“Well, it’s ahead of schedule. Can’t say I’m sorry for it to be sooner rather than later.” Lim smiled weakly.
“How about we go by the pub and I buy you a drink?” Fallon offered, giving his shoulder a pat.
“Sure, if I’m allowed to drink before brain surgery.” Lim laughed.
Brak nodded distractedly and gave them a “go” gesture. Fallon suspected she’d work all night.
“All right. Let’s see what you think of Zerellian ale.”
9
Lim was not at all an ale person. After a cautious taste, he grimaced and asked, “Is there something that doesn’t taste like sour, burning water?”
On a hunch, Fallon ordered him a Sarkavian brandy.
“Ahh. Now that’s good.” Lim wiped his mouth on a napkin with satisfaction. “It’s strange, not even knowing what I like.”
“I remember that. I ended up eating a rastor dumpling, only to find I absolutely hate them. It was like rotten dirty socks with a spicy sauce.”
“I’ll stay clear.” Lim chuckled.
“Never know. They might be your favorite.”
He sighed. “Yeah. I guess so. I’m going to have to try everything to see if I like it or not.”
“Yep. But look at the bright side. You get to try everything.” She smiled at him.
“Another good point.” He took a drink of his brandy, seeming more upbeat.
A moment later, he asked, “You’re going to take down the guy who did this to me, right?”
Fallon stared at him thoughtfully.
“What?” he asked, looking nervous.
“You saw him, right? The admiral who ordered this stuff be done to you? And you remember what he looks like?” With everything else going on, she’d failed to clamp onto that detail.
“Yeah.”
She yanked her comport off her belt and pulled up an image of Colb, and one of Krazinski. One of her father too, to add another face to the mix. She handed her comport to Lim. “Is it one of these guys?”
“That one.” His finger pointed to the one on the far right.
Her breath caught.
She’d never felt so validated as when she saw him pointing at Colb. So it had been him all along. She’d been sure of it, but in this world of hers, full of twists and turns and betrayals, it felt good to have actual visual confirmation.
“I’m buying you another brandy.”
Lim turned out to be a lightweight, returning to his quarters early, so Fallon called Hawk. She expected him to turn her down, but he quickly agreed to come meet her in the pub. She had a whisky waiting for him when he arrived.
“That’s the girl I love,” he said, tossing the whisky back all at once. “Could have gotten two, though. I see you’ve had a head start on me.”
“Yeah. Well. I figured if I had enough drinks, it might activate my brain.”
He laughed. “I’m pretty sure alcohol works the opposite way, but even if it didn’t, why start now?”
She elbowed him. “In other news, our new friend confirmed that our old friend, who is no longer our friend, is definitely not our friend.”
“I think I actually understood that. Which means I’m ordering two more whiskies.”
A good-looking guy walked past their table a little too slowly with his eyes fastened on Hawk. She recognized him as an entry-level maintenance worker. Some message passed between him and Hawk, and his pace increased once he passed the table.
“New pal?” she asked.
“You know me. A regular social butterfly.”
“Right. You’re a people person.” She smirked.
Normally, they would have continued on with the witty repartee, insulting each other until one of them issued a challenge of some kind. Hawk pursed his lips thoughtfully. “What’s bothering you? I’m guessing you didn’t invite me here just to shoot the shit.”
She sighed, frowning into her cup. He was right. She needed to confide in someone, and he was the one she leaned on in such situations. “I did a semi-reckless thing and so far it hasn’t done shit for me. I kind of thought I’d have some big holo-vid moment that would have me solving everything, so we could get back out there where we belong—zooming through the stars, blowing shit up, and winning one for the good guys.”
He squinted at her empty glass. “How many have you had?”
“Not enough.” She punched an order for another into her menuboard.
“So what did you do?” he asked. “I have a feeling this is going to be a good one.”
She thought for a long moment before speaking. He watched her, patiently waiting.
“Do you remember that time on the Verthain moon?” she asked. “We were tracking that woman but her trail went cold. You headed to the bar, got entirely piss drunk, and when I came to find you, we both almost got turned into hamburger?”
He closed one eye, peering at her. “What’s your point?”
“I saved our asses and promised never to tell anyone about it. Remember?”
“Ya. I remember.”
“I’m cashing that one in.”
“Oh Prelin’s ass, what have you done now?” He grimaced.
“Well, it’s possible that I might have had Brak put something in my head so I can find our missing friend.” She wasn’t about to mention Krazinski’s name in public.
“Are you kidding me?”
“No.”
Instead of cursing a stream of inventive filth, he laughed. “You are so screwed. Raptor and Peregrine are going to be pissed.”
“Not if I can come up with the break we need. Success comes with a lot of forgiveness.”
“And how’s that working for you?”
“I’ve got nothing,” she admitted. “I don’t even know how to activate it.”
He laughed again. “Yep. Screwed.”
She sighed. “You could stop being delighted and try to help me find a solution.”
“Count your blessings. I’d be livid right now if you hadn’t cashed in your Verthain chip and I didn’t have three whiskies in me.”
“Four,” she corrected.
“Whatever.”
She scowled at him.
“Look,” he said. “First, I’d need to actually know exactly what you’re talking about. And since I’m no tech wizard, I probably can’t help anyway. Unless you need me to break your brain out of jail or something.”
“Maybe I do. It
