Free Dark Life: Rip Tide by Kat Falls Page B

“I can take two more!”
    “I got Dark Life here that’s giving me trouble.”
    Well, that sure clarified the issue. “You have a problem with pioneers?” I demanded.
    “I have a problem with you,” he spat. “Now step outta line. ’Cause you’re not getting onto Rip Tide.”
    I started to argue, but Gemma dragged me to one side.
    “Girl,
you
can go if you want,” he offered with a smile that showed off his moldy-looking teeth.
    “Maybe,” she told him, and then turned to me. “What’s your representative’s name?”
    “Benton Tupper.” Guessing her plan, I looked for him. At the Trade Station, Tupper’s yellow and purple striped muumuu would have stood out like a beacon among thesettlers’ sleek diveskins and the simply clothed floaters, but not on a cable car filled with Topsiders. “There,” I said, finally spying Tupper’s wispy head above the rest.
    “Representative Benton Tupper!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.
    He whirled, spotted us, and ducked behind a large woman trailing about twenty veils.
    Gemma cupped her hands around her mouth. “We have important Assembly business to discuss with you!”
    Tupper stayed down, and I couldn’t blame him since I found myself backing away from her as people turned to look.
    “Benton Tupper,” she hollered, “Commonwealth of States representative for Benthic Territory, please show yourself! “
    That did the trick. Tupper popped up, making shushing gestures at her. Then he saw that absolutely everyone in line and on the cable car was staring at him. Realizing that it was a lost cause, he waved feebly at us.
    Gemma traipsed over to Ratter, who glared at me like I was a plague-carrying rodent. “That’s Ty’s Uncle Benton,” she said in her cheeriest voice. “He’s in the Assembly. He’s very important.”
    Scowling, Ratter jerked his head to indicate that we could board.
    The guy with the gaff slid forward another foot;now there was a gap between the cliff and the cable car. Gemma hesitated, eyeing that gap, only to have him shove her aboard. The instant I followed, he slammed the door, freed his hook, and launched the cable car with a kick of a lever.
    We sailed into the air, whizzing along the steel cable at breakneck speed. Tupper shot me a reproachful look, which wrung not one drop of guilt from me. “Thanks,” I said to Gemma as she leaned over the side to look down. She straightened instantly, clearly not liking what she saw.
    “You’re John Townson’s boy,” Tupper said. “First child born in the territory, yes?”
    I nodded, though I wasn’t only the first kid born in the territory, but the first person ever born subsea. “My name is Ty,” I told him. “I won’t tell anyone that I saw you here.”
    Relaxing, Tupper waved aside my assurance. “So what if I enjoy the occasional bare-knuckle match? My fellow reps are too uptight to know what they’re missing. A couple of surfs going at it, no rules. It’s a thrill like nothing else. Not even dogfighting comes close.”
    My brows rose in surprise. I’d never seen this side of our representative.
    “I heard about your parents,” Tupper said abruptly.
    “You did?” News traveled fast. I wondered if Captain Revas had been the one to report it.
    “Yes, bad business that—taking people captive.” He shook his head as if dismayed by the surfs’ lack of manners.
    “Can you help me get them back?”
    “Me?”
    “Yes. Order the Seaguard to send out more skimmers to search for them.”
    Tupper’s smile was wry. “Spoken like a true frontier boy.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “That I don’t expect you to know where I fall in the Commonwealth’s chain of command. The answer is nowhere. But don’t worry. The Seaguard will get them back. They always do.”
    Always do?
Before I could ask what he meant, Gemma grabbed my hand so tightly I winced. Leaning out, I saw the oil platform ahead, coming up fast. The original drilling tower now served as a