Paredean Gambit (Short Story)

Paredean Gambit

Drake Vato

“It’s Detective Ehror,” I rasped over the commlink. Deus, why did my lineage have  that name in the first place? “I found Ostev. He’s dead.”

Startled silence came from the other side. A second later, her reaction followed.

“Dead? How? What happened?” The words cracked like gunshots.

I blew a slow breath to steady my voice. “It was self-defense. I traced him to a hotel in Golden Circuit. He didn’t expect me. Confrontation followed.”

The nightly draft spurted a sudden gust. My face got a splashful of rain. I leaned harder under the canopy of the public terminal.

“Unprofessional,” was her sole commentary. Her husky cadence from earlier was gone. Her voice was now all cold calculation. “And the data crystals?”

“I have them with me.” I didn’t like her tone. It confirmed my suspicions. But with bloodied hands and a renovated bank account it was too late to have regrets.

“You do? Excellent, Mr. Ehror,” she replied with sudden impatience. “Let us arrange the meeting details at once, and I’ll forward the rest of your payoff once the exchange is done.”

“Wait a minute!” This was going too fast. “Astoria, there are some details–”

“You were hired for ten thousand energy credits to find Kurt Ostev and the data crystals he was carrying,” Astoria said with pointed deliberation. “With two thousand energy credits in advance. That was the deal we agreed upon, was it not, Mr. Ehror?”

I clenched my teeth. This was getting bad. Still, I had it coming. Except for the second gust of wind, which splattered me with more rain.  “Look, I found some discrepancies,” I snapped. “Ostev had been in touch with an unknown accomplice who operates under the alias ‘Overwatch’. He wasn’t your run-of-the-fabber smuggler. I think he was tied with the Directorate’s intelligence services.”

The commlink was silent.

“Does this information pulse any askpings?” I prompted. Internally, my instincts were nearing Defcon One.

I heard Astoria make a thoughtful sound, evidently launched into some private reverie.

“Well then, back to business,” I said loudly, dialing up the false cheeriness to stratospheric levels. “I guess you want the data crystals back ASAP?”

“Yes, correct,” she replied instantly. So much for the honesty of her prior musing. “Hand me the data crystals, Mr. Ehror, and your contract will be complete.”

“Great, can’t wait to sleep in a warm bed,” I said, suppressing a yawn. It was only a half-act.

The location she picked was a familiar speakeasy in the eastern part of town. Her choice was solid. Just the right mix of clandestine and open.

“Is there anything else?” Astoria asked in the end. Polite formality.

I’ve never been one for subtleties. “Uh, yes, one more thing. Did you know Ostev had been affiliated with the UTH?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Don’t be late, Mr. Ehror.” Astoria disconnected.

Rainfall invaded the ensuing silence. I reached into the trenchcoat’s pocket. My gauntleted hand closed around three small entities. The data crystals.

Take the money. Walk away. Don’t get involved. It was none of my business what the crystals contained.

Yet I had killed somebody to get them.

I’d done so before. Once in cold blood, too. Yet I left my old life exactly because of that: gun-toting thuggery no longer held any appeal for me.

And now here I was. Suckered by a proverbial femme fatale into a blindsided job. High pay, no details, straightforward task. The only remaining part was the catch – and Astoria’s angle.

Throw in potential interstellar espionage for extra spice.

I looked at the terminal’s amber holohaptic screen. User disconnected. The v-address she’d given me was audio-only. Another red flag. I had a whole collection of them so far.

The data crystals felt smooth and inviting. Like a forbidden fruit. Or a secret revelation awaiting discovery. A thought struck me.

Why not both?

Astoria knew I was at the other end of town. The subway and the monorail were unreliable even on the best of nights. Being dead broke, I owned no car. Taxis were a foreign concept in City One: unfathomable if rich, unaffordable if poor. A few hours difference still gave a plausible alibi.

Time to see what Kurt Ostev died for.

#

Luck befell me a few blocks away from Dreadnought Boulevard. I caught the monorail. I spent the air-conditioned ride wringing my trenchcoat and brim-hat. The resulting dryness was dubious. Ditto for the silence of my internal complainer.

I headed downtown. My contact was a vraizer, and she was the only one who could crack the crystals. Well. Maybe she wasn’t that special. But my ‘infosec experts’ directory began and ended with her number.

Minutes later, I walked amid glassteel shadows. Emptiness gazed at me from the darkened buildings and puddle-infested streets. Pareden had never recovered from the Supremacy Wars. I felt I’d never escaped my past, too.

Her den was hidden among shuttered storefronts at a dead-end plaza. One of the lots was unlocked. Inside, the secondary threshold was equally flimsy. She believed in mobility, not entrenchment.

Beyond the abandoned store was her real sanctum. The glare of holohaptic screens was everywhere. Portable servers and nanodrives cluttered the physical layout. A lone fabber was in the process of compiling dinner.

“Always the worst timing, eh, Comodo?”

I winced. My first name wasn’t great either. She was just coming out of the shower, gun in hand. Paranoia was like that. Life-extending, I mean.

“And you’re ever vigilant, Limonique,” I said half-heartedly. She scowled at her full name. We had that in common. “I need your help.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she hissed. “I just showered, Com! I ain’t getting back in netspace. Do you know how grimy the body gets while you play god in VR?”

“This is serious, Lim. I–”

“Heard you the first time.” She sighed and flopped on her small tidy bed. The gun didn’t leave her hand. “I’m just done for the night.”

“I can pay you this time.”

Her head shot up. She stared at me. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone back.”

“No,” I said, doffing my hat. “But I want to know what I’ve gotten myself into.” I pulled out the data crystals.

Lim fixed them like a handful of grenades. “Gimme a minute to dress. Have some ramen.”

#

Moments later, she was in full swing at her workstation. “This definitely isn’t a standard encryption. Looks like Directorate-level. Maybe ultracorp. Consortium or Union, even.”

I tried not to think about the last part. Lim’s ample bust was straining the fabric of her smartclos. I knew it was a trick, but dammit, it worked every time. I had a hard time focusing on the onscreen action. Hell of a way to protect one’s trade secrets.

“Ok, the good news are, there’re no quantum ciphers involved. No need to get into dedicated simulspace. Checking for hardwired security… ok, this is weird,” Lim remarked. “The data is hot-coded. Any unauthorized access will destroy the physical carrier.”

“Can you bypass it?” I asked cautiously.

Lim pouted. “If I had a month, sure. Though I figure the deadline is much shorter. Gimme a nanosec.” She put on a pair of wide shades and drifted into full-immersion VR.

While I waited, I took the opportunity to admire her curves without repercussion.

Finally, Lim logged off with results. “Couldn’t crack it,” she said, her skin damp with sweat. “Yet I coaxed it enough so we can at least access the data in read-only mode. This better be good, Com, ’cause I need another shower.”

“You and me both,” I muttered. My socks were still wet from all the puddles I’d failed to dodge.

Lim called up a large holoscreen, and streamed the first data crystal.

It was an audiovisual recording. The feed showed a very spacious room, perhaps a top-tier condo from one of the arcologies downtown. Yet the mesmerizing part was the action itself.

A human and a dragon were going at it. Intimately.

“Dayum, dude!” Lim gaped. “This is some stellar stuff. Dragons have always been kinda hot… Wait, is that General Vanraaf?!”

I nodded mutely. My vision darkened. This wasn’t a random sex tape. It featured General Vanraaf, Pareden’s foremost bioconservative and ambassador of the Union of True Humanity, giving a passionate blowjob to a dragon. This was blackmail.

The Directorate, the Consortium, even the bloody Radiant Knights – everyone would scramble for this data. This could spark an interstellar war.

Of course, the chances of this being a real dragon were slim. Although, even if the creature was an AVR construct, the ramifications didn’t change one bit. As I watched the datastream, an old specter rose in the recesses of my mind. I silently prayed for this to be a grim coincidence and nothing more.

Knowing my luck, the dragon probably wasn’t a clever hologram or a full-scale drone.

“Shut it down,” I said in a low, rough voice.

Lim turned off the datastream. “Com?” she said uncertainly.

“How much?” I asked.

She glanced at the screen. “You don’t owe me anything,” she said softly. “Com, is there any way I can help?”

Ten thousand energy credits gave a lot of moral latitude. I thought I could stay ahead of the game. I’d already killed someone in pursuit of that fallacy. But this was too much. Tangling with the UTH at this level would be my undoing. Worse, it could get Lim killed. This was above my paygrade even if a million credits were involved.

Time to walk away.

“I’m pulling out,” I told Lim. “As soon as I walk out the door, wipe the place down and find a new pad. We can’t take any chances.”

Lim bit her lip and nodded. She took the data crystals from the access hub and handed them to me. She watched me silently, arms crossed, as I prepared to leave. I was at the door when she spoke. “You know, you never asked me out.”

I turned, confused. “That came a bit out of nowhere.”

Lim smirked, yet her gaze was wistful. “Ten years ago, when I was a cool gal in search of hot guys, you once told me: ‘When this is over, I’m asking you out and I hope you say yes.‘ To which I replied: ‘Do it now, or don’t do it at all.’ But you only shook your head and left. Tell me now, Com, why am I still waiting?”

I looked at her. I liked her round face and her expressive eyes. Her candy-pink shoulder-length hair conflicted with the whole mix, yet trailing my gaze downward I could see only pleasing elements. Beyond that, I liked her company. She was sharp enough for both of us.

Yet I’d never told her my whole story. She’d figured out some of it, but the dark details were only mine to tell. Would she still have waited for me if she had known?

Only one way to find out.

“Let’s have–” I glanced at my omnitool, “–an early breakfast at Konrad’s, after ten hours? How’s that?”

Lim’s eyes lit up. “Deal,” she said. “On one condition: during the breakfast, you’ll refrain from ogling my breasts. Regardless of my attire.”

I might’ve groaned. Can’t say for sure, since my secondary CPU was suddenly hogging system resources. I left before I could forget the mortal peril I was in.

And just like that, I had a date. Now I just needed to survive the night.

#

Outside, the rain was still ever-present. The vapor supercondensers were overdriving tonight. Probably another geochemical spill. Or the local volcano was acting fiery again. Bloody climatosphere.

The cold wetness injected back my sense. What was I thinking? I couldn’t get involved with Lim. Not now. Not ever. Her looks and smarts should’ve won her a fetching prize by now. She didn’t deserve a marginalized has-been whose issues alternated between petty and life-threatening.

I had to dump the crystals and skip town. The question was whether to collect from Astoria first or go straight to the cosmodrome. I set a brisk pace towards the monorail station.

The ambush happened before I even left the plaza.

Saw two shadows beelining from the nearest alley. I veered, but two more barred my way. In an eyeblink, I was caught in a crossfire, the four of them already pulling out hot iron. I had just enough time to dive behind an ad pylon when the bullets started flying.

The bastards were using automatic weaponry. Tactical network too. I was pinned down and cut off from any escape route. Fucking professionals. I activated my energy gauntlet and took a few blind shots. An empty show of resistance. We all knew the outcome already.

The inevitable was interrupted by the screech of heavy tires. A cargo van stormed into the plaza, instantly redirecting the fusillade to itself. The van skidded to a halt a yard away, dousing me with a wave of rainwater.

The side door opened. “GET IN!” a synthetic voice boomed, probably an AI operator or somebody behind a voice-distortion mask.

It was a split-second decision. Out of the frying pan into an unknown fire? Sure. The pan was killing me anyway.

I leapt into the van’s open door and the vehicle’s engine roared. The frame rang but held, a soothing tumult of bullet hail meeting armor reinforcement. The door closed automatically, leaving me in darkness.

Then I was sped away from my death, to an unknown destination.

#

As my heartbeat settled, I took stock of the situation. The van’s cargo hold wasn’t separated from the cabin. There was no one in the driving seat. Yet the windshield’s AR was alight with data. Remote control.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked aloud. I kept the energy gauntlet active, just in case.

“This connection isn’t secure,” came the reply. The van was speeding down the city streets as if chased.

This didn’t sit well with me. “I want to get out,” I said, glaring at the vacant dashboard.

“I understand. But we need to hurry– if they intercept the vehicle–“

“I want to get out. Now.”

“You need to trust me,” the voice said quickly. “You aren’t safe yet, the signal–“

“I’ll say it one last time,” I said gravely. “Let me. Out. Now.” I prepared to blast the dashboard.

To my surprise, the van hit the brakes. I tumbled, suddenly without footing. Seconds later, the side door opened.

I stared dumbly at the pouring rain outside. The street was empty. What now? I glanced askance at the dashboard. Was this a ruse?

The engine idled. The rain fell steadily. Nothing happened.

“Okay, get us outta here,” I said tiredly, rubbing my face.

The door closed. The van accelerated again.

I sagged down. I was soaking wet, and with the adrenaline gone, I began to shiver. The van drove south, toward the city’s outskirts. My mysterious savior didn’t call again. I wasn’t feeling chatty either. I was too busy thinking if Lim had made it out before they could get her.

Later, the van finally pulled over. I got outside. It wasn’t raining here. I was at an abandoned supercondenser complex, the one that got bombed by anti-war radicals a while back. Grey radiance from the city’s glow bathed the skies. The view was nice.

The main building’s heavy gate began to roll open. The van entered the recess. I followed on foot, wary of what I might encounter. The interior was dark. The gate closed. I fumbled for my omnitool’s torch.

“Oh, right, you can’t see. Give me a moment to turn the lights.”

I went blind at the sudden onslaught of illumination. I was in the condenser’s central silo. Straining my eyes, I looked around.

Then I saw it.

A dragon.

Its motions were fluid and powerful. Its scales were crimson midnight, its eyes, molten gold. Its whole being radiated raw majesty. I stood, frozen in wonder.

Dragons being real, sapient creatures was common knowledge across the galaxy. Yet so was knowing that a billion energy credits existed. Actually meeting a dragon? It was like opening your digital wallet and seeing one billion credits inside.

Deusdammit, I should stop thinking like a bloody mercenary.

“Greetings. Are you Detective Comodo Ehror?” the dragon asked.

“Erm, ah, I might be?…” I said lamely.

“Honored to meet you. I am Tenemel,” the dragon said. Its voice was sonorous and strangely resonant, as if two beings spoke at once – one feminine, the other masculine.

Huh, well now. A dragon, and a bi-gendered one at that.

“Oh, you’re wet all over,” Tenemel continued. “Are you disease-resistant and cold-tolerance augmented? I can search for some spare clothes if you’re in environmental danger.”

“Well… yeah… that’d be great,” I said, my mind still out of sync with my… everything.

“Come, let’s have a look in the lockers.”

I was led to one side of the silo, where a bunch of piled storage boxes and a couple of portable fabbers formed a small living area. One of the boxes contained spare suits of smart clothing. Wow. I could take one of those? I looked at Tenemel, and the dragon nodded. However, shi kept staring at me with those golden eyes.

“I, uh, may need some… privacy,” I hedged. Great Cosmos. There goes my reputation as a hard-nosed tough guy.

“Ah. Of course. I forgot about the human ritual of body covering.” Tenemel spun at once, leaving me to stare at hir broad, spiky back.

That’s not… Nevermind.

Time to gather my wits.

I dressed quietly, and examined Tenemel surreptitiously. The dragon wasn’t very big – for hir kind – outsizing the cargo van by two-to-one. Tenemel’s wings mantled and fidgeted, and hir limbs were tense, as if ready to spring at any moment. I finished changing. Deus, it was good to be dry again. I paired my omnitool with the smartclos and adjusted them to suit my tastes. Lastly, I put back my trenchcoat and brim-hat: they were kinda trademark.

When I called Tenemel’s attention, the dragon turned eagerly.

“Do you have the data crystals?” shi asked.

My mood plummeted. I remembered how I’d been brought here in the first place.

Was Lim still alive?

“Did you make that sex footage?” I asked, my voice suddenly hardening.

“I was the one responsible for it, yes,” Tenemel replied.

“Why?” I asked. “Why are you trying to blackmail General Vanraaf? Do you have no self-preservation instinct?!” I shouted. “Do you know how dangerous the Union is? Do you know what they do to dragons?? The whole galaxy wants a piece of your kind! And I don’t mean kinky fantasies. I’m talking literal pieces! They want to make you into weapons! To commit genocide on you and through you!” I paused, gasping for breath. “And here you are, threatening the most dangerous person on this planet, who can vanish you in a flash. Vanraaf controls a whole starfleet, bloody stars! Tell me, are you aware of how fucking deep at risk your life is?”

I finished my tirade. Tenemel watched me, eyes wide and alert. I was just as surprised at my outburst.

The dragon lowered hir gaze. “Yes, I’m aware of the risks,” shi said. “But it’s my plan, and I’m sticking to it. I have no other choice. I want to save my progenitors… my parents.”

“Your– WHAT?”

“My parents,” Tenemel repeated, twin voice hollow. “They were taken from me, a long time ago.”

I gagged. This was not happening. It wasn’t possible. They… then again… “Can you describe your parents?”

Tenemel cast me a curious look, yet shi obliged. Hir answer was plain and to the point. When shi finished, I toppled onto the nearest storage box. The past had finally caught up with me.

“What happened?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Two decades ago,” Tenemel began, “my progenitors were abducted. I was a mere hatchling then. Later, I learned they had been imprisoned at a secret location to have their blood extracted for the production of veronite: one of the strongest alloys in the galaxy.

“After searching for many years, I finally learned it had been the Union military who’d taken my progenitors,” Tenemel continued. “I tracked them to this colony world, Pareden. I asked for help to free my progenitors. I went to the Radiant Knights. They sent a search party, but it never returned.”

I kept my expression neutral by sheer willpower. I had been on the other side of that story. At the time, I’d worked for the Union’s intelligence services. I’d been one of those tasked with keeping the dragons hidden. When the Knights had come too close, we’d killed them. This had angered their entire order. We’d had to keep a low profile for a very long time, while Pareden’s skies had literally swarmed with starships.

I still remembered the sorrow in their eyes. Not for their forfeited lives; it was for those who they would never rescue.

The worst part was, Tenemel’s parents were merely two of many dragons who’d been abducted throughout the decades by both the Union and the Consortium.

“When I had no other options left,” Tenemel said, “I decided to act on my own. I knew where my progenitors were. I knew who could release them: General Vanraaf.” Tenemel growled. “If I could get close to him somehow, I knew I could save mom and dad. I waited and plotted for years. Then the Goddess smiled upon me.”

Warning alarms blared in my head. “How?” I asked cautiously.

“I found a human female, Astoria. She agreed to help me,” Tenemel said. “She spoke about a male named Ostev, who could arrange a meeting with General Vanraaf. Then the three of us formed a plan.”

“To have sex with him and record it,” I nodded. “Still, how did you know Vanraaf had a fetish for non-humans? His tastes are a well-kept secret.”

Tenemel shrugged hir wings. “Astoria knew. She also helped mitigate the risks of having General Vanraaf abduct me too.”

There it was. Her name again. I began to image an ugly scenario. If I was right, there was no room for error. Ha-ha. Ehror erring on the side of error. Lousy pun.

Something nagged at me.

“How did you find me?” I asked. “Back there when you saved my life.”

“Well, Astoria tagged you with a nanoswarm,” Tenemel said. “After Ostev went dark, we couldn’t afford to trust another blindly. I watched you the whole night. However, I… I think you are a good person,” the dragon added apologetically.

That’s it. Astoria had an ulterior motive. Okay, I suspected that before. Yet now I was certain her agenda was malicious. I opened my mouth to warn Tenemel, but the silo’s gate began to open.

A nondescript black car entered. The driver exited. It was Astoria.

She definitely looked the cliché part: tall, supple, long-limbed, with lush, dark hair. I’d bet she was an Idoru biomorph, though she could be an augmented baseline human.

“Nell, I told you to keep the lights off! We can be spotted while the gate is open and–” Astoria stopped mid-sentence. “Ah. Mr. Ehror. What a surprise.”

“Likewise,” I drawled.

“You never came to the meeting,” she chided. “I started contemplating finding a replacement.”

“Apologies for the unprofessional behavior,” I said, deadpan. “I was… accosted, while conducting my business. Hopefully it won’t be a repeat offense.”

“Charming,” Astoria scoffed. “Do you have the crystals?”

“The question of the night, eh?” I smirked. I patted the trenchcoat’s pocket. “I have them right here.”

Astoria nodded impatiently. “Splendid. Now–”

“Wait a wingbeat,” Tenemel broke in. “Astoria, why are you here? I haven’t called you. How–”

“I called her here.”

Astoria and Tenemel both turned to me. Astoria pursed her lips. “And why?” she prompted.

She’d been on the move the minute my coordinates had raced across town. I knew that much. Whatever explanation she offered for her arrival, it’d be dragoncrap. The point was to cut her off with my own brand of saurial shittery.

“I heard Tenemel’s story,” I said firmly. “And if it’s true, then there isn’t much time. General Vanraaf probably knows about the recordings by now. His agents will turn the colony upside down to find the data and anyone connected to it. We must act now, if we want this blackmail to work.”

“We?” Astoria narrowed her eyes.

“Yes,” I said. “I want to help save Tenemel’s parents.”

Silence. Astoria and me stared at each other. Tenemel stood off to the side, looking small for somebody so big. I couldn’t expose Astoria’s ploy. She had the dragon’s trust and I was a newcomer. Yet neither could she call my bluff. That would’ve opened her to awkward questioning. The moment stretched.

“Thank you, Comodo Ehror,” Tenemel murmured at last.

My apparent lie was an illusion. Not only had my past actions resulted in the death and slavery of innocents, they had also put a young person in peril. A person who wanted nothing more than to reunite with hir kin.

For once, I wanted to do the right thing.

It was time to face my past and make a different choice.

“We need to contact Vanraaf,” I said. “Arrange a handover meeting. The data crystals in exchange for Tenemel’s parents. We do it right now. Any objections?”

“No,” Tenemel said instantly.

“No,” Astoria acquiesced, arms crossed.

“Wonderful.” I almost clapped my hands. Keep it together, Com. “Do you know any v-addresses through which we can make contact?” I kept my expression carefully blank.

“We have the contacts of the Union embassy and Vanraaf’s personal secretary,” Astoria said reluctantly.

“Give me the secretary’s contact. It’ll have to do.” I waited for Astoria to beam me the data. “Ok. This might take while. Get yourselves comfortable while I work my charms.” I winked at them and walked away.

I went next to the parked cars and pretended to fiddle with my omnitool. I glanced casually in Astoria and Tenemel’s direction. The dragon brimmed with barely contained excitement, chatting with Astoria. She conversed with a friendly smile, yet she met my gaze with a cold look.

I sighed, and activated the commlink. This was already a long night.

I ignored the v-address Astoria had given me. I was no longer in the tradecraft loop, yet I still knew the back channels. Several minutes later, I had inside access and a private commlink number. The system asked me for a callsign ID. I pondered for a moment. I voted for the direct approach and input Sex Tape.

It took them three rings to pick up.

“How the fuck do you have this number?!?” a harsh baritone growled over the commlink.

“General Vanraaf, I presume?” I said calmly. “Please listen carefully. I have an offer for you.”

#

The exchange was to happen on the cosmodrome at dawn. Nice, open space. Plus plenty of sensor spimes, yet without unnecessary crowds.

We simply had to get there alive.

I took a while to do some preparations. Then I told Tenemel to fly ahead. The dragon’s aerial traversal would stir up the local authorities just enough to discourage the Union from trying anything overt. Plus dragons were extremely hardy creatures. I didn’t worry – too much – about Tenemel.

That left me and Astoria. I offered to take the cargo van, since it was armored. She consented without a word. She also didn’t offer to drive.

Outside, the dark clouds had shifted. Muffled thunder rumbled overhead. Rain was coming here. Perhaps it was leaving the city then. Hopefully. I drove the van onto the main road and we left the ruined supercondenser complex behind.

As soon as we reached the outskirts, the steady drum of water engulfed us. The silence on the inside stretched. I waited.

“You know, Mr. Ehror, I still haven’t paid you for the retrieval of the data crystals,” Astoria said at last. She was looking away, propped by the window.

“Heh, don’t let me stop you,” I quipped. “I’m sure you have stable datalinks access. My bank account’s still active.”

“Well, you haven’t actually delivered the crystals,” she said casually. “They’re in your pocket.”

“Moot point given the circumstances, don’t you think?”

Astoria snorted. “Not really. Tell me, Mr. Ehror. What would you say if I told you I’d triple your payment in exchange for giving me the crystals right now, stopping the vehicle, leaving, and never looking back?”

“Pretty confident I’d say ‘no’.” I checked the navigation. The cosmodrome was only a few kilometers away.

“Be reasonable, Mr. Ehror. We can resolve the matter intelligently. Let me offer you five times the initial amount.”

I made a show of thinking about it. “Nah. The answer’s still ‘no’.”

Astoria smirked at me. I watched her from the corner of my eye, ready and waiting. My energy gauntlet was preactivated, humming quietly. The moment she decided to make a move, I’d blast her with a non-lethal charge.

Time for the last dance.

I heard a faint ‘pop’. Instantly, I whirled my hand.

But the energy gauntlet’s charge didn’t zap.

Astoria’s eyes were dilated and glowing. Her own hand held a gun. Her gaze focused again, and she gave me a patronizing smile. She’d hacked my gauntlet.

Fucking augmented cyborgs.

“Game over, Mr. Ehror.”

I sighed bitterly. “So, you Directorate or Consortium?”

“Why not Union?”

“Because you would’ve logged off the dragon already.”

She nodded condescendingly.

“Personally, I’d bet on Consortium. The Directorate rarely employs single-use assets, like random bankrupt detectives.”

“My, my, how perceptive you are,” Astoria said.

“How did you recruit Ostev?” I asked. “He was playing for the other team.”

“The usual,” Astoria shrugged. “We dug up some old dirt on him. Dangled credits to sweeten the pot. But the bastard grew greedy. Worse, he slipped us somehow.” Astoria lifted the gun. “Do we end this now, or are you going the typical ‘why me’ route?”

I gave her a crooked smile. The cosmodrome’s highway was just up ahead. “I know why you hired me. I was a covert agent once. You thought I’m like you. You thought I’d play by the same rules: an eye for an eye, the endless swish of cloaks and daggers in the dark… It’s how your world operates.

“However, I’m not part of that world anymore.”

“Poetic,” Astoria remarked. “Yet the time for eloquence has passed, Mr. Ehror.” Her finger hugged the trigger.

“You’ll shoot me while I’m driving? At this speed? In the rain?”

“Remote control, remember?” Astoria said. “I need to send but a single command.”

I glanced ahead. We were on the highway now. The cosmodrome was visible in the distance. I’ve stalled enough.

“Allow me first,” I said, and swerved sharply.

The monstrous crunching of torn safety barriers drowned out the gun report. Something slapped me to one side. My head whipped and hit something hard.

The last thing I saw was wet, oncoming tarmac.

#

Unfinished business.

When I came to, I could barely move. I slowly craned my head. Astoria had tumbled into the cargo hold. Her neck was broken.

No time for petty triumphs. I struggled to get out. Every move sent a surge of pain. At last I managed to crawl out.

The van had crashed topside down. I was surrounded only by quiescent burble. Every breath was a battle. I took a step and something stabbed me. My hand came away red. Abdominal shot. The smartclos had sealed the wound partially. But the clock was still ticking.

The cosmodrome was a kilometer away. Felt like trudging to the afterlife. My fist closed in the trenchcoat’s pocket. I focused on Tenemel and hir parents. Their fate still depended on me. I snarled at the pain and forced myself forward.

Die later. Do right­ – now.

When I reached the cosmodrome, the skies had begun to lighten. I headed toward the launchpads. Someone called. I ignored them. Either they knew who I was, or would know shortly.

A large starship was docked ahead. It was ugly and utilitarian: a grey box with giant engines. Commandos in powered armor swarmed the whole area. Pareden was in Consortium territory. Normally, the Union would’ve never put on such a show of force at a critical infrastructure. Yet the stakes were high enough now for the UTH to risk a diplomatic scandal.

I spotted Tenemel’s towering figure among the crowd. The dragon was in obvious distress. Couldn’t blame hir. Not farther, a broad-shouldered man in a uniform stood surrounded by a cadre of soldiers. His expression was one of cold fury. General Vanraaf.

Using my last strength, I composed myself. Then I approached the UTH’s ambassador.

“Beautiful morning, ain’t it?” I said when I was within hearing distance.

“The crystals. Now.” General Vanraaf was totally on point. He hadn’t changed much.

“Not so fast, General.” I motioned toward my associate. “We see Tenemel’s parents first.”

Vanraaf glowered at me. I’d seen combat lasers weaker than his eyes. “Fine.” He spoke into his commlink. “Disable the collars. Release the beasts.”

The starship opened its main bay. The UTH commandos trained their weapons. Two huge shapes slowly exited the bay.

Tenemel roared with joy and rushed forward. The commandos in hir path barely dodged aside. The other dragons growled in surprise. Tenemel bowled into them, whirling limbs and making happy noises. The parents lowered their snouts to nuzzle their child.

The family was reunited.

“The crystals.” Vanraaf’s voice cut like obsidian.

I forced myself to look away from the trio of dragons. “Of course.” I reached into my pocket and took out the data crystals. “Here you go.” I handed them to the nearest commando.

Tenemel and hir parents spread their wings, preparing to leave. Tenemel glanced at me. In hir parting gaze, I found what I’d sought: I’d done the right thing. I lifted a thumb in reply. Too late did I realize this was a bit cheesy for a farewell gesture.

The dragons took flight.

I was left alone with a battalion of UTH soldiers.

The rain finally slowed down, then stopped. The clouds took on a silvery sheen as dawn came. A new day was beginning.

“General, we’ve confirmed the data,” said the commando whom I’d given the crystals. Several weapons suddenly turned to me.

“Let me handle this,” Vanraaf snapped. “Give Starfarer the order to engage aerial targets.”

“Understood, General.”

Vanraaf drew his sidearm and pointed it at me.

I smiled tiredly, fighting against my fading vision. “I wouldn’t do it if I were you,” I said. “Me and the flying bunch have deadtyr’s switches.”

“Flat lie,” Vanraaf snapped. But he didn’t shoot.

“Go ahead and check then,” I taunted him. I felt no fear. I was too busy dying. Any other time, I’d be shaking like an alley thug’s vibroknife.

“What??” Vanraaf’s face twisted with anger. He stared at his frozen gun, as if the hand had suddenly developed a mind of its own. “The crystals were hot-coded! They couldn’t be copied without being destroyed! You’re lying!”

I sighed. Wasn’t even feigning it. “Why copy the files when you can copy the playback? Did you really not think about that, General? Honestly, those jokes about military intelligence are so on target sometimes.”

Vanraaf’s hand shook. His face was deep crimson. He wasn’t the shouting type, however. “That was not what we agreed upon!” he grated hoarsely.

“Neither was this,” I pointed at his gun. “But don’t worry. The dragons will be leaving the planet. They probably don’t care for revenge. Otherwise they would’ve tried to incinerate you on the spot.” I coughed. Damn. My time was up.

Then a thought struck me. Oh, this would be funny. “Me, on the other hand,” I began nonchalantly, though my words were slurred, “I’m not walking away without some help.” I waved a bloody hand. “So unless you want a major fubar on the datalinks today, I suggest you give me some triage.”

General Vanraaf stared at me as if I was mad. I, however, was too busy collapsing to the ground. If he called my bluff, that was the end of the road for me. Tenemel and hir parents too, probably.

The bluff worked, though. Vanraaf called for a medic. Moments later, I was under the care of advanced field systems, and my wounds were treated by nanoswarms and regenerative stimulants.

I still wasn’t in the clear, yet at least I’d be alive to figure a way out. Maybe I should’ve become a con instead of a private eye.

My commlink chimed. Moving carefully to not disturb the medics, I checked the omnitool. It was a bunch of pictures from Lim. She was teasing her date outfit.

She was alive.

“I don’t suppose someone could give me a ride to Konrad’s later?”

Edited by Kalin M. Nenov