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“How young, exactly?” Viktor cut off, his voice taking on the strength of his station.

“She’s old enough. Just younger than me. A lot younger.” When I said it out loud, it didn’t sound good.

“What has your interest?” Viktor wasn’t arguing about the job, which was surprising.

“I want to know who she belongs to,” I growled. She should belong to me.

“And once you get that information?” Viktor had many people below him that could run this information for me. It was why I called him.

“I’ll use it to our advantage,” I decided.

“Don’t start a war before negotiations have even begun,” Viktor warned.

“I won’t,” I lied, hanging up the phone. He would have a point of contact soon. Sure enough, not five minutes later, Viktor sent me the name of the hacker who would look into Isadora.

Viktor: Pavel

After his name was given, an air-dropped contact link was sent. I clicked connect immediately.

The phone rang twice before Pavel picked up. His voice was gruff, clipped; like he didn’t appreciate being bothered.

“Who is this?”

I leaned against the railing of the ship, my voice calm but firm. “It’s Benedikt. I’m calling on behalf of Viktor.”

There was a pause, then the sound of a chair creaking. “Viktor? What does Viktor want?”

“He wants nothing. I do. And you owe him a favor.” I let the weight of the lie settle, counting on his hesitation to sell it. No one with half a brain would question a favor tied to the Pakhan.

“Fine,” he muttered. “What do you need?”

“A girl. Young. Late teens, maybe early twenties. Dark hair, blue eyes. Could’ve passed through your circle.” I spoke fast, not giving him room to stall. “Name’s Isadora, she’s important. Don’t ask why.”

Pavel sighed. “That’s not a lot to go on.”

“It’s enough,” I snapped. “You’ll ask around. See who’s seen her.”

Another pause. He wasn’t thrilled, but he would not push back. “I’ll make some calls. Where do I reach you?”

“You don’t. I’ll call again.” I hung up before he could say anything else, gripping the phone tight. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

I shoved my six foot five frame into the air duct system a few hours later, fed up with the lack of information. I needed to dosome recon on my own. I crawled slowly, breathing out of my mouth, because of the tight squeeze. I sucked in my chest as I squirmed along.

I had the ship’s schematics memorized.

Isadora was up and to the left.

Not too close and not too far. I didn’t care that I was getting spiderwebs all over my face. Soon, I would see mymalen'kiy angel. She would be the light at the end of this dark tunnel.

I didn’t know why I felt the need to see this woman all day every day, but I would not fight it. Not when we were stuck here with fuck all to do. A spider dropped onto my face, right where my eye used to be.

I shoved my hand up and brushed it off me as quickly as I could. I hated fucking spiders.

It was hard to turn left, especially with the width of my shoulders. Not only that, but I had to be silent so no one would detect me. It was a hard struggle to get through the air duct, but I managed.

I was in front of the duct to her bedroom.

She was standing in front of the mirror, playing with her naked breasts. My cock grew aroused as I watched her pick them up, like she was weighing them each in her tiny palms.