As the old cart jiggled and joggled over the dusty terrain as if it were having a seizure, Delphine Browen just grinned and tried not to bite her tongue with each out-of-synch vibration. The green fields were just visible in the distance, a beautiful contrast to the burgundy rocks of the Outlands. Catching sight of them meant she was about an hour away from a hot shower, clean clothes and something good to eat.
And she had found some wonderful things. Several grams of red tektites, a wonderful striated spinel and some big chunks of dark-green and cream-banded verspar tourmaline filled the sample cases in the back of her cart, all carefully wrapped in well-worn rags. The satisfaction of a successful treasure hunt filled her with pleasure.
The thought of adding to her bank account filled her with relief.
The humid air started to smell of growing things the closer she got to the port and left behind the musty fungal scent of her native Sayre. A haze of moisture and pollen hovered above the fields filled with wheat, rice, orchards and vegetables. Tapping her datpad to send out a ping signaling she was on her way home, Delphine concentrated on her driving rather than speculating on how many marks she might have made with her haul. She maneuvered her cart from the rough track she’d been on to the pavement heading toward the settlement and then increased the cart’s velocity, grateful for the smooth surface. The cart also seemed to appreciate it; the propeller smoothed and quieted and all of the components squeaked a lot less.
With a squawk and a hiss, her dilapidated datpad woke and Delphine answered with a firm tap of her finger. The datpad was old and it seemed to take a lot of pressure on the sensors for it to notice her.
“Del, pet, where are you?” her father called out and she smiled, pleased to hear him.
“Pa, you have my ping. Just look on the map.”
“Now you know those glo maps are hard on my old eyes.”
“I’m on the Long Road, about forty minutes from the fields.” She took a deep breath and felt lighter just knowing how close she was.
“Excellent. Will you be coming over for dinner?”
“No, Dee Dee and I are going out later.”
“Fine, I’ll tell your mother. Also, Juli isn’t feeling well. Could you cover for her tomorrow?”
“What’s her assignment for that day?”
“Biologics. Pickup and drop-off.”
Del considered this. Collecting waste vegetable materials from restaurants and delivering them to swineherds and the composters was a relatively pleasant task. It was infinitely preferable to sorting through office trash in the hot warehouse or draining hydraulics from scrapped loaders. Even pig barns smelled better than rancid lubricants on a hot day. And she had been gone for two days, not contributing to the family business at all and pursuing her own interests.
“I can do it, Pa. What time to start?”
“Sleep in—you must be tired after your roving. Start at nine.”
“That I can do, Pa.” Del grinned to herself, pleased to be helpful.
“Thanks, pet. Ping your ma when you’re home safe for the night.”
“Will do.”
“Did you find some good stuff?” her father asked. He sounded a little envious. He’d taught her everything she knew about exploring the wild areas of Sayre and they’d worked as a team for a decade before he’d had to stick closer to home.
“Yeah, I surely did. A bunch of variegated tourmaline and some big tektites are the best things. After I get it cleaned up and organized I’ll show you.”
“That sounds good. See you later.”
Del signed off and started to think about what she would need to do tomorrow. Then she wondered what Dee Dee had planned for that evening. Her little sister missed her and Del knew that spending time with her tonight would mean a lot to both of them. She just hoped it wouldn’t involve loud music and chatting with men. She was too exhausted for such wastes of time. She would have preferred to retreat to her little place, scrub and sort minerals, and drink a glass of illegal whiskey.
* * * * *
Lazlo waited outside Major Sekar’s office, trying not to look as nervous as he felt— and trying not to become entangled in Lieutenant Dugal’s large and menacing palm tree. Neither task was easy to accomplish. He was tall but the palm dwarfed him and this was the first formal meeting he would be having with his commander after the recent disaster at the dock. He’d been in charge of a hostage situation and it had ended badly. Lazlo sighed with regret. If only he’d said something different, if only he’d made a grab for the stunner.
Lazlo considered sitting down and trying to relax as he waited for his summons but the available chair looked small and uncomfortable and it was located directly under the palm. The major’s assistant, Lieutenant Dugal, was pointedly ignoring him. Best just to stay standing at near attention and be ready to respond to whatever might happen next. And not start to pace.
The inner office door opened and Major Sekar beckoned him to enter. Lazlo walked in and waited to sit until his commander indicated a chair. The room was austerely bare other than large displays showing real-time views of the port. The only spot of color was a clear cylinder filled with liquid and a soft-looking green ball resting at the bottom directly underneath a full-spectrum light along one edge of his commander’s nearly bare desk. They both sat quietly for a moment. Major Sekar’s dark, sharp eyes studied him with no expression on his face. Lazlo realized he was probably going to be demoted or transferred again. Galaxies blessed he hadn’t brought much with him when he’d moved to Sayre, so the packing wouldn’t take too long.
“Lieutenant, I first want to congratulate you on how well you handled the psilo investigation. You had everything wrapped up in record time and with minimal expense,” the major said quietly as he rested his hands on the desktop.
“Thank you, sir.” Lazlo felt dizzy with relief.
“I’m placing a letter of commendation in your record.” The major rumbled as he glanced over Lazlo’s shoulder at the wall monitors and frowned. Lazlo couldn’t turn his head to look at what had caught his commander’s attention. A riot? An assault? Or just an overturned pallet of avocados?
“Thank you, sir.”
“And I would like to give you a few days off.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“But I can’t.” His commander snapped his gaze back to Lazlo.
Lazlo swallowed, unsure of what the major was talking about. Of course, he didn’t actually need the time off—he loved what he was doing. But perhaps he was going to be reassigned back to patrol. He knew the port was short on experienced officers and there had been an uptick in crime lately.
“Of course, sir. I’ll happily serve wherever I’m needed.”
“I know. But something has come to us that I need you to take on and resolve with the same speed and initiative that you showed in your previous assignment.”
Lazlo waited, completely at a loss. There hadn’t been any rumors floating around the station and his friends around security had merely wanted to chat with him about an upcoming concert rather than any unusual assignments in the works. Major Sekar glanced at a display and then hit a button on his desk.
“We just received an order from the system governor, direct from the Congressional military committee, that we need to find something here on Sayre. Something that has been misplaced for over eighty years.” His commander leaned back in his chair and his severe features tightened as he contemplated something amiss in his jurisdiction.
“Apparently, when the military was the sole owner and occupant of the planet, they used some experimental equipment here, most of which was of course disposed of properly. However, some things never were recovered and after an extensive search of old records at headquarters, Congress needs them back. According to the orders I just sent you, several pieces of equipment left here back then contained rare elements in their circuitry that are now even more uncommon after the loss of the mines on 42-AR. The theory is they are still stashed in a storage facility in the Outlands.”
Lazlo remembered reading the news reports on how geologic instability had made working the mines on that planet too dangerous, even for bots. The return rate had dropped to less than one percent and no matter the enormous subsidies the government offered, no private company could turn a profit on 42-AR anymore.
“So we have to find them and return them to their absentminded owners so that new and improved weapons can be made and we can all rest that much easier at night,” Major Sekar concluded. Lazlo watched his commander, unsure if he was making a joke. He decided not to smile and risk being wrong. Rubbing a large hand over his bare head, his commander relaxed a bit and leaned back in his chair. “I would take on the search myself with Citizen Kidd’s assistance, but her injuries prevent that.”
Guilt rushed in him again. Injuries to Bara Kidd that he had triggered when he had confronted her captor and former friend at the docks. “Sir, about that. I want to apologize again for what happened—”
“Why? You didn’t do anything wrong. You followed procedures correctly and reacted in a very effective manner. I don’t blame you for what happened and Citizen Kidd certainly does not. In fact, she has pestered me to invite you to dinner so she can thank you for all of your help.”
“Really?” Another wave of dizzy relief filled Lazlo and he realized that he hadn’t been taking deep breaths the whole time he’d been in the office. Inhaling to the bottom of his lungs, he waited for whatever would come next.
“Yes. So back to our current issue. Since I’m not able to take on the task, much as the idea of spending some time hiking in the back of beyond with Citizen Kidd appeals to me, I would like you to find these items. Citizen Kidd knows a great deal about the history of the port and the records that might be useful in the search. She has formulated some search parameters for you while she has been recuperating, which kept her occupied. Of course, she is quite skeptical that the military has any accurate idea of what they used to own eighty years ago, but that’s an informationist for you. She has also recommended two possible guides for you to approach for assistance. This is nothing to attempt on your own. The uncharted areas of this planet are quite forbidding,” Major Sekar warned him with a stern look.
Lazlo nodded, already starting to wonder how in the galaxy he was going to accomplish this. Uncharted? Then how in the galaxy did anyone know where something might have been stored for the last eight decades? He was starting to appreciate Citizen Kidd’s skepticism. Since he’d never ventured much beyond the port itself aside from some visits to the hot springs with friends, Lazlo had no firsthand knowledge of how dangerous the unsettled areas of Sayre might be.
“She knows both of these individuals and since I’m new here, I’m going to simply pass along her information and you can decide who to hire. The man, Avo Kirk, has had a few minor convictions for disturbing the peace and failure to pay debts. The woman, Delphine Browen, has a clean record. The terms you reach are at your discretion. If you can get one of them to volunteer, all the better for my mid-year budget. If you need to pay, we can only authorize a reward upon delivery of the weapons, not for wages for the time it might take to find them. The maximum amount we could pay is included with the data I have sent you. Of course, if you can negotiate a smaller amount, the budget will thank you and I will as well. We’d like this wrapped up by the end of the month. Any questions?”
“No sir, at least none until I’ve read the orders.”
“Very good. Reach me today if you have any questions. You start tomorrow. And also, do not mention this to anyone outside this room, other than whomever you contract as your guide. And your guide must abide by a nondisclosure agreement as well. That’s included too. Communicate with me by a secure channel and give me a report every day. Keep in mind that you will be intruding on Sheriff Harata’s jurisdiction and he is unlikely to be cooperative with our efforts, so keep your distance and keep a low profile. The last thing we need is any excuse for him to posture and fume.”
“Yes sir. Thank you.”
“Do you have some good hiking boots?” The question came out of nowhere and Lazlo had to take a moment to think. “You can’t go out there without proper footgear.”
“Yes sir. I do have some, from my tactical training rotation on WG-87.” And that had been a torturous posting—cold, windy and a mess hall that seemed incapable of serving food at anything other than room temperature.
Major Sekar watched him again, calm and neutral as usual. “Very good. I will have Citizen Kidd contact you about that dinner. I won’t have a moment’s peace until she has it scheduled.”
“Yes sir. I’m sure that whenever she would like to host, I will be able to attend.”
“That’s the right attitude, Lieutenant. Maintain that and the partner in your life will be pleased with you.” His commander’s eyes glinted with something that might have been close to amusement in another man, but with the major it was hard to tell.
Feeling as if he’d missed something, Lazlo rose and shook the major’s hand and left the office. He paused in the reception area once the door had closed and looked at the silent Lieutenant Dugal with some confusion. He remembered meeting Citizen Kidd once at the Officer’s Club. She’d been sitting with the major, but he hadn’t realized that they knew each other that well. And of course the next time he had seen her, stunners had been used and she had suffered severe injuries while he watched. He’d just assumed that the major was uninterested in women or men or anything other than law enforcement and regulations.
“New assignment?” The man glanced at him and then turned to his display, likely to look for a new assignment notation for Lazlo. Well, he wasn’t going to find it if this task was as secretive as the major had indicated.
“Yes. No, not really. Just some days off.” The slight deception wasn’t easy for Lazlo to make, but he stumbled through it. “Say, Dugal, do you know anything about Citizen Kidd?”
“Certainly. She’s a lovely person.” Now Dugal was looking at him with a considering expression.
“Ah.” Citizen Kidd was pretty, but it seemed there was something else not being said.
“The major pointedly thinks so,” Dugal added in a knowing manner. With an icy stab of fear, Lazlo realized Sekar and Citizen Kidd were involved. With each other. Dating or cohabitating, but certainly intimate with each other. Nebula’s Balls, he’d allowed his commander’s companion to be shot and nearly killed. He was lucky he wasn’t in jail. Or in the medical center recovering from a severe beating. Major Sekar was a wicked hand-combat instructor, as Lazlo already had cause to know. When the man had first arrived on Sayre he’d offered to be Lazlo’s sparring partner during a workout and Major Sekar had thoroughly wiped the walls and floor with him. Lazlo still had residual aches when he thought of it.
“I see,” Lazlo said with resignation.
“I think you do.” Dugal attacked a few points on his display. “And now that she is on the road to recovery the atmosphere in these offices has definitely improved. Which you in particular should be grateful for.”
“She wants to invite me to dinner.”
“Lucky you. Enjoy yourself, but don’t bother with bringing wine, just some chocolates. She prefers dark, he likes milk.” The lieutenant gave him another severe look and then turned back to his display, likely hunting for the particulars of Lazlo’s service history to evaluate him as a proper dining companion for his supervisor and the very treasured Bara Kidd.
Lazlo didn’t feel up to asking for any more explanations, and with a wave he left the offices and went to his desk to start reading about the new assignment. It was somewhat undercover and independent, so it looked as if he wasn’t headed back to patrol just yet.
* * * * *
Thankfully, Dee Dee had merely wanted to go to the Bunker after having dinner together, which meant Del could actually relax. If they’d gone to one of the port bars, there would have been loud music, strange drinks, meeting new people and men trying to pick up Dee Dee, all of whom became annoying after about forty-five minutes. And Del liked the Bunker and most of the people who went there—native Sayrians like herself. The bar was too hard to find for porties to bother with and the ag workers preferred their own establishments that were more forgiving of dirty boots and clothing.
The Bunker was like a large living room—cozy, quiet and relaxing if you were willing to ignore the fact it was located inside a repurposed ammunition storage bunker. Of course, all of the explosives and toxic agents were long gone, at least according to common knowledge. Del had her doubts about the accuracy of common knowledge.
So Del slouched in the booth built into a reinforced stone storage cell and watched her sister chatter happily with one of the Prax twins, while the other tried to chatter with her. She was too tired to determine which twin was which.
Tasty whiskey tended to put Del on an even track quite nicely and it was her one indulgence for the evening. Entangling herself in an amorous liaison with a Prax male was not going to be an indulgence tonight. Or ever. The very idea of getting naked with someone she’d known since she was a toddler was repellant. Or hysterically unseductive. Therefore, the idea of coming close to Prax genitalia was unthinkable, at least on her part. It didn’t seem to inhibit the Praxes.
Dee Dee laughed and prodded Del’s hand. “Guess what? Drag here says he has some reline. If you want we can get out of here, go out and look at the stars and heat it.”
“No, I don’t think so. Still working on my drink. And I have to work early tomorrow. You go ahead if you want.” Del picked up her tumbler, still sloshing with liquor, and smiled at her sister to encourage her to do what she liked. Dee Dee gave her an exasperated look but was distracted when Drag—or was it Tug?—leaned over and whispered in her ear as the other one grinned and swigged down the last of his beer, ready to leave at any sort of signal.
Del didn’t mind if they left. She could get back home and start to tally what she might have made on the expedition. Every mark was one step closer to being able to take a class with Dr. Elda Harad-Brinkell—Advanced Concepts in Exogeology, for actual Academy credits.
“No, I said we were going out tonight. I’m not just going to leave you here. Bye, guys.” Dee Dee summarily dismissed the men who took their rejection with shrugs and smiles. But that was Praxes for you—pretty much happy with whatever happened. Del envied their mellow. She felt on edge most of the time—most of the time she was at the port that was. In the Outlands, she was calm, away from people and all of the confusion they caused.
“Excuse me, are you Delphine Browen?” A man’s voice broke in and she turned to see a large fellow, medium-brown hair trimmed very close, bright-brown eyes and a careful manner. He looked very pressed and fit and since she didn’t recognize him he had to be a portie. Or a new territorial deputy, too new to have gotten sloppy like most of Sheriff Harata’s minions. Del felt an immediate prickle of warning down her spine. This man was probably trouble.
“Yes I am,” she answered, as polite as she could be considering her desire to stay quiet, enjoy her drink and avoid interaction of any sort.
“Hello. I’m Lazlo Casta.” He shook her hand very nicely and then turned to Dee Dee to introduce himself. Del felt a breath of relief—he would be charmed by her sister and she could return to daydreaming about the strange variegated mineral she’d found yesterday. It had been surprisingly dense with a soapy feel and once she got it in the capable claspers of Toots, her quark-driven spectrometer, she’d be able to pinpoint its composition.
“Citizen Browen, excuse me, but I have something I’d like to discuss with you. Would you be willing to step outside with me?”
“Are you here to arrest me?” His chocolate eyes widened. Harata hadn’t tried a shakedown of the Browens in a while, but maybe he was being subtle this time by sending someone new. Someone who looked very friendly and unthreatening, rather than his usual hulking goons. But Del felt if you were going to be crooked law enforcement, at least be up front about it. She had no patience for skulking and fake subtlety.
“Pardon my sister, Lazlo. She’s paranoid,” her sister broke in and offered a twinkling smile to the man.
“I’m not paranoid. How did you find me?”
“Your mother said you’d be here.” Casta smiled in a very charming way but Del’s blood chilled. He’d been to see their mother. That was worrisome.
“You’re law enforcement, aren’t you?” Del took a sip of her whiskey and wondered how long this was going to take. Between the Praxes and now this big Casta fellow, her peaceful evening with Dee Dee was pretty much over.
“Yes I am. How did you know?” Casta kept smiling and Del decided to frown back. No sense in being friendly if he was going to extort something in a few minutes.
“Your hair, your clothes. You even smell like it.”
He blinked and Dee Dee cut in. “Stars above, Del, why are you being so rude to him? He looks very nice and—” Dee Dee being Dee Dee, leaned his way and sniffed loudly. “He smells nice too.”
Her sister grinned at her new friend and continued, “Del is just grumpy and tired. She got back from one of her trips and really wants to go home and cozy up with her rocks but I made her come out with me because I miss her. Although considering her current moodiness, I’m not sure why right now.”
Del frowned at her flirty sibling and tried to avoid eye contact with the looming deputy. Of course, Dee Dee hadn’t dealt with the pressure of working under the unethical eyes of Sheriff Harata. Their father and her second mother shielded their younger children rather well but Del had certainly heard and experienced enough to be cautious when it came to law enforcement. It didn’t really matter if they were port security or the territorial deputies or some unknown entity, they all had power over her decidedly unwealthy and uninfluential family.
“Come sit with me. I won’t let her bite you.” Dee Dee pulled the man down on a seat and beckoned for Milt to bring a drink over. Lazlo Casta was big and took up a lot of space in the booth. “Tell me, what planet are you from?”
Officer Casta glanced at Dee Dee and looked befuddled when Milt plunked a whiskey in front of him.
“Drink it,” Del ordered. “Dee Dee is going to interrogate you now, Citizen Lawman. You might as well relax. She gets to the bottom of everything in the family, sometimes very painfully.”
Casta looked puzzled and took a tiny sip. He had nice manners, Del had to give him that. Most men would have either been looking down Dee Dee’s shirt by now or trying to gain control of the situation.
“My planet? You mean where I’m from originally?” Dee Dee nodded happily at his question. “I’m from Freton.”
Dee Dee squealed and the security officer looked even more confused as he drew back and his soft brown eyes widened.
“Oh Del, that’s forty-three for me!” She patted the man’s arm. “I’ve heard it’s beautiful there. All the resorts and amusements and beaches. And the cute wavers. Were you a waver, Lazlo? I bet you were since you’re so tall and strong, I can just picture you balancing on that little board out in the ocean, wearing some colorful swim gear. I always ask someone new that question, where they’re from, that is. So far, I’ve met people from forty-three different worlds. It went faster when I started, but lately I keep getting repeats.”
“I didn’t think anyone was actually from Freton. I thought that people just visited there,” Del could hardly resist adding.
Casta looked back at her and quirked an eyebrow. “I used to think the same about Sayre.”
She snorted so she wouldn’t laugh, then took a sip of her whiskey. He had a bit of sand for a big security fella.
“Citizen Browen, I really do need to speak with you.”
“Since you aren’t going to arrest me, why should I?”
“Because I need your help.”
Oh right. Del tried to figure out his angle. Was he trying to be nice to get her to relax her guard? But to what end?
“What could I possibly do to help you?” Del tried not to sound as uncooperative as she felt. He hadn’t done anything objectionable yet and she’d rather keep this exchange civilized as long as she could.
“I can’t discuss it here.” The big man tried to look cagey but he came off as someone who wanted to spill the surprise birthday party arrangements instead.
“You expect me to go off with you? Some strange man who just shows up where I happen to be and somehow knows my identity?”
Lazlo Casta looked abashed. “No, of course not, I assure you I’m not at all a, uh…” He trailed off, looking embarrassed as he searched for something to say.
“Lazlo, we don’t think you’re a bad guy, do we, Del? I can just tell when someone is bad,” Dee Dee reassured him as she patted his arm.
“You can just tell, Dee Dee? Did your sniffing and touching tell you something factual about the man?” Del asked, feeling skeptical and suddenly sure that she wanted to stay right here in this booth and not go anywhere with Citizen Casta. Even if he was nice and not trying to loom, he was still a minion of that sneak Harata.
Dee Dee frowned at her, but she wasn’t really angry—just looking to tease her older half-sister as she tended to do. “Yeah, Lazlo here smells like a good one, nice and clean. And he’s nice and big, Del. You talk with him. I’ll go sit at the bar and talk Milt into cooking us something spicy. I’m peckish.” Dee Dee got up, the security man rising politely to allow her to leave. He returned to his seat, leaving Del to face him alone.
“Your sister, she’s—”
“Yes, she is beautiful and nice and single. Go for it.” Del felt tired again.
“No, that’s not what I…I’m not…” He took a deep breath and started over. “I was going to say that she is very courteous. I shouldn’t have asked you to leave with me and I’m glad she gave me some privacy. Would you like to see my identity?” Lazlo slid his datpad her way and she glanced at the display without much interest.
“Why do you need privacy, Officer Casta? Or is it Sergeant Casta? I don’t know what these abbreviations mean.” She spent her brainpower on minerals and maps, not paramilitary titles.
“Lieutenant, actually. But that doesn’t matter. I do need your help on a confidential matter.”
Del immediately felt stressed. So that’s what he was after. “I’m not going to be an informant for you.” No matter what he might have on her or her family. She just couldn’t do the lying.
“An informant? No, that’s not it at all.” He looked at her with a frown, his eyebrows creased with puzzlement.
Del sighed. “Tell Harata that we aren’t interested. In anything.”
The man blinked again and straightened his shoulders. She expected the bench to pop off its base when he moved all that bulk. “I don’t work for Sheriff Harata, I work with port security. Major Sekar is my commanding officer.”
It was Del’s turn to be unsure. “But you don’t have jurisdiction out here.”
“I know. That’s why I’m not in uniform and why I tracked you down here. A random meeting. I’m trying to be covert.” His honest-looking face finally projected satisfaction instead of uncertainty.
Del sat back and considered this. Since he wasn’t one of Harata’s guys looking for marks under the table or an unsavory favor, what could he possibly be after?
“I apologize if I misrepresented myself. I’m not here to cause you any trouble and I’m sorry if I gave you that impression.” Now he looked very sincere. Del wasn’t sure why, but she bought it.
“You aren’t. You didn’t. It’s me. I’m just tired from my trip. And maybe I’m paranoid.” And out of practice talking with people who weren’t related to her.
“And that’s exactly why I hope you will help me.” Lazlo glanced around and lowered his voice. “I need a guide out there to help me find some things.”
“What things?”
“I can’t tell you until you sign a confidentiality agreement.”
“Despite Dee Dee’s intuition that you’re not a rapist or a killer, I’m not at all sure that I want to go traipsing out there alone with you if you can’t even tell me what you’re looking for.”
“Once you sign it I will be able to tell you everything.”
“Everything?”
“Everything to do with this particular project.” He smiled again and she raised her glass to her mouth so she wouldn’t smile back. He really had a nice face, much more suited to friendliness than menace.
“How long would this take?”
“I don’t know.”
“How far out?”
“I don’t know. I have some vague directions, but I can’t show you until—”
“I sign, right.” Del thought about this. “Is this an official thing or are you doing this on your own time?”
“Official but secret.”
“How much?”
“How much what?”
“How much are you going to pay me if I agree to this bizarre task?”
“Ah, that we would have to negotiate, after…”
“I sign. How in the galaxy am I supposed to make an intelligent decision if I have no information?”
“I don’t know. Sorry.” Lazlo made an uncertain gesture with his big hands and she shook her head at him, frustrated but somehow not willing to kick him out of the stone-lined booth quite yet.
Del looked over at the bar and saw that Dee Dee was watching and waiting for a signal to return, a plate of something hot and steaming next to her. “Normally I would simply leap at this wonderful opportunity but I can see my sister has managed to land us something to eat and I’m tired and hungry. So if you’ll excuse me, Citizen Casta, I’m going to have to delay making a decision. Although with the lack of details I’m not sure how more time to think is going to make things clearer to me.”
“So you’ll think about it?”
“Sure I will.” She was going to give it less consideration than whatever she was going to eat in the next few minutes but she would think about it. Whatever Dee Dee had managed to coerce from the tiny bunker kitchen would be delicious. Dealing with this weird situation was not.
“Thank you.” Lazlo looked so grateful, as if she’d already agreed to help him, she almost liked him for a moment. But that was foolish thinking and Del shut it down.
Del nodded to her sister and the security officer stood as she approached.
“You aren’t leaving us, are you, Lazlo?” Dee Dee asked as she sat down a plate of dumplings. They looked and smelled as if they might be filled with something savory. And by the asteroids of Alon, there were two dipping sauces. Taking a sniff of the little treasures, Del thought she might have even detected a hint of pork. What had they done to deserve such indulgences?
“Stay and eat—there’s plenty,” Dee Dee encouraged the big man and Del repressed her urge to wave him off. Del didn’t want to share. She was hungry and this was the first fresh food she’d had in nearly three days.
“No thank you. I’ve taken up enough of your evening. It was a pleasure to meet you, Citizen Browen.” The security officer shook Dee Dee’s hand and then looked at Del with hope glowing in his whiskey-colored eyes. “Can I call you tomorrow?”
“No. I’ll call you.” Stars, she wanted to eat, those dumplings smelled divine.
“You don’t have my information.”
“I figured that was only available after I signed.”
Lazlo guffawed and she smiled in return. No, he wasn’t such a terrible fellow after all. But she had no time for some mysterious trip with a strange man. Not that he seemed strange—Lieutenant Casta was a courteous specimen. But she wanted her dinner and she had family business in the morning.
“May I?” She nodded and he keyed his info into the datpad she held out to him. “Good night.” He smiled again and turned and left the Bunker with long strides. Most of the people in the bar watched him leave with varying levels of subtlety. Since he had just been at their table, Del didn’t have to pretend she wasn’t tracking his exit.
“So, what do you think of him?” Dee Dee’s interrupted her dark thoughts with a perky trill.
“Who? The security guy?”
“Yes, the well-formed, nice man with lovely manners who just gave you his data. What do you think?”
“I think he’s up to something. And I’m hungry.”