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Chapter 19

“Something’s wrong.”Karn increased power to his ship’s engine. The way Ivy’s communication cut off left him tense. Had Marcus stopped her from talking?

“Be careful with the ship,” Billy cautioned. “It’s a space plodder. It’s not made for speed.”

“We shouldn’t have taken this piece of crap. We should have stolen the one with weapons and warp drive. We’re useless in this thing.”

“Ivy could have figured things out for herself and decided she doesn’t need our help after all.”

“You heard her. She can’t fly. Look at that.” Karn pointed to the screen where Ivy’s ship erratically danced.

“Do you think she hit the wrong button?”

“I think her idiot ex-boyfriend woke up and discovered what she was doing. I can’t believe he wants to sell her in an alien auction. The guy is space crap.”

Billy glanced at him. “You really like Ivy. I’ve never seen you get so worked up over a chick.”

“She’s more than a chick. It’s hard to explain.” Karn pushed the engine until it whined.

“Don’t blow us up,” Billy said. “Ivy won’t be so fond of you if you’re floating around in space in lots of tiny bits.”

“Marcus could be hurting her.” Karn’s stomach clenched. If Marcus injured Ivy or their baby, he’d end him.

“We’re getting close,” Billy said. “We won’t be able to dock onto her ship until it’s stable. We need a secure airlock.”

“Unidentified shuttle, this is Prodigy. You are required to return to the station.” A sharp sounding male voice came over the comm.

Karn checked the screen and sighed as he saw a small dot closing in on them. “You’d think they’d have better things to do than chase us through space.”

Billy stared at the screen. “I missed them. I was too busy keeping watch on Ivy’s ship. What should we do?”

“Ignore them. They can hardly blow us out of space.”

“We did steal a ship and ignore their repeated requests to give them accurate information.”

“Unidentified shuttle. You are in breach of station protocol twenty-four. You are to return to Prodigy immediately.”

“Distract them,” Karn said.

“By doing what?”

“Be creative. Tell them what they want to hear.”

Billy shot a nervous glance at Karn before opening a comm line. “Greetings space travelers.”

Karn looked at him and shook his head.

Billy shrugged. “How can we welcome you on this beautiful space evening?”

“Identify yourself.”

“I am a new recruit to the growing army of top class intelligence gatherers. We are a dedicated and hardworking team ensuring wrongs are righted and justice is done.”

Karn groaned and ran a hand over his face.

Billy muted his comm. “What? You told me to be creative.”

“Yes, but not act like some crazy person. Tell them you’re sorry and a dumb human who forgot to log your flight plan.”