“Portable sound dampener. I thought it would make it easier to talk.”
She gave him a knowing smile that made him think about kissing her again. “While making sure we’re not overheard?”
“Exactly.”
She ate a few more bites, then asked him the same question she’d asked earlier. “Why don’t they trust you?”
He took a sip of wine. “Because before I worked for Nova Force, I worked against them.”
Her fork hovered mid-way between her plate and her lips. “What?”
He pointed to the data-port behind his ear. “I was a hacker. Part of a loosely affiliated group of cyber-jockeys who were trying to make a difference. At least, that’s what we thought we were doing. We stole secrets and outed them to the public. Corporations, governments, the IAF. It didn’t matter who they were.”
“You got caught.”
He nodded. “I got caught, but I wasn’t alone. Hacking was a family business. I learned it from my dad. What I did with him wasn’t as noble, but it made sure we lived well and could afford the best implants on the black market.”
“Your mother allowed this to happen?”
Eric snorted. “It was the family business, Nyx. She knew what my father was when she married him. She was an engineer on Hadfield station, where I grew up. Hadfield wasn’t much different from this one - older, worn down, and in constant need of repairs. Some of the money dad made got channeled into Mom’s repair budget. She would have liked me to become an engineer like her, but…” He shrugged.
“But honest work didn’t pay nearly as well?”
He watched her expression, looking for judgment or condemnation, and found neither. “Not nearly as well. And I thought I could make a difference.”
“Did you?” she asked.
The question surprised him. No one had asked him that before. He thought about it a moment. “I think I did. But it came at too high a price. Especially the bit where my dad and I wound up facing prison sentences.”
She cocked her head thoughtfully. “They offered you a deal, didn’t they?”
”They did. Colonel Divya Bahl paid me a visit the day before our trial. If I joined the IAF and made it through basic training I’d be transferred to Nova Force and put to work. I’d get probation, but more importantly, if I held up my end of the deal, they’d arrange for my dad to get a reduced sentence and transfer him to a prison colony on a farming planet. No cells. No guards.” At the time, he’d agreed because he’d had no choice. Now, he was grateful for the offer. It had changed his life. These days he really was helping to make a difference in the galaxy.
“Do you get to see him?”
“Sometimes. I’ve arranged for a couple of visits over the years. Mom went with him. They actually like it there. They get to use their skills to help the community, fresh air, honest work. Dad’s served his time, now, but they stayed on.”
“Then it all worked out. Mostly.”
“Mostly,” he agreed. “But some of the things I did back then had unexpected consequences. Big ones.”
“Like what?”
“I stole data that proved a major shipping company was using recycled hardware in their systems to cut costs. The systems were unstable and plagued by malfunctions. One ship nav system failed and the crew died when their course took them straight into a star. Another ship suffered a total life support malfunction.”
Guilt stirred in his gut, and he washed some of the bitter taste from his mouth with another drink of wine.
“I got hold of the data proving they were responsible for the deaths, and Bardeaux’s stock took a major hit. They had to close some of their shipyards. Because of me, several thousand people on the factory worlds that supplied those yards lost their jobs and their homes. On top of that, Bardeaux was the chief rival of Bellex Corp. What I did set them back a few years, and gave Bellex a chance to increase their profit margin. Bellex used that money to engage in some seriously fraxxed up, illegal crap that my team had to clean on a recent mission.”
“But you got the chance to balance the scales?”
“Yeah, I did.”
She set down her fork and reached across the table, touching the back of his hand. “Then you’re luckier than most. I’ll never be able to undo the deaths I’m responsible for. All I can do is ensure Absalom and his people won’t do it again.”
“You’ve been a prisoner your whole life. What deaths could you be responsible for? I mean, besides the guards you took down when escaping.”
Her gray eyes grew stormy. “Every life my clones took. In every way that mattered, every fury to ever draw breath was me. If I’d found a way to escape. If I’d stopped them sooner…” she took a ragged breath, her voice heavy with regrets. “And the furies, too. Their suffering is my fault. I was created to kill, Eric, and that meant they were, too. When Absalom realized that he could help fund his nightmare endeavors by selling some of the furies into service as assassins, he didn’t hesitate. They’re almost all gone now, and I witnessed every one of their deaths.”
“You were a prisoner, Nyx. None of what happened was your fault. It was that bastard Absalom. I wish I could introduce you to some of the other clones I know. None of them would ever consider themselves the same person. Hell, Vic and Ward were used as assassins, too. The corporation treated them like interchangeable parts, but they’re two separate entities. Veth, I wish you could talk to them.”
“But I can’t, because Echo killed someone they cared about, and when they see me, they’re going to see her, instead,” Nyx stated flatly, as if that fact somehow proved her point.
“But you’re not her.” He captured her hand in his. “It’s bad enough you have to carry the memory of their deaths, you are not responsible for what they did while they were alive.”
“I think I do.” She tensed, and for a moment he thought she was going to pull away from him. Instead, she exhaled sharply and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. This isn’t something I want to talk about tonight.”
“Alright. We’ll table that topic for now. Someday though, we’re going to talk about it again.”
She opened her eyes and gave him a small smile. “Brave man, trying to tell me what to do.”
“Did it work?” He flashed her a playful smile and squeezed her hand. He’d tease her until she threatened to break him in half if it meant he didn’t have to see her hurting.
“What do you think?” Her smile brightened.
“I think we’re going to need more wine. Then you’re going to tell me about the fury that’s still alive. After that, you get to ask me all the questions you like, about anything. If I can tell you, I will.”
“Anything? You’re right. We’re going to need more wine.”
The night’s performers came out on stage a few minutes later, and Eric adjusted the sound dampener so they could enjoy the music. They finished their meals and listened to the band until they ended their first set. Two chocolate sundaes arrived for dessert, along with a fresh carafe of wine, and once they were alone again, Nyx turned up the dampening field again.
“You want to know about the last fury,” she said without preamble.