Manhunt on Tau Ceti 4 (Nick Walker, U.F. Marshal Book 6)

by John Bowers

  Harry Jones’ brow wrinkled.

  “Hard to say for sure. It would depend on a lot of factors, but I think it’s safe to say it would cost you thirty to forty percent more.”

  “That’s kind of what I thought. Are you in favor of the union?”

  “Are you?”

  Nick laughed. “I don’t even live here. I’m just curious.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say this to just anyone, but no, I’m not. This is not the highest paying job in the district, but I can live on it and I get a bump every few years. I don’t know anyone working for the railroad who’s really hurting. Sure, everyone would like more money, but I have a friend in the head office and from what he tells me, the company isn’t making that much of a profit.”

  “You said you wouldn’t say that to just anybody…why not?”

  Jones glanced across the lobby and lowered his voice an octave.

  “I could be wrong, but you seem like a stand-up guy, and if you don’t even live here, then you don’t have a stake in anything. There are some things in this district that you just don’t voice your opinion about, and the union is one of them.”

  “Have you been threatened?”

  “Not me, but I’ve heard stories. And it’s not actual, personal threats, just a sort of implied warning.”

  “What kind of warning?”

  “Nothing tangible, just kind of like, if you know what’s good for you, then keep your mouth shut.”

  “That sounds pretty tangible to me.”

  “I could be overreacting. But when certain people come around, other people stop talking.”

  “What ‘certain’ people? Locals?”

  “Some of them are local, but the ones who make my skin crawl are from Orosi.”

  “Do you know any names?”

  Harry Jones stared at him a moment, and Nick saw him starting to shut down.

  “I think I’ve said too much already.”

  “Hold on.”

  Nick glanced around again, then pulled the U.F. Marshal badge out of his pocket and held it so the other man could get a good look at it.

  “I’m not working for the union,” he said. “I’m here on other business, and the union may be related to that.”

  Jones looked unconvinced. “What other business?”

  “I’m hunting a fugitive.”

  “You’re from the Federation?”

  “Yes. Which means I have no jurisdiction here. I’m working strictly on my own, with no legal authority whatsoever. But I have met with the sheriff and clued him in, so he knows what I’m doing. That’s why I was at the meeting last night—Sheriff Thomas invited me to help out in case of trouble.”

  “This is for real?”

  “Yes. And I need you to keep this to yourself. I wouldn’t even tell you, but you also seem like a stand-up guy.”

  “Okay. Thanks for that.” Harry cocked his head. “Is Jones your real name?”

  “No, but it will do.”

  “So what was your question?”

  “Names of people who make your skin crawl.”

  “And you didn’t hear it from me?”

  “I never even met you.”

  Harry Jones still looked undecided; when he spoke, he was like a suspect under interrogation, giving up information against his better judgment.

  “I’ve seen three guys come through here just about every week. All I know is first names. Sam, Charlie, and Joker. I have no idea who they really are.”

  Nick felt a tingle across his scalp. He’d heard those names before.

  “Can you describe them?”

  “Uh, yeah, more or less. They’re all fairly young, under thirty, I’d say. Sam is kind of pale, heavyset, with short blond hair and blue eyes. Looks like he might have played college sports but went to seed after that. Pudgy, you know.”

  “What about the other two?”

  “They look pretty fit. Medium height, maybe five feet ten or so. Joker has a beard, dark brown or black. Wears a hat, so I don’t know about his hair. Charlie has dark eyes, piercing; when he looks at you, it’s like an X-ray. You get the feeling he can see your internal organs. He has a receding hairline, looks like he’ll be completely bald in another year.”

  Nick nodded, impressed. Those were pretty good descriptions.

  “What did they do that made you uncomfortable?”

  Harry laughed.

  “I get jittery when I see them walk through the lobby. But a few months ago, I was having a chat with another customer, just like you and I are doing now. We were talking about unions in general, and these three came in for tickets. They started mouthing off, told us we didn’t know what the hell we were talking about, and we ought to get our facts straight if we were gonna bad-mouth the union. I got the feeling right then that it wasn’t healthy to have an opinion when they were around.”

  “Do you know where they are now?”

  “No.”

  “When was the last time you saw them?”

  “Yesterday evening. They came in on the last train.”

  “They’re still in town?”

  “Most likely, unless they got a ride. They haven’t been through here today.”

  Nick heard footsteps approaching across the broad lobby and glanced around. A woman with a small child was headed for the ticket window. He turned back to Harry Jones.

  “Thanks for the information. If you ever need to talk to me, I’m at the hotel.”

  “No problem. You be careful.”

  Chapter 14

  The train platform was cold, but at least the station shielded it from the wind. Nick walked over to the edge and peered down the tracks in each direction, then sauntered back to lean against the building. Except for a couple of railroad workers moving a baggage cart, the only other person in sight was sitting on a bench waiting for the train. She looked about twenty-five, dark complexioned with black hair. She was slender and attractive, if not exactly beautiful.

  When they made eye contact, Nick nodded.

  “Morning.”

  The young woman looked away. She was wearing a long coat and stylish leather boots; a single piece of luggage rested on the bench beside her. Nick studied her a moment.

  “You look familiar,” he said.

  She glanced his way again.

  “Is that a line? If it is, you can do better.”

  “Nope, not a line. I’ve seen you before.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “Last night. You were at the meeting.”

  “What meeting?”

  “At the warehouse. The union meeting.”

  “I’m not a member of the union.”

  “Neither am I, but I was there. So were you.”

  “You’re hallucinating.”

  “And you’re not a local. Are you from Terra?”

  “No.”

  “Sure you are. You look like a Spanic to me. Do you speak Spanic?”

  Annoyance narrowed her eyes.

  “No, and if you don’t stop talking, I’ll call the sheriff.”

  She lifted her chin and gazed in the other direction.

  “Okay, sorry. Pero tu eres muy bonita.”

  Her head jerked toward him in shock. Her cheeks began to pink.

  “Who the hell are you?” she demanded.

  “I thought you didn’t speak Spanic. But you understand it, don’t you?”

  “So what? What business is it of yours?”

  Nick walked closer and sat down at the opposite end of the bench.

  “None at all, but it’s nice to see a face from home. I’m from California.”

  “Which one? There are six Californias.”

  “CentCal. That’s where I grew up.”

  Now she studied him, her dark eyes gauging him.

  “Then what in hell are you doing here? You look like you just stepped off a starship.”

  “I did. Yesterday.”

  “Why? You planning to settle?”

  “Funny—everybody asks me that. But I haven
’t made a decision yet. I just got here.”

  “You don’t look like a settler. You look more like…”

  “Like what?”

  “Nothing. Never mind.” She looked away again.

  “You don’t look like a settler either. In fact, I’d say you probably don’t stay too long in any one place.”

  Her dark eyes pierced him, but she didn’t reply.

  Nick gazed across the tracks. His next question sounded innocent.

  “How well do you know Kenneth Saracen?”

  In spite of her attempt at studied indifference, the young woman couldn’t suppress a reaction. Her entire body went rigid. Nick didn’t give her a chance to recover.

  “Are you working for him?”

  “No! I don’t know who that is.”

  “Yes you do. But you don’t look like the type he usually employs. You look like you might actually have a brain.”

  The young woman stared at him with mounting concern. She glanced about to make sure no one was within earshot, then leaned slightly toward him.

  “What do you know about Saracen?”

  “What do you know about him?”

  “Who the hell are you?” Her concern was turning to fear.

  Nick crossed his legs and sighed.

  “Relax. I’m not on his payroll and I’m not on your trail. I never saw you before last night, and I don’t even know your name.”

  She had been sitting with her hands in her coat pockets; now she drew her right hand free and rested it on her lap. It was holding a small .25 calibre automatic, pointed straight at him.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” she said, her voice turning hard. “Who are you?”

  Nick gazed at the weapon for a moment, then slowly pulled his hands from his own pockets. He held them up a few inches in a gesture of surrender.

  “My name is Nick Jones,” he said. “I’m not absolutely sure yet, but I think you and I are on the same side.”

  *

  A train whistle sounded and moments later a freight rumbled through the station heading toward the shuttleport. It was a short train, only six cars, and after a moment the vibration died away. Nick and the woman still sat on the bench, her gun pointed at his stomach.

  “How do you figure we’re on the same side?” she asked. “The same side of what?”

  “In my line of work, I spend a lot of time studying people. I can usually get a pretty good read on their character in just a few minutes, and my read on you is that you’re not a criminal. Now, I’ve been known to be wrong, but—”

  “Why would you even think I might be a criminal? Are you some kind of cop?”

  Keeping his hands in plain sight, and moving slowly, he pulled back the left side of his jacket.

  “I need to get something out of my pocket. Are you okay with that?”

  “Do it slowly.”

  He took the badge from his shirt pocket and held it out to her. She didn’t touch it, but scanned it quickly.

  “U.F. Marshal. For real?”

  He nodded and put the badge away, then released his jacket lapel and let it fall. She stared at him a moment, then turned her pistol away from him, but kept it in her hand.

  “Well, that’s very interesting, but how does it put us on the same side?”

  “Like I said, I study people. I’m willing to bet that you’re also some kind of Federation officer. Maybe FIA.”

  Her eyes registered shock.

  “FIA? How in the galaxy did you come up with that?”

  “Well, look at you. You’re too sophisticated to be a local; you’re too intelligent to be one of Saracen’s robot girls; I’m pretty sure you’re not a U.F. Marshal…so that doesn’t leave too many options.”

  “I’m here on vacation.”

  “Sure you are. That’s why you’re pointing a gun at me.”

  “I’m pointing a gun at you because you’re harassing me.”

  “Why were you at the union meeting last night?”

  “Who says I was?”

  “You were wearing a blue hard hat and you were there alone. You were one of only five or six women in the whole building.”

  She stared at him a moment longer, debating. Finally she sighed and slipped the gun into her pocket.

  “And you’re the loudmouth cowboy who almost started a fight.”

  Nick grinned. “Yes I am. What’s your name?”

  “Connie.”

  “Connie? Consuelo?”

  “Just Connie.”

  “¿Apellido?”

  “None of your business.”

  “Fair enough, but you have to call yourself something. What do you tell the locals?”

  “Connie Ventura.”

  “Your apellido is Ventura?”

  “Yours is Jones?”

  He laughed. “Which agency?”

  “I work for Carter Industries in Orosi. That’s all you need to know.”

  “Is Bert Carter your boss?”

  “He thinks he is, and that’s what he’s supposed to think.”

  “What is FIA doing on TC 4? Some kind of undercover sting?”

  “Don’t ask too many questions, Jones, or I still may have to shoot you. What are you doing here?”

  “Ken Saracen.”

  “What about him?”

  “You know him.”

  “I know who he is. What do you want with him?”

  “Where is he?”

  “Saracen is not my concern. I know who he is because I have to be aware of the landscape, and he’s part of the scenery.”

  “Then what is your mission?”

  Connie Ventura shook her head slowly.

  “Man, if my boss heard me talking to you like this, she’d skin me and make a parasail.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’ve already told you way too much.”

  “Relax a little. I already had you figured out, remember? You didn’t give anything away.”

  “Okay, here’s the short version—and that’s all you’re going to get. The FIA has a presence on every frontier planet. We’re just observers, nothing more. We monitor the development of frontier societies to make sure they don’t go sideways. It’s a purely defensive move, to prevent a possible threat that might develop over a period of time. The Federation doesn’t want to see any of these new worlds morph into an enemy that we’ll have to fight a hundred years from now.”

  “And what if they do?”

  “That’s not my department. All I do is observe trends and report. What the Agency does with it is outside my purview.”

  “What about TC 4?”

  “It’s too early to tell. Sometimes it takes decades for a frontier world to form a national character.”

  “But you’re seeing trends?”

  “Several, but it’s much too early to start panicking. And now, as I told you before, that’s all I’m going to say.”

  “I really need to know where Saracen is.”

  “Can’t help you.”

  “Why not?”

  “We have different missions. You’re looking for an individual. I deal with the big picture.”

  “You do know that he’s a terrorist, don’t you? He’s responsible for over three thousand deaths that I’m aware of, and probably more. He’s probably killed people on this planet as well.”

  “Sorry.”

  Nick felt his face heat with anger.

  “Big picture, okay. At least tell me this: Do you know where he is?”

  “More or less.”

  “Then what’s the harm in telling me?”

  Connie Ventura heaved an annoyed sigh and turned to look at him.

  “Look, Marshal, I’m not trying to be a dick, but I shouldn’t even be talking to you. I could be reprimanded for what I’ve already said.”

  Nick’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not like I’m going to advertise our conversation. It can stay between us.”

  “Yeah, right. I’ve heard that one before.”

  Nick fell silent. He b
reathed deeply for a moment to fight down his blood pressure. He made one final effort.

  “Ken Saracen murdered my fiancée.”

  Connie Ventura stared at him in shock. Her lips parted an inch.

  “You’re Nick Walker?”

  Nick felt his scalp tingle.

  “How did you know?”

  She didn’t reply at once; instead, she licked her lips in indecision, then glanced around the platform to ensure they were still alone. Her voice dropped another octave.

  “The Agency has been aware of Saracen’s terrorism for years. We’re not a police agency, so we didn’t get involved, and in any case, the U.F. Marshal Service was handling that. But I saw the reports of what happened on Alpha Centauri, so I know what he did to your fiancée, and that you killed several of his followers. I just didn’t expect to see you here.”

  Nick frowned. “You knew he was here, yet you didn’t report it? What the hell does FIA do?”

  “I did report it. I notified my superiors on Terra that he was here. I assumed they passed it on to the U.F. Marshals.”

  “But you didn’t follow up?”

  “That’s not my job. Look, I know it doesn’t make much sense to you. You’re a cop, and you have a very narrow focus—”

  “Yeah, catching killers and saving innocent lives!”

  “You deal with the security of people, of communities and individuals. We deal with the security of planets. I’m not saying that what you do isn’t important, but our focus is much broader. I hope you understand.”

  “I understand that if somebody doesn’t stop Saracen, everyone on this planet is in danger. How’s that for a big picture?”

  She stared at him a moment, conflict in her eyes. Finally she looked away.

  “I’ll see if I can get Saracen’s exact location for you. Give me a day or two.”

  Still angry, Nick forced himself to stand down. He nodded.

  “How do I get in touch with you?”

  “You don’t. I’ll contact you. In the meantime, please don’t try to find me. A casual meeting like we’re having now is a coincidence, but if it happens again, it could blow my cover.”

  “You’re under surveillance?”

  “I never know for sure, but I have to assume that I am. Hanging around with me could compromise your investigation as well.”

  “Okay. It was nice meeting you.”