Read Online Dance by the Light of the Moon by Milo James Fowler - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Milo James Fowler
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with fury as he pounded his large fists
against the door. He paused, catching sight of Eyan as she approached.
"Who the hell is this guy? Keeps Peters inside and kicks the rest of us
out!"
"He's
here with Dr. Hammersmith's permission, as an impartial observer." Eyan
kept her voice level, just as she had when Franklin showed her Xavier's body
that morning. In situations where emotions had a tendency to spike, maintaining
an even, midrange tone usually helped to deflate hostilities.
"Did
you see that freakin' sword?" Franklin clawed at his bushy ginger beard—a
physical tick he displayed while under duress. Standing head and shoulders
above the other members of the crew, he was usually the jovial giant among
Futuro's control team. But when angry, he was a major force to be reckoned
with. "All operations are on pause, Eyan. Are you sure Hammersmith's okay
with that? Isn't time money ?"
They
all knew that every minute lost meant millions of dollars to Hammersmith
Enterprises. "Mr. Cade is here with full authority to—"
"Does
he outrank you?"
She
didn't know. She still had no idea who or what Cade really was.
"What
are we supposed to do now? Wait for him to interview us one at a time? He
could've used the conference room for this cop routine!" Franklin crossed
his thick arms—fat outweighing muscle by a factor of two to one—and leaned back
against the plasteel wall. He glanced at his teammates, murmuring discontent
among themselves. "He thinks one of us did it. Is that it?"
"He's
only just arrived," Eyan said. "I'm sure he's gathering as many facts
surrounding the incident as he can."
" Incident ,"
Rojas spoke up, her eyes kindling with hate at the sight of Eyan. "That's
all he was to you?"
Douglas—the
oldest member of the crew by at least twenty years—muttered, "Can't expect
a machine to care. Isn't that so, Eyan? You're just a glorified drillbot ."
"Hey."
Franklin stared him down.
Grumbling
to himself, Douglas nudged Rojas and they turned their full attention to the
wide porthole overlooking the moon below them, waiting for their work to
recommence.
"So
he's some kind of samurai detective?"
Eyan's
gaze returned to Franklin. She didn't know why he was the only member of
Futuro's crew to treat her like one of them. "Dr. Hammersmith wouldn't
tell me. Perhaps you can ask Cade yourself when it's your turn to be
interviewed."
As
if on cue, the door to the operations center slid open and Peters stepped out
with an expression of subdued bewilderment. "Next," she said quietly,
as though it were a doctor's office.
"That
would be me." Franklin glared at the others—Douglas and Rojas in
particular—who seemed perfectly content moongazing. "Time to find out what
the hell is going on around here."
He
stomped into the command module, and the door slid shut behind him.
* * *
Xavier's
body was already frozen brittle by the time Franklin had reeled him in. Eyan
had seen death in a variety of forms long before her lifetimes on Futuro, but
never anything like this. It was as if the man's blood had turned to glass and
split him open from the inside out.
"Why
did he leave the station?" Cade sat across from her now, staring with
those dark eyes of his. "Did his duties require him to spacewalk?"
Eyan
shook her head. "The drillbots are remote-controlled."
"The
crew never needs to leave the station."
"Not
during the duration of their assignment."
"Then
why did he?"
"Excuse
me?"
"What
would have induced a man to tether himself in place of a drillbot?"
"You
think it was suicide." After meeting with each member of the control team,
that's what Cade had concluded? Ridiculous .
"As
does twenty percent of your mind." The corners of Cade's lips turned
upward a millimeter. "In your report, you stated there was a chance that
Xavier acted alone due to an undiagnosed psychosis of some sort."
"I
was weighing all possibilities—no matter how remote."
" Remote .
Like you."
"How's
that?" Eyan was not warming up to this
against the door. He paused, catching sight of Eyan as she approached.
"Who the hell is this guy? Keeps Peters inside and kicks the rest of us
out!"
"He's
here with Dr. Hammersmith's permission, as an impartial observer." Eyan
kept her voice level, just as she had when Franklin showed her Xavier's body
that morning. In situations where emotions had a tendency to spike, maintaining
an even, midrange tone usually helped to deflate hostilities.
"Did
you see that freakin' sword?" Franklin clawed at his bushy ginger beard—a
physical tick he displayed while under duress. Standing head and shoulders
above the other members of the crew, he was usually the jovial giant among
Futuro's control team. But when angry, he was a major force to be reckoned
with. "All operations are on pause, Eyan. Are you sure Hammersmith's okay
with that? Isn't time money ?"
They
all knew that every minute lost meant millions of dollars to Hammersmith
Enterprises. "Mr. Cade is here with full authority to—"
"Does
he outrank you?"
She
didn't know. She still had no idea who or what Cade really was.
"What
are we supposed to do now? Wait for him to interview us one at a time? He
could've used the conference room for this cop routine!" Franklin crossed
his thick arms—fat outweighing muscle by a factor of two to one—and leaned back
against the plasteel wall. He glanced at his teammates, murmuring discontent
among themselves. "He thinks one of us did it. Is that it?"
"He's
only just arrived," Eyan said. "I'm sure he's gathering as many facts
surrounding the incident as he can."
" Incident ,"
Rojas spoke up, her eyes kindling with hate at the sight of Eyan. "That's
all he was to you?"
Douglas—the
oldest member of the crew by at least twenty years—muttered, "Can't expect
a machine to care. Isn't that so, Eyan? You're just a glorified drillbot ."
"Hey."
Franklin stared him down.
Grumbling
to himself, Douglas nudged Rojas and they turned their full attention to the
wide porthole overlooking the moon below them, waiting for their work to
recommence.
"So
he's some kind of samurai detective?"
Eyan's
gaze returned to Franklin. She didn't know why he was the only member of
Futuro's crew to treat her like one of them. "Dr. Hammersmith wouldn't
tell me. Perhaps you can ask Cade yourself when it's your turn to be
interviewed."
As
if on cue, the door to the operations center slid open and Peters stepped out
with an expression of subdued bewilderment. "Next," she said quietly,
as though it were a doctor's office.
"That
would be me." Franklin glared at the others—Douglas and Rojas in
particular—who seemed perfectly content moongazing. "Time to find out what
the hell is going on around here."
He
stomped into the command module, and the door slid shut behind him.
* * *
Xavier's
body was already frozen brittle by the time Franklin had reeled him in. Eyan
had seen death in a variety of forms long before her lifetimes on Futuro, but
never anything like this. It was as if the man's blood had turned to glass and
split him open from the inside out.
"Why
did he leave the station?" Cade sat across from her now, staring with
those dark eyes of his. "Did his duties require him to spacewalk?"
Eyan
shook her head. "The drillbots are remote-controlled."
"The
crew never needs to leave the station."
"Not
during the duration of their assignment."
"Then
why did he?"
"Excuse
me?"
"What
would have induced a man to tether himself in place of a drillbot?"
"You
think it was suicide." After meeting with each member of the control team,
that's what Cade had concluded? Ridiculous .
"As
does twenty percent of your mind." The corners of Cade's lips turned
upward a millimeter. "In your report, you stated there was a chance that
Xavier acted alone due to an undiagnosed psychosis of some sort."
"I
was weighing all possibilities—no matter how remote."
" Remote .
Like you."
"How's
that?" Eyan was not warming up to this
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