Artemis

He hung up. “Well, I’m off to search for the mysterious saboteur.”

“Have fun with that,” I said.

“Tuesday, eight p.m. at Hartnell’s.”

“All right,” I mumbled.

I finished getting out of my suit with Dale’s assistance. Then I helped Dale into his.

—

When I got home, I flopped onto my back. Good God I was exhausted. Even my shitty coffin seemed comfortable. I pulled my Gizmo out of the alibi-o-mat. I checked the web and email history. The device had done its job.

I sighed in relief. I’d gotten away with it. Sort of. I could expect some questions from Rudy and the guild, but I had my story straight.

There was a message on the Gizmo from Trond: “That last delivery you made was missing an item.”

I messaged back: “Apologies for the delay. I’m working on how to get that last package to you now.”

“Understood.”

I needed a plan for that last harvester before I talked to Trond again. But what the hell could I do? Time for another scheme. No idea what form it would take, but I had to think of something.

Next thing I knew I woke up from an unscheduled nap. I still had my shoes on and the Gizmo in my hand. The day’s exhaustion and previous night’s shitty sleep had caught up with me, I guess. I checked the time and discovered I’d been asleep four hours.

Well, at least I was rested.

—

I walked laps around Conrad Ground for almost an hour. It wasn’t for my health. I needed to get into the Conrad airlock’s antechamber without being spotted.

The HIB was still in a locker in that antechamber. I’d promised Zsóka I’d return it to her within two days, and that deadline was fast approaching. But every time I passed the damn airlock, someone was nearby. So I just kept walking.

I also wanted to steer clear of the EVA Guild for a bit. They’d given up the search after five hours. Right about now they’d be investigating anyone who had access to an EVA suit. I had my Gizmo activity as an alibi, but I preferred not to answer questions at all. Best not to interact with the folks near the airlock.

After four entire laps, I finally caught a window where no one was around. I darted in, waved my Gizmo to open the locker, grabbed the HIB and its remote, then got the hell out of there.

I had a smug little smile on my face as I headed out of the antechamber. The perfect crime. Then I walked right into Rudy.

It was like walking into a brick wall. Well, not quite. If you get going fast enough, you might actually damage a brick wall. I dropped the HIB case because I’m a clumsy oaf.

Rudy watched it fall for a moment then casually plucked it out of the air.

“Good afternoon, Jazz,” he said. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“You’ll never take me alive, copper,” I said.

He looked at the case. “Is this a hull-inspection bot? Why would you need one of these?”

“Feminine hygiene. You wouldn’t understand.”

He handed it back to me. “We need to talk.”

I put Hibby under my arm. “Ever heard of Gizmos? You can talk to people from anywhere.”

“I suspect you wouldn’t answer if I called.”

“Oh, you know how it is,” I said. “I get all flustered when a handsome boy calls. Anyway, nice talking to you.”