Page 29 of Stolen Fire (N.O.A.H (Nostradamus Outerspace Advancement of Humanity) #2)
Varik settled into his captain’s chair. It was the most comfortable spot on his ship, which he didn’t dare leave, even to rest in his rented room.
Everything was going to plan. The cargo had been loaded.
The next step: figure out how to get the crates of whiny kids on Cyra’s ship.
Shouldn’t be that difficult. She seemed to have no trouble getting contracts.
When he’d last spied on her, there had been a crew offloading pallets from the Kolben Mining Company.
The fact that she was getting jobs so easily only served to motivate him even more.
That bitch would pay for stealing his ship and for whatever she’d done to Jarn.
“Captain,” Karnek interrupted. “Something’s got the little fuckers agitated. They’re squirming around and acting weird.”
Varik crossed to the display at Karnek’s station. “What’s going on?”
The door to one of the crates opened. Varik ran toward the small cargo hold, Karnek close behind.
One of the brats ran and dropped from the open cargo door, not waiting for the ramp to lower. How the fuck had that opened? The rest were screaming.
“Check the locks.” Varik lurched toward the nearest crate.
Karnek fell back with an audible rush of air.
Varik caught movement from the corner of his eye.
He pivoted and swung his fist in an arc, connecting with flesh.
A male materialized out of thin air. The same male that had exited The Treasure instead of Jarn.
Cifer. That was the name Corvus had given him.
Too bad he hadn’t mentioned the fucker could go invisible.
A fist knocked all other thoughts from Varik’s head as he reeled back, balance lost.
Cifer’s limbs shot out, and his eyes widened before he dropped into a pile of flesh and bone, barely blinking.
“Got him.” Karnek grinned, holding up an electric stunner.
Varik reflected his grin and kicked Cifer in the gut. “Put him in the crate.”
Karnek lifted Cifer’s piss-covered legs, and Varik latched on to the invader’s shoulders, dragging his still-twitching body into the empty crate.
Not a horrible trade, but he’d have to rethink moving the crates to The Treasure .
A passel of whiny brats that didn’t speak Galaxian was one thing.
A fully grown male who could identify Varik presented an entirely different challenge.
“Find the next flesh auction. Make sure Kolben Mining will be there. But not just their auction. I’ll have to offload the brats too.”
Karnek answered as he left the cargo. “Aye, Captain.”
“Wait.” The faint sound barely reached Varik’s ears. He turned his head toward Cifer.
“You don’t want to do this.” His eyes were wide, breath coming in pants. “I’m worth more than a single auction price. I have skills.”
For a grown man who recovered quickly from electrocution, he seemed panicked to be in a cage.
He’d create more of a fuss than the brats if left as he was.
Varik went to a cabinet and retrieved the sedative that hadn’t been necessary for the kids.
He doubled the dose and held the injection wand down by the side of his leg.
Careful to stay out of arms reach, he neared the overstuffed crate. “What skills are those?”
Cifer drew a large breath. His chest heaved, and his eyes closed.
Varik had something that would calm him faster than any breathing technique.
He jabbed the wand between the bars and nailed Cifer in the upper arm.
Perfect hit. The rapid injector finished delivering the dosage before Varik could retract the device.
A split second passed. Cifer’s eyes went wide, changing color to white with black lines, and then his lids shuttered and his body slumped.
Varik whistled a tune as he stored the injection wand.
One of his smarter purchases, even if he had used it in an unplanned way.
He left the softly crying kids huddling in the corners of their crates.
Sometimes an example was more effective than punishment.
He’d have no more problems with his cargo.