“If it is, you can bet Chad is face-to-face with an even more wretched hole.” Falise closed her eyes, seemed to sway.

“Nope,” Dek told her, noting that Fig and Phredo had ventured into the kitchen. “Talina Perez is a lot of things, but never vindictive.” He gestured around at the dome. “It’s not that bad. The roof doesn’t leak. The kitchen works, so you can cook. And best of all, the door locks in the event quetzals get past the gates. Beats sleeping in the rain where a slug might get you.”

The fire behind Falise’s emerald glare grew hotter. She stepped forward, a lance-like finger pointing at Dek. “You piece of gutter-born trash! I want you and your genetic freak of a sister out of my sight.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised at just how despicable my parents were. Probably about as manipulative and self-serving as the ones who whelped you, lady. So, me and my little sister, here . . .”

Ednund struck. Quetzal reflexes truly were remarkable. Even better than Ednund’s training and implants.

The valet barely caught himself. Stopped short, Wide-eyed, arms outstretched. The rail ends of Dek’s pistol came to rest just inches from the man’s nose.

“Don’t even think it, pretty boy,” Dek’s voice dropped as his emotions went quetzal. “You either, Clarice. Kylee, keep an eye on her and the rest.”

“Fucking right,” Kylee murmured, stepping over and glaring at Clarice. She had her own pistol out, eyes turned quetzal-black.

“So, Lady Taglioni,” Dek said conversationally, “keep in mind that I don’t owe you slug shit. But I’ll give you an SDR’s free advice. As of the moment you stepped off that shuttle, you’re a guest here. The only person on this planet that your Taglioni name carries any weight with is Kalico. Me, Step, Yvette, and the others, we could care less. You’re just shit on our shoes. A pain in our collective asses.”

“I swear you piece of pond trash—”

“I’m not finished yet.” Dek kept his deadly stare over the pistol’s sights. “If you treat the locals here like you treated Kylee and me, they will kill you. And it will be ruled justified. Now, I can imagine what the family sent you here to do. The woman I see in front of me? She’s doomed.”

“Oh?” Falise asked coldly. “A thug with a fancy pistol tells me this? Where, pray tell, did a wretch like you become such an expert on success or failure?”

“Scrubbing toilets, Lady. I made it all the way up to Tech Class III.”

“Can I shoot this one?” Kylee asked, as Clarice tried to shift her balance and ease within grasping distance of Kylee’s pistol. The move would be to slap the pistol barrel to the side with a right hand, while Clarice struck for the throat with a left.