CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Throw him in the brig,” the captain ordered when they finally got Rylan back to the ship.
He hadn’t made it easy on them, getting him out of the restaurant. He’d ignored Mags’ gun on him, ready to tear the place apart when he realized Jaime was gone. She’d hit him with the gun butt a few times, and Garcia had jumped on his back, wrapping an arm around his neck in a surprisingly effective chokehold, until the doctor jabbed him in the leg with something that made his limbs weak and his vision blurry.
“Just look for Jaime,” he’d begged as they tied his arms with a length of rope the captain had bought from the restaurant, on top of the already large amount of money he’d thrown at them to cover the damages.
“Have you considered,” Garcia said, tightening the rope viciously, “that Jaime’s disappearance is very convenient? Like he didn’t want to get caught with you?”
Rylan’s head felt fuzzy, and it was hard to string words together, but he still tried. “No. Jaime’s not — he didn’t know.” He’d told Jaime as much of the truth as he dared, but the important part, the crucial detail that Rylan was still working for the Commonwealth — was in fact on a secret mission for them — was something he’d left out.
“Then he’s likely just as sick of you as we are. Betrayal’s not much of an aphrodisiac. Let’s go.”
The walk back to the ship had been blurry and involved a lot of Rylan falling down and Garcia cursing at him. His head cleared enough to register Kaz’s shocked face when they told her. Rylan was dumped on the floor of the cargo hold while they debated what to do with him. He stared desperately back at the dimming sky of the planet as the cargo bay doors were closed and sealed.
“We don’t have a brig,” Simi was saying. It sounded like she was near tears. “We’re not that kind of ship. At least we never used to be.”
“Lock him in his quarters?” Kaz said. She’d regained enough composure to scowl at Rylan.
Mags shook her head. “Not until we search it completely. There’s no telling what he might have in there.”
The captain raked a hand through his hair. “We’ll clear out one of the small cargo holds and lock him in there. Preferably one that’s soundproofed, so I don’t have to hear any more from him.”
“Then what?” Bo folded his arms. “We can’t keep him forever. For one thing, I don’t want to be emptying waste buckets.”
“He probably will need a bucket soon,” the doctor said, eyeing Rylan coolly. “That sedative causes nausea.”
“We could kill him,” Kaz said.
“What’s wrong with you, Kaz?” Simi cried. “Kill Rylan?”
“You said that’s not his name.”
“You could just kill someone? Any person?”
Kaz shrugged, glancing at Rylan and losing some of her bravado. “It’s an option, is all I’m saying.”
“If he is a Commonwealth agent,” Mags said, “it would likely cause more problems than it would solve.” She didn’t look at him with any hostility, but Rylan got the feeling she was also considering where to hide his body.
“One reason among many that we are not doing a fucking murder!” the captain shouted. He looked towards the ceiling and took a breath. “It’s so rare that I get to be the voice of reason. We’ll hold him until after the meet,” he continued more calmly. “Then we’ll leave him somewhere on the island. He can wander back into town on his own.”
“What?” Simi asked. “The deal’s still on?”
“Sebastian.” Mags sounded concerned. “It’s likely a trap. We should dump the goods. Or sell it somewhere else.”
He shook his head. “Our former crew mate Brian may have facilitated this job, but I’m the only one who’s been in contact with the buyers. Besides, I don’t even know what our cargo is. It’s tech, but so tech-y I have no idea where we’d sell it. No, the meet goes ahead, but in a new location. Some place more secure.”
“Because you lot are so good about security,” a new voice said.
Everyone spun around. Rylan rolling over on the floor so sharply he thought he might need that bucket.
Standing in the doorway was the man from the restaurant, the bounty hunter Xin. He seemed unconcerned with the guns immediately trained on him.
“How did you get onboard?” the captain barked.
“Jimmied my way in around your landing struts,” Xin said. “Made a bit of a mess with my laser cutter, I admit. Might want to see to it.”
“Do we not have any alarms?” Garcia said as he looked upwards. “Dub? An intruder alert would be nice.”
“Oh, I had a little chat with your ship while I was doing the breaking and entering,” Xin said. “One-sided of course — I’m no wizard — but it seemed only polite. Kept saying I was here to help Jaime. Seems like it believed me.”
“Jaime?” Rylan croaked from the floor.
Xin cocked his head at him. “A little worse for wear it seems, but they didn’t kill you. I was right about that.” He looked at the others, face turning grim. “I nabbed Jaime, took him out of Nemo’s with a gun. We were just on the outskirts of town when a group of Purists found us. They have him.”
Garcia holstered his gun and stalked up to Xin. “What exactly is your angle here?”
Xin gave a half-smile. “The bounty was for a live wizard, not a dead one.” Garcia kept staring at him. It was Xin who looked away first. “Look, I’m fond of Jaime, all right?” He ran a hand through his black hair. “Yeah, I was planning to turn him in for the money, but to the authorities. What the Purists will do to him… well, it won’t be pretty by any means.”
“You didn’t—” Rylan tried to pull himself up onto his knees, his words slurring. “You left him with them? You didn’t fight.”
Xin looked stung. “There were six of them. All armed. Not much good it’d do Jaime if I got killed right there.”
“What good is it doing him now?” Garcia asked.
“I put a tracker on him,” Xin said smugly. “And then I ran like fuck to find you lot. Figured you might be better equipped to put together a rescue party.” He looked at them. Garcia turned away to rub his chin. Rylan tried to keep his eyes focused. Everyone else seemed to be waiting. “Well?” Xin said.
“Captain Garcia.” Rylan tried to speak as clearly as he could manage. “I know you have no reason to believe me, but please, Jaime had nothing to do with my actions. He doesn’t deserve—”
“Shut up,” Garcia whirled around to loom over him. “Just stop talking. What in human history makes you think anyone ever gets what they deserve? Terrible things happen, good people suffer, hard work goes unrewarded. That is the nature of fucking existence.” He rubbed wearily at his face. “Dr. Stevenson, can you reverse whatever you gave him? Or at least stop the drooling?”
“Oh,” the doctor said, surprised. She started rummaging in her bag. “I should be able to—”
“Good, get him on his feet. Simi, Kaz, make sure the ship is ready to fly. Bo, find some maps of this island.” He pointed at Xin. “You, let’s see this tracker. And Mags? Get out more weapons — the really nasty ones you save for special occasions.”
Mags inclined her head towards Xin. “You trust him?”
“Of course not. I don’t trust any of them. Even a whiff of a trap and we’re running. But right now, Jaime’s still a part of our crew.” He looked down at Rylan with hard eyes. “And regardless of what he deserves, I will move heaven and earth to get him back.”