Page 32 of Enthraller

He understood now why he’d felt so strongly, despite the apologies. It had felt like another betrayal, like the one he’d lived through as a child when Halatia had imploded, and the VSC had dithered and bickered over who was going to take the survivors, while those survivors suffered and died at the hands of the pirates who’d scooped most of them up as they were escaping Halatia.

Had Banks been the maintenance worker responsible for the scan that had saved his name? And if so, why was he so bitter about seeing Ed again?

Maybe Ed was supposed to have stayed gone.

In fact, given the attempt on his life a few days ago, and the similarity in the set up—this time using Ethan Hyt as the recipient of the dodgy ‘tip’—to the one that had ended his career, he wondered now about the motivation behind what had happened two years ago.

If someone hadn’t wanted him up here, scanning, then they got their wish, even if Ed hadn’t ended up taking the blame for the ‘critical incident’. The end result was still his leaving the teams, taking the number of people able to work the scanner down to one.

And now Lily was off-planet and in trouble.

His return had to be extremely frustrating to whoever wanted a clear sky to bring in whatever they wanted to.

And it also begged the question, what had they needed clear skies for last time?

That was two years ago. What mischief could they have gotten up to in that time.

Ed felt a sudden leaden weight in his gut.

He had a feeling whatever it was, he’d helped it along in some way by walking off like a hurt child.

It was time to try to put it right.

13

“Good cake,”Hatch said, and stuffed some more into his mouth.

He had done nothing but refuel since he came in off the line, and Wren had to admit she admired that kind of focus.

“The others definitely watched us leaving the canteen with it with longing expressions,” Bailey said. She lifted out a small device from the pack she’d carried in to the small sitting room between Wren and Ed’s bedrooms, and slowly made her way around the room with it extended in her hand.

Hatch swallowed, his gaze tracking Bailey, suddenly understanding what she was doing. “Do you think?—?”

“Yes. They definitelywereangling for a slice,” Ed said, sending him a warning look. “But there’s nothing stopping them from making their own.”

“The thing that’s stopping them is they don’t have a team member who’s made baking and cooking her hobby,” Hatch said cheerfully, still eating, but chewing slower now as they all watched Bailey do a full circuit of the room.

She held up a single finger.

One listening device.

Wren felt her nanos go on full alert. She had to lean back in her seat as they directed their focus on any signal they could find.

She watched as Ed pointed to his room, then Wren’s, and Bailey nodded and headed off there.

They needed to keep the conversation going or whoever was listening would know something was up.

She forced herself to participate.

“Banks seemed a good enough cook.”

“Very focused on his job, though, isn’t he?” Hatch said. “Didn’t even tell anyone we were coming.”

Bailey emerged from Ed’s side, held up another finger.

Wren wrestled enough control to stand and she offered everyone more jah, all the better to keep the conversation light until Bailey got back from her bedroom, with yet another finger up.

“So, what next?” she asked, careful to keep her voice calm.

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