Shadow Cipher

6. Nova

I race back to my room. Hopefully Kevin gets my message before Red Shadow notices what I did. Once back in my room, I search the place. I don't find any recording devices in here, no security cameras. It's respectable, but kind of stupid. He must still be underestimating me.

I find the ventilation ducts. They're going to be tight, but luckily, I'm small, I'll be able to fit. I squeeze my way into the ducts and start moving. One of the things I made sure to do was check the schematics of the ship. He must make good money for an engine like the one this ship has. I've helped my brother fix up his various vehicles. At this point, I'm pretty proficient in mechanics.

I make a right at the fork in the vents and make it to the engine room. There is a computer monitor here, it takes moments before I'm back in the system. I reroute the flight plan to the nearest planet. It is called the Death Planet because of how dangerous it is, but it's the closest one and the location that I sent to Kevin. I just hope we get there before Red Shadow can screw up my scheme.

Once I'm done, I find a spare data pad in a terminal and take it with me back to my room. It doesn't have the ability to reach out past the ship, so I curl up and watch movies until I fall asleep.

When I wake up, I find my clothes. I feel it a little strange when I realize that Red Shadow picked out clothes, including undergarments for me. I grab a pair of leggings, a crop top and my favorite pink sweater and take a shower in the bathroom connected to my room. He even brought my toiletries?! Damn, he thought of everything. Once I'm clean and dressed, I go to the door of my room to find that it's locked. s**t. This must be because of last night. I knock on the door but nobody answers. I start to panic until I remember the data pad. I get into the comms system and start blasting the song "Cotton Eyed Joe", one of the most obnoxious earth songs from a long time ago. Eventually, my door opens, and Red Shadow is looking annoyed. I have to stifle my smile, because I don't want him to be even more mad.

"Why?! That song is going to be in my head forever now!" he says in a grumpy tone.

"You locked me in," is my only reply.

"Do you blame me?" he grouses.

"Of course not, it means you're starting to not underestimate me."

"Clearly not enough if you can still get into the system," he grumbles.

When I get a good look at him, I realize he has pointed ears. He must be an Elf. Don't see many of them around. That explains why he's so damn tall. I'm 5 foot 6, and he's got to be at least 6 foot 3. He's very muscular. He's wearing sweatpants and a tank top. He has tattoos of star systems on his arms. He has one bionic eye that glows red, the other is a warm brown. I remember thinking he was attractive when I saw his picture online, but it's nothing compared to the drool worthy man in front of me now. If only he wasn't taking me to my death.

He leads me to the mess where I see the most beautiful sight I've seen since being taken last night... a freshly brewed pot of coffee. Red Shadow must see my reaction because he grabs an extra mug and hands it to me with a smile on his face. Damnit. he has dimples. I love a man with dimples. He hands me a bowl of cereal. A tear escapes my eye as I look down at the bowl of neon pink and blue stars and moons inside the bowl. I remember the last time I bought this brand, Cygnus gave me grief because, according to him, something with so much sugar shouldn't be considered a breakfast item.

I take my bowl of cereal and mug of coffee and head towards the command room again. I eat my cereal then pour the milk into my coffee and sip at it while looking out at the stars. Franklyn is at a console, but I get the feeling I'm being watched. Then I hear footsteps enter the room.

"You enjoy the view?" Red Shadow's deep voice says from behind me.

"How could I not?" I say as he steps next to me and I turn to look at him. "Do you have a normal name? Or is it actually Red Shadow?"

He squints at me suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because Red Shadow is a mouthful. It's like calling somebody by their full name every time you refer to them."

"It is an alias, but you don't get my real name. You're too clever, and I don't want that Kevin of yours to know who I am," he replies.

I pale. f**k. He had already seen the transmission to Kevin. "Is it that embarrassing of a name?" I try to cover my reaction with snark.

"Of course not. Do I look like a man with an embarrassing name? I'll tell you what, if you want to shorten the name, just call me Red."

"It's something like Dickman, isn't it?"

He startles me by poking my nose like I'm a cute kitten or something. "Don't think about my d**k, dear."

I turn about as red as a tomato, huff at him and stomp over to a chair and curl up. "Your ship is remarkable," I say, trying to change the subject.

"That's quite the compliment coming from Cygnus's sister." He frowns when he sees me flinch at his casual use of my brother's name.

"The ship is good, can't say the same about the pilot," I say, giving him my best glare.

He just nods and looks down at his console.

"I'm going back to my room," I say, and don't stick around to see or hear his response.