Dealers' Choice - Susan Hayes Page 0,51

depths these assholes wouldn’t sink to, and now, they were operating on the station openly instead of using go-betweens to do their dirty work. They’d hired bounty-hunters to go after Chance, but this time, they’d sent their own people. Things were escalating fast, and that was bad news for everyone.

Once Archer had confirmation the Grays were involved, he and the Nova Force members present pushed to take over the mission. That wasn’t going to happen. Vic had left Ward arguing with Archer and stepped out into the corridor to calm down before he did something regrettable, like throw the by-the-book colonel through a bulkhead. He couldn’t think clearly about any of this, not when Xori’s life was on the line. He needed her to be alright.

He scoffed at himself. It was so much more than that. He needed her, period.

“You look like you could use some good news,” a deep rumbling voice intruded on his moment of peace. Denz had followed him out, and the big male’s black eyes were full of sympathy.

“I could. You got any to spare?”

Denz held up a massive fist. “As a matter of fact, I do.” He turned his hand over and opened it, revealing an unmarked injector vial.

“What’s that?”

“Something that might help you bring the doctor back in one piece.” Denz lowered his voice. “Take it, and do not, under any circumstances, let Archer know you have that.”

Vic slipped the vial into his pocket, feeling like he was taking part in some sort of illicit deal. “What is it?”

“The next generation of medi-bots. Before he died, Zale was teaching me about nanotech. He wanted to be sure that someone outside the IAF knew how to make them, in case the military tried to close that door again.”

Vic dropped a hand to his pocket, suddenly aware of how valuable the simple object was. Zale had been one of the original creators of the nanotech that every cyborg carried. After the war, he’d created a version that could be safely injected into anyone, cyborg or not. The IAF had confiscated the tech, but not before the little crew of rebels at the Nova had inoculated all the non-cyborgs in their circle.

“It’s safe for a Pheran?”

Denz nodded. “It is. I took all of Zale’s notes with me to the colony and shared it with the Vardarians. They use nanotech, too, even more than we do. That vial contains the new and improved version we figured out between us.”

“Thank you.” The words weren’t nearly enough to express his gratitude. If they found Xori – no, when they found her—dosing her with this would permanently accelerate and enhance her ability to heal, increase her physical endurance, and ensure that she lived just as long as they did.

“Zale wanted to protect everyone in this crazy crew. This is my way of carrying on his legacy. I left a few more doses with Dr. Jeffries. She’ll see to it they get used the way Zale would have wanted.”

“It’s not just Zale’s legacy anymore. It’s yours, too.” He clapped Denz on the shoulder, vaguely amused by the fact he had to reach up to it. Cyborgs were taller than most of the other species, but with his mix of Torski and human genes, Denz was close to two-and-a-half meters tall.

Denz chuckled. “Maybe.” The big male tapped his fist lightly to Vic’s bicep. “See you back inside.”

Vic let Ward know he would be back soon and headed for their quarters. The little vial in his pocket was a symbol of hope. They’d get Xori back. They’d inject her with the nanotech so she’d be healthy and safe, and then he’d tell her all the things he held in his heart. But as much as he wanted to hold onto it, he needed to stash that in his bag before he came anywhere near Archer again.

Nothing would stop him from giving it to Xori. Not Archer. Not the Gray Men. No one.

Once they were on their way, Vic expected to feel better. He didn’t. If anything, he felt worse. There was nothing to do but think, pace, and go through all the ways he was going to hurt the ones who had tried to take Xori away from them.

Tink was piloting the Faerie Queene, and despite the fact they had special permission to exceed all speed restrictions near the collection of stations that formed the Drift, it would still take time to catch up with Xori. If the vessel Chance predicted she was on