That was a very good idea, Fee decided. She gave a slow nod to Tean Lee, who couldn’t hear Eazi’s side of the conversation. “He’s on patrol right now,” she said, “but I can see if it’s possible to take a runner up to theIllium.”
“That would give me some space to hunt,” Tean Lee said, pushing back his chair and standing. “Let me know if it’s possible, and the sooner the better.”
“I will.” Fiona saw him out, and then leaned back against the front door, listening to him run down the stairs.
“I either need to get more sensitive listening devices in the bars, or he made that up,” Eazi said.
Fiona’s gaze jerked to the lens set up on the ceiling. “I hadn’t considered he could be lying.” She frowned. “Why would he?”
“To get you off the way station.” Eazi sounded like he was chomping massive amounts of data in the background.
“I was about to get off the way station anyway,” she said. “So let’s make him think I’m chilling with Hal on theIllium, and instead I’ll go down to Balco, meet with Hi-Lan Baruke, and you can investigate the Garmman, and the investigator himself.”
“You’ll need some protection on Balco, too,” Eazi said.
“I’ll stock up on special equipment,” Fee assured him. “And if I know Hal, he’ll insist on giving me some bodyguards.”
Maybe he’d even come with her himself.
CHAPTER 2
“Lee saysthere’s a plot to kill you?” Hal Vakeri’s whole demeanor changed from one moment to the next. He was sitting in his office off the bridge of theIllium, connecting with her via visual comms.
“He says some of the Garmman traders have heard a rumor there’s a plot to kill me, and they’re worried it will make their life harder if it’s true.” Fee let her lips quirk a little, but for some reason, Hal didn’t look like he was seeing the funny side.
“What does Eazi say?” Hal asked, leaning forward, closer to the comms unit.
“Eazi says either he’s slipping, the enemy’s getting more wily, or Tean Lee’s making the whole thing up.” And Fee didn’t think Eazi was slipping.
“Only two of those options make sense,” Hal said, and she sent him a sunny smile of approval.
“Exactly.” She propped her chin up with her hand. “Lee wants me off the way station so he can hunt for more information without worrying about protecting me. And as it happens, I had just come to the decision I needed to go down to Balco literally minutes before he and I met.”
“Balco?” Hal frowned. “Because of the delays?”
“Yes. Lee doesn’t know about my plan to go to Balco, though, he suggested I spend some time with you on theIllium.” Fee made a tiny little face at that. She didn’t mean to, but she and Hal’s crew weren’t exactly super friendly, and spending time on theIlliumwith them would never be her favorite way to pass the time.
“It would probably be good for you to spend some time onboard,” Hal said, and from his expression, Fee guessed he’d seen the face she’d made and thought it was past time her and his crew’s differences were buried.
“Maybe,” she said, “but my idea is to pretend to go up with you on theIllium, and you can instead drop me off in Distani. That way Lee will think I’m with you, and no one will really know I’m on Balco.”
“Except everyone who sees you on Balco,” Hal said.
“I’ll have to give Hi-Lan Baruke a bit of warning, but I thought I’d do it once I’m down there. Keep a low profile, go incognito, do some sightseeing, and then appear for our meeting.” She wondered if she was being a little too optimistic about how all this would go.
“How will you go incognito? You’re . . . recognizable.” Hal was obviously trying to be diplomatic, but Fee had to admit her face had been broadcast more than a few times since the planets of the United Council had become her new home.
“I could walk around wearing a cloak with a hood. I can pass for a Grihan teenager like that, and there are a lot of Grihan expats down on Balco, aren’t there?” The population of Grih who’d decided to make Balco their home made up about ten percent of Balco’s population, Eazi had told her.
Hal stared at her for a beat. “I suppose you could do that.”
She lifted her brows. “But you’re skeptical?”
“I’m thinking about what could happen if the wrong person sees through your disguise. Eazi isn’t in control in Distani.” Herubbed at his forehead, and she wondered if she was causing him too much stress.
“I don’t want to upset you, but I have to go down and confront Hi-Lan Baruke face to face, and it has the side benefit that I won’t be up here, waiting for an attempt on my life. I’ll happily take some bodyguards down with me, if that will set your mind at rest.” She didn’t ask if he would be one of them. He was in charge of a battleship, and he answered to Grih Battle Center. His schedule was ruled by others, and she wouldn’t put him in a difficult position.
Certainly not now, when tensions were running so high.
