Free Jo's Journey by S. E. Smith

found out that Mattie had been a ‘handler’ and all her dogs were trained to sniff out explosives. Suzy was a former rodeo clown. Her husband, Curly, had been an undercover DEA agent working a case. They had met, fallen in love, and had almost been killed when Suzy witnessed a murder by the cartel moving drugs through the rodeo circuit that Suzy was working. Kid was really Kid Cozack. He was almost as good with a blade as River and had worked as a bodyguard for the Russian mafia before changing his identity. Stan was an ex-computer hacker who worked for various organizations, including Greenpeace, before joining the circus when several governments decided to put a price on his head. He could work just about any computer language. Marcus was really Marcus Jones, a pickpocket from Vegas that learned the tricks of the trade on the streets. The only ones no one was sure about were Marvin and Martin. They hardly ever talked and joined the circus a couple of years ago. Personally, Manota thought the two men might be members of an alien species from the outer ring of the Dramentic star system. He couldn’t tell with the white and black face paint on but he swore their vivid gray eyes were the same as the Kor d’lurs. Walter insisted they were just Mimes who acted as his bodyguards when he or Nema were away from the circus.
    Kev turned as Jo and the others came back into the cargo area. He watched in amusement as Walter asked the tall, slender female next to him several questions. They were too far away for him to hear what was being said but the small male appeared to be satisfied with the answer he received.
    “He has a commanding presence,” Kev nodded at Walter who was thoughtfully looking over the area. “I get the feeling he is up to something.”
    “ Well after tonight, it will be too late,” Manota said, watching the gentle sway of Jo’s hips as she walked over to where her parents were standing talking to Nema. “I would like for you to escort Walter, his mate and their daughter to the surface.”
    Kev bowed his head before turning and leaving to prepare the air bike. Manota watched Kev leave before turning back with a deep sigh. He could tell that something had surprised Jo when she looked up at him with a jerk, her eyes filled with trepidation. He walked over to where she was standing with her parents and Nema. Walter and Ricki joined them at the same time.
    “Walter,” Manota bowed his head in respect. “My Security Chief will escort you and your family to the surface. We will be preparing for our departure tomorrow. I thank you for your help and support during our time here.”
    Walter grinned up at Manota. “You have a magnificent ship here, Manota. This is going to be perfect,” Walter said.
    “ Perfect?” Manota repeated, confused.
    “ Yes, perfect. I had been worried but there is plenty of room. Hell, we could fit twice the size of the Cirque de Magik in here if we had to.”
    “ Twice the size?” Manota repeated.
    He was beginning to wonder if the translator that he had Shavic install in the ringmaster ’s ears were defective and if they were having two totally different conversations. He opened his mouth to ask the short male if he could clarify what he meant when Kev suddenly reappeared and called out to him.
    “ Excuse me,” Manota said with a slight bow.
    He turned, striding toward Kev who was walking toward him with a dark scowl on his face. A sense of unease began to build inside him as he glanced over his shoulder. His eyes collided with Jo ’s worried ones. She smiled – apologetically before lowering her lashes as a small smile curved her lips. His head began to throb as he turned back to study the tight look on Kev Mul Kar’s face. Something told him he was about to understand the conversation Walter was having and he wasn’t going to like it – not one little bit.
    *.*.*
    Jo winced when she heard the loud ‘What’ echo as Manota discovered there had been a tiny change of