{"data":{"id":16876,"title":"Phantom Bounty: Part Three","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/16876-Phantom-Bounty-Part-Three","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/16876","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/16876","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Phantom Bounty","images":[{"id":22590,"name":"PhantomBounty-PartThree.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/wfmsizee1xedjr\/source\/PhantomBounty-PartThree.jpg","alt":"","size":400401,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2018-11-21T23:57:56+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/22590","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/22590\/similar"}],"images_count":1,"translations":{"en_EN":"Writer\u2019s Note: Phantom Bounty: Part Three was published originally in Jump Point 3.3. Read Part One here and Part Two here.\nMila and Rhys had chased the Phantom for months, had spent nearly every last credit, had put all their hope in finding her and collecting the bounty.\n\nThe Phantom stood in front of them at last, cuffed inside their prisoner pod. Mila should have felt elated, but all she felt was shock.\n\nEvony Salinas. Mila had stopped going by Evony a decade ago, yet the Phantom knew her real name. And the Phantom\u2019s face looked just like her former best friend\u2019s \u2014 Casey Phan \u2014 a girl found murdered ten years ago.\n\nIt couldn\u2019t be possible. But it was. The terrorist who had hit all those Phan Pharmaceutical labs was the founder\u2019s own daughter. And she wasn\u2019t dead. She\u2019s alive.\n\nMila kept her eyes on the Phantom and wavered on her feet. Rhys reached out and grabbed her arm, steadying her.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re supposed to be dead,\u201d Mila whispered.\n\nCasey swallowed and averted her eyes, looking at the wall behind them. \u201cAnd you\u2019re supposed to be on Terra.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou . . . you almost killed me.\u201d\n\nEmotions Mila hadn\u2019t expected flashed across Casey\u2019s face. Anxiety. Regret. \u201cI swear I didn\u2019t know it was you. You shouldn\u2019t have followed me.\u201d\n\nRhys stepped in front of Mila, blocking her view of Casey, and made a move to shut the pod.\n\n\u201cStop,\u201d Mila commanded.\n\nRhys sharply responded, \u201cShe\u2019s a terrorist, Mila.\u201d\n\n\u201cI need to talk to her.\u201d\n\nRhys paused and stepped back, working his jaw. \u201cWe can\u2019t stay here. We\u2019re sitting ducks.\u201d He looked at the Phantom. \u201cDid you contact anyone to meet you?\u201d\n\nCasey pressed her lips together and didn\u2019t answer.\n\nMila clenched her hands into fists. \u201cEveryone thinks you\u2019re dead. How could you . . . and now you\u2019re attacking your father\u2019s labs \u2014 killing people?\u201d\n\nCasey\u2019s nostrils flared. \u201cIt\u2019s not like that. I\u2019ll tell you. But not with him here.\u201d She pointed to Rhys. \u201cI don\u2019t know him.\u201d\n\nRhys let out an abrupt laugh. \u201cYou tried to kill us three times today. That has to be some kind of record. Now you wanna give Mila some sob story, hope she\u2019ll free you? Yeah, that\u2019s not gonna happen.\u201d\n\nCasey went rigid as Rhys started searching her spacesuit for anything she might be hiding.\n\nConflicting emotions swirled within Mila, anger warring with relief. How the hell could Casey be alive? She\u2019d seen the reports of her murder, she\u2019d attended the funeral. It was basically a state ceremony, with many ranking Terran officials in attendance.\n\nMila wore a solid black floor-length dress and a widebrimmed Terran hat. She covered her face, crying the whole time as Casey\u2019s father gave the eulogy. Afterward, her own mother stayed by her side every day, helping her to get through the grief. Her mother had always supported her until the day she\u2019d turned her back on her family to become a bounty hunter.\n\nAnd it had all started with Casey\u2019s death.\n\nCasey Phan was supposed to be dead.\n\nMila met Casey\u2019s eyes. This . . . this person in front of her couldn\u2019t be her friend. Was it some kind of trick?\n\nRhys finished searching Casey, found nothing, and slammed a fist into the button on the pod. The door eased shut, locking Casey away again.\n\nWhen the door beeped, verifying it was secured, Rhys turned to Mila. He ran a hand through his brown hair, clearly trying to make sense of the situation. He shook his head. \u201cLook. We gotta get out of here and back to Tevistal to hand her over to the Advocacy. We\u2019re too exposed right now if she called for back-up.\u201d\n\nMila nodded. She cast a glance back at the pod and saw the top of Casey\u2019s head through the glass panel. Her head was hanging low, the expression on her face not visible. How could this be happening?\n\nMila\u2019s stomach churned as she followed Rhys back to the cockpit. \u201cPlease. You fly. I\u2019m no good right now.\u201d\n\nRhys took the pilot\u2019s seat and fired up the engines. He eased them away from the cargo ship and past Casey\u2019s abandoned Cutlass, through the floating detritus of the junkyard.\n\nMila pulled up the scanner, searching for signs of powered ships, but she found none. The scans were either blocked by the debris, or they were alone out here.\n\nShe and Rhys sat in tense silence until they reached the edge of the junkyard. A few ships popped up on their scanner, but all of them were docked at the nearby platform, Septa. None of them were headed their way.\n\n\u201cThe Advocacy will want to go back and search her ship.\u201d\n\n\u201cI logged the coordinates,\u201d Mila said.\n\nThey pulled into open space, and the revelations of the last few minutes hung heavy in the air between them.\n\nMila took a deep breath.\n\n\u201cYou asked me back on Tevistal . . . you asked why I couldn\u2019t let this bounty go?\u201d\n\nRhys nodded, but didn\u2019t speak.\n\nMila sighed and settled back in her seat, trying not to be so aware of Casey, locked in a pod behind them. \u201cCasey and I were really close. We grew up together. My father owned a components manufacturer, and her father owned a biotech firm, and they did business together. Our families spent a lot of time together. I thought I knew her.\u201d Mila\u2019s voice broke, but she forced herself to continue. \u201cWhen I was sixteen, Casey went missing. They eventually found her body off-world \u2014 she\u2019d been murdered. Her father threw everything he had at finding her, then at trying to track down her killer, but they never figured it out. I thought she was kidnapped or lured off planet. I couldn\u2019t believe she\u2019d just take a transport off-world and not even tell me where she was going.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo everyone believed she was dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cYeah. They did. I did.\u201d Mila turned toward Rhys and gripped the armrest tightly. \u201cCasey\u2019s death ten years ago was the reason I went into bounty hunting. I couldn\u2019t get justice for Casey, but I could for others. My family basically disowned me when I left. And when a terrorist started attacking Phan Pharmaceuticals again a few months ago. . . it brought up all those old feelings.\u201d Mila\u2019s eyes burned, and she tried to keep tears from coming, but failed. \u201cCasey\u2019s murderer had gotten away, but now someone else was hurting the Phan family, and I could actually do something about it this time.\u201d\n\nRhys stopped the ship and let it drift. He took off his harness and leaned toward her to wipe the tears from her cheeks.\n\n\u201cThank you for telling me.\u201d\n\nMila unstrapped her harness and got up. Rhys stood with her, wrapping her in a hug, which only made her cry harder. She gave in, letting him hold her for a few moments, then got it together and wiped her eyes.\n\nShe stepped away from him and blew out a breath. \u201cI gotta talk to her. I can\u2019t hand her over without finding out the truth. I need to know what happened.\u201d\n\nRhys narrowed his eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t trust her. She\u2019s dangerous. I need you to remember she\u2019s not the friend you grew up with. She might say anything to gain your sympathy.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know. I know. I just . . .\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll stay up here. . . I can listen in if you want me to.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. She said she wanted to talk to me alone. Do you trust me?\u201d\n\nRhys touched her face, wiping away the last of her tears. \u201cYou know I do.\u201d\n\nMila gave him a small smile and went to clean up at the sink to make sure she didn\u2019t look a mess. She couldn\u2019t let Casey see how much of an effect she\u2019d had on her. Rhys was right. Casey was a terrorist now. She\u2019d faked her own death. Those were the actions of a sociopath, at the very least. But she still needed to hear what Casey had to say.\n\nMila typed in the pod\u2019s code and stepped back as the door swung open. Casey blinked at her blearily and then straightened her shoulders.\n\n\u201cI want to talk,\u201d Mila said.\n\nCasey narrowed her eyes. \u201cWhere\u2019s the other guy? I want proof he\u2019s not listening in.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s not. Take my word for it, or I\u2019m closing this pod. You won\u2019t get another chance to talk.\u201d\n\nThe tension hanging in the air was palpable, and a trickle of sweat made its way down Mila\u2019s back.\n\nFinally Casey relented, and she gave a stiff nod.\n\nMila let out a breath. \u201cWhy did you fake your own murder?\u201d\n\nCasey\u2019s eyes softened at something she saw in Mila\u2019s face, which threw Mila off balance again. Could a sociopath show empathy? Or was she faking that, too?\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s not what happened,\u201d Casey said. \u201cTrust me . . . it\u2019s eaten away at me that people I loved thought I was dead. But it was better that way. Safer for everyone involved.\u201d\n\n\u201cExplain.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you taking me to the Advocacy now? How far out are we?\u201d\n\nMila stepped forward and jabbed a finger into Casey\u2019s chest. Casey flinched back. \u201cNo. I\u2019m asking the questions. And you\u2019re answering. What happened to you?\u201d\n\nCasey licked her lips. \u201cRight before I . . . before I disappeared . . . I discovered some things. About what my father\u2019s company was doing. Illegal bio testing on Human subjects. The more I dug the worse it got. He was making bioweapons, Evony.\u201d\n\n\u201cMila. My name is Mila now. And you\u2019re lying. If your father was into any of that, the UEE would have shut him down years ago.\u201d\n\nCasey barked out a laugh. \u201cThere\u2019s so much that goes on under the surface. People get paid off along the way to keep things hidden. \u2018Law-abiding\u2019 Citizens deal in just as much dirt as the people you hunt. But I guess you wouldn\u2019t see it that way. I mean, you\u2019re a bounty hunter now. How did that happen?\u201d\n\nRage flooded Mila. I did this for you. She suddenly couldn\u2019t stand to look at Casey any longer. She lifted a hand to shut the pod.\n\n\u201cWait,\u201d Casey said. \u201cOkay. You don\u2019t have to believe me, but I\u2019ll tell you everything.\u201d\n\nMila let her hand fall away from the button. \u201cFine. Talk.\u201d\n\n\u201cI heard my father on a private comm. . . He said things about experiments, getting rid of the evidence. It scared me. So I snooped through his mobi, found what I had hoped I wouldn\u2019t \u2014 terrible, cold reports. Then I had proof. But I didn\u2019t know who to go to.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe were close.\u201d Mila\u2019s words came out like an accusation. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was terrified you\u2019d go to your parents. Do you know how much stock they have in Phan Pharmaceuticals? They\u2019d want to cover it up just like my dad did. When he caught me poking around, he got so angry I knew he was guilty. I needed to find a way to stop him . . . but how could I turn my own father in to the UEE?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou apparently don\u2019t mind blowing up his facilities and employees.\u201d\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t . . .\u201d Casey shook her head, looking frustrated. \u201cJust listen. I showed up at a few of those anti-pharm meetings. I met a guy who called himself Desh. Said he and some others were secretly working to stop the pharmaceutical corporations that engaged in dirty work. I confessed I had information about a company \u2014 and he promised if I provided proof, he and his friends could make it stop. They said that no one else would get hurt.\u201d\n\n\u201cSeriously? You expect me to believe this? Were you really that stupid?\u201d\n\nCasey\u2019s face screwed up with regret. \u201cI was sixteen.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what happened at these meetings? What happened with Desh?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe asked me to bring the proof with him to meet the other members. He and I boarded transports separately and met up off-world. But it all went sideways from there. He took me to a ship waiting at the edge of the system, and that\u2019s where I found out he was part of PF.\u201d\n\n\u201cPeople First. Yeah, I know them. Bunch of conspiracy theory nut jobs. They weren\u2019t mentioned anywhere in your bounty. You work alone. And they were smalltime. They haven\u2019t been active in years.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re wrong. They\u2019ve just gotten better funding. And got better at covering their tracks.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo what happened? You just . . . faked your own death and joined PF?\u201d\n\nCasey shook her head sadly. \u201cNot exactly. Two Advocacy agents infiltrated us. Desh took them both out, but not before they transmitted an image of us back to Terra. We got out of there, but I couldn\u2019t go back to Terra.\u201d\n\nThis had to be an elaborate lie, but how else could she explain how her dead friend had disappeared from Terra as a teenager and turned up as a terrorist ten years later?\n\n\u201cPF took me with them,\u201d Casey continued. \u201cThey helped me disappear. They had people still on Terra who told me that my dad covered it all up . . . made it look like I was just an innocent bystander who died during the shootout. He made sure my name wouldn\u2019t be connected with PF. He covered it up with your mother\u2019s help, Ev.\u201d\n\nMila\u2019s pulse sped up, and she shook her head. \u201cNo. No, my mother wouldn\u2019t do that.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe did.\u201d Casey\u2019s voice turned bitter. \u201cRemember, my dad was making a run for the Terran Senate that year. He couldn\u2019t have it getting out I was seen with terrorists.\u201d\n\nMila pressed her lips together and laid a hand on the wall to stay standing. Her mother. A cover-up. She felt suddenly dizzy. Nauseous. Her mother had high-level connections as Chair of the Governors Council Budget Committee. If she was part of a cover-up . . .\n\n\u201cPF protected me,\u201d Casey said again, interrupting Mila\u2019s thoughts. \u201cThey gave me a new identity. I soon learned they destroyed facilities where illegal experiments were taking place. They freed test subjects who could be saved. We have benefactors in and out of UEE space that help fund our mission. PF seemed to be doing the right thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou sound proud of yourself.\u201d Mila\u2019s voice rose. \u201cProud to be a terrorist. How many people have you killed?\u201d\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d Casey pulled against her restraints like she wanted to move her hands, plead with Mila to believe her. A desperate look crossed her face. \u201cWhatever they say about me isn\u2019t true. I get in, get the goods, destroy the labs, and get out. I\u2019m not a murderer.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou almost killed us. You planted a bomb in a hostel.\u201d\n\nA rueful smile cracked through Casey\u2019s desperation. \u201cBut was it empty when you showed up?\u201d\n\nMila narrowed her eyes and didn\u2019t respond.\n\nCasey nodded. \u201cIt should have been empty. I paid a guy to warn everyone. It wasn\u2019t my fault if they stayed.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo that\u2019s how you sleep at night. You just lie to yourself. Explain away everything bad you do.\u201d\n\nCasey got quiet and averted her eyes. \u201cNo. I do what I have to do. Doesn\u2019t everyone?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy are you even telling me all this?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou wanted to know.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you think it\u2019s going to make me free you . . . it\u2019s not. The Advocacy will try you for your crimes. You have to pay for your choices.\u201d\n\nCasey\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cLook \u2014 the things I\u2019ve done probably have saved millions, maybe billions of lives. Do you know what was in the last lab I hit? They were working on a bioweapon that could take out entire worlds. Entire worlds, Ev. My father has been playing with fire for years, and we finally had the funding and information we needed to hit his labs. If I didn\u2019t do these jobs, some other PF agent would have. And they might have left fewer survivors. He\u2019s my father. His crimes were my responsibility. But. . . that job was the last job I was ever going to do for them. You have to believe me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t. Of course you\u2019d say it was your last job.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was giving it all up. PF doesn\u2019t just let people quit the organization . . . once you\u2019re in, you\u2019re in for life. I was on my way to meet someone who was going to smuggle me into Xi\u2019an territory. If you let me go now, you\u2019ll never hear from me again. But I have to go somewhere they can\u2019t find me either.\u201d\n\nMila stayed silent for a few, long moments, then finally met Casey\u2019s eyes. \u201cYou were my best friend. I would have done anything to help you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can help me now.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. You\u2019re the Advocacy\u2019s problem now.\u201d\n\nReal fear appeared on Casey\u2019s face. \u201cThe Advocacy can\u2019t protect me. The second I\u2019m in custody, I\u2019m a liability to PF. I\u2019m a problem to be taken care of. There\u2019s a reason no one knows much about them. And if they don\u2019t get me, my father will.\u201d\n\nMila\u2019s chest tightened, and she found herself repeating the words Rhys had said to her back on Tevistal. \u201cThere\u2019s always a choice. Always. You made the wrong one. I\u2019ll make sure you\u2019re taken to a secure facility.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have to warn you, then. If I do manage to make it to trial . . . I\u2019ll do whatever it takes to make sure my father is exposed. Your mother covered up my death, so I can\u2019t promise she won\u2019t be a casualty. After that . . . if my father doesn\u2019t kill me, PF will. If you hand me in . . . you\u2019ll be responsible for all of that.\u201d\n\nMila\u2019s anger flared. \u201cIs that a threat? No. You\u2019re responsible for all of that.\u201d Mila slammed a fist on the pod button and the door swung closed on Casey, beeping when it sealed. Breathing hard, Mila stalked back to the cockpit.\n\nRhys lifted his brows, waiting for her to speak.\n\n\u201cYou were right. She\u2019s a liar. Every word out of her mouth was a lie, and she just wants me to free her.\u201d\n\nRhys narrowed his eyes, searching Mila\u2019s face, worried about her. He ran a hand along her arm. \u201cYou okay?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d Mila said, trying to talk around the giant lump in her throat.\n\n\u201cYou just gotta keep remembering . . . that\u2019s not your friend in there. It\u2019s someone else.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know. Let\u2019s just get her back to Tevistal.\u201d\n\nMila and Rhys strapped back in, and she kept the scanner up as they retraced their course back to the planet they\u2019d just left.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m exhausted.\u201d Mila leaned back in the seat. They hadn\u2019t slept in almost twenty hours.\n\n\u201cAs soon as we hand her over we\u2019ll crash.\u201d\n\nMila murmured a noncommittal reply.\n\n\u201cDo you want to sleep while I fly? You do look like you need it.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, thanks. No. I don\u2019t think I could, even if I wanted to.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you really okay?\u201d\n\nMila released her long brown hair from its tie and ran her fingers through it. \u201cHonestly? No.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m ready to hear what she said, whenever you\u2019re ready to share it.\u201d\n\n\u201cJust what you said she would. Claimed she wasn\u2019t a bad terrorist, whatever that means. She says her father is into . . . illegal testing. She says she\u2019s working with PF \u2014 the People First crazies.\u201d Mila pressed her lips together. She couldn\u2019t bring herself to say the things that could implicate her own mother.\n\nRhys worked his jaw. \u201cSo Casey\u2019s a front for something bigger, and her dad is just as bad as she is, but no one in the entire UEE has caught on to it in more than a decade.\u201d He shook his head. \u201cWell, the Advocacy will know what to do with her. It\u2019s not our job.\u201d\n\n\u201cYeah, I know.\u201d\n\nMila thought of the young girl she\u2019d been friends with. Thin and petite, long black hair always hanging in her intelligent eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t get it.\u201d\n\n\u201cPeople change.\u201d\n\n\u201cEver since we were children, though . . . When we were twelve, there was this girl at school, Lia. Really wealthy, who held these ridiculous parties at her mansion. They\u2019d bring in games, expensive prizes, the kinds of rides you\u2019d find at fairs. It was crazy. We were all friends with her . . . until I accidentally insulted her one day at Academy. So I was the only one not invited to this party. Casey announced she was done with Lia in front of everyone, then stayed home the night of the party, watching old vids with me in our crash room. She was always doing stuff like that for the people she cared about. Always so . . . loyal. None of this adds up.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s never a good enough reason to do what she\u2019s done.\u201d\n\nA long silence stretched on between them, and Mila\u2019s mind struggled to come to terms with the Casey she\u2019d known and the Casey locked up in the pod on Devana.\n\nThe story Casey had told . . . about finding the illegal research, about deciding to fix it herself . . . it did line up with the old Casey. It made Mila doubt . . . everything. And the fact that she felt doubt scared her. There was no room for doubt in this job.\n\n\u201cWhat if Casey\u2019s telling the truth?\u201d she blurted out.\n\nRhys stiffened in his seat. \u201cThen we let the Advocacy determine that,\u201d he said carefully. He looked toward her, studying her face. \u201cWe stick to the mission. The right thing to do is hand her over. If they determine she\u2019s telling the truth, the proper authorities can handle it. You and I will get away from all this . . . get some downtime. That was the plan, right?\u201d\n\n\u201cRight,\u201d Mila answered quickly.\n\nAfter a few awkward minutes, Rhys cleared his throat. \u201cYou know, this is the most you\u2019ve ever told me about your past.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re a bounty hunter.\u201d Mila said, glad to drop the subject of Casey. \u201cDidn\u2019t you research me before we went into business together?\u201d\n\nRhys smirked, but it had no real mirth behind it. \u201cYeah. You did a good job wiping yourself off the map. Evony, huh?\u201d\n\nMila winced. \u201cYeah. My family kind of disowned me when I joined the guild. This wasn\u2019t the life they had planned for their only child. I decided to start over, use my middle name.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe all have histories . . . and a lot of us choose bounty hunting to leave those behind. I followed my gut about you.\u201d Rhys met her eyes, and she could see the open trust displayed there. \u201cAnd I know I made the right decision.\u201d\n\nMila smiled, and they lapsed into silence for the rest of the flight back to Tevistal.\n\nRhys trusted her.\n\nBut could she trust herself?\n\nThe pit in Mila\u2019s stomach grew worse as Rhys landed back at the Tevistal docks. He commed with maintenance and used up the last of their creds to get the forward screen patched and the maneuvering thruster replaced.\n\n\u201cI have just enough to hire a hover,\u201d he said to Mila, as he brought up the Advocacy office address and a list of the agents who worked there. \u201cWe can\u2019t risk broadcasting the Phantom\u2019s whereabouts. I know this Advocacy agent,\u201d he said, pointing to a name. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with him before, and I trust him. I\u2019ll make contact with him personally so we can hand Casey over. Then we get paid, and we get outta here.\u201d\n\nMila nodded, and Rhys headed back to their quarters to change into planetside clothes and grab his gear. Mila squeezed her hands tight in her lap and watched as the workers began to patch the cockpit from the outside.\n\nI can do this. I can turn Casey over.\n\nMila stood up as Rhys headed back toward her.\n\nShe lowered the forward ramp for him and looked up at him, at the worry on his face, wondering what her own face looked like. His eyes crinkled around the edges and he leaned down to press his lips to hers. She kissed him back, relishing his warmth, willing Rhys and his loyalty and trust to erase her doubt over Casey.\n\nHe wrapped her in a tight hug. She listened to the thump of his heart beneath his shirt, and a new feeling of dread bloomed within her.\n\nShe didn\u2019t want to let him go, but he finally pulled away. \u201cI should be back soon with agents. Don\u2019t let anyone inside this ship.\u201d\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t.\u201d\n\n\u201cEverything will be fine.\u201d Rhys kissed her gently again, and then she was watching his back as he headed down the ramp to the docks.\n\nMila retracted the ramp and went back to the co-pilot\u2019s seat, not allowing herself even to look at the pod holding Casey.\n\nShe\u2019d never had such a hard time turning in a criminal before. But then, she\u2019d never personally known a criminal like this. It was good Rhys was handling it. She couldn\u2019t.\n\nHe had faith in her, and that meant everything. This was her life now. And she needed to do her job.\n\nBut . . .\n\nMila activated her mobiGlas and accessed the local network. She searched a decade back, looking for old news posts about Owen Phan and Casey Phan\u2019s death.\n\nThe first image she pulled up was of Owen Phan during his failed Senate run. Owen and Casey\u2019s mother Lynn stood together at a charity event. And next to them: Mila\u2019s parents. Mila\u2019s heart lurched. Her mother stood between her father and Owen. She pulled up another dozen images, and more than half of them showed her parents with the Phans. If Casey was telling the truth, then Casey\u2019s trial would destroy both their families.\n\nAnd if it was true, it meant her own mother had lied to her, let her mourn when Casey wasn\u2019t even dead. Mila took a deep breath and pushed down her anger at the thought. She searched for articles on Casey\u2019s death.\n\nPhan Pharmaceutical Heir Found Murdered Off-World\n\nMila had read this statement dozens of times. Casey had taken a trip on her own. Someone had killed her. Wrong place, wrong time. Murderer never found. Family devastated. No new leads. Case closed.\n\nMila ran a new query.\n\nPhan Pharmaceutical, Illegal Bioweapons\n\nMore than a thousand results appeared. Mila raced through them. Most of them were PR releases from Phan Pharmaceutical themselves, promoting all the hard work they\u2019d done to stop the creation of bioweapons. Spectrum wasn\u2019t getting her anywhere. She was going to have to dive deep into the boards. She switched her profile over to a persona she had built up for just such occasions and began pinging threads.\n\nWithin seconds messages appeared.\n\nIllegal test subjects.\n\nProof of bioweapon development.\n\nSuspected facilities.\n\nHeart in her throat, Mila scanned the documents someone named \u201cDarkStar\u201d had uploaded. The list contained all the facilities the Phantom was reputed to have hit in the past few months. Why hadn\u2019t Mila thought to do this research before? She\u2019d been so focused on tracking down the Phantom, she\u2019d ignored any possibility that Phan Pharmaceuticals might have done something to deserve the attacks.\n\nBut there was never a good reason for terrorism. There wasn\u2019t.\n\nAnother user had posted documents with the claim that Phan\u2019s research facility on Gen was up to its eyes in psychoactive weapons. It was the third facility the Phantom had attacked.\n\nMila pulled up the documents. Internal memos with the Phan Pharmaceuticals logo on top. Redacted statements recovered. References made to the ILIOS Project. Mila skimmed them, her heart pounding.\n\n100% fatality rate\n\nSpread quickly through physical contact\n\nQuarantine\n\nBuyers from four worlds\n\nThis wasn\u2019t proof. Maybe they were working on a cure for something, not a disease. But what disease still existed that had a 100% fatality rate . . . something people would want to buy a cure for? Mila exited her search and got to her feet. Her hands were shaking as she made her way back to Casey\u2019s pod and typed in the code. It beeped back at her and flashed red.\n\nShe tried it again. It denied her access. Again.\n\nRhys had changed the code on it. He hadn\u2019t trusted her.\n\nThe realization was a kick in the gut. She assumed things . . . believed things to be true. She\u2019d thought he trusted her. But she\u2019d built her whole life on lies. And now everything she\u2019d taken as truth was falling apart around her.\n\nMila swallowed hard and held her mobiGlas up to the panel. She activated the hack program she\u2019d used back at the hostel, and the door swung open.\n\nCasey blinked at her. \u201cThe Advocacy here?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do I know you\u2019re telling the truth about the bioweapons? Do you have proof?\u201d\n\nCasey\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cI destroy everything when I go in. That\u2019s the point.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t \u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cEvony. I knew you. You knew me. Am I lying to you?\u201d Her eyes were wide, pleading. Mila shook her head. \u201cI don\u2019t know . . . I . . .\u201d\n\nShe met Casey\u2019s eyes and tried to see the girl she used to know. Mila couldn\u2019t be responsible for her childhood friend\u2019s murder. Not after she\u2019d already grieved once. And she couldn\u2019t risk Casey bringing down the whole Salinas family with her. Because something in her gut told her that her mother might well have done whatever it took to help the Phan family succeed. Her mother was perfectly capable of manipulating reality to fit with her goals.\n\nMila groaned. \u201cIf I let you go, you\u2019ll leave? You\u2019ll leave and never come back?\u201d\n\nA light sprang into Casey\u2019s eyes. \u201cIf you can help me get to the meeting with my patron, she\u2019ll get me into Xi\u2019an territory. You\u2019ll never see or hear from me again. I swear it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t want Rhys involved in this . . . I\u2019ll say . . . I\u2019ll say you overpowered me, stole the ship. They can find me later.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes. We\u2019ll keep him out of it. I promise.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou better not make me regret this.\u201d Mila used her mobi to release the cuffs from the interior bar.\n\nMila clenched her jaw tight as she loosened Casey\u2019s cuffs. If she was wrong about this, Casey could try to overpower her right now and escape. But the blows never came.\n\nInstead, Casey threw her arms around Mila, surprising her with a tight hug. \u201cYou won\u2019t regret this.\u201d She stepped back and massaged her red wrists. \u201cNow tell me what I need to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll fly us out of here,\u201d Mila said. \u201cYou navigate us to your meeting point.\u201d\n\nThey hurried to the cockpit, and Mila barely breathed, still expecting a betrayal, waiting to see if she\u2019d made a mistake. But Casey didn\u2019t turn on her. Not yet, anyway.\n\nRight after they\u2019d strapped into their seats, the comm crackled. \u201cMila,\u201d Rhys\u2019s voice came through. \u201cTen minutes out by hover.\u201d\n\nMila jabbed a finger into the comm. \u201cReceived. Everything\u2019s . . . good.\u201d\n\n\u201cSee you soon,\u201d Rhys said.\n\nDread threatened to engulf Mila, but she tried to ignore the feelings as she took the controls. In the seat beside her, Casey pulled up the comms and requested emergency clearance to take off.\n\nIf they made it off-world, Rhys would never, ever forgive her. But it was too late. She\u2019d made her decision, and now Casey Phan, the Phantom, sat beside her, ready to escape UEE space once and for all.\n\nClearance came in, and Mila fired up the engines.\n\n\u201cThank you, Ev. I mean it. I don\u2019t deserve your trust after . . .\u201d\n\nMila just shook her head. \u201cNo. You don\u2019t.\u201d\n\n\u201cMila.\u201d Rhys\u2019s panicked voice came over the comm. \u201cMila, I have you in sight. Why are the engines fired up? What\u2019s going on?\u201d\n\nMila activated the comm, and winced against a jolt of pain in her shoulder. The numbing agent was fading, the burn from her pistol wound returning. Casey had shot her, and here she was freeing her. Mila stared at the comm and tried to think of what she could say to Rhys. But there was nothing to say.\n\nShe\u2019d have to lie to him if she got out of this alive. Whatever they\u2019d had together . . . it was over now, burned by her decision. And the less he knew, the better off he\u2019d be.\n\nI\u2019m so sorry, Rhys.\n\nShe removed her finger from the comm without saying a word and lifted Devana into the sky.\n\nTO BE CONTINUED\u2026","de_DE":"Anmerkung des Autors: Phantom-Bounty: Teil Drei wurde urspr\u00fcnglich in Jump Point 3.3 ver\u00f6ffentlicht. Lies Teil Eins hier und Teil Zwei hier.\nMila und Rhys hatten das Phantom monatelang gejagt, fast jeden letzten Kredit ausgegeben, alle ihre Hoffnung gesetzt, sie zu finden und das Kopfgeld einzusammeln.\n\nDas Phantom stand endlich vor ihnen, gefesselt in ihrem Gefangenenlager. Mila h\u00e4tte sich begeistert f\u00fchlen sollen, aber alles, was sie f\u00fchlte, war ein Schock.\n\nEvony Salinas. Mila hatte vor einem Jahrzehnt aufgeh\u00f6rt, Evony zu besuchen, aber das Phantom kannte ihren richtigen Namen. Und das Gesicht der Phantom sah aus wie das ihrer ehemaligen besten Freundin - Casey Phan - ein M\u00e4dchen, das vor zehn Jahren ermordet aufgefunden wurde.\n\nDas kann nicht sein. Aber das war es. Der Terrorist, der all diese Phan Pharmaceutical Labors getroffen hatte, war die eigene Tochter des Gr\u00fcnders. Und sie war nicht tot. Sie ist am Leben.\n\nMila behielt das Phantom im Auge und wankte auf den F\u00fc\u00dfen. Rhys streckte die Hand aus und packte ihren Arm, um sie zu beruhigen.\n\n\"Du sollst tot sein\", fl\u00fcsterte Mila.\n\nCasey schluckte und wandte ihre Augen ab und sah auf die Wand hinter ihnen. \"Und du solltest auf Terra sein.\"\n\n\"Du. ...du h\u00e4ttest mich fast get\u00f6tet.\"\n\nEmotionen, die Mila nicht erwartet hatte, blitzten \u00fcber Caseys Gesicht. Angst. Bedauern. \"Ich schw\u00f6re, ich wusste nicht, dass du es bist. Du h\u00e4ttest mir nicht folgen sollen.\"\n\nRhys trat vor Mila, blockierte ihren Blick auf Casey und machte einen Schritt, um den Tank zu schlie\u00dfen.\n\n\"H\u00f6r auf\", befahl Mila.\n\nRhys antwortete scharf: \"Sie ist eine Terroristin, Mila.\"\n\n\"Ich muss mit ihr reden.\"\n\nRhys hielt inne und trat zur\u00fcck, um seinen Kiefer zu bearbeiten. \"Wir k\u00f6nnen nicht hier bleiben. Wir sind leichte Beute.\" Er sah das Phantom an. \"Hast du jemanden kontaktiert, um dich zu treffen?\"\n\nCasey dr\u00fcckte ihre Lippen zusammen und antwortete nicht.\n\nMila presste ihre H\u00e4nde in F\u00e4uste. \"Jeder denkt, dass du tot bist. Wie konntest du nur. ... und jetzt greifst du die Laboratorien deines Vaters an - t\u00f6test Menschen?\"\n\nCaseys Nasenl\u00f6cher flackerten. \"So ist das nicht. Ich sage es dir. Aber nicht, wenn er hier ist.\" Sie zeigte auf Rhys. \"Ich kenne ihn nicht.\"\n\nRhys lie\u00df ein abruptes Lachen aus. \"Du hast heute dreimal versucht, uns zu t\u00f6ten. Das muss eine Art Rekord sein. Jetzt willst du Mila eine schluchzende Geschichte erz\u00e4hlen, in der Hoffnung, dass sie dich befreit? Ja, das wird nicht passieren.\"\n\nCasey wurde starr, als Rhys anfing, ihren Raumanzug nach allem zu durchsuchen, was sie vielleicht versteckt.\n\nWiderspr\u00fcchliche Emotionen wirbelten in Mila, Wut k\u00e4mpfte vor Erleichterung. Wie zum Teufel konnte Casey noch am Leben sein? Sie hatte die Berichte \u00fcber ihren Mord gesehen, sie war bei der Beerdigung dabei. Es war im Grunde genommen eine staatliche Zeremonie, an der viele hochrangige Terraner Beamte teilnahmen.\n\nMila trug ein solides, schwarzes, bodenlanges Kleid und einen breitrahmigen Terranerhut. Sie bedeckte ihr Gesicht und weinte die ganze Zeit, als Caseys Vater die Grabrede hielt. Danach blieb ihre eigene Mutter jeden Tag an ihrer Seite und half ihr, die Trauer zu \u00fcberstehen. Ihre Mutter hatte sie immer unterst\u00fctzt, bis zu dem Tag, an dem sie ihrer Familie den R\u00fccken gekehrt hatte, um ein Kopfgeldj\u00e4ger zu werden.\n\nUnd es hatte alles mit Caseys Tod begonnen.\n\nCasey Phan sollte eigentlich tot sein.\n\nMila traf Caseys Augen. Diese.... diese Person vor ihr konnte nicht ihre Freundin sein. War es eine Art Trick?\n\nRhys beendete die Suche nach Casey, fand nichts und schlug mit der Faust in den Knopf auf dem Pod. Die T\u00fcr schloss sich und schloss Casey wieder ein.\n\nAls die T\u00fcr piepste und verifizierte, dass sie gesichert war, wandte sich Rhys an Mila. Er fuhr mit der Hand durch sein braunes Haar und versuchte eindeutig, die Situation zu verstehen. Er sch\u00fcttelte den Kopf. \"Schau. Wir m\u00fcssen hier raus und zur\u00fcck nach Tevistal, um sie der Advocacy zu \u00fcbergeben. Wir sind im Moment zu exponiert, wenn sie nach Verst\u00e4rkung ruft.\"\n\nMila nickte. Sie warf einen Blick zur\u00fcck auf die Kapsel und sah die Oberseite von Caseys Kopf durch die Glasscheibe. Ihr Kopf hing tief, der Ausdruck auf ihrem Gesicht war nicht sichtbar. Wie konnte das passieren?\n\nMilas Magen brannte, als sie Rhys zur\u00fcck ins Cockpit folgte. \"Bitte. Du fliegst. Ich bin im Moment nicht gut genug.\"\n\nRhys nahm den Pilotenplatz ein und feuerte die Motoren an. Er lie\u00df sie vom Frachtschiff weg und passierte Caseys verlassenes Entermesser, durch den schwimmenden Schutt des Schrottplatzes.\n\nMila zog den Scanner hoch und suchte nach Anzeichen von Motorschiffen, aber sie fand keine. Die Scans wurden entweder durch die Tr\u00fcmmer blockiert, oder sie waren allein hier drau\u00dfen.\n\nSie und Rhys sa\u00dfen in angespannter Stille, bis sie den Rand des Schrottplatzes erreichten. Einige Schiffe tauchten auf ihrem Scanner auf, aber alle waren an der nahegelegenen Plattform Septa angedockt. Keiner von ihnen war auf dem Weg zu ihnen.\n\n\"Die Advocacy wird zur\u00fcckgehen und ihr Schiff durchsuchen wollen.\"\n\n\"Ich habe die Koordinaten protokolliert\", sagte Mila.\n\nSie zogen in den offenen Raum, und die Offenbarungen der letzten Minuten hingen schwer in der Luft zwischen ihnen.\n\nMila atmete tief durch.\n\n\"Du hast mich nach Tevistal zur\u00fcck gefragt.... du hast gefragt, warum ich dieses Kopfgeld nicht loslassen konnte?\"\n\nRhys nickte, sprach aber nicht.\n\nMila seufzte und setzte sich auf ihren Platz zur\u00fcck und versuchte, Casey nicht so aufmerksam zu machen, eingeschlossen in einer Kapsel hinter ihnen. \"Casey und ich standen uns sehr nahe. Wir sind zusammen aufgewachsen. Mein Vater besa\u00df einen Komponentenhersteller und ihr Vater eine Biotech-Firma, und sie machten Gesch\u00e4fte zusammen. Unsere Familien verbrachten viel Zeit miteinander. Ich dachte, ich kenne sie.\" Milas Stimme brach, aber sie zwang sich, weiterzumachen. \"Als ich sechzehn war, wurde Casey vermisst. Sie fanden schlie\u00dflich ihren K\u00f6rper au\u00dferhalb der Welt - sie wurde ermordet. Ihr Vater warf alles, was er hatte, um sie zu finden, dann versuchte er, ihren M\u00f6rder aufzusp\u00fcren, aber sie fanden es nie heraus. Ich dachte, sie wurde entf\u00fchrt oder vom Planeten gelockt. Ich konnte nicht glauben, dass sie einfach einen Transport von der Welt nahm und mir nicht einmal sagte, wohin sie wollte.\"\n\n\"Also glaubten alle, sie sei tot.\"\n\n\"Ja. Das haben sie. Das habe ich.\" Mila wandte sich Rhys zu und packte die Armlehne fest. \"Caseys Tod vor zehn Jahren war der Grund, warum ich zur Kopfgeldjagd ging. Ich konnte keine Gerechtigkeit f\u00fcr Casey bekommen, aber ich konnte f\u00fcr andere. Meine Familie hat mich im Grunde genommen verleugnet, als ich ging. Und als ein Terrorist vor einigen Monaten anfing, Phan Pharmaceuticals erneut anzugreifen. Es weckte all diese alten Gef\u00fchle.\" Milas Augen brannten, und sie versuchte, Tr\u00e4nen davon abzuhalten, zu kommen, scheiterte aber. \"Caseys M\u00f6rder war entkommen, aber jetzt hat jemand anderes die Phan-Familie verletzt, und ich konnte diesmal tats\u00e4chlich etwas dagegen tun.\"\n\nRhys stoppte das Schiff und lie\u00df es treiben. Er zog sein Geschirr aus und lehnte sich an sie heran, um die Tr\u00e4nen von ihren Wangen zu wischen.\n\n\"Danke, dass du es mir gesagt hast.\"\n\nMila \u00f6ffnete ihr Gurtzeug und stand auf. Rhys stand bei ihr und wickelte sie in eine Umarmung, was sie nur noch h\u00e4rter weinen lie\u00df. Sie gab nach, lie\u00df sich von ihm f\u00fcr einige Augenblicke festhalten, packte es dann zusammen und wischte sich die Augen.\n\nSie trat von ihm weg und blies einen Atemzug heraus. \"Ich muss mit ihr reden. Ich kann sie nicht \u00fcbergeben, ohne die Wahrheit herauszufinden. Ich muss wissen, was passiert ist.\"\n\nRhys verengte seine Augen. \"Ich traue ihr nicht. Sie ist gef\u00e4hrlich. Du musst daran denken, dass sie nicht die Freundin ist, mit der du aufgewachsen bist. Sie k\u00f6nnte alles sagen, um dein Mitgef\u00fchl zu gewinnen.\"\n\n\"Ich wei\u00df. Ich wei\u00df. Ich bin nur....\"\n\n\"Ich werde hier oben bleiben. . . Ich kann zuh\u00f6ren, wenn du willst.\"\n\n\"Nein. Sie sagte, sie will allein mit mir reden. Vertraust du mir?\"\n\nRhys ber\u00fchrte ihr Gesicht und wischte die letzten ihrer Tr\u00e4nen weg. \"Du wei\u00dft, dass ich das tue.\"\n\nMila schenkte ihm ein kleines L\u00e4cheln und ging zum Aufr\u00e4umen an der Sp\u00fcle, um sicherzustellen, dass sie nicht durcheinander aussah. Sie konnte Casey nicht sehen lassen, wie sehr sie sich auf sie ausgewirkt hatte. Rhys hatte Recht. Casey war jetzt ein Terrorist. Sie hatte ihren eigenen Tod vorget\u00e4uscht. Das waren zumindest die Handlungen eines Soziopathen. Aber sie musste noch h\u00f6ren, was Casey zu sagen hatte.\n\nMila tippte den Code des Pod ein und trat zur\u00fcck, als die T\u00fcr aufschwang. Casey blinzelte sie blitzartig an und streckte dann ihre Schultern aus.\n\n\"Ich will reden\", sagte Mila.\n\nCasey verengte die Augen. \"Wo ist der andere Typ? Ich will einen Beweis, dass er nicht zuh\u00f6rt.\"\n\n\"Ist er nicht. Glaub mir, oder ich schlie\u00dfe diese Kapsel. Du wirst keine Chance mehr zum Reden haben.\"\n\nDie Spannung, die in der Luft hing, war sp\u00fcrbar, und ein Tropfen Schwei\u00df zog \u00fcber Milas R\u00fccken.\n\nSchlie\u00dflich gab Casey nach, und sie nickte steif.\n\nMila lie\u00df einen Atemzug aus. \"Warum hast du deinen eigenen Mord vorget\u00e4uscht?\"\n\nCasey's Augen wurden weicher durch etwas, das sie in Mila's Gesicht sah, was Mila wieder aus dem Gleichgewicht brachte. K\u00f6nnte ein Soziopath Empathie zeigen? Oder hat sie das auch vorget\u00e4uscht?\n\n\"Das ist nicht das, was passiert ist\", sagte Casey. \"Vertrau mir.... es hat mich verzehrt, dass die Menschen, die ich liebte, dachten, ich sei tot. Aber es war besser so. Mehr Sicherheit f\u00fcr alle Beteiligten.\"\n\n\" Erkl\u00e4re es.\"\n\n\"Bringst du mich jetzt zur Anwaltschaft? Wie weit sind wir noch entfernt?\"\n\nMila trat vor und stie\u00df einen Finger in Caseys Brust. Casey zuckte zur\u00fcck. \"Nein. Ich stelle die Fragen. Und du antwortest. Was ist mit dir passiert?\"\n\nCasey leckte ihre Lippen. \"Kurz bevor ich.... bevor ich verschwunden bin.... Ich habe einige Dinge entdeckt. Dar\u00fcber, was die Firma meines Vaters tat. Illegale Biotests an menschlichen Probanden. Je mehr ich grub, desto schlimmer wurde es. Er machte Biowaffen, Evony.\"\n\n\"Mila. Mein Name ist jetzt Mila. Und du l\u00fcgst. Wenn dein Vater in so etwas verwickelt w\u00e4re, h\u00e4tte die UEE ihn vor Jahren geschlossen.\"\n\nCasey lachte ein wenig. \"Es gibt so viel, was unter der Oberfl\u00e4che vor sich geht. Menschen werden auf dem Weg dorthin bezahlt, um Dinge zu verstecken. Gesetzestreue\" B\u00fcrger handeln mit genauso viel Dreck wie die Menschen, die Sie jagen. Aber ich sch\u00e4tze, so w\u00fcrdest du es nicht sehen. Ich meine, du bist jetzt ein Kopfgeldj\u00e4ger. Wie ist das passiert?\"\n\nWut \u00fcberflutete Mila. Ich habe das f\u00fcr dich getan. Sie konnte es pl\u00f6tzlich nicht mehr ertragen, Casey anzusehen. Sie hob eine Hand, um die Kapsel zu schlie\u00dfen.\n\n\"Warte\", sagte Casey. \"Okay. Du musst mir nicht glauben, aber ich werde dir alles erz\u00e4hlen.\"\n\nMila lie\u00df ihre Hand vom Knopf fallen. \"Gut. Sprich.\"\n\n\"Ich habe meinen Vater auf privater Basis geh\u00f6rt. . Er sagte Dinge \u00fcber Experimente und die Beseitigung der Beweise. Es hat mir Angst gemacht. Also schn\u00fcffelte ich durch seine Mobi, fand, was ich mir erhofft hatte - schreckliche, kalte Berichte. Dann hatte ich Beweise. Aber ich wusste nicht, zu wem ich gehen sollte.\"\n\n\"Wir waren nah dran.\" Milas Worte kamen wie eine Anschuldigung r\u00fcber. \"Warum hast du es mir nicht gesagt?\"\n\n\"Ich hatte Angst, dass du zu deinen Eltern gehen w\u00fcrdest. Wei\u00dft du, wie viel Bestand sie an Phan Pharmaceuticals haben? Sie w\u00fcrden es genauso vertuschen wollen wie mein Vater. Als er mich beim Herumst\u00f6bern erwischte, wurde er so w\u00fctend, dass ich wusste, dass er schuldig war. Ich musste einen Weg finden, ihn aufzuhalten.... aber wie konnte ich meinen eigenen Vater an die UEE verweisen?\"\n\n\"Es macht dir anscheinend nichts aus, seine Einrichtungen und Mitarbeiter in die Luft zu jagen.\"\n\n\"Das habe ich nicht...\" Casey sch\u00fcttelte den Kopf und sah frustriert aus. \"H\u00f6r einfach zu. Ich tauchte bei ein paar dieser Anti-Pharm-Meetings auf. Ich traf einen Typen, der sich Desh nannte. Sagte, er und einige andere arbeiteten heimlich daran, die Pharmaunternehmen zu stoppen, die an der Schmutzarbeit beteiligt waren. Ich gestand, dass ich Informationen \u00fcber ein Unternehmen hatte - und er versprach, dass er und seine Freunde, wenn ich den Nachweis leiste, es beenden k\u00f6nnten. Sie sagten, dass niemand sonst verletzt werden w\u00fcrde.\"\n\n\"Im Ernst? Du erwartest, dass ich das glaube? Warst du wirklich so dumm?\"\n\nCaseys Gesicht war voller Reue. \"Ich war sechzehn.\"\n\n\"Und was geschah bei diesen Treffen? Was ist mit Desh passiert?\"\n\n\"Er bat mich, den Beweis mitzubringen, um die anderen Mitglieder zu treffen. Er und ich bestiegen die Transporte separat und trafen uns au\u00dferhalb der Welt. Aber von da an lief alles seitw\u00e4rts. Er brachte mich zu einem Schiff, das am Rande des Systems wartete, und dort fand ich heraus, dass er Teil von PF war.\"\n\n\"Menschen zuerst. Ja, ich kenne sie. Ein Haufen von Verschw\u00f6rungstheorien, verr\u00fcckte Jobs. Sie wurden nirgendwo in deinem Kopfgeld erw\u00e4hnt. Du arbeitest allein. Und sie waren klein. Sie waren seit Jahren nicht mehr aktiv.\"\n\n\"Du liegst falsch. Sie haben gerade eine bessere Finanzierung bekommen. Und wurde besser darin, ihre Spuren zu verwischen.\"\n\n\"Also, was ist passiert? Du hast einfach.... deinen eigenen Tod vorget\u00e4uscht und bist PF beigetreten?\"\n\nCasey sch\u00fcttelte den Kopf traurig. \"Nicht ganz. Zwei Advocacy-Agenten haben uns infiltriert. Desh nahm sie beide heraus, aber nicht bevor sie ein Bild von uns zur\u00fcck nach Terra \u00fcbertrugen. Wir kamen da raus, aber ich konnte nicht zur\u00fcck zu Terra.\"\n\nDas musste eine aufwendige L\u00fcge sein, aber wie sonst sollte sie erkl\u00e4ren, wie ihre tote Freundin als Teenagerin von Terra verschwunden war und zehn Jahre sp\u00e4ter als Terroristin auftauchte?\n\n\"PF hat mich mitgenommen\", fuhr Casey fort. \"Sie halfen mir zu verschwinden. Sie hatten noch Leute auf Terra, die mir sagten, dass mein Vater alles vertuscht hatte.... und es so aussehen lie\u00dfen, als w\u00e4re ich nur ein unschuldiger Zuschauer, der w\u00e4hrend der Schie\u00dferei starb. Er stellte sicher, dass mein Name nicht mit PF in Verbindung gebracht wird. Er hat es mit der Hilfe deiner Mutter vertuscht, Ev.\"\n\nMilas Puls beschleunigte sich, und sie sch\u00fcttelte den Kopf. \"Nein. Nein. Nein, meine Mutter w\u00fcrde das nicht tun.\"\n\n\"Das hat sie.\" Caseys Stimme wurde bitter. \"Denk dran, mein Vater hat in diesem Jahr f\u00fcr den Terranischen Senat gek\u00e4mpft. Er konnte es sich nicht leisten, dass ich mit Terroristen gesehen wurde.\"\n\nMila dr\u00fcckte ihre Lippen zusammen und legte eine Hand an die Wand, um stehen zu bleiben. Ihre Mutter. Eine Vertuschung. Ihr wurde pl\u00f6tzlich schwindlig. \u00dcbelkeit. Ihre Mutter hatte als Vorsitzende des Haushaltsausschusses des EZB-Rates hochrangige Verbindungen. Wenn sie Teil einer Vertuschung war.....\n\n\"PF hat mich gesch\u00fctzt\", sagte Casey noch einmal und unterbrach Milas Gedanken. \"Sie gaben mir eine neue Identit\u00e4t. Ich erfuhr bald, dass sie Einrichtungen zerst\u00f6rten, in denen illegale Experimente stattfanden. Sie befreiten Testpersonen, die gerettet werden konnten. Wir haben Wohlt\u00e4ter in und au\u00dferhalb des UEE-Raums, die helfen, unsere Mission zu finanzieren. PF schien das Richtige zu tun.\"\n\n\"Du klingst stolz auf dich.\" Milas Stimme erhob sich. \"Ich bin stolz darauf, ein Terrorist zu sein. Wie viele Menschen hast du schon get\u00f6tet?\"\n\n\"Das habe ich nicht.\" Casey zog gegen ihre Fesseln, als wolle sie ihre H\u00e4nde bewegen, flehte Mila an, ihr zu glauben. Ein verzweifelter Blick kreuzte ihr Gesicht. \"Was immer sie \u00fcber mich sagen, ist nicht wahr. Ich gehe rein, hole die Ware, zerst\u00f6re die Labore und gehe raus. Ich bin kein M\u00f6rder.\"\n\n\"Du hast uns fast umgebracht. Du hast eine Bombe in einem Hostel platziert.\"\n\nEin reum\u00fctiges L\u00e4cheln brach durch Caseys Verzweiflung zusammen. \"Aber war es leer, als du aufgetaucht bist?\"\n\nMila verengte die Augen und reagierte nicht.\n\nCasey nickte. \"Es h\u00e4tte leer sein sollen. Ich habe einen Kerl bezahlt, um alle zu warnen. Es war nicht meine Schuld, wenn sie blieben.\"\n\n\"So schl\u00e4ft man also nachts. Du bel\u00fcgst dich nur selbst. Erkl\u00e4re alles Schlechte, was du tust.\"\n\nCasey wurde still und wandte ihre Augen ab. \"Nein. Ich tue, was ich tun muss. Das tun nicht alle?\"\n\n\"Warum erz\u00e4hlst du mir das alles \u00fcberhaupt?\"\n\n\"Du wolltest es wissen.\"\n\n\"Wenn du denkst, dass ich dich dadurch befreien kann. ...ist es nicht. Die Advocacy wird Sie wegen Ihrer Verbrechen vor Gericht stellen. Du musst f\u00fcr deine Entscheidungen bezahlen.\"\n\nCasey's Augen wurden gr\u00f6\u00dfer. \"Schau - die Dinge, die ich getan habe, haben wahrscheinlich Millionen, vielleicht Milliarden von Leben gerettet. Wei\u00dft du, was im letzten Labor war, das ich getroffen habe? Sie arbeiteten an einer Biowaffe, die ganze Welten ausl\u00f6schen konnte. Ganze Welten, Ev. Mein Vater spielt seit Jahren mit dem Feuer, und wir hatten endlich die Mittel und Informationen, die wir brauchten, um seine Labore zu treffen. Wenn ich diese Jobs nicht machen w\u00fcrde, h\u00e4tte es ein anderer PF-Agent getan. Und sie haben vielleicht weniger \u00dcberlebende hinterlassen. Er ist mein Vater. Seine Verbrechen lagen in meiner Verantwortung. Aber.... . dieser Job war der letzte Job, den ich je f\u00fcr sie machen w\u00fcrde. Du musst mir glauben.\"\n\n\"Das tue ich nicht. Nat\u00fcrlich w\u00fcrde man sagen, es war dein letzter Job.\"\n\n\"Ich habe alles aufgegeben. PF l\u00e4sst nicht nur Leute die Organisation verlassen.... sobald man drin ist, ist man auf Lebenszeit dabei. Ich war auf dem Weg, jemanden zu treffen, der mich in das Gebiet von Xi'an schmuggeln w\u00fcrde. Wenn du mich jetzt gehen l\u00e4sst, wirst du nie wieder von mir h\u00f6ren. Aber ich muss irgendwo hin, wo sie mich auch nicht finden k\u00f6nnen.\"\n\nMila schwieg f\u00fcr ein paar, lange Momente, dann traf sie schlie\u00dflich Caseys Augen. \"Du warst meine beste Freundin. Ich h\u00e4tte alles getan, um dir zu helfen.\"\n\n\"Du kannst mir jetzt helfen.\"\n\n\"Nein. Du bist jetzt das Problem der Anwaltschaft.\"\n\nEchte Angst erschien auf Caseys Gesicht. \"Die Advocacy kann mich nicht besch\u00fctzen. In der Sekunde, in der ich in Haft bin, bin ich eine Verpflichtung gegen\u00fcber PF. Ich bin ein Problem, um das man sich k\u00fcmmern muss. Es gibt einen Grund, warum niemand viel \u00fcber sie wei\u00df. Und wenn sie mich nicht kriegen, wird es mein Vater tun.\"\n\nMilas Brust straffte sich, und sie wiederholte die Worte, die Rhys auf Tevistal zu ihrem R\u00fccken gesagt hatte. \"Es gibt immer eine Wahl. Immer. Du hast den falschen gemacht. Ich werde daf\u00fcr sorgen, dass du in eine sichere Einrichtung gebracht wirst.\"\n\n\"Dann muss ich dich warnen. Wenn ich es schaffe, vor Gericht zu kommen..... Ich tue alles, was n\u00f6tig ist, um sicherzustellen, dass mein Vater blo\u00dfgestellt wird. Deine Mutter hat meinen Tod vertuscht, also kann ich nicht versprechen, dass sie kein Opfer sein wird. Danach.... wenn mein Vater mich nicht t\u00f6tet, wird PF es tun. Wenn Sie mich abgeben.... sind Sie f\u00fcr all das verantwortlich.\"\n\nMilas Wut entbrannte. \"Ist das eine Drohung? Nein. Du bist f\u00fcr all das verantwortlich.\" Mila schlug eine Faust auf den Pod-Knopf und die T\u00fcr schwang sich zu Casey und piepste, als sie versiegelt wurde. Mila atmete hart und stolzierte zur\u00fcck ins Cockpit.\n\nRhys hob seine Augenbrauen an und wartete darauf, dass sie sprechen konnte.\n\n\"Du hattest Recht. Sie ist eine L\u00fcgnerin. Jedes Wort aus ihrem Mund war eine L\u00fcge, und sie will nur, dass ich sie befreie.\"\n\nRhys verengte seine Augen, durchsuchte Milas Gesicht, machte sich Sorgen um sie. Er fuhr mit einer Hand an ihrem Arm entlang. \"Alles in Ordnung?\"\n\n\"Es geht mir gut\", sagte Mila und versuchte, um den riesigen Klumpen in ihrem Hals herum zu reden.\n\n\"Du musst dich nur immer daran erinnern.... das ist nicht dein Freund da drin. Es ist jemand anderes.\"\n\n\"Ich wei\u00df. Bringen wir sie einfach zur\u00fcck nach Tevistal.\"\n\nMila und Rhys schnallten sich wieder an, und sie hielt den Scanner hoch, als sie ihren Kurs zur\u00fcck zu dem Planeten zur\u00fcckverfolgten, den sie gerade verlassen hatten.\n\n\"Ich bin ersch\u00f6pft.\" Mila lehnte sich auf dem Sitz zur\u00fcck. Sie hatten seit fast zwanzig Stunden nicht mehr geschlafen.\n\n\"Sobald wir sie \u00fcbergeben, st\u00fcrzen wir ab.\"\n\nMila murmelte eine unverbindliche Antwort.\n\n\"Willst du schlafen, w\u00e4hrend ich fliege? Du siehst aus, als ob du es brauchst.\"\n\n\"Oh, danke. Nein. Ich glaube nicht, dass ich das k\u00f6nnte, selbst wenn ich es wollte.\"\n\n\"Geht es dir wirklich gut?\"\n\nMila l\u00f6ste ihr langes braunes Haar von der Krawatte und fuhr mit den Fingern durch sie hindurch. \"Ehrlich? Nein.\"\n\n\"Ich bin bereit zu h\u00f6ren, was sie gesagt hat, wann immer du bereit bist, es zu teilen.\"\n\n\"Genau das, was du gesagt hast, dass sie es tun wird. Sie behauptete, sie sei keine schlechte Terroristin, was auch immer das bedeutet. Sie sagt, dass ihr Vater in .... illegale Tests verwickelt ist. Sie sagt, sie arbeitet mit PF zusammen - the People First Crazies.\" Mila dr\u00fcckte ihre Lippen zusammen. Sie konnte sich nicht dazu durchringen, die Dinge zu sagen, die ihre eigene Mutter betreffen k\u00f6nnten.\n\nRhys hat seinen Kiefer bearbeitet. \"Also ist Casey eine Fassade f\u00fcr etwas Gr\u00f6\u00dferes, und ihr Vater ist genauso schlimm wie sie, aber niemand in der gesamten UEE hat es seit mehr als einem Jahrzehnt verstanden.\" Er sch\u00fcttelte den Kopf. \"Nun, die Advocacy wird wissen, was sie mit ihr machen soll. Das ist nicht unser Job.\"\n\n\"Ja, ich wei\u00df.\"\n\nMila dachte an das junge M\u00e4dchen, mit dem sie befreundet war. D\u00fcnn und zierlich, lange schwarze Haare, die immer in ihren intelligenten Augen h\u00e4ngen. \"Ich verstehe es nicht.\"\n\n\"Menschen \u00e4ndern sich.\"\n\n\"Aber seit wir Kinder waren.... Als wir zw\u00f6lf waren, war da dieses M\u00e4dchen in der Schule, Lia. Wirklich wohlhabend, die diese l\u00e4cherlichen Partys in ihrer Villa veranstalteten. Sie brachten Spiele, teure Preise, die Art von Fahrgesch\u00e4ften, die man auf Messen finden w\u00fcrde. Es war verr\u00fcckt. Wir waren alle mit ihr befreundet, bis ich sie eines Tages in der Akademie aus Versehen beleidigte. Also war ich die Einzige, die nicht zu dieser Party eingeladen wurde. Casey k\u00fcndigte an, dass sie mit Lia vor allen Leuten fertig war, dann blieb sie in der Nacht der Party zu Hause und beobachtete alte Videos mit mir in unserem Crashraum. Sie tat immer solche Dinge f\u00fcr die Menschen, die ihr wichtig waren. Immer so.... loyal. Nichts davon passt zusammen.\"\n\n\"Es gibt nie einen Grund, das zu tun, was sie getan hat.\"\n\nEine lange Stille erstreckte sich zwischen ihnen, und Milas Verstand k\u00e4mpfte darum, sich mit dem Casey auseinanderzusetzen, den sie gekannt hatte, und dem Casey, der in der Kapsel auf Devana eingesperrt war.\n\nDie Geschichte, die Casey erz\u00e4hlt hatte.... \u00fcber das Auffinden der illegalen Forschung, \u00fcber die Entscheidung, sie selbst zu reparieren.... sie hat sich mit dem alten Casey abgestimmt. Es lie\u00df Mila zweifeln.... alles. Und die Tatsache, dass sie Zweifel hatte, machte ihr Angst. An diesem Job gab es keinen Zweifel.\n\n\"Was ist, wenn Casey die Wahrheit sagt?\" Sie ist rausgerutscht.\n\nRhys versteifte sich in seinem Sitz. \"Dann lassen wir die Advocacy das entscheiden\", sagte er vorsichtig. Er sah zu ihr hin, studierte ihr Gesicht. \"Wir bleiben bei der Mission. Das Richtige ist, sie auszuh\u00e4ndigen. Wenn sie feststellen, dass sie die Wahrheit sagt, k\u00f6nnen die zust\u00e4ndigen Beh\u00f6rden damit umgehen. Du und ich werden von all dem wegkommen.... und ein paar Ausfallzeiten bekommen. Das war der Plan, oder?\"\n\n\"Richtig\", antwortete Mila schnell.\n\nNach ein paar unangenehmen Minuten r\u00e4usperte sich Rhys. \"Wei\u00dft du, das ist das meiste, was du mir je \u00fcber deine Vergangenheit erz\u00e4hlt hast.\"\n\n\"Du bist ein Kopfgeldj\u00e4ger.\" Mila sagte, froh, das Thema Casey fallen zu lassen. \"Hast du mich nicht recherchiert, bevor wir ins Gesch\u00e4ft kamen?\"\n\nRhys grinste, aber es hatte keine wirkliche Freude dahinter. \"Ja. Du hast gute Arbeit geleistet, dich von der Karte zu wischen. Evony, was?\"\n\nMila zuckte zusammen. \"Ja. Meine Familie hat mich irgendwie verleugnet, als ich der Gilde beitrat. Das war nicht das Leben, das sie f\u00fcr ihr einziges Kind geplant hatten. Ich beschloss, neu anzufangen, meinen zweiten Vornamen zu benutzen.\"\n\n\"Wir alle haben Geschichten.... und viele von uns w\u00e4hlen die Kopfgeldjagd, um diese zur\u00fcckzulassen. Ich folgte meinem Bauchgef\u00fchl \u00fcber dich.\" Rhys traf ihre Augen, und sie konnte das offene Vertrauen sehen, das dort gezeigt wurde. \"Und ich wei\u00df, dass ich die richtige Entscheidung getroffen habe.\"\n\nMila l\u00e4chelte, und sie verstummten f\u00fcr den Rest des R\u00fcckfluges nach Tevistal.\n\nRhys vertraute ihr.\n\nAber konnte sie sich selbst vertrauen?\n\nDie Grube in Milas Magen wurde schlimmer, als Rhys wieder an den Docks von Tevistal landete. Er kam mit der Wartung und verbrauchte das letzte ihrer Creds, um den vorderen Bildschirm zu reparieren und das Man\u00f6vertriebwerk zu ersetzen.\n\n\"Ich habe gerade genug, um einen Luftschweber einzustellen\", sagte er zu Mila, als er die Adresse des Advocacy-B\u00fcros und eine Liste der Agenten, die dort gearbeitet haben, ansprach. \"Wir k\u00f6nnen nicht riskieren, den Aufenthaltsort des Phantoms zu \u00fcbertragen. Ich kenne diesen Advocacy-Agenten\", sagte er und zeigte auf einen Namen. \"Ich habe schon einmal mit ihm zusammengearbeitet, und ich vertraue ihm. Ich werde mich pers\u00f6nlich mit ihm in Verbindung setzen, damit wir Casey \u00fcbergeben k\u00f6nnen. Dann werden wir bezahlt und verschwinden von hier.\"\n\nMila nickte, und Rhys ging zur\u00fcck zu ihrem Quartier, um sich in Planetenkleidung zu verwandeln und seine Ausr\u00fcstung zu schnappen. Mila dr\u00fcckte ihre H\u00e4nde fest in ihrem Scho\u00df und beobachtete, wie die Arbeiter begannen, das Cockpit von au\u00dfen zu flicken.\n\nIch kann das schaffen. Ich kann Casey ausliefern.\n\nMila stand auf, als Rhys zur\u00fcck zu ihr ging.\n\nSie senkte die vordere Rampe f\u00fcr ihn und blickte zu ihm auf, zu der Sorge in seinem Gesicht und fragte sich, wie ihr eigenes Gesicht aussah. Seine Augen knitterten um die Kanten und er lehnte sich nach unten, um seine Lippen an ihre zu dr\u00fccken. Sie k\u00fcsste ihn zur\u00fcck, genoss seine W\u00e4rme, bereit Rhys und seine Loyalit\u00e4t und sein Vertrauen, um ihren Zweifel \u00fcber Casey auszur\u00e4umen.\n\nEr wickelte sie in eine enge Umarmung. Sie lauschte dem Klopfen seines Herzens unter seinem Hemd, und ein neues Gef\u00fchl der Angst bl\u00fchte in ihr auf.\n\nSie wollte ihn nicht gehen lassen, aber er zog sich schlie\u00dflich zur\u00fcck. \"Ich sollte bald mit Agenten zur\u00fcck sein. Lasst niemanden in dieses Schiff.\"\n\n\"Werde ich nicht.\"\n\n\"Alles wird gut werden.\" Rhys k\u00fcsste sie wieder sanft, und dann beobachtete sie seinen R\u00fccken, als er die Rampe hinunter zu den Docks ging.\n\nMila zog die Rampe ein und ging zur\u00fcck zum Sitz des Co-Piloten, ohne sich erlauben zu k\u00f6nnen, die Kapsel mit Casey zu sehen.\n\nSie hatte es noch nie so schwer gehabt, einen Verbrecher zu finden. Aber dann hatte sie noch nie pers\u00f6nlich einen solchen Verbrecher gekannt. Es war gut, dass Rhys sich darum k\u00fcmmerte. Das konnte sie nicht.\n\nEr hatte Vertrauen in sie, und das bedeutete alles. Das war jetzt ihr Leben. Und sie musste ihren Job machen.\n\nAber.....\n\nMila hat ihr mobiGlas aktiviert und auf das lokale Netzwerk zugegriffen. Sie suchte ein Jahrzehnt zur\u00fcck und suchte nach alten Nachrichtenbeitr\u00e4gen \u00fcber Owen Phan und Casey Phans Tod.\n\nDas erste Bild, das sie hochzog, war von Owen Phan w\u00e4hrend seines gescheiterten Senatslaufs. Owen und Caseys Mutter Lynn standen bei einer Wohlt\u00e4tigkeitsveranstaltung zusammen. Und neben ihnen: Milas Eltern. Milas Herz taumelte. Ihre Mutter stand zwischen ihrem Vater und Owen. Sie zog ein weiteres Dutzend Bilder hoch, und mehr als die H\u00e4lfte von ihnen zeigte ihre Eltern mit den Phans. Wenn Casey die Wahrheit sagen w\u00fcrde, dann w\u00fcrde Caseys Prozess ihre beiden Familien zerst\u00f6ren.\n\nUnd wenn es wahr war, bedeutete es, dass ihre eigene Mutter sie angelogen hatte, sie trauern lie\u00df, als Casey nicht einmal tot war. Mila atmete tief durch und dr\u00fcckte ihre Wut \u00fcber den Gedanken herunter. Sie suchte nach Artikeln \u00fcber Caseys Tod.\n\nPhan Pharmaceutical Erbin gefunden ermordet au\u00dferhalb der Welt\n\nMila hatte diese Aussage dutzende Male gelesen. Casey hatte eine eigene Reise unternommen. Jemand hatte sie get\u00f6tet. Falscher Ort, falsche Zeit. M\u00f6rder nie gefunden. Die Familie ist am Boden zerst\u00f6rt. Keine neuen Spuren. Fall abgeschlossen.\n\nMila hat eine neue Abfrage gestartet.\n\nPhan Pharmazeutische, illegale Biowaffen\n\nMehr als tausend Ergebnisse erschienen. Mila raste durch sie hindurch. Die meisten von ihnen waren PR-Ver\u00f6ffentlichungen von Phan Pharmaceutical selbst und f\u00f6rderten all die harte Arbeit, die sie geleistet hatten, um die Entwicklung von Biowaffen zu stoppen. Spectrum brachte sie nirgendwo hin. Sie musste tief in die Bretter eintauchen. Sie wechselte ihr Profil zu einer Persona, die sie f\u00fcr genau solche Gelegenheiten aufgebaut hatte, und begann, F\u00e4den zu pingen.\n\nInnerhalb von Sekunden erschienen Meldungen.\n\nIllegale Testpersonen.\n\nNachweis der Entwicklung von Biowaffen.\n\nVermutete Einrichtungen.\n\nMila, das Herz im Hals, scannte die Dokumente, die jemand namens \"DarkStar\" hochgeladen hatte. Die Liste enthielt alle Einrichtungen, die das Phantom in den letzten Monaten getroffen haben soll. Warum hatte Mila nicht schon einmal daran gedacht, diese Forschung zu betreiben? Sie war so sehr darauf konzentriert gewesen, das Phantom aufzusp\u00fcren, dass sie jede M\u00f6glichkeit ignoriert hatte, dass Phan Pharmaceuticals etwas getan haben k\u00f6nnte, um die Angriffe zu verdienen.\n\nAber es gab nie einen guten Grund f\u00fcr Terrorismus. Es gab keine.\n\nEin anderer Benutzer hatte Dokumente mit der Behauptung ver\u00f6ffentlicht, dass Phans Forschungseinrichtung \u00fcber Gen bis zu seinen Augen in psychoaktiven Waffen steckt. Es war die dritte Einrichtung, die das Phantom angegriffen hatte.\n\nMila hat die Dokumente hochgeladen. Interne Notizen mit dem Phan Pharmaceuticals Logo auf der Oberseite. Redigierte Anweisungen wurden wiederhergestellt. Verweise auf das ILIOS-Projekt. Mila \u00fcberflutete sie, ihr Herz klopfte.\n\n100% Todesrate\n\nSchnelle Ausbreitung durch K\u00f6rperkontakt\n\nQuarant\u00e4ne\n\nK\u00e4ufer aus vier Welten\n\nDas war kein Beweis. Vielleicht haben sie an einem Heilmittel f\u00fcr etwas gearbeitet, nicht an einer Krankheit. Aber welche Krankheit gab es noch, die eine 100%ige Sterblichkeitsrate hatte.... etwas, wof\u00fcr die Menschen eine Heilung kaufen wollten? Mila verlie\u00df ihre Suche und kam auf die Beine. Ihre H\u00e4nde zitterten, als sie sich auf den Weg zur\u00fcck zu Caseys Kapsel machte und den Code eingab. Es piepste zur\u00fcck zu ihr und blinkte rot.\n\nSie hat es noch einmal versucht. Es verweigerte ihr den Zugang. Nochmal.\n\nRhys hatte den Code darauf ge\u00e4ndert. Er hatte ihr nicht vertraut.\n\nDie Umsetzung war ein Tritt in den Bauch. Sie nahm an, dass Dinge.... glaubten, dass Dinge wahr seien. Sie hatte gedacht, er w\u00fcrde ihr vertrauen. Aber sie hatte ihr ganzes Leben auf L\u00fcgen aufgebaut. Und jetzt brach alles, was sie als Wahrheit genommen hatte, um sie herum zusammen.\n\nMila schluckte hart und hielt ihr mobiGlas an das Panel. Sie aktivierte das Hackprogramm, das sie damals im Hostel benutzt hatte, und die T\u00fcr schwang auf.\n\nCasey blinzelte sie an. \"Die Anwaltschaft hier?\"\n\n\"Woher wei\u00df ich, dass du die Wahrheit \u00fcber die Biowaffen sagst? Hast du Beweise?\"\n\nCasey's Augen wurden gr\u00f6\u00dfer. \"Ich zerst\u00f6re alles, wenn ich reingehe. Das ist der Punkt.\"\n\n\"Ich kann nicht -\"\n\n\"Evony. Ich kannte dich. Du kanntest mich. L\u00fcge ich dich an?\" Ihre Augen waren gro\u00df und flehentlich. Mila sch\u00fcttelte den Kopf. \"Ich wei\u00df nicht.... I . . .\u201d\n\nSie traf Caseys Augen und versuchte, das M\u00e4dchen zu sehen, das sie fr\u00fcher kannte. Mila konnte nicht f\u00fcr den Mord an ihrer Freundin in der Kindheit verantwortlich sein. Nicht, nachdem sie schon einmal getrauert hatte. Und sie konnte es nicht riskieren, dass Casey die ganze Salinas-Familie mit ihr zu Fall bringt. Weil ihr etwas in ihrem Bauchgef\u00fchl sagte, dass ihre Mutter alles getan haben k\u00f6nnte, was n\u00f6tig war, um der Phan-Familie zum Erfolg zu verhelfen. Ihre Mutter war durchaus in der Lage, die Realit\u00e4t so zu manipulieren, dass sie zu ihren Zielen passt.\n\nst\u00f6hnte Mila. \"Wenn ich dich gehen lasse, gehst du dann? Du wirst gehen und nie wieder zur\u00fcckkommen?\"\n\nEin Licht sprang Casey in die Augen. \"Wenn du mir helfen kannst, zu dem Treffen mit meiner G\u00f6nnerin zu kommen, wird sie mich in Xi'an Gebiet bringen. Du wirst mich nie wieder sehen oder h\u00f6ren. Ich schw\u00f6re es.\"\n\n\"Ich will nicht, dass Rhys in diese Sache verwickelt wird... Ich sage:............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Ich sage, du hast mich \u00fcberw\u00e4ltigt, das Schiff gestohlen. Sie k\u00f6nnen mich sp\u00e4ter finden.\"\n\n\"Ja. Wir werden ihn da raushalten. Ich verspreche es.\"\n\n\"Du l\u00e4sst mich das besser nicht bereuen.\" Mila benutzte ihre Mobi, um die Manschetten von der Innenbar zu l\u00f6sen.\n\nMila presste ihren Kiefer fest, als sie Caseys Handschellen l\u00f6ste. Wenn sie sich in dieser Sache geirrt hat, k\u00f6nnte Casey versuchen, sie jetzt zu \u00fcberw\u00e4ltigen und zu entkommen. Aber die Schl\u00e4ge kamen nie.\n\nStattdessen warf Casey ihre Arme um Mila und \u00fcberraschte sie mit einer engen Umarmung. \"Das wirst du nicht bereuen.\" Sie trat zur\u00fcck und massierte ihre roten Handgelenke. \"Jetzt sag mir, was ich tun muss.\"\n\n\"Ich werde uns hier rausfliegen\", sagte Mila. \"Du f\u00fchrst uns zu deinem Treffpunkt.\"\n\nSie eilten zum Cockpit, und Mila atmete kaum, erwartete immer noch einen Verrat und wartete darauf, zu sehen, ob sie einen Fehler gemacht hatte. Aber Casey hat sie nicht verraten. Zumindest noch nicht.\n\nDirekt nachdem sie sich in ihre Sitze geschnallt hatten, knisterte das Kombi. \"Mila\", Rhys' Stimme kam durch. \"Zehn Minuten bis zum Schweben.\"\n\nMila hat einen Finger in den Comm gestochen. \"Erhalten. Alles ist... gut.\"\n\n\"Bis bald\", sagte Rhys.\n\nAngst drohte Mila zu verschlingen, aber sie versuchte, die Gef\u00fchle zu ignorieren, als sie die Kontrollen \u00fcbernahm. Auf dem Sitz neben ihr zog Casey die Kommunikation hoch und bat um eine Notfallfreigabe, um zu starten.\n\nWenn sie es au\u00dferhalb der Welt schaffen w\u00fcrden, w\u00fcrde Rhys ihr nie, nie vergeben. Aber es war zu sp\u00e4t. Sie hatte ihre Entscheidung getroffen, und jetzt sa\u00df Casey Phan, das Phantom, neben ihr und war bereit, dem UEE-Raum ein f\u00fcr alle Mal zu entkommen.\n\nDie Freigabe kam herein, und Mila feuerte die Maschinen an.\n\n\"Danke, Ev. Ich meine es ernst. Ich verdiene dein Vertrauen nicht, nachdem ich....\"\n\nMila sch\u00fcttelte nur den Kopf. \"Nein. Das tust du nicht.\"\n\n\" Mila.\" Rhys' panische Stimme kam \u00fcber den Funk. \"Mila, ich habe dich in Sichtweite. Warum sind die Motoren hochgefahren? Was ist hier los?\"\n\nMila aktivierte die Kommunikation und zuckte gegen einen Ruck von Schmerzen in ihrer Schulter. Das bet\u00e4ubende Mittel verblasste, die Verbrennung ihrer Pistolenwunde kehrte zur\u00fcck. Casey hatte sie erschossen, und hier befreite sie sie. Mila starrte auf den Comm und versuchte dar\u00fcber nachzudenken, was sie zu Rhys sagen k\u00f6nnte. Aber es gab nichts zu sagen.\n\nSie m\u00fcsste ihn anl\u00fcgen, wenn sie hier lebend rauskommt. Was auch immer sie zusammen hatten.... es war jetzt vorbei, verbrannt durch ihre Entscheidung. Und je weniger er wusste, desto besser w\u00e4re er dran.\n\nEs tut mir so leid, Rhys.\n\nSie nahm ihren Finger ohne ein Wort zu sagen von der Kommunikation und hob Devana in den Himmel.\n\nWIRD FORTGESETZT......","zh_CN":"Writer\u2019s Note: Phantom Bounty: Part Three was published originally in Jump Point 3.3. Read Part One here and Part Two here.\nMila and Rhys had chased the Phantom for months, had spent nearly every last credit, had put all their hope in finding her and collecting the bounty.\n\nThe Phantom stood in front of them at last, cuffed inside their prisoner pod. Mila should have felt elated, but all she felt was shock.\n\nEvony Salinas. Mila had stopped going by Evony a decade ago, yet the Phantom knew her real name. And the Phantom\u2019s face looked just like her former best friend\u2019s \u2014 Casey Phan \u2014 a girl found murdered ten years ago.\n\nIt couldn\u2019t be possible. But it was. The terrorist who had hit all those Phan Pharmaceutical labs was the founder\u2019s own daughter. And she wasn\u2019t dead. She\u2019s alive.\n\nMila kept her eyes on the Phantom and wavered on her feet. Rhys reached out and grabbed her arm, steadying her.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re supposed to be dead,\u201d Mila whispered.\n\nCasey swallowed and averted her eyes, looking at the wall behind them. \u201cAnd you\u2019re supposed to be on Terra.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou . . . you almost killed me.\u201d\n\nEmotions Mila hadn\u2019t expected flashed across Casey\u2019s face. Anxiety. Regret. \u201cI swear I didn\u2019t know it was you. You shouldn\u2019t have followed me.\u201d\n\nRhys stepped in front of Mila, blocking her view of Casey, and made a move to shut the pod.\n\n\u201cStop,\u201d Mila commanded.\n\nRhys sharply responded, \u201cShe\u2019s a terrorist, Mila.\u201d\n\n\u201cI need to talk to her.\u201d\n\nRhys paused and stepped back, working his jaw. \u201cWe can\u2019t stay here. We\u2019re sitting ducks.\u201d He looked at the Phantom. \u201cDid you contact anyone to meet you?\u201d\n\nCasey pressed her lips together and didn\u2019t answer.\n\nMila clenched her hands into fists. \u201cEveryone thinks you\u2019re dead. How could you . . . and now you\u2019re attacking your father\u2019s labs \u2014 killing people?\u201d\n\nCasey\u2019s nostrils flared. \u201cIt\u2019s not like that. I\u2019ll tell you. But not with him here.\u201d She pointed to Rhys. \u201cI don\u2019t know him.\u201d\n\nRhys let out an abrupt laugh. \u201cYou tried to kill us three times today. That has to be some kind of record. Now you wanna give Mila some sob story, hope she\u2019ll free you? Yeah, that\u2019s not gonna happen.\u201d\n\nCasey went rigid as Rhys started searching her spacesuit for anything she might be hiding.\n\nConflicting emotions swirled within Mila, anger warring with relief. How the hell could Casey be alive? She\u2019d seen the reports of her murder, she\u2019d attended the funeral. It was basically a state ceremony, with many ranking Terran officials in attendance.\n\nMila wore a solid black floor-length dress and a widebrimmed Terran hat. She covered her face, crying the whole time as Casey\u2019s father gave the eulogy. Afterward, her own mother stayed by her side every day, helping her to get through the grief. Her mother had always supported her until the day she\u2019d turned her back on her family to become a bounty hunter.\n\nAnd it had all started with Casey\u2019s death.\n\nCasey Phan was supposed to be dead.\n\nMila met Casey\u2019s eyes. This . . . this person in front of her couldn\u2019t be her friend. Was it some kind of trick?\n\nRhys finished searching Casey, found nothing, and slammed a fist into the button on the pod. The door eased shut, locking Casey away again.\n\nWhen the door beeped, verifying it was secured, Rhys turned to Mila. He ran a hand through his brown hair, clearly trying to make sense of the situation. He shook his head. \u201cLook. We gotta get out of here and back to Tevistal to hand her over to the Advocacy. We\u2019re too exposed right now if she called for back-up.\u201d\n\nMila nodded. She cast a glance back at the pod and saw the top of Casey\u2019s head through the glass panel. Her head was hanging low, the expression on her face not visible. How could this be happening?\n\nMila\u2019s stomach churned as she followed Rhys back to the cockpit. \u201cPlease. You fly. I\u2019m no good right now.\u201d\n\nRhys took the pilot\u2019s seat and fired up the engines. He eased them away from the cargo ship and past Casey\u2019s abandoned Cutlass, through the floating detritus of the junkyard.\n\nMila pulled up the scanner, searching for signs of powered ships, but she found none. The scans were either blocked by the debris, or they were alone out here.\n\nShe and Rhys sat in tense silence until they reached the edge of the junkyard. A few ships popped up on their scanner, but all of them were docked at the nearby platform, Septa. None of them were headed their way.\n\n\u201cThe Advocacy will want to go back and search her ship.\u201d\n\n\u201cI logged the coordinates,\u201d Mila said.\n\nThey pulled into open space, and the revelations of the last few minutes hung heavy in the air between them.\n\nMila took a deep breath.\n\n\u201cYou asked me back on Tevistal . . . you asked why I couldn\u2019t let this bounty go?\u201d\n\nRhys nodded, but didn\u2019t speak.\n\nMila sighed and settled back in her seat, trying not to be so aware of Casey, locked in a pod behind them. \u201cCasey and I were really close. We grew up together. My father owned a components manufacturer, and her father owned a biotech firm, and they did business together. Our families spent a lot of time together. I thought I knew her.\u201d Mila\u2019s voice broke, but she forced herself to continue. \u201cWhen I was sixteen, Casey went missing. They eventually found her body off-world \u2014 she\u2019d been murdered. Her father threw everything he had at finding her, then at trying to track down her killer, but they never figured it out. I thought she was kidnapped or lured off planet. I couldn\u2019t believe she\u2019d just take a transport off-world and not even tell me where she was going.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo everyone believed she was dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cYeah. They did. I did.\u201d Mila turned toward Rhys and gripped the armrest tightly. \u201cCasey\u2019s death ten years ago was the reason I went into bounty hunting. I couldn\u2019t get justice for Casey, but I could for others. My family basically disowned me when I left. And when a terrorist started attacking Phan Pharmaceuticals again a few months ago. . . it brought up all those old feelings.\u201d Mila\u2019s eyes burned, and she tried to keep tears from coming, but failed. \u201cCasey\u2019s murderer had gotten away, but now someone else was hurting the Phan family, and I could actually do something about it this time.\u201d\n\nRhys stopped the ship and let it drift. He took off his harness and leaned toward her to wipe the tears from her cheeks.\n\n\u201cThank you for telling me.\u201d\n\nMila unstrapped her harness and got up. Rhys stood with her, wrapping her in a hug, which only made her cry harder. She gave in, letting him hold her for a few moments, then got it together and wiped her eyes.\n\nShe stepped away from him and blew out a breath. \u201cI gotta talk to her. I can\u2019t hand her over without finding out the truth. I need to know what happened.\u201d\n\nRhys narrowed his eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t trust her. She\u2019s dangerous. I need you to remember she\u2019s not the friend you grew up with. She might say anything to gain your sympathy.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know. I know. I just . . .\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll stay up here. . . I can listen in if you want me to.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. She said she wanted to talk to me alone. Do you trust me?\u201d\n\nRhys touched her face, wiping away the last of her tears. \u201cYou know I do.\u201d\n\nMila gave him a small smile and went to clean up at the sink to make sure she didn\u2019t look a mess. She couldn\u2019t let Casey see how much of an effect she\u2019d had on her. Rhys was right. Casey was a terrorist now. She\u2019d faked her own death. Those were the actions of a sociopath, at the very least. But she still needed to hear what Casey had to say.\n\nMila typed in the pod\u2019s code and stepped back as the door swung open. Casey blinked at her blearily and then straightened her shoulders.\n\n\u201cI want to talk,\u201d Mila said.\n\nCasey narrowed her eyes. \u201cWhere\u2019s the other guy? I want proof he\u2019s not listening in.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s not. Take my word for it, or I\u2019m closing this pod. You won\u2019t get another chance to talk.\u201d\n\nThe tension hanging in the air was palpable, and a trickle of sweat made its way down Mila\u2019s back.\n\nFinally Casey relented, and she gave a stiff nod.\n\nMila let out a breath. \u201cWhy did you fake your own murder?\u201d\n\nCasey\u2019s eyes softened at something she saw in Mila\u2019s face, which threw Mila off balance again. Could a sociopath show empathy? Or was she faking that, too?\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s not what happened,\u201d Casey said. \u201cTrust me . . . it\u2019s eaten away at me that people I loved thought I was dead. But it was better that way. Safer for everyone involved.\u201d\n\n\u201cExplain.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you taking me to the Advocacy now? How far out are we?\u201d\n\nMila stepped forward and jabbed a finger into Casey\u2019s chest. Casey flinched back. \u201cNo. I\u2019m asking the questions. And you\u2019re answering. What happened to you?\u201d\n\nCasey licked her lips. \u201cRight before I . . . before I disappeared . . . I discovered some things. About what my father\u2019s company was doing. Illegal bio testing on Human subjects. The more I dug the worse it got. He was making bioweapons, Evony.\u201d\n\n\u201cMila. My name is Mila now. And you\u2019re lying. If your father was into any of that, the UEE would have shut him down years ago.\u201d\n\nCasey barked out a laugh. \u201cThere\u2019s so much that goes on under the surface. People get paid off along the way to keep things hidden. \u2018Law-abiding\u2019 Citizens deal in just as much dirt as the people you hunt. But I guess you wouldn\u2019t see it that way. I mean, you\u2019re a bounty hunter now. How did that happen?\u201d\n\nRage flooded Mila. I did this for you. She suddenly couldn\u2019t stand to look at Casey any longer. She lifted a hand to shut the pod.\n\n\u201cWait,\u201d Casey said. \u201cOkay. You don\u2019t have to believe me, but I\u2019ll tell you everything.\u201d\n\nMila let her hand fall away from the button. \u201cFine. Talk.\u201d\n\n\u201cI heard my father on a private comm. . . He said things about experiments, getting rid of the evidence. It scared me. So I snooped through his mobi, found what I had hoped I wouldn\u2019t \u2014 terrible, cold reports. Then I had proof. But I didn\u2019t know who to go to.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe were close.\u201d Mila\u2019s words came out like an accusation. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was terrified you\u2019d go to your parents. Do you know how much stock they have in Phan Pharmaceuticals? They\u2019d want to cover it up just like my dad did. When he caught me poking around, he got so angry I knew he was guilty. I needed to find a way to stop him . . . but how could I turn my own father in to the UEE?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou apparently don\u2019t mind blowing up his facilities and employees.\u201d\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t . . .\u201d Casey shook her head, looking frustrated. \u201cJust listen. I showed up at a few of those anti-pharm meetings. I met a guy who called himself Desh. Said he and some others were secretly working to stop the pharmaceutical corporations that engaged in dirty work. I confessed I had information about a company \u2014 and he promised if I provided proof, he and his friends could make it stop. They said that no one else would get hurt.\u201d\n\n\u201cSeriously? You expect me to believe this? Were you really that stupid?\u201d\n\nCasey\u2019s face screwed up with regret. \u201cI was sixteen.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what happened at these meetings? What happened with Desh?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe asked me to bring the proof with him to meet the other members. He and I boarded transports separately and met up off-world. But it all went sideways from there. He took me to a ship waiting at the edge of the system, and that\u2019s where I found out he was part of PF.\u201d\n\n\u201cPeople First. Yeah, I know them. Bunch of conspiracy theory nut jobs. They weren\u2019t mentioned anywhere in your bounty. You work alone. And they were smalltime. They haven\u2019t been active in years.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re wrong. They\u2019ve just gotten better funding. And got better at covering their tracks.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo what happened? You just . . . faked your own death and joined PF?\u201d\n\nCasey shook her head sadly. \u201cNot exactly. Two Advocacy agents infiltrated us. Desh took them both out, but not before they transmitted an image of us back to Terra. We got out of there, but I couldn\u2019t go back to Terra.\u201d\n\nThis had to be an elaborate lie, but how else could she explain how her dead friend had disappeared from Terra as a teenager and turned up as a terrorist ten years later?\n\n\u201cPF took me with them,\u201d Casey continued. \u201cThey helped me disappear. They had people still on Terra who told me that my dad covered it all up . . . made it look like I was just an innocent bystander who died during the shootout. He made sure my name wouldn\u2019t be connected with PF. He covered it up with your mother\u2019s help, Ev.\u201d\n\nMila\u2019s pulse sped up, and she shook her head. \u201cNo. No, my mother wouldn\u2019t do that.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe did.\u201d Casey\u2019s voice turned bitter. \u201cRemember, my dad was making a run for the Terran Senate that year. He couldn\u2019t have it getting out I was seen with terrorists.\u201d\n\nMila pressed her lips together and laid a hand on the wall to stay standing. Her mother. A cover-up. She felt suddenly dizzy. Nauseous. Her mother had high-level connections as Chair of the Governors Council Budget Committee. If she was part of a cover-up . . .\n\n\u201cPF protected me,\u201d Casey said again, interrupting Mila\u2019s thoughts. \u201cThey gave me a new identity. I soon learned they destroyed facilities where illegal experiments were taking place. They freed test subjects who could be saved. We have benefactors in and out of UEE space that help fund our mission. PF seemed to be doing the right thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou sound proud of yourself.\u201d Mila\u2019s voice rose. \u201cProud to be a terrorist. How many people have you killed?\u201d\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d Casey pulled against her restraints like she wanted to move her hands, plead with Mila to believe her. A desperate look crossed her face. \u201cWhatever they say about me isn\u2019t true. I get in, get the goods, destroy the labs, and get out. I\u2019m not a murderer.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou almost killed us. You planted a bomb in a hostel.\u201d\n\nA rueful smile cracked through Casey\u2019s desperation. \u201cBut was it empty when you showed up?\u201d\n\nMila narrowed her eyes and didn\u2019t respond.\n\nCasey nodded. \u201cIt should have been empty. I paid a guy to warn everyone. It wasn\u2019t my fault if they stayed.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo that\u2019s how you sleep at night. You just lie to yourself. Explain away everything bad you do.\u201d\n\nCasey got quiet and averted her eyes. \u201cNo. I do what I have to do. Doesn\u2019t everyone?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy are you even telling me all this?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou wanted to know.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you think it\u2019s going to make me free you . . . it\u2019s not. The Advocacy will try you for your crimes. You have to pay for your choices.\u201d\n\nCasey\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cLook \u2014 the things I\u2019ve done probably have saved millions, maybe billions of lives. Do you know what was in the last lab I hit? They were working on a bioweapon that could take out entire worlds. Entire worlds, Ev. My father has been playing with fire for years, and we finally had the funding and information we needed to hit his labs. If I didn\u2019t do these jobs, some other PF agent would have. And they might have left fewer survivors. He\u2019s my father. His crimes were my responsibility. But. . . that job was the last job I was ever going to do for them. You have to believe me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t. Of course you\u2019d say it was your last job.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was giving it all up. PF doesn\u2019t just let people quit the organization . . . once you\u2019re in, you\u2019re in for life. I was on my way to meet someone who was going to smuggle me into Xi\u2019an territory. If you let me go now, you\u2019ll never hear from me again. But I have to go somewhere they can\u2019t find me either.\u201d\n\nMila stayed silent for a few, long moments, then finally met Casey\u2019s eyes. \u201cYou were my best friend. I would have done anything to help you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can help me now.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. You\u2019re the Advocacy\u2019s problem now.\u201d\n\nReal fear appeared on Casey\u2019s face. \u201cThe Advocacy can\u2019t protect me. The second I\u2019m in custody, I\u2019m a liability to PF. I\u2019m a problem to be taken care of. There\u2019s a reason no one knows much about them. And if they don\u2019t get me, my father will.\u201d\n\nMila\u2019s chest tightened, and she found herself repeating the words Rhys had said to her back on Tevistal. \u201cThere\u2019s always a choice. Always. You made the wrong one. I\u2019ll make sure you\u2019re taken to a secure facility.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have to warn you, then. If I do manage to make it to trial . . . I\u2019ll do whatever it takes to make sure my father is exposed. Your mother covered up my death, so I can\u2019t promise she won\u2019t be a casualty. After that . . . if my father doesn\u2019t kill me, PF will. If you hand me in . . . you\u2019ll be responsible for all of that.\u201d\n\nMila\u2019s anger flared. \u201cIs that a threat? No. You\u2019re responsible for all of that.\u201d Mila slammed a fist on the pod button and the door swung closed on Casey, beeping when it sealed. Breathing hard, Mila stalked back to the cockpit.\n\nRhys lifted his brows, waiting for her to speak.\n\n\u201cYou were right. She\u2019s a liar. Every word out of her mouth was a lie, and she just wants me to free her.\u201d\n\nRhys narrowed his eyes, searching Mila\u2019s face, worried about her. He ran a hand along her arm. \u201cYou okay?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d Mila said, trying to talk around the giant lump in her throat.\n\n\u201cYou just gotta keep remembering . . . that\u2019s not your friend in there. It\u2019s someone else.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know. Let\u2019s just get her back to Tevistal.\u201d\n\nMila and Rhys strapped back in, and she kept the scanner up as they retraced their course back to the planet they\u2019d just left.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m exhausted.\u201d Mila leaned back in the seat. They hadn\u2019t slept in almost twenty hours.\n\n\u201cAs soon as we hand her over we\u2019ll crash.\u201d\n\nMila murmured a noncommittal reply.\n\n\u201cDo you want to sleep while I fly? You do look like you need it.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, thanks. No. I don\u2019t think I could, even if I wanted to.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you really okay?\u201d\n\nMila released her long brown hair from its tie and ran her fingers through it. \u201cHonestly? No.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m ready to hear what she said, whenever you\u2019re ready to share it.\u201d\n\n\u201cJust what you said she would. Claimed she wasn\u2019t a bad terrorist, whatever that means. She says her father is into . . . illegal testing. She says she\u2019s working with PF \u2014 the People First crazies.\u201d Mila pressed her lips together. She couldn\u2019t bring herself to say the things that could implicate her own mother.\n\nRhys worked his jaw. \u201cSo Casey\u2019s a front for something bigger, and her dad is just as bad as she is, but no one in the entire UEE has caught on to it in more than a decade.\u201d He shook his head. \u201cWell, the Advocacy will know what to do with her. It\u2019s not our job.\u201d\n\n\u201cYeah, I know.\u201d\n\nMila thought of the young girl she\u2019d been friends with. Thin and petite, long black hair always hanging in her intelligent eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t get it.\u201d\n\n\u201cPeople change.\u201d\n\n\u201cEver since we were children, though . . . When we were twelve, there was this girl at school, Lia. Really wealthy, who held these ridiculous parties at her mansion. They\u2019d bring in games, expensive prizes, the kinds of rides you\u2019d find at fairs. It was crazy. We were all friends with her . . . until I accidentally insulted her one day at Academy. So I was the only one not invited to this party. Casey announced she was done with Lia in front of everyone, then stayed home the night of the party, watching old vids with me in our crash room. She was always doing stuff like that for the people she cared about. Always so . . . loyal. None of this adds up.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s never a good enough reason to do what she\u2019s done.\u201d\n\nA long silence stretched on between them, and Mila\u2019s mind struggled to come to terms with the Casey she\u2019d known and the Casey locked up in the pod on Devana.\n\nThe story Casey had told . . . about finding the illegal research, about deciding to fix it herself . . . it did line up with the old Casey. It made Mila doubt . . . everything. And the fact that she felt doubt scared her. There was no room for doubt in this job.\n\n\u201cWhat if Casey\u2019s telling the truth?\u201d she blurted out.\n\nRhys stiffened in his seat. \u201cThen we let the Advocacy determine that,\u201d he said carefully. He looked toward her, studying her face. \u201cWe stick to the mission. The right thing to do is hand her over. If they determine she\u2019s telling the truth, the proper authorities can handle it. You and I will get away from all this . . . get some downtime. That was the plan, right?\u201d\n\n\u201cRight,\u201d Mila answered quickly.\n\nAfter a few awkward minutes, Rhys cleared his throat. \u201cYou know, this is the most you\u2019ve ever told me about your past.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re a bounty hunter.\u201d Mila said, glad to drop the subject of Casey. \u201cDidn\u2019t you research me before we went into business together?\u201d\n\nRhys smirked, but it had no real mirth behind it. \u201cYeah. You did a good job wiping yourself off the map. Evony, huh?\u201d\n\nMila winced. \u201cYeah. My family kind of disowned me when I joined the guild. This wasn\u2019t the life they had planned for their only child. I decided to start over, use my middle name.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe all have histories . . . and a lot of us choose bounty hunting to leave those behind. I followed my gut about you.\u201d Rhys met her eyes, and she could see the open trust displayed there. \u201cAnd I know I made the right decision.\u201d\n\nMila smiled, and they lapsed into silence for the rest of the flight back to Tevistal.\n\nRhys trusted her.\n\nBut could she trust herself?\n\nThe pit in Mila\u2019s stomach grew worse as Rhys landed back at the Tevistal docks. He commed with maintenance and used up the last of their creds to get the forward screen patched and the maneuvering thruster replaced.\n\n\u201cI have just enough to hire a hover,\u201d he said to Mila, as he brought up the Advocacy office address and a list of the agents who worked there. \u201cWe can\u2019t risk broadcasting the Phantom\u2019s whereabouts. I know this Advocacy agent,\u201d he said, pointing to a name. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with him before, and I trust him. I\u2019ll make contact with him personally so we can hand Casey over. Then we get paid, and we get outta here.\u201d\n\nMila nodded, and Rhys headed back to their quarters to change into planetside clothes and grab his gear. Mila squeezed her hands tight in her lap and watched as the workers began to patch the cockpit from the outside.\n\nI can do this. I can turn Casey over.\n\nMila stood up as Rhys headed back toward her.\n\nShe lowered the forward ramp for him and looked up at him, at the worry on his face, wondering what her own face looked like. His eyes crinkled around the edges and he leaned down to press his lips to hers. She kissed him back, relishing his warmth, willing Rhys and his loyalty and trust to erase her doubt over Casey.\n\nHe wrapped her in a tight hug. She listened to the thump of his heart beneath his shirt, and a new feeling of dread bloomed within her.\n\nShe didn\u2019t want to let him go, but he finally pulled away. \u201cI should be back soon with agents. Don\u2019t let anyone inside this ship.\u201d\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t.\u201d\n\n\u201cEverything will be fine.\u201d Rhys kissed her gently again, and then she was watching his back as he headed down the ramp to the docks.\n\nMila retracted the ramp and went back to the co-pilot\u2019s seat, not allowing herself even to look at the pod holding Casey.\n\nShe\u2019d never had such a hard time turning in a criminal before. But then, she\u2019d never personally known a criminal like this. It was good Rhys was handling it. She couldn\u2019t.\n\nHe had faith in her, and that meant everything. This was her life now. And she needed to do her job.\n\nBut . . .\n\nMila activated her mobiGlas and accessed the local network. She searched a decade back, looking for old news posts about Owen Phan and Casey Phan\u2019s death.\n\nThe first image she pulled up was of Owen Phan during his failed Senate run. Owen and Casey\u2019s mother Lynn stood together at a charity event. And next to them: Mila\u2019s parents. Mila\u2019s heart lurched. Her mother stood between her father and Owen. She pulled up another dozen images, and more than half of them showed her parents with the Phans. If Casey was telling the truth, then Casey\u2019s trial would destroy both their families.\n\nAnd if it was true, it meant her own mother had lied to her, let her mourn when Casey wasn\u2019t even dead. Mila took a deep breath and pushed down her anger at the thought. She searched for articles on Casey\u2019s death.\n\nPhan Pharmaceutical Heir Found Murdered Off-World\n\nMila had read this statement dozens of times. Casey had taken a trip on her own. Someone had killed her. Wrong place, wrong time. Murderer never found. Family devastated. No new leads. Case closed.\n\nMila ran a new query.\n\nPhan Pharmaceutical, Illegal Bioweapons\n\nMore than a thousand results appeared. Mila raced through them. Most of them were PR releases from Phan Pharmaceutical themselves, promoting all the hard work they\u2019d done to stop the creation of bioweapons. Spectrum wasn\u2019t getting her anywhere. She was going to have to dive deep into the boards. She switched her profile over to a persona she had built up for just such occasions and began pinging threads.\n\nWithin seconds messages appeared.\n\nIllegal test subjects.\n\nProof of bioweapon development.\n\nSuspected facilities.\n\nHeart in her throat, Mila scanned the documents someone named \u201cDarkStar\u201d had uploaded. The list contained all the facilities the Phantom was reputed to have hit in the past few months. Why hadn\u2019t Mila thought to do this research before? She\u2019d been so focused on tracking down the Phantom, she\u2019d ignored any possibility that Phan Pharmaceuticals might have done something to deserve the attacks.\n\nBut there was never a good reason for terrorism. There wasn\u2019t.\n\nAnother user had posted documents with the claim that Phan\u2019s research facility on Gen was up to its eyes in psychoactive weapons. It was the third facility the Phantom had attacked.\n\nMila pulled up the documents. Internal memos with the Phan Pharmaceuticals logo on top. Redacted statements recovered. References made to the ILIOS Project. Mila skimmed them, her heart pounding.\n\n100% fatality rate\n\nSpread quickly through physical contact\n\nQuarantine\n\nBuyers from four worlds\n\nThis wasn\u2019t proof. Maybe they were working on a cure for something, not a disease. But what disease still existed that had a 100% fatality rate . . . something people would want to buy a cure for? Mila exited her search and got to her feet. Her hands were shaking as she made her way back to Casey\u2019s pod and typed in the code. It beeped back at her and flashed red.\n\nShe tried it again. It denied her access. Again.\n\nRhys had changed the code on it. He hadn\u2019t trusted her.\n\nThe realization was a kick in the gut. She assumed things . . . believed things to be true. She\u2019d thought he trusted her. But she\u2019d built her whole life on lies. And now everything she\u2019d taken as truth was falling apart around her.\n\nMila swallowed hard and held her mobiGlas up to the panel. She activated the hack program she\u2019d used back at the hostel, and the door swung open.\n\nCasey blinked at her. \u201cThe Advocacy here?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do I know you\u2019re telling the truth about the bioweapons? Do you have proof?\u201d\n\nCasey\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cI destroy everything when I go in. That\u2019s the point.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t \u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cEvony. I knew you. You knew me. Am I lying to you?\u201d Her eyes were wide, pleading. Mila shook her head. \u201cI don\u2019t know . . . I . . .\u201d\n\nShe met Casey\u2019s eyes and tried to see the girl she used to know. Mila couldn\u2019t be responsible for her childhood friend\u2019s murder. Not after she\u2019d already grieved once. And she couldn\u2019t risk Casey bringing down the whole Salinas family with her. Because something in her gut told her that her mother might well have done whatever it took to help the Phan family succeed. Her mother was perfectly capable of manipulating reality to fit with her goals.\n\nMila groaned. \u201cIf I let you go, you\u2019ll leave? You\u2019ll leave and never come back?\u201d\n\nA light sprang into Casey\u2019s eyes. \u201cIf you can help me get to the meeting with my patron, she\u2019ll get me into Xi\u2019an territory. You\u2019ll never see or hear from me again. I swear it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t want Rhys involved in this . . . I\u2019ll say . . . I\u2019ll say you overpowered me, stole the ship. They can find me later.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes. We\u2019ll keep him out of it. I promise.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou better not make me regret this.\u201d Mila used her mobi to release the cuffs from the interior bar.\n\nMila clenched her jaw tight as she loosened Casey\u2019s cuffs. If she was wrong about this, Casey could try to overpower her right now and escape. But the blows never came.\n\nInstead, Casey threw her arms around Mila, surprising her with a tight hug. \u201cYou won\u2019t regret this.\u201d She stepped back and massaged her red wrists. \u201cNow tell me what I need to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll fly us out of here,\u201d Mila said. \u201cYou navigate us to your meeting point.\u201d\n\nThey hurried to the cockpit, and Mila barely breathed, still expecting a betrayal, waiting to see if she\u2019d made a mistake. But Casey didn\u2019t turn on her. Not yet, anyway.\n\nRight after they\u2019d strapped into their seats, the comm crackled. \u201cMila,\u201d Rhys\u2019s voice came through. \u201cTen minutes out by hover.\u201d\n\nMila jabbed a finger into the comm. \u201cReceived. Everything\u2019s . . . good.\u201d\n\n\u201cSee you soon,\u201d Rhys said.\n\nDread threatened to engulf Mila, but she tried to ignore the feelings as she took the controls. In the seat beside her, Casey pulled up the comms and requested emergency clearance to take off.\n\nIf they made it off-world, Rhys would never, ever forgive her. But it was too late. She\u2019d made her decision, and now Casey Phan, the Phantom, sat beside her, ready to escape UEE space once and for all.\n\nClearance came in, and Mila fired up the engines.\n\n\u201cThank you, Ev. I mean it. I don\u2019t deserve your trust after . . .\u201d\n\nMila just shook her head. \u201cNo. You don\u2019t.\u201d\n\n\u201cMila.\u201d Rhys\u2019s panicked voice came over the comm. \u201cMila, I have you in sight. Why are the engines fired up? What\u2019s going on?\u201d\n\nMila activated the comm, and winced against a jolt of pain in her shoulder. The numbing agent was fading, the burn from her pistol wound returning. Casey had shot her, and here she was freeing her. Mila stared at the comm and tried to think of what she could say to Rhys. But there was nothing to say.\n\nShe\u2019d have to lie to him if she got out of this alive. Whatever they\u2019d had together . . . it was over now, burned by her decision. And the less he knew, the better off he\u2019d be.\n\nI\u2019m so sorry, Rhys.\n\nShe removed her finger from the comm without saying a word and lifted Devana into the sky.\n\nTO BE CONTINUED\u2026"},"links_count":2,"comment_count":34,"created_at":"2018-11-28T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"7 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-04-25 12:48:54","valid_relations":["images","links","translations"],"prev_id":16874,"next_id":16877}}