by Dani Hoots
“Cadi!” he wrapped his arms around me and I him. “What a delightful surprise! What are you doing here?”
“I’m here on business,” I explained as I pushed his arms away from me since he tended to hold me a little longer than I wished.
“That’s just an excuse and you know it,” he glanced at David. “Who’s this?”
I smiled. “Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Jack. He’s just an acquaintance.”
He eyed me. “I wasn’t a jealous type ‘til I saw you at that shindig of yours.”
“You're one to talk, with all your receptionists,” I gestured towards the red head.
“I don’t dance like you do with my receptionists,” Jack added.
“We can talk about that later, okay? This is David. He’s part of the business I was referring to.”
“You’re working with someone? Since when have you ever worked with someone besides me? Maybe I should be jealous.”
“Jack—” I began.
“Pardon me, Cadi, for being concerned but I have never seen you act this way. You are being more open than usual,” his face became serious. “What is really going on?”
“It’s complicated, Jack, can we talk in your office?” I gestured towards the door.
“Sure, why not. But how about just us two? I worry when you bring a friend. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Emperor ordered you to do something to me. Again,” Jack smiled.
I turned to David. “Fine. David, stay here?”
David looked like he was about to say something but he reluctantly nodded and sat back down. I presumed all of this confused him. I debated how much I would explain to him after all this was through.
Jack grabbed my hand gently and led me to his office. Now Jack was an odd man to say the very least but he had a weird fascination with clocks. Most of his office was covered in clocks. This was where the name ‘Crazy’ Jack came into play. He never explained to me why he had such a fascination and I never did ask. I called him crazy once but he just retorted that I was just as crazy so we left it at that. I just accepted it and never asked again. Every genius was entitled to a few quirks. This was his.
“I see you still have your clocks,” I commented.
He looked around happily. “Yes, I do. I guess we never made it as far as my office last time, did we?”
“We did, not for long though.”
“We were too busy,” he lifted my hand and kissed my exposed fingers.
He knew of my past and why I wore my gloves. He never asked why I always keep them on, even around him and never asked me to take them off.
“With the mission, yes,” I added.
“That’s what I meant,” he smiled. He pulled back a chair. “Please, sit.”
He sat down across from me. I started fiddling with my hairband. “I came here to ask for a favor.”
“What kind of favor?” his eyes twinkled with the thought of all the things I could ask from him.
“I need a ship.” I crushed his hopes.
He looked at me, puzzled. “A ship?”
“Class Three ship,” I clarified.
Jack was taken aback further. “Class Three ship? Why would you need a Class Three ship?”
“As I said, for a mission.” I didn’t want to get into details. I didn’t want to get him involved.
“What if I said I didn’t have a Class Three Ship, since they’re illegal for me to have,” he started.
“I would call you a liar.”
Jack grinned with delight. “You know me too well, Cadi. I got the ship in a poker tournament. Never got reported since it was illegal for the person to gamble with it in the first place. So technically, it isn’t illegal for me to have.”
“Technically,” I repeated
He shrugged. “All that matters here. Now, tell me, what’s this mission of yours and why wasn’t I invited?”
“You know I can’t talk about missions unless you are involved.”
Shaking his head. “This isn’t a standard mission, is it Cadi?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about Jack; I am working for the Emperor on this one, as always.”
“Liar,” he called out without hesitation. He was smarter than I gave him credit for.
“What makes you say that?”
“Come on Cadi, you think I don’t know you? You don’t work with others and you don’t ask me for help unless told to. What’s really going on?” he repeated the question.
I paused. “I wasn’t sent to take you down, Jack; I wouldn’t go through all this trouble.”
“I know that. But tell me, what are you really doing here? Why do you need my ship?”
I stared at him, pondering on whether or not I should tell him the truth. He wouldn’t believe me if I told him. But he also could tell if I was lying.
“I said I’m on a mission,” I answered.
“For the Emperor?”
“As I already said, yes.”
“Liar. Who’s this mission really for?” his voice became serious, more serious than I had ever heard it. I started wondering why he wanted to know. He never pushed this hard before.
“What is it to you, Jack? You aren’t my keeper. You aren’t my Emperor. You are just a scoundrel on this slime-ball of a planet,” my tone was harsh. I really didn’t want to explain my mission to him. I thought if I pissed him off enough he would drop it.
He shook his head. “Stop trying to start an argument to get out of answering me. I want to know to make sure you aren’t doing anything stupid.”
“Stupid? Jack, you can’t be serious...”
“Then why won’t you answer the question?”
“I don’t want to get you involved,” I stressed.
“But you need my ship, so answer my question.”
“I... I don’t know,” I finally answered.
“So you’ve gone rogue?” he bluntly suggested. I didn’t know where that could have come from or why he would suggest that.
“No,” I looked down at my hairband that I had been fiddling with unconsciously, thinking of what I would do next. “I just haven’t decided what I am going to do yet. I am supposed to be reporting for the Emperor but I don’t know if I can go through with it. I don’t like him breathing down my neck on this one. I want to work without him in my head constantly.”
He rubbed the scruff on his chin. “I thought you usually are on your own for your missions and didn’t have to report until it was finished.”
“Usually. Just not this one. He’s tracking my every movement,” I emphasized. Jack knew how I was, I didn’t like feeling trapped.
“So you have a tracking device on you?”
I still held the hairband in my hand. “Of sorts, yes.”
“What is this mission?”
I hesitated. “It’s complicated. I really don’t want to bother getting you involved.”
“Too late.”
I rubbed my temples as I stood and made my way to the window. Jack’s office was on the very top of the building, making him able to look down on most of his city. He liked being able to look down and admire the greatness that he had built up in his five years of ruling.
“Did you leave before the attack during the representative ball?” I asked.
“Yes, but I heard ‘bout it later. Didn’t they kill that guy?”
“No, I’m spying on the man that tried to kill him.”
“The man outside is the guy who tried to kill the Emperor?”
I shook my head. “No, he is just one of his crew. The guy who attacked Neil was my brother.”
“Your brother? I thought you said he was dead.”
“I thought he was.”
“So why are you spying on him? Why did the Emperor want you to spy on him?”
I faced Jack. “After I saw him, I knew he wasn’t after the Emperor, but after me. I was sent to figure out why.”
“And do you know why?”
I walked back to Jack’s desk. “He needs me to find something o
ur father left us.”
“Do you know what it is?”
I nodded. “I do.”
“Then why don’t you just tell the Emperor and be done with this mission?” he questioned. I didn’t answer but bit my thumb. “Because you can’t kill him, can you?”
“I don’t know,” I bit my thumb, thinking of what I should do. I wanted to do this mission without the Emperor meddling but I didn’t want to disobey him and seem like I went rogue.
Jack leaned back in his chair. “That’s a dilemma you haven’t run into before. Which brings us to the original question, why do you need my ship?”
I placed the hairband on Jack’s desk without hesitation. My mind was made up. “For part of the mission.”
“Arcadia,” he used my full name, which was rare when talking to me.
“The last thing we need to find is on Ttkas. If we had a non-reported ship, I think we would have a much better chance of getting in unsuspected.”
Jack rose up from his seat. “Are you insane?! You think you can sneak into Ttkas? You of all people should know that’s a suicide mission.”
“I know, Jack. I know. But it is our only chance,” I took a step closer to him, being a little manipulative and placed my hand on his chest. “Please.”
His eyes darkened, knowing he wouldn’t be able to talk me out of this. “What do I get in return?”
“You mean in payment?”
He straightened his jacket. “Yes. I’m a business man after all. You didn’t think I would give it to you free, now did ya?”
I thought for a moment. I didn’t anticipate that he would make me pay him. I only had one article of wealth on me. I should have brought the things I stole off of him over the years.
I pulled out my father’s watch. It was the only thing of value I had. “Will this suffice?”
I handed it to him and he examined it closely. “I’ve never seen a pocket watch like this before. It’s pre-Second Republic isn’t it? Where did you get it, or should I ask who did you kill to get it?”
“My father gave it to me when I was little,” I didn’t hold that back. It didn’t matter to me, if Jack had it I knew it was in safe hands.
He glanced up at me. “Your father? I can’t take this if it’s your father’s, Cadi.”
“It’s the only thing I have of value and besides,” I took a quick look at his clocks, “you will use it more than I would.”
Pausing for a second, he placed it in his pocket. “Fine, you have yourself a deal. The woman at the front desk will give you the gate key for the ship.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“I still want an answer,” he stated abruptly.
“Excuse me?”
He took a step closer to me. “About the shindig.”
“You know I can’t let anyone know what goes on between us, Jack.”
“I know, it’s not that. I just wanted to know why you let them use you like that. I didn’t think you were one to be easily manipulated.”
“He’s the Emperor. I do what he says.”
“That’s what I am afraid of,” he whispered under his breath.
Jack gestured to the door and led me out of his office. He stopped right before the door and grabbed my hand.
“What is it?” I questioned.
He leaned in and kissed me on the lips, lingering for a moment. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”
“I can’t promise anything,” I left him standing there, cursing under his breath at me.
Chapter 14
David and I made our way back to the space port. The rain still sprinkled down, and I sort of wished we had our cloaks to keep the rain off our skin, even though they annoyed me. We picked up the information about the ship Jack gave us from the redhead outside his office and hurried out as fast as we came. I didn’t want to stay on this planet any longer than needed, not after what I had just done. I thought about my conversation with Jack. I had left the tracking device at his office. It would take a little while before the Emperor would notice it was not moving, or at least I hoped. By then we would be on our way to Ttkas.
I didn’t know how the Emperor would react to me going rogue on this mission. I hoped he would understand; that he would know I couldn’t have him breathing down my neck anymore. He taught me to think for myself and to improvise. This was me improvising.
How Jack acted about me doing this job was peculiar, even for him. He had never pried into one of my missions like that before. Something was off with him, as if he knew something, something more than he should. I didn’t know how, he wasn’t privy to much information outside his control. I thought about what it all could mean when David interrupted.
“So are you and he...” David referred to my relations.
“It’s complicated,” I answered without thought. It truly was.
“Ah, I see,” he looked down at his feet as we walked towards a subway entrance.
“Surprised?” I questioned with a slight grin.
“Yes,” he admitted. “How did you get involved with this planet? It isn’t under Imperial rule.”
“Why? What’s it to you?” I asked with a voice that sounded a little harsher than it should have.
“You aren’t one to show emotion but the way he smiles at you... I was just curious, that’s all.”
I debated if I should tell him the story or not. It wasn’t anything secret but I wasn’t one to talk about my past.
Deciding to tell him, I began the tale, “I had a mission to take down his organization since it was the most powerful one on Recar. Without him, it would be easy to take the planet over and make it part of the Empire. As you know, Himeo hosts the races every other year and so I entered and won to get closer to Jack. I tried to get him curious about me and it worked.
“After I won, he offered me a position in his line of work and I accepted. I was ordered to kill him once I got enough information and he figured it out. Instead of killing me, he decided to make a treaty with the Empire, having his men look out for any resistance to the Empire in exchange for keeping their government. Neil agreed and that has been my dealing with him ever since.”
“When was that?”
Without needing to count, I answered. “Two years ago.”
“How would winning the races make Jack want to hire you?”
“Those who are successful and creative in getting ahead in the races makes those in the crime business very interested in you, especially ones who go into other cities and need someone to get them out of there as fast as possible.”
“That makes sense,” David pondered on the thought. “How long has Jack been ruling?”
“Oh, about five years now? Yeah that’s right. Ever since he was sixteen when the crime lord before him died and left him in charge. A lot of people were not happy about a boy at his age taking charge but Jack isn’t an ordinary guy. He had been climbing the ladder since he was very little and he had a pretty big reputation already. Anyone who questioned his rule didn’t last long.”
“Interesting way of life.”
“That’s one way to put it, yes.”
It definitely had been an adventure working with Jack. Life here was anything but normal. Although, my entire life had been anything but normal.
David stopped, as if he was calculating something in his head. “So you worked for him when you were only fifteen? That seems pretty young to be entering the races.”
“The cut off for the races was sixteen but I,” I thought about the right word to say, “pulled a few strings and got in.”
“By pulling a few strings, you mean threatened, don’t you?”
“Threatened, tortured, something along those lines, yes.”
“So Jack took an interest in you since you were young and strong, just like him.”
I grinned, thinking of the reason he took an interest in me. “That was one of the various reasons, yes.”
“When did he start taking a liking to you?”
I gave him
a quick look, making him realize what I meant by one of the various reasons.
Catching my hint, he blushed. “Ah, I see.”
I laughed at his comment but my thoughts kept going back to what Jack had said. Jack was right; I could have just destroyed the tracking device right then and there. I would be done with this mission. I wouldn’t have to deal with any of them anymore. I knew where we needed to go and I had the books but something in the back of my mind kept telling me to keep going.
“What’s wrong?” David noted I was in deep thought.
I shoved him into the dark alleyway that was nearby. Pinning his arms to the wall, I watched his surprised face turn into fear.
“I could knock you out right now and go back to Jack. He could have his men find you all and turn you in to the Empire. It would be easy too, you aren’t that strong. In fact, I could just grab one of your weapons and end you now then go for the rest later. It would be nothing to me.”
He was silent. He didn’t move or budge as I pressed him harder against the wall.
“Why don’t you say something?”
David’s eyes didn’t change. “Because it’s true. You could get away this very moment. I wouldn’t blame you if you did it. But you would have to think; what would your father say if you didn’t fulfill his wishes? His legacy? If you are willing to live with that the rest of your life, then by all means, knock me out. Kill me if you want. I don’t care.”
My eyes sharpened as I pondered the thought. I could kill him, I should kill him. I could still go after the books, just not with them. Before I made my decision, I heard shouts coming from down the alleyway. I looked over my shoulder.
“Not this, not now,” I whispered under my breath.
David became more concerned with the people that approached us than he was with me having him pinned against the wall.
I let go of David and turned to them. “Damian. What are you doing here? A little out of your territory, ain’t ya?” I damned myself for starting to pick up the Recarian accent again.
Damian was a crime-lord from the neighboring city of Nyct. He was a person that didn’t care for what I did to his men the last time I was here. I couldn’t run for I didn’t know how many men they had in the streets so I stood tall. David pressed the handle of a knife into my hand. I accepted it and hid it behind me.