Destiny Pills & Space Wizards

by Jean Davis

Damn, he’d been keeping tabs on my accounts. A man who planned to stick around might have converted the chips into local currency. Chips were universal. He’d been hinting that my debt was nearly paid for months. I had a right to plan for my future.

  He nodded. “You don’t do this job, they’ll all be empty. You won’t be able to even afford passage out of this port.” He stepped out into the open. “Should I just call one of those frustrated officers over? They could probably use a break after the afternoon you put them through.” He started walking.

  I stepped in beside him. “That’s not funny.”

  Signs proclaiming unfair deportation of the sick and the lack of health care bobbed up and down in the chanting throng. The only officer in sight was looking the other way.

  “Do I look like a comedian?”

  “No.”

  “Damn right.” He stopped to admire a blue suit that about mirrored the one he currently wore under his coat. “So are you in or are you about to be broke?”

  “Not much of a choice.”

  “Sure there is. You could turn yourself in, plead your case about turning into an honest man, serve a good twenty years or so and enjoy the last bit of your life with a clear conscience.”

  “As I said, not much of a choice.”

  He shrugged. “Up to you.”

  “I’m in, dammit, but I don’t like it. I do this and I’m free to leave, right?”

  “Sure. You do the job, and we’ll never see each other again.” He handed me a quickgrade sheet with the promised information.

  I studied the thin brown paper covered with neat writing. “A kid? I’m stealing a kid?”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “They’re hard to fit in my pocket.”

  “Not easy to run with either, I’d imagine. You may want to rethink your exit strategy. Don’t worry, you’ll be compensated for the level of difficulty.”

  I scanned the details one more time, committing them to memory, and then activated the sheet. The paper disintegrated into dust.

  “See you in the exec port bar at midnight.” Dirk melted into the crowd.

  I caught sight of one of the officers skulking around the nearby booths. Darting in the opposite direction, I made my way toward the single-room apartment I’d been renting. Halfway there it occurred to me that if the officers knew my name, they’d have my recent aliases as well. Maybe. They weren’t always that bright. But could I take that chance? One last job and I’d be out of here. Massages by pretty women with skilled hands, cold drinks, a good smoke, maybe even not having to look over my shoulder every five minutes. All I had to do was grab a kid and my credits would be clear.

  Clothes could be replaced. The book I’d been reading hadn’t been that good anyway. I’d learned to travel light and keep most of my credits hidden on me in case of situations just like this one.

  A quick change of direction and a two-hour walk brought me through the white stone buildings of the lower end of town to the red brick estates of the execs. I could have counted the number of trees in those two hours on one hand. Here, lush gardens filled with pungent lilies, manicured shrubs and many kinds of trees adorned the vast yards outside the estate walls. More tops of trees could be seen beyond them. The blinking lights of the exec port were visible even in the late-afternoon sky. Clean white shuttles drifted up and down like feathers on the wind, carrying passengers and cargo to and from the ships in orbit. Shortly after midnight, I’d be on one of them.

  By morning the news feeds full of riots and protests, the battle between them and us, of which I wasn’t even technically part of, wouldn’t matter to me in the least. All I had to do was grab a kid and deliver her to Dirk. She was one of them, these rich who drove the majority of the population into the ground. Well, her parents were, and if she stayed with them, she’d turn out no better. I’d been here long enough to see the truth of that.

  Yet, the thought of kidnapping a child brought a sour taste to my mouth. This wasn’t the same as snagging jewels or information. Kids were loud and had fists and feet and parents.

  Could I make it off the surface before Dirk figured out that I’d run and zapped my credits? The man had connections. Even if I managed to leave, he wouldn’t take my defection kindly. I wanted to live long enough to enjoy myself for a while, far from Dirk and this planet.

  I ducked into a public terminal booth and booked my flight for half an hour after our midnight meeting. Maybe I should have bought that suit Dirk had been looking at so I could have fit in a little more around here. I sighed. Nothing to be done about that now. I’d have to lay low and move fast. At least Dirk would be on time and waiting. He always was.

  With the address and the entry codes already in my head, all I had to do was wait. I spent a couple credits on an hour of terminal time to catch up on the local news—mostly to see if my face was posted.

  Clearly, the execs were in control of the report on the protest in the marketplace. The visuals focused on dirty faces, shabby clothing of those holding the signs and shouting. They showed images of factory production lines standing still, of trash in the streets and dead bodies overflowing in the morgues. The common people were so busy protesting that they were causing their own city to fall into decay and ruin. Their own dead weren’t even being processed. Those protesting were portrayed as animals.

  The reporter interviewed several execs, all dressed immaculately in their fitted suits with their hair artfully slicked back from unblemished faces. They discussed plans for subduing the rebels, most of which included deadly force. One man, with strong features and a golden pin of office on his collar, looked straight into the camera.

  “Anyone who is sick must be removed immediately to prevent the spread of the virus. Workers are paid fair wages. They should spend their money on quality food and their own healthcare instead of alcohol, drugs, and luxuries they obviously can’t afford.”

  His jaw tightened and his brows lowered. “You don’t see the virus plaguing us. We take care of ourselves. Now they expect us to take care of those who are financially irresponsible too?” He shook his head. “We’re already offering the free shuttle service for removal of the afflicted. That is all we will give. Further protests will not be tolerated.”

  The report ended. I did a quick scan of the other headlines. Thankfully my face hadn’t been featured. That would make boarding the port shuttle and enjoying my flight afterward easier, as long as none of the officers who’d been hot after me were patrolling the port tonight. I’d just have to keep calm and not give them a reason to look at me twice.

  Not finding anything of further interest, I turned off the news and did a little research on the family I was about to rip apart.

  When the same face I’d just seen on the news came up as the father of the kid I was about to nab, my heart dropped a little. It wasn’t like Dirk to get wrapped up in politics. Was it? I’d not paid much attention to the who and why of my assignments. The only thing that had mattered to me was how much.

  What would happen to this kid? Whoever financed this job hated her family and those like her. Would they harm her or just use her?

  It didn’t matter. It was just one kid. One night. One job. It was none of my business.

  By the time I stepped from the booth, darkness had settled on the district. Shadows were a far better camouflage than daylight and the shirt I’d shed earlier printed with the logos of popular tourist attractions. I’d only gotten a stamp on one location. Maybe they’d have a less hideous version at my next port. I’d make a career out of visiting all the sponsors to get each logo stamped. Enjoy drinks in all the local bars, eat fancy meals, admire the girls dancing in clubs, relax in rooms at the luxury hotels—and at the end of it, earn some corny trinket for completing my shirt’s mission. The reward didn’t matter, it was the journey. That’s what my father had always said. I was due for an enjoyable journey. That’d show my father, rest his soul, for burdening a thief with an inviting name like Chase.

  Three column
s of light shown up from the port, providing a reference point to guide me through the winding roads that allowed the execs their utterly private spaces. Walls and trees provided darkness to make my way to the address Dirk had provided.

  The estate turned out to be a sprawling affair, much like all the others. It had a tall fence, which I climbed, cameras, which I avoided, sensors that I lightly stepped over, and an alarm-rigged back window that I deactivated and opened. Dirk’s information had been very thorough.

  Lights indicated the room in the front of the house was occupied. Raised male and female voices from that direction told me the parents were in an argument about finances and that he was on the losing end.

  I crept up the stairs and past three doors to the girl’s bedroom. With my sleeve over my hand, I entered the code on the entry pad. The door slid open. Soft beeps and hisses came from inside. Clear plastic surrounded the bed like a bubble. Dirk hadn’t mentioned this.

  Soft light illuminated a frail figure on the bed. She may have been five or six years old. Her sunken eyes were open and watching me.

  Something was wrong with her, but her father had gone on record saying the virus was a lower district problem. For once, the barriers fracturing this society brought me a little relief.

  Even so, using a sick kid against her parents was damn low. Did she need all this stuff to survive? Was I going to kill her by taking her away? Kidnapping was one thing, but murder? I stood in the doorway, watching her watching me, listening to the parents screaming at one another.

  Dirk knew she was ill. He’d had too much information not to know. He’d have proper care for her. He had to. A dead kid wasn’t very useful as leverage. I located the entrance to the bubble and dashed inside. Air thick with moisture and disinfectant slithered over my skin.

  The girl smiled and held out her arms. I turned around, expecting her parents to be standing behind me, but we were alone.

  “I’m ready,” she said.

  Was she part of this? Did she know I’d be coming for her? Grateful that she wasn’t screaming, I scooped her up. She weighed half as much as I’d expected.

  She gasped as we ducked out of the bubble and out of her room. We bounded down the stairs and into the room with the open window. After a split second to figure out how to slide out of the window with her in my arms, we were out of the house, over the sensors, under the cameras and in front of the wall.

  The wall proved a bit more daunting than the window. Her thin arms clung around my neck as it was. She wasn’t protesting. Maybe I was doing her a favor. If that was the case, I figured she could do her part in this escape from her bubble.

  “Hang on tight. We’re going over.”

  She tucked her head under my chin and wrapped her legs around my ribs. Up and over the wall went smooth as can be with all my limbs free. On the other side, I took stock of what Dirk wanted in his arms in half an hour.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Shayla.”

  “You want to walk, Shayla?”

  She shook her head. Her arms and legs trembled. Poor thing was scared.

  “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “You’re a funny looking angel.”

  “I’m no angel.” I started toward the port.

  “Momma says angels have big feathery wings. You don’t have any. Why not?”

  “Wings would be handy, but I guess mine never grew in.”

  “That’s all right.” She patted my shoulder. “I’m still happy you’re here. Momma said you’d come one day soon. I was very tired of being in bed and alone. She wouldn’t even hold me anymore.”

  “Maybe you’ll be happier now.”

  “She said I would be when I was free. Will I get wings?”

  “Can’t say for sure.” I hoped Dirk was good to the kid. She seemed like a sweet girl.

  “Have you seen Grace?”

  “Who’s Grace?”

  “My nanny. She was one of the first ones to get sick.”

  Get sick? My heart dropped. “Does your nanny live by you?”

  Shayla shook her head. “She lived hours away.”

  Dirk could not have done this to me. The words caught in my throat, “How’s Grace doing?”

  “She died.” Tears welled in her eyes.

  A tremor ran through my body. I should drop the kid and run. But run where? I was already infected.

  I set Shayla down and dislodged one of my credit chips from inside the seam of my shirt. I scanned it. Empty. My legs went out from under me. I plopped down in the grass beside the road.

  Shayla got to her feet and looked up and down the road. “This would be easier if you had wings. You wouldn’t have to walk so far.”

  I nodded, barely hearing her over the racing blood throbbing in my ears. I was going to die. I swallowed hard.

  “How much farther do we need to go?”

  The lights of the port bar blinked brightly in the center of town. I picked her up and started walking.

  Shayla’s arms and legs shook worse. “I’m so tired and it hurts.”

  “How long have you been waiting for me?”

  “A week. Momma got me good medicine. She wouldn’t let Daddy ship me away to die.”

  I adjusted her back into my arms where she curled up against my chest like a contented kitten.

  “How long did Grace hold on after she got sick?”

  Shayla shrugged. “One day she was sick. She didn’t come back.”

  I didn’t have a bubble of medicated air. Neither did Shayla now. And without any credits, we weren’t getting one. I glanced back at her home. Maybe I could sneak her back in. We could share the medicine. But it wasn’t healing her. It was only prolonging the inevitable.

  Dirk wanted us at the port bar. If he was stupid enough to meet me there, I certainly wanted the chance to breathe in his face. And if he didn’t, I hoped the virus found him anyway. Bastard.

  We made it to the port entrance without incident. With the kid in my arms, I supposed I didn’t look like anyone out to cause trouble. No one looked twice when I walked into the port lobby and consulted the map for the location of the bar. Traffic was light given the late hour. Loud music and the stink of liquor and sweat told me I’d found the right place.

  Laughter and business deals mingled with smoke and over-priced food. High heels and suits, short skirts, heavy cosmetics, leering grins and wandering hands filled the tables. The only thing that set this bar apart from the public port I’d been in earlier was the quality of the clothing, richness of the smoke and purity of the liquor. They were no better than the rest of the population. They didn’t deserve all their nice things that everyone else worked so hard for. Maybe those protestors had a point after all.

  We went inside but hung at the back while I scanned the crowd for Dirk.

  “Why are we here?” Shayla asked.

  “I gotta hand you over to my boss.”

  “Oh.” She nodded knowingly. “Momma said it would be something like that.”

  Gazes began to drift in our direction. Without anywhere specific to head, I meandered around the outside row of tables, hoping to appear like I was mingling, with a kid in my arms, in a bar. I huffed into my free hand and dragged it over every table we passed. The seated occupants glared at me. I made sure to look directly at them and enunciate slowly when I said, “Have a nice night.”

  Still no sign of Dirk. Had he planted the sick nanny in Shayla’s house? Had he wanted me to spread the virus here after his first effort had come up short? Despite not wanting to do Dirk any favors, given the circumstances, I wasn’t exactly opposed doing just that.

  I found an empty table and set Shayla in one of the chairs. Sweat seeped into my shirt and dripped down my forehead. Shayla’s skin paled a few more shades, the shadows under her eyes darkening.

  “Excuse me,” said a red-lipped exec in a blouse with all but the bottommost buttons undone. “Children aren’t allowed in here. “You’re going to have to bring your daughter home and then
come back for a good time later.”

  “We’re waiting for someone. We won’t be long.”

  She leaned in closer. “You need to leave now. This isn’t an appropriate place for a child.”

  I took her hand and kissed it. “So sorry. We will be on our way shortly.”

  The woman quirked a finely plucked brow. “Maybe I should get security?”

  “Go right ahead.” Never thought I’d be saying those words. I laughed out loud.

  Shayla smiled at the woman. “You don’t have any wings either.”

  “She will soon,” I said, still laughing.

  The woman pulled away. “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Life’s too short.” I waved her away.

  She headed toward the bar and the tall, bulky man who stood next to it.

  “I’ll be right back.” I stood up and made my way through another section of tables. A waitress passed by. I grabbed a drink from her tray and tossed it back.

  “You can’t do that,” she said. The man at the table she’d been about to serve got to his feet.

  I put my hand on his shoulder and exhaled. “Sorry, I was thirsty.”

  “You owe me a drink,” he said.

  “Sure, let me go grab my credit chip.” I wandered back to my table with him following close behind.

  “What the—” he came up short when he saw Shayla. “You can’t bring... She looks really sick.”

  “She is. Oh, and I am too.” I held up a chip. “You still want that drink?”

  His gaze darted around the room. He shook his head. “I gotta go.”

  “You should all go,” I said, raising my voice above the music. “You’ll want to find Dirk Scattergash. He’s the one who brought the virus to you.”

  Heads turned to me. The flashing rainbow lights of the dance floor reflected on wide eyes and stunned faces. A woman shrieked, “You’ve killed us all!”

  I grabbed a drink from the table next to ours and raised it. “Make sure to shake Dirk’s hand for me. Name’s Chase, by the way. Nice to meet you all.”

  The music went dead. People jumped to their feet.

  The four people at the table nearest to us yelled obscenities and ran to the exit. The bouncer yelled about quarantine protocols, but no one seemed to listen. The place emptied as fast as if someone had flipped on the closing time ugly lights.