Victory Conditions (9 page)

“He’s got to be up here,” a voice said. It sounded faint, though, not like someone in the same space. “I can’t tell which way…”

Toby flattened himself as much as he could, holding his breath.

“We’ll need a light,” said another voice. “But he can’t get far. The firewall’s only twenty meters inboard.”

Firewall. Of course. Toby’s heart sank. He had moved in the right direction, inboard, but now he was stuck. Firewalls had no openings at all between decks…but there were maintenance access ports on either side, running up and down between decks. The men could start their search at either end and trap him against the tip of that section or the firewall. And if he dropped out into a room or corridor…they might be there. They must be part of a larger plot; there must be other enemies to fear and evade.

Even as he thought this, he put more distance between himself and the room where he’d been held. The men were going for lights, or at least IF detectors…he had a little time to get away from them.

He angled across the framework now, heading for the far corner of the space his implant told him—when he lifted his head and let the implant scan it—was out at the tip of one of Cascadia Station’s branches. Inboard was definitely the way he wanted to go. If he could move fast enough, get to one of the corridors where the firewall had an opening…they’d be waiting, if they were waiting, where the access passage came down through the decks…so he needed a room nearby.

He was almost to the far side of the space when his implant picked up the noise and light of pursuit. What would Ky do? Toby set his implant to scan the space below…unoccupied, and open to another space or corridor. He scrabbled at a ceiling panel, but this one was solidly fixed…he felt wires and connections…a light fixture. The next, though, came loose. He peered down; his implant showed him a ghostly image that could have been an office—a room with furniture anyway. He rolled over the edge, holding the frame for a moment to slow his drop, and landed on the floor. He thought of pushing one of the furniture pieces over and trying to replace the panel to hide where he’d gone down…but he was afraid that might be seen. Instead, he moved quickly to the opening the implant showed him. Outside was a corridor, as he’d hoped, and now he had no doubt which way was inboard.

He ran his hand along the wall as he went, deliberately leaving traces. If things went badly, someone should know he’d been here. Ahead he saw a small bright blue glow…one of the Cascadia Station emergency comunits. They had their own power source…his stomach lurched. He could call for help. If it worked; if it wasn’t blocked in some way.

He picked it up, punched in the codes for everything he could remember: fire, pressure leak, personal injury, crime-in-progress. He heard voices down the passage outboard, pushed TRANSMIT, and put the comunit back in its holder before moving on as quietly and quickly as he could. A faint glow showed ahead of him…he could be seen against it…he moved to the darker side of the corridor as the light grew brighter. The corridor curved sharply, as always near a firewall opening; now the light came in brightly from a section where he hadn’t blown the power. People were standing around waving their hands, talking loudly…nobody coming in. Someone in a Station Security uniform stood in front of the gap, facing the crowd, where two people were already pointing past him at Toby.

Toby straightened up and walked forward, as casually as he could, with what he hoped was a friendly and innocent smile.

“Excuse me,” he said. “I need help—”

Then the uniformed man turned to him, and he recognized a face with no smile at all.

Stella, doing her best to see past the people ahead of her, spoke to the Security headquarters. “What’s going on?”

“Someone entered a multi-emergency call right where we were going. We’ve got units of fire, medical, and pressure on the way out there…”

“You see this crowd…why aren’t they moving?”

“There’s someone from Security at—oh. He’s not Secur—”

“Toby!”
Stella yelled as loud as she could. He might be where he could hear her…she felt Rascal squirm in her arms.

“Aunt Stella!” At Toby’s voice, Rascal scratched and squirmed free of Stella’s arms, yanked the leash out of her hand, then disappeared into the back of the crowd, where excited exclamations of
Dog—there’s the dog!
marked his progress. Stella elbowed her way forward, ignoring Cascadia’s standards of courtesy.

An amplified voice from ahead spoke then. “Don’t anyone move—I’ve got him and if you move he’s dead.”

Stella could just see, between the people still in front of her, Toby held with an arm around his neck, a weapon pointed at his ear. It would be a tricky shot—her hand slid into her clothes…but a black-and-white flash dashed across the scant open space. Toby said “Rascal” in a strangled voice just as Rascal jumped up in his usual way…but the man struck at Rascal with the weapon. Toby twisted out of the choke hold, kicked him in the knee, and Rascal latched onto the man’s wrist, snarling.

Stella said, “Excuse me,” in her politest voice. The front row parted and gave her a perfect shot. Chemstun and tangle-tie both, and without a touch on either Toby or Rascal.

“There’s more of them,” Toby said. Stella looked at him. Not much of the gangly schoolboy at that moment; he looked as dangerous as she felt.

“Then we’d best get away and let Station Security—the real ones—take care of them,” she said. “I’ve got our team, somewhat augmented.” He might not know that one of his detail had been killed; this was not the time to land that on him. “We’ve got a safe conveyance.”

“I knew you’d be coming,” Toby said, once they were inside it, Rascal now in his arms. He ignored the others, talking only to Stella. “But I didn’t know how long it would take and I thought I should do something, in case—”

“You were brilliant,” Stella said. “I’m so relieved—the last I heard you were being carried out as if paralyzed.”

“I was,” Toby said. “It was the implant that saved me—if I’d had the student-level I’d have been sunk. Did…did Zori ever show up?” All too obvious in that was his fear that Zori had been part of the plot.

“Not only showed up, but was crucial to our finding you,” Stella said. “She’s quite a young woman, Toby. I knew that before, but I didn’t know…well. We’ll talk more about this when we get home. I know Station Security will want to talk with you, but they’ve agreed that you need to have medical evaluation and some rest beforehand.”

“Is Zori safe? If her family finds out…”

“She’s as safe as we can make her. She thinks her father was implicated in your abduction, and possibly more…”

“She’s right,” Toby said. “That trade tongue is the pirates’ language, and her father gave the orders for my abduction. I overheard things…”

“Medical first, then home,” Stella said. “Then we’ll talk.” Toby was entirely too bright-eyed; something besides natural excitement was working in his system. “I’ll call and let Zori know you’re alive and well,” she said.

“Can I talk to—”

“Not now. You’ll see her later.”

They were in the medical center—the staff had drawn blood to analyze for any dangerous residuals from his implant’s deconstruction of the paralytic drug, and they were awaiting the results of the tests in a guarded room—when Stella got a call from someone who introduced himself as the Moscoe Confederation Assistant Minister of Defense.

“Excuse me?” Stella checked the origination codes; the call had originated onplanet, near if not in Cascadia’s capital city of Holme.

“I know it is after business hours, but I felt this matter could not wait,” he said. “It’s about the accusations that some in the Nexus government have made—”

“Unless we’re under imminent attack,” Stella said, risking an accusation of rudeness, “I’m afraid it will have to wait until morning. I’m at the medical center here on Cascadia Station with my ward Toby, after his rescue from an abduction attempt; I have another child at home; I need sleep to think clearly.”

“Oh.” A long pause. “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know—”

“So I will contact you in the morning, shall I?” Stella said. “I have your contact numbers.”

“Well…yes. That will be soon enough…” The voice trailed off; Stella shook her head. When Toby’s tests came back indicating it was safe for him to leave, she ordered a secure conveyance and took him back to the apartment.

Zori met them at the door and flung her arms around Toby, burying her face in his shoulder for an instant, then pushing away. “Forgive me—that was very rude.”

“I didn’t mind,” Toby said, red to the tips of his ears. He reached up to pat her back but she had already backed out of reach.

“I am sorry,” Zori said, looking at Stella. “It is very bad—not just hugging Toby without permission, but what I have translated.”

“I thought it might be,” Stella said.

“My father taught me some words…he said it was our secret trade tongue. I told you that, but now I know it was not true. Not our secret family trade tongue, but the secret language of…of pirates. I didn’t know—”

“Do you think he knew?” Stella asked, in as neutral a tone as she could manage.

“Yes.” Zori’s voice wavered. “He…his company…is mentioned. And his private com code.”

“Are you sure?” Toby asked.

“Entirely.” Zori looked away. “I’m sorry, Toby. I have become an embarrassment…”

“You’re not—!”

“Yes. My father is…must be…involved in a criminal enterprise. He will be adjudged a criminal. We do not have attainder here, legally—at least, I’m underage—but it is a disgrace and I will no longer be a suitable acquaintance for you—”

“I don’t care,” Toby said. Patches of color stood out on his cheeks, and his hands trembled.

“You’re under my protection,” Stella put in before Toby lost it completely. “Toby, you may need to ask your implant to normalize your chemistry—you’re still hyper from your ordeal. I suggest a hot drink and a snack. Zori, you and I do need to talk. Your room?”

Zori nodded; Stella gave Toby a quelling look and he glared before turning abruptly toward the kitchen. Stella ushered Zori into the spare room, which she realized would be Zori’s until…whatever happened, happened. When Stella shut the door and engaged the privacy shield, Zori pulled a data cube from her pocket and held it out to Stella.

“Here. This is as complete as I could make it. I don’t understand everything; there were words I didn’t know. I…I sent a copy to Station Security. I hope that doesn’t offend you.”

“Zori, why would it offend me?” Stella could wish Zori had waited, so Stella could have sent it to the person she’d contacted before, but it did show Zori’s essential innocence.

“I don’t know, I just…” Tears welled in her eyes. “I am so ashamed. I wanted to do the right thing—”

Stella sighed. Adolescent guilt…just as difficult to handle as adolescent lust. And if Zori was anything like her own adolescent self, she could never believe that Stella really knew what she was feeling. She had thrown herself on the floor of her closet, wishing to die, when…for a moment she could not even remember his name…had made off with the contents of the house safe, and she had realized how stupid she’d been.

“It’s not your fault, Zori,” Stella said. Should she offer a hug? But local customs required asking permission, and that seemed ridiculous at such a time. “You didn’t pick your parents.” She did not fully understand the belief system Zori’s family followed. There were belief systems in which a child was presumed to have chosen its parents…she was damn sure she hadn’t chosen hers.

“No, but—” Zori looked away. “I know you probably think I’ve always been too rebellious, the way I schemed to spend time with Toby even though you knew my mother didn’t approve, but really…I was brought up to be a good girl, and I’ve never been in any real trouble before. Now—the station police know that I refused to do what my parents told me—”

“And the police agreed you shouldn’t go home to them,” Stella said, trying to interrupt what looked like a dive off the guilt cliff.

“But they’ll still think I’m a rude, disobedient child,” Zori said. “I didn’t ask them permission first.”

“Zori, you may have saved millions of people—billions—from death and brutality. I think your not asking permission doesn’t loom very large against that.”

“My grandmama won’t think so,” Zori said. “Or my uncles…” Her voice trailed off.