Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (57 page)

There
was
an
air
of
civilized
sophistication
to
Maltrex,
the
main
city
on
Trakis
Five.
The
walkways
beneath
them
were
wide,
the
air
clean.
He’d
have
preferred
a
few
more
speeders
to
blend
in
with,
but
as
they
moved
on
the
traffic
thinned
even
more.

“That
building
there,”
Janey
said,
pointing
the
device
toward
the
biggest
house
yet.
The
building
seemed
familiar,
but
Jon
was
certain
he’d
never
been
here
before.

On
the
same
principle
they
had
used
so
far,
they
went
straight
to
the
front
gate.
Rico
pressed
his
palm
to
the
pad.
Nothing
happened.

“Looks
like
no
one’s
home.”
He
turned
to
Janey.
“Can
you
get
us
in?”

“No
problem,
but
it
will
take
a
couple
of
minutes.”

“Guys?”
Jon
went
instantly
still
as
Skylar’s
voice
sounded
in
the
comm
unit
in
his
ear.

“What
is
it?”
Rico
asked.

“Do
you
know
whose
house
you’re
standing
in
front
of?”

“No,
but
I
presume
you’re
going
to
tell
us.”

“Aiden
Ross.”

“Well,
that
explains
why
no
one’s
home.”

It
also
explained
why
Jon
recognized
the
place.
The
pictures
had
been
in
the
files
he’d
been
sent
on
Ross.
He’d
never
considered
a
home
hit;
there
was
usually
too
much
security,
so
he’d
not
bothered
to
case
the
place.

“Have
you
spotted
any
surveillance?”
Rico
asked.

“None,
and
I
can’t
see
why
they’d
bother,
as
Aiden’s
dead,
but
I’d
still
get
in
and
out
of
there
as
fast
as
you
can.”

“We’re
in,”
Janey
said.

The
huge
metal
gates
slid
open.
Rico
and
Janey
climbed
back
in
the
speeder,
and
they
headed
for
the
main
entrance
to
the
house.

Jon
tried
to
make
sense
of
the
information.
Had
someone
within
Ross’s
own
household
set
up
the
assassination?
He
had
no
family
living
with
him,
so
it
must
be
a
member
of
the
staff.
Or
had
someone
infiltrated
the
house
to
make
the
transfer
so
it
would
appear
as
though
it
came
from
here?
But
that
didn’t
make
sense.
Janey
was
one
of
only
a
very
few
people
who
could
have
traced
the
transfer
back
to
its
origin.
Why
go
to
the
bother
of
setting
something
like
that
up
if
the
chances
were
you’d
never
be
found
out?

Once
inside
the
house,
Jon
halted
in
the
wide
hallway
and
stared
around
him.
“Jesus,
the
guy
was
a
nutter.
Look
at
this
stuff.”

Pictures
covered
the
walls,
all
of
them
depicting
religious
themes.
Most
appeared
to
be
scenes
of
divine
retribution—a
whole
load
of
fire
and
brimstone.

“Maybe
you
could
take
one
back
for
Alex,”
Rico
said.
“You
know,
make
her
feel
at
home—get
back
in
her
good
books.”

Jon
cast
him
a
quick
glance.
“Piss
off.”

“Well,
we’ve
all
noticed
the
pair
of
you
aren’t
talking,
and
if
you
aren’t
talking
I
doubt
you’re
doing
anything
else.”

Janey
giggled.

Christ,
they’d
obviously
been
discussing
him
and
Alex.
Strangely,
the
thought
didn’t
bother
him,
which
didn’t
mean
he
had
any
intention
of
talking
about
it.

“Which
way
now?”
he
asked
Janey.
“I
hope
you
can
get
close—this
place
would
take
hours
to
search.”

“That
way.”
She
pointed
to
a
set
of
double
doors.

The
doors
led
into
a
large,
high-tech
office—the
decor
silver
and
white,
the
only
color
in
the
room
a
huge
crucifixion
scene
hanging
behind
the
polished
silver
desk.
Janey
sat
at
the
console
and
flipped
a
switch.

“It’s
protected,”
she
said.
“It’ll
take
me
a
couple
of
minutes
to
get
in.”
She
hunched
over
the
console,
her
brows
drawn
together.
“Do
you
think
you
could
give
me
a
bit
of
room
here?
You’re
both
breathing
down
my
neck.”

Jon
took
a
step
back
but
stayed
where
he
could
see
the
screen.
Rico
leaned
against
the
desk
and
stared
into
space
while
his
foot
tapped
on
the
floor.

Janey
glared
at
it,
and
he
pushed
himself
up
and
paced
the
room.
She
turned
back
to
the
console
and
her
fingers
flew
over
the
keys.
Jon
had
come
to
respect
her
over
the
past
few
days.
They’d
spent
a
lot
of
time
together
as
they
struggled
to
make
sense
of
the
information
on
Deke’s
files.
And
strangely,
once
he’d
stopped
trying
to
flirt
with
her,
she’d
revealed
herself
as
a
much
nicer
person,
and
he’d
come
to
like
her
as
well—something
he
hadn’t
expected.

A
message
flashed
up
on
the
screen,
and
she
frowned.
“Not
right,”
she
muttered
under
her
breath
and
deleted
the
entry
before
Jon
could
read
it.

She
tapped
again,
deleted
again,
tapped
again,
and
sat
back.
“That’s
it,”
she
said.
“I
thought
it
was
wrong,
but
it’s
not.
It’s
coming
up
with
the
same
answer
every
time.”

“And
that
is?”
Jon
said,
not
bothering
to
keep
the
impatience
from
his
voice.

“Aiden
Ross.”

“What
do
you
mean,
Aiden
Ross?
Aiden
Ross
what?”

“Aiden
Ross
made
the
transfer.”

Jon
pinched
the
bridge
of
his
nose.
“You’re
telling
me
Aiden
Ross
paid
for
his
own
assassination?”

“Yup.
Ross
not
only
paid,
but
he
actually
set
up
the
transaction.”

“You’re
sure?

She
nodded,
and
Jon
spun
around
and
stalked
the
length
of
the
room.

He’d
been
counting
on
this
to
give
them
a
lead
they
could
use
to
convince
the
Collective
to
back
off
and
get
the
bounty
off
their
heads.
But
like
everything
else
since
he’d
woken
up
from
cryo,
this
made
no
sense.

“So
Aiden
Ross
effectively
committed
suicide,”
Rico
said
from
behind
him.
“It
would
explain
how
he
knew
how
to
take
down
one
of
the
Collective
and
make
sure
they
stayed
down.”