High Flyer - Michelle Diener Page 0,16

his head. “Who else?” He looked at Iver again. “Unless you think he's got someone out there.”

Linnel stepped inside, crowding Oniba enough to force him to step aside. “We found Lunn, dart in his chest, dumped on the river bank. I told you Hana wasn't dead.” He flicked a look at Iver, and Iver had to fight back a smile.

He cultivated a blank stare instead.

“That true, boss?” Lancaster turned to him. “Is Hana out there?”

“I told you, she died in the Sig.”

“Sure she did.” Linnel shook his head.

“You're frightened of her.” Iver said it slowly. “Why are you so frightened of her?”

“Because she's not like the rest of us.” Linnel hissed his reply.

Both Lancaster and Oniba looked at him strangely, as if suddenly aware they had someone unhinged in their midst.

Iver's gaze clashed with Lancaster's, and he lifted an eyebrow.

Lancaster turned away in disgust, but Iver could see he was a little rattled by Linnel's fear and obsession.

Then Lancaster turned back, thoughtful. “You'd be more upset if Hana was dead.” He pointed a finger at Iver. “I should have realized it earlier. You've been hot for her since the moment I introduced you to her.” He tilted his head, as if to look at Iver from a different angle. “If she had really burned up in front of you, you wouldn't be this calm. You'd have tried to attack me.”

“Maybe I got over her,” Iver said.

Lancaster gave a snort. “No. I saw the looks. The times you sat up front in the Sig, when you usually sit at the back. Even last week you went to that diplomatic dinner and didn't take anyone with you. If you were over it, you would have.”

He had him there. Lancaster was good at his job. That he was also a traitorous snake didn't negate that.

Iver simply lifted his shoulders in a shrug. It could be interpreted any way Lancaster wanted to interpret it.

“And even if you were over it,” Lancaster spoke slowly, “you'd still be a lot more upset I'd killed her than you are.” He jerked his head to the door. “Go get Lunn and Nuness in here, Linnel, and hunt Hana down. And hurry, we're losing time.”

“She's probably taken Killian already.” Linnel looked out the Dynastra's doors into the darkness. “I haven't heard him since I stepped inside.”

Lancaster stared at him for a moment. “Pull yourself together.” His bark was sharp and contemptuous. “She's a pilot, not special forces. She's been in a crash, spent the last day with no food or a comfortable place to sleep, and we outnumber her at least three to one.”

“You're wrong.” Linnel drew himself up. “She's not . . . normal. She gets away with shit no one should. It's like the world doesn't touch her, and no one can fly like she does.”

Lancaster's eyes narrowed. “Linnel, how did I miss that you're a crazy bastard?”

“You were desperate for people who were happy to go back to the days of the war. It's been a bit too quiet since it was over.” Linnel lifted his shoulders. “But I'm not crazy. There's something wrong with her, not me.”

Lancaster and Oniba shared a look, and Iver watched Linnel. He had the sincere, focused look of the obsessed.

“What's your end game with Hana?” Iver asked him.

Linnel looked over at him, face strangely, almost obscenely blank. “I want to expose her. Make her admit the truth.”

“The truth about what?” The expression on Lancaster's face was one of distaste.

Iver met his gaze. Sucks to be taken in by someone, doesn't it?

“The truth that she's had some kind of enhancement. The military must have experimented on her.”

“So after this extremely illegal enhancement procedure, they just let her leave the military?” Iver asked.

Linnel shuffled. “I admit, that doesn't make sense, but she still goes to the base once a month. To check in.”

“She volunteers as a mentor to the new trainees,” Lancaster said.

Iver looked at him in surprise. He hadn't known that.

“That's what they say.” Linnel must have heard how crazy that sounded, because he shook his head once, in annoyance. “Don't believe me, then. You'll see. She's out there, and she can't be killed.”

“Can you hear yourself?” Oniba asked.

Linnel curled his lip and shook his head, then stepped out into the darkness.

The moment he was gone, Oniba turned an expressive face toward Lancaster.

“I know.” Lancaster looked out into the darkness after him. “He's not just a loose end, he's a liability.”

“This is the first time I've heard him talk crazy like