Warden Hadis sat behind a massive desk with her cold gaze fixed on Mia. “I don’t know which is more surprising. That you’re alive, or that you came back to the main facility.”

  Mia shrugged. “I have ways of surviving. I was trained from a young age to survive.”

  The warden stood and narrowed her eyes. “What I don’t understand is that your DT signal indicated that you didn’t leave the facility, but I have it on good authority that you did.”

  “That’s interesting.”

  “Interesting?” The warden raised an eyebrow. “Going missing for so long should mean your summary execution. And I’m leaning that way. Before I send you off to die, do you have anything you want to say in your defense?”

  Mia locked eyes with the warden. The other woman’s voice had a faint quiver, almost unnoticeable. Mia wasn’t sure if she would have noticed it before the injections. She wasn’t using her heightened abilities, but since the change, she felt more attuned to her basic senses when she concentrated.

  “If my DT says I didn’t leave the restricted zone, then you have no basis to execute me,” countered Mia. “Because I doubt you have a witness willing to officially testify that I left the restricted zone. And the fact you don’t have a good accounting for your prisoners says more about you than me. Why should I die for your mistake?”

  Warden Hadis glared at her. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you, you little maggot? You’ve been plotting against me since before you entered those doors, haven’t you? That’s the only way to explain what’s happened.”

  “My sentence is up,” Mia remarked with a shrug. “And I know you were informed by the MPs who brought me here that my arrival was likely a clerical error. I’m sure they’ve also filed reports with their superiors. If anyone’s been plotted against, it’s me. I don’t care, though. I’m leaving, and I’ll never have to see you or this place again.”

  Mia didn’t know how much pull Abigail had, but the scientist had already demonstrated government connections. Mia had to believe that influence was being wielded to Mia’s benefit even if Abigail didn’t know where she was. There were also the MP reports. People knew she was there, and they knew she didn’t belong there.

  The warden smiled thinly. “People die in Black Ice all the time. Prisoners kill prisoners. Accidents happen. People fall in the Crags.”

  “Never engage an enemy unless you’re prepared to go as far as them,” Mia advised. “Have you received permission from your benefactors to kill me? Because here’s what will happen if you kill me: first of all, you have to succeed, and I’m a person who fought the Cannibal King and survived an avalanche. Assuming you do succeed, you’ll have to explain to certain individuals why it was necessary, certain individuals who place a high value on my life and who I suspect are angry right now because of a minor incident in their facility.”

  “Leave us!” the warden shouted to the guards.

  “I don’t know if that’s—” a guard began.

  “Get out before I have you on patrol for the cannibal!”

  The guards hurried out and closed the door behind them. Mia flexed her wrists. She could take the warden down with a kick or choke her out with her thighs if necessary. None of that required her new abilities. They shouldn’t have bothered restraining her if they weren’t going to take away all her weapons.

  The warden dropped into her seat, her eyes filled with hatred. “Don’t pretend you know anything about me or this place. You’re just a little maggot wriggling around thinking she’s more important than she is.”

  “I know enough to be a pain. Fortunately for you, I don’t care. The people who need to be punished the most will be suffering soon, and I have a mission that doesn’t involve this place. But I’m not going to let you get in the way of that mission by keeping me here longer than I need to be for any reason.” She marched closer to the warden’s desk. “Do you really want an investigation of this twisted mess you call a prison? Can you imagine what would happen if they throw you in a prison after everything you’ve done? How long will you last?”

  The warden shook her head. “You can’t intimidate me. You’re just a stupid little trash prisoner who got lucky and hid for a while. Don’t pretend you’re more.”

  “The other place is too close,” Mia noted. “Questions will arise. Ask yourself a simple question: who is the most disposable? Your real bosses will slink off and feed you to the rabid dogs. I’m sure they’ve sent you messages telling you not to mess with me. They might have even told you to try and keep me here, but do you want to take that risk? It’s better just to let me go and pretend you had no choice.”

  The warden seethed in her chair, grinding her teeth and clutching the armrests. “You’re pissing off people more powerful than you can imagine. You might escape from Black Ice, but you’ll never escape their reach. There’s nowhere you can go they can’t find you.”

  “You mean the kind of people who will send trained killers after me?” Mia shrugged. “The quality of their assassins is lacking. I’m not worried.”

  “I don’t know what happened over there,” the warden replied. “And I don’t know why they’re interested in you, but I know all of this will come back to haunt you. By the time this is over, you will have wished you’d stayed here.”

  “No, I won’t.” Mia narrowed her eyes. “And if I were you, I’d request a transfer as soon as possible and get away from this place before someone proves that facility exists or certain people at the facility decide you’re a liability. There are things worse than death. You should know. You’ve been sending prisoners to suffer them.”

  The warden’s eyes widened. “Guards!”

  They rushed into the room with their batons at the ready and surrounded Mia. She took a deep breath, ready to call on her abilities.

  “Get her cleaned up and ready,” the warden snarled. “Her shuttle will be here this afternoon. Her sentence is up.”

  The guards exchanged looks before deactivating their batons and hanging them from their belts. They looked back at the warden.

  “Do I have to repeat myself, you fools?” she screamed. “Get her cleaned up.”

  “Bye, Warden,” Mia offered. “Let’s hope for both our sakes that we never meet again.”

  Hours later, Mia smiled brightly as a squad of armored guards escorted her toward the blast doors of the bunker. She patted her pocket to confirm the dataspike was still there.

  It had been a difficult month, but she’d accomplished her mission and more. Learning about her father’s background would have been enough, and now she had files Abigail and Debbie could pore through, and her new abilities.

  “The shuttle’s waiting right outside,” explained a guard. He lifted his rifle and flipped off the safety. “The scavs are staying away today. We picked up CK’s roaring. I don’t know what he’s up to, but I would get on that shuttle and get the hell out of there before he shows up and decides to make you a snack.”

  Mia smiled. Charlie was doing one last favor for her.

  “It’s not a joke, Verick.” The guard scoffed. “You fought that thing twice. You know how dangerous he is. He always gets agitated during drop-offs or pickups.”

  “I’m not worried.”

  “Then you learned nothing during your time here.”

  The blast doors groaned and wrenched open. Cold wind whipped at Mia’s face.

  “What happened the last time someone completed their sentence?” she asked. “Did they make it out?”

  “Yes, because they ran fast,” the guard replied. “But we don’t have a lot of people who get out of Black Ice.”

  Mia squinted and spotted the shuttle in the distance. MPs holding rifles knelt in the cargo bay and swept the area.

  “You should all transfer soon,” Mia told the guards. “Get a job at a better place.”

  After taking a deep breath, she sprinted out of the bunker, unconcerned about any scavengers. If a handful of brave souls were willing to risk confronting Charlie, she could take on anyone who got near her, and the snipers wouldn’t let them close. She had plenty of time to go into recovery stasis on the shuttle trip.

  Mia zoomed toward the shuttle that hovered far closer to the ground than when she’d arrived. She didn’t recognize most of the MPs, but the one who’d expressed the most concern during her drop-off stood near the edge of the open cargo bay. He threw a line to the ground and motioned for her to hurry.

  She jumped and grabbed the line, scampering up in seconds. As soon as she entered the bay, the MP hauled the line. The cargo bay door rumbled closed, and the shuttle lifted off. Right as the door closed, Mia caught a glimpse of a large shadow lurking in an outcropping among the blackened ice.

  The MP let out a sigh of relief. He looked her over. “You look like hell, but you survived.”

  “Thanks for all your help,” Mia replied. “And thanks for being on time to pick me up.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Mia was both relieved and not surprised to see Paul, Ryoko, and Karin waiting for her when she stepped off the shuttle ramp. The guards at Black Ice had helped her clean up and given her a new uniform, but based on the MP’s reaction that hadn’t helped much.

  Her friends’ reaction confirmed it. Paul grimaced. Ryoko’s eyes widened. Karin rushed over to pull Mia into a hug.

  “Do I really look that bad?” Mia asked. She chuckled. “I just realized how few mirrors I’ve seen in the last month.”

  “It’s not like you’re awful.” Karin squeezed Mia once more and stepped away. “You have a bunch of scars on your arms and legs, and your hair is a mess, and it’s just…”

  “You look raw,” Paul noted, shaking his head. “Leaner, tougher. It’s almost like there’s this aura around you.”

  Mia shrugged. “It’s hard to spend time in prison and not end up a little hardened.”

  “Yeah, and well, there are those rumors.” Paul sucked in a breath and looked away. “I’m not saying I believe them, but I wouldn’t be doing your job as a friend if I didn’t tell you about them.”

  “What rumors?” Mia was curious about what information on Black Ice or her other enemies might leak into her normal life.

  Ryoko sighed. “She just got out. We shouldn’t freak her out with baseless speculation.”

  “I want to know,” Mia demanded.

  Paul gave Ryoko a triumphant look. “See?”

  “Just tell me already.”

  “Okay, okay, slow it down, Lt. Ex-Con.” Paul shrugged. “They say you killed people while in prison, and that you got sent to the wrong place, some twisted place where they only send the worst of the worst, but something big went down there, and you were at the center of it.”

  That was all too accurate to be chance or assumption. She hadn’t said much to the MPs, leaving that to the warden or Icaryus’ people. The warden was the most likely suspect. She’d want to discredit Mia, in case she went to the media or government to demand an investigation.

  “What’s worst of all is they say someone did that on purpose to try and get you killed,” Karin added. “If it was that officer, I’ll go space him myself.”

  Mia shrugged, surprised at her friend’s vehemence. “You know how rumors are. For now, I’d rather not talk about it. The important thing is I’m here, and it’s all over. And as far as I know, I’m still going to Top Gun.”

  Ryoko nodded. “We haven’t seen anything to say you’ve been rejected from the program.”

  “The KCAP military isn’t going to get rid of their future ace pilot just because she stabbed some murderer in prison,” joked Paul. He grunted when Karin elbowed him.

  Mia chuckled. It was an insensitive joke, but not far off from the truth. She’d done what she needed to survive in Black Ice, and everyone she’d met there except Flip and Charlie had been complete scum. No one in the KCAP Navy would care about any of those prisoners dying.

  “We need to have a welcome back party,” Paul suggested.

  Mia looked past Karin and spotted Abigail waving in the distance. “That sounds good, but it will also have to wait. Because it looks like someone else needs to talk to me.”

  Paul looked that way. “We’ll let you catch up. You know where to find us, and the party can wait.”

  Karin smiled. “We’re glad to have you back where you belong.”

  “We’re all together again,” Ryoko declared.

  The Top Gun program felt like a distant dream. Mia had thought about it a lot during her first few days at Black Ice before letting the rhythms of the prison overwhelm her soul. It was going to take time for her to readjust to normal life with the most basic of luxuries, including good food she didn’t have to kill or fight for and friends who weren’t sadistic monsters.

  Tearing up, Mia gave them each a hug, even Paul. He stiffened at the gesture. She didn’t mind the awkwardness. After a month in hell surrounded by the worst scum of the KCAP, it was nice to have normal friends with normal morals and loyalty. She’d seen both the best and worst the KCAP had to offer.

  She pulled away. “I promise I’ll see you all soon. I’m not planning any more stunts that will send me to a cell.”

  “Good,” Karin replied. “We need you out here with us.”

  With a final wave, Mia jogged to Abigail. “It’s good to see you.”

  “It’s good to see you, too, Mia,” Abigail replied. “I worried the entire time you were there.” Her gaze dipped to a new scar. “You didn’t escape unscathed.”

  “Even if I hadn’t been sent to Black Ice, I don’t think that was possible. It would be nice if they gave me some time to relax after all that.”

  “Prison isn’t supposed to be a vacation,” Abigail stated. “But there was an official acknowledgment of a mistake. A clerical error, they claim. I believe they were aggressively forthright with this to cut down on deeper investigations.”

  “I found the site,” Mia whispered.

  “I never doubted you would. They’re trying to buy you off with a two-week vacation before you report to the Top Gun program.”

  Mia frowned. “There’s just one thing I don’t get. You weren’t responsible for sending me to Black Ice, were you?”

  Abigail looked taken aback. “From what little I could gather, that location is a horrible pit of suffering. Why would I use my influence to send you to suffer at a place like that? I didn’t want you to go.”

  “Because it was close to the facility,” Mia explained. “Directly working with it.”

  “There are other places nearby that weren’t nearly as bad.” Abigail shook her head. “I don’t know why you ended up there. I regret ever suggesting this plan. I should have known we couldn’t guarantee your safety.”

  “It was never about guaranteeing my safety. It was about the mission. And the mission was successful in more ways than one. I learned things about my father and myself, and I also managed to download files from the facility to a dataspike, but it’s encrypted.”

  “I see. You were far more successful than I would have guessed. I assumed you’d uncover a morsel or two of information, not come back with a dataspike.” Abigail looked around. “We’ll take a trip back home to Kordell and examine it in my apartment. It’ll be safer than doing it here. My apartment here is less secure.”

  “There’s so much to tell you. So much has changed.”

  “I’m sure there is.” Abigail patted her shoulder. “Pace yourself, Mia. We have time. You’ve suffered enough for the mission for now.”

  Mia sat up. The sensation of lying in a proper bed still felt off and wrong somehow, like her body was rejecting it. Her time on Black Ice had changed her beyond whatever modifications Doctor Icaryus had performed. She rubbed her eyes and looked to her side.

  “Well?” she asked.

  Abigail sat in a chair near the bed, a datapad in hand. She tapped in new data. “Your earlier experiments with your recovery stasis were well performed, and these tests confirm your early conclusions. Your recovery stasis was only ninety minutes in that cycle. Based on this experiment and the last cycle, it appears you can now actively invoke the phenomenon. That, in turn, means you can control your new abilities with far less risk. We’ll have to continue to monitor things, but other than nutrient deficiencies, you seem fine. I don’t have the equipment to fully monitor all possible changes in your body, but the initial data is supportive of massively heightened CNS and PNS activity.”

  “And all the changes?” Mia pressed. “Do you think I’ll have any other problems or side effects besides the stasis naps?”

  Abigail shook her head. “Based on everything you were told, I suspect you’d have already demonstrated problems if something went wrong with the procedure. After all, you used your ability multiple times after escaping and in dangerous, high-stress situations. You’ve tested them here in more rigorous and controlled situations as well. There’s no reason to suspect a sudden problem on your part.”

  Mia stared at Abigail. When she’d explained everything she’d learned on Ice, Abigail took it in stride, almost as if she wasn’t surprised. Then again, the woman rarely acted surprised about anything. Instead, she asked questions and took notes, focusing on ways to quantify Mia’s new abilities.

  “Debbie is still running the decryption program,” Abigail went on. “Though I still think this whole outing was too great a risk. You took too many chances, and now you’ve been fundamentally altered. The scientist in me finds it fascinating, but the person who cares about you finds it horrifying. From what you’ve told me, you could have ended up a monster or permanently insane.”

  “But I didn’t, and now I have these abilities,” Mia reminded her. “As long as I’m careful and control them, they’ll make me unstoppable. Not only that, but I learned my father was genetically modified. That puts most of his life into better perspective.”

  Abigail shrugged. “It is hardly surprising that such an impressive man was fundamentally different from a normal human. I should warn you, though, despite my and Debbie’s best efforts, there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to break the encryption. It’s advanced KCAP government-grade encryption. This might have all been for nothing.”