I stayed in the system, found the console, found the connections I needed to follow to unlock the chair, and deactivate the power running to nodes designed to deliver short, sharp shocks to any portion of flesh in contact with them…and my weren’t there a lot of those?

  I decided I really hated the pricks running this outpost.

  The thought didn’t stop me from unlocking the cuffs and collar keeping her restrained, and I skated back into my head, hoping the door had held while I’d been gone. A swift glance told me it had, and that it wouldn’t hold much longer, so I looked to the kid.

  She slid out of the chair like it was something dangerous—which wasn’t that far from the truth—and she hit the floor on shaky feet. I watched her drop into a crouch as her knees gave way, and took three steps toward her.

  The way she moved suggested some sort of martial-arts training, and she was on her feet and trying to reach me, when the door gave way. Our hands touched as a familiar voice rang out.

  “Cutter!”

  “Now!” I shouted, pulling the girl close and wrapping my arms around her. “Now! Now! Now!”

  That last ‘Now!’ was shouted into the bustling confines of the Shady’s teleport centre, and it was echoed in Mack’s order as soon as the light faded from around us.

  “Now, Case!”

  I looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief, as I registered the familiar surroundings. Mack ignored me, talking to Tens, as I sensed the ship’s engines increase their power.

  The girl twisted in my arms, putting her hands on either side of my face. I flinched, and she frowned, her eyes taking on a darker shade with concern.

  “I’m sorry, Cutter,” she said, and I wondered why.

  Cool power flowed into my implant, and then out of it, and I registered the pain slowly receding. When she took her hands away, it was mostly gone, although I felt overwhelmingly tired.

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  “Thanks, kid.”

  I wondered why she hadn’t moved, and then registered she was naked in a roomful of strangers. Before I could say anything about that, Mack stalked over, draping a blanket around the pair of us. I made sure it was secure, and then wriggled free of it, leaving the kid completely covered.

  “You okay?” I asked, resisting the urge to sway.

  She nodded.

  “Yup.”

  “Liar,” I managed, noting the pallor of her cheeks.

  She blushed, and then lifted her chin, her face hard with determination.

  “I want to see my dad,” she said, looking from me to Mack, and then beyond us to Tens.

  Mack stared back, but the girl didn’t flinch, just met his gaze with a calm look, until the silence had stretched too far between them. She reached out and took my hand.

  “I really need to see my dad,” she repeated, her voice blending determination and pleading.

  “Please,” echoed plaintively through our minds.

  Mack nodded.

  “We’re on our way,” he said, and then gave me an odd look. “Are you okay, girl?”

  I nodded, and the world swayed.

  “Cutter?” Mack clearly didn’t believe me.

  Well, it sucked to be him, then….

  On second thoughts… My knees gave way, and I ended up back on the floor… Maybe it sucked to be me.

  I heard Mack’s shout of alarm, as I got my hands down, and tried to will myself to get back up. I’d really wanted to be in my bunk before I passed out, again. The small hand on my shoulder was just about as much comfort as the words that followed me into the dark.

  “She’ll be okay. She just needs to sleep.”

  And sleep I did, right through the return, and Mack renegotiating our contract with Delight and Odyssey. It seemed someone had gone a little bit outside her remit when she’d kidnapped us off our own ship, and Odyssey felt some compensation was in order—and that the compensation would be garnisheered from Delight’s wage.

  Sweet!

  Even sweeter was the compensation that was in order for her getting the intel wrong, although that wasn’t garnisheered; that was something covered by Odyssey’s payment schedule. Intel was always as good as they could make it, but there were never any guarantees it was going to be right, every time.

  That was just a hazard of the job.

  We also got a bonus for uncovering a trafficking racket that had flown underneath everyone’s radar.

  And, now, Delight had another company to keep her busy…as well as a renegade mother to catch—which meant I had a little room to breathe. I just had to wait until Mack and Tens relaxed their vigilance…and then I could make another break for it.

  “You know the Universe is never going to let you have a peaceful life, right?”

  Man, I hated it when Mack eavesdropped on what was running through my implant.

  I hated, even more, the thought he might be right.