Excerpt: Scenes From

The holding cell was dark and damp, with an old-fashioned feel to it. On Kyeriska, that meant stone walls and rusty metal grates. Personally, Jack felt that this was at least more effective than the old-fashioned Earth jails with simple bars. No one could possibly slip through one of these grates.

“Hold on,” he said matter-of-factly as the police officer was about to close the grate. “You haven’t searched us for weapons. How do you know we aren’t going to break out of here the minute you leave us alone?”

The man gave him a glare, but gave both of them a perfunctory search. Then he shoved the grate shut and started to walk away.

“Wait,” Jack called after him. “Your security camera isn’t even on. You’d better get on that.”

The officer turned back to look at him, then looked at the camera, which was indeed off. He went to check it and flicked a switch a couple of times. “Dead battery,” he grunted finally before moving off to mutter into his radio.

“Way to go, Trent, making their lives easier,” muttered Will.

“I don’t see what the problem is,” said Jack with a grin. “I mean, it’s not like we had the means to break out anyway, so it didn’t change anything, just made him feel stupid.”

“Yeah, well, congratulations, you’re a first-class asshole.”

Jack backed up against the wall and slid to the floor. Will was already on the ground, his legs stretched out in front of him. Jack kept his knees close to his chest. “Don’t worry. We’ll get out of this soon enough.”

“How? We’re about to get screwed over by Marissa Peregrin. You’re the one who’s always telling us not to get arrested,” Will pointed out.

“We won’t get arrested. Peregrin will take us to detainment. That I can get us out of, assuming Evan figures out what to do,” said Jack.

“Assuming Evan figures out what to do?” Will sounded incredulous. “You mean you didn’t tell him or anything? No super secret detainment rescue plan?”

“There’s directions to the detainment system in the ship’s computer and he knows it’s where we’ll be headed.” Jack gave Will a tight smile. “He’ll know what to do.” He wasn’t actually as confident as he sounded, but it wasn’t like Evan wouldn’t at least try. At the very least Paris would be in the system and Jack would get them both out of there. Getting onto the ship might be another matter, but he’d find a way.

There was a clanging sound that indicated a door opening somewhere outside. At first Jack thought it was just a guy coming to fix the security camera, but that guy was followed by Marissa and Blue Jewel’s Colby Charter.

“Well, well, well,” Jack commented. “Looks like the old team’s back together. She paying you enough, Colby?”

“It’s Captain Charter to you,” said the man darkly.

“Shut your mouth, Jack,” Marissa snapped. “There’s no point being witty. You can’t get out of this now.”

“Then there’s no point not being witty, either.” Jack shrugged. “I’d rather keep my humor, if it’s all the same to you.”

“It’s really not.”

“Then you can go fuck yourself, because I’m still going to push your buttons.” Jack grinned slyly at her. “And you know I know what they are.”

Marissa looked like she was about to launch herself at him, in spite of the grate, but Charter stepped in front of her. “We’re here to take you two to detainment. We’d be taking your ship, too, but they seem to have left you behind.”

“Oh well,” said Jack. “When do we leave?”

“You sound as if you want to be detained,” said Marissa with a frown. “Are you planning something?”

Jack gave her an innocent smile. “I’m always planning something. You might even know what it was if the morons that run the police station here didn’t forget to replace their camera’s batteries. I’ve been practically doing their jobs for them since they brought me in here. It’s sad, really.” He stretched out his legs in a defiantly casual manner.

Marissa grabbed hold of the grate, the fingers of her other hand curling into a fist. “Come out here and let me slap that smile off your face,” she growled.

“Watch the temper there, Rissa. Your face can stick that way, you know.”

She launched herself against the grate. It shook against her assault, but held. Charter rolled his eyes.

“If you two are done, we have work to do,” he said acidly. “Agent Peregrin, if you can’t control yourself…”

Marissa pulled away from the grate and folded her arms, still looking daggers at Jack. “I’m fine, Captain. Get them out of there and let’s take them to detainment before I murder them both.”