Claustrophobia

Chapter Eight - Stowaway - 4

On a fairly straight stretch of Amirerea's costal road, Z9 turned on the Halo-Core strapped to the handlebars in front of her and called Carmen.

Z9 knew he wasn't a happy man even before his face appeared.

'Gina Five just left,' he said. 'He's going to try and suspend you.'

'Ah, Gina Five doesn't know which hole he pisses out of. I'll be fine. Listen, I need a favour.'

'You need a galaxy's worth of favours right now, Z9.'

'This one in particular. I need a uniform for the cargo-bay staff for the Helios.'

'Not to mention you stole my Zoomus.'

'Carmen...'

'Alright, alright. Why do you need it?'

'I need to find out what Mysen's taking to Xylaris. Security after the last bloodbath will be intense, so I can't go in from the ship. I need to be in there the whole time.'

'So you're a stowaway in disguise?'

'Pretty much.'

Carmen sighed. 'I'll have to clear it with...'

'Don't clear it,' Z9 said, taking a knee to the road as she navigated a tight hairpin. 'It will take too long. Just do it. Otherwise this whole thing is blown.'

'But...'

'Carmen. Give me this.'

He exhaled so heavily his hologram fogged up. Then he swiped a few menus, tapped an awful lot, and nodded. 'There's a cafe just by the docks called 'Crystal Falls Cafe'. There will be someone there with a uniform. I'll see if I can get you into the database for Helios as well. Their cyber security is absolutely locked tight, however, so I may have to have words with Mark23 back on Celestria.'

'Thank you, Carmen' Z9 said. 'I owe you one.'

'Thank the fact that you're in too deep to pull out now. And, despite what he says about suspending you, Gina Five knows that this thing is far too big to pull you out. Although I do wish you hadn't done a runner on me.'

'I couldn't wait. I knew the ship would be leaving in a panic, and I was right.'

'You could have at least said goodbye. Lar.4G is distraught at not being able to sleep with you for another night.'

Z9 couldn't help but smile. 'Get him in the securest location possible. Give him a new identity and tuck him away on some rock out in the middle of nowhere. And a cat. Give him a cat.'

'I'm sure he'd like a cat.'

'I'm counting on you, Carmen.'

'You always end up doing so.'

He ended the conversation and Z9 wiped the rest of the pixels into the air. She could just about make it if she really put the hammer down.

Thankfully, she'd never been particularly scared of doing so.