Read Dragonback 05 Dragon and Judge for Free Online Page B

swing before it
reached the nearest of the laser beams. "I trust there's nothing in
here you actually wanted?"
    Mustache raised his eyebrows at Sideburns, who had been murmuring
a running commentary on Alison's progress into the UniLink. "Go ahead
and close it," Sideburns said. "We'll continue the conversation in the
main room."
    "Okay," Alison said when the three of them were back in the cafe
proper again. "What now?"
    "The boss is impressed," Sideburns said. "He wants to offer you a
job."
    Alison shook her head. "Sorry. I'm kind of booked at the moment."
    "Interesting choice of words," Sideburns said, gesturing to the
shoulder bag. "Considering we have some stolen property here with your
fingerprints and DNA all over it."
    Alison glared at him. "You said you weren't cops."
    "We're not, but we don't mind turning scum like you over to them,"
Mustache said.
    "Or you can listen to the boss's offer," Sideburns suggested.
    "Like I have a choice?" Alison growled, suppressing a sigh. Jack
had made it clear he didn't really want her on the Essenay .
This was his big chance to get rid of her for good. "What's the job?"
    "Basically, the same thing you just did," Sideburns said. "He
wants you to open a safe."
    "Where?"
    "You'll see when you get there."
    "Where?" Alison repeated. "I need to know up front how dangerous
it's going to be."
    Sideburns made a face. "She wants to know where," he said into the
UniLink. He listened a moment, then nodded. "It's on Brum-a-dum."
    "No police, no curious bystanders, no awkward questions," Mustache
added.
    "That helps," Alison said. Brum-a-dum was the planet where Jack
had briefly been made a slave a couple of months back. Interesting that
whoever was chasing Virgil Morgan had also picked that world to—
    Her throat seemed to squeeze shut. Someone currently on
Brum-a-dum. Someone looking for Virgil Morgan. Someone who desperately
needed a safe opened.
    Arthur Neverlin.
    Oh, no , she thought, her heart suddenly racing. No no
no no no .
    "You'll get twenty thousand for doing the job," Sideburns went on.
"Any equipment you need will also be provided."
    And if that was Neverlin on the other end of the
conversation, that meant the safe had to be one of the ones from
Draycos's advance team, containing the rendezvous data for the main
fleet. The information Neverlin needed if he was going to destroy the
refugees.
    The same information Jack and Draycos needed if they were going to
save them. "Must be a tricky safe," she managed.
    "Very tricky," Sideburns agreed, his voice darkening. "I trust you
weren't going to try to talk up the price?"
    That had, in fact, been exactly what Alison had been planning to
do. It would be expected of a professional thief.
    But one look at Sideburns's face and she changed her mind. "Twenty
is fine," she said. "But I also want private passage away from there
when I'm done, someplace like Capstone or Glitter. Brum-a-dum isn't a
place I want to get stuck on."
    An actual, real smile touched Sideburns's lips. "I don't blame
you," he said. "Don't worry, they'll make sure you get out of there."
    Alison felt a shiver run through her. Yes, they'd get her off
Brum-a-dum all right.
    But not to some nice, safe, civilized world. More likely to some
nice, quiet, lonely grave. "Okay, it's a deal," she said. "How do I get
there?"
    For a minute, Sideburns listened to the UniLink, his forehead
creased with concentration. "Yes, sir," he said. "Yes, sir. Don't
worry—we'll be there."
    Shutting off the device, he put it away. "The boss has a ship he
can divert this way," he told Mustache. "It'll be in the system in four
hours—I've got the coordinates for a quiet rendezvous."
    "Fine." Mustache pointed at the shoulder bag. "What about this?"
    "Might as well send it along," Sideburns said. "Unless it's full
of money."
    Mustache opened it and peered inside. "Old newspaper and magazine
clippings, copies of bills of lading and invoices, and a few fuzzy
photos," he reported, sifting through the