The Forever Quest (The Forever Series Book 4)

by Craig Robertson

  Indecision crossed his old eyes. Yeah, he got the message. If I was wrong, it didn’t matter that he’d shown me a little misplaced deference. If I was correct, he’d be literally digging himself a deeper grave by showing overt disrespect.

  “Chum,” he snapped to one of his guards, “bring that man in and seat him there,” he pointed to the corner nearest the counter. “Broll,” he said to the other guard, “offer him some refreshment. Both of you watch him like he’s about to steal your children.”

  I had no idea how long it would take for him to find out my story was fake. Maybe I had five minutes. Probably less. I’d just as soon not blast my way out in my escape. A place like Deerkon had to have cameras everywhere. I sat down, and Broll growled, “You want dishell?”

  That was the local equivalent of tea.

  “Sure, but make certain it’s hot. I hate cool dishell.” I’d never tried the stuff. I figured there’d be one less set of eyes on me a while longer if he had to do more heating. Plus, I kind of liked being a prick to him.

  I crossed my legs and made a show of being impatient and put off for Chum. He towered over me, glaring down intently. I wasn’t going to do a lot of snooping with him like that.

  “Chum,” I said pinching my nose, “do you bathe at all? You smell like a rotting foot.”

  Poor guy, he got an even stupider look on his face than he had before. “I take bath last week.”

  “Well do a better job this week.” I gestured to a spot several meters away. “Stand over there before I pass out. Really, I can’t believe my cousin allows such slovenliness to exist.” No, he wouldn’t have any idea what a big word like that meant, but he’d know it was bad.

  Chum vacillated a moment, then turned and walked away.

  That was just the break I needed. I slipped one probe fiber up his pant leg. Sleep. You must sleep, I thought to myself.

  Chum barely made it to a chair before he was out like a baby. I could still hear Broll in the next room, clinking some glasses. I sent the same fiber to the computer where the old man had sat. I downloaded their entire database within thirty seconds. Broll entered the room just as I retracted the fiber. At first he didn’t notice the sleeping giant in the room. After handing me the cup of dishell, he realized Chum wasn’t accounted for and scanned the room. He quickly located his coworker in the chair.

  “What have you done?” he howled to me, lunging for my neck.

  “What. He’s asleep?”

  That stopped him for the moment.

  “Go check yourself. He said you could watch me while he took a nap.”

  Broll looked back and forth between Chum and me several times. Then, fortunately, he decided to check on his companion. He walked over and kicked Chum’s feet very hard.

  Chum exploded awake with a gasp and vaulted to his feet. “Hey, what you do that?” he said to Broll.

  “You sleep again at job. You fired if they catch you. Then who feed my sisters?”

  Ah, a tender family moment. Thanks, boys, for sharing.

  “Hey, you,” I called out to Broll, “this dishell is ice cold. Heat it up immediately.” I held the cup up high.

  He lumbered over while growling. Just before he took the cup from me, I dropped it onto my lap. After drenching my lap, the cup crashed to the floor.

  “You clumsy fool,” I yelled. “Look what you’ve done.” I slapped at my wet clothes. “Where’s the bathroom? I can’t present myself to Rel Martantor looking like this. Demons in Brathos, one of you sleeps on the job and the other tries to drown your honored guests.”

  My not so veiled threats worked. “Sorry, mister sir,” Broll said bowing rapidly. “Bathroom here. I show.” He extended an arm out of the room.

  The bathroom, I knew from my hack, had an exterior window. Perfect. When we arrived and he started to enter, I slapped his chest. “I believe you’ve done enough damage already.”

  I slipped out the window without delay and hurried out of sight. Man, I was pissed. I really wanted to see what happened with those three stooges when Rel Martantor asked that the imposter they’d caught be brought before him. Oh, to be a fly on that wall.

  FOURTEEN

  “Mandy, there’s not a hell of a lot we can do about it. Do you want us to open fire on them?” Heath was trying to be helpful. He wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

  “Of course not. I’d be no better than Stuart Marshall. But I can’t stand by and let them do this.” Amanda was trying to be calm. She wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

  “It’s not like their worldships are going to vanish. Duh! Kind of big for that. Plus, they said they haven’t decided to choose a new destination. They just want a defined space and options.”

  She crossed her arms and glared at her vice president. “I read the release too. I know what they said, and I have a pretty good idea what they mean. I’m glad they didn’t close their borders. That would be a defining problem.”

  “Define defining.”

  “I would mean we would be more likely to respond in deed, not word.”

  “Mandy, honey, they know you’d be bluffing. Supti Banerjee hates your guts. She’d actually love for you to do something so she can react and make you look inept.”

  “We could follow them. That way they couldn’t have the satisfaction of leaving us,” said Gary Paquette, Amanda’s newest chief of staff.

  “Nah. That wouldn’t work. They’d head somewhere other than Azsuram and prove we’re idiots,” responded Heath.

  “Humanity would remain together. That’s more important than saving face, if you ask me,” replied Gary.

  “It’s an option, but not one I currently favor.” Amanda slapped her palm on her desk. “You know what really fries my bacon? We just dodged a bullet from the Berrillians, and here they want to wander off on their own. Splitting up makes us all more vulnerable, especially the Hindu Worldship Coalition. A dozen ships are a sitting duck even for conventional enemies.”

  “No one ever accused political leaders of being farsighted and wise,” Heath said.

  “Present company included or excluded?” she replied with a smile.

  “I’ll leave that determination to history.”

  “Let’s hope there is one to refer to,” she responded.

  “For now, they’re just pulling a distance away and proclaiming the area around them territorial space. They say they will control it in their best interests. That must be important because there’s so little empty space out there in the universe.” Heath smiled after he finished.

  “But we need contingencies in case they escalate matters. If they seal their borders or close their territorial space, we’re going to have problems.” Amanda was resolute.

  “I’ll get some people on it, Madam President,” Gary said.

  “I wonder if there’s anything we or the UN could do to have them back down?” Heath asked. “I guess I’m not even clear what they want.”

  “To act independently. That’s their end game. I realize there are a lot of hard feelings, but hard feelings abound among us Homo sapiens. Maybe it’s in our genes, but we are difficult to keep focused and working together. Everybody wants something to call their own. I don’t know. I’ll tell you one thing it proves is that I’m not running for another term.”

  That bombshell caught both men’s attention.

  “You wh…what?” said Heath stuttering.

  “You heard me. I’m done. Humanity wants to shoot itself in the head? Fine. Just leave me out of it.”

  “Madam President, let’s keep a lid on this for now. If word gets out there’s a chance you won’t run, a lot of patchwork and hard work will go down the drain,” Gary said.

  “He means we’d be further up shit creek with less than no paddle,” added Heath.

  “I’m serious. The more I work with the extended family of man, the more I want to live in a cave.” She made a gathering motion with her arms. “Pull rocks and branches over the opening so no one’d find me.”

  “So
unds ideal. May I come too?” asked a smirking Heath.

  “No. I want to be alone. Just me and my dog.”

  “You don’t have a dog,” responded Heath.

  “Then I’ll have to get one before I seal myself in.” Amanda stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Poor dog. Doesn’t know what it’s in for,” mumbled Gary.

  “I heard that,” snapped Amanda. Turning serious, she said, “Okay. Let’s call it a day. I have a speaking engagement I need to get ready for. You two go do guy things or something. Hey,” she wagged a finger, “maybe you could do some honest work to serve the public.” She got a sour look on her face. “Nah. What am I thinking? We’re talking Heath and Gary. Guy stuff it is.”

  “Far be it from me to disobey a direct order from my CIC,” said Heath.

  “I’d be a fool not to listen to my boss. I have a wife and kids who depend on my continued employment,” added Gary with a straight face.

  When she was alone, Amanda dimmed the lights and sat in the dark. For the ten thousandth time, she thought of Faith Clinton and how much she missed her. How much she needed her. For nearly the ten thousandth time, she also thought similarly about Jon Ryan, wherever the hell he was in his cube.

  FIFTEEN

  I analyzed the information I’d stolen as I walked back to the room I’d rented. From everything I’d learned about Deerkon so far, I figured it was definitely best to be off the streets by dark. Also, surveillance was so ubiquitous that someone would probably notice and report a man wandering around all night without needing to sleep.

  By the time I laid down in the bed—again no telling how intrusive the cameras were—I had discovered something potentially useful. Nothing huge, mind you, but interesting nonetheless. Collective for Gains did have more information on Varrank Simzle than I’d found anywhere else. Some files were biographical while others related to his criminal empire. This Varrank Simzle fellow was one bad apple. There were estimates as to how many people he’d killed over the last decade. Even though the estimates were conservative, they suggested he was responsible for several million deaths.

  He openly controlled the puppet government he’d hand selected. Varrank paid every policeman, judge, and street sweeper. He extorted, stole, cheated, embezzled, and looted freely and continuously. There was no black market he didn’t own, no drug he didn’t sell, and no prostitute he didn’t control. What was more, his control extended well beyond Deerkon itself. He had tentacles in the governments and businesses of planets within several light-years. He also had a huge standing army and an impressive starfleet. In short, he was the evil boss of all he could see, touch, and imagine.

  I knew what Desolation was bringing him. I used that information to try figure out how it might fit into Varrank’s schemes. There were several ion cannons in the shipment. They were awe-inspiring weapons, but he had many already. There were ten extremely powerful magnets being delivered. Those didn’t make sense. There was no direct military application for them, and Varrank didn’t seem like a philanthropist to the sciences. Aside from that, the delivery we were making had supplies, medicines, and probably some contraband, but nothing that stood out as worthy of Karnean’s wages and extended voyage. There was probably some loot not on any manifest, but I wasn’t likely to learn about that.

  I did find out one key fact from my friends at the Collective of Gains. Of the last eight ships to Varrank goods on Deerkon, the Collective could only document one ship leaving the planet after delivery. That specific ship that did leave Deerkon was piloted by a captain who’d ferried goods for Varrank for many years. It seemed like most ships in casual service to Varrank had a bad habit of disappearing, along with their crews. That was worth knowing. Karnean may have hated my guts, but he’d like to hear that tidbit from me.

  The following day, I wandered Monzos again, but I did less investigating. With the general suspicion level being so high, I wanted to stay off everybody’s radar. Snooping around was an excellent method of getting noticed. What little I did learn added nothing to what I already knew. Evening rolled around, and I had my potential date with Kayla. No one was following me, so I went to The Jury’s Out a little early. I sat at the bar and did my share of drinking. I couldn’t get drunk, obviously, but I figured on a world like Deerkon, it was best to be perceived as someone with as many problems as possible. When in Rome and all.

  Right on time, Kayla stepped through the door. I was glad I wasn’t drunk. If I had been, I’d probably fallen off my stool. Gone was her drab jumpsuit. She had on what I always called a “battle dress.” Those were those ultra-tight black, slinky dresses with slits up one side that made even blind men weak at the knees. Her long hair was down and flowing. She looked like a Greek goddess, I kid you not.

  I just about jumped off my stool to go greet her. “Good evening, Kayla. Might I say you look well beyond ravishing tonight?”

  I kissed the back of her hand. I had no way of knowing if there was the same cultural significance to her, but she received the gesture well.

  “Jon,” she said, “fancy meeting you here.”

  I furrowed my eyebrows.

  “Karnean is just paying the cab driver and will be here in a moment. Odd that you’re here too.”

  “I…eh…er…”

  “Gotcha!” she slapped my shoulder with a big old grin on her perfect lips.

  “You most certainly did.” I swiped at my brow. “Dinner and drinks with Karnean. Now there’s a formula for an unpleasant evening.” I ushered her to the table I’d reserved.

  “Have you been here before?” she asked as she scanned the room.

  “Me? No. First time on Deerkon. First time here.”

  Her nose twitched in the cutest way. “Interesting decor they’ve got going. Sort of dilapidation meets the absence of taste.”

  “I hadn’t noticed.”

  “Why? Because you were too busy trying to set the new record for most drinks downed per hour?”

  “Nah,” I said, applying my best suave-dude smile. “Before you arrived, I was dreaming of how gorgeous you’d look. Now I can’t take my eyes off you. What decor are you referencing, my dear?”

  “My, you are the slick one. I’ll have to keep my eye on you.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Man, I was debonair. She didn’t stand a chance.

  We spent such a lovely evening together once we completed our preliminary sparring. Kayla was every bit as warm, clever, and engaging as I’d found her to be aboard Desolation. With no maniac big brother around her, she was even more charming and alluring. I found it increasingly hard to imagine why she’d remained with her surly brother and not settled down and made some lucky son of a bitch one of the happiest men in existence.

  Over dessert, I finally asked. “You told me about your promise to your father. May I be bold enough to ask—”

  She cut me off. “How long will I sacrifice my life to honor that promise?”

  “Wow. Yeah, I couldn’t have said it better myself.” I pointed at her with my fork. “Wait, you’ve heard this before, haven’t you?”

  She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and counted rapidly with her fingers. “Twenty-seven times, if you include tonight.”

  “Twenty-seven?” I whistled loudly. “At least I’m in good company. Granted, good company that was shot down like a fat goose, but good company nonetheless.”

  She picked up her spoon. “Who says they were shot down?” She took a tiny nibble of her pudding. “By the way, what’s a goose?”

  Gulp. The evening had just gone from outstanding to pinch-me-am-I-dreaming.

  “It’s a large water fowl from where I’m from. They get shot down a lot.”

  “We’ll just have to see if you’re as unfortunate, won’t we?”

  “I can’t help but notice you rather successfully deflected my question out of the serious arena and into the jurisdiction of sexual foreplay. I wonder why that is? Do you?”

  “My,” she said daubing her lips with her nap
kin, “you are unique. Usually I dodge that question without a complaint.” She batted her eyelashes.

  “I don’t wonder.”

  She was still a good while. “I know you think I’m a fool to remain loyal to such an incomplete man as my brother.”

  “I would never use the word fool and you in the same paragraph.”

  “He’s family, Jon. He’s the only family I’ll ever have. It’s just the two of us.”

  “You could make a family of your own. Lots of people do.”

  She sniffed quietly. “Lots of people haven’t done what I have.”

  “What you’ve done, or what Karnean’s done and you didn’t stop him from doing?”

  “Touché. But the blood is still on my hands.”

  “So you don’t deserve to be happy?”

  “I’m glad you see it so plainly too.”

  I reached over and touched fingertips. “Kayla, we all have blood on our hands. You, me, our lousy waiter—especially our lousy waiter—but you can’t beat yourself up like it’s an Olympic sport.”

  She snickered briefly at the waiter remark. “Jon, you’re such an odd man.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “I’m serious. Jon, I’ve never heard of a goose, and I’ve never heard of Olympic sports. I’m no cultural scholar, but neither am I a country bumpkin. Where are you from, Jon? Really.”

  They say truth was the first victim of war. Until I knew better, I was at war, despite that I was falling hard and fast for Kayla. I was fighting for the survival of my species. “I told you. Lots of places.”

  Her face hardened. “Very well. If you say so.” She scooted her chair back. “I’d love to thank you for a lovely evening. If you’ll—”

  My turn to cut her off. “You don’t think I’m letting you walk through those doors alone dressed like that, do you? I don’t feel safe on the street of Monzos with what I’m wearing, and I’m ugly as a pile of dried mud.”

  She smiled warmly but didn’t scoot her chair forward.

  “Thank you, Jon. I appreciate the kind thought, but I’m perfectly—”