we disable his ship,” Ada said with a predatory smile.
“Too risky. Is your ship ready to jump?” She nodded. “If we find a tracker, how do you feel about being a decoy?”
Her smile morphed into a grin. “I have felt the need to visit the far reaches of the ’verse lately.”
I put on the smart glasses and tapped into my private view of the hotel’s security feed. Ian was at the front desk, talking to my hotel manager. The video didn’t have audio, but she was shaking her head and holding her hands up in a placating manner. Ian looked annoyed—the manager wouldn’t be able to stall him for much longer, but I made a mental note to send her a bonus.
Ada and I hurried down to the private hangar. Someone had barred the doors and Rhys, Loch, and Veronica stood next to two loaded-down sleds covered in tarps. Rhys was talking to an unknown woman. She wore dark clothes that accentuated her long, curly red hair. She would be beautiful if she wasn’t so busy scowling at Rhys.
“That’s Scarlett Hargrove, Jester’s captain,” Ada said quietly.
“You don’t like her.”
Ada exhaled audibly. “She was the one who came and got me after Father banished me. She and Loch had a moment.”
I narrowed my eyes at the hulking ex-con at the bottom of Aurora’s cargo ramp. I’d warned him about what I would do if he hurt Ada.
“Put away the murder face, Bee,” Ada said, reverting to the childhood nickname she only used when she wanted to get away with something. “They are like family. I realize that now, but at the time I was jealous, and I’m still trying to get over my initial impression. It doesn’t help that she treats me like I’m somewhere between invisible and gutter scum.”
I swiveled my glare to the woman who dared to treat my sister like scum. “Scarlett Hargrove, you said?” I murmured, mostly to myself.
“Let it go,” Ada said. “She and Rhys and Loch are friends. Hurting her would hurt them, so I ignore her. You should, too. Please.”
It was the plea that did me in. “Fine,” I sighed. “Let’s get this stuff loaded while you tell me what you’ve brought.”
As we approached the group, Rhys said, “We found the tracker but haven’t removed it yet. What do you want us to do?”
“Bianca needs a few more hours before she can jump,” Ada said. “Attach it to Jester and we’ll play decoy.”
Rhys turned to Scarlett. “Have your crew transfer the tracker. Looks like you’re stuck with us for a little longer.”
“At least it’s less likely to damage my ship than your stupid plan,” she groused, but affection underlaid her tone.
“Do I even want to know?” Ada asked.
“No,” Veronica and Scarlett said at the same time.
I climbed Aurora’s cargo ramp and swiped my identity chip over the control panel. The cargo door lifted and I stepped inside. Loch and Ada followed me and the sleds floated along behind them, following their paired beacons.
Loch parked the sleds in the middle of the cargo bay and started sliding the pallets full of crates off onto the floor. Each sled held two pallets and they looked like they weighed a ton. “I would offer to help, but I’m not actually sure I can move one of those,” I said.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said with a grin. “I’m almost done.”
“What is all of this stuff?” I asked Ada.
“We decided your list was too small, so we added a few things that might come in handy. If you come across anything you don’t recognize, send me a message, but it’s mostly standard stuff like clothes and weapons, combat armor, boots, secure coms. We tossed in a surveillance drone and a handful of bugs and trackers. Oh, and your favorite chocolate and coffee. My treat.”
“Thank you, Ada,” I said around the lump in my throat. Ada had been gone for so long that I’d forgotten how well she knew me.
“No worries. Bring Ferdinand home.”
“I will.”
Rhys and Veronica stepped into the cargo bay. “I have a clean identity ready, if you need one,” Rhys said by way of greeting. “I just need to know what name you prefer.”
“Anna White,” I said. Anna was one of my middle names, so it was easy enough to remember, while being generic enough to be hard to search for.
Rhys typed something on the device he carried, then said, “I need your identity chip.”
I touched the thumb and ring finger of my right hand together