“Good. The idea of that man on my station makes me itch,” Nevitt said.
“Thank you for keeping him busy,” Raptor said. “You did an excellent job.”
“Of course I did. I’m fantastic at my job.” Her dry tone made Fallon smile. “Now what?”
“Now we wait for him to lay his trap for us, and we figure out how to walk into it and make it snap closed on him and Krazinski instead.” Fallon had no doubt they’d succeed.
“I’m not sure whether to be excited or terrified,” Nevitt admitted.
“Be excited,” Hawk advised. “When we get the job done, you can brag about how you knew all along it would work.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
He shrugged. “We’ll all be dead and having been terrified won’t have helped any.”
Nevitt narrowed her eyes at him, and then her lips curled into a small smile. “Hawk, I’m beginning to like you.”
Fallon and Raptor monitored every outgoing and incoming signal with excruciating diligence. Colb wasn’t foolish enough to attempt any communication with Krazinski. But it sure would have been helpful to Fallon if he had. Where was a little arrogance from the admiralty when she needed it?
She’d expected Colb to launch right into whatever he had planned for them, but he seemed to be in no rush. Was he doing reconnaissance, or was he stalling? The idea of him stalling made Fallon wonder if her team should hit Blackout at Jamestown immediately, hoping Krazinski wouldn’t be ready for them. But the logistics were far less than ideal, and she’d be walking her team into an unknown situation when she had an alternative. She just had to wait for Colb to set them up.
While she waited for the chance to double-cross Colb’s double-cross, she still had her job to do as the station’s chief of security. So she did it.
She made her midday rounds as usual. The boardwalk was extra lively, which was the norm when the Onari was visiting. Fallon suspected that enthusiasm would fade, now that Dragonfire served as its home base.
Thinking of that reminded her that she hadn’t talked to Brannin yet about the Onari’s presence at Dragonfire. Hesta had said that she’d need to be the one to deliver the news. They didn’t want to step on his toes, or make him think his skills were inadequate. But she couldn’t tell him about her real reason for wanting her allies close at hand. So the situation would require finesse.
She put that thought away for later when she saw Nix and her friend Robert come trotting out of Cabot Layne’s shop, beaming at her.
“Hi, Chief!”
“Hey, Chief!”
Their ringing greetings made her smile. “Hey, you two. What do you have there?” She peered at the bundle in Nix’s arms.
“Art supplies,” Nix answered. “We’re supposed to create something in the neo-industrial style.”
“Huh,” Fallon said. Neo-industrial always seemed to her less like art and more like mechanics that did nothing. But far be it from her to second-guess the academic instruction on Dragonfire. “Well, good luck with it. I’ve never been very artistic, myself. I can barely draw a straight line.”
The young teens laughed. “I’m sure you do fine,” Robert assured her.
“I promise you, I’m really bad at it. But that’s okay. We all have things we’re good at.”
A sly expression slid onto Nix’s face. “Speaking of which. You said that if I did well in my classes, you’d arrange a security internship for me. The year’s about up, and I’ll be taking my final exams next week.”
Fallon groaned inwardly. She wanted to see Nix flourish, but this was not a good time. “Do your best and we’ll see what we can arrange,” she promised.
“I’m going to get all firsts, like you said.” The spark of determination in Nix’s eyes reminded Fallon of herself at a younger age. She had to smile.
“I believe you.”
Robert tugged on Nix’s upper arm. “We’d better get back. Lunch period is almost over. Want me to carry that?”
“Nope. I got it. Bye, Chief!”
The two disappeared as fast as they’d popped up. Fallon stood looking after them, thinking how nice it would be to have such simple goals.
“Bundle of energy, aren’t they?” Cabot stepped out of his shop.
“Oh, yes. I’m always glad to see them.”
“They make me smile, too.” He gave her a proper bow, in accordance with her status on the station.
“You don’t have to bow,” she told him. “I think we’re friends enough that we can dispense with it.”
“Is that right?” He seemed surprised. “I’ll have to think about that. I don’t know that I’d feel right not bowing to you.” Cabot gestured to the door of his shop. “Would you like to come in for a minute?”
“Thank you. That would be nice.”
He followed her in and closed the door behind them. This was not unusual behavior in his shop, since he always offered complete discretion. No one would take it amiss.
“You okay, Chief?” He guided her to a chair and materialized a cup of hot tea from somewhere, then pressed it into her hand.
“Yes. Of course. I just have a lot of people depending on me.”
He nodded slowly as he sat across from her. “I’m sure that’s a great deal of pressure.”
“No,” she denied. “I actually like doing security. I like making sure people are okay.”
“But…” he prodded.
“No, there’s no but. I’ve been working hard lately. That’s all.”
“Would it help if I told you I’m glad you’re the one doing…whatever thing you’re doing?”
She had to chuckle. “A little.” He probably knew, or at least suspected, a lot more than he let on.
“If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.” He stared at her hard. “I mean it. Anything.”
Okay, he definitely knew more than he let on.
“Understood. Thanks.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as her father had taught her to do as a child when she needed to focus. “I should get back to work.”
“One second.” He rose. “I want to give you something.” He disappeared into
