by Chris Sapp
“Why’d you try to kill me?” he asked. Her eyes fluttered and her response was mumbled.
“Hey!” He slapped her cheek and a chunk of freshly charred skin came off in his hand. If she survived, she was going to have some hideous scars.
“Why’d you try to kill me?” he asked again now that she seemed more alert.
“I was… under orders.”
“By whom?” he demanded.
“Slade…”
Larkin felt the vein in his forehead bulge and the muscles in his jaw clench.
“Why would Magnus Slade want me dead?” he asked. When she didn’t answer. He slapped her again. But this time he made sure to use the back of his hand. He couldn't care less that her skin was falling off. He just didn’t want it falling off on him.
“Why does Magnus want me dead?”
“Because…you examined the body,” she answered.
“I don’t understand. Explain.”
“Planetary defense recovered…the barge in orbit. We could sell tickets to the barge…keep the bodies on ice until the funeral. But under no circumstances…could anyone examine either one of the bodies.”
“Why?” Larkin demanded.
“I didn’t ask.”
“If you knew I examined Phaelan’s body, why’d you wait to attack me?” Larkin asked.
“I…couldn’t risk killing you in the open.”
“What about the clerk that let me into the morgue?”
“He’s been…dealt with,” Barstow answered.
“You killed him?”
“No, you did.”
Larkin glanced over his shoulder at the body of the first vampyr that had attacked him. Now, that he thought about it…the bastard did look familiar. He turned back to Barstow and saw that she had finally succumbed to sleep. He decided that he didn’t have any more questions for her and he fired his last anti-vampyr bullet into her heart. Unlike the three vampyrs that attacked him, he was better at tying up loose ends. So, Magnus Slade wanted the bodies buried before anyone could examine them and he had ordered a hit on an elf girl that Driskell had stolen a blood sample for. Interesting. Very interesting, thought Larkin as he lowered the ramp and floated onto his ship. Once he was settled in the pilot’s seat, he swapped the chew in his mouth for a fresh one. Then he fired up the thrusters intending to put as much distance between him and NOS482 as possible.
IZABEL
WHEN IZABEL WOKE up she was choking…on salt water. She coughed hard and endlessly. The intruding water traveled out of her burning lungs, into her mouth, and then finally it was expelled onto the floor.
“Damn, you did drown her,” Izabel heard a familiar voice say. Someone with strong hands forced her onto her side just as another coughing spell hit. Her esophagus felt like spent sandpaper.
“That was my intention,” retorted another familiar voice. This one was female and much closer. Izabel tried to open her eyes but everything was blurry. She squeezed them shut as another wave of unwanted water was propelled out her body.
“Don’t look at me like that! How the hell was I supposed to know. She had your badge and a ghastly fake name,” said the woman.
“Skye Duffy,” laughed a third voice.
Izabel opened her eyes and forced them to focus. She was back inside The Pearl. Back, in the bar where she had first met Shardae. The bar was now deserted and Shardae and Conlan were next to her. Both of them had dried out and were standing on two legs. Izabel quickly realized that Shardae was responsible for bringing her back to life. But why would the mermaid do that after intentionally drowning her?
“Can I have my badge back?”
Izabel turned to see who had spoken and she nearly fainted. It was Driskell. He was the first voice she had heard. But what was he doing here? The room began to spin and she had to grab the edge of the bar to keep her balance.
“Driskell? What are you doing here?” Izabel asked.
“Saving your life,” scolded Shardae.
“And getting my badge back,” he said, holding his empty hand out to her. She fumbled around in her wet clothes for his badge and then handed it back to him.
“Sorry.”
“What were you thinking?” Roe asked.
“I have to know what happened to my dad,” said Izabel.
“And you thought stealing my badge was the best way to accomplish that?”
“Well, you refused to come with me because of her!” Izabel said pointing at Shardae.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Driskell said. Izabel could see that he was getting angry again just like he had back on his ship. But she was past the point of caring. She had jumped out of not one but two ships, while they were in the air no less. She had nearly detoxed. She had been drowned and then been brought back to life and she still wasn’t any closer to figuring out what was going on with her dad.
“I’m not stupid,” Izabel retorted, “it’s obvious who she is.”
“And who do you think I am?”asked Shardae.
“She thinks you’re Wren,” Roe said through a clenched beak.
“And where did she get that idea?” Shardae demanded. The veins in her neck bulged, highlighting the scar on her neck.
“From Fiske, a kameleon dealer,” Roe said. “He imitated Wren and she saw it.”
“So, you’re not Wren?” Izabel asked.
“No, Wren was my twin sister,” Shardae said, tears welling up in her eyes, “and she died eight years ago.” Everything Izabel saw in Shardae that had made her absolutely sure that she was Wren was undone in a second. Yes, their features looked identical but Shardae looked older and more weathered. The Wren Fiske imitated was at least eight years younger and time hadn’t been kind. Shardae looked away from the group so she could regain her composure.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” was all Izabel could manage. Wren was dead? No wonder Roe hadn’t wanted to come to Aquila. Not only was the planet populated with Wren’s species, she also had an identical twin that would remind him of what he’d lost .
“I’m sorry Shardae,” Roe said softly.
“You promised, Roe. You promised that you’d never come back here.”
“I know,” he said.
“I lost everything in that damn war.”
“So did I.”
Shardae and Roe’s eyes met and the sorrow that Izabel saw in both of their eyes broke her heart. Wren hadn’t just passed away. Her life must have ended tragically. Roe wrapped his arms around Shardae and to Izabel’s surprise the mermaid didn’t pull away. Instead she rested her head on his broad chest and cried. Izabel wasn’t sure if Roe was crying too but she thought maybe he was. She glanced over at Prince Conlan and saw that he was trying to be as respectful as he could by looking at the floor.
“Miss Duffy,” Shardae said once she’d regained her composure, “was that story about a kameleon real or just as bogus as your name?”
“No, it’s real and the name’s Izabel.”
“And all you need from me is to see the video logs of the day the kameleon was here?”
“That’s right.”
“Shardae you don’t have to do this. We can find another way,” soothed Roe.
“No, it’s ok. I don’t know what all of this is about and I don’t want to know. But I can tell it’s important to her…and I know it’s important to you otherwise you wouldn’t have come.”
Izabel saw that Roe was going to say something but apparently thought better of it.
“So, follow me and I’ll show you where we keep the video logs.”
“Thank you,” Roe and Izabel said simultaneously.
HALF AN HOUR later, Roe and Izabel were sitting in front of an elaborate security camera system. They knew Griffon had won $200,000 credits at The Pearl back on the fifteenth and since he had purchased Frostfang morphagens back on the ninth, the chances of the kameleon being disguised as a Frostfang were pretty high. So, they began searching through the casino’s security footage looking for Frostfan
gs. As it turns out six Frostfangs had visited The Pearl on that day; two females and four males. At least Griffon hadn’t been disguised as a Merfolk. That would’ve made him nearly impossible to track. They had no choice but to track the movements of each Frostfang one at a time. It was tedious and painstakingly slow work. The first Frostfang they tracked was a terrible gambler and after losing big at the roulette table he drank himself into a stupor and had to be escorted to the surface. The second one spent three hours at the $5 credit slot machines. She wasn’t going to win $200,000 credits playing there. They were looking for a Frostfang that wasn’t afraid of high stakes. So they concentrated their search on the poker tables.
“I’m sorry about Wren,” Izabel said when she could stand the silence no longer.
“Why are you apologizing? You were only eight years old when it happened,” he said. His eyes never leaving the security monitors.
“May I ask what happened?”
She waited patiently for him to answer…if he was going to. Izabel was a talker. If something was bothering her she liked to talk it out. It helped her process the issue. But she had a feeling Roe was the exact opposite. Just when she thought he wasn’t going to answer, he said, “What do you know about the Morphagen War?”
An image of Roe’s Black Chain zippo flashed in her mind. “Uh…a big war between all of the Druglords. Started cuz some Giant chick got whacked, right?”
“Yes,” Roe smirked, “after Adra Zane was assassinated, her daughter Durga declared war on Remy Black and his Black Chain company. Slade Enterprises sided with Black. Valdez Industries sided with Durga. I was drafted into the war by Black because at the time his company manufactured Fenix Tails. Quinlan McCready was Black’s premier chemist and he had twin daughters; Shardae and Wren. Towards the end of the war, Wren was kidnapped and held for ransom by Larkin Grundy, Durga Zane’s top commando.”
“Larkin? The asswipe from the alley behind Spanky’s?”
“The same. How’d you get away from him by the way?” Roe asked.
“Well, after I stabbed him in the face with my knife. I ejected out of the cockpit.”
“Wow, really? Good for you,” Roe said.
“Hey, this elf is smarter than she looks.”
Roe laughed.
“So, what was the ransom?” Izabel asked.
Roe took a long drag of his cigarette before continuing. “At the time, Black held a monopoly over all of the Merfolk morphagens. Durga wanted to trade Wren for McCready’s merfolk formula. But Black was losing the war and he refused the offer. He’d lost too many morphagens already. He couldn’t give up four more just for one mermaid.”
“Then what happened?”
“Shardae came to me in secret and said that her father wanted me to rescue Wren. McCready had written the merfolk formula down on a scroll. His handwriting was on file and could be authenticated. She gave me the scroll and told me to exchange it for Wren.”
“But if you turned over the formula against Black’s orders wouldn’t that be committing treason?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t get it. Why’d Shardae come to you? Why did she think you’d do it?”
“Because I was her boyfriend.”
“Wait, you were Shardae’s boyfriend? But I thought you fell in love with Wren?”
Roe took a long drag of his Fenix Tail.
“That happened later. While we were on the run.”
“But what about the formula? I thought it was an even exchange?”
“I switched the scroll with a duplicate. I needed a contingency plan in case this whole thing went south.”
“What happened? Did Durga catch up to you?”
“No, I knew that Remy would think I was a traitor so I went to Magnus Slade for asylum. I gave him the formula and explained everything. I was hoping he would sell it back to Remy. But Slade used the formula to make a deal with the rest of the druglords. I tried to warn Shardae and her father but Remy found out before I got there. He killed McCready and slit Shardae’s throat. I nearly died getting Shardae to safety. Everyone thought we were dead…including Wren…so she killed herself.”
“Oh my god,” she whispered.
“The war ended a few days later and all the traitors were rounded up and forced to run the Crucible. The only person that knew the truth about Shardae and I was Slade. So, to keep Shardae out of the Crucible I agreed to become Slade’s personal bounty hunter. One thousand strays for one mermaid.”
Izabel slumped back in her seat. What Roe had just told her was crushing her like an invisible weight. She was his 1,000th stray. He’d be free and clear of this horrible tragedy if it wasn’t for her.
“Roe, I’m so sorry,” she was crying now. “I’m sorry for stealing your badge. I’m sorry I made you come to Aquila. I’m sorry I pried into your personal life. I’m sorr-
“Stop apologizing,” he soothed. “What’s done is done. I’m here now… so let’s just see what your lead turns up, okay.”
THREE AND HALF grueling hours of security footage later Roe and Izabel saw something that swallowed their fatigue whole. At 1:17 on the morning of the fifteenth, Phaelan Lennox, lead singer of The Phaes, sat down at one of The Pearl’s poker tables and occupying the chair across from him was a Frostfang.
“I think I found something,” said Roe.
“Holy shit! That’s my dad,” Izabel rubbed furiously at her tired eyes. It had been Roe’s turn to work the controls and having nothing else to do but sit there, she had started to doze off.
“We don’t know that. It could be another kameleon,” said Roe.
Roe fast-forwarded the video on the slowest setting and they watched as the players sitting around the table dwindled down to just Phaelan and the Frostfang, that they presumed was Griffon. Each gambler had multiple towers of poker chips in front of them. Izabel and Roe watched in silence as the cards were dealt. Not for the first time did Izabel wish that the security system had the capability to record sound instead of just images. After each player had appraised their hand, Phaelan pushed all of his chips forward signaling that he was going “all” in. Griffon matched his bet chip for chip. Izabel didn’t need any audio to know that the total value of the chips was $200,000 credits. The players showed their cards and Phaelan’s reaction matched with what Izabel had already suspected. Phaelan had lost. Griffon was the victor. In a show of good sportsmanship, Griffon stood and extended his paw across the table to his sulking opponent. Phaelan bitterly slapped Griffon’s paw away and then stormed away from the table. Griffon watched him go for a moment and then shrugged and began collecting his winnings.
“Well, now we know who hired Griffon to imitate your old man,” said Roe as he stopped the tape.
“This doesn’t make any sense. Why would my dad fake his own suicide? And what about Phaedra? Is she really dead?”
“How should I know? He’s your old man,” Roe stood up and stretched his back and legs. “Maybe he got tired of being in the spotlight. Maybe they both did.”
“No, he loved performing too much,” she said shaking her head.
“People change, kid. When was the last time you talked to him?”
Maybe Roe was right. How did she know what her father was really thinking? She hadn’t talked to him in over a year and that had been on her birthday. No! Phaelan loved music. She refused to believe that he had become so jaded that he would fake his own suicide.
“No,” she said. “Something happened. He had a reason and we need to find out what it was.”
ROE
ROE HAD JUST poured himself a second cup of coffee when Izabel stumbled into the galley.
“Morning, how’d you sleep?” he asked.
“It was no Pearl,” she retorted.
Not wanting to intrude on Shardae’s life any more than they already had, Roe thought it was best to spend the night aboard his cruiser. Izabel had begrudgingly agreed. He smoked and sipped his coffee in silence as she poured herself a cup, drowned the french toast in syr
up, and then joined him at the table. He was three-quarters of the way through his cigarette when she finally spoke again.
“So, what happens next?”
“Well, I guess you tell me where you want to be dropped off and I go after my last stray.”
“What about my dad?”
“It appears he faked his own suicide. End of story.”
He could tell by the look on her face that those weren’t the words she wanted to hear.
“I still need to know why,” she said staring at him over the rim of her cup. The sunlight coming through the window reflected off her violet eyes and vertical slitted pupils.
“And how do you suggest we do that?” he took a long drag.
“I don’t know…I was hoping you had an idea,” her mouth was full of french toast.
“This is your cake. Why do I have to bake it?”
“I do believe Aquila was my idea,” she retorted.
“Fair enough,” Roe said getting up from the table. “Okay so faking your own death is not an easy thing to do and it’s even trickier if you’re a famous rockstar. So you’re old man probably didn’t share his plans with too many people.”
“He’d tell Phaedra.”
“Maybe. But let’s assume that she’s either dead or her death was also faked. So, who else does that leave?” Roe asked.
“What about his agent?”
“The Phaes were still at the top of the charts. No self-respecting agent would let their most profitable star fake their own suicide.”
“Okay. Then who?” Izabel asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll be right back,” Roe turned and left the galley. Upon entering the cargo hold, he hit the control switch that opened the back hatch and lowered the ramp. The ship’s monitoring system had informed him that his waste container was at full capacity. Since he didn’t know where they were headed next and how long it would take to travel there, he thought he might as well go ahead and empty the container. He grabbed the handle on the front of the waste container and rotated it counter-clock wise. The seals released with an audible HISS and Roe pulled the entire square container out of the hull. At full capacity the container weighed nearly 60 pounds. Descending the ramp, he carried the container over to the waste disposal unit located in the western corner of the landing platform. His ship was docked at the Aquila spaceport and he could hear the waves crashing against the building’s giant support pillars. The waste disposal unit was equipped to handle six different types of waste containers. Roe quickly located the correct one and placed his container in the vacant slot.