The Complete Razia Series, page 18
10) Sloan, Flynn
Captured by Santos Journot
9) Bullock, Jeam
Captured by Santos Journot
5) Bernal, Arpad
Captured by Santos Journot
4) Stenson, Eli
Captured by Santos Journot
"Any luck?" Vel asked, walking in and handing her a cup of coffee.
"No," she said, holding the cup between her hands and looking at the mess of windows and data splayed across her screen. "Not even one transaction. Not an alias, not an accomplice, nothing."
2) Journot, Santos
Wanted For
Engagement in piracy, bounty hunting
Reward
49,054,652C
Known Aliases
None
Known
Accomplices
None
Pirate Web Affiliation
Insurgent
"Did you see about the pirates he's captured recently?" Vel offered. "Any commonalities?"
"Nothing—except they were all in the top ten most wanted," she said. "There's not a pattern to where they were caught or any other details, that I can find anyway." She opened the notes she took from Harms when she met with him. "A couple in D-882 and the rest scattered in refueling stations. He even found Jeam Bullock on vacation in A-326."
"That's interesting, isn't it?" Vel said. "You'd think he'd be more careful about using a known bank account on vacation."
"That's the thing," she said, cupping the warm mug between her hands again. "He had no idea it was coming. Bullock's getting up there in age, so he likes to take his vacations. He had this one alias just to be used at his vacation house. I looked it up once it became public."
She brought up his bank records for his account. All of them showed transactions on A-326.
"Did he get sloppy? Maybe someone stole his C-cards?"
"Maybe," Razia said, chewing on her thumb.
"Did you try comparing their purchase history?"
"Yeah," she said, bringing up a star map with a bunch of multi-colored pins on different stars. "The only commonality between all of the bounties was that they all spent time at Eamon's."
"What's that?"
"It's an exclusive bar for only the top pirates," she explained. "So it wouldn't be unusual for them to go there. There's crazy security there, and most of the pirates were caught weeks after they went there…"
"But maybe that's the point," Vel said. "If he's really that good, wouldn't he try to cover his tracks? If I was trying to pick off pirates, I'd definitely hit a bar where they all congregate. Maybe he somehow stole their aliases there?"
"Hm." Eamon's had been billing itself as a place for top pirates for months, even going as far as hiring huge bouncers to prevent anyone other than the top fifty pirates from gaining entry. She'd spend nights watching pirate after pirate stumble out, usually on the arm of some woman. They would be prime targets for anyone in that state.
"What are you doing?" Vel asked, as she plotted a course.
"Heading to Eamon's."
"So...I'm right?"
She turned to give him a dubious look. "No."
"But it was my idea?"
"No, it wasn't."
***
She peered across the street and narrowed her eyes. The two Dal Jamus-sized bouncers were standing outside, denying entry to a slew of pirates who were milling around.
"So why don't you just go in?" Vel asked, leaning over beside her. "You're a top pirate, right?"
"I may be banned from the place," Razia muttered.
Vel whirled around. "What?"
"I snuck in through a window once."
"Why?"
"Because," she said, turning to look back at him. "What can I do to make you stay here?"
Vel frowned. "Why do I have to stay here?"
"Because it's going to be a lot easier for me to sneak in without having a tagalong," Razia snapped. "So just…hang out here, will ya? I won't be that long."
"Fine." Vel pouted.
Razia jogged past the entrance, careful to avoid the gaze of the bouncers. She quickly turned the corner, strolling through the alleyway, counting the number of doors until she reached the one that lead into the back kitchen of the bar.
Just as she was about to open the door, it swung inward and she froze. But not because she'd been caught, but because a pair of steely blue eyes—framed by a strong jawline and black, curly hair—were staring into hers.
"H-hi," she said lamely.
"The entrance is around the corner," he said, half-smiling in such a way that it made her blush. She dumbly moved out of the way as he walked out into the alleyway.
"I...um..." She began stammering like a moron.
"Wait, I remember you," he said, placing the garbage, which she just realized he was holding, in the bin. "You snuck in here a few weeks ago, didn't you?"
She frowned. "I also happen to be a pirate in the top twenty."
"Oh yeah, you kidnapped Jukin Peate's brother, right?"
"Yeah," she said, happy that somebody still remembered. Especially someone with such beautiful blue eyes.
"So, why don't you just go in the front door?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest. "Since you're in the top twenty."
"Your bouncers don't like me very much. Probably since I—"
"Snuck in?" he offered, chuckling. "C'mon, you can come in this way. I won't tell anyone."
"Really?" she asked, her own voice sounding weird.
"On one condition," he said, his hand on the door knob. "You'll have a drink with me when my shift's over."
She blinked at him, as if he were speaking a different language. "What?"
"Have a drink?" he repeated. "With me?"
Her cheeks flushed with heat, and she was thankful for the darkness. "Really? Why?"
"Why do you think?" He laughed. "I want to get to know the only woman pirate."
"Okay," she responded, dumbly.
"My name's VJ, by the way."
"Razia. I mean, I guess you knew that but..." She forced herself to shut up before she made an even bigger fool of herself.
"Nice to meet you Razia," he said, opening the door for her. "So meet me upstairs? About half an hour?"
"Sure..."
Heart pounding, she demurely walked past him into the kitchen, tossing one final look back before slipping into the bar. Almost immediately, the cloud of elation around her evaporated as the loud pounding of music and the smell of sweat and booze hit her in full force. Grumpily putting her hands over her ears, it took her a moment to acclimate. The room was crammed with men wearing halfway-decent shirts and pants watching women in skimpy shorts and tank tops. Razia didn't recognize any of the guys, so she figured they must be crew members of pirates.
That was when she caught a familiar face and couldn't duck in time.
"Hey!" Ganon came barreling over. Before she could tell him otherwise, he swept her up in a big bear hug, lifting her three feet off the floor.
"Get off!"
"What are you doing here!?" Ganon asked, his voice barely audible over the music.
"Nothing!" she yelled back, trying to get away.
"C'mon!" he said, grabbing her hand and yanking her forward, either not hearing or ignoring her protests.
To her annoyance, she found herself facing a table with Sage and his entire crew, who were sharing a pitcher of beer (aside from Sage, who didn't have anything in front of him).
"Hey!" Sage said, his eyes lighting up when he caught sight of her. The rest of his words were muffled by the sound of the club.
"What?" she said.
He tried again, but she gestured to her ear, shrugging and shaking her head. Sage pointed behind her. To her horror, Vel was leaving the bar, three sudsy pitchers of beer in his hand.
"What in Leveman's Vortex are you doing here?"
"What?" Vel said. "Can't hear you!"
She watched, her blood pressure rising, as he sat down in an obviously open spot, sliding the pitchers down the bar. Her eyes swept from Vel to land squarely on Sage, who rolled his eyes and got up to talk to her.
"Relax, he's fine," he said.
"Relax?" she spat, her face livid. "Relax? Why is he here?"
"Because he was wandering around the bar entrance like a lost puppy," Sage yelled in her ear so she could hear him. "So he's now on my crew."
"He is not—"
"As far as they know," Sage said, motioning to the rest of the room, who were decidedly not paying any attention to them. "Don't worry. It's fine."
She looked between Sage and Vel, who was wiping a thick mustache of beer foam off his lip.
"C'mon, have a beer," Sage said, yanking a seat from another table. She looked at it for a moment before sitting down and taking the beer Vel handed to her.
"Not a word to Mother," Razia said, leaning over the table to him.
"Right, I'll just go home and tell her that I went and had a beer at a pirate bar," Vel retorted, rolling his eyes.
"Oh he's fine," Sage said, slapping him on the back. "You were drinking much younger than he is."
She nearly choked on her beer.
"Say what now?" Vel smiled, looking between Sage and Razia's red face.
"You remember that time you broke into Tauron's liquor cabinet?" Sage said, clearly enjoying this stroll down memory lane. "And you drank his entire bottle of top shelf whiskey?"
Razia tried to look mad between coughs.
"I've never seen that much come out of such a small person," Sage said. "What were we, thirteen?"
"You were too chicken to have any," Razia said, the beer starting to loosen her mood slightly. She eyed his lack of drink and smirked. "Still are."
"So, Vel, let me introduce you to my crew," Sage said, abruptly changing the subject. "That down there is Ganon, he's my pilot. Keal is my mechanic and Sobal is my computer guy, Nalton, Paren, Jorwen—they're my body guys—keep all of those obnoxious bounty hunters off my back."
They waved one by one then continued their conversations, ignoring the three of them.
"Why don’t you have a crew?" Vel asked Razia.
"She doesn’t like people," Sage said.
Vel snorted into his beer.
"I just don’t like you, Teon."
"That hurts me." He leaned back into the seat. "After all, I let you sit at my table."
"Your table?" she asked skeptically.
"Yes, actually, you’re not a regular customer, but this table is reserved for me and my guests. So you’d better be nice to me."
"Right," she said doubtfully, looking around. Immediately, she caught sight of at least five top pirates sitting at different tables surrounded by their crews and being tended to by one (if not two) of the shorts-wearing waitresses.
She locked eyes with VJ, standing behind the bar. He smiled at her, and she looked away quickly, blushing beet red.
"What's with you?" Sage asked.
"It's hot in here," she lied, trying to look normal.
Sage raised his eyebrows, obviously not buying it.
She sighed and sulked down a little lower. "I have a date."
Sage laughed. "It must be loud in here. Because I thought you said that you had a date—"
"I do," she said, annoyed that he didn't believe her.
"What?" Sage said, he and Vel sharing the same disapprovingly shocked look.
"With who?" Vel demanded.
She stole a look over at the bar, and VJ winked at her.
"Him?" Sage said, frowning. "Why him?"
"He asked me," Razia replied, snootily.
"But he's a bartender," Vel said disapprovingly. "What do you know about him?"
"First of all, it's none of your business," she snapped, helping herself to another beer. "And second of all...it's none of your business!"
"Damn well is my business!" Vel spat.
She looked back at the bar. VJ had disappeared, and a rather attractive blonde woman was in his place. She was winking and flirting with the assortment of pirates assembled.
In fact, there seemed to be more women now, waitresses walking around in their skimpy shorts and tank tops handing drinks to pirates who probably didn't need any more. Razia started to feel self-conscious in her tank top and baggy pants as they breezed by her.
"I'm outta here," she said, standing up suddenly.
"Be careful," Vel said, grabbing her hand.
"Really?" Razia said, shaking it off and giving him a look. Keenly aware that both Vel and Sage were watching her, she made her way to the other end of the room. She found the staircase, butterflies growing in her stomach as she climbed. She hadn't been on a date in…ever—she was too busy bounty hunting or excavating planets to really focus on dating.
Up ahead, a skimpy short-wearing waitress was locked in an embrace with a man. As she passed them, she recognized the man as Relleck. However, he was too engulfed in his partner to even notice she was there.
For a brief moment, she considered taking him down then and there...but then a pair of blue eyes entered her mind.
Relleck got a pass tonight.
She came to the top of the staircase and pushed open the door to reveal an office of sorts. Dimly lit, plush chairs and couches littered the room with a single window on the front that looked over the rest of the club.
"You made it." VJ stood behind a much smaller bar, pouring two drinks out of a martini shaker. "I'm glad."
"I thought you were off work," Razia said, shutting the door behind her. Once the door closed, the music quieted to a dull roar.
"I am. This one's on me," he said, walking over and handing her a drink.
"Cheers," she said, clinking her glass gently against his. She took one sip and nearly spat it out—it burned as it went down.
"Too strong?" he said, as they sat down on one of the plush couches. "I thought you were a steely-eyed pirate?"
"I am." Even one sip was enough to make her head a little fuzzy. "But not that steely."
He watched her intently, and the butterflies returned. "So, how'd you get into piracy?" he asked, propping his elbow on top of the couch to look at her.
"Tauron Ball," she said, leaning into the couch. "I was on his crew."
"Really?" he said, looking impressed and extending his arm down the couch. "So you must be pretty good, huh?"
She shrugged, and took another, smaller sip of her drink.
"I've thought about getting into piracy," he said, gently toying with a strand of her hair. It gave her chills. "I don't think I'm smart enough though."
"Mm?" His face was getting closer and closer to hers.
And his other hand was sliding down near her back pocket where she kept her C-cards.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.
"I'm..." he said, looking at her oddly. "I'm just trying to have a good time."
"Right after you pulled my C-card, huh?" She yanked his hand away from her back pocket. "God in Leveman's Vortex," Razia said, slowly. "You were trying to...to get my aliases, weren't you?" The wheels continued to turn in her head and she grew more horrified. "You...all of those women down there...you're the one stealing their alias information, aren't you?" She smiled. "Santos Journot."
He froze, eyes wide and hands still on her hips.
Then, without warning, he shoved her roughly, and sprinted out the door in the back of the room.
She was on her feet in a second, but the door was locked. She struggled against the knob for a moment before turning around and looking for an alternative way out.
The window caught her eye.
Grabbing the nearest barstool, she hurled it through the window, shattering the glass. The thumping music echoed into the space above. Peering out the window to the ground below, she gulped.
There was only one way down.
Closing her eyes, she took three deep breaths—it was only ten feet—then she kicked off the ground, running for the open window.
She landed in a heap on the bar, smashing some drinks and getting the attention of everyone in the room. With the exception of one person, currently pushing his way through a thick crowd of drunk pirates.
He was nearing the door; she'd have to get there faster than him.
She jumped on the closest table and wobbled as it fell over under her weight. But she was able to use the momentum to land on the next table, then the next, and the next, ignoring the screams from the girls covered in fruity drinks. She made it to the door just as Journot slipped through it.
She turned on her heel and sprinted after him, bursting through the doors and missing the thick arms of the bouncers by just inches as they reached for her to stop her. Journot was running down the street as fast as his nice shoes could carry him. She bolted after him, years of running through forests paying off. She caught up to him in no time, knocking him over and grabbing both his wrists before he could wriggle away.
"C’mon, Razia," he pleaded as she slid handcuffs on him. "Just let me go, will ya? You found me out, I can’t get any more pirate information!"
"Sorry," Razia said, unapologetically, tossing her floating canvas to the ground and unceremoniously kicking him onto it.
"Unhand my son!"
Razia looked up to see an older, short gentleman with gray curls and dark wrinkled skin huffing and puffing toward her. As he came into the light, Razia did a double-take.
"Wait a second… you’re a runner!" she gasped. "You’re…Insurgent, aren’t you?"
The old man gaped at her. Suddenly, her bounty capture had become that much juicier and she cackled. "Let me get this straight, Insurgent has been bank-rolling his own bounty shakedown?" she said, with one foot on VJ’s stomach, proudly claiming her prize as he struggled underneath her.
The old man stammered, trying to think of a good retort.
"Oooh." Razia laughed. "Dissident is going to be pissed when he finds out what you’ve been doing!"
Insurgent cursed and spat on the ground. "You see, Junior? I’m done supporting your half-cooked cockamamie schemes! Now I’m going to have to hear it from the other runners!"
"Aw, c’mon, Pop! Get me outta here!"
"I’ll see you when you get out of jail tomorrow," he said, turning around and walking away.
