Athena’s Ashes (Star Thief Chronicles #2)(21)
Author: Jamie Grey

Renna shrugged, glancing back at the man. “Fine. I was just hoping to blow off some steam. A good fight always settles my nerves.” A good screw was even better, but Finn was safely tucked away in one of Viktis’s safehouses. Hopefully.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll have a fight on our hands before we know it. Now behave.”

The man followed them for half a block, but when Renna didn’t respond to his taunts and name-calling, he fell back and left them alone. They cleared the slums, sped through the market, and headed for the alley across from the bunker.

“Over here.” Renna crouched behind a stack of supply boxes and studied the building. The door was made of thick, worn wood with a heavy electrolock. It was an older model but still serviceable. It would take Renna at least sixty seconds to hack it, time they couldn’t spare if they were trying to escape. She’d have to figure out a way to disable it on the way in if she could.

Pain sliced across her vision, and she gasped, squeezing her eyes shut against the throbbing. Images flashed through her mind, like the implant was searching for a workaround to the lock problem.

Finally, it focused on the lock’s base, showing a glowing four-digit lockcode. Renna studied the image. There! A switch to keep the lock from engaging if you entered the right code. Now she had the right code. And a f**king headache. But at least it seemed like the implant was trying to be helpful. Now if she could only get the hang of using it.

“You all right?” Jayla asked, studying Renna’s pale face with a frown.

“I’ve been better. Let’s get this over with.” Renna shoved the commander forward, and they crossed the street. At the door, she quickly input the code before pressing the comm button on the door.

Her heart felt like it was trying to claw its way through her chest, and she took a deep breath to get it under control. Her acting skills would have to be impeccable for this one.

“Who is it?” a gruff male voice called. “What do you want?”

“I have a delivery.”

“We don’t need no deliveries. Go away.”

She pitched her voice to sound slightly annoyed. “Look, I don’t have time to stand here all day. Pallas told me I’d get fifty-thousand credits for any MYTH officer.”

“Pallas did?” He sounded confused, but a moment later, there was a buzz as the door slid open. Two men stood on the other side, guns pointed at Renna and Jayla. Galivant model rifles if she wasn’t mistaken. The high-tech guns were unusual for merc gangs who operated in this part of the galaxy. Someone was paying them very well.

A heavy man with sandy hair and a jagged scar across his cheek glowered at them from inside. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“Dene Hally. I’m a merc from Anat. Caught me a MYTH commander when I was escaping the planet last week.” Renna jerked her head at Jayla. “Found out she’s some sort of leader there. Pretty sure Pallas will pay extra for this one.”

The man frowned, his thick mustache covering his upper lip like a fuzzy caterpillar. “Pallas didn’t say nothin’ about more deliveries.”

“You think I’m lying? Look at the woman’s uniform. Can’t you put her with the others and pay me? I’ll be on my way, and you’ll get the credit.”

He exchanged a glance with one of the other men, who lowered his weapon. “Can’t hurt, I suppose. Take her away.”

Renna stepped in front of her bounty. “I don’t think so. Money first. You know how this works, handsome.” She gave him a sweet smile and let her gaze sweep the bunker’s entryway. There was a small room off the entrance she guessed was the security room, and another a bit farther in that probably led into the main body of the bunker. That had to be where they were holding Dr. Samil and the MYTH med team.

Now if she only knew where Pallas was.

She waited for the buzz of her implant to scan the building for heat signatures or alternate entrances, but nothing happened. Of course it wasn’t working now. She was going to have to do this the hard way.

“Quite the setup you guys have here.” She studied the room more overtly before letting her gaze travel up and down the man’s beefy body. Renna leaned forward suggestively. “Pallas must really trust you to put you in charge.”

Despite his obvious suspicion, the man puffed out his chest. “And I won’t do anything to jeopardize that trust.”

“Good man.” She stepped through the doorway and pulled Jayla with her. Another step and she was close enough to touch the man’s arm. “I didn’t catch your name, handsome.”

His face flushed, and he jerked away. “It’s Rico. But keep your distance. I need authorization from the boss before I pay you anything.”

“Pallas keeps tight tabs on the purse strings, eh?” Renna leaned against the cool steel wall and crossed her arms, ignoring the two men with their guns still trained on her.

“Nah, Pallas is too busy to worry about mercs begging for credits. One of the other men is in charge here.” Rico jerked his head toward the back. “Chrandy, go get him.”

The man closest to the door disappeared through it, but not before Renna caught a glimpse of the wide open space of the bunker behind him. Completely empty.

What the hell? Usually these things were used as warehouses, stuffed full of supplies and people. She snapped her attention back to Rico. “So tell me, how’d you get involved in all this? Pallas doesn’t exactly recruit on the open merc channels.”

“I ran with Arker’s gang in the Apollo system. A few years back, Pallas contacted us to see if we wanted some extra work. I ended up staying after the job was done.”

“Smart man.” This time when she inched closer, the man didn’t even flinch. “And what happened to Arker? I’m assuming he didn’t like you defecting.”

The man grinned wolfishly. “Pallas let me take over his territory after we killed him. It was time for new management in that sector anyway.”

“Brutal. I like it.” She was close enough now to run a hand down his arm. “I wish I would have met you before I joined up with Viktis Korrik. What an ass.”

Rico growled. “That Ileth stole my f**king ship. I’d do anything to get back at him.”

“How come I’m not surprised?” Renna laughed lightly. “Viktis isn’t exactly good at making friends.”

She sucked on her lower lip, a move that usually didn’t disappoint. Rico’s gaze drifted lower, and she smiled slowly. “I have an idea.” Then she shook her head as if it was too stupid. “Never mind.”