with a tale of a
damsel in distress. I can recognize a Calderon plot when I see one.”
Esther met his
eyes steadily. “You’re wrong,” she said. “We’re not rescuing a damsel. It’s a
man . . . a man who was trying to sell a game-changing technology. They nabbed
him for it.”
She had learned
enough from David to know she would need this trump card.
“What kind of
technology?”
“The kind that
would allow you to be entirely independent,” Esther said. “The kind that would
mean you’d never run out of fuel, never need to rely on trade with anyone, Calderon
scum included.” She tried to imitate David’s way of waving his arms around to
make a point, but it felt awkward. She hooked her fingers in her belt instead.
“How do we know
such a technology exists?” Rawlins asked.
Cally spoke up:
“Oh, we know because Es— ”
Esther stepped on
Cally’s toe to silence her.
“I’ve seen it
work,” Esther said. “The Calderon Group heard our man talking about it and must
have decided to get an aggressive jump on the bidding during the chaos last
night.”
She kept her foot
on top of Cally’s for an extra second, willing her not to speak.
Rawlins laughed,
wheezing in a humorless way. “If what you say is true, then it’s too late.
They’ll already have the technology.”
“Maybe, but you
won’t,” Esther said. “How much do you want to bet that the Calderon boys won’t
be selling anything? Instead, they’ll become the most powerful coalition on the
sea in one stroke. They won’t need to trade for fuel anymore, and you
Harvesters will be left behind. Why else would they risk cutting ties with the Amsterdam Coalition last night?”
It occurred to
Esther then that David’s idea of selling the technology exclusively would never
have worked. It would make one group far too powerful, leaving the rest of the
ships at their mercy. She wished she hadn’t gone along with his idea so
quickly. And now David was paying the price . . . if he was still alive.
“How do you know
Calderon has your inventor boy?” Rawlins asked. “He could have fallen into the
sea.” He smiled, showing teeth that were the yellowish gray of carp.
“I heard a man
talking,” Cally said. She paused as if she expected Esther to stomp on her foot
again and then continued tentatively. “He said they didn’t want to pay for the
system . . . that maybe they should just steal him. The man was super-scary,
and he had huge holes in his earlobes.”
Rawlins grimaced,
which made the skin stretch tighter across his bones. Luke uttered a string of
curse words, including a handful Esther hadn’t heard before.
“That’ll be
Burns,” Rawlins grunted. “When he’s around the Amsterdam , he acts like a quartermaster, but we have it on good
authority he’s one of the real leaders of the Calderon Group, maybe even the
top leader. If what you say is true, then Calderon definitely has your boy.”
“Will you help
us?” Esther asked.
Rawlins spit in
the rain pooling around their feet. “We’re going to have to take you to the
higher-ups for this.”
“I just thought a
few of you could—”
“We’re all under
contract with the Harvesters. If you want some of our men, you’ll have to take
it to the top.”
Esther felt like
the deck had dropped a few inches beneath her feet. She hadn’t wanted to make
this too complicated. They just needed a few men and some information before
they went after David in the Lucinda .
The last time she’d gone to ask “higher-ups” for help, it hadn’t ended well.
But the Harvesters were their best chance at finding out where the Calderon ship
might have taken him. They would know how the Calderon Group worked. She had no
choice.
“Lead the way.”
Esther tried to project confidence in her voice, like David would have, but she
felt the situation spinning further out of her control.
Luke and Rawlins
led the three women across the main deck of the cargo ship toward their own
vessel.
damsel in distress. I can recognize a Calderon plot when I see one.”
Esther met his
eyes steadily. “You’re wrong,” she said. “We’re not rescuing a damsel. It’s a
man . . . a man who was trying to sell a game-changing technology. They nabbed
him for it.”
She had learned
enough from David to know she would need this trump card.
“What kind of
technology?”
“The kind that
would allow you to be entirely independent,” Esther said. “The kind that would
mean you’d never run out of fuel, never need to rely on trade with anyone, Calderon
scum included.” She tried to imitate David’s way of waving his arms around to
make a point, but it felt awkward. She hooked her fingers in her belt instead.
“How do we know
such a technology exists?” Rawlins asked.
Cally spoke up:
“Oh, we know because Es— ”
Esther stepped on
Cally’s toe to silence her.
“I’ve seen it
work,” Esther said. “The Calderon Group heard our man talking about it and must
have decided to get an aggressive jump on the bidding during the chaos last
night.”
She kept her foot
on top of Cally’s for an extra second, willing her not to speak.
Rawlins laughed,
wheezing in a humorless way. “If what you say is true, then it’s too late.
They’ll already have the technology.”
“Maybe, but you
won’t,” Esther said. “How much do you want to bet that the Calderon boys won’t
be selling anything? Instead, they’ll become the most powerful coalition on the
sea in one stroke. They won’t need to trade for fuel anymore, and you
Harvesters will be left behind. Why else would they risk cutting ties with the Amsterdam Coalition last night?”
It occurred to
Esther then that David’s idea of selling the technology exclusively would never
have worked. It would make one group far too powerful, leaving the rest of the
ships at their mercy. She wished she hadn’t gone along with his idea so
quickly. And now David was paying the price . . . if he was still alive.
“How do you know
Calderon has your inventor boy?” Rawlins asked. “He could have fallen into the
sea.” He smiled, showing teeth that were the yellowish gray of carp.
“I heard a man
talking,” Cally said. She paused as if she expected Esther to stomp on her foot
again and then continued tentatively. “He said they didn’t want to pay for the
system . . . that maybe they should just steal him. The man was super-scary,
and he had huge holes in his earlobes.”
Rawlins grimaced,
which made the skin stretch tighter across his bones. Luke uttered a string of
curse words, including a handful Esther hadn’t heard before.
“That’ll be
Burns,” Rawlins grunted. “When he’s around the Amsterdam , he acts like a quartermaster, but we have it on good
authority he’s one of the real leaders of the Calderon Group, maybe even the
top leader. If what you say is true, then Calderon definitely has your boy.”
“Will you help
us?” Esther asked.
Rawlins spit in
the rain pooling around their feet. “We’re going to have to take you to the
higher-ups for this.”
“I just thought a
few of you could—”
“We’re all under
contract with the Harvesters. If you want some of our men, you’ll have to take
it to the top.”
Esther felt like
the deck had dropped a few inches beneath her feet. She hadn’t wanted to make
this too complicated. They just needed a few men and some information before
they went after David in the Lucinda .
The last time she’d gone to ask “higher-ups” for help, it hadn’t ended well.
But the Harvesters were their best chance at finding out where the Calderon ship
might have taken him. They would know how the Calderon Group worked. She had no
choice.
“Lead the way.”
Esther tried to project confidence in her voice, like David would have, but she
felt the situation spinning further out of her control.
Luke and Rawlins
led the three women across the main deck of the cargo ship toward their own
vessel.
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