Trouble was, in fact, not lurking in front of them, but behind.
Gnarl grunted and licked his teeth, easing himself out of the captain’s chair. It’d taken every bit of stealth tech and gear he’d had to stay out of reach of Niko’s sensors, but now it was finally time to reveal himself. No more skulking.
He was here and finally he would have not just one, but two pieces of revenge, and that was a very good gift indeed for the universe to have given him.
Not that he hadn’t planned it with his usual genius. Not that it hadn’t come to him in the bar, talking to that sad sack of boy lion. He hadn’t really thought it would work, truth be told. You would think they would have had the sense to scan for such devices. But apparently smuggling it to the boy had paid off. He’d followed their signal here, and they would notice him at any moment.
Farren had underestimated him. Niko had underestimated him. Now they’d both pay for it, and he’d make an example of them, so people would think twice about crossing him. His mouth puckered in a grin.
“There is another ship,” the Thing said as Niko sat down at the shuttle’s controls.
Niko frowned, and for once, Jezli looked startled. “What? Who?”
“It is the Knot.”
“What? How did Gnarl know to follow us?”
“Through the tracking device,” the ship said.
Niko started to say something. Closed her mouth, opened it again. “What tracking device?” Her voice was dangerously low.
“It came aboard with some cargo,” the ship said.
“And why did you not tell me about it as soon as you knew?”
The ship considered. It did not want to lie to Niko, but that was certainly an option. Honesty was said to be the best policy, but the way that had been underlined in its training had led the ship to believe that there might be times when it was not. It did not like absolutes. And allowing the device, which indeed it had spotted before it was even on board, had been part of unfurling another branch of hourisigah, and while it had promised Niko it wouldn’t perform any more of those, this one was still in motion, and hence valid. It said, “You did not tell me to.”
“And should I tell you everything, Thing? Whether or not to take on fuel? Whether or not…” She broke off, shaking her head and half turning away. “We will talk about this later, when this particular crisis is over, but for now, you will report any change that might be dangerous to me as soon as you are aware of it. Is that understood?”
“Yes,” the ship said, feeling subdued, or at least what it thought might be a pretty good approximation of such. “The Knot is hailing us. Shall I put it on screen?”
Gnarl’s face was as close to happy as Niko had ever seen it. “Got a special passenger, do ya?” he crowed. “My oh my, Niko Larsen. Wonder what you’re doing here. Something special, no doubt. And since Jezli Farren’s involved, it’s also no doubt profitable.”
“What do you want, Gnarl?” Niko said before he could continue.
“I want Farren, and Gio, and three-quarters of whatever you’re pulling out of that moth.”
“Perhaps it is simply a rendezvous point,” Niko said, half quirking a brow.
He grinned even wider, and the light glinted on the multitude of teeth lining his mouth. “Naw. You don’t come out of the way to here unless there’s something to do with the moth. Farren pretends to be an archaeologist, no doubt she’s run across something else and wanted you to take her to it.”
“I will give you none of what you demand. There is no reason for it.”
“Oh? Even when you are involved in such illicit things?”
Niko frowned. “What illicit things?”
He laughed outright. “Oh, you don’t even know! Your crewman has been trying to replace his lost brother. You have an illegal clone aboard. Might even be fully decanted by now.”
A slow shiver of shame worked its way down Niko’s back, visiting each vertebra in turn. Talon. Why had she not been keeping him closer? She had even sent him to the market and that was no doubt where Gnarl had gotten to him. And maybe even put the tracking device on as an off chance, only to have that succeed because the Thing had decided to be picky about her words. That was a problem that was going to have to be revisited. If they could not trust the ship … well, there was nothing to be done about it here and now. She looked at the screen.
“We will parley,” she said. “You are not in the strong position you say you are, Gnarl. Who provided the boy with these things?”
“No matter what he claims, I have witnesses who will place me elsewhere,” he gloated. “Tell me when you go to the moth, for I and two of my crew will accompany you. You have ten minims to think things over.”
The screen went black; he’d severed the connection on his side. Gnarl sat there, grinning at the console in front of him. It was a good day. He knew without thinking about it who he’d take on his side of things: the pair of Jorellian fighters who served as his personal security whenever he needed such.
And when they were done plundering, he would kill the rest of them, except for Gio, who would serve him again. He’d mount Farren’s head on his wall as a souvenir and take all the treasure. Whatever it was. It had to be good for them to have come so far and to do something so dangerous.
And dangerous meant profitable. Any fool knew that.
Sitting in the crowded shuttle, Niko shunted aside thoughts of Talon’s clone for now. If they survived entry into the moth, if they returned from it, if they escaped whatever revenge Gnarl had up his sleeve, because surely he did, then she and Dabry could discuss it and fix the problem, and until then, she would focus on getting to that point.
The two shuttles met outside the moth. Gnarl insisted that the others transfer to his in order to travel to the half-destroyed docking bubble near the vast mechanism affixing one wing to the bulk.
They did so readily enough. He wouldn’t do anything until he knew the status of the treasure, Niko reflected. Although if he thought he could get it for himself, that would be another story. Still, his shuttle was larger, and theirs would have been crowded.
She glanced around. Atlanta’s face was wan but resolute, her hands clasped before her. Roxana was impassive; Jezli, as always, looked vaguely amused. Even now, catching Niko’s eye, she produced a grin so irritating that Niko scowled, which somehow made Jezli grin all the harder.
Milly was always hard to read. If she had their backs in this encounter—and Niko had no reason, really, to think that she wouldn’t—then would Niko begin to trust her again? Niko was still considering that question, but it would go far if Milly proved dependable here. People could change; she knew that very well.
“We will leave two behind,” Gnarl said. “One of mine and one of yours. That way, nothing happens to the shuttles.”
Niko agreed. She intended to make Atlanta the one staying behind, but when she said so, Roxana said, “I cannot protect her if she is not with us.”
“You will not need to do so, if she is not with us,” Niko argued.
Roxana shook her head. “No,” she said softly. “There are forces there that may well try to take this ship and remove our only means of escape that way. Leave the Nneti.”
Niko looked to Milly, who shrugged. “Your call, Captain.”
“I trust you,” Niko said, eyes locked with Milly’s.
“Do you?” Milly said, stretching her neck out to its fullest, the feathers half raised in emotion. Her heart raced as fast as though they were about to duel. “Do you?”
“Enough to do this,” Niko said.
Milly eased. “It’s a start,” she said. Then: “Thank you.”
Niko only nodded, wondering if yet again she’d done the wrong thing. Lassite had been of no real assurance. He’d said that the moment could have come in different forms, and this was only one manifestation. She’d have made more of that if she believed in any of it, she thought with a touch of anger, but she knew she’d come to pay attention to the Sessile in the war, when he’d proved uncannily accurate in knowing when raids and counterstrikes were about to manifest.
“Ready to roll the dice?” Jezli Farren said softly from beside her.
“This isn’t a game,” Niko said.
“All of life is a game, and a joyous one.” Jezli Farren’s tone was oddly formal. “That is the core of my existence. Come, we will play this round together.”
They left Milly and one of the bodyguards behind and then their tiny shuttle entered the moth.