“Listen, lady,” I said, pointing at the mirrors. “My guess is optical and infrared scanners for tracking. Infrared since much of your office work is probably accomplished in the dark. Voice command initiation to execute, means I’d recognize the phrase for what it is. Probably electronically charged needle-darts, fired from ports that’ll break through the ceiling panels. My guess is the system installed will take half a second to deploy and another quarter second to acquire. That’s more time than I need.”
Then I pointed past her, to the kitchenette. “I read about that model in a catalog years ago while on warehouse duty. You’ve got a modified home defense model. Those decorative knobs house nozzles for ’crete string.” Concrete string was a polymer gel mixture that could solidify within seconds upon striking a target. “I won’t get within range of that. Nor of the Taser mounted behind the manufacturer emblem.”
I didn’t tell her that any projectiles would be stopped by the A-Tech defensive screen device mounted on my belt. I could activate it before any harm would come my way.
“Okay, security man. You get away from me. Then what?”
“You forgot my revolver,” I said, flicking my jacket aside. “You’re probably thinking that scanning arch rendered the gunpowder in my bullets inert? At best the installed null-spectrum rays degraded them so that instead of the impact of a .357 magnum round, they’ll only hit as standard .38 special. That’s more than enough.
“Those sec-bots near the elevator? Those models I eat for breakfast. Those security specialists? Enough might take me down, but not before I critically damage this facility.”
She began to roll her eyes.
“That quarantine planet, the one where the diplomat died? We were in such a hurry because I’d initiated a nuclear accident that, if it didn’t blow, would be a hell of a radioactive mess to clean up. Just because I don’t depend on technology doesn’t mean I’m ignorant when it comes to using and manipulating it.”
“That’s a lot of bluster, Keesay.” Her voice held bravado, but it rang hollow.
“Why do you think Capital Galactic is offering eight hundred million credits for me, or my head? You and your pals want to bring me down? Turn me over for the reward? Just remember, Nemo me impune lacessit.”
“What does that mean?”
“My motto,” I said, balancing on the balls of my feet. “All you need to know is that when this dance starts, you’ll be the first to die.”
Chapter 22
Waving her hands in front of her, and with a wide-eyed look, Colossra said, “No, no. I’m on your side, Kra. We all are.”
“We?” I asked. “Who constitutes we?”
Seeing I relaxed some, she put her hands down and sat back on the edge of her bed. “Besides me, there’s Marvie. He’s out, checking on routes and who’s still looking for you.” When my right eyebrow twitched up, she quickly added, “Somebody has to be out there. I—I, I trust him more than my brother.”
I shrugged. What’s done is done. “Who else?”
“That know about you being here?” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “That know the sought-after Specialist Keesay is here?” She held up two fingers. “Violet and Mr. Grosstin.”
I knew the name, Grosstin. He was the sole owner of the Celestial Unicorn Palace. No investors, no board of directors. There wasn’t an up-to-date audio, let alone visual, image of him. None that I’d ever come across. Although I never put an effort into searching, I recalled several editorial commentaries in the few business journals I followed stating such. That was when I’d had time to read, so maybe that had changed?
“That’s all, then?”
“All that I know of. Unless Mr. Grosstin told somebody else. Maintenance Tech Segreti contacted Marvie, who told Mr. Grosstin, who relayed back to Segreti to tell you to contact me, after I was told.”
“Who’s Violet and why her?”
“She’s an entertainer like me.”
Entertainer? That job description fit as good as anything else. Then I thought better. Who was I to judge? Like in so many other ways, I was in the minority, especially light years from Earth, out among the stars.
Coloss—Yeong’s hands returned to her hips as she stood. She’d recognized the look of disapproval that had crossed my face.
I mirrored her position. “If you haven’t already figured it out for yourself, have your friend Marvie verify with Segreti. I’m not a likable person. Never have been, even among R-Techs.” I shrugged, keeping my hands on my hips. “The plan? The one that you were going to tell me about? What you know about it?”
A smile crept across her face as she leaned back on the bed, the muscles in her neck, shoulders and arms relaxing. “I thought you were going to break into some psychotic violence a moment ago. You really had me convinced.”
“It wasn’t an act,” I said, sitting down. “If things go wrong…if I’m betrayed by you or any of your friends…”
She looked away, at her finger nails, then at the floor. “Marvie’s information is always right. He said you’d left a trail of bodies. It matched what Maintenance Tech Segreti had to say about you.”
“Which was?” I kept a straight face.
“Said you were fearless, ruthless. And reckless.”
I shook my head. “The last two are on target. The first? I’ve been afraid more times than I care to admit.”
“Really?” Yeong asked, a playful lilt returning to her voice. “Like when?”
“Like when a Marine named Pillar was pounding the tar out of me. Even if he didn’t kill or cripple me, I was afraid I’d’ve been in the infirmary, not fit for duty and my contract with Negral Corp would’ve been voided. My career ruined.
“When the Crax and Stegmars reached the trench line on Tallavaster. They’re stronger, faster, better armed and equipped, and there were more of them than us. Watching men die around me. I was scared.
“The thing is, I refuse to let fear dictate my actions.”
“I can see that,” she said. “That means Tech Segreti is right about you. What does that phrase, your motto you said mean?”
“Nemo me impune lacessit?” I said. “That’s Latin for ‘Nobody injures me with impunity.’”
Yeong thought about that for a second. “If I recall, there’s an old saying. Sort of an archaic, R-Tech one.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“I think they used to say, ‘Payback’s a bitch.’”
I hadn’t heard that one before. After laughing I said, “Wonder how that would translate into Latin?”
After telling me the plan: Transport via a dolly-bot, concealed in a hollowed-out auxiliary cooling system, slated for replacement in the Nuclear Pitchfork. Marvie would get me to a meet-up point and Tech Segreti would continue the delivery, and assist with ‘installation’ if necessary. A backup plan was for me to do a little spacewalk, in a space suit, if external monitoring wasn’t focused on the Pitchfork. I didn’t care for either plan. In the first, I’d be cooped up and vulnerable. In the second, I had little experience in zero atmosphere suits, limited to basic training and two practice sessions prior to my working security on Pluto. Who really expects an R-Tech to suit up and work in space?
As Marvie hadn’t reported in, Yeong offered me an energy bar. It was good quality, infused with vitamins, vital minerals, and tasted like graham crackers and peanut butter.
After Yeong finished her own energy bar, she cleared her throat. I was back in my chair and she, back in her cross-legged position on her bed. She still appeared nervous, which kept me a little on edge, not knowing what concerned her. It could’ve been me, but it could’ve been something else. A concern that things might not be exactly as she’d presented them, and how I’d respond once I found out?
I leaned forward, resting my forearms on my knees. “You were going to tell me about why you and so many at the Palace don’t care for Capital Galactic?”
She nodded once with a small, embarrassed smile. “That’s right, Kra.” She extended h
er arms and leaned back on them. It didn’t look all that comfortable, but maybe she was more flexible than she appeared.
“I wasn’t born this way. I have to work out, but we at the Palace cater to exotic desires. Unique opportunities.” She paused, probably gauging my reaction.
“Mr. Grosstin recognized this business opportunity and turned to genetic manipulation to achieve it. He had to set up his establishment out here around 70 Virginis, beyond the jurisdiction of laws regulating such advancements which were morally and scientifically objectionable to some.” Irritation entered her voice as she ended the last statement, but shifted to a more upbeat tone as she continued. “It was early in humanity’s expansion, and those that established themselves light years out established the rules.”
I nodded, knowing that the orbital colony around 70 Virginis was the first of the distant ones established, largely funded by the owner of the Celestial Unicorn Palace.
“For men and women to explore their fantasies,” Yeong said, “some old rules needed to be broken. And setting the bar high, needing to travel seventy-nine light years from Earth would, by default, limit the Palace’s clientele to those that truly desired the experience, and could truly afford it.”
She paused, looking for some reaction.
“I don’t have a problem with individuals spending their wealth any way they want,” I said, “as long as it’s not aimed at damaging or destroying other individuals. One corporation undermining and conquering another through hostile takeovers. Or through legal maneuvers aimed at depleting the target’s financial resources rather than actually winning in court. There I hold some pretty strong opinions.”
She took a few breaths to absorb what I’d said. “Me? I came for the opportunity. I’d always been interested in bodybuilding. Mr. Grosstin offered me an opportunity to advance it a few steps further.”
She sat up and flexed her right arm, showing off her bulging bicep. “This could never come from weight lifting, not with my frame. Steroids and other drugs, it might’ve been possible, but they have serious complications. Mr. Grosstin’s wife, a genetic engineering genius, altered the myogenesis within my body. Normally this can’t be done for adults, but she knew how, just like she knew how to manipulate the genetic composition of many entertainers here.”
Relaxing her bicep, she continued, saying, “A reasonable workout regimen keeps me built up, and powerful. I can bench 300 kilograms. But it’s not all muscle.
“When we met, that jostling. I always do that with clients to ascertain their unarmed combat skills.” She stood next to her bed. “You may have surmised, I’m more than just brawn. Even before I came here I’d studied Judo, and continue to this day.”
I nodded, reappraising her. “I thought your vice grip handshake and escape from my arm lock was some sort of test.”
Yeong smiled sheepishly, which fit her about as much as her occasional giggle. “My clients tend to be powerful men, not the brawn and muscle variety, but power as in wealth and controlling the direction of their life, corporations and the lives of others. More of them than you might expect are competent in self-defense techniques. A few are experts in one or more forms of martial arts.”
She slid her long hair back behind her shoulders. “Most of them come to be challenged. Dominated. Not in a masochistic way. We don’t do that here at the Palace. For most, it’s an exalting experience. Reinvigorates them.”
I shrugged my shoulders and looked away. Seemed odd but, then again, I believed sex with a woman should be within the context of marriage. A view which I imagined was more uncommon than views held by the Palace’s clients.
“Okay,” I said. “You know why I hate Capital Galactic. What do you have against them? What about the Palace in general?”
Her smile morphed to a sneer. “Somehow, a client paid by a follow-on Capital Galactic client, stuck me. Injected some sort of uber steroid. Not knowing what had happened, I continued my weight and exercise routine. Within days my muscle mass expanded and nobody knew why, and it didn’t stop. Imagine a forty-three percent gain in muscle mass on this frame.
She turned left and right, flexing to emphasize before leaning back and sitting on the edge of her bed again. “It was so bad I lost significant mobility. When that happened, the growth slowed. So I went on absolute bed rest while the doctors figured out what was happening.
“In the meantime, I had a very important client scheduled. A mega-leviathan.”
Yeong saw my questioning expression. “A leviathan is like a whale for a gambling house. Big spender. A mega-leviathan, well, one can mean the difference between a profitable year and years to follow. Disappoint, and he’ll never return, and encourage others to withhold their patronage.
“I couldn’t cancel. He was already en route. And when he arrived, he didn’t care about my predicament—which isn’t uncommon among clients.” She snorted. “Most are self-important. And consider us little more than a play thing. Disposable.
“This guy was polite but insistent. Nine days scheduled with me at ten times my normal compensation, plus his other expenditures. Each day of vigorous activity resulted in reinvigorated muscle growth. And the guy got off on it. On my distress, as much as I tried to hide it. My suffering.”
She crossed her arms, nostrils flaring. “When he left I could hardly stand, barely move about. In his warped mind, he’d conquered me.
“The doctors figured out what was in my blood, filtered it out. They totally immobilized me for six weeks, allowing my muscles to atrophy, along with a new round of genetic therapy. Without the latter, I’d have had to retire.
“I can’t prove it, but that Capital Galactic executive arranged it.” Momentarily she cussed under her breath before the veneer of an entertainer, a lady, covered her emotions. “Mr. Grosstin wouldn’t let me reject all CGIG clients. They, or those that had connections to CGIG made up over half of our client base. But he allowed me to charge double my normal rate.”
Yeong took a deep breath. “And they paid my elevated rate. So I took the credits.” She looked around reflexively, and sighed. Then frowned. “You understand about bounties. How they work.”
I nodded once.
“I could never get the CGIG exec,” she said. “The mega-leviathan. But his accomplice?” Her hands balled into fists. “It’s my understanding that he encountered an unfortunate industrial accident.”
I asked, “Nemo me impune lacessit?”
She thought a moment, her hands relaxing. “Yeah, maybe.” She paused again. “You and me, Kra. We’re not as different as I thought.”
I grinned. “We have the same enemies, Yeong, albeit for different reasons. That kind of thing can forge some pretty strong bonds. Maybe even permanent ones.”
“What sort of bond do you believe has been formed?”
“I believe you just spoke from the heart, shared something you’ve rarely shared with anyone.” Thinking of McAllister, and the Colonization Riots years ago, where I killed her fiancé, I continued. “I’ve formed an alliance of sorts with someone who wanted me dead more than just about anything else in the galaxy. Everything except the fact that we had a mutual enemy. The Crax. With them, we’re just humans. A race to be exterminated. When confronted with that, our squabbles and hatred have to be set aside.
“You know why I’m fighting, Yeong. And I’ll continue to do what I can to see us survive, and the Crax and their allies destroyed.”
It was my turn to ball my hands into fists, thinking of the Crax on Io, and the lab and med techs fighting them. Facing the enemy, if only because there was no other choice.
“You know,” I said, “the Felgans are defeated, and the Umbelgarri aren’t far from it. We’re losing on every front, and the Chicher? They’re next in line to be, eliminated.
“They’ll go down fighting alongside us. If it comes to that. One more dead Crax is one fewer Crax to enjoy the fruits of their victory.”
“Nemo me impune lacessit,” she said.
“Damn straight,�
�� I said.
We spent a moment of silence, each buried in our own thoughts.
Her question, “You wanted to know what the Celestial Unicorn Palace has against Capital Galactic?” snapped me out of my thoughts, wondering what Dr. Goldsen was doing, and what Corporal Smith, a friend from the Kalavar, would think of her.
I could ponder where that odd connection of people came from later. “Correct,” I said.
“Not long before Capital Galactic’s assets were frozen and its board of directors arrested for treason, several of their corporate operatives hacked into the Palace’s computer system and stole some important data.”
Before I could wonder, she added, “It’s common knowledge, at least among corporate lawyers and executives. Mr. Grosstin sent a message rocket containing the confession of the corporate operative that didn’t get away to Earth, set to broadcast directly to the Criminal Justice Investigatory Department and Capital Galactic’s Corporate Headquarters. The immediate ban of Capital Galactic executives followed, and an increased access fee charged to executives with direct ties to CGIG.”
“That must’ve cut in on Mr. Grosstin’s bottom line,” I said.
“That didn’t matter to him. We lost some business, but the additional fee made up for some of it.”
To me it was obvious what Capital Galactic was after. Either lists of clients and associated corporate secrets the Palace’s entertainers might’ve gathered while performing services, or knowledge of advanced genetic engineering, exclusive to the Celestial Unicorn Palace.
I was about to voice my speculations and gauge Yeong’s reaction when she glanced toward the entrance. “Marvie’s returned,” she said, placing a hand to her ear. “This isn’t good.”
Chapter 23
Ten minutes later Marvie was in Yeong’s workout room, explaining what he’d discovered, and demanding that I take my clothes off.
By his name, I expected Marvie to be a young man, not thin, wrinkled, and gray. He wasn’t much taller than me and moved about pretty well for someone who had to be in his late 80s. He reminded me of an aged errand boy from some old-time crime boss. Alert, quick and smooth talker.
Relic Hunted (Crax War Chronicles #2) Page 20
