The Complete Razia Series, page 10
The three officers incapacitated, she turned to peel Vel off the wall and took off sprinting down the hall.
"Dr. Peate!!" Vel panted. "What is going on!?"
"Shut up and run!" she barked back.
They came to a fork in the hallway and ran toward the left, then took another left at the next fork. Up ahead, a patient was walking out of a room. Just before the door closed behind him, Lyssa threw Vel in and jumped in after him, the door closing and locking behind them.
"Dr. Peate!" Vel gasped, clutching at his chest. "What was that? Why are we running?"
"Keep quiet," she snapped, pulling her ear away from the door. "We have to stay in here for a while."
"What is going on?" Vel repeated. "Why are you wanted by the U-POL officers?"
"I’ll explain later," she mumbled, searching the room for something—anything—to hide her appearance. She found a makeshift hair band and was able to tie her hair up behind her head. She pulled her glasses on and adjusted them in the reflection of a shiny cabinet.
"Dr. Peate, are you listening to me?"
"Not really, no." The only safe place right now was back at her ship, but people would start asking questions if Vel walked casually down the hall after he was supposedly just kidnapped.
She walked around the room, looking at each piece of equipment and sighing when it didn’t seem to be able to work for her. She needed something large and hollow, or something to—
Her ears picked up on the sound of squeaking wheels outside.
She walked over to the door, opening it slightly and seeing an orderly wheeling a large garbage cart.
Five minutes later, she was wheeling said garbage cart and knocked-out orderly inside the room.
"Dr. Peate!" Vel screamed. "What in the name of all that is good in this universe are you doing?"
"Finding us a way out of here," she said, turning over the cart and dumping the garbage. "Now get in."
"G...get in?" Vel blinked, looking at the garbage bin. "Do you know what kind of diseases and—"
"I don't care. Get in."
"No."
She rolled her eyes. Of all the times for him to grow a backbone. "Please."
"Not until you tell me why you attacked those three U-POL officers," Vel replied.
"If I tell you, will you promise to just get in here?"
"Yes," he said. "You have my word."
She took a deep breath and sighed. "The U-POL are after me because I happen to spend most of my time as Razia, a bounty hunter, and I am technically wanted for engagement in piracy."
That was obviously not the answer Vel was expecting. "What?"
"There, I told you, now get inside," she demanded, pointing at the garbage cart.
"I most certainly—"
"We had a deal," she said. "Now either you come with me now, or I will make you come with me. And believe me, if I have to make you, you'll end up with a headache."
***
"I can’t breathe!" Vel whispered from inside the cart. "It stinks in here."
"You’d better shut up before I roll you into a wall," Lyssa spat back. "Or onto a ship and leave you there."
As Lyssa wove through the hallways, she walked by a U-POL officer, then another. Though, as more of them barged right by without a second glance at her, she became less concerned. They were too busy looking for her to notice her. Still, she took as many back hallways as she could to avoid attention.
They arrived at the docks without incident, and although there were U-POL officers milling about, they lacked the gold markings of the special officers, and therefore seemed uninterested in actually looking for anyone. She could see her ship in the distance, she was home free—
"Dr. Peate!"
She closed her eyes and groaned. Almost home free.
"Oh dear, Doctor!" Pymus was rushing over to her, trying to look worried. "I have just heard about your brother! The poor child..."
"Yep." She shrugged offhandedly, inching closer to her ship.
"What a terrible, brutish thing for this pirate to do," Pymus tutted. "To think, a pirate would be so brash as to kidnap the brother of Jukin Peate! What was he thinking?"
His words triggered a memory in the back of her mind, and she felt irrationally angry.
"She," Lyssa snapped, automatically.
"Excuse me?" Pymus did a double take.
"My brother was kidnapped by Razia, a very well-known bounty hunter," Lyssa said, smiling proudly.
"I see." Pymus nodded. "And you would know this because…?"
Lyssa backtracked a bit and looked down at the cart at her hands. "I was there, of course."
"Indeed?" Pymus sighed. "I suppose we'll have to wait and see if they catch her."
"Don't be ridiculous," Lyssa said, inching closer. "She's not going to be caught anytime soon. I'm just going to pay whatever ransom she wants."
"So you’re going to reward this delinquent behavior?" Pymus asked, raising his eyebrow at her.
"You sound like Jukin, Pymus."
And with that, she pushed the cart onto the ship.
***
Lyssa sat on her chair, still in shock. They were getting as far away from the Academy and the gathering swarm of U-POL officers as they could. She was relieved that they'd even let her off the station—if she had waited half an hour more, she might have been stopped and had her ship searched.
Her head hurting, she yanked her glasses off and pulled down her hair to rub her scalp. It was over now, but her heart wouldn't stop pounding.
"So a pirate?" Vel broke the silence from behind her. He sounded disgusted.
"You should probably let Mother know that you’re okay," Lyssa replied, not turning around.
"Should I also let her know that her daughter is a wanted criminal?" Vel spat.
"Well, I'd say it wouldn't necessarily surprise her," Lyssa joked, turning around with a half-hearted smile. "She probably thinks as much already."
Vel was not amused. "So, what? Are you trying to do whatever you can to piss off the family? Jukin becomes a police officer, so you decide to become a pirate?"
Lyssa was too shocked to hear him curse to respond.
"And so, when," Vel continued angrily, "when did you have time to become a pirate? Unless..."
She raised her eyebrows at him as he began to realize.
"God in Leveman's Vortex, you've been lying about working with Father!" Vel said, sounding like this revelation was much more traumatic than the first.
"Duh. I thought that was fairly obvious."
"Were you…were you...when you left me on the planet for three days?"
"Okay," Lyssa said, leaning forward a little. "Look, I'm really sorry about that, but there was this thing—"
"I could have died!"
"You didn’t seem to care if I was researching Leveman’s Vortex."
"Continuing Father’s work is important to—"
"To whom?" Lyssa laughed. "Pymus?"
"Oh screw Pymus!" Vel said. "That slimy son of a bitch. He’s always hanging around the Manor like he’s a damn uncle or something. Everybody hates him there."
Again, Lyssa was momentarily shocked by the language. "So why are you working with him?"
"That’s my business." Vel smirked, throwing her a superior look.
"Well, look at you, growing a damn spine," Lyssa responded.
They continued to stare daggers at each other for a moment when the silence of the room was broken by a video call coming in.
"Who’s Dissident?" Vel said, able to see the video screen from his perch behind her.
Lyssa’s heart sank into her chest. Some part of her wanted to ignore the call and avoid the embarrassment of formally being kicked out of Dissident’s web. Especially in front of Vel, who was still glaring at her.
"You wouldn’t want to give me some privacy, would you?" she asked hopefully.
"Nope," Vel responded.
She sighed and spun around. "Just do me a favor and don’t say anything, okay?"
Taking a deep breath, she answered the call.
"Dissident, I can explain—"
"There you are!" Dissident chirped. His elation was sickening.
"Look, I’m sorry, you gave me an old man to go after, you couldn’t possibly—"
"What are you talking about?" Dissident said cheerily. "You kidnapped Jukin Peate’s brother, you sneaky rascal!"
The words took a moment to sink in as she stared at him. "Wait…what?"
"I couldn’t believe it." Dissident shook his head. "I couldn’t believe anyone had the gall to just pluck him out of the station—a station full of scientists and all that—and take on three police officers at the same time? How in Leveman’s Vortex did you think of it?"
Razia blinked, mouth open.
"I mean, sure Tauron did some crazy things in his day, but you…!" Dissident shook his head. "Contestant even said he couldn’t believe it. None of his pirates have ever had the stones to stand up to Jukin Peate!"
"Wha…?" Razia said, finally able to make sounds.
She opened up the pirate news and was shocked to see her picture plastered over the intraweb:
30) (No last name listed), Razia
Wanted in connection with kidnapping of Vellexore Peate
30) (No last name listed), Razia
Wanted in connection with aggravated assault to U-POL officers
30) (No last name listed), Razia
Wanted for resisting arrest by U-POL Special Forces. Considered armed and dangerous.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the number next to her name. Hands shaking, she opened her bounty poster.
30) (No last name listed), Razia
Wanted For
Engagement in piracy, bounty hunting, kidnapping, aggravated assault, resisting arrest
Reward
5,000,500C
Known Aliases
None
Known
Accomplices
Tauron Ball, Sage Teon
Pirate Web
Affiliation
None
"God in Leveman's Vortex," she whispered.
"I mean to tell you," Dissident said, shaking his head, "I don’t know what you were thinking, but I just can’t believe it. You know, not since Sage Teon has a bounty shot up that fast. I was telling Contestant that none of his pirates are—"
"That’s funny," Razia said, noticing the pirate web entry. "Because it actually doesn’t look like I’m in your web anymore."
Dissident’s face shifted. "Oh…well…I…"
Razia tried to swallow the smile growing on her face and look serious. "Looks like I’m a free agent, so to speak, doesn’t it?"
"No, well, I mean…of course I'll add you back…" Dissident stuttered.
"As a full member of the pirate web?" Razia asking, trying not to let her voice shake with excitement.
"Well that is just a little much for—"
"That’s a shame then." Razia shrugged. "Guess I’ll just have to go talk to Contestant—"
"Hold on. Let’s not be hasty!" Dissident said.
"Cause, you know, I’ve still got the kid. And I can do whatever I want with him. Probably get a nice ransom. I’m sure Contestant would be very interested in yet another one of your—"
"All right, all right, all right," Dissident said quickly. He looked like he had a bad taste in his mouth.
"All right what?" Razia pressed.
"All right, you're off probation," Dissident growled.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Dissident," Razia said, leaning forward and ending the call.
She watched her bounty for a moment, a smile growing on her face as it updated.
30) (No last name listed), Razia
Wanted For
Engagement in piracy, bounty hunting, kidnapping, aggravated assault, resisting arrest
Reward
5,000,500C
Known Aliases
None
Known
Accomplices
Tauron Ball, Sage Teon
Pirate Web
Affiliation
Dissident
"Leveman’s Vortex…" Razia said, putting her hands over her face. She sat back and tried to think, but her head was spinning. Who was she going to hunt first? Was she ever going back to the Academy again? What was she going to tell Harms?
"So...?"
Vel’s voice brought Lyssa back to reality. One last thing to take care of.
"And how would you like to spend the weekend at home?" She smiled, setting a course for B-39837.
She heard nothing but a disgusted sigh, and the sound of footsteps walking to go pack his things.
***
Lyssa stood awkwardly in front of her ship, waiting for Vel to come down. Her hair was down and her attire decidedly pirate, but there weren’t any U-POL officers there at the Manor. She was fairly sure Jukin had recruited the entire force to search for her and Vel—at least that was what he'd been broadcasting over the news—but the very last place they'd ever look was Jukin's own childhood home on B-39837.
She hated every inch of this planet, especially the Manor, and would not cry a single tear if the entire planet somehow got sucked into Leveman's Vortex (which was ominously visible from almost every angle of the planet). By the hand of the Great Creator, or an incredibly lucky combination of gravitational forces, only this planet remained in the only solar system to exist near the gravitational phenomena.
It was discovered by her ancestor, a pious individual who believed the former was the case, and built an ornate Temple and even more ornate house to showcase his love for the Great Creator. Three hundred years and a thousand children later, it still stood in all its glory—now home to the Peate clan. There was probably enough gold and silver in the house to feed several planets for years, and there were fancy parties and galas almost every weekend.
The dock she stood in mirrored the Manor in its ostentatiousness. Marble columns and high arches dominated the architecture, with gold-plated chandeliers hanging from the apexes. Lyssa always found it a bit much for a simple ship dock, especially considering the number of times she'd seen repair crews to fix damage from a careless ship pilot.
One such repair man was deftly working on one of the marble columns, ignoring her completely. That was a fairly regular occurrence for the servants there—ignore and be ignored. She looked around the empty room and remembered how it would fill up to the brim on the weekends. Once Sostas had arrived at the wrong time and been unable to find a spot to dock his ship at his own house. She'd never seen him so angry.
Well, until she'd ruined their last trip to Leveman’s Vortex.
She caught herself reminiscing and stuck her hands in her jacket, annoyed. Luckily, the sound of wheels on the ramp of her ship drew her attention from thoughts of Plethegon.
"Well, it's been terrible." Lyssa stuck out her hand to shake his.
"So what am I supposed to do about my internship?"
"I don't know. Call Pymus." Lyssa shrugged, uninterested in his problems. "Like I said, you have a selection of other brothers to choose from."
"He’s not going to allow me to switch doctors."
"Well, then," Lyssa said, a smile growing on her face, "tell him I quit the Academy."
"And so what, you're just going to be a pirate now?" Vel asked, obviously not sharing her enthusiasm. "What is it, Razia?"
"That's the long and short of it. I daresay this will be the last time you ever see Lyssa Peate—"
They were interrupted by a loud, blood-curdling scream.
A woman in her mid-fifties stood in the entrance of the docking station. She wore an exquisite blue silk gown, detailed with gold trim that pulled at her plump midsection, clearly (and barely) bound by a tight corset. Her hair, dyed blonde, was curled in ringlets meticulously pinned atop her head, although in her rush to run into the room, strands had fallen. Her face, normally superiorly calm and with a near-constant judgment of all she surveyed, was flushed red and her eyes wide and searching.
Right behind her was another woman, twenty years younger, with the same concerned look on her face. She, too, was wearing a silk dress, but hers was cream, and simpler, and her hair seemed ever-so-slightly less meticulous, but put together none the less. A priest in black robes and no less than five servants, each wearing a crisp white shirt and deep gold-colored jackets rounded out the group.
"Mother!" Vel said, his eyes lighting up. "I—"
"Get away from my son!" The older woman, Eleonora Hedvig Serann Peate, formally known as Mrs. Dr. Sostas Peate, came barreling into the room, as loudly as a woman in her dress and station could do.
"Oh he’s fine." Lyssa rolled her eyes. "You are so—"
"You vile, evil woman!" she said, turning her attention to Lyssa. "How dare you kidnap my son?"
Lyssa, about to fire back, was momentarily stunned. "What?"
"Mother, this is—" Vel started, before being yanked away by the other woman, their eldest sister Sera.
"Vel, you stay with me," she said, protectively wrapping her arms around him. "Did she hurt you?"
"Sera, I’m fine," Vel insisted.
Lyssa continued to stare at Mrs. Dr. Sostas Peate dumbly as a plump, ring-adorned finger pointed at her face.
"You think you can threaten my family in this manner?" she huffed, the smell of her expensive perfume familiar and terrifying at the same time. "Do you think my son Jukin will let you get away with this?"
Lyssa couldn’t even think about responding, nor could she wipe the shocked look from her face. She looked at Vel, who was being coddled and caressed by Sera. The priest, Helmsley, who'd been saying a prayer over him, now turned to look straight at Lyssa, his icy blue eyes piercing her.
"You, my dear, will have a lot to answer for when your soul finally reaches the Great Creator,” he said superiorly. He hadn’t changed since she'd last seen him all those years ago.
"What?" Lyssa responded, snapping out of her thoughts.
"I suppose an evil, morally corrupt woman such as yourself has never been to a Temple," Mrs. Dr. Sostas Peate continued, her voice full of anger and vitriol.
