Pilot: Book One of the Channel Riders

see it looking exactly as it had when she left. The day, however, was worn thin. She left in the morning, but now late aftern

e tell?' She thought to herself, it wasn't like she could dust the entire place for fingerprints. There was one thing she could know

ink. When she moved in she pried out most of the living room floorboards to create a safe haven for anything she didn't want found. It didn't look like it had been tampered with because she had made sure to un-nail all of the f

ighed with relief when she saw the papers peeking through just as she had left them. She placed the board over the hole and emptied th

p up, she realized it was very similar to the one MacMillan had shown her earlier. It was coated with a sealant to make it wa

sappeared. With her other hand she placed a finger where she knew the Marta Channel en

aried from season to season. Marta's peak season was between February and late May. By mid June few captains would risk their hulls and by August 2

r depending on the captain's taste, and crewed by three to five people, including the pilot. Elena shook her head and refolded the map, tucking it back into the satchel. She placed the satchel back beneath the joists and nailed the boards bac

The specifics of the channel were not important right now. The images

ng the channels and what happened there was not her con

litary. It didn't matter whether he was there because the families sent him there or if he was a traitor to the Guild. He saw her as she saw him. Her eyes drifted

uild of military interest if they did not already know. If they found out on their own, things would not be pretty. She dialed her gra

he phone began to ring. 'You can walk away from the life, we will not stop you. But you cannot

The one day of the week where her work addicted grandfather refused to do business. She stifled a short burst of panic laughter. On Sundays he turned the sound down all th

r some reason. I saw Ian while I was there. Maybe he told them something about me. You remember how crazy his sense of humor is, all those practical jokes he used to pull when we were kids. Anyway, I was just calling be

e thought of dealing with the military terrified her. Whenever she was scared her grandfather always made the bad things go away. She may have been the pilot, but