Bad Rock Beat Down (The Milky Way Repo Series Book 2)

by Michael Prelee

  “Well, it can be scary when we show up.” He shrugged. “Now, I’d like this to go as smoothly as possible but you need to understand, we have a job to do and we’re going to do it. If there are problems between you and the bank, you’ll have to deal with them yourself.”

  Disappointment crossed Tanner’s face. “That’s the way it is, huh?”

  Nathan nodded. “Yeah.”

  Things grew uncomfortably quiet for a moment and Tanner saw him checking out the Athena Star. “Would you like to have a look at the wreck? It’s really something.”

  Nathan glanced at Duncan who gave a subtle nod with his head. “Yeah, I suppose a look around wouldn’t hurt.”

  “Okay,” Tanner said. “We’ll have some lunch and then go on a tour.”

  Nathan nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

  Chapter 8

  “Are you sure you don’t want us to come get you right now?” Marla said as she stared out the cockpit window at the Corkscrew. They remained docked at the airlock where Nathan, Cole and Duncan had gone aboard. She turned back to the monitor with Duncan’s face.

  “No,” he said over the comm channel. “Nathan wants to scope things out here on the ground and talk with this Tanner kid. We’re not in any danger, so you guys can just sit tight.”

  Marla’s lips curled in a slight smile. “Oh, Nathan wants to scope things out? You mean like that wreck? Not you?”

  “Well, maybe I wouldn’t mind…”

  “I can’t believe you guys got nabbed and dropped down there.”

  Duncan shook his head. “Yeah, I’m never going to hear the end of that, am I?”

  “Nope.”

  “Okay, well, it looks like we’re sitting down now. I’ll check in a little later.”

  “See you soon, baby. Love you”

  He smiled. “Love you, too.”

  From her vantage point she really couldn’t see anything except dull gray hull plates and one small portal of the salvage vessel. She took off her headset, grabbed her coffee mug and walked back into the galley.

  Tricia sat at a table. “Is everything okay?”

  “More or less,” Marla said. She reached over to the intercom mounted on the bulkhead and opened a channel to the ship. “Richie, can you come to the galley?” Marla grabbed some bread and dried tomatoes and searched the fridge for the spread and salami. “They’re just idiots.” She put the sandwich together and set it on a plate.

  Richie walked in. “What’s up? The guys never came back.”

  “There’s been a bit of a wrinkle.” She filled them in with what Duncan had told her.

  Richie grinned. “You see, the tricky part about something like this is knowing where the line is between giving them crap about it and when to stop giving them crap about it,” Richie said. “I’m not sure I’ll know where to stop.”

  “Well, if you find Cole stuffing you in an airlock that leads to empty space you’ll know you’ve gone too far.” Marla refilled her stainless-steel travel mug with coffee and twisted the lid on. “They want us to stay docked with the Corkscrew and wait for their call.”

  “Just hang out up here with two lovely ladies? I can handle that.”

  “The only thing you’ll be handling is the door, Richie. Stay on the airlock and keep it secured. I don’t want anyone getting aboard.”

  “No problem. It’s locked up tight now and I’ll plant myself there.” The young man grabbed a mug of coffee for himself and made for the airlock.

  “Is there anything to worry about?” Tricia said. “Are we in some kind of danger?”

  “No,” Marla said, shaking her head and she gestured for Tricia to follow her back to the cockpit. Both brought their coffee and food. “This is just an inconvenience. Sometimes the people having their ships repossessed get a little cute. It’s really no big deal. Did you get a chance to set up the infirmary?”

  “Yeah, we’re all set. There’s some decent equipment in there already and well organized. Did you do that?”

  Marla sat down in the co-pilot’s seat and pointed at Nathan’s pilot seat for Tricia. The controls at Nathan’s station sat dark and inactive. “Yeah, I usually end up handling any injuries. I have a little first aid training and if you let these guys treat themselves it’s a disaster. They think you can just walk off any injury that doesn’t involve amputation. A few months ago, Duncan sliced a finger down to the bone on a motor head from one of the small tractors we have on board. I caught him back there wrapping it in electrical tape with the plan that he would just get back to work. It took everything I had to make him sit still for the ninety minutes the tissue generator needed to knit it back together. They can be ridiculous.”

  Tricia laughed. “I know what you mean. When I worked in an emergency room we had a guy come in with a scalp laceration and a huge purple goose egg on his forehead. He asked how long it would take to get him patched up because he had a game to go to that night.”

  Marla chuckled and took a bite of her sandwich. She chewed slowly and swallowed before asking, “What do you think about Nathan?”

  Tricia almost choked on her coffee. “Uh, he’s nice.” Marla raised an eyebrow. Tricia gave a small smile. “I’m not sure how to answer that question.”

  “So, does that mean nothing’s happened?”

  “No, nothing’s happened. I’ve only known him a few days. He does have a way about him, though.” Tricia blushed. “I’d like to know him better, if that’s what you mean.”

  “I thought so.” Marla grinned.

  “But I don’t date bosses.”

  Marla took a sip from her travel mug. “Maybe when you get home, when he’s not your boss anymore, you can go out with him then.”

  “When he called and offered me this job I was expecting an invitation to dinner so he kind of blindsided me. I mean, it seems like he wants to go out, but that would be odd if I’m working for him.”

  Marla sighed. “He can be kind of lame when it comes to personal relationships. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good guy, he really is, but he can just be kind of awkward.”

  “Well, maybe I’ll find out. This is probably a one-off job anyway until I find something more permanent.”

  Marla nodded and turned her gaze back to the Corkscrew. Someone stood watching them from the one small portal she could see. Whoever it was, they had a mobi in their hand and were talking to someone.

  — «» —

  “That’s right,” Charlie said to Turtle. The lanky loadmaster watched the Blue Moon Bandit from a small portal. “I’m looking right at their ship. They’re still docked up here. There’s a couple of women in the cockpit having a drink and staring at us. They haven’t gone anywhere.”

  Turtle’s voice crackled over the mobi. The connection kind of sucked because Tanner had bought cheap equipment. “Say that again.”

  Turtle’s voice was louder this time, as if sheer volume would help the crappy signal reach him. “I said, let us know if they undock and head our way.”

  Charlie took advantage of their conversation being audio only and aimed a middle finger planetside in the general direction of where he thought Turtle might be. “Yeah, sure, I’ll be in touch if they move.” He ended the call and shook his head. These Syndicate guys were kind of a pain in the ass, even if they were paying him five hundred credits a month to be their eyes and ears on the Corkscrew.

  — «» —

  “Are you sure that guy can be trusted?” Dodger said. “He sounds like he doesn’t give a shit about anything.”

  Turtle nodded and hoped he had judged Charlie right. He didn’t need someone else he vouched for to turn out to be a failure like Bone Daddy. Dodger wasn’t book smart but the sonofabitch could be clever. People underestimated him at their own peril. “When I approached him, he bit right away. I got the feeling that he needed the extra money.”

  He sat in Dodger�
��s office at the strip club along with Morris, Dodger’s operations guy. Turtle had jumped in his float truck and hauled ass over as soon as he and Daryl figured out who had stumbled off Truck 14 when it landed.

  Dodger just stared at him and picked up another Diamond K crystal from the small plastic envelope in front of him. His red, watery eyes bore into him. Turtle figured if he kept chewing that stuff like a fat kid eating candy there would soon be room for everyone to advance in the organization. It didn’t seem like the boss had much left in the way of molars.

  “Three of them came off the truck?” Dodger said.

  Turtle nodded. “That’s right and a little worse for wear because of their ride down. Do you want me to take a few guys with me when I go back? Right now, it’s just me and Daryl.”

  Dodger considered it for a moment and took the opportunity to grind another crystal into dust and get just a little higher. “No, not yet. I’d like to know a little more about why these repo assholes are here. Just go back and keep your ears open.” He turned to the thick little guy sitting in a chair in the corner. “Hey, Morris, do we still have that drone?”

  “Sure.”

  “That kid will fly it for us?”

  “My nephew, Cheech? Sure, he’ll do it. He used to fly them in the service.”

  “Okay, give him a call and get it ready. We can see and hear things on the ground with it, right? Without anyone seeing it?”

  “No problem, Dodger. We’ll be twenty thousand meters up looking down at them and hear every word they say without them seeing us. We don’t have any armament, though. That’s still on order.”

  Turtle knew that Cheech had been discharged from the military earlier in the year and had shown up at his uncle’s place with the drone, cackling madly about stealing the damn thing. Dodger had been itching to use it ever since. The paranoia from using so much product made him want to spy on everyone.

  “That’s okay,” Dodger said. “If we need to shoot anyone we’ll do it on the ground with the guys.” He got silent for a moment and picked up another crystal. The stupid bastard made a show out of putting it in his mouth and snapping down loudly on it. “We can take control of those ‘bots the kid’s got tearing that ship apart, right? Jonesy hacked them is what you said.”

  Morris’ round head bobbed up and down. “He said the security on those things is a joke. We can march them off a cliff if you want.”

  “No, I just got a little plan rolling around in my head,” his hands made swirling motions on either side of his dome, emphasizing the point, “in case these repo guys turn out to be anything other than what they say they are.”

  Turtle had his own thoughts about some of Dodger’s crew. In his opinion, they were mostly cut rate morons in need of a second chance after screwing up somewhere else. Dodger seemed to be slowly fading to a shadow of his former self because he kept chewing the product. Morris, the slob, sat in this club all day watching holographic T&A while he told the other idiots what to do. Jonesy may have hacked into the ‘bots Tanner had working the wreck site, but Turtle doubted it was anywhere near as complex as the guy said. Turtle had listened to him brag about it for a week after he’d accomplished it.

  They worked a couple hours a day and spent the rest of their time sitting here on bar stools letting their asses get fat while guys like him and Daryl got things done. He figured, he just had to bide his time and wait for his opportunity. He stood up.

  “I’m going to get back, okay, Dodger? Keep an eye on things with Daryl.” He pulled his dirty cap over his greasy hair.

  “Yeah, get out of here, Turtle. Let us know if your contact on that ship calls you.”

  “Will do.” Turtle moved to the door and pulled it open.

  “Hey, Turtle.”

  He turned back to see Dodger holding up the plastic business card Nathan had presented him with. “Good catch.”

  “Thanks, boss.” He walked out and shut the door behind him, letting out the breath he’d been holding.

  — «» —

  Nathan and Duncan sat near the fire pit watching the flames dance in the cool air. Cole stood behind them. “So this is what we’re doing, Nathan?” he said. “We’re staying for lunch?”

  The captain shrugged “They invited us. Most people would have been slinging wrenches at us by now instead of feeding us.”

  “They kidnapped us, remember?”

  Nathan shrugged. “Again, it’s not as bad as it could have been.”

  Cole sat down beside him. “What’s going on here? Why haven’t we grabbed the Corkscrew and started for home?”

  Nathan turned back toward the canopy. Tanner and his girlfriend helped the kitchen ‘bot with the meal. He turned back to Cole and waved for Duncan to lean in closer.

  “We’re staying for lunch for a couple reasons. First, the guy asked to talk with us and treated us well.”

  “Since when do we care about sob stories, Nathan? Every job we go out on some joker has a reason for not paying his bills. Do we care? I thought we show up, grab the ship and leave.”

  Nathan nodded. “That is the job but I also wanted to see that,” he said, pointing to the wrecked starliner. “I have never seen anything that big survive an impact that intact. Aren’t you a little curious to take a look around?”

  “I am,” Duncan said.

  Cole shook his head. “I’m not. Not really. I mean, if you want to see wrecked starships, couldn’t we do that back home at any salvage yard?”

  Duncan shook his head and pointed to the wreck. “Not like that you can’t. I mean, just look at the size of it. By all rights that thing should be nothing more than a few million pieces spread out across a hundred square kilometers.”

  Cole leaned back. “Nathan, what if this guy has a good story? What if he starts spinning a tale that tugs on your heart strings? Do we go home without the ship?”

  “Of course not. We have a job to do and we’ll do it.”

  “Hey guys, lunch is ready,” Eldridge called from under the canopy. Nathan stood and saw the table set. He got up and Cole and Duncan followed him. Tanner pointed to the bench on one side of the table and the three of them sat down. The kitchen ‘bot loaded up their plates and they passed them down.

  “Look, Captain Teller, I appreciate you sticking around. After we eat we can take a look at the wreck. It’s really something.”

  Nathan swallowed some of the beans and rice the ‘bot had prepared. “Look, Eldridge, we appreciate lunch and that you feel bad about what your crew did, but you understand we have a job to do. I have to seize your ship and return it to Earth.”

  “That’s bullshit,” Ari said. Tanner had introduced her when she returned from working about half an hour ago. “We aren’t behind on our payments.”

  “The bank says you are.”

  “Then the bank is wrong and you’re un idiota for believing them.”

  Tanner reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. “Ari, that’s not helping.”

  “Eldridge, we’re sitting here eating with the people who are going to take our livelihood. If that ship goes back to Earth, we have to straighten out some stupid mistake that will cost us weeks and thousands of credits. We don’t have enough of either to waste.”

  Nathan set his fork down. “Maybe this is a mistake.” An uncomfortable silence followed. “Duncan, I think you should call Marla and have her come pick us up.”

  Duncan set down a piece of cornbread. “Too bad.”

  “Wait a minute,” Ari said. She stood up quickly, almost tripping over the bench. “Do you have any idea how much effort has gone into this job? Eldridge had the vision for putting all this together.”

  Nathan held up a hand. “Miss, we really—”

  She slammed a hand down on the table. “No, you listen to me. He worked hard for my father in his scrap yard and he learned his trade. My dad is an incredibly diffic
ult man to work for and this man,” she pointed at Eldridge, “never complained and never said a word back to him. All he ever did was bust his ass so he could learn. Then he did all this.” She spread her arms wide and circled the table until she stood behind Tanner.

  “Do you have any idea how complex an operation like this is? To come up with the idea, make the bid, arrange the financing and get all the pieces to fit? We didn’t do all of this just so you could show up and take our ship. Do you have any idea how hard it is to run your own business? Do you have any idea how much effort goes into keeping the creditors at bay, to keep people paid when you don’t have enough for yourself?”

  Nathan nodded. That point stuck.

  Ari sat down on the bench, smoldering eyes burning into Nathan’s as she held his gaze. Tanner put an arm around her and she picked up her cup to take a drink.

  Silence descended on the table. Duncan and Cole wouldn’t say anything, he knew, until he spoke. He rubbed his eyes and considered that all he had at the moment was his ship, this single job at the ass end of nowhere, and a dry bank account. If he didn’t get another job lined up immediately after this one he didn’t know if he would ever fly again. He looked at Ari and Eldridge and they stared back at him. The earnestness in their eyes became too much for him to take and he dropped his head.

  Until he and his crew had shown up they had been utterly convinced that hard work and good planning would be everything they needed to succeed. Despite all that, though, something had gone wrong and now the universe had dropped a wrench in the works. But that’s what the universe did, right? As soon as you had things figured out, it found a way to screw everything up.

  “Ms. Macias, why don’t you show us around the wreck?” He said. “I think we’d like to see it.”

  Chapter 9

  Dodger exited a float car outside a group of abandoned buildings on the south side of Bad Rock. A sign above the entryway of one of them read ‘Digman Commons’. Empty warehouses lined the street across the way, silently testifying to a once thriving economy.