[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
yours.
That s where you re wrong, the old man replied evenly. Did you feel those quakes?
They mean we re all going to die here
All the more reason to have a little sport, the Terran s voice was strained with
eagerness, now, and a hand groped Nya s ass. Her eyes narrowed. She was going to kill them
all. No man touched her without her permission; she would not be the passive victim her
mother had been.
You fool! She might be our only chance off this rock! Once they realize she s missing,
the rest will come back for her. She s a bargaining chip.
Nya wanted to laugh, to tell him not to hold his breath. She was as much a prisoner on
this lump of rock as he, unless she could find a ship. But she knew voicing any such opinion
was suicide for sure, so she held quiet.
The mob or at least the giant who appeared to be their leader must not be as deeply
in withdrawal as she first thought. They grew silent, as if they were actually considering the
old man s words, and the Juzzaar s grip loosened, allowing her to draw precious air into her
starving lungs.
I have a map. The old man s voice broke the silence again, and Nya s eyes flew wide
in surprise, even as she felt her captor stiffen.
A map to what?
The Garrison: The Good Fight 67
It leads out of the mine. There ll be ships on the surface, loaded with Styx, and just
ripe for the taking.
Shifts and mutters rippled through the group, and Nya drew a hopeful breath as
Hizat s grasp eased further. The prisoners were listening eagerly to the old man, now. Their
addiction would win out; that much she knew. What she couldn t predict was what they d do
when they discovered that the old man was wrong. Not only were there no ships on the
surface, but there wasn t any Styx, either. Still, if it bought her time to regroup with Amani
and come up with a strategy, she d take whatever she could get.
What do you want, old man?
Let me have her. I m looking for something down here, and she can find it. You re
looking for a way out and some Styx, and I ve got the way to both.
I could just kill you and take it.
The old man loosed a small, disdainful laugh. You think I m stupid? I ve got this map
pad programmed. It won t show you the way until you re at least fifty yards away from me.
And only if I put in the code. Now put the knife away. Or, better yet, give it here.
Take the map, Hizat, one of the others spoke up. We can get another bitch
elsewhere. This one s too tall, anyway.
Not for me. Hizat s growl caused Nya s heart to sink. Then, before she could blink,
let alone issue a warning, he dumped her unceremoniously to the ground. She watched as the
old man tapped the map pad, and then passed over the map reader. She wanted to scream at
the old man that he was a fool to give up such a valuable asset, but she couldn t take the
chance her luck would turn even worse. At least now she was free.
She blinked at her rescuer, and couldn t believe her eyes. He was barely five foot four
inches tall, and reed-thin. His shoulders stooped with age, and his body looked spindly
beneath the green prison jumper he wore. He was a Styx-related felon probably a dealer, if
his smooth handling of the rest said anything.
The group of thugs headed off, already bickering about shares and passage, and Nya
shuddered as she rose to her feet and faced the old man. Her expression turned stormy as she
glared down at him.
Why did you do that? If that map leads to the surface&
That map leads nowhere, he said with a shrug, even as he tucked her bootknife into
the makeshift belt around his waist. I created it while I hid in the closet in there. He
gestured toward a mining maintenance enclosure. They ll wander around for a while, but I
doubt they ll find an exit before they kill each other.
Her eyes narrowed. Which begs the question of just who they and you are, and
how you all got here from the prison.
He shrugged again, though the stiffness of the motion told her he was far from
nonchalant about his circumstances.
We were brought here and kept in cages. I assume you found them. He raised one
bushy eyebrow at her, until she nodded. They ran experiments on us.
Nya s stomach knotted. Not that she didn t expect something like this, but to hear it&
What kinds of experiments?
He laughed, the sound bitter. Styx, of course. Funny, that they peddle what got me
put away, around here. Hardly seems fair, does it?
Esther Mitchell 68
Nya had to agree with that observation. It certainly felt hypocritical to lock people
away for Styx-related crimes, only to addict them to the drug, and mine it all around them.
She nearly smiled as she realized how appalled Amani would be if he could hear her thoughts
right now.
What s your name, prisoner?
He offered her a mock bow that shot instant panic through Nya. That she could be
discovered by a prisoner was a terrifying thought, because it would mean that she wasn t as
competent at hiding her parentage as she thought. She relaxed as she realized he was merely
trying to insult her, in his own fashion.
My name is Omori Nawaur. And while I believe in proper introductions, I think we
should be on our way. We need to find a way out of this mine before it collapses.
As if in response, the ground chose that moment to tremble, and a shower of dirt and
pebbles rained down from the ceiling. Nya instinctively grabbed for support, and flattened
herself against one wall in case the roof collapsed.
The tremor was mercifully brief, and milder than most. Nya breathed a tiny sigh of
relief as it passed.
All right, she told Omori once she was sure the quake was past. But I need to go
back to the cells, first.
Why? Omori didn t sound happy about that idea, and she couldn t say she blamed
him for being wary.
My partner will be back there by now, and I lost my compad, so without him I have no
idea where to go from here.
She thought she heard him snort, but when she glanced his way, his expression was
studiously blank.
Do you know how to get back?
She nodded. She wasn t really in the mood to converse with a complete stranger, even
if he had just saved her life. She wanted to find Amani, and get the hell out of this damned
mine, before she went crazy.
How?
Her companion s question caused her to blink, distracted. How, what?
How do you know this is the way back?
She rolled her eyes. Was every man in the galaxy dead from the neck up, or was it just
her luck to find the dense ones? When you re hanging over the shoulder of a gorilla, there s
not a whole lot to do except study your surroundings and think about how the hell to escape.
She cocked a questioning glance his way. Shall we?
He nodded, and they set off in the direction from which the other prisoners brought
her. Wary apprehension dogged her steps. She didn t trust Omori, whether he'd rescued her
or not. She d have to be a fool to turn her back on a prisoner, no matter how docile he seemed.
Nya Soderstrom was nobody s fool.
The Garrison: The Good Fight 69
Chapter Fifteen
Nya marked off each turn that brought her closer to her starting point with another
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]