Page 16 of Stellar Drift
“Truth,” agreed Phen.“I’ll vote for you if you want to run for Administrator.”
Koda laughed.“Thank you, love.”
Phen cast a dubious glance upward at the tree canopy that shaded everything.“We need to avoid lights tonight as much as possible.I don’t want to wake up covered in wuzzy bugs because we confused them.”Phen waved her fork.“I think I’m sensing a bigger mass of them right where Sairy’s map—”
The gauntlet on Houyen’s arm vibrated and sounded the ping tones for an incoming call from Brannezzo.Contrariness made him again answer with audio only and let the group hear it.“Hello, Ranger Brannezzo.You’re on speaker.”
“Where are you now?”
Houyen let the peremptory tone slide on by.“On the mountain.”
“Did you come across the treasure yet?”After an awkward pause, he added,“Just kidding.It’s too late to find you tonight.You’ll have to wait for us in the morning.”
“Who is ‘us’?”Houyen glanced at Phen.From her stormy look, she shared his suspicion that Garamont was still meddling.
“A couple of locals who know the area.Don’t know their names.The Chief made the arrangements.I’m meeting them in the morning.Do you need me to bring anything?”
Houyen wanted more details, but his intuition warned him not to ask.“No, I’m set.Ping me when you’re on your way up.”
“Yeah.Send me the coordinates for where you parked your airsleds.We can meet there.”
“Okay.”Houyen disconnected the comm.
His intuition was sending him a hailstorm of alerts.Trouble was, he’d rarely been able to articulate the reasons until events proved him right.He just knew that it had kept him out of harm’s way more than once.
Koda raised her hand.“Show of hands.Who else thought that call was weird?”
Phen raised her hand immediately.After a long moment, Sairy tentatively raised her hand, too.
How was he going to explain this and not look like a conspiracy-addled fool?But if he turned out to be right, he’d feel worse if he kept it to himself.He held his breath.“I think Ranger Brannezzo thinks we’re after the treasure, and he wants in.”
He took it as a positive sign that no one laughed.
“Interesting,” said Koda.“What’s your logic chain?”
He took the plunge, marshaling his thoughts as he spoke.“Brannezzo avoids field work like he’s allergic.He’s convinced our boss that the audit of Falco Joro’s construction plans can only be done effectively if it’s done in person at the Planning and Records office in Eolium.He’s strung out that assignment to keep him in room service for the better part of a year.So why the sudden enthusiasm to join us in the wilderness?”Another question popped.“And when did he talk to Pazhkeli to hear what the townspeople said about the treasure?”
Koda swallowed her forkful of food.“Like we used to say in my old Forward Intelligence days, you can never rule out simple greed.Two income sources are better than one.”
On point,said his intuition.Getting paid by Joro for the permit delays and enjoying a luxury megacity lifestyle courtesy of the CPS would be a double win for Brannezzo.
“Okay, I can see that.”He blew out a noisy breath.“But why this sudden obsession with a non-existent treasure, of all things?”
Koda shrugged.Phen shook her head.
“Maybe it’s like a meme,” said Sairy.“My friend says some people are really susceptible to them, especially if it feels like the best secret ever.Logic never wins when peoplewantto believe.His current theory is that the treasure meme is somehow connected to infinity fever outbreaks.”
“What’s his name?”asked Koda, giving Sairy a winning smile.“Why haven’t I met him?I know everyone.”
Houyen thought Sairy was going to ignore Koda’s probe, but instead, she sighed.“His name is Elkano.He’s a homebody.”
“Is that who you’ve been talking to when you aren’t talking to Kyala?”Koda pointed to Sairy’s left ear, where a glint of metal hinted at the presence of an earwire.Now that he thought about it, he realized she’d worn the team comms earwire in her right ear.
Houyen eyed Koda covertly.She was far more observant than he’d given her credit for.
“Yes.He worries.”Sairy uncapped her water pouch and drank deeply.“So, Ranger, what do you want to do when your fellow Ranger shows up?If Koda is right about his second paymaster, his ‘locals who know the area’ might be Joro’s enforcers.And not to be insulting or anything, but are you sure your boss doesn’t also have his hand out?”
Houyen queried his intuition, but it was stubbornly silent.“I can’t rule it out.”
