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Sebastian gagged.
The saccharine sweetness between Turner and Mal’ik was too much for him. Absurd and out of place in this world.
He burst into the cantina and sought out the bar just as the bartender let out a cheer.
“Sebastian!” Jun called with outstretched arms. “It’s been too long.”
“Jun!” Sebastian mirrored the motion. “The most important man in the Resistance.”
“Come over here! I found something I think you’ll like.” Jun waved him over and then ducked under the bar. He came back up just as Sebastian got to the counter and set a crystal decanter with a pale amber liquid in front of him. “Found it in some fancy office after we took the place.”
“Oh, now that looks special.” Sebastian popped out the crystal stopper and took a whiff. His eyes watered at the potency, and he blinked the tears away with a grin. “Smells special too.”
“That’s just what I thought.” Jun laughed and grabbed some mismatched glasses from the top of the bar—a couple of crystal ones that matched the decanter, a crystal one that didn’t, and a tin one. “Want a round?”
“How about a round for everyone here?” Sebastian raised his voice and looked around at the crowd in the cantina. They’d all turned to look when he’d entered, with the usual mix of friendly recognition, distrust, and wariness. But now most of the eyes brightened. He turned back to Jun. “They all deserve a taste of the good stuff after what they’ve done for Southern Tava.”
“They all deserve more than a taste!” Jun pulled out more glasses from his store and lowered his voice as he threw Sebastian a smile. “I’m telling Martha it’s coming out of your wages, though.”
Sebastian smiled back and shrugged. “I’d expect nothing less.”
Then he let himself be surrounded and buffeted by the crowd. He hugged and laughed with the friends among them, passed drinks around, and clinked glasses. He found Jason, who he hadn’t seen since he’d tried to get past Tucker at the barricade while he was wearing Tesh, and they took a shot together and cursed both assholes. The cacophony of voices ringing in his ears, the press of bodies, and the smell of alcohol surrounded him like a blanket and softened the edges of all his anger, frustration, and pain.
After a while, he disentangled himself, took his half-full glass, carefully balanced two others in his other hand, and made his way to the tall table in the corner where Maxwell and Turner had set up.
When they’d entered, Turner had been on the receiving end of even more hostile looks than Sebastian, and Sebastian would have felt bad for him, except, as far as Sebastian was concerned, he completely deserved them.
Sebastian pushed them each a glass. “Alright, drink up. This might even be fancy enough for your taste buds, Turner.”
“I doubt it.” Turner took a sip, made a show of thinking about it, and shrugged an elegant shoulder as he set it back on the table. “It’ll suffice.”
Sebastian snorted despite himself and sat in one of the chairs. “Yeah, okay.”
“So, Oliver, I hear you have a friend that got us our connection to the cartel?” Leave it to sweet Maxwell to start the friendly small talk.
Turner made a face. “I don’t know that I’d call Bryant Harrison a friend.”
“Ha, no, I don’t think that you should.” Sebastian scoffed and then took a swig. “He doesn’t like you very much from what I saw.”
“The feeling was mutual.” Turner shrugged, and Sebastian narrowed his eyes.
“Was mutual?”
Turner tapped a long finger against his glass—one of the crystal ones, of course. “I might have changed my tune.”
Sebastian raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts.”
Maxwell glided the conversation past Sebastian’s barb. “Is that why you’re on this Carta Team with Garrett?”
“Wait, you and Garrett are both on that team?” Sebastian straightened. He’d been too busy fuming to pay attention to that part of the meeting. “Who else is? What are you doing?”
Turner took a sip of his drink. “We’re going to Carta and meeting with the cartel on behalf of the Resistance to negotiate a lease on one of their scientists.”
“A lease?” Maxwell wrinkled his nose.
“That’s how they phrased it.”
Sebastian frowned. “The Resistance is sending you and Garrett to represent us?”
