“That one,” I said, pointing, and then I saw the Zakrava beside it. “Oh. Pretty.”
I had it off the counter, and was turning it over in my hands, before any of them could react. After examining it, closely, I looked up at Stepyan, all fear of him forgotten.
“It’s beautiful,” I said, and didn’t regret the near-worship in my tones.
The hardened lines in his face softened in an instant, and he smiled.
“You know them?”
One of Ax’s disreputable lady-agent girlfriends had owned one. She’d lent it to me for a day, in return for my silence about their off-base rendezvous—and I’d fallen in love with it—especially after taking Ax down on the practice range a few dozen times. I didn’t mention any of that to Stepyan, or the suddenly attentive Mack and Tens.
“Oh, yes,” I said. “I’ve used one, once.”
I sighed.
“I had to give it back. It was only on loan.”
When I looked up at him, again, I couldn’t keep the hopeful tone from my voice.
“Do I get to keep it?”
Stepyan scowled, and looked from me to Mack.
“I think this is one of those things you’ll need to earn,” he said, and Mack nodded.
“But I get to use it on this mission?” I asked, and they laughed.
“You do, but both it and you have to come back at the end.”
I eyed the Zakrava. That little piece was worth all the trouble that returning would mean, and I suddenly didn’t care they were making it a condition of coming back.
“Deal,” I said.
The Zakrava was like the Glazer, in that it had lethal and non-lethal settings, but, where the Glazer had a set type of ammunition, the Zakrava had settings for both darts and solid slugs. It also had a way of compensating for the recoil that I hadn’t worked out. That wasn’t a problem for me; as long as I could get it repaired when I needed. I didn’t really care how it worked—just as long as it did.
Even with the Zakrava and the Glazer, I wanted another side-arm.
“Why?” Mack wanted to know, and I risked a glance at Stepyan.
He rolled his eyes, but pointed to a Blazer 54, like the one Bendigo had favored.
“Seriously?” I asked, and he nodded.
“It’s not pretty, but it fills in the only gaps you have left.”
“Except for the ones that can only be filled by a blade,” he added, and I grinned.
“That was my next question.”
Beside me, Tens sighed.
“Honestly, Boss, she’s as bad as he is.”
“I figured they’d get on.” Mack’s voice was dry. “Just remind me not to bring her down here, too often—and never to let her down here on her own.”
“How else is she going to practice?” Stepyan wanted to know, asking the question a fraction of a second before I did.
I think it should have bothered me that the killer in disguise could answer Mack’s obstructionism the same way I would have, but I already knew I was heading down the path he and Delight had already taken. Maybe...
Thing was, I liked living the quiet life, but I got bored, too. If Mack left me alone, long enough, I think I might head back on board the ship of my own free will after a year or two of being ‘ordinary’. And that was something I was definitely not going to tell him.
I dragged myself into the here and now, and made myself concentrate on the selection of blades Stepyan laid out on the counter. I took the four that would fit in a joint scabbard along my belt, and then looked at the two that needed boot sheaths.
“Do you have something in my size?” I asked, and Tens snorted.
“Talk about a kid in a candy shop.”
“Yeah, well, we have to head to Medical after this, so...”
“Kind of like a lollipop before the doctor’s visit, huh?”
I ignored the pair of them. While I didn’t want to think about the need to go see the Doc, I wasn’t going to let either of them spoil the shopping trip. Stepyan reached under the counter, and pulled out a pair of boots.
“Like these?” he asked, and I felt my breath catch.
These were exactly like the pair I’d lost when I’d gone into Ghoul’s complex with Bendigo. I snuck a glance at Mack, and found him staring intently back.
“That pair has knife sheaths,” he said, and I looked quickly away, as I felt my eyes start to prickle.
“Take a look,” Stepyan added, passing them to me.
I’m not sure what made him choose that moment to intervene, but the distraction was exactly what I needed in order to get my emotions under control. It also helped me hide the confusion I felt over Mack providing them. After all, it was just a pair of boots, right? It’s not like it was flowers and chocolate.
Mack was equipping me, not courting me—and that’s all it was. I turned my attention to seeing if the boots fit. It was no surprise when they were hand-glove perfect.
Once I had the boots sorted, Stepyan stowed everything into a small duffle bag, and passed it across to me.
“That’s all, for now,” he said. “I’ll send Mack a timetable of when I’m free for training, and he’ll let us both know which sessions you’re allowed to take.”
I nodded.
Typical. I’d been on board long enough to agree to a second mission, and the man was already organizing my life. There was really only one thing I could say to that.
“Thanks.”
I took the duffle, and looked at Mack. He pushed himself away from where he’d been leaning on the counter.
“Medical?” I asked, feeling the first wrinkle of panic curl through me.
I stamped it down, as Mack regarded me with thoughtful eyes.
“Medical,” he agreed. “Can you make it?”
I nodded, ignoring the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, all too aware of Tens coming alongside me. I forced
