by M. D. Cooper
She pointed at some long benches running down both sides of the vehicle. “Please, have a seat. It’s not very far but it’s more comfortable to ride.”
They all took their seats. The transport lurched forward, almost throwing them off the benches, then it found a bone jarring rhythm as it rumbled down a busy corridor. Looking out of the large, panoramic windows, Mia watched vendors hawking their alien wares to passersby. Small personal conveyances jostled noisily for position down tight thoroughfares. And above it all, security orbs glinted in the hazy sun as they floated along on patrol.
Chapter Seven: Steal Away
The transport ground to a halt and the doors sprang open with a loud crash as the doors hit the side of the transport. Mogdah stood and led the way off the vehicle and into a low, unremarkable brown building. Through the front doors and down a brightly lit hallway, they came to the open doors of a large conference room. Inside, the two captains and their accompanying crew members were seated around a long, oval table. They all looked up as Reese and his crew entered.
“Ragin’ Will Reese?” asked the stocky captain, rising from his chair. “Don’t you dare tell me that you’re here to get in on the Phinkies action, too!”
The still seated captain looked from Reese to the captain standing across from her and back to Reese with a worried look on her hawkish face, her short wings quivering. Her men glanced nervously around the room. Mia stepped out from behind her captain to assess the situation. She could feel the tension in the room start to rise.
“Naw, I’m just here for the free beer and cheap women, Pukin’ Potts,” Reese joked and found an empty seat between the two anxious crews. Mia took the seat to his right while O’Neil and Jakeson opted for the ones on his left. Captain Potts shook his head and reclaimed his seat.
Mogdah walked around the room and took her spot at the head of the table. She nodded at the guards standing at the front of the room. They closed the doors and took up positions on either side.
“Captains,” she began, “as each of you were informed, we have a limited supply of Phinkies at this time. Each of you has requested almost our entire inventory. I’m hoping that we can all come to a mutually agreeable arrangement. If each of you will agree to a third of our stock, with our promise to fulfill the rest within ten solars, we can begin the price negotiations.”
The hawk-like captain spoke first. “I’m afraid I can’t agree to those limits. I have very demanding customers waiting for the Phinkies. Walking away with a third of the requested amount isn’t going to cut it.”
Mia looked around the table and watched the rest of the Colonial Navy members nodded in agreement. Her stomach began to slowly knot up. She elbowed Reese in the ribs. He jumped and looked at her and held up his finger, silently telling her to be patient. She glared back at him with wide open eyes.
“Pardon, Captain Tomms. William, is there an issue?” Mogdah asked, impatiently.
“Well, yeah. There is. We don’t have customers waiting. We have some blood thirsty kidnappers demanding 100 tonne of Phinkies in exchange for my commander’s sister. Anything less than the amount they’re demanding and I’m afraid we’re going to walk away with a third of a body.” Reese leaned back in his seat at an angle and dangled his left arm over the back of his chair. He waved his right hand around while he was explaining their predicament.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Captain Reese,” Potts said, “but I got problems of my own. And a third of a prepaid shipment is only going to get me bounty hunters nipping at my ass all the way back to secure Colonial space. Not like I could run and hide there, anyway.”
Mia stood up. “10 dextans of mazumah for the whole lot.”
“That’s not how negotiations work, Commander,” Captain Tomms sputtered, her feathers ruffling in annoyance.
Mogdah smiled at her. “It does here. Anyone care to counter offer?”
Reese grabbed Mia by the arm and dragged her back down into her seat. He hissed in her ear, “Are you friggin’ insane? We don’t have that kind of currency!”
Mia shook off his arm. “I’m not leaving here without the full ransom, sir.”
Potts looked at Tomms and then over to Reese and shrugged. “10 dextans +1”
“Dammit!” Tomms screeched and slammed her clawed fist on the table. “10 dextans +2”
“+3!” Potts stood up, his face breaking out in red and white blotches.
Mogdah looked at Reese and Mia. “Your bid?”
Mia tried to stand but was held in her seat by Reese.
“We withdraw!” Reese admitted through clenched teeth.
Mogdah pointed at the doors. “Please excuse yourselves from the negotiations.”
Reese, Jakeson and O’Neil stood and turned for the door. Mia sat still, stubbornly remaining in her seat. Reese turned back with a surprised look. He stomped over to her, pulled her chair out, hoisted her out of her seat and threw her over his shoulder and headed back for the door.
“Put! Me! Down!” She punctuated each word with a fist against his back.
O’Neil and Jakeson laughed at Mia as Reese passed them through the doors. Once out in the hallway, the doors closed behind them. Reese shrugged Mia from his shoulder, dropping her to the ground. She straightened out her uniform and stepped into him, pointing her finger in his face.
“We needed that!” she fumed.
“I know. I’m not a complete idiot!” He looked up and down the hall. No one paid them any attention and there were no guards present. “Come with me, I think I have a plan.”
He turned and walked swiftly to the front of the building and through the front doors. As Jakeson and O’Neil fanned out, scouting the area, Reese pulled out his communicator and hailed the ship.
“Carter, can you get a fix on the most secure location within the city? Preferably near a space port or large warehouse facility.”
“Yes, sir.” A moment later she reported, “There looks to be one within three leuga from your position.”
“Have the ship ready to break orbit and hightail it out of Deztian space as soon as we’re back on board. It’s going to be a tuck-and-roll kinda maneuver.” He grinned wildly at Mia.
“Copy, Captain. Falderal out.”
“You’re planning to steal the Phinkies while they’re in there arguing?” Mia looked both astonished and grateful.
“That’s my plan. We probably don’t have much time, so we need to get to where they are storing the Phinkies, and relieve them of it. You ready?” He winked at her.
“I don’t know whether to kiss you or kill you.” Mia stood there, stunned stupid.
“We can decide that later. Right now,” he surveyed the busy plaza where they had been dropped off earlier, “we need to head that direction as fast as we can. Because...I don’t see another mode of transportation available now.”
A flashy personal conveyance came to a screeching halt behind Reese, who stood there still as a petrified tree sloth. Mia started to move for the door of the vehicle when it opened to reveal O’Neil’s lanky legs unfolding from the seat.
“I figured we’d need a faster means of travel than our feet. I hope you don’t mind, captain, my captain.” O’Neil grinned from ear to ear.
Reese turned to Mia, “I told you he was good in a tight spot.”
Mia shook her head. “No, you told me Jakeson was good. This is O’Neil.”
“Eh, same difference. They’re all good. Some gooder than others, but still good.” Reese walked around to the closed door for the right side of the vehicle and opened it then climbed in. Jakeson followed him and closed the door once they were inside.
“I guess you’ll be on my side, ma’am,” O’Neil stated. “We should probably hurry before the owner comes looking for it.”
Mia didn’t waste any time and climbed into the back of the conveyance on the left side. O’Neil returned to his position in the operator’s seat. He closed the door, started the vehicle and sped off towards the location Reese indicated on his hand-held
communicator.
O’Neil skillfully maneuvered the racy conveyance through busy boulevards, like a prairie dog with its tail on fire. In no time, they parked a short distance from the storage facility and abandoned the vehicle. They walked rapidly towards their destination, occasionally glancing over their shoulders, looking for any signs of pursuit.
They came to the front of the facility and watched the front gate from across the street. Mia, nervously looked up and down the lightly traveled avenue. She turned to Reese.
“This doesn’t feel right,” she said in a hushed tone.
“No, it doesn’t. It feels like a whole lot of bad news wrapped in deep trouble and bound with a mess of danger. Just the way I like it.” He laughed before turning away from her and jogging across the street, leaving Mia to stare, opened mouthed.
“He’s insane,” she stammered. “Absolutely, certifiably in-friggin-sane!”
“Yep. And he’s fun at parties,” Jakeson said with a straight face.
O’Neil chimed in, “You should see his dance moves. I’d bet my last chit that he’s the most interesting man in the universe.”
“I may or may not have a serious bro-crush on him,” Jakeson added, looking back down the avenue, searching for signs of guards.
Mia watched as Reese approached the bored-looking guard and gave a friendly wave. The guard yawned and gave a half wave back. As she looked on, Reese put his arm around the guard’s shoulder and turned him away from them.
“That’s our cue. Let’s go,” hissed O’Neil. He and Jakeson sprinted across the street and snuck up behind Reese and the guard. Mia hurried after them, not exactly sure what she should be doing. When she reached them, they tackled the guard and rendered him unconscious with their issued stunners. The guard groaned then collapsed in a heap at their feet.
Reese hooked a hand under the guard’s arm and pointed at his other arm. “Mia, help me out here.”
Mia stepped over the guard and grabbed his other arm. Jakeson pilfered through his pockets and found a set of keys. He moved over to the gate and began trying keys. O’Neil kept watch, scanning up and down the deserted avenue.
“Got it,” Jakeson said as the gate swung open.
Reese and Mia dragged the guard in through the open gate. Once they made it in, O’Neil stepped through and closed and secured the gate behind him.
“There’s some crates over against that wall, we can hide him behind there,” Reese indicated a spot over Mia’s left shoulder.
She scanned the spot over her shoulder and nodded, angling herself in that direction. They made quick work of stuffing the guard in the space between the wall and crates then regrouped back by the gate.
“Now what?” Mia asked, brushing some loose hair out of her eyes.
“Look around for a way into the main warehouse. There has to be a door or something around here somewhere.” Reese began to search between the rows and stacks of boxes and crates.
“This place is like a maze. It’s going to take us forever,” Mia surmised. “Have Carter scan the building and locate our entry point.”
Reese pulled out his communicator and tossed it to Mia. “You said this was your party. Lead the way, Commander.” He flashed her a quick grin and went back to his search.
“Carter, can you locate any entryways into this place?” Mia spoke into the device.
“Scanning, Commander,” Carter reported. A moment later, she spoke again, “There is indication of a passage twelve passus to your meridiem, ma’am.”
Mia scanned her surroundings. “Are you positive? All I’m seeing is solid wall.”
“Affirmative, Commander. Scans show an anomaly at that location. It may be a forcefield or hologram projecting a solid object.”
Reese gave her a shrug and walked over to the wall and began to run his hands over it. Less than a palmus, his hand passed into the impenetrable looking structure.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he let out a low whistle, calling O’Neil and Jakeson over. “We found our way in. Who wants to go first?”
Mia pocketed the communicator and stood in front of the wall. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and walked into the wall. She passed through with ease. When she opened her eyes, she found herself inside of a cavernous warehousing complex. Racks as far as she could see were overflowing with Phinkies. A moment later, she was joined by Reese, O’Neil and Jakeson.
“Looks like your fiancé lied to us, Captain,” Mia said as she ran her hand over the closest box while peering up to the ceiling, trying to estimate how high the stack was.
“She’s my ex-fiancé. And it wouldn’t be the first time she’s lied. It’s one of her more charming qualities.” Reese came to stand next to her and looked up. “That’s a whole lot of Phinkies.”
“Yeah. My gut says they’re hiding something. This is a lot more than the black market can sustain.”
“Well, we don’t have time to unravel that mystery right now. We need to grab what we came for and move on to saving your llamanian friend.”
“Where are O’Neil and Jakeson?” Mia asked, scanning the area and noticing them missing.
“I sent them to look for a way to transport the Phinkies back to our drop ship. There has to be a delivery transport around just waiting for us to borrow it. What sort of warehouse wouldn’t have one?”
“True,” Mia agreed. “I hope it doesn’t take them too long to locate one. Something about this place doesn’t sit right with me.”
“It’s probably the bad lighting and monochrome decor. It shows a true lack of imagination on the part of the interior decorator. If it were my warehouse, I’d post a bad review on social media and cause a shit storm. But that’s just me.”
Jakeson sprinted around the corner towards them. “Captain, great news! We found a loaded transport ready to go. We subdued the driver. O’Neil is waiting for us at the loading dock. This way.”
He turned and jogged back the way he’d come, Reese and Mia on his heels. They wound their way through the warehouse maze and slowed as they neared the loading dock. Jakeson held up his hand and indicated that they wait. He crept ahead, looked around and then motioned for them to follow. When they rejoined him, they found O’Neil sitting in an unmarked transport vehicle, looking bored.
“Hey, Captain! Lookie what we found,” O’Neil smiled. “Hop in and let’s take this bad boy for a joy ride!”
“Now you’re talkin’,” Reese said as he opened the door and let Mia and Jakeson into the passenger side of the cab. He climbed in after them and looked at O’Neil. “To the ship, James!”
Chapter Eight: Blame It on the Lieutenant
O’Neil slowed the transport as they approached their drop ship. Mia and Reese surveyed the area, looking for any hostile characters ready to impede their escape.
“At least the ramp is still down. I hope that’s a good sign,” Mia commented.
“Commander, I need you to help me and Jakeson unload the Phinkies while O’Neil preps the ship for takeoff. O’Neil, tuck and roll. We’re out of here in 10 or less. Let’s move like we’ve got a purpose,” Reese ordered.
The transport rolled to a halt and everyone spilled out, set on their given tasks. O’Neil sprinted to the ship, ran up the ramp and disappeared inside. Mia, Reese and Jakeson opened the back of the transport and began to unload the heavy crates. They piled them at the bottom of their ship’s ramp.
With one of the last crates ready to be unloaded, Mia bent over to grab the handle when a blaster shot burned into the side of the transport where Mia’s head had been just a moment before. Another shot hit the crate between her and Jakeson, causing a small hole that began to smolder and emit smoke in a thin, wispy thread. Mia reached for her sidearm and found only her stunner. “Dammit,” she hissed.
Reese emerged from the back of the transport and looked towards the direction of the blaster fire. “Mia, get to the ship and grab the blasters. Once you are in position at the top of the ramp, cover us. I don’t want a blaster wound in my ass
.”
Mia dropped her side of the crate and ran for the ship, blaster fire hitting the ground all around her. She dashed up the ramp, breathing heavily and worked the cabinet that held their weapons. O’Neil came out of the cockpit and held out his hand. Mia opened the cabinet and pulled out two shoulder blasters. She handed O’Neil one and kept one for herself.
Together they stood at the top of the ramp and returned fire, covering Reese and Jakeson as they carried over one of the crates. They manhandled their load up the ramp and dropped it in the troop seating area. Standing behind Mia, Reese scanned the enemy.
“Think you can hold them off long enough for us to bring up the rest of the ill-gotten gains?” Reese asked as a blast scorched the ramp in front of O’Neil.
“We don’t have much of a choice, do we, Captain?” Mia said sternly.
“There are always options, Commander.” He slapped Jakeson on the shoulder then they bolted down the ramp.
With blasts sending up puffs of smoke all around them, they grabbed the nearest container and sprinted up the ramp as fast as they could under its weight. After dropping it next to the other one inside the ship, they returned to stand behind Mia and Jakeson. There were taking turns returning volleys of rapid fire before ducking back behind the bulkheads.
“One more and we can blow this hell hole,” Jakeson wheezed and bent over with his hands on his knees.
“Getting a little old for this kind of action?” Reese wiped sweat from his face.
“Old? No. Too many nights dragging your ass out of bars and the arms of love sick females? Yes,” he cracked, looking up at Reese.