Montario led them to the common room Celeste had passed through during her “escape attempt”. It was deserted now, with no slackers in evidence. The tables were even cleared of any evidence of illicit drug activity. Montario motioned to a large sectional sofa. Everyone sat except Cole, who stood behind Nathan with his hands folded in front of him.
“Nathan,” Montario said, “now that you know the crew is safe, we really need to get the wetjack in here so he can get started on his part. I’m afraid it will take quite a bit of time and I don’t want to hold things up.”
Nathan held a steady gaze with Montario, raised a finger and shook it in front of him. “Assuring the well-being of the hostages was only one of my demands. Now I need to know their ship, the Charon, is space worthy. What can you do to prove it to me?”
Montario grimaced and looked at one of the young men. “Gary, may I have your tablet please?” A guy who looked like he should be in college stepped forward and handed Montario a tablet computer. He tapped the screen a few times and handed it to Nathan.
“I assume Saji Vy provided you with access codes to the Charon’s computer system?” Nathan nodded. “This tablet is keyed to the ship’s comm system. You just need to enter the access code to see the telemetry from the ship.”
Nathan sighed and reached across the table for the tablet. He entered the code provided by Saji and waited while it loaded. When it did, he looked up at Celeste. “Can you come over here and validate this is correct?”
Celeste looked at Montario. He nodded and she got up, moved around the table and sat down beside Nathan. She looked at the data for a moment, swiped the screen to show additional graphs and then nodded. “It all looks good to me,” she said. “Have you had people up there taking care of things?”
“We have,” Montario said. “We have several people on staff capable of operating a starship. They have been taking good care of the Charon since it came into orbit.”
“Since you hijacked, it you mean,” Nathan said.
“No need to be unpleasant, Nathan,” Montario said, taking back the tablet. “We’ve met your demands. Now please, call in the wetjack.”
Nathan sank back into the sofa. It was leather, he noticed. No expense spared for the commune. “So, how do you envision this going down? Arulio comes in here does his thing for you and then what? We load everyone up on my ship and shuttle them up to the Charon?”
Montario sank back into his seat as well. Nathan couldn’t tell if it was because he was trying to seem calm or because it was one of those things you do when you notice other people leaning forward or sitting back and subconsciously do the same thing. “That’s fine with me,” Montario said. “Once I have what I need, I can give you the location of the Charon and everyone can go.”
Nathan smiled a bit. It wasn’t we anymore, he noticed. Now ‘I’ was slipping into the conversation where he used to refer to everyone. “Just so long as you understand, if any of this goes hinky, I’m calling in Protective Services. I’m willing to keep things quiet for Saji’s sake but only up to the point where the life of my crew or the safety of my ship is imperiled. You understand me?”
“I do. You should know, however, that several members of the local Protective Services are members of our group.”
Nathan smiled. “Of course they are. Okay, let’s get it done.” He rose from the sofa.
Montario nodded. “I have a group standing by your ship. If you let your people know it’s all right they will be escorted in.”
Nathan considered it. Up to this point Montario hadn’t done anything too stupid so he was reasonably sure he could trust him to bring in Arulio and Kimiyo. That would leave Duncan, Marla and Richie on the ship. “Okay, I’ll make the call.” He pulled a phone from his pocket and sent a message to Duncan. He got an answer back a few seconds later. “They’re on their way.”
Montario nodded again and pulled an aide in close to speak with him. Nathan took the opportunity to look around. Celeste caught his eye. She looked good, which was surprising since she had been with these people for almost a week. She smiled. His heart skipped a beat and his breathing quickened. He shook his head. He was too old to pine for women who didn’t want to be with him.
On the landing pad a hundred meters from the one holding the Blue Moon Bandit, Caleb and a group of people were walking out to one of the shuttles parked there. He was on his way up to the Charon, to manage the tech crew taking care of her systems. It was a crap job, one that Caleb didn’t exactly understand. He understood they were providing hospitality to the crew of a stranded ship but they had been here long enough to be handed off to the local government office. Assistance was one thing but these shuttle flights to ferry repair crews around cost money.
His bag dropped at the base of the ramp when one of the shoulder straps broke. He bent to pick it up and noticed a seam had also split. “Hey, Linda?” he called to the young woman ahead of him. “Can you tell them to hang on a second? I need to go back to my quarters for another bag. It’ll just take a minute.”
He turned to walk back in through the rain and noticed the ship on the next landing pad over. The rain had died down and was much lighter than the deluge that had taken place a few minutes earlier. First the rain held up their departure. Now it was this stupid old bag.
The ramp dropped on the other ship and Caleb saw Dean and Betsy, two fellow members who took care of housekeeping at the commune wave to someone inside the ship. Caleb stopped for a moment and watched. A woman walked down the ramp and opened a large umbrella. A tall, lanky man with chalk white skin followed. It took Caleb a moment to realize that this man was a wetjack. What was a human / computer interface doing here? Caleb turned back to Linda.
“Go on without me, okay? You’re in charge.”
She looked puzzled. “Why? I thought we were going to get some time together.”
“I know,” he said. “But I forgot about something with the new office on Olympia. It will just take a day or so to clean up. Then I’ll be right along.”
Her eyebrows crinkled. “You’re sure?”
“I am. Just a day or so.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, one more thing, Linda? If Montario asks for me? Just tell him I’m tied up.” He looked kind of sheepish. “I don’t want him to know I screwed this thing up. Okay?”
She smiled. “Sure, no problem. I know how he can get.”
He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks, honey. See you later.”
Caleb gathered the remains of his bag and watched as the other party walked into the commune. He gave them another couple minutes to clear the doorway, dry off, and then followed them in.
He looked through the windows and saw the entranceway was empty. He walked into the commune, made a right at the hall leading to the common room and slipped down quietly. The crowd in the room included Montario and more new arrivals. Caleb recognized the red headed woman as one of the crew from the freighter they were assisting. The rest he didn’t know. They all took seats on the large sofas. Caleb leaned back against the wall, out of sight and listened in.
“Kimiyo and Arulio, Mr. Dawson is the reason we’re here. Whatever needs done, he can explain it to you.”
“Thank you, Nathan,” Montario said. “I want you to know I appreciate you all coming.” He smiled, got up and walked around to where Arulio sat, with Kimiyo on the cushion beside him. Montario knelt down. “I know you’ve been wondering why I asked for you to come and I’ll be happy to explain it to you.” He paused. “But only you Arulio.”
“Oh what the hell?” Nathan said. “What is this nonsense?”
Montario swiveled his head toward Nathan. “This is for your protection, Captain Teller, you and your crew. What I’m going to talk to Arulio about is probably something you don’t want to hear.”
Kimiyo stood up and stepped between Arulio and Montario. “He doesn’t go anywhere without me. That’s non-negotiable.”
Montario considered her demand for a moment. “Th
at’s fine, but just you and you don’t get a say in what I tell Arulio to do. Understood?”
Kimiyo raised an eyebrow. “I’ll comment on whatever I want. Let’s go do this so we can get out of here.”
Cole leaned over to Nathan, “She can take care of herself.”
Nathan held up his hands. “Fine. How much time do you need?”
“Ten minutes.”
“Well get started. I want to be back in the air as soon as possible.”
Montario gestured to a corridor. “This way please.” He led Arulio and Kimiyo down the hall and out of sight. Nathan watched them go and noticed none of the Children of the Apocalyptic Rainbow were around. He walked over to where Celeste was sitting.
“May I sit down?”
She gestured to the cushion beside her. “Sure.”
He sat down and folded his hands. “How have you been? Are you really holding up okay? Is your crew all right? You can speak freely now. No one else is around.” She looked up and saw Cole prowling the perimeter of the large room.
She smiled. “It’s okay, really. They haven’t mistreated us or anything. We’ve just been locked in some small rooms. The food is okay but we’ve been bored. They never stop recruiting for their organization.”
“Yeah, about that,” Nathan said. “They really don’t seem like a cult or even a religion. Not like you’d think. It seems like they’re more into partying and being janitors.”
She smiled a bit. “I know what you mean. Instead of working toward a goal they’re all about helping you be the best ‘you’ you can be, whatever that means. All I’ve seen are a bunch of university dropouts getting wasted and sleeping together so I guess this outfit is helping them do that as best they can.”
Nathan chuckled. “It doesn’t sound like a bad way to get by.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I guess, as long as you have a trust fund to pay for it. How are you doing? You look good, like you lost some weight.”
“Thanks.”
“Cole looks really good.”
He looked at her and she smiled. It was a good smile. “Everyone’s good. Duncan’s outside on the ship. He’s happy.”
“You think so?”
“What do you mean?”
“We keep in touch,” she said. “I’m not sure happy is the word I would use. I mean, he doesn’t seem unhappy but content maybe? Looking for a new challenge? I don’t know. It’s hard to read subtext in a message.”
“Come on, he’s married, doing well…”
She shook her head. “Still the same old Nathan. Not everyone has the drive to work that job as hard as you. Sometimes people need more, you know?”
He sighed. “Any time Duncan wants to go, he can go. When the ship flies we make money. We don’t make it sitting on the ground. You know better than anyone that if they want to get off the crew, they can go.”
“Yeah and look where that gets you.”
“Wait a minute,” he said. “How is all this my fault? You were unhappy and you left. You left the crew, you sold your share of the business and you left me. And let’s not forget that you left for something much better. You were piloting a cruise ship. I didn’t even know you were flying the body barge.”
“You’re right,” she said. “It isn’t your fault but couldn’t you have come with me? Do you even understand that I just didn’t want to sit in the co-pilot seat of that junk heap for the next thirty years letting my ass get fat? You couldn’t give it up, though. You just had to be the man in charge, captain of the ship. You had to be the boss. Well, I wanted a change and you didn’t so I had to go. I didn’t leave you, you chose to stay without me.”
Nathan bit a knuckle, not wanting to fight but seeing how things were heading that way. “You know what, Celeste? Just sit tight. My crew and my junk heap will get you out of this. I’ve got it all under control.” He stood up and walked to the other couch.
Cole leaned down close to Nathan’s ear. “It’s really something to watch a ladies man like you work. I’m learning so much.”
“I may leave you here,” Nathan said. “I just want you to know I’m considering it.” Cole smiled and walked away.
Caleb peeked back into the room. The big guy with the gun on his hip had almost seen him when he walked past the doorway but Caleb had snuck back down the hall. He had no idea what Montario was up to. One thing was clear; the starship in orbit wasn’t having trouble at all. Somehow Montario had stopped the ship and had them brought here. There were only four pilots in the group currently occupying the compound. One of them had to have been involved. He hustled off to his room to call them.
A few more minutes passed in silence. Nathan stared at Celeste while she stared at her hands. Whenever she looked up he swiveled his head and stared down the corridor where Montario had taken Kimiyo and Arulio. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they heard footsteps. Nathan stood and saw a young woman coming down the hall. He met her at the doorway with Cole behind him. She seemed surprised.
“Are you Captain Teller?” She said.
“That’s right. Did Montario send you?”
She smiled. “He did. He would like you to know that Arulio, wait, is that the right name?”
“Yes.”
“Good. He wants you to know that Arulio estimates it will take about 30 minutes to complete the task Montario has requested.”
“What is that task?” Cole said.
The young woman smiled again. “I’m sure I don’t know. He simply wanted me to relay the message. Is there anything I can get you? Are you hungry or thirsty? I could get you something to drink.”
“No thank you,” Nathan said. “We’re fine.”
“I’d like something,” Celeste said rising from the couch and shooting a look at Nathan. “I hate it when you answer for me.” She addressed the young woman. “I’d like an orange juice, with ice.”
The young woman nodded and walked off. Celeste went back to the couch.
Nathan turned toward her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to answer for you.”
“Forget it,” she said. “In another few hours I’ll be back on my ship and out of your life. You don’t need to apologize anymore.”
“Fine.”
“You were never very good at it anyway.”
It took Caleb ten minutes to find the pilot he was looking for. It was an older man named Kenneth Bright. He was middle aged but a relative newcomer to the movement. All Caleb knew about him was that he had come to the Children of the Apocalyptic Rainbow after divorcing his wife. Caleb found him sitting at a table in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in both their hands.
“I spoke with Tommy in operations,” Caleb said. “He told me you took a group of guys up six days ago to meet a ship. He said you took the big shuttle.”
Kenneth shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Caleb. I haven’t flown in a couple of weeks.”
Caleb pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “That’s not true, Kenneth. You know it. I know it. Tell me what you did up there.”
“Caleb, come on. I didn’t do anything. I haven’t flown.”
“Kenneth, I need you to be honest with me. I get the feeling that time is running short and that something is happening. Montario has those people here for a reason. He took them off that ship for a reason.”
“Come on, Caleb, it’s a ship full of dead bodies being ferried back to Earth. Who besides the shipping line is going to care?” Kenneth took a sip of his coffee.
Caleb made a decision to trust Kenneth a little more, play friendly with him. “Look, Kenneth, I found something out about Montario. Something that isn’t very good.”
“Yeah?”
“That’s right,” Caleb said. “I have a friends in protective services and they ran his DNA for me. Montario has quite a record. Mostly scams and petty theft. He’s done some time, quite a few years in fact. I suspected he may be using a false name but he wasn’t. It was as if he didn’t care if we found out.” Kenneth laughed
.
“What’s so funny?”
“Caleb, we’re all here because we have failures in our past. We all need help. This organization exists for that very purpose.” He took another sip of his coffee. “So what if he has a few busts on his record or did a little time. He seems okay to me. I don’t see anyone around here worse for the wear.”
“And those people from the starship he hijacked? Are they all right?”
The smile on Kenneth’s face slipped for a moment. “I wouldn’t worry about that, Caleb. I understand that situation is about to resolve itself. In fact,” he looked at the clock on the wall, “I’d say those folks are on their way home right about now.”
Caleb’s eyebrows narrowed. “Right now?”
“Mmm-hmm.” The pilot stood up and swallowed the last of his coffee. “You may want to let this one go, Caleb. In fact, maybe you should go open another office or something.” He chucked his coffee cup in the recycler and walked out of the kitchen. Caleb’s phone beeped. He took it out, checked the message and the blood drained from his face. Anyone looking at him at that moment would have suggested he go see the nurse in the compound’s infirmary.
Nathan was pacing the room with Cole, making small talk while they waited for Arulio and Kimiyo. “So,” Nathan said, “you and Kimiyo, huh? What about your pawn shop lady back in Go City?”
“Betty? Nothing to worry about there,” Cole said. “She’s got a cop making house calls now. It was never too serious with her.”
“She was very cute.”
“Still is, but I think she wants someone with regular hours. Being on Earth six days a month makes it too hard.”
“Everyone is on me about our schedule.”
Cole stopped. “It’s not all about you, Nathan. I know what I’m doing. I know what the risks and rewards are. I’m a grown up. If I didn’t want to be here I wouldn’t be. Besides, Kimiyo is kind of making me forget about Betty, you know?”
They heard a door close and footsteps move down the hallway. “Is that them? Nathan said.
Cole saw Kimiyo round the corner with Arulio in tow. “It sure is,” he said. “I hope they’re done. I want to get off this rock.”
Milky Way Repo Page 21
