by John Bowers
“Colt .45.” Nathan pulled the heavy revolver free of the holster and let Nick inspect it.
“Wow, a six-shooter. Do they even make this model anymore?”
“Custom only. Had to order it from North America. Texas, I think…or was it Connecticut?”
Nick admired the weapon briefly then handed it back.
“Nice. How’s Kristina?”
“She’s fine. She came with me, in fact. She’s up at Trimmer Springs right now, visiting her mother.”
“Oh, wow, I wish I could see Suzanne’s face when she shows up! That’s going to make her whole year.”
Nathan nodded. “I was serious about that coffee. Have you had breakfast yet?”
“No. I was just headed over to the diner. Want me to bring you something back?”
Nathan laughed. “Fuck that, I’m coming with you.”
***
The man in the solarball cap with tattoos on his neck lounged in the doorway of a shop that hadn’t opened yet, smoking a cigarette and studying his toes. Across the street from where he stood, the two U.F. Marshals strolled toward the diner, engrossed in conversation. If they saw him at all, they paid no attention. After they had passed, he watched them until they disappeared into the diner. He didn’t know where the second marshal had come from, but his appearance changed nothing.
He had no idea what had gone wrong yesterday. He’d passed the information on to Vanov that Walker had gone to the Prater estate—the gas station attendant had been very helpful—and that was supposed to end his involvement. But late last night he’d received another call to return to Centauri Springs.
The mission had changed.
***
Nick had spotted the diner the night before and enjoyed a quiet meal. Now he and Nathan shared a table by the window. They ordered a full breakfast of eggs, potatoes, bacon, biscuits, and coffee. The coffee came first and they sipped it while catching up.
“What’s this new program?” Nick asked. “Field work before graduation?”
Nathan nodded. “I guess it’s new. Not everyone does it, but I can’t get my official badge until I’m twenty-one and I still have a few months to go. They offered me the deal and I took it.”
“What’s that on your shirt? Looks like a badge to me.”
“Provisional only. I can only work under the supervision of a real marshal.”
“Did you know where you were going to be sent?”
“I had a couple of choices and this was one of them. I knew you were here and hoped we might hook up.”
Nick shook his head in wonder. “Well here we are. I didn’t see this coming.”
“Just like old times,” Nathan laughed.
“God, I hope not. Old times for you and me got pretty dangerous.”
“But we loved every minute of it, didn’t we?”
“Maybe you did. I was scared shitless.”
“Tell you the truth, so was I. But it was exciting.” Nathan tipped his coffee cup. “Sounds like you had quite a bit of excitement on this assignment, too. A cult uprising?”
“We had some moments. There was never any danger of another uprising, but things did get dicey.”
“How’s Suzanne doing after getting shot?”
“Back to normal. She’s totally immersed in her new business venture. And, I might add, making a fortune.”
“I’m glad to hear it. She’s a hell of a lady.”
Nick nodded fervently. “That she is.”
“Nick, do you realize that you and I are married to two of the hottest women in two star systems? Maybe the two hottest women?
“Speak for yourself. I’m not married.”
“But you’re planning on it, though. Right?”
“It looks that way.”
Nathan’s eyebrow tilted.
“Do I detect hesitation? You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”
Nick stared at his coffee for a moment.
“Actually, I never had first thoughts. Suzanne and I agreed on a no-strings policy when we first got together, but later on she started thinking of something more permanent. After she got shot…” He gazed into Nathan’s eyes. “When I thought I might lose her, it scared me worse than anything ever had. I never actually proposed to her, but…”
“Sort of a foregone conclusion?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“But you’re okay with it, aren’t you? I mean, what’s the alternative?”
“The alternative is living the way I did before I met her. That has a certain attraction, but…”
“It gets lonely. And nobody wants to be alone forever.”
Nick nodded, stirring his coffee.
“You love her, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. I didn’t want to admit it for a long time, but I do.”
“So why the hesitation? Is it the job?”
“More than anything else, yeah. Marshals get sent to some hellish places, and some of them aren’t very attractive for domestic life.”
“Places like Kline Corners?”
Nick laughed. “Exactly.” He glanced up. “How are you and Kristina getting on? You have any regrets?”
“Are you kidding? I wanted to marry Kristina the first time I ever saw her. You remember how we were together.”
“And that hasn’t changed? No dimming of the fires?”
“Not a bit. She does have a temper, but I think that’s just a Vegan thing. As long as I obey her every command, we get along great.”
Nick laughed again. “You know what? You may have meant that as a joke, but I believe you.”
“Suzanne?”
“Suzanne. Who do you think Kristina got it from?”
Their breakfast came and they dug in like hungry hounds. Nick remembered Nathan having a voracious appetite, and that hadn’t changed. He seemed to be feeding himself with both hands.
“So what’s this project you’re on now?” Nathan asked as soon as he cleared enough space in his mouth for his tongue to work.
“This is a weird one.” Nick bit off a piece of bacon and, without too much detail, briefly filled Nathan in on recent events. When he finished, Nathan’s eyes were wide.
“So the wanted poster was for you?”
“That’s what the man said. Which brings up all sorts of questions.”
Nathan nodded. “Yeah, like how did this guy know the senator would call you all the way down from Trimmer Springs. He could have called the office in Camarrell instead. In fact, it would have made more sense for him to call Camarrell.”
“Good. You’re on the same track that I am.”
“So what did you come up with? Is the senator in on the plot?”
“I don’t know yet. As a colonial senator and a third or fourth generation citizen, I can’t imagine why he would have ties to the mercenaries, or how he would benefit from the cult uprising. Except for one thing…”
“His bank.”
“Right. If the mercenaries used his bank to transfer money, he might have a financial motive."
Nathan frowned in thought as he took another bite.
“So how would that work?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve been thinking about it and trying to make it fit. I came up with one possible scenario.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Okay, if you’re going to provide the arms for a revolution, there’s a lot of money involved, right?”
“I would think so.”
“We’re talking millions of terros, tens of millions.”
“Right.”
“Even for a black market operation, that money has to be kept somewhere. You don’t bury it in your back yard and dig it up when you need it.”
“Right.”
“Money like that has to be laundered. It has to be moved through legitimate institutions and made to look legit.”
“Okay. So…”
“Prater’s bank isn’t very big. In fact, there’s only one branch, right here in Centauri Springs. Cybele tol
d me her father established it to support local ranchers and real estate development.
“As a small bank, it’s off the Ladar. If the Federation is trying to track money for an illegal arms deal, they might not even look at it. Congress oversees the big financial institutions in a watchdog role, but if I remember correctly, they don’t bother with banks or credit unions that have assets under a certain figure—”
“Fifty million terros.” Nathan grinned. “I just finished that class.”
“Okay, there you go. Fifty million terros. If any amount under that, say ten million, was deposited and then funneled to another institution, it would never trigger an alarm. The Federation would never audit that bank.”
“But there would be a trail,” Nathan said. “An electronic trail. You can’t funnel that kind of cash through in either direction without it standing out like a solar flare.”
“Right, but again, if no one ever looked, no one would ever notice.”
“You think that’s how Prater is involved?”
“Could be. Nothing else makes sense, at least not so far. The only question is, even with that much money involved, would he turn traitor to the current government? And if so, is money alone his incentive?”
“How do we find out?”
“We need to look at bank records over the past, oh, twelve or fifteen years.”
“I can do that. I’m pretty good at research.”
Nick’s eyes widened. “Thank the lord! I was dreading having to do it myself.”
Nathan filled his mouth again with food, then mumbled around it.
“Just tell me what I’m looking for.”
“Wire transfers, primarily. Off-planet accounts, probably, but not necessarily. Large amounts to numbered accounts, things like that. And for accounts with actual names on them, anything at all to any person or organization with a name that sounds Rukranian.”
Nathan nodded and reached for his coffee cup.
“Sounds like fun. I’ll get on it right away.”
Nick shook his head. “Not so fast. It’ll keep until tomorrow. Today we have another mission. We’re going back to the canyon and see what we can find there.”
“Mm. Forgot about that.”
***
Breakfast over, Nick and Nathan exited the diner and headed back to the au’tel where they had left their cars. Street traffic was light, since it was Saturday, and most businesses hadn’t opened yet. Only one or two people were visible on the street. They had reached the middle of the second block, with the au’tel in sight, when a harsh voice barked behind them.
“Marshal Walker! Drop your weapon!”
Nick turned in surprise, his pulse jumping a little. Nathan also turned—he was slightly behind Nick and had to peer around him. The man across the street, wearing a solarball cap, looked hard and wiry. Nick couldn’t see his face clearly because of the cap, but he was wearing a sleeveless tank-top, his arms and shoulders darkened by tattoos.
The main thing Nick noticed was the laser pistol he gripped with both hands.
“Not gonna tell you again, Walker! Drop the gunbelt!”
Nick took a step forward, putting himself between Nathan and the gunman. He held both hands out to his sides.
“Maybe you’d like to tell me who you are, first,” he said as casually as he could manage. “Do we know each other?”
“Maybe not, but I know who you are, and if you don’t drop your gunbelt right now I’m gonna burn out your heart!”
Nick hesitated a second longer, then reached for the belt buckle.
“Keep him busy,” Nathan muttered. “I’ll get him.”
“Both of you!” the gunman yelled. “I see your partner back there. Tell him to drop his too.”
Nick could hear the stress in the gunman’s voice. He peeled the gunbelt off and held it out to one side, making a show of putting it down.
“Tell him yourself,” he said. “I’m kind of busy following your orders.”
“Don’t be a comedian, Walker! Get down on the ground, face first.” The gunman shifted his weapon slightly, to cover Nathan, who also had both hands out to his sides. “You! Whoever the hell you are, drop your belt. Get down on your—”
“HEY, motherFUCKER!!!”
The gunman wheeled in surprise, firing three panicked shots down the sidewalk. Edsel the homeless guy squealed in terror and turned to flee, stumbling into the wall of the nearest building, where he bounced off. Before the gunman could turn back, Nathan’s .45 roared three times; the tattooed man in the solarball cap grunted and sagged as the bullets punched through his ribcage. Blood fountained into the air and his eyes glazed as the laser pistol tumbled from his grip. He hit the sidewalk with a thud and lay staring at the sky, twitching in helpless protest to his fate.
He was dead before Nick got to him.
Chapter 14
Nathan kicked the gunman’s laser pistol aside as Nick knelt over the body. A blood pool spread across the sidewalk; the gunman still twitched, but when Nick pressed a finger against his carotid artery, he felt nothing. He glanced up at Nathan and puffed his cheeks as he exhaled.
“Good shooting. But I wish we could talk to him.”
Nathan stared down, looking shaken.
“Sorry, I just—I didn’t want—”
“Relax, you did exactly the right thing. Center body mass, eliminate the threat. There’s no question he was serious because he shot at that other guy.” Nick gazed down the street, but Edsel the homeless guy had disappeared. “Who, by the way, probably saved our lives.”
Nathan took a deep breath—he was starting to shake.
“Who is this guy, anyway? What did he want?”
Nick stood up and turned to face his younger friend. He put a hand on his shoulder.
“Never mind that for the moment…are you okay?”
Nathan nodded, wiping a hand across his mouth.
“Yeah. Sure. I think so.”
“This isn’t your first time. Remember that.”
“I know. But…Slim Owens seems like a long time ago. This…”
“Was necessary.” Nick squeezed his shoulder. “Remember the guy in Suzanne’s restaurant? You killed him too, and didn’t blink an eye.”
“He was after Kristina. I wanted him dead.”
“Sometimes you have no other choice. This was one of those times.”
Nathan took another deep breath and blew it out explosively. He nodded.
“Yeah. I know. I just need a minute.”
Nick knelt over the dead man again and patted him down, looking for an ID or other clues to his identity. He found nothing but keys, some cash, a small packet of recreational drugs, and a pocket phone. Nick slipped the phone into his shirt pocket.
“Whoever he is, he didn’t want to be identified. No ID, no hovercar license…nothing. But…” Nick stood up again. “I have a pretty good idea who he’s working for.”
“Yeah?”
Nick nodded. “The skinned head, the tattoos, and the way he’s dressed—I’ll bet you a doughnut he’s a Ruke. The guy I told you about, Vanov, looked exactly the same.”
“Holy shit! So you think this guy was working with Vanov?”
“That’s my working theory. If we run prints and DNA on this guy, my bet is that he’ll come back as a citizen of Centauri B, if he’s in the system.”
“So…they failed to get you yesterday and sent this guy to try again?”
“Looks that way. If what Vanov said about the wanted poster was true, odds are this one wanted to capture me.”
“What about me?”
“You were a surprise. I doubt if he would have bothered taking you along. More likely…”
Nick didn’t finish the thought. Neither of them needed it spelled out.
Thirty seconds earlier a siren had started warbling from across town. Now a police car sped around a corner six blocks away and raced in their direction, the siren deafening. Nick and Nathan stepped away from the dead man, their weapons holstered. Both held
their hands clear of their bodies as the car lurched to a halt and an officer leaped out. His taut expression relaxed slightly as he recognized Nick and saw the badges they both wore.
“Morning, Virgil,” Nick said as casually as if they were meeting for coffee.
“Marshal Walker.” Officer Virgil Bullard hurried toward the body on the sidewalk and gazed down with a little frown. “What the hell happened?”
Nick filled him in briefly, giving him the barest details. Virgil nodded and reached for his radio, calling for backup and a coroner.
“You’d better brace yourself,” he told Nick. “Fearless is on his way.”
“Fearless?”
“Yeah, our Fearless Leader…Chief Sheehan.”
Nick almost laughed, but resisted the urge. He could only imagine what Sheehan might have to say about this.
Bullard took a few holographs for his report and began to interview Nick and Nathan. Before he had finished, two more police cars drew to a stop. Across the street, a crowd began to gather.
Nick held his tongue as Chief Sheehan got out of his car and approached the dead man. His face looked like a reactor meltdown as he took in the details. He looked up at Nick with barely suppressed rage.
“It didn’t take you long, did it?”
“I’m sorry?”
“I told you I didn’t want any violence in my town! This is the first killing we’ve had in almost a decade!”
“I didn’t want any violence either, Chief, but this man didn’t leave a lot of options.”
“Jesus Christ!”
“Do you know him, Chief?”
“No, I don’t know him! What does that matter?”
“Because he wasn’t carrying any ID, and that’s suspicious all by itself. He’s obviously an outsider who came here for illicit reasons.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you don’t draw down on a U.F. Marshal—two U.F. Marshals—if you’re just in town to support a charity. Maybe you should read Officer Bullard’s report before you start passing judgment.”
“I’ll read his report, but right now I’m talking to you. You said he drew down on you?”
Nick pointed to the laser pistol lying a few feet away.
“He ordered me and Marshal Green here to drop our gunbelts. I don’t know what he was planning to do next, but I doubt either of us would have liked it.”