Vigilante

by Natalie Grey

  “The small child who can turn into a large canine fighter? Don’t tell me she’s real.”

  “Oh, she is. Nathan is a…well, it’s a long story. Suffice it to say, he is one of the Empress’ closest friends, which is why his daughter shares her name. He has also set up secret facilities to make and distribute Pepsi. We might have some fights about it—really, I might get my ass handed to me—but this isn’t an issue of Justice.” He got a distant look in his eyes. “Or perhaps it is. Justice for the oppressed Pepsi drinkers of the world.”

  She still couldn’t tell if he was being serious, but she thought he was telling the truth about this not being an issue of Justice. She made a mental note to ask Barnabas about Pepsi in a roundabout sort of way the next time she saw him and snuck sips of the two beverages.

  Apparently she was going to have to learn the difference between them.

  13

  Gar walked at what he hoped was a normal pace. He wasn’t very good at deception. Even when he had cared about his own ambitions above everything else, he’d been honest about it. He had never been the person listening to everyone’s secrets and blackmailing them later, and he didn’t tell lies.

  This all felt very odd.

  The thing was, he hadn’t gone to the cave in an effort to save his own skin. Clearly the human believed that was why he had been there, but the truth was stranger than that. Gar had gone because he wanted to do more. After months of doing things that felt wrong—making things worse and punishing people in ways they didn’t always deserve—this felt like undoing all that.

  He resisted the urge to go back to the cave and explain this to Barnabas, but he knew the human wouldn’t believe him. What reason did he have to do so?

  In the end, Gar decided. In the end, after he had done what Barnabas asked, then the Ranger might believe him.

  He busied himself with menial tasks that gave him a clear view of the overseer’s hut. Lan had recently decided to inspect the jails. He was worried about an uprising, and not without reason. He was getting paranoid.

  Once he left, Gar intended to go look around and see if he could find Lan’s contact for getting off-planet. Lan was lazy. He wouldn’t have memorized the long strings of digits necessary for interplanetary communications. He’d have written it all down somewhere.

  Gar wrinkled his nose. Lan had probably hidden things somewhere he thought was very clever, but really wasn’t.

  When he saw Lan head down from the hut, he had to stop himself from rushing up the hill. Instead, he waited while Lan came into the square and stopped to talk with him.

  “What are you doing this morning?” Lan asked abruptly. He was trying to appear as if he cared about the day-to-day operations of this place.

  If he had cared, he would already know Gar’s usual tasks.

  “I’ll be doing an inventory of the food,” Gar lied. “I think someone is stealing rations. I need to confirm the totals of every category.” It would be clear even to someone unfamiliar with the daily jobs that this task would take a very long time. Lan would not think it odd for Gar still to be working when he got back.

  “Very well,” Lan replied and left, puffing his chest out self-importantly.

  Once he was gone, Gar headed up the hill. He took care not to look around too much, and at the door to Lan’s hut he smiled at the guards. “Lan sent me to look for a contract.”

  Bored, they waved him inside. They knew he was the one who did the work around here. This way they wouldn’t be confused if they came in and he was looking through the paperwork. He even had his excuse ready. None of this is filed in any sort of order. They’d believe it; he knew they would.

  Down in the town square, Chogaru saw Gar disappear into the hut. Then, in a calculated move, he picked up a rock and threw it through one of the windows of the commissary.

  “This is an outrage! The overseer goes to inspect the jail while we starve!”

  The Brakalons nearby sighed deeply before restraining him and hauling him into the jail, while Chogaru howled dramatic things about how he would say all this directly to Lan’s face. He wasn’t afraid. He was fighting for justice.

  Inside, Lan heard the commotion and frowned. He had learned to take Chogaru’s complaints very seriously.

  “We’ll take care of it, sir,” one of the Brakalons informed him respectfully.

  “No,” Lan snapped. “I’ll handle it myself.” He watched while they hauled Chogaru into one of the far cells and chained him to the bars, then Lan leaned forward to hiss, “What is this about? Is this about the person stealing food? I knew about that already.”

  Chogaru paused, surprised. “Who’s stealing food?”

  “Gar told me about it.” Lan gestured impatiently. “I assumed that was why you were talking about starving.”

  “I’m talking about starving because you don’t feed us enough,” Chogaru replied.

  Lan frowned. The Nekubi really was pushing his luck these days by being very disrespectful. He’d have to do something about that soon.

  “That’s not why I wanted to see you,” Chogaru clarified. “Gar is betraying you.”

  “What?” Lan laughed and shook his head. “No, he isn’t. He’s—”

  “In your hut right now, after having gone to a cave to speak secretly with the so-called human.” Chogaru smiled slightly. “Go check. You will see what you will see. What his plan is, I don’t know—unless you sent him to speak with this ‘Brother Barnabas.’”

  Lan swallowed, then he whirled around and left. Chogaru was still chained to the bars.

  Chogaru sighed without any real frustration. A few minutes, even a few hours, chained to these bars would be no trouble if they gave him Gar’s job.

  The others, of course, would be furious when they knew what he had done, but there were ways to blunt that. Chogaru would recommend that the bravest ones be killed. That way, no one else would dare rise up.

  He settled against the bars to wait.

  Lan’s hearts were pounding as he scrambled up the hill. Gar? Betraying him? Gar, who was so careful to be logical and—

  Of course. He had learned about the mines being turned over and he hadn’t understood. He’d wanted the whole thing for himself. That must be what this was. He was trying to figure out Lan’s secrets so that he could run things.

  Lan would make him very sorry he’d tried.

  It was still worrisome. He would not have suspected Gar; he thought he’d known the male. He had never seen Gar do anything deceitful. How could he have been so wrong? Part of him hoped that Chogaru was lying.

  He burst into the hut without warning and scowled when he saw that his worst fears were true. Gar was here, surrounded by private papers that Lan had kept in a safe. How had he known the combination?

  Lan must have entered it at some point while Gar was there, never dreaming that his vice-overseer would betray him like this.

  “I suppose you have a good explanation.” His voice was ugly.

  “I couldn’t find the shipping records,” Gar replied after a moment. “I didn’t want to trouble you, and you’ve used the safe while I was around. I didn’t think this would bother you.”

  It was a plausible answer; almost plausible enough. But he’d never seen Gar like this, white-faced, with his hands shaking slightly.

  And Gar slipped up even more when he asked, “Who told you I was here?”

  Lan pulled out a pistol. “That is none of your business, just like these papers are none of your business. What are you really looking for?” He could see Gar sorting through different explanations in his head to find something believable and he shook the weapon threateningly. “Don’t lie to me! I know you’re working with the alien!”

  Gar swallowed and tried to think of something to say. He had been so careful, making sure that none of the guards saw him going to the cave. Who could have told Lan he was there? Who could possibly know?

  What sort of story would Lan believe now? Should Gar tell the truth?

 
; A strange sort of clarity came over him at that thought. It did not matter what he did, as long as he did not let Lan suspect what the monk planned.

  “I don’t know why you would think I am working with the monk,” he replied finally, trying to look as puzzled as possible. “I am trying to think of what I could do that would make you think that.”

  “You went to the cave to speak with him,” Lan accused, tight-lipped with annoyance.

  “I didn’t go to the cave to speak with him, I went that way to survey the walls.” Gar withdrew a map from where it was rolled at his belt and passed it to Lan. “See? If you were to go there and look you would note the same weaknesses. While I was there, I heard a noise and saw the monk in the cave. He said he was meditating, so I left him there.”

  Lan hesitated. He was not sure what to think of this. When Gar spoke of the map—which was something that could be verified, of course—his face had been shining with honesty. And he had been reviewing the various defenses. He’d told Lan that yesterday.

  “Then why are you here?” he asked finally.

  Gar hung his head. “Exactly why you’d think. Well, apparently you think I’m working with this alien, and that’s not it. But what would you have thought if the alien weren’t here?”

  “That you’re looking to take over from me,” Lan hissed. “That you’re going to kill me and run the mine, yourself.”

  “No!” Gar looked horrified. “I just wanted my fair share. I thought you were cheating me!”

  Lan blinked. He had thought about permutations of that while he’d walked up the hill.

  “And it’s bad business,” Gar continued. “I know the workings of this camp. I work hard. I have kept your secrets about….” He lowered his voice, flicking his eyes toward the door where the guards were posted. “I have kept your secrets,” he continued finally. “I waited for you to offer me more, as you should have. I hoped that my offer of loyalty the other day would be understood, but instead you insulted me. So I wondered, why would Lan do this? Is the mine doing poorly, and he does not want me to know? But no!” He shook the piece of paper he held. “The mine is doing well! Profits have never been higher! And you cheat me!”

  For a moment, Lan felt a pang of guilt and indecision.

  Gar might deserve more of a share, but he had now shown that he was willing to be trouble, to bide his time and strike unexpectedly after pretending to be content. Lan couldn’t trust Gar anymore, nor could he let this story get away from him. What happened to Gar had to be indisputable, so it had to be public.

  “Guards!”

  They appeared at once and looked surprised to see Lan pointing a gun at Gar. “Yes, sir?” one of them asked politely.

  “Take Venfirdri Gar away.” Lan deliberately did not use the Luvendi’s title. “He is trying to take the camp over by force. Put him in the jail while I decide how to punish him.”

  He stood back and let them drag Gar away. The other Luvendi seemed dumbstruck.

  At least he wasn’t pleading for mercy. That would have been tiresome. Lan watched the figures for a moment from the doorway, then slammed the door behind him.

  What had he ever done to deserve this sort of betrayal?

  In his cave, Barnabas sat back with a contemplative expression on his face. Shinigami had made him aware of the argument and fed the audio into Barnabas’s aural implant.

  Where is Gar? he asked her.

  He is being brought to the jail.

  Strange. I would have guessed that Lan would just kill him.

  It is unexpected, she agreed. Perhaps we have underestimated him. I thought he had no self-control at all.

  He’s like any cornered animal. Barnabas chewed his lip. He’s dangerous because he’s desperate. He knows that if he doesn’t make Gar suffer in public, people will think he’s weak. He wants them to see it in gory detail.

  So what are you going to do?

  I’m going to move the plan up. I’ll check back in with Aebura to find out where the best hiding places would be, then I’ll come back to the ship to gear up.

  What about Gar?

  Barnabas hesitated. I will save Gar if I can. He did not tell Lan about our plans even when he might have easily become a double agent—and he had no way to know we could hear him. I almost wonder if he’s had a moral epiphany. But he has also done very grave wrongs and participated in slavery. Death would be a fitting punishment. I will save the slaves first, and him only if it does not endanger the rest of them.

  He sensed her approval. Do you want a Pod?

  Yes. Thank you, Shinigami.

  Down in the town, Leiguba watched as Gar was dragged into the jail. He had been at Chogaru’s window, trying to reassure him. It was really very frustrating how Chogaru started these disturbances with no plan, but Leiguba could appreciate his frustration.

  Chogaru heard the commotion and asked Leiguba, “What has happened?”

  “Venfirdri Gar has been arrested,” Leiguba replied, surprised. “Why, I wonder?”

  “I know,” Chogaru told him sagely. “I saw him go to a mountain cave where the human was hiding. Perhaps they’re plotting together.” He sounded smug. “I told you the human couldn’t be trusted.”

  “If Lan doesn’t like him, then he must be our ally,” Leiguba protested.

  Chogaru sighed. “You think so simply. The powerful people struggle amongst themselves without caring about us. This fight is about power, mark my words. Lan and Gar both want to run the mine, and Gar lost. I’ll bet he was the one who really brought the human.”

  Leiguba knew it was useless to argue with him since Chogaru was very stubborn, so he nodded and pretended to agree.

  “I’ll bring you food later,” he told the Nekubi and scampered up the roof to hide in the shadow of the chimney.

  He didn’t like Gar very much, but what if Gar was working with the human?

  If he was, he might be a valuable ally. He would have to figure out how to use this information—and how to determine Gar’s allegiance.

  14

  When Barnabas walked into Aebura’s bar again—try as he might, he couldn’t make out any meaning from the marks on the sign—she looked pleased to see him.

  “Hello, Ranger Barnabas. Wait here and I will get you some juice.” She raced off and came back quickly with a glass of juice held carefully in her hind feet.

  Now she’s calling me “Ranger.” I need a new title.

  You said it didn’t need to be at the top of the to-do list. We’ve been kind of busy, you know.

  Barnabas did not answer, instead reaching out to take the glass of juice. He took a sip. “Thank you. This is delicious, as always.” He knew she enjoyed being complimented on it, and he was happy to see her smile. She gave a little shiver of fur that he interpreted as happiness, which was confirmed a split-second later when he felt the faint brush of her mind.

  He did not say anything in response. He did not want to surprise her by letting her know that he could see into the group mind. If he did so later, he could pretend that it was an acquired skill.

  “You remember that I promised to ask for your help if I needed it?” Barnabas asked seriously. “I think I need some help now.”

  Aebura was both pleased and worried. A few days ago, in a moment of emotion, she had been ready to race off at once and attack Venfaldri Lan with her bare hands. Since then, however, and especially since learning who Barnabas really was, she had realized that would be foolish.

  What did it mean that he wanted her help now?

  “I only need information,” Barnabas told her. He could see Aebura’s concern and reassured her. “About the mine.”

  “Oh. What do you need to know?”

  “Are there any places where people like to hide? Places where the guards wouldn’t think to look, and where they’d be safe from bullets. The bullets are actually the important thing. I hope to have the rest of it wrapped up quite quickly.”

  Aebura considered this.

  “Maybe inside the
mine,” she dubiously replied. “There are places by the walls, but they don’t have enough space for a lot of people. One person could hide there if no one saw where they went. And the huts are so shoddy that bullets would go right through them. But the mines are up the hill, so if everyone ran to the mines at once…”

  “Hmm. Actually, that gives me an idea. If I were to attack during the day everyone would be in the mines already, right?”

  Aebura shook her head. “I can’t be sure. Lan was always saying that we should have multiple shifts so the mines were never closed.” She frowned. “I’ll bet he’s made people’s hours longer, too.”

  “That sounds like him,” Barnabas agreed. “Frankly, I’m surprised no one has assassinated him yet.”

  I’m not. What would happen after?

  One of the guards could have done it, Barnabas pointed out. They clearly don’t like him much.

  Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.

  “Sometimes I thought Gar might,” Aebura mused. “He is a very ambitious male, that one. He doesn’t let anything stand in the way when he wants something. You’re sure you trust him?”

  “I was,” Barnabas replied. “In a very limited capacity, mind you. But now with so many people asking, one does wonder. I will say, he has gone out of his way to protect my interests even when it wasn’t in his interest to do so. Lan had him arrested just before I came here.”

  “Why?” Aebura asked.

  “He was looking through Lan’s papers for off-planet contacts. I asked him to do so. When Lan caught him he lied and said he was looking for proof of profits so he could negotiate a raise.”

  Aebura considered this. “He could have been doing both.”

  “Why not sell me out, though?” Barnabas pressed.

  “I just know I don’t trust him,” Aebura stated, her tail lashing.

  She’s not wrong to hate him, Shinigami pointed out.

  I know. I only expected him to do the bare minimum and no more. Shinigami, I of all people know what it is to regret my past.