Learning the Hard Way 3

by H. P. Caledon

  “Okay, I feel like my egg hatched prematurely, because I don’t understand what just went down here!” Tonog said, rubbing his top fins in frustration.

  “Would someone untie me?” Mike grunted. Misery hurried to him and loosened the restraints. “You okay, pal?” Mike asked, running to the drunk.

  The short man looked up at him with black eyes and winked before nodding toward Tonog.

  “Did I forget to mention we had a decoy in the case this went south?” Mike asked. “But at least now your competition is in the freight committee’s spotlight.”

  “Yeah... is he the guy who couldn’t fit in the crate?”

  Mike nodded and pulled the stout man to his feet. Misery smothered a snicker, and the drunkard smiled at her with almost no teeth.

  “If the agents stay in the area, we’re gonna have trouble getting out of here,” Misery noted.

  “We’re checking the area, hold on. MM, your card needs recoding, but we won’t hack Tonog, so you need to get to an official portal. Change retinas when you get there.”

  “Check.” Mike rummaged through the crate for the weapon he’d dropped during the hectic ride. He finally found the knife and secured it against his thigh.

  “I’m driving,” Keelan said.

  “You’re driving?” Tonog sputtered.

  “Yeah... I have a permit... D, do I have a permit?”

  “No, you don’t, you’re a port bum who hasn’t been near a paycheck or a decent job for twenty fucking years!” Danny said. “And since the agents are still searching the area, then you’re not getting behind the controls of any transporter. And you’re piss-drunk! Nifty voice box by the way—you could have warned me you’d use stuff like that.”

  “Yeah, very nifty,” Keelan said. “MM needs to look like he’s been taken in by SWIS, so he can’t drive either.”

  Mike flung his arms out in irritation and picked up the vest.

  “Don’t think I should drive either,” Misery said. “Last I tried it, I murdered two light poles and some ugly sculpture on Motáll.”

  Tonog looked at her, then at his transporter. “I’m driving!”

  “Go to Pin’s soup stand, we have a hack ready for the portal there.”

  “How far is that?” Mike asked.

  “Far enough for you to have to get back into that thing and lie in the back,” Tonog said, pointing at the vest.

  Misery helped him back into it but didn’t tighten the restraints as tightly as the agents had.

  “So, according to SWIS, I’m supposed to deliver this one, take the girl home, and dump the drunk somewhere far from my warehouse,” Tonog said. “Your change of clothes and new identities are in that bag.”

  Mike climbed into the back of the transporter and let Misery finish the restraining of his legs while Keelan fought the scarf again to not get caught on anything on his way in.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The restraints cut into Mike’s wrists, chest, and ankles, and it didn’t make it easier when lying on the floor of a moving transporter.

  “You are far from the agents now—change your clothes and retinas,” Danny said.

  “Oh, fantastic,” Mike groaned.

  Misery assisted him in getting out of the restraints. They shuffled around while Keelan tried to squeeze through the seats.

  “Trouble?” Mike asked as Keelan’s chosen figure had trouble fitting the midsection through the narrow passage.

  “Argh, lock your jaws!” Keelan growled and began shifting form to get through while Tonog complained, telling Keelan to keep his legs on the other side of the cabin. But Keelan managed to get through and placed himself in the opening between front and back so Tonog couldn’t see him finish the shift back to the stout little man.

  “How many disguises did you bring?” Mike asked.

  “Two, one from the spaceport and this one. I think he tripped in his scarf outside the bodega I mentioned.”

  “Starlings Bodega? Sounds shady. And now?” Misery pointed toward Tonog.

  “It’s by the alley where we’re to meet up in later. I passed it to check out the place. It’s good. I’m gonna dash into the soup bar while you two get your new IDs.” Keelan stuffed his change of clothes under his current disguise.

  The transporter finally stopped.

  “We’re ready back here,” Mike said.

  Tonog left the transporter and opened the back for them. Keelan wobbled off in a hurry, while Mike and Misery found a hole in the traffic to make it safely across the street.

  “You first.”

  Misery moved to stand with Mike behind her and found her card. “D, we’re in position.”

  “Look in the top right corner. There should be a little Chiromancer colored thingy-dot.”

  Misery snorted, and Mike tried to follow what happened on the screen. A small sign the same color of Danny’s tattoos showed up, and Misery put her card in the slot.

  “When the thingy-dot turns green, your card is ready.”

  “Green,” Misery said and removed her card. They traded places and repeated the process with Mike’s card.

  “Fuck, incoming message. That ship that was two days out... it just landed in South Port two towers from us.”

  Dread spread down Mike’s spine, leaving cold sweat in its track.

  “Follow them, I want to know where they are at all times,” a foreign man’s voice said, and Mike guessed it belonged to Keelan’s new form. An unappealing man who looked like he’d been on a constant bender for at least the past ten years came toward them, but his eyes shifted to the two black pools—Keelan had a new figure and was back by their side.

  Misery looked him up and down, scrunching her nose up at the sight.

  “Jannek’s Path, on their way to Reeds Central,” Danny said.

  “That’s where we are,” Misery said.

  “How far from us?” Keelan asked.

  “Chiromancers are tracking... four. There’s another one the program spat out a name based on bone structure... one you’ve searched for before. Karlson.”

  “Collector and buyer of slaves,” Mike mumbled.

  “The team is coming in from multiple sides. Look at the portal screen.”

  They did, and covered so no one else could while the Chiromancer colored dot spread to cover the entire screen. A map appeared, and more retina profiles blinked red while their own were green.

  “Great, they’re all coming here, and our only way out is toward the agents,” Keelan said. “We need to get a hold of Tonog to move the two of you.”

  “All three, you can’t make it to North Port on foot without compromising our timeframe.” Mike turned to look for Tonog. He stood on the other side of the street by the transporter and nodded. Thank God for varanuide hearing. The screen returned to normal, and they stepped back from it.

  “Let’s move.” Keelan staggered back. Mike grabbed his arm to make the persona seem credible, and the three of them made their way back to the other side of the street, getting yelled at by angry people.

  “My friend, who was supposed to meet us on North Port, has come here instead,” Tonog said and pointed. “Over there in the blue transporter marked electronic technician. So, if the guy with the scarf is coming, he needs to hurry up.”

  “He’s not coming, he was just our diversion. This guy’s the next one,” Misery said. Keelan grunted a hello and waved goofily.

  The varanuide inspected him skeptically. “Okay. Hurry up.”

  They went to the blue transporter, where two varanuides were ready to let them into the back. Mike joined one of them up front.

  “Tonog secured you a transporter. It’s at the warehouse,” the varanuide driving, said.

  “Thanks.” Mike turned to look into the back where the other varanuide sat with Misery and Keelan. The transporter set off, and Mike relaxed for a bit while looking for familiar faces as they left the center of the city between North and South Port. It was hopeless, but having missed Karlson star jumping in caused the feeling
of dread to linger in Mike. Karlson had worked closely with Cecil, but would they be stupid enough to be there at the same time? Even a place like Reeds and under the cover of false retina profiles?

  Once out of the perimeter where they had seen the red dots, Mike stopped looking for faces. Instead, he tried to think of who the five mercs on the inbound ship could be. Something clicked.

  “Fuck!” Mike exclaimed and turned in the seat. “The crew list Danny downloaded, it was for five mercs. What the hell was Karlson doing on that ship?”

  “Karlson, the collector?” Keelan asked.

  “D, check that information again. Karlson’s wanted and shouldn’t be on a ship full of mercs. Not even with Hallett.”

  “Checking all servers... hack SWIS... Find Karlson,” Danny ordered in the background.

  “Can you hack the towers and see who left the port?” Keelan asked.

  “No, towers run on closed loops, so we’d physically have to be in the tower or have someone link from their own transmitting system, and that’s underground behind heavy security,” Danny explained. “We can’t even piggyback in the time allotted to us.”

  “We’ll reach North Port and your new transporter in five minutes,” the driver said. “Your decoy is ready, and you should have about half an hour to find and collect your items. I’ll stay close, so you have a way out as agreed.”

  “Good thing Clive Bleary-eyed here isn’t driving,” Misery said, and Keelan mumbled something intelligible.

  “Clive,” Mike mumbled as something in his brain stirred and finally clicked. “D, search Kleiman, Jonas Kleiman.”

  “Searching.”

  “Who’s that?” Keelan asked.

  “He flew with Cecil when that collector had an unfortunate run-in with a skillet,” Mike said.

  “Oh, that guy,” Misery said.

  “He the kind of guy you don’t want alone in a kitchen?” the varanuide driving asked.

  “Don’t know, but insulting the chef is never wise,” Mike said.

  The varanuide laughed and pulled over. “We’re here.” He pointed to the other side of the street. “Wait for the signal. Here’s the tools I was told you know how to use.”

  Mike took the small bag and looked inside. In it was professional equipment he recognized from his days as a soldier. These guys had good contacts, if these were the tools they had.

  “Nifty, yeah.” Mike held his hand out according to the varanians way of shaking hands. The varanuide smiled and held his hand over Mike’s, palm up.

  “We’ll switch to the second channel, so call us through Tonog’s friends.”

  “Okay.” Mike packed the equipment away. They left the transporter, and the second varanuide patted Misery’s shoulder.

  “See you soon, little one,” he said and left them.

  “Lucky for us that Tonog knew someone who just got laid off a job here, huh,” Misery said, smiling at their fortune.

  “Yeah, and I always thought we had good contacts,” Mike said, taking in Keelan’s disguise figure again. “I’m seriously worried we’re being followed by a mortician if one saw you, I mean look at you. You look like someone ready to keel over from a liver shorting out.”

  “Oh ew! Promise you won’t wear that disguise here on the ship,” Danny said. “Phase four initiated, stand by.”

  Mike looked the way the varanuide had left, and he came their way in a transporter. The alarm in the warehouse blared, and four species and five humans ran from different doors. They all headed for the same end of the building.

  “Confirm that nine has entered and that the door has closed behind them.”

  “Hold... Confirmed,” Mike said.

  “The building is secured, monitors are hacked, alarm looped and locked... move in.”

  The transporter turned and backed up to a gate while the three of them ran to it. Mike used the tools to destroy the manual locking mechanism, so the Chiromancers had full control over the gate. It opened, and the varanuide backed inside. Mike, Keelan, and Misery met up with him, and he unfolded a holo plate.

  “Porridge and protein,” the varanuide said and pointed on the layout. Misery ran off. “Cleaning gas, water tablets, and chemical rinse,” the varanuide continued and pointed out for Mike to find.

  He filled a pallet and drove it back to the transporter which Keelan was filling Misery’s items into. They worked together on getting the last while Misery hauled the empty pallets away. Mike felt grateful for having a varanuide there who knew the place so well. It saved them valuable time to not have to wait for Danny to hack the inventory system.

  “Ready to move out!” the varanuide said and closed the now stocked transporter. “See you on South Port.”

  Mike, Misery, and Keelan ran from the warehouse and followed each their predestined route to the alley by the bodega where they were to meet up again.

  Mike felt the adrenaline pump through his system and welcomed it, because he needed it to keep the tempo. Misery had been assigned the shortest route, while Keelan and his impressive stamina had gotten the longest. That should make their arrival somewhat the same.

  “MM, Cecil Hallett is on Reeds! He has false retinas and was identified by visual comparison. So is Jonas Kleiman.”

  “Where?”

  “North Port. They fiddled with their crew list and landed as a ghost ship. A Chiromancer noticed a flaw in the system and frequency signatures. Both ships, both this one and the one with Hallett and Kleiman.”

  “If they have fake retinas, how did you find them?” Keelan asked.

  “Nifty little program measuring bone structures. Like fingerprints,” Danny explained.

  “Where are they now?”

  “No idea. They keep changing retina profiles, and we have difficulty tracking their routes from their eyes alone because they pop up and disappear. It could just as well be people entering or exiting their homes. We’d have to cross reference with every resident in the city.”

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Mike mumbled and turned a corner. As he got further and further away from the industrial area and closer to the city, the number of people on the streets increased, and he had to slow down. If he was a merc looking for someone, he’d be keeping an eye on himself—especially if he ran.

  “I’m in the alley,” Misery informed him, and Mike had one thing less to worry about.

  “I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Mike answered.

  “MM, you got attention, and not the wanted kind,” Keelan said. “Continue at your tempo, I have eyes on your tail. D, find me a cheap bar on the map.”

  Mike tried to discreetly get eyes on his followers, but the fact that he couldn’t find enough blank surfaces or see past the many people made his panic rise a few notches. It almost drowned out Danny’s directions. But he crossed the street and did as Danny said. There were people everywhere, and no one gave him a second glance. Once he rounded the corner, he sped up.

  “Am I going into the bar?”

  Strong arms grabbed him as soon as he finished the sentence, and something was pulled over his head and body. He gasped, and his body went into attack-mode, but the sound of Keelan’s voice cut him off.

  “It’s me, calm down! Jacket and scarf.” Keelan kept struggling to put his earlier disguise on Mike before he rubbed something foul smelling in Mike’s face. “Close your eyes and mouth,” Keelan ordered.

  “What?”

  “Do it!”

  Mike did as he was told and felt something wet and cold hit his face. He sputtered and opened his eyes, but Keelan forced a bottle into his mouth and poured. Mike sputtered again when the burning sensation of the alcohol ran down his throat. While Mike coughed, Keelan dumped Mike in a pile of garbage.

  “Play drunk and stay there.”

  Mike barely managed to wipe the alcohol from his eyes before he saw Keelan leave the top of the fire escape.

  “D, I’m going over the rooftops. Find me a route to an alley I can descend into. No more than two and a half meters between b
uildings, and they have to be equal height or lower. MM stay put, I’m coming back for you.”

  Mike made himself comfortable in the garbage and glanced around.

  Two uniforms stopped at the entrance to the alley, and Mike mumbled what could be conceived as a love serenade to the half full bottle Keelan had left him with. In the meantime, he tried to figure out how to convey information about the two men, hoping Danny and the Chiromancers could decode it and find out who was after him.

  Keelan had dumped him onto something hard that poked his side now, but he didn’t dare move.

  “I’m spotted, I’m out of here,” Misery said. Her declaration was followed by Keelan roaring. Mike gasped and waited for something akin to tinnitus to wear off so he could once again listen in on what the mercenaries were doing.

  The uniformed men moved into the alley and rummaged through some garbage and looked up the fire escapes before one finally tried the door at the end of the alley. It was locked.

  “Shit. It was him, right?” one asked.

  The other shrugged and looked at his pad. “His retinas weren’t registered in this alley even though ours are, so how the hell should I know?”

  “You think a bum like that would have access to false retinas? Gerald fuckface Flannigan is a dock worker, not the king of skips!” The merc kicked some garbage that rained over Mike.

  “Come on, you’d think you’ve never been on a long run before the way you’re acting.”

  “Yeah, but it’s a medium security prisoner. I don’t want to waste my time for a booty that size. And for what?” He threw out and arm and place a hand like mimicking he was someone important. “Cecil has an errand, now go play nicely while you wait! It’s fucking humiliating!” The merc made clear just what he thought about it by kicking the garbage some more while the other one looked in a container.

  “M, your profile has just been checked in SWIS by Kleiman. I can see him and one more behind you. Ten meters. One on each side of the street,” Danny said.

  “I have Karlson and two NU in sight,” Keelan said.

  “Get to Misery or I will,” Mike mumbled, hoping the two men would leave, soon.

  “You stay in your garbage, I can’t run around after both of you. But I can kill these two and keep Karlson. They might want to make a trade if necessary,” Keelan growled.