me?"
"Yeah," he told her. "Smart."
She shook her head side to side as she looked at him. "I don't know what to believe of you, Arden Badu. This time last year you were sneaking kisses from Sal Winters."
Arden fixed his gaze on Brinn's shorter frame. "I wasn’t looking for Sal. I was out in that garden waiting to get you alone. Believe that I mean it, and I won't give up."
She wiped her hands in the skirt of her dress like she might be trying to control them. He smiled broadly again in the dark. She made him so damn happy just being there sometimes.
"I should go, Arden."
"I'll be right here."
She shook her head in confusion, and walked toward the door she'd come from earlier. He watched her go, wanting to call her back, and knowing that would be the worst thing he could do.
CHAPTER THREE
*
The employment line was long, stretching out beyond the marketplace. Arden was thankful he wouldn't have to stand in that line. He had his job lined up, if things went all right this morning. Arden walked to the other side of the street to get more easily around the gathering crowd looking for work.
You couldn't even say times were tough on Taarken when you looked at the faces down on their luck, out of work and out of hope. This was normal for Taarken.
Arden jogged across the dusty street, around a trash transport and recycler, and straight up to the Carnes Syndicates' Mining Office.
Inside, a young woman sat at the desk glancing back and forth between a datapad and a spreadsheet hard copy. You didn't see those every day, he thought as he noticed. The woman looked up to see him in the doorway.
"May I help you?"
"I'm here to speak with Dante Olen." She smiled.
"You must be the new hotshot pilot he's waiting for."
"Oh," he wavered. "I don't know about that."
"I'll show you straight back."
With that, she led him back down a hallway and past a far more utilitarian section of the offices than the lobby had been. No soft seating and flowery watercolors.
She tapped a comm panel to the right of the door, and it slid aside to reveal his good friend, trapped behind a desk piled high with work and multiple datapads. The larger man rose with a broad smile that was his usual jovial expression. His dark skin was a rich contrast to his white business shirt.
"Oh, Dante. I'm sad to see you this down on your luck," Arden joked. The two men shook hands. "This is just so sad to see. You're getting soft around the middle."
Arden playfully punched his friend in the middle where he’d put on some weight, and his friend returned the horseplay. "Thanks, Millie," Dante said to his assistant as he hooked an elbow over Arden's neck pinning him. When the door slid closed, Dante let him go as Arden laughed.
"Impressive scores at the academy, Arden."
"Only if it gets me the job."
Dante gestured to one of the chairs before his desk, and took the other one, instead of walking around to sit in his own.
"Oh, you have the job. That's not the worry; The worry is whether you'll want the job I'm offering." The man tapped his knee twice.
"I have a problem, losses, theft. I need someone I can trust on this particular crew."
"What kinds of losses?"
" Cargo, little more every trip. And, whoever is responsible is padding the books to hide it."
Arden whistled. "Well, that is a short list."
"Yes, it is. I know who's dirty on the crew. That's not what I need.
I want to know who is receiving our goods. This could get dangerous, Arden."
"Because you basically want me to play dirty, and then give you the names?"
"Yes."
"Anything for a friend. I assume that the salary is in line with the danger?"
The other man laughed. "Of course, it is. What do you take me for?"
The two men stood. "Where do I report?"
"The Bolavon docks in three days. She'll unload and start taking on new inventory and crew the day after. You're the copilot and new armory officer."
Raising his left eyebrow, he said, "Handy. I assume they'll be eager to be my friend."
"That's what
"Yeah," he told her. "Smart."
She shook her head side to side as she looked at him. "I don't know what to believe of you, Arden Badu. This time last year you were sneaking kisses from Sal Winters."
Arden fixed his gaze on Brinn's shorter frame. "I wasn’t looking for Sal. I was out in that garden waiting to get you alone. Believe that I mean it, and I won't give up."
She wiped her hands in the skirt of her dress like she might be trying to control them. He smiled broadly again in the dark. She made him so damn happy just being there sometimes.
"I should go, Arden."
"I'll be right here."
She shook her head in confusion, and walked toward the door she'd come from earlier. He watched her go, wanting to call her back, and knowing that would be the worst thing he could do.
CHAPTER THREE
*
The employment line was long, stretching out beyond the marketplace. Arden was thankful he wouldn't have to stand in that line. He had his job lined up, if things went all right this morning. Arden walked to the other side of the street to get more easily around the gathering crowd looking for work.
You couldn't even say times were tough on Taarken when you looked at the faces down on their luck, out of work and out of hope. This was normal for Taarken.
Arden jogged across the dusty street, around a trash transport and recycler, and straight up to the Carnes Syndicates' Mining Office.
Inside, a young woman sat at the desk glancing back and forth between a datapad and a spreadsheet hard copy. You didn't see those every day, he thought as he noticed. The woman looked up to see him in the doorway.
"May I help you?"
"I'm here to speak with Dante Olen." She smiled.
"You must be the new hotshot pilot he's waiting for."
"Oh," he wavered. "I don't know about that."
"I'll show you straight back."
With that, she led him back down a hallway and past a far more utilitarian section of the offices than the lobby had been. No soft seating and flowery watercolors.
She tapped a comm panel to the right of the door, and it slid aside to reveal his good friend, trapped behind a desk piled high with work and multiple datapads. The larger man rose with a broad smile that was his usual jovial expression. His dark skin was a rich contrast to his white business shirt.
"Oh, Dante. I'm sad to see you this down on your luck," Arden joked. The two men shook hands. "This is just so sad to see. You're getting soft around the middle."
Arden playfully punched his friend in the middle where he’d put on some weight, and his friend returned the horseplay. "Thanks, Millie," Dante said to his assistant as he hooked an elbow over Arden's neck pinning him. When the door slid closed, Dante let him go as Arden laughed.
"Impressive scores at the academy, Arden."
"Only if it gets me the job."
Dante gestured to one of the chairs before his desk, and took the other one, instead of walking around to sit in his own.
"Oh, you have the job. That's not the worry; The worry is whether you'll want the job I'm offering." The man tapped his knee twice.
"I have a problem, losses, theft. I need someone I can trust on this particular crew."
"What kinds of losses?"
" Cargo, little more every trip. And, whoever is responsible is padding the books to hide it."
Arden whistled. "Well, that is a short list."
"Yes, it is. I know who's dirty on the crew. That's not what I need.
I want to know who is receiving our goods. This could get dangerous, Arden."
"Because you basically want me to play dirty, and then give you the names?"
"Yes."
"Anything for a friend. I assume that the salary is in line with the danger?"
The other man laughed. "Of course, it is. What do you take me for?"
The two men stood. "Where do I report?"
"The Bolavon docks in three days. She'll unload and start taking on new inventory and crew the day after. You're the copilot and new armory officer."
Raising his left eyebrow, he said, "Handy. I assume they'll be eager to be my friend."
"That's what
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