Page 37 of Warrior's Captive
He realized after a few hours that Evvek and the others were silent. Tai’ri glanced up, saw the expression on Evvek’s face and stood, abandoning his station.
“What is it?”
Evvek sighed. “We hacked into an encrypted file. Names, locations, dates.”
Tai’ri glanced at the screen. He narrowed his eyes as Evvek flicked his fingers and a map sprang up over the desk. Names flew to different points, clustering in coordinates that were already familiar to Tai’ri. Hubs where they’d infiltrated pens, including some they hadn’t known about.
“This is where they’re extracting the females thekheterwas feeding them,” Evvek said.
“There’s too many for her to have been the only one,” Ebwenna said.
“Has the broker confirmed a time and location for a showing?” Tai’ri asked.
“No.”
“Nudge him. Tell him I’m impatient and if he can’t set up something now, then I’m walking. Be careful, we don’t want him to disappear.”
“You’d think I was an amateur.”
“Ebwenna, you and Dayan scout these new hubs. Surveillance only, we need to know who else they have on their payroll.”
Tai’ri stood over Evvek’s shoulder as the analyst messaged the broker and set up a showing—for that evening. “Good,” he said softly once Evvek disconnected from his console. “Now we prepare. I’ll update Vykhan.”
The conversation with Vykhan was brief, theAdekhana little more curt than usual as he cut the conversation abruptly short, but he gave the go ahead for the op with the broker.
Tai’ri and Evvek left Dayan and Ebwenna at the office—they needed to go shopping. The roles they would play this evening required new outfits.
13
“Yanok, darling,”Tai’ri said, stepping out of the transport and looking around with pursed lips. “Are you certain these are the correct coordinates? This district is hardly fashionable.”
This was a manufacturing sector stuck in a zoning war, and all production had ground to a halt months ago. At night there was no traffic, either by foot or transport. Just the detritus of half renovated buildings, equipment no one dared steal—not even professional black market scavengers—due to the reputation of the owners.
Couldn’t say any more without blowing his new cover. Tonight he would make the first purchase that would begin to build the trust needed to be invited deeper into the enemy web. Tonight he would allow the broker to live, but only as a lure for bigger fish. They’d all die eventually. He soothed his anger with that fact and cloaked himself with the personality of his character.
Wealthy. Frivolous. Completely amoral. Here to buy human female flesh. Tai’ri wanted to punch himself in the jaw.
Evvek, under the guise of Yanok, gave him a look. “Ofcoursethese are the correct coordinates.”
“It has to be the wrong place,” Tai’ri complained loudly. “Call the transport back. This is wasting my time.” Figures emerged from the darkness. Tai’ri jumped behind Evvek, a scowl on his face. “What is this?”
“Ohmad Lanujahn,” a smooth voice called Tai’ri’s false name. “We’re here to escort you to the ship.”
There was only one ‘ship’ that would be named in that tone. Tai’ri frowned. “It wasn’t my understanding that the auction was to take place on Anthhori.”
Internally, he cursed. They’d set up for the location they’d been given, though they’d prepared for the eventuality of a last-minute switch—brokers who weren’t suspicious didn’t evade Ibukay’s enforcement force for long. But they hadn’t prepared for Anthhori. None of their intel suggested this broker had connections that high—literally.
A shuttle landed on the heels of the escort’s statement. He could back out now. But he’d lose the contact.
“I’m sure everything is in order,” Evvek/Yanok said in a conciliatory tone. “No one will break the peace of Anthhori, not even the royal guard.”
He’d smack Evvek when he got a chance. The analyst thought he was funny.
“Fine,” Tai’ri said. “But I want to formally protest the change in venue. I had dinner reservations and there’s no way I’ll make them now.”
“Duly noted,” the smooth voice said.
Tai’ri glanced at their escorts, staring several seconds at each face. Nondescript, dressed in dark uniforms and of varying species. “None of you seem appropriately attired for an interstellar pleasure barge,” he said, eyeing them up and down.
