The androids, obviously strained, heaved the man into the cell beside her, dropping him with athunk.
“Heavy motherfucker,” one of the guards commented.
“Fucking shit has metal in his head. Cybernetic enhancements the scanner told us... Doesn’t account for his fucking weight.”
The androids left the cell and the mechanism locked behind them. The electrical panel pinged like a final fatal gong. Her palms dampened and she rubbed them on her pants, gaze trained on the new addition, her thoughts going a mile a minute.
“Rich fucker though, heard his ship was a treasure trove. Must be one of those blacklisted dealers, hiding out in deep space. We’ll find out when he wakes.”
“If he ever does. Not even the jumpers and rods got his eyes to open! Does it even matter?”
The other guard shrugged. “Boss wants to know his ship’s codes. Ballsy’s having trouble hacking into some parts. If I were him,” he motioned to the unmoving body, “I wouldn’t wake up. He ain’t going to like it when he does.” They both laughed and Elodie looked away. She couldn’t even muster a shiver of unease anymore. But her eyes, unwillingly, found the man’s unconscious face again and spied the black-lined tattoo of a gun on his cheek.
Don’t wake up.
She knew he couldn’t hear her thoughts but it didn’t matter.
One of the guards crouched and peered at him. “What kind of man has a class-A ship and leaves it unprotected for a salvage? And tattoos of guns on his cheeks?”
“Not a smart one,” the other snarked.
“Hmm...”
Eventually, the guard straightened and looked around at her and the other prisoners before turning to the androids. “Feed ‘em.”
He walked out with the other guard, and just as quickly, her mind went from the entertainment to the prospect of food. A palpable wave of anticipation coursed through the brig.
Unsealed protein rations were dropped into each cell, along with three water gels. Elodie moaned around her food and savored every bite, but her attention stayed on the newcomer, and remained on him long after the androids left.
“You think he’s dead?” Kallan said behind her.
Elodie didn’t answer him. The gristly man on the other side was reaching into the cell and tugging at the new prisoner’s jacket. But her eyes kept going to the stranger’s face, and to the gun that pointed straight toward his mouth. The type of men who got tattoos like that were the type she avoided like the plague.
“This piece of shit is heavy,” the gristly man spat, pulling his arm back, giving up after his fifth try of moving the stranger.
The general curiosity from the others waned after that.
Hers didn’t.
No matter how this turn of events played out in her head, it wouldn’t end well. Her safe spot against the bars was no longer safe, and now, as her eyes roved over the large frame of the newcomer, she had to choose between the known evil and the unknown evil. Either way, she was fucked.
Don’t wake up.
This time, she thought it for an entirely selfish reason.
***
GUNNER ACKNOWLEDGEDhis piss-poor judgment.
I should’ve never stopped to help theBlessed.
He knew he was in a brig and that he wasn’t alone. He also knew that he had lost a fair amount of valuable time.
They have my fucking ship.
Nickel hadn’t been brought onboard with him, and he wasn’t sure if the kid was dead or alive. Gunner tried to sniff him out but was unable to find a trail, not even a faint one.
Over and over again he tried to seed into his ship’s systems and connect with APOLLO but was unable to do so. It was out of range.
