The Lost Ship of the Tucker Rebellion - Marie Sexton Page 0,87
of worms. That was the last thing Denver needed. But Zahn, Verpaelst, and even Dusty had expressed an interest in hearing what Tonlet had to say for themselves, and Denver hadn’t been able to come up with a legitimate reason to keep them out of it, so their five faces filled half of Denver’s screen. The other half remained dark as Denver’s hail went through.
Tonlet made them wait. That was undoubtedly part of his power play as well. Denver stood there, sweating, feeling like he now truly knew what it felt like to be trapped between a rock and a hard place.
Denver threw his brother a bemused look but refrained from answering.
Finally, the screen flickered to life.
This time, the view showed Tonlet sitting alone at a table, with what looked like a silk tablecloth and an array of dishes around him. “Denver!” he said, wiping his fat fingers daintily on a cloth napkin. “Have you finally decided to stop fighting the inevitable?”
“After discussing it with the others, we’ve decided to hear your terms.” He hoped the “we” would tip Tonlet off that others were listening in. “So why don’t you cut the bullshit and tell us exactly what you want.”
Tonlet dropped the napkin and leaned his elbow on the table. “Isn’t it obvious? I want the Li’Vin ship.”
“We can’t give you the Legacy. We need it.”
“To get to this planet you intend to colonize?” His eyes moved pointedly to Laramie. “You want to get your brother to a place with real sunlight and gravity.”
There was no point in denying it. “Yes.”
“I’m not heartless, Denver, despite what you choose to believe. I have no intention of stopping you or the colonists from reaching your destination. But my point is, once you’re there, you’ll be done with the ship. Am I right?”
Denver blinked, surprised by the question, and doubly surprised by the fact that he hadn’t thought that far. “I don’t know.” He glanced toward Zahn, Dusty, and the others. Their expressions varied, from surprised to confused, but he couldn’t tell exactly which way they were leaning.
“So, you’ll let us go to this planet, and then… what? Expect one of us to bring the Legacy back to you?”
Tonlet laughed, his large belly shaking against the table he sat at. “I’m not so much of a fool as that.”
“I’d have to go with you, of course.”
“Go with us?” Denver parroted stupidly. “All the way to the planet?”
“Me, and a few of my crew. Once you and your merry band of escapists are all happily on terra firma, I’ll take control of the Legacy.”
“That’s it?” Denver asked.
Tonlet smiled. His lips were greasy from whatever he’d been eating, and it made Denver’s stomach turn. “That’s it.”
“It might be worthless by then,” Laramie said. “We have no way of knowing if there’ll be enough fuel for a return trip.”
“That’s my problem, isn’t it? It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
At this point, Dusty raised her hand, signaling to Denver. He nodded at her, giving her permission to join the conversation.
“Mr. Tonlet, is it?” Tonlet frowned a bit, his eyes scanning the room for whoever was speaking, but he didn’t interrupt. “Denver is our captain. Beyond that, we have our own chain of command. If we agree to your terms, it must be with the stipulation that you’re a passenger only on the Legacy. Not an officer. We don’t answer to you, and we won’t take orders from you.”
Verpaelst, Houck, and Manderson all nodded. Zahn, on the other hand, scowled noticeably in response.
Yeah. The guy was going to be a problem down the road.
One asshole at a time, though.
Denver turned to Tonlet to gauge his reaction.
Tonlet tugged on his beard as he debated. “I suppose I can live with that, so long as we agree that I take full possession of the Legacy upon arrival. After that, I will be the captain.”
“On the ship,” Laramie stipulated. “Not on our planet.”
Tonlet’s lips twitched into the semblance of a smile. “On the ship.”
Denver chewed the inside of his cheek, his eyes drifting toward Laramie, and Spence, who stood wedged between the back of Laramie’s chair and the wall.
“Give us a minute,” Marit said.
She hit a button, effectively muting their conversation from Tonlet’s mic, although his loathsome image still took up half of their screen.
“What do we think?” Denver asked them collectively.