“That, I am familiar with. Jinx and Eve have the same effect when they start cross-examining me on where I’ve been or what I’m about to do.”
Syn nodded. “Yeah, I can see where that would a wreck a day.”
“And your balls.” Jayne crossed her arms. “So, miracle Syn, what can you tell us about who took the contract out on our boy here?”
One dark eyebrow shot north as Syn realized why they were there. “Who did what?”
Jayne held her comm up so that he could read the warrant. “Someone’s pretending to be his blood. I’m assuming you’re the one who scrubbed Hadrian’s past. So, you probably know his history better than anyone.”
“‘Deed I do.” He took her link and studied it. Then let out a low whistle as he stared at Hadrian. “Nero know about this?”
“No idea. I just learned about it . . .” He glanced at Jayne. “What? Ten, eleven hours ago?”
She checked her watch. “Yeah, that’s about the time we met under a hail of blaster recoil.”
Syn reached for his drink and took a gulp. “Can’t do this sober. Shit!” Rubbing his eye, he started typing.
Jayne picked up a white lab coat from the chair nearest her. It actually had a real medical badge on it with Syn’s photo.
But not his name. “Dr. Sheridan Belask?”
Syn sucked his breath in sharply as he jerked it from her hands. “Don’t be nosing around my stuff.”
“I hope this is a joke?”
Disgruntled, he folded it away. “My day job.”
She glanced to the bottle of almost empty alcohol next to his hand. “I hope you practice a little more self-restraint when the lives of others depend on you.”
“Sadly, I do. Though to be honest, they’d probably be better off if I drank.” He returned to his keyboard. “My thoughts are much clearer when my demons are pickled.”
Scowling, Jayne crossed her arms over her chest. “So . . . how does a tech thief end up in med school?”
Syn laughed. “That’s a long and complicated story. While interesting, it’s not one I’m drunk enough yet to share.”
Dang it! She really wanted an answer. But she knew enough about him to know he wasn’t about to divulge anything he didn’t want to.
Jayne moved to read over his shoulder. Then realized that, like Hadrian, he used an alphabet she’d never seen before. “What is it with you guys refusing to use Universal?”
“Keeps my passwords safe.” Syn sat back as something scrolled across his screen. “This is so weird.”
“I know.”
He rolled his eyes at Hadrian’s droll tone. “No. There’s no one alive who knows you survived.”
She scoffed. “Last time I checked, I still had a heartbeat, champ. And so do you.”
Syn shook his head. “Not what I mean, Jayne. As you said, I wiped him clean. As far as the universe is concerned, he died on Trisa with the rest of his family. There is literally no trace of Hadrian Scalera, anywhere. You, me, and Nero are it for those who could identify him. Until . . .” He threw a photo up on the wall. “Someone got this picture of you, Hadrian. Do you recognize it?”
Hadrian shook his head. “No, but I’d say it’s about a year ago.”
Jayne frowned. “How do you know?”
“The background. It’s a Caronese city. Wasn’t there long . . . maybe two months. About a year ago.”
Syn studied the angle of it. “Who took the picture?”
Hadrian shrugged. “I’ve never seen it before, and I am not one to pose for anyone. I know better.”
