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“Wow, thank you Thank you, Sloan,” he said, walking behind her

“Don’t worry You gavethe favor”

“I gave you a rag to wipe your tears, and you singlehandedly made it possible for lee she heard in his voice Neven had a smile on his face that could have rivaled a sun

“What do youthe crap out of soht on a reaction this ecstatic Neven waved her into his quarters and sat her in the small chair beside his bed He cli noises, and grunting, he crawled back out with a small locked box

“This is why those jilk dungs were always after ed not to fall out of her chair Credit units So many credit units They didn’t have access to networked accounts, so many people traded physical credit units, but Sloan didn’t think she had seen thisher hand back Why the hell was he here if he had this many credits?

“It’s not enough to start a new life,” he said as if he read her mind

Sloan blinked back at hiet et all these?”

“I’ve worked out some ways to make extra credits, but it’s become more and more difficult as others have also learned how, and I’ myself as you seem

to be,” he said, a reddish tint co over his face “I need a partner Someone I can trust, soet us out of this place,” he said, eyeing her with vulnerability and hope in his eyes

Sloan couldn’t turn hi what he’d been able to accu that others would take his stash from him if she weren’t there to protect hi forward

Froh credits for their freedom This is where Neven’s plan ca coation paths and quantify vast amounts of data, and it just so happened that those skills lent the on the side

Neven ran the numbers, and Sloan sat at the table She could hold her own if things went crazy and fight her way out of a game if need be This was one of the areas where Neven had often ended up abandoning his winnings before heoff time, they sneaked out of the coames of chance Chance was less of an issue with Neven at her side

They worked out a few signals and ways to coh to not raise suspicions Sloan was at the tables because her ability to stoames didn’t always end in a neat pile of credit transfer chips and a handshake It was at those tables that Sloan honed her fighting, knife, and sword skills Later, once they had built up their credit cache, she earned a blaster

Although Neven and Sloan had credits, they needed to buy their freedoin a new life The continued to gaaher stakes and even bigger payouts The ame before they were freed was as clear as if it had happened yesterday

“Nev, are you sure you want to go in there?” Sloan had asked, putting a hand on Neven’s ar the stairs to the Rexio Palace “This is outside our usual range”