by Ryan Krauter
“Yes, Ms. Kain?” the guard said in a carefully neutral voice.
“I’ve had a change of heart,” she began. “I realize I was a bit, um, uncooperative earlier, but I also know I have to get out of here to keep to my work schedule. So, I’d like to make a statement. Hotel room, papers, everything you want to know about me, within reason, of course. Is somebody available now?”
“We have an officer who is here to process people from the protests, yes,” he replied. “I’ll go get him.” And before Halley could try to work any magic on him, he turned to leave.
He came back less than a minute later with another officer, this one older, a bit paunchier, and definitely more ill-tempered.
“So,” the new man began with a bit of swagger, obviously enjoying the power he held, “decided it was worth your time to cooperate after all, eh?” He smiled a bit, and it made Halley want to smack him. He just seemed creepy.
“I’ve decided that if I ever want to leave this fine planet of yours, I have no choice but to play by your rules,” she said in return. Playing submissive would make them nervous; coming on too antagonistic wouldn’t get her out of the cell. She had to be defiant yet willing to cooperate.
“Well, then, let’s get you processed. Then maybe I’ll finally get to go home,” he muttered that last bit to himself, but Halley heard it with her enhanced hearing.
The younger guard pulled out his stunner pistol and pointed it at her, making sure to stay far enough back to keep out of arm’s reach of Halley. At least he had the presence of mind to remember his training, she thought.
The door opened and she walked slowly out of her cell. The other prisoners in it stirred, but kept their distance from the door. Perhaps they already knew what a stunner blast felt like. Halley knew they made a hell of a first impression when you got zapped by one.
Halley led the procession to the otherwise deserted interview area, followed by the young officer and then the elder interviewer. Halley had hoped that the evening hour would help clear out some of the staff, and luckily, for the time being it was just the three of them in that part of the building, which simplified her planning considerably. She’d go ahead with her plan no matter what, because she had no choice, but she definitely liked her odds at present. Halley sat in the chair indicated by the young man, who took up a place behind her. The older man sat down heavily in the chair opposite her across the desk and tapped the monitor screen to bring it to life. A few more taps, navigated menus, and apparently he was ready to proceed, as he leaned back in his chair and started to read the prompts on the screen.
“Alright, let’s keep it simple and start from the top,” he began. Halley looked at the clock, and figured she’d let him ask one or two questions before informing them she really had to leave.
“Name and planet of residence,” he stated.
“Callista Kain, from Morrow,” she replied dutifully.
Old Officer checked the screen and was apparently satisfied, then tapped something and leaned back again. “Reason for visiting Anderson?”
“I’m shoe shopping.”
“What?” the answer surprised both of them enough to make them look up at her with odd expressions. That was all she really needed to get started. She shifted her weight onto her feet and held her backside up off the chair as she pushed it backwards hard with her hands, sending it straight into the younger officer’s legs. His first reaction was to dodge it, and by the time he realized he was supposed to be paying attention to Halley, she was all over him. A swift chop to the neck with the outside of her hand where the bottom jaw curved up towards the ear sent him to the floor in a heap. In humans, that was the location of the Brachial Plexus, a nerve bundle that runs down the outside of the neck. A proper strike there often results in a no reflex knockout, as Halley had just expertly demonstrated. She had the young guard’s stunner in her hands and aimed at the older guard before the first man hit the floor.
The older guard looked up, as he had been digging through his desk drawer for his own weapon when he realized Halley had the drop on him. He slowly retracted his hands from the drawer and held them up.
“You want to think real carefully about what you’re getting yourself into, Miss,” he said in a fatherly voice.
“Believe me,” she replied, “it’s worse than you know. Now slowly grab that pair of stun cuffs on your belt and have a seat.” He did as he was told, and she then quickly walked over to grab the cuffs. Holding his hands behind the back of his chair, she cuffed them, threading the short cable of the cuffs through an opening in the seatback. He wasn’t going anywhere without this chair, and he’d have to do it sitting down as well. She leapt over to the younger officer and cuffed him; since he was in standard uniform he had two pairs of cuffs on him for her to use. She cuffed his hands and legs separately, winding the cables together to leave him hog-tied. Realizing she was already pushing her luck out in the open of the room like this, she dragged the stunned officer over to one of the detective’s offices and dumped him through the door. She then returned and pulled the older officer, chair and all, through the door as well, closing it behind them and engaging the privacy lock on the door.
She looked at the wall chrono again and was satisfied that she was on schedule.
The younger officer was regaining consciousness, blinking and trying to move his body as he tested his bindings. Halley walked over to him and gave him a serious look as she squatted down to get closer to eye level with him. “I’m going to need your uniform, Officer,” she said calmly. “I’m going to release you bit by bit, and if you try anything that causes me to get nervous, I’ll make you go to sleep again, got it?” He looked at her, finally nodding once, his lips a thin line. “If it’s any consolation,” she added, “I mean no harm to you and will avoid hurting anyone if I can.”
She used the small keyfob to unlock the cuffs one at a time, taking off parts of his uniform and then re-cuffing him. Soon enough, she had his uniform and equipment on the floor next to her. This was the primary reason she had wanted to lure him personally into her trap; he was the closest to her in uniform size of anyone she had seen in the station, and she’d be needing that uniform.
Giving one last glance at Old Officer to make sure he wasn’t up to anything, she pulled off her running shorts, leaving just her running top and underwear. She shot a dark look at the young officer. “If I think you’re enjoying this too much, I’ll knock you out again, got it?”
The officer nodded vigorously.
She finished dressing in his clothes, then donned and adjusted the equipment belt, holstering his stunner and wishing he’d also been carrying something more deadly.
She did a quick sweep of the small office, then stuffed his own wadded-up t-shirt into his mouth. “Yes, I know it’s a bit disgusting,” she apologized, “but it’s all I’ve got.”
Halley stepped up to the door and placed her ear against it, using her amplified senses to listen for traffic outside the door. Hearing none, she quickly stepped outside into the hallway and started to close the door behind her.
Suddenly, another door directly across the hallway opened and a female officer almost walked right into her. She had been leaving what looked like the lunch room; at least, that’s what Halley saw behind the woman as the door swung closed again. The other woman also saw what was in the room behind Halley and immediately went on alert, reaching for her holstered weapon.
“I can explain,” started Halley, hoping to catch the woman off guard, but it wasn’t going to work. Halley had to applaud the woman for her efforts, for she was very quick in her response. Her sidearm was out of its’ holster and on the way to being pointed at Halley before she had a chance to finish speaking.
Halley blocked the weapon with her left hand, reaching out to intercept it before the officer could bring it to bear. At the same time, she struck out with her right hand, aiming right for the solar plexus, but the woman was already blocking, and the blow glanced off her forearm. They still struggled
with the pistol, neither one willing to let go, as each tried another round of blows, and once again Halley’s strike was deflected. She was starting to get perturbed now, but was also impressed with the other woman’s efforts. Realizing she couldn’t afford to worry about trying to not injure the officer too badly, she feinted another swing at the woman’s face and her let her deflect again. This time, however, Halley grabbed onto her arm as the officer tried to reset her stance, putting her off balance with the unexpected move. Halley then let go of the pistol and swung her left arm in towards the officer as she got in closer, connecting on the woman’s jaw with her elbow. The officer lost her footing and started to fall, and Halley chopped her in the back of the neck on the way down to ensure the woman made an uncontrolled and uncomfortable landing.
Seconds later, she was dragging the now unconscious officer into the small office where the first two still sat restrained. She dumped her victim on the floor and quickly holstered the woman’s pistol in place of the stunner, which she looked at disdainfully but tucked in her back waistband.
“This officer here put up a monster of a fight,” she told them as she tucked hair back into place behind her ears where it had gotten pulled out of its’ ponytail. “I haven’t had had that much fun beating the hell out of someone in weeks. My compliments to her.” She left the room as the two officers gazed at her with disbelief in their eyes.
Loren sat in slightly uncomfortable silence with Cutter Sarn until the Primans arrived. Other than introducing himself as simply ‘Derin’, they hadn’t really spoken. Sarn wasn’t there for conversation, and Loren didn’t feel the need to swap stories with the man, either, but he felt like they did stand out a bit since they were sitting in a lively bar surrounded by other people who were eagerly socializing the night away. However, if Sarn wasn’t worried, Loren figured he wasn’t in any immediate trouble. Besides, in an hour or two he’d be off this rock anyway.
Cutter looked past Loren and sat up straighter; Loren turned to look and saw two Primans carefully threading their way through the crowd. There were a number of Primans in the bar already, so their presence itself didn’t seem to raise any flags. Loren remembered Halley telling him that this place was one of the establishments that seemed to be on the official Priman approved list.
The two Primans approached the table Loren and Cutter were sitting at, and stood there as Loren and Cutter got up to greet them.
“Mr. Krenis Terek,” Cutter began, indicating the Primans should have a seat. “I’d like to introduce you to Derin. He and his associate are the people I’ve told you about with the information regarding some hidden shipments stored locally.”
“Yes,” Krenis spoke for himself and the other man, who seemed a bit older and frankly seemed like the ranking officer. He turned to look at Loren. “You said you have locations of hidden shipments?”
“Exactly,” Loren replied confidently. “My associate has the manifests and storage points for several drop shipments that were sent here just before their respective owners came under your occupation. I assume Mr. Sarn has given you the details, so there’s no need for me to start from scratch?”
“Mr. Sarn,” Krenis said with the slightest of smiles, something Loren didn’t realize Primans did, “has taken pains to remind me that he simply facilitates the meeting, and any promises you make are not guaranteed by him.”
“A careful businessman, he is,” Loren added.
“So,” prompted Krenis. “Where is this information?”
Loren had scanned the room and looked at the wall chrono, pretending to ogle some of the women near them. According to the clock, it was time to get the show on the road.
“My associate has the data chips, just in case things didn’t go well here. I’m sure you understand. I told him to wait out back. I don’t see any reason to not head out there now though, since I’d hope you might want to do more business, and somehow mugging me for the data at this point would cut short our impending relationship. So, if you’re ready, he’s waiting out the back door in the alley.” Loren looked at Cutter, then the Primans, and waited for them to make the next move.
Krenis was looking forward to more info, but he was also not clueless about how people like this worked, either. He was fully prepared to meet this man and his associate in order to get this done. The thought of all that technology and information drew him like matter into a black hole’s event horizon.
“Lead the way, Mr. Derin.” Cutter replied.
The group got up, Loren leading the way, and made their way out the rear door into the alley beyond. Unlike what Loren had been lead to believe by the holomovies he’d seen, this alley was well lit and held few locations that would support any sort of ambush.
Loren walked to the spot they’d chosen the night before. It was by the bar’s exterior wall, with several thick-walled recycling containers lined up along the wall’s length.
Loren stopped and turned to meet the rest of the group.
“I suppose this is the point where you show us your information, Mr. Derin,” said Krenis, an edge of impatience and suspicion in his voice.
“How about you show us the money?” Another voice spoke from the darkness behind them. It came from behind the group, between them and the door back into the bar. It was Web, and he leveled his SSK at them.
“That’s a Confed weapon,” growled Krenis at Web. “Either you’re a long way from home, or you’ve obtained a weapon that is going to get you in a lot of trouble.”
“I think it’s you who’s in trouble,” Web replied. “All three of you,” he pointed at the two Primans and Sarn, “back against the wall.”
“I don’t think so,” said yet another voice. Web looked behind him and saw four Primans, each carrying a pistol of their own. They walked up to him, grabbed his SSK, and shoved him roughly towards Loren, who now stood by the containers he’d been standing by when this whole ordeal started. Loren had assumed the Primans would bring backup, but six-on-two was not good odds.
“You thought we haven’t learned anything about your civilization?” asked one of the Primans. “And you wonder why we feel the need to bring order and respect back to this galaxy.”
“Says the guy whose people have killed hundreds of thousands and taken over dozens on planets,” said Web sarcastically. “You might consider we’re going to fight back any way we can.”
“Hopefully the rest of you fight better than this,” the other Priman with Krenis said.
“Do I need to remain here for whatever you have planned next?” Cutter asked.
Krenis looked at Sarn, trying to decide if he was trying to keep his hands clean for the sake of his reputation or if he couldn’t stomach the darker side of his business. “Perhaps if you left, it would be easier.”
There was a moment of nervous tension, and Loren was starting to seriously doubt their hastily concocted plan.
“Hey there,” a loud and confident voice shouted from the mouth of the alley, followed by a blinding flashlight beam that lit them all up in turn. “This is Anderson Security,” a female voice shouted. “I’m coming in there, and everyone had better be behaving themselves.”
Nobody quite knew what to do. Loren and Web were in trouble either way, and realized that since their plan was rapidly circling the drain, they might need to use the officer’s distraction. Sarn was simply concerned with his name being associated with some sort of vigilante dustup. The Primans, on the other hand, were feeling confident; once they explained the situation, their agreement with Anderson Security would require the officer to let them go about their business while bringing along their newly acquired Confed prisoners.
“We’re Priman officers,” Krenis started, holding up his hand to try to block the flashlight beam. “We were about to be assaulted by what we have identified as a Confederation covert ops team. We can provide documentation.”
The flashlight beam dropped at that statement, and Krenis got a better look at the officer. She was youngish, probably in her late twenti
es or early thirties. It was still hard for him to accurately pin down Human ages. It was slightly abnormal for her to be working alone, but not unheard of, either.
“Some ID would make this go much smoother, please,” she replied courteously. She holstered her flashlight and reached for her datapad, clipped to her belt on her right side behind her pistol. “I’ll scan it and sent them in, and if it all turns out, I’ll get right out of the way.”
The Primans turned to face Loren and Web again, confident smiles on their faces which Loren wanted nothing more than to slap right off of them. Krenis turned to give his ID to the officer and saw her drawing a stunner from her back waistband. She had it up in a practiced stance and triggered off five blasts in under two seconds, sending all of his comrades to the ground. He turned to see that the other two Confeds had each grabbed a hidden SSK from the ground beneath the recycling containers, though they looked as surprised as he did when they realized they had nothing to shoot at.
“Took you long enough,” Loren said in mock admonition to Halley as Web checked on the unconscious Primans.
“I had some unexpected delays,” she replied, “but do you think I’d miss out on a fight? Come on, really.”
Loren could only nod and pointed his SSK at Krenis while Web retrieved Cutter Sarn.
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourselves into,” Krenis started.
Halley only chuckled. “You know, you’re the second person who said that to me tonight. The other guy is hog-tied in the police station where I got this fashionable uniform from.” Then Halley turned serious, putting the stunner back in her waistband and drawing the blaster that had come with the equipment belt. “We need your services, and that of your ship.” Halley stated simply.
“His name’s Krenis,” Loren offered. Web completed his job of dragging the other five Primans behind the waste containers and binding Cutter Sarn’s hands and feet.