But his reputation hadn’t been that stellar even before losing his position onThe Treasure. The thing with Blaize had been his first time out after the training class, and some people still remembered it.
Fuck.
That was why the female in the bar looked familiar. How could he have forgotten the stupidly orange hair and bizarrely pale skin? Shit. What had he said then? The memory was fuzzy. If she was on station, she could be the one bad-mouthing him, bringing up old rumors. No wonder none of the other transport captains would even entertain taking him on. They’d only heardherside of things, and he had no way to correct their impression if they wouldn’t even talk to him.
He clenched his jaw. No other choice remained.
He had to keep this little fish of a research scientist on the hook. But what if the previous engineer reappeared? Didn’t matter. All that mattered was reacquiringThe Treasure. In fact, he should check on her. Were the spiders out? He had no intention of delivering the damn things. He’d jettison immediately. Especially if he could get his hands on the ship before it left Cassan.
“Listen, Captain. I’ve got some errands to take care of, but you have my comms. I’ll stop by the office first thing.”
The man made mewling noises of approval as if Varik had to get permission. Whatever. He strode from the cantina and hurried to the dock. One glimpse. He had to see hisTreasure.
No.
Varik stared through the portal at the empty dock.
The Treasurewas gone.
They’d left.
He beat his fists on the thick airlock door. But maybe it wasn’t all bad. Perhaps the spiders had done their job. He double-timed it to the dock master’s office.
“Excuse me.” Varik gave his most charming smile and eyed the dock master, searching for a clue to the male’s weakness. “I was supposed to meet a Captain Meajzur in dock sixty-eight ought one. But there’s no ship there. I might have got the number wrong.”
The dock master lifted his shaggy bearded face and blinked copper eyes at Varik. “The Treasure?”
“Yes, that’s the one.” Varik stepped fully into the office expecting the male to explain how the bay had to be vacuumed due to a release of dangerous biological hazard.
“Launched a few hours ago.” The copper eyes narrowed. “Who did you say your were?”
“I didn’t.” Varik spun and left before he took his rage out on the officer. That would only result in being locked up, possibly for a long time. He neededThe Treasure. As soon as he got back to his rented quarters he let loose with a long scream of obscenities. Why the fuck couldn’t he catch a break?
How had she gotten fuel with no credits?
And how had she taken off with no crew? Even if Blaize had joined her, and that made the most logical sense, she’d still need more crew.
Fucking Auvi.
Varik took a quick shower to calm down. He could try to strong-arm Twalley, but the wishy-washy captain wasn’t interested in speeding up his launch. Assuming those bitches were on the way to Morgual, the only way he’d be able to intercept was to launch that cycle. He’d have to route through a bridge too.
With the captain resisting leaving Cassan, there was no way to catch up, unless he found another ship. He could watch the docks, but he was better off installing his tracking software on theHarlan. He would bet the new engineer onThe Treasurehadn’t discovered the beacon he’d planted months ago—just in case. If he could load up his tracker, he would know when they were leaving Morgual and be able to find them anywhere.
Varik called Twalley. “Captain. Have you received any updates from the agency?”
“Not yet. These things take time.”
“No rush.” Varik did his best to sound relaxed and obedient. “I’d like to meet your remaining crew soon and possibly start to get familiar with the systems. I know you aren’t ready to contract, but we can lay some groundwork. No cost to you.”
“Of course. I’ll see if I can’t round up the crew for a meet and greet meal some time in the next few cycles.”
It wasn’t access to the ship, but it was a start. Varik could identify who on the crew was weak and could be replaced with people loyal to him. He had plenty of time now that he’d missed the first window of opportunity to recaptureThe Treasure.
Remaining pissed about the lost chance wasn’t going to solve anything. Instead, he’d stay focused on the future. He would add it to the accounting he was going to settle when he finally had that bitch, Cyra, in his grasp. She would pay for taking his captain and taking his ship and taking his dignity by making him grovel to a weakling like Twalley.
Chapter13
“Who’s making rest-meal tonight,”Cyra asked Veda. “I want to keep up the tradition of at least one shared meal a cycle.”
