by Gavin Magson
Ajax leant forward in his chair. “What would this job entail?”
“I need two men killed.” came Rine's reply.
The laughter was a surprise to the permanently serious Rine, its sudden appearance unexpected. “You need me to kill two men? You have plenty of goons in your employ who could easily do that for you, what do you need me for?” asked Ajax, grinning despite the grim mood in the room.
Rine paused a moment and regained his professional composure; he hoped that Aiko had not made a mistake. “You do not understand me, Ajax. The easy part is in the killing, the hard part is in the where. I need you to kill two business partners, rivals to my organisation if you will. The major problem being one of them, Joel, is imprisoned in the desert prison Justice One, though you may have heard it called IS32. You would need to kill Hiro, the other partner, first. If word got to him that his partner was dead then he would disappear, or perhaps attack; there is no way of knowing what his reaction would be. Kill him, then infiltrate the prison to silence Joel.”
“How am I supposed to get into this prison, they aren't generally known for opening their doors willingly to assassins. Could you not just leave him inside, behind bars what kind of threat can this Joel pose?” asked Ajax.
“That is none of your concern. If you choose to accept the job I will require both men to be killed for you to be paid, anything less I would consider a failure. Do you think you are up to the task?”
“This is an impossible mission,” said Ajax, standing up from his chair. “How do you expect me to get in and out of a prison to kill a man? I don't know anything about Justice One, I could be walking into my own grave out there. No wage packet could be worth this risk.”
“I would supply you with everything you need, schematics, weapons and a perfect way in; you don't understand how important this assignment is to me. The fee is one million credits.”
Ajax had to stop his jaw from dropping when he heard the unbelievable figure. A million credits? And for only killing two men? He would be crazy to turn it down, that kind of money would change his life and the lives of his friends; Duke could keep his ship and Ajax could do anything. Perhaps set up his own business or buy his way out of the sector and into a more comfortable life. Perhaps it could even get him into Zero.
Ajax sat back down, Rine let slip a rare grin. “I'm listening.”
Chapter 16
After what had seemed a lifetime Rine finally ceased talking, his well-spoken voice had explained everything Ajax needed to know, and more. It came as no surprise for Ajax that such a hard man was at the top of this large and formidable criminal operation; he exuded confidence and charisma without ever seeming cocky or even belittling. There was a hunger in the man's eyes that stirred up a primal alarm in most men when staring into his gaze. Rine was not someone you crossed and lived long enough to regret.
The job was far from simple. Hiro had been working on a means of breaking his partner out of prison for a long time, Rine's spies had reported that the man was running dangerously close to finding a solution to his problem. This caused untold trouble for Rine as these men used to produce the finest psychotropic drugs the planet had ever seen, which his operation could not compete with. Rine's business had almost been run into the ground before Joel had been arrested and sentenced to life in Justice One. Ajax did not need Rine to confirm that the police undoubtedly were tipped off about the rival operation by Rine, or one of his employees.
Hiro has been in hiding ever since, eluding Rine for some time and only recently surfacing. Ajax would need to kill him first, but make it look like a fumbled burglary and not a professional hit; only then might the arresting officers make sure he was sent to the Outerlands prison and not the executioner.
By the time he arrived it would be likely that word had reached Joel of his partners’ death, and there could be no guaranteeing that Ajax's description would not be included. Once inside Ajax would need to locate and kill Joel before the man had time to avenge his partner. Rine had little doubt that Joel could do so, even from imprisonment, and painted quite the terrifying picture of his target. The only major problem was the escape, which Rine admitted would have to be organised by Ajax.
Ajax stared intently at the pictures on the table, studying both men in the photographs. Hiro had not so much been hit with the ugly stick as beaten half to death with it; his was a truly wretched face to look upon, not helped by his scarred cheeks, beady eyes and one missing ear. Joel, despite being described as the intellectual mastermind behind their entire operation, did not appear as Ajax thought he should look like. Joel could give Arnold, the bodyguard outside the office door, a run for his money in a fist fight. The man's shoulders looked wider than Ajax was tall!
“You know where Hiro is living, and how to stage his death to get me sentenced for a stint in Justice One, just not how I am supposed to escape?” asked Ajax.
“I will admit it is not an ideal situation, but it is the best that we could come up with. Aiko told me there were brains behind your brawn, so prove it and figure out an exit strategy. This needs to be dealt with in the next few days; I need a man of action, Ajax. Can I count on you?”
“Give me until tonight and I will have an answer for you, I need time to think about it. I hope you understand this needs careful consideration; it's not something to take lightly. Perhaps I will see you at the fight?”
Rine got up out of his chair and walked around the table, stopping just next to Ajax. “Until tonight then, Mr Frost. I hope your answer is in my favour. I shall make sure to attend your fight and will watch you with interest. A lot rides on your success, should you accept this job.”
Ajax shook the offered hand and Rine handed Ajax all the loose photographs and notes that he had collected on his rivals. A million credits; this task had better be worth it.
Ajax and Aiko were soon outside, climbing back into the hover and watching the slaughterhouse district disappear from sight. He could not shake the feeling that he had missed something hidden, despite the conversation being all about protecting Rine's interests he was sure the man had left an important detail out.
“What the fuck just happened?” asked Ajax when the events finally caught up with him.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” said Aiko, a little stunned. “If I had known that was the job he needed doing I would have saved you the trouble and told him I did not know anyone suitable. If he expects someone to willingly go to prison he has got a screw loose. Escaping from there would not be your biggest worry; survival is near impossible without asking you to take on that.” She cast a glance at a picture of Joel on Ajax's lap, her eyes flaring in fear.
This was the first time he had heard Aiko utter a bad word about her boss, it surprised him that she had spoken about him like that when the driver was probably in Rine's employ. He was far too naïve to recognise her reverse psychology. There was a lot of truth behind her apprehension towards tackling Joel, however.
“I haven't ruled out doing the job just yet. I need to talk to some people and brainstorm how I would get out of the prison. These schematics Rine gave me are unbelievably detailed, if they are accurate there might just be a way of doing it. I just need to find someone with a little bit more knowledge in this than myself. A million credits is unbelievably appetising after all.” he said. Ajax leant back on the beaten seat and stared out at the city flashing past as they whizzed through street after street.
When their hover pulled up outside of the Haven Inn the sun was directly overhead; they had been gone all morning. As Ajax exited the hover Aiko grabbed at his shoulder, gently squeezing his scar.
“Keep an eye on your tablet, I'll be sending you a message later. The venue for your fight tonight has been moved, so I'll get a taxi to the tavern and will give you a lift there. I'll see you later.”
Documents in hand Ajax gave her a quick wave as the taxi door closed. The hover was barely out of the courtyard when he entered the tavern, a wave of warmth and delicious smells, mix
ed with beer and body odour, greeted him like an unwashed friend. Ajax was about to go upstairs to his room when he noticed Greg and Lev sat in a secluded corner, one had nudged the other when Ajax entered the tavern and they were beckoning him over.
Ajax tucked the information Rine had given him securely inside his jacket and walked over to their table. On the way he picked up an unused chair from a nearby table and set it down in front of the duo.
“Are you hungry, Ajax? We have not had our orders taken so feel free to join us for food.” offered Greg.
“Now that you mention it I could do with something to eat. Maybe even a stiff drink after the morning I have had.” Ajax ran both hands through his thick hair, elbows on the table as he failed to meet their curious looks.
Greg waved until he got Maria's attention, who was still the epitome of meek when she managed to navigate her way to their table. Ajax chose not to acknowledge her discomfort around him, evidently their talk this morning was not yet enough to convince her that he was no threat. The men ordered food and beers, the drinks appeared quickly despite the busy tavern.
“Considering all we've been through I am surprised you aren't more forthcoming with information, Ajax. You sit down speaking of a trying morning and yet you haven't said a word about it. Tell us man.” said Greg, in between swigs of his amber drink.
Ajax considered lying to the men, he did not know them as well as Duke and Ilya; he was wary of involving them in something so serious. In the end he decided that he needed to discuss it with someone, even if just to hear himself speak his thoughts out loud. Since his first choice was not available he began telling the couple all about his meeting with Rine.
“One million credits?” asked Lev in wonder, his face mirroring the tone. A forkful of food was left suspended inches from his mouth and long forgotten. “You have got to be shitting me? It could take me a lifetime to earn that much, perhaps more now that the ship is going under.”
“True, but only if I can find a way in and out of a prison to kill some drug mastermind; providing I survive my time behind bars, of course.” said Ajax, sipping at his second drink of the afternoon.
Only Lev had asked questions, interrupting a handful of times as Ajax filled them in on his morning’s activities. Greg had sat silent, deep in thought ever since the prison had been mentioned.
“Ajax, I know this might not be the best time to ask for it, but do you have three thousand credits you could spot me?” asked Greg.
“What do you need it for? That's nearly every last credit I have to my name.” said Ajax. It was probably for the best that he did not mention his recent poor run in the sectors gambling dens.
“Your ship had a cloaking system, unlike anything I have ever seen before. I've heard of things that could camouflage a gun, perhaps even a whole person if they could carry the enormous battery to power it; never something powerful enough to disguise a whole ship from the naked eye and scans.” said Greg. “It has to be far more advanced than the technology behind Zero, which I struggle to believe could even exist. If I could go up to the Illicit Jane and take a look at it, perhaps I could get the system working again. It's one of the few things we kept from the salvage and I hope it was only the damage to the hull that caused it to fail. Maybe it would work with another ship and we could literally fly into the prison.”
Why had he not thought of that himself, pondered Ajax? Granted he had only heard mention of it once when Duke was preparing him for the space docks, it had completely slipped his memory since. It was a long shot, but it could just pay off. Ajax reached into his pocket and pulled out a blank credit chip which he filled from his implant. He slid it across the table to Greg, along with a spare tablet he kept for emergencies.
“Understand that should you get that system working my payment for the job would be used to help the captain keep your ship running, so no pressure, Greg. You must know how to use one of these?” he asked, pointing at the tablet. “Send me a message when you've had a chance to look at the system, but don't hesitate; I need to have an answer for Rine tonight. My tablet ID is stored in it.”
“You'll be first to know, Ajax. Leave it with me, electronics and navigations are my specialities. This could be our best chance at keeping that junker of a ship afloat, and Lev's pretty face off the street corners.”
Lev’s face was torn between shock and amusement, Lev gave his partner his best expression of hurt before both burst out in laughter. The mood finally lifted around their table, each of the men allowed themselves to let a little hope cheer them up. Once the meals and a couple more drinks were consumed Greg said his goodbyes and headed out to the transport hub, Lev and Ajax went upstairs to their respective rooms.
Ajax lay sprawled across his bed, he was enjoying the buzz from the alcohol and cheered spirits from Greg's idea. He had even temporarily forgotten about the fight looming ahead of him. Before each bout Ajax was always filled with a sense of dread, knowing that even with his augment he could be crippled or killed in the ring, bested by an opponent.
A gentle knock on the door roused him from his thoughts with a jump. Ajax rolled off the mattress, straightened his clothes out a little and opened the door. Sarah almost bowled him over as she entered the room, not waiting for an invitation.
“Sorry about that,” she said, watching him holding his crushed toes and looking at her through watering eyes. “I can't be seen with you, I heard someone coming up the stairs just as you opened the door.”
Ajax, nursing his wounds, sat down on the bed where Sarah joined him. She planted a kiss on his cheek that washed the thoughts of pain away.
“Why aren't you needed downstairs? It looked pretty busy whilst I was down there.” said Ajax.
“It was all Maria's idea, she said that she could handle the remainder of the lunch time rush whilst I had a rest. I think it's her way of thanking me for working her dinner shift tonight.”
Sarah lent towards Ajax, wrapping a hand around the back of his neck and another on his shoulder, kissing him passionately. With a gentle push he was laying on his back, Sarah straddling his hips and wiggling her own on his bulge. She pulled her dress up over her head and tossed it to the floor, exposing her naked, curvaceous flesh to Ajax.
“I thought you were given the afternoon off to rest?” he asked, a smile on his face, gripping her voluptuous rear.
“I can do whatever I like with my free time.” she replied, grabbing at the buckle of his pants.
Ajax was exhausted, he could not remember where he had left the tablet, and only the setting sun told him that a lot of time had passed. There was sweat glistening on Sarah's naked skin as she slept next to him, her pale nipples attracting his attention.
There had been some hesitancy in her lovemaking, as if something worried Sarah and left her distracted. Ajax knew the subject would be tonight's fight, this was not the first time she had come to him before a bout.
Sarah let out a gentle snore as he rolled out of bed, searching for his strewn clothes. It took a few minutes to locate everything. Ajax could not understand how his underwear had ended up behind his desk; it left him stumped.
The tablet was still in his jacket, he was thankful there was no message awaiting him. It was a lot later than he expected, which had him wondering why Aiko had not been in contact. He gave Sarah's body one last look and walked into the bathroom, aware he was in need of another shower.
The water was running cool, which was getting no complaints off Ajax; all the activity had left his blood hot. He reached to turn the shower off and heard the faint click of his door closing. Ajax quickly wrapped a towel around his waist and entered the room, seeing that Sarah and her clothes were missing. A short note in her familiar curly writing was waiting for him on his bed's pillow.
Good luck for tonight. Don't get yourself killed, S.
He had barely put the paper down when a knock came at the door.
“What do you think are the chances of it working, Ilya?” asked Duke.
Lev
had been trying to explain Ajax's plan for several hours now, only when he started to sober up did his explanation finally start to make sense. Ilya had been outraged by the risk Ajax was willing to take in the name of helping her captain's mining operation, at first she tried to convince Duke to talk Ajax out of it. Duke had voiced his concerns, but upon hearing everything Lev could remember it had become apparent to him that the risk might yet be worth the reward.
“It's stupid and he is going to end up getting himself killed, captain, you should know that. Even if Greg can get that system working, we don't have a ship to attach it to. Lev said that Ajax has spent the last of his money on Greg's tickets to and from the ship, even if we pooled all our savings that couldn't rent a ship let alone buy one.” she protested.
“I'm not happy about the boy putting himself at risk once again to help me out of a tricky situation, but by the sounds of things his mind might already be made up; you know how stubborn Ajax can be. At least let me have a talk with him first, before he does something stupid like accepting the job. Greg might not even be able to repair it, you saw the condition most of the salvage was in.” said Duke.
“I'll go see if I can find him, he is meant to give his answer to Rine after the fight.” said Ilya, pushing herself up out of the chair in Duke's room.
Ilya opened the door and left the room without a backwards glance at either men. Outside in the corridor there were only a few windows to let in light, through one she stared into the dim courtyard. There was a couple sat on the fountains ledge, sharing a passionate kiss; Ilya felt a pang of jealousy towards them.
Ilya tore her gaze away from the scene and walked around the corner that lead towards Ajax's room. Almost immediately she stopped in her tracks, quickly moving back to hide herself from view. Sarah had just stepped out of Ajax's room, stopping momentarily to run her fingers through messed up hair and to straighten out her dress. When Sarah left, walking downstairs towards the dining room, Ilya sank to the floor.