also spent a lot of time fixing things and securing our home.” It wasn’t like he had anything but time on his hands.
“It still had to be lonely.”
He suddenly pulled her close, holding her tight. “I’m not alone anymore. I have you.”
“You do.” She snuggled into him.
He closed his eyes and just enjoyed the feel of her. He’d never let her go.
Chapter Nine
Big sat in his shuttle, reaching out on a communications line to Fig. The male didn’t respond for a few minutes, but he eventually answered.
“Father, are you well?”
“I am, my number one son. I know it hasn’t been long, but have you found your sharpest brother?”
“You’re not going to like what I discovered when I tried to fly to his last-known location.”
Dread tightened in Big’s chest. “What?”
“There’s a travel warning being broadcast to avoid that sector at all costs. It’s a heavily pirated area now. I touched base with the storyboard. They heeded that warning.”
Big fisted his hands. Fig had hacked into JDJ Corp somehow and learned that their plasma transport shuttles no longer flew to where Blade had been targeting them. The fact that none of them had heard from him in nearly a year could also mean that human pirates had attacked and killed him if they’d taken control of that sector of space.
“I’m going to travel to the nearest alternative area, to see if I can find him there,” Fig sighed. “The fact that we haven’t heard from him, though…”
“I hear you.” It was bad. Blade would have told them if he’d moved to a new sector. They might not be that close anymore, but all of them tended to let each other know their general locations.
“Pirates may have captured and tried to ransom him. They do that shit.”
Big closed his eyes in despair as he filtered what Fig was trying to say. A runaway clone would be worth a reward if he was turned in to the space authorities. Blade would have been executed instantly once they took custody.
“I’m going to do what it takes to find out.”
“No.” Big wasn’t willing to risk Fig. “I won’t lose you, too.”
“I need to know what happened to him, and so do you. People would talk about something like that for a long time. Everyone loves gossip. I just need to go where I can hear it.”
“It’s too risky.” Fig was planning on visiting a space station or a planet colony. Humans would certainly gossip about an escaped clone if one were turned over to the authorities.
“I can do it. Don’t worry, Dad. My brother might be sharp, but I’m smarter.”
“Just come home, or stay where you’re safer.”
“My mind is made up.”
Big knew he wouldn’t be able to talk him out of it. Fig had always been stubborn. “I want you to let me know where you’re going and when you’re clear.”
“I can do that.”
“I need a favor if you’re going to go where I think you are.”
“Name it.”
“I’m going to send you a data burst in the next few minutes. Look into it for me.”
“Give me a hint?”
“I’d like you to check some history facts for me.”
The silence lasted for seconds. “Shit. This is related to your woman, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Fig sighed. “I can imagine what you need, and why. That would weigh on anyone’s mind. Does she know how she got to you?”
“Yes.” Gemma knew how she’d died. “But she has some…loose ends. It’s bothering her. I’m hoping the knowledge will help her move on.”
“Send me what you have. I’ll do my best to find out what she wants to know. I can’t make any promises, though.”
“I know. Just try if you get the chance to access that info. I’d really appreciate it. I also want to know exactly where you’re heading. I’ll come looking for you if you disappear.”
“Don’t. One is bad, when someone disappears. Two is a test.”
A trap. Big grit his teeth. Fig was insinuating that if Blade had been turned over to the authorities, they might be actively seeking other clones, and the stations might have beefed up security. “Be careful.”
“I always am. Talk to you in a few days.” Fig ended the communication.
Big sent the data burst, then waited to get one from Fig. It came within seconds and he pulled it up on the screen. It was a written message in numbers and letters, a code they had created, and all six of them had memorized it to communicate things they couldn’t say aloud in case of a hack.