Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(53)

I logged out of the account and carefully wiped the terminal screen clean of fingerprints. I lowered the privacy screen and placed the two credit chips in internal zippered pockets, keeping them separate. “Time to go,” I said.

Marcus opened the door and stepped out. At his signal that it was clear, I followed him. Mr. Rochester snapped to attention. “Madam, is there anything else you need?”

“No, thank you for your assistance. I am leaving.”

Mr. Rochester bowed and escorted us to the door. Marcus and I entered the waiting transport without incident.

I sighed and let my public persona fall away. “Do you need anything while we’re out?” I asked. “I was thinking about buying some new clothes, but I can drop you at the ship first if you’d like to head out early.”

“I go where you go,” he said. “I could use some more clothes, too, assuming you’re not shopping down here.”

The thought of Marcus Loch in a suit derailed my thought process for a solid minute. All of that muscle and menace hidden beneath a bespoke suit would be a sight to see. Yum.

I shook myself out of thoughts of getting Loch out of said suit and handed him the credit chip with his money on it. “This is what I owe you,” I said. “There’s no transaction history, so don’t lose it.”

Loch pocketed the chip without comment.

Handing the money over was bittersweet. My obligation was finished, but now he had no reason to stick around. “I guess today is our last day together,” I said, hoping he would deny my words.

He did not.





Chapter 15




I pushed aside my hurt and directed our transport to a shopping district in the two hundreds: high enough to be cheap, but not so high as to be poor quality. Most of the middle class shopped in this district. And around the periphery was a thriving black market where you could buy anything from jewelry to weapons to pleasure.

The transport dropped us on a landing pad on floor 215. I ended our ride and confirmed the fare deduction. Once we were out, the transport glided away to pick up the next passenger. I’d order a new transport when we were done shopping.

This was not my first trip to Sedition, but even so, the sheer scale boggled the mind on every visit. Looking around, it was easy to forget that we were hundreds of meters in the air. Even the harsh sun was partially blocked thanks to the higher levels.

Shops opened out to wide walkways bustling with pedestrians. Plazas dotted with small trees connected adjacent buildings, both on our level and above and below us. With the exception of the tall plastech and glass wall that prevented accidental falls, this could be a shopping street on any planet.

I moved away from the transport pad. The better deals were found when you had to walk more than two meters to get to the store. Loch followed me, just off my right shoulder. “You don’t have to play bodyguard here,” I said. “I can look after myself, and we can meet up later. You can shop for whatever you need.”

“I’m not playing,” Loch said. “That bastard is still after you and I am looking forward to meeting him again.” Loch’s expression filled with so much predatory anticipation that I almost felt bad for Richard. Almost.

“Yes, but that bastard will likely be after me forever. You can’t protect me forever. And despite what it looked like when we met, I do a decent job of keeping a low profile.”

Loch remained stubbornly silent and glued to my shoulder.

“At least walk beside me,” I said. “In case you haven’t noticed, bodyguards are not plentiful at this level. We’ll draw more attention if you keep stalking along behind me.”

Loch grumbled something unpleasant but moved up next to me. Other pedestrians still gave us a wide berth.

I purchased a temperature-regulating cloak at the first shop we stopped at. Cream with blue trim, it was in no way practical. But it was beautiful and it kept the sun from making me sweat, so I bought it. It would be destroyed the first time I took it anywhere near a dirty ship, so I also bought a dark gray cloak as a backup.

We crossed over a pedestrian bridge to the next building. I passed all of the little boutiques with their bright colors and cute outfits with barely a glance until a red dress in a display caught my attention and wouldn’t let go. I wandered over to the window.

The dress had a fitted bodice with short cap sleeves and a V-neck. A full skirt hit the mannequin just above the knees. I loved it, but if a cream cloak was impractical, this dress was wildly unsuitable.

“You should try it on,” Loch said.

“Where would I wear it? In the engine room? It’s just something I’ll eventually have to leave behind.” I suppressed the sigh that tried to escape. One day I would wear dresses like this whenever I wanted; it just wasn’t today.

I walked away from the dress without looking back.

On the next block, I found the store I was looking for. It carried both men’s and women’s styles in simple cuts of sturdy fabric. I wouldn’t win any fashion awards, but the clothes would stand up to whatever I threw at them.

Loch wandered off to the men’s section while I dug through the women’s options. I found a few shirts in my size in various sleeve lengths. The pants I needed to actually try on because it was difficult to find something that fit without sagging. I grabbed a few pairs and headed for the dressing room.