She let her guard down and Drago sensed it and elbowed her in the gut. He ran into the forest. She contemplated chasing him, but decided against it. She shot a tree next to his head instead.
“Why on Earth did you just stun them?” Dogg asked as he strode toward the driver in Talbert’s arms and shot him through the skull.
“Elvis Christ,” Talbert said, releasing his corpse.
“They know who we are now,” Dogg said, calmly walking over to the stunned helmets and down-grading their status to dead. It turned Roslyn’s stomach to watch him systematically slaughter people like animals. Would this be enough to bring him in? But they were accomplices to this crime. How would that work out for them? It had been a slippery slope into her old life of crime. Here she was, back with the scumbags. It didn’t feel like she remembered, now that she was experiencing it sober.
“So, how are we going to cash these in?” asked Roslyn.
“You let your boyfriend go?” Talbert asked, looking at her with burning eyes.
“It doesn’t matter,” Roslyn said, sighing. “I’m serious. The fact that we’re stealing from Star Belly means nothing good. She has ties all the way back to Earth. I’m sure of it. Ties to some really powerful people with deep pockets.”
“Earth is a long ways away. It’s why we lost the war,” Talbert said.
“You fought for the Federation?” Dogg asked, turning to him.
“I did, until the end when we all realized it was a lost cause,” Talbert said. “You old enough to have been in the war?”
“Not I. I was just a boy during the war,” Dogg confessed and coughed. “I realize my disease makes me look a bit older than I really am.”
They loaded Roslyn’s hover bike atop the diamonds and she drove the truck to the gully were she’d discouraged the road agents. The others rode their bikes in a formation.
“Where’d you fight?” asked Dogg as they dug a massive hole.
“Danaus,” Talbert said. He was using one of the fundamental rules of lying, and that was getting things close enough to the truth to be remembered.
“That right?” Dogg stopped his digging and leaned on the shovel.
“Don’t they have robots to do this kind of thing?” Roslyn asked, hoping to change the subject.
“It’s ironic, we have enough here to buy an entire robot factory, but we can’t cash it in, in time to dig this hole to put it in,” Talbert said, turning to dig another section.
“Where exactly on Danaus? Up here in North Yanker?” Dogg asked, turning to help Talbert dig the same section. “Out of Fort Vincent?”
“What’s that?” Talbert asked.
“Where you served? What battles were you in? I’m sort of a student on the war,” Dogg said. “Us boys back home used to play at it and I must admit glorify it to some degree.”
“I don’t like to talk about it,” Talbert said, turning his back and shoveling glimmering dirt onto a pile beside the hole.
“Ah, I see,” Dogg grinned politely. “Thus the stun setting on the gun. I apologize.”
“No, it’s fine,” Talbert grinned to the best of his ability. He met Roslyn’s eyes briefly and then turned away. She was certain she caught relief in his look.
After they buried the diamonds, Roslyn couldn’t get Drago off of her mind. What was his next move? Would she come to regret not shooting him in the back? It would have just been stun, but Dogg would have certainly finished the job.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“I should have killed that tubby bastard,” Dogg said as they mounted their bikes.
“You realize it doesn’t matter,” Roslyn said from the driver’s seat of the now empty truck. “Star knows I’m one of two people, outside of her organization, that knows about that cave.”
“Two?” asked Hattie.
“The other one’s the person she persuaded to show her the cave.”
“So what’s our next move?” asked Talbert hovering up next to them. Hattie followed and hovered within earshot. It took Roslyn a minute to realize they were all looking at her. She needed to look decisive and authoritative.
She wanted to know Talbert’s take, but decided asking would make her look unqualified to lead. She glanced at the battery level on the truck. It read 48%. Then she recalled something her professor had mentioned, about how a good leader surrounds themselves with intelligent and qualified people and relies on them.
“Here are the facts. Star Belly will suspect us of stealing the diamonds,” Roslyn said, holding up one finger. Then she held up two. “We deny it. She can’t prove anything.”
“That’s it?” Hattie asked, giving a soft chuckle. “That’s the plan?”
“You have a better one?” Roslyn turned and bit at her.
“She has ways of getting you to confess,” Talbert explained.
“She’d have to catch me unaware. We get each other’s backs.” Roslyn shrugged. It was the only way she could think of. “We skip town and cash them elsewhere.”
“I got your six, home girl,” Hattie said.
“I’ll go about finding a way to transport these diamonds out of here, possibly back to Shiva, “Roslyn went on. “There we can arrange to cash them in, legally. What we do next is up to us.”
She would invest most of it back into the company. She’d hire more agents and upgrade all their tech. Maybe Earl Wyatt would come and work for them? It all unfolded in her mind like a velvety map. She’d add the capture of Dogg Holly to the resume with the same fell swoop.
“Why didn’t we keep on going with the truck, right out of town? Instead of burying the diamonds?” asked Hattie. Roslyn tried to remain patient with her old college roommate.
“Where you not there when we were discussing this earlier?” Roslyn pursed her mouth, and bit her tongue.
“No, she wasn’t,” Talbert reminded her. That’s right, she’d been collecting the dead helmets’ weapons.
“This truck’s battery is less than fifty percent. Okay. So that gets us to the middle of the desert in any direction.” She almost added: Any more questions? But rose above it.
“I’m not afraid of Star Belly, or anyone for that matter,” Dogg said, leaning his elbow on his knee. “I have no problem telling her she doesn’t own the find. She didn’t claim it first. I’ll tell her to her face.”
Talbert grinned and beamed at Dogg. Hattie laughed.
“Well, she did put up that warning sign,” Roslyn added.
“Nah, I’ll be just fine,” Dogg said leaning back in his seat. The leather crackled. “She may run this camp, but she doesn’t run me.”
“I’ll poke around camp for a transport ship that can haul that many diamonds, discretely,” Talbert offered.
Dogg nodded. “It’ll cost extra but it would pay off once we get to--”
“I agree,” Talbert cut in. Ready to move on.
“I have to ask, what’s in Shiva?” Dogg turned to Talbert, keeping his eye on him. Roslyn realized Dogg didn’t fully trust Devil Bill. Despite a death wish, Dogg was cautious. She wondered how much of his death wish was really an act to intimidate people.
“I don’t know. I figure someone there will have the money to pay us what these are actually worth,” Roslyn said. “Of the four planets, Shiva has the most wealth. No one will try to rob us. The Birds won’t have that shit.”
“That and it’s the closest to Danaus,” Talbert added. “We’re talking months instead of years.”
Dogg seemed satisfied for the moment with the reasoning. Would he really follow them to Shiva? Could it really be that simple? A wave of guilt swept over her. Wasn’t Dogg their friend? She thought about having to face Grace after she’d arrested her lover. She wouldn’t face Grace; she’d be on to the next case; that or recruiting new agents. But she liked Grace. She was even going to miss her when this was all over.
She tried to delete those thoughts as she steered the truck toward a small lake. There she disconnected its magnetic field generator and sunk it to the bottom. Luckily her
hover bike had enough of a charge left to get her back to the camp.
It stalled out just as the camp crested the horizon. She hoofed it the rest of the way as nightfall transformed the place. Puff kept her company, perched on her shoulder, sometimes taking flight to keep a vigilant watch for danger.
The din of the camp grew with its size. Electric lights strung along wires from pole to pole. This had been a recent addition. It made the place feel slightly safer; almost festive. But the dark shadows that were left begged to differ. The stink of the place preceded its details. Humans were disgusting creatures, she thought. Why couldn’t they watch the Birds and act like the Birds?
As she approached the camp, Roslyn imagined ways to tame the chaos that she looked upon. In a way Star Belly was establishing a sense of order onto the place. With this new windfall, she would dig her trenches in even deeper. She was to become the queen of New Vegas. She imagined her new and improved detective agency taking her down one day; the Birds calling her guilty. Order to replace chaos. Like all successful business people, you had to be able to see the patterns and know how to ride them.
The perimeters of the camp were in constant flux, everything looked different, and so it took Roslyn a few to acclimate and find their tent.
Hattie and Talbert stood when she entered. Hattie hurried and closed the flap. Puff swooped across the tent and found perch on the edge of Roslyn’s cot.
“What’s going on?” Roslyn asked as a cold tingle inched up her spine.
“They’ve already come looking for you,” Hattie said.
“What?” Roslyn asked, checking her gun’s charge. “How long ago?”
“Half an hour,” Talbert said, peeking out the slit.
“What’s my best move?” Roslyn asked. “Should I go see her at her place?”
“Not unless I’m coming with you,” Talbert grumbled.
“Second that,” Hattie said, applying more poison to her sword.
“Where’s Dogg?” asked Roslyn.
“Back with Grace at the hotel,” Talbert said.
Roslyn peeked out of the tent, moving Talbert aside. She waited. A young man with an eager, innocent, but trying to look tough face walked near their tent.
“Hey,” Roslyn called to him. “Come here.”
He obliged.
Roslyn gave him 20 bytes to wake Dogg Holly and tell him there could be trouble at the Belle Star Casino. Trusting the bastard didn’t just pocket the money and go about his evening, they set out for the casino. Puff remained behind acting as guard dragon.
They halted around the corner and devised a plan of entry. Hattie would enter first. She drew attention but it was of a different nature than the type Talbert attracted.
The strobe lights flashed to the beat of the music. DJ Vincent Van Grothic spun tunes. Video poker machines clanged and wailed like sirens. It made Hattie skittish. She took a spot at the far end of the bar. This gave her vantage of most of the room. The android bar tender approached and was halfway through its opening spiel when it interrupted itself to tell Hattie someone wanted to buy her a drink.
A tall, thin, older gentleman with a missing ear, waved.
“Tell him no thank you. I’m meeting my boyfriend,” Hattie said, nodding back to Earless Joe. Pleasantly surprised to see it being offered on the holomenu, she ordered a glass of wine. She hadn’t had wine since Earth. Earless Joe wasn’t taking the hint and began to approach her.
Talbert sauntered in just in time and they kissed. Earless Joe pretended he was going to talk to the DJ and walked past them.
Roslyn entered last. They looked around for Star Belly, but there was no sign. No sign of Dogg for that matter. The boy had pocketed the cash. That little shit!
Roslyn approached the other side of the bar opposite Hattie and Talbert. From a crow’s nest built in the center of the tent, around the main pole, a tattooed, heavily armed and shielded guard aimed his rifle down at her. She stopped and held up her hands.
“What’s this about?” Roslyn said. “They said someone was looking for me? Here I am.”
Talbert pretended not to notice and circled the tent to come below the guard’s backside. Hattie remained at the far end, seeing everything. Another bouncer who was behind the bar went through a flap in the back and ran, Roslyn assumed, to the hotel to fetch Star.
The crow’s nest guard lowered his aim. Roslyn straightened and bellied to the bar.
Roslyn was about to order her whiskey drink, when she noticed they were offering wine. Then she saw Hattie take a sip of her wine. Hells yes, give me some wine.
Such was Star’s vision. She smelled the wealth of this camp from afar and pounced. Importing wine from Earth. That was luxury. That was class.
The wine tasted like ancient Rome. That’s the best way she could describe it. It took her back to the days of sandals, gladiators, orgies and eating while lying sideways on couches. There were a lot of grapes, olives and tomatoes. There was a good chance Roslyn had once lived in ancient Rome.
Her journey through a past life came to a violent halt when she recognized the couple that had just entered the tent. Star Belly and Bat Matters walked up to the bar. Star went behind it, while Bat remained behind Roslyn. Earl Wyatt appeared in the doorway. He stepped inside but not much further.
“Well, let me guess,” Star said, refilling Roslyn’s wine glass. “You’re here to cash in some more diamonds?”
“No. I’m here because they said you were looking for me,” Roslyn answered and nodded her appreciation for the wine.
“You like that?” Star said, putting the wine back on the shelf.
“I do very much. It speaks volumes,” Roslyn said.
“As it should. Maybe we better continue in my office at the hotel?” Star said, fetching a glass for herself. She filled it with purple flowers, liquefied and fermented.
“I don’t believe that would be very polite to my friends that I’m here with tonight,” Roslyn said smiling.
“No?” Star returned the smile. “You really want me to make an example out of you?”
“For what?” Roslyn faked a laugh. It was more out of shock and outrage than good humor.
“And you think the wine speaks volumes?” Star said, looking over the top of her glass as she sipped.
Small explosions somewhere in the camp caused people to stir and look around. A woman screamed in the distance.
“Amazons!” Earless Joe yelled from his spot at the bar.
“Shut up,” Star yelled back. “Listen.”
All went relatively quiet. The music stopped. Then past the wind, BLAM! BLAM-BLAM-BLAM! There were more screams.
“What the…” Star said, moving quickly toward the door. “I’m not finished with you.” She pointed at Roslyn as she passed her. Bat followed her and Wyatt followed him. Roslyn went to follow but the tattooed guard stepped in her way. Talbert appeared beside the tattooed guard in a flash. His pearl-handled pistol pointed at the guard’s temple. Hattie passed and whacked the guard in the back with her sword. His eyes rolled and he fell limp.
Outside people scuttled quickly away from the eastern section of camp. Talbert stopped a man hurrying along.
“Krave Allison. He’s on a drunken rampage!” the man said, wild eyed.
“Krave Allison?” Talbert asked, looking easterly. “When did he--?”
“He just drove into town. He’s robbing people and killing people like a demon. He’s out of his mind drunk and hopped up on speed.” The man squirmed to be free and ran westerly.
Roslyn tried to recall the latest Intel they’d had on Krave Allison. Athena, she was certain. What was he doing there? Had news of the diamond find reached that far? The whole of humanity could descend upon them at any time if that were to be the case.
Roslyn felt frozen in her place. She looked at Talbert to gage his reaction. It was hard to tell with him. He scowled. Then he let out a long sigh through his nose and started to walk easterly. Roslyn took a deep breath and followed. Hattie, sword out, t
ook up the rear.
CHAPTER NINE
The threesome rounded the next corner and stopped. A crowd had gathered and people looked on in shock and horror. They tried to move through the swarm to get a better view.
At first Roslyn wasn’t certain what she was seeing. A man’s head where it shouldn’t have been was the first thing that struck her. Someone screamed and many people looked away.
A large, bearded, shirtless man stood over another smaller man. Shirtless was country hoss big and thick. Shirtless held the man by the hair in one hand and in the other he held a hatchet. Long sinewy strands of viscera dangled out of the bottom of the smaller man’s neck. One last whack and it came loose of the body. Blood squirted everywhere; covering Shirtless’ canvas of a chest in a red Jackson Pollock. He howled and held the head up by the hair. People gasped and screamed.
“Don’t move!” yelled a familiar voice from across the street. Roslyn stood on her tiptoes to see Earl Wyatt and Bat Matters aiming their pistols at Krave Allison.
Roslyn, Talbert and Hattie pushed through the crowd with their guns raised. They surrounded Krave in the middle of the road. His eyes were wild and red. He looked very much the monster he was, Roslyn thought. Here was arguably the most deranged and dangerous men in Orion’s Arm. Not counting the war, where he fought for Independence, his death count was in the triple digits. He was a serial killer. But unlike most serial killers, who hide in the dark, Krave chose to kill with reckless abandon whenever the urge struck him. There had been a large bounty out for him for many years, but no one was fool enough to try to collect. It was currently decommissioned to be renegotiated.
Krave spun around, facing five guns trained on him from all directions. He almost seemed to be growling as he panted. Roslyn could feel the rage permeating off of him. From what she could remember, from studying him in college, he’d taken a severe head trauma in the war and ever since then he’d turned into a bloodthirsty monster. Why a group of people hadn’t assembled to kill that man, Roslyn couldn’t be certain. They should kill him now, she told herself. Had she already crossed the line to where they weren’t going to be allowed back on Shiva? She didn’t know. It was a thin line. Would killing this man be justified? If ever a man needed killing, it was Krave Allison, she heard her inner voice scream.
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