Windjammer: The Tradership Saga Book 1

by M J Gauntlet

  The Imperial agent had just shown him, that they had been able to effectively track all his movements throughout the day. Fuller was right; Special Branch had become involved! Which meant, if he did contact Jinn, they would know, and it would be involving her in something of which, she was just an innocent bystander.

  Zax wasn’t stupid. It was obvious that they had only let him loose, so they could track him further and possibly find out whatever it was this whole thing was about. Maybe even get their hands on what was in the safe deposit vault. Even though Lauria had assured him that the contents in his box were virtually access proof to anyone but him, he had no doubt that if the Special Branch really wanted to get to its contents, they would eventually find a way. It was obvious to Zax, what his next move had to be.

  Looking around and spying no skycabs floating nearby, he went to the corner taxi callbox and pressed the button. Within a couple of minutes, he could hear the humm of a cab as it descended and stopped to hover at the taxi stand. The domed canopy rose, as he inserted his eunit disc, it sealed closed after he entered and sat down.

  “Destination please?” the pleasant, automated, female voice inquired.

  “Imperial bank, Plex city, and please use the express lanes.”

  “There is an additional charge of ten percent for express lane requests,” it added.

  “Understood, the request stands,” he replied.

  “Very well, estimated time of arrival is 14:30 s.s.s”

  The cab immediately rose and climbed high into the express lanes, headed for Plex. Zax checked his chrono and figured he would just have enough extra time, to do what he figured on doing, traffic permitting. Thank God, the Imperial bank had extended hours.

  The man named M’Lak, sat in his rented skimmer, deep in thought. The Marcosian agent was not used to failure, but he was a pragmatist. His mission had gone as far off the rails as a mission could go. So much so, that he was forced to consider the unthinkable, that he might have to call in for reinforcements. In the meantime, he reluctantly realized, that he was going to have to use local talent once again, if he wanted to keep track of all the players in this game. M’Lak had been waiting for about two hours, fifty meters away from the police precinct, wondering if his target would ever emerge from the station. His sources had informed him that an Imperial agent had been assigned to question his target. It was standard operating procedure, whenever it was discovered that the Cree were involved.

  M’Lak was sure that Zaxxion Grayson was undergoing a very different type of interrogation from his previous trip to the Centennial Police headquarters. Checking on the strength of the signals of his two locator bugs, M’Lak was expecting them to cease transmitting at any moment. It would be too much to hope, that they would go undetected by the building’s security scanners. He just wasn’t sure what the officials would make of them.

  Damn it to the Goddess, there should have been no evidence that the Cree had been involved at all! They were supposed to be the best. M’Lak thought, fretfully.

  Nonetheless, he knew that agents of the ISB were a far cry from the local gendarmes of Bright. They, like M’Lak, were extremely thorough in their investigations. Even so, he doubted that they knew the true importance of his mission. If they had, then young Zaxxion Grayson would have ‘disappeared’ several days ago. No. They were suspicious, and very curious as to what was happening, but they were only groping in the dark as to the real importance of what knowledge the son of Ezekiel Grayson might have in his possession.

  Just then, M’Lak’s com signaled an incoming message. He read the coded text and sighed regretfully. It had just been confirmed that a second set of mercenaries here on Bright were available. M’Lak could only hope that they were more competent than the previous ones, but he doubted it. At almost the same time, his detector beeped indicating that, to his great surprise, both his trackers were still active and were indicating that his target was heading out of the station and towards a skycab stand. Instead of a smile, M’Lak’s face wore a deep frown. Being a highly suspicious person, he concluded that this was no accident. The bugs remained active because someone had wanted them to be. The game was heating up and he knew he had to be very circumspect if he were to achieve his goal. M’Lak waited until the skycab picked up its fare and ascended to what looked like the express lanes towards Plex. After waiting a full fifteen minutes, he took his skimmer into the normal lanes to follow young Zaxxion.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The cab set down outside the bank at 14:20 second sun set, giving Zax about thirty minutes before it closed. Rushing up to the safe deposit desk, Zax was happy to see Lauria sitting there. Standing beside her, was a young clerk dressed in a smart grey business onesuit. Zax walked briskly over to the desk.

  “Hello again Ms. Talbot, nice to see you,” Zax said, with a wide smile.

  “Why hello, Messer Grayson. Back again so soon?

  Would you like access to your box again?” “Yes, as a matter of fact, I would.”

  Lauria turned to the young clerk and handed him a red keycard.

  “Messer Grayson, this is junior bank associate Vince Renee,” she said, pointing to the young man. “Vince is in training and is just now learning safe deposit protocol. I’m sure that he would be happy to escort you to your box. I must warn you, that because it is very near to closing, I suggest that you conclude your business with haste. Once the bank is officially closed, all transactions will automatically cease, and safe deposit boxes must be placed back into the vault.”

  “That will be no problem Ms. Talbot, I only wish to retrieve some items. It won’t take but a moment,” Zax said, nodding to the youngish looking clerk.

  Vince smiled, gave a polite nod and asked Zax to follow him to the vault. After spending three precious minutes, checking and rechecking his I.D. at the safety deposit vault scanner, the young man guided him to his vault door, keyed in his entry and then promptly withdrew.

  Zax hurried to his box, withdrew the container, opened it and unceremoniously dumped its entire contents into the rucksack. After returning the container to its slot, he remembered the necklace he still carried in his suit pocket. Zax decided that he might as well put it on for the time being, rather than possibly damaging it, while it was bouncing around in his pocket. Removing the necklace, he took a moment to find the latch and at his touch the necklace’s collar spread out wider. With a shrug of mild surprise, Zax placed it over his head and within a few seconds the opening sized itself down until the necklace fit comfortably around his neck. It felt oddly warm against his skin. Not bad. Zax thought to himself, seeing his reflection on one of the polished walls. Looking above his refection, he noticed the clock on the wall and swore. He was running out of time, and he had some other things to do before the bank closed. Zax hurried out of the vault and took a gravdisc back to the main floor. As he descended to the main floor, a mellow feminine toned voice made an announcement.

  “The bank will be closing in ten minutes. Please complete all transactions before the time expires, for all bank eunit exchange kiosks and electronic tellers will automatically cease operation.” This announcement was repeated three times.

  Zax dismounted the contragrav disc, hurried to an open teller window and inserted his card. The screen lit up with the pleasant looking face of a young woman.

  “How can I help you, sir or ma’am?” she asked.

  “I would like to transfer some units from my main account to a pre-paid, open-ended eunit disc and a dozen eunit chits,” Zax requested.

  “Of course, sir, just place your current eunit disc into the slot and the transfer will be made. A second card, along with the accompanying chits will be issued.” After Zax inserted the disc, the electronic teller addressed him again. “There is a planet mandated ten thousand eunit limit placed on open ended cards and there will be a ten percent surcharge. In addition, by law, all funds non-secured e-disc are in Bright planetary units only. Also, you are hereby cautioned that open-ended, pre-paid, e-cards an
d chits can be accessed and used by anyone who possesses the disc and purchases made using this type of card or chit are untraceable. If this disc or the chits are lost or stolen, the bank can assume no responsibility for re-imbursement of funds. Do you accept these conditions?”

  Zax pressed the ‘accept’ button and entered the maximum eunit limit. The screen blanked for a second and then continued.

  “How do you want the units distributed? Do you want the full amount on one disc, or would you prefer to divide the amount between the eunit disc and the chits?” Zax thought for a moment, then spoke to the face on the screen.

  “I would like seven thousand eunits placed on a pre- paid card and rest in a standard break apart eunit chit sheet, ranging in value from one to one hundred eunits.”

  A few seconds later, the slot at the booth extruded a stiff unmarked unit disc, and then displayed several sheets of plasticine unit chits of various denominations, totaling three thousand eunits. Zax quickly scrolled through the sheets, until he picked one with a reasonable distribution of mid-range denominations, from five to one hundred valued chits. A sheet of plasticine was extruded containing a series of five, centimeter round, punch out, circuit board wafers. Each wafer was embossed with a number, which indicated its eunit value. Taking the stiff sheet, Zax proceeded to punch out each wafer until the sheet was empty. Placing the small wafers in the inner pocket of his jacket, he slid the now empty sheet into the recycle slot, beneath the teller screen. The screen blinked, and the friendly looking face returned thanking him for recycling, and asked him if he wanted a chit dispenser. Feeling the jingling mass of chits in his inner pocket, he decided that that would be a good idea. He touched the ‘yes’ button on the screen and the electronically generated face told him to place a five-unit chit or card in the slot.

  They find a way to get your chits back even before you leave the bank! Zax thought, bemused.

  After placing a ‘fiver’ in the slot there was a soft chime, then a red tinted, circular device slid into the receptacle underneath the teller window. The dispenser was a flattened, spherical mechanism that had six, spring-loaded slots surrounding a larger similar slot in the middle. Chits could be slid into each numbered slot; the previous chit was pressed down into the dispenser by the next chit that was slid on top. Zax quickly found out that the number of chits in his pocket was enough to fill up two dispensers. He had to go back and quickly shove another ‘fiver’ in the teller window before the closing bell. Just as he retrieved the chit dispenser, a mellow chime sounded:

  The Imperial Bank of Bright is now officially closed to all transactions. Please exit through the nearest portal. All banking transactions have been shut down. Any transactions that were in progress at the time of closing, have been voided. Please see an associate if there are any questions. Thank You and Good day.

  Zax pocketed the two dispensers and placed his new eunit disc in his wallet with his regular unit disc. This should make it a little more difficult for the police or the Special Branch agent to trace my actions, by tracking my spending. Zax thought.

  Zax watched Lauria finish dealing with an irate customer and waived. She nodded and turned back to the gestating man in front of her. Since the bank was now closed, he figured that she would most likely be busy with after hour banking procedures for at least the next hour or so. Zax sighed in mute condolence, but decided to take her advice about spending the time looking around the planet’s capital city. There were also a couple of things he wanted to find out about, and he had a pretty good idea where to start.

  Upon leaving the Imperial Bank, Zax made a beeline to Omar’s restaurant. For a second, he was worried that the big, genial chef might not be on hand, but as he neared the store front, but his fears were allayed. He could hear Omar’s big, booming voice clear out on the street. Zax entered the front door and almost immediately, the amiable chef appeared.

  “ZAX! My good friend! Nice to see you so soon. Did you come by for lunch? If so, I have…”

  “No…not today my friend,” Zax said, forestalling the man’s exuberance.

  “Actually Omar, I think, or at least I hope that you could help me with something else.”

  “Yes?”

  “Would you happen to know of anyone here in Plex who could help me sorta of, well, disappear?”

  Omar’s eyebrows rose to the top of his bald plate, he paused for a moment, then let out a huge belly laugh. “Ho, ho my friend. Have you angered the lovely Lauria and now you want to vanish, eh?”

  “No, friend. It’s not Lauria that I’m trying to avoid. It is just that, some rather unpleasant people have been tracking my movements and I would like to throw them off my trail, so to speak.”

  “Ah…I think that maybe this, I can help you with! Come with me to the back office and let me see if I can point you to someone who specializes in helping people stay, shall we say, unnoticed.”

  Ten minutes later, Zax found himself standing in front of a store with the simple sign that read, Personal Privacy. Walking in, he was met by a thin, short man with a mottled face, sporting a Fu-Manchu mustache and a scalp covered with sparse black hair.

  “Welcome to my humble establishment kind sir, my name is Jeremiah Ignatius Kraft, but my friends call me ‘Jik’. How can I be of assistance, gentle sir?” he asked, with a slight bow.

  “I’m looking for a privacy screen that is unobtrusive,” Zax replied hesitantly.

  “Why of course,” the man said, ushering him over to a counter, “we carry the latest and very best screens to be found on the market. Here, let me show you some of our top of the line models. Can I please ask just how ‘unobtrusive’ you want the unit to be?”

  “Well, I don’t like the ones that are too bulky to wear, or the type that projects a distorted mirrored reflection. I’m looking for something that a person can look at, but not really notice the screen. To be exact, I want something that will not easily register on the Public Identification scanner network.”

  The man raised his eyebrows in an extravagant (and Zax thought, well-rehearsed) show of indignation. “Sir!... As I’m sure you are aware, such devices are illegal to sell and that their use is banned while on the planet!”

  “Oh… sir I do apologize,” Zax said, in a mollifying tone. “I had no idea that was the case. Even though, I am willing to pay a high price for such a device, I wouldn’t want to break any laws or cause you any problems. You were recommended by a mutual friend, but I guess he was mistaken. I am sorry to have bothered you,” Zax said, apologetically and turned towards the door to leave.

  “Wait… wait young fella,” Jik temporized, “just who might this mutual friend be?”

  Zax stopped short at the door and turned to face the shop owner with a knowing smile. “The man’s name is Omar. He operates a little bistro near the Imperial Bank.”

  “Is that so? Well tell me, how is the old poisoner? Did he have a message for me?” Jik said slyly.

  “As a matter of fact, he did. He told me that if you didn’t try and help me, he would cut off your supply of ‘Cannoli’. Whatever the hell those are.” Jik gave a snort of laughter and motioned Zax to come back to the counter. “That sounds like the old reprobate alright. Maybe there is a chance that I might be able to find such a device…er… off the rack, as it were. Just a minute, let me check my stores in the back.”

  Jik disappeared behind a shimmering electrostatic curtain. After a few moments, he returned to the front of the shop, smiled at Zax, and pressed a button beneath the counter which activated a ‘closed will be back in 5 min’ sign on the front door, then beckoned Zax to follow him into the rear of the shop.

  “I’ve just had you scanned,” Zax’s eyebrows went up and Jik continued, “Please excuse the excessive degree of caution, but one cannot be too careful these days,” he said apologetically. “The scan shows that you are no cop, they have to have their badges somewhere on their person, even when undercover, you see. Now, just what kind of screen do you desire, and how much are you willing
to pay?”

  “Is there a screen that is transparent to human vision, but will confuse or mislead any photographic imager?” Zax asked thoughtfully.

  “Humm…” Jik said, rubbing his chin, “well, I do believe I have just the thing for you, imported of course.”

  With that, he put his left palm to a wall scanner. There was a soft beep and a section of the partition next to him swiveled around revealing several shelved compartments. On the shelves, were several objects that looked like unassuming necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, in different styles and muted colors. Picking a necklace up off the wall, Jik passed it over to Zax for inspection.

  “This screening model is the top of the line. The last word in discrete, yet complete, anonymity from facial recognition. When activated, it projects a UV and visible light screen around the wearer’s head that is undetectable to the human eye, but subtlety adjusts any image that is electronically scanned or stored. In other words, people will be able to see your face with their naked eyes, but if they attempt to photograph you or even view your face through an electronic telescopic device, they will get an image that has been slightly altered. Your true features will be masked, but it will display humanlike features so as not to alert anyone that a screen was in use,” Jik said, holding the slim necklace in his hands.

  Zax nodded and said, “That sounds perfect for my needs, I’ll take it,”

  “That will be four thousand units, good sir,” Jik beamed.

  Seeing the stunned look on Zax’s face, Jik smoothly moved on and pointed to another device. “Here is another model that does practically the same thing but is somewhat less expensive. Unfortunately, it is less effective.” Jik turned to put the necklace he was holding back on the shelf, to choose another one, but Zax stopped him.

  “No, no, that one will be just fine. I just didn’t know it would be so expensive.” The little man turned back to Zax and glanced down at the tattoo on his backhand. For the first time, Zax looked at the shop owner’s hand and spied the same tat.