The Complete Razia Series, page 42
"I will submit your paperwork to locate this missing transaction," he huffed, angrily typing on his keyboard. "And then I want you two out of my office. And if you don't leave, I will call security!"
True to his word, once the manager returned with a printed sheet of paper, he was accompanied by two security guards who escorted Lyssa and Lizbeth promptly off the bank premises.
They sat down at one of the tables in the presidential square, surrounded by the tall stone walls of the castle. They sat in silence and watched the glass and stone bank across the street, as if it would give up its secrets to them if they sat here long enough. The square was a bit busier than the last time Lyssa had been here, as the excitement of the upcoming election permeated the seat of the Universal Government.
Lyssa picked up a leaflet for General State's campaign that had been left on their table. General State stared back at her, nary a smile on his face nor any warmth in his eyes.
"How in Leveman's Vortex is this guy ahead in the polls?" she asked, showing Lizbeth the picture.
"People think Llendo is a moron," Lizbeth shrugged. "I'm inclined to believe them, to be honest. If I didn't suspect State was involved in some massive gun-running conspiracy, I'd vote for him."
Lyssa nodded, her eyes drawn to a security guard walking the length of the wall surrounding the square. He was joined by three more, who nodded and continued walking. They looked formidable, even from down here.
"Extra security for the election and inauguration," Lizbeth said, following her gaze.
"I think they should be paying attention to the warehouse five blocks from here," Lyssa snorted.
"It's funny, I remember coming to the presidential palace every year on field trips when I was a kid," Lizbeth said, taking in the giant stone castle on the other side of them. "See that clock tower up there?" She pointed to the now familiar stone clock tower with the sixty-twelve time system. "Shirou Mantovani bet me a hundred credits that I couldn't run all the way up to the top and back down in ten minutes. It's all ramps, you know," Lizbeth motioned to it. "Nearly twenty of them to get to the top. Needless to say, I lost that bet."
"You'd think they'd put in an elevator or something…"
"Nah, the building is too old, and the political firestorm that would come from any modification to the building would be crazy. The castle is one of the last remaining structures on this planet from the original inhabitants, and the tower used to be a place where they would call to prayers, if I remember correctly."
Lyssa made a face, thinking about the Temple at the Manor.
"I mean, it's a pretty cool place," Lizbeth said. "The palace has all these underground jails from way back in the day. Vitor Coiro tried to lock me in one year because I wouldn't go on a date with him." She pointed to the upper floors. "Second and third floors are all presidential staff. The rest is a museum, I think. We should go sometime."
"Sure, because that's about as likely to happen as our getting a copy of my brother's missing transaction records," Lyssa sighed, pulling out the print-out they received from the bank manager.
"Yeah, I'm s—hang on a second," Lizbeth said, pulling the paper over to her. "How many planets have that many numbers, Dr. Peate?"
Lyssa pulled the paper back to her and noticed the scribbled numbers at the top of the page.
"B-583-78-2-7-52-9-1," Lyssa said, reading the top line. "What the…"
"B-583, that must be the planet," Lizbeth said. "Seventy eight, two…do you think these are coordinates?"
"He wouldn't—"
"Maybe he thought if he helped us, I'd grant him immunity," Lizbeth said, looking back at the bank. She looked as if she were considering it.
"Or maybe he realized that he could give us the coordinates, and there's no way in Leveman's Great Vortex that we could ever get the file."
"Why?" Lizbeth said, snapping back to her.
"This is the Universal Bank Archives we are talking about," Lyssa exclaimed. "The backbone of our entire system of government."
"Yes and?"
"And if you think security was tight in that building,"—Lyssa pointed across the street—"you have no idea how secure the archives must be. You probably can't get into the star system without them knowing." She wished she could wipe the determined smile off of Lizbeth's face. It was odd being on this side of a stubborn person. "Besides that, we already know what it's going to say anyways. We know that Wedekind bought the planet."
"That's not the point," Lizbeth said. "I need proof, definitive proof from an official source that they are involved. If I can show my bosses that Wedekind bought this planet, and that someone's trying to hide Wedekind's activities, I'll have enough to get a warrant and really go after these guys!"
"There's just one problem with that," Lyssa said, giving her a knowing look. "This plan hinges on whether or not we can actually get that proof."
"So?" Lizbeth's smile grew wider. "That's why I have a pirate."
"Yeah, and in case you didn't notice, breaking into things is not exactly my area of expertise," Lyssa said. "I'm the money-tracking girl, not the security-disabling girl."
"Well, do you know anyone as good at breaking into places as you are at bounty hunting?"
"I…no."
"You were about to say something," Lizbeth said, picking up on her hesitation.
"No, I wasn't."
"Yes, you were."
Lyssa tried to growl, but it came out more like a whine. "I'm not asking for his help!"
"Then you get to break into the archives," Lizbeth said, using a tone of voice that meant arguing was useless. "Or, you get to go ask him for help."
The pit of her stomach dropped as the full realization washed over her.
"This is going to be painful."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"What do I call you two, Razbeth? Lizzia?" Sage chuckled. "You're quite a duo."
It wasn't hard to find Sage. A quick call to Harms to get his latest "secret" alias, and Razia found him lounging at a cigar bar on D-882. The smoke was thick in the air, but Sage didn't seem bothered by it as much as Lyssa was. Or maybe she was just sick with what she was here to ask him.
She checked off all of his crew in the bar: Ganon, the pilot; Sobal, the young computer hacker; Keal, his ship's mechanic. His three thick body-men were even playing cards in the corner, turning to full attention when Razia and Lyssa walked in the front door, ready for whatever fireworks were about to blow up.
"So, I know you didn't come all the way out here to have a smoke with me," Sage grinned, taking a long puff of the cigar. "By the way, in case you were wondering what I did to deserve this—"
"We need your help," Lizbeth said, cutting him off immediately.
Sage glanced between the two of them, a devilish grin growing on his face. "We need your help," he said, tossing a look to Ganon, who began snickering. "We need your help. We need your help. We need your help. We need your help."
Razia rolled her eyes, knowing exactly where he was going.
"We need your help," he said, turning his eyes to Razia. "You need my help."
"Yes, I think you've pretty much covered it," Lizbeth said dryly.
"I thought," Sage drawled slowly as if savoring this moment, "you didn't need my help...Razia?"
Lizbeth shot her a look, but Razia's face didn’t move.
"You yelled at me, too. Didn't she, Ganon?" Sage chuckled.
Beside him, Ganon emphatically nodded. "I remember, multiple occasions."
"And now you stand here—"
"I swear to God in Leveman's Vortex, Sage," Razia grumbled. "Just let it go."
"Not until you say it."
Razia pressed her lips into a thin line and clenched her jaw.
"Say it."
"Come on," Lizbeth muttered quietly. "Just say it already so we can get a move on."
"No," Razia growled.
"Do it," Lizbeth said, giving her a look that could kill.
"Whew, I like your friend," Ganon said with a wink at her.
"Go on," Lizbeth said, ignoring him.
"I..." Razia swallowed, feeling rather green, "ineedyourhelp."
"What was that now, darling?" Sage cooed, lifting a hand to his ear.
"I said," she felt as if the very words inflicted pain, "I need your help, Sage."
"Excellent!" Sage clapped his hands together and leaned forward. "So, dearest Razia"—his eyes glittered as her alias rolled off his tongue—"what can I help you with?"
"We need to break into the Universal Bank Archives," Lizbeth said.
Silence filled the room—even those not involved in the conversation stopped to look at the two young women. Razia tossed a mind-your-own-business look to two older men in the corner.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sage said, his cocky demeanor slipping. "You can't do that."
"Why not?" Lizbeth asked.
Sage laughed, tossing a look to Ganon. "It's illegal."
"Yeah, and you're a pirate," Lizbeth replied.
"No, I mean, that's way outside the limits of piracy protection," Sage said, leaning forward. "You can't tamper with bank records."
"They've already been tampered with," Razia snapped. "Which is why we have to break into the archive to go find the original records. The ones online are wrong!"
"What?" Sage blinked, before shaking his head. "No, that's impossible, no one can—"
"Somebody did," Lizbeth replied. "So we need to get on the planet to see what the original transaction records say."
Sage paused, looking between the two of them before settling on Razia. "You know you would be out of the web if Dissident found out."
“He won't find out, unless you or your crew open your big fat mouths," Razia said warningly. "This…well, I'm not helping Lizbeth because it has anything to do with piracy."
"So you're willing to risk your tenuous membership of the pirate web to help someone else?" Sage asked, genuinely shocked.
"Well, when you put it like that…" Razia said, throwing Lizbeth a look.
"You know I'm worth it," Lizbeth said.
"All right then," Sage said suddenly, "we'll help you."
"What?" Lizbeth blinked. "Why the sudden change?"
"Because this one"—he jutted his thumb out at Razia—"only thinks about bounty hunting. So if you've got her thinking about something else, it must be important. And it's good for her to consider someone else's needs above her own, for once."
"Oh, get sucked."
***
Sage was able to procure the plans to the Universal Bank archive on B-583 relatively quickly. Or rather Sobal, the young computer whiz who sweated nervously around her. In almost no time, Sage and Ganon were pouring over the printouts, arguing over the best way in. Lizbeth had been right that the bank manager provided coordinates to the planet; the file in question was located on the seventh floor of building two in section seventy-eight. But that was never the difficult part.
Razia sat in the corner, and for once, had no idea what the best course of action was. Sage, however, was in his element. All of his cocky swagger had disappeared, and in its place was a calm focus. His eyes were glued to the plans in front of him, his brow furrowed in concentration.
He reminded her of Tauron. Which made sense, she supposed, since he grew up on that pirate ship. He'd been there years before even she had showed up.
"Yeah, because if we go in underground, these vibration sensors they have in place won't pick it up," Sage snapped, giving Ganon a dry look. The pilot was used to it and ignored him, pointing out other options.
As much as she hated to admit it, it was probably the right call to ask Sage for his help. Bounties and transactions she could handle, but when it came to this kind of stuff, Sage…well, he was just better at it than she was.
But she'd rather die than tell him.
"Like anything you see?" Lizbeth came to sit next to her with an amused smile on her face.
"Get sucked."
"So why hasn't anything happened between you two?" she asked, her voice low enough that none of the others would hear. "I can tell he's crazy about you."
"He's not...that's not what it is," Razia stammered uncomfortably. "We just grew up together. Tauron told him to look out for me."
"So, you're the reason you two aren’t together?” Lizbeth observed, chuckling as Razia’s face contorted into a deep scowl. "Look, you can try to tell me you aren't lonely, but we both know that's a lie."
"Why do you care?"
"Because I'm your friend, and I see more than you know."
The word hung in the air and Razia forgot about Sage. Friends. Razia didn't have friends. Pirates could barely even stand her, let alone want to be her best buddy. Harms was less a friend than a kindly uncle and Sage, well…maybe she'd consider being his friend if he weren't such an insufferable dickhead all the time.
Lyssa didn't have friends either. Most of her brothers made sure that she was reviled as much at the Academy as she was at home. Vel was…well, she didn't really consider Vel a friend. He almost had to like her, as they'd been through so much together.
But Lizbeth had just said it like it was a foregone conclusion. They were friends.
"So, I got some bad news," Sage said, walking over to the two of them. "Or good news, depending on your perspective."
"We can't get in?" Lizbeth asked, deflating.
"No, we can. It's just..." Sage turned his eyes to Razia. "We're going to have to do a space jump."
Razia's face paled considerably and she hated herself for it.
"I think I get the core concept, but what does it entail?" Lizbeth asked.
"Basically, this planet has tightly controlled access in or out," Sage said. "Because it's not an active archive; not a lot of ships come in. So ours would definitely raise some eyebrows if we broached the atmosphere. So we'll skim the highest levels of the atmosphere, just out of their radar and then just parachute in."
"How do you parachute from space?" Lizbeth asked. "Won't you float away into space or burn up?"
Razia's heart leapt into her throat and she began to smell sulfur.
"No," Ganon said, "you're technically in the stratosphere. So we'll be pulled down at a high rate of speed. It's three and a half minutes from the ship until we pull parachutes, then another four to six until we land." He gave Sage a cocky look. "Think we can break the sound barrier again?"
"Sounds like fun," Lizbeth grinned giving Ganon a once-over before turning to Razia. "You said you've done this before, right?"
"Yep," Razia nodded, her voice strained. Sure, she'd fallen out of the ship, in her dreams, straight into Plethegon. Breathing was now incredibly difficult as she tried to get a grip on her spiraling terror.
"Razia," Sage said, concern evident in his voice. "Are you—"
"No, I love space jumps," she said, wondering why her voice sounded small and weak. "They're my favorite thing to do in life."
Before he could say another word, she walked out of the room so she wouldn't be sick in front of them.
***
Razia stood in the bay, nervously adjusting the too-big gloves over her fingers. The ship was hovering at just about twenty-five miles above the surface of the planet. In order to make it all the way down to the ground, they needed to wear special suits to protect them from the icy chill and the low oxygen. The suit was four sizes too big for her, made for one of Sage's crew, and the helmet was moving oddly on top of the extra fabric.
On the other side of the room, she spotted the other two. Lizbeth looking like she was swimming in her suit as well. Sage, the taller of the two figures, gave Razia a thumbs up and she nodded, hoping that the helmet was enough to hide her queasiness.
It returned ten-fold as the hatch on the end of the room slid open with a loud groan, revealing the planet beneath her feet.
It was a long way down to the ground below.
She could see the curvature of the planet, the blue tint of the atmosphere clashing against the blackness of space. Lights dotted the surface, although they were almost inseparable from up here, she knew from the plans that they sat atop giant buildings that towered at least a mile into the sky.
She forced herself to look away from the hatch, and tightened the straps on her parachute. That was when she noticed a fourth person standing with a protective suit on—Ganon.
"Why is he coming?" Razia asked, tugging at Sage's suit.
Sage tapped the side of his helmet.
"I said, why is he—" Razia stopped mid-sentence when Sage flipped a switch on the side of her helmet. Suddenly, she heard Sage's crew doing status checks, of Ganon telling Lizbeth what was going to happen, and Sage's voice, a few nanoseconds after his lips moved.
"What'd you say?" Sage said.
"I said," Razia snapped. "Why is he coming? The more people we have with us, the more chance we'll be seen."
"Ganon is going to jump with Lizbeth," Sage said, as Lizbeth happily slipped her arms through two straps on the front of Ganon's suit. Razia could see him grinning handsomely as he looped another set of straps through her legs and around her waist. Razia resisted an eye roll at their already too-familiar flirtation.
"Okay, so why can't she jump with you?" Razia said.
Sage raised his eyebrows and pointed to the same harness on the front of his suit.
"…No way."
"C'mon," Sage said, ignoring her. "If we don't jump soon we're going to miss the spot."
"I don't need you to jump with me," Razia insisted, her stubborn ego winning over her paralyzing fear of heights. As if she were going to get strapped onto Sage like some damsel in distress. "I've done this before."
"The only way you're jumping off this ship is strapped to me, so you'd better get used to it," Sage stated.
"Get sucked, Teon."
"Yeah, let her jump if she wants to jump," Lizbeth offered. "She said she's done this before—"
"And she nearly got herself killed then, too!" Sage snapped at Lizbeth. "She's petrified of heights!"
"TEON!" Razia hissed, but it was too late.
The snorts and cackles filled her helmet, as the crew—having been running status checks until this point, began laughing from the bridge.
