Space was starting to feel more normal to her than this life she had left behind.
As she walked, her mind flicked back to her childhood, and then to her time in the military. The events that had propelled her out of the military and into the meeting with Joel; the time at the safe house, and then running around this planet trying to get off world. It felt like it had been a million years since that first day in the bar, when she had gone to him for a job.
And now…
She looked up, watching the shop fronts pass by as she kept her eyes peeled for the little mocha shop where she would find Chaakwa. She spotted the sign just up ahead, and walked purposefully towards it.
Just outside, she stopped, letting a mother with a stroller leave through the double doors first. The little Estarian baby was giggling and gurgling away, a toy in his little hands. Molly smiled. This world seemed so alien to her. Like a dream she’d had once, but could barely remember.
She stepped through the doorway and headed over to the counter, keeping a lookout for Chaakwa. She didn’t see her.
“What can I get you?” the friendly barista asked from across the counter.
Molly looked up at the menu and sighed, remembering that she couldn’t have mocha. “I’ll have a tea, thanks,” she said, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice. After all, it wasn’t the barista’s fault.
She paid for her tea, and looked around at the seated patrons. Suddenly an arm appeared from behind a plant and a pillar. It was Chaakwa. Molly waved back with her fingers, careful not to draw too much attention to herself.
Once her tea was deposited on the counter, she scooped it up, and headed over to join her friend.
“Greetings,” she smiled, as she popped her mug on the table. Chaakwa got up and hugged her, taking her a little by surprise.
“Greetings. I was so pleased to get your message,” Chaakwa explained with a definite note of excitement. “I take it you have news? A lead?”
Molly sat down, quite content to get straight down to business. “I do. Well, a whole plan, in fact.”
Molly described the plan to Chaakwa. “There are six individuals that we know were directly involved,” she explained. She pulled up her holo and showed Chaakwa some mug shots they had pulled from various authorities. “This guy gave the order.” She pushed another image over to her. “This one pulled the trigger. This one is the head of the network that does this kind of thing, a lot, in the pursuit of their own power.” Molly showed her one picture after another.
“This one…” she said, her tone becoming a little more serious. “This one did a lot of the groundwork to find where your father was most vulnerable. He had files on you, too. Photographs of you in your apartment; probably as insurance, but also… we think maybe for his own pleasure.”
Chaakwa’s expression barely changed, though Molly could tell that the information was disturbing to her. She hesitated to tell her more, but then decided it was better that she knew.
Her tone was soft. Sympathetic, almost. “We found other footage on his holo drive of many women. Maya did a background check on them. All were violently assaulted and murdered. The police haven’t been able to connect the cases, because the MO was different each time - probably deliberately so. But this guy has been in and out of the system on suspicion of various things, and, basically, he’s not a good person. He’s served three sentences, and each time, has been released and gone on to commit more murders. More than even the police knew about.”
Her voice softened, wishing she could make it easier on Chaakwa.
Chaakwa took a deep breath as if accepting the situation, and processing it. “So…”
Molly’s face became more determined. “So, he’s going to go into that room, just like the other five… But he won’t be there for you and your friends to arrest. We’ll take care of him. But you mustn’t go looking for him. Nor share this with anyone.” Molly held her gaze. “Anyone,” she reiterated pointedly.
Chaakwa nodded her head, like a little girl in the head teacher’s office. She pushed the holoscreen back to Molly, who closed down all the images and put the holo away.
Chaakwa listened to her explain the plan in rapt attention, hardly believing that Molly’s team, in such a short time, had managed to not only track down all the relevant people, but also put together a workable mission.
Molly finished briefing her, and moved on to the next task: getting the names of friends of Chaakwa’s father who might help to make the arrest.
“This has to be a small team of people,” she qualified. “No current cops. You can’t trust any of them. They might be on the payroll, or we’ll be putting them in danger; out-of-service folks are probably less vulnerable. We’ll vet whomever you think you might want to use before we take action.”
Chaakwa agreed.
“And remember,” Molly told her, “I’m already dead.”
Detective Indius smiled. “And your team doesn’t even exist. We just got lucky with an anonymous tip.”
“Exactly,” Molly concurred.
Molly took down the names. The two women looked at each other, smiling, and clinked their drinks together.
* * *
“How did it go?” Joel asked as Molly stepped into the pod.
Molly hauled herself up into the pod, holding onto the grab bars on either side of the door. “Great,” she told him. “She was on board with all of it, and seemed to have taken the thing about the pictures well.
Joel helped her get settled before hitting the door button. “I suppose it helps, knowing that the man who has been stalking you is about to be disappeared,” Joel mused.
“This is true,” Molly agreed, looking out of the side window of the pod. “So, where are we going?” she asked, shaking off work for the day.
Joel gave a half grin, and looked a little sheepish. He ruffled his hair nervously. “I thought we might take a trip down memory lane, and head back to that bar over in the Irk’n Quarter in Uptarlung.”
Molly squinted with one eye, trying to place the name. “The one where we reconnected?”
Joel nodded. “Yeah. I thought it might be fun,” he added quickly.
Molly sat back and reached for her harness. “Hmm, funny. I was just thinking of that place when I was walking over to the mocha shop.”
Joel frowned a little as he tapped the location into the head up display. “Oh yeah?”
Molly clipped the straps together and settled back, crossing her legs and getting comfortable. “Yeah. And about how far we’ve come since that day. I mean, heck… we’re no longer outlaws, for one thing.”
Joel chuckled. “Speak for yourself. You were the only one who was ever an outlaw; and technically, if they knew you were breathing, you still would be!”
“Fair point,” Molly smiled, shrugging one shoulder and settling in for the ride.
Chenz’ Bar, Downtown Uptarlung, Irk’n Quarter
Not long after, they arrived at the bar.
Joel opened the door for Molly, and she stepped inside.
“Wow… it feels just the same,” she exclaimed in a near whisper.
Joel glanced around, his special skills detecting a disturbance in the force. “No, you know… I think they redecorated. I’m sure the carpets were darker before.”
Molly giggled and slapped the back of her arm against his body playfully.
Joel pretended it hurt, and then ushered her towards the bar. They ordered drinks and took a seat.
“So, this is… different,” he said, looking around and relaxing into the situation.
Molly bobbed her head, a little nervous now that they didn’t have the seriousness of missions and work to talk about. “Yeah. It’s… different,” she agreed, unable to find a more descriptive word for everything she felt in the moment.
Joel looked thoughtful. “You know, it kinda makes you wonder about what would have happened, had we not decided to do the whole skills-for-hire thing toget
her, doesn’t it?”
Molly turned her lips down. “It does. Man, life couldn’t have been more different.”
Joel smirked at her dig at their choice of words. Then he leaned over the sticky little table, and rested his arms on it; something he knew straight away he would regret later. “What do you think you would have done?”
Molly shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe ended up on the street? Or worse, computing for a living.”
They both laughed.
A moment later, their drinks arrived, and they cheersed. “Don’t you have parents here, though?” he asked, taking a swig from the bottle and looking a little more serious.
Molly tilted her head to one side briefly, before straightening up and taking a sip of her own beer.
Joel noticed her reaction. “Okay. So conversations like that are off limits,” he noted to himself.
Molly smiled. “No. It’s just…”
Joel waited. She struggled to find words. Joel fiddled with the bottle between his hands. “You never talk about them. But they’re still alive, right?”
Molly nodded. “Yeah, they’re still here. It’s just I haven’t seen them for a very long time. And…” She clammed up.
Joel put the beer down, and pressed her a little more, without looking at her. “And what?” he said gently.
Molly tilted her head again. “Well, I don’t know how they would feel about seeing me again.”
Joel frowned. “They’re your parents. Whatever has happened, it wouldn’t change that.”
Molly raised her shoulders again, and studied the label on her beer, carefully avoiding eye contact.
Joel had another thought. “Hey, if you haven’t spoken to them since before you left, they probably think you’re dead.”
Molly bobbed her head.
The area around Joel’s eyes darkened a little. “You’ve considered that?” he asked, a slight frown playing across his forehead.
She nodded again with sadness in her eyes.
Joel shifted his beer bottle a couple of inches on the table. “Look,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “I don’t want to tell you how to run your life - ”
Molly smiled. “So don’t,” she said confidently, lifting her eyes to meet his.
He grinned, picking at the label on his beer. “But…” he continued, very aware he was going to say his piece despite her comment. “Don’t you think you should just let them know that you’re still alive? You know. A phone call. Or something. I’m not talking about going and spending the weekend, or anything; but just let them know that their little girl isn’t dead.”
His suggestion seemed to have an impact. Instead of putting up her shields and deflecting, for once she let his words in. She nodded ever so slightly, before picking up her beer and taking another swig.
Joel noticed, and marked it as a victory.
She put her beer down and wiped the condensation from her hand on her pant leg. “So, Oz and I have been thinking about other stuff that might be fun,” she said, allowing herself to change the subject.
Joel smirked good-humoredly at her tact. “Uh huh?” he grunted, sitting back in his chair; noticing that he was actually enjoying himself, just sitting and talking with her.
“Yeah,” she said. “We’re thinking about starting a university.”
Joel frowned. “Right…” he said slowly, not quite sure if he had understood correctly.
“Yeah,” she said. “To teach leaders how to be leaders.”
Joel smiled at the prospect, considering the source of the comment. “Okay.”
Molly noticed his smile. “What?” she said, hardly able to keep from smiling herself, at this point.
“Nothing,” he said, the hint of his smile growing into a full manifestation. He hid behind his beer bottle, taking another swig.
Molly saw that he was toying with her. “I’m serious. This could be really great,” she protested.
Joel tried to straighten his face. “Okay. Tell me. I’m clearly not understanding what you want to do.”
She shook her head, a little frustrated. “Yeah. I’m not talking about leadership boot camp, like the military teaches,” she explained, seeing where his thought process would be coming from. “I’m talking about something bigger. Imagine if the leaders of the world were all educated in things like diplomacy and negotiation. Imagine if they learned to put their personal feelings aside, and navigate toward solutions, rather than reacting out of pride or anger.”
Joel nodded in agreement.
Her beer bottle stood forgotten, and her hands started punctuating as she spoke. “And now imagine that they were shown things like how to reach peaceful agreements. There are lots of cases to study where nations have succeeded against the odds - with multiple internal problems, as well as foreign policy issues.”
Joel cocked his head, becoming more interested.
Molly found herself in a flow, talking about something she had been mulling quietly for some time. Something that she never thought would be a possibility - until her conversation with Oz. “And then imagine if they were versed in things like how to effectively govern, and distribute resources. How to make sure that no one race is suppressed or victimized. And then what if they spent time learning about how societies impact their physical environments, and how to preserve the resources, like the land and the water supply? How to not pollute their planets so that they have to go off and conquer others.”
She realized she’d been ranting. She quieted herself, folding her hands in her lap.
Joel was leaning forward, nodding vigorously. “That sounds fucking amazing!” he agreed. “And much needed, even within the Sark System.”
Molly sighed in relief at his acceptance. She picked up her beer bottle again, and started picking at the label. “Yeah. I think so. So that is where we start. Oz and I are going to see about getting a course going within one of the existing universities to start with; you know, just a small course, and then grow the faculty and reputation. Prove the concept. Build some connections and so on.” She bobbed her head as she spoke.
“Uh hmm…” Joel leaned back, looking off across the bar. A couple walked in and sat down a few tables over. They were canoodling and laughing. Joel was momentarily distracted. “It sounds wonderful… but doesn’t this kind of thing take a boatload of cash?”
Molly looked up at him. “Yeah. This is true. But Oz did a rundown of the companies, and there is definitely money in there we can pull. And then there’s my money…”
Joel pulled his attention back to her. “Your money?”
Molly bobbed her head. “Yeah. The trust fund.”
Joel did a double take. “The trust fund?” he asked.
Molly took a deep breath, almost scared to share this with him. “Yeah… I have a trust fund put aside. Something my parents gave me before I left home. It’s just… I never felt like I trusted myself to touch it. I mean, I didn’t want to just live off of it; I wanted to make sure that I was capable enough before I started trying to do something with it.”
Joel’s face softened, and Molly could see an aura of pink clouds around him. “You mean you wanted to make sure that you were good enough, before you allowed yourself to touch it?”
Molly nodded, a rush of emotion sweeping into her chest, and disorienting her thinking. She sat silently, waiting for it to pass and grappling for something to say - or something to distract them from the subject at hand.
But the brain fog had descended.
Joel pulled away from the cold, damp beer bottle and put his hand on hers. “You were always worthy of that money,” he told her. “But it’s nice to see that you’re starting to see that for yourself…”
Molly smiled weakly, and pulled her hand away. Overwhelmed, she suddenly needed to go to the bathroom. “I’ll be right back,” she announced. She trooped off, relieved to be away from the conversation that had gotten a little too intimate too quickly.
Indius Resi
dence, Downtown Spire
“And are you sure about this tip?” Bob’s voice came through her implant clearly. She could hear the concern in the timbre.
Chaakwa nodded even though he couldn’t see her. “Certain,” she confirmed. “It’s a source I trust.”
The sark had started going down as she arrived home, and it had taken her several minutes to pluck up the courage to connect the call.
She heard Bob’s sigh of agreement. “Well, if you’re sure, I’m in. I’ll give Ron a call,” he told her solemnly.
Chaakwa flicked her eyes upward, and did a quick count in her head. “Okay, so that will make four of us,” she confirmed.
“Think we need anyone else?” he asked.
There was a pause on the line as Chaakwa ran through the possibilities in her mind.
“Chaakwa?” Bob pressed, wondering if the line had disconnected.
“No. We’ll be okay,” she told him. “I understand they’ll be in no shape to give us any problems by the time we show.”
She heard Bob’s tone change, as he prepared to end the conversation. “Okay, well, if you’re sure,” he chirped. Chaakwa could hear voices in the background, like someone had walked into the room and was chattering away.
“Yes. Thanks Bob. I appreciate you doing this with me,” she added.
The seriousness of Bob’s voice had left him, and he was talking as if they were just arranging a bowling match. “Hey, it’s what your father would have wanted. I’m glad we finally get to nail these sons of bitches.”
“Me too,” she agreed, pursing her lips together.
“Okay,” he said. “Well, call me if anything changes; otherwise, I’ll see you there tomorrow evening.”
Chaakwa looked out of her window, over at the cityscape against the fading light. “Will do. Thanks, Bob.”
The line clicked off, leaving her sitting alone in her darkened apartment.
She remained there quietly for a few minutes, lost in thought, when her eye fell on a picture she had on the sideboard - a picture of her and her father, when she was a little girl.
“This is for you, Dad,” she whispered into the darkness.
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 123