Gabriel's Ghost (56 page)

A Binnean barman stepped over to her and asked if she wanted a drink. The creature was so wide, he would have made three human men. His thick head and body were covered with neatly combed black hair; the only clothing he wore a pair of loose-fitting gold woven trousers. Two large, emerald green eyes poked out of the brown, smooth skin of his face. His nose was thick and long over a straight, full-lipped mouth. Hearing a polite question from that mouth seemed at odds with the stories Kira had heard of the Binnean. But then, in the Docks, business was business.

She ordered a beer and studied the booths at the rear of the club more closely. She’d been given a description, but already she’d seen a number of men who might fit it. For a second, she felt a tinge of panic. What if she couldn’t recognize him? What if he didn’t show? What if she picked the wrong man?

She was considering taking a walk around the upper galleries when one of the men at the rear of the club caught her eye, a slight, roguish smile on his handsome face. The shoulder-length sandy hair and light eyes, the overall build, even the pilot’s black jumpsuit all matched the description of her contact. She took one final glance around the

ground floor, then picked up her bottle of icy beer and walked slowly toward the man, noting his casual, arrogant slouch in the booth and his obvious attention to her legs. “Raf?” she asked when she stood across the table from him.

His grin crooked to one side, and he nodded for her to take a seat. “So you need a pilot and a ship?” His blunt question surprised her. She’d thought there would be more subtlety. At the very least, she’d expected him to make a more lecherous comment to start the conversation.

The fact that he didn’t made her look at him more closely. One arm was slung across the top of the bench, the other hung loose on the seat beside him, conveniently within reach of a hip-holstered weapon. His cocky grin belied the vigilant darting of his blue eyes. She slid into the booth. He may have looked at ease, but he was ready for anything. For some reason, that helped Kira relax. And after another careful moment’s consideration, she decided she like Raf Tygran. She didn’t trust him. But she liked him.

“How much?”she asked, taking a sip of beer. She didn’t flinch when he named his price. She’d expected something higher. “When?”

“I can be ready to leave planet within the week. I’ve a few details to settle first.” His lip twitched. “But getting them onto the ship and off planet isn’t gonna be easy.”

Kira nodded.

When she didn’t answer his unspoken question, he spoke it. “You have a plan, I take it?”

“Of course.”

“What about the detector rings?”

“You worry about flying the ship,” she said, setting her half-empty bottle down on the table. “I’ll worry about the detectors.” And before he could ask, she said, “I’ll have a clearance code as well by the time we leave.”

He shrugged and reached out to the nearly full glass of some orange-colored drink that sat on the table in front of him. “Your show, honey. I’m paid for my pilot skills, not my tactical skills.”

“I hope you have a few tactical skills. Getting where we’re going isn’t going to be easy, either. And if it’s suspected that you’ve helped us, you won’t be able to show your face here again.”

He raised his eyebrows and grinned. “Do you think I’m able to show my face here comfortably now?” His gaze flicked around the room before settling on her face again. “Why do you think I come here?”

Kira glanced at the room again, then leveled a hard look at him. “Why do you come here? To this club, I mean?”

“Paid anonymity. You can buy just about anything in the Docks. Anonymity is more expensive than a lot of things, but not so expensive as others.”

“Why are there so few women here?” she asked, picking up her bottle again and cradling it in her hands without sipping it.

“Too early. Crowds build with the night.”

“Doesn’t it lessen your anonymity to be seen with one of the few women in the club?”

He grinned, a mixture of smug self assurance and amusement. “I’m too handsome for anyone to question why I’d be with one of the few women here. Especially since you’re quite a stunner yourself. Seems like an obvious conclusion to me.”

For just an instant, she was awed by the sheer arrogance of that statement. Then she laughed and took a drink of her beer. He really should have annoyed her, but the blatant cockiness he wore like a shirt made it impossible for her to take his flirtations seriously.

Unlike David’s more subtle seductive manner, she thought before she could stop herself. Her stomach did a giddy dance as the memory of his scent and dark eyes invaded her thoughts. She swallowed hard and forced herself to remember that David worked for Ennoren. That fact wasn’t going to change, no matter how he made her feel. And within the week, Kira would be leaving Narava forever. Another fact that wasn’t going to change. That thought made her drop her gaze and drink deeply from her warming bottle. A slight shiver shook her shoulders despite the relative warmth of the club.

“You okay?”

Raf’s mild concern surprised her yet again. She smiled up at him and nodded, forcing her melancholy away. There wasn’t really much here for her to miss. And there was so much to gain.

“Sir,” a hesitant voice coughed from the end of the booth, startling Kira. She hadn’t even heard the Binnean doorman approach the table. “A message was left for you at the door.” The guard handed him a flat, palm-sized electronic notepad.

Raf frowned, then pressed the play button on the bottom of the screen. His frown deepened as the message scrolled across the mini-screen. Nodding his thanks to the doorman, the pilot waited until they were alone again before speaking. He turned to Kira, all flirtation and cockiness set aside, and said, “I’m afraid I’ll have to call the evening short. It seems my business here has come to me.”

Kira stared through narrowed eyes at him as he rose and gestured for her to proceed him from the curved seat of the booth. “Does this affect our deal?”

“No. Where can I get in touch with you?”

“Pat’ll know how to find me.”

He nodded, distracted, and put a hand on her lower back as he ushered her toward the door. Kira didn’t resist, until she noticed a familiar face at the bar. She stopped, suspicion warring with irritation. “David.”

“Kira.” His gaze flicked to Raf, who was standing just behind her with his hand firmly around her waist. “Who’s your friend?” It wasn’t a casual question.

“A friend,” she answered evenly. “Didn’t know you frequented this place.” She was a little nonplussed to see how well his all-black attire fit in with the surrounding club. His manner had also changed. The formality she’d seen earlier had lapsed into a relaxed but powerful stance that dared others to challenge him. Before he’d seemed so decent, so nice for a Guard. Now he looked dangerous.

“I don’t.” He still hadn’t looked away from the pilot standing behind her.

The bristling of male challenge was thick in the air between them, and an irritant to Kira’s skin. She didn’t have time for this show. “Nice to see you again, David.” She turned to face Raf, deftly removing his arm from her waist in the process. “I’ll wait for you to get in touch.” She turned her back on both men and walked to the door.

The doorman nodded a polite goodnight to her as she left the club. She returned it but barely, knowing that both men were following her out. In the dark, stuffy alley, she turned in the direction of the Main Canal, a less circuitous route out of the Docks. The two men were at her side within three steps like a couple of watchdogs. “Very inconspicuous,” she mumbled under her breath.

When a shadow detached itself from a nearby wall and hurried in the opposite direction, Kira decided that maybe conspicuous wasn’t always a bad thing. In a low tone she hoped wouldn’t carry in the echoing quiet of the streets, she said to Raf, “I thought you had business.”

He glanced over his shoulder, then looked straight ahead again. “Just keep heading toward the Grand Bridge.”

David didn’t look behind them, but she felt him tense. “Are you armed?” he asked the pilot.

“Yes. You?”

“Yes.”

“Kira?” Raf whispered.

“Small blaster, but only strong enough to stun.” She ignored the sideways, appraising glance David shot her. They were walking at a steady, unhurried pace, the Main Canal within sight through the final narrow walkway. From the Canal, they had only to walk to their left for another two hundred meters to reach the bridge out of the Docks.

Every nerve ending screamed at Kira to run and run fast, but she had gotten used to this tension, this uncertainty over the last five years. She knew how to control her anxiety. She also knew, without looking over her shoulder, that they were being followed none too discretely. The streets ahead of them were cleared or clearing quickly - in anticipation.

“How’d you get here?” Raf ask her, glancing over his shoulder again. When he looked forward, he placed one hand on her elbow. The moved put his hand that much closer to his weapon.

“Public transport rail.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Raf grin. “Didn’t trust bringing your own transport close to the Docks?”

“No.” She couldn’t help her slight smile.

“I’ve got a car not too far from the Bridge,” David murmured.

Raf nodded and steered Kira out onto the walkway that bordered the Main Canal. Boats sat moored to thick wooden pilings along the edge of the Canal; a few small gondolas drifted soundlessly by on the black water. The fresher air along the Canal was thick with the scent of sea, kelp and fish. Lamplight colored the walk a hazy orange-pink that might have been romantic if not for the utter silence filling the light and shadows. The only sounds Kira heard were those of her boot heels clicking along the flagstones, and the pounding of blood in her ears.

They were within sight of the Grand Bridge, only a short sprint to its edge, when a rough growl rose behind them. “You may as well stop now, Raf.”

Raf stopped, but nodded for Kira and David to continue. She wanted to protest, but David took her other elbow and began walking her to the Bridge.

“Nope,” the growling voice behind them said. “The others stop, too.”

“This is between you and me, Gavuq,” Raf said, his voice low.

Kira and David stopped and turned slowly around. The owner of the growling voice was impossibly thin and tall. He stood well over seven feet, but he looked to be made of no more than bone. He wore a dark cloak over a billowing maroon robe of embroidered silk. His face was as pale as Narava’s two moons. His eyes glowed fluorescent yellow in the dim light. The hood of the cloak covered the top of his head, but Kira knew that beneath it he was bald.

“I told you once before, Gavuq,” Raf said in an even, confident voice, “I don’t traffic your kind. There was no deal broken. You got your money back. So it’s time you take your dogs off my tail.”

“You deceived us,” Gavuq hissed.

“Listen, you son of a bitch, I was the one misled. You knew from the start I wouldn’t deal with your kind. Not after what happened on the
Venture
.”

“And yet you returned to the Docks to seek me out,” Gavuq said, with a mocking bow of his skeletal head. He spread his arms, palms upraised.

“To tell you to back the fuck off,” Raf almost shouted. “I won’t carry Leeches on my ship, no matter the money and no matter the threat. Find someone else, Gavuq. But don’t fuck with me anymore.”

Kira felt the shifting of cool autumn air before she saw shadows roll up from the steps leading down to the water of the Canal. There were at least ten of them, all tall and skeletal. And deadly. They were surrounded.