“It’s a living. My family doesn’t prey on people who can’t afford to get robbed, and most of the families are the same. We minimize damage.”
Allie pounced on the word. “Most.”
Ben’s feet came down off the wall, and he shifted to his side. “So not all,” he said.
Allie nodded. “Exactly. How do we know your family is going to pick up the signal?”
Shank shrugged. “We don’t. The families respect each other. If someone picks up the signal, they come and buy whoever is in the cells, and sort it out later.”
“We’re not technically in your family,” Ben pointed out.
“Don’t worry. My people don’t quibble about things like that,” Shank promised. Allie shared a concerned look with Ben. Shank said firmly, “Seriously. I know my people. We’ll be fine.”
“I worry about your use of pronouns there, buddy,” Ben said. However, with his concerns voiced, he seemed free to go back to sleep. He rolled onto his back and put his hands under his head again.
Allie moved closer to the bars. “Shank, are you sure?”
He gave her a smile that almost but not quite reached his eyes. “Yes.”
“Pirates, Shank. Pirates are coming for us. Are you absolutely sure?”
Before Allie could move, Shank reached through the bars and caught her hand. For a second, he studied her with a sort of quiet desperation that she could feel. “I wouldn’t put you in danger.”
“Not intentionally,” she said. The moment the words came out of her mouth, she regretted them. It was like watching blast doors close over his emotions. All that longing and pain vanished, and he gave her one of his plastic smiles.
“We’re fine,” he said. He released her hand and stepped back from the bars. She wanted to reach out for him. She did. But she couldn’t. Allie closed her eyes for just a second, and when she opened them, he’d retreated to the far wall and shoved Ben’s feet aside so he could claim a corner of the bunk.
“You know,” Ben commented, “I’ve been sent out to hunt pirates, and I sure never knew you used station jails as safe houses.”
“It’s easier than trying to find a secure place on a station where you might be the only person from your ship.”
“Smart,” Ben said, and from him that was a huge compliment. “How do you keep people from noticing that only certain families vanish out of cells?”
Shank was silent long enough that all the hairs on Allie’s arms stood at attention. “Shank?” she demanded.
“Hey, if only the families vanished from the cells, that would be a tip-off. Besides, the general rule is you don’t kidnap someone unless you can offer them something better than they have.”
Ben turned his head to the side to give Shank a thoughtful look, and Allie’s stomach rolled as the little acid factories that were working on her newest ulcer all went into overtime. All of them were waiting for experienced kidnappers to come and grab them up. If Allie could reach through the bars, she would kick Shank’s ass so hard his teeth would rattle.
“You don’t keep unhappy people around. Family ships have families. You don’t want your three-year-old little sisters hanging around with homicidally unhappy people.” Shank blurted the words out, but Allie could hear the hint of unease behind the mountain of defensiveness. He wasn’t saying something.
“Didn’t Jacqs say he got grabbed up by some ship when he was a kid?” Allie asked. Jacqs had called it slavery, and a creeping feeling of dread settled into her guts.
Shank’s dark face flushed deep red. Yep, he was hiding something. However, as quick as that expression came, it vanished.
“He got grabbed by smugglers. They’re not the same. They don’t know our codes.”
Becca Dary stepped up to the bars and curled her hand around the metal. “Ben, are we okay here?”
Allie gave Shank her nastiest look. It didn’t sound like Shank was as sure who would pick them up, and unless Allie missed her guess, the families weren’t above keeping slaves. Becca and Copta weren’t exactly well designed for handling shit, and he’d just dumped a huge pile of runny, stinky shit right on their heads.
“We’re fine,” Ben said firmly. “The nice thing about training at Nicve is that most people piss their pants just hearing the name. They won’t mess with me, and I won’t let them mess with you.”
Allie could see Becca practically melt at his words. She turned around so Becca wouldn’t see her roll her eyes. Allie had never appreciated the sort of man who tried protecting her as the “little woman,” but if Becca fell for the crap, that was her business.
“Aren’t any of you going to put any faith in my plan?” Shank asked with exaggerated melancholy.
Surprisingly, Copta spoke up. “I believe this is the only way to slip free long enough to find Corporal Glebov and Commander Waters,” she said, “and if we die trying, then we die knowing we didn’t leave our friends behind. Sa’di says, ‘How could’st thou disappoint thy friends whilst having regard for thy enemies?’ I won’t care more about the enemy than I care about two men who were worthy friends.” She gave a single nod of her head as though the matter had been definitely settled.
