The shop was empty when Annie returned, creeping in with a sharp eye on the lookout for Marlon. But not even Salla or Jens were around. Maybe Marlon had them all out in the scrapyards today.
Not a surprise, really.
Whatever the reason, Annie was relieved. She sorted through piles of scrap, pulling out the most choice bits of nanograph to refabricate the tubing. It felt right as she programmed the fabricator, a deep feeling of satisfaction letting her know she’d chosen wisely, and this piece of tubing would seal properly. She had no doubts.
While she waited for it to form, she looked around the shop, an unexpected wave of nostalgia hitting her. Not all of her memories here were bad. Learning ship mechanics. Working in tandem with Jens or Salla. The three of them singing hilarious parodies of popular songs together, Jens’ more ribald than Salla’s or Annie’s.
She would miss them both. That was part of why she wanted the crystal. If everything Dante said was true, she’d at least get a cut of whatever they did with it. Annie hoped to come back here and buy out Salla and Jens’ contracts. They deserved to be free every bit as much as Annie, and then maybe the two of them could open their own shop as they’d always talked about.
Annie.
She gave a start at the voice in her head. It was familiar. Dante.
Oh, um. Hi.
Arcus tells me you had to go back to the shop for a part.
It’s fabricating now. I’ll be back in a few hours.
It was so strange speaking telepathically. She’d never been very good at it, and it felt like she was fumbling the words in her mind.
How is your leg?
Fine. It doesn’t hurt at all. Just buzzes a bit. I can feel the nanites working.
Hmm. I want to check it as soon as you’re back. Be careful.
I will be. I am. No one’s even here.
Good.
His voice faded from her mind, and she smiled. It felt good knowing someone was concerned for her. She didn’t think her telepathy was strong enough to reach him if he hadn’t sought her mind himself. Her telekinesis had always been stronger.
But who knew what she might achieve once she had some formal training? Most of her life, her Talent had all been done on instinct.
Out of curiosity, she stretched out her mind, searching for Arcus. He would be closer than either of the other two. But while she dimly felt a bunch of other minds nearby, none of them were his distinctive feel. Her headache throbbed in warning, and she let the effort drop.
“Annie!” Salla hurried into the shop, her goggles pushed on top of her head, her face pale. Her eyes were wide. “You need to run. Now!”
Jens was right behind her. He blanched when he saw Annie. Both of them were covered in dust from the scrapyards. “What’re you doin’ back here, girl? Shouldn’t you be workin’ on that ship?”
What was going on? “I needed to fabricate some new nanograph. What—”
Marlon threw open the shop door. He stalked inside and zeroed right in on Annie. Thunder filled his face.
“You!”
Oh no.
Annie backed up, but not fast enough. Marlon closed the distance between them, shoving Jens aside so hard he fell. He grabbed Annie by the shoulder when she tried to turn and run, spinning her around and sending her crashing against the fabrication printer. She bounced off of it and fell.
Marlon loomed over her, his fists clenched. Usually when he was angry, his face turned red and he shouted a lot of threats. Sometimes he broke things. Right now, his face was an expressionless mask and only his eyes showed the depths of his rage.
Annie went cold. This was Marlon’s face when he killed people.
“Where is it?” Marlon asked, each word carefully enunciated.
“I don’t know—”
He backhanded her. She never saw it coming. His biotech enhanced arm was fast and strong. Pain blossomed like fire across her head and neck.
Dazed, Annie lay perfectly still. She blinked stars from her eyes. Jens was crouching behind a landslip a few feet away, fear on his jowled face. In a strange, complete sense of calm she had the realization that she could die in this moment.
Marlon crouched down beside her. Casually, he reached out a hand and flipped the hair out of her face so he could look her in the eye.
“Don’t lie to me, girl. I know you found that crystal. You the only junker hasn’t been bit by one o’those snakes in eight years. An’ yesterday mornin’ ends that streak? You come out o’the yards with a full pack and turn in a pitiful bit o’scrap.”
Annie’s stomach twisted. “I don’t have your crystal. I’ll look for it if you let me back in the yards. I swear, I’ll find it for you—”
He rested his hand over her throat. “You really gonna make me kill you?”
She swallowed. Was it worth her life? If her dreams were true and everything Dante had offered was valid, she could leave Omaris and never look back with or without the crystal. All she had to do was take a leap of faith. And survive the next few moments.
Marlon squeezed gently. Just enough to constrict her breathing. “You’re worth a lot to me, girl. But not as much as that crystal.”
“All right. I did find it. I’ll give it to you.”
“Damn right you will.” Marlon stood up, and he pulled her up with him, dragging her by her throat. She pulled at his hand, but there was no give. She wasn’t remotely strong enough to fight him.
He pulled her into the lift and shut the door, never easing off his grip. She had a glimpse of Salla’s frightened face, bloodless and white, as the lift lowered. When it stopped, Marlon threw open the door and dragged her from it and into her room.
“Where?” He gave her a little shake, hitting her head against the wall.
“Under my bed,” she wheezed out. “Under the floor.”
“Show me.” He tossed her onto the floor, and suddenly she could breathe again. He’d let go of her throat, but he was still between her and the door, and she wasn’t foolish enough to think she could make it past him if she ran.
With one hand, Marlon lifted the bed and threw it aside. He turned and looked at her, clearly expecting her help. She pointed to the correct boards. “There.”
Before she could tell him to be careful, he punched through them with his enhanced arm. She shielded her face as wood splinters shot across the room. Marlon made a noise, deeply satisfied, and pulled her crystal out of the hole he’d made. In his hand it looked smaller, but still gleamed with inner fire.
Annie’s face was swelling. She could feel a numbness spreading where he’d struck her. Her throat was bruised, too, but these were small things. She watched as he looked at the crystal with avarice and awe.
“Such a pretty thing,” he said. “And worth more than your life.”
Maybe to him. Not to her. Not to Arcus, Payne, and Dante.
She remained quiet, hoping he’d leave now. She was calculating in her mind. The printer would take a few more hours to finish fabricating, and then half a day to put Niobe back together.
Too long. But she had no choice. She couldn’t leave here until she had those parts, though, or none of them would be getting off Omaris. She’d have to be very careful these next few hours until she could make it back to the spaceport. Once she was surrounded by her princes, she’d feel safe even if it they couldn’t take off right away.
Marlon turned to her then, the crystal tucked close against him. “You tried to steal from me,” he said.
A deep foreboding filled Annie.
“No one steals from me. Especially after everything I’ve done for you, Annie-girl.”
Instinctively, she crawled backwards away from him. He saw, and gave a small, cruel smile.
“Normally, I’d kill you. But you’re worth more to me alive.”
She waited, tense, conflicted. He was letting her live?
“I knew what you were when I took you in, y’know.” He lifted a hand, gesturing to someone outside the room. “I thought your Talent would make a better junker. I was right. But now, I have no use for you.”
Foreboding crystallized to fear, and fear into terror as black-garbed Laripim security entered the room. When had they gotten here? How? Had they been lying in wait outside until Marlon retrieved the crystal?
“There’s a reward for escaped slaves.”
No. No, no, no, no. She scrambled to her feet, pressing against the wall. Somehow, her knife was in her hand.
One of them reached for her and she shoved with her mind. Her headache exploded back into being, made worse by the pain already radiating across her face. The security officer staggered back, pushed by her telekinesis. But not enough. She was still on low reserves. She didn’t have enough strength.
“I won’t go back,” she said. A hand closed on her arm. She lashed out with her knife, but he easily evaded her clumsy blow. She wasn’t a fighter, just a junker and a mechanic.
She fought as viciously as she knew how, fueled by desperation. Punching, cutting, kicking, even trying to head butt one of them.
“I won’t go back!”
Someone struck her wrist and her hand went numb. Her knife dropped to the floor. She kept fighting as they dragged her from the room.
“No. I won’t go!”
She grabbed the entryway as they pulled her through the door, fighting for all she was worth. Looking at Marlon’s face, at his horrible smile, something inside her broke. She screamed, raw and filled with rage. Marlon lifted into the air, the whole huge bulk of him. He slammed against the wall of her room once, twice, three times. The crystal fell from his grasp to clatter on the floor. He gaped at her in shock.
She snarled, and squeezed with her mind. She’d never before felt such rage, such a terrible desire for vengeance. His face turned purple as she squeezed. She would crush the cruelty from him if it was the last thing she did.
Something stung her arm. The world went black.