Bactine

by Paul Kater

  Daniel read the page also. There was no denying it: the man who had attacked him was no employee of Huajo's firm anymore. Mr. Confrey could not have tampered with this paper, he was certain, as the other papers all were made the same way.

  Mr. Confrey got his papers together, put them in the bag and bid them a good day.

  "Seigner Dogom ko Tzuy," Daniel said as they were alone again. "Thank you for your patience. There is one more thing I have to ask you."

  "Please ask, Mr. Zacharias."

  "Where is Rayko Dandra ko Galem?"

  Huajo looked surprised. "Wasn't it your job to find that out? Why do you ask me?"

  "I have done some investigating, Seigner. And I have a strong reason to believe you are involved in her disappearing. I have found evidence that she was held prisoner in one of the sheds behind your warehouses."

  Huajo grew pale. "What do you say, sir? I am not sure what sheds you mean, but... this is a serious allegation."

  "Kidnapping, sir, is a serious crime," Daniel retorted. "As is having crates with what could be drugs in the same sheds."

  "I agree. And I want this all resolved as much as you do, Mr. Zacharias. Would you please show me these sheds?"

  An hour later, Daniel and Huajo were at the sheds. Huajo himself had called for two policemen and a few of his own people. One of the men was opening the lock on the second shed. Huajo looked at Daniel, wonder on his face, but holding back the evident question.

  The inside of the shed had not been touched. Whoever it was that had kept Rayko there, had not seen the need to do anything about it. The policemen agreed that the substances and pills on the floor looked suspiciously like drugs. As Daniel pointed out the sack, with the imprint of a body still on it, the two police officers got to work and discovered a few ropes that had blood on them as well.

  Things were not looking well. Huajo claimed he knew nothing of this all. Daniel watched the man from a bit of a distance and somehow he concluded for himself that Huajo was indeed innocent of what had been going on here.

  "It is clear that someone has been held here, against their will," one of the officers said. "It is not possible to tell who, of course."

  Daniel thought of the evidence he had in his apartment and considered bringing that up, but for some reason he did not fully understand he held it back, knowing he would be obstructing the proceedings. He could do that afterwards. First he needed these things for something else.

  The next step was an overwhelming amount of paperwork that had to be dealt with at the police station. Daniel almost felt sorry for bringing up the whole thing. Now he was suffering this as much as Huajo was. Most difficult was the part where he had to invent something when the police officer asked him how he had found out about the shed.

  Finally they were free to leave again. Once outside the police station, Huajo turned to Daniel. "Mr. Zacharias... at first your visit appeared very aggressive and hostile. But I must say that I am now very grateful that you came to my house and brought this whole affair to my attention. I will alert some of the people who work for me and do a thorough investigation on what may have happened in that shed. I hope, really, that it was not little Rayko who has been kept there. It is not a place for such a fine lady." The big man shook his head.

  "I must admit, Seigner, that this all turned out rather differently than what I had expected. But something good seems to come from it. I hope you do not feel offended by my rude behaviour earlier." Daniel offered his hand.

  Huajo shook it. "Not at all sir. Not anymore, I should say. And if you feel the need to see me, do call again. You know how to reach me."

  Daniel waited until the man and his people had left in the carriage they had summoned. Then he took his hydger and looked for the identification to call Warlem. Suddenly an idea grabbed him and he found the small black triangle. He called it. There was no response. It did not surprise him. He called Warlem, told the young man he had something to show him and they arranged a time to meet.

  After a trip home and a quick bite to eat, Daniel called for a carriage to take him to Maliser Park, the same place where the cloaked figure had stunned him. Warlem had asked him for a good place to meet, and this park was the first thing that had come to mind.

  Daniel had found a bench that gave him a good overview of the park. He'd come early, to make sure things were 'normal'. As far as normal would go lately, anyway.

  Warlem leisurely strolled through the entrance, looked around and saw Daniel. He walked over and sat down. "Hello, Daniel. I've been worried since you contacted me." He eyed the strange, rough sack that Daniel did not take his hand off.

  "I hope I am wrong, Warlem. I really do. Please brace yourself. This is not going to be a pretty sight." Daniel observed the poetic young man, whose pale face seemed to become even whiter.

  "Let's get this behind us, my friend," Warlem said. He got hold of the bench and kept holding it as if he could fall off at any moment.

  Daniel nodded and reached into the bag. "I am going to show you a shoe, Warlem. Maybe you know it. Maybe not. Just so you know."

  Warlem nodded and watched Daniel pull something from the sack. As he saw the shoe, his eyes almost popped out of his head. "Oh no..." Immediately sweat appeared on the man's brow, which told Daniel enough.

  "It's one of Rayko's, right?"

  Warlem nodded. "Is she..." He could not finish his question.

  "This is just her shoe, Warlem. I don't know how she is. Or where. As far as I know, she is still alive. I have another thing here. Maybe you recognise that also." He pulled the bloody rag from the sack.

  "What's that?" Warlem asked. "I've never seen that before, Daniel." He stared for a moment. "What is that reddish colour?" Awareness seemed to kick in right after asking it. "It's blood, isn't it?"

  "Yes. It is blood." Daniel put the rag away again. It was obvious that this was too much for Warlem, who was already depositing his lunch next to his shoes.

  "I do apologise, Daniel," said Warlem as he was able to speak again. He tossed his now thoroughly soiled handkerchief in a basket next to the bench. "I was not prepared for this."

  "I understand, Warlem." Daniel was certain that there was no way Warlem could have been prepared for this. The man just had no stomach for such things.

  46. When things blow up

  Daniel tried to assure Warlem that the blood on the rag did not mean it was his sister's.

  "But you did find it with her shoe, Daniel. How could it not be hers?"

  It was hard to find a reason against that. "Maybe she bit and scratched the person that took her."

  "She doesn't do things like that. I think." Warlem's confidence was faltering slightly. The amount of blood was considerable.

  "She plays that semi-violent ball-game also," Daniel reminded him.

  "True. She does. I tend not to think of that," said Warlem. "So you think there is a good chance that she is still alive?"

  "I am positive," Daniel said. "I think someone took her to ask for a ransom. And they are keeping her to scare the family." He put his hand on the shoulder of the man next to him. "If there is any word from someone on Rayko, I want you to let me know. Regardless of the time."

  Warlem nodded. "I will let you know, Daniel. Thank you for being there for my mother and me."

  "Why just you two? Why not your father?"

  A shrug. "He has put things in the hands of the police. He says that they are far better equipped to handle things like that."

  Daniel frowned as he thought back to the mountain of paperwork he and Huajo had been filling out earlier that day. Yes, the police would be doing a good job.

  "Daniel. I have to leave now." Warlem got up. "Thank you for... well... thank you. I hope you can find her."

  "I hope I do, Warlem. I really do."

  The two men shook hands, then Warlem walked off without looking back. Daniel did not know that somewhere in a carriage, someone was watching him.

  -=-=-

  The fork in his hand stabbed at
the bits of food that were still on the plate. Daniel had gone back home after the meeting with Warlem, freshened up and gone out to eat. As he was winding down, thoughts and memories were coming to him in streams, from several sides.

  His life had been quite simple and good back on the star base. He had been a good soldier. Moved up to Assault Marshall even. Not a bad position for someone his age. And then the Bactine thing had happened. And that had gotten him here. Fighting pirates, almost getting killed again. By something in the water. Sheesh.

  Again the thought of finding a simple house near where Cynthia was living crept up and begged for attention. As he considered his situation now, it did not look like a bad thing to consider that more closely. Rhonda was out of reach. Last night Melia had told him she would like to be with him but his job was too dangerous. And with all that had happened, it was quite unlikely he would be sailing on a ship again soon.

  Daniel dropped his fork. The food had gone cold, and he did not feel like eating more anyway.

  "Are you done, sir?" a waitress asked.

  "Yes, thank you. It was excellent," Daniel said, making sure there was no worry about the quality of the food. He was pondering what to do next. He opted for the local brandy, to have a serious muscle relaxant.

  He moved to one of the large leather seats near the fireplace where always a fire was burning. The waitress brought him his brandy, put a small tray with sweets next to it and left him alone with his thoughts.

  When his glass was empty and the tray of sweets well on the way there, Daniel took care of what he owed the restaurant and headed home.

  The evening air was soft. The smell of the ocean was hardly there, he noticed, probably because of the wind coming from the mainland. It made him walk home, to enjoy the air and moving among the people who did not expect anything from him. Slightly weary, he made sure he would not pass the restaurant where he had seen Melia the evening before. It had been a nice evening, but too much had happened because of that. He had a soldier's soul, he kept telling himself, but even a soldier's soul has a limit when being kicked about.

  Once home, Daniel fell onto his bed. In the darkness he closed his eyes. He saw Melia. And Rhonda. He saw Warlem, with his parents and his sister at the soirée.

  Daniel opened his eyes again for a moment. It was still dark. Time had not progressed dramatically. He rolled himself to the other side of the bed and gave sleep another try. There, Huajo, Clelem and his serving man Gaguran, and most of the crew of the Pricosine were waiting for him. There were people in black cloaks, and men waving blood soaked rags. When even his brother Malcolm and the poodle appeared in his unruly dream, Daniel gave up.

  He washed his face, got dressed and left the building using the back stairs. It was late and the elevator made too much noise, so he would rather not use it in the silent hours. As he reached the street, he wondered what he was going to do. Well, it was not too late yet, so he might treat himself to another brandy. That was supposed to be good assistance for get some sleep going.

  Daniel was surprised to find so many people still out and about. Only a few short streets from his apartment, he settled down outside a small pub he knew fairly well. As the glass of brandy was on the table in front of him, he suddenly had the feeling that seeing Melia again now would be a good thing. He took a sip, put the glass back on the table and felt the deep rumble before he heard it. A bang, it had to be a loud one, climbed over the roofs of the houses. It came with more rumbling, making everyone around get up. Wonder about what was happening ran round.

  The rumble, it was still tangible in the ground, kept on for a while. When it stopped, it was so suddenly that its absence was more uncomfortable than the uncanny feeling. Several hydgers started rattling. People reached inside pockets and purses and were talking in hushed voices. Soon it became apparent that somewhere something had exploded.

  "A street," said someone.

  "A house," someone else knew.

  "It is an apartment building, not far from here," yet another person was certain. "It is one of the commoners buildings in the Street of Barges."

  Daniel's gut tied itself in a knot. His apartment was in the Street of Barges. He started walking, but after a few hundred feet he changed tactics and resorted to running.

  By the time he reached the street, he could not get into it anymore. The building where he had been only an hour earlier was now a hopeless heap of stones glass shards and pieces of wood. The street lights probably hid the worst of it all, with the limited way they could illuminate the environment.

  There were policemen in the street. "Please stand back. We do not know if there will be another explosion. We cannot allow people to go near the building as long as the area is not secured. Please stand back."

  "Officer, I live there," Daniel said as he was close to a policeman.

  "Not anymore, sir, I'm afraid," said the man.

  Daniel stared at the building. How many people had died in that explosion? And how was it possible that he had gone out exactly this evening? "Do you already know what happened, sir?" he tried.

  "No, sir," the policeman replied. "The inspection team will come tomorrow, when it is light."

  "But there could be people buried alive in there!"

  "Rescue searchers will come as soon as the area is secured, sir, and please would you now move out of the street?" The police officer was strict and not in the mood for a chat.

  Together with many other people Daniel walked out of the street, wondering what he could do now. He needed a place to stay overnight.

  As he slowly walked down the main street that led to the harbour, he turned into the small street that ran parallel to the Street of Barges. Through it, he knew, he could reach the building by walking down to the third crossing street and climbing over a fence there. As he turned into the crossing street, his hopes of seeing the building up close were slammed into the ground: there were already two policemen patrolling by the fence. The local constabulary knew their streets.

  Daniel halted under a tree and tried to think of what he could do now. He considered the time. Not many people would be awake at this hour. Of course, there were people who had said he could call them night or day, but actually doing it was something else. Yet he knew he had to do something.

  He took his hydger and walked to a street light so the small display was clearer to read. Warlem and his mother... no... The senator? Oh dear, no. Ulaman? He flipped the switch.

  "Who the hell- oh, Daniel. What are you up for at this time of night? You should be in bed, man."

  "I wish I could, but my bed is damaged, Ulaman. The building I live in exploded."

  "Exploded? Are you well, Daniel?" Ulaman was wide awake all of a sudden.

  "Yes, I was not in the building when it blew up. I do need a place to stay, for now, and I hoped that you would know of somewhere."

  Daniel heard Ulaman explain to Xandree what he had said. Then Ulaman came back to the screen. "Xandree says that you are welcome here, Daniel. We are very limited in space, but we can try to set you up somewhere." The man's face turned again, and there was more muffled speech coming from the hydger. "Oh, yes. You could go to the harbour. Behind the warehouses there are small shacks and such. Some have locks, but they are easy to open. Maybe you can go in one of those for the night."

  Daniel managed a smile. "That might be an idea, yes. And that's closer from here than your place. I'll give that a try, Ulaman. Thanks, and good night. And sorry for waking you."

  "That is okay, Daniel. Let us know if there is something we can do for you." Then the display went dark.

  With a sigh Daniel slipped the hydger back in his pocket. It was good to have friends.

  47. Another shed

  Daniel had called a carriage. He was a bit surprised that these things also ran at night, but he was glad about it. He was becoming sleepy now and a walk to the harbour was not what he fancied.

  The journey went slow. In the dark hours, the carriages only ran at half speed. Daniel
understood why; with the dark carriages in poorly lit streets it was easy to get an accident.

  After a trip at almost a walking pace the carriage reached the shipyard. From there it was only a short stretch to the harbour. Daniel looked out the window, as he recalled his adventures at the shipyard. Just as he wanted to sit back for the last leg, he thought he saw some men walking towards the area of the building company where the new Pricosine was being built. And one of the men looked suspiciously like Clelem Dandra ko Galem.

  "What the heck is he doing here at this time?" Daniel wondered. He made the carriage stop and jumped out. Quickly he backtracked to the shipyard. Carefully he followed along to the gate of the shipyard. It was shut but not locked. Clelem had to have a key, and also the conviction that this time of night would be a good time to leave the gate unlocked.