Pick awoke to the cold, metallic taste of blood in his mouth and the dim glow of a single light overhead, casting shadows over his captors' faces. The bare bulb swung overhead, causing shadows to grow and shrink along the walls. In the moving glow of the light, Pick saw his three assailants in front of him.
Blue was sitting in a chair holding a glass of wine and taking a long draw from a burner. Brawny and Baldie stood to either side of her, arms crossed and with matching scowls. Pick stretched his neck, eliciting several pops, before speaking.
“Listen, this has been loads of fun, but I should really be going.”
Blue smiled and walked over to him. Leaning down, she blew a cloud of gray smoke in his face. Pick coughed as the smoke washed over him, and then returned the smile, “You know, if you untie me maybe we can have a few drinks and get to know each other better,” he said, exaggeratedly waggling his brows.
The woman threw her head back and laughed, “You’re cute, but I like my men a little older.”
“And with a longer life expectancy,” Baldie said ominously.
“Hey, I’m sorry. You know kids these days,” Pick said, adjusting his hands behind his back to feel the knots holding him, “I wasn’t raised right and just need the light of the All Father to set me straight.”
Blue stepped back and Brawny threw a right cross into Pick’s face. The blow impacted his cheek, snapping his head hard and sending sparkles of light through his vision. Brawny punched him again, snapping his head the other way and splitting Pick’s lip. A fresh flood of blood filled his mouth, coating his tongue with the taste of copper.
“Wow,” he said as he stretched his jaw, “You guys like it rough. Before we keep going, my safe word is ‘Nibbler’.”
Baldie stepped in and punched Pick in the gut. Breath whooshed from his lungs and his stomach lurched as she buried her fist into his abdomen again. Pick wretched, throwing up stomach acid all over his shirt. She followed it up by kicking him in the chest and sending his chest tipping backward. He crashed into the ground but kept enough of his wits to lift his head so it didn’t crack against the floor.
“Nibbler,” Pick croaked.
Brawny picked the chair up with Pick in it and set it upright. Pick blinked, his head swimming. Baldie slapped him across the face hard. The stinging pain brought his senses into sharp focus. The two enforcers stepped back and Blue came in front of him again. She slid into his lap and wrapped her arms seductively around his neck, “Now, Pick,” she cooed, “I want you to tell me who hired you. What did he look like? Where did you meet? What did he tell you? All those sorts of lovely things.”
Pick caught something out of the corner of his eye. There was a small flicker of annoyance that crossed Baldie’s face, vanishing almost as quickly as it came. Pick smiled at Blue, “Like I said, you looked like a high-dollar mark. I was hoping for some jewelry, but all I got was the data stick. I was hoping there were some scandalous pictures on there for your boyfriend or something, but I never got the chance to check,” he lied.
“Is that the story you want to go with?” Blue asked.
Pick shrugged and smiled, his teeth red with blood, “It’s the truth.”
Blue frowned, “I can have my associates here rough you up some more. Maybe if I leave you alone with them for a few hours it’ll loosen your tongue.”
“I don’t think you’re going to do that,” Pick said.
Blue leaned in until her lips almost touched his. Her ice-blue eyes bored into him, intense and piercing, “And why is that, Pick?”
Pick pursed his lips, “Because I never told you my name.”
The woman blinked in confusion and pulled back, “What?”
“You’re trying to pull one over on me,” Pick said, “You know my name, even though there’s no way you should. When you wanted to know who hired me, you didn’t say ‘them’, you said ‘he’. So, you know it was a man that hired me.”
Blue stood up, and Pick saw Baldie roll her eyes and sigh deeply. Encouraged, he kept going.
“I may not be the best thief in the world, but Baldie over there had eyes on me the moment we left the Gilded Oubliette. She was being subtle, but I caught her eyes a half-dozen times while I followed you. Then, poof, she vanishes all of a sudden and lets me get an opening to pick your pocket. Shortly after that, she reappears and starts trying to take my head off.”
“Baldie?” the woman asked, slightly offended.
“Don’t take it personally,” Pick said, “I had to call you something. Baldie, Brawny, and Blue seemed to fit.”
“Heh,” Brawny chuckled, “Guess that makes me Brawny.”
“If I’d gotten a whiff of you beforehand, I would have called you Dumpster,” Pick quipped.
Brawny frowned and Baldie laughed at him. Blue crossed her arms and jutted her hip to one side, “So what about any of that makes you think I won’t have these two take you apart?”
“Because you know who hired me, and I’d bet there isn’t anything on that data stick more valuable than a take-out menu,” Pick shot back, “This wasn’t a job, it was a test.”
The sound of someone clapping came from back in the shadows. Ash stepped into the light, a broad smile on his face, “Not bad, kid.”
“Will you untie me now?” Pick asked, “Another few minutes and I could have the knots undone myself. But now that this little charade is over I’d like to be let loose.”
“Gage,” Ash said, looking at the woman Pick had been calling Baldie, “Let him loose.”
As Gage went behind Pick to untie the knots Brawny stepped forward, “Want me to pull the car around?”
Ash nodded, “Do that Rex. And take Skye with you.”
Skye, formerly Blue, pouted, “Come on, Captain. I wanted to stick around and watch him squirm.”
“I’d get back to the ship if I were you,” Ash said, “Wrench has been in the engine room cackling all day. Who knows what he’s been up to?”
Skye’s mouth dropped open and her eyes darkened, “If he’s trying to install that roaking contraption on my ship again I’m going to skin him!”
“Best get to it then,” Ash said, “We’ll catch up later.”
Skye stormed out, with Rex on her heels. Gage undid the knots and Pick rubbed at his forearms, trying to get the blood flowing again, “So, what was this really about?”
Ash leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, “My crew and I have need of someone with quick hands like yours. But, we had to know if you could be trusted.”
“So you offer me a fake job, kidnap me, and beat me up? Weird recruitment strategy.”
“But it worked. You also saw right through it, which makes you smart. I like that.”
“Trust works both ways,” Pick said, “Why should I trust you?”
Ash’s face went serious, “You ever ran with a pirate crew before?”
Pick shook his head, “I’ve learned it’s best to fly solo. Trusting other people can get you killed.”
“Out there in the void things are different. You ain’t got anyone else to rely on but your crew. And I run with some of the best people.”
“Then, how come I’ve never heard of you before?”
Ash smiled, “Good thieves don’t get their names passed around too much. Besides, there’s more to being the best than being good at stealing. My people are good. More importantly, they got each other's backs. Trust like that is worth more than all the BPUs in the universe.”
“Speaking of which,” Pick slid the data stick from his sleeve and handed it to Ash. The captain looked at it curiously, “Skye already gave me the stick when they brought you here.”
“She thought she did,” Pick said, “I had a couple on me and switched them out when I got cornered. The stick Skye gave you has a documentary about Itarian history on it.”
Ash smiled and tossed Pick a keycard. Pick caught it with a sly grin. He examined it, seeing nothing but a black card with a lantern embossed on it.
“That’ll get you on the ship. We leave tomorrow, so make sure you’re on the ship before we take off.”
Pick tapped the card against his palm, “Never been off Myero before. Sounds like a good time.
They walked out of the dingy room, side-by-side. A thought crossed Pick’s mind and he spoke up, “So, what’s the pay like?”
Ash chuckled. “Depends on if you live to collect.”
“Great, there’s always a catch isn’t there?”
Ash slapped him on the shoulder, “Welcome to the Fortune’s Feat, kid.”
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