With a frustrated growl she jerked both arms, hard, but it was no use. Whoever had tied her up knew exactly what they were doing.
And then it was too late. She heard the swish of the door, saw a sudden glare through the hood, and heard footsteps approaching the bed. Rough fingers grabbed the hood, pulling if over her head and yanking out several stray hairs at the same time. Blinking owlishly in the bright light, she stared up at Smith with watering eyes.
He stared down at her, shock etched in every line of his face. Then, comically, he looked under the bed, before throwing the hood aside and storming off. Seconds later she heard him shouting nearby, his angry voice echoing down the hallway.
"You stupid, incompetent fools," he raged, really losing it. "One simple task, that's all it was, and you had to screw it up. Now you've lost me time, cost me a fortune in fuel and—"
There was a low mumble, indistinct, and then she heard a crash
"Don't give me any of your damned excuses. You, turn this ship around this instant. Set course for Dismolle!"
The reply was louder this time. "Sir, we don't have enough fuel. We burned most of it on the slingshot."
"Are you telling me we can't go back?"
"Not until we fill up at Vasquez, sir. The settlement has facilities for—"
"That hick town? You're joking, man! Last time I filled up there, they sold me tainted fuel. Nearly blew the damned engines."
"We could land at the primary spaceport," suggested another crewman.
"Do you have any idea what they charge in landing fees? And their fuel, it's twice the price of anywhere else." Smith hesitated. "No, it's the settlement. Plug in the course and land as quick as you can." He paused again, and Harriet realised he was addressing the men who'd captured her. "As for you idiots, get out of my sight, right now. If anyone so much as opens their mouth I'm going to space the lot of you. Is that clear?"
There was another murmur, and then she heard Smith's footsteps as he strode towards her cabin. She had a sarcastic comment ready, but when she saw the look on his face she decided it wasn't the time.
"Well, this is an unexpected turn of events," he said, his voice deadly calm.
Harriet tried to shrug, but with her arms tied above her head it was less than effective. "I know about Sandon's box, by the way."
His eyes narrowed.
"You didn't need to go after Alice," continued Harriet. "You only had to ask."
"Don't be ridiculous. If you know about the box, you know what's inside it. Sandon would do anything for that niece of his, and you can be certain he left her instructions to find the cargo. And that cargo … my cargo, was worth a fortune. Eight years, I've been scratching around, trying to survive, because everything I had — everything, and more besides — was in that shipment." His eyes glittered. "I'll get it back, and nobody's going to stop me."
"Take me back to Dismolle, and I'm sure Alice will cooperate."
"Of course she will, now I've got you as bait."
Harriet smiled. "You know that big robot your people ran into? Be careful your bait doesn't catch her instead."
Smith grabbed her wrist, squeezing until the bones creaked. "Keep giving me cheek, miss, and you're going out the airlock."
She met his gaze, unflinching, and he swore under his breath. Then he was gone, his footsteps receding up the passageway. Harriet took a deep breath as the door closed. Smith had threatened her, sure, but it seemed she was safe enough … for now. She might still get out of this, as long as she was patient and did what she was told.
"Screw that," muttered Harriet, and she set to work on the ropes.
Chapter 17
The ladder ran up inside the fighter's belly, ending in an area little bigger than a cupboard. There were small doors on all four walls, with a narrow arch in the rear wall leading to a spiral staircase. While Alice went to look up the stairs, Teresa opened one of the bigger lockers, rummaged inside and pulled out a heavy jacket with a fleece lining. "Put this on," she said, handing it to Alice.
"Why?"
"Listen kid, if you want to come with me you'll have to follow orders. It could save your life."
Silently, Alice donned the jacket. It was too big, and when she did it up it hung off her like a sack. It was also uncomfortably warm.
"Good. Now get up to the flight deck while I close up."
Alice took the ladder quickly, the metal steps clattering with her eager footsteps. There was a handrail, the brass buffed to a shine from years of use, but she spurned it and ran upwards, sure-footed. When she emerged on the carpeted flight deck, she paused to stare. There were two seats up front, each moulded from a single piece of grey plastic, with thick cushions for support. They had wings to protect the occupants' heads, and the armrests held control panels covered in switches, knobs and status screens. Laid out before the seats was an even bigger collection of controls and displays, set into a brushed aluminium panel which curved from one side of the cockpit to the other. There were dual controls, with an aircraft-style joystick for each seat, and a set of throttle levers on a shared console in between.
She turned to her right, where there were two more seats, these intended for passengers. They lacked controls and status screens, but they still had six-point safety
