Breakout by Ann Aguirre Read Free Book Online Page A

neutral expression, letting the conversation flow around her. The Dread Queen would’ve stepped in by now, imposing order or demanding fealty.
    So much bullshit.
    â€œIt can’t leave,” Calypso said quietly. “If it decides to sell us out, and Silence descends on us here, we’re done.”
    â€œAre you making me a hostage?” Hex straightened, as if readying for a fight.
    Tam shook his head. “There’s no need for that. You asked about a ship before. We’re building one. If you want in on the escape, you should stay with us. Vost has the launch codes.” He inclined his head at the merc commander. “Otherwise, you die on this station.”
    â€œNow you’re talking my language. I noticed I can get to some areas that were protected by force fields before. Is that because of the cleaning crew? Nice work wiping them out, by the way. I had a blast watching that.”
    One of Vost’s men snarled. “Just what I’d expect from a cowardly blue-faced shit bucket. Sorry, I mean Azhvarian.”
    â€œYou think you can hurt my feelings?” The alien laughed. “Keep talking, I’ll tell the story when I’m old and gray. By which I mean literally because the blue fades. But I bet you didn’t know that because humans never bother learning shit about other species.”
    â€œI think we’re getting off topic,” Tam cut in.
    Dred beamed at everyone. It seemed like she should do something, but her head felt like it was floating two inches off her neck. She thought hard, but no solutions came.
Damn, what did that droid give me?
But even forming that question took longer than it should have.
    Redmond or Duran—she couldn’t recall which he was—ignored the spymaster’s intervention. “You got locked up in the worst shit hole this side of hell, and you have the nerve to lecture me? Get—”
    â€œAsshole, you’re dumber than you look if you think everyone in Perdition is equal.” Hex shook its head with a faint sigh. “Look at what I’m trying to reason with. This thing can’t even physically speak a civilized tongue, it’s all vowels, glottal stops, and fricatives.”
    â€œWe may be dumb monkeys to you,” Keelah said with quiet dignity, “but we’re the ones who have a means to leave this place.”
    That silenced Hex for a few seconds. When it spoke again, the tone had changed, no longer pugnacious and scornful. Instead, Hex sounded conciliatory. “True. I’ll help you build the thing in exchange for passage when you go. In my solitary wanderings, I’ve found some supplies you’ll find useful.”
    Keelah didn’t wait for consensus, ignoring dissatisfied grunts from the mercs. “Happy to meet you, friend. We need all the help we can get.”
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    WHEN Jael crawled through the access panel, everyone was asleep but Vost. Since Dred was supposed to be on watch with him, his whole body froze. “Where is she?”
    â€œRelax,” Vost said. “She’s asleep.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œShe was hurt worse than you knew, probably. The meds hit her hard, so I put her to bed.”
    Everything about that sentence rubbed him the wrong way, like they were literally made out of sandpaper scraping over raw skin. If he could take those letters and beat Vost to death with them, it wouldn’t be enough to make up for how awful it felt. A snarl sounded low in his throat, a reminder that however human he looked, there was always a monster under the skin.
    â€œStay away from her,” he said. “She might have made a deal with you, but
I
didn’t. You’ll put a knife in her back the minute it’s convenient. I served with assholes like you, and I understand exactly how you think.”
    Vost smiled slightly and shook his head. “I don’t think you do. Is there something that you’d