by Korza, Jay
“Cool, yeah, hey, would you mind taking my satchel to Zach? He’s with the Z-man right now. I guess he’s been there a while. I want to head out for the night but I don’t want to carry this thing around with me. Can you ask him to hold on to it for me until tomorrow?” Mouse was already draping the satchel over Billy’s head.
“Sure. Anything good in it?” Billy patted it jokingly. It was beyond taboo for a runner to go through another runner’s satchel.
“Only about twenty thousand credits.” Mouse wasn’t lying.
“Hah! You wish! See ya, buddy.” Billy was unknowingly off to do two things: one, to alert Zinner that Mouse hadn’t been killed yet, and two, to drag Mouse’s scent through the hub and lead the Shirka right to Zinner’s apartment.
Mouse tried not to run, tried not to catch anyone’s attention as he slid through the smattering of kids relaxing throughout the hub. He nodded a few times when he had to, waved to a few friends, said hi only when he couldn’t avoid it. Mouse was fairly popular and he tended to draw a crowd when he hung out, so he had to be careful not to let anyone glom on to him as he tried to get to his target.
Mouse finally made it to the bathrooms and walked in, hoping it would be empty. To his dismay, there were a few kids just hanging out and talking. They probably bumped into each other while they were washing their hands and just started talking and didn’t think to leave.
Without overthinking it, Mouse walked in holding his stomach with one hand while cupping the other over his mouth, all the while making horrible retching sounds. Heading to the garbage can, he began to dry heave into it, hoping he would be able to bring up some of his sandwich for added realism. He didn’t have to; the actions were enough to move the three kids along and they left the bathroom.
Mouse pulled his head out of the garbage can and thought about locking the door but decided not to. That might draw attention if someone found it locked. Instead, he focused on making his next move quickly so no one would walk in on him.
He crossed to the rear of the bathroom and pulled up a service grate that was in the floor. He slid himself down the shaft and pulled the grate back over his head after he was in. The smell was absolutely horrendous and he wasn’t sure how healthy the kids could be eating if they were the cause of what he smelled now.
The hub was actually an old school that had been abandoned many years before after a natural disaster made it unsafe for the students to continue going there. The irony was not lost on Mouse. He knew that this faculty bathroom actually connected to the boys’ locker room showers through this service tunnel. The locker room was Zinner’s private entertaining area because it had a hot tub and steam room. It wasn’t directly attached to Zinner’s apartment, but it got him much closer than he currently was.
The lieutenant approached the dilapidated security fence around the abandoned school and looked to his companion. He knew better than to ask his friend if he was sure this was where the boy had gone.
“Thoughts?”
The Shirka grunted, “A criminal syndicate hideout. No perimeter defenses, automated or living. A couple of cubs have walked by here recently, probably on watch. But it’s cold.”
“But it’s cold”, the lieutenant repeated. Even grown men who were guarding secret military installations tended to get tired and lazy when it was cold out. Why not go back into the base to the comfort of a heater? What’s the worst that could happen?
Feeling comfortable that the child-sentries had retreated to the warmth of the building, the two men simply pushed the gate aside and walked to the front door. Jenny was falling asleep and barely noticed the two as they approached her station; she really should have napped today. When she realized the men were there, she reached for her alarm bell but the Shirka gently picked her up with one of his massive hands and then licked the whole side of her head.
“Grape”, the Shirka said as he held her up to his nose and began to sniff. “A boy put something in your hand not too long ago. Where is he?”
“Du-nnnn-nnno,” Jenny barely squeaked.
He put her down and began to sniff the air. “That way.”
The lieutenant followed as he was led towards the back of the school. He had seen several of the kids running in haphazard directions but a few had run with purpose. He was sure at least one of the fleeing kids was sounding whatever alarm they had for intruders.
Both men were armed but neither felt the need to pull their weapons. Before their assignment on this planet began, they had been briefed on the local criminal element, including these mini-gangs that mostly used kids and non-violent means to run their games. The kids probably weren’t armed but they were prepared to deal with the adult they would eventually find who most certainly would be.
A few kids did try to block their progression, probably an immediate action drill put in place by their leader. A passive move to slow down the cops, or cannon fodder if the invaders happened to be a rival gang. The kids were easily moved by the men as they continued to follow the scent through the hallways.
As they were reaching a stairwell that led up, a loud noise could be heard from a few floors above them. The sound was unmistakable.
“Security door.” The lieutenant just shook his head. This was going to take a little more time.
~
Zinner sat at his desk and looked over at his two personal runners. “Don’t worry kids, we’ll be fine.”
In front of the desk, he had a platoon of kids waiting to fight for him if needed or greet the cops with smiles. It just depended on who was coming up the stairwell right now. The runner who brought the alarm wasn’t sure whether the two men were cops or other bad guys. And with a lack of cameras or other technology in the school, Zinner wouldn’t be able to tell what the two men were until they reached the door and made their intentions clear.
A loud knock announced their arrival at the security door.
Using a hardwired intercom, Zinner asked, “May I help you?”
“Yes, you may. I’m looking for a child. He stole my wallet.” The lieutenant waited for a response.
“I’m very sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, I don’t know whom you are speaking of. If I did, I would most definitely send them and your wallet out to you. I suggest you file a report with the police; they are an extremely helpful bunch.” Zinner was glaring at the kids, letting them know he would beat whichever of them had brought this problem back to the hub.
“I appreciate your very helpful attitude. However, I have a Shirka with me, and he’s telling me that the boy and my wallet are in fact in that room with you. Would you like to come out here and tell him he’s wrong?” The lieutenant was watching as his partner looked for weak points in the security door.
Zinner clenched his teeth. “A fucking Shirka?! Are you kidding me?!” Turning to the kids in his room, he exploded. “Which one of you little fucks is he talking about?! I swear, I will start breaking fingers and hands until one of you speaks up.”
Zinner was trying to decide which kid he was going to start with. He looked through the small group to see whether there was one in particular he didn’t like or whether he was just going to have to grab one of them at random. “Last chance, shit heads. Someone needs to start talking. Now.”
“It’s me. They’re looking for me.” Mouse stepped out from the shadows in the back of the room. “I think you are, too.”
Zinner turned away from the rest of the group to face the boy addressing him. “First off, if those men are looking for you, we can fix this. Give them the wallet back and whatever else you took. If we have to pay them off, it will just come out of your wages until you pay me back.” Taking a measured step towards Mouse, he added, “And second, why would I be looking for you? I didn’t even know you had gotten yourself in trouble.”
Mouse reflexively stepped away from Zinner’s slight advance towards him. As he listened to Zinner’s words, he wondered whether he was wrong about what happened earlier. He sounded so sincere when he spoke. No, he wasn’t w
rong: he could see it in Zinner’s eyes, could see what couldn’t be heard in the words. And there was no mistaking the wad of money with his picture on it along with what took place in the tool district earlier. Zinner was just putting on this show for the other kids, to make them feel safe, to keep their faith in him as their protector.
“Bullshit.” What else could he say?
“I don’t follow.” Zinner was now slowly moving towards a pedestal against the wall.
Mouse waved his hand towards his brother. “Zach, get over here, by me, now.”
Zach wasn’t sure what was going on but he always trusted his brother so he did as he was told. Without even thinking about it, Zach gently grabbed the other runner who had brought in Mouse’s satchel with him earlier. The two private runners stood next to Mouse.
“Look, we really need to fix the issue with the two guys outside before it gets any worse.” Zinner was trying to be subtle, and maybe he would have succeeded if Mouse didn’t already know what he was doing.
Zinner was inwardly smiling to himself. This was going to play right into his hands. He could kill Mouse himself and the kids would see that he didn’t have any other choice. After all, Mouse brought trouble into the hub and the kids knew how severe a transgression that was. Then with Mouse dead, he could give the two men whatever they wanted to make them leave.
Zinner reached the pedestal and slid the top back to reveal the secret compartment. The empty secret compartment that wasn’t supposed to be empty.
“Looking for this?” Mouse was holding the gun in his hand that Zinner was hoping to find in the compartment. Mouse was glad his brother hadn’t kept quiet with the secrets he had learned as one of Zinner’s private runners. Mouse actually smiled. “I tried so hard to think of something else to say. I mean, that line is from like every movie ever. Right?”
“Now what? Are you going to shoot your way out of here?” Zinner wasn’t scared; he didn’t think Mouse would do anything drastic.
“No. You’re going to open the security door and my brother and I are walking out of here and you’re going to let us.” Mouse was walking backwards towards the door.
“You want to take your chances with those guys out there?” Zinner still hadn’t seen anything from inside his sequestered apartment; he had only heard the demands from the other side of the door. “You pissed off some guy who has a Shirka with him. Be my guest, leave.”
Mouse knew what was waiting for him on the other side of the door and he was ready to be taken into custody if that’s what the two marines wanted after the lieutenant got his wallet back. Zinner put his hands up in submission and moved to the button on his desk that would release the door.
“Whoever is outside the door,” Zinner began, “I have the kid who stole your wallet. I’m opening the door and sending him out. I apologize for any hardship this little event has put you through.”
The door unlocked and one of the men on the other side pulled it open. Zinner saw the two marines and immediately realized that he had been played by Mouse, but one thing still bugged him more than anything at this point. His security had been breached and he wanted to know how. “Before you go, tell me, how did you get in here without me seeing you?”
Mouse smiled. “Part of your protocol is to bring your hall monitors in the room with you, to use as a buffer. I had already made it past them through the service tunnel and I was waiting in the locker room. When the first few monitors were retreating back to the apartment, I just blended in with them and kept my head down. You weren’t paying attention to the kids coming in, so you never saw me.”
Zinner shook his head. “Mouse? More like RAT. A dirty, filthy rat.”
“Now, I may be new to this situation and not know everything that’s going on,” the lieutenant began, “but the kid is the one with the gun. You might want to watch what you’re saying.”
“Fuck you.” Zinner almost spat at the marines but thought better of it. “Take your wallet and that little shit if you want, I don’t care. But then get the hell out of my house. You’re not welcome.” Zinner sat heavily in his chair behind the perceived but unrealistic feeling of safety that his desk gave him.
Mouse stepped towards the lieutenant and handed him his wallet. “I’m sorry, sir. I honestly didn’t mean to put you through this kind of trouble.”
“No worries, kid. Let’s get you two out of here.”
Mouse turned to look at Zinner one last time. “Don’t ever come looking for us. If you do, I swear I’ll kill you.”
Zinner leaned forward with his elbows on his desk. “Oh, I’m coming for you, kid. If you’re anywhere on this planet after tonight, I will find you and kill you. Slowly.”
The lieutenant looked at the Shirka. “Well, I did promise you could kill the next three people.”
Zinner’s face changed from smug and predatory to scared and regretful. He had mistakenly thought the marine uniforms meant he was safe and the two men wouldn’t—couldn’t—hurt him. But as the Shirka’s face turned to an evil grin and he began to move towards Zinner, he knew he had been wrong. “Wait, no, you can’t. Please, you can’t. I won’t hurt them, I swear. I’m sorry. I won’t ever come after you. I swear!”
The living embodiment of so many human horror movies slowly walked to the desk and in one swift movement jumped on top of it and landed in a full squatting position. As Zinner wet himself, the Shirka sniffed the air and knew his prey was weak. The alien lifted one of his werewolf-like paws and stretched his fingers and claws out in front of Zinner’s face so he could see what was coming.
“Okay, he’s going to do this one slowly.” The lieutenant began to usher the kids out of the room. “Everyone out. There isn’t enough therapy in the galaxy to fix any of you if you stay to watch this.”
After the last kid was out, the lieutenant closed the door as he was saying, “I’ll wait for you out front. Me letting you do it this way counts as three, you know.”
The Shirka smiled as he tossed his prey a sharp knife. “At least put up a fight.”
~
Once they were in the hallway, the lieutenant looked at the boy who had stolen his wallet. “Mouse, huh?”
“Yes, sir.”
“After what I saw in there just now, I’d say Snake was a better name.”
“Sir?”
“A mouse sneaks and hides in the shadows and is weak. You are not weak. You used the shadows to hunt from, to attack from. You are a predator, not prey. You are a cunning snake, silent and deadly.”
“Snake. I like that, sir.” Snake looked directly into the man’s eyes. “If you want to turn me in, I’ll go with you to the police. I won’t try to run.”
“Oh my boy, I want to turn you in, all right.” He looked at his wallet and smiled from ear to ear. “I want to turn you into a marine. You’ve got skills we can use. With the right education and the right guidance, we can make you more than you ever thought possible.”
Snake thought for a moment. “I won’t go anywhere without my brother.”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t want to break up a family.” They stopped as they reached the front of the school, waiting for the Shirka to finish and come out to meet them. “Look, I’ll make some calls tonight and get you two enrolled in the school on base. I’m sure we can find a military family who would love to have two foster boys to raise. If worst comes to worst, I’ll pull some strings and get you two situated with a regular Colony foster home. Together, I promise.”
“Then what?” Snake hadn’t thought much past retirement so this new direction sounded like a good beginning.
“Then you go to school, be the young men you’re supposed to be.” The lieutenant looked up and saw the Shirka coming towards them. “I’ll check in on you from time to time and make sure you don’t need anything. When you graduate, we’ll talk some more and then go from there. How does that sound?”
Snake looked at his brother, who just nodded his approval. Snake put his hand out to the lieutenant. “Deal.” The tw
o men shook hands.
The Shirka walked up and just snorted at the group, his way of saying, “Let’s go.”
The lieutenant reached up and pulled a piece of clothing and skin out of the larger alien’s fur. “How many times have I told you—don’t play with your food.”
Chapter 44
Dig Site One – Almost There
Daria crouched in a covering position as Snake took the lead on point. Davies was behind her, waiting to leapfrog to point after Snake took a covering position of his own. Hood stayed back as rear guard protecting Bloom, who had maintained a position in the rear where he controlled the sled.
“We’re almost three-quarters of the way to the core.” Bloom was looking at his instruments. “I can’t believe we haven’t met up with any traps.”
Snake took up a position about fifty yards ahead of Daria and signaled for Davies to move up.
“Don’t get complacent,” Daria warned. “We’re not there yet.”
Almost on cue, an explosion rocked the hallway they were traversing. When the noise was gone, each member of the team followed the immediate action drill they had planned for in just such an event. Everyone sounded off so Daria could get a head count and make sure everyone was all right.
“Two here.”
“Three here.”
“Four here.”
And lastly, Daria, “One here. Bloom, report.”
“One of the crates the sled is pulling seems to have set off the defense system and made all of the security defenses come on line.” Bloom continued tapping keys to gather more information.
“How do you suggest we proceed?” Daria had walked back to Bloom, and Davies automatically took over her position.
“Carefully”, Bloom quipped. “I’m detecting movement ahead of the sled, multiple targets.”
Daria didn’t like the sound of that. If there were several of the aliens coming down their way, they would never make it. “How far out?”
“The sled is about twenty meters ahead of us and the contacts are closing to about one hundred meters farther out from the sled.” Bloom adjusted one of the cameras on the sled. “They’re robotic sentries, not aliens. I’ll deploy a grenade from the sled to test their defenses.”