Pirate Spark by Carysa Locke

Author:Carysa Locke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ProtoStar Publications

Chapter Five

Unlike Max, Vashti ate her meal slowly. She needed time to think, and besides, it was important to enjoy good food, and good tea.

A thought kept nagging at her. Had she really seen this man, Heric, Alaric, or whatever name he chose to go by, in a portent of the future?

Disturbed, she found her thoughts going back to that image again and again. Often she got a sense of how far into the future a vision might be. This one had felt very close. She glanced across at Max, still eating his curry with enthusiasm.

Too close. She had to keep Max safe.

Thinking about Alaric and what he represented was worrying about the wrong thing. The worst part of that future was seeing all of those children dead. And Max. Children dying on her watch was just about the worst thing she could imagine.

“What are you thinking about?” Max's question made Vashti realize that something of her thoughts must have shown on her face. She reeled the emotion back in, and offered him a brief smile.

“Nothing. Just pondering our situation.”

“I was thinking, I could get us some insight, maybe.”

"Your Spy Fly?" she guessed.

He nodded.

It wasn't a bad idea, although she imagined if Alaric caught them spying on him, he'd crush the drone and then look to do the same to them. He definitely had the look of a former soldier, as Casamir had described. And he hadn’t seemed at all intimidated by their Talent. In fact, it seemed to piss him off. Worrisome.

There she went, worrying about him again. Ugh.

“We'll see,” she said. She looked around, leaving her curry largely untouched. Customers were speaking quietly together, meals being enjoyed. No one here seemed overly watchful or concerned. “Why do the gangs and degenerates leave this place alone?” she wondered aloud, choosing the same words their driver from earlier had used.

“Security's pretty good,” Max offered.

She focused on him. “Is it? Do tell.”

He gestured to the door they'd come in through. “Sensors in the frame scan people for weapons. He's got some holo equipment set up that gives this place…what do you call it, real shine.”

“Holos?” How had she missed that? She really had been too long out of the field. Looking around, she could detect the faint shimmer along the top of the walls. A holoscreen. Who knew what this place really looked like underneath it’s clean and perfect appearance? She had to look closely and watch for it, but it was there. High grade equipment.

“Yep,” Max said. “Pretty sure there are weapons that drop from the ceiling. There's a security gate built into the walls that closes over the doorway. Probably in the back, too. This place is set up to be a kill box if it needs to be.”

Wasn't that just a comforting thought?

She gave Max a thoughtful look. She should have known he'd have a scanner on him.

“So, it's well armored, well armed, and the owner is willing to kill to protect what's his. Assuming the rougher element in the area knows this, why do they let him get away with it? He's a challenge to their authority.

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