Fake Bill nodded slowly still not believing anything.
“What kind of pet and what was its name?”
The man barked out a sharp laugh. “Not much of a trick if I tell ya.”
Jason shrugged. Maybe he should toss some fairy dust in the air for effect. “The trick isn’t what you think. Now, tell me and don’t lie.”
“Okay, kid. It was a horned gilly. His name was Spike.”
Jason had no clue what a horned gilly was. “Thanks.” He let the Mirre fall away.
The real Bill had his chin in his palm, looking bored. “Kid, rolling your eyes up like a carnival gypsy makes for a great show but it looks a little silly.”
“Yea,” Jason said. “If things don’t work out, I’m gonna join a circus. You had a horned gilly named Spike.”
Bill scratched his head then rubbed the back of his neck. “Now that’s screwed up.” He waved a couple of fingers at him in admiration. “Spike was a stuffed animal but yea, that’s what I was thinking.”
“Look Mr.…” He realized he never got a last name and waited.
“Leave it as Bill. It’s not my real name anyway.”
“Okay. Look, Bill, it’s not a magic trick, it’s not fortune telling. It’s something my family can do, and I can use it to help in the search.” His father was going to hate another information leak. Leaving out the important part of the alien origins, he said, “The simple truth is I have augmented DNA and this man.” He pointed at the picture and raised his voice into a commanding mimic of the Emperor. “Took a sample of it. We’re getting it back. If he needs to die for me to do that, I will willingly murder him myself.” Although, actually killing someone wasn’t something he thought he could do. He couldn’t even go on creager hunts with his father.
Bill seemed disturbed by his volume more than the statement and gestured for him to lower his voice. “Calm down, kid. I’ll track him for you. Let me worry about any killing that needs to be done.”
To Jason’s dismay, there were several people close enough to their table to have heard his declaration, but they all appeared entranced by their own lives. He returned to a more conversational tone. “I’m not sure why the man left me alive, but I suspect if he catches me chasing him, that little pleasantry will disappear. You want more muscle to go with us? I can hire some extra hands.” Having sidekicks and henchmen to do his bidding seemed more fun than palace servants and guards.
Bill shook his head. “No, I work alone. The more people we bring, the easier it will be for him to spot us. He probably didn’t kill you because whoever hired him didn’t pay for it. Most of us don’t go rampaging around murdering for no reason.”
Jason took note of the mention of the “us” in the man’s statement. He hadn’t planned on hiring a killer. “You sure you can protect me and take him at the same time?”
“I ain’t no bodyguard.”
“That’s why I’m asking. I can get a separate bodyguard if you think we’ll need one.” Hell, if he wanted to, he could contact the Rhime Embassy down on Nephele and have a squad attached to him, but interference from home wasn't in his plans either.
Jason watched as the wheels inside his new sidekick’s head turned. Bill wasn’t aware of the possible rift between Jason and his father. No, Bill didn’t like the idea of taking Jason any place which might get him killed. From Bill’s point of view, Jason was the scion to a corpocratic planet with a father who was known to be ruthless.
While Rhime was considered unimportant and out of the way for most of humanity and never endured an invasion, or corporate takeover as it were, it did maintain a small military at home. The bulk of their galactic Navy took the form of ships whose primary duty was to escort company cargo vessels as they traveled through some of the more dangerous areas of the Nexus.
Then there were all those pesky Imperial Guards that were probably tracking Jason at the moment. Ambassador Dimka wasn't going to enjoy his next report home when those guards got here and found out he let Jason come and go unprotected.
“Leave it for now.” Bill came to a decision and shrugged. “You should be safe until we catch up to him. You won’t need to get into the middle of any confrontation I have with the guy. The route that ship is taking has stops around planets I’m familiar with. If I need help, I’ll let you know.”
That was good. For a moment, Jason thought the man would insist on going it alone. “How can we catch up to them?”
“We can’t do nothing about the first stop. They’ll get to Kellen and leave again by the time we’re pulling into Kellen IV station.”
Jason interrupted him. “If he leaves the ship and goes down to Kellen, I’ll be able to track him.”
Bill let out a huff. “Well, that should make it easier. But if he hands it off—”
“Yea, yea. If he hands it off, we’re going to have issues, but I’ll be able to find out if he made a drop.”
Bill rubbed his face. “Kid, you sure you need me? You seem to know everything.”
Jason bit his lip. It was contagious. Sparrow had infected him, and the gesture brought him back to swimming in the depth of her eyes. “Yes, I need you. I can track him like you wouldn’t believe, but I’d rather not have another physical encounter with him.” There. That should ease Bill’s mind. Jason wouldn’t run ten steps ahead of the man, risking his life and causing extra problems.
Bill used a nail to pick his teeth. “Not my usual style.” He held up his hands. “I can adjust.”
Considering what Jason paid the man, he’d better adjust. “What’s after Kellen?”
“Alexandria. Big vacation planet.” Bill eyed him up and down. “Your daddy isn’t gonna be upset if I take you there, will he? I’d rather not get on the bad side of Big Shabin.”
“Dad’s a separate issue. He’ll probably grant you a few hundred acres and a title back home if you get that sample back.” If Jason didn’t end up killing Daddy Dearest as his next mission.
“I’m guessing Alexandria is his destination. Might only be a place for him to switch identities and leave again, but my money’s on that rock being the end of his trip.”
“What’s it like there?”
Bill readjusted himself in the chair. “Claustrophobic. They’re still making the atmosphere breathable. It’s all domed cities, and there are only a few. Most of the planet is in its original condition.”
“Doesn’t sound like much of a vacation spot.”
A vulpine grin spread across Bill’s face. “That depends on what you look for in a vacation.” He gave Jason a friendly wink. “If you have a vice, you can go crazy with it down there. If it’s illegal elsewhere, Alexandria is the place to go. There isn’t much of a government yet, and what little there is keeps itself focused on finding ways to bring in more tourists and tax dollars for the terraforming project.”
The planet sounded similar to the early days of Rhime when his grandfather needed a place for his human experiments. “So if someone wanted to set up a genetics lab, they could do whatever they wanted there?”
“Shit yea. You want gills or wings installed, someone on Alexandria will do it for you. You want a clone so you can screw yourself, they’ll do that for you also. They even rent out clones of famous people for you to…” He stopped himself, but Jason got the idea.
“How about a change of passports for me? Can you get me something?”
Bill furrowed his brow. “Why do you need a different identity?”
Well, shit. He hadn’t thought this through. Bill didn’t know anything about his running away. Telling him the truth was out. Bill would probably bundle him up and drag him home for a reward. But every time someone scanned his passport, it left a clear path for someone to follow. Back on Nephele, it took about three hours for the Rhime Embassy to notice him and send a messenger. The man had looked incredibly silly wearing a dress uniform on the beach. Jason lied his ass off in his message back to the Ambassador.
Jason searched for the best explanation. “I just think it’s
a bad idea for me to keep traveling under my real name. Can you do it or not?”
“Yea.” The man rolled his eyes. “I’ll find you something.”
“Okay.” Jason checked the time. They still had another twenty hours before leaving Nephele I. “I’ll meet up with you an hour or so before we leave.” He entered a notation on Bill’s comm with his hotel name. “You can reach me here if you need me earlier. Let me know if you need any supplies before we go.”
Chapter Fourteen
Nobody would ever call the Bentley Strider a luxury liner, but it was adequate for Jason’s purpose of transporting them from Nephele I to Kellen IV. After which, they’d need to wait a day before switching to another vessel headed to the planet of Alexandria. The intersystem trip was a four-day voyage with the Queen Tucker far ahead of them and lengthening the lead every minute.
After going through the Nephele I node, Jason attempted connecting to Bloodsucker Ferguson without success. Somewhere in the bowels of Shabin headquarters, there was sure to be a file explaining the details of how far away a person could be for Jason to connect to them. Marcus or Jason Sr. surely would have tested such things right down to the millimeter. Jason Jr. had never sought to find out and doubted he’d be given the information. Back home he could connect to a person anywhere on Rhime or on any ship or station in the area, but he’d never had a reason to go beyond those distances.
When they broke through the Alexandria II node, they were still forty-two hours away from Alexandria the planet. The instant the node crossing announcement rang out through the ship, Jason jumped into action and tried the Mirre again. Depressingly, the connection still didn’t happen. He didn’t know what his next step would be if the man continued on with the Queen Tucker VIII after it left Alexandria. The planet seemed like the obvious destination for the blood sample.
His answer came a day and a half later when they were still a few hours away from the station above the planet. He finally made contact while stuffed inside a cabin smaller than Sparrow’s. Jason locked onto Mr. Mark Ferguson. At least he hoped he had the correct person.
The man still had the same beefy body size and shape, but instead of black hair in a military burr, his hair was long and light brown pulled back into a bun. The nose seemed smaller somehow, and the face had a full beard and mustache trimmed to perfection. Even with the facial hair, his features seemed soft and somewhat feminine. Jason couldn’t tell if this was more costume dress-up or the real person. Considering the man was stepping out of a shower at the time, true appearance seemed the most probable answer.
The man let out a startled, “What the hell?” before Jason left the Mirre.
Back on the ship, Jason grinned at Bill. “I got him.”
With Jason sitting on the bed and Bill in the cabin’s only chair, the cramped confines pressed down on him. If he stood in the cabin’s center, the walls blocked any attempt to fully stretch out his arms.
With a disbelief and mistrust Jason had become accustomed to from Bill, his mercenary said, “It still looks like a cheap parlor trick.” The man didn’t give him a chance to protest and held up a hand. “I believe you. Where is he?”
Jason shrugged. “Not sure yet. But he’s in range, and wherever he is, he’s using a bathroom bigger than this cabin.”
Jason had given Bill a little more explanation of how the Mirre worked during the intervening trip but left out any mention of the Herodians. He’d grown fond of his rough-around-the-edges cohort, and if everything went well, he considered offering Bill a permanent job back home when this exploit ended. Nobody could do mercenary work forever, and his father would rather have him as an employee rather than running around the galaxy with company secrets.
Bill shook his head. “I don’t think I want to know about his bathroom habits. Can you go back and get more information?”
“Sure.” Jason wanted to wait a few minutes, so he picked up his comm. “Let me see if I can get you an idea of what he looks like now. I’ll check back with him later.”
Tracking down a piece of software to help him, he downloaded a facial simulator and set to work, recreating what he saw. When he finished mixing together the image from the resort security camera along with his memory of the new appearance, he showed Bill the new and not so improved Mark Ferguson. “You recognize this face?”
One edge of Bill’s mouth rose into a smile. “Yea. That’s Ferguson alright. Change the beard and mustache to long sideburns only, and he looks like the man I met a few years ago.”
Jason tossed the comm to his side and went back to focusing on Ferguson. “Give me a second to see what he’s up to now.” Hey, shithead Mark, let’s try this again.
The tight cabin washed away, and Jason found himself standing in what could’ve been a small apartment or a large hotel room. The view through the window told him it wasn’t a ship or space station. Ferguson was definitely on Alexandria. He took a quick look around, noting the surroundings and left the Mirre before the dumbfounded Ferguson, sitting on a couch and eating something, could react.
Speaking to Bill, Jason said, “He’s on the planet. I’m going back in to poke around without him seeing me.”
Bill rubbed his chin stubble. “Do what you can. I’ll go and make the arrangements to get us transport down to the planet. Find out which dome he’s in. Last time I was here there were only about a dozen of them, and they’re all within a couple hundred kilometers of each other but the quicker we get to him, the better.”
Jason waved a casual two-fingered salute at Bill, which made Sparrow’s face waft across his mind. “How can I tell one dome from another?”
Bill pursed his lips in thought. He rocked the chair back and forth looking for answers. After a few moments, his face stretched into a smile. “Kid, can you bring me with you?”
At some point, he’d have to get Bill to stop calling him “kid”. “Not you, but a copy of you.”
“What about objects? Can you pop us both into that room with weapons in our hands?”
Jason shook his head. “Only if we were holding them in here.” He didn’t own anything deadly, and Bill had been required to declare all his equipment when they boarded the ship. It was all locked in storage.
Bill glanced around the cabin. Obviously not finding anything deadly enough to satisfy him, he shook out his hands and then clenched them into fists. Lines of veins along his arms popped with the effort. “Okay. Take me with you. I can probably beat the hell out of him if it comes to that.”
Amused, Jason asked, “What are you planning?” Physical confrontation inside the Mirre was pointless.
Bill shrugged. “Not sure, but I might recognize something about where he is.”
“You’ll need to tell me while we’re in there. Your real mind won’t be going with me.” Considering what he was about to do, Fake Bill would know he wasn’t Real Bill. Jason hoped it wouldn’t cross Bill’s mind to upset over his impending fade to black.
“Hit me with it, kid.”
Jason rolled his eyes at the insulting honorific. “Okay, get ready.”
Concentrating on both men, he pulled them into the Mirre. Bill. Mark Ferguson. Corner of kitchen.
They stood in the kitchen. Fake Bill flinched from his change in position and threw out a hand to catch himself against the counter. On the other side of the apartment, Ferguson sat with an empty plate. He’d need to look over and a little behind in order to see them. Jason put his arm out in front of Bill to keep him from moving.
Pointing to the window Jason gestured to Bill. Outside, several bland buildings surrounded the one they occupied. All equal in size and shape. An uninspired mixture of glass and steel. Maybe a dozen stories tall. A clear sign of a pre-planned neighborhood inside a dome that topped out only about another hundred meters above the buildings. The material lining the dome ceiling was a frosted blue, which allowed the local star to supply natural light.
Using two fingers in a V-sign, Bill gestured at Jason’s eyes and then pointed at Ferguso
n, indicating he wanted Jason to watch the man while he poked around. Jason held up a thumb in agreement. Bill wandered closer to the window presumably looking for landmarks.
Ferguson was busy flipping through several channels, looking for something to pass the time. The random noise aided in their clandestine excursion. It was now evident the area was an apartment rather than a hotel. No business would decorate with such an eclectic mixture of modern bachelor. Cheap shelves along one wall with a mishmash of dusty items, only a single attempt at decorating with a hand-painted landscape on another. The center of the room had a massive and very comfortable looking puffy leather couch in front of an entertainment monitor.
Jason had a sudden urge to find a kitchen knife and sneak up behind the man to slice his throat. Even with it being a meaningless gesture inside the Mirre, he’d never be able to do it. While thoughts of creative revenge passed in and out of his mind, he caught sight of the black leather bag sitting on a table. Several days ahead of them, Ferguson had plenty of time to get rid of the vial. Still, Jason had an overwhelming desire to open that bag and see if it was still in there.
Bill nudged him and whispered into his ear. “It’s Orso dome. The building next door is K seven, but I can’t tell if we’re up or down from it.”
Jason nodded and committed the name to memory. He pointed to the bag and whispered, “Let me check that bag before we go.”
Bill glanced between the bag and Ferguson. The table was a few meters behind the couch, but Jason would need to leave the kitchen first, which would put him easily in sight of Ferguson. Grim-faced, Bill shook his head. “You’ll never make it over there without him seeing.”
Jason grinned. Bill wasn’t accustomed to wandering a faux world. Leaning in again, he whispered, “Just let me get a look and then we can leave. Get into a fight with him if you have to.”
The realization perked Bill’s interest. Over the past few days of getting to know his new henchman, Jason got the impression Bill was eager to go after Mr. Ferguson for some past infraction. They moved close to the kitchen exit, and Bill held up a hand with three fingers extended. He shifted his stance into position to run and then retracted one finger. A moment later another finger closed. With one last glance to Jason, Bill pulled the remaining finger into a fist and dashed at the couch, bellowing as he went.
Shabin- The Reluctant Prince of Rhime Page 12