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Nikol left the majority of the conversation regarding the weapons transfer on Antila to Dain. His friend had sensed his dark mood during the trip and took over as soon as they landed and met the four representatives from the Ferandis and the Tokuum. They’d chosen the base of a mountain on neutral ground between their two territories.
Nikol agreed with the site because he had a clear view around them and could better defend against an ambush. A very likely outcome. It would be like the tribes to attempt to steal the cargo without paying or to ambush one another. Either scenario was plausible and had happened in the past.
No matter how many times Nikol advised Lothar to pull out, he refused. Why he insisted on brokering these deals, Nikol didn’t understand. The old chieftain of the Ferandis tribe and the chieftain of the Tokuum tribe had both died several years back and Lothar owed them no allegiance to their descendants to continue an arrangement that didn’t add more than a blip to their wealth.
A sudden breeze kicked up, sending red dust up and around them in clouds about their legs. Nikol tightened the clasp on the face shield protecting his lungs from the dry air that threatened to choke with every breath. The Ferandis and Tokuum were used to the poor air quality and didn’t react.
“How long?” Nikol murmured to Dain from where they stood off to the side while his men unloaded crate after crate of weapons.
Mi-Yen, the current chieftain of the Ferandis glared at Bodu, the nephew of the Tokuum chieftain.
“Last one’s coming out now.”
Two of his men came down the ramp and dropped the last crate. Dain moved forward and signaled for both men to stand back and wait. Mi-Yen and Bodu approached but Dain stopped them and held up his data pad. “Send the payment through first.”
Nikol waited at the ready, one hand on the handle of his laser. His guards mimicked his action. Bodu was the first to protest.
“We do this for years and never cheat.”
“That was before someone from Antila decided to blow a part of our transport station on Marenia.”
Bodu winced. “I would never.”
Mi-Yen laughed. “It was to see if Lothar would break his word about our deal.”
“A test?” Nikol snarled, unable to believe this. He should shoot both of them for the confusion they’d caused.
Dain’s expression remained stoic as he interrupted. “Send the payment and we’ll be on our way.”
This time Mi-Yen grumbled, “Better be right count.”
Without paying, both went to the crates and popped the lids on all ten. Nikol’s gaze scanned the horizon. Nothing and no one around for miles but he didn’t trust them. He snapped his fingers, “Pay now, or we leave, and the deal is off.”
They exchanged suspicious glances with one another than began to pull out thick, outdated data pads from the packs on their backs. Bodu stabbed at the screen with his stubby fingers and grunted, “Done.”
Mi-Yen did the same and slammed his data pad back in his pack. He waved at the four men he’d brought with him to start loading the crates in the back of a chipped and dented hover-craft. Bodu had a similar vehicle and scurried to his craft, yelling at his men to load once he saw Mi-Yen doing it.
Nikol battled the urge to roll his eyes and checked his wrist comm. The confirmation for correct payment from both flashed across his screen. He waved at Dain. “Let’s go.”
He wasn’t waiting for them to load all the crates in their vehicles. His job here was done.
“Down!” Dain yelled.
Nikol turned and something slammed across his back. Thrown off balance, he flew forward, hitting the ground with a grunt. Nikol tried to roll over but Dain kept him pinned down by laying on top of him.
“What are you—?”
A series of concussive booms cut into Nikol’s question. He flinched and glanced over his shoulder. The Ferandis were running for cover, keeping Mi-Yen in the middle of their protective circle. Bodu and the Tokuum were grinning and firing at the fleeing men.
“Fuck,” Nikol muttered as he eased from under Dain. “We need to get out of here.”
Drops of blood dotted Dain’s cheek but his mouth curved up in a grin beneath his face shield. “Always the same with them.”
Nikol snorted and crawled forward. His ship was within reach if they could manage not to be shot in the crossfire. “This is the last time.”
They made it onboard safely while the two warring tribes continued to battle. The crates Nikol had delivered were open and both sides had men freely using the weapons on one another. What a waste of time. He commed Lothar.
“My son, how are things?”
Nikol ripped off the face shield and restrained a growl. “This agreement must end. Coming to Antila has placed my men and I in needless danger. The profit we draw in is a pittance.”
Lothar’s reply was instant. “I am on good terms with the Ferandis and Tokuum. They are friends to Marenia.”
Which meant nothing.
“These friends bombed our transport as a joke. They will see someone dead unless they put their hatred for one another aside.”
Lothar sighed. “That was foolish of them, of course. I’ll be certain to recoup the cost from them. Was there more you had to discuss? The weapons transfer was obviously a success and our account reflects the credit deposits. If that is all, we have nothing more to talk about.”
“Fine. But I will no longer be leading future deals between these two. I’m stopping on Nzoni to broker a new contract on their auction and then will return to Marenia.”
“Stay safe,” Lothar said before ending the transmission.
Dain glanced at Nikol, noting his clenched fingers on the controls. “Do you need time?”
“No,” Nikol gritted out. “Get Smiki on the line.”
They weren’t going to Nzoni. Nikol had already finalized that matter and used it as an excuse to delay his return.
“On comm, security scramble enabled,” Dain murmured.
Nikol reached for the cloak at the back of his seat and pulled it on, lowering the hood to obscure his features. “Add visuals.”
The Chamele’s congenial features showed on the display, his grin livelier than Nikol had ever seen before. Smiki effusive greeting rang out. “My friend, it has been a while.”
“Is everything set as planned?” Nikol asked
The smile faltered at his abrupt question. “Yes. I did as you said once confirmation came through.”
“How many?”
“Three per the request. All of the explosives will be set to go off at the same time,” Smiki assured him.
Exactly as he wanted. The Chamele had a history, though. “If you are lying to me—”
Smiki waved his hands frantically. “No lies. I’m clean now, honest work only. I have three little ones to be a role model for. My best friend lets me visit whenever I want.” He puffed his chest out. “Her Senate Leader husbands trust me now because I left that life behind.”
Nikol arched a brow the Chamele couldn’t see. Realizing how his words sounded, Smiki rushed to add, “But for you, I did this last thing. I broker with good people. Trusted.”
Nikol had to accept it and he didn’t think Smiki would risk betraying him. “The credits will be paid in the same account as before.”
Nikol disconnected. He eyed Dain. “Soon.”
“Soon,” Dain agreed with a glitter of triumph in his gaze.
***
Darcy casually walked through the halls with Tseju at her side. He didn’t speak but she didn’t expect him to. Apparently, conversations weren’t something Marenians did with a woman. Darcy had tried before and was usually met with a dead stare. A few times, she’d caught a twinkle in Tseju’s eyes but he’d blank his expression quickly.
Heaven forbid he found her amusing. After they reached the other side of the house, she stopped and gasped. Tseju glanced down at her. “What is it?”
“I left something in the kitse.” She injected a grain of worry in her voice. “Can you go back and see if Cecilee can check my bed? See if it’s there.”
He cupped her elbow. “We can go back.”
Then she wouldn’t be able to implement the first phase of her plan. “I’ll wait. You know I’m not going to leave, Tseju.”
He glared and folded his arms over his chest. “Nikol doesn’t like any of his tutanis unattended.”
Darcy fluttered her eyelashes. “I know, but we walked such a distance already and if we walk all the way back there, I’ll be too tired to come back. Please don’t cut my time short. It’s my only chance to get out of those rooms.”
It was a slim excuse but all Darcy had. Sighing, Tseju dropped his arms. “I’ll comm Garmon.”
Damn it! She hadn’t thought of that. Darcy chewed her inner cheek and waited as he tried to reach the other guard. Luck was on her side. There was no answer and he shot her a dark look. “What do you need Cecilee to look for?”
Thinking on the fly, Darcy said, “It’s a necklace. Holkom from Nikol. I’m worried I left it out and it should be put away in a case. Cecilee’s the only one I trust not to take it.”
His brown eyes lightened and he nodded. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll have her check and come back for you.”
“Absolutely,” Darcy lied.
As soon as he turned the corner, Darcy lifted the hem of her shellam and darted up a flight of stairs and raced up the steps to the next floor. She knew exactly where to go and skidded along the hall with one hand braced on the wall to slow her speed. The door to the archive room opened when she pushed it.
Hurrying to the first comp station, Darcy sat and activated the desk comm. The screen came to life as it had when Nikol showed her. She clicked a few buttons and got the prompt for password access.
“About to make you my bitch,” Darcy whispered as she let her comp skills have free rein.
It took several tries, but the system was similar to what she worked with on Earth but way faster. Once in, she realized the language was still in the Standard language from when Nikol had adjusted it so she could read it weeks ago. She pumped her fist and accessed the security systems first.
Cameras, logins—Darcy wiped her presence from them all and reset the timers to ten minutes prior to her entering the room with a blackout scheduled to cover all footage ten minutes from now. After that, she flew through the other systems. All she had to do was figure out how to send a coded message to the Singles Program coordinator.
Time ticked at the back of her mind. She had to hurry. Any moment, Tseju could return. There was no telling how Cecilia would react to him asking about a random piece of jewelry. Sweat dampened her palms but Darcy was close to figuring out the messaging process.
Success! Her cheeks hurt from her smile as she composed a message. The screen froze mid-stroke.
“What the hell?” Darcy tapped the keys and the file she’d been accessing locked. Nothing she did could get her back in. Damn, damn. The screen suddenly turned red.
Unauthorized Access Identified.
Her breath stuttered in her chest. She couldn’t get back in. Someone had discovered her presence and taken necessary steps to shut the whole system down. Darcy jumped to her feet, knocking the chair behind her over. She straightened it and glanced around the room.
“Shit, shit, shit!” At least they couldn’t undo the time erasure protocol she’d enacted. If she hurried, Darcy could still get out unseen.
She raced to the door and closed it behind her. No one was in the hall, but that didn’t mean anything. The cameras would be back online soon and she needed to be far away from this room and this part of the house. Sweeping up the ends of her shellam, Darcy headed straight for the stairs, praying she got back to Nikol’s suite before she was discovered.
***
Nikol arrived back and entered his suite to an almost hysterical Cecilee and the other tutanis on their knees, shaking in terror. There was one woman missing, the one he wanted to see most upon his return. “Where is she?”
Cecilee raised her gaze to him. “She’s not here. She went out with Tseju but he came back saying Darcy wanted to know about a necklace.”
“What?!” Nikol’s stomach dropped.
She wasn’t here?! Because of a necklace? To his knowledge, Darcy didn’t care about any of the holkom he’d given her. The only item she ever wore was the bracelet from his mother. “How long has she been out?”
Cecilee began wringing her hands, her features pinched tight. “Not long.”
That told him nothing. What was his Earth woman up to now?
Cecilee worried her bottom lip. “I thought she’d be back by now. Tseju went to retrieve her when I told him I put the necklace up.”
“Tseju isn’t with her?” Nikol didn’t understand why the guard would have left Darcy alone. Nothing was making sense.
Cecilee rose and voluntarily touched him for the first time. “You must find her. Quick before your father or any other discovers her. She does not respond well to correction.”
The truth of her warning blazed like a light in his head. Lothar would love to get his hands on Darcy especially if he found her wandering the estate without a guard in a place she didn’t belong. And if he knew his Earth woman, she was probably doing something she shouldn’t. Trouble had a tendency to follow her.
Nikol took off running from the kitse, barely hearing, “I sent Garmon on an errand, claiming it was urgent from the medic.”
Fuck! No guards at the door meant Lothar would risk barging into his suite unannounced if he got back before Nikol. The other women would be at risk.