Elite (Citizen Saga, Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

before, but somehow it held weight right then. Tan sat still, not a muscle twitching, just held my gaze with an intense one of his own.
    "And you plan to do what with it?" he finally asked, but I got the impression it was not what he really wanted to know.
    I wondered if he was scared I'd bring danger to their door. He and Aiko harboured enough trouble helping me out from time to time. He worried for his sister, as much as he worried for me. But it was a different kind of concern. If he had to choose, Aiko would win. That didn't hurt me, if I'd had a brother or sister I would have felt the same.
    But there was just me.
    I had to ensure, though, that if my pastimes came under Overseer scrutiny the Tan siblings were clear of the fall-out. It was my choice to play the system. My gamble to take. Not theirs.
    "I haven't decided yet. An opportunity will present itself in due course," I declared convincingly.
    "I'm sure it will."
    "I may even have a buyer already," I offered, checking the outline of the thumb-drive in my vest.
    "Really?" Tan asked, eyebrows raised.
    "Competition at Wántel. They were too slow, of course."
    "Of course," Tan said doubtfully. "Did they see you?"
    "Couldn't avoid it, but I wouldn't have registered in iRec."
    "And now? Should they have reordered your image."
    "You are no fun, at all," I offered, a little more tersely than I'd meant.
    Tan lifted his hands, palm up in defeat.
    "It's your neck on the chopping block, Elite."
    Yeah. Yeah it was.

Chapter 4
This Woman, This Elite , Might Just Be The Death Of Me
Trent
    "You're not going to believe this," Si announced, barging into my quarters without knocking.
    I could have complained. Thrown a fit and a fist. But everyone knew I wouldn't be entertaining. Not this close to the celebration.
    It was about the only time I didn't.
    "What have you got?" I asked, laying the vid-screen I'd been using down on the side of my bunk.
    "She walked into her apartment on Parnell Rise an hour ago. Plain as you like. Then simply disappeared."
    "What do you mean, disappeared?"
    "Her Shiloh went offline."
    I whistled. "Impressive."
    "I want one," Si advised.
    "One what?"
    "One of her."
    I snorted. "She'd eat you alive."
    "And you, boss?"
    "I just want what she's got in her hot little hands. She probably doesn't even know what it's for," I added, not believing that for a minute.
    "Yeah. And I'm General Chew-wen's long lost son," Si offered, then spun on his heel and left.
    I stared after his back, watching his natural blond hair flow out behind him. A rebellion that cost him his freedom on the streets. One look at his unapproved haircut and sPol would eliminate him. No questions asked. No warning. Simply put a bullet in his head and then check if his hair was real. Just as well Si never left the hub.
    I scrubbed a hand down my face. I was too tired to deal with this shit. Too worn out. Too disillusioned. Too trapped. What I wouldn't give to board a freighter and sail away to another world. What I wouldn't give to know that other world actually does exist, and not just a figment of a disgruntled Citizen's fervent imagination.
    My father had a lot to answer for. My current dilemma top of the list.
    I needed to get that flash-drive. Everything counted on it. But first, I needed to know more about the Honourable Selena Carstairs, and just how the hell she managed to ghost the system like she did.
    I stormed off the bed with renewed purpose, and strode into the tech room, finding Si with his feet up on the desk flicking through pictures of our quarry.
    He knew me so well.
    "Talk to me," I demanded.
    "Twenty-five years old, daughter of the late Honourable Calvin and Laura Carstairs. The last surviving descendant of the Carstairs line."
    "That would give her privileges others wouldn't receive," I offered.
    "A healthy stipend, for one," Si agreed. "Gotta look after the old families."
    "Lest we lose our way," Kevin added from the back of the room, where he spent most of his time, headphones