“Squit, this is the finest breakfast I’ve ever had. I’m so glad you are on board.”
The table all raised their glasses and started to dive in. They each complimented the food, which made Squit bounce with excitement.
Regan encouraged Squit to join the table, and after some convincing, she did. She took the chair next to Bob, and the two sat very close, Bob endlessly complimenting her cooking the entire time.
Regan’s smile grew larger, then he thought of another person on board the ship: Calico. He wondered how long it had been since she’d eaten anything. Even though she was locked up, it wouldn’t hurt to bring her a plate. They were alive because of her after all.
Regan excused himself from the table and made his way to the kitchen to fix another plate. They were all so deep in conversation that he dipped out unnoticed.
Calico looked miserable in her cell. She sat huddled up into a little ball with her arms crossed over her knees and her chin resting on her forearm. When Regan entered, her face lifted, but she made no movement. She was clearly done thinking Regan would let her go.
“I did what I had to do to survive,” she said to him.
“I understand,” Regan replied. “Here’s some food.”
He slid the plate through a slot at the bottom of the door. She didn’t move, only glimpsing at the plate. But when she sniffed the air, her eyes lit up. She quickly approached the cell door, likely faster than she meant to, as it gave her hunger away.
“Did you make this?” she asked curiously as she looked down at the plate.
“No, our new crew member did.” Regan took a seat across from the cell door. “She’s a pink, shiny creature with a bunch of tentacles that make up—”
“A Squilly,” Calico interrupted. “That type of creature is called a Squilly. I remember her from Mephistopheles’s collection.”
“Her name is Squit,” Regan said.
“Well, I suppose that makes sense,” Calico replied. She bent down and picked up the plate. As she took a bite, her eyes opened wide. She stared at the plate, then took another bite quickly. “This is delicious. I didn’t know they could cook! I didn’t even know they could communicate, to be honest. Mephistopheles wanted a specimen because of their odd neurology. Their brains are evenly dispersed throughout their entire bodies. Because of that, Universal Translators can’t interface with them.”
Regan considered Calico’s statement for a moment.
“It seems Mephistopheles overlooked the best parts of a lot of creatures,” he said, a comment which made Calico pause from eating as she looked at him. He stood up and said, “Well, enjoy that. I’ll be back to check in on you later.”
Calico fell into her sad, pouty face again, but like last time, Regan could tell it was genuine. Her guard really was down. She was locked up and posing herself honestly, he felt.
You fell for it before.
He couldn’t let it be that easy. He nodded and continued walking toward the main brig door, which he locked behind himself after leaving.
As he walked the hallways of his ship, he thought of her and the things she said. He thought of how Arkei was also manipulated by Mephistopheles. She kidnapped Regan, just like many other species, and was expected to hand him over for experimentation. In fact, she did hand him over. He then thought of Straya and the pirate life she led, believing she had no other choice.
But if Calico really was a princess, then why did she stick around with that evil creature? What brought her there in the first place?
Regan then thought of the blinking light on the bridge—the one that Calico continued to turn off when she was seated in the pilot’s chair. This thought suddenly intrigued Regan. He would go to the bridge and check it out. It’d be a test of sorts for Calico’s trust. He would find out exactly what that red button did.
Regan made it to the bridge with ease, becoming more comfortable with the layout of the ship the more he walked around it. When he arrived, he wasn’t surprised to find the little light was blinking again on the pilot’s console.
He stepped up to it and reached out to push it, but he hesitated.
You don’t know what this will do.
He wavered his finger back and forth, even dropping his arm at one point, but ultimately, he had to know what was going on, so he reached out and pressed the button. A small prompt appeared on the pilot’s console asking whether to answer or ignore the call. He pressed the prompt to accept it.
A section of the windshield turned into a monitor screen of sorts. A viewscreen. Salvato sat at the other end. He looked the same and seemed surprised to see Regan’s face again. He had a cocktail in his hand that he set down so he could rub his hands together.
“There you are!” the mobster said with his gurgled voice.
“Here I am,” Regan said calmly, taking a seat in his captain’s chair.
“Yes! But… where is there?” Salvato asked. An eyebrow rose from underneath his sunglasses.
“I don’t know exactly,” Regan replied with a smirk. “Why don’t you tell me why you were trying to destroy us?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Salvato said with a growl, banging on a desk in front of him. “You stole the data cube! And I want to know why?”
Regan’s smirk became one of confusion. He brought his hand to his chin and thought for a moment. He searched his mind for what Salvato could be referring to, but he had nothing.
“The what?” Regan finally asked.
Salvato’s fists were so tight and his expression so angry, he looked as if he would have a fit. His mouth opened, pointing at the screen as if about to shout something at Regan, but then he relaxed his posture. He adjusted his pinstriped suit jacket and removed his hat to reveal a slicked back oily haircut. There were gold strands running through it, as if he wanted it to match his pinstriped suit.
He lifted his drink and took another sip.
“So… You really don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?” he asked.
Regan shook his head. “I don’t. But I know shooting a bunch of missiles at us for some data is a bit much. What would you have done if the missiles destroyed our ship? Would the data have been destroyed too?”
Salvato clapped his hands together once and laughed. “You clearly don’t understand,” he said.
“No, I don’t. But I do know that if you’ve taken Mephistopheles’s compound over, you have an entire archive of data at your fingertips. Information about the entire universe. What’s so special about this single cube?”
“It’s none of your concern,” Salvato said with a more stern tone. He took another sip of his drink, finishing it. “Just know that I’m serious when I say the following: Until you return it, you’ll never know peace. You’ll be in constant danger. And when I find you—and I will find you—I’ll tear off anything that protrudes from your body until I get an answer. You’ll hand it over, eventually. It’s up to you how much pain you’re willing to endure first.”
Regan didn’t appreciate the threats, but he knew that Salvato was telling the truth. He had defeated and escaped one enemy only to make another. His mind was racing through the possibilities. He wanted to say something smart and threatening, but he held back. He had to play this one cool. Too hot right out the gate wouldn’t bode well for what could come further down the road.
“What does it look like?” Regan asked, staying calm and pretending like the threat Salvato had made mattered little to him.
Salvato started laughing at the reply. He waved his arm and someone off screen brought him another cocktail. He sat back in his chair and put his feet on the desk.
“You humor me, little human,” he said and took a sip. “It’s a cube! Two inches by two inches, I’d say. Blue lights on all sides. And to answer your previous question, no, the missiles would not have destroyed it. It’s made of a metal you can’t break into, so don’t even try it. It has fail safes in place that only I know how to work through. Spare yourself the agony.”
Regan gave a nonchalant shrug. “Okay
, well, I’ll let you know if I come across it. No guarantees though. It’s a big ship.”
Salvato instantly dropped his legs from his desk and leaned forward, pointing his finger as he started to say something. All he got out was, “You little—” before Regan pressed the button and ended the call.
Well, there you go again. Making powerful enemies with other species in space.
Regan thought about that for a moment.
Screw him.
He didn’t get up from his captain’s chair, and he assumed for a moment that the little light would start blinking again. But it didn’t. Salvato’s threats had already been made, after all. Regan knew that Salvato would see them through if he got the chance.
So better not let him get the chance. But how would he get ahead of this?
The cube’s somewhere around here.
Right. So could it be as simple as finding it then calling Salvato back? Handing it over? If that were the case, maybe he should have asked how to call Salvato back before hanging up on him…was there such a thing as a phone number in space? How did the dude call him?
Regan knew only one thing: If that data cube was somewhere on his ship, then only one person knew where it was, and why it was so important.
And she was in a prison cell two floors below him.
Time for another visit.
Chapter Thirty
Regan left the bridge and headed for Calico’s cell. She knew about the data cube Salvato was after, yet hadn’t said a word about it. Not quite a point in her favor.
This data cube seemed like a big deal—big enough to hunt down Regan and his crew across the galaxy. It seemed like every time Regan thought Calico was changing, she was hiding something else.
He took the most direct route to get to the brig, which meant he had to pass by the galley. He didn’t want his crew to see him this upset, but he also didn’t want to lie to them.
As he passed the large open doors to the galley, he paused. Some of his anger subsided as he got a glimpse of Bob and Squit in the kitchen. Bob was helping her clean the dishes, and the chemistry between them was ridiculous. They rubbed against each other as they passed dishes back and forth, and Squit was reaching around Bob, grabbing items, sliding her tentacles across his shoulders as she did so.
I gotta hand it to you, Bob. You found someone who matches your level of weird.
Regan was about to turn from the galley when Arkei and Straya showed up and stopped him.
“Where’d you go?” Straya asked.
“Reverie went off to check the captain’s suite. We’ve been looking for you,” Arkei chimed in. “We need to decide—”
But Regan raised his hand and stopped them.
“I have to go talk to Calico,” he said, making no attempt to hide the irritation in his tone.
“About?” Straya asked.
“About a certain data cube that she likely stole. That’s why Salvato’s trying to destroy us. The cube is apparently his, and he wants it back.”
Straya and Arkei gave each other nervous glances. They knew something.
“Data cubes store an immense amount of information,” Straya noted. “Enough to topple empires.”
Regan shrugged. “Yeah, well, if Calico tells us where it is, then we can return it and put it all behind us.”
“It might not be that simple,” Arkei said.
“Shit,” Straya added. “Arkei is right. A data cube, depending on what’s on it, could make us a big target.”
Regan thought about it. If Salvato was as powerful as he seemed to be, then perhaps he had spies or contacts working all over the galaxy for him. Suddenly, this seemed like a bigger deal than it had before.
I should have gotten his number.
“Well, no sense talking in the hallway about it,” Regan said. “First things first, we get Calico to tell us where it is. Then we decide our next move.”
Straya smacked her fist into her hand and smirked. “I can get that feline to tell us exactly where it is. Just let me at her, Captain.”
Regan put his hand on her fist and gently lowered it. “How about we start with a discussion first?”
Straya took it well, stating, “You’re always so compassionate, lucky for Calico.”
“Let’s get a move on,” Arkei said, then the group headed for the brig.
Calico was sleeping on the bench in her jail cell when Regan, Straya, and Arkei entered. She lay stretched out on her back, without a care in the world.
He noticed she had licked her plate clean. She must have been hungry.
But Calico went from this relaxed state to a near panic when Straya kicked the bars hard. She did it twice and Calico leapt upright into a defensive hunch, her fingernails turned into claws.
She relaxed a bit when she saw who was standing before her. Her nails started to retract.
“I spoke with Salvato while you were asleep,” Regan said.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Calico said.
“Is that because you didn’t want me to know about the data cube you stole?”
Calico stiffened. She looked at Regan, then at the ladies beside him. She put her head down, as if admitting they had caught her again.
“Where is it, Calico?” Regan said without raising his voice. Again, he reminded himself about composure. He had to keep it cool, regardless of his underlying feelings.
Calico lifted her head and looked at Regan.
“Yes, I stole it from Mephistopheles,” she said. “I had to.”
“Well, that little theft gained us a significant enemy,” Regan said.
“Don’t act like you didn’t steal from his compound too.”
“Yeah, but only one stolen item has landed us in hot water.”
“You don’t know what I put up with to get that data cube.”
Regan stood up from his chair and approached the bars in front of Calico. He wrapped his hands around them and stared into her eyes.
Straya and Arkei were nervous about this action, knowing her claws could get to him through those bars, but they trusted their captain, and in this moment, he had to show Calico that he trusted her.
“Whatever your reasoning for stealing it, I need it off my ship now. If you don’t tell me where it is, you’re likely to get us all killed.”
Calico mulled it over, keeping eye contact with him. Even though her eyes were black, he knew now when they were sincere.
“Nobody will kill us,” Calico said simply. “So long as we have it, we are the bigger threat.”
“Give me a break,” Straya interjected. “They tried to shoot us down. They sent missiles after us hoping to blow us up. Some threat we are.”
Calico shook her head.
“They made it seem like that,” she said. “But those were just hull busters. Sure, we would have been taken out of commission, but only long enough for them to board us and raid the ship.”
Regan considered this. Again, he thought back to his discussion with Salvato, who said the data cube was unbreakable.
“Can the cube be damaged?” Regan asked.
“Of course it can,” Calico replied. “In fact, Salvato would never risk it being damaged, because if something were to happen to it, it would automatically broadcast its information for all to access. A dead man’s switch of sorts.”
So, Salvato is trying to play me for a fool.
“He probably told you not to tamper with it when you spoke to him,” Calico continued.
“He did,” Regan replied.
“He wants you to think he has the upper hand, when in fact he doesn’t.”
“What information is on it that’s so important to him?” Arkei asked.
“Information that could cause the entire Flavatto mob big time trouble,” Calico said. “Let’s just say their influence runs deep. And I’m talking way too deep. Deeper than anyone could imagine.”
“So… what? You want the cube as leverage? For what?” Regan asked, trying to find the angle.
“It’
s not my leverage,” Calico continued. “It’s his leverage. Salvato’s. Blackmail in its most basic form. That’s what he is attempting. The boss of the Flavatto mob, Rubicio… Well, Salvato has been collecting dirt on him for a long time. He wants to usurp him. The cube contained the final bits of his puzzle. He was going to strike a deal with Mephistopheles for it.”
“Why does the name Rubicio sound familiar?” Arkei asked while squinting her eyes.
Calico grinned and nodded her head as if this were the bombshell. “He’s a councilman on the Universal Council.”
Damn. Mobs in politics in space.
“So the mob is running the council?” Straya asked, her eyes wide.
“Or the other way around,” Calico said. “Whichever way makes it sound more or less scary to you, think of it that way. But now you see why I had to steal it.”
“No!” Straya snapped. “You moron, that’s why we have to return it!”
Calico put her hand to her forehead.
“Where is it?” Arkei chimed in. “We don’t want to start a fight with the mob.”
“You don’t understand!” Calico tried to protest.
That was when Straya rushed the bars, coming face to face with Calico.
“No, it’s you who doesn’t understand!” Straya snapped. “If you don’t tell us where it is, I will do horrible things to you. I swear, Calico, I will rip your claws off one by one. I’ll cut that slutty tail off and choke you with it until your beady black eyes burst from your head. And that’s just the first of many fun ideas I’ve got in mind. Now tell us where it is.”
The two stared at each other.
“How will you contact him?” Calico asked.
“No more games,” Straya said. “Where is it?”
Calico finally nodded and retreated to her bench. “It’s in a capsule under the pilot’s station.”
Straya and Arkei hurried from the room. Regan stayed put, watching Calico.
“You like causing trouble,” he said to her. “And this time, for what? So you can toy with some mobsters?”
Calico looked like she might cry. She lifted her face up, frowned, and just shook her head, as if he could never understand what she was trying to do, or as if he hadn’t been listening to any of the things she’d been saying.
Galactic Bandits Compilation Page 20