The captain grunted acknowledgement.
“I’ll need the payment. First half before I load at the spaceport, and second half when I load here.”
“Agreed.” The captain held up his data pad, and Cifer transferred payment instructions to his account. Not the original plan. The funds should go to The Treasure. But plans had changed.
Cifer kept his disguise in place back at the spaceport. He had one task to complete before he explained everything to Dez. Cain’s Alibi was exactly where Varik had said it would be. Cifer slipped into a shadow and shifted his appearance again to blend into the background. With slow, precise movements, he neared the ship and managed to attach the tracker he’d taken with him at the last moment, despite shaking with the recall of the last time he’d been on that ship.
Back at The Treasure, Cifer resumed his usual appearance and went to the galley and then the bridge, searching for Dez. He found Veda in Medical. “Have you seen Dez?”
“He’s with Cyra. They went to see her family.”
Shit. He’d forgotten about that.
“What’s wrong?” A wrinkle marred Veda’s usually relaxed face.
“Varik is here.”
“What?” The screech came from behind him.
Cifer spun to find Blaize in the doorway, glaring.
“Varik’s here with the buyer I found for the produce. And I’m concerned about who they’re planning to feed.”
Chapter 28
“What do you mean, Varik’s here?” Blaize crossed her arms. “Port authority had him in custody.”
Cifer lifted his hands, palms facing her. “It doesn’t make any sense to me, either.”
“Think about it,” Veda’s calm voice broke through the tension. “Varik landed a stolen ship in that port. He moved kids into cages under the nose of the port authority.”
“He paid them off.” Cifer’s shoulders dropped. Defeat settled over him, eclipsing his usual energy, and it didn’t look right. An urge to comfort him tingled in Blaize’s chest.
She’d been blind. He wasn’t working with Varik. He cared about the kids. He’d come looking for Dez’s help. “Varik’s here now. We can’t do anything about that.” Blaize paused to filter out all her random thoughts and get to the point. “How did he get involved in this trade?”
“I contacted a few people I know who move goods.” Cifer huffed out a breath. “It’s not something I do a lot. I’m a retriever, not a procurer. I put out feelers to the people they recommended. This captain was the first to respond. Didn’t flinch at the price.”
“He met you at the docks?” Veda asked.
“Yeah. Said he couldn’t leave his ship.” Cifer’s eyes went wide. “Do you think he’s got kids on the ship?”
Veda nodded. “It’s possible. Chalcanth has limited resources because so much of the planet is water. They track most purchases to make sure people aren’t hoarding or selling items procured at the state stores on the black market.”
“Shit.” Cifer ran his hand over the back of his neck. “Was I supposed to go through government channels? No one said.”
Veda shook her head. “Off-planet goods aren’t regulated like that. I mean, they’ll want their cut.”
“How do you know so much about this, Veda?” Blaize asked.
Veda’s dark cheeks reddened. “I looked into what I could do with the produce I’m growing in case I had too much and we couldn’t eat it all. It’s not been a problem, but I had imagined unprecedented success. I knew we’d be coming to Cyra’s planet, so I checked the rules.”
“What do we do?” Cifer asked.
“We could wait for Dez and Cyra,” Veda replied.
“No.” Blaize couldn’t stand the idea of another group of kids being caught in Varik’s web. How the fuck did the fucker get his hands on so many babies? And why?
“I think I know why,” Cifer answered.
