by Jay Allan
Andi stopped about a meter short of the bar, and she scanned the room. She had a basic description from Durango, but in one way or another, it fit about a quarter of the bar’s patrons.
“What’ll it be?” The bartender’s voice was raw, harsh…with an implied, “If you’re not drinking, you’re leaving.”
“You have any Quillian brandy? Or maybe a nice Port?” Andi wasn’t much of a drinker, and when she did partake, it was usually an expensive brandy, or something else of quality.
“You kidding me? What is this, some kind of joke?” Joke or not, the bartender was clearly not amused.
“I’ll take a whiskey…straight. If you’ve got a clean glass back there somewhere, I’ll pay extra for it.” She’d have stacked her tone up against the bartender’s any day, but then she put the reins on her attitude. She’d have enjoyed seeing the surprise on the barkeep’s face when she kicked the shit out of him, but drawing attention to herself while she was in the District could cause all kinds of problems. Not the least of which was wasting the thousand credits it had cost to slip Pegasus into the spaceport and buy six hours of silence.
The bartender didn’t answer, but he returned about half a minute later with a glass about a third full of brown liquid. Andi had no doubt the liquor was the worst kind of rotgut, but the glass did look fairly clean.
She threw a coin on the table, a five-credit piece. It was at least ten times the value of the drink. “Thanks,” she said, moderating the hostility in her tone. “That’s for you. Just point me toward a guy named Lex Righter.”
The bartender laughed, and then he handed her the drink and scooped up the coin, slipping it in his own pocket. “So, Righter’s into you, too? Looks like there’s already a line, and from the look on Mekel’s face over there, I don’t think your man’s got any coin. Looks like he’s gonna get another beating. Unless Mek’s sick of his shit and ready to take the loss once and for all.” The bartender looked her over for a few seconds. “I’d just finish your drink and get the hell out of here. A pretty little thing like you’s got no business tangling with Mekel and his guys…or dealing with a useless drunk like Righter.”
“Thanks for the advice.” For a few seconds, she was concerned Righter had gotten himself into one of the Spacer’s District syndicates, but one glance told her this Mekel was just a two-bit loan shark and hustler, plying his trade in the worst dives on the fringes of the District.
Nothing she couldn’t handle…and if they surprised her and gave her any real trouble, she had Gregor waiting outside.
She gulped down the whiskey like an experienced drinker. It was the kind of street cred that mattered in a place like O’Rourke’s, but her primary intent was to minimize how much of the battery acid she had to taste. Then she slammed the glass down hard and walked across the room.
The man the bartender had pointed out was standing, or something as close to that as he could manage, but even as she walked toward him, one of the men around him hauled off and punched him in the face. He collapsed hard, but the two thugs flanking him grabbed hold and yanked him back up.
“I’ve had it with you, Righter. You’re a deadbeat and a drunk…you ain’t worth shit to anybody. So, nobody’s gonna miss you. Nobody’s gonna care when they haul your body out of the alley in a couple days.” The man who’d punched Righter turned toward the others. “Let’s get him out of here. We can’t beat out of him what he ain’t got, so we’ll just make an example out of him to show what happens when people stiff me.”
“Lex, is that you?” Andi walked up toward Righter. She tried to make eye contact, to make an effort to communicate that she was going to help him. But she quickly realized he was too drunk to even know what was going on.
“I don’t know who you are, little girl, but get the hell out of here while you still can.” The man turned toward Andi, and he glared at her with undisguised menace.
“So, that’s what a two-bit gangster wannabe looks like when he’s trying to seem tough.” The words came out while she was still formulating her plan.
Ok, direct and blunt it is…
“What the hell did you say?” The man was enraged, and he reached inside his jacket. But Andi was far too quick for him.
Her arm swung around, the bottom of her palm crashing into the man’s face just under the nose. He howled in pain, and he staggered back a few steps. Andi would have preferred to just shoot the bastard, but even in a sewer like O’Rourke’s, firing first and killing three people was difficult to explain. She had to provoke them, pave the way to take them down in justifiable self-defense.
Or whatever passed for it.
The two men holding Righter let him fall, and they reached inside their overcoats, pulling out weapons.
Two Mallincrofts…better guns than I’d have expected these minor leaguers to carry…
She slipped to the side, changing her position, just in case one of them was faster than either of them looked. As she moved, her own hand came out, fingers wrapped around the worn grip of her pistol. She heard a crack, the first shot, and she saw her attacker was well off-target. She knew that could change, of course, but the bastard wasn’t going to get a second shot.
She almost fired. She could have dropped them both in an instant, but even self-defense was poor legal protection in a place like O’Rourke’s. If Mekel was a regular in the place, and it looked like he was, half the patrons would swear she’d shot first…and the police in the District didn’t ask too many questions. They’d arrest the easiest target—if they didn’t just shoot her first—and finish the paperwork as quickly as possible.
Better to keep things non-lethal.
That’s easier said then done, when it’s one-sided…
She knew the loan shark’s men would kill her, so she had to disable them first.
She leaned back, putting most of her weight on her back leg, even as she watched the closest gangster bringing his pistol around toward her.
Her leg darted out, a kick so fast it seemed lie a blur. Her boot struck the man’s hand, sending the gun flying across the room and, from the sickening crunching sound, breaking at least a couple bones. The man doubled over and dropped to his knees. But Andi was already on his companion.
Her hands lashed out, a series of rapid punches, one after the other, and thug number two dropped backwards to the floor, his face a mask of fresh blood and his own pistol skittering across the floor.
Then, she turned back to the loan shark. He had a gun out, but Andi did as well…and while, he was still fumbling to take aim, hers was ten centimeters from his face, aiming right of the center of his forehead.
“Drop it.” Then, a second or two later. “Don’t make me kill you.”
The man let the pistol fall from his grip and drop to the floor. He seemed to be trying to hide his fear, but he was doing a singularly poor job of it.
“What does he owe you?”
The man looked back, surprised at Andi’s question.
“Three hundred,” he said after a long pause. “Plus interest.”
Andi’s eyes were locked on the loan shark’s, moving only for an instant every few seconds to check on the two downed henchmen.
“Okay,” she said, “I’d bet you’re lying to me, but I’ll take you at your word.” Her hand slipped into her pocket and she pulled out five platinum coins. “Here’s five hundred. That’ll cover what he owes you…and the wear and tear on your men.” She tossed the coins toward the loan shark, and they landed on the floor just in front of him. It was a bit of satisfying disrespect, but mostly, Andi had no intention of getting close enough to take any chances. She doubted the man could have taken her, or even moved quickly enough to stop her from putting a bullet between his eyes, but she wasn’t taking chances.
“Go ahead. Pick it up.”
The loan shark looked suspicious, but after standing motionless for a short while, he leaned down, scooping up the coins as his gaze remained locked on Andi’s.
Andi turned her head for
an instant. The bar was silent, half the patrons trying to look like they weren’t watching, and the rest just staring openly. “This is a straight deal…we got no beefs here.” She looked back at the loan shark. “We even?”
The man hesitated, but then he just nodded.
“Good…so all of you can get back to swilling your drinks, and you…Mekel…you can grab your men and get the hell out of here. Lex…” She pointed to the engineer, still sitting in a stupor on the floor about a meter away, and still apparently oblivious to all that had transpired. “…is my problem, not yours anymore. Right?”
Mekel nodded, looking a little angry that Andi had embarrassed him in one of his regular haunts, but far more scared. He looked down at the coins in his hand, and then he waved toward his two men, and they all moved toward the door. Andi watched them go, and as she did, she saw another man racing out through the doorway into the street beyond. A hint of recognition quickly flamed into full blown recollection.
One of Carmichael’s lieutenants.
She almost ran out after him, but she knew she was too late. The streets outside were a twisting, mazelike mess, with a hundred places to stay out of sight. And getting into a gunfight on a crowded street wasn’t exactly conducive to maintaining a low profile.
She looked down at Righter, still blissfully ignorant of all that had happened. She tapped at the small control in her pocket, the small comm unit that would call Gregor. An instant later, the giant came racing in, looking ready for a fight.
She put up her hand, a gesture to calm the big man. “It’s alright, Gregor. This is Lex Righter down here.” She lightly kicked the almost motionless figure. “I think you’re going to have to carry him. And we need to get out of here before the police come.” She paused. “Or anybody else. One of Carmichael’s goons was in here…and I didn’t notice him in time. We’ve got to get back to the ship. Now!”
Gregor nodded, and then he leaned down and grabbed the almost-unconscious Righter, throwing the fairly large man over his shoulder like he weighed nothing.
“Let’s go,’ Andi said, waving toward the door and then following Gregor out into the street. She’d put her gun back in the holster, but her hand remained close to it. She figured they could get back to the ship…and if they really got lucky, manage to lift off before Carmichael send fifty District thugs after them.
They moved quickly down the street, trying not to draw attention to themselves. That was a heavy lift, of course, for a man the size of Gregor, especially when he was carrying someone over his shoulder. But all sorts of strange things went on in the District. They got a few glances, but nothing more.
Andi stopped when they reached the entrance to the spaceport, looking around in every direction before she waved Gregor on. The giant paused for an instant, and then he turned toward her.
“You said we were going to recruit this guy, Andi, not kidnap him.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said. But plans change, you know that well enough. We need an engineer…and if I’d have left him back there, he’d be lying dead in the alley by now, so it’s fair trade as far as I’m concerned.”
That all made sense to Andi, but she still wondered how Lex Righter would feel after he slept it off and woke up on a ship a few hundred million kilometers from Dannith.
Assuming they could get aboard and get the hell out before a firefight erupted all around them.
Chapter Seven
Docking Berth G4-111
Port Royal Spaceport
Planet Dannith, Ventica III
Year 302 AC
Andi felt a wave of relief as her eyes locked on the familiar form of Pegasus, sitting just where she’d left it, in the middle of the docking berth. Jackal and Barret were standing around just below the ramp leading up into the ship, but the others were nowhere to be found.
Inside, I suppose.
You hope.
Andi had left strict orders for everyone to remain close to the ship, but she’d feel better when she new for sure. With any luck, she’d get aboard and manage to take off before the shit hit the fan, but looking for an errant member of the crew would be a schedule buster for sure.
She managed to convince herself luck would come through, that they’d manage to escape without a fight.
That hope lasted about three seconds.
She spun around at the sound of the first shot. There were shadowy figures approaching. They were pretty far away, still, four or five men on foot, and coming up behind, rapidly overtaking them, was a vehicle. It was a light, open transport, but Andi immediately spotted the heavy semi-portable mounted on the back.
Shit.
“Gregor, get Righter inside…and start the launch prep. Barret, you go with him. You’re the closest thing we’ve got to a flight engineer right now. At least a conscious one.”
“Got it, Andi.” The giant looked unhappy at the prospect of leaving her behind when enemies were approaching, but he lumbered up the ramp anyway.
“Yes, Cap.” Barret nodded and raced up after Gregor.
Andi dropped down behind one of the landing gears, a large metal construct that offered her some kind of cover. That was all well and good against small arms, but the semi-portable was another matter. That thing could even damage Pegasus if it managed to score a hit in the right place.
She pulled out her pistol, ducking behind the landing strut as another half dozen shots rang out. She was about to try to aim the tiny gun when Anna Fasarus came scrambling down the ramp, her arms wrapped around three heavy assault rifles. She tossed one to the Jackal, and handed the other to Andi as she took position next to Pegasus’s captain, on the other side of the landing gear support.
“Thanks for the heavy artillery…I think we’re going to need it.” Andi jammed the pistol back in the small holster and extended the rifle in front of her, just around the strut. The vehicle was out in front of the men on foot now, and she could see one of the occupants positioning himself behind the semi-portable.
Andi stared down the rifle’s sights, moving the weapon around as she tried to adjust to the vehicle’s movement. The range was still long, the shot a tough one. She fired, once, then again, missing both times.
But the third shot took the gunner right off the back of the vehicle.
That’ll buy us a few seconds, at least.
Andi knew her people were good in a fight, but when that big gun really opened up, all bets were off.
“C’mon, guys…get moving up there. We’re running out of time.” She was talking softly, to herself, but some part of her believed her people up in the ship could feel what she was saying.
They know we don’t have time to waste…
She fired three more rounds, and then she switched the gun to full auto. She had to keep that semi-portable under fire, pin anybody trying to get up there to man it.
Easier said than done.
The rifle Anna had given her had a spare clip snapped in place against the butt, but she’ d go through both of those with a few seconds sustained automatic fire.
She managed to drop another of the vehicle’s crew, but then the attackers managed to get the shield deployed, providing some cover to the gunner…just as a second armored transport came racing up from behind.
That’s a lot of firepower to deploy in the open…
She knew Carmichael had influence, but if he was able to clean up after the kind of display she was seeing, he had more pull then she’d thought.
“Alright, let’s pull back…we’ve got to get this ship up, ready or not.”
She knew, in her gut, even before she did in her head, that her enemy had gotten to someone in flight control. Pegasus wasn’t going to get launch clearance…and that meant blasting off against orders and making a run for it. Past any system patrols, and even naval ships if there were any nearby.
Damn…
“Anna…you first. Jackal, we’re going to give her covering fire on three.” She took a deep breath.
“One.” She ducked back
behind the support as the semi-portable opened fire. The rounds coming in were much louder, almost deafening as they echoed off the metal of the ship’s hull.
“Two.” She glanced up, checking Pegasus as she did. The heavy rounds were leaving small dents in the hull, but the attackers hadn’t managed to target a vulnerable spot.
Not yet…
She tightened her hands on the rifle.
“One…Go, Anna!” She opened fire, spraying the vehicle with the forty rounds remaining in her first clip. The bullets were too weak to penetrate the vehicle’s shield, at least at the current range, but the attack was violent enough to distract the gunner.
And that bought Anna enough time to race up the ramp and onto the ship.
“You next, Andi…I’ll give you some cover.” Jackal slammed his second clip into place, and he brought his rifle back to bear on the closing enemy.
“No way, Jackal…you’re next, and that’s a damned order.” The command structure on Pegasus was a somewhat hazy thing. The entire crew respected her place as the captain and the ship’s owner, but they were far from a military unit in terms of organization. Or obedience.
“No, Andi…you’re more…”
“Dammit, Jackal, if you argue with me, we’ll both get scragged. Now get ready…empty your rifle on two and get up there on three.”
“One,” she shouted, practically daring him to argue with her.
She stared ahead. The lead vehicle was close, and the sound of the heavy bullets slamming into the ship was working her last nerve. She could see a piece of a secondary antenna laying on the ground a few meters away. It wasn’t vital, but it was cold proof that the enemy fire was a danger to her ship.
“Two.” She sucked in another deep breath and her legs tensed. She was going to lay down some covering fire for Jackal, and then she was going to race up right after him and hope for the best.