the water and most of their fellow miners behind it. Two hundred and seven miners died.” She paused, and he glanced at her face, losing himself in the glow and flicker of the lamp on her skin. “My mother was one of them.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, genuinely sympathetic to her loss. “That must have been very hard for you.”
“Harder for Daddy,” she admitted. “I was so little I didn’t really understand what had happened, and I still had my father so I wasn’t alone. But, Daddy, on the other hand...” She shook her head. “He was all alone with a little girl he had no idea how to raise.”
“And that’s how you ended up in the mines with him?”
“Yes. He couldn’t leave me here, and he didn’t trust anyone to watch me.” She eyed the window of the cabin with mistrust. “These woods aren’t safe for anyone. Haven’t been for a long time.” Her gaze flicked to his. “The moonshiners and their stills bring all sorts of lowlifes up here, but it’s the skin traders hiding out in the woods who are the most dangerous.”
“Skin traders? Out here?” All intel he had seen claimed the sex traffickers operated mainly in The City.
“They move their victims through the old passes up to the flattops,” she explained. “You can see the lights from the ships at night. I guess it’s easier to land them up there where it’s flat.” She shrugged. “They mainly steal girls from the farms down in the valley. They say the farm girls fetch higher prices. They’re healthier.”
Cipher’s stomach soured at the thought of young girls being ripped from their families and sold into sexual slavery in the far wilds of the galaxy. He had the same feeling when he watched the Grabs. Seeing his fellow soldiers and airmen chasing down terrified women, snatching them up and locking collars around their necks twisted his gut. As far as he was concerned, the sooner the old traditions died, the better.
“Anyway,” she said with a little sigh and moved aside the top layer of the maps. “This is the most detailed map I have of the first level where they’re holding your man.”
“How recent is this?”
“Two years,” she said, tapping the date scrawled in the lower corner. “It was my father’s last job. He was hired to go in and lay some precision explosives to backfill the lower levels and make the top level safe for use.”
“Your father worked for the Splinters?” His hackles raised at the idea that he was working with the enemy now.
“No, it was some bigwig out of The City. He came up to Black Pit Number Six where we were working and convinced the boss to loan out Daddy for the job. We went, did the work and left. Later, we found out the Drowning Door had been taken over by new management, so to speak.”
“Do they know you have these maps?”
“They might. Daddy gave them his originals, but he always made a copy for himself.”
He studied the map in front of him. It was useful but limited. He needed to know the proper layout of the mine to plan their attack. “Is there any way to get an updated, more detailed layout of this top level?”
“Don’t you have scanners that can see deep inside the ground?”
Their advanced technology was no secret. “We do, but the Splinters have sensors all around the mine. They’ll know if we use it. We need more recent intel, but we’ll have to get it the low tech way.”
She hesitated and dragged her lush lower lip under her top teeth. The sight inspired wild thoughts that he quickly shoved aside. “There is a way.”
“But?” He sensed she was less than enthusiastic.
“I could go into one of the ventilation shafts to get into the air flow ducts here,” she reluctantly suggested. “The metal ducts run above the reinforced ceilings. They house the lines for the fire suppression system and also carry cool air when the pumps are working. They’re a tight fit for a grown man, but I’m small enough to get through them. I should be able to see into each area of the top level through the air flow registers.”
Cipher hated the idea. It was very risky, and if she were seen or heard, Terror’s captors would know an attack was imminent and either move or kill him.
“I know,” she said quietly, as if sharing his thoughts. “It’s dangerous.”