Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries #3) - Martha Wells Page 0,23

Hirune. Wilken said, “My camera didn’t pick it up. I believe raiders are in the facility and using the equipment left behind here against us. SecUnit, does Consultant Rin have any confirmation of that?”

I said, “Consultant Rin has no additional intel,” because why should I do her work for her when I wasn’t even getting a hard currency card, am I right?

On the feed, Abene asked Miki, Miki, are you sure about this Consultant Rin? When did she contact you?

On the station, Miki replied. Rin is my friend. GI sent Rin to help you stay safe. It added, You were almost hurt, and Wilken and Gerth didn’t try to help you at all.

They were trying to protect Ejiro and Brais, Abene said absently, her mind obviously on something else, probably how terrible my cover story was. There was no time.

I didn’t want her thinking about the likelihood of mysteriously appearing SecUnits and their (possibly apocryphal) security consultant contractors. I tapped her feed and said, Don Abene, you can speak to me privately on this channel. I maintain contact with my clients at all times. Please note that Consultant Rin has specified that you are my principal client, not your security team.

I was trying to let her know I was on her side, not theirs. I probably could have phrased it better. But I was pretty certain there were going to be sides, since Wilken and Gerth clearly didn’t believe it would be possible to recover Hirune.

That’s the other problem with human security: they’re allowed to give up.

Abene took a second to regroup, then asked me, Do you know what took Hirune?

I noted she had asked me again, directly, despite having heard the exchange with Wilken. Abene figured there were going to be sides, too. I said, I think you’re correct, I think it was a retrieval device. The hostile intended to take at least one member of the team and kill or injure others before retreating. That is not something a party of raiders would do. I added, Its plan is probably to draw you further into the facility to kill the rest of you, and hopefully cause more members of the team to leave the shuttle so it can kill them, too. Trying to make things sound less dire than they are never helps. The client has to believe your assessment of the situation is accurate. (And I know, not my client.)

She took three seconds to process the fact that we were doing what the hostile probably wanted us to do. But we have to find Hirune. Is there a way to counter it?

You’ve already countered it. It doesn’t know you have a SecUnit with you. For a human, that would be a hormone-fueled ego talking. For a SecUnit, it’s just a fact. Like I told Tlacey before I killed her, I’m just telling you what I’m going to do.

Abene went quiet for five more seconds while we walked along the dark corridor. Then she asked, Did you know there was something dangerous here? Did you know we would be attacked?

I didn’t know, not until Miki alerted me that something was approaching your position. That was true. I would much rather be hiding on the shuttle watching entertainment media right now. Consultant Rin had no intel on hostiles inside the facility.

Where were you? What did Rin really send you to do here?

I flailed mentally. Did I lie, did I tell the truth? It had to mesh with what I’d already told Miki, which was only partly a lie, sort of, and Abene might not register my hesitation but Miki would notice it unless I answered right now—I was in the geo pod, I said in desperation. I was gathering data about a possible violation by GrayCris of the Strange Synthetics Accord.

Ah, Don Abene said. This begins to make sense. She hesitated. Can you save Hirune? If she’s still alive.

Yes. I’m pretty sure.

Abene let out her breath. Good, then. We’ll work together.

Telling the truth was sort of working out for me.

We came out of the dark section into another corridor with low but active lighting. Wilken said, “Have you ever worked with a SecUnit before, Don Abene?”

“No. They’re illegal in the homesystems.” She was impatient. Right now she didn’t want to hear anything from Wilken that didn’t involve getting her friend back.

We were nearing a junction. Wilken signaled a halt through the feed, and paused while she took a scan. I was scanning continuously, but my readings were shit. The