“If we can reach an agreement on parts, I might be convinced to tell you where there’s a decommissioning station—badly understaffed and suffering from abysmal security.”
“You would tell me?” Claire didn’t bother to hide her skepticism. “Of course, you would tell me after you stole your ship and security had been tripled, am I right?”
Allie shrugged. “I’d tell you after we had theCandiru, but whether or not Command bothered to increase security would depend on whether they had any use for those ships. They may be happy to see them gone. They aren’t carriers or luxury cruisers, and there aren’t many captains who can afford to buy those small runner ships.”
“Yes.” Claire gave her a crocodile smile. “After all, those smaller ships can’t carry enough traditional cargo to make them financially lucrative.” She emphasizedtraditional. Yeah, she knew what Shank’s family did for a living, and if she wanted to believe Allie and Copta would use theCandiruto work for Anpaytoo, Allie was very happy to play into that assumption.
“Paya is willing to help us get on our feet. After all, Shank is her oldest son back from the wars.” Allie grinned. “Have you met Lúta and Shank’s cousin Crow?” Allie nodded toward the men. Both had stony expressions that would have made a Nicve marine question the wisdom of fucking with them. Of course, the only Nicve marine in the area had his back to the bulkhead that led into the dark berth. Allie just had to give him time to collect his intel.
“No, I haven’t had the pleasure.” Claire’s voice took on an arctic tone.
“Really. And here I thought you’d been on theMitakuye Oyasin.” Allie glanced toward Shank. “Didn’t Paya mention you had brought Claire back to the ship?”
Shank blushed. “We stayed in quarters a lot.”
“Ah.” Allie nodded. “Paya thought you were a double-crossing bitch and wouldn’t let you onto the ship proper, didn’t she?”
Direct hit. Claire’s face lost all emotion, and her body tensed.
“Chankoowashtay and I rarely left the bed because he was young and insatiable. We had quite the chemistry together, he and I.” She gave Shank a honey-slow smile. “You should try tying him to the bed and keeping him there. It’s very entertaining.”
Shank’s brown skin had turned a rather alarming shade of red at this point.
“And here I thought you were a businesswoman, but maybe I’m wrong,” Allie commented. “Maybe you’re too immature to focus on anything but sex.”That should shut the woman up about Shank’s sexual preferences.
Claire stepped closer, and Allie watched as all the guards shifted. “I remember Chankoowashtay preferring women who had left adolescence behind.”
“Well, his taste in the past might have been formucholder women, but boys change when they mature into men.” Allie really wished she didn’t have to look up at Claire, but she maintained eye contact.
“He must have changed if he chose you.” Claire looked her up and down in a clear insult.
“Maybe not that much. After all, he dumped you when he was what? Seventeen? Eighteen? Even at that point, he knew what he didn’t want.”
Claire’s eyes narrowed, and Allie pushed her advantage. If there was one thing she knew, it was how to go for the kill once she’d found a weakness.
“He ran away to a white school to study trade just to get away from you. Well, that and all the teasing he got for bringing a bitch home to his ship. But I see you wandered way back here.” Allie gestured toward theMonitor.
Claire’s scorn shone through her words. “Yes, back to a ship where I wasn’t expected to be the ‘little woman.’ Maybe Anpaytoo’s rules are more effective with girls than they are with women.”
Allie could feel her face heat, and she struggled to control her emotions. “Oh, I don’t know. We disagree plenty. But I listen to her because I respect her as a woman. She protects her people.”
Claire laughed. “And I don’t?” That insult didn’t appear to bother her much.
Allie looked over to Shank, deliberately focusing Claire’s attention there before she answered. “No.”
“Yet you let your man wander down to the part of the station where I have my ship parked. I see.” Claire nodded. She also gave Shank a long, thoughtful stare.
“Funny, I didn’t think it was your ship. I thought you were the hired help.”
Claire’s gaze snapped right back to her. “And the money is more than worth it, unlike on those old ships Chankoowashtay’s family runs. They should be decommissioned, but then the families can’t afford better, can they?”
Allie laughed. “Their ships are running just fine. If you can’t tell that, then you have no business flying the black. Then again, you never got to see their very impressive technology because no one on the ship trusted you.”
Claire waved her hand and strolled back toward the podium where theMonitor’s cargo roster was registered. She leaned against it in an exaggerated sprawl. “Excuse me if I don’t care about the opinion of a child. Oh, and a piece of advice: if you’re looking to buy supplies, your diplomatic skills could use some work.”
“Oh, I’m assuming you aren’t a big enough person to sell me anything. In fact, I am assuming you’re petty and jealous, and you’d cut off a foot before making a credit’s worth of profit off me.”
Claire ran her tongue along the inside of her lower lip. From her expression, she seemed to be contemplating murdering the entireMitakuye Oyasincrew. “You would assume wrong,” she said slowly. “If you have credits, we have supplies.”
