Taly wanted to add more and let Nas know she was okay and who she was with, but Nas had insisted they keep their messages short. They needed to reveal no pertinent information. Knowing she’d said all she could, she hit send.
Ranvir stood with his back to Taly, blocking her from the curious eyes she was drawing as he scanned the room. The cafe was only partially full, and while several patrons were openly curious, he doubted the youngsters posed any real threat.
The male outside across the path, trying to look casual, had all Ranvir’s systems going on alert, though. He was a scrawny male, but his gaze never left the cafe, and he repeatedly reached up to touch his ear comm. That told Ranvir he was a scout, not a fighter. It was time to go.
“Done.” Taly pulled the credit strip from the terminal. She stood, and Ranvir adjusted her hood, ensuring it still obscured her face before gripping her arm and silently leading her outside.
“What’s wrong?” she asked once they were away from the cafe.
His pace quickened. “We’re being followed.”
“What?!”
When she attempted to spin around, his grip tightened on her arm. “Don’t. Keep moving.”
He hurried them down one path and then another before pulling her into a small gap between two stalls. Moments later, the scout hurried past. Once he was out of sight, Ranvir pulled Taly back the way they’d come.
He touched his ear comm and demanded, “Report.”
“Weapons arriving now,” Ganesha answered.
“Fuel rods in transit,” Pike added.
“Stay alert. We had to lose a scout.” He heard them both curse. “The transmission has been sent. We’re on our way back. Contact me immediately if there’s any trouble.”
Once he ended the comm, Taly asked, “Is everyone all right?”
“For now. We need to get back to the ship.” They’d nearly made it out of the market when Oved and Sato came running up to them, Uki strapped to Sato’s chest. Ree following close behind, his blaster out.
“You have to hide,” Oved told them, frantically looking behind them. “Bounty hunters are heading this way.”
“You turned us in!” Ranvir lunged for Oved only to have Ree step between them.
“It wasn’t us,” Ree told him chest-to-chest with Ranvir.
“It wasn’t!” Sato added her voice to Ree’s. “It was Ju and Feo. We overheard them in the market and were heading back to the ship to warn you when we saw you!”
“They wouldn’t do that, Ranvir?” Taly gripped his arm and pulled him away from Ree. When he turned, she let out a small gasp. “Ranvir,” she whispered, “your brand is showing.”
She’d obviously misjudged how long the enhancement would hold up against a cyborg’s nanobots.
A crowd gathered behind them—the words ‘cyborg’ and ‘rebel’ began spreading like wildfire.
“There’s one!” someone shouted from behind the crowd. “Get him!”
Ranvir’s eyes locked with Ree’s. “Get them back to the ship!” he ordered, whipping off his cape and launching himself into the crowd.
“Ranvir!” Taly froze, unable to believe the number of people that had engulfed him. She had promised Ranvir she would run if he said so, but she’d never actually believed it would come to that.
“Come on, Taly.” Ree pulled her away with his blaster free hand. “You can’t help him. You’ll only be in the way.”
Taly looked behind her one last time. Ranvir disappeared from view within the angry, yelling mob. Heart in her throat, she turned and ran after Sato and her family out of the market, with Ree bringing up the rear.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
The crowd didn’t concern Ranvir. None were equipped to take on a cyborg. His concern was on Taly. He’d seen her hesitation in leaving him and was grateful that Ree had convinced her to go. He couldn’t fight the way he needed to and protect her simultaneously.
He tossed idiots in the air one after the other and touched his ear comm.