their words, and Cobb had been as guilty as the rest, if not more so. Plus, the irony of almost being killed today in one of those raids was not lost on him.
After a fitful night’s sleep, Cobb was up and moving west with the first light. The terrain was still the same tall brown grass, interrupted at long intervals by a gully, stream, or stand of trees. Cobb could tell there was a lot of movement along the road just south of his position. He could see clouds of dust frequently rising into view. He knew the presence was military and thought it was probably a response to the raid he’d witnessed. He kept moving west and, during the long, boring stretches, he thought about what he’d seen in the past few days. Growing more contemplative, he began to think about how he’d lived his life. This meant he frequently thought of his family and home, and, contrary to his feelings at the time, reflected on how happy he had been. By the third day out he had run out of food, which only deepened his mood of self-reflection. He had to travel another full day before he came upon the next settlement, but this time it was a full-blown Kirrian city with a population of around a ten thousand. Cobb could smell it long before he saw it. He’d developed a keen sense of smell during his travels, which was good for some things but made him even more aware of his own lack of personal hygiene.
The city represented a much greater risk to Cobb than the villages did. The military presence here would be much stronger than at his previous stops. This was quickly confirmed by the sight of a guard post on the road into the city. He wasn’t worried much by them since he knew they were there to guard against an Alliance raid and not to restrict movement into or out of the city. In fact, there was considerable foot traffic entering the city, mostly farmers with produce. Cobb slipped into this traffic, out of sight of the guardhouse, and was carried into the city by the stream of people. He made his way to the center of town, which had a very pretty park with the obligatory statue in the middle and loads of blooming flowers. Cobb quickly found a spot on one side of the park and began his begging routine. By mid-day, he had sufficient money to purchase some food and drink. He had gotten better at the bargaining and now knew what to buy and approximately what it cost. After making his purchases, Cobb returned to his spot to eat.
By mid-afternoon, the heat, a full belly, and exhaustion began to take its toll on Cobb, and, in spite of his best efforts, he slowly dozed off. He hadn’t been asleep long when he was awakened by something slamming into his side. It hurt, and Cobb quickly regained his senses. The object hitting him was a crutch, which was wielded by a one-legged Kirrian dressed in the tattered remains of a Kirrian infantry uniform. Cobb noted that aside from his bandages, they were dressed very much alike, in terms of shabbiness, and both had a similar aroma. The male was obviously another beggar that viewed Cobb as a trespasser on his begging domain. The Kirrian was scolding him harshly and continued to bang on Cobb for emphasis. Cobb could feel his temper reaching the flash point, and he couldn’t afford to let that happen. He grabbed the crutch and grunted harshly back at the ex-soldier, but the other beggar was not intimidated and continued to squawk, knocking over Cobb’s bowl of coins. Cobb was worried that the commotion would attract the authorities and that would be very bad, if not fatal, for him. Cobb nodded agreement and started to slowly get up. As he rose, he brought his staff up hard into the other man’s groin and was glad to see the ex-soldier hadn’t lost his testicles along with his leg. The other beggar doubled over in pain, and Cobb moved in to hit him with a short hook punch to the side of the head. The Kirrian dropped like a bag of bolts, unconscious. Cobb caught him and spun him into the spot in which Cobb had just been dozing. He positioned the Kirrian so that he appeared to be asleep. Cobb looked around to see if anyone had noticed, and, since it appeared that no one had, he grabbed his bowl and coins and started walking away from the square.
He had covered about a block when a strong hand grabbed him by the arm and spun him around. Cobb was caught by surprise, and, before he could respond, he was facing a very young Kirrian military policeman in a clean, crisp dark-green uniform. Apparently the MP had seen some of the altercation between Cobb and the other beggar, but Cobb was not sure how much. The MP did not have his gun out, but he did have his hand on it. The MP quickly released Cobb's arm as if he'd touched something vile and began speaking to Cobb in a very authoritative, angry tone. Cobb reacted as if he were cringing and uttered a number of guttural sounds. He knew the MP was chewing him out for something, maybe begging was illegal or maybe he saw him take out the other beggar. Either way the MP pulled out his baton and used it to point. A clear indication he wanted Cobb to go in that direction. To emphasize his point, the MP hit Cobb on the back a couple times with the baton. Cobb thought the MP did not know quite what to make of him, but he was sure the young Kirrian still did not know with what he was dealing. This was not good since it stood to reason that the MP was taking Cobb to his headquarters, probably for incarceration and interrogation. If that happened, his cover would be blown almost immediately. Cobb could see there were too many Kirrians in the street around them to shoot the MP, and he now stood too far away to stab, so Cobb turned and headed in the direction indicated by the MP. He would have to bide his time and wait for an opening.
They had covered about three blocks, and Cobb was getting more nervous with every step. Periodically, he’d turn and grunt something at the MP in hopes he would just let him go, but it wasn’t working, plus it was obvious that the MP had seen enough at the square to treat Cobb very carefully. He kept out of arm’s reach and always kept his hand on his laser. Cobb admired him a little for his caution, but he knew he had been lucky that the MP hadn’t frisked him when he first approached Cobb. The fact that Cobb looked bad and smelled worse was probably the reason he had not.
The MP was handsome for a Kirrian, Cobb thought, and barely out of his adolescence. Cobb had instantly recognized the dark uniform with gold trim as that of a military policeman, because he had seen the same uniform on raids in Kirrian villages. The MPs frequently functioned as militia as well as peacekeepers in Kirrian villages near the front, and took the place of a civilian police force.
Cobb had no idea how close they were getting to the MP’s final destination, but he was getting so nervous that he was ready to shoot the MP and take his chances making a run for it. But suddenly the Kirrian motioned for him to head down an alleyway. By now it was getting dark, and the alley was even darker. There was no foot traffic. Cobb thought that it was probably a short cut, but he really didn’t care what the reason, it was the chance he needed. The alleyway smelled of garbage and urine, and Cobb stumbled a couple of times on trash hidden in the gloom of the alley’s surface. Then, halfway down the alley where the darkness was greatest, Cobb stopped and turned to face the MP. The MP was startled and pulled up short, just out of arm’s reach from Cobb. Cobb could make out a snarl on the young Kirrian’s face and a just a hint of fear. The darkness and the unknown character of his charge were making him hesitate. To bolster his courage, the Kirrian started loudly, barking out commands. Instantly, a tiny, bright spot of flame appeared in the middle of Cobb’s serape that was quickly duplicated in the center of the MP’s chest. The two were now connected by a thin, lethal beam of red light. As Cobb watched, the Kirrian’s expression changed from anger to stunned surprise and then went vacant. His hand remained stuck to his laser, unable to move. Cobb’s laser had found the Kirrian’s heart, and the MP dropped into a heap on the alley floor, dead before he stopped moving. Cobb felt a wave of pity wash over him and was surprised by the feeling.
Cobb looked up and down the alley to make sure no one had seen them and to make sure no one was coming. He removed the MP’s uniform and rolled it into a tight ball. He then set the MP’s laser on wide dispersal and played the beam on the body from head to toe. The flesh sizzled and blackened quickly, and the smell was nauseating. The sight sickened Cobb, but he knew he had to make sure the body would not be easily identified. It would
buy him time when they found the remains. He placed the rolled up uniform under his arm and made sure all his things were still under his serape. Walking quickly, Cobb exited the alley and took the first street that headed west. He had to get out of the city as fast as possible. He couldn’t take the chance that someone had seen him with the MP or that the MP might have called in what he’d seen prior to his grabbing Cobb, though Cobb had not found a transmitter on him. Cobb did not keep anything belonging to the MP because, if he was caught, he didn’t want to be connected with the killing. He dropped the MP’s clothes into a deep drainage hole.
He moved as quickly as he could down the darkening streets. The street lighting was very subdued and aimed low over the uneven ground, making fast movement risky. Cobb stumbled several times and fell twice within the first 300 meters, but his speed improved as his eyes adjusted to the dark. He tasted the fear in his mouth, and he knew he was on the edge of panic. Days of stress, always just one mistake away from discovery and
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