Caught by Menace (2 page)

up there in those sky ships.”

“Believe what you want. I choose to believe the

woman is happy. The moons only know that she

deserves it, especialy after being arrested and publicly

humiliated for drawing that newsletter for us.”

She remembered the horror of learning the woman,

just a teenager back then, had been arrested for her

crime of disseminating information. They had sentenced

her to a public shearing, the same sentence given to

prostitutes, and had shaved her head in the Harper’s

prostitutes, and had shaved her head in the Harper’s

Wel town square. It was such a cruel thing to do to

someone so young.

Naya noticed the way Dankirk winced as he chewed.

“That tooth bothering you again, Danny?”

He nodded. “Damn thing is kiling me. The chewing

helps. There’s some kind of herbal oil in the gum that

numbs the area nicely.”

“You should see someone about that tooth before you

get an infection and die. Go have Griff pul it.”

He growled. “I am not letting some drunken bear of a

bartender jerk a damn tooth out of my head, Naya!”

“Quit being such a crybaby! He did my wisdom teeth

when I was like, sixteen.”

“Yeah, wel, you’re a different breed, kid. My

ancestors were wimps. I’m quite fond of the analgesics

they offer in more civilized places like the colonies and

The City.”

She roled her eyes. “Wel, unless you plan to bribe

one of the licensed dentists in The City just to get an

appointment and then pay the exorbitant fees for

pharmacy access and medical exemptions, you don’t

have a lot of choices. Just suck it up, get drunk and have

it yanked.”

Dankirk shuddered. “I’l suffer until I can see someone

in Safe Harbor next week. There’s a sick kid in

Grogan’s Mil that needs some kind of major surgery.

The hospital on the Harbor can help him so I’m

smuggling them out.”

“Are you taking the whole family?”

He shook his head. “Just the mother.”

“Is it too expensive for the whole family to travel?”

“Hardly,” he said in frustration. “It’s just mom, dad

and the kid, but the dad is one of those no-intervention

nutters. It’s crazy. This kid wil have a totaly happy,

healthy and productive life if he has the surgery but his

dad is ready to start digging a grave and lighting memorial

candles. I just don’t understand it.”

“Different cultures, Danny. That’s why our people

settled here in Connor’s Run. They sure as hel knew

they weren’t going to find the kind of freedom they

wanted in places like Harper’s Wel or the Mil.”

“You ain’t lying.” Danny’s head snapped to the far

wal of the warehouse. “I think we have company.” He

pushed her toward a dark corner. “Hide behind those

boxes until I give you the signal.”

boxes until I give you the signal.”

Naya didn’t argue. Silently she crept to safety and

crouched down. Controling her breathing and listening

intently, she experienced such a surge of sadness. It

wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Al those centuries earlier, when her ancestors had left

Earth for the promised land in the stars, they’d believed

they were going to a place of peace and prosperity. After

their generational ship limped into this end of the galaxy,

the Harcos took pity on them. They’d been given a

beautiful planet by a race of sky warriors to start their

new civilization—but it had al gone pear-shaped.

Religious disagreements, corruption, a famine and an

epidemic had gutted their new world.

Their civilization had fractured. Most of the wealthy

citizens and nearly al of the scientists and physicians and

engineers had fled Calyx for the smaler but habitable

planets nearby to form the more progressive colonies like

Safe Harbor and Jesco. Al of the religious extremists

had chosen to leave The City and form their insulated

communities like Harper’s Wel and Grogan’s Mil where

women were property—under the guise of protection, of

course—and penalties for breaking moral codes were

swift and harsh. Places like Connor’s Run, where people

swift and harsh. Places like Connor’s Run, where people

paid lip service to the laws of The City but not much

more, had popped up in strategic locations to serve as

marketplaces and trading posts between the backward

vilages and moraly corrupt City.

This? Hiding in a warehouse to bribe an official while

planning to make a daring escape off the planet to save

her friend from a forced marriage to some juiced-up sky

warrior? No, this wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.

A low whistle puled her from the hiding place. She

rose slowly, quietly, and waited until she could see

Dankirk and the gray-haired alderman clearly. Certain it

was safe, she let her hand fal from her weapon and went

to meet them.

Dankirk made the necessary introductions. “Naya, this

is Alderman Crane. Alderman, this is Naya.”

“We’ve never met but I know you.” Alderman Crane

extended his hand. “You did a favor for my niece a few

years ago.”

Naya frowned and shook his hand. “I did?”

“She came to your pawnshop asking for a weapon

because she was afraid her husband was going to kil her.

You told her a gun wasn’t the answer and gave her

You told her a gun wasn’t the answer and gave her

something even better—a way out.”

Naya’s eyes widened as the memory resurfaced.

“Lilac, right? Blonde? Late twenties?” She nodded. “I

remember her.”
And the bruises on her face…

“She’s doing wel now. You helped save her life. I’l

do whatever I can to return the favor.”

“I want my name on the Grab list.”

The alderman blinked. “You want me to put your

name
on
the list?”

She nodded. “I know how crazy it sounds, but I have

my reasons. I need my name on that list. It’s of the

utmost importance.” She took a step closer to the man.

“I happen to know your daughter’s name is on the list.”

His expression grew solemn. “She is.”

“Give me her number. It’s an easy fix. It’s been done

plenty of times. You give me her number and put me on

the list. She takes my number and stays off the list. That

gives her at least another year of freedom before the

Grab comes back to Connor’s Run.”

The alderman looked shocked. “Why?”

“Because I made a promise to a friend,” Naya replied.

“I never break a promise.”

“I never break a promise.”

“She’s big on that whole honor thing,” Dankirk

murmured.

“It’s an admirable quality,” Alderman Crane

remarked. “I’l do it, Naya. I’l switch the numbers.” He

hesitated. “How much do you expect me to pay for this

transaction?”

“Nothing. I want a favor,” she said simply. She

gestured toward Dankirk. “You’l owe us a favor.”

“Us? The Red Feather?”

“Yes,” she clarified. “Someday, someone wil come to

you and ask for help. You’l do whatever you can to

make it happen. You’l remember how I helped your

niece and your daughter and you’l pay it forward.”

“Of course,” Alderman Crane promised. “I’l do

whatever it takes.”

Naya shook his hand and slipped the piece of paper

with her identification number against his palm. “Thank

you.”

He squeezed her hand before pocketing the paper.

“Good luck with whatever it is you have planned. May

you find happiness in wherever this takes you.”

Dankirk walked the alderman outside. When he

Dankirk walked the alderman outside. When he

returned, he sighed loudly. “Wel that’s that. You’re

going to be on the list. You’re going to have to run.”

“That’s the plan.” Naya tried to ignore the wobbling

anxiety burning in the pit of her stomach.

“It won’t be easy to get from the surface of Calyx to

the colonies,” Dankirk warned.

“We’ve got our papers.” She touched her pocket.

“Jennie’s boyfriend wil land his surface-to-sky cruiser in

the woods just beyond the safe zone. Jennie and I know

the woods like the backs of our hands. We’l evade the

Harcos men, get to the safe zone and make a mad dash

right to the waiting ship.”

“Why not run now? Run tonight. Run tomorrow.

Don’t wait, Naya.”

“We can’t. You know the government has this place

clamped down tightly. Those damn riots in The City have

made it impossible to even travel between towns. Even if

we could evade the local police force and get Josef’s

ship into orbit, those guys?” She pointed toward the sky

and shook her head. “They keep a close watch on the

planet leading up to their Grabs. They’l never alow two

women chosen by the lottery to make a run to the

colonies. They’d probably arrest Josef for trying to steal

colonies. They’d probably arrest Josef for trying to steal

something they consider theirs. It’s too big of a risk.”

Dankirk rubbed the back of his neck. “What about

Jennie’s boyfriend? Does this guy have the necessary

permits to get to the surface?”

Naya nodded. “He’s a research scientist from the

colonies. He’s got a permit to fly his surface-to-sky

cruiser in and out of Calyx airspace four times a week.

His end of things is squared away.”

“And yours? What the hel are you going to do with

your shop?”

“What I should have done years ago when Nattie left

me here,” Naya replied, the memory of her older

brother’s betrayal stil so painful. “I’m seling out—lock,

stock and barrel.”

He chuckled. “I see what you did there.”

She roled her eyes. “I haven’t run weapons in a long

time, Danny. Once the Splinter terrorists came here and

their civil war with the Harcos,” she pointed skyward

again, “started to spil into our world, I gave up that

rather lucrative side business running cargo for the Sixers.

Once those two groups got into bed together, it wasn’t

worth the risk or the hassle. I need to get tangled up with

their insurgency problems like I need a hole in the head.”

“Agreed.” Dankirk shuffled his feet. “So—you headed

home?”

Naya’s chest tightened. “I’m sorry, Danny. I just…

We can’t.”

“Not even once? For old times’ sake?”

“We did once,” she reminded him. There was such

hope in his voice. She didn’t have the heart to add that it

had gotten weird and awkward so fast. Afraid this might

be their last meeting ever, she stepped close and wound

her arms around his waist. Rising on tiptoes, she pressed

their lips together in a gentle, lingering kiss. “Good night,

Danny.”

“Night, Naya.” He caressed her face and dropped a

kiss on her forehead. “Be safe.”

“I’l try.” She couldn’t promise anything else.

“I’l catch up with you in the colonies.” He rubbed her

earlobe between his forefinger and thumb. “I can’t

decide if you’re incredibly brave or just realy stupid.”

Laughing softly, she pecked his cheek and started to

walk away. “Probably a bit of both.”

Out in the cool night, Naya kept to the shadows again.

Her mind raced as she cut across Connor’s Run. She

Her mind raced as she cut across Connor’s Run. She

tried not to focus on how badly things could go wrong.

The alderman might be unsuccessful in his quest to switch

numbers. Or, even worse, he might sel her out to the

authorities as a political dissident to curry favor with

someone higher up the food chain.

Even if she made it into the Grab, either she or Jennie

could be snatched up by one of the Harcos warriors. If

Jennie were caught, Naya would have to let herself be

taken so they could stay together and escape at some

point. Getting off one of those warships wouldn’t be easy

but Naya had gotten out of trickier scrapes.

The very thought of being caught made her shiver with

fear. There were few things that truly scared Naya. Being

dragged to one of those Harcos sky ships was one of

them. She’d heard the stories of how they treated their

wives. She figured there were some embelishments

tacked on to those stories—anything she heard via

gossip typicaly had something salacious added to it—but

they al began with a seed of truth. It was the possibility

of truth that scared her.

What went on in Harper’s Wel and Wilow’s Tears

was bad enough, but up there? Oh, hel no. They put