Free Web NovelChapter 522: Chapter 522
When the last of Douvoi’s ships had escaped the system, the Alliance Police vessels gave up on pursuit and returned to where the Intrepid was waiting. freёwebnovel.com
As much as they would have liked to chase down the criminals, it just was not feasible.
The ships had scattered in dozens of different directions, and being quick and nimble they were able to eventually outrun and outmaneuver the larger Alliance Police vessels.
Avery felt aggravated that they had let people that were bound to attack them again go, but there was nothing he could really do in this situation.
Had he thought it was more important to destroy Douvoi and his fighters than maintain their cover, he would have gone on the offensive right from the start.
"Both the vessel that we believe belongs to the Odium Syndicate and the cloaked craft are no longer within our sensor range." One of the bridge officers told Avery when he asked for an update on them.
Both had made themselves scarce once the Alliance Police had arrived.
Undoubtably the cloaked ship realized that the mission had failed, and the Odium Syndicate Vessel did not want to be noticed by the authorities.
Still, it was too soon to let their guard down, so Avery made sure that they went through the motions with the squad Cerise had sent to assist them.
For all intents and purposes, the Intrepid needed to seem like just any other cargo ship that had ended up ambushed by pirates. At least that was the story Avery planned on spreading.
Certainly, they could not be the only smuggler for the Odium Syndicate that had been attacked by other spacefaring criminals.
In fact, Avery figured that was somewhat of an occupational hazard.
The meeting places the Odium Syndicate picked for their deals were typically far from any high traffic areas.
Exactly the types of areas where pirates might be hiding out in between raids.
Eventually the officers that had come to help left to return to their usual patrol.
Before they went though, Avery had asked that they send over an inspection crew.
This was for a bit of theater for the ship from the Odium Syndicate that should be watching them.
The vessel had moved further away, but Avery would not be surprised if they still had some way to monitor the situation even if the data they were receiving was not precise.
Still, it would not be hard to notice an Alliance Police vessel dock with the Intrepid and after a few minutes go on its way.
"This event might not be all bad. Our ship’s resilience and the appearance that we can keep our goods hidden even from a thorough Alliance Police inspection should boost they confidence in our ability to safely smuggle drugs across the border." Avery said.
"Yes, I suppose we can look at it from that perspective. But this could also compromise us. A normal Ontembaar cargo vessel wouldn’t have nearly as powerful shields as we do. Plus, those people from Kasandra’s and Kaiden’s home might do. Since their plan failed, they might tip off the Odium Syndicate about us." Jasmine replied.
That certainly was a possibility. There were two spies that had been caught working for Douvoi, so no doubt the man knew at least the basics of the assignment Cerise had given to Avery.
"Before worry about that though, there might be other enemy agents onboard. We recruited more people recently, so that means more chances for a rat to have slipped through the cracks."
Avery asked Jasmine if there were any updates on the single spy that they still had. He already knew that one of the two had been vaporized along with the shuttle Kasandra had blown up.
"He’s being detained in the infirmary currently. Kaiden apparently roughed the man up quite thoroughly in a fit of anger."
Avery could only shake his head as he heard about the condition of their captive.
Kaiden had really let loose on the man that worked for Douvoi.
Their prisoner had ended up with several broken bones, and a few ruptured organs from the beating Kaiden had delivered until Victoria had pulled him away.
Fortunately, the man was still alive, and with the medical facilities the Intrepid was equipped with, he would make a full recovery.
"I’ll let it slide this time, all things considering. I really don’t care that Kaiden nearly killed the guy. Still, we need that man alive for questioning, and I hate to waste the medical supplies." Avery said, his voice devoid of sympathy for the brutalized spy.
He did not hold back against his enemies, and so far as he saw it, the only reason to keep the guy alive was to obtain information from him.
Considering what the spy’s goal had been, Avery honestly figured he would just launch the due out of an airlock when they were done. No point in keeping him locked up in the brig and wasting food and energy on him.
"Put in course to the meet up spot. I doubt the ship we’re waiting for is going to be there any time soon, but I’m sure that the Odium Syndicate will send someone soon enough. We do still have their product in our cargo bay."
With the crisis resolved and the Alliance Police squad having left, it was time to get back to business.
Avery knew he would need to give the crew a rest after what they had just been through, but for now they had a job to finish.
It took nearly a day, but as Avery had expected, a new vessel came by to pick up the stash of Paradise they had smuggled across the border.
Several transmissions from their contact came in not long after asking for an explanation.
Avery fed the man the story about priates and being lucky that an Alliance Police patrol answered their distress call.
"I see. I guess those pigs can be useful for something every now and then. Keep up the good work. I’ll send over details for the next shipment in a couple of days."
The transmission with the Odium Syndicate member ended after that.
From his tone and expression, he did not seem to suspect anything. Meaning that Avery and his crew would be able to continue with Cerise’s operation.
