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Draven snorted. “Oh, do you, now? Well, I currently have about a dozen situations on my hands, so I suggest you deal with this on your own.”
“Something came up this afternoon—” Ryrik tried again, but Draven cut him off.
“Would this have to do with the Conii situation?”
Ryrik nodded curtly. Draven grunted. “As I recall, you said you had a plan to handle it. I’ve given you my trust to do so. And until you have something that we can work with, you’re on your own to figure it out. I already have enough on my hands trying to convince everyone that we’re not up to anything underhanded.”
Cautiously, I glanced at Ryrik. He looked like he very much wanted to argue and insist Draven listen. At this point, though, the other Vinduthi had made it clear that he wasn’t going to help, and anything else we might say would only make things worse.
Gently, I put a hand on Ryrik’s arm and immediately his attention snapped to me. I gave him a meaningful look, trying to convey my concern and the need to walk away right now. Ryrik’s features softened just a bit.
He turned his attention back to Draven and dipped his head. “Very well. We’ll deal with this.”
“See that you do,” Draven said before getting on the percomm again.
Taking that as our cue of dismissal, Ryrik and I turned and made our way out the door. Ryrik motioned for me to follow him into an alcove tucked away in the side of the casino.
“So, what do we do now?” I asked quietly.
Ryrik scrubbed a hand over his face. “We can’t go back to my place. Even with its security measures, it’s too well known and neither of us would be safe there. We’ll need to go on the run.”
I felt my eyes widen. “On the run? But where will we go? We can’t exactly just walk off Thodos III.”
A smile that looked more like a grimace crossed his face. “I know this station better than almost everyone. Trust me, I know where to hide so we can’t be found.”
I felt a little sick at the idea of having to be on the run, but we didn’t have much choice. “How soon do we need to go?” I asked.
“Right now.”
“Right now?” I repeated. “But shouldn’t we go back for food or clothing or weapons or something?”
Ryrik shook his head. “No. Whoever left that note may very well be watching the place. If we go back, they may notice we’re up to something. Besides, the quicker we act, the better chance we have.”
The thought of going so soon made my stomach churn, but I had to admit he was right. I let out a nervous laugh. “I suppose it’s a good thing I have all the new clothes you just got me.”
A real smile made its way onto Ryrik’s face now. “Indeed. Come on, let’s grab those clothes of yours and then head out. There’s a secret passageway that leads out of here only a few people know about.”
In ten minutes, I’d grabbed the clothes from where I had set them in my locker and then we headed out. Ryrik led me into a backroom of one of the dressing rooms which led to a tunnel. At first, I was concerned about what kind of security risk the tunnel could be. After all, if someone found out about it who shouldn’t, they could sneak into the Black Star and do some real damage.
After a while of walking around with Ryrik, though, I quickly understood it wasn’t a risk at all. It wasn’t just a singular tunnel running in and out of the casino, but a maze of tunnels. Only someone who knew it as well as the Vinduthi could navigate it.
I tried to memorize all the turns we took and gave up after a while. It was probably best that I didn’t know too much about the tunnels, anyway.
Half an hour into our walk, Ryrik came to a stop beside a ladder. He shot me a grin. “Here we are. Or at least, mostly there.”
He went up the ladder first and peered through the grate to make sure it was safe. Then he motioned for me to follow him up.
When I emerged from the tunnel, I blinked around in surprise. Nothing in eyesight looked familiar. Ryrik really had taken us out of any watchful eyes.
“Come on, we’re almost there,” he said, motioning me into an alleyway.
Finally, we came upon a small door nestled in an out of the way corridor beside some of the station’s air circulators. The location was out in the open enough so no one could hide in the shadows, but discreet enough that it wasn’t exposed to everyone.
Ryrik picked the lock on the door, and we both hurried in. I took a moment to look around. It was nice enough inside, albeit a bit dusty. It seemed to be some kind of break room, perhaps for people working on the complex machinery on this end of the ship.
“I don’t believe we’ve had to use this place in a while,” Ryrik said, as if sensing my thoughts. “Should be a safe place to lay low for now, though. Doesn't get used much unless there's a major breakdown.”
I smiled at him. “I think it’s more than adequate. I was afraid when you said, ‘on the run’ that we’d be sleeping in gutters and alleyways.”
