“You offering a bounty on someone?” Banjax asked.
“In a way,” Scallywag said, taking out a datapad from inside his jacket pocket and handing it to Banjax. “I’d like ta know if ya recognize any o’ these brutes.”
Banjax looked at the series of pictures captured from the security feed at Club Cristo which were displayed on the datapad. “Who are they to you?”
“Assassins,” Scallywag said.
Banjax raised his brow in mild surprise. “Come again?”
“Hired killers, gunmen, mercenaries, griefers, naughty lads, whatever ya wanna call ‘em,” Scallywag said. “Long and short o’ it is they try and kill people. I need ta get a bead on ‘em.”
Banjax chuckled. “And here I thought you usually spent your time trying to avoid people who would want to kill you.”
“Ah, they’re not after me,” Scallywag replied with a smile. “So what do ya say? Know any of ‘em?”
Banjax took another look at the pictures. “Yeah, I recognize this one,” he said, tapping one of the pictures and bringing it up to fill the datapad’s screen. He handed it back to Scallywag who looked at it. “Name’s Cailyn U’Tagon, a Bovaaran lowlife I hauled back from the Ecaz sector after he fled a warrant here on Omnicron. But he ain’t no assassin. The guy was wanted for fraud and digicredit card theft.”
“Ya sure about that?” asked Scallywag. “This is the same guy yer talkin’ about?”
“I cashed in his bounty myself, so yeah, I’m sure,” Banjax replied. “He’s just some two-bit scammer, not a trained killer.”
“Hmmmm,” said Scallywag. “Ya know what happened to the bloke after ya turned him in?”
“As far as I know he was processed and imprisoned in the Peacekeeper Tower.”
“The Peacekeeper Tower, ya say?” muttered Scallywag thoughtfully. “Right-o. Guess that’s a place ta start. Ya got a card reader on that fancy arm o’ yours?”
“Does a Rampa Rat have a big belly?” responded Banjax as he held out his cybernetic arm, a panel opening up on it to reveal a card slot and a small touchscreen. Scallywag inserted his digicredit card and typed in a number to transfer funds. When he was finished, Banjax glanced at the number, his eyes growing wide. “Well, now,” he said. “You weren’t kidding about being lucrative.”
“Consider yerself on retainer,” Scallywag said. “I’m gonna send ya the rest o’ these pictures. While I follow up on this U’Tagon bloke, I want ya ta see what ya can dig up on the others.”
“Not gonna be easy without names to go on,” Banjax said.
“Ya got something better ya aught ta be doin’?” Scallywag asked.
Banjax glanced at the figure on his digicredit readout once more. “Nope,” he replied. “Consider me on the job.”
“Good. Keep that blaster o’ yours charged. We may need it,” said Scallywag as he turned to leave.
“And where are you going?” Banjax called out after him.
“Prison!” Scallywag replied. “Where else?”
Thus, Scallywag found himself back in the visiting center of the Peacekeeper Tower prison sub-level, sitting patiently at his partitioned booth, drumming his fingers. He didn’t particularly want to see Pinkbottom again, but he knew if anyone would be aware of how a petty-thief-turned-assassin somehow got out of jail to attempt to kill the Emperor Ascendant, it would be a weasel like Pinkbottom. Pinkbottom always made it his business to be up in other people’s business. It was probably what had kept him alive for so long, considering his rather startling lack of intelligence.
Pinkbottom looked surprised when he was escorted into the room by the security-bots and saw Scallywag waiting there. Scallywag couldn’t blame him, especially not after how their last conversation ended. Pinkbottom sat down at the booth and picked up the receiver. “Didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” he said.
“Oy, I’m worse than a bout of Bendova crotch-rot,” said Scallywag. “Always show up when ya least expect it.”
“And about as pleasant, too,” grumbled Pinkbottom.
“Aw, Pinkie,” said Scallywag in mock hurt. “And here I thought we were best mates.”
“What is it ya want, Scally?” Pinkbottom asked.
Scallywag held up his datapad with the picture of U’Tagon on it. “I need ta know if ya recognize this bloke. He was a prisoner here.”
Pinkbottom eyed the picture carefully. “And what if I do?” he asked. “What’s in it for me?”
Scallywag sighed. “Fine,” he grumbled. “If ya tell me what I want to know, I’ll bust ya out o’ here.”
Pinkbottom’s beady eyes brightened. “Ya mean it? You’ll break me out?”
“If yer information is worth a toss, sure.”
“Promise?” pressed Pinkbottom. “You give me your word?”
“I promise,” growled Scallywag, slapping the picture back up against the ironglass partition. “Now, do ya recognize the bloke or not?”
“Yeah, I recognize him,” Pinkbottom replied. “He’s one of them Volunteers.”
“Volunteers?” Scallywag asked.
“They got this program in here,” Pinkbottom said. “You can volunteer to be test subjects for the Maguffyn Corporation. Gets ya all types of privileges and whatnot.”
“What kind of tests do they volunteer for?”
Pinkbottom shrugged. “All types of stuff. I don’t know exactly. Some of the Volunteers come back all messed up, though. I decided losing the ability not to drool all over myself constantly wasn’t worth a comfier mattress and an extra helping of mash at chow time, so I didn’t take part in the program myself.”
Probably the first smart thing ya’ve ever done in yer life, thought Scallywag. “When was the last time ya saw this particular Volunteer?”
“Not since they took him off for his tests a while back,” Pinkbottom said. “Him and a whole group of other Bovaarans. Haven’t seen any of them since.”
Scallywag frowned. All the assassins had been Bovaarans. If these were really the ones Jack was looking for, did that mean the Maguffyn Corporation was behind sending them? “Right,” Scallywag said. “Thanks, Pinkie. Ya’ve been a real help.”
“Wait!” said Pinkbottom as Scallywag started to hang up the receiver. “How ya gonna bust me out of here?”
“Oh, I’m not,” replied Scallywag.
Pinkbottom’s eyes went wide. “But ya promised!”
“Yeah, I lied,” said Scallywag. “I don’t feel the least bit bad about it, neither.”
“Weren’t you tryin’ ta change?” said Pinkbottom. “Wasn’t that the whole reason ya went after Faruuz? So you could change your filthy red skin?”
Scallywag leaned toward the window so his steely gaze was able to meet Pinkbottom’s directly. “Ya killed Two Nose, Pinkie,” Scallywag said. “Ya led a mutiny, and then ya lost me ship. As far as I’m concerned, yer gettin’ off easy being locked in here.”
Pinkbottom grimaced. “I shoulda known better than to trust the word of a Red.”
“Well, ya never were that smart, were ya?” replied Scallywag before hanging up.
As Scallywag exited the Peacekeeper Tower, he mulled over the idea that the assassins were somehow connected to the Maguffyn Corporation. It would make sense if they were. Only something backed by Maguffyn’s kind of pull could get prisoners out of the system without anyone noticing. If that were really the case, it could be evidence that the Princess was, indeed, somehow linked to the attacks Jack was interested in. After all, the Empire owned the Maguffyn Corporation. If Anna wanted them to do something for her, like turn prisoners into killers, they’d do it. But there was only one way to really know for sure.
Scallywag waited in the hallway near the Professor’s apartment, leaning up against the wall and smoking a lowbacco cigarette. He didn’t have to wait long until Green came walking up, looking tired, overworked, and glum, as opposed to his usual chipper self. He did, however, seem to perk up when he saw Scallywag stationed by his door.
“Scallywag?” G
reen said, surprised.
“Hey, greenskin. Ya miss me?”
“I’m afraid I’ve been far too busy to miss much of anything, except maybe a good night’s sleep,” Green said wearily. “What brings you to my door?”
“I need a favor.”
“A favor?”
“A big one.”
“Oh, dear,” said Green. “What might this big favor be?”
“I need ya ta hack inta the Maguffyn Corporation and find some info for me.”
Green blinked at Scallywag. “That’s… that’s not a simple favor, my friend,” he said. “That’s the type of thing that could get me fired.”
“Hence the ‘big’ part,” said Scallywag. “If it makes any difference, the favor is fer Jack, not me.”
“Jack?” said Green. “What kind of information are you looking for, exactly?”
“Jack asked me ta look into the assassins that attacked Mourdock Skyborn,” Scallywag said. “And so far, I found out they are linked to a prison volunteer program run by yer current employer.”
“So… you think there’s a link between the attacks and the Corporation?”
“I do.”
“But… nothing happens at the Maguffyn Corporation without Armonto Virtuoso’s knowledge,” Green said, thinking aloud. “If what you say is true, that would mean he more than likely had a hand in it.”
“Wouldn’t be surprising.”
“That would mean Armonto Virtuoso is involved in illegal activity?”
“Most likely.”
Green nodded, his signature smile returning to his face and his eyes seeming to brighten up. “Well, what are we waiting for?” the Professor said. “Let’s find you that evidence, shall we?”
Green turned and began walking away. Scallywag glanced at the door to the Professor’s quarters before following. “We can’t do it from here?” Scallywag asked.
“Oh, dear me, no,” said Green, a spring in his step as he made his way toward the level’s teleporter station. “The Maguffyn Corporation mainframe’s encryption is far too advanced. I mean, I might be able to hack into it with my own equipment given enough time, but they’d no doubt find me long before I got anywhere. And if Armonto Virtuoso is indeed hiding something, it’s going to be very well guarded. I’m afraid we need a way to quickly by-pass the encryption and access the data, while remaining undetected.”
“I take it ya got a solution ta this?” Scallywag asked as he powerwalked to keep up with the Professor.
“As a matter of fact,” said Green cheerily. “I have just the thing.”
Scallywag was more than a little surprised to see their teleportation trip take them to the spaceport. He was even more surprised at the sheer number of security-bots that were patrolling around the hangar the Professor was leading him toward. “Ya plannin’ on hitchin’ a ride somewhere ta hack the mainframe, Professor?” asked Scallywag.
“Not quite,” Green replied. “Back when we’d been captured, the Deathlords had attempted to interface with the Earthship’s systems. However, the ship was not only able to fight them off but also secretly gain access to their mainframe, which the ship used to lead you all out of the Pit. I’m hoping that if I can connect the Earthship to the Maguffyn mainframe, it can do much the same thing by getting us the access we need without being detected.”
“Ya mean ta tell me all this security is here ta guard the Earthship?” asked Scallywag, looking around warily. “I think I saw fewer guard bots at the bloody Peacekeeper Tower.”
Green frowned. “Yes, well… there’s been some rather troubling developments recently,” he replied. “The Regalus government has officially seized the Earthship and handed it over to the control of the Maguffyn Corporation. And though I don’t know what Armonto Virtuoso has planned for it, I do know whatever it is will not be good.”
Scallywag snorted. “Typical,” he said. “I warned that lad not ta trust these bloody Regals.”
“I feared I was going to be unable to do anything to help him. Until you came along,” said Green. “If Armonto Virtuoso is involved in something illegal and we can get the evidence to prove it, then perhaps we can save the Earthship from him long enough for Jack to get it back.”
Two security-bots turned as Green and Scallywag approached, leveling their arm cannons at them. “Halt,” one droned. “Authorized personnel only. Please identify yourselves.”
Green produced his Maguffyn security badge and displayed it to the robot. “I am Thadius Green, Supervising Director of Earthship Technology. And this is… um… Mr. Red. He’s a consultant I’ve brought on to… consult.”
“Identity confirmed,” the security-bot said after scanning Green’s badge. “You are cleared to proceed.”
Scallywag followed Green into the hangar where the Earthship was parked. Various types of equipment were everywhere, making it look like a major operation was about to go down on the vessel. Green led him to a mobile teleportation platform. “What’s this?” Scallywag asked.
“Ever since it’s been confiscated, the ship has locked itself down,” Green explained. “The only way on board is through teleportation.”
“Doesn’t sound like it’s very happy, does it?”
“Would you be?” muttered Green as he activated the teleporter.
The bridge of the Earthship was powered down and quiet when they arrived. Various bits of Maguffyn Corporation equipment was still littered about. Scallywag looked around at the inactive consoles and frowned. “Ya sure the ship’s gonna cooperate with us, greenskin?” Scallywag asked.
“Do not worry, my good man,” Green said as he gathered up some slicing equipment and moved to an open access panel. “Without any Maguffyn employees around, we shouldn’t have any problems. I just need to patch into the ship’s systems, interface with it using this portable workstation, and then network it directly to the mainframe. We’ll be in and out of here in two shakes of a—”
No sooner had Green started to implement his plan, than a surge of power emanating from his point of connection to the ship fried his workstation, causing it to erupt in a bevy of sparks before its screen caught on fire. Green reeled back, shocked at what had just happened.
“Yep,” Scallywag muttered as he watched the workstation burn. “Definitely not happy.”
“Oh dear,” said Green. “Why… why would it do that?”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, Professor,” Scallywag said. “But ain’t ya a Maguffyn employee, too?”
“Yes, but I’m not like the others.”
“Somethin’ tells me the ship might not care at this point,” said Scallywag.
Green frowned. “Well, if that’s the case,” he said sadly, “this is going to be a tad more difficult than I’d thought.”
Chapter 45
Agent Boone looked around the scrapyard and frowned. “You’re sure you were burglarized?” he asked.
“Positive,” replied the junkyard foreman as he hooked his thumbs through the straps of his overalls.
“How can you tell?” muttered Boone as he eyed the massive piles of scrap and trash all around him.
“You hear about that Rognok rampage that happened up on stratum 80?” the foreman replied. “We were the ones that got the haul from the clean-up. I know some slicers pay good credits for security-bot parts. There was a whole mess of them after those Rognoks smashed ‘em to bits.”
“These the security-bots you’re referring to?” asked Boone, pointing to a pile of crushed and mangled robots nearby.
“Yeah, that’s them.”
“They don’t appear to be missing.”
“There was one that was still somewhat operational,” the foreman said. “With a little work, it probably coulda been salvaged. I’d have been able to make a couple hundred digicredits off that sucker, easy. But then, I came in this morning and it was nowhere to be found.”
“Could it have gotten up and walked away?”
“Not without its legs,” the foreman said, pointing at two mangled rob
ot legs in the pile.
“So you think someone broke in and stole a busted up security-bot for a measly couple hundred digicredits?”
“Well, excuse me, Mr. Fatwallet,” replied the foreman. “I don’t know what the IIA pays their agents, but down here on the lower stratums, a couple hundred digicredits ain’t nothing to sneeze at.”
Boone frowned. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he said. “You have shielded barriers around the property and security cameras. That’s a pretty secure set-up to break past. Seems like a lot of work to go through just to steal one partially operational android. Any idea how someone would have been able to make off with it, if that were the case?”
The foreman shrugged. “No clue,” he said. “I checked the recordings from last night and they went dead for a little while. When they came back, the bot was gone. But the cameras have been going out a lot lately. I just figured it was because they were old, you know? Not because someone was hacking in to raid the yard. Who does that?”
Who indeed? Boone thought. He’d been monitoring a whole host of reported petty burglaries in the lower stratums, based on the reports from the Peacekeeper database. He was focusing on the ones that seemed to center around robotics, as opposed to digicredit theft or personal property. Boone had noticed that ever since Heckubus Moriarty had arrived in the capitol, there had been a series of robberies relating to machinery and electronics. From Moriarty’s criminal history, Boone theorized he might be behind the thefts, but the robot’s motivation for doing so was still a mystery.
“I’d like a copy of your surveillance video if you don’t mind,” Boone replied. “Maybe there’s something my agency can pull off of it.”
“Yeah, okay,” the foreman said. “Say, what’s the IIA doing investigating two-bit stuff like this anyway? Ain’t this usually Peacekeeper work?”
“Usually,” muttered Boone as he pulled out his datapad and sent his contact details to the foreman. “All I can say is it’s part of a larger investigation.”
“Well, good luck tracking down your dangerous junk thieves,” the foreman said as he turned to walk away. “I’ll sleep soundly tonight knowing you’re on the case.”
Earthman Jack vs. The Secret Army (Earthman Jack Space Saga Book 2) Page 50