by John Bowers
“Then what is this about? Did you come here just to brag?”
“Nope, not that either. We’re going to talk about your future.”
“What’s left of it. You’ve left the company in ruins.”
Nick pulled up a chair to face her and settled into it.
“When I came here, I only had a dim overview of your business. I didn’t know many details, but I’ve learned a great deal in the last few days, and I see things clearly now. If I kill you, the Patushkins will move in and claim Periscope Harbor as their own. The streets will be a bloodbath until they get control, and after that, things will be worse than they are now.”
“They’re going to do that anyway. You’ve gutted our organization.”
“No, I haven’t. You still have a few hundred men who will fight for you, and even more important, you’ve got MGB.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Boris Nikolaev. If Vasily Patushkin takes over, Boris will be out, maybe even dead. Boris has a hard-on for money, and as long as you keep paying him, he will fight for you. Even more important, he has the weight of the law on his side. It only takes one word from him for MGB to move against the Patushkins, both on the streets and in the courts. Once that’s done, you can move your organization into the mainstream. Stop selling slaves. Stop selling weapons—”
Diana frowned. “We don’t sell weapons. We never did.”
Nick’s eyes narrowed.
“Didn’t Kozel have a contract with the Sirians?”
“Yes, but only for slaves. Weapons were never part of the package.”
He leaned forward. “Didn’t Kozel supply weapons for the Alpha Centauri uprising a few years ago?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Da. I would have known.”
Nick’s face began to turn red. For a moment he was tempted to slap her off the chair.
“Someone on this planet provided weapons, mercenaries, and military training to the rebels on Alpha 2. I was in that war and I lost a lot of friends to Ruke hardware. I even took some shrapnel from artillery supplied by the Rukes.”
Diana’s lips curled in a half smile.
“‘Ruke’, is it? Is that what you think of us?”
“If it wasn’t your family, then who was it?”
“Vasily Patushkin. He was allied with two or three smaller families back then. They wanted to set up their own colony on Alpha 2, but the Federation would not allow it. They made a deal with the rebels for land in return for military aid. Vasily is the one you want.”
Nick exhaled and sat back again. Boris had been telling the truth. Diana’s story about a Ruke colony matched facts he already knew from past investigations.
He let it go.
“Okay. To continue, stop selling protection. Rebuild the casino, reopen the Rodina, and use the profits to expand into legitimate business. You may have to pay taxes, but if you stop killing and terrorizing people, you’ll have a much brighter future—and you won’t need to worry about rival families taking it away from you.”
She sneered. “Is that how you did it in Joisey?”
“Where?”
“Joisey.”
“Never heard of it.”
Diana sucked in her breath.
“You son of a bitch!”
He tilted his head and leaned forward.
“The bottom line is this—the old Russian gangster model from pre-Federation days is dead. It doesn’t work in this age of galactic expansion. Bratva influence is choking Beta Centauri to death. Your planet is falling behind the rest of the galaxy.”
“Says you.”
“Says everybody. Any planet that conducts most of its trade with Sirius is headed for eventual destruction. The Sirian Confederacy has made a one-eighty and is headed back into the Dark Ages. You don’t want to go down with them.”
“Sirius is not my concern.”
“I’m talking about the future of your planet, not just your family.”
Shaking with anger, she sucked a deep breath and let it out. She glanced at Connie again.
“Suppose I agree to what you are proposing—how am I going to do this all by myself? I can run the Rodina and ancillary operations, but Kozel took care of the casino. I can’t possibly run the whole thing alone.”
“You don’t have to. Nicola can help.”
“Nicola!” She snorted. “Nicola is a kid. She has no interest in the business, never has. All she ever wanted was a family.”
“And you gave her one. Don’t take it away from her now.”
“What can she do? She makes a good hostess, but that’s about it.”
“She has a business degree from a prominent Kiev university. I imagine you have some top-notch accountants who could bring her up to speed in no time.”
Diana’s eyes expanded a few micro-meters, as if some great truth had just dawned on her. She blinked, then focused on Nick again.
“Is that it?”
“Just one more thing.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“Stepan is dead. He was a member of the Council of Five…you will not replace him.”
“What!”
“You heard me. Bratva has no business in government.”
“Why not? All those guys are corrupt as hell!”
“I don’t doubt that, but they will no longer be corrupted by you. That is a hard and fast condition if you don’t want me or Connie to put a bullet in you.”
Nick gave her a moment. She looked thoughtful, but didn’t speak.
“So…do we have a deal?”
Her eyes met his again.
“Do I have a choice?”
“Yes, of course. Just say no, and I’ll shoot you where you sit. Or Connie will.”
“Once you are gone, what is to stop me from ignoring any promises I make to you?”
“Nothing, but word will get out.”
“And you’ll come back.”
“Not me. Someone else. Maybe a man, maybe a woman. You’ll never know, and you’ll never see it coming. But it will be swift and sure.” His expression hardened. “That, you can make book on.”
Her cheek twitched. “What about my father and uncle?”
“They’re already dead. They both have one foot in the grave and the other on an oil slick. They don’t need to know any of this.”
“They will want to know what happened to their sons.”
“We already talked about that. Blame it on the Patushkins, then tell them you took care of it. They’ll never know the difference.”
Her lips hardened into a thin line. As Nick gazed at her, she had never looked more beautiful—or more deadly.
“Okay,” he said, “I’m done. Repeat it all back to me.”
“What?”
“I want to be sure you understand all the terms. Repeat it back, point by point.”
She squirmed in the chair, looked at Connie again, and took a deep breath. She ticked off on her fingers.
“Stop dealing in slaves.
“Stop selling protection.
“Put Nicola in charge of the casino.
“Don’t replace Stepan on the Council.
“Get help from Boris in dealing with Vasily.
“Use the proceeds from Rodina and the casino to expand into legitimate business…”
She frowned in concentration.
“That’s all I remember.”
“That’s pretty much it. Don’t forget, you have two loyal employees in Sasha and Aleksandr. Keep them close, and let them deal with anyone in the company who doesn’t like your new direction.”
“And if I don’t do all this, then I’m as good as dead.”
“Better than dead.”
Nick stood.
“Do we have a deal?”
She stared up at him, and for just a moment her eyes softened.
“My plan was so much better, Nick. You and me together, we could have done great things.”
“Do we have a
deal?”
“Da. We have a deal. Now, get out of my sight. I never want to see you again.”
Chapter 31
Thursday, April 9, 0448 (CC)
Lucaston Interstellar Spaceport – Lucaston, Alpha Centauri 2
From eighty thousand feet, the sky over Lucaston was solid overcast as the space shuttle from Charles E. Noble Memorial Space Station approached from the northwest. Nick Walker gazed out the window at his elbow and saw what looked like white cotton fluff below, gleaming in the glare of twin suns. He closed his eyes as the heavy shuttle wallowed in the air currents, then opened them again in time to see the plunge into thick cloud…like driving through fog at six hundred knots. He wiped his palms on his pants leg to dry them and tried to think about something else.
He wasn’t sure what, if anything, he had accomplished on this mission. He hadn’t ended the Bratva organization, but hopefully Bratva would no longer have an iron grip on BC politics; he hadn’t gutted the Petreykin family, either—at least not completely—but if Diana and Boris followed his plan, he hoped it would achieve the aims specified by President White Wolf. If they didn’t…
Well.
At least he was coming home alive. He hadn’t been sure that would be possible.
And he had left Polina to watch over things. She was one tough lady, and just about as honest as they came. Given the snake pit in which she worked and lived, it seemed a miracle that she had lived as long as she had, but she seemed determined to carry on. Maybe he had eased her load just a little. He hoped so.
He closed his eyes again and sighed. He felt bad about Nicola. He’d promised her that he would explain everything, but after he sent her away with the bouncers, he hadn’t seen her again. After his confrontations with Boris and Diana, hanging around the planet hadn’t seemed such a grand idea. Both were still in shock over recent events, but if they ever came to their senses, they might just decide to hell with Nick Russo and his friend Connie Ventura. He and Connie had grabbed the first airliner out of Periscope Harbor and made their way to Molograd, where Connie had arranged for standby tickets on a starship bound for Alpha 2. It had felt like a narrow escape, but probably wasn’t—no one had tried to stop them.
It had been one of the craziest weeks of his life. He just hoped he had accomplished a part of what the President wanted.
He opened his eyes again as the shuttle broke out of cloud and banked left for final approach to Lucaston. He felt a shudder as the landing gear dropped out of their wells, heard the change of engine pitch and felt the drag as the flaps opened to thirty percent. He couldn’t see ahead of them, but apparently the Lucaston runway was in sight. In the seat to his left, Connie Ventura stirred. She’d been dozing, but the change in vibration had wakened her. She yawned.
“Are we there yet?”
“Just about.” Nick saw the city outskirts appear out the window, felt the shuttle sink rapidly, and then buildings were whipping by just a few hundred yards away. The gear made contact with a bump and the craft began to shudder. The nose dropped and suddenly he was pushed forward against his harness as the spoilers deployed and the wing engines went into reverse.
They were down.
*
They cleared Customs in a few minutes, retrieved their luggage, and walked through the main concourse toward the parking lot.
“Where do you go from here?” Nick asked.
“Home!” Connie breathed. “This was the most hair-raising assignment I’ve ever had, and I need a bath that lasts about two weeks.”
He laughed and offered her his hand.
“I hear ya. Thanks for watching my ass. We make a good team.”
“Yes we do. But don’t call me again anytime soon.”
They both laughed and shook hands. Connie headed for a taxi stand just outside the terminal building and Nick checked his watch. It was one-thirty in the afternoon local time; Victoria was probably working, so he should also grab a taxi…unless Marshal Bridge had sent someone to pick him up. His gaze swept the milling throng inside the main terminal but he didn’t recognize anybody.
He walked out of the terminal and checked the parked cars, but still nothing. He was on his own.
He walked across the broad driveway, dodging slow-moving vehicles, and was approaching a parked taxi when he heard the blast of a horn.
“Nick!”
He turned. Victoria Cross waved at him from her pilot-side window, then gunned her vehicle out of the traffic stream and halted in a loading zone. She leaped out and hurried toward him, smiling. As she approached, Nick felt an unexpected surge of affection sweep over him. He dropped his space bag and swept her up in a hug, planting a passionate kiss on her full red lips. When he released her, she laughed.
“Good to see you too, Marshal! How was your trip?”
“Cross, have I ever told you that I love you?”
Her eyebrows arched and she blinked in surprise.
“Not for twelve or fifteen years, no.”
“Well…I do.”
Losing the smile, she searched his eyes for a moment. She nodded.
“I love you, too. I always have.”
“I know. I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”
“It’s okay. You had to be sure.”
“I’m sure. How was your week? Anything exciting happen?”
“I won my first defense case.”
“Really! Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
“I told you you could do it.”
“Yes you did.” She frowned. “What happened to your wrist?”
Nick lifted his right hand and gazed at the cast.
“Little accident. Just a minor fracture.”
“Did the mission go well? Any problems?”
“No problems. It was actually kind of boring.”
Victoria caught the twinkle in his eye and tilted her head.
“How many did you kill?”
“Honestly, I lost count. How’s Mijo?”
“I haven’t seen him for a few days, but he must be okay or Kristina would have called. Oh! Have I got a story for you!”
“What kind of story?”
“Do you know a woman named Kiko?”
“I don’t think so. Who is she?”
“As far as I know, she’s the last of Ken Saracen’s groupies. The one that got away.”
Nick frowned and gripped her arm.
“Are you serious? What about her?”
“I’ll tell you in the car. You ready to go?”
He nodded and picked up his space bag.
“That’s a great idea. Your place or mine?”
She laughed. “Since we live together, I guess either one will do.”
They climbed into the hovercar and Victoria released her brakes. Nick waited until she had navigated the ground traffic and reached a lift zone, where she deployed her lifters and headed toward the river that separated Lucaston from the spaceport.
“Now,” he said. “Tell me about Kiko.”
Twelve Days Later
Tuesday, April 21, 0448 (CC)
Charles E. Noble Memorial Space Station – Orbit of Alpha Centauri 2
Nick Walker and Marshal Bridge stood in the heavily-guarded passenger lounge and watched through a wide pressure window as the starship docked. It wasn’t a large ship, more of a medium-sized yacht, the kind that could penetrate an atmosphere and land at an airport. The yacht bore the distinctive colors of the Federation. The main fuselage was white; the nose, wings, and tail were red-tipped; and emblazoned above the passenger cabin in dark blue were the words UNITED SOLAR FEDERATION.
Its unofficial designation was Space Force One.
Moments after the ship mated with the airlock, the lounge door whispered open and four men boiled inside, hands inside their jackets as they scanned the room with hawk-like eyes. Nick recognized two of them as Agents Blue and White.
Nick and Bridge, the only visitors present, stood automatically. The agents patted them down, but both men had
left their weapons in a locker in the main concourse. Satisfied, the agents stepped back. Agent Blue offered Nick a small grin.
“Welcome back, Marshal Walker. Good to see you again.”
Nick nodded. “Same here.”
Agents Blue and White flanked the visitors while the other two returned to the airlock to announce the all-clear. Seconds later, Vivian White Wolf, President of the United Solar Federation, strode into the room. She looked very much as she had the first time Nick met her, except today she was wearing more conventional clothing, but still adorned in agate and turquoise. She walked straight up to Nick and, with a smile, stuck out her hand.
“Marshal Walker! Thank you for meeting me!”
“It’s my pleasure, Ma’am.”
She shook hands with Bridge as well, then turned her attention back to Nick.
“I just want to thank you personally for your service to the Federation. I’ve read your report and I know you put yourself at great risk. I also understand that you were injured.”
Nick lifted his right hand, now free of the cast.
“Just a minor fracture,” he told her. “It’s already healed.”
“I’m glad. I wanted to tell you that my meeting with Prime Minister Federov was an unqualified success. It seems that you effectively broke the Sirian connection and I was able to persuade him to accept our offer. We now have a ‘favored’ trade agreement with Beta Centauri, thanks to you.”
Nick nodded and smiled. “I’m happy to hear that.”
White Wolf’s smile faded slightly.
“I would dearly love to publicly honor you with an award, but I’m afraid that isn’t possible at this time, due to…well, you understand.”
“I do, yes, Ma’am.”
“However, I will be submitting a sealed Presidential citation for your employee jacket. No one will be able to read the details, but my hope is that merely the fact that it’s there will be to your benefit.”
“You didn’t have to do that, Mrs. President, but thank you. I’m grateful.”
She smiled and squeezed his hand.
“I hate to run, but making this stop has put us off schedule. My advisors objected to the delay, but I believe those who risk their lives should be acknowledged, and I don’t care if it makes us late…it was worth it.”