Georg and Marc clasped hands. Then the four of them began walking away from the others. When they were in the trees and out of earshot Georg got right down to business.
“You know that Curt is here as the police chief.”
“I’ve seen him and wondered why he would have left his lucrative business to come here,” Ruthi said.
“Well, it seems that someone told the police chief back on Level One that Curt was taking bribes from tobacco sellers.”
Marc grinned. “That wouldn’t have been you, would it?”
“I tried but someone else beat me to it.”
“Davi?”
“That’s my guess.”
“How did he manage to become police chief?” Jawn asked.
“He was smart enough to bring some tobacco, which he was selling on the trip over, and some seeds to plant here.”
“What’s that got to do with it?”
“Well, it seems that Governor Lind has developed a serious smoking habit. She’s given Curt a field to plant his seed.”
“Where do we come in?”
“I’m going to approach him about forming a partnership,” Georg said. “He will supply the seed and we will grow them into tobacco plants and do the harvest. We sell the finished product and split the profits.”
“I watched them plowing the fields and then working them with harrows to smooth them out,” Marc said. “It’s not going to be an easy job.”
“Yeah, especially since we won’t have any tools,” Ruthi added.
“We’ll figure something out,” Georg said.
“Maybe Governor Lind will authorize us to use some of the equipment,” Jawn said. “After all, it will be to her benefit.”
“We’ll have to recruit some help,” Marc said.
“I met four guys in prison who grew tobacco in the Fringe,” Jawn said. “One died on the trip here. I’m sure the others will join us.”
“Good,” Georg said. “That will give us seven. Enough for now. I’ll go see Curt as soon as I get a chance.”
* * *
“Guess who is back?” A man with an ugly scar running down the left cheek of his face appeared in the doorway of the tent one evening.
“Mat!” Conni and Shela rushed over to him. There had been little contact on the spaceship because of the bars but now they both hugged him.
“We didn’t think we would see you again,” Conni said.
“Yeah. We heard that you were hurt bad when the dump storm hit,” Shela said.
“I was but the doctors fixed me up. I only have a problem with one shoulder and this.” He reached up and touched the scar. “But they won’t stop me from continuing my business.”
“Oh, good,” Connie squealed. “I’ve been missing my smoke and drink.”
“That’s good because I’ve brought some customers with me. Who wants them?”
Shela and Conni were still wary partners. Neither trusted the other, but they worked together to secure their tobacco and liquor.
“How many are there?” Shela asked.
“Four,” Mat said.
Gwin stretched out on her bunk. On the spaceship he’d learned to bring an even number of clients so they divided equally and he never brought more than six at a time. Conni had found no one to replace Syl, who had died of infection, and Gwin had refused, in many a face-to-face shouting match with Shela, to be a part of the trade. She’d also stayed on her lower bunk. It was not going to be used for the encounters.
Mat went back to the door and gestured to the four men to enter. Three had visited while they were on the spaceship; one was a newcomer. When there were less than six Shela and Conni let their girls handle them. Iren and Dore secured a blanket under the mattress of the Iren’s top bunk and draped it in front of Dore’s bottom one. With a seductive smile Dore pulled the newcomer in behind the screen. Iren climbed up on her bunk and beckoned to another. There was little privacy up there but he didn’t seem to mind.
Two blankets were hung across the other bottom bunks and Rebe and Mari climbed behind them to entertain their customers. Rebe’s leg was still sore and she moved gingerly. At first there were soft murmurings behind the blankets but soon the noise level increased. Gwin stood it as best she could then left the tent.
She could ask to be moved to another section of the tent but there were many bunks with blankets hanging on them. Mat wasn’t the only pimp of the guards.
When she came back the men had just finished and Mat was handing the liquor and tobacco to Conni and Shela. They climbed on their top bunks and lit their pipes. They let out their breaths filling the air around them with smoke. The bottles of liquor lay beside them. The other girls watched and waited for their turns at the pipes.
While on her walk, Gwin had come up with a solution to her problem. Royd hadn’t contacted her and she had spent the past month trying to get some information about him. Her anger had overwhelmed her when no one in authority would talk with her. She was even angry at Royd for taking so long. After all, it wasn’t far from where the spaceships sat to where the tents were. And she spent a lot of time outside her tent waiting for him trying to come up with reasons why he hadn’t shown. She even wondered if he was afraid of the prisoners and didn’t want to be near them.
So, even though it was against the rules she had to get him a message. He was someone who would be on her side, someone with the ability to really help. And she needed to get started on her plans. She went over to where Mat was collecting the last half of his money from the clients.
“Mat, I have to talk to you.”
Conni was suddenly at her side. “What do you want him for?”
“None of your business.”
“You better not be thinking of getting your own clients,” she muttered, slipping the knife into her palm where Gwin could see it.
“I’m not.”
“I think I’ll stay here just to make sure.”
“What do you want?” Mat turned to her as he stuffed the money in his pocket.
“I’d like to send a message to someone.”
“Oh, you do, do you?” he smirked.
“Yes.”
“Why don’t you just take it to them?”
“This isn’t for another prisoner.”
“Who is it for, then?”
Gwin hesitated. Word spread quickly. Would mentioning Royd’s name cause him some problems? Would it jeopardize his helping her?
“Aw, she doesn’t know anyone,” Conni laughed. “She’s just trying to get a little attention.”
“Go back to your bunk,” Mat said, turning away.
“No, wait,” Gwin persisted.
“What?” Mat asked impatiently.
“I want you to get a message to Flight Director Royd.”
“And just who is he?”
“He’s the one who was in charge of getting us here. Didn’t you hear Governor Lind’s speech?”
“What ship is he on?” Mat asked ignoring her question.
“I don’t know.”
“He’s the one you were yelling for during the ceremonies,” Conni said. “The one who wouldn’t stop?”
Gwin had realized that Conni had seen her there.
“What do you want to say to him?” Mat asked.
This was going better than she’d thought. “I want to ask him to come and see me.”
“And why?”
“Because … uh, because we’re friends.”
“You’re friends?” Conni hooted. “The way he ignored you, I doubt it.”
“And that’s the message?”
“Yes,” Gwin nodded. “Can you get it to him?”
“I probably could.”
Gwin sighed with relief. It was about time things started going her way.
“And how do you plan on paying for it?”
“Paying for it?” Gwin asked confused.
“Well, you don’t expect me to do it for nothing, do you?”
“I’ve nothing to pay you with.”
&n
bsp; Mat shrugged. “Too bad.”
“I’ve got an idea,” Shela said from her bunk.
Gwin and Conni turned towards her.
“Well, if I had one more girl working, I could get more tobacco and if Mat could bring in an extra customer he could make more money. Maybe enough to pay for sending the message.”
Gwin stood with her mouth open.
“That’s a great idea,” Mat said. “But it would take two extra customers to make it worth my time.”
Gwin looked from one to the other. They were blackmailing her. “I can’t do that,” she exclaimed.
“Then I guess your friend won’t get his message.” Mat shrugged.
“But he’s got to!” Gwin cried.
“How about I give you some time to think about it. You’ve got until tomorrow night.”
Gwin returned to her bunk, totally disheartened. What she’d witnessed tonight and other nights disgusted her. How could the other women stand to have strange men touch them, make love to them? Rebe had protested in the beginning on the spaceship but now seemed to enjoy it. Maybe the tobacco and liquor made it easier.
Gwin knew there was no way she could let anyone other than Mikk make love to her. She would just have to wait until Royd felt it safe to get in touch with her.
* * *
Georg left the prisoner’s tent and headed to the police tent, or ‘station’ as they liked to call it, that housed the police officers. Except for watching the work on the village, police supervision was fairly slack. They only had two main jobs. One was to hand out the tools, watch the work done with them, then retrieve them and lock them back in the spaceship. The other was to patrol the village in pairs watching the prisoners carefully. They were outnumbered and they knew it and the only thing stopping the prisoners from attacking them were the stun guns they carried. There wasn’t much in the way of laws to enforce yet, but some prisoners had been arrested for fighting.
While they slept in the tent and ate with the prisoners, they did have access to the pleasure rooms on the ships for entertainment during their time off.
Georg walked into the station. It was one large room that was divided by hanging curtains. In the front, each of the captains sat on wooden slab benches behind wooden slab tables. Some officers stood around talking, others he could see lying on beds though slits in the curtains.
He saw Curt down at the far end sitting at a table. When he started towards him, an officer stopped him.
“What do you want?”
“I’ve come to see the police chief.”
“What about?”
“That’s between him and me.” Georg saw Curt raise his head and their eyes locked. Georg crooked at finger at him, beckoning him to come.
“Well, no prisoners are allowed in here unless they’re under arrest.”
Georg nodded towards Curt, who was working his way around the tables, his face flushed with anger. “I think he’s going to see me.”
“Hello, Curt,” Georg said when he was close enough to hear.
“That’s Police Chief Curt,” Curt said through clenched lips. “And how dare you come in here to see me after what you did?”
“What are you angry about,” Georg asked mildly. “I’m the one who’s here because of you.”
“And you paid me back by squealing on me.”
“Now, you’re right there, but I wasn’t the first. Someone else beat me to it.”
“Who?”
“Well, I’m thinking Davi.”
“Why him?” Some of Curt’s anger was diminishing. “We were working together.”
“Maybe you were too expensive. Just out of curiosity, how much did it cost him for you to turn on me?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Georg shrugged. “You’re right.”
“So what do you want?”
“I’ve got a deal I want to discuss with you.”
“You’re in no position to be making any deals,” Curt smirked.
“And you know nothing about growing tobacco.”
Curt hesitated. “Okay, let’s go for a walk.”
* * *
Judge Jym paced back and forth in his small apartment. On the flight over he’d heard about the guards who were hustling for some women on the prison ships but he’d been unable to figure out a way to visit them without them knowing who he was. Not that it mattered if the Judicial Committee found out. There was nothing more they could do to him.
But ever since he’d been interviewed by Sari he’d been thinking about his role in this venture. All the people on these ships were making history and as the first judge for the colony he was going to have a dominant role in that history. The only person with more influence and prominence would be the governor.
Power like that would never have been his at home and he had to make a decision if he wanted to be remembered as an upstanding member of this new community who, through his impartial rulings and fair laws, had set the fundamental principles on which the judicial system of the planet would be based. Or did he want to be remembered as the judge who had been exiled to this planet because he broke the rules of conduct and continued to do so once here.
Because, if his behavior didn’t improve with the move and the prisoners knew he was visiting prostitutes they would not respect him or his position, and they certainly would not listen to his rulings or obey any laws he tried to enact.
But he also had his own needs to think about. When the question was asked about who had more importance, the individual or the society he didn’t know if he could sacrifice himself for the good of the colony.
He toyed with the idea of asking if one of the women could be brought to him but he knew it wouldn’t happen. None of the prisoners were allowed to come onto the spaceships.
* * *
Governor Lind walked through the large area that could now be considered the village. It had taken longer than she’d thought it would to get this far. The beginnings of her government house stood alone on one of the streets, which she’d named Government Avenue. The first five rows of logs were in place and the prisoners were starting the sixth.
Four long streets ran at an angle to Government Avenue. Work on the prisoner’s dormitories was in progress along three of them. Prisoners were digging holes for wooden posts to be stood upright, while others were nailing slabs for the walls onto logs that were already in place. Reluctant though they may have been, with the police officers standing over them, the prisoners were working hard. She’d heard about the complaining and the beatings, even heard that some of the prisoners had died, but she ignored the rumours. If the colony was to succeed it was important to get this done as quickly as possible, whatever the cost.
On the fourth street the police barracks, the police station, and the warehouses were also going up. In spite of being told that it would take longer to complete the village, she’d had all the buildings designed large so there would be no crowding. In order to save time, she’d decided that when the slab walls of the buildings were erected the canvas from the tents would be used to form a flat roof. And there was no need for a floor either. Dirt and grass would suffice for now. The buildings could then be put into use sooner and finished once the prisoners were settled.
Governor Lind inhaled deeply of the smell of fresh sawn logs then smiled, pleased with herself. She was doing a very good job.
She headed into the forest away from the constant sawing and hammering, and the sound of hundreds of voices. She enjoyed the warmth of the sun as it shone through the trees, the singing of the birds, and the scampering of the small animals. Although she now thought she would enjoy her stay here, she did feel slightly uneasy with the vast open space. She was used to the confines of the megalopolis where life was structured.
Yes, everything was running smoothly except for Flight Director Royd. He hadn’t accepted her suggestion that he help with the building and yet he spent most of his time checking to see how much work was being done each day. He wanted everythin
g unloaded so he could return home.
Chapter Five
A knock at Judge Jym’s door made him jump. This was the first time someone had come to visit him. He wondered who it was as he crossed the room and opened the door.
“Police Officer Tame,” he said, in surprise. While he’d seen her since they’d landed, he hadn’t spoken with her since the last time she’d spurned his advances in the pleasure room during the trip.
She smiled at him. “Hello, Judge Jym.”
“Would you like to come in?” he asked hesitantly. He’d been turned down so many times.
“Thank you, I will.” She walked into the room.
Judge Jym stood beside the open door not sure if he should shut it.
She turned and saw him there. “You may close the door,” she said. “But before you get any ideas, I’ve only come to talk.”
That was good enough for him. Talking generally led to other things. “Sit down.” He gestured to one of the two chairs in the room. The only other furniture were his bed, a dresser and a television. Like so many on this voyage he’d brought a lot of tapes to watch.
“Would you like a beer?” He’d stocked up on some from the bar for his own use. “It’s not cold.”
“Sure,” she said leaning back in the chair.
Judge Jym took two bottles from the small closet and handed her one. He sat in the other chair. “What would you like to talk about?” he asked.
Tame opened her bottle and took a drink before answering his question. “I overheard the conversation between you and the historian, Sari, a while ago.”
Judge Jym nodded, not sure what to say to that.
“And I have a proposition for you.”
“Yes?” he asked uncertainly. He sensed it wasn’t going to be like the ones he’d made to her.
“I know about your reputation and that you couldn’t stay away from Harlot Row even when it damaged your career.”
Judge Jym blushed, but still said nothing.
“I’m not sure if you went there because of the type of service offered or because it was the only place you could get sex.”
Betrayed (Cry of the Guilty – Silence of the Innocent Book 2) Page 4