The only way this is going to work is if Brett trusts me completely or never trusted me in the first place. Trouble is, I can’t tell which it is right now. He looks pretty damn mad. Then again, I am holding a gun to his head. We might be on a podium in front of the entire Earth slaver operation. I might have one minute to either shoot him or get shot. This might be entirely my fault. But there’s only one way I’ll earn their trust.

And it’s not by killing Brett.

“This idiot hired me explicitly to not kill him,” I say, my voice booming through the speakers. “And if there’s anything that you can count on me to do, it’s to finish my jobs. I get that you are a little weary about having me on-board-.”

“You liberated Calitrexia!” someone yells out.

“Because they paid me. The same goes for Vimos Station. I’m offering my services to you now. And considering how quickly I crippled your operation, I am bound to be an invaluable asset when on your side. Imagine the profits you could rake in if I was going after enforcers instead of you lot.”

They murmur among themselves. Brett looks ready to punch me. I poke his cheek with the gun.

The head slaver guy steps forward. I think he’s name is Steve. “We need a sign of loyalty,” he says.

“Yeah, it looks a capital C with three strikes through it. I’m thinking a thousand per job.”

Now Steve looks ready to punch me. I should start a line. “We need something from you to prove that we can trust you. Then we can talk about payment.”

“How does Finnegan Mayes sound? I can give you his address. I know for a fact that he’s been trying to convince Earth’s enforcers to end their little deal with you.”

“You would rat out your own father?”

Brett grins at the confirmation.

I lightly kick Brett. “The last time he gave me a paycheque, I was twenty. And then he threw me into jail. So yes, I’m fine handing him over.”

“Let the Torl go,” Steve says.

Brett stands up. I grab his arm. “Grab my ship and leave Earth. I’ll need it back when they let me out,” I whisper.

Brett head-butts me and storms off. I guess he does trust me after all. At least Steve looks convinced.

“You’re to personally escort a team to Finnegan Mayes’ house,” he says.

This really is too easy.

*

The thing about Dad is, he never uses the front door. He’s a weirdo like that. So the ‘totally hidden and not at all guarded’ back door actually has more security than any other entrance. These idiots don’t know that. The cameras turn on the second I open the door, and they’re impossible to see, even if you were the one who set them up. I’m sure that right now he’s getting an alert and watching as we sneak into his office. I smile.

“Set up the traps,” I say.

The slavers grumble among themselves.

“Is there a problem?”

“No,” one of them says. “You just killed a lot of our friends.”

“Oh, my bad. I didn’t know that child traffickers had friends.”

“Why are you even here if you hate us so much?”

“So you’re alright being slavers?” I ask back, mentally grinning.

“Duh,” another says. “The pay’s great.”

I laugh. “Oh, you really are idiots.”

There’s a loud bang. It must be the front door.

“What was that?” a slaver yells.

“Oh, just my dad. I’d really love to stick around, but family reunions aren’t my favourite. I’m sure you lot understand.”

They raise their weapons. I shake my head. They fire. The weapons explode.

I take the opportunity to run out of the office. I slam the door behind me. Heavy footsteps echo towards me. I run the other way. Maybe the back door will be clear. Maybe he went in with the strike team. Maybe I’ll get out of here. The door is locked. One day, one day my luck won’t be comically horrendous.

“Valentina. What on Earth are you doing home?”

I slowly turn around. “I got you a slaver confession on video. Happy Birthday!”

He sighs. “Valentina Mayes, you have the right to remain silent.”

“We both know I’m never going to do that, Dad.”

“Don’t you dare call me that.”