“You owe us for six doors, and damage to walls, also the hospitalization of guard personnel.”
Delight shrugged, and I was, for once, glad that they hadn’t given me a blade. Glad, also, that I seemed to prefer getting up close and personal when I was enhanced. I’d been carrying two blasters, and hadn’t drawn either one—hadn’t drawn the Glazers, either. Probably a good thing.
Delight didn’t react to that thought, but kept her attention on the wolf on-screen. Mack didn’t move beside me, not even when I shivered again. I blinked. What the Stars was it with the blurring vision, anyway?
I forced myself to listen as Delight agreed to repair the doors and various walls, as well as to pay the compensation for dented wolf warriors. It was almost funny, and I wondered if Odyssey demanded the same sorts of compensation for its personnel. Something I might ask later, if I remembered.
No one chose to enlighten me.
“There is also the incident on Rigel’s Banter,” the wolf began, but Delight held up her hand.
“Precautions were taken to return your personnel unharmed. Lupar intervention made it necessary for the maneuver’s taken by the Shady Marie and the Dasojin craft. No compensation is required, unless you’d care to pay us for the illegal detainment of our personnel.”
“Their detention was in accordance with the contract.”
“And compensation has already been paid for that.”
They stared at each other for a long moment, the intensity of it making my head throb. I wondered how much longer their dickering would take, and Delight made it clear that she wasn’t done. The throbbing in my head reached into my stomach, and I swallowed down the urge to chuck. No way was I disgracing myself in front of the wolf—and Delight hadn’t dismissed us, yet.
I pulled it together, hiding everything behind a mask of nothing, listening as Delight spoke for Abby.
“The Dasojin ships that were taken,” she began, and it was the wolf’s turn to cut her short.
“They are beyond Aktrovaran jurisdiction. Their price has already been paid, and both mind and shell handed over to Selimen Enterprises and passed on. You will need to ask your businessman for details.”
But Delight didn’t give up, easily.
“I’ll pay for information on their location,” she said, and the Hunt Leader smiled.
“I am afraid not, Agent. I have done what I can to assist you. We will escort you to the edge of the system. Tell Odyssey the good people of Aktrovaran dwell in wolf space, and under wolf protection. The treaty will be forwarded to your Confederation.”
“Hunt Leader—” Delight began, but the negotiations were over.
“I will inform your captain of the escort to Jump Point Havarga,” he said, and cut the call, leaving us all staring at a blank screen.
I watched Delight make a sharp movement with her hand, and guessed she was making sure that the line was properly dead, before she said anything. Instead of speaking, she looked at me.
“Pritchard,” she said, just as the throbbing deteriorated into a sharp spiking pain that lanced through my skull.
She hadn’t been kidding about me hating whoever had sped the process.
27—Recovering Rohan
Delight was also right about me needing to sleep it off, and, by the time that process was done, we were outside the Aktrovaran system, and alone. The wolf ships had escorted us to the jump point, and let us go—and both Wanderer and Abby were furious. Bennett wasn’t too impressed either; but that was because Delight had forgotten to ask the wolves where they’d taken his agents.
I woke to find Mack crashed out beside me, his arms folded across my chest, and my head on his shoulder.
“What the Hell!” I said, peeling myself out of his grip and sliding out of the bed. “What the everloving—”
I was backing away from a slowly waking, befuddled-looking Mack, when the door to my room opened, and Tens walked in.
“You wouldn’t let go of his arm,” he said. “He tried, but you had a damn good grip, and he didn’t want to get thrown up on.”
I stopped. The throwing up I remembered, just not the getting to bed part. I was still wearing the armor I’d made the drop in. Tens watched me register the details, and smirked.
“It’s not like you two had anything going,” he said. “He was just too tired to argue. My guess is he will be glad to find you’ve finally detached.”
“And fuck you, too,” I managed, straightening my shoulders and walking with as much dignity as I could muster into the san unit.
Mack was nowhere to be seen when I came out, clean and in a fresh ship suit. Good thing, too. I sighed and headed for the corridor. Time to find out what was on the agenda for today—and if I was still under Delight’s command, or back under Mack’s.
First, though, I wanted to go see how Rohan was doing.
I started to head into Wanderer’s systems, and then remembered who I was messing with. I stopped, and did my best imitation of reaching back to knock on the door, even though I was already standing in the entry hall.
Wanderer laughed.
“How can I help you, Operative Cutter?”
Well, she’d never called me that before. I wondered if she was okay.
“I am fine. You knocked. I merely responded in kind. I take it you are accessing my systems for a very good reason.”
“I wanted to see how the boy was doing. He didn’t seem so good…” I realized I had no sense of the time I’d slept. “…in the meeting.”
“I will guide you.”
“Siobhan…” I stopped, embarrassed by my limitations, and then tried, again. “I can’t be inside my head and in the real, too. I’m sorry.”
“I will send someone.”
I came out of my implant, still standing and facing the exit to my room. Guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when it opened, and Mack was waiting in the hall. He caught my eye,
