The Complete Razia Series, page 91
"I was gonna let our guest stay in your room, but it's filthy," Tauron said with a hard edge in his voice. "Clean this shit up in the next fifteen minutes, or—"
"Or you're leaving me on D-882," Sage grumbled, walking by them and slamming the door behind him. Lyssa heard him muttering not-so-nice things about her and Tauron, but Tauron seemed unaffected.
"Teenagers. What are you gonna do?" Tauron eyed her. "How old are you anyway?"
"Eleven."
"Just a baby," he cooed. He leaned against the wall; he was obviously serious about the fifteen-minute timetable. "So did you figure out where I could find Piazo?"
She shifted and looked at the door. Would Tauron yell at her if she didn't complete the task he gave to her? "Kind of. I compared the transactions of two guys who seemed to have similar patterns. They were almost always at the same place as Piazo."
Tauron blinked at her. "Really?"
"Yeah," she said, encouraged that he wasn't yelling. "And I think, if I had a little more time—"
Tauron didn't let her finish. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her back to the computer room. "Show me."
Nervously, she explained her findings to date. She'd found a man by the name of Satsuko who'd bought a single drink at both places, which seemed odd to her, considering that when she and Sostas stopped for dinner, he'd always have at least two beers with dinner.
"And I figured, why would a guy go to a bar to have one drink? So I looked him up, and he's been pretty active at some place called Madam Guerre's," Lyssa said. "Where's that?"
Tauron's face turned red. "Uh…I'll explain it later. But a lot of guys go there." He leaned over the keyboard and displayed Satsuko's alias information. Something about it had drawn his attention, because he smiled. "Say, sweetie, would you mind if we took a one-day detour before we dropped you off?"
"Why? Did I do something wrong?" Lyssa asked.
"No, actually." Tauron laughed and patted her on the head, the same way he had with Sage earlier. "You just solved a very tricky problem for me."
***
Lyssa awoke in the newly cleaned room a few hours later (though it still smelled of spoiled milk) and could barely believe the past day hadn't been a dream. She'd been kidnapped, threatened, left for dead, and was now sleeping in the very ship of the man who'd instigated it all.
Not only that, but she'd helped him.
She'd overheard excited conversations in the hall outside the room as she'd drifted off to sleep; mostly Tauron was excited, and the responses were less so. She crawled out of bed and saw her duffel bag on the ground. She hadn't even noticed that Tauron had taken it when he'd taken her; then again, she'd been a little too terrified at the time. Dressing quickly, she pulled her Academy jacket over her thin shirt, as the ship was chilly. Cracking open the door, she glanced around for anyone who might be out and about. Tauron had insisted that she was free to explore the ship, but she was still nervous.
She listened for commotion and heard it on the level below. As quietly as she could, she descended the stairs and saw Tauron, Steph, and Wade standing around the loading bay.
But what caught her attention was the orange city visible beyond the open ramp. They must've been in a parking deck of some kind, as she could see other ships nearby.
"Hey, sleepyhead!" Tauron said, spotting Lyssa. "Listen, we're headed out to take care of a little business. Are you gonna be okay here with Sage?"
"Where are we?" Lyssa asked.
"D-882," Tauron said. "This is where most pirate activity happens. And that guy you helped me find is here."
"W-what are you gonna do to him?" Lyssa asked, taking a step back. "Are you gonna kill him?"
"Leveman's, no!" Tauron laughed. "I'm just gonna capture him and take him to the bounty office. He'll be fine, I promise. Unless he decides to fight us, then he'll be a little bruised."
Wade snorted. "Are you finished? He's probably gone by now."
"Yeah, yeah," Tauron said, waving him off. "So run upstairs and find Sage. I told him to keep you company." Tauron paused and looked at her for a moment. "You don't like boys yet, do you?"
"What?"
"Good. Go on upstairs," Tauron said, spinning her by her shoulders and pushing her away. Lyssa climbed a few steps, but then turned to watch the trio disembark. Tauron seemed almost giddy, rubbing his hands together and patting Steph and Wade's backs until Steph threatened to break his arm off. That was the last thing Lyssa heard because the ramp closed.
She ran up the stairs, two-by-two, until she reached the top level and the bridge. She sidled up to the open windows, taking in all the activity of the docking station. It was like every other one she'd seen—fuel lines, boxes of supplies and waste lining the walls. But beyond the transport station itself stood a vast city, tinted orange.
She leaned closer to the windows, squinting into the distance. Other than B-39837, this was the first inhabited planet she'd ever been on. The city was wondrous, with tall buildings towering to the sky above, ships flying in and out of the docking stations that peppered the landscape. Beyond the city lay an orange desert, which probably was why the entire city took on that distinctive orange color.
"What are you doing up here?" Sage's high-pitched, nasal voice interrupted her thoughts and she spun around. She wasn't scared of him, but still didn't want to have her back turned to him.
"Just looking," Lyssa replied. "What are you doing?"
"Important pirate work," he replied, lifting his chin higher. "You're a girl, you wouldn't understand."
"Uh, what does my gender have to do with anything?" Lyssa asked, placing a hand on her hip.
"Girls are too stupid to know anything about piracy. That's why there aren't any girl pirates."
Lyssa noticed the gloves in his back pocket and narrowed her eyes. "Well, last time I checked, pirates don't mop floors."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You obviously aren't a pirate," Lyssa said, narrowing her eyes. "You're nothing but a maid."
His face burned as bright as it had the day before, and she raised her eyebrows at him, daring him to refute her. He stammered for a moment. "I mean, Tauron says that when I'm older, but I gotta earn my keep, and why am I even telling you this?"
With a dramatic huff, he spun around and marched off the bridge. Lyssa giggled when she heard the sloshing of the water bucket and thwap of the mop on the floor. She might've felt bad, but he'd started it.
She turned back to the pirate city out the windows and sat in the squishy chair in the center. Tauron's chair, she supposed. It was way too large for her, much like Sostas' used to be—
She looked down, frowning. Tauron had said that he could find anyone using their Universal Bank account information. Could he find Sostas?
He didn't need to. She knew where Sostas was. If she were to hunt him down, she would end up at the bottom of a fiery river. She had a bad soul, that's what the Great Creator's message had been. She hadn't done anything wrong; she was just inherently a bad person.
She rocked herself from side to side in the chair, deep in thought. That's probably why Tauron had spared her. Perhaps bad souls attracted each other. Maybe that had been her problem; she'd been with people who were too good and reacted poorly to her imperfection.
She sauntered over to the machine she'd used the night before to hunt through all the aliases for Tauron. Perhaps she could find someone else for him; it was awfully nice to have someone appreciate her work for once.
The screen flickered to life, displaying a list of pirates.
5) Bernal, Arpad
Wanted in connection with transporter hijacking. Estimated cost of stolen goods: 1,200,000C
2) Brendler, Silas
Wanted in connection with transporter hijacking. Estimated cost of stolen goods: 4,200,000C
9) Bullock, Jean
Wanted in connection with transporter hijacking. Estimated cost of stolen goods: 6,200,000C
Then she spotted it.
10) Piazo, Stancliff
Captured by Tauron Ball
38) Ball, Tauron
Wanted in connection with piracy (bounty hunting)
She grinned a few seconds later when his bounty changed from forty-five to thirty-eight. She was responsible for his success; she'd helped him solve a problem. Sostas had never involved her in his experiments, never let her into his mind while he toyed with the complexities of Leveman's Vortex. When she did pry, she usually received a long lecture about how she'd ruined his train of thought and got sent away, leaving her to the mercy of her siblings.
But maybe…an idea began to grow in the back of her mind.
***
When Lyssa heard the ship ramp groan open, she rushed down the stairs. Tauron, Wade, and Steph were all smiles as they walked onboard, though Tauron sported a large purple bruise on his cheek. His grin widened when he saw Lyssa waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
"There's my secret weapon!" Tauron said, rushing toward her. Before she could run away, he lifted her up and spun her around. "You beautiful, brilliant child."
"Take it easy, Tauron," Steph said. "You can't keep her, you know."
"Yeah, but, man, seven whole slots!" Tauron said. "It's a damned shame none of the runners would let a girl in their web. You'd be the best bounty hunter in the history of…ever."
Lyssa beamed at him. "Do you mean it?"
"Yeah," he said, ruffling her hair. "But Steph's right. We gotta get your butt back to school."
Her bubble burst, and her face fell. "What?"
"I'm thinking G-279 then I can put her on a shuttle back. You think?" Tauron asked Wade, who nodded appreciatively.
"But…but I don't want to go back!" Lyssa exclaimed.
The three men stopped and stared at her.
"That place…nobody wants me there. You saw! My mother doesn't even…and my brother…and it's horrible there, and I don't want to go back!" Her voice rose into a whine. "Please, don't make me go back."
"See? This is what happens, Tauron," Wade said with a scowl. "You give them an inch and—"
"Can it, Baarda," Tauron said with a look. "I'll handle this."
Wade and Steph shared a look before leaving her and Tauron alone.
"Sweetheart, you really did me a solid today, there's no denying it. I got a call from Dissident, even. He's so happy I caught Piazo, he nearly pissed himself."
"So why can't I stay and help you?" Lyssa said.
"Because…you don't belong here. You're eleven years old—"
"Sage is a kid, too!"
"Sage is…well, he's not a real pirate yet, either. I won't let him off the ship for at least another four years…" He grimaced. "Maybe more. But you have a life, and a family that…" He trailed off, and she put her hands on her hips. "Well, you have to finish your education."
"But I don't want to be a DSE anymore," Lyssa said. "I want to be a pirate like you!"
"Oh boy." Tauron whistled and rubbed his face. "I hate to sound…well, like an ass. But Lyssa, girls aren't…girls aren't pirates. I mean, they could be, but the runners won't let any of them into their webs. And if you aren't in a web, you really can't be a pirate. Not without running the risk of being captured by the U-POL."
Lyssa's eyes filled with tears. "Please don't send me back."
"I know that life's not that easy for you there, but it's the best place for you. You've got food. You've got a place to sleep. A future that isn't running around and stealing things." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's what's best for you."
She burst into tears, but no matter how much she cried and screamed and protested, she found herself on a shuttle back to the Planetary and System Science Academy.
***
"Now arriving, Shuttle 0612 from G-279. Please find your bags in luggage retrieval bay 7."
Lyssa stepped off the shuttle, eyes red and puffy from crying. She'd left from this very same terminal not even five days before, but everything seemed different now. Five days ago, she'd believed that her mother loved her on some level, that Jukin was dedicated to justice, and that pirates were terrifying, horrible creatures.
Now everything was on its head. Pirates were good, her family was bad, and she knew more about how the pirate web worked than she'd ever thought she would.
Tauron was confusing. He'd seemed more than a little concerned about her wellbeing, walking her all the way to her shuttle transport terminal and waiting until she was on the ship. They'd passed the time talking about the Academy, what Lyssa was going to do with her degree, and Tauron's desires to be a top pirate. But no matter how much she pleaded with him, he wouldn't change his mind about letting her stay.
She ran a hand through her hair,then tightened her hold on her bag. Based on the universal time, her class would be back in session after the trip, assuming it had gone on as scheduled. With nowhere else to go, Lyssa decided to attend for the day.
The shuttle terminal was busy with older scientists coming to and from transport stations, but the school hallways were vacant and empty. She found her biochemistry classroom after a short jaunt and pushed open the door as quietly as she could.
Gasps echoed in the room along with a loud clang as the projector control fell out of Masgoret's hand.
"L-Lyssandra!" the old woman gasped, stepping forward. "Leveman's Vortex, child…are you all right?"
Lyssa nodded and took her seat.
"B-but you were kidnapped. What happened? Did your brother intervene?"
Lyssa's face tightened, and she pursed her lips. "No. Taur…the pirate let me go."
Confusion and curiosity rippled through the classroom.
"He…let you go?" Masgoret replied, a little less breathlessly. "After all that fuss, he just let you go? Was there a ransom involved or—"
"Yes, but…" She trailed off. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing that she'd been left behind by not one but two family members. "He let me go."
"Bull crap," Heelin said, breaking the tension in the room. "If there was a ransom, someone had to have paid it. We all know that Father paid your ransom."
Her eyes widened for a half second. "He didn't…I don't know where he is!"
But the conversation had already buzzed around the classroom. In a matter of seconds, everyone, it seemed, believed that she was a dirty liar and that Sostas had come to her rescue.
"I didn't. He didn't!" Lyssa said, trying to talk over the hurried whispers.
"Enough!" Masgoret bellowed. "Lyssandra, however it occurred, you are home safe and sound. So for that, we are all grateful. But now we must continue our lesson." She gave the classroom one final warning before returning to the presentation about the finer points of DNA sequencing.
Lyssa sank lower in her seat, face burning. Although Masgoret had declared the conversation at an end, the rest of the class kept it up in excited whispers. She wanted so badly to stand on top of her desk and proclaim the truth, but she didn't. They wouldn't have believed her anyway.
She angrily yanked out her notebook out of her bag, flipping through it loudly. She stopped when her gaze landed on the work she'd done on Piazo. Seeing the pirate's name and his transaction history in her choppy handwriting seemed out of place back at school. It had begun to feel almost like a dream, but it had been real.
Tauron had said she was good at it. She'd helped him, and he'd appreciated it very much. It had been the first time anyone had ever told her she was good at anything. If Tauron were there at the Academy, he would have stood up for her, unlike Heelin. Tauron was a veritable stranger, and she liked him better than her own brother.
She stared at the name of the pirate on the page. She hated it at the Academy, the same way she'd hated it with Sostas and at the Manor. There had never been a place where she'd been accepted and taken care of…until she'd spent three days on a pirate ship.
She began to wonder if she could get back there. Tauron had thought she was better off at the Academy, but he was wrong. She was better off with him. Sure, Sage was a little snotty to her, but Wade and Steph, and especially Tauron, made up for it. It was the first place that had ever felt like home.
It was crazy even to consider it.
She tore out the paper and balled it up.
A tone echoed through the loudspeaker, signaling the end of class. Lyssa closed her notebook and stuffed it into her bag, deciding to drop it off in her dorm before going onto her next class.
"Are you all right, dear?" Masgoret said, approaching her desk. "Truly, we thought…I called the U-POL, and they said they were handling it, but we hadn't heard anything."
"I'm fine," Lyssa said, not looking at her.
***
Lyssa only had a brief period between her classes, so she practically ran to her dorm. At least it was a break from the conversations spreading like wildfire. She hated all of it—she hated that no one believed her, she hated that she was back there in the first place, and, most of all, she hated that Sostas was now at the forefront of everyone's minds again.
"Lyssandra, dear!"
Lyssa skidded to a halt, then wished that she'd kept walking instead. Over her shoulder, she saw an older, respectable-looking scientist with a sweeping white lab coat approaching. Dr. Wherry was on the Academy's board of directors, and had been Sostas' direct supervisor. Lyssa's father had been brusque to the man, slamming the door in his face, hurrying Lyssa through the cafeteria when Wherry was spotted, and ignoring his calls when they came in. Lyssa never knew why Sostas was so eager to avoid him until Wherry became her own academic advisor.
Most of his student advisees were older, nearing completion of their studies, but he'd made an exception for someone so special (as he'd so loudly boasted during their first meeting in his office). Special, it turned out, meant asking probing questions about Sostas' whereabouts.
"Hullo, Dr. Wherry," she mumbled.
"Enough about me, child. How are you?" The concern was evident on his face, and it lifted her spirits a little. Perhaps he was actually worried about her.
