Dock Five #01 - Gabriel's Ghost by Megan Sybil Baker

Author:Megan Sybil Baker [Baker, Megan Sybil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, General
ISBN: 9781553165590
Google: ry4KAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 1553165594
Publisher: LTDBooks
Published: 2002-02-15T08:27:46+00:00

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Chapter Twenty-Two

I could see the resemblance. Hayden Crossley Burke, cousin of Gabriel Ross Sullivan, who was the son of Winthrop Burke Sullivan. They were men of similar height and build, and looked to be about the same age.

The news vidclip playing on the ready room's hologrid, and on Marsh's bridge screen, had been shot last year at a charity ball on Garno. Hayden moved easily through the crowd, everyone around him in formal attire, gems glittering. The vidcam wasn't focused on him, but on the parade of last year's vid stars silhouetted against the ever-familiar forms of old money and power, like Darius Tage, Lady Moira Chevlinska or one of the Bell-Javieros. We'd see Hayden in the background, shaking hands, chatting, then lose him. Another few minutes, the camera would swing around to highlight another long-legged beauty revealing an amazing amount of cleavage, and there was Hayden. Shaking hands, chatting. Smiling.

"He's older," Sully said. "Four, five years."

Similar jaw line, straight nose, dark hair. But Cousin Hayden's eyes were light. And while Sully's smile was often playful, Hayden's was polished. Professional.

"Looks like he shits money," Gregor said.

For once, he and I were in total agreement.

Sully tabbed off the vid, perched on the edge of the round table and crossed his arms. His expression was one of a man contemplating something unpleasant. I didn't know if it were Hayden himself or what Hayden funded. Or the very real fact that Hayden was in a position to do these things because Sully had refused to be a Sullivan. Hayden was the heir not only to the Crossley Burke fortune, but the Sullivan moneys as well.

Sully outlined the wealth Hayden had at his disposal, and the contacts that came with that wealth, with no mention that it could have been his. He confirmed my suspicion that Crossley Burke, the mega corporation, had grown from the small vid-game firm I remembered. Diversified. Acquired. But most often in the background, quietly. Hayden and his father, Morley Burke, had negotiated a number of lucrative government contracts over the years. Sully admitted he hadn't paid much attention to them. Finding out what those contracts were was now a priority.

"You ever meet the guy?" Gregor was across from me, next to Aubry. He flicked the end of his lightpen at the blank hologrid as if Hayden's image was still there. "At Marker," he added. "Ever see him there?"

Gregor had avoided me since Sully's talk with him. Though he no longer challenged me, directly. But that tone of dislike, of distrust, still hung under his words when he spoke.

I shook my head. "Not that I remember." And I would have. Hayden was an attractive man.

"Not even talking to your brother?" Gregor persisted.

Ren exchanged glances, and I could only imagine what else, with Sully.

"I don't remember Thad ever mentioning his name, either. But we didn't talk a lot, even before the trial. If we did, it was usually about Willym." Argued about Willym. I'd almost convinced Suzette to take him out of the crèche.

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