Nico's Gambit

Borrowed Trouble

Slice module in hand, Corso and Odette hurried back off the Gambit. Almost as soon as she got down the gangplank, she heard Corso swear. There standing in the way of the departure pass-through stood Agent Soganti. Odette sighed. She strolled up to him and put a hand on her hip.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you had a crush on me," Odette said. "You follow me around an awful lot."

"I don't know where you would get that ridiculous idea," Soganti said. "I'm here because I want to talk to you about Beryl Thorne."

"She's a very nice warehouse supplier whose building is just across from here," Odette said. "I can walk you over there if you like."

"I suspect she's smuggling relics off of Taris. What I lack is proof. I need an honest citizen of her acquaintance to step forward and testify against her so I can arrest her."

"If I find one, I'll let you know."

He eyed her skeptically. "I ought to let you know that I've been authorized to offer a substantial reward for any information that leads to her arrest," he said. He paused as if to let the information sink in. "Are you sure you know nothing about Thorne's activities?"

Odette scratched her chin. "I do have some information for you but it's not going to do me much good because it has nothing to do with Beryl. See I know that it was Tyrodall that was the one smuggling the artifacts, not Beryl."

The shock was plain on the agent's face. "Her partner? What proof do have to back up this accusation?"

"See, I was minding my own business around a scavenger camp when he attacked me—unprovoked, mind you—and it was the last mistake he'll ever make."

Odette was pretty sure Soganti was about to burst a blood vessel at this point.

"You admit to being in a scavenger base and killing a man. What makes you think I won't arrest you right now?"

"Well, considering to took out a very large number of scavengers," Odette said, looking over at Corso. "Maybe a couple dozen?"

"Oh, I'd say more than that, Captain," he said, straight faced but with a twinkle in his eyes. "You're just being modest. More like forty, fifty?"

Odette shrugged. "I stopped counting after a while. Anyway, I killed quite a few of those scavengers trying to get to Tyrodall, so I figure I did you a fairly huge favor."

A muscle in Soganti's jaw flexed. "Hmm, you may have a point. They got what they deserved. Unfortunately, like you said, I won't be able to verify your story and the target was Beryl, not Tyrodall. So I won't be able to offer you a reward."

He looked distinctly disappointed. "I guess I may have been wrong about Thorne."

"I don't do stuff like this for the reward, especially when the person involved is innocent."

Soganti narrowed his eyes at her. "If there's one thing I've learned doing this job, there is no such thing as an innocent person. I suppose that's all I need. Thank you for your help, Captain."

Corso and she watched as he walked away and it was only then that she let out a long breath.

"Beryl needs to clear out of here as soon as possible," Corso said. "That guy gives me the creeps. He's too intent on making someone pay when he's disappointed."

"Agreed. Maybe we can swing by on our way out. But we need to hurry. If Skavak is sliming around here somewhere, he'd beat us there by blind, stupid luck."

They hurried over to Beryl's warehouse and filled her in on what went on the few minutes before.

"Wow, thank you," she said, stunned. "I didn't think I'd be able to count on anyone that ran with Risha. Guess you're a better friend than I thought."