I looked at Delight, and then at Pritchard. How were we going to do this? Well, it was like this…
“We’re going after Costoganzi,” I said, and Delight reared back in surprise.
“What, just like that?”
“It’s the only way to be sure.”
“But you have no proof,” Beckett protested, and I pivoted my chair so I could see him.
“It’s there,” I said. “I just have to join the dots.”
I hesitated, looking at him.
“Can you be here for this, or do you need to be out of it?”
He returned my stare, his eyes taking on a faraway look as he thought about it. I waited, and Delight and Pritchard followed my lead. When Beckett came out of his head, there was determination in his gaze.
“I’ll help you,” he said. “I… It’s my responsibility. My department’s. If the missing agents were acting on orders from higher up in the company, I, we, need to know about it. For the most part, I can’t prosecute them for acting on orders from an authorized officer—and Mr. Costoganzi would certainly count as that—and, at the very least, I would have to resign, because I don’t agree with it.” He shrugged. “Either way, I have to know the truth of it.”
“Understood. Good. I could do with another mind in my corner, so to speak.”
I turned back to Delight and Pritchard, and caught them eyeing Beckett like two predators might consider a piece of meat.
“Ouch!”
“Not nice, Cutter.”
“If the boot, fits…”
They’d obviously forgotten Beckett was as firmly embedded in my head as they were—thanks to me tapping the Depredides comms network to get his attention. The counter-measures had provided him with an in, and I wasn’t begrudging him that, now. He was smart enough not to comment on what he’d seen, though, just got right down to business.
“So, how are we going to go about this?”
“Well, first we’ve got to find him. Abs?”
“You’re the retrieval expert…”
“Thanks, Abs.” I turned to Delight.
“I believe that this case is also linked to another one, we’re working on,” I said. “I take it that Odyssey have an alliance with Dasojin?”
Delight sighed, rolled her eyes, and called Case back. The pilot was on the line almost straight away.
“Shady Marie. How can we help, Odyssey?”
“Apparently Odyssey require assistance in a third alliance retrieval…”
“Do tell,” and Case’s grin could be heard all the way through the comms link.
Beckett just stared at me in disbelief.
I caught his look and shrugged.
“Girl never knows if she don’t ask.”
“Girl’s a cheeky little shit!” Pritchard murmured, but he was smiling that quiet smile he had when he was genuinely amused.
Delight cast me a look that suggested she’d been sucking bitter lemons, and Cascade groaned and wrapped a paw over his nose. Case sounded happy, though. She hammered Delight for cumulative success fees, and then bonuses on early completion. I sipped what was left of my coffee, if only to hide my smirk, and Abby stayed conspicuously silent, although I could feel her presence inside my skull. If I wasn’t much mistaken, she was actually impressed.
I listened as Case finalized the contract, and signed off. Delight turned to me, but I held up a hand, before she could speak.
“I need a terminal that I can access the Dark Net with, preferably one isolated from the rest of the ship’s systems.”
“Make it one that can handle two,” Beckett added. “We’ll get nothing going through the company systems, but I can help get us some of the places we need to be.”
“Wuff,” came from under the table, and Cascade rested his chin on my thigh.
I looked down at him in surprise. Dog wanted to come, too?
“Wuff.”
Well, okay then.
Cascade washed my leg with his tongue, and leant on me some more. I dropped a hand to his shoulder and stroked, looking up at Delight. Her face held the same amount of puzzlement I felt, and exasperation…a lot of exasperation. Heavens knew why!
Pritchard snorted and laid a heavy hand on my shoulder.
“We have a unit you can use. To make it sporting, you, Beckett and the dog will be racing the Hack Team.”
I felt my heart speed up at the idea of a challenge, and forced myself to a nonchalant shrug.
“Sure. What’s the objective?”
At this, Delight decided to chip in.
“The primary objective is to locate Costoganzi’s current whereabouts. Bonus points go to the discovery of concrete evidence indicating his connections to the wolves, business or otherwise. Deductions occur for being discovered in the system.”
“Discovered and identified,” I clarified, and Delight considered the amendment.
“Fine. No penalty if you get away without being identified.”
“Noted,” Pritchard said, and Beckett echoed his agreement.
“Good,” I said, pushing back my chair. “Let’s get to it.”
“I’m coming, too,” Abby added. “Odyssey has the whole Hack Team; I’m with Cutter—it should just about even things up.”
Delight rolled her eyes, but she didn’t argue; she just led the way out of the conference room and into the Wanderer’s isolated data centre. It was interesting to see something that mirrored Mack’s set up on the Shady Marie. It made me wondered which had come first—and where Mack had been before he’d set out on the Marie.
“That’s something you’ll have to ask him, sweetie,” Delight said, “but I wouldn’t. Man needs his privacy.”
Man did, did he? I wondered why
“How would you feel about sharing what happened with the arach… or with Ghoul… or—”
“Fine. I get it. Just point me at the terminal, and let’s get to it. I need to go hunting.”
“Me too, kiddo.”
Delight led us over to a terminal, and authorized our entry. She was about to turn away, when alarm bells started ringing, and Cascade yelped.
“Well, for fuck’s sake!” she said, and the alarm stopped.
Cascade gave an odd grumbling whine, and settled himself between Beckett’s and my chairs. This time, when Delight turned away, no alarms rang. Not that I would have registered them. I was standing just inside the terminal, staring at Cascade’s construct, and wondering when the dog had worked out this particular trick.
Beckett looked from the dog to me and back, again.
“You sure he
