Profit & Peril

by Charissa Dufour

  “Bit, you coming?”

  Chapter Two

  Forty-five minutes later, Jack signed his last form and Bit glared at the floor, trying her best to hide her disgust for the Merchant Commission. They had asked a thousand and one different questions pertaining to their cargo, and Jack had lied with flawless ease. Only one question, near the end of the interrogation, seemed to give him pause.

  “And your contact person within Stellar Repair?” the Commission employee asked.

  Jack hesitated. “It’s on the form I filled out.”

  The worker glanced down at the form for the first time and began to type. Thus far, she had asked Jack each question he had already answered on the form, completely negating the form’s usefulness.

  Bit rolled her eyes and turned away from the employee’s desk, content to watch the other people trapped within the confines of bureaucracy. People hustled about, delivering pads to other people’s desks, stopping to ask questions, or just walking about as though to hide their inactivity.

  One man, though, caught her attention. He stood near one of the entryway displays, his eyes mostly focused on a model ship encased in glass. Occasionally, though, his gaze would drift up to her or Jack before returning to the placard below the model ship.

  Bit frowned at the man, her instincts telling her to be nervous though she couldn’t fathom why. While he didn’t appear familiar, with his broad, flat face and curly brown hair, something about him made her uncomfortable. Bit turned back to Jack as he finished signing his last document.

  “Let’s go,” Jack said as he climbed to his feet and collected his pad.

  Bit followed him out of the suite. As they turned the first corner, she eyed the nondescript picture of flowers decorating the wall, giving her a chance to glance over her shoulder in a discreet gesture. Her stomach twisted into knots as she spotted the man strolling a few feet behind them, half hidden by the crowd in the hallway.

  They reached the long row of elevators and, to her consternation, the strange man elbowed his way onto their elevator, taking up a place near the door. The lift took off, plunging them toward the ground level. Bit ignored the way her stomach convulsed with the movement and sidled up to Jack, uncharacteristically taking his hand.

  Jack stared down at her, his dark brows coming together in a frown. He opened his mouth to speak, but Bit quickly mouthed the shushing sound, and he obeyed. Using her eyes only, she shot a quick glance at the back of the curly-haired man. Jack frowned again but nodded, just as the elevator swooshed to a stop.

  They followed the crowd out of the elevator and headed toward the door. The man in question stopped at the central directory, giving Bit and Jack the opportunity to walk past him. Jack stared straight ahead, acting as though nothing was wrong. At the doors he stopped to open a door for Bit, thereby turning his body.

  Though she desperately wanted to, Bit didn’t look back. Instead, she watched Jack’s eyes narrow, suggesting the strange man had left the directory and was heading in their direction.

  “When did you first notice him?” Jack whispered as he took her hand again and pressed his lips against her hair, still pretending to be her lover.

  “In the Merchant Commissioner’s office…watching us.”

  “Good eye. Stay natural,” he said as he released her hand and moved his arm to drape it over her shoulders.

  They walked down the sprawling steps of the skyscraper. Bit smiled up at Jack, eyeing the man walking down the stairs to their right, two steps behind them.

  A block away from the government building, Jack turned them down a narrow street.

  “Where are the second story sidewalks like in your neighborhood?” Bit asked casually, trying her best to pretend they weren’t being followed.

  “They only put those in the ratty sections of the city,” Jack replied as he tried to mess up her hair; her long tresses were bound up in dreadlocks and not easily mussed. “This is the fancy section. These people don’t want to bother walking up stairs.”

  “Lazy asses.”

  “Indeed,” Jack chuckled, kissing her head again.

  Bit watched his eyes narrow as he casually eyed the space behind them. He gave her an infinitesimal nod before pushing her into a crowd preparing to cross the busy street filled with land-bound vehicles. The traffic came to a halt and the crowd took off.

  Jack nudged her into a trot, delving deeper into the mob.

  “Take off your jacket,” Jack ordered.

  Bit obeyed, folding the red jacket inside out and draping it over her arm. She hoped Jack wouldn’t make her ditch it. Stained it might be, but it was still hers. They pushed forward through the crowd until they crossed the wide street. An equally large mob zig-zagged down the sidewalk—men and women dressed in their best as they battled their way to their high-rise offices.

  They reached the far side of the street and made a quick dash down the side street before Jack pushed her into a tiny crevice between two skyscrapers. Jack squeezed in behind her, nudging her back until they were enveloped in dark shadows. Holding their breath, they waited until the man in question charged past, working hard not to draw attention to himself despite his rush.

  Bit counted to thirty before Jack inched up to the edge of their hiding spot. He glanced down the street, searching for their pursuer, and finally stepped out, reaching for Bit. She placed her hand in his and stumbled out of the shadows. Jack dragged her back the way they had come, continually glancing over his shoulder.

  “Shit,” he said as they reached the same intersection as before.

  Bit looked back to find the strange man standing on the steps of a building and straining his neck to get a glimpse of them.

  “Run, Bit,” Jack ordered.

  She didn’t need any more prompting and took off at a run, oblivious to the traffic trying to work its way through the crowded intersection. As she ran, she bumped into the nearest vehicle, jumping to the side at the last second. She dodged around the luxury sedan, guessing it was one of the expensive types that could drive on the ground and hover like the vehicles flowing ten stories above her head.

  Bit weaved through the traffic as fast as she could, assuming Jack was on her heels. The vehicles honked at her, some leaning through their windows and yelling obscenities at her. Bit ignored them and plowed forward. She reached a lane where the ground cars were sitting bumper to bumper. Bit jump up onto the low hood of a compact vehicle and ran across the metal, grimacing at the sound it made before jumping back down to the pavement.

  She reached the other side of the enormous street and turned back, seeing no sign of Jack. The only thing she could see was the enormous bulk of a cargo lorry that had evidently taken a wrong turn. It was stopped, its driver arguing with the driver of another vehicle.

  “Uh-oh.”

  Bit jumped up onto an ugly planter, its contents looking exotic and overpriced, and scanned the ever-shifting crowds, hoping to catch of glimpse of Jack’s black hair and long features. Panic built in her chest, suffocating her as she jerked her head from side to side, still looking for her captain, but the more she looked the more lost she felt. Suddenly she spotted someone else—the man chasing them.

  She jumped off the planter, barely keeping her feet under her and the jacket gripped in her hands, and took off at a run, no longer worried about blending in with the evening rush-hour crowd. Bit elbowed her way through the masses, ignoring their outcries of indignation.

  Bit raced to the far end of the block, finally spotting what she wanted—stairs leading up to the elevated light-rail train. Running up the stairs, she stopped at the switch-back landing and glanced out over the crowd below, quickly spotting a single face turned up to scan the stairs.

  Doing an about-face, she pushed her way back into the throng. Bit jostled her way up the stairs to reach the platform. The crowd slowed as they each realized the train hadn’t come yet.

  Bit pushed forward, trying her best to get away from the staircase. She glanced around, looking for so
me place to hide. She spotted a large map, positioned near the manicured wall on the far side of the platform. Running toward it, she worked to finish turning her jacket inside out.

  She reached the large sign and squeezed herself in behind it, aware that her feet were still visible below the map. Bit pressed her back against the wall, willing her breathing to slow. Her body ignored her and she continued to pant.

  Okay, change the rules of the game, Bit, she told herself. You’ve been in this situation before, and you survived. Calm down and get it done!

  Bit took one more steadying breath before glancing down at her body, noticing her deep purple shirt. She wedged her jacket between her knees and, in fast, jerking movements, tore her shirt off her body. With the fabric, she wound her dreadlocks up into a heap on her head, the fabric hiding the recognizable hair. Before anyone could notice her half-naked body, she pulled her inside-out jacket on and awkwardly jerked the zipper up to her neck.

  As casually as she could, Bit stepped out from behind the map and merged with the crowd. Those closest to her glanced her way, but quickly went back to their conversations or glossy pads. Bit kept her tread slow and casual as she weaved her way through the crowd toward the front of the platform.

  Her breathing came in panicked gasps. She knew she needed to get a grip or someone would notice her for sure. No one stood on the platform waiting for a train in mid panic attack. She wanted to glance over her shoulder and check her surroundings, but Bit knew the more she did that the more bizarre she would look. Instead, she forced herself to stare straight ahead while trying to look bored like everyone else.

  At last she heard the rumble of the approaching train. It swooshed into the station, slowing at the last second, much like the elevator in the fancy skyscraper. Moving with the crowd, Bit climbed aboard. The seats were quickly taken by those not glancing up and down the length of the train. Bit resigned herself to standing in the middle of the train, gripping the poles provided.

  While she had ridden the trains many times throughout the enormous city, she had never seen one so packed. Men and women, dressed in their flashy suits, stood pressed against her. Bit strained to see over their shoulders and craned her neck to look behind her. Just as the doors slid shut and the train took off, she spotted her pursuer standing at the far end of the cabin, wedged between a middle-aged woman with gray streaks in her hair and a man looking down at his pad.

  Bit turned away as fast as she could and forced herself to keep staring straight ahead as the train raced away from the platform.

  Stay calm. Stay calm. He didn’t see you. He didn’t…

  “Hey!”

  “Seriously?”

  “You’ve got to be kiddin’!”

  Bit heard the cries of the passengers and prepared to weave her way through the crowd toward the door leading into the next cabin when a strong hand wound around her arm.

  “Let’s not make a scene,” the man said, gripping her arm until she winced.

  “What do you want?”

  “What’s your cargo?”

  “Isn’t that public record with the commissioner?” She didn’t know if it was, but it sounded plausible.

  The man squeezed his grip. “Don’t mess with me.”

  The train slowed suddenly, sending everyone swaying on their feet. Bit took the opportunity and slammed her free elbow into the man’s gut. He grunted and doubled over, loosening his grip on her other arm. Bit jumped forward, plowing right into the shoulders of the people crowding against her.

  “What the…” began one of the passengers as she elbowed past them, her eyes on the door.

  The train stopped, the doors slid open, and Bit fell out of the train car. She raced away, reaching the staircase before the other passengers began to file out of the cabin. Half falling, half running, Bit reached the bottom and took off at a sprint.

  At least my ribs aren’t broken this time, she thought as she ran away from the train station.

  The brief ride on the train had taken her into another ritzy neighborhood, though the buildings weren’t quite as monstrous in size. Bit raced down the empty street, turning at the first alleyway she could find. She skidded to a stop, slamming into the hood of a delivery truck parked in the alleyway. Glancing over her shoulder, she quickly decided forward was the best option. Bit dropped to her stomach and began squirming her way under the road-bound vehicle.

  Even with her jacket on, Bit felt the gash on her arm open and warm liquid fill the sleeve. She crawled out from under the other end of the long truck and climbed to her knees.

  The other end of the alleyway was filled with crates, wheeled carts piled high with boxes, and even a hover lifter. Bit clambered to her feet and stumbled to the nearest pile of crates. She climbed over one and wedged herself between the pile and the wall of the nearest building. Before settling down on her rump, Bit tore her purple shirt from her hair and bit down on it, trying her best to quiet the raspy breath coming from her gaping mouth.

  Chapter Three

  Three hours later, Bit dragged her cold and aching body out from behind crates. Her arm hurt, but she ignored it for more pressing issues. She emerged from the alleyway and glanced around. The sun had set and the tall glass buildings were lit up with the glow of artificial lights, a few covered with the reflection of advertisement projected onto their windows. Bit saw ads for restaurants, hover car dealerships, and anti-wrinkle cream before she turned her gaze down to the pavement and turned left, hoping to retrace her steps back to the landing platform.

  Bit found the platform without any trouble, where she stopped to stare at the enormous map, lit by a large light directly above it. As she stared, two trains went by. She was determined to know her entire route back to Olympus Mons Landing Platform before she embarked.

  Once she was certain of her route, she turned away from the map and waited for the next train.

  The journey back to the landing platform left her with plenty of time to consider her dilemma. She was stranded on the surface with nothing to her name except her clothing and her transit card. She doubted the piece of plastic that granted her access to the mass transit system would pay her way up to the port orbiting the planet.

  An hour later, she reached the enormous landing platform. Within the central hub, she found a ticket booth devoid of a line.

  “How many?” the woman behind the glass asked without looking up from her personal pad.

  “I have kind of a stupid question, so bear with me, but I don’t suppose a transit card will pay for a ticket to Ward Port?”

  The woman stared at her, one defined eyebrow rising in an arch. “You’re joking, right?”

  “Sadly not. I got disconnected from my group and have no way to get back to our ship.”

  “That your cargo company?” the woman asked, pointing at Bit’s crew jacket, which she had reverted to right-side-in inside one of the train station bathrooms.

  Bit looked down at the logo emblazoned on her shoulder. “Yes.”

  The woman turned to her clear screen and poked at it for a moment. “Looks like they have a credit line. It’s technically against the rules without a signature from a signee, but just this once I’ll look the other way.”

  A second later, a ticket slid from a slot in the lower section of her booth. Bit snatched it up and eyed the departure time. She had thirty minutes to find the right ship.

  “But if your boss doesn’t like this, you didn’t get that ticket from me.”

  Bit smiled at her. “You’re secret’s safe with me. Thank you.”

  She took off, jogging toward the enormous lifts that ferried people up to the landing platform, some twelve miles above sea level. Even with the high-powered engines hoisting them upward, the ride took a number of minutes, during which time Bit fretted.

  What if Jack is still on the surface? She chewed on her bottom lip as she considered. If he is, he can contact the ship to find out I’ve arrived.

  At the top, Bit eyed the signs, doing her best to read t
he names. She could read, just not as well as a normal twenty-two year old. Complicated ships names were beyond her abilities. She glanced down at her ticket, memorizing the look of the ship’s name and then reread the enormous sign with arrows pointing in every direction.

  At last, she spotted her ship and took off at a jog, reaching the door just as they were preparing to close.

  “Wait!” she called.

  The two workers look up from their work and paused, giving her a chance to race up to the ticket desk.

  “I’m on this ship.”

  They looked at her ticket for an agonizing minute before nodding for her to enter the passageway that would lead out to the side of the ship. This ship, like so many others, was specially designed for entering and exiting the atmosphere. Unlike Jack’s ship, it could actually come down to the surface. Granted, from what Bit had heard, it wasn’t good for much more than the round trips it made multiple times a day.

  Bit took the first empty seat she spotted and frantically worked to strap in just as the engines began to rumble. She slammed the last buckle into place in time with the engines telltale whine. She pressed herself back into the seat and closed her eyes.

  A short time later, the ship docked with Ward Port.

  Bit was the first off the ship. Within the labyrinth of the port, she found an information desk.

  “Excuse me,” she said, trying to sound as polite as possible. “Could you direct me to the Lenore’s berth?”

  The worker looked up from his pad with a bored glare, eyeing her crew jacket. “You don’t know where your own ship is berthed?”

  “Uh… in this labyrinth? I can barely find the toilet.”

  “Right.” The worker tapped on his pad for a moment before looking up. “Down that corridor, second left. You should be able to find it from there.”