Chapter 10 · A Body on the Bill

Vey didn't wait for me to catch my breath. I was still on my knees in the corridor, lungs burning from the air cycling back in, when he showed up with Ivo half a step behind.

"We need to talk about fuel," Vey said.

Briar stepped between us. Her hand wasn't on her gun but it wasn't far. "She just got vented. Give her a minute."

"Don't have a minute." Vey looked past her like she was a door he could walk through if he wanted. "Long Invoice's got maybe six jumps left in her. Four if we're honest. We're dead in the water after that."

I pushed myself up. The deck felt wrong under my hands. Cold. The ship used to hum a certain way when I touched it. Now it was just metal. "So go buy fuel."

"With what?" Vey's voice stayed flat but his jaw worked. "Charter account's locked. The Beacon Lattice owned our line of credit. Lattice is gone. Every fuel depot in three sectors knows it."

Ivo was looking at me the way you look at a machine you're about to take apart. "The vault access would have been enough. Before.