Page 104 of Enthraller

Wren was right. They were desperate for this to go ahead.

“I can’t do it.” Wren pretended not to see the laz and turned away from him. “If you don’t have anyone to unload, I’ll have to take it back to the office and you can arrange for pick up tomorrow or another day.”

She started walking away, and the hovers bobbed after her.

“Stop.” The shout was angry, and just a little panicked.

Wren stopped, turned slowly back. Took a step back as if in shock and fear at the laz leveled at her chest.

Opek walked up beside her. “Sit down there. You can collect your hover pallets later.”

Wren sat, and the man tapped what Ed guessed was a destination into the lead hover pallet’s control system and started to walk toward Ed and the street.

The hover pallets didn’t move.

The man turned back, looked at them. “Why aren’t they following?”

Wren shrugged. “Because they’re coded to me. Saves time.”

Ed wondered what Wren was doing. She’d coded the hover pallets to her, and she could disengage them any time. She obviously wanted Opek to take her along.

He didn’t like it, but she obviously had a plan, and he had to admit he didn’t.

“Shit.” Opek hesitated, then gave his shoulders a shake. “You’re coming with me.” He went to her, hauled her to her feet. “Let’s go.”

As Ed followed them toward the port, he realized that if the Caruso were actually landing in Demeter to collect their ore, then they thought the Cores had more control over the city than they actually did.

Ed wondered what the Cores had done to convince them of it, and then decided he didn’t care.

The two sides deserved each other, and he would be happy to see them both go down.

As long as they didn’t take Wren down with them.

40

The hover portwas still in chaos.

The building had been damaged in one corner, and there were rescue services clearing rubble and med hovers congregating near the front of the building.

As Wren walked beside Opek, she looked over at the mess and the wounded being treated on stretchers.

“How is the freighter you’re expecting going to land in the middle of all of this?” she asked. Opek was still holding the laz on her, but she’d been cooperative, and he was less jumpy now than when they’d started moving.

“They’ve got permission to land right at the back, where they won’t be in the way.” Opek kept the pace as fast as the hover pallets would go, keeping to the edge of the landing pads. The back where he was headed was all but in darkness, and the way was illuminated only by the pallets, blinking a warning that they needed a recharge.

Even though the distance the pallets had had to travel hadn’t been that much, the journey they’d made was taking its toll on their energy levels. Given they were warehouse hovers, she was impressed they’d made it this far.

She and Ed had imagined they’d be secretly following along behind Opek as he transported the ore some other way, to a very different location.

Using the hover port was a bold move.

“Hope we make it,” Wren said, with a nod toward the emergency light.

“We have to make it,” Opek said, as if he could will it so by pure resolve.

She didn’t respond.

Her nanos boosted her hearing, and she caught the faint scuff of Ed’s boots on the ground behind them.

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