Romeo Delta 2

by Taylor Rikkinen

  The gremlin nodded with a tired expression. “Forced him to fly… Want Erin to be happy. We make Erin happy… still scared… Gone so long… Ready to die… We think Erin is dead…” The gremlin then tried to squeeze in tighter to Erin’s lap in a hope to feel her near and it found some satisfaction in the act even if it was fruitless. “Maybe dead after all…”

  “So, Tom may still be alive.” Erin’s ghost said with surprise. “This is… This is very good news.”

  “Erin…?” the creature whispered with a quiet timid simper. “Can we be your Rangers? Please make us Rangers. Please… We want to be Erin’s Rangers… Erin loves her Rangers…”

  Both Eddie and Romney were at a loss for words and a few moments went by before Eddie gave Romney’s head a gentle tap as a reminder to stay in character.

  Erin’s ghost smiled and spoke softly in a motherly tone. “O-of course you can be one of my Rangers. You’ve done a great job and really helped me out.”

  The gremlin went dead still and silent for a few seconds before it finally broke down in gentle sobs of joy. It was smiling and crying all at once as it continued to try and hug Erin’s legs and grovel at her feet. It was clearly not expecting such a warm acceptance and it became weakened further by the mere thought of being praised by Erin.

  “Thank you… Thank you…” the sad creature cried over and over again. “We’re Rangers now… We’re Erin’s Rangers. Rangers live in Erin’s heart… We live in Erin’s heart… We are Erin…”

  The gremlin began to cough in Erin’s lap as waves of emotion washed over it and soon it clutched its chest as if it felt a strong pain in its heart. It began breathing rapidly in short shallow breaths and its expression was that of pained joy.

  “What’s wrong?” Erin’s ghost asked. “Are you ok?”

  The gremlin continued to smile in its new agony and closed its amber eyes tight as it tried to gasp for breath. “Going to your heart… We are whole…”

  Moments later, the gremlin stopped breathing and it had died in the lap of an angel of mercy known as Erin Wilco looking both satisfied and at peace. The cause was clearly a heart attack brought on by only god knew what, but if Eddie had to guess, he would put money on the creature dying from a pure rush of humble joy. In its dying moments, the pathetic little gremlin had finally gotten its one wish and had become one of Erin’s Rangers. It took a while for the holographic projection of Erin to vanish and leave Eddie and Romney sitting there in the dark while feeling both dumbfounded and unsure of what to think.

  “D-did you record all that?” Eddie asked in shock.

  “You’re damn right I did,” Romney said quietly.

  “Think it’ll sell?” Eddie asked with wide eyes.

  “I’m having trouble trying to figure out who wouldn’t buy it,” Romney admitted. “Can we please get out of here now? I’m beyond my limits.”

  “Alright, Romney,” Eddie said sympathetically. “You win. No more dark catacombs for us. Not for a while at least. We’ll get some rest and figure out our next move. Do you think you can figure out where that life pod landed?”

  “Probably,” Romney said. “One of those control consoles in Sky Command should show us exactly when and roughly where that pod was launched.”

  “Perfect,” Eddie said with an excited smile. “And hey… Sorry to put you through all this shit.”

  Romney let out a grudging sigh. “I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to be your partner and if I’m going to be completely honest, I don’t regret a second of it, even if I do give you hell for acting like a reckless asshole from time to time.”

  Chapter 25 – Winter Jazz

  Norah Frost had finally snagged a lead on Eddie and Romney’s request and she was a bit surprised to find that she was killing two birds with one stone. Major Tom had been found by her discreet sources in the underground railroad, mostly because he was the one riling up the convicts beyond the dividing wall to rise up and break it down. The more she thought on it the more it seemed like less of a coincidence that the uprising within the prison population seemed to line up within the time frame of Sky Base 10 coming down. She had chalked it up to so much bad luck and given the new information, she was glad that she had grudgingly skimmed the report that Romney had sent to her incredibly private and highly encrypted terminal without her consent. Giving a damn about the person responsible for the genocide of a space colony wasn’t exactly high on Norah’s list of priorities, but her most cherished loudmouth and friendly funny bot had won her over and led her down the path of conspiracy once again. The information was heavy and its weight brought immediate consequences in the form of a smoking gun equipped with a silencer in her hand.

  Being an army brat to a spy had taught her the importance of tying off loose ends and unfortunately her informant had become one of those tethered threads. Informants were, by their very nature, turncoats to a cause that they never truly believed in and when it came to the information stored exclusively in their own heads, there was only one way to make sure it was never repeated. She had long since turned her greatest disadvantage into the crux of her success by using youthful beauty and the natural empathy people felt towards her to her advantage. No one ever suspected someone looking like a delicate porcelain doll to hold the heart of an ice-cold killer and no one ever expected her to pull the trigger without a second thought. In a colony like Dusk, a dead body lying face down in the red dust of a discreet alleyway was a simple fact of life and it took a calculated decisiveness to not end up as one of them, especially when going against the wills and whims of Kyva Corp.

  By her calculations and the rumors flying around the colony, Riggs Palmer was gunning for another war and as a result, Kyva Corp was considering another draft, but with a twist. Instead of just conscripting the ever-depleting citizens of Dusk, Kyva Corp was also going to be forcing the convicts onto the front lines. A bunch of psycho crazies, too dangerous to be on any other colonized planet, were going to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the very people that had been holding them at bay for years and not only that, but be given heavy weapons and war tanks to pilot. It was a doomed system set to fail and Norah had the sneaking suspicion that Kyva Corp was doing it on purpose. There had always been whispers of immoral thought experiments and vile uses of human guinea pigs plaguing Kyva Corp for years, and given Eddie and Romney’s transcribed investigation up to that point, it wouldn’t surprise her to find out that Sky Base 10 was nothing more than a Petri dish fermenting the absolute worst humanity had to offer.

  Her mood was spoiled for the evening because she took no joy in murdering a hapless messenger that she herself had built a world of trust with, but it somehow became even worse when she got back to her jazz club, logged onto her private terminal, and read an update that infuriated her. Eddie and Romney had discovered a mystery man who had been pretending to be Major Tom and suddenly she was back to square one with nothing more than a slightly unfocused screenshot to go off of. As she seethed in silent anger, she pressed a button next to her desk and a holographic screen came up with the image of the finely dressed man working her bar.

  “Hello, Miss Frost. What can I get you?”

  Norah let out an irritated sigh before answering. “I need a vodka double vodka with a shot of vodka.”

  The bartender held back a smile and tried to keep a straight face. “No cranberry this time? You must be having a rough day.”

  “You don’t know the half of it…” she replied tensely.

  The bartender finally cracked a smile and nodded. “Right away, boss. It’ll just be a minute.”

  “Thanks,” Norah said with a sigh.

  Not being one to stew in defeat, Norah began the process of finding her latest mystery man by bringing up Sky Base 10’s pirated registry information and running a scan of facial recognitions. The door opened behind her and she barely registered the drink being put down beside her.

  “Thanks, Vince,” she said absently and was surprised to feel a set of soft lusci
ous lips press against her cheek.

  “Guess again,” a smoldering feminine voice said playfully.

  Norah turned in her chair to see the beautiful Brooke Holiday leaning over her and she let out her first laugh of the day. “Hey, what are you doing here? You don’t start for another couple hours.”

  “True, but I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d say hi,” Brook said with a sly smile. “It was coincidence that I slipped in while Vince was making you something special and he said that you were having a bad day. I figured you could use some company.”

  “I could,” Norah said with a dreamy look. “But I did warn you that I’m a dangerous person to know.”

  Brook let out a small chuckle. “And if you thought that warning wasn’t going to entice me more than you already do, then you’re a fool, sweetheart.”

  “Not a fool, just a realist,” Norah said in a sing song voice. “I honestly thought that you were going to get what you wanted out of me and call it quits.”

  “Oh, you were worried that I was going to break your heart?” Brooke teased. “That’s precious, but for a dangerous woman such as yourself, I think I can understand the fear.” Brooke then leaned in with a hand on Norah’s thigh and whispered into her ear. “No need to be scared, sweetie. I’ll always take good care of you.”

  Norah felt a crimson flush move across her face that only doubled when Brooke touched her chin and gave her a quick kiss. She stared at Brooke with wide eyes as they parted and her breathing became somewhat shallow.

  “I swear, I’ll probably never go back to men because of you,” Norah let out after a tense moment.

  “Oh poo,” Brooke said with a gentle edging of sarcasm. “What about that Eddie guy from last week? He was kind of cute and he seemed to have nothing but eyes for you.”

  Norah let out a single dry laugh. “Eddie Knox? Are you kidding me? If it wasn’t for Romney, I probably would have personally put a bullet through his heart years ago. He’s a headache I grudgingly tolerate and nothing more.”

  “Liar,” Brooke said with smug perceptiveness. “He makes you laugh and you value him on some level, even if you’re being all secretive about the reason. And Romney…” she let out a longing sigh. “We’ve been chatting online for days now and he is a charmer. I don’t care if he is a dead man, he could put a ring on my finger any day. I found it humorously fitting that I had a purely mental attraction to someone who is essentially a brain in a can and I think it says a lot about the parts of romance we often take for granted. I’m thinking about using it as inspiration for my next album…”

  Norah shook her head and wondered why she was even lying about it. “Fine, I admit it. I like them, even if they bring me a world of agitation every time we meet. Today is a prime example. I finally found the person they were looking for, but as soon as I walk through the door I get a message that they had me chasing the wrong man and I have to start from scratch. That’s Eddie in a nutshell. A day late and a dollar short, every single time.”

  “I’m jealous…” Brooke said longingly.

  “Over what?” Norah asked in surprise.

  “You’re even beautiful when you frown,” Brooke said airily. “It’s just not fair.”

  The blush came back in full volume in Norah’s face and she was at a loss for coherent words. “I uhh… thank you?”

  “I have half a mind to take you on this desk again,” Brooke said fiendishly.

  “And I have half a mind to let you,” Norah said in anticipation. “That was honestly the first time that has ever happened to me.”

  “You’ve never had some office romance before?” Brooke asked in surprise.

  “I didn’t say that,” Norah corrected. “I meant that I’ve never been taken on my own desk before. It’s usually the other way around. I am kind of the boss around here.”

  “You didn’t seem all that bossy last time,” Brooke observed.

  “That’s because I had half a bottle of wine in me at the time and my inhibitions were woefully lowered,” Norah pointed out.

  Brooke just smiled and bit her lip as a lucrative thought came into her mind. She leaned past Norah and pressed the button on her desk and in an instant Vince appeared on the display.

  “Oh, hello again Miss Holiday. Can I get you something?”

  “Two bottles of wine, red, and a couple of glasses if you will,” Brooke said in smoky tones.

  Vince gave her a nod and a smile. “Right away, Miss.”

  The display vanished and Norah was having trouble focusing on the matter at hand. “I… I really shouldn’t… I mean, I want to, but I really should be working right now…”

  “Nooo…” Brooke sang playfully. “You should be drinking wine with me and telling me all about these little office romances of yours. It’s a really good idea, I swear.”

  “I don’t kiss and tell,” Norah said in a slowly dithering voice.

  “You should,” Brooke said fiendishly. “It’s a lot more fun if you do.”

  Norah was about to open her mouth so she could humor the beautiful Brooke Holiday, but before she could, her computer beeped and her eyes were drawn to the screen. The search had already come back with a result and she was a little bit surprised that her very first scan had struck gold. Curiosity got the better of her and she had a look at the name on the screen. Her eyes went wide and she did not want to believe it. The computer had smoothed out the features from the grainy footage and compiled a sharper image and matched it to someone on the Sky Base 10 registry. She knew the name well because he was supposed to be a dead man and dead for good reason. He had even been publicly executed seven years previously.

  “Oh no…” she breathed out in exasperation.

  “What is it, sweetie. Is there something wrong?” Brooke asked.

  “Yeah,” Norah said with a seething expression as she downed her drink in a single gulp. “Eddie Knox. Eddie fucking Knox is what’s wrong. I’m going to kill him, I swear to god. This is unacceptable. I cannot be dealing with this right now. How does he keep finding this dangerous stuff and why does it always fall into my lap?! I’m going over there right now and…”

  “No, you’re not,” Brooke said defiantly. “If you go out all angry like that, you’ll live to regret something.”

  “You don’t understand,” Norah said through tempered patience. “Eddie is going to get himself killed if he starts running his big mouth about this. I have to…”

  Brooke reached back and unzipped her cocktail dress and let it fall to the floor so it could pool around her feet. Norah’s eyes went wide as she examined the beauty standing before her in her risqué lacy attire. She felt her throat tighten as Brooke stepped towards her and pressed her against the desk.

  “You have a guest that needs tending to before you leave,” Brooke reminded her.

  “Uhh…” Norah’s brain tried to work, but the gaze she was receiving from a smoky pair of smoldering eyes encased her mind in a prison of building tension. It was at that moment when Vince decided to arrive with the wine and glasses on a tray.

  Vince was taken aback by the sight he saw and tried to repress a smile. “Another business meeting I see.”

  “Yeah…” Norah said stupidly. “Just uhh… Just put that tray wherever and umm… maybe knock next time.”

  “Maybe he could watch us conduct business?” Brooke said fiendishly.

  “It would be a good learning experience,” Vince added at the suggestion.

  “Or maybe he could go back to work and pretend that he didn’t see anything,” Norah fired back.

  “Oh poo,” Brooke said with a fake sulky tone. “And here I was thinking you liked to show off.”

  Chapter 26 – The Tyranny of One

  Erin was sitting on the edge of her bed watching TV once more and she wished that she could go back to the days when she was strapped down with zero input from the outside world. She made the mistake of turning on the local news and was immediately reminded of her execution date. It was hard not to notic
e because there was a literal death clock counting down her time in the corner of the screen and a supreme sense of mortality swept over her in a wholly invasive and unwelcome sensation of repulsion. She only had a couple weeks left to live and by her reckoning, the seconds on the death clock were counting down just a little bit too fast for her liking. She was offered antidepressants, but she refused them outright. So many strange chemicals and deathly molds had been injected into her body against her will that the very thought of any more foreign agents entering her system sent a shiver down her spine.

  She had half a mind to quickly build that small battery bomb she had brainstormed a few days back and bite down on the thing to finally take back the one thing she had any control over in her life. A cyanide capsule would have been better, but all she had at her disposal was an overcharged power cell in a bedside clock that would act like burning thermite in her mouth and that level of pain and violence was detouring her from suicide. The thoughts were racing through her head at all hours of the day and she was developing a form of insomnia due to a restless mind, but she also had no desire to sleep. Her clock was counting down and she didn’t want to miss a second of her fleeting existence to the task of slumber, besides, all her dreams were nightmares, so what was the point? Why had she fought so hard against the gremlin living in her head? Why was survival so precious if the inevitable outcome was always going to be death? She honestly had no idea why she continued to cling to life, but there she was grasping to it with a white knuckled death grip.

  Her mind swirled in the hopeless void of depression that she had built around herself and she was so consumed with her fears of dying, that she did not notice Joe entering the room despite the airlock letting out its tiny hiss of air as it closed. Erin’s glassy eyes had a million-mile stare that told any passing observer that she wasn’t really watching the TV, but was somewhere in the dark lonely corners of her mind. She felt something nudge against her elbow and she was brought out of her self-obsession to see Joe standing there with plastic bowls in each hand. Wordlessly, Erin looked at the contents and she felt her heart swell with the first fragment of joy she felt in days.