Free Looking at Trouble by Viola Grace

Chapter One
     
     
    Reeda finished wrapping the l’nal silk scarf for her client and handed the slim box to the young man who wanted to present it to his fiancée.
    He was probably no older than she was, but Reeda could not remember ever looking that young.
    He left the kiosk, and she perched on her stool, attentive and enjoying the wild push and pull of the marketplace.
    The bright banners of silk waved in the morning sun, each strong enough to stop a projectile but light enough to feel like a breath of air against the skin.
    Reeda was just reaching for her caf when her wrist alarm went off. She sighed, triggered the force shield around her kiosk and sprinted down toward the jewellery section of the market.
    It was a five hundred-metre run, but with the crowds, she had to get creative with the route she took. Reeda nodded to some of the vendors, and she quickly moved behind their stalls, running through the stocking lane where the supply rail was. It was tricky to use the lane, because anyone could call for stock from storage at any time, but Reeda needed to take the risk.
    She heard the approaching unit and dodged back into the market a moment before the large storage device whipped past the spot she had previously occupied.
    She slowed her pace as she entered the small jewellery store. Everyone was tense with Liimar—the shop owner—fumbling with the lock on a case. A young Selna female was with a young Krigat male, and both of them were tense with a perverse excitement.
    Reeda took in the situation, and she moved to see if the tension would break. “Liimar, are you ready for lunch?”
    He looked at her with a tense smile. “No. I am afraid not. I don’t have anyone to watch the store for me. I need to get something for these customers.”
    “Do you need some help?”
    The Selna female looked at her without turning her body and snarled, “Listen, bitch, he doesn’t want to go to lunch with you.”
    “I think he does. Get down, Liimar.”
    Liimar dropped, and Reeda slipped around to face the couple, noting the nasty burn blaster that the male was carrying and the knife the young woman was holding.
    Her vision changed, and she could see the path that his blast would take and where the girl would place the knife. Reeda lunged forward and struck the male’s shoulder, spinning him toward his companion a moment before he pulled the trigger. The girl stabbed him in the abdomen a moment before she ended up with a gaping hole in her chest.
    The Krigat coughed in surprise and fell to his knees. The Selna had pierced his blood sack with her knife, and he was bleeding out.
    Reeda sighed and put pressure on the wound. “Did you call the peacekeepers?”
    Liimar got to his feet. “I did, but they are delayed, as always. They stabbed Malkor, hit him in the head and left him in the back.”
    “Can you attend to him?”
    “I will. Are you really trying to save his life?”
    Reeda looked at his pale-yellow features with surprise. “Of course. How many dead bodies do you want in your shop today?”
    He grimaced. “I will check on Malkor.”
    “Good idea.” Reeda looked down at the young man on the floor and at his slate-grey skin. “Hang on. You will make it through this.”
    He looked up at her and blinked slowly. “She’s dead.”
    “Yes.”
    He relaxed. “Thank the stars. She had me under her control. I feel free.”
    His body was paling rapidly as his blood relocated to his abdomen.
    “Hang on, junior. Hang on.” Reeda felt the pounding of his pulse under her hands slow.
    The peacekeepers strode in and took in the situation. “Hey, Reeda.” Officer Na smiled and waved.
    “Do you have a med cart with you?”
    “It’s coming. What happened?”
    Reeda applied more pressure to the wound, and the pulse sped up a bit. “They tried to rob Liimar. This one accidently shot her a moment after she accidentally stabbed him.”
    Officer Na caught the med cart and arranged it next to Reeda. “I am ready to take