“I don’t disagree with you. I mean, it’s not something I would choose for myself but if some guy wants to, why do we make him a criminal? Hell, all it does is give guys like Dodger a way to profit from their misery.”
“I spent time as a marshal, remember?” Cole said. “I can tell you a couple things from personal experience. One, guys like Dodger will always find a way to feed off misery. It’s who they are. If he didn’t make credits selling Diamond K he’d make it pimping out girls. Hell, we know he’s already running a protection racket. He’s just a scumbag and would be regardless of whether drugs were legal or not.”
“Yeah, the man isn’t worthy of the air he breathes. What’s your second point?”
“You ever see the effects of that crap on people? I mean, up close and personal?”
Nathan shook his head.
“It’s one thing to think people should have the freedom to do whatever they want to themselves but this garbage hurts innocent people, not just the ones who use it.”
Nathan waved a hand at him. “I’m not condoning that for Christ’s sake.”
Cole leaned in, his eyes hard. “Doesn’t matter. That’s what happens. Like with Johnnie Lee, a two-time loser who worked as a leg breaker for assholes like Dodger. I was chasing him after he trashed this kid who stole some White Rook from a courier. You know what that is?”
Nathan nodded. “Some kind of speed, like Diamond K, right?”
“Close enough. This kid, Robbie something-or-other, likes to party and he sees his buddy has a kilo of this stuff. He steals it, throws a huge party and wakes up the next day at a house off campus to Johnnie Lee Beaufort standing over him, baseball bat in hand.”
“What happened?”
“About what you’d expect. Robbie ended up losing an eye, the hearing in one ear and I’m not sure he ever learned to walk right again.” Cole watched, maybe trying to read Nathan’s reaction, before continuing. “Yeah, what happened to him was a nightmare but that’s not it.” Cole took a pull from his beer.
“We finally got the kid to talk and went to pick up Johnnie Lee at his house. It was a crappy little stucco place with a red tile roof. Could have been nice but no one seemed to care. Anyway, we knew that in addition to him, a woman and her kids lived there so we tried to be careful. We had a whole task force, about a dozen guys, and after scanning the rooms to see where everyone was, we hit the place hard. I went through the door first and saw him stretched out on the couch. I made a beeline for that sonovabitch and stunned him before he could do more than start to sit up. I cuffed him and then the guys started calling from the bedrooms. I left him with another marshal and stepped in. Mom was so high she hadn’t woken up despite us kicking in her front door and sounding like a herd of elephants. I looked in the kids’ room and saw them on the floor, playing with their toys.”
He paused and took a deep breath.
“Each of them had a cuff on their ankle and they were chained to the bed. They could walk around the room and go as far as the closet but that’s it. After a moment, this smell hit me and I opened the closet to see a bucket they were using as a toilet. One of the local deputies backing us up, Eve, picked the little boy up and set him on the bed to get the cuff off his ankle and he said it hurt. She pulled up his pant leg up and you could see the cuff biting into his skin and it was all red and infected.”
“Jesus,” Nathan said.
Cole nodded. “Yeah. Eve started talking to the kids and the medics were treating them when mom finally woke up. She got all hysterical, wondering what we were doing there and screaming for Johnnie Lee but he was already outside in the back of a cruiser. She was kind of spacey and kept saying it’s time to go to work, that we need to leave.” He paused. “After she calmed down we talked to her and the kids.
“In addition to being a leg breaker, Johnnie Lee was pimping her out. He didn’t like the kids making too much noise when he was getting high so he kept them confined in their room. So, that was their life, chained up in their room most of the day using a bucket for a bathroom while some low life pimped out their mom for drug money. Mom would let them out if Johnnie Lee was out working but she got high too. So, mostly this cute little boy and girl just stayed in that filthy room. That’s a hell of a life when you’re four and five years old.”
Nathan swallowed. “Did he abuse the kids?”
“Sexually?” Cole shrugged. “Not that we could tell but if he would have been allowed a few more years, who knows?”
Nathan glanced down at the table before saying anything but then he shook his head. “Look, that’s an awful story and believe me, I know it gets repeated often but my position on this is that if drugs are legal, the criminal element goes away. There’s no more smuggling and no more dealers. You just get it from a dispensary.”
Cole raised an eyebrow. “And how will junkies afford this stuff? You think their welfare payments will cover the cost? Let me tell you, if you’re sitting around your house chewing Diamond K you aren’t clocking in for an office job or running your own business.”
“Addictive drugs take away choice,” Duncan said, chiming in. “If you need a hit so bad that you’re willing to sell yourself or rob someone to get the credits to score, you really don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“Well, that’s when it becomes a problem with the law,” Nathan said. “Besides, that argument might have held water before we had treatments for addicts but not now. Once they figured out how to re-wire people’s brains so they wouldn’t be addicted it’s just a choice. If you don’t want to be an alcoholic or hooked on Diamond K you just get treatment. If you want to use it, you keep using it. Getting clean isn’t any harder than going to the doctor for a prescription.”
“People don’t always like the side-effects of the treatment,” Cole said, “and it’s not always effective. I’ll tell you something, tough; they love feeling high. I mean, something like Diamond K is powerful because it’s like the first time, every time. It’s not old school meth or heroin. Your body never acclimates to the high. You don’t chase that first time with stronger doses and get strung out. You know exactly how much it takes to make you feel good, every time. Besides, you can get clean but all that does is reset your situation.”
Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Getting treatment and getting clean just leaves you in the same situation that made you want to escape it by getting high. If you had a crappy life before then getting sober isn’t going to change that. If you live alone in some awful little apartment and have a job you hate and you started chewing Diamond K to escape that, being sober doesn’t solve the root of your problem. All the treatment allows you to do is swing from periods of sobriety to periods of addiction.”
“Hey, if you want your life to be better, go make it better,” Nathan said. “Only you are responsible for you. That’s a choice too.”
“So what are you going to do about Dodger’s offer?” Cole said. “Are we getting into the drug running business?”
“I’m not,” Duncan said. “No offense, Nathan, and you can do whatever you want, just count me out. Marla and I aren’t in a position where we have to make a choice like this.”
Nathan sat back and considered what his oldest friend had said. It stung. “Let’s get something straight, I’m not being forced into this. I do what I want.”
“I don’t believe that for a moment,” Duncan said. “I think if you were flush with credits you’d flick that little bastard off your shoe like something you stepped in. Your financial situation has you considering options you never would have before. Apparently you don’t see that as a problem but don’t ask me to sit here and listen to you dress it up in some political philosophy.”
“And don’t ask you to come along, right?”
Duncan took a deep breath and nodded. “Like I said, we have other options. You’re a good friend, Nathan, you really
are but this isn’t just backing your play in some tough situation. I’m used to those. This is just you being desperate. Count us out.”
Nathan turned to look outside at the rundown buildings again. It reminded him of where he’d grown up, in some ways. No matter how hard he worked he was always one bad decision away from being broke. He’d done well for himself, but one glance out the window reminded him that he stood as close to the edge as ever. His home town had been just like this. He turned back to Cole.
“How about you? If I decide to do this, are you in?”
Cole slowly shook his head. “Nah, this isn’t for me.”
“You know, you don’t have a badge anymore. You gave that up a while ago.”
Cole gave him a little grin and dipped his head. “It’s not the badge, Nathan. I just think it’s wrong. I’ve got a good thing going with Kimiyo. Why would I screw that up?”
“Yeah, I can understand that.” He pulled a card from his wallet and swiped it through the reader on the table to settle their bill. “I’m going back to my room to think things over. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”
Chapter 12
Nathan stripped off his jacket and boots before lying down on the bed. He got his mobi out and checked in with Marla.
“How are things going up there?”
“Everything is fine. There’s been no movement from the Corkscrew and we’re still docked with her. Richie is sitting on the airlock door.”
“Good. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble but that’s what I thought when we boarded and look how that turned out.”
Marla smiled in the video display. “Yeah, we’re going to talk about that later.”
“Oh, I’m sure.” Nathan had no doubt that it would be a long time before he stopped hearing about them being dropped to Bad Rock against their will.
“When are we getting out of here?”
“Probably in the morning. I decided to spend the night because I didn’t want you going through re-entry and attempting a night landing in a strange place.”
“I appreciate that but I’m sure I could have handled it.”
“I know, but you’re tired. Get some rest and we’ll do it in the morning. I’ll give you a call when we’re ready.”
“I live to serve.”
“Very funny. Is Tricia around? I’d like to speak with her.”
“Yeah, she’s in her quarters. I think she’s still up though. You know, she’s all right, funny too. I spent most of the day talking to her.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sure you already know, but I like her too.”
“Then you should make sure she knows that,” Marla said. “I’ll put you through.”
Before Nathan could say anything else the view flipped over to Tricia. She sat up on the bed in her small quarters. He smiled. “How are you doing?”
She smiled back and relief and excitement rushed through him. “I’m good. How are things down there?”
“Boring and dilapidated. I kind of wish I had let you come over with us.”
“You make it sound tempting.”
Nathan cursed himself inwardly. What made this so hard? “Yeah, I’m… look, you know what? I’m awful at all this small talk thing. Sorry.”
Her smile faltered. “Oh, okay. Thanks for checking in on me. I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, Marla’s planning on picking us up in the morning, which is not soon enough.” Nathan chuckled.
“Well, goodnight.” She leaned forward, likely reaching for the button.
“Wait,” said Nathan. “Do you mind staying on the line a bit longer? Keep my mind off the moldy ceiling tile?”
She smiled. “It really is bad down there. Okay, so we’ll just skip the small talk. Tell me your deepest desires and your strongest fears.”
“Um.”
She grinned, sweet and mischievous. “I’m kidding. Just tell me everything about yourself.”
“You sure you want to hear it? You might fall asleep from boredom.”
“Yep.”
“Okay, I own my own business but I’m not rich. I’m blessed with good friends, most of whom you’ve met and just recently I got the opportunity to visit the lovely settlement of Bad Rock in the Epsilon Eridani star system.”
She laughed and he felt warmth spread through him. “Wow, that all sounds terrific.”
He smiled back, finding it difficult not to. “But you knew all that already.”
“True.”
“I’m from up north, in the Great Lakes region. Have you ever been there?”
“No.”
“I’m not surprised. It’s kind of rough up there. Lots of unemployment and bad weather. I lived with my mom after my dad died. She wanted me to get out of there so finding a way to accomplish that became her number one job.”
Tricia smiled. “You make it sound like she kept you in line.”
“Oh yeah. There was no fooling around. I had to keep my grades up and work hard. She set the example working long shifts as a waitress. I couldn’t jerk around getting into trouble when she was working her ass off.”
“You’re a pilot and have your own business. It sounds like she did a good job.”
He smiled at the memory of his mom. “I’d say so. We couldn’t afford college but the military wanted me. They put me in officer candidate school and taught me to fly.”
“That’s impressive. Did you ever see any action?”
“Oh, a little. You know, nothing too bad. They stationed me on Mars when they were having the water troubles. Do you remember those?”
“I remember reading about it.”
Nathan smiled, glad she hadn’t said she’d read about it in history class. “Well, that was probably the most excitement I saw. That time did help me, though.”
“Your mom must be proud.”
Nathan’s smile faltered. “She was. I lost her a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
He waved her off. “No, it’s all right. Anyway, enough about me. What about you?”
“Well, I’m a nurse who just recently completed a whirlwind tour of Mars with a rock band.”
“Now that does sound exciting.”
“Oh, for sure. What could be better than treating overdoses and constantly examining people’s bits for STDs?”
“Wow, when you put it like that, it sounds less exciting.”
“Yeah, and I left a good job in an emergency room for that.”
“Why did you do that?”
“Eh, I was bored.”
“You were?” Nathan said, “In an emergency room?”
“Well, it was dull compared to the job I had before it.”
“What did you do?”
She grinned. “Air ambulance.”
“Really?”
“Really. I used to fly out to accident sites and help rescue hikers up in the mountains near Go City.”
“Are you a thrill seeker?”
Her smile spread a little. “I don’t like to be bored.”
“And here I’ve left you sitting in orbit.”
“I did tell you to bring me along, remember? Of course, you didn’t abandon me on purpose so I’ll cut you some slack.”
This time he grinned. “I appreciate that.”
“Is everything all right down there?” she asked with a note of concern in her voice.
“It’s a little odd. We met this guy, Dodger. He’s the local Syndicate guy. It turns out that Bone Daddy ran drugs for him.”
“I wouldn’t have thought Luscious had the brains to do something like that.”
“He didn’t, at least not long term, or he would have kept up on his vessel’s loan payments. Anyway, since we grabbed his ship and we have our own he wants me to take over the route.”
Her jaw fell open at t
he suggestion. “What did he say when you told him no?”
He paused for a moment before answering, afraid of disappointing her. “I told him I’d give him an answer in the morning. I didn’t want to deal with him tonight. Are you all right? You look a little tired.”
“I’m used to long hours. I mean, all nurses are but flying between stars and witnessing a kidnapping seems to have worn me out.”
Nathan decided to take pity on her. “Hey, I’m sorry to keep you up. Why don’t you get some rest? Tomorrow’s going to be busy too.”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Are you sure you can sleep in that place?”
“I’ve been in worse,” he said. “Take it easy, okay? If you need anything let Marla or Richie know. They’ll hook you up.”
“Yeah, they’ve been pretty great.” She paused a moment and he took the opportunity to just look at her, the one good thing in his life.
“Good night, Tricia.”
“Good night, Nathan.”
The connection broke and Nathan reclined on the bed. She really was amazing, almost more than he could hope for. She was smart and funny but most importantly talking to her was easy. Ever since that hijacking nonsense a year and a half ago he’d been trying to get his life together and failing. But Tricia, being near her just felt right, like he could let go of the anxiety that drove him crazy all the time. He knew what he felt was probably just the excitement of a new relationship but damn if it didn’t feel good.
The day had been long and now it felt like it was catching up to him. As tired as he was though, he couldn’t help but dwell on what he’d been telling Tricia, about his time on Mars.
The 66th Air Cavalry Group, also known as the Black Panthers, was deployed near Ares Vallis on Mars to support the local government. Nathan had been here six months. Water levels had dropped due to a drought and a battle was forming up between ranchers and the cities downstream serviced by the reservoir.
Snow melt from the nearby mountains replenished the reservoir but precipitation had been scant for a couple years. No matter how hard humans tried to control the red planet it clearly had ideas of its own. A group of ranchers led by a guy named Reggie Fulton had occupied the reservoir’s pumping station. They wanted control of the water and the governor disagreed.
Bad Rock Beat Down (The Milky Way Repo Series Book 2) Page 14