She didn’t remember the pass she’d made? All to the good.

  “You were drunk off your ass and snoring like a bear.”

  “Fair enough.” The bunk room door closed behind Taya.

  * * * *

  It opened again an hour and a quarter later. Taya looked better, had put some makeup on, and appeared less like death warmed over then before. She handled the controls well enough on the trip to the coordinates, but groaned and put on sunglasses when they walked out of the ship into the glaring light of the sun. Barb didn’t know if they were the same trick glasses Taya had given her last night and that she wore again as they functioned as normal sunglasses, too.

  They were on a plain, surrounded by rock formations carved by the wind. An utterly barren rock desert. There might be some lichen in the shadier bits, but nothing lived under the merciless heat and glare of the sun.

  Barb and Taya walked over a thin layer of gritty, glassy sand to where a party of men waited beside a ship a little larger than Taya’s. Locke was not among them. Damn. A tall black guy wearing civvies, but moving like a military man, was in charge. He made them stop and scanned them. It couldn’t be for weapons. Of course they had weapons. Probably for recording devices. Neither Barb nor Taya wore or carried any such devices. Taya’s ship, on the other hand, was practically a flying movie studio, with several hidden cameras and microphones recording the whole scene.

  “Okay, come forward,” the man with the scanner said.

  He had three companions, all big guys, rifles in their hands, two watching the perimeter, one watching Barb and Taya.

  “I’m Vince,” the one in charge said. “Let’s get on with this, huh? I think my hair is about to catch fire.” He led them to his ship. It had one of the weapons in question mounted on the side. “Take a good look. This is the same model you’d be buying. It will fit easily to your ride.” He nodded back at Taya’s hunk of junk. “Maybe we could sell you a rusty one to match the rest of it.”

  “Funny man,” Taya said. “How about the integration into the systems?”

  “Easy. You don’t even need a technician to do it if you’ve got half a clue yourself. Software, assembly instructions, and operations manual are provided.”

  “Talk to me about the power requirements.”

  Barb let her attention wander from Vince’s sales talk and Taya’s buyer’s questions. She checked out the three guards. Probably at least one more inside the ship, unless Vince was the pilot. How many would come for the buy itself? Too many for Barb to arrest everyone on the spot. The sale would have to go through as planned. The serial numbers on the weapon they bought would trace back to Locke’s base. But that wouldn’t be enough to nail him. He had to be there.

  “Cash?” She turned back to the conversation, which had moved on to arrangements for the sale itself. Vince wasn’t happy with Taya’s offer. “We prefer a bank transfer.”

  “Look, we’ve got the cash,” Taya said. “What we don’t have is the time to clean it up through a bank. I’ve got an…appointment elsewhere. I buy this baby tomorrow, with cash, or not at all.”

  “But you expect us to clean up your dirty money.”

  “I’ll bet you can do it a lot better than I can anyway. Come on, Vince. I told you, I’ll pay twenty percent more for a quick sale. Bigger cut for you, huh?”

  Vince scowled. “I’ll check with the boss.”

  “Great. But I didn’t come here to ooh and aah over how pretty this bottle rocket is. Let’s see it in action.”

  Vince looked more cheerful then. Guess the guy liked playing with the toys. “Okay. Step back, ladies. Clear the takeoff area. Guys,” he called to his team. “Move back while I fire this up.”

  Everyone got out of range, and Vince went into the ship. A moment later, its engines roared to life. The ship rose, blowing the sand around and making Barb raise her hand to protect her face, and those fancy glasses, from sand that felt like ground glass blasting at her.

  The ship rose higher. The tiny sandstorm it had generated drifted slowly back to the ground. Vince’s voice came from a communications device one of his men held.

  “See that rock formation west? Looks like a tower?”

  Taya snorted. “Looks to me more like a—ow!” She shut up when Barb stepped on her foot. “Yeah, tower. Tall and thin, with a bulbous bit on the top.” She smirked. “We got it.”

  “Keep watching,” Vince said. “Firing the weapon up.”

  A second later, several energy bolts, red and crackling, spat in quick succession from the mouth of the gun. They streaked though the air, moving too fast to follow. An instant later, the suggestive rock formation blasted into smithereens. Given its shape, Barb expected the sight made the guards want to cross their legs.

  “All right!” Taya cheered and applauded. “Oh, yeah, baby, that’s what I’m talking about.” She slapped Barb on the back. “We are gonna have so much fun with these.”

  “Be cool, for fuck’s sake,” Barb said, her irritation only partly faked.

  The guards looked at them, grinning. They’d probably tell Vince he could add another ten percent to the price and this crazy smuggler chick would pay it.

  By the time Vince landed his ship and came back to join them, Taya had adopted an exaggeratedly cool air.

  “Like what you see?” Vince asked.

  “Not bad,” Taya said. “I think it will be adequate.”

  One of the guards chuckled. He’d be sure to report her enthusiastic earlier reaction to Vince once she and Barb left. That was okay. Let them think they were dealing with a nutbar. Hell, they were dealing with a nutbar. They just didn’t realize she was a government-salaried nutbar.

  “I’ll talk to my boss,” Vince said, “and contact you with the arrangement for the buy.”

  “Tomorrow,” Taya said. “It’s gotta be tomorrow.”

  “You’ve got it.” And the price would no doubt be bumped up accordingly to take advantage of their urgency.

  “Then see you tomorrow, handsome.”

  Taya shook Vince’s hand enthusiastically. Barb could hardly bear to touch him. He was military. One of Locke’s people. And selling weapons like they were used shuttlecraft. She’d be happy to nail his ass to the wall along with Locke’s. Though he’d probably cop a lower sentence if he gave up information about Locke.

  In a few minutes, they were on their way back to the orbital habitat.

  “Put in the request for the cash,” Taya said. “Get one and a half times the current asking price because they’re going to squeeze us until we squeak on the price.”

  “Whose fault is that? Jumping up and down and clapping like a kid on her birthday.”

  “Deliberate. It makes Locke more likely to agree if he can squeeze more money out of us. Otherwise, he might have blown it off as not a big enough sale to take the risk over.”

  “Oh. I see.”

  “I’m smarter than I look, you know.”

  “Which wouldn’t be hard.”

  “Oh, oh, Barb. That was indeed a barb.” She was grinning, though. “You wound me.”

  “How’s your hangover?”

  “Gone. Seeing a giant rock dick blown up refreshed the hell out of me.”

  Barb shook her head. That made no sense. “Okay, so this evening I guess we lay low and wait for Vince to set the time for the buy.”

  “You got the second part right. But we’re not laying low.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because they’ll almost certainly be watching us, making sure we are who we say we are. What we’re going to do is do some shopping like we’re buying supplies for our next trip, then go out for dinner. Like normal people.”

  “Normal people, huh? Do you think you’ll be able to pull that off?”

  * * * *

  They hit the chandlery stores on the orbital and stocked up with supplies for the ship, mostly food, as if they were planning a long trip. Some things they had delivered, others they walked back to the ship carrying ostentatiously to make sure they were seen.

  A beep on her portable terminal made Barb glance at it and lose track of some item balanced a bit precariously in a basket. A bar of soap slipped and bounced on the deck. A passing man picked it up and put it back in the basket. Taya gave him a big smile for his trouble. Barb was too busy reading the message.

  “My commanding officer has authorized the cash. It will be delivered to us tomorrow morning.”

  “Great. Then we’re a go.”

  “We’re a go.”

  Back at the ship, they stowed all the supplies, by which time they were sweating harder than they had been down under the burning sun in the desert.

  “I’m going to take a shower. Then we’ll sit down and plan tomorrow’s exchange,” Barb said.

  Taya folded her arms. “Oh, will we?”

  Damn, Barb was stepping on her toes again. Taya was in charge of this job. Barb found it hard to get her head around.

  “I…suggest we do so. Then we’ll go for dinner, as you suggested.”

  Taya looked mollified. “You take the shower and change first. Then make us some coffee.” She smiled. “I suggest you do that. Then we’ll have the planning session as you suggested.”

  “I swear, Taya…” Barb began, but cut it off. She didn’t know if she was being mocked or flirted with. Taya wore a smile that could indeed get a person exiled for being too damn cute for their own good. “See you in ten.” Barb headed to the shower.

  * * * *

  They went to an unpromising restaurant. When Taya saw the look on Barb’s face, she patted Barb on the arm reassuringly. “Trust me, it’s the kind of place our cover identities would eat at.”

  “Even when they’ve got several thousand credits in cash to buy an illegal weapon?”

  “Old habits die hard. Sit down.”

  Barb sat. The “restaurant” was barely more than a jumped-up noodle bar. Probably once mobile, it had settled into one spot and put up an awning. The “kitchen” was still in what had once been a van, but they employed waitresses to take your order rather than having customers line up at the counter.

  “Also,” Taya said, “the food is delicious.”

  It certainly smelled good. The scent of spices and meat wafted from the van, where two sweating chefs worked over enormous woks, grabbing ingredients from bowls replenished by three kitchen juniors constantly chopping and prepping vegetables, meat, fish, and noodles. A pretty young waitress approached their table, and Barb picked up her menu.

  “Jina,” Taya called.

  “Hi, Taya,” the waitress said. “Back again?”

  “I can’t keep away.”

  “Who’s your friend?”

  “Friend? Oh, she’s not a friend.” Taya winked at Barb. “Working with me for a while. Barb, Jina.” Barb nodded to Jina. “This is her dad’s place. Put your menu down. You’re having the mid-spiced beef and cashews.”

  “I’d prefer chicken.”

  “Oh, shut up. Chicken indeed. You need red meat to keep up your strength for guarding my body. Jina, I’ll have the extra-spiced pork. You know how I like it. And bring us two beers.”

  “Two beers. Food will be here in five minutes.” She took away their menus and left.

  Barb looked at Taya for a while as Taya gave a wave to a couple of the kitchen staff. Then she watched the flow of foot traffic up and down the passageway outside the awning. They were in full view here, right at the edge of the crowd of tables—only about a third of them occupied since it was early in the evening.

  Taya worked hard on being seen and making an impression on people. When Barb had to go out into the field to gather intel, she concentrated on being as unobtrusive, forgettable, and even invisible as possible. Was Taya’s theory that someone so loud and noticeable could hardly be involved in anything as underhanded as espionage?

  Did it mean faking friendships, too? Being friendly with restaurant and wait staff might not count as deception, but what about other friendships? And lovers? Barb picked up the beer Jina had put on the table and took a look swallow of it, suddenly feeling dry. Did Taya ever have to take a lover as part of the job? A man? The thought made Barb shudder.

  At times, she’d thought about getting into the undercover game at military intelligence. But the idea of so much deception turned her stomach. She didn’t think she’d be good at it either. Not like Taya. She was too much of a—as Taya called it—a “stiff.”

  The food arrived, a veritable mountain of it. Taya talked plenty while they ate, including ordering beers twice more, but Barb mostly let it wash over her. Maybe it wasn’t even for her ears, but for anyone tracking them. She stayed in character the whole time. Though it was hard to tell where Taya the smuggler ended and Taya the spy started. There may be no distinction—not in terms of personality.

  She didn’t talk about the mission, probably expecting them to be overheard. There were a lot of tables crammed under this awning, close together. Anyone sitting nearby could listen in on their conversation. Or maybe the waitress…Anyone might be a spy for someone. Wait staff were good sources of intel, Barb had been taught. Everyone had to eat. If tracking a suspect’s movement in some location, always check if restaurant and takeout staff had seen them.

  They finished the food, paid in cash, and headed out.

  “You enjoy that?” Taya asked.

  “It was good,” Barb admitted. “Ordering for me was a bit high-handed.”

  “I knew you’d thank me later.”

  “I don’t recall thanking you.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Where now?” Barb asked. “Home?”

  “No way. The night is young. Come on, I know a bar where they serve the best peach schnapps this end of the galaxy.”

  “Schnapps?” Barb said warily.

  “You don’t like it?”

  “I like it fine. Are you trying to get me drunk?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Swear on Mother Russia?”

  Taya snorted. “I think you’re already drunk from the beers.”

  That might be true. Barb didn’t drink much normally. She had to be on her guard all the time. Her people were notorious drinkers. So when she did drink, she was kind of a cheap date.

  “I most certainly am not drunk,” she said.

  “Then let’s go.”

  Barb sighed and followed.

  The bar was classier than the restaurant, and Barb wondered if it fit the Taya the smuggler cover identity, until she took a look at the all-female clientele. Ah. She relaxed a bit. Okay, more Barb’s kind of place than some noisy joint with men pawing her.

  Taya knew the bartender, too, who, at first glance, Barb thought was a man. But she was just on the far extreme of the butch-femme scale. She poured them a couple of glasses of schnapps. Taya picked them up and led Barb through the bar. The admiring glances cast Barb’s way made her want to strut.

  They found a quiet corner and sat close—to avoid being overheard, Taya said. It made them look like a couple, too, one of many in here. The background music was low, and conversation hummed. Nobody seemed to be taking much notice of them beyond looking at them for the obvious reason.

  “Nice place,” Barb said. It was. The fixtures and fittings were in good repair. It was on the outer wall of the orbital, so it had a large window with a view of the planet below. “I don’t suppose there are as many fights as in the one we were at last night.”

  Taya chuckled. “I’ve seen a few. But, yeah, it’s nice. Good mix of people. Indie traders, locals, military, and commercial fleet when they’re passing through. Lots of useful contacts to make.”

  “But you like it, too. It’s not only to maintain your cover. You’d come here anyway.”

  Taya shrugged. “I guess.”

  A place Barb could relax sometimes. Not be “on.” Not constantly maintaining the cover identity. A safe place. She picked up her glass and clinked it against Taya’s. Taya smiled back at her. They drank in silence for a few minutes.

  “Barb,” Taya said after a while. “I wanted to apologize about something I said.”

  “You do? Just one thing?”

  “Yes. The rest you can ignore. I’m all mouth, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. It was when I said something about your people not usually being officers. Lawrentians, I mean.”

  “Oh, that.” Barb shrugged. She’d almost forgotten it. She’d heard the same so often. “It’s true. Stating a fact isn’t an insult.”

  “Restating it can be. With the implication there’s a good reason for it.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “I’m saying I don’t want you thinking I don’t respect Lawrentians.”

  “Yeah, some of your best friends are Lawrentians, I suppose.”

  “No, but you’re not the first I’ve worked with. You’re the toughest soldiers in the service, and you don’t get the respect you deserve.”

  “No, we get treated as cannon fodder.” The bitterness in her voice surprised Barb. She was more likely to keep her background quiet than to be defending her people. They didn’t need her to defend them. Like Taya said, they were tough.

  “Yeah. And it’s not right. It’s impressive you’re an officer, despite all of that.”

  “And after we bring Locke down, it’s going to be even harder for any of us to be one. Or get promoted. Captaincy for me? Field rank? Bye bye.” Barb swallowed the rest of her schnapps.

  “Why’d you take the mission then?” Taya asked.

  Barb frowned, not quite understanding the question. “I was ordered to.”

  “And your boss knows you’re Lawrentian?”

  “Of course.”

  Taya shook her head. “Such bullshit.” She finished her drink. “If some Colonel from Mars or Earth was on the take, it’d be a scandal, but nobody would say the rest of the officers from there couldn’t be trusted.”

  “Since that’s most of the officers in the service, then no.”

  “Such bullshit,” Taya muttered again. She picked up the two empty glasses. “I’ll get us another one. Stay here and look pretty, but don’t run off with anyone.”

 

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