“Everyone ready?”They nodded.“Let’s go.”
Lacy was in the middle of the group again.As she started walking, Mercer leaned close.“You better be as good as you say you are.”
“Oh, I am.”Lacy followed Orion and Burn without a backward glance.
51
Lacy
My hand clenchedthe wrench and my shoulders twitched with every sound in the hangar.The loud music continued to pulse, echoing around the space.Hyperaware of every movement and every shadow, I tried not to crowd Burn.For years in my teens I’d begged my dad to let me come on his missions.He’d laugh his ass off now, if he knew how much I wasn’t enjoying this.My nerves were not made for these operations.
Burn stopped a few feet in front of me.Orion slipped into the shadows and Mercer followed him.
When they returned, Mercer gave the all clear.“I knocked out the two guys who were nearby.We’ll need to make a wider search to make sure.”He smirked at me and I wanted to punch him in the nose.“Your turn.The shuttle is just around the corner, not too far from another set of doors.Get it running.”
I gave him a plastic smile.“Get me that tool chest.”
Burn led the way, keeping her body between me and whatever was ahead of us.There were plenty of places for people to hide in here.I hunched over and tried to make myself as small a target as possible as we hurried to the shuttle.
When we reached it, the side doors were both wide open.I plastered my body against the side, while Burn cleared the interior.
I barely waited for her to whisper “Clear” before I scrambled inside and made my way to the cockpit.
“Can you start it?”Burn asked as she clambered in after me.
“Let’s find out.”I studied the console, noting the location of the controls.I’d worked on this model of shuttle before, but they weren’t common on Elegium Station.Too small for interplanetary work and too old in some crews’ eyes.That age could come in handy.
I pressed the ignition button.Maybe we’d get lucky.
Nothing.
“So you can’t get it running?”
Was that disappointment or a challenge in her voice?I couldn’t tell and I didn’t have the time to worry.“Shhh.”
I slipped MAKO out of my suit and set it on the console so I could work unencumbered.Sliding out of the pilot’s seat, I dropped to my knees so I could access the panels under the main console.I popped the panel off with my multitool and flicked on the tiny flashlight I’d brought with me.Turning my head so Burn could hear me, I said, “I need you to hold this over my shoulder so the light shines right here.”I wiggled the light so it flashed over the section I needed to have illuminated.
“Little busy here watching your ass, Lacy.”
“Do you want me to get this thing running?”
“Yes.”Her tone implied it was a stupid question.
“Then figure out a way to do both.”The actual work was a one-person job, but working under these less-than-ideal conditions required extra hands.
She took the light from me with a deep sigh.“Fine.”
“Thank you.”
After ensuring that the light was angled where I wanted it, I lay flat on my back and scooted closer to the control panel.I stared up at the tangle of different-colored wires.
They were color coded for a reason, but experience had taught me that some mechanics were lazy and didn’t always match the colors up correctly after a repair.Who knew what kind of chaos I’d find in a chop-shop ship.
I ran my fingers over each one to figure out which system each wire was connected to.As I feared, it was a mess.
A perfect fix was out, but I was pretty sure I could create a workaround.
“Are you done yet?”
