Malfunction, page 14
“Truthfully?” She raised the flask to her lips and took a swallow, felt it warm in her stomach. The temperature was dropping inside the shuttle, and her body temperature was returning to normal, the sweat cooling inside her clothes.
“Yeah,” he said, “I think we should have nothing but truth between us.”
Hah. That was never going to happen. Logan couldn’t deal with the truth. Some things were better kept secret. “Well, truthfully…right now, I don’t give a toss.” She giggled again. She was a little drunk. That wasn’t maybe the best of ideas, she had to keep her wits about her, but somehow, she couldn’t give a toss about that, either.
He drained the flask and slid it across the floor. She reckoned he was a little inebriated as well.
Leaning back, she closed her eyes, and the world spun. She didn’t open them again until she felt a jolt as the shuttle landed back on the Trakis Two.
Rico was going to be pissed, and not the nice, drunk, giggly sort of pissed, either.
Chapter Seventeen
Logan contemplated getting up. But he couldn’t seem to move. Beside him, Katia wasn’t moving, either.
She was a little drunk.
So was he.
A lot of that was reaction. Way too much going on.
He was going to have to consider the implications at some point. Was the destruction of the Trakis Three a logical progression for a terrorist who, up until this point, had seemed pretty unterrifying? And had the terrorist died on the Trakis Three or had they abandoned ship before the explosion?
Or was the whole terrorist thing just smoke to get them away from the real truth?
He turned his head to look at Katia; her eyes were open, and she gave him a lazy smile—definitely drunk.
His attention shifted to Layla as she rose from the pilot’s seat and came to stand over them. She’d gotten them back safely.
“Thanks,” he said. “We would have been in trouble if you hadn’t been with us.”
She opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment, the outer door slid open, and Rico stood there. He stepped through the open doorway, hands resting on the holster at his hips. His lips were tight, his eyes narrowed. “I’m not happy,” he said.
Beside him, Katia snorted. “If you’re not happy, then very soon we’re not going to be happy, either.”
He strode into the shuttle, came to stand over them. “You know me so well.”
She heaved a sigh. “And I was feeling all sort of mellow and…alive.”
Rico cast her a look of disbelief.
“They’re drunk,” Layla muttered.
“Am not,” Katia said. Logan decided to keep quiet on the subject. His head felt distinctly woozy, though he supposed he might have landed on it after the initial explosion. Now he came to think about it, his head did hurt. He reached behind it and ran a hand through his hair, felt a huge lump. Ouch.
“What I want to know is,” Rico said, “what is the chance of my ship exploding in a fireball anytime soon?”
Katia shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.” She held out her hand, and Rico grasped it and pulled her up. She brushed her hands down her sides then pressed a finger to the spot between her eyes.
Logan pushed himself to his feet and swayed. He balanced himself with a hand against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, everyone was watching him. “I’m not drunk,” he said. “Well, not very. I must have banged my head. It’s okay, just a little lump.”
“Oh, you poor thing,” Layla said. “That’s probably why you’re acting so strange. We must get you to the medical center.”
“Not necessary,” he muttered.
“Of course it’s necessary,” Rico said. “You can’t be too careful with a concussion. Layla can go mop your fevered brow, and I’ll take Katia to the galley—get her some food. She’s a mean drunk when she’s hungry.”
He was guessing that Rico wanted to talk to Katia alone. What about?
Problems and how to eliminate them?
He glanced at Katia, and she shrugged but seemed to be trying to convey something with her expression. Trouble was he had no clue what. No help there. But he suspected that Katia was starting to like him a little. He didn’t think she’d agree to any sort of elimination going on. Or was that merely wishful thinking?
He gave her a nod. “We’ll see you in the galley, then.”
He followed Layla out of the shuttle. He had no clue where the medical center was, but the layout was the same on this ship as on the Trakis One, and Layla certainly seemed to know where she was going. They didn’t talk on the way; she appeared a little preoccupied. He supposed a near-death experience would do that. He’d had two now in two days, and he was a little preoccupied as well.
Again, they met nobody. It was like a ghost ship.
The medical center looked pristine, as though it had never been used. Maybe the crew were all really healthy as well as invisible. And there was no medic in sight. Layla frowned. “Where is everyone?”
Damned if he knew.
She shook her head. “Never mind. I can deal with a sore head. Actually, I just wanted to talk to you away from the others.”
She did? What about? Obviously she’d noticed the lack of crew, and maybe the seriously weird captain, and come to the same conclusion he had—that everything was not quite right on the Trakis Two.
He sat on the gurney in the center while Layla moved around the room, getting supplies. She seemed to know what she was doing, and that put him at ease a bit. She came back to where he sat and placed a bowl next to him. “Bend forward,” she instructed.
He leaned forward, and she probed the back of his head for a moment, then he felt the cold touch of some sort of liquid, and the sharp scent of antiseptic filled his nostrils. “The skin’s not broken,” she said. “You’ll be fine.” He straightened, and she handed him a couple of painkillers.
He swallowed them dry.
“So what did you want to talk about?” he asked warily. Maybe she just wanted to spend alone time with him. But he didn’t think so.
“Don’t you think there’s something…not quite right about this ship?” Layla asked.
Hell yes. While he still hadn’t seen anyone but Rico, the place appeared to function perfectly. But he wasn’t sure how far he wanted to go with this. There was more than a hint of danger surrounding the captain of the Trakis Two. While he seemed to be playing nice at the moment, the man had an air of almost tangible danger. As if he could lose his civilized face at any moment and descend into…what? Logan didn’t want to know.
Maybe if they had any sense at all, they would get themselves off this ship and back to the Trakis One before Rico decided they’d overstayed their welcome.
But he wasn’t quite ready to go yet. There was a mystery here, and he was a nosy bastard. Plus there was the possibility that whatever was going on here was tied to the deaths. Besides, heading back to the Trakis One would involve another trip in a shuttle, and he wasn’t quite ready for that, either. He thought a limit of one trip and near-death experience per day was quite reasonable.
“Logan?”
Layla was still waiting for an answer. “What are you thinking?” he said. “You have more experience than me. I’ve no idea what’s normal and what’s not.”
“Well, apart from the missing crew, Captain Sanchez isn’t like any of the other captains I’ve ever met. And this place looks as good as new.”
“They still have coffee,” he offered. Maybe Rico had made a pact with the devil.
“How? You know…” She took a step closer and lowered her voice as though they might be overheard. “As far as I’m aware, no one has ever visited the Trakis Two before. Except for Stuart Caldwell, and it didn’t end well for him. Not since I’ve been awake, which is unprecedented. I mean, there isn’t a lot of traffic, but occasionally we get requests for help, or we have socials…not often, but sometimes. Never on this ship, though, and as far as I’m aware, no one from here has visited the other ships.”
Rico didn’t actually seem much of a party guy. “And that means…?”
“I have no clue. And believe me, I’ve given it a lot of thought since I got here. I think we should try to get a look at the ship’s logs.”
No, that was a very bad idea. He remembered Rico and Katia’s conversation about keeping the investigation away from the Trakis Two. And the other bits about eliminating problems. If they were found snooping around, then they would rapidly move up to problem status and be prime subjects for elimination. And he didn’t want to be eliminated. He was owed an orgasm, and he didn’t want to put his life in danger—again—until he’d gotten what he was due. He could hardly say that to Layla, though. She was watching him earnestly.
“Maybe we should wait until we’re back on the Trakis One,” he suggested. “And instigate a formal report and investigation.”
“Perhaps. But right now, all we have is a feeling. We need some proof that something is wrong.”
“What could be wrong? What do you think could be going on here?”
“Maybe the crew are all dead. I mean—they’ve still got coffee.”
“Then how is the ship running itself?” he countered. “You said it yourself—it’s in better condition than all the others.”
“Hmm.” She wrinkled her brow. “What about the Chosen Ones? Maybe they’re all dead?”
“But why? How would that benefit anyone?” And that would be quite easy to verify. He didn’t think it was the case, from what he’d seen in the cryotube storage area everything seemed to be functioning fine, but he added it to his mental check list.
“Okay, I admit it,” she said. “I don’t know. I just know that something is not right. And it’s our duty to find out what.”
No, it wasn’t.
He blew out his breath, scrubbed a hand through his hair, winced when he touched the tender spot.
Right now, all he wanted was some food, a hot shower, and to crawl into bed with Katia and finish what they’d started that morning. “I think we need to complete the investigation first. One thing at a time. And we need the captain’s and Detective Mendoza’s help to do that.”
“Do we?” She stopped her pacing and turned to face him, eyes narrowing. “And what is it with you and the detective? You’re all over her. Tell me you’re just using her to get the investigation moving?”
Why would she think that? The idea pissed him off. But he wasn’t about to explain his feelings for Katia to another woman. Hell, he couldn’t even if he wanted to; he had no clue how he felt. “Yeah, I’m just using her. I want to make a good impression with this investigation, and she’s a good detective. Working with her is my best chance of solving the case.” He jumped off the gurney. “Let’s go find them.” She didn’t move. “Look, I know you think there’s something weird about the setup here. But we’ve got bigger issues. The Trakis Three was blown up.”
“You don’t think it was the terrorist? Or maybe a malfunction?”
His lips twitched. “A hell of a fucking big malfunction.” He had two theories right now, but he’d wait to share them until he was with Katia. The first was that Layla’s terrorist had indeed decided to up his act and done so spectacularly well. Or the second, that someone really didn’t want them to get on board the Trakis Three and find the answers.
He was keen to get back to Katia, find out her take on the matter. He was leaning toward one of those, and he was interested to know if Katia was leaning the same way.
Balls. He just wanted to get back to Katia.
It was weird, he’d only known her a couple of days, and yet he liked her. He wasn’t used to liking people.
And strangely, he trusted her. She was hiding something, but at the same time he had faith that she would do her damnedest to keep him safe. Hadn’t she shared her cabin with him last night, so she could protect him? He’d never had anyone want to protect him before. It made him feel strangely warm and fuzzy.
“You’re smiling,” Layla said. “What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing.” He shook it off. “Come on. Let’s get back to work—and be vigilant. Keep your eyes open. There’s probably a simple explanation for the differences you’re seeing. The captain’s a maverick, that’s all.”
“If you say so.”
“I got the impression you liked him.”
“He’s…charming,” she admitted. “When he’s there, you can’t see past that, but then when he’s not there, it’s…” She shook her head. “I’m just being fanciful.”
Well, that made two of them.
Chapter Eighteen
“Dios, I don’t like this.” Rico paced the galley, running his hands through his long hair, which had come loose from its ponytail. “A few dead Chosen Ones, a malfunctioning shuttle—those I can get my head around. But an exploding ship. Nope. Not one bit. Makes me feel a little…vulnerable. And I don’t do vulnerable.”
No, she could see that. She hadn’t often seen Rico rattled. In fact, she might never have seen it. “And you weren’t even there.”
She wasn’t sure what she was feeling. The buzz from the alcohol had gone. Unfortunately. If someone could destroy the Trakis Three just like that, then the same could happen to the rest of them. Not a comforting thought. Maybe it had been a malfunction. A really big one. But she wasn’t buying that. No, she was definitely moving toward the someone didn’t want them to get to the Trakis Three scenario. What would they have found? They’d never know now—all the evidence had disappeared with a bang.
So they had to think around the issue. What could they be hiding? If they assumed the malfunction to the central database was the killer covering their tracks, then that took them back to her original theory—that the first victims would have given them a direct link to the killer. They were somehow connected.
Were they crew family? And if so, why would someone want them dead?
She needed the details of the victims from the other ships—they’d already been requested, but she would chase them up. And a visit to one of the other ships would be good, if they got the chance.
And a list of all those who had access to the central database would also be useful. Surely the list couldn’t be that long. Something else for Jake to look into. Though he hadn’t got back to her with the other stuff yet.
Her stomach rumbled. At least she was getting the hang of the food dispenser in the galley. She flicked through the screens. So many choices. She finally settled on a vegetable curry and rice. Then added bhajis and naan bread—double portions of each. The hot, spicy scent filled her nostrils, and her stomach rumbled some more.
She took the piled-up plates to the table and sat down, trying to ignore Rico’s pacing at least for the first few mouthfuls.
Trouble was Rico didn’t like to be ignored. “Describe what you saw,” he said, dragging out the chair opposite and plonking himself down.
She shoveled in another mouthful then sat back and thought while she chewed. “It exploded. What more can I say?”
“All in one go? Or a small explosion followed by a bigger one? Think.”
She closed her eyes and tried to envisage the explosion. She’d been staring straight at the screen when it happened. Though she’d been a little distracted by Logan, who’d been hovering by her shoulder at the time. “I think a smaller one somewhere near the back of the ship, followed by a super big one almost immediately after.”
“Sounds like the engine room went first. Probably caused a chain reaction.”
“And boom.”
“Si. And I’d like to not go boom in a similar manner if I can possibly help it. So we need to know why, and we need to know who, and then we need to kill them.”
He was right. This upped the stakes. No longer just a few dead Chosen Ones. Ten thousand of them dead. Plus the crew. No one was safe. “Have you heard from the fleet?” she asked.
“Yes. We’re on red alert. But they’re going through the motions. Captain Stevens believes that the threat is over, that the Trakis Three was blown up by the terrorist, and he—or she—conveniently died in the blast. And now we’re all safe and sound. Apparently, it’s a tragedy, but we must have faith in God. I don’t like it.” He shot Katia a sharp glance. “Do you like it? What’s your take on the terrorist angle?”
“Well, it would wrap everything up all nice and neat.” She scraped her plate, popped the last bit of bread into her mouth. What next? Puddings. Nice stodgy puddings like her mom used to make. Apple pie. And coffee. At least all this food was keeping her cat at bay—she hadn’t had a twinge since before they’d left the Trakis One yesterday.
She got up, dumped her plates into the cleaner chute, and went back to the dispenser. She found the apple pie, got a coffee, and came back. Rico was glaring at her.
“But?” he snarled.
She took a mouthful…yum…closed her eyes to savor it. He was still glaring, and she grinned. “But I don’t believe a word of it. Too neat. I don’t like neat.” She turned her attention back to her food.
“Kitten, if you don’t stop eating for one minute and give me your full attention, I’m likely to get a little antsy. So…?”
She heaved a huge sigh but put her spoon down. “I think someone didn’t want us to get to the Trakis Three. They tried to stop us by sabotaging the shuttle yesterday. That didn’t work—and obviously you didn’t give them a chance to repeat the process today. So they did the next best thing and made sure we would never step on board the ship. Or more likely they intended to blow us up as well. Whatever answers were there are now up in smoke.” She thought for a moment. She didn’t want to say this—it went totally against the detective in her—but it had to be said. “You know, maybe it would be better if we went along with the terrorist story. Let this all go quiet. Perhaps if whoever did this believes they’ve gotten away with it, then it will finish.”
