Dragon and Liberator

The other's expression didn't even twitch. "That's ridiculous," he said.

"Is it?" Jack countered. "You may not have noticed—actually, I suppose there's no way you could have noticed—but I kept the story to only the stuff Neverlin and his buddies already know."

"As a matter of fact, I did notice some fuzziness in places," Harper told him. "But someone in your line of work must know that lack of reaction alone isn't a solid indicator. Of guilt, or anything else."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "My line of work? Excuse me, Mr. Harper. My line of work at the moment is trying to stop genocide."

Harper inclined his head. "My apologies. As I said, Mr. Braxton is interested in you. His backcheck of you and your uncle was most thorough." His face softened. "You've obviously been through a lot. I understand that."

"And I understand when someone's trying to change a subject," Jack countered. "That's point number two against you. Point number three is that even though you seem to know all this, you still made an effort to look as if you didn't."

Harper shook his head irritably. "This is ridiculous," he bit out. "Fine. If I'm not who I say, then who am I?" He folded his arms across his chest. "Because if I'm with Neverlin—"

In a single smooth motion Draycos sprang to his feet and leaped in front of Harper, landing practically in the man's lap. His front paws caught on the other's forearms, his claws digging lightly but with clear warning into Harper's sleeves. His bared teeth were inches from Harper's face.

"I'd advise you not to try anything stupid," Jack warned, standing up. "I've seen those claws cut through solid metal."

"So have I," Harper said, keeping perfectly still.

"Really?" Jack asked, crossing over to him and patting him down. His hand touched a small flattened cylinder in Harper's coat pocket near the other's right hand. "When?"

"Don't you remember?" Harper asked. "He scratched something in the base of Mr. Braxton's rejuvenation cylinder."

"Ah. Right." Nudging Harper's hand aside, Jack dug into the pocket and pulled out the object.

It was exactly what he'd expected from the shape: a palm-grip, two-shot tangler. "What have we here?" he asked the room in general as he held it up.

"It's a tangler," Harper said. "A completely non-lethal weapon, you'll note."

"Which just means whoever hired you wants me alive," Jack said. He pressed the weapon against his palm, noting how neatly and invisibly it nestled there, then dropped it into his own pocket. "At this point, that's not all that encouraging."

"Jack, use your head," Harper said patiently. "If I was working for Neverlin's crowd, why in Orion's armpit would I have brought you out of that holding cell and into the upper part of the police station where we would have a better chance at escape? Why not just leave you behind plastic until the paperwork was done, then take you out in a car where your ship's rather illegal collection of firepower couldn't have done anything without killing you?"

There was a short silence. "He has a point," Draycos said.

"I agree," Jack said. "I also notice you haven't let him up from that chair."

The K'da's tail lashed the air. "At this point, I'm not inclined to take chances."

"I agree with that, too," Jack said. "I guess our options are to handcuff him here in the dayroom or handcuff him to the cot in Alison's cabin." He raised his eyebrows at Harper. "Feel free to jump in with a vote."

"You're making a mistake. Jack," Harper said, his voice low and earnest. "I can be of great help to you. I'll prove myself any way you want—just tell me how."

For a long moment Jack was tempted. With Neverlin, Frost, a bunch of Malison Ring mercenaries, and at least three hundred Brummgas against them, he and Draycos were sorely in need of fresh allies.

But Draycos was right. It was way too late to start taking chances. "Sorry," Jack said. "Even if I knew what side you're on, I have the feeling that side could shift without much warning."

"I understand," Harper said. "Actually, in all honesty, I'd probably do the same in your place. I won't make trouble."

"Not that you could," Jack said. "Draycos, watch him."

Jack left the dayroom and went to the rear of the ship's living space, where all his theft and safecracking equipment was stored. Digging out two sets of handcuffs, he returned to the dayroom and cuffed Harper's left wrist and right ankle to the chair. "That should do for now," he said as he stepped back again. "We'll try to come up with something more permanent later that'll let you eat and sleep more or less comfortably."

"I'll look forward to it," Harper said dryly. "Can you at least tell me why we're going to Bentre?"

"I don't even know myself," Jack said candidly. "Uncle Virge?"

"I don't know if I should," Uncle Virge said hesitantly.

"It's fine," Jack said. "Just tell us."