dangerous places. Their main workforce is made up of indentured servants. They employ guards to prevent worker escape as much as to prevent outside attack. Their turnover rate is high and they don’t ask too many questions when people are brought to them.”
Ian nodded, so I continued, “I haven’t had any reason to look into them, so I don’t know much more than what’s public. But as soon as—” Another pulse stole my breath. I closed my eyes against the pain and took a deep breath. “As soon as I’m out of here, I plan to rectify that.”
“What will they do if they find out they have Ferdinand?”
I stared into the middle distance as I thought through the possible scenarios. “They’ll kill him,” I said flatly. “They don’t want to give the Consortium a reason to poke into their business, and explaining how they came to be in possession of the heir of House von Hasenberg would be a pretty damn big reason.”
Another pulse hit and agony flared. I blinked away tears and sucked in a breath. This was important. “It’s also possible that if we go sniffing after his new identity in the official channels, they will dump him as fast as they can, then claim ignorance, for the same reason. Even if they don’t know who he is, just the fact that we’re interested will be enough to set off their alarms.”
“Can you hack them? Find the information that way?”
A dangerous smile pulled at the edges of my mouth. “It would be my pleasure.”
Then another pulse hit, and I lost myself to the pain for a few seconds. When I came back, Ian’s voice rumbled nearby. I frowned. Was he closer than he had been? I refused to open my eyes and find out. I didn’t need any more sensory input right now.
“Deep breath,” he murmured. “When the pain hits, you freeze, but you have to breathe through it. In. Out.”
I let my breathing fall into the cadence of his words, slow and deep. When the next pulse hit, I clung to his instructions. The pulses were getting worse, but I didn’t black out.
His hand slipped into mine. “Good,” he said, his voice rougher as his own pain intensified. “Now focus on your goal. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to save my brother.”
“Set your intention. Hold it close and let it burn away everything else.”
I was going to save my brother and neither my father nor Silva nor MineCorp nor this painful fucking tank were going to stop me. A pulse hit and my grip on Ian’s hand tightened.
Breathe. Save my brother. Breathe. Save my brother. I breathed and silently repeated the mantra over and over until the pulse passed.
“That’s it,” Ian murmured. His thumb glided over the back of my hand. “Remember to breathe. Remember your intention. And remember I am right here with you.”
He was intent on helping me, even when his own pain had to be astronomical. Gratitude and affection swirled into a pleasant warmth that blunted the razor edge of pain. I squeezed his fingers. “Thank you for helping me, Ian,” I whispered.
“I will always help you,” he vowed softly.
Then another pulse hit and the time for talking was over.
My wounds were healed without so much as a scar. Well, without a physical scar at any rate. It would be a while before I could forget the pain of the regen tank. Ian also came out completely healed, which shouldn’t have been possible unless his wound was way less serious than it had seemed. I chalked it up as another mystery that pointed at his enhanced physiology.
Showered and dressed in my own clothes, I felt almost normal again. Low-level anxiety still gripped me as my body waited for another wave of pain. I breathed through it as Ian had taught me. The anxiety would go away in an hour or two.
I put on my smart glasses and set up my most secure connection. I needed to log into HIVE because I needed information on MineCorp and my network was the best place to start.
I transferred to my safe house location and went through the verification process. It was late and the fire was burning low in the grate. I’d detailed everything about this space, from the fire to the fabric on the furniture, and it had taken me weeks to get it exactly right.
Tonight, two people sat by the fire, a woman with shimmering red hair that rivaled my avatar’s and a