sugar and notes of sheer bloody adrenaline on the back of my tongue.
The other two glasses sit in front of the operatives.
Untouched.
“You are a very long way from home, Legionnaire Brannock,” the small holograph says.
“No home like the black,” I reply, smiling around the old Ace saying.
“The insides of the cells at Lunar Penal Colony are not black,” Princeps replies. “They are gray. No sky. No stars. Just gray. Forever.”
“You trying to scare me, G-man?” I hold out my glass to the bartender again with one rock-steady hand. “Because I’m shaking.”
“I know it is difficult to see,” Princeps says as the barkeeper pours. “But there is a way out of this. For you, and your squad.”
“We do not want you,” the one behind me says in my ear, electronic voice crawling on my skin. “We only want Aurora O’Malley.”
“The rest of Squad 312 will be free to leave once she is in our hands.” Princeps nods. “Return to the academy. Your careers. Your friends. Your life. You need not throw away all you have worked for, Legionnaire Brannock.”
I blink hard. Shake my head. “I’m sorry, Princess, could you repeat that? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of all the shits I don’t give.”
I slam back my shot, stand up slow.
“Thanks for the drink.”
The operative behind me grabs my arm with one gloved hand. The grip is perfect. Hard enough to hurt. Soft enough to let me know it could hurt a lot worse.
“The girl you are harboring is an enemy of the Terran people. The entire Terran Defense Force is now on alert and devoted to her capture. And she will be ours.” The agent’s voice goes soft and dangerous. “With or without your help.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s why you’re skulking around dive bars at ungodly o’clock in the morning, huh?” I sneer, motioning at the uniglass on the bar top. “This guy isn’t even in the same bloody sector as the rest of us.”
“The Bellerophon is en route to your location even as we speak, Legionnaire Brannock,” Princeps says. “You cannot escape from us. But a TDF invasion of the World Ship will cause unnecessary loss of life. We hope to resolve this issue without violence. Aurora O’Malley has killed enough of our agents already.”
My eyes narrow at that.
“You did not know?” Princeps asks. “She murdered two operatives aboard the Bellerophon. Crushed them like paper cups with a thought.”
Princeps disappears off the uni’s screen, replaced with an image of what might be an interrogation room. Two charcoal-gray suits. Blood and guts smeared along the floor and three meters up the walls.
My stomach surges. I swallow hard. “Maker … ,” I breathe.
“This is the girl you are harboring. She is not what she appears, Legionnaire Brannock. She is dangerous. To you. To those you care about.”
I shake my head. “It’s not my call. An Ace backs her Alpha. Always.”
I glance at the agent behind me, staring at my reflection in that faceless mask.
“Always.”
“Your loyalty to Tyler Jones is admirable,” Princeps says. “But surely you must have wondered at his recent decisions? Does he truly seem himself?”
“Aurora O’Malley can crush people with her mind,” the second operative says. “Do you not wonder what she can do to the minds of others?”
“Are you saying she can … control us?” I demand. “Control him?”
“We are saying your mother was a loyal member of the TDF until the day she died,” Princeps says. “And we are hoping her daughter shares her loyalties.”
The GIA operative releases its grip on my arm.
I look toward the door. I look at my face in its mask.
Tired. Wired. All the way scared. I glance at the picture on the screen of the G-man’s uniglass. Think about the Longbow shaking like a leaf as we tried to change course. The image of Scarlett being thrown back into the wall with a flick of O’Malley’s wrist. Tyler pushing us closer and closer to the edge.
Lying with him on those crumpled sheets the morning after, shivering as he traced the lines of my tattoos with his fingertips.
And it still wasn’t enough.
“We can offer assurances. In writing. For you and your squad.”
I chew my lip. Grit my teeth. And sitting back down on the stool, I look at the G-man’s featureless face and hold out my glass to the bartender.
“Gimme another.”
19
Zila
There is no way we’re getting in and out of Casseldon Bianchi’s private office without getting caught.
20
Auri
“I can’t believe you thought this would fit me.” Cat’s grumbles behind me, yanking at her