But her gut told her he was being straight with her.
“You’ll be spending some time in our brig until we can look into this matter. Plan on having several in depth discussions over the next few days.”
He set his jaw and looked away. “Do what you need to do, A-Com.”
“Is there anything else you’d like to say before I summon your escort?”
“There are two things.”
“I’m all ears, Telon.”
“My name is Sno. You can dispense with this Telon crap.”
“Snow? Like the white stuff that falls on Ithis?”
“Sno. Three letters,” he clarified “So, first point, you didn’t ask what I observed about your assailant. Unless you’ve already concluded that I’m lying through my teeth.”
He was right. She parked herself on the SecCom desk. “Fine. What can you tell me about my assailant?”
“He’s a member of your team.”
“That’s a pretty damning accusation,” she snapped.
He gave a lopsided nod. “I know.”
“Do you have concrete evidence?”
“Only circumstantial.”
“Then let’s move on. What’s the other ‘important thing’ you need to tell me?”
He extended his long legs and pushed back into his chair, his black eyes shading darker. “The Purmian duke and duchess, along with their sole heir, were executed by the Rathskians.”
Dek’s head came up and her mouth went lax. A chill swept through her body. “What?”
“I got word just prior to this all going down.”
“Executed,” Dek repeated under her breath. The Network’s strongest allies…gone.
“Eventually.” Sno’s gaze shifted with unease. “It wasn’t quick, Dek. And it wasn’t clean. The Rathskians aren’t known for their mercy.” The way he bit off those last words was telling. He wasn’t giving her all the gory details. He didn’t have to. She knew what the Rathskians were capable of. She’d experienced it, firsthand.
She shook off that memory, zeroed in on the implication of his words. “How did you get word of this?”
“Through my channels.”
“You have offsite communications?”
“Yes. It’s mission essential that I do.” He eased out his breath. “I came looking for you as soon as I got word about Purmia, though I expected to find you resting in your quarters, not performing reconnaissance from a rooftop.”
She gave him a look.
His eyes went as dark as a moonless night. “You realize how serious this is. What the implications are?”
“Of course I realize.”
The universe had just quaked, and she was reeling trying to get a read on the magnitude. For now, she had to focus on her tiny corner of the cosmos, and that meant dealing with Sno.
The fact he had access to offsite communications was damning and had to be dealt with immediately. Though she was inclined to believe him, she needed to put a stop to his connection to the outside world, at least until the evidence proved him innocent. “I’ll be confiscating your com equipment and securing you in detention.”
“Understood.” He unstrapped his wristcom without protest and offered it to her. “What about my partner? Will she be thrown in the brig, too?”
“You’ll be separated for the interim.” At his alarmed look, she added, “I’ll be taking custody of her, personally.”
He gave her a look of appreciation. “Thank you for that, Dek.”
She clicked her wristcom and ordered Officers Ferris and Hezzel to report. Then her focus settled on him once more. “You asked about my name. They call me Dek because my given name is Dekessa. Someday you’ll have to tell me why you were named Sno.”
The tension in his face eased a notch or two. “Someday…I will.”
Their gazes met across the room. There was no avoidance in his eyes, no deception. But there was something else…
She looked toward the door when her men entered and got to her feet. Once Telon—Sno—was secured in detention, she had a lot of work to do.
6
General X no longer acknowledged her StatReps. She could imagine the chaos the Network leader must be dealing with at present. The fall of Purmia. The confusion, the fear, the scramble for resources. She just prayed his silence wasn’t for more ominous reasons.
For now, and until she heard otherwise, Dek’s priority was Site D.
In the two days since Sno had been sent to the brig, Dek’s concerns about his claim had elevated. If he wasn’t the figure she’d spied near the dig, who was?
The site was secure, and with the impenetrable infrasound perimeter in place, no one could’ve gained access to Site D from the outside. That meant his allegation that the culprit was someone already on location seemed plausible.
But in her mind, plausible and acceptable were two different things.
She seriously doubted any of the paleontologists were capable of dropping her. That narrowed it down to two options. One, a member of her team, as he’d said. That was still a troubling possibility. Some of her team no doubt resented her role as a-com, but punching her would be a violation of their unspoken code, and career suicide, besides. If they were caught.
And that left the only other option as Sno himself.
Her gut said no—and she couldn’t believe he’d punch her—but she just didn’t want to acknowledge the other answer to this multiple-choice question. She couldn’t get her head around the idea of a member of her own team attacking her.
Cassie cooed from her shoulder, and Dek ran her hand down the creature’s soft fur in reassurance. “Yes, we’re going back to visit your friend, girl.”
The bio-construct had been remarkably well-behaved upon moving into Dek’s quarters three nights past. Dek had set up the granule box and poured a handful of kibble into her dish, just as Sno had instructed, and Cassie seemed to immediately accept that this was her new norm.
She’d scouted Dek’s small quarters before peering out the window for a time but hadn’t caused any mischief. Then the little golden fluffball had curled up on her bunk without another peep. Cassie looked so comfortable when Dek turned in that she didn’t have the heart to relocate her to her crate. She’d allowed Sno’s partner to sleep on her bed the two nights since. Okay, she was a pushover when it came to those big, sad amber eyes.
Dek was met with a disapproving frown from Garr as she approached detention with Cassie parked on her shoulder.
“You still have that thing?” he sniped.
“Temporarily. How’s the detainee?”
“Quiet. Fortunately for him.”
She ignored the low threat in Sergeant Garr’s tone, until he refocused his belligerence in her direction. “Why don’t you let one of the men give it a go, A-Com? Doesn’t seem you’re getting anywhere with this guy. And we all know he’s guilty as Hades.”
She inwardly bristled. Questioning her tactics? Challenging her authority?
“I’ll be having another word with him, Sergeant.” Ignoring Garr’s subtle attempt at a body block, she soldiered by him to enter the observation area of the brig, closing the door behind her with a pronounced click.