The Star Pirate's Folly

Chapter 6: Payment

A thunderous knock at the door made Buttercup jump. She ended the call and stuck the phone in her pocket.

"Police," said a male voice behind the door. "The building has been evacuated already. You're not supposed to be in here, we gotta search all these rooms."

"Okay," she said. "Okay, I'm coming."

She'd have to call Silver back. She swiped the screen on the phone to activate it, but it prompted her for a four-digit pin. That meant she wouldn't be able to call back—or access the device's memory to verify Silver's claims. Hopefully he would call her again. She stuck it in her pocket.

It occurred to her that she didn't really know how she would get her money. Some kind of transfer? She felt panic rising in her chest—she was flying blind, way out of her league. She took several deep breaths to calm herself.

More pounding on the door. "Let's go! We're waiting on you here!"

Buttercup grabbed her pack from its spot next to the door and slung it over her shoulder. She grasped the door handle, but lingered a moment to look back over the room. The bed was made, its sheets arranged neatly just the way the maids were taught. Nothing cluttered the bare desk. Even the chair was pushed all the way back in.

It was like she'd never been there.

Buttercup opened the door. Standing in the hallway were two officers wearing standard blue patrolman's uniforms.

"Sorry," she said.

"Yeah, whatever, kid," said the fat one in back. "Just move outta the way, we gotta sweep the room."

Buttercup moved past them into the hallway, and the fat one produced a small, round object that fit into his palm. He clicked it with his thumb and threw it into the room, where it hovered and scanned the room with a wavering red light for several moments. Then the sphere dinged like a kitchen timer and fell to the ground.

"Clear," he said, and retrieved the little object.

Buttercup left them to their work. She had everything she needed in her pack anyway—it was a habit she'd picked up long ago. One change of clothes (pants, shirt, socks, underwear), her phone (an old one Hargrove had given her), her knife, a water bottle, a few snacks, and a jacket.

It was time to go find Hargrove. She wasn't sure if she would tell him about the map yet, or Silver's offer, but she knew she had to at least say goodbye before she left. He would be shaken up after what happened, and he'd worry if he noticed her missing. She might be gone for hours and didn't want him calling her later at some inconvenient moment.

As she walked down the hallway to the stairs the phone went off in her pocket again. She hurried the rest of the way down the hall and answered it as she opened the door to the stairwell. Silver's face appeared on the screen.

"So far I've found working with you extremely unprofessional," he said.

"I never claimed to be a professional," Buttercup said as she descended the stairs. Her voice echoed off the walls.

"Well do you want your half up front or not? I don't like waiting."

"How will you give it to me?"

"I've got someone we can trust at the Rising Star Bank on inner Fifth," he said. "Just walk in, ask for Julissa—remember that: Julissa—and tell her you're interested in opening a new account for your dog-walking business. Mention my name. Julissa will take care of the rest."

"Dog-walking business—"

"It's a code."

"Okay, I know where it is," Buttercup said.