Uncle Virge gave a clearly audible snort. 'You want subtlety, lad, you'd better look someplace besides Braxton Universis. Megacorporations are by definition big, slow, and obvious.'
'StarForce, then?' Jack persisted. 'Or Internes Police?'
'Megacorporations by a different name,' Uncle Virge said. 'Besides, we're talking a pretty expensive trick here. Show me any law enforcement agency that has that much spare cash lying around.'
Jack made a face. 'So it's a real battle.'
Earlier, the purple tornadoes had fired out from the small ships at exactly the same time. Now, again in exact unison, they shut off again. 'Well, it was a real battle,' Uncle Virge corrected. 'It may be over now. Uh-oh.'
'What?'
'The ship that tried to dodge,' Uncle Virge said. 'Looks like it's headed for a crash landing.'
Jack adjusted the range finder on his 'nocs. Uncle Virge was right; the big ship was falling. Already he could see the shock-wave distortion as it dipped ever deeper into the atmosphere. 'Is it under power?'
'Limited power, yes,' Uncle Virge said. 'Also limited control. Doesn't look like he'll have nearly enough of either, though.'
Jack squeezed the 'nocs hard, feeling sick as he watched the ship trying valiantly to maneuver. They weren't headed for any crash landing, not at that speed and angle. They were headed for a crash, period. 'Nothing we can do for them, I suppose,' he murmured.
'No,' Uncle Virge said thoughtfully. 'But maybe there's something they can do for you.'
Jack lifted his eyes away from the 'nocs, throwing a sideways look at the soft light inside the airlock. That was a tone of voice he knew far too well. 'Like what?'
'Like maybe after the dust settles we might find something worth salvaging from the wreck.'
'Uh-huh.'
'Oh, come on, lad, don't use that tone with me,' Uncle Virge said, sounding hurt. 'The ship's a goner—you can see that from here. Whatever's aboard won't do them any good, may they rest in peace.'
'And so why don't we pretend we're vultures and see what we can sift out of the rubble?' Jack suggested.
'Well, if it isn't us, it'll be our friends in the Djinn-90s,' Uncle Virge pointed out. 'They aren't wasting any time checking out their other prizes, you know.'
Frowning, Jack lifted the 'nocs again. Sure enough, the four small ships were moving into docking positions alongside the three remaining freighters.
'Still, they ought to be busy up there for quite some time.' Uncle Virge's voice went all soft and silky. 'And you know, if they were smugglers, whatever they were carrying was probably valuable. Maybe even valuable enough to pay off Braxton Universis.'
Jack shook his head. 'I don't want to steal anymore. You know that.'
'You want to stay on the run forever?' Uncle Virge countered. 'This could be a way to square things.'
'I'm trying to put the past behind me,' Jack insisted.
'And see where it got you,' Uncle Virge shot back. 'On the run for a crime you didn't even commit. You see any fairness in that?'
Jack sighed. 'I don't see much fairness in anything anymore.'
'Exactly my point,' Uncle Virge said. 'Besides, there's no crime in stealing stolen goods, now, is there?'
'I'm sure you and the law have different opinions on that.'
'Jack, my lad,' Uncle Virge said, back to that injured tone again.
'Yeah, yeah, I know,' Jack said, lifting the 'nocs to his eyes again. He had to turn around to see the freighters; while he'd been arguing with Uncle Virge, they'd passed over his head on their way to the western horizon. 'Even if they ignore the crash, aren't they going to spot us as soon as we take off?'
'Only if they can see us,' Uncle Virge pointed out reasonably. 'All we have to do is wait until they're out of sight over the horizon, then take off and head toward the crash site. Before they come back over the eastern horizon we'll go to ground and wait until they pass around the other side again. Couldn't be easier.'
'How long will it take us to get there?' Jack asked.
'Three, four hours, maybe,' Uncle Virge said. 'Five at the most.'
'And you don't think the guys in the Djinn-90s will be checking it out themselves?'
'Oh, come on, lad,' Uncle Virge said. 'Look at the size of those freighters. It could be days before they finish up there and turn their attention to the wreck.'
Jack chewed at his lip. There was something about this that felt monumentally stupid. All his instincts were screaming at him to get the Essenay out of here the minute everyone's back was turned.
But if there really was a way to square things with Braxton Universis, maybe it was worth a try.
He shook his head bitterly. A month ago, on his fourteenth birthday, he'd baked himself a birthday cake, with little candles and everything. Uncle Virge had sung an off-key 'Happy Birthday,' and Jack had actually made a secret wish as he blew out the candles.
The wish had been that, after all these years, he could finally make a normal life for himself.
So much for the mystical power of wishes.
