“I do. Would you like a drink?”
Luke ignored the peace offering. His headset had already beeped to announce a credit deposit, so Spooner had paid for Luke’s time. This wasn’t a social visit. “You said you served with Liam.” Luke was proud of how calm he sounded.
“For years,” Lieutenant Spooner took a seat across the table. “Tap in your order. My treat.”
Luke hesitated. If this guy wanted to pay, Luke could get coffee. Real coffee. There was no way he could justify that cost, but he didn’t mind taking advantage of someone who had the gall to drag up his memories of Liam. The lieutenant tapped his card on Luke’s display without a word about the cost, and that was enough to push Luke off the fence. He ordered the damn coffee with real sweeteners and organic cream. Officers had the easy life. Luke resented the hell out of the military for sucking up so many of Earth’s resources. He resented the damn colonies even more for assuming they could take and take and never repay one cent. They were all assholes.
“Are you asking about Liam for the military?” Luke figured the higher-ups had to be worried about whether Liam would abandon the service and give human secrets to the Rownt. But Luke didn’t know anything about Liam’s loyalties. He didn’t know his brother at all.
“No. I’m on leave. I’m about to get a promotion to captain, and I’m taking a couple of months off before my new posting. I haven’t had a break in several years.”
“Then why do you want to talk?” The top of the table flashed and then the recessed area opened to allow two drinks to rise. Luke took his and savored the smell.
“I’m writing a biography.”
Weird, and not where Luke thought this conversation would lead. “Of Liam?”
Spooner nodded. “People deserve to know the real Liam Munson, and what I’m seeing on the vids... that’s not the Liam I know.”
“No joke,” Luke said with a snort. “He abandons us, leaves Mom to die, and the vids all make him out to be some hero who saved the military supply lines with his powers of negotiation.” It disgusted Luke.
A frown darted across Spooner’s face. “So, you didn’t have a good relationship with your brother growing up?”
“I didn’t have a relationship at all. He was a lot older.” There were six and a half years between them. Betty had only been two years younger than Liam and shared a father with him, but she had died before Luke had been born.
“You were eleven or twelve when he left Earth, right? You must have had some sort of relationship. I was the little brother in my family, and I’m sure my older brothers could tell all sorts of stories about what a pest I was, following them around.” Spooner smiled and shook his head fondly.
Luke cupped his hands around his coffee and studied this officer. “Yeah, well Liam never liked me hanging around.” Luke didn’t want to be an asshole and take Spooner’s money without offering anything of value in return, so he added, “You should talk to Chak Maylti. He was Liam’s best friend.”
“I have,” Spooner said. “He was one of my first sources. Do you know Mortimer Telfer?”
Luke shook his head. “Never heard of him.”
“So, he never came around the house? You never saw Liam talking to him?”
Luke had assumed Mortimer was a school friend, but then Spooner pushed a vidpad across the table. The mugshot showed a man in his mid-fifties. His hair was streaked with gray and he had a long scar on his face, but he still had a sort of roguish charm, at least until Luke read the scrolling charges. Extortion, assault, attempted murder, domestic battery, conspiracy to engage in prostitution, running a gambling institution without a license, facilitating gladiator fights, kidnapping... the guy was a piece of shit.
“He died in prison two years ago,” Spooner said.
“It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.” Luke pushed the vidpad back. “What does this have to do with Liam?”
Spooner’s gaze darted away. He took a deep breath before he refocused on Luke. “When you were seven, Telfer started paying half your mother’s rent.”
Luke shot out of his seat. “My mother had nothing to do with scum like that.” His heart pounded against his ribs, but he reined in his anger before he punched an officer and landed himself in jail.
Spooner held out his hands. “I never even considered the possibility. Your mom was a straight shooter.”
“She was.” Luke gripped the edge of the table. He’d expected to give this guy a few names, a story or two, and then walk away. If Spooner insulted his mother... he really would lose his temper.
“Was your father ever around?” Spooner asked.
“What the fuck do you want? Why are you bringing this up?” Luke pressed his lips together before he could say more.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” Spooner said quickly. “I want to show your family’s strength. I certainly don’t want to insult your mother, who sacrificed a lot to make a better life for her children.”
“Don’t act like you know my family.”
Spooner’s gaze traveled the length of the café before he focused on Luke again. “You’re right. I don’t. I know what the paperwork says. I just want people to know the truth about Liam.”
Liam. It was still about the sainted Liam. Luke’s coffee was getting cold, and he wouldn’t give up one drop. It wasn’t worth the sacrifice. He sat. “What exactly are you doing with this research?” He drank, focusing on the heavenly treat. That was real. Liam was a name on a form. He didn’t matter—not anymore.
Spooner smiled. “Like I said, I’m writing the story of the real Liam Munson. I have a lot of respect for him. His ability with language is amazing. Was he a good student as a kid?”
“Sure. Mom had a whole file full of his academic awards.” Luke kept his gaze on his coffee.
Spooner leaned forward. “Why did he quit school?”
Luke looked up. Spooner appeared serious and his datapad now had an official record displayed, but it had to be wrong. “He never quit.”
“School records show he last attended when he was fourteen years, eight months.”
If Liam had quit school, their mother would have killed him. Liam hadn’t been living with them by then, but he was around the house often enough for their mother to murder. Loudly. Luke would have remembered that fight. Besides, quitting would be stupid since education was one of the few ways to either delay mandatory military service or claim a spot in officer training. Liam wouldn’t have done that.
“You didn’t know,” Spooner whispered.
Luke shook his head. “He wouldn’t have. That would be stupid, and he wasn’t stupid. Hell, the military wouldn’t have promoted him to lieutenant without a college degree, so he must have been on the path before he joined up.”
Spooner dropped his gaze to the tabletop. Luke’s discomfort grew so intense that his chest felt as if it was in a vice.
“Before this book comes out, you should know the truth,” Spooner said, and the gentleness in his tone made Luke even more apprehensive. “Liam was a sergeant when I served with him, and he never would have risen any higher in the ranks if it wasn’t for the Rownt. He doesn’t even have a secondary school degree. That promotion is the military’s way of keeping some level of control. If he doesn’t give them some access to Rownt trading networks, they can cut off the money.”