Page 22 of Full Speed to a Crash Landing

Like I said, hot.

I want to pin him down on top of the flat base of the holo projector and get him to tell me all those secrets behind those eyes of his. He’s after the box—does he know what’s inside of it the way I know what’s inside of it? Does he know what it all means? What it’s worth?

Everything,I think.It’s worth everything.

“Climbing down won’t work,” I say, scrutinizing the image. “Too slow, and you’d be exposed to the heat too long.”

“Temperatures are indeed high enough to compromisethe integrity of our protective gear if the exposure is too long.”

“Drones get knocked off by radiant heat waves,” I continue, thinking aloud. “Dropping a hook down is too risky.”

Rian motions for me to come closer and get a different angle. The box is right on the lip of the ledge, about a quarter of it actually hanging off the exposed side. It’s a miracle it hasn’t already fallen over the side.

“I saw your suits,” I say.

Rian’s face flashes in surprise, and that makes me trill with eagerness. I like startling a man who thinks he knows everything. He’s got every step planned, but if I can keep him on his toes, he might just stumble.

“You’ve got space jets,” I continue, granting him mercy by providing an explanation. “CO2cartridges?”

He nods. Lightweight, efficient, easy to recharge. Most suits are only equipped with space jets.

“That’ll maneuver you in low gravity. But I have a jaxon jet.”

“I know,” he says, his voice low, all personal. I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at him. I mean...he definitely didn’t miss that detail when he inspected my suit.

“You kept going on about it,” he adds, smirking.

Oh. Right. I’d forgotten about that.

He hadn’t.

But I can see those tiny gears working behind thoseclear-as-carbonglass eyes. My jaxon jet is the only possible thing that can help him get the loot. Nothing else on theHalifaxhas the maneuverability and control that my jets have.

He turns to look at the holo projection again, considering. “It’d be dangerous,” he says to the shimmering light. “At least the last ten meters would all be manual—the heat messes with the sensors. You’d have to have absolute control.”

“Don’t worry; I like being in control.”

Rian raises his eyebrows. I see the moment it settles in his mind, that we’re in a dark room, alone, together, nothing between us but the plans that may mean my horrifyingly gruesome death. So romantic.

“My suit’s custom-fitted, and I know my jetpack. I can get down to that box, grab it, and get out. Or you can faff around and wait for a quake to knock it into the lava. It doesn’t really matter to me,” I lie.

And then, just because I can, I tell him the truth. “I’m the only hope you have.”

9

I’m not doing it for free, obviously.

Rian told me a price that was generous for me to give it an honest try, and he offered to double it if I actually succeeded. So, the next morning, I trot my suited self down to the shuttle bay.

I did a check in my room, even though thincraft suits are pretty failsafe. My LifePack is fully charged and every port’s connected. My boots are sealed. I even inspected my helmet; my visor is dual-layered with all my controls and comms there. I may take risks, but never with a suit that’s not tops.

Magnusson and Saraswati are already there, and before I reach the shuttle, Rian shows up. Also suited. So, the boss is coming with us this time. Just to keep an eye on me. I’m flattered, really.

“Suit check,” Saraswati tells me as I put on my helmet and lock it into place.

“It’s self-contained,” I try to tell her, but she ignores me. She manually checks all the connections, ensures everything’ssealed, double- and triple-checking the gauges to make sure I’m full up on the essentials. She’s focused, going over a mental checklist, seeing each individual point rather than the suit as a whole.

“See? It’s fine. Want me to check you?” I ask, grinning.

---