighting hung from exposed overhead conduits.
During his sweep, he recognized several familiar faces from Soleil’s martial arts studio.
They had greeted him warmly and introduced him to spouses, friends, families, toddlers, and pets.
He also figured out where Fish, Mags, Davonner, and the other underage studio kids had stowed away.
He left them alone so they could feel safe in their dark corners. They had good survival instincts.
The living conditions aboard the ship would need some cooperation and scheduling.
About sixty people would have to share six community freshers.
Passengers would have to use the stairs and deck ladders to keep the powered lifts clear for the on-duty ship’s crew.
Once boredom set in, some tempers would probably fray.
It was still a massive upgrade from the crumbling, moldy, insect-infested slum quarters in the Canals.
He returned to their assigned room to find Arco sitting cross-legged on one of the beds.
She smiled at him and powered down her pink tablet. “Did the team take the news of my death well?”
Renner twitched a smile. “Yes. They promised to contribute generously to your memorial fund.” He suspected they believed she was just changing her name, not changing her life.
Arco closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him. “I missed you,” she murmured against his chest.
He let her welcome warmth soothe him. She fit in his embrace like they were made to be together, filling the hollow spaces inside him and sparking desire in his blood. He kissed her deeply, savoring the solid reality of their survival.
“Want to go see Nilsson?” he asked softly.
She let out a long sigh. “Yes, please.”
They stepped out into the narrow corridor.
As they walked, Renner pointed out the locations of the auxiliary jump seats he had mapped.
He told her that he hoped she liked mealpacks, because the freighter’s kitchen wasn’t much better than a cold box and a hot plate, and that the cavernous cargo load-out deck would serve as their shared dining hall and exercise studio.
The medical bay occupied a full quarter of a lower deck. Renner had walked past the sealed doors during his exploration, but hadn’t gone in. Stepping in now was a pleasant surprise. The space was meticulously clean and remarkably well-equipped.
A large, sleek autodoc dominated the far wall beneath a clear, heavy-duty canopy.
Nilsson lay unconscious inside. Delicate medical filaments probed her flesh, concentrating heavily around the charred hole the CPS beamer had punched through her upper right chest. Someone had kindly put a thermal sheet on the rest of her for privacy.
Arco stepped up to the machine and patted the thick casing with surprising affection. “I like this unit. It takes care of my friends.”
Renner gave her a puzzled look.
“It came from Soleil’s studio,” Arco said. “I think you were its first patient. You know, after the spider mech.”
Renner frowned at the unfamiliar autodoc. He had entirely lost track of time. He remembered the fight, but was that two days ago, or three? His memories since then were a jumble of fragments. He sincerely hoped recovering more of them wouldn’t take being hit on the head again.
The door to a back room slid open. Haseem stepped out, his face breaking into a wide, luminous smile. “Arco! Brenner! You made it.”
The medic wore a standard-issue green medical smock over flowing, galaxy-patterned resilk pants and a pair of utterly ridiculous fuzzy slippers. He seemed both relaxed and energized, like he was exactly where he wanted to be.
Arco returned the bright smile. “So did you. How is Nilsson?”