just to avoid you. I’ve dealt with them before. They will meet with me because I’ve proven that I am trustworthy. And that I have exceedingly deep pockets.”
Ian raised his eyebrows. “You plan to buy your brother back?”
I shrugged. “Agree to my terms and I’ll tell you. We go meet Guskov together. If he has information about the party, you agree to accompany me to it. If he doesn’t have any information, I will return to Earth without a peep of complaint.”
“And stay there until your father releases you,” Ian added.
If I made the vow I’d be trapped by my own honor, something I took seriously. Ian had neatly boxed me in. Decline and he’d know I wasn’t as confident as I seemed in Guskov’s information; accept and potentially lock myself in a cage of my own making. But the other option was Ian dragging me home anyway, so I had to take the risk. “And stay there until Father releases me,” I agreed.
Ian’s smile looked a lot like victory.
I retrieved my hidden credit chips while Ian watched with an increasingly incredulous expression. I gathered up the rest of my things and then sat on the bed before popping back up and pacing in the tiny room, too agitated to sit still.
Ian leaned against the wall and stared at his com. He thought he’d won already, so I felt zero guilt at reading all of the messages he was sending and receiving. I pulled out my own com and pretended to use it while I focused on his messages. Concentrating on one signal was easier than trying to sort through all of them, but it still gave me a headache.
My persistence was rewarded, however, when I pieced together what Ian was doing—he was working on a side deal with Guskov, despite the fact that the man didn’t usually deal in electronic form. He wanted Guskov to tell me that he didn’t have any information on the Syndicate party, whether or not it was the truth.
Hurt warred with fury. Fury won. I held it close and let it burn away the pain. I carefully built my public facade, walling myself off from everything except cold determination.
It was nearly midnight by the time Guskov contacted me. I glanced at the message. “Guskov wants to meet in half an hour,” I said. “Does that work for you?”
“Yes, the sooner, the better,” Ian said.
“Very well,” I said. “He is sending a transport. It will be here in five minutes.” I stood and gathered my things.
I moved past Ian toward the door, but he stopped me with a hand on my arm. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Fury tried to rise but it was buried under a mountain of ice. “Of course,” I said with a cool smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You don’t have to go to this meeting,” he tried again. “He’ll meet with me as your representative.”
Oh, I just bet he would. And he would miraculously not have any information. I would be carted back to Earth while Ferdinand continued to suffer. The weight of the ice surrounding me was a comforting buffer against the pain. “I am prepared for the meeting. We should be going.”
Ian released my arm with a frown. “Let me go first.”
I swept a hand toward the door without a word. He paused for a long moment, then led the way downstairs. The rain had stopped, but the wind still whistled through the streets and tugged at my cloak as we stepped outside.
A sleek black transport waited for us, perhaps a bit nicer than most in Brava but otherwise indistinguishable from the exterior. The interior was a different matter. The space was luxurious and came with a small, built-in synthesizer for custom cocktails. But look past that and you would find the transport didn’t have any windows or the ability to input a destination. Climb in and you were at the mercy of whoever had sent it.
I entered and sat on the right. Ian sat across from me. The transport door closed and the wireless signals in the air died. Interesting. Whether by design or as a consequence of the lack of windows, the transport acted like an isolation room.
The ride took twenty minutes, long enough that if we’d flown in a straight line, we’d no longer be in Brava. The transport door opened to reveal a small, unadorned hangar. A burly guard in a black suit indicated we should enter the door next to him.