Starfall (Starflight #2)(44)

“What about the others who are sick?” he asked. “Are they better, too?”

The farmer considered for a moment. “A few of my field hands look healthier today. Less shaky. I can’t speak for anyone else, though.”

“Spread the word that anyone with symptoms should spend the day outside,” Kane said. “Let’s see if that helps.”

Cassia spoke up from beside him. “And tell them to keep track of where it’s making a difference. I’d like to know if refugees in the city are seeing the same effects.”

The farmer agreed to radio the next day with an update. Before they ended the transmission, Kane told the man, “Wait. I never asked your name.”

“I’m Meichael,” he said. “Meichael Stark.”

Kane couldn’t shake hands with a holograph, so he did his best to convey a look of respect. He didn’t know whether his mother loved this man, but he knew she was in good hands. “Thank you, Meichael.”

When the transmission ended, he turned to Cassia. “I want to talk to your general.” His instincts warned that his mother’s “miracle” was only temporary, and there would soon come a day when fresh air wouldn’t revive her. “We need to go over the plan and make sure it’s airtight.”

“It is airtight.”

“There might be an angle we missed. If Necktie slips through our fingers, we won’t get another shot at him.”

“But you and Jordan don’t play nice.”

“I’ll be on my best behavior.”

“Fine.” She held up a warning finger. “But one snarky word and I’m cutting off the transmission.”

“If anyone pokes the bear, it won’t be me,” Kane promised. As they made their way out of the bridge, he gave her a playful shoulder bump. “He’s our general now.”





“Our intelligence was right,” Jordan said. “Fleece’s ship requested permission to land this afternoon near a cattle ranch on New Haven. My troops will be in position before he touches down, so there’s no reason for you to be there.”

Cassia watched his boots while he spoke. Ever since her slipup with Kane last week, she didn’t know how to act when she was together with both of them.

“I’ll be there anyway,” Kane said.

“I wasn’t talking to you.” The general’s boots widened in stance, and Cassia could picture him with his arms folded, his head cocked, shooting daggers with his eyes. It was no secret that he still didn’t trust the newest member of their strategy sessions. She peeked up and found she was right. “I would feel better if you stayed where you are. I’ll radio you when we have Fleece in custody. You can join us during questioning.”

She shook her head. “He thinks I’m buying weapons from him, remember? I don’t want to give him any reason to doubt my story. I need to be there.” And she wanted to be there. She had no intention of staying in the abandoned quarry where Renny had hidden the ship. When her troops brought Necktie Fleece to his knees, she would stand over him and make him feel like the cockroach he was. “Send the coordinates and I’ll meet you.”

Kane elbowed her.

“We’ll meet you.”

Jordan frowned but didn’t argue. “If you insist.”

As soon as his image vanished, Kane heaved a breath and slouched over as if two minutes of polite conversation had exhausted him. “Did the military issue the pole that’s wedged up his ass, or was he born with it?”

Cassia turned on her heel and strode out of the common room. She would never say so, but Kane could take a lesson from Jordan. While Kane flirted his way through life with a perpetual wisecrack on his tongue, Jordan plotted a smooth and steady course guided by duty. There was something to be said for that.

Kane hurried after her. “Is Renny coming with us?”

“No, he won’t leave Arabelle while Fleece is on the loose.”

Kane made a noise of doubt. “Am I the only one who still thinks there’s something off about her?”

“She’s been through a lot. Besides, we scanned her twice and she came up clean.”

“But the timing’s suspicious, don’t you think?”

“Maybe I thought so at first,” Cassia admitted. “But the mafia kept her in the outer realm for two years, right? We made hundreds of deliveries all over the fringe during that time. Renny was bound to cross her path sooner or later. I’m surprised it took this long.”

“I guess that makes sense. I can’t blame him for staying with her.”

Neither could Cassia. She didn’t want Fleece in the same time zone as Doran. For that reason she’d sent Doran and Solara halfway around the globe to investigate the settler outbreak. The only problem was they’d taken the shuttle and left her without a ride. “Let’s ask Renny to drop us off south of the cattle ranch,” she decided. That would give him plenty of time to return the Banshee to its hiding place before the arrival of Necktie’s ship, and more than enough time for her to meet her troops in the field. “And wear your good boots. We’ll be doing a lot of walking.”



An hour later, she regretted those words.

“I shouldn’t have worn my good boots.” She grimaced when she stepped into another cow patty, her sole making a wet sucking noise as she pulled free. In such high grass, it was impossible to spot the land mines, and they were everywhere. So were the flies, drawn in by the hair-curling reek. She cupped a hand over her nose, but it didn’t help. The stench clung to her sinuses.