Ajax_Rebirth

by Gavin Magson

  “Shit!” whispered the captain under his voice; this was becoming a recurring theme to Ajax's brief second life.

  Chapter 7

  The taxi pulled up in front of a nondescript warehouse, blending well with the surrounding grey buildings that towered up to darkened skies. The sun had set on the ride over and now the darkness had once more claimed the sector for its own. There was no street lighting to speak of, only the faint glow from windows as they passed by; even if Ajax had known the sectors layout he could not see the route they took.

  The door opened and two more men, following the uniform of tall, muscular and foreboding, waited for the passengers to exit. Ajax and Duke were escorted from the taxi by a muscle-bound troupe, the crisp night air cut through Ajax's thin shirt and left him shivering.

  They were led around to the warehouse's rear, past where the animals were penned behind metal fences topped with barbed wire. The stench was unrelenting, as was the sound of braying animals.

  “Certainly has a distinct aroma to the place,” said Ajax, whilst trying not to breathe through his nose. The smell was an overpowering odour of nervous animals confined in a small space, a stench so vile it assaulted the senses and left the men reeling. Ajax realised the irony; he and Duke should be feeling exactly the same.

  One of the men opened a side door into the slaughterhouse and led them through. The man walked past varying equipment as if seeing instruments of death was an everyday occurrence. Ajax had expected the smell of blood and death when inside, instead he was greeted by a mixture of strong chemicals that burnt the hairs in his nose with their fumes.

  They were soon climbing a staircase to the upper level of the building, the air a little cleaner thanks to the giant fans in the roof that vented fumes outside. From his vantage point Ajax could see just how clean the slaughterhouse was, the contrast to the slurry covered pens outside was stark and impressive.

  On the upper floor was a solitary office, its blinds and door closed to the outside world. The troupe of men stopped outside, one of their escorts stepped forward and knocked lightly on the door before opening it carefully. He exchanged words with someone unseen to Ajax and Duke, their voices hushed and the tone serious. Once he was finished he motioned them inside, Ajax hesitated slightly before reasoning told him to follow the captains lead.

  They stepped into a spacious and well lit office, occupied by a smartly dressed man who stood with his back to them. He was staring at the rear wall, covered floor to ceiling in paper notes that ringed a top down map of Konar City in its entirety. Ajax could not make sense of the cryptic words scribbled everywhere he looked, but he studied the map in wonder at the vast scope of the city. He heard a quite click as the door was shut behind him, making him jump. No one had followed them in but he felt certain this was not an opportunity to try and fight their way out.

  “So nice of you to join me, gentlemen. I have heard some rather disappointing reports about an employee of mine.” said the man, turning to face them and flashing a toothy, predator’s grin.

  He was tall and slender, though Ajax could tell by the man's balance and well-fitting clothes that there was no doubt he was physically powerful under his tailored suit. Flecks of grey were just visible in his dark black hair, yet Ajax could not place the man's age.

  A long conference table took up most of the floor space, but none of the luxury chairs enticed Ajax into sitting down; the smile on this man's face was far from friendly, the smile of a predator that had spotted its prey grinned back at the pair.

  “I won't keep you here long. I just wanted to give you the chance to explain what happened at the Haven; uninterrupted, of course.” said the man.

  Duke took a step forward, moving between Ajax and the strange man. “Rascas had come to collect the debt I owed him, but he had hiked the interest rates well beyond what we agreed on. He came at us when I explained I could not afford to pay him the full amount, not even allowing me to reason with him; we had to defend ourselves. That is how it happened.”

  “Is that all that happened, you have nothing else to add? I hope you realise what is at stake here.” said the man, his tone neutral and strangely devoid of anger.

  Duke paused for a moment, trying to think of anything else that could cast them in a better light. When he had almost expended all possible thoughts Duke remembered something that gave him a glimmer of hope.

  “Well, there is one thing. When we left the police headquarters I told the taxi driver to take us straight to the slaughterhouse district; I wanted to come here, to see you and explain ourselves. We could have fled, gone off world and hoped never to be seen again, but we did not.” said Duke, apprehension causing him to rub his hands subconsciously.

  Rine, criminal kingpin of Sector Four, seemed uncertain for the first time during their brief meeting. He took two steps to his left and knocked twice on the office wall, almost instantly the door was opened. One of the heavy set men appeared, a quizzical look on his face.

  “Ah, Arnold, these gentlemen have informed me that they were coming here straight from being detained by this city’s finest. Ask the driver if this is true.”

  Arnold disappeared from the doorway and his voice could be heard as he used a communicator to talk with the taxi driver. The conversation was brief and over far too quickly for Ajax's liking; he would not be happy if the interruption lasted anything short of a lifetime.

  The doorway was filled with the towering figure of Arnold once more, a tiny device held precariously in his gargantuan hands that looked ridiculously out of place. “He said the older man asked to take them to the slaughterhouse district. He didn't tell the driver which warehouse or why.”

  “Did the driver say anything else?” asked Rine.

  “No, sir.”

  The man's expression hardly changed, though Ajax imagined there was a softening around the eyes. “That will be all, Arnold.”

  The door closed and once again they were left alone. For the first time the man in front of them relaxed, although only slightly. He pulled out a lone chair at the head of the table and sat down, letting out a long exhale. He motioned at two chairs opposite, Ajax and Duke reluctantly took a seat each.

  “This is unusual behaviour from clients of Rascas. I expected that I would need to put out a reward for your capture in order for you to face my judgement, should my men not have found you outside the police headquarters. I cannot think of one example where someone who failed to pay a debt has tried to come see me. I take it that I am known to you,” he looked down at a sheet on the table, “Duke?”

  “We have never met, but I have heard of you before, sir. You are the Kingpin, you employ men such as Rascas to loan money to people like myself. You have a number of businesses ranging from this slaughterhouse to gambling dens, whore houses, munitions and drug manufacture. I believe you are known by the name Rine.” said Duke.

  “All those things and more are true, you have obviously done your homework. It's been a long time since that nickname took hold, I’ve had to accept the name Rine. Anyway, there is the matter of your debt,” Rine pulled out a thin tablet from his suit pocket, tapping on the screen and scrolling through something unseen to Ajax and Duke, “which I believe stands at half a million credit's.”

  Duke, captain of the Illicit Jane, did not know how to go about delicately broaching the subject of that figure being incorrect. He mulled over the thought for a while and decided that he was already up shit creek and would have to take the risk and toss his remaining paddle overboard.

  “I don't want to sound disrespectful, sir, but that was the same amount Rascas demanded from me this afternoon. We had agreed on three hundred thousand credit's to be paid by today and that is all I have.” said Duke.

  “I think you misunderstood me, captain. The debt you owe me is now half a million credit's, and that is before I get to the matter of compensation for damages you have caused me. I am a fair man, perhaps fairer than Rascas could comprehend, so I will not look for repayment today an
d shall not charge interest if you agree to my terms.

  “Something tells me you won't be able to afford the compensation for some time. You never did say how you two managed to fight off three men without sustaining any injuries, apart from your companion’s bruised knuckles.” said Rine, pointing at the way Ajax held his hands.

  Ajax was surprised, he thought he'd managed to hide his knuckles well since the police had shown up in the courtyard. Obviously he had dropped his guard too much in Rine's company.

  “It would be a lie to say I was of much use in the fight, Ajax was the man who defended us. We have been training him for underground fights, but I think it was more luck than talent that kept us alive.” said Duke. His poker face looked almost convincing to Ajax.

  Rine tapped on the screen of his tablet again, searching for something as his brow furrowed. “The autopsy said that Rascas died from severe blunt force trauma to his throat, which crushed his windpipe and caused him to suffocate. That is not usually the actions of a street fighter; they don't kill in such a calculated manner. Ajax, how many men have you killed before today?”

  “N-None, those three men are the first I have killed.” said Ajax, the question took him off guard; he had not expected it. There was only the slightest doubt and hesitation in his voice.

  “Fine, don't tell me; the truth always gets out. If these reports are correct then your captain has undersold your skills in a fight. I think we can make this work,” said Rine, typing up a quick note on the screen he held in both hands. “You killed some of my finest men today, men who won't be easily replaced. Since Duke was struggling to pay back such a small loan I don't think monetary compensation will be coming my way any time soon.

  “Instead, I will call upon Ajax when I please and he will come fight for me. When you have earned the value of this debt I will remove the mark I have placed on you. Don't worry, no one will come for you, Duke, as long as Ajax turns up when called and doesn't die in the ring.” said Rine, his toothy smirk an unsettling sight.

  As the silence grew Duke and Ajax were left confused by what had happened, had they managed to escape with their lives?

  “What are you waiting for? You both need to get some rest, I could call for you at any time.” said Rine, already leafing through a second pile of notes and paying them no attention.

  As if on cue the door was again opened by Arnold, presumably the brighter of Rine's primitive employees. Rine gave him a short nod and Arnold stepped aside, allowing both men to stand up and walk past him.

  “Oh, one thing before you leave, Duke.” the captain stopped in his track, one foot already out of the door. “Get that man a haircut, he looks like something you dragged out of the sewers. Any fighter who wants to live doesn't give his opposition an advantage, no matter how slight it might be.”

  The lights of the hover taxi were fading fast, the brief illumination they brought to the courtyard now gone. Duke guided Ajax to the taverns front door, pulling hard to budge the heavy wood. Inside a log fire took centre stage in the dining room, Ajax relished the warmth it gave out as it took away the evening airs chill. He stopped shivering for the first time tonight.

  Duke walked over to the reception and allowed his mouth to curl into a small grin at the sight of a slumbering Sal leaning back in his battered chair, feet resting on grooves of the desk in front of him. Duke did not want to wake him, he had seen Sal pick a man up by the ears before for disturbing his sleep. In light of recent events he knew that the punishment was nothing in comparison to what they could have suffered today.

  He gently shook Sal's closest foot until the soft snoring came to an end, standing back to avoid any repercussions. Sal grunted, opened his eyes and swore, before farting loudly.

  “What do you want, Duke? Shit, is that the time?” he said, looking at the small clock resting on his cluttered desk. He blinked his eyes into focus before opening them wide at the sight before him. “What the fuck happened to the both of you? Is that blood?”

  “Just, please, don't ask about it, Sal. I'm really sorry to have woken you, did Ilya organise another room for my friend here?” asked Duke, grabbing a stunned Ajax by the shoulders and pulling him into view.

  Sal rubbed at his bleary eyes, letting out a long yawn that showed a mouth sparsely filled with teeth. He was still shocked at the pair of blood covered men before him, yet a lifetime of experience with delicate situations quickly calmed him. Sal pulled out a small book from his shirt pocket, flicking through its pages at a glance. “Yes, she did. I've freed up room three on your floor for him. The name I have here is Ajax Frost. How will you be paying Mr Frost?”

  Ajax was tired beyond all measure, he had crossed the sector all day and only now was rest in sight. He ached, his hair was matted with stale sweat and dried blood; his body just wanted to sleep. He couldn't even understand the question Sal had asked, let alone respond. It took all his remaining strength to stay standing in front of them.

  Duke nudged Ajax, snapping him out of his daydream. The captain tapped his right forearm when he had Ajax's attention. It still took an aeon for him to process this information.

  “Credit chip,” he said, “I'll be paying by credit chip. Do you want me to pay up front?”

  “That won't be necessary, I've known your captain long enough to trust his judgement of a person. If you cross me you will regret it. The room is thirty credit's a night, breakfast included. Here is your key, come see me if there are any problems.” said Sal, handing over a small, scuffed key.

  The captain said his goodbyes to Sal, who still shot the man questioning glances, and led Ajax to the staircase and up heavily worn carpeted stairs that creaked underfoot. Ajax was only slightly aware that they had stopped outside a door, which Duke unlocked for him. The key was pressed back into his hands and the door shut behind him.

  He took no notice of the other furnishings in the small room, only one of them was of interest to him. Ajax crossed the room, removing his soiled clothing and dropping it to the floor without a second thought. He climbed onto the hard mattress and before he had time to pull the covers over him Ajax was fast asleep.

  Chapter 8

  Duke rapped his knuckles gently on Ilya's door, whilst trying to make sure that she would only hear him if she was already awake. He gave it a few moments and listened out tentatively for any signs of life, he was about to return to his room when the door creaked opened.

  Ilya had managed to find a large shirt to cover her naked flesh and heavily regretted her choice by the time she had reached the door; her bed was certainly a lot warmer than the corridor outside.

  “Come in, come in. What happened to you guys, I waited for hours.” said a sleepy Ilya, stifling a yawn as her captain walked past. He moved some clothes off a chair and sat down with a satisfied groan.

  “You won't believe what happened to us, Ilya. By all rights you shouldn't have ever seen Ajax or I again. We should be half way through a recyc right now, or on a one-way flight to IS32.” said Duke, rubbing his temples to try and alleviate the horrendous headache hammering at his skull.

  Ilya sat down on her bed, she drew the covers around her to try and ward off the numbing cold. Duke thought it best not to point out what visible effect the cold was having on her body, he thought of her too much as a daughter to let himself be effected by the sight anyway.

  “The police picked us up when you went back into the Haven. We were dragged in front of the chief of police to explain ourselves, I thought for sure neither of us had a chance. After he listened to the truth he told us we would not be charged with murder but we would have to call IS32 home if he ever heard our names again.

  “When we were discharged from the police station Ajax and I caught a taxi, we didn’t even have time to think before five men essentially kidnapped both of us and took us to see Rine in the slaughterhouse district. I thought they would drag us out of the hover and execute us right there and then; I was actually relieved to see Rine.” said Duke.

  Ilya gasped,
holding a hand up to her open face. “You met Rine? The Rine? How are you still alive?” she asked, the cold now long forgotten.

  “I don't know, I have no idea how we got out of there alive. He told me that the debt I owe still stands, and that he wants compensation on top of it. Rine has some kind of plan that includes Ajax to work off my debt, I don't like the idea one bit but we were hardly given a choice in the matter.” said Duke.

  “What debt? You didn't tell me that you owed Rine credits.”

  “Ah, yes, I might have neglected to mention that to the crew. Do you remember the repairs we had to undergo, to get the ship operational again after that near collision? There was no way I could afford them from my savings, so I had to approach a loan shark by the name of Rascas. It was the only way; without it the ship was done for and I would have been ruined.”

  “So how is Ajax going to help pay off this debt?” Ilya asked.

  “I don't know for sure, but he did mention using him in some form of fight. I suppose we will find out when Rine calls for him. I just hope that the kid is up for it, both our lives hang in the balance. I get the impression I did Ajax no favours by bringing him here.”

  The light filtered through the window lazily, slowly moving across the bed as the sun rose. It crept up the sleeping figures face, soft light building up to gradually warm up the room. Ajax rubbed at his eyes, failing to block out the bright light; he let out a long grumbling moan as he awoke. He finally lost the battle and opened his eyes, shifting his body out of the sun’s rays and into the sanctuary of a shaded corner.

  The small room was very minimalistic, it comprised of a bed, wardrobe, desk and chair; he would have been impressed if anything else could have fitted in the space. The door to his bathroom was open and Ajax could see the shower from his bed, beckoning him over and reminding him that he was in desperate need of a wash.