Two seconds after he walked into the med-bay, Dante knew something was wrong. Tyra’s shoulders were slumped, and she moved as if someone had turned the gravity up.

He was at her side in seconds, and when he put his hand on her shoulder, all he could feel was tension. “What happened?”

“Trin came by.” She looked up at him with a haunted expression that drove a spike into his heart. They’d been through so much together, but he’d never seen her like this.

“What did she say to you?” He briefly considered the consequences of yelling at a superior officer and decided it would be worth it.

“Easy, Muscles. She was just the messenger. Oran’s the asshole.”

“Details. Now. I need to know what he did so I know how hard to deck him.”

“Not every problem can be solved with your fists.”

“Want to bet?” he asked with a grin.

“Not really, no.”

“Sorry, bad joke. Tell me what Oran’s done.”

“According to Trinity, he’s a corporate spy. It looks like his family pulled all sorts of fraxxing strings to get him assigned to my team so he could report back to them about what Bellex was up to. Trinity is grilling him now. She came by to give me the heads up before she confronted him, in case I could think of any threads she could pull.”

“Trinity is too nice.” He tapped his fist against one thigh in frustration. “Maybe I should be there, too. What family does he work for?”

“He’s related to the Bardeaux family.” She finally leaned into his touch, and a little of her tension eased as she cracked a hint of a smile. “It’s weirdly sweet that you want to break him for me, but I don’t want you to do that. In fact, I’m pretty sure that level of activity would be a violation of your doctor’s orders to take it easy. We already pushed the limits on that rule last night.”

“I’m fine, Shortcake. Being with you was the best medicine in the galaxy.” He lifted his hand to stroke her hair. “Seems to me like you’re the one who needs some TLC right now. What can I do?”

“You could start by explaining why you didn’t tell me Livvy was the one who sent you into that trap.”

“With everything going on, it must have slipped my mind.”

“Try again. You were sitting around my med-bay for the better part of two days bored out of your mind. You had plenty of time to tell me. I want to know why you didn’t.”

He gave a sheepish shrug. “I knew it would upset you. I was trying to find a good time to tell you about Livvy, but you’ve been working so hard, and then last night…” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I wanted last night to be special, so I didn’t mention it then, either.”

“I wish you had. Finding out from Trinity right after she told me about Oran was a real gut punch.” She leaned back in her chair and uttered a low, frustrated sigh. “I thought I could trust them, but Livvy betrayed you, and for all I know Oran is the reason my team is dead.”

He dropped into a crouch beside her, his hand moving to the nape of her neck, beneath her ponytailed hair. “Cool your boosters and take it out of hyperdrive for a minute. We don’t know anything for sure yet. One of the first rules of being an investigator - don’t get ahead of the facts.”

“I know Oran’s a liar who, at the very least, risked ruining Boundless’ reputation. Bellex would have never allowed any of us to set foot on the planet if they’d known his real reasons for being there. Those are the facts, Dante. Just like we know Livvy set you up.”

“If you find her. Trin said there’s been no sign of her since the night you got hurt.

“Which is strange. Even if she sold me out, I would have expected her to go back to her crew at least once to gather her things.” It had taken him a while to see it because he’d been angry about what she’d done to him, but it was like an itch in the back of his mind. The only home she knew was the slums of District Twelve. In that world, she had a place carved out for herself, along with a family of sorts. He couldn’t see her walking away from that so easily. “We will find her. We’re Nova Force, remember? This is what we do best.”

“This might be what you do best, but we both know I’m not really Nova Force. I’m a temporary addition to the team.”

“You might be temporary, but that doesn’t mean you’re not a full member of this screwy crew.” He massaged the back of her neck, trying to ease some of the tension there.

“I’ll feel more like one of the team when I have something of value to contribute.”

He rose to his feet and moved in behind her, using both hands to massage her neck and shoulders. “You don’t consider saving my life to be a contribution to the team?”

“Blink and Sabre saved your life. Trip and I just patched you up after the fact.”

“Don’t do that, Shortcake,” he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“Do what?”

“Downplay the truth. I’ve talked to the others. I know what shape I was in when they found me, and who walked them through every step of my treatment. Everyone, including Trip, told me the same thing. If you hadn’t been here, I’d probably be dead.”

She twisted around to look up at him, a move that put her lips tantalizingly close to his. “They would have saved you.”

“Maybe. But even Caldwell says he couldn’t have done what you did, and he’s almost as cocky as Erben.” He stole a kiss before straightening again. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“You saved mine twice.”

He gently circled his thumbs around the twin knots on either side of her spine. “And I’ll keep doing it, too. For as long as I’m in your life, I’m going to do all I can to keep you safe.”

“You know, a few weeks ago I would have laughed and told you I didn’t need anyone’s protection. Oh, how times have changed.” She pushed back against his hands in a clear invitation for him to press harder.

“The galaxy didn’t change. It’s always been a dangerous place. You’re just looking at it from a new perspective.”

“Not a new perspective, an old one. I allowed myself to forget some important life lessons. I won’t do that again.”

He didn’t like the hard note in her voice, or the regret that weighed down every word. He didn’t know what to say, though, so he continued to soothe her the only way he could. He massaged and caressed her shoulders until the muscles finally started to soften, and every time he was tempted to kiss her or let the massage turn into something more sensual, he resisted.

“That really is helping. Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” The words came automatically, but he was surprised to realize how much he was enjoying taking care of her. His frustration and anger at the way the debriefing had gone had dissipated, leaving him relaxed and thinking clearly again. With that clarity came the realization he needed to tell her what Downs had said about Nico. He couldn’t wait for a better moment. Not again. “I know I’m about to undo all my work on your neck by mentioning this, but something came up during my meeting with Downs and Everest.”

“What now?” Her tone was level, but he could feel her tension return.

“They accused me of removing corporate property from the planet. An asset. Downs rattled off a long identification number, and I told her I had no idea what she was referring to. Everest had to clarify she was talking about Nico.”

She froze. “They called him an asset?”

“Yeah. I didn’t like it either, and I told them as much. I uh, may have dented the table while making that point, actually.”

“I’m sorry I missed it. Did she even blink? I swear that woman is more robotic than the droids on this ship.”

“She blinked, so I think she’s human.” Another detail struck him. “It was the first time Everest showed some backbone, too. He took over while she sat there and gaped at me.”

“Chad did? Mister easy-go-lucky, I’m here to play the good guy?”

“Yeah. There’s something up with him.”

“My father used to call men like him snake oil salesman.”

“What’s snake oil? No, on second thought, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. It sounds revolting…and slimy.”

“I have no idea, either.” She gave a small shudder and then tipped her head back to look up at him. “What else did they say about Nico?”

“I made it clear he’s a material witness and under our protection until the investigation ends. They made it clear they want him back the moment he’s served his purpose.”

“We can’t send him back there.”

“I don’t plan on it. They gave us some valuable intel today, though. I’ll get Magi to run the recording of the interview and pull Nico’s ID number. Soon, we’ll know everything they do about the kid. Maybe he’s got relatives who can take him in, or at least pay off his debts. We’ll find a way to protect him, Tyra.”

She bowed her head and sighed. “We’d better. Bellex has to be involved in all this, which means that boy will end up testifying against the people who own him.”

He tried to squeeze her shoulders in comfort, but it was like caressing a marble statue. “I know. We’ll think of something.”

She started to say something, but one of the machines behind them chimed. He looked and saw a bank of green lights beneath the monitor.

“Finally.” She ducked out from beneath his hands and bounded out of her chair, nearly colliding with him in her hurry. “Out of my way, Muscles. Those are the results we’ve been waiting for.”

Tyra focused on the new results, shoving everything else aside for now. Please don’t be a dead end. I need a win right now.

She tapped a screen, and streams of data flowed across it. There was too much for her to process, so she tapped a few more keys and flicked her fingers toward an empty space in the middle of the room. A projection shimmered into existence, the data reorganized into graphs and images.

“What does all this mean?” Dante asked, waving a hand through the projections.

“I need more time to put it all together, but here’s the short version.” She pointed to two bar graphs. “The one on the left is the chemical analysis of the cobalt sample you retrieved. The graph on the right is a breakdown of the pharma known as crimson, another designer drug that left a string of broken minds and dead bodies in its path, until Corp-Sec and the IAF had finally broken up the drug cartels creating and trafficking the drug.

---

This particular sample was one of the first to be confiscated and analyzed before anyone knew how much of a problem it was going to be. Do you see the similarities?”

“Crimson?” he eyed the images. “Why crimson? And how can they be so alike if they cause different reactions? Crimson was a hallucinogenic, wasn’t it?”

“It was. But taken in too large a dose, or too often, it could trigger a psychotic break that made the user extremely violent. They were a danger to themselves and anyone around them, and most overdoses resulted in a permanent comatose state or death.”

“Which is what Markson reported was happening on Bellex 3. That was part of my original briefing. Because of that, when I first got to the planet, I was looking for the wrong fraxxing signs.”

“Markson was right, though. They are remarkably similar.” She moved to the center of the projection, organizing the images, zooming in on some, moving others, and discarding several more until she had what she needed set out around her. “These are both one hundred percent synthesized pharma, and they share too many elements to have been made separately.”

Surrounded by the data, she saw confirmation of her theories and expanding on them for Dante. “In fact. If I had to guess, I’d say that this is an earlier version of the same basic formula. What if both of these drugs were created by the same group? When crimson didn’t produce the desired result, they gave the formula to the cartels to sell as recreational pharma. Cobalt came later, and it did exactly what they wanted it to do – made their workforce more obedient and malleable.”

“You can see all that in this mumbo jumbo?” Dante asked, then walked into the middle of the projection, lifted her into his arms, and kissed her. “You’re amazing. Have I mentioned that lately?”

“I’m really not. Anyone with the right training could have done the same thing.”

“Yeah, well, I think you’re amazing.” He frowned. “And I thought I told you to stop being so damned dismissive of your abilities.”

“It’s called being modest. You should try it sometime,” she retorted, allowing herself a moment’s enjoyment. This was real progress, and once she’d had a chance to review the finer points of the results, she was confident she’d have what the others would call actionable intel. After all the bad news this day had brought, she would happily take this win.

He grinned, flashing his fangs at her. “Nuh uh. Modesty and humility are not Nova Force traits.”

“I never would have guessed.”

He drew her in for another slow, toe-curling kiss before lowering her back to the ground, letting their bodies slide over each other all the way down. “You ready to let the others know what you’ve learned?”

“Soon. I need to go over the data first. I don’t want to miss anything.” She was tempted to ask him to stay, but that wasn’t a good idea. She needed to do this herself, with no distractions. That thought was quickly followed by a flash of understanding. This was how Dante felt when he had tried to put some distance between them.

“I should leave you to it. Want me to let the others know you’ll be putting together a briefing for later today?” Dante asked.

“Please. You’ll talk to Magi, too, right?”

“He’s my next stop. If I know him, he’s monitoring Trinity’s interview with Castille. I can see how that’s going and give you an update before the briefing.”

“Perfect.” She looked up and blew him a kiss. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Shortcake. Truly.” He leaned down and kissed her, then left her to finish her work.

Once he was gone, she continued going through the data, compiling the highlights and key facts in a single file so she could add them to her report. Even while she worked, part of her mind focused on another problem: Nico. How could she and the others protect him? What would it take to get him away from Bellex? They thought of him as chattel, a thing to be possessed. The corporations had marked all the cyborgs with barcodes, and now they were inserting chips into human beings.

It had to stop.

Two hours later, she stood in the briefing room and shared her findings with the team. Kurt, Aria, and Cris were still on the surface, but they were present via an encrypted comm-link Magi had declared completely secure. When she was done, everyone started talking at once, all of them enthused with what they’d just heard.

“Do we know who’s making the drug?” Dax asked.

“Unfortunately, no. It would take days, maybe weeks, to run that kind of comparison, and that’s if we limited it to this part of the galaxy. Even then, I’m not sure we’d find what we needed.”

“Why not?” Cris asked.

Tyra called up a map of the system to help make her next point. “Because as much as I wanted this to be all Bellex’s doing, I don’t believe they were in it alone. They build ships. It’s what they’re good at. Creating mind-altering drugs requires a very different kind of knowledge, highly trained experts, and well-equipped labs.” She gestured to the star map. “There’s nothing like that anywhere in this system. Magi checked their employment records, too. Bellex doesn’t employ anyone with that level of training. It just doesn’t make sense they were doing this on their own, and if they had a secret partner…” She gestured to the map. “It’s a big cosmos.”

“So, you think this place was chosen as a testing ground, and Bellex agreed to it?” Dax asked.

“I do. What I don’t understand is who this other party is, and why Bellex is working with them. Corporations are notoriously suspicious of each other. Who could they be in league with?”

Everyone fell silent and one by one they turned to look at Dax. When the silence stretched out, Dante rose from his seat and came to stand beside her. “She needs to know, sir.”

“What do I need to know? I thought I’d been briefed on everything relevant to his investigation.”

Dax nodded. “You were. But if what you’re postulating is right, then this mission just overlapped with a larger problem. If we read you in, you won’t be able to discuss what you learn with anyone who isn’t a member of this team. Your life might depend on it.”

“I understand.”

Dax stared at her. “Not yet you don’t, but you will soon. Erben, add a note to her file indicating that Dr. Li is being read in on the existence of the Gray Men.” Everyone leaned in, and a hush fell over the room. “A few months ago, we were on another assignment, investigating the theft of DNA from a military base. The details of that investigation are classified, but we uncovered the existence of a secret group, the Gray Men. We don’t know much about them, yet. They’re wealthy, powerful, and some of them are members of the various corporations. They’ve been around a while, too. Decades, likely.”

“And you think this secret faction could be the ones who created cobalt and crimson? What else have they done? Why hasn’t Nova Force put a stop to them?”

“We’re still putting it all together,” Dax said.

“Which isn’t easy when the bastards keep killing anyone we get close to,” Dante grumbled. Then his head snapped up. “Fraxx. Do you think that’s what that asshole meant when he said that running wasn’t an option for him? The Gray Men aren’t kind to those they think failed them.”

“It’s a possibility. Your report mentioned that the leader said the people he answered to don’t like mess. That sounds like the Grays, too.” Dax rapped his knuckles on the table. “But it’s not enough to prove anything. Not yet. So, find me proof, and until then, keep your eyes open and your asses covered.”

“You said it would take days or weeks to run a comparison. Was there something in that sample with a relatively unique signature? Something I could scan for from here? The cosmos may be big, but Bellex 3 isn’t,” Magi said.

Tyra considered his question. “I think so. I’ll send you the breakdown after the briefing and you can feed the information to the computer. Minute samples wouldn’t be enough to trigger a hit, but if they’re stockpiling cobalt somewhere, it could give us a location. To keep so many people dosed, they have to have a large supply of it somewhere close. If we can find a storage site, maybe that will give us a clue as to how the hell they’re distributing the stuff.”

Erik rubbed his hands together and cracked a gleeful smile. “I’ve already been borrowing Bellex’s satellites to look for Livvy. Speaking of which, Bellex finally handed over her file.” He looked at Dax. “Shall I?”

“Do you have anything else to report, Dr. Li?”

She shook her head and reclaimed her seat, as did Dante. “I’m all out of intel.”

“Alright, Magi, you’re up. Tell the others what we know.”

Magi tapped the screen of his data tablet, and Tyra’s display vanished, replaced by an image of a young girl with a bright smile. “This is Olivia Worth. Age, fifteen years. Parents deceased. Her file was earmarked for ‘retrieval and training’ once she reached sixteen years old, which happens in a couple of weeks. According to her file, she will be required to work off her parents’ debts, which total more than one hundred thousand dollars once the interest is factored in.”

“Interest?” Tyra was horrified. Livvy wasn’t a good person by any stretch of the imagination, but no one deserved what Bellex was doing here.

“Her parents died eight years ago. These bastards have been charging her interest on her parents’ debt until she’s old enough to start working it off.”

Tyra stared at him. “Why is this allowed to happen?”

“It isn’t. Indentured service is allowed, but charging interest on the debts is not.” Dax stated. “Bellex screwed up when they gave us that file. It proves they’re breaking the law. Erben, send a copy of that to HQ and tag the relevant passages. I don’t want us getting sidetracked from our mission, but this needs to be looked into.”

“Yes, sir.” He tapped the screen once. “And…done.”

“Show off,” Dante muttered under his breath.

“Am not. I’m just efficient…and better than you,” Eric replied.

“Children…” Dax’s voice rumbled in warning, and it was all Tyra could do not to laugh. Even in the midst of dark news, the team still found a way to hold onto a little light.

Dante didn’t say another word, he merely glowered at Eric as he methodically cracked the knuckles of his right hand.

She leaned in and set her hand on Dante’s back. “Behave. You’re still on light duty. No kicking ass until I give you the green light.”

He looked down at her with affection. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Holy fraxx. She’s done the impossible,” Kurt said.

“They have to be pranking us. Magi, are you messing with the feed?” Aria demanded.

“Nope. That was live and recorded for posterity.” Magi could barely speak between gales of laughter.

Dante folded his arms across his chest and straightened, somehow making himself look even more massive than usual. “Laugh while you can. When I’m back on duty, I am going to kick all your asses.”

“And he’ll have my permission to do it,” Dax added. “Or do you think I’ve forgotten about the crap you put me through when Trin and I were figuring things out?”

The snickering and laughter stopped instantly.

“Do you have anything else to add, Erben?” Dax asked.

“One more thing. Thanks to Dante, we now have more information on Nico. I uh…acquired his file a little while ago, and no, you do not want to ask me how I did it, Commander.”

“Right. What did you learn?”

“Not much.” Eric waved his hand and the image of Livvy – Olivia – shimmered and vanished, to be replaced with a picture of younger and far happier looking Nico. “Meet Nicolas Martinez. Age eleven. Like Livvy, he’s an orphan with no listed next of kin. His debt load is also accruing interest, and by the time he comes of age, he’ll owe Bellex at least thirty-five years of labor to pay it back.”

“They can’t have him back.” The words left her lips before she could stop herself.

“We’re working on that,” Dax said. “None of us want him setting foot on that planet again.”

“Especially now we suspect the Grays are involved. They don’t leave loose ends.” Trinity said.

Dante wrapped an arm around her and hugged her to his side. “I’m not going to let anything happen to him, Shortcake. You have my word.”

She believed him. She didn’t know what the future held for her and Dante, or even for herself once this was over, but when it came to this, she was certain. Dante would protect Nico to his last breath, and so would she.