"I'm not runnin' an orphanage here, Aurora," Donnel told me as I entered his office and removed my shades.

"Apologies, but I didn't know where else to send him."

Without asking, Donnel poured us both a measure of the same gin he had offered before. "Where'd you find the boy?"

"He picked my pocket."

Donnel's eyes widened. "He's a thief?"

"Yes."

"And you sent him here?"

I took a glass from him. "Don't be so dramatic, Donnel. I think we came to an understanding. Sometimes people just need a helping hand here and there."

"I didn't figure you for the saving type."

"Me neither," I said, sitting down.

"So I heard Kwan's is no longer standing," Donnel said with a twinkle in his eye. "Was that how you planned it?"

"No, but it's the way it went. Place was a front anyway," I said with a shrug.

"I guess it's no surprise. Most of the businesses here are a front for something or other."

"True."

"And Lerii?"

"What about her?"

"She didn't mind the way you dealt with it?"

"No."

"Oh, good."

I frowned. "You sound relieved."

"I'm just thinking, last thing you need is another enemy. Y'know?"

I drank the gin. "Has he been any trouble?"

"I've got no complaints. I have to say I was surprised you sent him my way. I'm not equipped to have some kid here."

"I know, but this is the safest place I know," I explained. I sat forward on the chair, hands clasped around the glass in front of me. "I see myself in him. And I know what a difference it can make when somebody cuts you a break."

"So what're you going to do with him?"

"Take him with me. I accepted a job. The town of L'fal. Heard of it?"

Donnel shook his head. "Nope."

"The town's leader convinced me. I just need to find a couple of people to help me out."

Donnel folded his arms. "What's the situation?"

I told him about the pirates, about their demands for so many crops the people of L'fal had been left with no choice but to refuse. But then Kaju had taken all their children and made it clear to them that they would never see their offspring again until his demands were met.

"Kaju, you said?" Donnel asked.

My brows rose. "You've heard of him?"

"The name rings a bell, for sure. Probably from the news services. I think his primary trade is in privateering merchant vessels. You know how it goes. Kill their crew, take control of the ship. Never heard of him terrorizing a town before, though."

I said, "Far as I could tell it's gone on a long time."

"Sounds that way."

"Anyway, I'm going to take the boy with me. Sending him to you was only ever a temporary move just to get him off the streets and out of trouble."

Donnel drained his glass and set it down. "Was he yanking my chain when he said his name's Poet?"

"No, apparently that's his real name. At least that's what he says."

"Damn."

"I know."

Donnel looked at me. "Aurora, don't you have enough going on without helping some kid you found on the street?"

"I'm always spinning too many plates at once. Haven't dropped any so far."

"Fortunes change."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

It was a rare occasion when I found myself without words, without a witty comeback to something Donnel had said. He'd given words to the very thing that had been gnawing at me. A sense that I was running out of road, somehow. That my luck had gone thin and was about to run out.

The price on my head wasn't going anywhere. In fact, it would be getting higher.

I should get off-planet and hide somewhere. But I had accepted the job now. It was mine to see through to completion.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Donnel said, refilling both our glasses.

"I need two gun hands for this job. Reliable slingers with a proven track record who don't have a habit of turning on their employers."

"I can think of one, straight off the top of my head. The other I'll have to get back to you about, though. I don't want to suggest anyone with a duplicitous nature, even though it kinda goes with the territory."

I laughed. I accepted the newly refilled glass of gin from Donnel. "Are you calling me duplicitous?"

"No, of course not. I'm just saying it comes with the job. Is that untrue?"

"I guess not."

"There we go."

I cocked my head. "So who is it you want to recommend? He'd better be good."

"Relax, I wouldn't suggest him if he wasn't one of the best. His name's Ahro and he—"

I sat forward, in disbelief at the name he had just given. "I'm sorry, this can't be. Say that again? Did you say his name is Ahro?"

"Yes, as in bow and arrow. Why?"

I groaned inside. Why, universe? Why be so cruel? What were the chances, really? These kind of coincidences often happened to me, but they were rarely the kind that worked in my favor. It occurred to me that if I had exchanged contact details with Ahro, I would already be in a position to have him join me. Now if I decided to pursue him to work with me on this, it would be awkward between us. Not that awkwardness had ever dissuaded me from doing anything in the past. It was more of an irritation to me than anything else.

Donnel seemed bemused by my reaction. "You want me to contact him?"

"Yes, have him meet me at that bar down the street."

"You're welcome to have him come here. This place is secure as any," Donnel said.

"No, the bar will be fine."

"As you like. I'll go make the call now, then."

"Okay," I said. When Donnel had sauntered off, I sat with my head in my hands, cursing my bad luck. When I looked up, I could see the Moth, still parked where I'd left her. Poet was on his knees next to the craft, working at buffing her to a high shine with a rag and wax.

I thought about how much the boy reminded me of myself. How I had become a free spirit in the wake of my brother's disappearance, bouncing from one dangerous situation to another. And I thought about how close I had come to getting killed, or imprisoned forever for what I was getting up to. The intervention that stopped me in my tracks had saved my life. The mentor who had taken me under his wing, taught me the trade I had now established myself in. I thought about all of that and knew I was doing the right thing—that even trying to help the kid in some way was the right thing to do.

I was a killer, when I had to be. It was my own brand of mercy, permissible by law, and sanctioned by the family and friends the victims of evil people left behind. But I was always conscious of something I'd been told way back when I was young. To try to do some good as I moved through life.

It had always been easy for me to equate ending the life of a rapist with, say, silently donating to the funding of a support service for single-mothers. There was no fame in it, no glory. Just the feeling that I'd made a difference in some way. Brought something positive to the table.

I left Donnel's office and approached my ship.

Poet glanced back at me but did not pause in his work. "What do you think so far?"

"She looks good," I told him, appraising the Moth and the way she shone in the sunshine. "Looks like you've put a lot of work in."

"The man said he'd pay me to do it."

"Donnel? He's okay," I said. "Hey, quit that for a moment. I have something serious to talk to you about."

Poet ceased polishing the Moth. "I can leave if you want me to."

"Leave? Who said anything about leaving?"

"I've been here before. People offer you help then they come up with nothing."

"No, listen. That's not what I was gonna say at all," I said. "I've got a job came up. It's in a little town called L'fal. Do you know it?"

Poet shook his head. "No, sorry."

"That's alright. Anyway, I was gonna ask if you wanted to tag along with my crew and I."

"Me?"

I opened my arms. "I don't see anyone else here, do you?"

"I can go? For real?"

"I wouldn't mention it if I didn't mean it."

Poet's face lit up. "Yeah! I'd love to," he almost shouted, his voice filled with excitement and surprise. He glanced back at the ship then to me, his eyes shimmering with wonder. For a boy used to rejections and abandonment, the offer seemed unreal.

"I'll work hard, I promise," he added solemnly, his apparent joy giving way to earnest appreciation. I found myself comforted by the sincere gratitude that poured from him.

Donnel appeared, his hands resting in the front pouch of his overalls. "It's arranged."

"Thank you."

Donnel cocked an eyebrow. "You said about another man."

"I did."

"Well, what's wrong with me?"

His question took me by surprise. "Uh . . . nothing, of course. I just didn't think . . ."

"That I'd be up for it? I don't know. A man can fancy a change of pace, can't he?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing wrong in it."

"That settles it then. I'll travel to L'fal with you. If you agree to it."

"Of course I agree to it. But Donnel, can you shoot?"

Shaking his head, Donnel disappeared inside the office, re-emerging seconds later brandishing a rifle. "You there, boy, get ready. Take that piece of junk and throw it up into the air."

Poet did as instructed, selecting a small hunk of metal. He tossed it up high into the air. Quick as a flash, Donnel flipped the rifle up into his hands, took aim at the metal fragment and fired without a second's hesitation. It sent the fragment flying to the side, completely knocked off-course.

I stood with my hands on my hips. "Aren't you full of surprises?"

Donnel grinned. "I wasn't always just a guy who fixes starships."

"I'm beginning to realize that," I said. "I've a feeling this won't be a walk in the park, Donnel."

"I never once thought it would be," he said. "I'll close this place up. And before you ask, the Moth will be absolutely fine while I'm gone."

"It never crossed my mind."

"Oh yes it did," Donnel said with a smirk. He turned to Poet. "Boy, you can help me tidy this place up. Your benefactor here has an appointment to keep."

Thanks for reminding me, I thought. I did not relish my meeting with the man I'd slept with only the night before, nor did I think assisting the people of L'fal would be easy. Yet amid the trepidation I felt, there was a sense of anticipation. I welcomed it, knowing sometimes life's most unexpected turns could lead to the most extraordinary adventures. But the danger we would face was very much real. I never lost sight of that. Because it was always there, ever-present. Waiting to clamp its jaws around you and drag you down, if you let it.