by Michael Rose
The warehouse manager skipped down the metal staircase and jogged across the floor of the warehouse. “They’re gone?”
“I took care of it. Your men can get back to work.”
“Mister, those sons of bitches have robbed me three times this month, and I’ve had hell to pay for it with the boss. I have to pay for cargo that goes missing from the warehouse.”
The manager put his hand out. Sullivan shook it. “Maybe now they’ll think twice before bothering me again.”
Sullivan looked down the tarmac. The truck had disappeared from sight. “I’m only here as long as it takes us to finish the transaction. You’ll have to stand up to them yourself next time.”
“Any chance you’d be interested in a job?”
“Sorry. If I don’t go back with this ship, I don’t get paid.”
“Well, let me know if that doesn’t work out for you.”
“Thanks, I will.”
The manager went back to his office, and Sullivan went back to the ship. Kate was standing in the hatchway of the ship’s side entrance. Sullivan climbed up to her and stroked her arm with his hand. “Did you see all of that?”
“Yes. I came out when I heard the warehouse door close.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll be safe. As long as you stay in this ship, no one will be able to get to you.”
Kate leaned into Sullivan and put her head on his chest. “No, it’s not the ship. It’s you. You keep me safe.”
Sullivan put his arms around her. The feelings that had been developing between them over the past months were now fully-formed and could not be ignored. But they could be held at bay for a little longer. Sullivan had to stay alert while they were on Tritica.
He broke the embrace. “You’d better go back in and close the hatch. I’m going to stay out here until the cargo is unloaded.”
Kate smiled and went back inside. Sullivan sat down on the steps leading up to the hatch and looked at the guns he’d taken from the bandits. One was a small energy weapon similar to the gun he’d used on Earth. He slipped it into the inside pocket of his coat. The others he took down to the cargo hold of the ship and stashed them in various places. The men unloading the cargo watched him for a moment but went back to their work when Sullivan leveled his gaze at them.
13
FRANK ALLEN STUDIED the warehouse. He didn’t know it, but he was standing in the same spot as Sullivan the day he’d first sized up the guards loitering outside. He signaled to Wagner, Takemitsu and Ives, who had taken up positions nearby. They approached the men in force. Allen held up his badge as he addressed them. “My name is Agent Frank Allen, I’m with the SABI. I have permission from the Abilene security forces to act with full authority.”
The large man took his hand off his gun. “What do you want, then?”
“I’d like to speak with Eugene Brain.”
“He’s not here.”
“Is Richard Sullivan an associate of yours?”
“Never heard of him.”
Allen took a card from his pocket. “Have Mr. Brain call me when he gets in.”
The large man took the card, crumpled it into a ball and shoved it into his pocket. Allen smiled beneficently. “Have a nice day now.”
He turned away from the warehouse, and his colleagues fell in beside him. Wagner glanced over her shoulder. “Either you hit a nerve, or they’re just naturally unpleasant.”
“I think it’s a little bit of both,” said Allen.
“So you think they do know Sullivan, then?”
“Maybe. But we have to consider the source of our information. I wouldn’t exactly call Orion Zednik a reliable man.”
“I still don’t understand why he’d tell us Sullivan is working for Brain,” said Ives. “We have other intel that says Zednik has hired a hitman to kill Sullivan.”
Takemitsu turned to his partner. “Apparently, Mr. Zednik decided that we could be of use to him. Maybe he’s hoping we’ll flush Sullivan out.”
Allen stopped. “Damn it, that’s it.” He turned back to the warehouse and scanned the windows and roofs of the nearby buildings. On the roof of a bar across from the warehouse he saw a man. He couldn’t be sure because of the distance, but the man seemed to be perched over a rifle.
“That son of a bitch,” said Allen. “Zednik was using us as bait to kill Sullivan. Look, that man’s positioned so he can see where the side door of the warehouse leads out into that alleyway. He was ready to shoot Sullivan when he ran.”
Allen stepped back against the wall of a building and gestured for the others to follow his lead. “I want that man,” he said.
Single-file, they traveled along the sides of the buildings until they came to the bar.
“Ives, watch the front,” said Allen. “Takemitsu, go around the left, Wagner and I will go right.”
The agents circled the building until they met each other on the far side. They took up positions at the back door. Before they could enter, the door swung outward and Younger, carrying a black gun case, strode through. He paused for a split second upon seeing the agents then swung his case in a wide arc, striking Allen across the jaw. Wagner raised her weapon, but a swift kick to her stomach sent her reeling and the weapon flying from her hands.
Takemitsu fired off a round, but it hit the side of the building as Younger knocked his arm away with his gun case. Younger caught Takemitsu’s arm, pulled the gun from his hand and fired twice into the agent’s chest. Before Allen and Wagner could get up off the ground, Younger had disappeared into the warren of alleyways that twisted throughout the shantytown.
Ives appeared around the corner, gun drawn, and rushed to his partner. Takemitsu was lying on the ground, sputtering blood. The shots had pierced his lungs.
Ives put his hand on Takemitsu’s chest to slow the bleeding. “You’ll be all right, John. Just relax. Help will be here soon.”
Allen was calling for an ambulance. He was worried. He didn’t know when—or if—Abilene’s emergency response teams would arrive.
“Hurry, damn it!” he said into his earpiece. He joined Wagner and Ives as they knelt near Takemitsu. The wounded agent’s eyes had closed, and his breath came in short, gurgling rasps.
“C’mon, John,” said Ives. A tear ran down his face and dripped from his chin.
Takemitsu took one final, shallow breath, feebly exhaled and was still. Somewhere in the distance they could hear sirens. They were too far away. They were too late.
ALLEN LAY ON the small hotel room bed with Wagner in his arms. Ives sat hunched in a chair by the window, looking out.
“I hate this god-damned planet,” Ives said softly. He stood up. “I’m going to bring Zednik in.”
Allen sat up and put his feet on the floor. “No, Jeff. We can’t tie him to anything.”
“I don’t care. There’s no god-damned rule of law on this planet, why should I abide by Bureau regulations?”
Allen stood up and put his hand on Ives’s shoulder. “Because you’re an agent of the Bureau. The rules, the regulations, those are what make us better than these people. It’s what makes us right. We can’t abandon that now.”
Ives shrugged Allen’s hand off and went back to the window.
“You know I’m right, Jeff,” said Allen. “And you know that John believed in the Bureau, he believed in what we do.” He stepped up beside Ives. “We’ll get Zednik and the man who killed John. But we have to do it by the book or else the charges won’t stick.”
Ives took out his gun and studied it. “Zednik owns half this planet. He’ll buy his way out of a conviction.”
“No, he won’t. The Bureau’s agreement with Abilene lets us take fugitives back to an Assembly planet. Zednik will pay for what he’s done.”
Ives put his gun away and sat down again. Allen could tell he was unconvinced. “I promise, Jeff. We’ll get him.” He looked back at Wagner and pursed his lips. This mission had started badly and was only getting worse.
YOUNGER WAS WAITING when Zednik
entered the Cairo Bar. Zednik led the assassin back to his booth.
“Well?”
“Sullivan wasn’t there. Or if he was, he didn’t scramble when the agents asked about him.”
“I know he’s taken up with Brain. It’s just a matter of time.”
“I might not be able to finish this one, Mr. Zednik,” said Younger. “The Bureau agents will be looking for me. I killed one of them.”
Zednik smiled. “Which one?”
“The Asian.”
“You will finish the job, Younger. If the agents do come looking for you, then just repeat today’s performance.”
Zednik took a credit card from his pocket and slid it across the table. “Here are sixty thousand extra credits. I think that should buy me a few more dead agents.”
Younger took the card, waved it across the reader on his tablet and grunted in agreement. “All right, I’ll keep after Sullivan. I’ll even do Brain, as a favor.”
Zednik’s smile broadened. “You see, that’s why I like working with you, Younger. You’re a generous man.”
Younger did not smile but instead got up from the table and walked out without another word.
14
THE PILOT HAD wandered back to the ship late in the morning, drunk, broke and filthy. He’d slept the day away while Sullivan oversaw the sale of the alcohol and the purchase and delivery of the food. The food was loaded and, according to Interstellar Freight Transporters Association regulations, they either had to take off or unload the cargo back into the warehouse. After stalling the spaceport officials for an hour, Sullivan finally got the pilot out of his bunk and carefully watched him as he set a launch program.
Any idiot can fly one of these things, thought Sullivan as the pilot leaned back in his chair. The ship lifted effortlessly from the ground, tilted toward the sky and accelerated to escape velocity. He decided that on the flight back to Abilene he’d familiarize himself with the operations of the ship.
Once in orbit, it was another simple programming procedure, and they were in hyperspace. In a tone that sounded as if he were doing Sullivan a favor, the pilot offered to take the first six-hour shift. Sullivan thanked him curtly and went back to the small cabin the two of them shared.
Sullivan took one look at the dirty clothes the pilot had left strewn around the cabin, gathered his things and crossed over to Kate’s cabin.
“I’m taking over your top bunk,” he said as he entered. Kate was lying on the bottom bunk with a tablet in her hands.
“Oh,” she said. “All right.”
“Sorry, but I’m not giving you a choice in the matter,” Sullivan said, tossing his bag into a corner. “I can’t share a cabin with that man anymore.”
Kate smiled. “I don’t mind, Rick. Really.”
Sullivan sat at the single chair in front of the desk and spun it around to face Kate. “Reading?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“Just a novel. A thriller.”
“Oh? What’s it about?”
“It’s about a very brave and handsome man. A noble man who bucks the system and saves the girl.”
“Does he get the girl in the end?”
Kate tossed the tablet onto the small table beside the bed and sat up. “He always gets the girl.” She stood, crossed to Sullivan’s chair and put her arms around him. She pulled his head toward her and ran her fingers through his hair as he began kissing her neck.
They had both known this moment was coming. For the past month they had been together on the ship, both avoiding the pilot, sleeping when he was awake and spending their waking hours together.
Sullivan stood and kissed her deeply. She stepped back toward the bed and Sullivan matched her steps. He followed her as she leaned back onto the bed, first lying on top of her, then beside her as they kissed. From the cockpit of the ship they heard the pilot start coughing and spitting. Sullivan grimaced, got up and closed the cabin door. He locked it and turned back to see Kate slowly unbuttoning her shirt.
THE FLIGHT BACK to Abilene was significantly more enjoyable for Sullivan than the trip to Tritica had been. Kate had told him all about her past but had remained guarded about how she’d come to be Zednik’s prisoner. Two weeks out from Tritica, she finally opened up.
They were laying together, her head on his chest. She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “I realized something.”
Sullivan opened his eyes. “What’s that?”
“I never thanked you. For saving me.”
Sullivan smiled. “I thought this was your thanks.”
Kate raised her hand and slapped him playfully on the cheek. “You have no idea how scared I was, Rick. Even after you rescued me, when we were on the streets. I had no idea what was happening for a few days. Thank you for being… you.”
Sullivan took her hand, which was still resting on his cheek, and squeezed it. “Kate… when you were being held, did they… do anything to you?”
“No.”
Sullivan exhaled in relief. “Did Zednik threaten you?”
“In a way. He said if my father refused to pay that it would be ‘unfortunate.’”
“That’s the word he used, ‘unfortunate’?”
“Yes.”
“He has a strange way of speaking. It’s almost like he’s sorry for doing the things he does.”
“It’s a façade. Despite the horrible things he’s done, he actually seems to think of himself as a gentleman. That’s how he got me.”
Sullivan sat up and leaned his back against the pillow, a question in his eyes.
Kate put her hand on his chest and absent-mindedly traced the line of his collarbone. “I was taken in by his appearance, his apparent manners. He approached me in a bar on Silvanus; I thought he was cute and charming. We decided to go have dinner, and as soon as I got into his car another man got in on the other side and injected me with something. I woke up on a freighter.”
Sullivan put his hand on her head and stroked her hair. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“It was my fault. I was stupid for trusting a man I’d just met. But you have to understand something about Silvanus: people on my planet aren’t like that. That sort of thing just doesn’t happen. I guess that’s why he chose it. The people of Silvanus are rich and naïve. We hear about the things that happen on other planets, but it’s so distant, so alien. Like Edaline.”
Sullivan licked his lips and swallowed. “Edaline seems distant even to me now. I feel like I’m losing sight of what I have to do. I feel like there are more important things now. Like you.”
Kate took her head from his chest and pulled him into an embrace. “Don’t say that, Rick. Remember your parents. Remember what you have to do for them.”
Sullivan closed his eyes. “I don’t want to jeopardize what we have here. There’s no knowing what will happen when I go back to Edaline. I don’t want to be separated from you; I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t. No matter what happens on Edaline, you’ll get through it, you will triumph.”
“There are no guarantees….”
Kate put her finger on his lips. “I know you will. And I’ll be waiting for you when it’s over.”
15
THE SHIP HAD landed. Kate and Sullivan were staying in one of the offices above the warehouse and Brain, after hearing about how Sullivan had protected the cargo, was giving him a few days off. He’d also fired the pilot after discovering how much the man had cost him by landing on Tritica before the buyer was available.
They had been back on Abilene for three days and, aside from a debriefing with Brain, Sullivan had not spoken to anyone besides Kate. They had spent their days and nights in their room, much of it on the mattress that rested on the floor in one corner. It wasn’t an elegant way to live, but Sullivan had decided that as long as he had Kate, he could put up with anything.
Early in the evening on their third day back, Brain rapped lightly on the door. “Sullivan? Can I
see you?”
Sullivan got up and put on his pants. He opened the door and stepped out, closing it quickly behind him. “Yes?”
“I have a job for you tonight.”
“What is it?”
“One of Zednik’s warehouses has a shipment of brand new tablets. Top of the line models, expensive. He hasn’t been able to move many of them on Abilene, and they’re just sitting there. But I think I can sell them on Faris.”
Sullivan shook his head. “You want to steal from Zednik?”
“He’s stolen from me before.”
“Because he can steal from you. You don’t have the muscle to stop him.”
Brain lowered his voice. “But I have you now. Zednik’s afraid of you. There’s been a lot of talk. If we hit him now, he’ll look weak. Others will move in to take over some of his operations.”
“He’ll know it was you. His men will tell him.”
Brain narrowed his eyes. “The way I’m planning it, there won’t be anyone left to talk. We’ll load the tablets onto my ship, and it’ll be gone before Zednik gets word.”
Sullivan leaned against the railing and looked down into the warehouse. He wanted to hurt Zednik, but the plan was risky. Still, every night there were gunshots and the sounds of vehicles and men yelling. A small-scale war raged between the warehouse owners on Abilene, but it was mostly certain groups going after certain other groups, it was between those who had long-standing feuds. Brain, by some miracle, had managed to keep out of such a feud. Zednik, on the strength and size of his operation, was largely immune as well. But that meant he wouldn’t be expecting it. The men who worked for Zednik were arrogant in their perceived strength and superiority. Sullivan felt he and Brain could use that to their advantage.
“All right,” he finally said. “Who do I take with me?”
“Lawton and Fernandez will go with us. Dannon will stay behind to guard the warehouse.”