An Unexpected Debt – Chapter 28

“So, you’ve quit the tournament?” India Dellis’s eyebrows pull together, and she leans back. “But you beat Richard and me today. Thoroughly.”

She sips on her martini, and I try to nurse my glass of wine. I already feel like crap from crying most of this afternoon, and I don’t want to make it worse. Crying is not very Skylar-like, and I’m not used to this drain of emotions, this slog through life after having bawled my eyes out. I should be in bed, but India’s invitation left no wiggle room. I took a hot shower and put ice packs on my eyes to stop the swelling. At least tomorrow, I can return to the Amagi and sleep in my own bed.

“Sorry about that,” I say, wincing. “Play to win, though. Am I right?” I shrug.

“Of course, you’re right. That’s the way it should be,” India responds before draining a third of her martini.

“Then why did my partner lose hands he shouldn’t have? That’s the eternal question.” I raise my glass in a mock toast, and India’s frown returns.

“You’re telling me Takemo lost hands on purpose?” Her eyes are wide, and her mouth drops open.

“There’s no other explanation,” I say, taking a sip of wine. “I played based on our mutual understandings, and he played in some other fantasy land. I’m not sure why except maybe to humiliate me.”

“Do you think that’s a real possibility?” she asks.

I nod and push my lips out. “He thinks I’m some dumb bitch who can’t take care of herself or her family business. I doubt we’ll be working together ever again.”

“Ah, about that,” she says, setting her martini glass down on the table.

Uh oh. My skin prickles with a premonition.

India smiles and sweeps her hands out. “Skylar, you know who my sister is.”

I nod and try to swallow through the lump in my throat. Her sister is Renata Dellis, CEO of Athens Industries, the largest corporation in the Duo Systems. India runs a smaller corporation too, Patras Agriculture, the company that originally invested in the jump rings that get us from one system to another, but now it’s a farming conglomerate.

“So it won’t come as a surprise to you that I know a lot about you,” she continues.

Breathe, Skylar. Breathe.

“I know you’re not some dumb bitch. You’re whip-smart, cunning, and resourceful.”

I blink a few times, surprised she has this opinion of me.

She waves her hand. “I don’t listen to rumors. Rumors are a sign of jealousy, and that means I need to do my own investigative work. More people should do the same.” She shrugs. “It’s a shame your mother made the decisions she did based on false information. A real shame.”

“Thanks,” I whisper.

“So, let’s get straight to it. Vivian sent in your DNA sample the other day. You don’t get sick when you ingest any of the Rio plants.”

I shake my head. “I’ve only taken two now, but no. Not sick either time.”

“Any side effects at all?” she asks. I shake my head. India’s smile widens. “I’d like to offer you a job.”

Oh shit. Here we go. I grab my bag and prepare to get to my feet when she holds out her hands.

“Don’t go anywhere until I’m done talking. Please,” she begs. It’s not every day a Dellis begs, so I sigh and plop my butt back in my seat. I push the wine away and drink from the glass of water instead. I should be sober for this.

“You know what we’re doing on Rio. You’ve seen Vivian’s plants.”

“Yes, I have.” I nod and cross my arms over my chest.

Athens Industries is in a race against the military to find the most profitable plants from Rio, ones they can use to grow a whole new world. Athens wants to start a galactic empire, and I suppose I don’t blame them. After the military nearly wiped us all out, people like India and Renata Dellis decided our future was too precious to leave it to the military elite anymore.

But the Rio plants make most people sick. They may experience amazing things like prescient dreams or telekinesis or shape-shifting or enhanced memories or even teleportation, but they become sick from ingesting them. And then there are the pairs. Everything on Rio comes in pairs, animals and plants together. Through Vivian’s investigative work, we also know humans have Rio plant pairs too. You’re less likely to be sick if you ingest your own plant, the one you’re paired with. Vivian and Ken were both lucky to find their pairs, and they don’t get sick. Instead, they feel drugged and drained after. I haven’t found my pair. Even if I were looking for it, it would be like finding a grain of sand on a beach. Next to impossible.

But I have never felt sick with any plant.

“I think you must suspect you’re special somehow,” India continues. “You could be very valuable to our mission if you’ll work with us.”

Considering the financial state I’m currently in, this whole speech intrigues me. “Go on,” I prompt her.

“We have some expeditions running here on Rio. Full teams are down there in the jungles right now, trekking and testing, but it’s an arduous process. First, we have to sneak past the blockades. And then all of our first testers become so sick eventually that they end up in the hospital. We have to cycle people in and out constantly, which is next to impossible with the military throwing up roadblocks at every entry point. So, I need a plant guide to test the favorable candidates. Someone I can count on to keep going without getting sick.”

“You need to be faster than the military,” I point out.

“Yes. Much faster.” She turns her smile back on. “I can make it worth your while.”

I sit back and drum my fingers on the table. Out a nearby window, the sunny morning has turned into a cloudy and rainy early evening. Typical Rio weather. Hot and muggy, cloudy and rainy. Do I want to spend my days in the jungles of Rio, fearing for my life? There’s nothing sedate about Rio’s jungles. Pretty much everything in them can kill you. I’m a pilot, not an explorer.

I turn back to India. “Tell me about your deal with Takemo Diaz. I saw you leaving his office.”

“You did. I didn’t think you recognized me.”

“I didn’t right then, but…” I shrug. “You’re a hard one to forget.”

“Better believe it,” she drawls, lifting an eyebrow. We both chuckle. I kind of like her. She’s just a little bit evil, like me. “Diaz Waste Management is looking to expand. They want to do heavy cargo hauling. It’s one of Takemo’s grand ideas.” She rolls her eyes. “I won’t pretend it’s not a good idea because it is. Waste management and trash hauling are long-term losers as we work towards recycling everything we make or consume. It’s good to diversify.”

I don’t tell her Takemo is diversified, what with his other companies. She probably already knows.

“So we’ve contracted him to ship some of our specialty machines from Avenal to Rio. We have…” She pauses and waves her hand in the air. “You know, things like tanks, diggers, loggers. Heavy machinery for dealing with a jungle.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “You’re not going to strip the jungle dry, are you?”

She laughs, throwing her head back.

“Because I may look like one of those carefree and vapid airheads,” I continue, “but I do not want to be involved in the death of an ecosystem.”

“Nothing like that,” she says, holding up her hand. “I assure you. This planet will never be tamed. The machinery is so people don’t die.” She clears her throat. “We’ve had enough of that already.”

“How many?” I ask, my blood running cold.

She sighs. “We’ve lost over four hundred people now, in two years. Between jungle accidents and attacks and skirmishes with the military and reactions to the plants.”

I close my eyes. That’s a lot of death and many ways to die. Too many.

“I don’t know,” I say, shaking my head. “I do have a bit of a death wish, seeing as my life is upside down and nothing has worked out for me. But this? This is far from my destiny, Ms. Dellis. I’m supposed to be flying, not trekking through the jungle.”

She looks me dead in the eye. “This is your destiny, Skylar. You’re supposed to be there.”

The moment freezes, and my breath holds still in my chest.

No. It can’t be. How is she so sure?

“Call me India… or Indie. I don’t care. Just don’t say no.”

I press my lips together. She leans forward.

“I’ll pay you two million credits upfront. Then two hundred thousand credits per month as long as you live. You can quit whenever after you fulfill a three-month contract.”

I blow out my held breath. “Are you fucking with me?”

“No. But I have one condition.” She raises a finger. “You finish the Bridge tournament. Show Takemo Diaz that you are not some simpering idiot. Because you’ll be working together, and I want him to respect you and listen to you.”

Great. I was hoping to leave Takemo behind after this tournament.

“I want him to fear me,” I mumble, reaching for my water.

“That too,” she says with a chuckle.

My prescient dream showed me a final hand with a woman I haven’t seen yet in the tournament. I could walk away now and never have that memory come true.

But I don’t think time works that way. Time slips forward and backward, in and out. It’s not something I control. It controls me.

I stick my hand out. “Deal.”

We shake on it, and I raise my wine glass, finally able to drink.

“India,” I say and sip.

“Skylar,” she drawls in return.

Then we laugh.