The Fringe Wars

5.11

Enemies, Enemies, Everywhere

Tulan Port, Playa

Reyne sat on the couch next to Bree. Sixx sat on the floor with Lily, who was busy playing a video game. The living room was small but had a homey feel to it, like the rest of the apartment Sixx shared with Bree and Lily. Sixx had never had a taste for decorating, so Reyne assumed it was Bree who'd found artwork and rugs to bring color to their stone living quarters. In fact, there were so many rugs and pieces of art, there was hardly any visible stone.

The front door opened, closed, and Boden came jogging into the room. "Sorry. I couldn't get a taxi," he said, panting.

"Hey, Uncle Tren," Lily said with a quick glance up from her game.

"Hey, Lily-bear," Boden said.

"You said you found something?" Reyne asked.

"Yes, I found him," Boden said, and then looked around. "I'm thirsty."

He disappeared into the kitchen and returned moments later with a glass of water and a kitchen chair. He sat and then took a long drink.

"You were saying..." Reyne drawled out.

Boden swallowed. "I reviewed the summary report of personnel Hadley gave me. Everyone is clean, not a single red flag."

Reyne frowned. "I don't get where you're going with this."

"Well, there's no way any construction crew could be that clean, so I waited until after Hadley left for lunch, and then I stopped by her assistant's desk and asked nicely to see the files."

Boden was good looking and had charm, and he was excellent at applying that charm when he needed a Sweet Soy fix. That Boden had charmed someone to help out someone other than himself surprised Reyne. Maybe Boden truly was recovering from his addiction.

"I didn't get full access, but I didn't need it," Boden continued. "Once I saw his picture, I knew he was the one who tried to kill Reyne." He pulled out a piece of carbonized paper and handed it to Reyne. "Anyway, I could only get a hard copy, but you can see for yourself, it's him."

"Him who?" Bree asked.

Boden seemed startled by the question. "It's Laciam. Max Laciam. He's working at the docks under the name Mark Leonard."

Sixx cocked his head.

"You're saying the guy who was Corps General for a really short time is working a construction crew on Playa?"

"Yes," Boden replied.

"He was on Gabriela's Heid's crew before that," Reyne said without looking up from the paper. He stared at the picture of an athletic man with a strong chin and a bluish tint to his skin, marking him as a Myrad. His hair was longer, but his features still bore the stiffness and superiority of a CUF officer.

He passed the paper to Bree. "It sure looks like him."

"I agree with Sixx. It doesn't make any sense for him to be on Playa," she said.

"I'll ask Seda if he knows anything about what happened to Laciam after the war. Maybe he left the CUF."

"Knowing that hothead, he was discharged," Sixx said, and looked directly at Reyne. "But if he is here, it makes sense he'd come after you. After all, it was you who basically got him demoted from Corps General back at Darios."

"He did it to himself," Reyne grumbled, but he agreed with Sixx that Laciam had more than enough motivation to want to kill him.

Boden stood.

"Where are you going?" Reyne asked.

"I can't stay. I have a date with Melody," Boden said.

Bree cocked her head after handing the paper to Sixx. "Who's Melody?"

"Hadley's assistant," Boden replied.

"Boden, Boden, Boden." Sixx shook his head slowly, chuckling. "You're doing it all wrong. You're supposed to hightail it out of there once you get the information. Then you're supposed to avoid your mark, and that means never, evergo on a date with her."

"I had to do it. She asked before she let me see the files," Boden said.

"Then stand her up," Sixx said.

"Go out with her if you want to," Bree said. "I bet she has nothing to do with what happened to Reyne."

Boden put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"A word of caution," Sixx said. "Don't let her think you're taking her on a date just to get into her files."

"You're hopeless," Bree said to Sixx.

"What?" Sixx said. "I meant that things will turn nasty fast if she finds out she was being used. That's all."

"I know how to treat a woman," Boden scolded.

"Really? Because as long as I've known you, you've been pretty dang lousy at it," Sixx said.

Boden gave Sixx an amused look.

"Bye, Uncle Tren!" Lily yelled without looking up from her game.

"Bye, Lily-bear," Boden said before he exited through the door.

Sixx handed the paper back to Reyne. "If it's not Laciam, he's got a twin running around. I think we should pay him a visit tomorrow. And by 'we' I mean us and at least twenty of our armed security forces."

"Hold on a minute," Reyne said. "We have to think this through. If he sees us coming, he might take off running or, worse, do something stupid and try to hurt someone."

"Well, it's not like we can talk to Simon about interrogating Laciam. Simon's a weasel. If that guy in the picture is Laciam, then the two are connected somehow."

"Oh, shit." Bree's jaw slackened.

Lily pointed. "You swore, Mom!"

Reyne and Sixx watched Bree, whose back was now rigid.

Sixx rushed over to kneel by her side. "What's wrong?"

She looked down at the man with his hand resting on her thigh. "You're not talking about Simon Tate, are you?"

"Yeah." Sixx drew out the word slowly as his brow furrowed. "He's the Legacy Star leader in the docks. Why?"

"That's who I thought I saw at the docks," Bree said.

"I know Simon Tate." Lily scrunched her nose. "I don't like him. He was always telling me what to do. Do this, Lily. Do that, Lily," she mimicked the words of a man nagging her.

Bree let out a breath. "Simon Tate was Axos Wintsel's best friend."

Reyne looked at her. Bree had been an indentured servant under Axos Wintsel, her job was to keep Axos's guards "entertained." Axos was a Myrad with a mean streak—and Lily's father. Throttle had killed Axos after he'd kidnapped and tortured her, and Reyne wished he could kill him over and over again for hurting Throttle and Bree and for killing Sixx's wife, Qelle.

Bree shook her head as though trying to clear it before she spoke again. "I don't think he remembers me. After all, I was just one of the staff, so he probably wouldn't even recognize me. I bet he doesn't know that we know."

Sixx watched Lily play for a long minute before he lowered his forehead to Bree's knee. "He's here for Lily."

Bree frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Sixx looked up. "He told me I stole something from him. I didn't take it as a big deal because, let's face it, I've stolen from a lot of people. But now it all makes sense. It's the only thing that makes sense" He took Bree's hand. "We've got to get Lily as far away from here as possible, and we've got to do it fast."