Dragon and Liberator

"Yes, I'm here," Jack called back. He worked his way through the milling drunks to the door, sternly warning his hopes not to get too high. Chances were they'd simply messed up his fingerprints again and were hauling him back up to the second floor to retake them.

"You are summoned," the guard rumbled, sliding the door open for Jack.

A second guard joined them as they walked to the elevator. They got in, and the first Brummga punched one of the buttons.

Only it wasn't the second-floor button. This time, they were taking Jack to the tenth floor, only two floors down from the top of the building.

And that high up, where the senior officers and administrators probably had their offices, there were bound to be windows.

Though we will be ten floors up, Draycos reminded him.

I know, Jack agreed. But at least it's something.

The elevator let them out into a far nicer hallway than anything Jack had seen in the building so far. The guards led him to a thick door, opened it, and nudged him none too gently inside.

The room was reasonably large, clearly someone's office, with a cluttered desk in the middle and a low table and a pair of guest chairs in front of it. The lights were on low, probably a nighttime setting. A man sat behind the desk, his face in shadow. Three large Brummgas stood behind him, their handguns out and pointed at Jack.

And on the side wall to Jack's left was the most beautiful sight he'd seen since crashing his car: a large window looking out onto the lights of the city below.

They had their way out.

"Thank you," the man at the desk said to Jack's escort. "You may leave."

The guards backed out, closing the door behind them. "Welcome, Mr.—Macavity, was it?" the man said, gesturing to the farther of the two guest chairs. "Please; sit down."

Jack crossed toward the chair, trying to get a better look at the man's face. The voice seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it. "I expect you're wondering what you're doing here," the man continued as Jack sat down.

"I think the charges were vehicle theft and reckless driving," Jack said, shifting in the seat as if arranging himself. As he did so, he brought one foot up slightly, lifting his heel an inch off the floor. Draycos, can you get to my comm clip?

He felt movement across his skin, then a touch of weight as the K'da's forepaw lifted slightly from the back of his leg just above the ankle. I think so.

Get it, Jack told him. See if you can slide it under my clothes up to my neck.

"I meant what you were doing here, in this office," the man said, gesturing around the room. "I gather you don't recognize me." Leaning forward, he flicked on the desk light, bathing his face in a soft glow.

Jack felt his muscles tighten. He did indeed know the man. His name was Harper, and he worked as a bodyguard for Cornelius Braxton.

The head of Braxton Universis . . . and a man who might have been involved in the murders of Jack's parents eleven years ago.

"I see now that you do," Harper said. "Good. That should save some time."

"Time is usually worth saving," Jack agreed. Draycos had the comm clip out of his shoe now and was working it up along the back of the boy's leg. So far neither Harper nor the Brummgas seemed to have noticed anything. "Do you suppose your friends back there could point those guns somewhere else?" he added.

"Sorry" Harper said, smiling faintly. "After what happened to Slavemaster Gazen a couple of weeks ago, they feel it would be wise to keep you under guard at all times."

Jack looked sharply at the glowering aliens. Those were Chookoock family Brummgas?

"Yes, we're from the Patri Chookoock, Mr. Macavity," Harper said, correctly interpreting Jack's sudden change of expression. He raised his eyebrows slightly. "Correction: Mr. Morgan."

A shiver ran up Jack's skin. Uh-oh.

Steady, Draycos calmed him.

"You've caused us a great deal of trouble, Mr. Morgan," Harper went on. "Luckily for you, the Patri Chookoock is prepared to be lenient."

"In exchange for what?" Jack asked, the words coming out with difficulty. If Harper was working with the Chookoock family, it meant he must actually be one of Neverlin's men.

Or it could be even worse. It could be that Neverlin and Braxton had patched up their differences and Braxton was now a full partner in the plot to kill Draycos's people.

Either way, everyone in the room right now knew about Draycos.

Calm yourself, Jack, Draycos's cool thought whispered through his sudden surge of panic. They want something, or they would have killed us already.

Jack's heart was thudding hard enough for him to hear. We can't take that chance, he thought back.