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"Besides which," Valero said, "we'd never get to them anyway. They won't give us computer access."

"You have a right to present facts in your defense—

"

Yima snorted. "You really think those messages will ever see the light of day?" he asked. "I can guarantee the Regent will make sure they disappear."

"Greedy bastard," Valero said. "First he sells his own men out to us, then he turns around and sells us out the Regency."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Somebody gave the Regency our lock code," Yima said. "We counted on your prince being less than honest.

We never told him the code and he didn't have computer access, but we made the mistake of trusting our own people."

I looked at Valero for explanation, and he pointed

down the aisle to a cell at the end of the room. It was full of women. Unlike the male pirates, who all seemed to follow

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the same code of what a pirate should look like, the women were a diverse group. One wore no makeup. Her hair was cropped short. She wore nondescript men's clothing. I might have thought she was a young boy, if I'd passed her in the corridor. One of them had bright, spiked hair like the men. The rest looked like any woman I might have met at a Regency mixer.

"We're missing one crew member," Valero said.

"Janus. The woman who's been warming your prince's sheets."

"He's not my prince," I said.

Valero continued as if I hadn't interrupted. "He was getting bored. What he thought would last only days had stretched into weeks. He was out of tobacco and wine. Our men didn't pander to him as he expected. Once the Regency refused the bulk of the ransom, he obviously decided to cut his losses and go home."

"So he convinced Janus to contact the Regency?"

Valero shrugged. "Seems like the most logical

explanation."

I was distracted by movement in the cell opposite

the women. Two men stood at the bars, looking my way.

They weren't like the other pirates. They were young. No tattoos. No mohawks. No makeup. In fact, one was wearing a Regency Militia jacket.

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They were the defectors.

I walked down to their cell. Tomas and Seamus,

two of my youngest men. They both stared at me with scared eyes. I stared back, wondering what I should say. It was Seamus who spoke first.

"Captain Kelley—"

"I'm not your captain anymore."

They both hung their heads at that, and I realized

they had misunderstood me. They thought I meant because
they
had defected, when what I really meant was because
I
had.

I stepped up close to the bars. "Listen to me," I said, and they both looked back up at me, their eyes hopeful.

"I'm getting you all out of here as soon as I can, but the militia will never take you back. You boys need to decide now if you're going with the pirates, or if you have somebody else you can run to. Do you understand?"

They both nodded, but it was Tomas who answered.

"Yes, sir," he said. "We understand."

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Standing outside Rikard's room gave me an eerie

sense of
déjà vu
. I straightened my uniform for at least the third time. I smoothed down my hair. How many times had I done this before being let into his room, sometimes for business, sometimes for more? I didn't want to see him, but I could think of no other way to get what I needed.

I took a deep breath to steady myself and I knocked on his door.

It was answered by a woman. Although she'd

obviously gone to great lengths to dress like a respectable member of Regency society, there was no missing the pink stripe in her hair. Her makeup was too thick and too dark.

"You must be Janus," I said.

"Yeah. So?" She put a hand on her hip. "Who the hell are you?"

It was a good act, but not good enough. I could tell she was nervous. She was way out of her comfort zone, and doing her best to cover it with bravado.

"I need to see Prince Rikard."

I had hoped that trying to act official would set her off her game, but I realized too late my mistake. If I had played nice, she might have softened, but when confronted with rigidity, she dug in her heels.

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She crossed her arms over her chest. "He's busy."

As if Rikard were ever busy with anything other

than glorifying his leisure. "Tell him Captain Kelley is here to speak with him."

"He's busy," she said again. "Now get lost."

She started to close the door on me, but I hadn't

come this far to be turned away by a pirate putting on airs. I slammed the door open, pushing past her into the room.

"What the hell?" she snapped. "I could have you arrested—"

"You could try."

"I'm calling security."

"Bad idea," I said. I turned to look at her. "Who do you think they'll listen to? A Regency officer, or a pirate whore?" She didn't look nearly as brave as she had before. I took a step toward her, and she backed away. "What did it take to make you sell out your crew, Janus? What did he promise you? Was it money?"

"No!" She practically spat the word at me.

"Did he tell you he loved you? Did he promise to marry you?"

She turned away at that, wincing, and I knew I'd

guessed correctly. I laughed, although I knew it was cruel.

"You're a fool," I told her. "Do you honestly think you're the first whore he's promised marriage to? He'll have

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replaced you within a month."

Her facade started to crack then. Her eyes darted

around the room. Her chin began to tremble.

"That's enough," Rikard said from behind me.

I turned to face him. He was wearing the same fur

robe he'd been wearing on Jerald's ship. He held one of his expensive cigarettes in his hand, although it wasn't lit.

"Janus," he said, "why don't you run down to the third floor and buy some of that raspberry wine you like so much? Captain Kelley and I need some time alone."

He wasn't even looking at her. His eyes were glued

on me. She hung her head, but she didn't argue. She was silent as she gathered a shawl and beaded handbag and left the room.

"Well," he said when she was gone. "That was rather unpleasant, wasn't it? No need to crush her quite yet.

She could still prove useful."

"You're a heartless bastard."

He shrugged, obviously unimpressed by my

character analysis. He looked me up and down as he lit his cigarette. "You look well," he said. "I didn't realize you'd returned to duty."

"Light duty only," I said, but I could tell by his face he'd known that already.

"Pending a psychological evaluation," he said. He

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blew smoke at the ceiling, rolling his cigarette between his fingers as he regarded me. "Is that why you've come?" he asked. "You want me to pull some strings and get you reinstated as captain."

"No, that's not why I'm here."

His eyebrows went up marginally. "Really?" His eyes were appraising. Finally, he smiled. He put his cigarette down in an ashtray. He walked toward me with a glint in his eye that I knew all too well. "I don't suppose this is a social call?" he asked.

"Not the kind you're thinking of," I said, and he stopped in his tracks. His smile faded.

"I grow weary of your game, Captain Kelley. What is it you want?"

"Money."

For a moment, he stared at me, his eyes wide, but

then he threw his head back and laughed. "Money?" he said. "Is that all? Something to tide you over until your full pay is reinstated?"

"Not hardly," I said. "I want credit chips. Five of them."

The laughter on his face faded, replaced by

something far more conniving. "For what?"

"That's none of your concern. Five chips, each tied to a separate account. I want them from independent banks,

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not Regency." Cash would have been better, but it was unlikely there was that much cash anywhere on board the URS Santiago. Credit chips would have to do.

Rikard's eyes were thoughtful. He picked his

cigarette back up and took a drag as he watched me. He was assessing the situation, trying to determine how much I knew, how far I'd take it, what exactly I might be planning.

"How much?"

"Twenty thousand credits," I said.

He smiled.

"Each."

He stopped smiling.

"A hundred thousand? You can't be serious."

"I am."

His laugh was harsh and bitter. His coy game was

gone. He was all business now. He blew thick blue smoke my direction. "I don't have access to that kind of money,"

he said. "You know that."

"You can get it."

He leaned back against the table, his right elbow

propped in his left hand as he looked at me. There was a challenge in his eyes and I knew he was going to call me on what he hoped was a bluff. I was right.

"Why would I bother?" he asked.

"Because I know everything you did. I have all of

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the messages you sent to Captain Yima, complaining about how little of your father's money you have access to. I know you gave the pirates our lock code. I know you arranged the entire kidnapping in exchange for half of the ransom. And once your father denied payment, you decided to cut your losses and talked Janus into contacting the Regency for you."

He wasn't surprised by any of my words. He smiled

at me. "So you're going to blackmail me," he said. It was more a statement than a question. "But who will believe you, Captain Kelley? Everybody knows the condition you were found in. Your fragile mental state. Do you think anybody will accept your story?"

"I have proof," I said, and his smile wavered just a bit. "I've stored copies of the entire transaction on three different non-Regency servers. They're scheduled to go out within the hour if I don't stop them."

"To whom?"

"One to your father," I said. "The other two to his opponents in the Regency. I'm sure they'll find your indiscretions very entertaining."

"One hundred thousand credits," he said slowly as he ground his cigarette out in the ashtray next to him. He was stalling. I knew him well enough to know that. He looked up at me, and I could practically see him sorting

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through his cards, contemplating the plays he could make: calling my bluff again, having me arrested, doing as I asked, negotiating different terms.

But like any overconfident player, he settled on the same play he used every time: seduction.

"Oh Trissy," he said, unfolding himself from where he lounged against the table. He sauntered toward me slowly, untying his fur robe as he did. "Why do we have to fight?" he asked. He pushed himself against me. He reached up and put his arms around my neck. "Is it because of Janus?" he asked. "You know you're right about her, Trissy. I don't care about her a bit. She was a means to an end." He fingered the buttons on my jacket. "I'll send her away if you want. I'll reinstate you. I'll give you a raise. I'll give you anything you want, Trissy. I'll even name you my Consort, if you like."

He stood on his toes and kissed me. It was all so

familiar. The sweet, smoky taste of his kiss. The way he whimpered when his tongue found mine. The feel of his slim body against me. The way his hand slid down my chest to cup my groin.

And for the first time ever, my body didn't betray

me. The flesh may have been weak, but I'd finally found something stronger.

His right hand was on my neck, and as I kissed him,

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I reached with my left hand to take it. I slid my finger around his wrist. I made sure my hold was just right before I gripped his hand and wrenched it away from me, pushing it back toward his shoulder.

I'd always been good at hand-to-hand, and this was

a simple move taught to recruits in their first week. If he'd ever had any training himself, he would have known the counter, but he hadn't. It worked perfectly. He screamed, trying to back away, but I wrenched harder, turning the palm of his hand toward him and out, pushing it back toward his shoulder, and he fell down to one knee in front of me.

"Five chips," I said. "Twenty-thousand credits each.

Non-Regency banks."

There were tears in his eyes when he looked up at

me. "Tristan, I don't have that kind of money."

"You can get it."

"Not without people noticing."

"I don't care if they notice. You get me the money. I don't care who you have to bribe. I don't care you have to fuck. You get me those chips by tomorrow, or everyone in the Regency will know what you did."

He closed his eyes hard against the tears, and when he looked back up at me, I knew he was beaten.

"I can't get it that fast," he said, his voice soft. "It

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will take twenty-four hours to secure the accounts. A few more to verify the transfers."

I twisted his arm a bit more—not enough to really

hurt him, but just enough to remind him who was in charge.