“The ship was arriving, so most of the talk was about the shipment, how it was the last one, how they were glad to be going, and curiosity at what was going on in Demeter since the laser strikes.” Ethan rose to his feet and began to wander around the room, studying everything he could.
“Where are they going with the shipment?” Velda wondered.
“They didn’t say. But they aren’t locals, that’s for sure. They had a few unflattering things to say about our beautiful planet.” Ethan stopped at the locked cabinet and crouched in front of it, studied the lock.
“That explains why none of them seem to recognize me.” Although Velda thought some of them did sound local. It may be down to context. They assumed she was a random hiker, and so that is what they saw.
Ethan looked across at her, eyes narrowed. “I hadn’t considered that. But if there’s a dead zone in place, they won’t have heard about the crash.”
“A few of the team here are definitely local, unless they’ve adopted an Aponi accent.” Velda went into the bathroom to get herself a cup of water, and then froze when someone tried the door.
Ethan moved away from the cabinet, and lay on the couch, gesturing for her to join him.
“Neena, where’s the key?” Ridgeman’s voice was loud enough for her to hear him perfectly.
She heard a feminine voice respond, and by the time a clearly angry Ridgeman opened the door, she and Ethan were on the couch, him half lying down, her hovering over him anxiously.
“He’s not still out?” Ridgeman asked, his focus on Ethan.
“He’s just started to come round.” Velda glared at him, then gently brushed a hand over Ethan’s forehead.
“Ridgeman.” The woman who Velda had seen coming out of the ship stopped just in the doorway, blocking the natural light. She seemed shocked at the sight of them. “So these are the two you’re holding? Where’d they come from?”
“Hikers. Stumbled across us this morning.” Ridgeman looked down at the empty table, and narrowed his eyes. “Where’s my stuff?”
“Neena put everything away in there before she locked us in,” Velda said, pointing to the cabinet.
Ridgeman walked over to it, tried the handle, and swore softly. He strode to the door and the woman stepped back to let him out.
She winced when he bellowed for Neena and shot him a sour look.
Ridgeman returned, key in hand, and retrieved the papers, spreading them out on the table and grabbing several that were clipped together. “Here.” He shoved them at the woman.
She didn’t look pleased by his attitude but she took them, angled them to the light coming through the door, and gave a nod. “It’ll do.”
“It’ll do?” Ridgeman’s voice dropped.
“Yes, it will do.” She looked up at him, eyes hard. “I’m not saying it’s your problem, or your fuck-up. I’m just saying it looks like there’s enough ore on hand for us to placate the fucking Caruso and save our little agreement from imploding. This, and what we have in the warehouse in Demeter, will be enough to keep them from outright walking away.”
Velda had a bad feeling about the fact that this conversation was happening so openly in front of them. So did Ethan, if his grip on her hand was anything to go by. She could feel his body tense, and she forced herself not to look at him, to keep her expression neutral.
“Fine. You can take the hikers and the ore, and get the fuck out of here, Brink.” Ridgeman’s lips twisted. “We’ll pack up and head back to the city.”
“The heads would prefer you stayed here and kept mining, but they need boots on the ground in the city.” Brink shrugged. “I can see you’re pleased with that outcome, but don’t get too comfy in Demeter. This mine is currently our only hold on the Caruso, and you’re the one who knows it best.”
Ridgeman shook his head and walked to the door, leaned out. “Nyler!”
Brink’s hold on the sheaf of papers tightened in irritation.
Velda knew the shout had been intended to irritate when Ridgeman turned and propped a shoulder against the doorjamb with a smirk.
“What do you need these two for, anyway?” he asked.
“Nothing you need to worry about.” Brink smiled back, and Velda couldn’t tell if she was being difficult in response toRidgeman’s attitude, or because she really didn’t want to tell him.
Either way, she didn’t like it.
Neither did Ethan, because he stood up and took a step forward, shielding her from their two captors.
