Nelsa woke with a splitting headache — the usual aftereffect of a stun gun. A good old blow to head seemed to have been added, just for certainty. There was a nasty taste of blood in her mouth, and the upper teeth felt a little loose. She had probably fallen face down on the dashboard and cut the inside of her mouth. That was nothing compared to what would happen after they'd come to interrogate her.
She sat up awkwardly, restrained as she was, and looked around. She was in the skiff all right, in a cargo hold in its belly where usually the surface vehicles were kept. Now empty, the semi-dark hold had been turned into a cell.
Ariel lay sprawled a few meters from her, on his side. She could see his face and his chest rising and falling. Still out, from the stun charge or from a blow dealt by some hairy ape of a trooper. His eyes were closed, the breathing steady. No bruises, no blood, as far as she could see in the bluish glow of lights outlining the landing ramp.
He was restrained hand and foot, same as her: arms handcuffed behind his back, ankles chained with a short chain allowing only to shuffle, not walk, let alone run. Of course the leg restraints were fastened well above the boots — their captors weren't stupid. But they had cuffed their wrists, not elbows. That was sloppy: anyone with a basic physical training would need just about five seconds to bring his arms to the front over his legs. Also she could try to dislocate her thumb and slip her hand through the handcuff... Nope, too tight. She decided to wait until she knew the whole story.
Nelsa wasn't scared. Why the hell would she be? She had been caught by the police a few times, when she still was an amateur smuggler. True, it was not quite under similar circumstances as now — not in the middle of a smuggling attempt — but still, their suspicions were well founded. Nevertheless, she had never been put in a jail, or even officially arrested — thanks to the money she had snuggled away specifically for bribes. Now she would pay for Ariel's release, it should be easy. She would empty her legal account, if she had to. That was nothing to cry about, she would merely have to postpone going legit for a few years. The troopers had no need for the boy, they would believe her when she'd say he knew nothing and did nothing. "Look at his pretty face, gentlemen, do you really think I was letting him out of my bed and anywhere near my business?"
If only Ariel would be smart enough to play an idiot, a pretty light-headed boy kept for his looks. Once free, he would go to the Brotherhood of the Wing — to Nergan, for God's sake, he wouldn't hesitate to ask Nergan, even given their history — and they would pull her out of jail like a screw with a vacuum screwdriver. Just a routine: there were certain people to go to, certain steps to take. The Brotherhood had been making those deals by the dozens through the years, on the dozens of planets. All their members tended to get in trouble time and again. Worst case scenario — she would have to spend half a year in jail, no more. She'd been to places which would make a state jail cell look like a villa on the CrystalCoast.
Ariel stirred and opened his eyes with a moan. At the same time there was the sound of heavy steel-plated boots in the corridor, more than a pair of them. The door opened, the lights were switched on.
Nelsa turned to Ariel and said hastily, "Don't be afraid, they'll let you go". She smiled, trying to reassure him. "You knew nothing, did nothing, went nowhere near my cargo."
"My, my, how touching!" someone sneered behind her back. The voice was all too familiar.
Despite her self-control, Nelsa flinched and nearly screamed with despair.
The legions of Hell and Satan himself!
It wasn't just trouble. It was much worse. She had been thinking the worst case scenario was jail time? Try 'death warrant'. For one Nelsa Thorn, at least. Ariel probably would live through it but he definitely wouldn't like the price he'd had to pay for his life.
Why, in the name of all things holy, why it had to be Holloran?
Now she knew all too well why the skiff had been so relentless. Its captain had recognized the Aurora. Holloran was the captain. He must have been hired, along with his whole crew, for the operations like that. Something was rotten on the planet of Margotta, if they had to employ mercenaries — heartless beasts who would drown the slave rebellion in blood. Well, that was probably the point all along.
But first that particular heartless beast would deal with Nelsa in the exact same manner.
She slowly turned around, facing the door and her captor with his two cronies.
He smirked and said with a flourish gesture, "It's an honor to welcome you onboard my ship, Mistress Thorn, you and your... err, pet. Or should I say 'your plaything'? Sorry, not so good with formalities."
He was always overly polite at first, talking like a gentleman. Probably thought it was classy.
"Holloran, let's skip the foreplay. Thirty thousand from my secret account and fifteen from my legal one in the Bank of Ixion. And the cargo of weapons for Margotta, I'll tell you the access codes for the containers. I'll even tell who would give you the best price for it, that's at least twenty thousand, maybe twenty five. All for our safe passage."
"You wound me, Mistress Nelsa! So cold, so business-like. I greet you with an open heart, and all you talk about is money!" Holloran said, mock regretful, throwing his hands up as if in dismay. Two thugs accompanying him sniggered.
"Quit fooling around, you damn clown," Nelsa said through clenched teeth. "Let talk business, or not talk at all. I've had enough of your antics. Where did you learn to be such a drama queen, in a special school for half-wits?"
She was deliberately trying to provoke him. Get him angry, impatient, unable to think straight. Cold-blooded sadism is always more dangerous than blind fury. He might even forget about Ariel for some time. She should make him so angry that he would just plain beat her up, without interrogating or blackmailing her. She would black out and eventually die without dragging anyone else with her to the early grave.
Bloody hell, Nelsa, what a deep shit you've got yourself into! Now it's time to think how to die quicker and easier, not how to stay alive. And you should think of killing the boy if you have the chance. He will ask you himself, you know it. He said he'd rather die than let a man take him again.
I'll say no. God is my witness, I' won't do it. A living dog is better than a dead lion. He should live. They won't do anything that hasn't been done to him before. And they will keep him alive, definitely, to sell him into slavery again. But he would live. He should live.
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My Angel of the Dawn (WomanxBoy, ManxBoy, Sci-Fi + Romance)
Fiksi Ilmiah[FINISHED]The space pilot and smuggler Nelsa Thorn suddenly comes into possession of a young slave. It seems there is no possibility of true love and happy ending. But everything is possible if you have the courage to embrace whatever fate has in st...
