Page 29 of Survivor
I need a drink.
The bar in the pit is busy. It takes several minutes to get served. I need a quiet spot in a corner. I need a moment.
The chair scrapes as I pull it out, but I’m in a gloomy spot, hidden from view, left alone.
The drink burns a welcome path down my throat. Probably incinerating my insides. But it clears my head.
We can do this.
Rogue can do this, and then we’ll be free. Truly free. They won’t find us.
A familiar voice grabs my attention. A voice saying my woman’s name.
“—Rogue will succeed?”
“Better if she doesn’t.”
“You think he’ll keep her?”
“I don’t know what Braker will do any longer. He’s not the man we used to know.”
“If Rogue wins, then she’s a commodity. A fighter he can exploit on the other ports.”
Other ports? What the fuck?
“He wouldn’t … would he?”
“I don’t know.”
“And the Athions and the Trad?”
“Expendable or leverage. Probably leverage. I saw the look in his eyes. He’s not intending to let them go. He just wants them to think they have a choice.”
I down my drink and slip from the shadows. I need to warn the others.
TIDE
Vex paces like a caged animal. I can almost see the rage and anxiety rising off his shoulders.
Of course, this is what Braker wants. I should have seen it coming, but still, it leaves me feeling sick. Why can’t they just leave us the fuck alone? Why can’t they leave her alone? Rogue deserves better than this. She deserves to be free.
I turn to Xavier, who is suddenly tapping away on a tablet. “Can you hack into Braker’s system using the holotab?”
Xavier doesn’t even glance up, but his smile is razor-sharp. “Already on it.”
“We need—”
“Network schematics,” Xavier finishes my sentence. “We need a map of the tunnels that Rogue will be in.”
“We also need—”
“Braker’s ship ID and docking bay details,” he finishes for me again. “Yeah, we need a way out, one that doesn’t rely on Braker keeping his bargain. His men may not know for sure what he plans to do, but the fact they doubt him is enough of a red flag for me. He may have loved a human once, but he doesn’t give a shit about Rogue. She’s entertainment, that’s all. We need a way to pull our baby out.” He swipes and then his face lights up in triumph. “Schematics. There are tiny access routes that run alongside the main tunnels. Maybe some kind of relief system or overflow system. I’m not sure.”
“I can do it,” Vex says. “I’ll get her out.”
“Yeah, meanwhile …” Xavier pulls up another screen. “Tide, Lore, and I will steal a ship.”
The ID number of Braker’s ship and the docking station blinks back at me. We are snitches. This is what we do, and Braker doesn’t know the half of our skills.
