Captive - Cheryl Brooks Page 0,114
about his own.”
“I agree. But we should still leave it to Velkma’s people to decide his fate.”
Fury flooded her body, making her chest burn and her hands clench into fists. “His henchmen killed my mother when he had ordered them to kill me. I think that gives me the right to have a say.”
He exhaled slowly. “I certainly can’t argue with that. Now, my suggestion would be to dump him on Orpheseus Prime with nothing but the clothes on his back. Once Val has cleaned out his bank accounts, he’d have one hell of a time surviving there.”
To her surprise, she found herself nodding in agreement. “You’re right. That’s the perfect solution. But who would want to take him there?”
“We could do it. Just toss him in the hold with a little food and water and leave him there until we land. Then throw him out on his ass.”
“Ooh… I like it!”
His lips pursed in a moue of distaste. “Might have to borrow Myrhm to clean up after him, though. Still, it might be worth the mess, and it seems like a fitting punishment. We’ll see what Velkma and Yirland think about it.”
Klara was fairly certain they would approve. After all, they’d only said they wanted him gone from Haedus Nine forever. From what she’d heard of Orpheseus Prime, stranding him there would go beyond the letter of their request to fulfill the spirit.
She leaned against Moe, yawning. “I hate to admit it, but I’m exhausted. I’m beginning to wish we’d stayed on your ship.”
Moe gave her a squeeze. “We’ll eat a little something and head back. The way Val was going at it, he’ll probably be finished transferring the funds before the party is over.”
“We should save him something. Any idea what he might like?”
“As I recall, he mostly eats fruit and nuts. Sort of like the average bird.” He shook his head. “No idea how he can maintain a physique like that on nothing but fruit and nuts. Must be part of his genetic modifications.”
“You’d be surprised at how little you need to survive—and what you can get used to.” She nodded toward the Racks, who were happily munching on a stack of roasted aubergat stalks. “With all this to choose from, they’re still eating that crap.”
Moe shrugged. “No accounting for taste, is there?”
Klara doubted that taste had anything to do with it. They simply didn’t know any better. She’d already eaten food she’d never heard of at least once that day, herself. “True. Then again, maybe most Racks like aubergat stalks. I wouldn’t know.”
“You can find out in a heartbeat if you Google it,” Moe said informatively. “But why bother? They seem happy enough.”
Klara was forced to admit he was right. She counted to ten before asking, “What’s Google?”
“Online search engine,” he replied. “Been around for eons.”
She heaved a weary sigh. “Thanks for clearing that up.”
He eyed her with doubt. “Still don’t get it, do you?”
“Not really. But I will. Someday. Just not today.”
“Gotcha.”
Moe’s brother, Larry strolled over. “The food’s not bad here. The booze is pretty nasty, but who cares about that now?”
“Nobody,” Moe replied. “Heard the good news? Val found the money.”
Larry nodded. “Oh, yeah. Mom told me.”
“Wait a minute,” Moe said, frowning. “I haven’t told her yet.”
“You know Mom. She pumped Yirland for information right after she saw you talking to her.” He took a sip of his drink—a frothy green concoction—and winced. “So when are you guys packing up and leaving this dump?”
Klara blinked, suddenly realizing that in leaving Haedus Nine, she would be leaving the only world—the only home—she’d ever known. “I don’t know. There really isn’t anything keeping us here.” Anything she would miss, they could easily take with them, namely, her gang members, none of whom she was willing to leave behind, especially the Racks. She glanced at Moe. “Is there?”
“Not really,” Moe replied. “Might be kinda fun to stick around until the election is over, though. My money is on Yirland being elected as supreme leader or president or prime minister or whatever they decide to call the Head Fred.” He shrugged. “But you never know.”
“Don’t hang around too long,” Larry said with a grin. “I sent out a deep space com a little while ago, and I’ve already received a rather incredulous reply.” Glancing at Klara, he continued, “You might want to head for Terra Minor soon. There’s someone there who is very anxious to meet you and still isn’t convinced you are who you say you are.”