Jackson asked.
“I can’t concentrate with everyone staring at me,” Violette snapped. She gave him a hard look.
“Wait outside,” Dev ordered the others.
With some reluctance, they agreed.
“Thank you,” Violette said. “I promised you’d I seek the truth, but I can’t think with all of them staring at me like I’m the gatekeeper of all things evil.”
“They don’t think that.” Dev leaned against the counter. “They believe you to be an honorable person.”
Violette arched a brow.
“Misguided, but honorable,” Dev amended. He ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek. “And beautiful.”
“I doubt beauty enters into the equation.” She leaned into his hand. “How are you still warm?”
“Your face is almost as red as mine. Put your hat back on.” He handed the cap to her. She didn’t remember dropping it. Taking it, she slid it over her head. It was warm from his hold.
Violette wasn’t military, but since her father was a general he’d taught her how to access basic military files. Anything too highly encrypted would have needed bio-signatures of some kind.
It took a moment, but she was able to figure out a basic password that allowed her mid-level access. “It’s not much, just facility maintenance records. Since the prisoners were in stone, there were no feeding schedules, exercise hours, or anything else to note. I can get you some names, but no crimes. There is an old incident report for a couple of the guards who had an argument that ended in punches. Most of it is inventory supplies and requisition requests. I’m sorry. I know you wanted something fantastic to expose this place, but there’s…” Violette paused as she scrolled through the work orders and memos to the earliest ones. The first file had her father’s military identification number on it. “My father.”
“What does it say?” Dev leaned over to look at the holographic screen. She felt his heat against her neck. She turned to him, seeing his cheek near her lips.
“It’s a personnel file.” Violette didn’t open it.
Dev looked at her. His mouth was close to hers. She felt his breath on her lips. The warm caress was intimate, and she breathed him inside of her.
“Open it,” he said. “You’re here for the truth.”
She nodded and turned to the screen. The file had a picture of her father as a young man. He looked different out of uniform. His clothes matched those of the broken prisoners. The image turned, showing first his front and then a profile view of his upper body.
“Jack Stephans, Florencia Moon Coalition lead informant for sector five, status active, trusted,” Violette read. She scrolled down the file, coming to a later entry. “Recommended for a high honor for his role in securing the Fifth Moon, as well as his work in subduing the rebel leaders hiding there. All rebellion has been terminated. Promotion: Ice Complex Five Warden. New file, classified.” She frowned. “He never told me he was a warden.”
That would mean the general did know what happened here, at least enough of it. It also meant Josselyn had told the truth. Jack Stephans, Florencia Moon Coalition lead informant for sector five. He was the Federation’s inside man to what had happened here. Why else would they have promoted a mere local spy to warden so quickly unless he proved in some great way he could be trusted? She thought about the broken statues, posed in fear. Her father was a monster.
“I don’t think he was the warden when the statues were broken,” Dev said, as if that would be a comfort.
Violette’s heartbeat quickened, and she tried to keep her composure.
Rick appeared at the door. “Anything?”
Dev shook his head in denial. “She’s in, but there’s nothing useful.”
“I’ll copy it anyway for Lucien to go through.” Jackson pushed past Rick and withdrew an information transfer disc from his snowsuit. He laid it on the computer mainframe. The holographic screen appeared to be sucked into the disc before returning to normal. Jackson slid the disc back into his pocket. “Temperature is dropping outside. We need to leave if we’re going to scavenge what we can from the castle. Josselyn knows where all the real treasure is hidden. If you’re done here, let’s get moving. I don’t want to become another one of this moon’s human icicles.”
Chapter 21
“Holy space balls, I forgot how cold this place was,” Rick said, falling into stride next to Dev.
“I can’t feel my space balls,” Lucien complained, holding his lower stomach.
“That’s cause you don’t have any balls,” Viktor answered.
“More balls than