Razov

RAZOV

The spot ‘my' contact picked out for himself wasn't half bad. By that, I mean he didn't have a huge amount of space but he did have a view of it. As in a porthole looking out onto the cosmos.

Windows, such as they are, don't appear on the station much. It's rumored that the Uune see them as a structural weakness, and the ones that exist serve some arcane purpose known only to them.

Station dwellers fight over such spaces like fiends. It helps with the whole sensation of claustrophobia. We Vinduthi were always nocturnal so being locked inside of a station hull isn't as panic inducing for us as other species.

A human female in skintight silver garments leaving little to the imagination greeted us at the door. Pretty, but the haunted look in her eyes suggested she had been broken.

We lost our police escort at the door as Suggs answered a frantic sounding radio call and they both bolted out of there. I was glad, because it saved me the trouble of having to ditch them.

I wanted to shred them, rip apart their flesh. They'd seen Amelia, watched her with hungry eyes as she writhed on my lap.

I should pluck those eyes out from their skulls, crush them beneath my boots.

I pulled Amelia behind me on the leash, not being cruel but hardly gentle either. This was a disaster. She kept making me think and feel things that proved both intrusive and inconvenient. I just wanted to get her to Alkard so we could figure out if she knew where to find Mera or not.

Then I could be rid of Amy, and hopefully all of those conflicting thoughts as well.

But now we were here, no way of getting back to the Fallen Star without attracting even more attention to ourselves.

And if Kwayd was really mixed up in something involving both station security and someone high up enough in the food chain to rate living quarters with a window, Alkard would want to know all the details.

We'd have to wait and bust out of here later.

The serving woman took us through a hallway filled with warm colored artwork. I wasn't surprised when I saw the unruly dark hair and tall, pointed ears of a Nazok appear in the doorway.

Slim, their frame could almost be mistaken for a human, if you disregarded the angled faces and bright blue eyes. Nazok only looked weak, but were sly, clannish, and a major pain in the ass.

The Nazok smiled genially, but the human in silver shrank back like he was radioactive.

She obviously feared him.

Many indentured humans fear those who hold their contracts, but this looked a trifle extreme even to my eyes. I put it out of my mind, or I tried to.

Because it came too close to making me imagine what I would feel like if it were Amelia shrinking in terror.

Then I wanted to hurt the ‘Zok in his rainbow-hued house gown, and that would have been bad for both of my missions. Technically, I was in the clear as far as the cops were concerned. But I saw an opportunity to learn more about both of my objectives.

This wealthy Nazok might know where the weapons were, or where Mera was…and maybe even both.

"Kwayd," he said, his lips parting in a grin far too wide for his face. "Long time no see. Love the face. Are you keeping it?"

"I'm not married to it," I said. Apparently that was in character for Kwayd, because the Zok cackled with laughter, his fingers fluttering in the air almost like he were a fantasy wizard casting a spell as he led the way into an opulently decorated sitting room.

Windows overlooking the artificial canyon of the Metro stretched down one side of the room, the opposite wall covered with large paintings done in delicate shades of pink and gray. The only thing that caught my eye was a large map of the station, placed by itself at one end.

"And what about the woman? Are you keeping her?"

"Most likely," I said as Amelia gasped with indignation behind me. "Unless the offer is just too tempting."

"Alas, I find myself bereft of liquid assets at the moment. Everything I have is tied up in our joint venture. Speaking of which…"

He clapped his hands and the silver clad human woman scrambled to retrieve a heavy metal case which she deposited at my feet.

"You can count it. It's all there," he said. "Paper credit slips are hard to accumulate in this amount. You might want to tell your suppliers that."

"I'll keep it in mind."

He sniffed and I snapped my fingers without looking back at Amelia. With a moment's pause, she moved up and handed me the satchel, her eyes burning with impotent rage.

"A bit snappier next time," I said in a stern tone. Then I turned back to the Nazok, whose name I still didn't know. It wasn't like I could ask him.

"Hmm. My aunt could line you up with a better human servant, if you are interested. It's where I got this one."

He kicked out at the woman in silver, striking her in the rump. She sprawled onto the floor, then scrambled up to her feet and bowed deeply at the waist.

"Thank you for keeping me on my toes, Master Kalak."

I perked up instantly. There weren't many Nazoks on the station named Kalak. The one I had in mind, I had never seen. Few had, in fact.

And his aunt was someone the Fangs were very, very interested in.

As Conii's money man, Kalak might or might not know anything useful. But I had to try and pump him for information if I could.

If he suspected that I was an actual Vinduthi in disguise as his Volek associate, then my cover would be blown and it would look to the entire station underworld as if the Fangs had struck at Conii first.

I couldn't just come out and ask him about the missing guns, either.

I had to be subtle, and I hated being subtle. I preferred the direct route. I really just wanted to grab the little shit and start twisting limbs until he squealed.

Then I heard him say something that made me perk up right quick.

"It's a bit small time for a man of your talents, Kwayd," Kalak said, "but if you know anybody who wants to work muscle on an independent job, just let me know."

"Muscle?" I tried not to sound too eager. Was this about the missing weapons? "Guarding what kind of cargo?"

His eyes narrowed, and I realized that I had let too much slip.

"I never said it was for guarding cargo, friend."

"Well, what else would you need muscle for? If you wanted someone hurt or killed you'd hire a professional for that, right? So the options aren't all that diverse, if you get me."

"Oh," he said, relaxing. "I suppose that does make sense."

"You can tell the parties that I'm interested in hiring myself out," I said.

"It's kind of low rent for you, Kwayd. Are you sure?"

I made him suspicious again. I tried to sound as casual as I could when I made my reply.

"I'm saving up to lease larger quarters. I'm thinking of breeding this one."

I yanked on Amelia's chain. She wasn't ready for it and stumbled forward to land in my lap, and her pleasant curves distracted me for a moment. When I spoke, I kept my gaze locked on her furious eyes.

"I need more space in case she has babies dropping out of her ass."

"I don't think that's how humans procreate," the Nazok said icily, "but to each their own. All right, I'll tell the parties that you are interested. It might be dangerous, but then again, so is your usual line of work."

"I'm not afraid of a little danger. Great risk means great reward. And speaking of reward…"

I clutched Amelia's scantily clad bottom, seizing the supple flesh so tightly it plumped out between my fingers.

"I want to get this one home soon. I have yet to sample her charms."

She shivered like a captive animal in my lap, her eyes filled with doubt and worry, but at the same time the scent of her arousal grew stronger.

What was she doing to me?

"Oh, I'm afraid leaving will be quite impossible right now," the Nazok said with a smug grin.

"And why is that?" I let a bit of menace creep into my throat. So far, I hadn't seen any guards or muscle men. All I'd seen was a skinny human in skintight silver, and I didn't think her purpose was combat.

If he were going to try and keep us there against my will, he had a fight on his hands.

"Don't be alarmed," he said, holding a hand up. "I'm not making a threat. It's the diversion. I wanted to make sure that nobody would watch when you and I had our little meetup, so I arranged for a…distraction. Station security will be putting the Metro on lockdown for at least the next six hours, I would imagine. It'll be best for you to stay the night."

Six hours? I wondered what kind of ‘distraction' he had come up with. I'm sure it involved people being hurt. Cold blooded son of a bitch. I could admire that about him if he weren't an enemy.

"You should remain here," the Zok said, spreading his hands out wide. "I have many spare bedrooms. You can pick out the one that you like the best."

I had no easy way to say no. Unfortunately, I had to maintain my cover.

"Very well," I replied. "A room sounds like it would work just fine."

"Splendid." His eyes glittered like jewels as clapped his hands. "Melody, escort these two to the guest wing. I'll send along some refreshments to you forthwith…and you can break in your new toy all you like."

I grinned like that was all I had on my mind.