Available on Pre-Order: The Depredides Dance

March's first short story stand-alone release is now available on pre-order. Set directly after the events in Mack 'n' Me: Origins, Cutter has made a break for it, but will she want to stay clear of Mack and Odyssey at any cost?

 

What's it About?

 

Depredides Dance follows Cutter as she flees the events of Origins, and ends up on the world of Depredides, where she quickly becomes involved in an entirely new form of trouble. It covers her endangered disappearance attempt and botched comms hack, as she takes on a ruthless communications company, knowing that Mack's hunt for her is already in play.

In her own words: I was in more trouble than I could poke a stick at—and that was before I poked the Depredides interweb. Now? Now, I’m hoping my hunters can get to me in time to save my life…and that they’re so inclined.

 

Where Can You Find It?

 

If you're one of my Reamstories subscribers, you can read The Depredides Dance as part of your subscription, regardless of tier, either the day it is released, or now, if  you're part of one of the tiers that has early access. If you're not, you can pre-order the title on any of the links on this Books2Read page: https://books2read.com/u/mZp9zp. And, if you already own the collection of Tales of Mack 'n' Me, then you already have the earlier version.

 

How Does It Start?

 

Abby dropped me off on Depredides, just like I paid her to. She even booked me into a cheap motel which would give me lots of places to run to, and she did that free of charge.

Because we’re friends, she said, even though we both knew she’d be running an auction
to give away my drop point, in seventy-two hours’ time. She’s a transporter; it comes with the territory, and I couldn’t pay for an extension to her silence.

Friendship and business, we both knew where the lines met, and, because of friendship, we didn’t hold our business actions against each other. We’d travelled across several systems, fast enough to avoid both Delight and Mack, and get me out from under Odyssey’s radar. As a situation, it wasn’t going to last, but I was going to make the most of it while it did.

Before I left the hatch, Abby removed the extra locks she’d put on the links Mack, Delight and Tens had added to my implant.

“What you’ve got should last for a while,” she said, “Especially as you’re out of range. Try and stay that way.”

I paused, on the steps leading from her cockpit down to the tarmac, reached up to touch her hull. I had no words for what I felt, but she seemed to understand.

“Safe travels,” she said, and slid the hatch door shut.

She retracted the stairs, as soon as I’d stepped off them, and I heard the engine note start to build. I didn’t look back as I hurried away, not even when I felt the wash of her engines as she took off. When I reached the edge of the tarmac, she was just a twin-starred speck, retreating to the void above.

“Papers,” said the man behind the counter, and I realized I’d forgotten to plan one, important aspect of my arrival.

Damn. I’d thought that had been part of Abby’s service.

It was too late, so I gestured at the computer terminal.

“It was a late notice trip,” I said. “The company rerouted me. They should have forwarded the paperwork to your department.”

He didn’t look impressed.

“Name.”

I struggled to keep my features bland. Fuckit. I hadn’t thought of this. Why hadn’t I thought of this? I thought fast, instead.

“I’m under cover. Need to pick my dossier up. Are you sure my picture doesn’t call up anything?”

“Which company do you work for?”

And I felt color rise to my cheeks, was left with my mouth open and nothing to say.

“Abby!”

“I did not think you were this unprepared. I am sorry. You do not have enough to cover the cost of a new identity.” At least she sounded contrite, rather than amused.

Double the damn. If I’d been thinking I would have thought of this myself, would have found a different path off the tarmac, not waltzed straight up to the guys who were likely to put me into a database that would totally wreck Abby’s auction.

“Honey, you put it that way, and I’ll give you all the help you need.”

Her words brought a small smile to my lips.

“And I thought you were supposed to not  be in my head anymore.”

The Human-Transfer’s presence in my implant was smiling; I could feel it.

“Dasojin,” Abby said, sidestepping my comment. “That’s the company you work for.”

I’m pretty sure the man behind the counter was about to summon local law enforcement, when his computer screen flashed, but I was already speaking.

“Dasojin,” I said. “Sorry. I’m new, and the trip, and all the last-minute changes…”

I let my voice trail off, as though I’d just noticed he wasn’t paying any attention, made my voice breathy with desperation. Not that that was a hardship.

“Is there anything there for me?” I asked anxiously. “Under Dasojin?”

He flicked a glance up at me, and then back to the screen.

“Must be your lucky day,” he said. “Miss…”

“Dasoto,” Abby supplied.

“Dasoto,” I said, then blushed a bit more. “This is awkward; they just pinged my implant—wanting to know where I was.”

The guy smiled, and his fingers rattled over the keyboard in front of him. Beside him the desk-top printer started to work. I watched as he pulled an identity card and several sheets of paper off the machine, wondering how Abby was going to deal with any incoming searches that might hit the system before the three days were up.

 

Those Links and Locations, Again?

 

You can find this at any of the links on this Books2Read page: https://books2read.com/u/mZp9zp

Or as part of a Reamstories subscription.

Or read the earlier version in Tales of Mack 'n' Me.