by Ryan Vermont
Not 15 minutes later, the door to the bookstore flew open, and the same regal woman emerged. This time she had a young man, who fit Jenica’s description, behind her. I noted that he’d opened the door for her. The young man followed behind her no more than two feet. She never once looked at him, but there was a big smile on her face. I watched them walk off and vanish around the building.
A few minutes later, the door opened again. This time, Jenica walked out with her glasses off and a bag slung from one shoulder. She didn’t have the fierce sales clerk appearance about her and seemed calm.
“Mission accomplished?” I asked Jenica as she walked up to us. She had a smile on her face too.
“Took me all of five minutes,” she explained. “I told the owner he would confess to her right away, and we made some plans. I went back out, found that kid, and took him into a closet. He was confused, but I didn’t get any resistance at all. Then, I collared him and told him to not say a word. She paged us both into the waiting room outside her office. I marched him into her office with his leash on and had him get down on his knees and confess what he did to her.”
“Bet she was impressed,” I commented.
“Oh, like you have no idea. I gave the leash to the owner and told her he was her to do as she saw fit. She had me stay there as a witness while he signed a contract that gave her his undying loyalty, with all kind of stipulations spelled out. She had him lay across the desk, and I showed her how to use a paddle, a new one I bought today. She paid me, and I wished them both a good future. They’re on their way to a tattoo place.”
Jenica sighed and looked up at the ceiling of the asteroid cavern. “Sometimes, I do like my job,” she mused to no one in particular.
I glanced across the courtyard and looked at the park across from the bookstore. It was undergoing renovations. There were all manner of construction workers there busy with something. I could hear them chatting to each other.
Two seconds later, a truck pulled up, and a group of Nyx sanitation workers spilled out of the back. This surprised me as the grounds appeared clean. Perhaps it was to prepare the park for something. I almost ignored the group and was ready to continue our job description to Jenica.
But something seemed a bit odd about that truck. It was familiar to me. I stared at it for a few seconds before it struck me. I’d seen the inside of that truck before. I’d watched it drive away when High Commander Vopalis and his second had their conversation about the fate of Nyx Station. I looked again at the sanitation workers. The uniforms were what you’d see all over the station, but the workers didn’t seem right.
Oh, shit, I thought as they stared back at me, that’s the Irunian Marines who were with Vopalis at the safehouse.
“We have to get the hell out of here,” I told Jenica. "Do you have a vehicle of any kind? We took the tube over here.” The others noticed my warning and turned to look at the Irunians disguised as sanitation workers.
“I’ve got a hovercraft out back,” Jenica told us. "It can get us to wherever you need to go. Doesn’t fly or anything like that, though, sowe’ll be stuck on the roads."
“It seems they want you too,” I told Jenica. “Take us to that hovercraft and quick!”
We walked fast but not too fas, as the Irunians made their way over to us. There were plenty of people milling around the bookstore, so they couldn’t rush us at once. A group of Irunian nationals in disguise would cause all manner of embarrassment for the empire, so they needed to be careful. I had no desire to tangle with that bunch right now. If they were marine first wave, we wouldn't stand a chance against them. Even with Jenica and Zilpha backing me up, they had us on aggression and skill.
“You want me to get the pig-sticker out?” Zilpha asked as she marched with the rest of us.
“Not unless they make a run for us,” I told her with a glance back. “Too many bad things could go wrong. Wait for now.”
“Here’s my heap,” Jenica told us as we rounded the building into the parking lot.
She had a Tixe 5400, an older model of commuter hovercraft. It had enough room for all of us, although that might push things a bit. It sat on the ground, its deflated skirt around it. I admired the bright yellow color, but this would make us easier to track. The craft recognized Jenica right away and both wing doors flew open the moment we approached it.
“You girls in the back,” Jenica called out as she hurried into the driver’s seat. “Fixer, you up in front passenger seat. Got a gun on you?”
“Yep," I confirmed as I sat down in the chair. “It’s a prototype. Makes its own ammunition.” I strapped myself into the safety harness."
“You ready back there?” she called out to Rashina and Zilpha. “It’s going to be a rough ride." She turned to me. “Where we headed?”
“Cinzar part of the docks," I told her as I clicked the safety off the pistol. “Not a choice I like, but I need to pitch a deal to Boss Korth.”
“Whatever," Jenica called back. “Window goes down when you hit that lever to your right. Canopy is flint polycarbonate, so it should take a mean hit. Time to fly.”
By now, the Irunians were moving around the hovercraft, a bit unsure what to do. Vopalis wasn’t there, and I could tell they didn’t like working undercover. The lights on Jenica’s dashboard were lit, and she had both control sticks in hand.
I felt a shudder, and the rotors of the hovercraft began to spin. A few seconds later, the skirt inflated, and the vehicle rose a foot off the ground. This was as high as it would go, but it gave Jenica enough room to do what she needed.
I was thrown to the back of my seat as Jenica tilted the rotors and sent the hovercraft forward. I watched the Irunians scatter as she sent it through the middle of their formation. By now, I had the pistol out and ready, although I didn’t think they’d be so stupid to open fire in those sanitation worker uniforms. I was right. As we pulled away and into the main street, I watched two of the Irunians grab a third’s hand when he tried to bring out a gun.
This was one of the nicer areas in the lowers, but there was little vehicular traffic, wheeled or otherwise, anywhere around. I grabbed the armrest as Jenica sent us spinning down the main road, trucks and taxi’s swerving out of the way when they saw us coming in their direction.
“You drive this thing pretty well,” I told her. “Use it a lot? It must cost you plenty in maintenance.” I looked out the window and watched people point to us as we sped down the street.”
“Worth every bit,” she replied. “Got my ass out of more jams than you can imagine. Plenty of ghees have tried to come after me.”
I turned and looked in the rear. The truck with the Irunian Marines was in pursuit. That didn’t surprise me. They’d come too close to let us get away. So much for tomorrow's meet-up with Korth and Vopalis. The good commander must’ve decided we had no intention of keeping our part. Or there’d been a change of plans. It had to be serious enough for a squad of his marines to risk an interplanetary outrage if they were caught in battle mode outside the legation.
I heard a ping and realized the marines were shooting at us. Yep, this was a big deal. I wanted to open the window and return fire, but I couldn’t get an angle on them. Best to pray Jenica could make the docks. If she had to land, well, then, things would be different.
“Damn!" she shouted, "These jackbooters want to play rough. Hang on; they have to make ground contact; I don’t.”
I watched Jenica slam down her levers, and the hovercraft increased its speed. She left the truck behind as we dodged between trucks and other ground traffic. She even left a few other hovercrafts in the lurch as she spun dust through the air.
“There’s the gate!" I yelled as Jenica set the hovercraft to its maximum speed. I watched the ground shoot past us.
Up ahead was the Cinzar family section of the docks. This was separate from where Boss Korth ran his casino and the other illicit operations. His dock area was supposed to be a legitimate operation, the above ground part being his import-e
xport business. At least, that is what he wanted everyone to think. The warehouses up ahead contained stolen goods from half the systems in the known galaxy. Korth had ways of shipping them around. Plenty of art objects that went to collectors who didn’t ask questions found their way through his warehouses. He had several large buildings and loading docks to handle his merchandise.
The good thing was that he’d erected a large containment wall around his complex on the docks. Korth didn’t want any of his freight handlers getting ideas of their own and boosting merchandise already stolen from someone else. How could he complain to the militia about goods that were obtained by less-than-honest means? The wall ran all the way around his part of the docks and opened at the part that faced the landing area for the starships. Even the back areas could be sealed off when his operation was closed.
Right ahead of us was the entrance to the street side of the complex. The main gates to it were closed after business hours, but now, they were wide open to receive trucks and other large vehicles. The gates were built from plates of hardened steel, about four inches thick and 15 feet in height. On either side was a watchtower. These were for the traffic controllers inside the Cinzar company grounds. I watched as a truck ahead of us rolled into the warehouse grounds. The moment the truck went past the gates, they began to close. Those gates didn’t move quickly, but it wouldn’t matter if we couldn’t reach them in time.
I glanced behind. The truck used by the Irunian Marines gained on us with each moment. By now, most of the street traffic cleared out of the road. Word had gone out about a hovercraft running from a truck, and no one wanted to get in the way.
There was another ping, but it went wide on the canopy. I looked back, and one of the marines had us in his gun sites. He carried a Vexnor 678 sniper rifle, which worried me. It was almost impossible to hit a moving object at this distance with a handgun. I doubted the prototype I carried could do it. I looked at the pistol and thought about trying for one, good shot. And then, I looked forward again. We were less than 30 seconds from the gate, and it was closing faster. Whoever was in charge didn’t want to become entangled in our problems.
“Can you give it more juice?” I yelled at Jenica. “That gate won’t be open much longer!”
“I’m in three red zones!” she screamed over the sound of the rotors. “These things overheat and....”
She never finished because I heard two of the rotors cut off. The engines had shut down to prevent further damage. If we came to a stop, none of us would survive. It wouldn’t matter, though, as those marines were so mad, they’d risk discovery by shooting the hovercraft to pieces.
Unless we hit the gates and blew apart. The gap was about to become too small to get the hovercraft through.
We were only five seconds away. Four, three, two....
“Oh, shit!” Jenica yelled and slammed one stick back. The steel gates were right in front of us.
One side of the hovercraft spun up in the air, which tossed me into the door. I felt my face slam against the window. As I fought for balance, I saw the edge of the steel gate shoot past me. Any closer, and the manufacturing stamp of that gate would’ve been on my ear.
Then, I felt my side of the hovercraft slam into the ground. I bounced off the ceiling but didn’t pass out. The harness did its trick. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Jenica fight to get the destabilized hovercraft under control. She spun it around the yard of the Cinzar complex, narrowly missing three fuel tanks that were mounted into the ground. The hovercraft scalped the wall in front of the main warehouse, shot up in the air, hit the ground again, and skidded to a stop.
I was out of the harness the minute we came to rest. I turned to see Jenica shaken but not hurt.
Then, I checked the women in the back of the hovercraft. Both were in decent shape, although I saw some blood flowing from Zilpha’s head. We’d all taken a massive pounding when the hovercraft hit the ground, and we needed to get both her and Rashina out.
I reached in and unsnapped Zilpha’s harness just as Jenica did the same to Rashina. While the smell of spent coolant filled the air, we lifted them out onto the ground. Both began to stir the moment they were out of the craft.
“Holy Logan,” Zilpha said as she stood up, “For a minute, I didn’t think we were going to make it.” She wiped the blood off her head with one sleeve.
“Is this thing powered by electricity?” Rashina asked as she brought herself to a standing position. Most vehicles on Nyx Station were, but there were enough that ran on liquid fuel to make everyone nervous.
“Battery-powered,” Jenica confirmed. “We better get away from it; I don’t know what’s leaking out of it." We all staggered away from the wrecked hovercraft.
Most of it was beyond repair. The right edge of the hovercraft had dipped down when Jenica decided to make a run for the closing doors. She’d decreased the horizontal profile enough to get it across as the doors closed behind her. But even though most of the engines cut out moments before she made her decision, the hovercraft moved fast enough to bang itself all over the yard of the Cinzar compound. The entire canopy was cracked, and one side was mangled. I hoped her insurance would cover this.
In the distance, I could hear the wail of sirens. The militia was on their way. I smelled burnt metal and turned to look in the direction of the steel doors. On the other side, a cloud of smoke rose up toward the ceiling of the cavern, and I knew the air scrubbers would get a workout tonight.
“Those marines didn’t make it,” A voice said behind me. I turned to see the broad form of Boss Korth and five of his enforcers. Arranged behind his crew were at least three more members of the local syndicate families.
We’d driven into a meeting of La Cosa Nostra.
Chapter Seventeen
“You have put us in some deep shit!” Korth roared at me as he pointed in my direction with one clawed finger. “My associates and I were on the verge of reaching a decision about that ship I paid you and your late colleague to bring back. Now, you bring the heat on us by outrunning some Irunian freaks.”
“They were after us!” Jenica spoke up. She still had her proper dress on from the bookstore job, and Korth hadn’t recognized her until she drew his attention.
“Wait one minute,” Korth spoke again as he looked at Jenica from where he stood. The smoke in the distance had risen as a cloud and drifted upward to cover the entire complex.
“You’d have thought those shitheads would’ve stopped in time,” I heard one of the other syndicate dons say to the one beside him.
“You, I know,” Korth said to Jenica, “You’re that bitch who shoved a gun in my face and hauled Fixer out of my casino.”
“Easy, Boss,” I cautioned Korth as I managed to move my body between the two. “Jenica was trying to save my life. I did take care of Drez for you, didn’t I?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zilpha drop her head and look at the ground.
“That you did,” he said slowly, “but now, I have a whole new problem. The goddamn militia will be here in minutes, and I have a smashed truck full of burnt Irunians, according to my people at the watchtowers. Therefore, that means the damn empire will be breathing down my neck for who-knows-how-long. And we still don’t know how to make the damn starship work, which, I would like to remind you, is under the control of the stinkin’ Fathers and their engineers!”
“You don’t want to let the Irunians get their hands on that ship,” I told Korth. “You don’t want to do business with them at all.”
“And why is that?” he roared again. “The silver devils pay their bills on time and don’t cause me any trouble. At least, not until now. Maybe I can pawn that damn Byzantium ship off on them at a discount, and they can figure out how to make it work. Once we get it out of the Fathers’ hands, of course.”
I wanted to tell him what I knew about the Irunians and their ultimate plan for Nyx, but he’d never believe me. Plus, I had no proof. Most of this crew thought my esper abilities were creepy, if not a frau
d. Then, a thought hit me.
“Discount?” I asked him. “You had someone else in mind as a buyer for that starship?”
“I did, and they may no longer be interested because no one can make it work. I don’t know what happened to that quantum key your former buddy Drez had on him or where he got it. He was part of the deal and now, he’s no longer around to seal it. But that’s not your concern.”
He turned to the enforcers who surrounded him. “Lock this bunch up in one of the store rooms until I can figure out what to do with them.”
“You owe me!” I yelled at him.
“You were paid when I didn’t kill you all for plopping in here and bringing the heat down on me!” He turned to go away.
“Wait, Boss!” I yelled. “I got a plan!”
He stopped and looked back at me.
Korth moved toward me. “So, now, you’ve had a change of heart?” he asked. His men stopped and looked to him for guidance.
“You can’t just walk away and see this place reduced to cosmic dust,” I told him. “If I have to work for you to keep it from happening, that’s what I’ll do.” I prayed to Mother Tara that he’d take my bait. If nothing else, Korth was full of pride. He’d gloat over a former employee who went rogue and came back to the fold. He might even let me live.
The sound of approaching sirens grew louder. I could hear emergency workers as they tried to clean up the mess created by the Irunian Marines’ burnt truck. Someone would be knocking on those steel doors soon, wanting to know who was responsible for what happened. By now, the militia would know that a hovercraft made it inside. They’d demand an accounting. Korth and the Cinzar family might be powerful, but they’d still have to answer to the Fathers’ militia.