Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection (110 page)

She rarely acceded to the demands of others, but it seemed she was making a lot of concessions lately. End of days and all. Given the losses in the east she could not afford to lose the Federation markets as well, though on the fringes those markets were also beginning to vanish to the aliens.

So she had donned her most severe black pantsuit, slipped on dress heels which were capable of killing a person if the appropriate amount of force was applied, tied her hair in a black silk scarf and flown to Krysk.

Make no mistake, there would be no groveling. Not on her part. But if this supplier needed the fear of Olivia Montegreu put into him, she could certainly oblige.

The receptionist escorted her down the hall, literally shaking in her boots the entire way. With the woman’s touch a door opened to a far smaller conference room than the one used on her earlier visit. At the table sat Laure Ferre and two somewhat older gentlemen.

She spun around as the door slid shut behind her. She didn’t bother to check if it was code-locked; clearly it was code-locked.

Instead she pivoted to the occupants of the room, her expression hardening into cold steel. She didn’t need the results of the facial scans to recognize the two men were spooks. It oozed from their pores like oily beads of sweat.

“It appears stabbing me in the back is all the rage these days. I’m disappointed in you, Laure. I thought we had a mutual understanding.”

Laure had the gall to preen with arrogance, sitting cozily between his big, strong protectors. “We did, for the time being. But I had no reason to believe you didn’t intend to dispose of me the second you had no further use for me, just as you did to my cousin and aunt. I have to look out for myself. I assume you’re familiar with the concept.”

The man on the left sporting the bushy salt-and-pepper hair motioned to the chair opposite him. “Ms. Montegreu, please take a seat.”

She arched an eyebrow. “I’m not being arrested then.”

“Well, now, I think that depends on you.”

So they wanted something. Everyone always did. Lacking other options she sat, but remained silent.

The other man—he lacked any distinguishing features of note—leaned slightly into the table. “Who were the forty kilos of HHNC delivered to on Earth?”

Oh.

Had Marcus sold her out before she could do the same to him? It wasn’t his style, yet…end of days and all. Still, Palluda would’ve made for a more lucrative avenue of betrayal so perhaps not. “I don’t know to what HHNC you’re referring. I don’t deal in explosives.”

“Sure you do. You deal in everything. The HHNC which was smuggled from Pandora to Vancouver and used in the EASC Headquarters bombing.”

So Kigin had gotten clumsy in the rush after Terrage refused the job and sodded it up. This was why one never deviated from the plan. Agreeing to do so had in fact come back to bite her in the proverbial ass.

She decided she was definitely going to kill Marcus if she saw him again…

…unless she could do one better.

She smiled, though only in the most technical sense of the word in that her lips curled in an upward manner. “Director Delavasi, Colonel Navick—” they maintained sufficient composure to not look startled she had managed to identify them “—I expect you’re both prepped for a lengthy interrogation. You’ve likely worked out when to resort to bullying and at what point draconian threats will be required.”

She lost all pretense of a smile. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer to avoid such unpleasantness. I realize I represent a prize catch for either of your governments, though which one wins me is an interesting question. Also one I am not inclined to learn the answer to.

“The simple truth is, while a few months ago I would be the biggest catch of either of your careers, today you face far larger problems. Problems I can help you solve.”

Navick started to protest; she waved him silent. “I will give you the entirety of what I know relating to this little spat which has broken out between your governments: who was involved, where the materials came from, the precise incidents which occurred when and by whom. You’ll find in there several catches adequate to make your careers, I assure you. I’ll provide the proof you need to bring a mercifully hasty end to your unfortunate war.

“Further, I’ll provide you materials to fight these aliens, off the books and free of charge. Bleeding-edge tech. Modified weapons. Biosynth boosters for your ground troops. Whatever you need. I imagine the supply lines are getting a bit thin what with so many colonies being cut off and so much wasteful usage of supplies to kill one another as you’ve been doing these last weeks.”

Navick’s jaw was grinding, she suspected from the effort of hearing her out. “Why would you give us all this?”

“What good is being a criminal mastermind if there’s no one left alive to corrupt? It is against my interests for the aliens to kill everyone.”

Delavasi’s fingertips drummed on the table. “And in return?”

“In return, I walk out this door a free woman. I’m not prosecuted for any involvement in events which may or may not have occurred in relation to your war. Or anything else.”

The man laughed heartily; the full-throated sound seemed to originate from deep in his gut. She supposed it might be what some referred to as a guffaw. Such a crass word.

Then in a flash it was gone and his eyes were hard. “You ask quite a lot.”

She met his rigid stare with her own cool one. “Not really. Everyone in this room knows if I’m put in prison, someone else will simply take my place. The business I’m in will continue as it always has. Wouldn’t it be better to have someone in charge who is favorably inclined toward saving the galaxy and toward you personally?

“Besides, I believe you’ve already made a similar if less grand arrangement with Mr. Ferre here. It’s not as if your scruples had anywhere lower to descend.

“Gentlemen, I am offering you the means to save billions of lives. All I ask in return is my own.”

Delavasi and Navick exchanged a glance. Navick was biting on his lower lip so hard she expected blood to dribble down his chin any second now. “And if we refuse?”

She settled back in the chair and crossed one leg casually over the other, her hands coming to rest together on her knee.

“Arrest me. Torture me. Parade me about in the public square. You will have your prize catch. And you will lose everything.”

Richard and Graham sat in another booth in another pub.

Richard took a long sip of his ale. Ice crystals miraculously clung to the outside of the mug despite the sweltering heat. He licked away the excess froth and gazed across the table.

“Well.”

Graham nodded sagely over his own mug. “Well, indeed.”

“What does it say about us that we can be manipulated so spectacularly?”

“In fairness, not us. Politicians. You and I, we saw through their schemes quickly enough, so I’d say it says rather good things about us.” The grumble which followed made it clear the statement was only partially in jest.

“Good things or not, we have a job ahead of us. And her information had damn well better be airtight because these people are not going to go down willingly.”

“Yep. But hey, that’s why they pay us like princes.”

“I thought they paid us like paupers.”

“Oh, right.” Graham finished off his ale. He looked as though he desperately wanted to order another, but refrained. “So we’ll keep in close contact and try to coordinate events. Don’t want to spook our targets if we can avoid it.”

“I’ve got a lengthier trip than you, but it means more time to analyze the data. I’ll forward you what I’ve put together when I land in Washington.”

“Straight into the lion’s den, huh?”

Richard shrugged. “I’ll have a team waiting for me there. The longer we delay, the greater chance everything goes to Hell.”

“True enough. You believe she didn’t know anything about the aliens?”

“It’s logical. She made a good point. A galaxy devoid of life is not good for her bottom line. Still, I hate to let her go.”

“Greater good, my friend.”

“I know.” Richard exhaled. “Nothing left to do but do it. Shall we?”

Graham reached in his pocket and produced a small crystal disk. He slid it toward Richard. “For you.”

“What is it?”

“Will Sutton’s full Intelligence file. How he was recruited, what his mission parameters were and everything he’s given us over the years.”

Richard shook his head and pushed the disk back across the table. “Keep it.”

“Please. Consider it a small thank you for having the courage to take a tremendous risk in meeting me. I couldn’t have even attempted any of this without you. Instead I’d be sitting in my office yanking my hair out because I knew something was wrong but had no way to begin to prove it. Montegreu was right. We’re going to save billions of lives, and it’s easily as much thanks to you as it is to me. Probably more so.

“Because of that, you deserve to know two things. One, marrying you was never part of his mission parameters. That was his choice and his choice alone. Two, what his mission parameters were, and the manner in which he fulfilled them, are on that disk. So do me a kindness and take the damn file.”

Richard closed his eyes and dropped the disk in his pocket. He told himself he’d toss the disk in a garbage bin on the way to the spaceport. If he didn’t pass any on the way, he’d toss the disk at the spaceport. If all else failed he’d toss the disk on the flight.

They both stood; this time his hand extended first.

Graham clasped it warmly. “It has been a genuine pleasure, Richard. We survive this war then survive these aliens, let’s get together and enjoy a truly epic number of drinks.”

Richard surprised himself by deciding it sounded like an excellent idea. “Until then.”

42

PORTAL PRIME

U
NCHARTED
S
PACE

C
ALEB WOKE BEFORE HER.
Careful not to move, he instead took a too rare moment to simply enjoy the feel of her skin pressed to his, the smoothness of her abdomen beneath his palm, the way her hair had absorbed the lush, natural scent of the forest.

She was the strongest person he had ever known. Yet here asleep in his arms she was vulnerable. She was so fierce and determined; yet here asleep in his arms she yielded. She fought and struggled relentlessly; yet here asleep in his arms she was content.

He expected them to reach these aliens today, insofar as they were reachable. She believed she’d be able to reason with their foe, insisting they exhibited a weakness she would be able to exploit. If it could be done he didn’t doubt she would accomplish it.

He didn’t want to wake her and pull her from peaceful slumber into the maelstrom which was certain to follow. One day the two of them were going to sleep until afternoon and never leave the bed. But today they shouldn’t dally.

If he must wake her, he intended to do so in a pleasing manner. His fingertips caressed the curve of her hip while he planted delicate kisses along her neck and behind her ear.

She murmured and shifted against him, at first in sleep…then most deliberately, if the wicked smile tugging at the corner of her mouth even in profile gave any inkling.
They shouldn’t dally….

She twisted around to face him and found his lips with her own, and he decided it was too dark to get moving yet anyway.

He tossed an energy bar in Alex’s direction. They were now officially running behind schedule, so breakfast would be mobile.
So spectacularly worth it.

The bar landed on the grass in front of where she sat slipping on her boots. He turned back to finish closing up the pack—then back to her, observing as she wound the boot’s strap diagonally up, around and down again to latch it at the base.

“What did you just do?”

“Hmm?”

“With the strap. Why not wrap it straight?”

“Oh…it’s a habit I picked up from my dad when I was a kid.”

“Ah.” He glanced at the pool. The luminescence was fading as the sky grew lighter but the waterfall continued to spill tranquilly down the mountainside. It was a setting made for introspection.