No one spoke, but I was absolutely sure that a conversation was happening between the three of them based on the long looks and facial expressions.
“Assuming we want to take on the stupid shooters, what do we have to do?”
“The first step is easy—we make contact with the client.Then we need to convince them that we’re qualified to take the job.”
“‘We’?”Finn said with a sneer.
“Do you know anyone else with connections here?”Shit.That came out harsher than I intended.
“Both of you behave.”Dax used his I’m-in-command voice.
I probably shouldn’t have found that as hot as I did.
Fine.I would play nice.Hands raised in an I’m-not-starting-anything position, I turned to Finn.“You got a current map?”
“Of the station?”
“Yeah.”I kept my tone carefully neutral.
He pulled out his comms and projected a map of the station onto the table.
I slid my fingers over the projected screen and turned the city this way and that.It had been years since I’d been here, but it didn’t look like all that much had changed.
I turned the station back to its original orientation and zoomed in.“This is where we are.”My finger jabbed into a cluster of dots that represented buildings.I pointed to another section several inches away.“This is where we docked.”
“Duh,” Finn said.
Ignoring him, I pinched my fingers together and spun the map a quarter turn.“Pukka berries are here.”
Another quarter turn spin.“Saber fish are here.”
Another spin, whirling the station upside down.“And stupid shooters are here.”
That deep into the station, the map was fuzzy and less substantial.
“Bullshit,” Finn said.“There’s nothing there.”He turned to Dax.“Why are you listening to her, Sarge?She’s got nothing.”
I raised my eyes from the map to him and kept my voice cool.“Have you been down there?”
He smirked.“No.No point.There’s nothing there.”He spoke slowly, like I was a child...or an idiot.
“Finn—” Dax started but I shook my head, cutting him off.There was only one way to deal with this.
Our waitress was at a nearby table, so I flagged her down when she left them.With an easy smile, I asked, “Is Bolton still working out of Sub3?”
Her eyes widened and her skin paled.“I don’t...”She broke off and swallowed.“I don’t know anything about that.Let me get my manager.”
She bolted from our table.
“What the fuck was that?”Burn asked.“Who is Bolton?”
I studied Dax and his crew before responding.Burn looked intrigued, Finn was pissed—at this point, I was pretty sure that was his whole personality—and Dax was obviously weighing everything he heard.
“Sublevel 3 is where the stupid shooters are, as well as a whole array of other dangerous and unsavory shit.They keep the explosives as far away from the main station as possible.”
“Bullshit,” Finn repeated.
I shrugged and ate another fry, though I was only half as nonchalant as I projected.It was possible things had changed since I was last here, but I didn’t think so.If a huge shakeup in the shadier side of Rigel Naught had occurred, trickles of information would have reached Elegium Station.
