Lost Planet 01 - The Lost Planet by Rachel Searles Read Free Book Online Page B

He leaned over the blanket and picked up the sheathed knife, waving it in the man’s face. “My daddy’s given me extra spending money today.”
    Chase watched over Parker’s shoulder as the two haggled over a price. Negotiations were brief, and soon Parker reached into his jacket pocket and counted out a number of thin plastic chips. The man bared his ragged teeth in a leer as he took the currency. “Have a good day, boys.”
    Parker walked away smiling. “How much did you pay for that?” Chase asked him.
    â€œToo much,” he replied cryptically. After they had walked a little farther up the street, he added, “But not as much as I would have paid for this.” He held out his hand and flicked his wrist, and something fell from inside his sleeve and into his palm. It was the badge that he had examined on the blanket, a dull silver triangle decorated with three horizontal stripes.
    â€œYou stole it?” Chase looked back to see if the junk merchant was coming after them, but there were so many people on the street, the man was already long gone from view. “Are you trying to get us in trouble?”
    â€œWhatever. It was probably stolen to begin with. And he would have charged a lot more than I paid for the knife if he’d seen that this was what I was interested in.” He tucked the badge and dagger back into his jacket. “I mean, don’t get too excited. It could just be the access badge to a gasket factory. It’ll be fun trying to decode it when we get home.”
    Ahead of them, the flow of pedestrians curved out in a wide arc, and everyone seemed to be keeping their heads down.
    â€œWhat’s that?” Chase asked, just as he saw what people were avoiding. Standing against a wall were two men in dark gray uniforms with elliptical badges. They monitored the activity on the street with flat eyes.
    â€œFederal Fleet soldiers,” muttered Parker, joining the stream of people. “Just keep your distance.”
    Chase couldn’t help but glance over as they passed the soldiers. A tiny ripple of anxiety crawled under his skin, but only because of the way the other pedestrians were acting. The soldiers didn’t fit anywhere in his mind either.
    When they’d put a decent distance between themselves and the soldiers, Parker stopped and looked around. “Alright. I think I’ve seen enough of this.”
    â€œLet’s head back,” said Chase. The moon was fascinating, but nothing was triggering any memories. If they left soon, maybe there would still be time to go to the city on Trucon.
    â€œCool your jets. First let’s go sit down somewhere.” Parker cut through the crowd to an eatery with a narrow door and greasy windows. The inside was dark and smoky and filled with quiet men hunched over their drinks. Parker found a table near the windows, where he took out his stolen badge and began to fiddle with it.
    Chase looked around to see if anyone was watching them. “Shouldn’t you be hiding that?”
    â€œRelax.” Parker frowned, turning it over. “It’s just a piece of junk.”
    A broad, tired-looking waitress slouched up to their table. “What’ll it be?” she asked.
    â€œMy young friend here will have a Nevna fizz, and I’ll have a pint of your best Lyolian ale,” said Parker. The waitress arched an eyebrow, muttering something under her breath as she walked away.
    Parker set the badge on the table and leaned back in his chair. “So, anything coming back to you yet?”
    Chase shook his head. “I’ll have to wait and see what else Dr. Silvestri can find out.” He paused, examining his hands. Now was the time to start asking questions. “So, what exactly does Asa do?”
    â€œI told you, he owns a tech corporation. That’s all I know. Why?” Parker frowned.
    â€œWhat’s he like?”
    Parker looked out the window.