Mirror Space - Marianne de Pierres [91]
Not so, the mercenaries. They stared and nodded. That was all.
‘Got him marked here as a body all right,’ said the soldier checking entry detail. ‘But I ain’t got no name for him.’ He looked up at Fariss, frowning. ‘You gotta problem with your crew listings, Fariss?’
She shrugged. ‘No problem. I ain’t thought of a name for him yet.’
The soldier’s eyes narrowed. ‘I can’t refuse you if you’re on the manifest but I’m tellin’ ya, there’s some of the crew won’t be likin’ you having booty when they can’t. Commander’s revoked privileges for us, in case we don’t come back for a while.’
‘That’s why I work for Samuelle. We don’t come back, seems like all the more reason to have some relief, in my mind.’
The soldier made a sour face. ‘Yeah, well, watch your booty’s back. Might be a few that want a piece.’
Fariss’s lips pursed and all her muscles tensed, making her appear even larger. ‘You sayin’ you want some?’
The soldier lifted his own shoulders in a defensive response. He mollified his tone. ‘Watch his back is all I’m sayin’, Fariss.’
‘I can look after my own,’ she replied and stalked on board.
Thales followed after her, his eyes downcast, not sure if he was appalled or thrilled by the charade. The idea of being at the whim of this woman enthralled him, yet their situation and the knowledge that he could be caught and killed nullified the pleasure.
He put one foot in front of the other in her wake, locked in his own emotional battle, not really absorbing the ship surrounds. It wasn’t until they reached their allotted cabin that he was forced from his introspection.
Fariss thumped her fist on the bunk, testing for comfort. ‘Put the case under the lower bunk,’ she told him. ‘We’ve got the cabin to ourselves for the moment, but likely it won’t be for long.’
Cabin? It was barely that, a partitioned space with narrow double bunks and a small work-entertainment station. The wardrobe was two drawers set into the cabin wall just below the comm screen.
Thales eyed the two beds. ‘Floor for me?’ he asked.
She gave him a good-humoured leer then lowered her voice. ‘You’ll be expected to sleep with me, otherwise it’ll be suspicious.’
Thales felt his skin heating at the thought. ‘Whatever is prudent,’ he said carefully.
She continued to stare at him. ‘Prudent, eh? Maybe there’re some things you oughta know about booty. Booty only goes out of their cabin to eat and crap. San is down the corridor on the left. Check there is no one about before you go there. You eat in the mess with me, but at a separate table. Don’t talk to anyone, and don’t wander about for no good reason. Booty’s fair game if they get caught out alone.’ Her expression well and truly sobered. ‘Farr’s soldiers aren’t like OLOSS military, Thales. Most of them are scum that couldn’t pass the plain decency test. They’ll kill you. Or whatever pleases them most.’
Thales’s stomach tightened. He was completely dependent on her for his safety - his life. ‘What happens when we reach Intel?’
Fariss folded her large frame into the bottom bunk. She patted the small remaining space. ‘Come here and stop looking so damn scared.’
Thales obeyed her without thinking.
‘You probably can guess better’n I can,’ she said. ‘I was a Savvy operator till Sammy offered me work. Had some kicking and punching skills. But she got me some real good lessons on fightin’. Turns out I learned quick. Been her bodyguard ever since. Not that she needs one. Her armour can do more damage than I can. She likes the extra set of eyes and ears around though. Says hers are getting old.’ Fariss’s hands moved in decisive gestures while she spoke.
Thales pictured them strangling his assassin on the docks. His confusion deepened. Every time he almost reached an understanding of himself or his situation, things changed; he changed. And now all he wanted was for Fariss to use her hands on him in some way.
Even so, he jumped when she leaned across and touched his face.
She was frowning. ‘Your skin graft’s lifting. I’ll have to repair it.’ She rolled off the bed and rummaged in her kit,