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She entered the private meeting room and laid down her briefcase on the long table. The door behind her opened less than a minute later. She took a deep breath. “Thank you for not keeping me waiting.”
She turned, staring into a pair of beautiful gray-blue eyes on a very handsome face. Having tan skin and blond hair amplified the pale color of his irises. He stood tall at six-foot-two. The form-fitting uniform he wore displayed a fit body. He closed the door and laid down his data device on the table.
“It’s been the longest two days.”
Marisol ran into his arms, and he held her when she pressed up tight against him. “I missed you, Free.” She refused to call him what the others had labeled him with when they were alone. He had a highly intelligent mind and could calculate numbers faster than a computer. It didn’t make him some kind of freak. He was a genius.
“I missed you too.”
She loved being held by Free and hated that they could only steal brief moments alone. “The captain believes the bullshit story about one of the employees hating killing clones and is hiding a bunch of them on the planet to explain why that much plasma from Earth is needed. He seemed sympathetic, but mostly, he was in it for the money. He’s purchased it and added six crates to his shipment.”
Free appeared nervous. “Is he trustworthy?”
“He better be for what he’s asking me to pay him. Greed can be an extreme motivational tool.”
“Is there any way he can figure out that you’re the one he’s been communicating with?”
“I’ve covered my tracks too well. He believes I’m a much older man who is in charge of retraining clones for new jobs. I said the program was doomed to fail, so that’s why I’m protecting them from being permanently decommissioned.”
“There is no such program on Clone World.”
She nodded. “I know that. You know that. He doesn’t. I thought about saying I was a doctor to account for why I’d go to such lengths to save lives, but once you steal the shuttle, he’ll be interrogated after he’s rescued. I didn’t want all the medical staff dragged into the investigation if they get him to tell the truth. I doubt they will, but just in case, I don’t want someone possibly taking the fall for what I’ve done.”
Free lifted his hand and brushed his fingers over her cheek. “You’re so thoughtful, Marisol.” His expression grew remorseful. “I hate putting you at risk. No matter what you say or how much you assure me, I’m worried. No plan is foolproof.”
She could tell that he was concerned. “It will be fine. This captain transports illegal high-end goods for my gramps, so his shuttle is equipped to evade weapons fire in case someone becomes suspicious. His name is Captain Edward Rule.”
“I’ll remember.”
“Just stick with the plan. He believes the six of you are working for me to retrieve my plasma shipments right before he takes off. He’s expecting you to be on and off his shuttle in under five minutes total to unload the hidden cargo. That won’t leave you much time to take control and fool flight control into thinking it’s him taking off on time.”
“The B Clones already have worked out those details since this captain is a regular visitor to Clone World because of your grandfather’s illegal deliveries. They will synthesize his voice and speech patterns. No one will realize they are piloting the shuttle instead when we leave.”
Marisol nodded.
“We’ll eject him inside the emergency pod when we’re safely in orbit and out of weapons range.” His light blue eyes held her gaze. “We won’t harm him.”
“I know. Your life is the priority, though. Don’t forget that. If it comes down to one of you or him…”
Free scowled.
“I mean it. While I don’t want Captain Rule dead unless it’s absolutely necessary, he’s a smuggler. He might not deal in living beings since my gramps doesn’t use him to transport unblanked clones, but he does bring in drugs and other highly illegal substances that my gramps keeps on hand to make some of his wealthier clients happy. He’s not a good guy.”
“I understand.” His features turned grim. “We’ll do what we must to gain our freedom so that you and I can have the future we want.”
That was her ultimate dream. One day soon, they would be together without constant fear of someone catching up on how they felt about each other. Free would be killed if anyone even suspected that she cared so deeply for him. “I’ve transferred more money into our secret account. You might need access to it while we’re apart in case an emergency comes up. Bribery works on most humans. Don’t forget that.”
He frowned. “I hate you taking extra risks. What if you get caught for transferring those stolen funds before you’re able to escape? Your grandfather is ruthless.”
“Let me worry about my gramps. We’ll be together full-time soon enough.” She wanted to kiss him. “That’s all that matters.”
“I love you, Marisol. I wish you would leave with us now.”
“My gramps is going to be furious when he discovers some of you escaped, but he won’t send teams after you because he’ll figure you won’t survive for long. That captain isn’t going to admit to having plasma onboard. He’ll lie and say it was something else. Gramps is his best client, and that would end their business dealings. Gramps would use every resource available to track us down if he suspects I’m with you just out of spite.”
“I still don’t understand that.”
“Gramps has a temper when it comes to anyone betraying his trust. He’ll feel super motivated to hunt me down because his expectations of me are extremely unrealistic because I’m his granddaughter, regardless of how terrible he can be.”
