Paladin 2: Chapter 4

Kira rode shotgun all the way into the city, while Jace relaxed in the comfort of the passenger compartment. Jace had tried to convince her to join him, but she wanted to be where she could see the road, where it would be possible to watch for threats. Her bag was neatly set on the air-car’s floor between her legs, the blaster within easy reach if anything went sideways.

Which it probably would not, she reminded herself for what felt like the fiftieth time. This wasn’t like the last time she was in Sunset. Then, she’d gone specifically looking for trouble. Now, they were on their way to a party, and the folks running the security for the party were really good at their jobs. If there was anytime Kira could relax, this would be it.

She just couldn’t release the tension between her shoulder blades, not completely anyway.

“So, Mr. Haven, you farm up here, huh?” Sandy asked. He’d been full of questions, and just as happy to answer Jace’s questions about his life in the city. In fact, the kid—he really was barely an adult, by Kira’s estimation—was a real chatterbox, so a lot of the ride had been a non-stop info dump.

“I do indeed,” Jace replied. “Came here when I was a young pup, maybe your age. Met my Mara, settled down, and never looked back. You should think about it yourself, young man. There’s still plenty of land out there for claiming. All you have to do to earn the title to the land is improve it for five straight years. Then it’s yours and your family’s, forever.”

That sounded sort of nice to Kira. “Think that’s something I ought to try, too?”

Jace gave her a look, raising his eyebrows sharply. “If you want to, Kira, I will absolutely help you make it happen. We can get the entire town out to your plot, if you wanted to stake a claim nearby Copperwell.”

“I wouldn’t want to bother people!” Kira replied.

Jace laughed, shaking his head. “Ha! With all the lives you saved, you think it would be a bother? Quite not. Most folks living in town would consider it an honor to help you get settled. I’d just be sad to lose the best farm hand I’ve ever had. You’ve taken to the work like a natural.”

Awesome compliments, coming from a man who’d been farming for decades. She felt warmed by his words. “I’ll definitely give it some thought. Maybe not right away, but it sounds like fun.”

“It can be, but it’s a lot of work as well, as you know,” Jace said. “And a commitment, too, so be sure you want this path before stepping down it too far.”

Kira just nodded in reply. She understood what he’d left unsaid. While she loved the simple life she’d been living with the Havens, both of them knew that her uncertain history, plus her unusual skills and incredible modifications all meant that some decisions about her future might not be entirely hers to make. It was good food for thought, anyway.

Then they were coming up on the town, the car zipping down a main road and turning onto an even larger highway, this one bearing straight as an arrow toward the center of the city, where the Government Center complex loomed.

It was an ugly building. About forty stories tall at the highest point, it was also wide, so the lower twenty floors took up about four times the ground space as the higher tower at the center. Sort of like a box with a tower standing atop it. All of it was sand-based concrete, which managed to somehow look bland despite being an almost sunshine-like yellow in color. The architecture was very ‘brutalist,’ without a lot of frills in design. Everything on the exterior was pure function, without much attention paid to form.

“Almost there, guys. I’ll have you inside the building in fifteen minutes,” Sandy said.

Kira reviewed what she knew of the Center’s security protocols. She’d asked Tristan to send her whatever he was allowed to, back when she first heard about this party. Not that she didn’t trust him—well, okay, she really didn’t completely trust the man. But he was competent at his job, and she doubted anyone would be able to get past his security, even if there was a reason to attack an event honoring a few farmers.

The Center was powerfully built. That concrete wasn’t just for show—it was also armor. The outer walls were deeply reinforced with composite materials designed to take damage. Beyond that, the Center had the planet’s only shield generator. It was rarely activated, because the power cost was enormous and expensive, but once it was turned on, the building could shrug off multiple orbital strikes. This was one of the safest places on the planet.

There were security forces on staff around the clock, and those would be bolstered for this event with members of Tristan’s crew, and probably Tristan himself. The whole place was wired with camera systems, so sneaking in wouldn’t be simple, and it was fortified well enough that a frontal assault would be suicide.

In short, it was a great place to host something when you wanted to ensure everyone attending was entirely safe.

That was part of what niggled at the corner of her mind, though. After all, there were a dozen other places around the city where this banquet and award ceremony could have been held, at much less expense. Instead they were holding it in the most defensible, hardest to hit site in the entire city, maybe across the whole planet, for that matter. That begged the question: why? Why the overkill on security for something which shouldn’t be a high risk event?

The story going around was that Sunset City had overspent on the renovations of the Center. They’d poured a lot of credits into that place, for sure, but originally it had only been the massive square building. The tower? That was new. In fact, the top floors were still under construction.

They’d added luxury suites for visiting diplomats or top ranking people from the mining corporations which represented much of the trade for Percival. Once the upper floors were done, the tower would be upscale on a level that little else on the desert world could claim. Supposedly they’d even placed a pool inside somewhere, which was a ridiculous expense on a dry planet like this.

With all the costs, which had supposedly gone far over budget, they needed something to show for it. By using the gorgeous new spaces for a party celebrating farmers, it was the government’s way of showing off their new centerpiece in a manner that benefitted taxpayers, not corporate execs.

The whole thing was being set up to improve their public image. Supposedly, anyway. Kira wasn’t sure that the reporters writing about the story had every fact straight, but she figured that was at least one of the reasons to do it this way. Were there others? No way to tell.

Which was what had her nervous.

Jace dropped a hand on her shoulder. “You are too tense, my dear. This is a fun trip! You need to relax and enjoy the experience.”

She turned and smiled over her shoulder. “I’ll do my best.”

Jace sighed, a knowing smile on his lips. “Which I doubt will be enough to actually let you enjoy the experience. But I do appreciate the attempt.”

The air car zipped into the looping concrete landing pad out front, then set down. Sandy managed the car with expertise that belied his years, something Kira appreciated.

“Nice driving, kid.” She flashed him a grin.

“Thanks! Listen, you guys need a ride to your hotel after, right?”

“We do indeed,” Jace told him. “I figured we’d take a cab.”

“No need, my man. I’ll park the car in the Government Center garage. They paid for me through the day, so I’m yours for whatever. I’ll pick you up when it’s all over and drive you to your rooms,” Sandy said.

“That’ll be a long time in an underground garage by yourself,” Jace replied. “You sure you want to do that? We really can just order a cab.”

“No problem, Mr. Haven. I’ve got my tablet and studying to do.”

“Studying?” Kira asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Gonna be an engineer. Not driving a car forever. That’s no way to get ahead,” Sandy replied. “So I’ll just sit here and get my homework done, then you call me when you’re ready and I’ll pull up front and pick you up.”

Sandy pulled a card out of his pocket. “That’s my comm number. Just drop me a call when you’re ready to go, and I’ll pop right up, okay?”

The kid was clearly angling for a bigger tip, but Kira couldn’t blame him, and it would be convenient. She took the card and slipped it into her pocket. “Sounds like a plan.”

She turned to Jace. “You ready for this?”

“As much as I’ll ever be, I suppose.” Jace opened the car door, a swirl of sweltering heat roaring into the air-conditioned vehicle from outside as he did. He rubbed a hand across an already-sweating brow. “Hot day out there!”

“Always hot in the big city, Mr. Haven!” Sandy replied.

Kira got out of the car, grabbing her bag as she did. Sandy called out to her.

“You can leave that in here if you want, ma’am.”

She grimaced. The last thing she wanted to do was leave her blaster in the car, but wearing it around openly was going to make people nervous, if they even allowed her to at all. Damn it, this whole thing should be safe, right? Jace was right. She needed to find a way to relax some.

“Okay, I’ll leave it here, but no poking around inside, got it?” Kira said. She opened the bag, flashing him the contents—including the blaster sitting up top.

Sandy saw it, but he didn’t react like she’d expected, just gave her a nod and a smile. “No problem, ma’am. It’ll be here exactly as you left it.”

“Hmph. It better be,” she replied. But she gave him a smile to let him know the grumpy wasn’t really aimed his way. “You’re a good kid, Sandy. See you in a bit.”

She closed the car door, and the two of them marched forward toward the Government Center steps. Behind them Sandy got the air car humming again, taking off and zipping toward the entrance to the underground garage.

Ahead of them, Kira spotted a familiar face waiting just inside the massive glass entranceway. It was Tristan. She grinned when she saw him. In spite of their mixed history, it was good to see the man again.