Break Out - By Nina Croft Page 0,6
her lower lip and tugged at a strand of hair, twisting it round her finger. She’d listed all the possible methods of approach, but until she’d met the people she was dealing with it had been impossible to know which one to go with. Now looking at Tannis, her foot tapping impatiently on the floor, she decided on the most direct approach.
“I want you to break a friend of mine out of the Collective’s maximum security facility on Trakis One.”
She watched intently for their reactions. Rico’s she couldn’t tell. His face remained blank, his eyes still obscured by the dark glasses, but Tannis showed a faint flicker of shock, quickly hidden.
“A friend?”
She nodded. “A very good friend.”
Tannis studied her through narrowed eyes. “You are aware that nobody has ever escaped from Trakis One?”
“I know, but I have to try.” She bit her lip, forced a pleading look into her expression. “He’s scheduled for transfer to the Meridian mines on Trakis Seven in ten days’ time. After that…” She trailed off. There was no point in saying more. Everyone knew entry into the atmosphere of Trakis Seven meant instant contamination for which there was no cure. Once there, any rescue would be pointless—unrefined Meridian was a radioactive poison that permeated the cells instantly on exposure. Wherever he ran to, he’d be dead within two years.
“So why is he being held?” Tannis asked.
Skylar had given this one a lot of thought. She didn’t want to put them off totally, but on the other hand, it had to be believable.
“He was obsessed with getting enough credits for us both to have the Meridian treatment. He could have paid for himself years ago, but he loved me and wanted us to be together.”
The two people opposite remained silent, and she forced herself to continue. “Jonny didn’t mean to kill anyone. It was an accident. He’d been contracted to steal a shipment of raditron from a storage facility on Trakis Five, but the explosives went off prematurely and a lot of people died.”
“Hmm.” Tannis sounded skeptical. “And your friend wasn’t harmed?”
“He had protective gear, but the blast knocked him out and they caught him. They sentenced him to life in the mines, which everyone knows is a death sentence.”
Tannis eyed her as though not quite believing her story. Which wasn’t completely unexpected. Maybe it was time to get away from the story and onto what really mattered.
“I have money to pay you,” Skylar said. “Lots of money.”
“The money saved for the treatment?”
“Not all, but some of it.”
“Can you prove you have access?” Tannis leaned forward.
Skylar nodded. “I have the account codes. Verification is code-level one.”
“Give it to me.”
Skylar reeled out the list of numbers while Tannis pressed the button on her wrist console, opening a hologram palm screen on her left hand. She punched in the numbers and waited, humming under her breath. After a minute, a slow smile spread across her face. She nodded to Rico, and then turned back to Skylar. “That’s a lot of credits—not tempted to use them yourself?”
Skylar shook her head. “It’s pointless now. I’d rather have one lifetime with Jonny than eternity without him.” She was worried she’d gone over the top, but what the hell—she couldn’t back down now. Might as well go the whole way. She’d been practicing for this moment. She concentrated hard, remembering the laser blast she’d taken in the face during a training exercise last month. The pistol had been set to stun, but, shit, it had still smarted. She blinked once, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “Please, you’re my last hope. You have to help me.”
Rico rose, crossed the narrow space between them, and crouched down in front of her. He reached out and wiped away the tear with the tip of his finger, surprisingly cool against her cheek. A tingle ran through her skin from the point of contact.
“Hey, don’t cry,” he murmured, his voice husky. “We’ll get your boyfriend back for you.”
Wow, the guy was a pushover. His file hadn’t said he was a big softie. How had he survived this long?
Skylar stared into his face and saw her own reflection in the dark shades. She widened her eyes a little, batted her lashes once or twice.
He smiled and bent his head toward her so his breath feathered against her skin. “Just give me a few minutes to convince the captain, and we’ll be off after your boyfriend. We’ll have him back in no time.”
“You can do it? It’s