Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(37)

I finished the last of the tiny sandwiches and broke off a piece of scone. “I am not opposed to taking you off-planet, but my own escape plan is shaky at best. There are many things that can go wrong. Most probably will. And even if it goes off perfectly, we won’t be safe. You should know that before you commit.”

She tilted her head and studied me for a few seconds before her eyes widened. “You’re stealing a ship,” she breathed. “You’re stealing Rockhurst’s ship.”

I neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

She laughed, caught between delight and astonishment. “What do you need to pull this off?”

“First, I have reason to believe my companion has been captured. I need to know his location, as well as the building blueprints. Guard locations would be helpful, too.”

“Do you know who he is?” she asked. I gave her a pointed look. She smiled, then sobered. “He is being held at the detention center the mercs use before they ship out their bounties,” she said. “News travels fast here. So far his identity remains secret but it won’t for long. Same for you.”

“I am hoping to be gone before it becomes a problem. I also need these items,” I said. I held up my com display so she could see the list.

Her eyebrows climbed her forehead as she read but she didn’t balk. “I can get most of those today. The last two will take a bit longer. Maybe by tomorrow.”

I nodded. “Good. I’d like to be ready by tomorrow night if possible. The longer I stay, the worse the danger becomes.” I let frost creep into my expression. “And if you betray me, your not-husband will be the least of your worries.”

She remained unruffled. “I would not have met with you if I hadn’t already decided to throw my lot in with yours. We succeed or fail together, now. Do not let me down.”

The weight of responsibility settled around me. Now I had two people counting on me. And while I was sure both of them would be fine without me, I always felt responsible for those in my care. According to my father, it made me a terrible von Hasenberg.



We separated and left through different entrances. Veronica promised to contact me tomorrow when she had all of the items I’d requested. That left me the rest of the day to do my initial prep work.

I turned off the insecure com Loch had bought for me. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Veronica; it was that I didn’t trust anyone. Leaving the com off meant it couldn’t be tracked. It also meant she couldn’t contact me in an emergency, but the trade-off was worth it. I wouldn’t sleep if I had to worry about a sneak attack.

The detention center was at the edge of the central commercial district near the spaceport. It also matched up with where Loch’s tracker went silent. So either they were being super careful to make it look like Loch was being held, or he actually was being held. The trick was figuring out which before I barged in and got myself killed.

I cut through the opposite side of the central district from where I needed to be, using the same invisible walk I’d used to walk within a meter of Richard. No one paid me any mind.

I came at the detention center from a diagonal. Without a clear line of sight down the streets, I could get closer before I risked discovery. Six blocks away, I slipped into a narrow alley. It had been wider until some enterprising soul had extended their business.

The close walls worked for me, though, and I climbed to the roof without breaking a sweat. I kept the chimney between me and the detention center. I didn’t think Richard’s team would be surveying this far out, but underestimating them was a one-way ticket to Captureville.

I’d never been a quitter—it wasn’t in my DNA—but I was looking forward to the days when I wouldn’t be stuck on a cold, dark roof trying to figure out if my current favorite fugitive was being held captive inside the building in the distance, all while avoiding an entire city of mercenaries.

For now, I had to be careful. Because if I could see the detention center, anyone there could see me, too. I flattened myself to the roof and crawled around the chimney. With the chimney behind me, my silhouette wouldn’t be as noticeable. Probably. Hopefully.

The buildings in this area were all originally single-story, so only chimneys and creative mud-block additions obscured my view of the detention center. The center took up an entire block and had a wide-open plaza around it. It offered no cover and no reason to approach.

I pulled out the digital scope Veronica had given me as we left—it was the first item on my list. Staying as low as possible, I quickly scanned the detention center’s roof. I didn’t see anyone, but I did see a shit-ton of cameras. There would be no access from the roof unless I wanted the whole city to know when I’d arrived.

Until I got the blueprints, there was no way to know if underground access was a possibility, but based on everything I saw, I would assume not. So I’d have to waltz up to the front door, break in, break Loch out, and waltz back out again before reinforcements arrived.

Right. No problem.

The spotters here were either too well hidden, nonexistent (unlikely), or hidden behind some of the surrounding roof adornments that blocked my view, because I couldn’t find any of them, even after watching for two hours.

I stretched sore muscles and crept back around the chimney. Climbing down was way more difficult than climbing up. Luckily foot traffic in this area was low and no one wanted to risk the dark, narrow alley.