Page 54 of Spark Transform

He deserved an explanation, even if she herself wasn’t sure of all the reasons. “It’s... tangled.”

The drizzle strengthened into a steady downpour as she organized her thoughts. “I’ve never believed in fate or destiny, but lately, it’s been hard to hold that line. The Charisma story started it. Then Davidro’s journals, finding you, losing my first security team. I’ve gone off planet several times, but Ridderth keeps reeling me back in.” A gust of wind chilled her face with a light mist from the rain. “The new shields changed everything. Now I’m not just an observer, I’m a player.”

His face gave nothing away, but his shoulders hunched slightly. Like she blamed him.

“That’s on me.” She was usually better with words than this. Better at not hurting people’s feelings. The need to comfort him with a touch rocked her. “You delivered the choice.” She caught his gaze. “I took it. I’d do it again, too.”

He looked away, then back. “If I quit, would you leave?” His remote tone matched his wooden expression.

If he quit, she knew he’d be gone forever. She made fists in her pockets against the sudden, painful hollow in her chest.

“Honestly? I don’t think so. At least not right away...” She spoke her thoughts as they came. “The Citizen Protection Service hasn’t had a funding cut like this in a hundred years. That’s why Tapio spent a fortune to come back so fast. And why Pennington-Smythe evicted all the press from the ribbon-cutting gala this afternoon when we kept asking how the slashed budget would affect the Ridderth base and millions of CPS employees on the planet.” She pushed at pebbles with her boot. “My finder talent tells me more stories here need to be told. I’ve got an article out tonight that connects a long string of convenient ‘accidents’ in Arazak with an active Minder Corps elite team from Ridderth. Remember that woman I recognized from the lobby in Azarak? She used to be on Pennington-Smythe’s security detail, but transferred to Contract Security, also known as covert ops. Professor Olavskaya was just the latest of their targets. I’ve got enough solid evidence for three more articles, easy, without even mentioning her name.”

“How much long—”

The ground shook hard enough to slosh the puddles.

No sounds, so that let out close riots or explosions. Ridderth didn’t have earthquakes.

Brenner tapped his earwire and spoke instead of subvocalizing. “Minan, status. We felt a ground tremor.” He drew in a breath, then shook his head and caught her eye. “We’re going home.” He pointed to her head. “Ears.”

She watched as he turned and walked purposefully toward the intersection. Old Arco might have resented his peremptory tone. New Arco preferred living. She could complain later.

Following in his wake, she tapped her earwire to connect to their secure net, then tightened her hood against the rain.

If they had an airspeeder, they could be at the apartment building in five minutes, but on foot, they were twenty or thirty minutes away. The whole Sanjiao District was transitioning haphazardly from automated industrial to trendy residential, with walkways broken up by construction zones galore.

Minan’s voice came over the earwire. “TCS is reporting an unspecified traffic disruption on the commercial artery, about half a kilometer west of Site 1.”

The three-tier commercial transport artery west of Site 1 — her new flat — handled large, heavy ground vehicles. A single broken-down behemoth could snarl ground traffic for days.

N’Dwama’s voice chimed in. “I’m in an autocab, twenty minutes out. Want me to come back?”

“No, go home,” said Minan. “TCS would detour or ground your cab if you tried. Tōn Ko is with me, and Brenner is with Arco.”

“Copy,” said N’Dwama. “See you in the dawn patrol with the noob.”

Arco had forgotten the team was about to grow by one new person. On the interstellar trip back from the capital, Nilsson, one of Tapio’s security staff, asked for the transfer. Her team agreed they could work with the woman, and Arco liked both her cheerful attitude and low-level healer minder talent.

She supposed it was a sign of her rising success that security costs were now her top expense category. Money had never motivated her, but she’d come to appreciate the comforts it afforded. Such as people looking out for her.

Their brisk pace took them past one of the district’s myriad triangular parks, then one of its equally common three-way intersections.

They waited for a corroded groundroller to lumber by, then crossed another three-way intersection.

Brenner dropped back to walk beside her again. “Walking too fast?”

She must have been slowing down again, distracted by her chaotic thoughts. “Sorry. I’ll keep up.”

Calling up the memory of a favorite song, she timed her steps to its driving beat.

Minan’s voice broke her concentration. “News feeds are coming in. A military transport on the artery’s third level lost its cargo over the side. Driver said it’s a decommed spider mech. You know, those six-legged, mega-weight military assault walkers with the compound spotlights and multiple weapons arrays. That probably caused the ground tremo… holy shit, it’s trying to get to its feet.”

“Maybe its AI thinks it’s helping.” That was Tōn Ko’s voice.

Brenner made a rude sound that echoed over the earwire.

Minan laughed. “Null chance. I bet it’s an emergency response to a perceived attack. And see, there it goes. Limping away from the artery, toward the northbound access road. Making pretty good time, considering it’s dragging two of its legs as dead weights.” A moment later, she added, “I’m hearing chatter about military and police mobilization across the city. Better hope the spider isn’t still armed. Otherwise, ‘urban renewal’ will take on a whole new meaning.”