The one thing she was certain of was that he had ties to Cronus, either the gang or its leader.Gus had never been able to ascertain which.That connection was likely the reason behind Natalie’s untouchable status.No one on station crossed that gang or its leader lightly.
“You brought us all the way up here for food?”Caius asked with a slight frown.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Gus said, moving toward the restaurant.“The food is just a bonus.”
Seven
Therestaurant’sinteriorwasas humble and unassuming as its exterior.The only thing declaring it as a place where people could get food were the tables scattered randomly throughout the space.Most of which looked like they’d been sourced from the local scrap heap.Sheets of metal served as table tops.Some of the edges had been left raw and looked sharp enough to cut.Exhaust pipes had been welded together to create their bases.The chairs were whatever random item they could source.Metal buckets or cargo containers they’d picked up from around the station.
It had ambiance.Just not the type of ambiance you’d expect from an eatery.Welcoming it was not.
Functional, on the other hand.Gus supposed it was that.
She scanned the place, trying to pinpoint the source of the uneasy feeling sitting like a rock in her chest.
It was the smell, Gus realized.
There was none.The place smelled like everywhere else in the station.Air that was slightly stale.Maybe a little less rank from unwashed bodies but with the metallic, chemical scent pronouncing it as recycled.There was nothing to indicate that anything was cooking or had ever been cooking.
Once Gus latched onto one discrepancy, it was impossible not to notice other.Like the distinct lack of customers.
Or servers for that matter.
A portly woman with a friendly face shuffled through the door Gus suspected led into the kitchen.Her soft brown hair was gathered into a messy knot at the back of her head, a few tendrils escaping to frame her features.
Seeing Gus and the other two, she donned a surprised and delighted look, beckoning them forward.“Hello.Welcome.Come in, come in.”
Gus sneered internally as she moved forward.Someone was quite the actress.
No way was this woman taken by surprise.Not with number of security cameras Gus spotted on the way in.
She wouldn’t have thought a restaurant owner would be able to afford Nosco 5000’s.A top of the line brand favored by conglomerates.Supposedly, they were virtually unhackable.
It was a bit overkill for a place like Titan, making Gus wonder what the owner was hiding in those back rooms to justify such an expenditure.
“Are you closed?”Caius asked, looking around.
The woman flapped a hand.“No, no.Don’t be silly.Of course not.We’re just between rushes.It’ll pick up soon enough.”
That was lie number two.
Since Titan had no sun to help inhabitants distinguish between night and day, the station followed a twenty-four hour day cycle that was a holdover from humanity’s time on old Earth.This close to the evening shift change the place should have been crawling with humans, looking to pad their stomach with food before the next twelve hour shift.
It wasn’t.
That made Gus think the residents of this level already knew Natalie’s secret.That the restaurant wasn’t an actual restaurant with real food.Rather, it was a front for something much different.Something illegal and likely quite dangerous.
For a second, Gus questioned the impulse that had led her up here.She’d known there was something hinky about Kyle’s background, but since she never intended for their paths to cross in real life, she’d left it alone.
Now, she wished she hadn’t.Or at the very least that she hadn’t dragged Caius and Anandra along with her into a den of what was looking increasingly like thieves and murderers.
Anandra’s stomach chose that moment to grumble.
The woman gave him a sympathetic look.“Poor dear.He sounds hungry.Were you looking for a table?”
“Yes,” Gus answered, ignoring Caius’s stare and the way it was demanding she answer no.
Caius could huff and puff as much as he wanted, Gus had her reasons for staying.
