Page 90 of Star-Born Anomaly
“Definitely. But the general says you’re one to watch, and I’m inclined to agree.”
He took another bite, returning her scowl with a placid expression.
During his brief span on his own, he’d noted this Guardian had more security than most, scribes installed in the overhead at regular, one meter, intervals. The weapons lockers had double the protocols too, difficult to hack without his go-bag—which they hadn’t returned to him, and probably wouldn’t.
Getting rid of the tail for good would be difficult. Short of shoving her out an airlock, which he didn’t have the clearance for, he was stuck with her until she abandoned the task.
With a scrape of his fork, he scooped the last bite off his plate and shoved it in his mouth.
“This has been fun,” he said, standing. “We should do it again sometime.” He turned toward the reclamation unit on the back wall and strode between the other tables. Eyes lifted when he passed, taking in his uniform, then jumped to Biggs, who followed close behind.
Because of her, he was beingnoticed, and he hated that. His job,his life, depended on him blending in. The urge to take out everyone who’d seen his face in the past fifteen minutes bit at him.
If he couldn’t get away with one murder on this ship, then he definitely couldn’t get away with twenty.
The small door of the reclamation unit opened at the swipe of his PALM. He slid his dishes inside and strode casually to the exit without looking behind him. The soft thump of the colonel’s footsteps followed as he walked through the corridor, the scribes recording his every move.
His neck prickled at the feeling of the colonel’s eyes boring into his head. Defenders, both on duty and off, passed them by. The ones who had their visors transparent assessed him in a way that made Sawyer clench his jaw. He really needed to ditch her.
They passed by airlock accesses, and the murder scenario teased his thoughts again before he pushed it aside. He turned another corridor, one that led to a bank of lifts, then stopped.
Sawyer took a breath before he turned to confront her. “This really is a waste of your time, Colonel.”
She stopped in front of him, out of reach, her hand hovering over the AL-22 strapped to her thigh. “Not from where I’m standing. You were trying to access the ship’s systems using the galley’s interface.”
He gave her nothing. Not an answer or a twitch of expression. “Do you really think if I wanted to start some shit you could do something about it?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “General Cazin has the utmost confidence in my ability, or he wouldn’t have given me this assignment.”
True. But Sawyer wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of agreeing with her.
“He doesn’t trust you, and neither do I,” she went on calmly. “If it weren’t for the mandatory forty-eight, I would have you off this ship immediately.”
“You and me both.” He relaxed his posture and ran a hand over his head. “Look, I’ll make your life easier. I’ll stay in my quarters for the rest of my time. No babysitter needed.”
He didn’t wait for a response, but turned around and headed for the bank of lifts at a quick pace. When the door opened, he stepped in, hoping this was where he would leave the colonel behind. But she was only a half-step behind him and slid inside before the door closed.
He regarded her with a blank expression, and she returned it, unruffled.
“Deck thirty-two,” he said aloud, keeping her gaze.
She tipped her chin downward and crossed her arms over her chest.
So much fun.He bet she was a riot during the after-hours team-building regimen.
He glanced down at his PALM, calculating how many hours he had left of his false freedom, when the regular lighting in the lift abruptly dimmed. Red lights pulsed overhead.
The colonel’s shoulders tensed, and she lifted her PALM. Sawyer looked at his own, but was getting nothing other than a standard warning to return to quarters—a civilian-level message.
Standing this close to her, his eyes automatically skimmed the words materializing above her PALM. In the next moment, she engaged herhelmet. He wouldn’t be seeing anything now, all data and intel displayed through her ocular implant inside her visor. But he’d caught enough.
Single vessel approaching.
Presumed hostile aboard.
All defenders to battle stations.
Biggs slapped her PALM against the lift’s interior panel, overriding the system. The lift stopped, then reversed direction. Sawyer’s stomach swooped at the change in momentum.
