by John Bowers
“Good enough. I’ll sleep late tomorrow and we can get going as soon as he arrives.”
“Before you go…was that you who broke up the hostage standoff yesterday?”
“What hostage standoff?”
“Come on, Walker, don’t be cute. You gave the city cops your name, and my comm has been melting ever since.”
“They’re upset?”
“Hell yes, they’re upset! You stole their thunder. Made them look weak.”
“Didn’t mean to make anybody look weak, but that lady needed help and she didn’t have a lot of time. I just did what had to be done.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Chiang said, “I’m not complaining. It actually made the U.F. Marshal Service look good—videos of you talking the kid down have gone viral on AlphaNet, but that only makes the city cops angrier.”
“Next time I’ll try not to hurt their feelings.”
Chiang laughed. “Your backup will be there in the morning. Be careful, Walker.”
Nick was still gritty from rolling around on the canyon floor; after disconnecting from Chiang, he stripped off his clothes and took a shower. Ten minutes later, in a fresh outfit, he stepped outside and looked around. It was late afternoon and he was getting hungry. He could smell a grill somewhere in the neighborhood, the smells of hot food drifting on the air. He debated taking the hovercar or just walking down the street until he found the source. He still hadn’t decided when he heard a sound behind him.
“Shoom! Shoom!”
He turned in surprise and saw a little boy pointing a toy laser pistol at him. He frowned.
“Andy? What are you doing here?”
“Shoom-shoom!”
Nick walked over to the little boy, who stood in front of the door to the room adjacent to Nick’s. He knelt down.
“Where’s your uncle Dennis?”
Andy Childers stared at him a moment, then lifted his chin.
“He had to go see a man about a horse.”
“A horse…?”
“That’s what he said.”
It took Nick a second, then he remembered—his dad used to tell him the same thing when he had to leave but didn’t want to explain himself.
“Do you know where he went?”
“Nope.”
The door behind Andy opened and a woman stepped out. Nick stood quickly as he recognized Dennis Childers’ girlfriend. She stared at Nick with guilty eyes, her mouth half open.
“Andy, come inside.”
“Where’s Dennis?” Nick demanded.
She backed away, but he stepped forward and grabbed the door handle to keep her from closing it.
“Step outside. Right now!”
With a gulp of fear, she obeyed, reaching for Andy’s hand. Nick peered inside the room but didn’t see anyone.
“Where did he go?”
“He went to get something to eat. He should be back any minute.”
“Why didn’t he meet me at the police station?”
She pulled Andy close to her and took a step back, trembling slightly. Her eyes cast about as if looking for somewhere to run. Andy wrapped his arms around her leg; she placed a hand on his head and stroked his hair.
“He did, but you didn’t show up.”
“Why didn’t he wait for me?”
“I think he was afraid to. Look, it wasn’t his fault, okay? Tom made him come after you.”
Nick stared at her a moment, relaxing a little.
“Are you armed?”
“No.”
“Any weapons inside the room?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You don’t know for sure?”
“Dennis may have a gun in the car, but I didn’t see him take anything inside the room.”
“What’s your name?”
“Grace. Cheatum.”
“Have you ever been arrested?”
She stared at the ground a moment, hugging herself with one arm, holding Andy with the other. She nodded.
“On what charge?”
“Shoplifting.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
“How many times?”
“I don’t know. It was a long time ago. I was young.”
“Where did Dennis go?”
“There’s a diner a couple of blocks down. He went to pick up some takeout.”
“How long ago?”
“Maybe twenty minutes.”
Nick glanced at his watch. His own appetite would have a wait a bit—he wanted to talk to Dennis.
“Okay, I want you to sit in my car until he gets here. You have a pocket phone?”
“In the room.” She blinked. “Are you going to arrest Dennis?”
“I want to talk to him. Whether I arrest him depends on what he has to say.”
“If you arrest him, what happens to Andy and me? We have nowhere to go.”
Nick sighed. “I don’t know, but we can figure that out. How did you get hooked up with a pair of losers like that, anyway?”
“Dennis is okay. He just didn’t know how to say no to Tom.”
“He won’t have that problem anymore.”
She peered at him a moment, then pushed the child toward the door.
“Andy, wait for me inside.”
The little boy obeyed without question. Grace Cheatum closed the door behind him. She turned back to Nick.
“Is Tom really dead?”
“Extremely.”
She was silent a moment.
“I can’t really say I’m sorry.”
“Why is that?”
“Tom is—was—a bad influence on Dennis. Dennis did some time a few years ago on a minor rap, but when he got out he wanted to go straight. He did okay until Tom was released, but Tom had a lot of influence over him.”
“What was Tom planning?”
“I don’t know exactly. He kept talking about ‘starting over’ and said we needed to go south.”
“What’s down south? From what I hear, this is pretty much the end of civilization on Alpha 2.”
“Tom said there were settlements down near the Isthmus; that a man could breathe free down there.”
“Breathe free?”
“That’s what he said. I don’t know exactly what he meant.”
“Where is Andy’s mother?”
Grace Cheatum jerked as if he had slapped her.
“What do you mean?”
“It isn’t a hard question. Tom said she didn’t want to come on your trip, but he didn’t clarify that. Does she even know where her son is?”
Grace licked her lips, her eyes shifting to one side.
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Look! Why don’t you ask Dennis all these questions?”
“I will when he gets here. Right now I’m talking to you.”
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
“Why not? What are you afraid of?”
“Nothing! But don’t I have a right to remain silent?”
“Yes you do. But if you have nothing to hide…”
“I don’t. I just don’t know what you want from me. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Nick nodded. “Okay, then sit in the car until Dennis gets here.”
“Am I under arrest?”
“Not yet.”
“What do you mean! I told you I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then I won’t arrest you. But I’ll make that decision after I talk to Dennis.”
She stared at him a moment, then turned and slowly walked to his car. Nick unlocked it remotely and she climbed into the backseat, where she sat with her head down, both hands over her face.
Nick glanced at his watch. The woman said Dennis had left twenty minutes earlier…how long did it take to pick up a takeout order?
He moved to the other side of his hovercar. From here he would be less visible from the street, and he didn’t want Dennis Childers to see him and make a break for it.
He removed his hat and laid it on the car hood, then rested his elbows beside the hat. In this position his badge would be harder to see, and without the hat Dennis might not notice him.
He waited five minutes.
He saw Childers’ battered hovercar coming a block away, and stood motionless until it entered the parking lot and settled beside his own car. Childers was at the yoke, but didn’t seem to notice Nick or the woman in Nick’s car. He gathered up the food containers and stepped out of his vehicle. As he locked the door, Nick stepped in front of him.
Childers saw him and almost dropped the food. His mouth fell open.
“Did you forget anything?” Nick asked.
Childers gulped. “I went to the police station, just like you said!”
“Then why didn’t I find you there?”
“You never showed up! I waited in their parking lot for over an hour, then these cops started coming by and staring at me, so I left.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t want to explain to them why I was there. I figured if you didn’t show up, they would make it their business, and I didn’t want to deal with them.”
Nick studied him a moment. From the point of view of a person with a guilty conscience, Childers’ story actually made sense…sort of.
“What were you planning to do?”
“I didn’t know what to do. I was hoping I might go by there in the morning and ask for you.”
Nick sighed—it wasn’t worth pursuing.
“What the hell was that about in the canyon today?”
Childers set the food containers on the hood of his car and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked so distressed Nick thought he might cry.
“Marshal, I am so sorry about that! I didn’t want any part of it, but my brother…well…”
“Your brother made you do it? Is that your story?”
“Yes. I know it sounds weak, but—”
“If your brother told you to jump off a cliff, would you do that too?”
Childers grimaced and shook his head. “My mom used to say the same thing. All I can tell you is that…”
“I’m listening.”
“It’s hard to explain. I just—I never could stand up to him. If I didn’t do what he wanted, he would mock me. He made me feel small.”
Nick chewed his lip. Back in the canyon Dennis had been nervous, reluctant. Tom Childers had clearly been in charge. He was inclined to believe the explanation.
“What was Tom planning?”
“He never told me. He just said you were a threat, that you’d be back and cause trouble.”
“What did he have to hide? He told me you were all heading south.”
“We were. Tom said we could find work down around the isthmus, and there is no law enforcement down there.”
“Why was that important?”
“Tom doesn’t—didn’t—like lawmen.”
“What about you?”
“Look, I did some time a while back and I learned my lesson. I may not be the smartest man alive, but I don’t ever want to go back to prison. I’d rather work for shit wages than take a chance on that.”
“And you thought you could do that with Tom running your life?”
“No, but…I figured sooner or later he’d get locked up again and I would be free of him. Me and Grace, we just want to live in peace. No trouble, no illegal stuff. We decided we ain’t ever gonna get rich and we’re okay with that. I’d rather live poor and free than always be looking over my shoulder.”
“What about Andy? Where does he fit in to all this?”
Childers glanced at him. “What do you mean?”
“Does his mother know where he is?”
“No, but he’s better off without her. She’s as bad as Tom.”
“What’s her name?”
“Amy Childers.”
“Where does she live?”
“Carrigan. It’s a little town just outside Lucaston.”
“Does she have custody of Andy?”
“Yeah, but Andy hates being with her. She screams at him all the time and hits him if he messes up. She’s done time for assault.”
“What about Grace? Does he get along with her?”
“He loves Grace. She treats him like her own.”
Nick hooked his thumbs in his gunbelt and shifted his weight. He gazed across the street in thought.
“Do you have any weapons?”
“No. You took the only gun I have.”
“Are you wanted for anything?”
“No. You can check.”
“I already did. There’s nothing on file, but have you done anything that the law doesn’t know about?”
“No. Not unless…” Childers gave him a guilty stare. “Unless you want to talk about today.”
“Was Tom planning to kill me?”
“I don’t know. I swear to God, Marshal, he never told me what he was going to do!”
Nick gazed across the street again. Every professional instinct in his body told him he should arrest Dennis Childers; he had held a gun on a U.F. Marshal, had conspired with his brother to commit—something; he was in custody of a little boy who wasn’t his own, and had a shaky history with the law. By every measurable standard, he was a loser.
But…
Nick took a deep breath. He peered directly into Dennis’s eyes.
“Don’t leave town tonight. I’m going to check up on Amy Childers, and if you lied about her doing time, then I’ll want to talk to you again.”
Dennis blinked, a dim light of hope in his eyes.
“Does that mean—”
“I’m right next door to you. If you take off tonight, I’ll know, and I’ll come after you. But if you’re still here in the morning, and I don’t talk to you again, then I never saw you.”
Dennis Childers traced his tongue across his lips. His chest expanded with a deep breath.
“Thank you, Marshal.”
“If Amy Childers wants her son back, a warrant might still be issued for your arrest. But you won’t be in Centauri Springs anymore and neither will I, so our business is concluded.”
“You’re letting me go?”
“No. I just never saw you. Can you live with that?”
Dennis Childers actually smiled. Then he laughed.
“Yes! I can definitely live with that. Thank you!”
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about your brother. He didn’t deserve to die like that.”
The smile faded and Dennis’s eyes clouded.
“I know I should feel bad, but…I don’t.”
Nick nodded. He extended his hand.
“Good luck, Mr. Childers. Don’t make it necessary for us to meet again.”
Chapter 13
Saturday, March 24, 0445 (CC)
Centauri Springs – Alpha Centauri 2
Nick had told Marshal Chiang that he would sleep in Saturday morning and give the rookie from Camarrell time to reach Centauri Springs, but sleeping in wasn’t an option. His mind was working too fast and he got up shortly after dawn. He showered and shaved, then checked his messages. Nothing.
He glanced at his watch. Should he call Chiang back and find out what time the rookie had left? Or if he left at all?
No. If Chiang had said the rookie was coming, then he was coming. Chiang would have notified him otherwise. He decided to get some breakfast first and be ready whenever he arrived.
He buckled on his gunbelt—laser pistol on the right, .44 on the left—and picked up his hat. He opened the door and stepped outside, squinting at the brilliance of Alpha Prime, which was still low on the horizon. It looked like another beautiful day on Alpha 2, but most of them were.
Childers’ hovercar was still parked where Dennis had left it, so he had taken Nick’s warning seriously. His story about Amy Childers had checked out—she had a long sheet and was currently on probation, so even if she made waves about getting her son back, no court was likely to take her too seriously. Whether they did or not, i
t wasn’t Nick’s problem…and from what he had seen, Andy was better off with Dennis and Grace.
He walked to his hovercar and unlocked it with his remote.
As he was about to climb into the pilot’s seat, another hovercar swung in off the street and settled down a few yards away. Nick ignored it and fired up his turbines, giving them a moment to warm up. He heard footsteps approaching.
He turned…
The young man walking toward him looked, for a moment, like a mirror image of himself. He was younger by seven or eight years, but dressed the same. Western shirt, western boots, denim pants, gunbelt…even a cowboy hat. On the left side of his shirt gleamed a U.F. Marshal badge.
“Where can a guy get some coffee around here?”
Nick stared. The youthful face grinning back at him was a total shock. For three or four seconds his speech was frozen in his throat. The other man walked right up and threw both arms around him, pulling him into a hug.
“Nathan!” Nick gasped. “What the hell are you doing… Oh, my god, you’re the rookie Chiang sent?”
Rookie U.F. Marshal Nathan Green laughed.
“Yes I am. Marshal Chiang said you were in over your head and needed some expert assistance, so here I am.”
Nick laughed in consternation, still stunned beyond belief. He grabbed Nathan’s hand and pumped it.
“Bullshit! I’m never in over my head. But maybe it’s good you’re here, you might learn a thing or two.”
He stood back and surveyed the young man before him. Nathan Green was four months shy of twenty-one; Nick had met him on Sirius 1 during his second assignment as a U.F. Marshal. Nathan was still a teenager then, but had impressed Nick with a maturity—never mind bravery—beyond his years. Circumstances at the time had put them together in a couple of dangerous situations, and Nathan had unquestionably saved his life at least once. By the time Nick left Sirius, Nathan had turned eighteen and was on his way to the U.F. Marshal Academy in London.
“What happened to your eye?” Nathan asked. “Looks like you’ve been in a brawl.”
“I was, but you should see the other guy.” Nick brushed his hands over Nathan’s shirt. “What’s with the getup? You look like an Ancient West gunfighter.”
“I was born on Sirius, remember? Everybody at home dresses like this.”
Nick nodded at his gunbelt. “What kind of iron are you packing?”