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“My ship That’s what I called it”

“Sure We’ll fetch them However, before that, I want to o to this rooitives to catch and I don’t want you to encounter thee”

“A liability?” She raised her eyebrow

A poor choice of word, perhaps “You’re not uest, but they’ll see you as a means to barter or worse”

“I see So I’ll hang out here when things get tough Don’t you want an extra pair of hands to help you?”

Daed that about her “Trained in unarmed combat, are you?”

“No, but I can s don’t break down at a critical moment” There was almost a hint of sarcasm in her tone

“They won’t, because you’re going to keep them well maintained”

She appeared to ; her lower jaw rocked from side to side

“What?” he asked “Is there a problem with any of this?”

“I’itive, on my way to be tried, and probably sentenced, and it’s not easy foryou deliver me to the authorit

ies”

“I’ locked in this cell and treated like a prisoner For the duration, you’re part of itive in transit” He’d not given ht up to now about how to explain his actions toward Jade What would his superiors say when they found out he’d let a fugitive work alongside hiiven access to the systems? It was a probleood, and I’ll put in a good word for you” It was a lame response to her concerns

She nodded, seely happy with his comment “I’d rather be useful than stuck in here”

He senuine display of pleasure “I’ll enjoy the company” Did she feel the same way about him?