Page 13 of Reformation
He wasn’t waiting at the Palace Hotel, though. Instead, Miles found Garrett waiting for him in the shuttle, sitting in the pilot’s seat. He swiveled around when Miles entered, his expression apprehensive. “So? Is it as bad as we thought?”
Miles sighed. “It’s not good,” he admitted. “I’ll be subject to heightened oversight, and I’ve got very little time to get ready for the mission itself. But I’ve done more with less.”
“And their explanation for why?”
“I’m too good at my job, apparently.”
Garrett snorted. “Those fuckers. I mean yes, you are, but that’s such a flimsy reason to draw you out of retirement when there are dozens of armchair generals champing at the bit to take on ‘pirates.’” He laced his fingers together. They looked red, likehe’d been wringing them a lot. “You know they’ll send out the kids.”
“I know. But not Cody.”
“Not Cody,” Garrett affirmed. “I’ve got transport on the way to grab him. He’ll be joining Claudia and the girls, but they’ll send Ten and Darrel and probably Grennson if they think they can get away with it. I need you to look out for them. They can’t get hurt.”
Miles nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
“Just make sure that it’s enough, Dad.”
There it was: the specter of Garrett’s distrust in him. For the most part, they’d fixed their relationship through a lot of hard work on both their parts, but every now and then Miles’ past came back to haunt him. “I promise,” he said, feeling the weight of his own words. “I’ll do everything I possibly can to keep them safe.”
Garrett’s eyes were getting as red as his hands, shining too bright for anything but fear and grief. “I know you will,” he said, and Miles almost couldn’t hear him, he spoke so quietly. “I don’t know why I said that.”
“It’s okay. I understand.”
“I love you. I trust you, you know I do.”
“Of course, I know,” Miles said gently.
“I’m just so fucking afraid.”
Miles closed the distance between them and pulled Garrett forward into his arms. It wasn’t often that he got a chance to be an actual father to his son these days; Garrett had his own family, his own life and work. But as dark as the circumstances were that led to it, Miles couldn’t be upset over the chance to hold his son as though he were young again. “We’re going to get through this,” he said, and this time he was promising himself. “Allof us.”
Chapter six
Cody
It was incredibly lucky that for Cody that Jack was in the system, actually, much less on the planet right then. Jack Vendam did a lot of the negotiating for his adopted family of Drifters, a group headed up by Jonah’s mother, Karleen. Jonah and his mother had stopped talking years ago, before Cody had been old enough to remember what they’d fought about in the first place.
Not that he didn’t know. It had been him, of course. It was always him. He tore people apart just by existing. Hopefully, he was old enough this time to be of use, though, and to get her to look the other way.
As he walked back toward his tower, Cody sent a message to Jack with his implant. [Have time to talk?]Short and sweet was always easier on his head.
[Heading out in a few hours,] came the reply.[You hear about Pandora?]
Oh good, he was already aware. Cody knew that his biological fathers had a tenuous relationship these days, one based mostly on getting black market supplies to the colony. Jonah sent a lot of business Jack’s way, and in return, Pandora got much-needed equipment without the tariffs and taxes that came from official Alliance shipments. The Box wasn’t a wealthy colony and never had been, more concerned with the health of its population than with mining or production. Still, it was one of the only places that would do regular business with the Helms Drifters, and that made it important to them.
Hopefully important enough.
[I heard,] Cody sent back. [Going that way?]
[Close enough to assess things. We’ve got a lot invested in our cargo. No place for it but there.]
[Is there room for a passenger?]
There was a long pause, and Cody found himself stopping in place, unable to walk when he couldn’t even force himself to breathe. If Jack couldn’t help him … if he was still here when Garrett’s escort arrived …
[You serious?]
[Completely.]
