Payton

PAYTON

Tessi walked towards me as I sent Table 4's empty bottles and glasses to the kitchen. What did I do wrong this time? I ran through things as quickly as I could, but nothing came to mind.

Still, she had that look in her eyes…

"Payton, get to Table 3," she snapped.

Then again, Tessi always had that look in her eyes. It was part of what made her so good at running the casino floor of the Fallen Star. That, and the fact that she was fairly tall with a strong figure and piercing eyes that threatened anyone who dared stand against her.

And the Vinduthi markings dancing down her cheek that proclaimed her Alkard's mate didn't hurt.

"Table 3?" I repeated. "But I'm scheduled for Table 7 next."

"I'll get someone else for it. Right now, there's a Mondian on a winning streak, and I need someone to keep him playing."

I rolled my eyes. That kind of evening again. "You sure he's into humans?"

"I'm sure he's into you," she said. "He watched you while you were at the next table closely enough. So get going."

I nodded. "All right, but he better keep his hands to himself."

She snorted, her lips curling into a half-smile. "His eyes are more than enough to keep him distracted so that he loses some of his credits."

Before I could say anything else, she spun on her heel and disappeared back among the crowd on the casino floor. This was going to be a long evening.

It wasn't hard to spot the sentient Tessi was talking about. It was never hard to spot a Mondian. In addition to being big, often bigger than the Vinduthi, they have bright red scaly skin and enormous heads with bony ridges.

They looked a little like huge lizards and even more like dragons. My mother had a story file about dragons when I was a kid, and if you took one of them, got rid of the tail, and made them walk on two legs, it would be a Mondian.

Of course, if you were blind, you'd still have a pretty easy time finding that one because he laughed up a storm. I grabbed my tray, a bottle of champagne in a bottle holder, and some glasses and headed over.

There were three others at the table with him, two Fanaith and a Nazok. You didn't see too many Nazoks around the Fallen Star, and when you did, they usually didn't have much money to gamble with.

I saw from the careful way the one at the table hoarded his tiny pile that he was no exception.

I leaned over in between the Mondian and one of the Fanaith and set the bottle on the table. "Did somebody order champagne?"

The Mondian looked down at me and boomed out his loud laugh. "Can't say I did, but I guess that's just how lucky I am!"

He patted me on the back twice, and I did my best to keep my expression from going sour. I'd gotten into enough trouble with Tessi this week.

If I messed this up too, she might think about selling my contract to someone else, and I knew as well as anyone did that being a bottle girl was far from the worst of what a young, pretty girl with a contract could end up doing.

Some jerk in a suit had to read them all off to me when I signed.

It seemed like it went on for hours, but it was all pretty simple, really. Whoever owned your contract owned you. And you better be a good girl for them.

So, I smiled back. "Look but don't touch, please!"

"Whatever you say," the Mondian said. "Anything for my little good luck charm!"

"A new card?" the dealer said to the Mondian. He started, then quickly looked at the Fanaith and the Nazok on his left, trying to figure out what they picked. The Nazok passed while the Fanaith drew.

"Deal me!" he said. I couldn't help seeing his hand as he glanced at the card. 20. Good place to stop. Then again, it wouldn't be too hard for one of the other players to be closer. Meanwhile, the dealer showed 15, with one card hidden.

It might have been the right choice, but even so, he should have thought about it a little. Apparently, I was already doing my job.

No one expected the girls, especially us human ones, to know anything about the games. Humans were supposed to spend all their time ogling things and being amazed by all the technology we didn't understand. We weren't supposed to understand a round of Halcian 24. That was an advantage we had.

"Pass," the second Fanaith said.

The dealer nodded and turned over the hidden card. A 4. Just 19 showing. The lowest possible stop. "Does anyone challenge?"

The table turned over their hands. The Nazok only had a 16. The first Fanaith went over, and the second was at 18.

The Mondian was slow with his last card. He tilted it up towards himself, paused, then finally let it fall.

7.

Over.

"Maybe I was wrong," the Mondian said. "Maybe you're not such a good luck charm after all. Or maybe, I just didn't rub you right…"

With that, he slapped me square on the butt.

Before I could stop myself, I hit him square on the muzzle with the serving plate. It made a loud smack sound.

Talk about bad luck.

Because the look of sheer surprise on his face made me laugh.

Mistake number two.

I was still laughing when I saw Tessi barreling down at me.

Uh oh.

"Let's talk in private," she said, then turned towards the angry Mondian. "I'm very sorry, sir. We'll deal with her."

I hurried quickly after her, as she walked off the floor and down one of the employee-only halls. "I'd like to point out that was just a reflex. Totally out of my control. I was just startled, and if you want-"

"I don't care about that," Tessi said, stopping in front of an office door. "This is about something much more important."

"More important than hitting a customer?"

"Today's your lucky day," she said, gesturing me closer. "You're going to prison."

Wait, what?

I walked into Tessi's office, which was small but well organized. I sat down in front of the desk, and she took her seat behind.

Before talking, she glanced quickly under the table, then felt around the edge. She was checking for listening devices, I realized.

Just what did I get myself involved in?

"Have you heard of Deathgate prison?" she asked finally.

I shook my head. "Doesn't sound like a nice place."

"It isn't. It's an asteroid prison. For dangerous criminals. The most secure one there is. And we're sending you there."

My gut turned cold, my brain freezing.

"What?"

"You've probably heard about Havek. The technical expert for some of the family's less… public business interests."

I certainly did. Almost everyone had heard about Havek. He was one of the big names in the Vinduthi syndicate. The hacker who could build anything and break anything.

But I didn't expect Tessi to just admit that the casino was affiliated with the Vinduthi crime family. Sure, everyone knew that, but I never heard anyone say it aloud before.

"I've seen him a couple of times here," I admitted cautiously. I remembered one of the girls telling me a story about how the family once managed to get an enforcement officer from the Federation arrested by his own men. Havek played a big part, forging arrest warrants and getting them to the enforcers as if they came from the officer.

"You heard about the Shadow massacre?" Tessi asked, and I shuddered.

I didn't think anyone on Thodos hadn't heard about it.

I had to admit, I wasn't a general fan of that clan of Maeux.

Their scion was known for causing trouble, feeling up girls, walking out on tabs, and letting his syndicate's muscle ‘clean things up' for him.

He was trash.

Yet it still didn't sit right that someone had snuck into the T'zarti compound and slaughtered the entire family, from the matriarch down to the smallest hatchling.

"You're not saying…" I couldn't even finish the sentence.

"Of course Havek didn't do it," Tessi snapped. "He was set up by one of the other families. We're going to get him out."

"You want me to organize a prison break?" I said, too stunned to make sense of any of this.

Tessi rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Your only job is to be a point of contact. Havek's being watched too closely to get anything outside the prison. But no one knows who you are."

"And no one watches humans," I finished. It was something I heard many times before.

"Exactly," said Tessi. "You'll have to stay in the dormitories assigned for advocates until the job is done. It's not going to be a vacation."

"This sounds dangerous," I said.

"It's our only option." She sighed softly. "The only other humans in the Family are like me." She gestured to the sigils down her face. "Not exactly discrete. You'll have to be careful. If they figure out you're working with Havek, they'll have you killed, and if they don't, there's a solid chance you get killed anyway. That's why I want you to have a choice. You can say no."

"Well, then I say no," I answered quickly. "I'm not going to some prison to save a stranger."

"Before you make a decision, you should hear the rest of the deal," Tessi continued as if I didn't say anything. "If you do this successfully, and you live to tell the tale, Alkard is prepared to release you from your contract."

I stared at her, almost unable to absorb the words.

"Are you serious?" I said, finally. "That's a real promise? Like, you could put that in writing?"

She lifted a tablet off her desk. "It already is."

I took the device and ran my eyes over it greedily. No catches. It was just what she said. A release form.

"And this could work, right?" I asked, looking up. "This isn't some one-in-a-million suicide mission. This is actually the way you plan to rescue Havek?"

"At the moment, we have limited influence inside Deathgate prison," Tessi said. "But anything we can do to ensure your safety and the success of your mission, we will. He's part of the family. We want him back."

I looked down at the contract, then back up at Tessi. On the one hand, a life of being a bottle girl in a casino, working until I was old to pay off a debt and then scraping by somehow or another, was straightforward. Simple.

But also, a lot of men would grope me and leer at me when I walked by. And the tips would only get worse with every passing year. I knew that.

On the other, a spy mission. An impossible escape from an asteroid prison for a tech genius I only knew from stories. And if I survived it, then freedom. Real freedom, in the stars, in the prime of my life.

Which would I pick? Safety? Or dignity?

"You can pick whichever you want," Tessi repeated. "But I'm going to need a decision soon. And don't try changing your mind. Just because you're the first girl I'm picking doesn't mean there aren't plenty who could do it just as well."

Well. It was good to know I wasn't anything special.

But then why did she pick me?

"I'll do it," I said, handing the tablet back to her. "Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it."

I didn't exactly think the whole thing through. I just opened my mouth and let the first words that happened to reach it come out.

It was decided.

I was going to be a spy.