The cube sat on the floor, taunting him.

Kaine leaned down, snatched it, and stuffed it in the bag.

“Well?”

He glanced at Val.

“It’s a gift I got, is all.”

“Like hell it is! Do you even know what that thing is?”

He stared at the young woman, unsure how to respond. She clearly knew more about it than he did, so he doubted he could get away with a lie. Part of him was also curious to learn more about the item, and this felt like the perfect opportunity.

Val’s eyes grew wide.

“Wait a minute! Is that what you were hired to find?”

He frowned. “What is it to you?”

She shook her head. “You really don’t know, do you? It’s a Kinzuki Cage, Kaine! Do you know what that means?”

He looked down at the bag. He’d heard the name before, though it felt like something out of a distant memory. Possibly something he’d heard mentioned in a TriVid flick. It felt vague, borderline mythical.

“There’s a soul trapped in that thing,” breathed Val.

His head snapped up, and he stared at her.

“Come now! That’s nonsense. There’s no such thing as souls.”

“Call it what you want, but there’s a person in there. And don’t tell me it’s impossible. You know about Nim!”

“It’s not the same thing,” he argued. “You uploaded his personality and memories into a machine...”

“And how do you think that works?” She pointed at the bag. “It’s even worse. Because it also holds the person’s DNA and keeps them locked up, like in a cell. They can’t do anything while they’re in there. Unlike Nim, who controls the ship and can do many things...” She paused and frowned. “You know what I mean!”

Kaine grunted as the glider sped through the streets of Evenodds, heading back to the woman’s ship. He wondered if her tampering with the hovercab would set off alarms.

“Maybe it’s empty,” he mused out loud.

She narrowed her eyes.

“Then why are people coming after you?”

“No one’s coming after me!”

“Oh no? Already forgot about the ship that shot at us out there?”

“Maybe they were coming after you!”

“What about those guys I just rescued you from? Think they were also after me?”

He scowled but remained quiet.

“Fine. I’ll drop you off here, and you can figure things out on your own. Good luck with that.”

She turned toward the console.

“Alright, alright, you win!” He sighed. “Look, I don’t know what’s in this thing, okay? I was just asked to retrieve it from... Well, from someone’s safe.”

“You stole it?” she asked, as she spun back toward him.

“Is it stealing if the item did not belong to the person who had it?”

She frowned. “Whoever the owner of that thing is, they are using it to hold someone against their will. There is nothing right or even legal about it.”

“Hey, I knew nothing about that! The guy just told me this thing was his, and that it was stolen.”

“What did he claim it was?”

Kaine made a face. “He said it was a piece of art.” She rolled her eyes. “Well, how was I supposed to know?”

“And now he’s turned against you?”

“I don’t know.” He remembered his conversation with his employer and frowned. “I might have thought so, except he asked me where I was. Those guys who jumped me were already here. So if he sent them, why would he ask me that?”

“Did you tell him where you were?”

“No, of course not.”

“Which means you didn’t get paid either?”

“Not yet, no.”

“Good.”

“What do you mean, good? I did the job. I deserve to get paid for my work, don’t I?”

“Knowing what you know now, if you accept this guy’s money, you’re condoning whatever’s going on with that thing.” She pointed at the bag again.

“This is why we never ask questions in my line of work,” he mumbled.

The glider landed and they hurried out, then into the welcoming halls of Starrider.

“Nim! We need to set off as soon as possible. Have any alarms been raised?”

“Not that I’ve noticed,” answered the familiar voice.

“Alright. Get us out of here.”

They heard the engines start as they walked toward the bridge.

“What am I going to do with this thing if I don’t sell it to my employer?”

She glanced at him. “We need to get the prisoner out.”

“Do you know how to do that?”

“No.”

“Great.” After a few seconds, he added: “Do you realize what this is going to do to my reputation?”