of friendship.
Digging deeper, I found hints of Rockhurst movement but nothing big enough to set off any alarms. Was I reading more into it than I should?
Either way, I needed to escape this planet.
The bank account I’d set up for this identity had plenty of funds to live on, but not enough to buy a ship. Even paying off Loch would be a stretch. I’d have to access my true account for additional funds, which meant I needed to have an escape plan ready or I’d get scooped up before I left the bank.
“Did they find our escape ship?” I asked. I slid out of bed and started pulling on yesterday’s clothes. Muscles throughout my body protested, but I was up and moving, so I’d work out the soreness before too long.
Loch glanced up then returned his attention to his com. I guess slowly pulling on a pair of men’s pants while moving like a little old lady wasn’t super alluring. “I didn’t see it at the spaceport,” he said, “but I assume so. If they’re smart, they left it in the canyon and either disabled it or put trackers on it.”
So returning to the escape ship was a nonstarter. A crazy idea occurred to me. “How nice is the unflagged merc ship?” I asked.
Loch looked up with a knowing grin. “It’s nice. I did a little recon earlier. I wouldn’t be surprised if it had House ship internals.”
That was both good and bad. If it really did have personal House Rockhurst engines and systems then it would be fast and capable. But it would also mean I would need much better and more recent information to steal it. “I need a new com,” I said. “Not that I don’t appreciate this one, but I need a secure model, preferably one made by House von Hasenberg.”
“It’ll cost you,” he warned. “And put you under scrutiny.”
“If I’m going to steal their ship—and I am—I need a secure channel. If you’d like to help, I’d appreciate it, but I understand if you want to take your money and run. The bank will be watched, but I’ll get it for you somehow if you want hard credit chips.” I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on my socks and boots.
“I promised to get you to a planet or station with an interstellar port. This hardly qualifies.”
I shrugged. “It’s close enough and you helped me escape the ship, which was my main objective. It would be safer for you to disappear into the dark half of the planet. Stealing a ship from a House is frowned upon.”
Loch laughed. “You’re good,” he said. “I can’t tell if you’re intentionally trying to manipulate me into helping you steal the ship or if you really think I should run.”
In point of fact, I wasn’t sure which I was doing, either. It would be much harder to take the ship on my own, but spending more time with Marcus Loch was dangerous in its own right.
“Either way,” he said, “I’m a man of my word, and I don’t think I’ve upheld my part of the bargain. You’re stuck with me awhile longer.”
I would feel better about his help—and his honor—if it didn’t come with the calculating look. “Okay, thanks,” I said. “First things first, I need a new com. Did you see anything that might work while you were out?”
“There are a couple options, but this town is mostly dead. This whole section is abandoned. It seems smuggler hunting isn’t paying the bills like it used to. Most people have moved on to greener pastures.”
A smaller town was worse for us. Getting lost in a big city was easy, but a new person in a small town always drew attention. “No one questioned where you came from?”
“The people I dealt with don’t question their customers. I spent credits and that’s all they cared about.”
I wasn’t sure that honor among thieves would hold once Rockhurst started throwing money around, but I had to hope we were long gone before Richard became that desperate.
I ate an energy bar from my food stash, drank a half liter of water, then stood and pulled one of the cloaks off of the bed. “Thanks for the cloak, too,” I said. “Keep a total of what you’ve spent and I’ll add it to your payment.”
Made of a heavy black material, the cloak fell from my shoulders to my ankles. The front clasped together to keep out drafts and a deep hood