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Shock showed on Fig’s face since Anna was still watching him. His mouth parted, but he didn’t say a word. Then he looked angry again. Anna was just really confused. None of what the woman said made a lick of sense to her.
“I’m one of three. Do you understand?” The woman speaking paused. “I mean no harm. Can we dock together and speak in person?”
Fig’s mouth opened but then closed. He looked stunned again.
“What is it?” Anna whispered low, hoping her voice wouldn’t carry to whoever was out there if communications were still open on their side.
Fig glanced at her but then motioned for her to be silent. He cleared his throat. “Nine, bar, seven, one, dark, quad, ten.”
The woman responded immediately. “Five, three, zero, bar.”
“Seven, seven, seven,” he stated.
There was a click.
“Unbelievable,” Fig muttered. “I’ve momentarily ended communications.”
“What did all that mean?” Anna kept watching him. Fig was staring at the shuttle in the distance. “It sounded like numbers and gibberish words strung together to me.”
“It’s not gibberish. It’s the transaction used to help us escape from Clone World.”
“What does that mean?”
“She’s claiming to be the one who paid the pilot to fly us from the surface, but that’s impossible.”
“Why?”
He met her gaze. “The granddaughter of Rico Florigo was the one who helped us escape Clone World. Free, her, and I were the only three who knew those details. She’s claiming to be Marisol Florigo.”
“Why didn’t she just say that?”
“Transmissions aren’t secured between that shuttle and ours. If she really is Marisol, it would be extremely dangerous for her if anyone realized her identity.”
“Why?”
“She’s the sole heir to Clone World. At least, that’s what everyone believes. Humans would attempt to ransom her back to her grandfather for an immense fortune. They don’t know how little Rico Florigo values the lives of his family. He ordered the shuttle carrying his lone son and daughter-in-law to be destroyed when some clones tried to use them as hostages to escape Clone World. Those were Marisol’s parents. There were no survivors.”
Anna felt horrified.
“I don’t know why she would be here trying to contact us. She changed her mind.”
“About what?”
Fig looked sad. “Free was in love with her. She promised to meet up with him months after our escape once it was safe to do so. Her grandfather couldn’t find out that she helped us. He’s a vindictive, unforgiving human. Marisol knew he’d send an army searching for us and wouldn’t stop until we were all dead if he learned she chose a clone over him. To help a group of his property get off Clone World would be considered the ultimate betrayal by him after he killed his own son to prevent it from happening.”
Anna let that sink in. “She didn’t show up at the meeting?”
“No. Marisol broke Free’s heart.”
Anna turned her head, staring at the other shuttle. “Maybe she changed her mind since then. We have a saying about how absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Or it could be a trap. Her regret might not be meeting with Free but about helping us escape in the first place.”
“That would be bad.”
“Yes, it would.”
“Are we going to meet with her and talk in person?”
