Richie pointed to Kimiyo. “I thought she was his caretaker?”
“She is but she didn’t dye herself purple,” Nathan said. “I’d like to keep a low profile tonight and your skin pigmentation doesn’t lend itself to that.”
“Come on, lots of people do this. I won’t stand out that much.”
“We’re not in Go City back home on Earth,” Nathan said. “Help yourself to anything in the fridge. Everyone else, go get dressed for a night out.”
Marla made a call and arranged for a car to pick up the five of them.
A van showed up with no driver. Nathan wasn’t fond of auto-driven vehicles but the Blue Moon Bandit didn’t have room to haul a car around. They piled in. Nathan sat in the front, Duncan and Marla took the second row seat and Cole and Kimiyo piled in the third.
“Any idea where to go?” Nathan said. “I’ve never been to this part of Olympus.”
“Is dinner on Saji?” Cole asked.
Kimiyo nodded. “I have the corporate account so let’s do it right.”
“Steak,” Cole said.
“Real steak,” Duncan said. “No synthetic protein.”
Nathan relayed instructions to the van to find a restaurant. It presented a list on the console screen. Nathan picked the nicest looking and the van started off. It drove them across town and let them out in front of a joint that didn’t look as nice as its description in the car.
They stood on the sidewalk looking the place over. “This is why I don’t like the automated cars,” Nathan said. “This place probably pays to be at the top of the suggestion list. You can’t throttle the driver for giving you bad advice.”
“Come on,” Cole said. “It won’t be that bad. It’s hard to screw up a steak.”
They went in and were seated in a large booth toward the back by a stern looking woman who looked at them like they might rob the place. They squeezed into the booth.
The waitress came and took their drink orders. She was a cute little blonde and Nathan watched Cole as she wrote down their orders. Normally he would be chatting her up but Nathan noticed Cole was on his best behavior.
“They have real steak,” Duncan said, looking at the menu. “I’m getting a Porterhouse. Rare.”
“See, Nathan,” Cole said. “I told you this would be a nice place.”
“There must still be grazing land here,” Marla said. “Duncan loves beef but it’s so expensive on Earth because it has to be imported.”
“How old is this planet?” Kimiyo said.
“Two hundred years since it was terraformed, if that’s what you mean,” Duncan said.
“I’ve heard they have never had a war here,” Kimiyo said.
“How could that be?” Marla said.
Their drinks arrived. Everyone took a moment to sample their cocktails.
“Give it time,” Nathan said. “The people who live here haven’t had time to learn how to hate each other yet.”
“Way to be optimistic,” Duncan said.
“No, he’s right,” Cole said.
“You understand?” Nathan said.
Cole nodded. “I’m picking up what you’re putting down.”
“They got, what, a hundred million people on the whole planet?” Nathan said. “They’re spread out on three continents and got another three that barely have settlements. Wait until they all decide they want to live on the same plot of land or need the resources someone finds under someone else’s house. Then you’ll see some fireworks.” He raised his mug.
“That’s pretty cynical,” Kimiyo said.
“Oil,” Cole said.
“Farm land,” Nathan said.
“Water,” Marla said.
“You too?” Duncan said.
She took a bite from a celery stalk and smiled.
“This is a whole new solar system,” Duncan said. “Brand new planets, relatively speaking. The people out here left all that nonsense behind them. In two centuries of settling this system there hasn’t seen a war. Nathan, you flew a gunship for Earth Protective Services, right?”
“You know I did.”
“You ever make it to the Alpha system?”
“Sure. We helped police the settlements.”
“Anything serious?”
“Any action you mean?”
Duncan nodded.
“No, nothing here.”
“But in the Sol system?”
“Yeah,” Nathan said. “I saw some action there. That kind of proves my point. People may move to new places but they’re still people. They lie, steal and kill each other. That’s society and that’s war.”
“I’m just saying, this is a new place so maybe we get another chance. Not just a planet but dozens of them with everyone focused on making their home the best it can be. In all of human history we’ve never had an opportunity to grow without the danger of invasion, without putting an obscene amount of resources toward defending ourselves from ourselves. That doesn’t happen here.”
“Yet,” Nathan said. “Back in the home system we went out into the dark, ripped worlds apart, smashed ice to make oxygen and made our homes on planets and moons that would have poisoned us. That action I saw that you mentioned earlier? That was a dispute on Mars over water. People lived in peace for a hundred years and then when they got thirsty? They picked up rifles and got down to it.”
“And you think we’ve learned nothing since then?”
“I’m just saying, it’s who we are. It’s what we do, eventually.”
The food arrived and they dug in. The steaks were real and thick.
“Dude we’re here delivering a ransom to free up a starship full of dead bodies,” Cole said. “I think Nathan’s got a point.”
“He may have a point,” Duncan said.
Nathan looked over at Cole. He and Kimiyo were splitting a bottle of red wine. It was something local, not imported from Earth. They must grow good grapes here, Nathan thought, watching as glass after glass was emptied.
“So what’s the deal here?” Marla said. “What’s going on tomorrow?”
“Should be an easy swap,” Nathan said. “We meet their guy at some mall. They wanted a public place you know. Anyway we meet him, he checks out, makes sure Arulio is for real and then gives us another place to meet them.”
“Off world?”
“I assume,” Nathan said. “Olympus is too settled to try whatever it is they want to do. They’ll want some crappy little moon where the law is spread thin. So, we’ll wait for Arulio to do his thing, the Charon crew gets released and we go home. An amazing pay day follows and we do much celebrating.”
“Just like that?” Cole said.
“With any luck,” Nathan said.
They finished dinner and sat back with more drinks. Marla looked at Nathan.
“Hey boss.”
“Yeah?”
She smiled uncontrollably. “What’s it like knockin’ boots with a light puppet?”
Nathan looked at Duncan. “Seriously?”
“It was too good to keep to myself.”
“Are you going to tell Celeste about your little fantasy when you see her?” Marla said.
Nathan felt himself flush in the dim light of the restaurant. “Come on…”
“Did you bring a copy so you could show her?” Cole said.
“You are all horrible people. I don’t know why I employ any of you.” He waved to the waitress for the check.
“No, Cole, I did not bring a copy to show Celeste. Making that immersive environment may have been a mistake.”
“And expensive,” Duncan said.
“Duncan, you are once again proving you can’t hold liquor or secrets.”
The engineer tipped a glass in his direction.
“But he gets to hold me,” Marla said.
“I’m going to be sick.”
The check came and Kimiyo took care of it. They walked out onto the street where the air had turned chilly. Nathan glanced at the sky out of habit, always a pilot, and saw i
t was a clear night. The stars in the sky looked very different from those on Earth.
“Cole,” he said, “are you going to take a run by the meet location?”
“Heading over there now.”
“I’ll come too,” Kimiyo said.
“That’s all right. I can take care of it.”
She shook her head. “Saji made it clear this was my responsibility. I want to see the place before we meet tomorrow.”
Cole looked at her. “You sure?”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“Besides, we’ll look like a couple. Real spy stuff.”
A van pulled to the curb. Nathan, Duncan and Marla piled in. Cole and Kimiyo walked off down the block. Duncan gave the van’s computer the address for the Blue Moon Bandit’s landing pad. Nathan watched Cole and Kimiyo until they were out of sight.
“Nervous about tomorrow?” Duncan said.
Nathan considered the question. “It’s going to be odd, that’s for sure. You?”
Duncan hugged Marla tight. “Nah, I’m good.”
The van rolled up to the landing pad and let them out. Nathan paid for it and got a receipt for the expenses. Duncan keyed his code into the rear landing ramp of the Blue Moon Bandit and he and Marla walked into the ship. Nathan followed them a minute later.
Duncan and Marla walked to their quarters while Nathan walked toward the front of the ship to check things over. He got as far as the galley and stopped. Richie was tied to a chair, unconscious and shirtless, with burn marks all over his purple skin.
"Duncan! Get up here, and bring a first aid kit!" He moved to a wall locker, thumbed the lock and grabbed a shotgun. He grabbed a handful of shells and started jacking them in while looking toward the front of the ship. He didn't see anything moving near the cockpit and he slid the door shut separating the compartments. Duncan and Marla came running up. She was carrying the first aid kit.
"What happened?" Duncan said. His face showed shock. They were in a dangerous business but the danger usually didn't follow them to their home.
"I don't know," Nathan said. "I just found him like this. Did you see anyone down near the crew quarters?"
"We didn't see anything," Duncan said.
Marla was attaching a diagnostic probe to Richie's forehead. Without a doctor on board they had to rely on a medical computer built into the kit and the Bandit's mainframe.
Nathan pulled another shotgun from the wall locker, loaded it and threw it to Duncan, who almost dropped it. He hefted the gun awkwardly.
"Nathan, you know how I am with these."
"Well Marla's busy so it's just you and me until Cole gets back. We'll sweep the ship bow to stern. Shoot first and ask questions later."
"All right but you may want to stay behind me."
Nathan pulled open the door to the cockpit and they swept through it. The compartment wasn't very large so they were back in the galley a moment later. Nathan looked at Richie.
"How is he, Marla?"
"These burns are serious and he's got a head injury. Whoever was here worked him over hard."
Nathan went back to the wall locker and grabbed a pistol. He slipped a magazine in and chambered a round before handing it to Marla. "Keep an eye open. If anyone comes in here but us, assume they did this."
She took the gun and laid it on the table beside her because her dress didn't have pockets. She took scissors from the first aid kit and started cutting Richie loose. Nathan helped her lay him on the table. When they were done he picked up his shotgun and joined Duncan at the other entrance to the galley.
"Okay, you stay here with him while we check the ship." He tapped a few keys on a wall mounted keypad. "The intercom is open. If you need us, just holler."
She nodded and went back to Richie, following the instructions of the medical program. Nathan and Duncan moved into the corridor and pulled the door shut behind them.
"Did you see the way she took that gun?" Nathan said. "She didn't whine nearly as much as you did."
Duncan smiled but kept his gaze straight ahead. "I'm here to keep your junky boat in the air. Cole is supposed to shoot people."
"My boat isn't junky."
"Well, I do good work so maybe you just don't notice."
They walked the length of the ship, going through crew quarters, storage holds, the small medical bay, the reactor room and the engine room. Duncan locked the rear hatch as they passed it and then they circled back to the galley. They knocked on the door and Marla let them in. Nathan noticed how she looked behind them before bringing her gun hand out from behind her back. She had good instincts.
"How's our purple mechanic?"
"I sprayed the burns with antiseptic and numbed them. The head thing wasn't too bad but the doc program had me give him an injection of nanites. They'll swarm the goose egg and relieve the swelling by mimicking anti-coagulants. I was also allowed to give a stimulant so he should be around any minute."
"Good work. Maybe you're being wasted as a pilot."
Richie groaned and Nathan stepped up to keep him from rolling off the table
"Easy, kid. Can you tell us what happened?"
Richie opened his eyes and raised himself up on his elbows. "Oh man..."
"Who was it?"
Richie looked up. "Nathan, I'm sorry. I couldn't stop them."
"Who?"
"That loan shark from back in Go City. It was him and his goons."
"Atomic Jack? He was here? Are you sure?"
Richie nodded. "It was him that burned me." Nathan looked down at Richie's chest and noticed the burns looked like hand prints.
"What did he want?" Duncan asked.
"He said he wanted the ransom we were carrying for the body barge. They thought we were carrying money or something like that. I held out as long as I could. I didn't want to tell them about Arulio but..." His voice trailed off and he looked down at his chest.
"Oh, Nathan," Duncan said. "We didn't see him during our sweep." He hustled down the corridor to check the wetjack’s quarters.
Nathan cursed himself for forgetting about Arulio and realized just how much he'd had to drink. He set his shotgun down on the galley counter. If he couldn't remember who was supposed to be on the ship he probably shouldn't be holding a firearm.
"He's gone," Duncan said as he returned.
"How could he have known, Nathan?" Marla said. "No one but us knew what was going on. Saji and his people don't want this publicity."
"Somebody talked," Nathan said.
All three of them turned to look at Richie. He hung his head down.
"What did you do?" Nathan said. He was steely eyed now and feeling more sober by the moment.
"Captain, you have to understand. That orange faced freak is crazy. He was going to burn me. I didn't think telling him what we were doing would do any harm. I mean, how could I know he would do something like this? I thought I was just putting him off again, you know, until we got home."
"When did you talk to them?"
"Duncan sent me to provision for this trip. When I was at the store they grabbed me and took me to some bar they own. They were going to do me right there so I had to convince them that I had money coming in. They didn't want to hear about my back pay anymore."
"So you told them about this deal?" Nathan said, the anger rising in his voice. He turned to Duncan. "I thought you were watching him?"
Duncan held up his hands. "I was but I can't do everything at once. I can't provision the ship and rebuild parts for the third time. This is what happens when we run lean and cheap."
"Well, we can't all be rich, can we?"
"I guess it depends on what you spend your money on, Captain."
They stared at each other for a moment and then Marla stepped between them.
"Richie," she said, "when did this happen? How long ago were they here?"
"An hour or so after you left. I was sitting on the back ramp having a cigarette and getting some fre
sh air and they just walked right up. I didn't even have time to pull up the ramp or call for help."
"What happened then?"
"They brought me in here, tied me up and started asking me questions. When I couldn't produce any cash they started slapping me around."
"Where was Arulio?" Marla asked.
"He never came out of his room."
"Then what?"
Richie got off the table and sat down in a chair, leaning back. Marla handed him a bottle of water from the fridge.
"Look Nathan, I know you're angry but I held out as long as I could. That Jack guy is a sadist. He gets off on hurting people and you know he's wanted to hurt me for a long time so… he did." His voice choked up. "One of his goons ripped my shirt off and they took off while he worked me over. I assume they were looking for the ransom money but to tell you the truth I wasn't aware of anything but his hands. He took turns taking his gloves off and burning me with each one." He stopped and looked at Nathan who just stared back.
"And then?"
"It must hurt him to take the gloves off. He would have one out for a while and then switch off. His hands are actually burning when he takes them off, with flames and everything. After I don't know how long I just gave up and told him about Arulio. I'm sorry but we all have limits and having my nipples twisted while they're burning is apparently mine.
"So he had his boys go get Arulio out of his quarters. By then I was so pissed that he hadn't done anything to help, hadn't come to see what was going on or even called for help as far as I knew that I didn't care if they took him. I mean, I was screaming as loud as I could and he just stayed in his room.
"Anyway, his boys went to get Arulio and he just kept on burning me, like he didn't want to waste the opportunity. When they finally got back here with Arulio one of them wrote a note and left it on the fridge and the other one smacked me in the head. The next thing I knew Marla was waking me up."
Nathan turned to the fridge and grabbed the note held there by a magnet. Something else different he hadn't noticed. It had the address of a meeting place, a time and a figure. He read it to the group.
"The meet is in the late morning at some bar. They want a hundred-thousand." He looked at Richie. "That's way more than you owe. Probably gas money for coming to collect."
"Well, we certainly don't have that," Duncan said.
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