Shock and surprise stole my thoughts for a moment, but I knew Ying. Yes, she wanted to lead her house. Yes, she hated her oldest brother Hitoshi with a fiery passion, and she would’ve happily stepped on him on her way to the top, but she loved her Father and she loved her older brother Tae.
She was not responsible.
Doubt tried to slither through, but I pushed it away. Maybe I was naive—many people certainly thought so—but I wasn’t going to believe a stranger over my best friend until I had definitive proof.
But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t play along. Perhaps I could learn something interesting before I escaped. I let icy hauteur slip into my voice. “Where is Lady Ying? I have some choice words for her.”
“She was injured in the scuffle with her guard. She is recuperating in the medbay.”
The best liars made lies sound like truth, and this man was a very, very good liar. He seemed to know who I was, but the other soldiers in the room might not. It was a thin hope, but it was all I had. “I am Catarina von Hasenberg, daughter of High House von Hasenberg. With my parents missing and siblings out of communication, I speak for House von Hasenberg. Release us at once.”
A moment of silence passed before the man laughed. “You’ve got your share of arrogance, I’ll give you that, but your name means nothing now. Your siblings aren’t out of communication—they’re dead. House von Hasenberg is no more. Well, it won’t be, once we dispose of you.”
My breath caught as terror for my siblings sliced through me. He couldn’t be right, could he? We were a hardy lot, and even I didn’t know where Ferdinand was. Did we have another traitor so high up that they knew Ferdinand’s location? Did someone get the drop on all of us?
I shoved the pain down. If I believed the man would lie about Ying, then I also had to believe he would lie about my siblings. I had a lot riding on hope today.
“And what is your role in all of this?” I asked. “Who are you? How did you manage to turn an entire base traitor?”
“Did I forget to introduce myself? Daniel de Silva, at your service.” He said it in such a way that I imagined he made a flourishing bow.
That explained the lack of an accent. Most of the Silva family members had the same distinct, lilting accent. But people who rose far enough in the Syndicate hierarchy were adopted into the extended family with the name de Silva—literally “of Silva.” The Silva family wanted them to remember exactly where their success came from.
They were a lot like the Consortium that way.
“As for the soldiers, they were all too happy to join me, as is everyone who joins the Syndicate,” Daniel said. He moved closer and I got my first look at him. He was in his late twenties or early thirties, with olive skin and dark, wavy hair. He actually looked a lot like the rest of the Silva family. Perhaps he was a distant relation.
“And General Momola?” I asked. “I don’t hear her. Was she happy to join you?”
“Regrettably, she had too much stubborn pride to see the benefits of joining us. She and a few others made very compelling examples, though, and the rest wisely decided to enlist in the Syndicate’s private army.”
An uncomfortable murmur ran through the room as people shifted on their feet. No matter what Daniel said, not everyone was happy to be working for him, but the desire to stay alive was a strong one. I didn’t blame them, but I regretted the loss of Lana Momola. She had been genuinely kind and had cared for her troops. I hoped her end had been quick.
Manipulating people was simple: figure out what they wanted and give it to them. Nearly everyone wanted something, even if it wasn’t a conscious desire. The real trick was knowing when someone was a lost cause.
Just from our few minutes of conversation, I knew Daniel de Silva was a lost cause. He was a true believer and nothing I could offer him would ever compare to being part of the Silva family, no matter how distant, so I didn’t waste my breath trying.
“Take our guests to the brig to await transport,” Daniel said. “I want a pair of guards posted on them at all times. We wouldn’t want any unfortunate mishaps. The High Councillor has plans for them.”
Though I had most of the feeling back in my body, I stayed completely limp as a soldier tried to pick me up. It took two of them to manage it because lifting dead weight was difficult, and I was heavier than I looked.
A shoulder dug into my belly and I had to fight to remain limp. I wanted to claw and kick and fight, but that wouldn’t get me anything except stunned again. I had to pick my battles and this wasn’t it. Not quite yet.
Apparently Alex either shared my sentiment or was still down from the stun rounds, because I didn’t hear any sounds of a struggle.
The brig was close to the control room. We passed through the two sets of doors, then down a short hall and around the corner. There was only a single cell, designed to hold up to four.
The soldiers dumped us to the ground with zero care. My landing was moderately milder this time, since I had enough control to at least keep my face from smashing into the hard floor, but before I could do more than tense to roll to my feet, someone hit me with a stun stick.
Stun rounds stung, but stun sticks packed a wallop. I grunted and ground my teeth as my muscles spasmed out of control. If I hadn’t already been on the floor, I would’ve been now.
I lost a few seconds. By the time I came back to myself, the soldiers were laughing outside and the cell door was locked tight. I blinked and forced my eyes to work. The cell walls were thick, clear plastech overlaid with blue energy barriers. Attacks would be dispersed by the barriers before touching the physical wall. There was a bare toilet, a tiny sink, and a single bunk bed, bolted down and without either mattress.
Beside me, Alex shifted closer. “Are you okay?” he whispered into my ear.
“Peachy,” I muttered. Once again I’d failed. I should be used to it by now, but this time I’d managed to take down Alex, Aoife, and Ying in the process.
“If you’re well enough to be sarcastic, then you’re fine.”
“I’ve been better.”
“Wallow later. We have to figure out how to escape before the transport gets here, and we don’t know how long that’s going to be.”
“I can multitask,” I said grumpily. “I’m already working on it.”
“Is Ying a traitor?” he asked, his voice flat.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
I hesitated. Was I? Or was I being intentionally blind? Ying was smart and cunning. She absolutely could have set up a complicated betrayal without anyone being any the wiser.
But she hadn’t. It was a certainty that I couldn’t shake, no matter the doubts that assailed me. “I’m sure.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’m going to break my cuffs and see how the guards react. If they open the door or drop the field, we’re golden.”
I was so stunned by his easy acceptance of my word, that I almost missed the part about him breaking the cuffs. “You can do that?” I asked. I knew he was strong, but these cuffs were solid metal. I could pick my way out, probably, but I’d never tried breaking them. I turned so I could see him, to see if he was joking.
His grin was a touch smug and a lot tender. “Yes, and so can you. It takes a sharp, fast movement, and you can’t hold back. It hurts like a sonofabitch, but your wrists will survive. It’s better to practice with plastech cuffs, to get the movement right, but you can do it with metal first if you have to. Watch me.”
He rolled to his feet in a fluid movement. The guards stopped talking. “You . . . you shouldn’t be up yet,” one of them stammered. Neither of them wore RCDF uniforms. Were these soldiers de Silva had brought with him?
“But I am,” Alex said. He moved his wrists as close together as he could, then his muscles flexed and he jerked his arms apart. The link between the cuffs snapped like it was made of paper instead of metal.
“What the hell?” the second guard asked. “How did he do that?”
“I don’t know, man,” the first guard said. He backed up a step. “Should we get de Silva?”
“Are you kidding? No.” He eyed Alex. “He’s loose, but he can’t get past the barrier. We’ll let one of the RCDF bastards fetch him when it’s time.”
Alex broke the locks on the metal cuffs like it was nothing, then casually peeled them off his wrists while the guards watched with open mouths. I’d thought we were the same, but now I wasn’t so sure. I was strong, but I wasn’t that strong.
I rolled to my feet and Alex steadied me when the blood rushed out of my head and left me dizzy. My road to badassdom was clearly off to an excellent start.
Alex moved behind me and loosely encircled my cuffed wrists with his hands. He murmured into my ear, his voice whisper soft, “Pull, hard and fast, as explosive as you can. The link has a weakness, but you need a lot of force in a small amount of time. On three.” He didn’t give me any more time to prepare, just started counting.
On three, I tensed and jerked my arms apart. Or I would have, if the cuffs had broken. Which they did not.
“Try again,” Alex encouraged me. “If you don’t get it this time, I’ll do it for you.”
I took a deep breath and focused. Alex wouldn’t falsely raise my hopes, I knew that, so he really thought I could do this. All I had to do was prove him right.
I’d spent years and years learning to moderate my strength, to hold back, to be slow and soft and gentle. To pass as normal. Unlearning that wouldn’t happen overnight, and I didn’t want it to. I liked my freedom, thank you very much. But for right now, I tried to peel back the layers, to find my true strength.
I moved my wrists together, as Alex had done, to give myself that extra millimeter of room, then jerked my arms apart, putting all of my strength and will into the movement.
The link between the cuffs snapped like a twig and Alex caught my arms before they flew up at the unexpected freedom and gave away the fact that I’d broken my own cuffs.
“Told you,” Alex murmured, a smile in his voice.
“Now they’re both free,” the first guard said, fear in his voice. “Are you sure de Silva doesn’t need to know?”
“Do you enjoy being alive?” the second guard asked. “Because taking bad news to de Silva is a good way not to be.” They continued to argue in low voices.
I couldn’t settle on a single emotion. Happiness and awe and disbelief warred for dominance. I was a badass. I turned around and threw my arms around Alex. “Thank you.”
He squeezed me. “That was all you, princess. I just gave you a nudge.”
“I had no idea,” I said.
“I know.” His voice was gruff with disapproval, but I didn’t feel like it was directed at me. “Let me see the cuffs.”
I held up my wrist and he pulled the first cuff apart, quietly explaining where to grip and how to do it. He did the second one, too, because it would’ve been difficult to hide the fact that I did it myself, but he made me talk him through it, to make sure I understood. He gently touched my wrist where the metal had dug into my skin.
“Why are you helping me?” I asked softly.
He looked up from my bruised wrists. “I like knowing you’re able to take care of yourself, and that I helped you realize you could. I like you, Cat.”
That wasn’t the answer I was expecting, so I looked away and deflected. “I hope you ask Bianca for hazard pay after this.”
Alex touched my jaw to draw my gaze back to him. “Our deal with Bianca was done as soon as we left House James. It could’ve been done even earlier if you’d turned out to be an arrogant asshole. Aoife and I are both here because we like and respect you, Cat, not because of Bianca. There’s no love lost between me and the Consortium.” He grimaced in distaste. “But even they are better than the Syndicate.”
“Thanks,” I said drily. The weight of the last few hours pressed on me, and I blinked. “Though there may not be much Consortium left after this.”
Alex squeezed my shoulders. “I’m sorry, that was thoughtless of me.”
I shook my head and tucked my worries away. I would deal with them later, preferably once we were out of this cell. To that end, I broke away from Alex and looked around. I didn’t know about any obvious vulnerabilities or weak points, but if there was one, I would find it.
I looked at the guards, who were still arguing about getting backup. “Would one of you be so kind as to open the door?”
They looked at me with identical looks of narrow-eyed suspicion. “No. You are a prisoner,” the first one said. He was fair, blond, and young, maybe still in his late teens. The second soldier was older, midthirties, with ruddy cheeks, red hair, and a neatly trimmed beard.
“No, I’m the daughter of a High House, and you are committing treason. Let us out and I’ll forget your part in this little charade.”
“That’s not happening, girlie, so keep your mouth shut,” the older soldier said. “You have no power here.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but I do have excellent visual recall. When I escape—and I will—I’ll make sure you two are the most famous traitors in the ’verse and let the Consortium tear you apart. Or you could let us out and we’ll peacefully go our separate ways. We’ll even give you a lift, if you would rather not be Silva shills any longer.”
The younger soldier was on the fence, but the older one was having none of it. “Don’t make me come in there.”
I smiled and waved an arm in invitation. “By all means.”
Unfortunately, he was smarter than that and didn’t open the door or lower the energy field. I’d tried. Time for Plan B. I pressed a fingertip to the energy field next to the door. Blue should be safe for touch, and indeed, it didn’t shock me.
I pressed as hard as I could, but I couldn’t feel the plastech wall just a millimeter away. Energy barriers didn’t work well against small, sharp, fast projectiles. If I could fashion some sort of spike, I could drive it through the barrier into the wall underneath. Of course, that wouldn’t help me escape, but I wasn’t going to escape without some lateral thinking anyway.
“Keep messing with that and I will turn on deterrent mode,” the older soldier said. “Then we’ll see how much fun you have trying to escape.”
If he changed the setting to deterrent, the barriers would go red and shock anyone who touched them. It would make escaping less fun. It would make being in the cell in general less fun because there would be nothing other than the bed frame to lean against.
I held up my hands in a gesture of peace. “Just remember I gave you a chance, and you didn’t take it.”
Before he could respond, a grizzled RCDF soldier in his early fifties stepped into the brig. He had deep brown skin and dark hair sprinkled with gray. Clayton August did not look at me, but he was one of the soldiers I’d recognized—he was Lady Pippa August’s uncle, and she adored him.
House August didn’t have the clout to influence the RCDF, so I’d called in a couple of favors to get Clayton a month’s leave when Pippa had her baby. Hopefully he would still get to enjoy it once everything was said and done.
He addressed the two Silva soldiers. “Your boss wants to know why you haven’t reported in yet.”
“We did,” the younger soldier said.
Clayton shrugged. “I just know what I was told. I’m here to relieve one of you while you report.”
The older, red-haired soldier tapped his earpiece but apparently couldn’t get a signal out. He turned to his younger companion. “Go report and come straight back. And remember, not a peep about any trouble.” He cast a significant glance at Alex and me.
The younger soldier nodded and left. Clayton replaced him, leaning against the wall next to the remaining Silva soldier. “Had trouble, did you?”
“It’s no concern of yours.”
“Just making conversation, pal. Don’t get so worked up.”
The Silva soldier sneered, then turned back to watch us. Clayton leaned against the wall like a lazy statue, occasionally scratching his nose or rubbing his arm. Movements, but nonthreatening ones. Slowly, the Silva soldier forgot about him and relaxed.
It was beautiful to watch, but I just hoped it meant help was incoming because Clayton still refused to meet my eyes. I kept moving around the cell, probing at various places, keeping the Silva soldier’s attention on me.
Then, with a speed I wouldn’t have believed him capable of, Clayton caught the other man by the head from behind, covered his mouth, and drove a knife into his neck, killing him quickly and quietly, albeit in a bloody mess.
Before he’d been stationed here at what was considered a very cushy post, Clayton had been part of the RCDF special forces for over two decades. It was common for extended members of House families to do a military tour, but most chose the officer route. Clayton had not, and he’d reenlisted long after his peers had moved on to private enterprise.
“Lady Catarina, are you all right?” he asked. He disabled the energy field and opened the cell.
I made my escape as soon as the door opened. I didn’t think this was a trap, but even if it was, I had a better shot out of the cell than in it. Alex followed me and kept a wary eye on Clayton.
“Yes, thank you, Lord Clayton. Why are you still here?”
He grunted and waved me off, as he always did when I used his honorary title. I smiled. At least some things never changed. I quickly introduced him and Alex.
After nodding a greeting at Alex, Clayton turned back to me. “I thought I might be able to do some good once their backs were turned. Looks like I was right. Plus, there aren’t exactly a plethora of ships flying out and I didn’t relish months in the bush again.”
“What about the other RCDF soldiers?”
“They killed General Momola, as I’m sure you heard. I don’t know about the rest. We were questioned individually. For me, they threatened Pippa and her baby if I stepped out of line, but I know the House will look after her. Not everyone is so lucky.”
“How many troops does de Silva have?”
“At least a platoon. Somehow they got in without setting off any of the alarms, and they attacked before we heard about the attacks on Serenity. General Momola tried to hold the control room, but we were outgunned.”
“Where are they? We didn’t see anyone when we came in.”
“Half are around central command, the other half are patrolling the outer edges of the base, ensuring no one makes a break for it. They were all ordered into hiding when you entered. You probably walked right by them.”
There was no way we could take on a platoon, even with surprise on our side. I’d figured that if the base had fallen, they would leave a squad or two behind to secure it. I’d led us into a trap we would be lucky to escape.
“Do you know where they are holding Ying and Aoife, the two who came in before us?”
Clayton nodded. “They are next door in the general’s office. If Lady Ying is colluding with them, then they’re treating her poorly. She was stunned and cuffed same as the other.”
Relief overwhelmed me. It was possible that they’d treated Ying like an enemy so I would continue to trust her, but I didn’t think so. They didn’t expect us to escape.
“How many guards?” Alex asked. “And how are they being held?”
“Because they’re not in cells, there are four guards. They are cuffed, same as you.” Clayton glanced at our free arms for the first time. “How did you convince them to remove the cuffs?”
I shrugged. “They dumped us in the cell, hit us with a stunstick, and removed the cuffs. Mentioned something about sending in ‘the RCDF bastards’ to capture us again.”
Clayton growled something under his breath I couldn’t quite catch.
“What’s the best way out of here?”
“Back through the door the other two came in,” Clayton said. “The north entrance is the least used and the one we’re closest to.”
“What do we have for weapons?” Alex asked.
“Not a lot. I have a knife, plus whatever this guy had.” Clayton jerked his thumb at the dead guard on the ground.
I quickly searched the body and came up with a blast pistol and another knife. I kept the pistol and handed the knife to Alex. It was not a lot to take out four armed soldiers.
“We need to grab Ying and Aoife, then make tracks for the exit. I can listen in on the control room, if my com is still there. Let me check.” I unmuted the sound, but only heard indistinct murmurs. “I can’t hear anything right now, but I’ll keep listening.”
“Let’s move,” Alex said. “We need to get out before they realize we’re free.”
Clayton nodded and silently led us out of the brig.