CROMIAN
CONSPIRACY
Raymond Cooper
Copyright © 2017
Interstellar Press
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to historical places, events or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter One
The smell of smoke and spice that filled the air was almost overpowering as I stepped inside the bar. Eyes turned to me, familiar faces and some not-so-familiar ones, sized me up the moment I walked through the door. Being human set me apart from most of the others inside the bar, though being a petite female in a rough place like that really made me stand out. Those who knew me, though, knew what I was capable of and why I was there.
Those who didn't would either learn soon enough – or they'd learn to stay away from me. Personally, I preferred the latter.
“The usual for ya, Gem?” Sygan asked me as I sat down at his bar.
Sygan – Sy to his friends – was a short, squat man who could barely see over the bar. His bald head would sometimes be the only thing you could see bobbing up and down behind the bar as he worked his magic, pouring some surprisingly good drinks.
I glanced around at the customers inhabiting the place and then checked my watch. I had an appointment, but I wasn't quite sure who my contact was just yet. I didn't like not having a lay of the land or not knowing who I was supposed to be looking for. It made for too many variables that I couldn't control. But, in my line of work – or, at least the jobs I had no choice but to take – you had to expect a certain degree of uncertainty.
“You know me well, Sy,” I said.
“So the usual then, yea,” he mumbled, getting to work making my drink.
The bar – which had no name as far as I was aware – had become my usual hangout whenever I needed to pick up a job or two. From the outside, you wouldn't even know it was there unless someone pointed it out to you. The door could be found down the long, dark, narrow alleyway of a derelict building that most – if they were smart – would avoid, given the potential for trouble in long, dark, narrow alleyways in that part of town.
The place was dimly lit, seedy, didn't smell all that great, and was the usual meeting spot for shady characters conducting shadier business. Which pretty much made it perfect for me.
“Gemma Sage?” a voice said from behind me.
My hand drifting toward the blade on my belt, I swiveled around on the bar stool to find a very tall, very slim Zhakan with several eyes – all of them focused directly on me – standing there.
“And you must be Mr. Boygan?” I asked, relaxing my hand somewhat, but leaving it close to my sheath just in case. “Have a seat.”
“Yes, yes,” he said, his voice coming out sounding almost like a hiss.
He sat down beside me and Sy took his drink order while putting mine down in front of me. We sat and silently stared at each other for a long moment, an air of expectation saturating the air between us.
“Is this a safe place to talk?” the man finally asked me.
“As safe as any,” I said. “People here tend to keep to themselves and aren't real big on the small talk. So yeah, I feel safe talking here as long as you do.”
He nodded and scanned the room around us, each of his eyes going off in a different direction. I counted five eyes, at least on the front of his head. I'd been exposed to all sort of alien life – most of them far from human-looking – in my time, but something about the multiple eyes on Mr. Boygan still gave me the creeps.
“I've heard good things about you, Gemma,” he said, his voice definitely carrying a pronounced hiss. It was almost reptilian – adding to the man's creepiness. “My friends tell me you're the best bounty hunter on Cromia. Efficient and discrete. Which is exactly what I need for this job.”
“What kind of job are we talking about?” I asked.
“Tsk, tsk, Gemma,” he chided me, an almost predatory smile sliding across his face. “I'm not about to give away all the details before I know I can trust you.”
I got up from the barstool, dropped some money down for Sy as I finished my drink quickly and turned to go.
“Good luck finding someone, Mr. Boygan. I don't have the time or inclination to play games,” I said.
I took a step away from the bar when he reached out and grabbed my arm. I spun around, my anger flaring and was prepared to slap him silly for touching me. Realizing he'd erred, Boygan quickly removed his hand and flashed me a thick stack of money – which caught my attention quite well. He flashed more Cromian bills than I'd seen since the Cromian economy collapsed last year. Money I could use to repair my ship and get home.
“Don't leave just yet, Gemma,” Mr. Boygan. “I'm prepared to pay you for your time if you're willing to listen. And I have a feeling you're going to listen – my friends have told me how desperately you need the money,”
He had me there. I did desperately need the money. As galling as that was to admit.
I sat back down with a sigh. “Fine, I'll listen,” I grumbled. “But be warned, I don't have the best level of tolerance – or patience – when it comes to bullshit.”
“No bullshit, I promise,” the man said, dropping a Cromian bill worth twenty American dollars in front of me. “This is simply for staying and listening. And there's plenty more where that came from.”
I never cared much for the Zhaka, they were shady individuals who wouldn't hesitate to screw you over if it benefitted them. Not that I had a lot of room to judge. But Mr. Boygan spoke my language – the universal language of money. As long as he was willing to keep the cash flowing, I'd listen to him all damn night.
There was no guarantee I'd take his job, of course. Not if it got to be too messy, making it not worth it in the end. But as long as he was willing to pay me to sit at that bar and listen to him talk, I was game.
“Get the lady another drink,” Mr. Boygan said, sliding of the cash in his hand across the bar to Sy. “On me, of course.”
Sy quickly brought us another round of drinks, and once we were alone again, I waited for the man to speak. He looked straight ahead, enjoying – whatever concoction Sy had cooked up for him. It smelled like rubbing alcohol from where I sat, but who was I to judge? He closed his eyes and rolled the liquid around in his mouth, savoring the drink.
“I love Cromian wine,” he said. “I don't get around these parts very often, but when I do – ahh, the wine is to die for. Have you tried it, Gemma?”
“Sorry, I haven't. Despite my occupation, I don't really have a death wish,” I said.
He'd meant it when he said the wine was to die for – because it was. Literally. The insanely high alcohol content was believed to have killed a number of humans already. Very few species could handle the lethal wine – but Zhakans were one of them.
“Oh, that's right,” he said. “I almost forgot that you are human – and what Cromian wine does to humans. What a shame.”
Forgot I was human? Not likely. The fact that I was a human made me s
tick out like a sore thumb around those parts. I was a novelty. A foreigner. Something they didn't see often. At least, not unless I was a prostitute. But, in a bar like this one, it wasn't completely unheard of, it was just less likely that I was an escort.
Human women were such a novelty for most of these other species, they could make good money as an escort. The downside though, was that they didn't tend to live very long in that profession. Cromian sex – like their wine – wasn't something most humans could survive for long. Only the brave – or foolhardy – indulged in either.
“Can we get down to business?” I asked, growing even more impatient.
I felt like he was playing games with me. He'd given me a fake name – and yes, I knew it was a fake name. Boygan was as common to Zhakans as Smith was to us humans. A fact I'd learned while working on their planet once. A planet I'd prefer not to go back to, if given the chance. I wasn't going to press him on it though, in this line of work, I could respect somebody's preference for anonymity. So long as the money was good, they could call themselves God Almighty for all I cared.
“Yes, yes, I'm sorry,” he said, pulling something from his pocket and handing it to me.
I took a look and saw that it was a data disk before quickly slipping it into my pocket. I figured it had the details to the job on it, but thought it best if I let him explain.
“Are you familiar with the planet, Acrov?”
“Familiar? Not really,” I said. “Been there once to pick up a bounty, but only spent a few hours there, at most.”
“Well, do you at least understand the political environment there at the moment?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I'm not really into politics, sorry.”
He shook his head. “Well, everyone should be. This election is going to have a far reaching impact, and will affect every single planet in this system and beyond.”
“No offense, but my hope is to get out of here as soon as I can,” I said. “So what happens here in this system likely isn't going to impact my life all that much.”
He narrowed his gaze. “You don't think the election on Acrov will affect you? Or your beloved Earth? Child, where have you been?” he chided me. “The name Kysos really means nothing to you then?”
“Isn't he the frontrunner in Acrov's election?”
“So you do know something! What a relief,” Mr. Boygan said. “Yes, yes, he's the frontrunner in the election – the first open election the Acrovians have had. Thanks to Earth bringing democracy out this way and all, it should be a good thing. But believe me when I say – Hugo Kysos is not to be trusted. He's not the man his followers think he is.”
“So, a politician who doesn't tell the truth is a new thing out here too? Got it. How shocking.”
I rolled my eyes and felt myself growing bored by this entire conversation. I kept out of all things political for a reason. Earth was a mess because of politics – and dishonest, crooked politicians – and other planets were feeling the hurt now too. The only reason I knew anything about Kysos was because he brought hope. He inspired people. Both were things that most people in that part of the universe lacked.
The only reason I knew anything about him or his effect on people was because Kysos' name came up a lot in conversations around the bar. I'd overheard tidbits about how great his win would be for not just Acrov, but for Cromia too, since they were aligned.
“Oh no, child,” Boygan said, his slimy tongue licking his even slimier lips. “It's more than that. Hugo Kysos is evil, plain and simple. He's going to bring about death and destruction not only for Acrov and Cromia, but also Earth eventually. And he'll wage war on your world with a vast array of weapons your pitiful planet can only imagine.”
Earth was in danger? Now that caught my attention. “Even if all of this is true – and I'm not saying I know exactly what to believe right now – then what do you want me to do him?”
“Easy, child,” Mr. Boygan said, leaning in close to me and whispering the words so only I could hear. “You're going to kill him.”
Chapter Two
“Whoa there, I don't know what your friends told you about me, but I'm no killer,” I said. “I collect bounties. I'm not an assassin, Mr. Boygan.”
“My friends told me you were a person with a strong moral code,” he said. “Which I assumed meant you weren't a killer. But let me make something clear – this man is dangerous. And you very well might be the only person who can stop an intergalactic war from breaking out that is sure to kill thousands. Tens of thousands. Maybe even millions. Who knows?”
“Why me?” I said. “There are a ton of others – others comfortable killing for money – out there you could hire.”
“Yes, but I trust you'll get the job done since your precious Earth is at risk from this man,” he said.
I watched with mild repulsion as his tongue darted from his mouth, snaring a fly that was unlucky enough to land upon the bar in front of him. He swallowed it down with a smile and then continued to speak as if he hadn't actually just eaten a bug in front of me.
“Your friends did tell me you're very good at capturing even the most hard-to-catch criminals. Even those with vast underground networks that make it nearly impossible to find them because they work with local officials,” he said. “I'd hate for them to discover you're the one turning their friends in – ”
“Is that a threat?” I asked, reaching for the dagger on my belt. “I should warn you that I don't take well to threats, Mr. Boygan – or whatever the fuck your name really is.”
“No, Gemma, it's not a threat,” he said. “Just a warning that you need to get off Cromia, and fast. And I am offering you a viable way to do just that. And as a bonus, you'll be stopping an intergalactic war and saving countless thousands of lives at the same time.”
He was right about my need to get off the planet. I knew it as well as he did – probably even more so. While most people underestimated me – I was a smallish human, a female, and not someone who looked particularly tough or clever. No one ever suspected me of being a bounty hunter or of being as skilled a fighter as I was. And their underestimation helped me in many ways.
“I need to think this over,” I said, downing the last of my drink. Sy motioned to get me another, but I shook my head. “Can I have a day or two to get back to you?”
“Of course, Gemma,” he said. “I wouldn't expect you to agree to a proposition like this without thinking it over. I do ask though, that you get back to me before tomorrow evening. We have a plan in place, and time is of the essence on this.”
He stood up from the table, and smiled at me – a smile that made a chill run down my spine. I didn't like this man, not one little bit. Something did not feel right about his proposition – not at all. But he had a good point – I was desperate. And if what he said was true and this politician was as terrible as he said he was, I would be more than happy to take out the trash before I left. Or at least, I could pretend to be. Killing for money wasn't something that was normally in my repertoire.
But, if it could net me enough money to get my ship fixed so I could get off this damn rock, I might have to work it in. At least, this one time. But, I wasn't going to lie and say I could take another man's life easily and without some sense of remorse.
“I'll be eagerly awaiting your response, Gemma,” he said, paying the tab before he walked away, leaving me alone once more.
Sygan walked over to me and – obviously standing on a stool behind the bar – leaned on the counter and looked me in the eye. He was the bartender at a secret, underground bar where deals were brokered for jobs that were less than savory – and usually less than legal – all the time. He knew better than to ask any questions, but I also knew he was there to talk. If need be. Sy was good people.
“What do you know about Hugo Kysos, Sy?” I asked.
He shrugged. “He's a politician,” he said. “Making some grand promises, I hear. But, that's about all I know. I don't really keep up that closely.”
; “Is he a good guy, you think?”
“He's a politician,” Sy said, smirking. “As far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as a good guy in politics.”
He had a point there. At least from my own experience back on Earth, I found that politicians were usually scumbags who were only in it for the power and money. I highly doubted that politics out there in other systems would be all that different. Power and greed, regardless of the species who had them, tended to corrupt.
“Do you know anything about his competition? The people running against him?” I asked.
Honestly, I never heard of any of the other candidates – I'd barely heard of Kysos as it was. But I assumed I didn't hear a whole lot because most believed that Kysos was going to pretty much guaranteed to win.
“No, I don't believe I have,” he said. “Come to think of it – I seem to recall hearing that the last man to challenge him died a month ago. An accident, of some sort. I don't know if anyone stepped up to take his place though.”
Huh. Well that sounded fishy right off the bat – the only known challenger to Kysos dying in an accident. While it could be a coincidence, I didn't think it would be prudent to write it off as such so quickly. I'd need to know more first. Which meant I was going to have to do some digging. Tap some sources, perhaps. I needed information.
“Thanks, Sy,” I said, laying down some money on the bar for a tip.
“Anytime, Gem,” he said.
And when he smiled at me, I saw something in his face. A look I never wanted to see on a man's face when he looked at me. It was a look of lust. Or adoration. Or something equally as bad. At least, bad in my opinion.
“You need to get yourself a girlfriend, Sy,” I said, laughing and shaking my head.
“I'm free tonight if you'd like – ”
“I meant someone other than me,” I said as I turned and walked away.
Sy was sweet and I liked him well enough, but when it came to dating him – no. Just no. I could feel his gaze on my ass as I walked out the door. I fought the urge to turn around and flip him off – a gesture that would be lost on Cromians anyway – and walked out the door.
Cromian Conspiracy (Celestial Empires Book 1) Page 1
