Fool Me Once (Privateer Tales)

by Jamie McFarlane

  I was grateful to get back into normal clothing and out of the stevedore’s uniform that smelled so much like the slave pens.

  “I’ve been thinking,” I said. “This can’t be about revenge. It doesn’t add up. He would have had to pay for Jenny.”

  “Right …” Tali answered.

  “To me, Jenny is worth everything, but to Alexander, he suddenly wants to pay, what, ten or twenty thousand? Where would he come up with that kind of money? And surely not just to get me back. I was half dead when I finally got away from him, hardly worth that.”

  “I’m not sure where you’re going with this.”

  “He’s after something. Pirates don’t do stuff for revenge, unless it’s easy to get away with. He would have had to borrow that money, which means he’s expecting a quick payoff.”

  “The crates,” Tali said.

  “Yes. The crates. They’re worth two to three times what he paid for Jenny.”

  “Interesting.”

  “We make a trade. Me and the crates for Jenny. Then you save me once Jenny’s safe.”

  “You’re just determined to get yourself killed.”

  “No. I’m determined to save Jenny. I don’t want to die, but if that’s the cost, then so be it.”

  “I think I’ve got this. Here’s the plan ...”

  With a plan in hand, everything depended on me. Hopefully I hadn’t misjudged Alexander.

  Establish comm with Alexander Boyarov.

  “What? So now you want to talk? Block my call, you crazy …”

  “Where is she, Alexander?” I cut him off, wanting to avoid a rant.

  “Talk to your sister. Tell her what we have planned for her,” Alexander said.

  “Cel? Is that you?”

  “Jenny, are you hurt?”

  “I’m okay. I’m so sorry. You were gone and I didn’t know what to do. They kept me in a cage, Cel. I’m scared. He says he’s going to hurt me.”

  I tried to reassure her, but Alexander cut in. “Got that Dontal? Come on down to the ship and I’ll spare your sister.”

  “Bull,” I replied.

  “I have your sister. You sure you want to play this game? Scream for your sister, Jenny.”

  I heard Jenny scream and hot tears rolled down my cheeks.

  “Stop it Alexander, you’ve made your point.”

  “I don’t think I have. Maybe I need to break her in.”

  “Knock it off. You aren’t going to do anything of the sort.” I hoped I was right.

  “You really want to test that?”

  “I have the crates. Let’s make it a simple trade. All eight crates for Jenny. You already have the ship.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “You think I’m stupid? You guys don’t actually lay low.” I gambled.

  “Okay, bring the crates to the ship and I’ll let your sister go.”

  “No.”

  “What?”

  “No. If I bring the crates, there’s no way you'll let her go. I’ll be on the roof of that building where you tried to kill me. You bring Jenny and I’ll bring half of the crates. Once Jenny leaves with my friend, I’ll take you to the other cases.”

  “You stupid bitch, I have your family. That’s not how this is going down. You bring the cases and you hope I don’t kill her because of your stupidity.”

  “No.”

  “Scream for your sister.”

  Once again I could hear Jenny screaming. I muted. “I can’t take it, Tali. He’s hurting her.”

  “You take this deal, he’ll kill you and do unspeakable things to your sister. He can’t really hurt her. If this falls through, he'll sell her and she's worth nothing if she's damaged. Don’t be weak, Lena. You have to be strong for Jenny!”

  I thought about it and cussed. I didn’t know if I could go through with this. I unmuted. “You know my terms, call me back once you’re serious about dealing.” I terminated comms. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done.

  Unblock Alexander Boyarov’s communications.

  We sat in Kathryne’s shop, staring at each other. If Alexander’s temper got the worst of him I'd made a critical mistake and Jenny would pay for it.

  Incoming comm from Alexander Boyarov. I connected.

  “Are you ready to do this?” I asked.

  “You’re coming with me. The deal is the cases and you, and your friend gets your sister. You bring one friend. That’s it.”

  “I won’t tell you where the other cases are if you harm anyone.”

  “One hour,” he said.

  “We’ll be there.”

  “If I see more than one other person, I’ll kill your sister, then your friend, then you. Got it?”

  I hung up. I called the storage unit where I had half of the crates stored and instructed them to deliver them to Kathryne’s Boutique. Tali arranged to get a small runabout, big enough to carry us and the crates.

  “We have to make one stop on the way,” Tali said.

  “Okay.”

  Forty-five minutes later we were on the roof. Alexander was nowhere to be found. We waited fifteen minutes before two larger passenger runabouts buzzed the top of the building. Tali and I had to duck.

  One of the vehicles landed at the opposite end of the roof and its back door opened. Jenny was sitting in the seat, held in place by Alexander.

  The other vehicle continued to slowly orbit the roof. I couldn’t tell who was in that vehicle until the door opened and a man I didn’t recognize aimed a large blaster rifle at me. Olav Peetre, the pirate who had been responsible for originally abducting me sat next to him.

  Open comm with Alexander Boyarov. I held my right hand up high. “I have a dead man’s switch, Alexander. The crates and I are set to blow if you pull anything.”

  “Oh, you are getting fancy. Okay, we’ll play nice.”

  “Let Jenny out and have her walk toward my vehicle.”

  He pushed Jenny out.

  “Walk over to me, Dontal,” Alexander demanded.

  “Not until Jenny is in the other vehicle.”

  Alexander stepped out and took a handful of Jenny’s soiled robe. Pulling her along, he walked straight to me.

  “You almost had me. Nice idea on the dead man’s switch.” Alexander punched me in the gut hard, and grabbed my hand as I bent over in agony.

  “No, no, let’s not drop that. You got no play here. You drop it and you’ll kill Jenny. You lose. I have to say I underestimated you, but you just aren’t quite as smart as you think. You shouldn’t have let your sister near the explosives.”

  Alexander looked at the circling vehicle. “Shoot the extra.”

  I watched as the man opened fire on Tali’s position - only Tali was no longer there.

  “Find her!” Alexander screamed.

  “Let her go! She isn’t part of this.”

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  We watched as the vehicle swooped around, looking for Tali.

  “You have less than a minute to get out of here, Alexander.” I said, hoping it wasn’t a bluff.

  “You called the police?”

  “No, but they’re coming all the same.”

  “Hmm. Well, I guess you screwed us all then.” Alexander turned and started to drag Jenny away.

  I couldn’t let Jenny go. I wouldn’t let her be taken into the life I escaped. I dropped the dead man’s switch - it was just a decoy anyway. I jumped on Jenny and wrapped her up with my arms. There was no way Alexander would be able to drag us both back.

  I thought I heard sirens. So did Alexander. He released Jenny’s robe as I drug her down to the ground.

  “Shoot them both and get out of here.” Alexander said into his comm. He took off at a run toward his parked vehicle.

  The other vehicle stopped its pursuit of Tali and swung toward Jenny and me. I rolled protectively over on top of her, trying to place my body in line with the shooter. Alexander was almost to his vehicle when I saw him stumble. A bright red cloud appeared next to his head and
he fell to the ground, no longer moving.

  Closing my eyes, I braced for shots that never came. Instead, I heard a loud explosion and felt a pressure wave press into my back. I covered Jenny’s head with my arms and looked up to see the flaming remains of the second vehicle as it lost altitude and fell out of view.

  “Lena!” Tali yelled as she sprinted to me. I had no idea where she had come from. She slid across the pebbles of the roof, wrapping her arms around Jenny and me.

  Sirens were blaring, closing in on us.

  “Tell me you’re both okay!” she yelled over the noise.

  I felt Jenny moving beneath me.

  “Jenny?”

  “Celina?”

  I helped her to a seated position and inspected her. She was filthy, but I couldn’t see any blood. She wrapped her arms around me and Tali hugged us both.

  Channel One comm, Tali said. “All clear. Kelti, Reehl, get out now, locals en route. No friendly casualties. I say again everybody is UP.”

  “Where were they?” I asked.

  “Look over there.” Tali nodded in the direction of a building two kilometers away.

  “That far?”

  “It’s okay to be impressed, just don’t say it to Jordy. He’s already hard enough to get along with.”

  I looked at her in disbelief and then we heard a familiar amplified voice. “Everyone down on the ground.”

  I helped Jenny get on her knees and put her hands behind her head. “It’s okay, Jenny. It’s the good guys.”

  Polk approached, shaking his head. “Twice in a day!? You gotta frakking be kidding me.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jamie McFarlane has been writing short stories and telling tall tales for several decades. With a focus that only a bill collector could inspire, he has finally relented to recording some of his most of requested stories.

  During the day Jamie can be found at his home, writing in front of a neglected fire, with his two cats both conveniently named Dragon. When not writing, Jamie can be found at the local pub sharing his stories with any who will listen.

  Thank you for reading. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Please consider using one or more of the following links to learn about additional books in the Privateer Tales series or just to stay in contact with Jamie.

  Blog and Website: fickledragon.com

  Facebook: facebook.com/jamiemcfarlaneauthor

  Twitter: twitter.com/privateertales

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Diane Greenwood Muir, for excellence in editing and fine word-smithery.

  My wife, Janet, for carefully and kindly pointing out my poor grammatical habits.

  My beta readers. Nancy Higgins Quist for her keen intellect and positive reinforcement. Dave Muir for his careful reading and keen eye. Jeff Rothermel, for solid help with many technical faux-pas and industry insight. Carol Greenwood, my sister, for encouragement.

  Patricia Leonardo Cavalieri, cover artist of extraordinary talent