The Hand of Grethia: A Space Opera

by Guy Antibes

  “For the time being, yes!” Smith said disgustedly. “Leave me to my thoughts. I’ll summon you later.” Smith looked down at the display embedded in his desk and started to concentrate on other things, ignoring Riban standing there. Riban raised an eyebrow at this dismissal and snorted silently as he turned and left. Smith didn’t miss the gesture.

  After Riban’s departure, Smith rose up and walked tothe window. His concentration back on the problem with his son.If only I could find something,he thought.And I’ll have a talk with Josie and Trimp about those break-ins to see if they learned anything Riban hasn’t told me. It must have been them.

  ~

  “So you have traced all of the paths of the trust from Trasket?” Jan asked the three men sitting in a conference room adjacent to his office looking at three data tabs laid out in front of him.

  “My lead branched into three paths that led all around the galaxy only to come back here on Impollon IV. The benefactor is Trimpnell Smith.” the first man, a short, squat, dark, balding man said.

  “So did one of mine. The other trace finally went to the planet Yvetter. That is one lovely pleasure planet.” another of the trio cooed. “The final destination was an account owned by your step-mother Josette Smith.

  Jan pressed his lips together. “And yours?” he asked the last man.

  “One of mine went to accounts on Yvetter owned by Josette Smith’s children. The other went to Wyring in the favor of Royanne Freemen.”

  “So my eldest stepbrother is running the trust for the benefit of his family. That also presents a clear motive for getting me out of the way.” Jan mused out loud. The three men looked at Jan expectantly.

  Jan handed them each envelopes, “You will find yourselves handsomely rewarded for your efforts over and above the retainers already given to you. In these envelopes are vouchers for four portals each. As you know, they are hard to come by right now and all you have to do is use the vouchers to buy them directly from Grethia Industries.” Jan smiled, actually, more of a grimace, and rose and shook each man’s hand. Once they left, he sat down at a viewer he took over from a credenza and went through the tabs. As he looked at the labyrinth of trails, he shook his head in wonder at the skill each of the investigators possessed to get to the bottom of each transfer and at the skill of Rollo Freeman. He already knew from Osker where the money was diverted, now he knew where. That gave him the means to prosecute any and all of them for theft and embezzlement. And not one penny had gone to his father.

  Trimpnell,he thought.Figures. He was the one pulling Rollo’s strings, not Artis. He probably sabotaged my ship. Now I will find out for sure.

  ~

  Trimpnell Smith looked just like his mother except bigger and meaner. His dark hair and sallow complexion looked much better on a younger Josette Graniell who had attracted Artis Smith on a trip to her native Yvetter. Josette’s exotic looks had closed the door on Artis’ already crumbling marriage with Jan’s mother.

  Josette was an incredibly feminine presence. It was an almost animal essence that exuded from her as she worked to snare Artis Smith. Jan’s mother was intelligent, good looking, but did not have nor want the sexual effect Josie had on Artis. Trimpnell was an offspring from a very early former marriage of Josie’s to another Yvettrian. Trimpnell was five years older than Jan. As she grew older and bore three children to Artis, her feminine wiles faded and her animal essence became more predatory. She put on weight. Although she carried it well, she changed from alluring to formidable.

  Trimpnell inherited all of his mother’s predatory instincts. His intelligence level was good, but it was overshadowed by his passion to crush and domineer all who came within his reach.

  Artis recognized this in his eldest stepson and put that passion to good use in his marketing operations. He resisted Trimpnell’s constant requests to head up the company or become a general manager in one of the divisions. Artis wasn’t stupid. He knew his second wife and her son would someday want him to relinquish his post to Trimpnell. Artis was not about to let a bull crash around in the exquisite china shop he had created, but chose instead, to harness the energy of that bull and use it to get into places that force would open.

  Artis walked into Trimpnell’s large office. He seated himself down on the couch in front of the ugly, overly-ornate desk Trimpnell used. “So, my boy, you must have been the one to break into the Grethia Industries offices months ago, eh? Did you learn anything you can pass on to your father?” Artis sarcastically said.

  “What do you mean, Artis?” Trimpnell’s large face was getting florid.

  “Cut out the innocence, Trimpnell. I know you did it. You paid off the police somehow and tried to install some bugs and effectively shut down the information flow to my man on the inside.” Artis said coldly, putting down the young man without raising his voice. “I haven’t said anything about it until now. It seems I can go no further due to your meddling.”

  “Man on the inside? Who?” Trimpnell said in disbelief.

  “That, my son, is none of your business. What else have you been doing?”

  “Nothing. After we tried to get our surveillance devices installed, Jan found them and raised his level of security so we couldn’t do any more intelligence gathering.”

  “You call wanton destruction intelligence gathering? All you did was put their guard up. You’re dealing with Jan Smith. He inherited his intelligence from two incredibly competent people. Never underestimate him. Why were you doing this on your own?”

  “I wasn’t doing it on my own. Mother knows all about it. We don’t trust Jan Smith. He’s too smart for his own good.”

  “He’s evidently shown that he’s a lot smarter than you. Stay away from him. If you don’t, he’ll make you pay for it.” Artis warned. He rose up without another word and stalked out of the office.

  ~

  Trimpnell immediately called his mother on his secure communicator. “Artis knows.” he told her in a flat tone.

  “Knows what, Trimpy?” the strong-featured woman demanded from the screen.

  “About the break-in at Grethia Industries and about our law enforcement payoffs.” Trimpnell responded. He hated it when his mother called him ‘Trimpy’.

  “Good. He must have suspected that for some time. See that that is all he knows about. When was the last time you talked to Rollo?”

  “Last week. Nothing has happened to the Trust. I’ve checked our accounts. If Jan had found out anything, we’d know about it by now. I’ve had Rollo talk to Androvny and to the Trasket bankers. Funds continue to flow from the trust, but now it looks like Jan doesn’t need it.”

  “It’s about time we do something more permanent than have some incompetent technician fiddle with his spaceship. Look where that got us. Jan came back more of a danger to us than when he left,” she said.

  “With Jan out of the way and with us in control of the trust, we could nearly displace Artis,” Trimpnell stated the obvious to his mother. “Then I could run Smith Mercantile without having to wait until the old man dies. The only problem is that Jan is incredibly cautious. I’ve had my men casing him for quite a while. I haven’t been able to come up with a way to get his guard down. He’s been that way ever since he returned with Merinnia Wankle.”

  “Who is this Merinnia Wankle?” Josie asked.

  “Jan’s assistant. Evidently she has been doing quite a bit of work for the corporation. Is seems that she is much more than a silent partner. Word also is out that she has a romantic entanglement with management.”

  “Good. Kidnap her. Get Jan to follow instructions to tell no one and follow him. Then arrange an accident for both of them together. I’ll leave it up to you. Don’t fail me this time!” Josie turned her viewer off.

  Trimpnell, sweating, rose from his chair and sat down on his desk, looking at a blank wall.Why did Mother have to insist to get rid of Jan? We could just skim the trust forever. But I’d still have to wait to take over the company, that’s why.

  ~~~


  Chapter 42

  Jan listened to the conversation between Trimpnell and Josette again. Riban rubbed his chin. Merinnia sat stone-faced.

  “Trimpnell is going to make a move, finally.” Jan said. “Unfortunately, he will include Merinnia in his plans.” Jan looked at her impassive face.

  “I can have you guarded around the clock,” Riban contributed gallantly.

  “No need.” Jan said. “I have anticipated such a move for quite some time and have constantly taken steps to avoid it. As you heard, I’ve succeeded. I’ve had Trimpnell’s office bugged ever since he tried to bug our offices, so every move could be anticipated, but never has he and his mother been so blatant. Artis seems to have pushed the panic button. It’s now time to get this episode over.

  “This is the first time they’ve come out and made mention of the spaceship tampering. But it turned out that we didn’t need the bug.” Jan held up a data tab. “I’ve got the tampering evidence right here. Trimpnell had one of the techs in his support and service group make the modifications. I recently deduced who it was and secured a confession on record. We also have this tab to back his statement up.”

  “Why did you never tell me?” Merinnia said. “You don’ trust me?”

  “It isn’t that. I have told you all along that I am working on it haven’t I?” Jan weakly smiled.

  “Yes, but you’ve got your proof now. You can go the authorities.”

  “Ah. Merinnia, timing is everything. We have quite a bit to do before we are ready to draw in the net. Just consider the resources of the fish to be snared.” Jan said enigmatically. “He has law enforcement in his pocket. There is no telling how far up his purchased influence goes, especially on Impollon IV. We’ll have to be ready for anything.”

  ~

  Merinnia stepped into the elevator down to ground level, walking towards her apartment building when a surface car came up beside her. Two large men emerged and pushed her into the car. It sped off into the night.

  Up above, a vehicle noticed the abduction and made a call. Soon Jan and Riban followed from a few hundred meters in the air. Jan looked at Riban, “The final run starts.”

  ~

  Out of the city and into the dark country, the car sped on surface roads. It drove on for two hours until it came to a forested area. As it disappeared into the woods, the car slowed as it came to a dirt road leading to a cabin. Three men got out and led an exhausted young woman inside.

  “You’ll never get away with this!” Merinnia continued to curse the men as she increased her resistance when they forced her to sit down. “My employer will track you down!” The fire in Merinnia’s eyes shone. The men, stopped by the power of her voice, looked at her with trepidation. Then Trimpnell stomped into the room as he shut the door.

  “Tie her up! “ Trimpnell said as he turned to Merinnia. “Let’s talk. First of all, do you know who I am?”

  “Trimpnell, stepson of Artis Smith.” Merinnia answered regally. “Jan has told me all about you.”

  “He has?” Trimpnell’s ears perked up at the revelation of Jan talking about him. He ego couldn’t resist asking, “What does Jan have to say about me?”

  “He knows you tried to kill him in his spaceship. He knows who your accomplice was and he knows you and your mother are behind it.” Merinnia looked defiantly into Trimpnell’s face. She quickly shut her eyes as Trimpnell, eyes bulging in rage, slapped her in the face. She felt the pain and then the heat of blood rushing to the wound.

  “Knows does he? Well, it doesn’t matter now. Jan is going to be eliminated, and you with him. In the morning, Jan will be notified that you’ve been kidnapped and lured to this cabin.” He flashed her a leering grin. “The energy pack used to power this cabin, or what’s left of it, will be found to have a serious defect. Its explosion will make a nice tidy death for both of you. They won’t be able to pick up the pieces.”

  The three men in the room looked impassively on. “Make sure she is secure. We have a few things to do before morning.” Trimpnell said as he left. “See me at Ben’s Bar in three hours.”

  The men secured Merinnia’s bonds and checked the bolts that held her chair to the floor. They looked around and turned off the lights to the cabin before locking the door and leaving in their car.

  Twenty minutes later, the door opened. Jan walked in with Riban. It took a bit longer to get here. We spotted Trimpnell’s air car and had to keep moving on.” Jan removed Merinnia’s bonds, noticing the red marks marring her otherwise smooth complexion. “I’m sorry that they hit you. How does your face feel?”

  “It hurts!” Merinnia tenderly touched her reddened cheek. “It ought to bruise nicely. What do we do now?”

  “Riban and I discussed the situation and it looks like we will only have to make a few modifications to our plan. You must stay the night here. I will have to go back after we prepare a few things.”

  “Right, let’s get to work. I have to get back to the city and then return to lock you up before Trimpnell’s men arrive. It will be a long night.” Riban said as Jan and he started their preparations. He looked around. “So this is your cabin, eh? Such a pity.”

  Once Jan had finished with his preparations, Merinnia kissed both Jan and Riban good night and settled in for an uncomfortable evening.

  ~

  The morning was as bright as the night was dark. Jan went to his office where he was confronted by a box on his desk, put there by the receptionist. He opened the box and found a cheap handheld communicator.

  “Mr. Smith. We have kidnapped your associate, Merinnia Wankle. She is being held for ransom. Do not notify the authorities. If you do, she will be killed. We want one billion credits worth of Thyrellian alloy. The major stockpile is on Impollon at the Smith Mercantile Complex. Come back to your office after you have secured the alloy and you will receive your next instruction.” The communicator began to smoke once the audio recording had ended.

  Jan waved his hand to keep the smoke away. He pushed the intercom button, Riban came in with a box. The device was placed within the box and sealed. Inert gas turned to gel inside.

  “One billion in Thyrellian alloy. I guess you will have to go to Artis for it?”

  “No, I think I’m intended to go to Trimpnell for it. It’s his division that sells it. I would imagine that he is going to overcharge. Want to bet?”

  “Not me.” Riban pressed his lips together. “I’ll see you back here.”

  ~

  To Jan, malevolence filled Trimpnell’s office. “So you want a billion credits worth of our Thyrellian alloy?” Trimpnell said. He couldn’t keep a smirk of satisfaction off of his face. “It’s the biggest asset we keep. Why should I sell it to you?”

  “I really need it. You are the only person on Impollon IV who has the amount I need. I can make it worth your while.”

  “I’ll sell it you for two billion.”

  “Don’t give me that Trimpnell. I can get Thyrellian alloy on Thyra for a lot less than that.”

  “What do you need it for?”

  “It’s for my portal business. We’ve discovered that the alloy can be used to increase the range of the portal.” Jan obviously lied. “I need it now so I can get it out in the marketplace. Every minute production is delayed, I lose millions.

  “OK, I’ll sell it to you for one and a half billion. That is my one and final move on the price. And I want a confirmed transfer of credits. And I want you to take it now.” Trimpnell said smugly.

  “Very well, here is my Grethia Industries card.” The two men left Trimpnell’s office and went to a counter a few floors down.

  “Run this card through for one point five billion credits,” Trimpnell said to the woman behind the counter. He turned to Jan and said, “I doubt you have the funds, but we’ll try, shall we?” Trimpnell gloated when he said the ‘point five’. The card was run through. Trimpnell blinked when he saw the 1.5 billion-credit charge went through.

  Thyrellian alloy was a finely made meta
l that could be drawn to a fifty-atom thickness without breaking. It was also incredibly strong. The Thyrellian alloy Jan bought was in two boxes weighing about one hundred pounds each. Twenty ingots of the alloy were in each box.

  Jan returned to his office. He made a few phone calls, and then waited. An hour later, he received an anonymous phone call from the kidnappers.

  “Come by yourself to the ground floor and you will be met by a man wearing an orange coat. Go with him.” The communicator went dead. Jan shrugged and looked at himself in the mirror. He smiled, showing his teeth and opened wide and thought, now I’m ready for you, Trimpnell. He put on body armor and left his office.

  Jan took a portal to the ground floor. He noticed the man in the orange coat standing by the elevators. He came from behind the man and tapped him on the shoulder. The man visibly jumped. Jan smiled and said, “Aren’t portals a wonderful technology? Here I am. I’ve come to retrieve Ms. Wankle. Where is she?” He pointed to a cart carrying the two boxes.

  The man in the orange coat was breathing heavily from the shock and gave Jan a dirty look and led the way to a waiting vehicle. The aircar went through an underground tunnel. It stopped and Jan was transferred to a different vehicle. Two men transferred the alloy to different carrying cases while another scanned Jan for weapons. Satisfied that he was clean, another kidnapper took Jan back out of the tunnel and out into the open. They changed pre-positioned air-cars six times before they cleared the outskirts of the city and worked their way around the perimeter of the city and then headed straight for the cabin.

  The men yanked Jan from the aircar and roughly pushed him inside the cabin. Merinnia now sat, still bound, on a couch with a large purple bruise on the side of her face. Another two men guarded her. “Did you bring what they wanted?”

  Jan nodded. Then from a back room, Trimpnell emerged. Jan started. “Trimpnell ,what is this? You’ve got my one point five billion credits and your alloy. Now release Merinnia and let me go.”