All because of his wanting to “explain”.
“This won’t be like that,” Jin assured her.
Sure, it wouldn’t.
Az ignored their exchange and got straight to the heart of the matter.“What’s your history with these so-called pirate clans?”
“Three separate clans have a bounty on her head,” Jin answered.
“Not just mine.”
“It might as well be just yours.There’s no way they’ll recognize me anymore.”
Pye frowned at them.“What did you do to make them so angry?”
“She blew up one of their ships,” Jin announced.A second went by.“After she assassinated their top two clan members.”
Az looked suitably impressed.
“She also dismantled one of the largest clan’s trafficking rings,” Jin blurted.
Kira glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.“You keep saying ‘she’, but I seem to remember you being a willing party in all this.Don’t forget—it was your plan we used to blow up the ship.”
“But you’re the one who started a war against that trafficking ring.”
“They were abducting humans.What was I supposed to do?Walk away?”
Ha.As if.
They’d taken children.He was no more able or willing to look the other way than she had been.
“Also, you’re the one who suggested we hit them where it hurt,” Kira finished.
It had been his idea to poison Red Hand’s bliss crop.When the leaves of the bliss were burned, they emitted a highly addictive smoke.Combine it with a common substance like sugar and you could induce hallucinations.Those who used it claimed to see the future.
Kira didn’t know about that, but she’d seen its aftermath enough times to be wary.
Any future glimpsed was often twisted and dark, leading its users to unspeakable crimes in an effort to prevent them.
“I was just following your lead,” Jin protested.
Bullshit.
Ignoring Kira’s roll of the eyes, Jin focused on the others.“Anyway, after that, a couple of the clans we targeted banded together to put a bounty on us.Whoever takes her head gets to collect.”
“As interesting as the chaos you two claim to be able to cause is,” Bez started, determinedly ignoring Jin’s outraged exclamation, “what makes you think this is the result of pirate activity?”
Jin raised his eyebrows at Kira with a look that asked if she could believe this nonsense.
She could.
“Just answer the question—nicely,” she instructed.
Jin folded his arms and huffed.“I found one of their worms in this place’s radar system.”
There was skepticism on Bez’s face.“That sounds awful convenient.”
“Do you want to explain or shall I?”Jin asked Kira.
