Chapter 10
“You told herwhat?”
Zelup frowned at his younger brother. “I’m a spy who turned against his employer and who now wants to make a better deal with her. Stop pestering me with questions and get me the information I need. And the credits.”
His brother was shaking his head, the eyes all the ladies swooned over narrowed in disbelief. Then the image of Calabez was replaced by another brother, Nojan.
“What was the name of the group you’re supposed to belong to?”
“The Hills. Some kind of tech company, I guess.”
“That’s what I thought you said,” Nojan replied, hitting buttons on the console. “The Hills Conglomerate is a major player in this region. They have infrastructure on seventeen planets. Some kind of military-industrial hybrid with profitable contracts on enough worlds to net them a hefty bottom line.”
Zelup nodded. “I expected as much. But the question is, are they really after her? Dr. Illya sure thinks they are.”
Nojan continued typing away at the console, accessing his vast informational network. “It seems they recently acquired a new patent for some high-level tech. A patent that was rumored to have originated in Illya’s lab.”
“How’d that happen? She seems to hold on to her inventions tighter than the grip Jazmine has on Martek’s balls.”
Nojan rolled his eyes at the remark, but Zelup heard Calabez’s offscreen laughter. “Just wait until you find a woman that drives you crazy,” Nojan the Nerd said. “Then it will be our turn to tease.”
“Our brother forgot to mention that Mayra keeps his balls in a lovely ornate urn on their mantelpiece,” said the offscreen voice.
“Shut up, Calabez,” Nojan said through gritted teeth. “Can’t you assholes focus for two seconds?” His brother’s brow furrowed. “It looks like the Hills has a new board member. Someone that definitely doesn’t fit their profile. And someone who just happens to have been co-author on a recent publication of the good doctor.”
“Who?”
Nojan could weave together a story about anyone from a few strands of random information. “A researcher named Brian Shinks.”
“Good to know,” Zelup said, wondering at the sudden surge of jealousy he felt. “Now can you give me anything else of use?”
His brother shrugged. “Kara says you’ve met the keeper of the Guardian. Mayra warns that a dark force is waiting to descend. But I don’t have any more specifics than that.”
“And the credits?”
Calabez shoved his way back onscreen, and Zelup hid a smile as Nojan cursed at his younger brother. “Five million credits have just been transferred to Dr. Illya’s bank account. It’s a good thing Territhian credits are so inflated. Dad would have a fit if those were rubbals you were flushing away.”
“We’ll get it back,” Zelup said with assurance. “Once I figure out where the Guardian is hiding. And even if we don’t, it’s a small price to pay to add another formidable force to our growing army.”
Calabez’s face turned stiff. His normally jovial brother looked nonplussed for a moment. Then his expression turned neutral. “Don’t waste any time finding her. Jazmine is getting agitated. I think she’s planning to hare off to Danzmin on her own soon if we don’t start coming up with a solid game plan to rescue her brother.
“I’m doing my best,” Zelup replied with more force than necessary. “Once I get back inside, I’ll have a little more freedom to poke around.”
“That’sifyou get back inside,” his brother said, his grin returning.
“What do you mean? Of course, I’ll get back inside.”
He heard Nojan laugh, then shove his way back onto the screen so that both brothers were staring back at him. “I dunno, bro. You had us wire the money to her while you were outside.”
“Yeah,” Calabez added with a chuckle. “You said she thought you were a spy or something. Now that she already has your money, why should she bother to open the door?”
Zelup’s face tightened. “You aren’t serious, right?”
Both brothers howled with laughter. “Good luck,” Calabez said, then cut the connection.
“Fuck,” Zelup growled, hopping up out of his chair. He rushed into the small bedroom to throw some clothes into a bag, then fastened the breathing apparatus over his mouth once again. While jogging the short distance back to the lab entrance, he berated himself for his own stupidity.
He knocked firmly at the lab door, staring up into the security camera. “I’m back.”
