The others turned to look.
The guards raced each other down the hallway. In the meantime, the janitor turned to the side and headed for another doorway. Behind the door was a small room containing cleaning supplies. A stairway inside went up to another door.
The captain asked, “Where does that come out?”
“Near the passenger hub on the mall, where the shops are located.”
“Can we reach the passenger loading tubes from there?”
“Right outside that door,” the woman said with her first grin of the day.
The captain raised her wrist-comp, showed a money transfer to the janitor, and said, “The two-thousand I promised. Thank you. Good luck with your new life. Go before they discover us.”
“What about you?” the woman asked.
“We’ll book passage while we wait here and buy a few clothes before leaving. You should leave before we get caught. Besides, you have a ship to catch.”
“Not yet,” the janitor said as she reached for a marker and paper on the cluttered desk. “What time is your lift-off?”
The captain flashed a rare smile and examined her tablet for the departure tables. She said, “Six.”
A few seconds later, the janitor affixed a sign to the outside of the door to the storeroom near where the confused guards had returned to their post to recover from the unfruitful chase. It said simply, Closed until 6. No Entry. She said, “I’ll put one outside the upper door, too.”
The captain turned to the other three as the door at the top of the stairs closed behind the janitor. “I planned to locate and recruit an empath. Now I find myself in an awkward position.”
“How so?” Kat asked.
“The number of tickets I need to buy. It’s becoming clear that I will need three for the trio of you and one for me. Is that correct?” Captain Stone revealed a rare smile, one that others commented upon as looking as if she was a wild carnivore that had just devoured her prey. “Is everyone here ready to take a trip to space?”
CHAPTER FIVE
Kat
The three of us exchanged smiles in the storage room, while Captain Stone bought four tickets onboard a ship named the Dreamer. It was for passage to Escobar Habitat, via a transfer to a second ship at a minor farming planet named Franklin. My smile strained the corners of my lips as I watched Captain Stone make the purchases. My heart pounded, my breath came in short gasps, and my mind raced with fantastical expectations. I had never believed I’d leave Roma, let alone with a passenger ticket in hand.
I had never felt so happy. Bill mouthed, “Is this happening?”
Captain Stone said, “There’s a lot to discuss but it can wait until after we lift off. If any of you wish to back out and do something else, I’ll understand and support your decision.” She faced me, first.
To me, the offer sounded genuine. The best thing ever. I wondered why the captain had agreed to include my two friends. Off-world tickets are notoriously expensive, yet the captain had readily paid for them with hardly any hesitation.
A dark veil shielded my mind from enjoying too much anticipation. Captain Stone had paid for our tickets; thus, she would expect repayment in some manner. That was the kicker. There is always payback. One way or another.
Before I could ask her about repayment, Bert said, “Escobar Hab is considered a myth by most law-enforcement agencies. You cannot simply purchase tickets to travel to a place that does not exist.”
“Whoever believes that is wrong. Besides, I booked tickets to a habitat with another name, one known only to those who travel there,” Captain Stone said flatly. “Many places have two or more names. And you must have a computer concealed about your body or you wouldn’t know even that much about Escobar not being listed by that name.”
“I may have heard it discussed at some time in the past,” Bert said blandly with a shrug of his muscular shoulders. “Some half-forgotten conversation.”
“There are far too many habs and planets to know the names of them all.” The tone of the captain’s voice subtly changed as her eyes narrowed. She spoke sharp and demanding. “Nobody is that smart. Where is it? The computer implant you wear.”
Bert pointed to the top of his right shoulder where the thick fur covered the fat layer under it. “Bio-implant on Brasilia’s second moon, Rio.”
“Expensive!” the captain said with obvious respect.
“Worth it,” Bert countered.
The captain made another appraising glance at the three of us and smiled as if she’d discovered a deposit of trank-oil. She turned to me. “They have my description posted everywhere. Let me transfer a few thousand credits into your account. Go to the shops in the mall and purchase luggage and clothing for the three of us. Simple travel overalls, slippers, and whatever you think best. Do not be shy about using your empathic abilities to hide your identity until we’re safely off this dangerous dirt-ball.”
I glanced at my tablet and swallowed in surprise that so many zeros could fit on the screen. I gave a smile intended to be a show of confidence to Bill, who had said almost nothing for two or three time-tenths, pretty much since Captain Stone had shown up. I had not asked him if he wished to remain with me. Bert had made his decision known, but Bill hadn’t.
If Bill decided to stay on Roma, would I?
That was a curious question to wonder about and required an immediate answer. I said softly, “Bill?”
“Yes?”
