CHAPTER 23

Nat hadn’t crossed paths with Xi during the operation on the Queen Amina, but she’d read the after-action reports. The syndicate leader was sharp and not to be trifled with. Kind of like handling a live grenade: safe so long as you were careful.

“So,” she said, studying the other woman. “You want us to steal something.”

Xi leaned back. “You’ve proved yourself able thieves. And I have a feeling that you’re going to be more than willing to help.”

At that, Nat raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“I have to admit: at first, I was quite cross with you all for stealing my property only to get it destroyed. Hence the placing of certain bounties that made it unwise for you to set foot outside the Commonwealth.” Xi unclasped one of the bangles around her wrist, silver with an etched pattern weaving around it, and placed the piece on the table. “However, the more time I spent considering our encounter, the more suspicious I became of the outcome. The Aleph Tablet has, after all, been through many different hands in its time, and has been thought lost more than once. So I decided to do a bit of digging.”

“Oh, Christ,” said Sayers, rolling her eyes. “You think it’s still out there? Don’t tell me you want us to steal it again.”

“Not quite what I had in mind. But I thought you might be interested to know the results of my investigations.” At a tap of her forefinger, the bangle started to glow and a holoscreen sprang into existence, showing the image of a man standing at what looked to be a spaceport. A vertiginous sensation struck Nat as she took in his face, which looked both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. It wasn’t just the features – the snub nose, dark hair, and wide-set eyes – but elements that seemed like they should be there, but weren’t – a trim goatee, wrinkles, an ounce of kindness in his gaze. Behind her, she felt both Sayers and Tapper go still as well.

“I take it you recognize this man,” Xi continued. “I believe you knew him as Dr Seku al-Kitab, an expert in ancient history and archaeology.”

On that score, she was right: al-Kitab had been the scholar who Xi had brought in to authenticate the Aleph Tablet, and who Nat and Kovalic had subsequently convinced to help them. But the man they’d known had been a meek, anxious academic – a demeanor clearly not shared by the person in the picture.

“I still have not managed to determine his real name,” said Xi. “But at the time this was taken, he was going by the alias of Sadiq.”

Nat felt as though she’d been hit by a knockout gun, but she struggled to maintain her composure. “You’re saying he was a thief?” She tried to reconcile that with the nebbish professor she’d known – thought she’d known – and boggled all over again. Whoever this man was, he was good.

“Thief… impostor… occasional assassin,” said Xi. “Frankly, I’m surprised we hadn’t crossed paths before.”

Tapper clucked his tongue. “I thought that tablet was too easily destroyed,” he grumbled. “So this Sadiq guy made off with the real one, huh?”

“It would seem likely,” said Xi.

Sayers jumped in, unable to keep a note of smugness from her voice. “I guess that means we’re off the hook.”

Xi’s violet eyes seized on her, glittering like opals. “You still tried to steal from me, Adelaide, and I can’t let that go unpunished… but instead of killing you outright, I’m going to generously allow you to repay your debt with this job.”

Nat shifted in her chair, tamping down her frustration. They were meant to be out here figuring out a way to help clear Simon and the general – not to mention giving the team a path home – and now they were being dragooned into a heist? They didn’t have time for this.

Then again, you didn’t exactly have the luxury of choice when the guns were pointed at you.

“I hate to disappoint you, Madam Xi, but we aren’t thieves.”

Xi clucked her tongue. “Don’t sell yourself short, major.” She raised a finger. “Besides, I haven’t even gotten to the best part.” And at that, she touched another control on the holoprojector and the image shifted.

This time, it was from an overhead angle of what looked to be a private residence, glass and steel set amongst a thriving garden. Sadiq had just exited a car, and another figure stood outside the house, waiting for him, though the angle made their features hard to discern.

“Sadiq is merely a criminal for hire. Ultimately, my dispute is not with him, but with his employer. I pride myself on knowing people…” her eyes darted to Sayers again, sparking, “…so when I give you an opportunity to deal a significant blow to an enemy of the Commonwealth, I think you’ll take it.” With that, she pressed the holoprojector control and the image shifted again. The angle had changed as the drone had maneuvered, and this time the shot had been taken from a better angle that clearly showed the features of the person Sadiq was meeting with.

For all of that, it still took a moment for Nat to recognize them. But as it clicked into place, Tapper and Sayers were only a step behind her.

“Holy shit,” said Tapper, leaning forward, “is that…?”

“Her Royal Highness, Duchess of König Satrapy, Princess of the House of Malik, Isabella Valeria Josephine,” said Xi in a tone that dripped like velvet whispering off satin sheets.

Nat sat back as though a gravball had smacked her directly in the gut. Princess Isabella had orchestrated the Aleph Tablet theft? That made about as much sense as all of them being fugitives from the Commonwealth.

The smile on Ofeibia Xi’s face only broadened. “I see I’ve piqued your interest, major.”

Interest was one word for it. Befuddlement was perhaps more accurate. What the Emperor’s daughter – a woman known for her charity causes and ceremonial duties – was doing mixed up in the theft of antiquities, well, that was something that Nat would really like to know more about. Was it a point of vulnerability for the princess; perhaps one that Commonwealth Intelligence could exploit? “Say more about this job. How exactly does it concern her?”

“All in good time,” said Xi. “But our timetable is somewhat strict, so first things first: I’d like to depart this barren rock immediately.”

“It would help if I knew where we were headed,” said Nat. “And I’ll need my pilot, once he’s patched up.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” said Xi. “Yancy here is a more than capable of flying your ship.” She gestured to one of her armed goons – a short woman with a buzzed scalp. “And I’ll share the details of this particular undertaking en route to our destination. As for your pilot?” Raising a hand, she waved toward the corridor that led to the medbay, and the man she’d sent to see to Brody’s wounds appeared. The gurney floated along on its repulsor field, and atop it lay an unconscious Eli Brody, his sandy hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. “I’ve decided he’ll be accompanying my people for the duration of the job. Just to incentivize your good behavior.”

Nat’s breath caught, and Sayers surged forward, making it halfway to Xi before the woman’s security detail trained their weapons on her. “What did you do to him?”

Xi’s musical laugh rippled through the hold, though Nat could see that there was something nastier underpinning it; she’d aimed this directly at Sayers. “A mild sedative, my dear, nothing more. I assure you he will be perfectly fine.”

The man led the gurney down the ramp as Sayers watched with gritted teeth. A pair of Xi’s goons followed suit, leaving three still in the hold with them.

Nat’s stomach sank in sympathy. Everything was slipping out of her grasp: she couldn’t help Simon, the whole team had been dragged into Xi’s orbit, and now Brody was a hostage against their good behavior. It was increasingly looking like the only way out of this mess was through this job.

“I’ll hold you to that,” was all she said. “If any harm comes to him, we’ll be having a very different conversation.”

“That does sound… interesting,” said Xi, regarding her through half-lidded eyes. You didn’t rise to the head of one of the galaxy’s biggest crime syndicates without a certain degree of unflappability. “Now, if you don’t mind taking your seats, we’ll get underway.” She waved a hand at the woman Yancy, who nodded and stowed her rifle, then headed towards the cockpit.

At another signal from Xi, the other two goons relaxed their stances; with Brody as insurance, they were redundant. One of them palmed the controls for the hatch, and it rolled down and sealed as the ramp outside rose with a whine of hydraulics.

Moments later, the ship’s engine thrummed to life and the Cavalier rose on its repulsors and made its way skyward, leaving Juarez 7A in their wake – along with any easy opportunity to retrieve the pilot. Nat let the cold anger simmering beneath the surface fade into the background. This was a long game now: strategy, not tactics.

“So,” she said, leaning forward on the table as the rumble of the ship’s engines faded with their transition from atmosphere to vacuum. “Seems like you should at least tell us where we’re going.”

Xi tapped one lacquered fingernail against her lips, then dipped her head in acknowledgment. Reaching down to her bangle, she tapped a control and another holoscreen flared into existence above the table, showing a mottled brown world, broken only occasionally by patches of blue. Xi’s eyes turned to the rest of them. “How familiar are you with the Illyrican colony of Caledonia?”