“Defiance suits you,” she says. “It’s a rare spice on Novaria these days.”
A server glides over, silent and exquisitely neutral, and I order coffee because it feels like the kind of normal human behavior that might anchor me to the planet.
Lenara waits until the server leaves before speaking again.
“I won’t insult you with pleasantries,” she says. “Your restaurant sat on strategically unusual ground.”
The words land heavy.
Valuable.
Contested.
I keep my face neutral, my spine straight, my pulse steady.
“Define unusual,” I say.
“Subterranean transit convergence,” she replies lightly. “Old Alliance infrastructure nodes. Data relays. Utility arteries. A piece of city geometry that doesn’t look important until you map power flow, information flow, and illicit shipping routes on top of it.”
My jaw tightens.
“Funny,” I say. “I just thought it had good foot traffic.”
“You’re not wrong,” she says. “That’s part of the camouflage.”
The artificial waterfall murmurs behind her like it’s in on the conversation.
“The Nine didn’t target you because you told Varek Glimner to go fuck himself,” she continues. “They targeted you because your lease was an inconvenience they were waiting to resolve.”
I feel something cold slide down my spine.
“Congratulations,” I say flatly. “You’ve just upgraded my life from ‘mob retaliation’ to ‘urban warfare real estate dispute.’”
Her eyes glitter.
“I have information,” she says. “And I have leverage. You have a problem. We could make each other useful.”
There it is.
I take a slow sip of coffee.
It tastes like expensive dirt.
“And what,” I ask, “would you like in return for your generosity.”
She studies me.
“Future cooperation,” she says. “Access. The occasional favor. A seat at a table that’s about to get much more crowded.”
I set my cup down carefully.
“No,” I say.
Her eyebrow arches.
“No?” she repeats.
“I don’t bargain from hunger,” I reply. “I bargain from position. And right now, the only thing I’m positionally sure about is that anyone offering me ‘future cooperation’ in exchange for information is planning to invoice me later with interest.”
