by AJ Vega
Chapter 20: Friends
Laina Edwards walked through Von Haufsberg’s personal museum with some amusement. She had been escorted in by his assistant and told to wait here. It was an obvious play at Laina’s affection for artwork, perhaps a way for him to show off pieces that Laina could probably never afford.
What Von Haufsberg did not understand was that their tastes in artwork vastly differed; even if gifted to her, she would never showcase any of his treasured junk.
She gazed up at the dinosaur bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex. It looked back down on her with its large, empty eye sockets and its menacing teeth protruding from the massive skull. Her gaze then moved to the crystal human skull situated to the side of it. It sat on an ornate, wooden pedestal that had a light situated beneath it, making the skull glow.
Next to the skull was the wreckage of a military contraption she did not recognize. It was pod-shaped and looked like a robot, and even brandished mechanical arms and legs. Next to the robot was the extinct form of a stuffed giant panda.
Laina shook her head. Von Haufsberg had no apparent order or style to his collection; it was a mishmash of antique treasures that perhaps held some monetary value, but beyond that represented no artistic vision or style. The museum was an accurate personification of Eric Von Haufsberg himself.
After taking in the collection, Laina walked over to a seating area where she sat in boredom. She expected Murdock to already be there and wondered what was taking him so long.
At that moment, Von Haufsberg showed up, flanked by two of his servants. He wore a suit made of a fabric that showed animated images; a cacophony of visuals ranging from video of his museum to the many hotels and casinos that he owned. Essentially, he looked like a walking advertisement for Von Haufsberg Enterprises.
Laina wondered about the timing of his entry, as if he had been watching her the whole time, waiting for boredom to sink in before making his appearance; it was the type of thing she would expect from him.
“Laina! My beautiful friend!” Von Haufsberg roared.
Laina stood and they hugged before sitting down again.
“Eric, it is good to see you again.” Laina motioned to the museum pieces. “You’ve been very busy spending your money, I see.”
Von Haufsberg smiled. “Ahhh, but what good is money unless it is spent? It is the thing that drives us, keeps us wanting more. Without that hunger, we shrivel up and die, no?”
Laina nodded. “Nice suit.”
Haufsberg glanced down at his clothing. The images now showed Von Haufsberg posing in front of the grand opening of one of his casinos.
“You don’t think it’s too ostentatious do you?” he asked.
“No,” she said, lowering her eyebrows. “Of course not!”
“Shall I offer you something to drink? I have some of the best wine this side of the system!”
“Certainly, of course.”
Haufsberg motioned to one of his men, who walked off and returned with a pitcher and two glasses. They both took a sip and studied each other for a moment before speaking.
“So how is your Captain Blackbeard doing? Did he retrieve his precious cannon from the bottom of the ocean?”
Laina gave him a surprised look. At that moment, Von Haufsberg’s suit began to display images of Blackbeard’s cannon as it sat in its original place in the museum that it had been stolen from.
“Yes, of course I know about it,” Von Haufsberg said. “My friends told me you got into quite a scuffle with the local police over it. I never thought Julius would do something so risky for a piece of art! You must be rubbing off on him, Laina! Now even Blackbeard is becoming cultured! What a universe!”
“Well,” Laina began. “It wasn’t exactly supposed to be so difficult. There were some screw-ups.”
“Ahhh, nothing ever goes according to plan, now does it?” Von Haufsberg said. “But, perhaps there is something fortuitous in this for us both!” He waved his hand at his museum collection. “A fine addition that cannon would make, don’t you think?”
Laina could see his suit change to show a view of his own museum collection, with the Blackbeard cannon among it. Laina wondered how he controlled the suit; she could not see Haufsberg touching any controls.
“I’m not sure if Julius will part with it so easily,” Laina said. “But I will certainly mention it to him.”
“Ahhh, it is too bad he is not here to join us. I was fully expecting him to accompany you. In fact, I was half expecting him to be the only one to come here.” He pointed to the military robot contraption he had in his museum. “That piece there is something that I’m sure would have sparked his interest, too. What a pity.”
“Yes, I apologize for him, but he had important business to attend to. He sends his greetings and regrets not being here.”
Von Haufsberg laughed. “Yes, old Julius. It will be a battle trying to get him to surrender that old ship of his so that we can buy a much better one for our new partnership. I suspect it will simply not be accommodating enough for my taste.”
“Speaking of luxurious ships,” Laina knew she had to change the subject quickly. “We have a prized shuttle that I think you will be most interested in.”
Von Haufsberg waved his hand dismissively. “Yes yes, I know about Stromond’s shuttle. I’ll take it off your hands, of course. And I have a graviton coil ready to be offered to you, for a price of course.”
“Well, I think we can probably make that a fair trade. One luxurious shuttle for a graviton coil?” Laina said with her most seductive smile.
“No no no,” he said, “I was thinking of something a bit more valuable to me.”
At that moment, his suit showed a schematic image of the A.I. relic. The image appeared to have military and government classifications that she could not quite make out.
“How do you know about that?” Laina said. “Where did you get that picture?”
Von Haufsberg smiled. “Friends.”
Laina stood up and casually walked around with her drink in hand. She took notice of two of his servants standing guard by the only exit on the far end of the museum room. Still no sign of Murdock.
She swirled the wine in her glass and then took a sip.
“That’s going to be a costly transaction, Eric,” she said. “That relic is priceless, as you surely know, and we already have other interested parties. Of course, if you would like throw your hat into the ring, I’m sure we can negotiate something to get you into the bidding game.”
Von Haufsberg stayed quiet for a moment. “I know you no longer have any intention of retiring, my dear Laina. And I know that your crew is not quite happy with your current arrangement and is on the verge of desertion. I also know that without that graviton coil, the Sea Wolf is a sunken ship.
“So let us not discuss what you want, and instead let us focus on what you require and what I want in return. As I believe given the circumstances, you are in little position to bargain, my beautiful friend.”
Laina felt herself on the verge of losing her temper, but caught herself and kept cool.
“I thought we were friends, Eric. This is not how friends treat each other, don’t you think?”
Von Haufsberg stood up and refilled Laina’s glass of wine, all the while brandishing a smile.
“Of course we are friends, Laina. That is why I am giving you this opportunity to deal with me instead of dealing with the UEP or Confederacy. They are hot on your trail, my dear.”
“I think your information is flawed. We have avoided both those forces for a long time and continue to do so. Nevertheless, I am not interested in selling that treasure to you.”
“Ahhh, but it would make such a fine addition to my collection. I insist that you reconsider.”
“No,” Laina said her voice rising. “I am not giving that treasure to you and your… museum! All so you can place it next to all the other crap you have in here? This is not just some ol
d relic, it—” Laina tried to catch herself, but the combination of the wine and her temper got the better of her.
“So it has contacted you?” Von Haufsberg said. “A pity.” He motioned to his two servants who walked over to Laina, brandishing flicker pistols in their hands. “I was told if it had not yet contacted you, that we could have still have made a deal and let you go. Instead, I must now turn you over to the authorities.”
The two men grabbed Laina by the arms forcibly. “Eric, wait a minute! Let’s negotiate something—we can come to a deal.”
“I’m sorry, Laina. I truly am. But I have already made a deal, and have been offered something you could not possibly counter.”
The men began to drag Laina away. “Eric, if you do this, the Sea Wolf will come after you! Julius will come after you, you know that!”
Von Haufsberg sighed. “I’m afraid Blackbeard’s days of plundering the high seas are over, Laina. A large navy task will see to that: the UEP, the Confederacy, the Venusians—they are all hidden nearby and in large numbers. And as for the crew that are still here—those who haven’t already deserted you, that is—they are being rounded up as we speak by Venusian Peacekeepers.”
The men stuck a neuralizer on the back of Laina’s neck, which began to paralyze her body from the neck down. “This is not a game, Haufsberg!” Laina said. “You have no idea what you’re doing. You’re just a pawn! Do you really think that the UEP is going to just let you go? Think about it!”
“Oh, I do hope that poor Julius gives up quickly,” Haufsberg said to Laina. “But in case he doesn’t, I have reserved a spot in my museum for some of the Sea Wolf’s wreckage—if there’s anything left of it to display.”
