Celina Dontal just escaped eighteen months of captivity at the hands of Alexander Boyarov and his crew, members of the brutal Red Houzi Clan. That should have been the hard part. It was only the beginning.
When she tried to contact her younger sister, Jenny, Celina received shocking news. The one person in the universe that Celina loved and lived for, was missing, and no one could tell her what happened. A vague mention of passage booked to the metropolis of Puskar Stellar on Mars was the only clue Celina unearthed, but Jenny hasn't responded to any of Celina’s messages.
Celina has no friends on Mars and to make things worse, Boyarov is skating on thin ice with the Red Houzi. He lost their ship and prisoner. Retrieving both as quickly as possible is the only hope he has of preserving his own life. He's on the hunt.
If there is to be any help for Celina and Jenny, it will have to come from strangers. Puskar Stellar is a big city and finding someone who is trustworthy can be a slippery quest.
Fool Me Once, a standalone novella, is the second story in Jamie McFarlane’s Privateer Tales.