The flash of my officer tag got me a little more information about Izan. He immediately jerked to the position of attention and focused his eyes on my chest.
“Sir, I apologize for the physical contact,” he stated.
“At ease Sergeant,” I said with a smile, “you were assigned to protect Miss Hernan and the way I see it, you were just following orders. No harm done.”
The braced position and response was telling. So the good Sergeant was active duty which raised my curiosity about Agdta’s team to a new level. But I was here for a favor, not to investigate a video combat team.
A view screen was dangling beside the island’s entrance. On it the battered team was raising their hands in victory. The orb, equally tattered, was bobbing happily from teammate to teammate. I looked back at Agdta and she was busy typing on her PID.
“Another victory?” I asked.
“A lot closer than I like but the team came through,” she said as the screen went to commercials.
“How many people know about your side job?” I asked.
“Very few but some of them are gamblers and they’re not smitten with our success,” she replied with a coy grin, “What can I do for you Mister Piran?”
“I need another favor,” I announced as I took a seat, “Remember the mysterious Yacht at the chemical Station? I’m looking for a ship that will dock here in the next day or so.”
“There are hundreds of Sloops, Clippers, tugs and Yachts who will dock at this Station in the next few days,” she said stating the obvious.
“I realize that. I’m looking for one coming from a false location,” I said trying to narrow the parameters for her, “Not a Clipper or a tug most likely a Yacht or a Sloop. I assume that it’s inbound. Estimated time of arrival is first watch. It maybe scheduled to depart in a short window.”
“Why Mister Piran, it sounds like you’re challenging my talents,” she teased, “Give me a few hours and I’ll see what I can find. Will that suffice?”
“Thank you Agdta,” I said as I stood, “Guard her will Sergeant Izan. If you run into any trouble with Station personnel, let me know. I’ll back you up.”
I wasn’t sure but I thought I saw a shadow of relief cross his rocky features. It’s hard when you’re prepared for combat but don’t have anyone watching your back. Now he did and I knew it took a load off his broad shoulders.
“Sir,” he stated while bringing his hand to where the brim of his cover would be.
I returned the salute but added, “I’m in transit and you’re on plain clothes guard duty. So let’s dispense with the salutes.”
“Aye, Sir, works for me,” he said agreeing with my order.
Chapter 29
I’d just stepped into the lift when a Druid stepped into the car.
“Hello number four,” I said.
For a second the Druid dropped his stoic indifference but it quickly reset. I was raised by Druids and had been around them during my formative years so the brown robe didn’t present much of a disguise.
“I know the difference between the four of you and can recognize each of you,” I said, “For instance, I know number three was watching the crates this morning. So, let’s skip the mystical Druid crap and talk to me.”
“Noriko Danno is well and taking soup. We are rotating shifts watching the crate and the man,” he said as if it was a chore to speak in full sentences, “We are concerned about the folk coming for the crate.”
“I’m working on it. If my source does her usually job of sorting through the information, I believe we’ll have plenty of warning,” I assured him.
“Then we are pleased,” he said.
I got off the lift at the House of Basilio. The thought of a fine wine with lunch was on my mind. They’d just seated me behind a screen of grape vines when my PID chimed.
The waitress took my order of fish of the day, a side salad and a glass of white wine I couldn’t pronounce. Always a good choice when the wine lingo was above your head.
“Phelan, I narrowed them down to four possible ships,” Agdta’s message read, “Sloops Daniek and Beltrame, Yachts Xabier and Basque. I can give you reasons but I’d need hours upon hours to explain.”
I typed back, “Agdta, your research speaks for itself. Thank you.”
She replied, “Don’t you just love Izan’s hands. So manly and rough.”
I absolutely did not reply. Besides my meal arrived with the excellent but phonetically challenged wine. During the meal, I turned over in my mind the next move. Having Druids was great for heads up attacks or covert operations. However, it wasn’t possible for a Druid to tail someone as the brown robe tended to stand out in a crowd.
So the next morning it was me standing off to the side of the flight deck. The crew from the Sloop Daniek departed their shuttle. They were loud, all smiles and trying to pick up the Houses of Spirit ambassadors, both female and male. It was after the grope on the tall House of Sölvi representative I decided they weren’t any threat. Any threat to me or the Station but, to the staff, that I wouldn’t swear too.
After a quick meal, workout and nap, I was back at the corner of the flight deck. The Yacht Xabier had arrived in orbit at the start of third shift and their shuttle should dock soon. It was early and the dock was mostly empty making it harder for me to blend in with the surroundings. I was in a dimly lit curvature just off the main lift. To pass the time, I was reading news headlines on my PID.
The Galactic Council Realm consists of three habituated planets, one food planet, and hundreds of orbiting Stations. What little of the vast spread of the Realm I could read about reinforced my belief it was a thriving industrial, and civilized community. It made me more determined to find the culprits who’d threatened the Heart planet. If they’d succeeded and expanded their acts of vandalism, they would jeopardize the atmosphere of all the Stations. Determined doesn’t quite describe my feelings, they were more on the angry side. I had to find the culprits.
The shuttle carrying the crew from the Yacht Xabier dropped through the ceiling mounted air curtains. It made for a dramatic entrance from both outside and inside the shuttle. Remembering from my arrival, I know the view of the people in the shuttle would go from dark space to a deck of gold and glass. The Spirit Houses’ ambassadors were turned out. Even at this early hour they looked crisp, fresh and welcoming. As the shuttle settled on the pad, the representatives from the four houses marched out to greet the new guests.
Two men exited quickly and shoved the House ambassadors out of their way. They were large men, but not so fit as just big. In some ways they were alike, both sported medium length hair, a spare tire of fat around their middle but with solid muscle in their shoulders. Plus, both of their noses had been broken at least once and not properly set. The differences were one had a misshapen ear while the other had a scar running down his left check.
A second later a woman poked her head out of the shuttle door. She watched the two men walk away. Once they were almost at the lifts, she climbed out followed by a crew of five. They stayed clumped together and were busily whispering among themselves. That was until, they began the pleasant conga line through the smiling ambassadors. The five didn’t interest me. The two big men at the lift, however, had all of my attention.
I eased off the wall and while still appearing to reading my PID, I joined them at the lifts. The car arrived and I stepped forward without looking. They had formed a blockade and scar face waited for me to look up.
“This elevator is full,” he growled, “catch the next one.”
Not very civilized, I thought but replied, “Sure, no problem.”
“Didn’t think so,” ugly ear guy said with a smirk.
They backed into the elevator without taking their eyes off of me. I’d gone back to my PID ignoring them. What I wanted to do was teach them a lesson in manners. What I needed to do was to follow them. I sent a description of the two thugs to the Druids and warned them to keep an eye out for them on the cargo deck.
I watched the elevator until it stopped on the House of Sölvi deck. The lift stayed there long enough for the two to have departed the car. Another lift arrived and I hurried in before the five now laughing crew members from the Xabier could reach it.
This time I was ready for the icy décor that reflected the lighting. While the walls glowed in crystal and blue light, the floors and ceiling were hidden in darkness. It was as If I were walking through an ice tunnel. And, it smelled of citrus which was pleasant after the ozone of the flight deck.
It didn’t take long for me to find the two men. Firstly, they were almost as tall as the Sölvi staff but while the staff was fit, the thugs were roundish. And they moved around the deck like bulls. They peered into private ice caves, eyed the open areas and began to come in my direction. It seemed as if they were looking for someone.
On a ‘wag’, wild ass guess, I reentered the lift and rode it to the House of Betserai. The bully boys didn’t see me but I saw them when they rolled onto the House of Betserai level. They repeated the search sequence and headed for the lift. Now I was wondering who or what they were looking for?
Their lift stopped at the House of Nevan deck. My elevator passed the deck and I stepped out on Basilio’s deck. The only person I cared about and the only person who might have enforcers after them would be Agdta.
Her message stated she’d moved her command center to the House of Basilio because she felt like wine with dinner. The next video competition wasn’t for three hours so she was relaxing. I walked in a minute later.
“Where’s Izan,” I asked noting the absence of her Marine guard.
“I sent him to get a slice of honey cake from Nevan,” she said, “It’s preferable to the heavy cream desserts they serve here.”
Oh hell, I thought, I’d missed the Marine by skipping a deck. He was on Nevan at the same time as the thugs. Along with the Marine, I could have had a conversation with the thugs. Now it was just me. If the big boys were actually looking for Agdta.
“You may be having company,” I said looking around at her enclosure.
It was composed of a double wall of grape vines with only one entrance. As wide as one of the thugs, it meant only one could attempt to come in at a time. There was enough room to cloister Agdta in the back and, I thought, strong enough so no one could reach her through the vines. But they could shoot through it, if killing was their mission. I sent a message to Druid number four asking if he could, as soon as possible, spare me a few minutes of his time.
“What are you talking about Phelan?” she asked watching me inspect her grotto.
“I followed a couple of thugs from the flight deck. They’re searching the station, deck by deck, for something or someone. I thought of your comment about gamblers not being happy with you.”
“From my research, I’ve found that some very big enterprises have lost hundreds of thousands of Pesetas,” she explained, “They’ve consistently backed the wrong team. That would be any Video Combat team playing against mine.”
“I’d have thought they’d send a business type to offer you a bribe?” I said sitting so I could look at the Navigator and still keep watch on the opening.
“Oh, but they have, three times. And each time the Pesetas offered tripled,” she related with a smile, “Unfortunately for them, I don’t need the money.”
“Well I have a feeling this time the offer wouldn’t be cash,” I said as I slid my fighting sticks out of my pockets. Snapping them out to their full length, I added, “This time, it’ll be more personal.”
It wasn’t a surprise when the big boys arrived. The sharp cry of a waiter being tossed into what sounded like a tray of glasses alerted me. Someone got in their faces and her voice rose above the rumble of the patrons.
“Now, what would you be doing that for? You big,” the sharp feminine voice asked.
“Get out of my way, woman,” a man’s voice responded. I think it was scar face. He grunted and wheezed by exhaling loudly. Then there was the report of a loud slap followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor.
I thought of the waitress with the green eyes and realized there wasn’t any place I’d rather be right now. Those animals needed a lesson.
“Agdta, please move to the rear of the grotto,” I instructed while standing and placing a chair so the entrance was partially blocked, “It’s about to get interesting.”
“Why, Ensign Piran,” she purred, “It’s always interesting with you around.”
Chapter 30
Ugly ear darkened the entrance to the grotto with his bulk. Scar face limped up behind him. I had to guess the waitress had given him the Clan welcome. A knee to the crotch was a greeting reserved for all uninvited guests.
“Sorry, this grotto is full,” I sneered, “Try the next one.”
“Out of the way. Our business is with her,” he said while he cracked his knuckles.
I thought it was very gangster of him. Also, it was a mistake because he’d stopped his forward progress to needlessly voice a threat.
Using my foot, I shoved the chair. It rammed into his shins and I pushed harder. He fell forward right into the whirly of slashes from my fighting sticks. By the time he hit the floor, he was hurt but not as hurt as when I stomped his face into the hard wood floor. One down, I figured, one to go.
“Did you slap the green eyed waitress?” I asked scar face.
He was looking down at his fallen and bleeding partner.
“You’re going to regret that,” he said moving towards me, “Yes, I slapped the bitch. She kneed me in the nuts.”
So indeed, she had given him the Clan welcome. I smiled at that and hoped she wasn’t too badly hurt.
“Are you coming in or do I have to come out to get you?” I asked him.
He hesitated, pointed at Agdta, and said, “I’m coming in for you and for her.”
I launched myself with my sticks out like a Picador. Unfortunately for me, he wasn’t a dumb bull. Although he acted like one, he was in fact trained in martial arts. I realized this when he spun my flying body over his hip, slamming me to the floor.
I jerked my head away from the hammer blow and the big meaty fist just missed me. I heard it smack into the deck by my ear. Jetting my knee up, caught him in the side. The knee struck with enough force to move his body and his fist out of range. He couldn’t line up for another punch, so he kicked me in the ribs.
Rolling away helped me absorb some of the kick’s force but still it hurt. The pain rolled across my chest, sucking the air from my lungs. He followed the kick with a stomp. It crushed my shoulder into the deck. More pain and I really wanted to put some space between the big guy and me. But, I couldn’t. Agdta was his primary target. As long as he remained focused on me, she was safe.
The thug danced back and charged in for another kick. I rolled away, braced with my arm and, power rolled back in the opposite direction. His leg having missed me was hanging in the air. He might have been going for a downward heel strike or another stomp. In either case, the leg was there, so I wrapped it up with my legs and pulled on his foot. He tumbled on top of me. Damn, he was heavy.
I twisted as best I could under his mass trying to twist the leg off. It was like grabbing the trunk of a tree. That combined with his weight, left me stuck. I was stuck but he wasn’t. A big fist dropped from on high and rocked my head. You know how it’s described as seeing stars? That’s not true, what you see are lightning bolts ripping apart your vision.
Ducking my head down beside his trapped leg gave me a little shelter from the next punch. Not so much the third or the fourth. I was fuzzy and the lightning bolts were coming so fast my vision was almost gone.
Then, the weight of my attacker vanished. One second it was there and then the crushing weight and the punches were gone. I twisted around and saw the bottom of a brown robe. The large thug was scrambling to his feet some distance from me.
The Druid moved so fast I barely tracked him as his fighting stick arced into the th
ug’s head. The hoodlum rolled away, using the momentum to raise to his feet. Shaking his head like a bull he dropped into a fighting stance.
The fighter eyed the Druid and they started to circle each other. My money was on the Druid. Or it would have been if the two had continued to fight.
“What the hell,” I heard Izan say before I saw him.
The Marine came out of my peripheral. In one hand he held a tray, the other was balled into a fist that smashed into the thug’s nose. The punch was followed up by a spinning roundhouse kick to the side of the guy’s head. Like an unstable column, the ruffian varied one way then leaned another before crumbling into a heap.
“They never see the kick coming after their nose gets rearranged,” Izan said as he approached Agdta, “Honey cake.”
Izan was no doubt a Combat Marine and I’d guess a martial arts instructor to boot. Obviously the reason he’d been assigned the bodyguard duty.
I scaled a handy chair to gain my feet. The room spun for a few minutes then slowed to a manageable level. Agdta and Izan were in my way but they moved to let me in the grotto.
“Someone is very angry with you,” I said to Agdta as I eased down into the chair with a grunt, “Those two weren’t amateurs.”
“The video Championships are Realm wide,” Agdta explained, “A lot of people bet on the outcome. Like I said before, some people bet on the wrong team.”
“Are you fit for duty, Sir?” Izan asked looking hard at me.
“I’m fine Sergeant,” I assured him.
“Good because you’re about to be called upon officially as an Officer in the Galactic Navy,” he replied.
Eight armored personnel from the hydroxyl Station’s security detail flooded the area.
“Everyone freeze,” a short but thick man shouted.
“Corporal, I’d like a word with you,” I said after reading the stripes on his sleeve.
It took me too long to push my beaten body out of the chair. While my head was down concentrating on placing my hands on the arms of the chair, the Corporal came at me with a night stick. Although the angle of my head prevented me from seeing the raised bludgeon, it did give me a nice view of Agdta tripping the security NCO. He face planted at my feet.
Galactic Council Realm 1: On Station Page 17