Chapter 3: Can the Leopard Shed Her Spots?

[General Dan]

"Tempting fate." He replied coolly.

"Why didn't you kill me?"

[Adia Issoris]

Adia frowned. She felt that she was on a fraying rope bridge and both ends were coming undone.

"I'm not killing people for money anymore."

[Rick Wright]

Rick averted his gaze casually from the conversation between Adia and Dan. Though he’d often wondered where she had picked up her combat skills, Rick had never ventured to guess that she was a bounty hunter and was a little shocked – this being the real reason why he looked away, to hide the surprise in his eyes.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya didn't have anything else to do but keep her eyes on Rick, so she noticed the look he carefully hid from the other two. Their eyes met briefly, and she smiled. "Don't worry, I don't get paid when I kill people."

[General Dan]

"Then forget the money."

Dan set his hand on the desk, fingers outstretched.

"You had me dead-to-rights on a hunk of rock the galaxy has long forgotten. Reverse the situation. I would've gladly killed you for free.

That's an itch that's easy to scratch. Easier still to climb onto this moral high ground of yours in the aftermath. Who'd miss me, much less find me?"

[Adia Issoris]

Adia sighed.
"No one. Maybe the delivery woman would miss the pay. It would have made an awful lot of people happy. But I'm not killing people unless they shove me in a corner and destroy the alternatives. Maybe I just want to do something else." She stopped for a moment.

"You ever heard of Releese's Traders over in the Corporate Sector?"

[General Dan]

"I'm afraid not."

The shootist interlaced his fingers together, cocking an eyebrow quizically.

"That's more of Miss Ravenwing's stomping grounds, I think."

[Rick Wright]

Maintaining his silence, Rick felt a pang of guilt as he trying to avoid listening to the conversation between Adia and Dan. It felt as though he was eavesdropping on something he shouldn’t have been hearing. After all, if Adia had wanted him to know about her employment history, she would have brought it up.