Keva set the captain’s gun down on the desk and started to rifle through the tablets and papers that were scattered about. She shifted a stack of what looked like receipts – she didn’t want to know for what – and spotted a small remote control.
Head tilted, she stared at it, a memory niggling at her mind. She’d seen something like this once, during basic. Carefully she picked it up and studied the six small buttons. They were all different colors, each with a different icon. Like a sudden flash of light in the darkness, everything connected in a burst of memory.
This was for a Resule cell. That had to be where they were keeping the captain.
Her fingers fumbled for the button to turn off the sound jammer and a moment later she heard the pounding through the wall.
“Captain! Is that you?” She pressed another button and a door in the wall slid open where there’d been only plain plaster before.
Finn stumbled out into the room and she caught him before he fell. He grinned at her. “I’ve never been so happy to see someone in my life.”
“The feeling is mutual. Are you all right?”
He nodded. “Kitty Cordoza knows who I am and that I work for MYTH. We need to get out of here before her men come back. The Aldanis could be in danger.”
“She’s got Viktis, too. Framed him for cheating at the tournament.”
Finn groaned. “That’s way too poetic, even for her, considering we intended to do the same. So what do we do?”
Keva handed Finn’s gun over with a smile. “We stick to the plan.”
Finn splashed his face with water, then ran his hands through his hair, slicking it back. He adjusted his captains bars pinned to his shoulder and smiled at his reflection in the mirror. He’d slipped back into his MYTH uniform while Keva waited for him outside his room. They’d determined that using his MYTH status was the fastest way to get people to believe them. Hopefully no one would recognize him until he’d already left the station.
“Are we ready?” he asked, stepping into the hallway.
“Damn straight,” Keva said with a smile.
He could kiss Major Dallas for assigning Lieutenant Keva as his XO three years ago. He’d still be stuck in that godsdamned cell if it wasn’t for her. And she still wanted to finish the mission. The woman had balls of steel.
Back on the casino floor, the tournament had resumed. Kitty was holding court at the table, the stack of chips in front of her growing with every hand. Finn’s fingernails curled into his palms. He wanted to wipe that self-satisfied smirk from her face, but he had something else to do first.
Finn knocked on the security room door, waiting only a moment before shoving it open.
A startled guard shot to his feet from behind the desk. “What are you doing here? Get out, this is private property!”
“Captain Nick Finn, MYTH reconnaissance. I’m here to release one of your suspects.” He nodded to Viktis, who leaned against the bars of his cell, a smirk twisting his features.
Finn glared at the guard, his eyes flinty. “Let him out. Now.”
“But sir, he’s been found cheating. The officials…”
“The officials don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. My authority supersedes theirs. Let him out.”
The man’s hand dropped to his blaster as he studied Finn and Keva. Suspicion dawned in his eyes. “Who are you, exactly?”
Shit, he wasn’t going to obey. Finn dropped to a crouch, tensing his muscles before hurling himself across the desk. He’d never admit it, but being in the gang had taught him to fight dirty, and those moves came in handy more often than he’d like.
He slammed a fist into the guard’s stomach, then lashed out with his foot, but the man dodged with a grunt. From the corner of his eye, he saw Keva snatch the key from the desk and head to Viktis’s cell.
The guard panted, his face mottled and red. “I don’t know who the hell you are, but I’m a Forever Station guard. I’ll see you rot in jail for this.” He lunged at Finn, but he’d already telegraphed his move with the flick of his gaze, and Finn easily stepped aside before his punch connected.
He grabbed the guard’s wrist and wrenched him back into a hold. “Sorry about this, kid. Nothing personal.” He yanked him toward the cell that Viktis had vacated and pushed him inside. Keva locked the door behind him.
“Let me out! You’re going to pay for this.” The guard’s voice went high and wavering and Finn flashed him a sympathetic glance.
“Nice to see you could finally join us,” Viktis said, clapping a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “We were getting worried.”
“So was I. You ready to end this?”
Viktis glanced at his watch. “Perfect timing.”
The trio headed out to the casino floor. In the hour it had taken to free Finn and Viktis, most of the players had bombed out of the tournament. It looked like they were playing the last hand. With Kitty in the lead of course.
She laughed as she threw down her cards in triumph and the crowd cheered as she got to her feet and bowed. The Conyara official who’d arrested Viktis climbed back up to the small stage and gestured to Kitty to join him.
“What a tournament! I’m pleased to award this ship and the prize winnings to our generous benefactress, Kitty Cordoza. Congratulations on a tournament well played!”
The crowd clapped, but after they stopped, Viktis kept clapping. Loudly.
Finn chuckled at the shocked expression that flitted across Kitty’s face as she spotted the three of them. This was going to be fun.
“Excuse me, sir,” Finn called. “I’m afraid you have a cheater in your tournament.”
The official waved away Finn’s claim. “We’ve already caught him.”
Viktis stepped forward, and the man’s eyes widened. “No, you piece of shit, you arrested the wrong person. But you already knew that. Kitty Cordoza rigged the entire tournament to use as a front for an illegal tech deal. You’ll find the data chip in her dress. And the tech in your pocket.”
The crowd gasped, and the official’s face started to turn amber. “How dare you!”
Beside him, Kitty Cordoza froze, her gaze searching for her bodyguards in the crowd. Her whole body tensed like she was about to flee, and Finn made it to the stage in three strides, grabbing Kitty’s arm before she could scurry away. “Not so fast. Both you and this gentleman are under MYTH custody. We’ve already arranged cells for you.”