“Good call, Bart. That’s her.” The woman glanced over her shoulder, and Fee saw Jaden Tris, eyes wide, staring at her.
“Hello, Jaden,” she said. “You’re fired.”
CHAPTER 29
“I didn’t knowit would go this way,” Jaden said as they bumped through the streets of Larga Ways in darkness.
They were in a cart that looked like some kind of maintenance module, and were being pushed along by the woman from the warehouse, Vira, and Bart.
Fee made a mental note to keep an eye on any such modules in the future, or at least make spot checks of them. It was a clever way of secretly transporting people through Larga Way’s streets, given they were pedestrian only zones. Only she and Tean Lee were allowed to use runners, and she tried to keep her personal use to a minimum. The only other exception was for the movement of items too heavy and difficult to deliver by foot, and permission had to be sought for that.
Using a large push cart was a very clever way around the rules.
“You knew enough,” Fee said, not prepared to give him any grace. “I’m sitting here in restraints, and we’re off to who knows where.”
“To the basement,” Jaden said, sounding glum. “It’s near Eazi’s workshop.”
“The basement?”
“Where Vira and her crew have been staying,” Jaden said.
“So you’ve been there?” Fee had initially thought Jaden was just passing on information, but it was looking more and more as if he was fully a part of the team.
“Once.” Jaden suddenly went quiet, as if he realized the hole he was digging for himself.
Of course, Rial had said he’d found Vira’s hideout. And it didn’t sound like either Bart or Vira realized it. Hopefully they wouldn’t be any the wiser until it was too late.
It was just too bad she’d been caught.
Should she be found by Hal or any of his team as a prisoner in this cart, it would be humiliating.
She would have to take her medicine, and whatever comments were going to come her way.
And no doubt Hal would be quite grumpy for some time.
So she might as well pump Jaden for what she could get out of him so this wasn’t an unmitigated disaster.
“How long have you been part of this plot?” she asked.
“Plot?” He sounded slightly outraged. “Do you know what Paxe did to this way station? People died. And then we lost ownership of the whole thing.”
“I know full well. I climbed under it and fixed it, remember?” Fee said.
There was a moment of silence.
“Maybe,” Jaden said. “But you got quite a reward for it, didn’t you? Control of the whole place.”
“The whole place wouldn’t still be here if I hadn’t.” There was no question about that, which is why no one had seriously pushed back against either her or Eazi taking the way station over.
“You wouldn’t have had the opportunity if Paxe hadn’t tried to kill you, and everyone on the way station with you.” Jaden sounded like it had just happened, that it was fresh in hismemory, not that it was a year ago and Paxe had apologized and made a peace offering.
“I’m the one he tried to kill, and I’ve forgiven him. I fully understand others who lost loved ones not feeling the same, because that’s their right and their choice, but you aren’t one of them. So what’s this about, Jaden?”
“About Balco becoming a free planet. No more bowing to the Grih. Running ourselves completely, and becoming a trade hub.” Jaden sounded as if he was trying to convince a customer to make a sale.
“You’re already a trade hub. And the Grih hardly interfere with the running of your planet. And whatever strategic benefit they get from your vassal status, they make up for in military protection.”
“Protection from whom?” Jaden asked. “The Garmman are more allies to us than the Grih are. If we have to bow to anyone, we should move the space boundary and give this area of space to the Garmman.”
