“Get off me, asshole!” a voice complained, and as Jack scrambled to recover, he looked up to see a young woman hauling herself upright—a look of fury on her face.

“Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” she snarled, then looked past him, as Jack’s pursuers arrived, slowing as they assessed the scene.

“I’m… so sorry I hit you!” Jack managed. “I’m being chased by these… criminals!”

The woman didn’t move. Her expression hardened as she stood upright and stared them down.

“Criminals huh? What do you say to that, guys?”

The two men approached cautiously, unsure of how to deal with the angry bystander. One of them, Jack saw, had concealed the knife he had been wielding back in his pocket.

“You need to leave, miss,” the bald one said. “This doesn’t concern you.”

The woman cocked her head, a stubborn expression on her face. “It’s a public walkway. Don’t tell me what I have to do.”

“Hey, lady—we aren’t kidding around,” said the other man. “Get out of here.”

“Screw you! I’m having a bad day and I feel like venting my anger.” She turned to Jack. “They trying to mug you or what?”

Jack nodded. “They wanted my uh… watch.”

“Well, we can’t have criminality rampant on the station.” She turned back to the men. “Get out of here before I call security.”

“Last warning,” the bald man hissed. “Stay out of things that don’t concern you.”

“No.”

“Fine.” He produced the knife again. “Have it your way.”

He darted forward.

Jack watched, at first appalled as they attacked the woman, then stunned as she moved like lightning.

She drove hard into the knife wielder, hooking a leg around his so that he stumbled. She threw him backwards, using his weight to push him off balance until they both slammed to the ground. His knife stuck in her side and she yelped, twisted away, and drew back her elbow. She smashed his head back against the metal walkway and he went limp.

The second man grabbed her by the neck, hauling her back off his partner. The skilled woman didn’t slow or falter, she twisted again, almost climbing around his body, until her weight brought him crashing to the floor. Jack watched in fascination as the strange woman moved with skill and dexterity, writhing into a position that allowed her to control her victim’s arm. He struggled and punched her, but he seemed helpless as her legs locked over his chest, and pulled the arm back to full extension. It broke with a sickening crack.

She stood up, breathing hard, but apparently unconcerned by the wailing and dry wretching of her victim.

“Let’s consider this a learning experience, gentlemen,” she said. “Don’t go harassing people when you don’t know what they’re capable of.”

“You’re bleeding!” Jack said. He was stunned to see that she neither seemed to be in a lot of pain or particularly alarmed.

“Yeah.” She smiled as she held a hand over her side. “No winners in a knife fight. No worries though, I have excellent health insurance.”

“Shouldn’t you get that looked at?”

“Nah. A bandage and a stiff drink will do the trick.”

“T-thank you for saving me. I’m Jack, by the way.”

She nodded to him. “Nice to meet you Jack, I’m Urtiga. Next time you make friends, consider a less physical approach.”

Jack eyed the men as they hauled themselves upright and fled. “How did you do that?”

“I’m a bodyguard,” Urtiga replied. “You’ll be surprised to learn what a solid foundation in combat sports can do for you.”

“Oh…” Jack’s mind raced. “Well, I’m sorry I knocked you over. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

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“Apology accepted. Mistakes happen, and it’s clear you had a reason to be distracted. Let’s just try to maintain our situational awareness in the public space.”

“Yeah, right. This might be a bit forward of me, but you wouldn’t be interested in a job opportunity would you?”

Urtiga laughed. “Oh, I get it. You pissed someone off.”

“Could I buy you that stiff drink? Once you’ve… taken care of yourself?”

Urtiga looked thoughtful. “Sure, why not? I’m out of work at the moment. Give me an hour. Do you know the ‘Wharfside Stanchion’?”

Jack nodded.

When he got back to his hotel room his head was spinning. Who in their right mind would attack him in that part of the station? The repercussions from—

Of course…there was no other explanation, he realized with a sickening dread. Whatever had been in that container was so important to Rayker that she felt the need to tie up loose ends. Others—nobodies, or losers—who worked with her over the years had wound up dead, but Jack could never have imagined she would turn on him. Wasn’t he her best runner? Wasn’t he the one she turned to when she needed something done exactly right?

Not just her—a tiny voice in his head called, and the next part of the awful puzzle locked into place. His standing with the VennZech corporation would have been nullified too. Checking his phone, he saw that all of his accounts had been locked. The next checkpoint he passed would flag him, either locking him out of a ship, or triggering an arrest.

And so this was what she needed from him. The container moved, and whoever knew about it, gone.

She would have hired some local thugs to make it look like a street robbery. He felt vaguely insulted that she didn’t send a trained killer, but of course she had no respect for his ability to defend himself.

Because he had no ability to defend himself. He felt a pang of shame as he realized that she was right. If Urtiga hadn’t shown up, he would probably be dead.

Fortunately, his crypto wallet contained emergency funds for just such a situation—one he had planned for but never expected to live through.

Jack tapped his new acquaintance’s name into his phone and felt a rush of relief to see that no alerts came up for the alias. The odds of running into an unemployed bodyguard at such an opportune moment were slim, though not impossible. The Tier Five level was the area where most of them hung out. And her smile had been so beguiling.

He made his way through the dinghy corridors and halls of the station to the bar and ordered a drink as he sat down to wait. He knew his backup identity would get him at least onto an economy shuttle, though any higher-level security would scan his face directly. A trip to the surface of Radian would be possible, provided he could stay out of sight of Rayker’s minions. From there it would be easy to find work on an industrial freighter headed to the outer cluster, maybe even disappear in the colonies.

It seemed strange to Jack that, now he was forced to put the pieces together, he could see that it had always been possible. He had always assumed his path in life was fixed by his circumstances, but perhaps the reality was that he had gotten comfortable. On the other hand, who in their right mind would choose the risk of having Rayker chase them down?

“Hey there, clutz.”

Jack looked up to see Urtiga. She smiled at him, and it was such an open and genuine smile that he had to concentrate to keep his own expression fixed. Her olive skin shone like gold in the bar’s subdued lighting, and he found himself struggling to overcome the distraction.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked.

“Islay scotch. Double”

“A woman of taste, I see.”

When he returned with the drink, he saw her scanning the bar, her eyes alert. He moved to usher her to a table, but she stopped him.

“Not here. That table in the corner.”

“Okay.”

They sat, and Jack watched as she drained the glass in one swallow.

“You must be in a lot of pain,” he said, now worried if he had made the right decision in offering the woman a job.

Urtiga shrugged. “I enjoy quantity and quality.”

Jack nodded slowly, but the doubt must have shown in his eyes.

“And I have a very high tolerance,” she added, and her smile was as warm as a sunbeam.

Jack was silent for a moment. It wasn’t like he had a choice. “I can only pay you in crypto.” He said and felt a flood of relief when she nodded. Those cryptocurrencies not controlled by the Helvetic League’s banking network were highly illegal, and though favored amongst the darker levels of society, introduced a level of complication that many wished to avoid.

“Works for me. So, what are we into?”

Jack took a breath. Only a very brave or foolhardy woman would want to go up against his former employer. Though he didn’t have to tell her the whole truth. “Do you know the VennZech corporation?”

She laughed. “Certamente—one of the most powerful corporations in the League. Quite the pickle we’ve gotten ourselves into, isn’t it? What a cruel world we live in.” She sighed and shook her head. “But that’s why people like me have a job, I suppose.”

Jack exhaled slowly. Even a brave or foolhardy bodyguard would be worried by his situation. But Urtiga, it seemed, wasn’t afraid of anything. Even so, he felt he should sweeten the deal.

“I’ll pay a premium rate,” he said. “I can afford it.”

Urtiga tipped her head approvingly. “Where would you like to end up?”

“I don’t know. Somewhere in the outer cluster.”

“Makes sense. Stay out of the League’s influence where the suits don’t control everything. Well, I know a nice place, actually. Have you heard of Caldera?”

“The newest planet? Only colonized a couple of decades ago?” He thought carefully. “Have you been out there before?”

“Sure have,” she said with a wink. “Don’t believe everything you hear about the settler movement. They’re easy enough to get along with her.”

“Well, I hear they despise Helvets, and don’t take well to strangers.”

“After this trip, I’m confident you’ll be on the same page.”

Jack rubbed his head. She was probably right, and it wasn’t like he had a choice. “That sounds like a good idea, then.”

“Great, well, I’ll take care of the travel arrangements while you get a room in one of these low-profile joints. Jack…?”

The question hung in the air, and Jack hesitated before answering.

“Fenway”

Urtiga paused, a look of concern in her eyes.

“No relation to the Cartel,” he reassured her.

She nodded, but her smile had become a little more forced.