“I might not know who you are, but I know where,” Mural said. “My teams just pinpointed your location. I’m ending this call and sending out security cruisers to bring you into custody. I don’t know your game, but you can explain it from inside a cell on Eriadu. If you resist, we’ll blow you into atoms.”

“You sure you want to do that?” Kassav said, teasing it out.

“Absolutely. Goodbye. I don’t have time for this.”

“Actually,” he said, “I agree. Three Emergences are headed for your system. They’ll be here soon. We know where they’ll happen, and when. We can stop them for you, if you pay up.”

“What are you talking about? No one can predict the Emergences.”

“And no one can fly in hyperspace in the Outer Rim, either.”

“I’ve heard enough. We’re sending the cruisers. You can tell my interrogators what you know.”

“If we see your ships heading our way, we’ll leave, and you’ll be the reason billions of your people die.”

Kassav grinned. The rounded-off smash high was getting better by the second. He felt like he was flying, pushed along by the crest of the drug’s wave, arms extended, unstoppable. He knew all along this was a good plan. He’d gone over the list of Emergences that Marchion Ro had given the Tempest Runners and seen this opportunity right away. It was an opportunity so good, in fact, that he had forgotten to mention to Marchion or the other Runners that he was intending to take advantage of it. Oops. What a shame. No Rule of Three was gonna carve up this score, no way.

Kassav realized he hadn’t yet told this stuffy governor woman what he was asking for. He shook his head. He really needed to stay focused.

“Governor, it’s easy. If you give me fifty million credits, no one has to die. I can stop the Emergences, and you’ll save your people’s lives. I can make it real simple for you, too…”

He lifted a finger, and Wet Bub sent over the encrypted banking information that would allow Governor Veen to untraceably deposit the cash directly into a darknet account controlled by Kassav. Not a Nihil account—this was one of Kassav’s own.

“You’re insane,” the governor said.

“You’re skeptical. I get that. Here. Let me help you out.”

Kassav lifted a second finger, and Wet Bub sent over another short string of information.

“You just received the coordinates for the first Emergence. Not too far from my ship, as a matter of fact. We picked this spot for a reason. Check it out.”

Kassav held up a third finger, and chopped his arm downward toward Gravhan, who nodded and turned to his gun crew at their weapons stations.

“Any moment now…any moment…” Kassav said.