by T S Paul
“I mean, Parker said. She hesitated and pondered the people at the match. “Will they even care if he is corrupt? They are criminals.”
“They’re hackers. We hackers care,” Aldis said. “Trust me. They will care, and they will know.”
“Okay.”
The shop looked just as boring and dull as it did the first day. Aldis stepped in first with Parker right behind him. It didn’t take long for the same pudgy man to appear.
“I thought I might be seeing you again,” Cody said.
“Really?” Aldis asked. “I should be gone.”
“You’re all over the news,” Cody said. “One of New Philly’s most wanted.”
That was to be expected, from what Nicole told them. The Governor had posted them all over the planet. He had put any crime he could on them, including murder, and slavery. That would upset anyone. Parker wanted more than anything to make sure that they turned the tables on him.
“I don’t see you rushing to turn me in,” Aldis said.
Cody shrugged. “You’re a hacker. I don’t see you doing that.”
“Good. We didn’t. The Governor is dirty.”
Cody laughed. “You don’t say. Tell me something I don’t know.”
Parker leaned toward him. She wasn’t sure what they were supposed to do, but she didn’t want to waste time. “I’ll tell you something you don’t. We are going to take him out.”
Cody snorted. “Many have tried.”
“We are different,” Parker said. “Just need help.”
Aldis nodded and gestured to the rear. “Talk in private.”
“Very well,” Cody said.
He led them back and into a small office. It was musty and had several computers running, making it hot as hell. Cody sat behind the desk. The monitors had the shop in full view. He could see the whole building.
“You wanted to talk in private,” Cody said. “Talk.”
“Todd framed us,” Aldis said.
“On a first name basis,” Cody said. He didn’t appear pleased by that. Calling the Governor by name had dismayed Cody. It wasn’t the best way to talk about Todd.
“Not really, but he doesn’t deserve the title of Governor,” Aldis said, clearly trying to make it not seem as bad.
The pudgy man laughed. Aldis smiled, visibly glad that he had been able to ease the tension. That was good. Parker approved. They had to make Cody relax and feel comfortable with them. It was one thing to watch some robots killing each other. It was another to talk about taking out the Governor of a planet.
“He doesn’t,” Cody agreed.
Aldis laid it out for him how they wanted to remove Todd and try to let a better person take his place. They needed help to do this since they had no local contacts.
Cody took it all in. “You are really going to kidnap someone?”
“Should be happening right about now,” Parker said.
“Nice,” Cody said. “I can reach out. No guarantees.”
“That’s fine,” Aldis said. He handed Cody a card. “You can reach me there. Let me know.”
“I will,” Cody said.
With that, the pair left and made their way back the safe house. Parker was sure that they would have support. Cody appeared to be just as connected as Aldis said he would be. She couldn’t believe it.
“That went well,” she said.
“We shall see,” Aldis said. “Criminals can be a tricky group, but he didn’t like Todd. That will work in our favor.”
Chapter Thirteen
Steve stopped the car in roughly the same place as earlier in the morning. Again, they were going with only a rough plan. It wasn’t great, but they didn’t have time to waste. Not with the crew on the planet’s most wanted list.
According to Nicole, their faces haven’t been sent off planet yet. That was at least a small blessing, but one none of them thought that situation would last. They needed to get Todd taken care of and fast, which was why Steve was going without a detailed plan yet again. He couldn’t believe he was doing this, but it was needed.
Before they had left, Nicole had found a list of people who were in the inner circle. It wasn’t big.
“Why not just get Todd?” Lindsey asked.
“Eric would step in. We need to find his team and the rest. Find all the people they are enslaving. Then let everyone see that Todd was part of it. Not just kill him,” Rea said.
“Oh, I just want to kill him,” Steve said.
He really did, but he knew she was right. They needed to remove him and find the slaves. They needed to have someone in the building, in the chain of command in place to run the system. A person who isn’t corrupt.
None of that would be easy and typically took time. Unfortunately, time was a luxury they didn’t have, and that meant taking a risk, one Steve wasn't pleased about.
“I’m hoping Eric is the first one out,” Steve said. “I want to kidnap him.”
Steve couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. The worst part was that he meant them. This planet and job were hurting him, so much so that he truly fitted the mold of a smuggler enforcer. That scared Steve more than anything. For most of his time, he had envisioned himself better than most of the other crews out there and their enforcers.
Now, he was stooping to their level, and that infuriated him even more. The Marine vowed that after this job, he would revert back to his normal self. That had to happen since the Rossi needed him to help keep their heads on straight. Or was it the other way around? Either way, it didn’t matter.
They sat and watched the exit, waiting for someone on their list of men to exit. Nicole couldn’t say for certain if they were there or not. The building had blind spots as did other parts of the city. Her access was still amazing to Steve.
An hour passed, and the stream of people leaving the building were all low-level politicians or workers. One of them might well get a big promotion soon, but none were ones that they needed.
“There,” Rea said. She pointed, and sure enough, the slimeball Eric had left the building.
Steve couldn’t help but smile. It made his day that it was Eric that he would get to have some fun with him. “Nice.”
Eric walked to the parking lot, climbed into a sports car, and drove away. With care, Steve tailed him. They didn’t know his habits well. What they did have was a list of his properties, and it was a long one. He owned several buildings in the city and surrounding areas. So did Todd and several other people. There were far too many to search. They needed to find out the location of their slaves.
Staying with Eric was easy. It amazed Steve that they hadn’t been tracked before. It might be because they were the top of the food chain here, they didn’t have to worry about being followed. And they now had another powerful ally in Drake, one who had a mysterious backer, this woman who wanted the Rossi removed.
That still troubled Steve. He wanted to know who this person was. He also wanted to know if she was real or a figment of the young pirate’s imagination. Maybe Drake was behind it all. That was easy enough to believe, a dead family member who felt betrayed coming back and making the life of the Rossi’s leader miserable.
“Any guesses about where he is going?” Steve asked. He hadn’t memorized them all.
Rea and Lindsey had a map with them on a tablet that was disconnected from the internet. Better safe than sorry. Even though Nicole said it was safe, Steve was still paranoid.
“What I think is his apartment,” Rea said. She sat in the passenger seat with Lindsey in the rear.
“Good,” Steve said. That would make it fun and doable. Most people didn’t think they would need the best protection at home. Sure, an alarm, maybe a gun, but not too many people had guards at their place. If he had been going to the slave’s location, that would inevitably mean guards. Though, that would be good too. They’d have one more part of the puzzle in place.
The Captain was right on the mark with where Eric was going. He parked in the lot next to a
large apartment building.
“If we want him, it must be before he goes in,” Steve said.
“Okay,” Rea said.
“Stay here. Have it ready to go.”
Steve parked, jumped out of the car, and dashed over to Eric. This wasn’t going to be a clandestine operation, more of a smash and grab. The Marine hoped he would have him and be driving away before anyone realized he was gone.
Steve moved with a grace and quickness of a man half his size. His life of training and fighting taught him to walk without making a sound. His ability to run noiselessly allowed him to sneak up on Eric. He had no idea what was going on before it was too late.
The Marine moved between the cars and to Eric, seemed to appear out of nowhere.
“No,” Eric said. He started to reach for his arm and what Steve figured was an alarm.
With the speed of a trained fighter, Steve punched him and had Eric on the ground, bleeding. The second time in two days and that felt nice to the Marine. With ease, Steve lifted him in the over his shoulder and jogged to the car. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching. So far, so good.
It wasn’t until Steve got to the car that the sirens started.
“Ugh,” Steve said. He threw the man in the back seat and jumped in.
Both women had moved to the front, letting Steve sit in the cramped back with Eric.
“Get us out of here,” he said.
Rea, who sat behind the wheel, floored the car, and it sped out of the lot. “Wow,” Rea said. “Hadn’t expected that power from the car.”
Lindsey grinned from ear to ear. “Nice. Made to look old but isn’t.”
“Nope,” Steve said.
Eric groaned next to him. A quick knock on the head shut him up.
“Be careful,” Steve warned.
Rea slowed the car to a more reasonable speed. It blended into the traffic, and she proceeded to follow the directions Nicole was feeding them. The local law enforcement officers drove by with sirens blaring, not giving them a second look.
Another car drove past that held a passenger they all recognized. Drake. Rea stared straight ahead, not looking or even acknowledging him. Lindsey shrank in her seat, trying to appear as small as possible.
“Oh my,” Lindsey said. “That was so close.”
The engineer was breathing heavily and panting from nerves. That didn’t surprise Steve at all since this was an intense mission, and the police had been alerted within seconds. That worried Steve since he was sure he had stopped Eric from sending out the alarm.
It sure had been close. If Drake had looked in their direction, they would have been goners. He would have alerted the police, and there would have been a high-speed chase. Steve didn’t want that. It would have been dangerous on so many levels.
Nicole assured them that no one had seen them get in the car. They sped away, yet Steve didn’t feel comfortable. They rode in silence.
Back at the safe house, Steve exited the car and hauled Eric with him. The barn would be a great place for interrogation. Steve carried the unconscious man to it without stopping. He overheard Rea telling Lindsey to go pick up Parker and Aldis. They would need a ride back.
The barn was dark and damp. It would be a perfect place to talk to Eric about Todd and all they did. This would be something that Eric would never forget, something that Steve wouldn’t either.
This wasn’t the Marine’s forte, but he would get what he needed out of the man. That was a foregone conclusion with how Steve felt. Eric deserved to be put through as much pain as possible.
After dropping the dirtbag onto the ground, Steve looked around for some useful tools. He was going to make sure he learned everything. This was a time to hold nothing back. Eric was close to the problem and would have lots of useful tidbits for them. He’d have the location and who knew what else.
With that, they would be able to get rid of the Governor and let better people run New Philly. Then they would be able to leave the planet and get back on task to finding Taylor and stopping Drake.
That was what was really important. This was just a distraction, one that was eating away at Steve. It needed to be stopped before it festered so deep into the Marine that he wouldn’t be able to turn back. That much he knew.
Rea entered the barn before Steve started to interrogate Eric.
“Steve,” she said. “Come here.”
The Marine looked at her. “What?” he asked.
“Breathe,” she said in a calming voice.
The Marine knew what she was doing and understood, but it wasn’t needed. What needed to be done would be, and it didn’t matter if he scared her or not.
Steve snarled. “I am. Trust me I am.”
He walked to the man. Steve woke him with a shake. Eric stared up at him, wide-eyed with disbelief on his face.
“You won’t get away with this,” Eric said.
“I already have,” Steve said. “Nothing you can do.”
Eric grinned from ear to ear. “You think they won’t find me.”
Steve knew Todd and his minions wouldn’t. Nicole made sure of it with her ability to get into any and all technology. Eric’s backup was never going to arrive since she had sent the data to have them on the other side of the city. They’d never venture this far out and in this direction.
The CATT showed her worth on this once again. Steve was going to regret the comment earlier, but for now, Nicole was doing her job.
“Trust me,” Steve said. He leaned down right next to Eric. “They aren’t coming.”
Steve was so close that he could feel the heat from Eric. The Marine could see the fear growing in the man. Eric now realized what Steve could do and would do and that no one was going to rescue him.
“Please don’t,” Eric begged.
Rea left, and Steve went to work extracting the information.
Chapter Fourteen
Rea paced in the dining room again. The second time today and she didn’t like it how Steve acted. The look on his face frightened Rea more than the captain cared to admit. Rea didn’t want to watch him and had left. Now, Rea was beginning to wish she had stayed to make sure that Steve didn’t cross a line.
Lindsey returned with Aldis and Parker. Both were pleased. That made Rea happy. She needed something to distract herself from what Steve was doing. Anything to make it right so they could get off this planet and back to the regular missions. Rea couldn’t wait to get down with Drake as well.
“We might have a contact,” Aldis said.
Rea didn’t like the word might. She wanted a definite. “Might?”
“Yeah,” Aldis said. He shifted nervously, looking over in the direction of Nicole who just walked into the room. Rea wasn’t sure what to make of it. “When dealing with the underground, it’s tough to have sure things.”
That was usually the case in general for Rea these days. Her time since leaving the Navy had been with dealing with the underground, and she still hadn’t gotten used to dealing with shady people.
“Great,” Rea said. “When will you know?”
Parker shrugged. “Soon.”
“Soonish,” Aldis said.
That was the best Rea could really expect from this type of operation and this quickly. They needed to move at light speed, and that meant dealing with uncertainties. “Very well.”
“Steve? He learn anything?” Lindsey asked.
Rea shrugged. “He’s still talking to Eric. I couldn’t stay for it.”
Lindsey hung her head. “I understand. This one is getting to him.”
It really was, and Rea didn’t like it. She could see how this was twisting Steve up inside.
<<<>>>
Another twenty minutes had passed as Rea and her crew waited for Steve. When he entered the room, he was covered in blood and sweat.
“Keys,” was all he said.
Lindsey handed them to him. “Steve?”
He didn’t say a word and walked out.
Lindsey started to
follow him.
Rea held out an arm and stopped her. “Don’t,” she said, “he needs to breathe. To get this out.”
“What is wrong with him?” Parker asked.
“Tunnel vision,” Aldis said, “and extreme hate of men like Eric and Todd.”
Rea nodded. “He’s on edge. Let him deal with this, and then we can help.”
Rea walked to the window and saw Steve carrying Eric. From this distance, it was tough to make out the man, but she was certain he was still alive. Just barely. Steve tossed him into the car and drove away.
“I just…” Lindsey said.
The engineer obviously had trouble speaking at that moment and was having difficulty in handling the situation. She had fallen for Steve and seeing him this way was clearly changing her view of him. Rea hoped it that didn’t end the relationship between the two of them. She did not want her crew members personally involved, but even she could tell that they were good together.
“Don’t worry,” Rea said.
Aldis’s comm device rang, and he smiled. “My contact.”
He held up a hand and left the room.
He was gone for several moments before returning. “Good news.”
Rea liked the sound of that. “We have an in at the underground. People are rising up against the Governor?”
“We do, and they are,” Aldis said, “but they are small. Only a few hundred people.”
That wasn’t a lot, but it was better than nothing. They would be able to use that for information and a distraction. “Good,” Rea said.
“They’ll want to meet us tonight. All of us.”
That was fine with Rea. They just needed Steve to return and see what he had learned. Rea hoped beyond hope that he had not really crossed the line, that he had just used words and such to get the information they needed. The captain didn’t want to act as horribly as the Governor.
When the car pulled back in, she walked out to greet Steve alone. He looked up at her.
“We need to talk,” she said.
“I’m sorry I scared you. I am. But it was needed.”