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He shrugged, making his giant beard shake. "Same old business. You know I never get bored here." He saw Faye come up beside me. Quixar’s beady eyes got just a bit bigger. "You brought company, too. She looks like she’s above your pay grade, Ustrar."
"You have no idea. Quixar, meet...Estelle."
"Hey." Faye gave him a bored look before glancing around the room in search of something or someone more interesting.
Quixar kept his stare on her. "Where are you from?"
"Not here, but I heard you had better rum."
Her short reply put him in a good mood. "The best on this dirtball." His beard appeared to grow bigger as his chest puffed with pride. "I’ll pour you a shot myself."
I marveled at how quickly he went from his usual terse self to being eager to please a potential new rum fan. He went behind the counter and produced three shot glasses.
"I’m off duty for tonight." He passed two glasses to us and poured the third for himself. "So tell me where you’ve been, Ustrar. Word was you were getting tired of the old stomping grounds and wanted to kick up dust in a new solar system."
"I got homesick." I held the shot glass without taking a drink. I wanted to make sure I was sober and heard everything. Maybe Quixar knew I had been in prison on Earth. Perhaps he didn’t. He didn’t just throw everything he knew out there right away. His style of conversation involved waiting for people to supply the details for him to see if they lined up with his first.
I knew because I did the same thing.
Quixar eyed Faye again. "You pick up your little souvenir while you were gone?"
White luminescent lines flashed like lightning across my hands.Control.I got myself to calm down and keep from slugging the bar owner for insulting Faye. What was with my reaction?
My own surprise welled up like an excited crowd at Wrigley Field. I never saw it coming, but there it was, this weird surge of protectiveness coursing through me like a shockwave. Faye was her own woman and could do whatever she wanted, yet somehow, I felt this strong urge to shield her from any trouble that came her way. Particularly the male kind.
Faye—I mean, Estelle—yawned. "Think I’ll go see what game they’re playing over there." She held her shot glass in her hand and used a slender pinky to show where she was headed. A bunch of space hub traders in shabby gear were tossing darts at a picture of a hairy gruntulox, a creature that was oddly like the pigs on farms I saw out in Illinois.
"Don’t wander too far." I massaged Faye’s shoulder. She smiled at me and pinched my cheek a little too hard before she sauntered off. Swing, swing, sway, sway, went her hips in those pants.
"Are you blushing, Ustrar?" Not much escaped Quixar’s small, keen eyes, to my humiliation.
"No. Just the blood rushing to my face. I haven’t had Malecor’s finest in a while." I blamed it on the booze and pretended to take a swig. "So what’s new? Are the old gangs still doing what they do best?"
Quixar took his shot in one fast gulp. "The xenite ore’s got them all fighting for a share now."
"Wasn’t it like that the last time I was here?"
"Things have changed. It’s not a gold rush anymore to see who can bag it first. Two companies are in on it."
"When you say companies, are we talking legit businesses?"
Quixar’s beard trembled as he laughed. "The only thing legit in Malecor is the years my bar’s been open."
I waited for him to tell me more.
He set his empty glass down. "Your old business partner hasn’t shown his face in the game for a long time. You know which one I’m talking about, the one who actually made bank on the ore."
"The one who’s really driven and name rhymes with it?"
Quixar snickered. "Yeah, him. His people pull on through every so often to get the ore. I never know which one’s which. I think he gets new people every time. He’s been attracting attention from a rival. Rumor has it they want him out of the picture."
Riven had competition? I wasn’t expecting to hear this. I kept my tone even, much like how Faye pretended to sound bored. "They got a name?"
The bar owner dismissed my question with a shrug of the shoulder. "Don’t know, but since I heard about it, I’ve seen less of Riven’s bunch round this way. If he’s their target, he must have something they want real bad."
I reached into my pocket and slipped a few large coins on the table. "Thanks for the drinks."
Quixar saw the extra tip I left. He nodded, accepting the payment, and melted back behind the counter. "Good seeing you, Ustrar. You might want to check on your star hopper. She looks like she’s having a fun time with the regulars."
