by Scott Rhine
“With the death certificate issued by the sheriff, I had myself declared the sole remaining heir of Kesh. You may refer to me as Kesh.”
Krannek emerged into the lobby. “I have given him the appellation Kesh Far-Traveler.”
“Which I accept with gratitude. Each time I hear it, I shall remember your assistance and your fair planet.” Kesh bowed his head to touch the commander’s.
Max cleared his throat. “Why don’t we talk in the bus, where we can have some privacy? Some of what happened to me last week is Union secret.”
“Ah, that reminds me.” Krannek removed a folder from a diplomatic case and handed it to Max. “Zoological research from the Beloved One.”
Max flipped through the file briefly. “This is great. Give her my sincere thanks. Um … I won’t be able to do this justice until I can devote a few hours. Could you put this with my other gear in Chief Engineer Mendez’s shuttle?”
Krannek placed it back in the case and handed it off to his bodyguard with instructions.
The bus picked them up at the curb outside the farthest cargo terminal. When Reuben saw the ocean, he winced. “That reminds me … as soon as we stop at the hotel, I have to piss like a racehorse.”
“We just passed a facility in the spaceport,” Kesh said.
“Yeah, but you have to pay to use them.”
“Water purification, soap, and electricity all cost,” Max explained. “Less than a hotel room would for the afternoon. We’re flying out right after the party.”
“In that case, I’ll be right back.” Reuben ran around the corner of the stucco building, fumbling with his fly. Goats didn’t have a problem with free public urination. The Saurian bodyguard remained outside to wait for the straggler.
“Speaking of public health hazards,” Krannek said with a smile, “the idea you had about me sealing The Inner Eye with a health inspection was brilliant. The story about the whole crew, except for the copilot, contracting scale rot in Vegas explained the absence of Blue Claw workers, as well as why Jubalasch resigned.” The form of virulent venereal disease started as an itchy, yeast-like infection, which got progressively worse until the victim scraped oozing scales off with his own claws.
“I have a new reputation for hetero virility, but no one wants to go near me,” Kesh bragged. “They wouldn’t even let me use the public DNA scanners. I had to change my biometrics to optic nerves. Fortunately, I had adequate documentation and my recent proclamation as the sole Kesh. I also presented them with the same computer pad that they interfaced with before. With the cheap scanner on his computer, a 98 percent match was within acceptable error margins for me to gain access.”
“Were you able to complete the transaction to free Echo?” Max asked.
“Of course. The Goat has helped me to plan the manifest for the next—”
Max plunged his arms around the Kesh in a hug. He felt a sense of relief and accomplishment that he hadn’t experienced since he delivered a child as an EMT. Even if he died today, his life meant something. “Thank you. I’ll never forget you for your assistance in this.”
The Saurian lovers glanced at each other, wary. Krannek spoke first. “What we are doesn’t bother you? You’re not going to ask us how it works?”
The question triggered thoughts of nylon eggs and lubricants. Max shook his head. “Zrulkesh hunted and mated with the Magi against her will.”
Kesh hissed. “He called me a pervert.”
“As long as what you do is consensual, it’s none of my business.”
“Yes. About business. You do realize that I’m an embezzler, and you trusted me with your life’s savings. Not the wisest move.”
Max shrugged. “I couldn’t leave the Yellow Claw base, and I had to free Echo as soon as possible. None of the rest mattered.”
“Religious upbringing,” Krannek said.
“I’m building a ship’s crew, one I’m going to be spending my foreseeable future with,” Max said. “If I can’t trust you in port with mere credits, we have bigger problems. We keep each other’s secrets and watch each other’s backs.”
Kesh blinked. “So, this is more than a simple escape plan?”
“People I can trust are rare,” Max replied. “I don’t know what I’m doing next, but I know I can’t afford to lose even one friend. I’m going to stick by Echo until she gets home, and neither of us would leave you to shoulder your brother’s repair debt.”
Wordlessly, Kesh checked with Krannek. When the security commander nodded approval, Kesh put out a hand, Human style. “Partners then. I have several ideas on how to maximize your … our ship’s profit potential.”
Soon after they shook, Reuben thundered aboard the vehicle. “Hey, buddy. I called around, and every Mnamnabonian on this planet is going to be at your retirement party.”
“I don’t want more attention,” Max objected.
Reuben said, “Not for you. I want to increase my odds of getting lucky tonight. A lot of women wrinkle their noses at me.”
“I can’t imagine.” Kesh kept his face deadpan.
“You know I already arranged a date for you tonight.”
“Yeah, with the chaperone.” Reuben rolled his eyes. “Killjoy. You look so serious. What were you guys talking about?”
“Business. Kesh here is our newest partner.”
“Our?” Kesh said, with a lip curl.
“Krannek, could you step outside for a few seconds?” Max waited until the three potential shipmates were alone. “We’ll need Reuben for the cargo loading, computers, forging documents, and his psionic abilities as a Black Ram.”
“How will he increase profits?” asked the Saurian accountant.
“I hear you’re one of the greatest financial minds of our time. Hang around with Reuben, and I can guarantee he’ll boost your IQ to new heights.”
“Interesting.” Kesh shook Reuben’s hand but used a sanitizing wipe afterward.
Reuben puffed out his chest. “Now that I’m an entrepreneur, the ladies will start flocking around. Maybe I can get one of those yachts and throw big parties.”
Kesh pointedly ignored the Goat to continue his discussion with Max. “We’ve already shaken. I won’t renege. I’m merely curious. What do you bring to earn your cut, other than medical skills?”
Max signaled the commander that he could return. “Although, I can keep you in top form for decades with a military-grade regeneration unit, I’m the person who will link the team together. I’ll be the one everyone else trusts until we all know each other better. Finally, I’m your protection. I can guarantee that as long as I’m alive, no one will hurt a member of my crew.”
“Excellent.”
Reuben asked, “I can draw up incorporation papers. So all four of us, including the astrogator, get a vote?”
“Uh … sure,” Max agreed.
“How do we deal with ties with an even number?” asked Reuben.
Max shrugged. “I guess if it has to do with shooting things or hiding evidence, I break the tie, and if it has to do with finances, Kesh does.”
“Seems fair,” Kesh replied. “Let’s meet the young lady we’re planning to interview as our fifth member, the pilot.”
The bus pulled up to Ivy’s tiny, turquoise house soon after. Max handed Reuben a corsage from the florist box and took one for Roz. He climbed out of the bus to knock at the front door. Reuben followed him to the porch and paced.
When Ivy emerged, she wore a painted-on red dress that emphasized her every curve. Reuben, who had been nibbling nervously on the corsage, choked. Max had to grab his friend from behind and tug against the base of his ribs to clear the obstruction. A wad of chewed petals shot across the porch.
Reuben wheezed, “Thank you.”
“All part of the job,” Max muttered.
Ivy bent over to pick up the flower chunks, and the fabric over her ample behind strained to near transparency. Reuben nearly hyperventilated as his eyes bugged. “I meant the date. You’re the greatest, boss.”
In English, Ivy said, “You neglected to mention in our introduction that you were both a guardian of the Black Ram and a Llewellyn friend.”
“Need to know,” Max said, wondering how she had discovered these facts.
“You’re perfect,” Reuben said. “Do you like to slow dance or shake it? Because either is okay.”
Stifling a smile, Max said, “Pretend you’re a gentleman.”
“At least until we get back to your hotel room,” Ivy whispered in the Goat’s ear.
Reuben hyperventilated for a moment. “You don’t mind dating a Goat?”
“I’m a try-sexual, willing to try anything once.” With no danger of bonding, pregnancy, or the rigorous genetic testing she would need for a Human mate, Ivy seemed willing to take a walk on the wild kingdom side.
Max chuckled until Roz walked out, as uneasy as a newborn colt on her borrowed heels. He offered an arm to steady her wobbly stance as he admired her transformation. Her eye makeup glittered, and her scar was barely noticeable. Her golden dress was modest but accentuated her femininity. Even the tiny purse had a blossom bow. “Wow. You look like a flower yourself.”
He pinned the corsage on as she glanced at Ivy to make sure this was permitted. Max asked, “You’ve never had a date give you a corsage before?”
Ivy replied, “She never went to a prom, did all her early education by remote computer classes, and attended college on a scholarship. She didn’t dare enjoy herself until after she finished her master’s degree.”
“Then I concentrated on my apprenticeship program. Since I turned thirty, men have stopped looking at me.”
As Max led her to the bus, he said, “You’re mistaken, Shiraz. I won’t see you much during the ceremony itself, but at the party afterward, we’re going to count the number of men we catch staring at you, and you’re going to owe me a dance for each.”
Roz blushed, and Ivy smiled in approval.
Chapter 31 – Luau
In the minutes before the ceremony, Max chatted with Helena Claremont. “The Trout tells us you eliminated the group who assassinated my husband’s predecessor.”
He nodded.
“She actually cried over losing you, you know. She still hasn’t figured out why. Seeing her tears did my heart good.” The governor’s wife narrowed her lips to avoid smiling. “Are you still in the market to buy used diamonds for your new young lady?”
“We’re taking it slow. Besides, I have no money left.”
Helena took off her tennis bracelet, a chain of ridiculous carat round-cut diamonds. “Then take this as a symbol of my gratitude. Without your help, I’d have been a widow.”
“This is too much. I can’t.”
“Oh, my husband bought this for the Trout. I found the credit receipt before he gifted it. He had no choice but to present it to me.” She slipped the glittering strand into his tuxedo pocket. “Consider it her recompense for the piece of your soul she stole.”
The band started to play, and he couldn’t object.
****
At sunset, Yellow Claw warriors dragged Max away from his friends for the obligatory toast to his comrades, the Phantom Cosmonauts. The Saurians went ape, calling their reinstatement the achievement of a lifetime. After sixty years of effort, their brothers lived in eternal glory on a plaque in the embassy. The victory felt flat and hollow to Max. His comrades were just as dead as they had been the day before, but everyone wanted him to be happy.
He wandered to the area behind the barbeque pits for a few moments of relative quiet. Kneeling in the sand as darkness fell, he struggled with memories and emotions he had stuffed into duffle bags years ago.
Far from calming him, what he saw hauled out of the pits caused him to flee the party in a blind panic.
Half an hour later, Max could still hear the celebration from his perch atop the desalination tanks. He had just managed to calm his breathing when Roz appeared, carrying her shoes. “Are you trying to give a girl a complex?”’
Burying his head in his knees, he whispered, “It’s not you. It was the kids.”
“So the young ones ate the leis? They’re Goats,” Roz said lightly, but concern knitted her face.
“I ran like a coward.”
She crossed her arms. “Of all the adjectives I’ve heard applied to you since we’ve met, that’s one I find hard to believe.”
He uncovered his face to look down at her. “No matter how things work out between us, personally or professionally, I promise to tell you the truth.”
Roz sat awkwardly on the steps and patted the cement beside her. “I’d be more inclined to believe you if you weren’t trying so hard to hide. The governor’s people couldn’t even locate you.”
Slowly, Max crawled down to sit next to her. “How did you find me?”
Roz took his hand. The simple act of connecting and caring seemed to blunt his fear like the lighting of a candle in a dark room. “Reuben said you needed some time alone. You told me that you come here to think. What about?”
“Sometimes an image triggers a memory.” Max watched the surf. When she shivered at the breeze, he loaned her his tux jacket. He could see the silver of his medal, a dolphin pin, shimmer like water when she moved.
“Does it have something to do with every Goat and Saurian on this planet treating you like a rock star?”
“I can’t tell you a lot of details, but I used to rescue people for a living. The fall of Mnamnabo was the worst. The Phibs wanted to wipe out every vestige of the Black Ram. They hated him. After the statues and museum were toppled, they went after his orphanage.”
“They killed the kids?” she guessed.
“Worse. The kids were starving after days of siege. The Phibs lured the little ones out by offering barrels of apples. When I saw the roasted pigs on the beach, with apples stuffed into their mouths, I flashed back.”
“Why would roast pig—?”
“The Phibs cooked and ate several kids before we arrived. They had a big celebration. There weren’t many orphans left to save, just the smartest and most cynical. The innocent ones were all dead.”
They shared a silence for a moment while the horror sank in. Roz put her head against him.
Clapping from the path back to town startled them. Gunther and two thugs stood behind them. “I always wondered how you got them to spread so easy. You’re good.”
As Max stood, the two thugs spread out to block any escape. “What do you want?”
“I told you we have unfinished business,” Gunther said, slipping on a set of brass knuckles.
Max eyed up both thugs. They appeared to be professionals, with no hesitation or remorse. One licked his lips when he glanced at Roz’s exposed thigh. “Let the girl go. She has no part in this.” He was sure he could kill two of them before going down. Perhaps he could bribe someone other than Gunther with the jewelry in his pocket, but he was sick of killing.
“I could include her,” Gunther said. “Maybe I want you to know how it felt to watch you pound the Trout for all those months.”
Roz’s breathing sped up with fear.
Max held up a hand. “If you let her go, I won’t fight back. You can do anything you want to me. A walk back to the party will take her at least ten minutes each way, plus time to find a cop.”
Roz’s jaw dropped. “No. You just got out of the hospital. They could beat you to death by then.”
“I’m better than that, darling. He’ll just want to die.” Gunther stroked his fist. “All right. Run, sugar.”
She did, sprinting barefoot down the beach before the thugs could change their minds.
The two anonymous toughs grabbed Max’s arms. Gunther said, “The sheriff will be distracted because of that bomb threat at the space station. We’re going to have quite a while to chat before we need to move indoors.” His fist slammed into Max’s stomach, doubling him over. “We’re going to have some fun before I start with the questions.”
For three agonizing minutes, Gunther t
ook pot shots at his kidneys, face, balls, and solar plexus. With every blow, Max tried to tell himself, Two hundred dead. I deserve this.
Smiling, Gunther wiped the sweat off his forehead. “You’re going to be pissing blood. Let’s see. Plenty of time for maps and passwords later. We’ll start with the names of your spy contacts in town. Who are they, and who do they work for?”
“The Asian woman works for the Bankers.” Max groaned. “Mai.”
“Last name?”
“Wong.”
“Tell me everything you know about my wong,” said Gunther.
“Looks kind of like a golf pencil.”
One of the holders giggled. Gunther’s face darkened, and he kneed Max in the gut.
Blood and drool drizzled onto the pavement. Max heard the whine of an electric car approaching at high speed. He pivoted so his and the thugs’ backs were to the oncoming vehicle. A loud thump, and his opponents were flying through the air. Gunther collided with him, and Max hit the pavement hard, losing hard-won skin from his hands.
“Get in,” Roz shouted from the driver’s seat of the car.
Gunther, the least injured of the group, rose to his feet. “I’m going to enjoy—”
She didn’t give him time to finish his boast, hitting him with the heavy door.
Stronger than she looks. Max only moaned. He was in too much pain to stand.
Muttering to herself, Roz helped him up and walked him toward the vehicle. One of the thugs climbed to his feet. She pulled a multipurpose tool out of her purse, wire strippers extended. “Back off, or I’ll rip your nuts off and throw them to the jellyfish.”
Max tried to smile, but it hurt too much.
She shoved him into the passenger seat. “Hold on. I’ll get you to the hospital.”
“No,” Max insisted. “Ship.” If the governor had given his blessing to this, or other agencies were involved, no place in town was safe.
Pale, she glanced at him. “You could have internal damage.”
“Ship,” he pleaded, closing his eyes. One of his lids was swelling already. He didn’t have energy to fight.