Traitor (Rebel Stars Book 2)

Traitor (Rebel Stars Book 2) Read Free

Book: Traitor (Rebel Stars Book 2) Read Free
Author: Edward W. Robertson
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when something highly interesting is happening at the Locker? Two reasons. First, I'm about to need your help. Second, might I remind you the ship you're seated in is mine. It happens to contain our only functional Motion Arrestor. If something that interesting is happening at the Locker, it would be prudent to remove yourselves—and my MA—from the vicinity posthaste."
    He moved across the hotel room to the uninterrupted window that formed the outer wall. A hazy blue sea filled the view. "The Locker closing its doors is way too juicy to be kept secret. I'd tell you to drop a drone, but I don't want to risk pissing them off. I'll sic LOTR on it instead. In the meantime, I need you here. Toman out!"
    The video ceased. Rada stared at the blank screen, feeling Webber's eyes on her.
    "Well?" he said.
    "Well what?" She was already pulling up a course. "We're on our way to Earth."
    "Don't tell me you're happy about this."
    "You're still new here. Word to the wise: when Toman whistles, you come running."
     
    * * *
     
    Five days later, they docked in Earth orbit. The shuttle down to the airport gave Rada a commanding view of Better Sands, capital city of Las Reinas, the nation occupying everything west of the Rocky Mountains between the North Pole and the isthmus to South America.
    Las Reinas was one of Earth's five or six major players. From above, its capital looked fit to match that status. White towers thrust from the shores of a gleaming bay. Boats of all sizes spangled the deep blue waters. Many of its skyscrapers were built from sympathy glass, and as the sun set, the buildings turned the same shades of orange and pink as the pastel coastal sky; other towers tinted themselves with contrasting blues and greens. A light haze hung in the air, making everything soft, dreamlike.
    At the terminal, they were awaited by a man even bigger than MacAdams. His goatee was as trim as his suit. He led them to a sleek, oval-shaped car and held the doors. The car drove itself.
    It deposited them at the doors of the seaside hotel Toman was staying in. Their suite was outrageous. On each wall that didn't bear a screen, a transparent layer of plastic enclosed shimmering waterfalls. The ceilings were full screens that could probably be switched on to show the sky (or, Rada suspected, a mirror). Even the bathroom had a dispenser in it, just in case you decided you needed a drink in the shower. Despite the amenities, all Rada cared about was talking to Toman, who was presently engaged in a closed-doors meeting in the capital building.
    It was a full day before she saw him. When he came to their suite, he was heavy-lidded and unusually rumpled.
    "I'm so glad we hurried to get here," Rada said. "Otherwise, we never would have had the chance to sit here like stumps for the last 24 hours."
    Toman eyed her. "I'd be more sympathetic to your whining if there'd been any chance of getting anything done at the Locker."
    "So you've figured out what's going on there?"
    "Shift in management. They've clamped the place down tight while they sort things out."
    Webber strolled out of the kitchenette, sandwich in hand. "Think it's coincidence this is going on right when we were on our way to enlist them?"
    Toman gritted his teeth. "Better pray it is. The alternative means we're in much deeper trouble than we think."
    "So who's out and who's in?" Rada said. "What prompted this?"
    "The Locker hasn't just shut down its port, it's shut down all outbound communications. LOTR's working through the messages sent in the weeks prior to this, but it's like reconstructing what a dinosaur looks like when you've only got a few fragments of bone."
    "So we're in a holding pattern."
    He showed a palm. "Which I know you hate as much as I do. Thus why you're here."
    "Right. And what is the exact nature of our new job?"
    "Still figuring that out."
    "You're kidding. Not only did you drag us away from the real action, but you don't even know why you brought us here?"
    Toman closed his

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