by Scott Moon
***
Mast’s statement made Thaddeus pause for a second he didn’t have. The pig-dog loved flying.
Blaster fire tore into the walls near him. Thaddeus moved and looked for a way to return fire. He couldn’t expose himself and was unable to reach Tigerlily’s room. Additional holes punched through the wall exactly where his head would’ve been if he had kneeled down for cover as instinct demanded. There was no good place to hide in this apartment.
He glanced through the holes at the armed strangers and suspected they were preparing to rush the room. The entire building shook with the conflict. Acting on instinct, he charged the wall between him and Tigerlily’s room. At the last second, he dropped his shoulder and flung himself forward, punching a hole the size of one desperate sheriff.
He stumbled inward, tripped, and nearly fell. Tigerlily stared at him as he brushed himself off with his non-gun hand. When she smiled, it all seemed worth it.
“What are you doing in Darklanding?” The nonsensical question had made more sense in his head before he asked it. Like his charge through the wall, it was pure instinct and could not be denied.
“I want to study under a master.”
Thaddeus stood straighter and made a puzzled face. “You mean Dixie?”
The cop-like kidnappers swarmed into the room Thaddeus had just left. He grabbed the end of a couch with one hand and stood it up to block the hole. “Never mind that. Tell me about it later. Who are these guys?”
“I worked for a very powerful man and his family. These are his samurai security force. I told them I would definitely go back, but only when I’m good and ready.”
“I expected more swords.” Thaddeus pushed a chest of drawers to support the upturned couch. “You’re awfully calm.”
“You would be too if you’d been trained since birth in the Zen arts.”
“Sheriff Fry, surrender the girl.”
“You don’t know her name?” Thaddeus yelled back.
“What?”
“You called her the girl. Sounds to me like you’re not sure who she is. Maybe this is the wrong apartment. And by the way, you will have to pay for this building. I’ll send the insurance adjuster around tomorrow to assess the damages. Until then, expect the bill to be a lot,” the sheriff said, moving to avoid giving away his position by the sound of his voice.
“You’re stalling.”
“Damn right. A little help would be nice.”
“I’m okay, Oshin. You may return to your ship and await my call.”
A pause.
“Do not speak, Kaseifu. You have no choice but to come with us. Honor yourself,” Oshin said.
“Where the hell is Mast?” Thad mumbled. He raised his voice. “Do you have a permit for those weapons? We have strict laws here in Darklanding. Have your men lay down their blasters. Once I inspect them, I’ll issue the appropriate permits.”
“We do not need your permits. Send Kaseifu out or we will resume fire.”
“You have to come in to do that, and even then, you risk hitting her. I’m guessing your boss won’t like that.”
A scream echoed from the hallway. The distinctive sound of a Glakridozian attack dog was drowned out by blaster fire.
Thad grabbed the girl and covered her with his body as the men in the other rooms and the hallway panic-fired. He heard Maximus running amok, snarling like a demon. The creature wasn’t a house pet. He’d seen that clearly on Centauri Prime. These men were learning his wrath.
“What is that sound? Oh my God, it’s killing them!” Tigerlily’s voice sounded both horrified and fascinated.
“Not if they submit to his will. I’m not sure what Maximus will do if they run, but if they acknowledge his primacy, he won’t eat them,” Thad said, not completely sure if this were true.
More snarling and banging noises from the next room. Blaster fire tore additional holes in the wall. Smoke and flashes of light came through the old ones.
Maximus squealed as though struck, then roared and raced down the hallway. Thad recognized the sound of the Glakridozian’s peculiarly-hooved feet at a galloping sprint. Men groaned and complained of severe injuries.
“Your demon has fled in dishonor! We are victorious!” Oshin said, part of his face visible through one of the fist-sized blaster holes.
Thad aimed a punch through the gap, striking the man squarely on the jaw. “I’m done talking to you.”
Oshin’s unconscious form thudded to the ground.
Zane Trustman’s little airship appeared outside the window.
Mast yelled from the passenger’s window. “He is going to descend. Jump on the roof and he will fly very muchly slowly and lowly!”
Tigerlily’s eyes widened in fear. Thad grabbed her by the hand and jumped onto the sleek airship. His feet slipped on the state of the art alloy, forcing him to grab a communications nodule with one hand while he held Tigerlily with the other.
“Hold on, Sheriff,” Zane said.
“Don’t drop me!” Tigerlily screamed.
Thad grunted a reply, wishing he could catch a glimpse of Maximus running from the building. The animal was resourceful and tough, and had saved his life again.
“Good dog, Maximus,” he said, unheard by anyone due to the engine noise and wind. Once he’d hauled the girl into a safer position and checked to be sure he hadn’t damaged his shoulder and arm, he scanned the streets below without seeing Maximus or Oshin’s goons.
Zane flew carefully, landing in the first empty courtyard he located.
“What will Oshin do now?” Thad asked.
“He is required to report to his master. It will go badly for him. His master will send a negotiation team to purchase me back from Dixie,” Tigerlily said.
“I find it interesting they didn’t start with that option.” Thad climbed down, then reached up to help her to the ground.
“It is a matter of honor. I win either way. My value has increased tenfold due to the difficulty Oshin and his team experienced in their attempts to reclaim me by force.”
Thad faced her with his hands on his hips as Mast climbed out of his seat.
“Dixie has been through a lot. Don’t do this to her. If you’re going to cause this much trouble, then I’ll take you back wherever you’re from myself.”
She lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Sheriff. There will be no further incidents.”
“Is this Tigerlily?” Mast asked.
Thad nodded, still watching her.
“Miss Dixie will be happy to see her. I must look for that troublesome pig-dog,” Mast said. He leaned close to Thad and whispered, “And keep him away from Zane. I muchly believe the man harbors ill will for Maximus.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him, but Maximus can handle himself.”
CHAPTER NINE
Shaunte walked into her closet and closed her eyes. She breathed through her nose, enjoying the smell of rich fabric as she imagined herself standing in an exclusive Melborn boutique. Her left hand reached forward until it found a dress she’d never been able to wear on this planet. The fabric was sheer, so thin she thought she could poke her fingers through it if she wanted to.
Enjoying this game more than she had anticipated, she kept her eyes closed as she explored her wardrobe. Good fashion was a visual sport. The problem was, she’d been staring at the same outfits for months. If things continued the way they were going, she would need to sell some of them.
But which ones?
The short red dress, with a long black evening gown? Perhaps the lingerie that was still in the box shipping container. Shoes? How could any self-respecting woman sell her shoes to keep a dirty, lawless mining operation going?
She opened her eyes and turned on the lights, no longer titillated by the fantasy of shopping in a real store for outfits that were less than two years out of fashion. What she needed were some upper-class families or political VIPs to hold banquets with. Part of her hated that stuff, but it was how she’d grown up, and she missed it.
The first five memos she read were annoying. She skimmed them and shipped them off to a service that would review them for legal or contractual significance. If they came back flagged as important, she’d take another look.
The sixth electronic memo was interesting. It was from a SagCon subsidiary specializing in exploration and exotic real estate, talking about a job. She thought she was qualified, at least as qualified as anyone she knew from Melborn. Few of her peers had risked as much as she had out in the real galaxy.
Friends from school had taken high-paying jobs closer to home. She was relatively certain none of them had ever used a rifle to defend their interests or defied ShadEcon. They never encountered an ancient alien ship or met with Cornelius Vandersun face-to-face.
Of course, none of them lived in a brothel or dated a sheriff.
She read the job description several times, then inquired about further details. To her surprise, she received a reply at the end of the day offering her an even better job.
“Have I been sitting at this desk for twelve hours?” she asked herself.
The job sounded like a nice change and the benefits package was generous. Still, her situation was complicated. There was a lot of unfinished business on Darklanding, and she needed to maintain the TerroCom contract. Without that, her savings would be gone by now, all her investments cashed in and favors called upon.
“You’re doing fine, Shaunte,” she told herself. But for how long?
CHAPTER TEN
Twelve major larcenies occurred while Thaddeus was rescuing Tigerlily. Three more happened while he slept. He ignored the angry memo Shaunte had sent during a night of exhausted sleep and wondered if his return to Darklanding had been rushed.
He had a bigger problem, one he hadn’t quite figured out a solution for yet. It involved Maximus and the stranger named Zane. Mast wasn’t going to like Thad’s approach, but Thad didn’t have a choice. This was a human problem, not something an Unglok mind could comprehend. He needed to play a long game to win.
Zane Trustman had gone all the way to the exotic mines and back looking for something or someone. He nearly killed Maximus during a dubious self-defense incident. Thad had asked around and learned the man had used several names since his arrival on Darklanding.
He’d also saved Thad’s life and helped rescue Tigerlily.
Thad met the man at the Mother Lode, but not at the bar. He wanted a casual meeting but also wanted to get some business handled. They sat at the table near the kitchen.
“I don’t need a deputy,” Thad said.
“Good morning. Nice weather,” Zane said.
Undeterred, Thad continued. “What’s your name, your real name?”
Zane leaned back in his chair and smiled in appreciation of Thad’s words. “You’ve done some checking on me. Commendable. My name actually is Zane Trustman. Where I’m from, names are a bit different. Meant to be descriptive to fit the situation. It’s a cultural nuance I don’t expect you to understand.”
“Where are you from?”
“Glakridoz.”
“You’re from Glakridoz? I wasn’t aware there was a human settlement in that sector.”
The man shrugged. “Not much is known about my home world. But that’s not why you’re talking to me, is it? We’re sitting here because I had offered to be your co-sheriff, and you have more work than you can handle with one deputy. Anyone can see you have a serious crime trend, the type of problem SagCon won’t tolerate for long. In their eyes, theft is worse than murder. I can help you even if you’re unwilling to help me.”
“What do you mean? This isn’t about me helping you. If you want a job, you get paid to do the job. That’s it. The question is, do I want to hire you,” Thaddeus said.
“How about a trial run? I’ll be your co-sheriff for a year and then you can get rid of me if it doesn’t work out.”
Thad changed the subject without warning, as one of his interview and interrogation classes had suggested. “Why’d you stab my dog?”
Zane’s face flushed red, and his anger seemed to stop him from breathing for a moment. “That thing isn’t a dog. It attacked me!”
“We both know it’s not that simple.” Thad shifted slightly in his seat, clearing space between his hand and his gun just in case this meeting went bad.
“Do you know what a Glakridozian Heart Stone is? Or what it means to a village when they lose one? I’m not a bad man, Sheriff. I am, however, a long way from home. I’m not made of money. Let me show you what I can do by putting a stop to these thieves. On a trial basis. You need my help.”
Thaddeus didn’t like Zane and didn’t trust him. He assumed there was a reason Maximus attacked the man. Unfortunately, his only choice was to keep the man away from the pig-dog and get rid of him as soon as possible.
***
Thaddeus watched the man work and instantly realized he was a natural interrogator. Zane Trustman could probably sell sand to people buried in Transport Canyon. He was smooth, quick-witted, and could put the people at ease. He rarely asked a question directly, but always got his answers. Mast stood back with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall and looking more like a human than he ever had. Sulking was a new thing for the Unglok deputy. Maximus was nowhere to be seen.
“No one has to know you talked to us,” Zane said to a woman named Lavender. She was a sturdy woman, attractive and sensual in her own way, but not well-suited to life at the Mother Lode. She went back and forth between working in the mines and turning tricks for Dixie.
Which meant she spent more time out in Darklanding than the other girls.
“Darklanding ain’t such a big place. Everyone knows everyone and their business. Pierre started smoking because Janz Morgan convinced him the only way he could pay was cigarettes and the pig-dog got stabbed up by someone. The guy baited the ugly mutt is what I heard,” Lavender said.
“You heard that, huh?”
She held his gaze, challenging him to defend his actions. “I heard it. Also heard you’ve been poking around the mines trying to take over the sheriff’s job out there. Is that what you’re doing now? Bulldogging your way into Fry’s territory?” She thrust her chin toward Thad. “Well, Sheriff?”
“No one can do my job,” Thad said.
She went right back to Zane. “So why’d you kill Maximus, huh? That ain’t going to make you popular around here.”
“I didn’t kill it.”
“Then where is he? Haven’t seen one hair on its hairy backside for days.”
“Let’s be honest, Lavender. You don’t like Maximus.” Zane folded his hands and waited.
She looked down, then away. She shifted her weight uncomfortably. “Don’t tell anyone. The thing scares me. Growled at me once. Another time, it put his feet up on my lap once and slurped the soup out of my dinner bowl while I was sitting there holding the spoon too afraid to push it away even if I could have. All the girls laughed at me and teased me for days.”
Thad remembered the incident. Dixie’s girls had talked about it…talked and laughed.
“It’ll be our little secret. You’re not the only one. It’s all peer pressure. Everyone feels obligated to like the dog,” Zane said, then leaned close to the young woman. “You and I know better. If you see it, tell me, and I’ll protect you from it.”
“I’m not scared of it,” she said, clearly lying.
“Times are tough, Lavender. I’m working for the sheriff on a trial basis. He gave me a budget. Do you know what I’m saying?”
She crossed her arms and pulled into herself defensively. When she spoke, her voice was low and cautious. “You’re going to pay me for being an informant?”
“Only if we can corroborate your information.”
“You’re saying you’ll only pay me if you actually catch the thieves.”
Zane nodded, holding her gaze and moving even closer to her.
He put one hand on her shoulder. “We can do this, Lav. You tell me where they are and how they’re moving the stolen goods, and I keep your name out of it. You make a little money on the side. The next week, if you have good information, we do it again.”
Thaddeus felt his heart rate increase. The man from Glakridoz was going to do it. Thad had his own informants, but they were only the more outgoing Mother Lode girls who liked him. They brought him gossip before he asked for it, then grabbed his ass. It was some kind of catch and release game with them.
Mast had informants among the Ungloks, but it was an almost formal arrangement with strict limitations. He was only able to obtain raw information in rare instances, such as the first time they dealt with ShadEcon.
Zane’s method was something entirely different. He could probably get Lavender to do things for an investigation neither Thad nor Mast would have thought of.
“Okay, give me some names. I need specifics that include their identities but also what they steal and how they sell it. Once I can trust you, I might be able to pay you even more for certain things,” Zane said.
She hesitated. “Like what?”
“Introductions. Show me around. Get me to the point I can do my own firsthand observations. Get me in with these thieves.”
“You’ve got the wrong idea. I don’t know him like that.”
“Come on, Lavender. I thought we were making progress. Mast already told me he saw you with them during the last heist. He’s got good eyes, better even than most Ungloks at night,” Zane said.
Thaddeus put a hand up for Mast to stay where he was before he ruined Zane’s gambit.
Lavender started to cry. “I’m no thief. But it’s hard to make money in this place. Seems like the harder I work the more I owe the company.”
“It’s okay. If SagCon wants to pursue criminal charges, we can speak in your defense. Make a case that the good you’ve done now outweighs the bad you did in the past. But you have to promise not to commit any more crimes against the company and to bring me real information we can use.”