Taken aback, Az blinked several times and glanced at the others.“I didn’t.”
Pye shook his head.
After a moment, Bez did the same.“Why are you asking?”
Finn saved Kira the effort of answering.“Our search uncovered something troubling.”
“You think the attackers didn’t just kidnap Caius.You think they stole children as well.”The words were phrased as a statement rather than a question as Az sent a measuring look at Kira.“What would they want with children?”
“Trust me—you don’t want to know,” Kira said.
The Tuann lacked the imagination to fully understand the horrors awaiting a child left alone in a universe that was all too often cruel.To them, children were precious.They’d never walked in utter darkness and didn’t realize the depravity lurking there.
Kira did.
Even if the Tsavitee weren’t behind this, nothing good was waiting for the children out there.
Jin kicked the wall next to him.“Mother humping son of a goat.Let me find you, assholes.See what I do.”
His outburst caused Pye to jump.Bez’s blade appeared in his hand suddenly.
There was nothing overt in the way Dylan shifted, but suddenly all three were staring at him as if he’d done something threatening.
Dylan didn’t say anything.Just stared.
Az gestured for the other two to stand down.
They did so.Reluctantly and a little guiltily.
Jin saw none of that, his face was furious as he focused on Kira.“This is what you expected me to find?”
“I take it my suspicions are correct.”
“You got that right.”
Jin couldn’t stand still, nervous energy infecting his movements.He rocked back and forth on his heels, running a hand through his hair several times until it stood up like miniature horns.
“This is so fucked up,” Jin complained.
“You act like that’s new.”
Their entire lives were a series of fucked up situations.
Jin shifted his attention to Az and the rest.“You’re looking for a group of pirates operating out of the Consortium’s border sector.Specifically, a station called Titan.”
Kira hid her wince.
Once again, all roads led back to that place.
Graydon and his group would be glad to know that, since they were already en route.It made things complicated for Kira and Roake, however.
“Humans have pirates?”Pye asked.
“They do,” Jin acknowledged.“They don’t usually operate this far out though.”
“That’s not strictly true,” Kira corrected.
She’d forgotten that Jin hadn’t been there for the briefing with Harlow yesterday.He didn’t know this planet’s location.Or how close it was the Consortium’s border.
