by Gavin Magson
Blood and saliva ran down his chin, only one eye would open and part of his tongue had been bitten through in the fight; Rascas was a snivelling wreck. The words that managed to escape his mouth were barely understandable. “You think that this will make a difference? Your debt still stands, someone else will come to collect it.”
Ajax studied the look on Duke's face intensely, a brief flicker of sorrow crossed the captain’s face as he realised what needed to be done.
“I'm sorry to hear that. I can't let you go, not now. Ajax, if you would.”
Ajax picked up the gun, checked the magazine and the chamber before ejecting the jammed cartridge almost subconsciously, not thinking about what his hands were doing. He held the gun up a few inches from Rascas' forehead, and looked the man in the eye; he felt no remorse. Ajax pulled the trigger.
Click. Click, click, click. Nothing. Ajax looked at it again, there was no visible sign of the malfunction. He dropped it on the floor in disgust.
“Looks like it's your unlucky day,” said Ajax.
With his left hand he grabbed a handful of the man's long, matted hair and yanked his head back. The punch was swift, all power and speed, it connected right in the middle of Rascas' throat. His sharp breaths stopped, barely an audible grunt came from Rascas as he was struck. The captain could hear the haunting noise as Rascas tried to suck air through his collapsed throat, a noise that would not leave his nightmares for a long time.
The scream brought Ajax and the captain back to the present, the sight of Ilya running towards them enough to distract from the carnage.
“Don't come any closer, Ilya, it will only upset you.” said the captain, walking to meet her halfway and try to pull the woman into an embrace.
She didn't listen, Ilya dodged his advance easily. She took in the scene with one long look, the blood was everywhere. Ilya saw that Ajax was covered in the thick crimson liquid, but none had reached her captain. She was wrong, there was some blood on his hands.
“What happened? Are you all right? It's his fault, isn't it?” she said, pointing a shaking finger at Ajax.
“No, Ilya, this is all my doing. I owed this man a lot of money and I couldn't pay him back; if it hadn't been for Ajax I would probably be dead right now. Go back inside, we have to clean this up. Go, now!” commanded the captain, as Ilya hesitated to move.
She was reluctant to leave, torn between anger, regret, euphoria and fear, yet uncertainty overrode all her emotions. Ilya dashed forward and wrapped her arms around Ajax’s thin neck, squeezing him painfully in a tight embrace. She whispered “Thank you.” in his ear and planted a soft kiss on his bony cheek. Ilya released Ajax, turned to look at her captain with tear brimmed eyes and reluctantly jogged back to the Haven.
“So innocent, when she needs to be.” chuckled Duke, the violence momentarily forgotten.
Chapter 6
The bodies were still slumped on the floor where the men had lost their lives, the only thing that had changed was the gradually increasing lake of pooled blood. Duke used an old rag he kept in his trouser pockets to wipe as much of the blood off Ajax as possible, though it hardly hid the evidence. His shirt and trousers had changed colour, no longer the faded grey and black they were minutes ago.
“You know what to say when they come now, don't you?” asked the captain.
“Yes, if they ask where I am from I tell them about the orphanage in Sector Six, how you rescued me from the fire and that I was raised by your sister, Dana. I'm a new member of your crew, this was my first mission and when the men attacked I defended myself.” said Ajax, showing that Duke's quick lesson had sunk in.
“Good enough, I just hope they buy it. You shouldn't have been able to handle them with such ease, but that is something we can talk about if we are still alive tonight. The sirens are growing louder, they'll be here any minute.” said Duke.
He wasn't wrong, as they had talked about the life story of Ajax Frost there had been the ever growing wail of sirens closing in on their location. Duke had explained how the ID tags sent out a signal when the host's heart beat stops, normally to alert the recyclers that there was a body to be broken down and its components used again. When several trigger so close together at once the police were usually dispatched.
The first hover came into sight, speeding through the courtyards entrance with another in the distance. Ajax wondered why the vehicles he had seen didn't fly like the transporters, but now was not the time to think about it. The sleek black vehicle cut its sirens as it began to slow, touching down a short distance from the scene of carnage.
Doors slid open sideways and out stepped two officers, both garbed in the pale blue uniform of Sector Four's police force. They didn't look like two professional men, the colour of their uniforms had long since started to fade and their boots and trousers had been splattered by mud. If anything they almost looked as dishevelled as Ajax and Duke, minus the obscene amounts of blood.
“What has happened here, citizen?” demanded the older officer, his hand casually resting on a side-arm.
“These men attacked us and we fought them off. I owed Rascas money and he came to collect it in blood, before I had the chance to pay him back.” said Duke, his voice now steady and even.
The younger officer looked stunned. “You are telling me that is Rascas? The loan shark?” there was unconcealed panic in his voice.
“Calm down, rookie; what is he going to do from the grave, haunt you? You know the only risers have been found in the Outerlands. You two are under arrest, you will be taken to the station for questioning.” said the first officer, drawing his baton. “Don't even think of resisting arrest.”
Ajax looked to the captain, hoping to see some kind of suggestion as to what to do next. Instead of reassurance Ajax was greeted by a resigned look on the man, Duke's face had aged beyond his years and his shoulders were slouched. Exactly how old was he? Ajax knew so little about all of them.
Duke moved towards the police hover, pausing to turn and motion for Ajax to follow him. Now that the adrenalin had left his system Ajax could feel pain pulsating from his knuckles for the first time, the dull, throbbing ache came as a shock to him. He rubbed at them, though it did not ease his pain. The younger officer handcuffed the pair whilst the other watched, his hand hovering close to his holstered gun. They climbed clumsily onto the back seats of the police hover and the door shut behind them.
From inside the hover Ajax could see everything outside, with the exception of into the drivers cabin, he was surprised to find the blackened windows were only one directional. As he sat down next to Duke he heard the door slam and lock next to them, sealing the duo inside the vehicle. Through the window he watched as the other hover came into the courtyard and drove over the corpses, leaving only soap and red water in its wake.
“Is that one of these recyclers you've been talking about, Duke?” asked Ajax, keeping his voice to a faint whisper.
“Yes, this city does not waste any resources, every piece of scrap we produce is recycled, which includes our dead. They say you should always sleep light, in case you wake up just in time to be devoured by those machines.” said Duke, with only the slightest hint of a smile on his face.
Ajax was numb, he felt no remorse for the death his hands had dealt, only shock at what he was seeing. They passed deserted avenues, numerous streets lined with homeless setting up beds for the night and even glided above a street long riot. The city looked at breaking point and it was just his first day here; how much worse could the lower sectors possibly be?
“Don't let this place get to you, boy. It's nothing but an extension of the slums, the only way to get out of here is to rise above the rest,” at this Duke nodded up to the skies, where Ajax was sure the floating city he had seen should be. “Only a small fraction of the population work on ships, so the majority never see the city from above. They say the underside of Sector Zero is coated to show the sky above it, giving the illusion that it isn't there. They live in their own society
and regard themselves as above all of us. The only small mercy is that it isn't forcefully shoved in our faces.”
Ajax knew it was wrong that so many suffered whilst this elite club lorded it over their inferiors below. Was this how life was going to be for him? If he had a say in it Ajax would not allow anyone to oppress him; but for now he just had to make sure he survived the day.
The sensation of motion began to ease as their transport came to a stop outside the most impressive building Ajax had seen during his short time in the sector. The entire building looked to be made of black marble; it gleamed in comparison to the rundown buildings surrounding it. Words were etched just above the large, open doorway. They read, “JUSTICE ABOVE ALL ELSE”.
“Time to meet the chief, boys. He's going to be very interested to talk to you heroes.” said the older officer from his seat behind the steering wheel.
The door opened and Ajax climbed out, standing up only to see the rookie training his side-arm on him and the captain. There was a faintly concealed shake to his hands, but Ajax didn't fancy his chances with the officer; they might yet believe the story he would tell.
Duke clambered out alongside Ajax and they were led towards the police headquarters entrance by the older officer. Duke whispered to Ajax that the buildings angular arch was an iconic sight to most of Sector Fours criminal minds, his chuckle awarded him a hard stare from the officer in front of them.
Thankfully the stairs leading to the entrance were concrete and not slick, treacherous marble like the walls, thought Ajax. The foyer was a bustling hive of activity, the scene was constantly changing and it left him dazed and confused.
When he finally adjusted to the sight Ajax's attention was caught by a thick rail along the length of the right hand wall. It ran up to a desk with “ENQUIRIES” written on a plaque above it. The desk sergeant sat behind it certainly looked dejected about his unrelenting workload. The rail was used to handcuff suspects to, where they would queue up to have their charges read out to them. He could not see where the rail lead to after the desk as it disappeared right through a doorway. Probably towards trial, thought Ajax.
Ajax looked above him and saw two gun turrets either side of the hall, positioned just under the ceiling and both pointing down at the doorway. The barrels were trained at the entrance but both officers sat behind them exuded a relaxed manner, for now. Ajax wondered if the terrifying weapons had ever been put to use.
“This way, boys; you don't want to keep the man waiting.” said the older officer, a wry smile on his face. He walked past the admittance desk, nodding at the glum sergeant who barely acknowledged the officer. Ajax and the captain had no choice but to follow, the rookie walked behind with his gun still drawn.
They were corralled inside an elevator at the opposite end of the foyer, which smelt suspiciously as if it had seen a lot of incontinent drunks in its time. The rookie pressed a button marked “IR1”, the elevators doors closed and they began to slowly descend. Ajax tried to catch Duke's eye, but he was focused on staring straight ahead and not registering his companion’s glances.
The doors opened to a lengthy corridor, barely illuminated by two bulbs at either end. In the middle, where the light struggled to reach, two doorways were just visible. As they stepped into the corridor the rookie pushed them both in the back, Ajax getting the gun's barrel in his ribs and they sped up towards the doors. The older officer opened the first door and motioned both men inside, closing it the second they stepped past him.
The room was sparse on furnishings, it consisted of a wide table with three chairs and the standard full length one-way window that took up a wall in front of them. The chair at the table’s furthest end already had an occupant, who put down a small stack of papers as the two men were ushered inside.
The man was smartly dressed, it was hard to believe that his uniform was near identical to those the officers who had arrested them wore. His was a fine example of a uniform that sat behind a desk all day, only the rank pips on his collar and the pristine condition of his uniform distinguished him from a regular officer.
“I am the chief of police for Sector Four. You might wonder why you weren't taken to a closer precinct instead of your sectors police headquarters; that is irrelevant. You have been charged with first degree murder of three men and are here for judgement. I am permitting you to give your account of events before I hand you over for sentencing, I have already been briefed on your admissions of guilt.”
The captain’s mouth was arid, drier than the planets expansive deserts. How the fuck had he got them into this mess in the first place? It was going to take quite some doing to talk their way out of a death sentence.
“I can explain everything, sir, though it might not make sense to begin with. My business was badly affected by recent damages to my mining ship and I could no longer afford the repairs. Without my ship in working condition there was no way I could generate any revenue, so I had to approach a loan shark to raise the money to get my business back on track.
“I had to borrow two hundred thousand credits for the repairs, which Rascas and I negotiated an interest rate and repayment window. My previous haul could not cover this, and I had to accept new terms and was banking on my most recent mission. When we docked today I had raised just enough money to pay off the loan.
“We returned to the Haven Inn and Rascas was already waiting for me, with some of his lackeys in tow. He demanded half a million as repayment, far more than what we had previously agreed. I told him I could not afford that and he attacked, which forced Ajax to defend us and kill our attackers in the process. We had no choice, it was fight or be killed. I take full responsibility for this; please don't punish the boy for my mistakes.”
The chief picked up the top paper from his desk and studied it for a moment, allowing the silence to build. When he put it down Ajax could see a flash of wild panic in the captain’s eyes, no longer the cool man he had tried to appear.
“Do either of you know how many citizens this city has to pass judgement on each day? The figure is astronomical, no thanks to the ever swelling population of the slums. The prisons of the Outerlands are packed and I have no intention of incarcerating you two today,” he looked back down at the paper in front of him. “The ID tags recovered from the bodies are those of known criminals who have escaped justice for far too long. If I hear of either of you stepping foot in a police station in this entire city again you will be on a one way flight to IS32, no chance of an appeal. Don't think it an empty threat, I have never been known to make one.”
The chief’s right hand moved under the desk and within seconds the rookie officer opened the interview room’s door, one hand yet again resting on his weapon. The chief stood up, collected his papers and left the room. He paused as he passed the officer to whisper something Ajax tried and failed to overhear.
“You are both to come with me. The city of Konar is choosing not to press charges on either of you at this time, you are being released from custody. It must be your lucky days, just make sure you don’t take the chiefs threats lightly. This is your final warning.” said the officer, holding the door open to allow both of them to pass him.
Neither man hesitated in standing up from their seats and leaving the imposing room. The officer led them back to the elevator, which the trio rode up to ground level in silence. When its doors opened the scene had hardly changed; there was a bustling queue in front of the desk sergeant and busy officers criss-crossing the foyers floor, more handcuffed prisoners in tow. The chief was not lying about just how many potential criminals were processed every day.
“I trust you can find your own way out, gentlemen”, the officer said as he removed their handcuffs. “I have some work to be getting back to.” Before either could answer he left them to navigate the busy building.
“Don't say a word, not until we are outside.” said Duke, as he hastily led Ajax through the police headquarters entrance.
“Yes, they are leaving now...No, the city has no
t pressed any charges, just like you asked...There was nothing on their bodies that could connect them to your organisation...Have a good day, sir.” Click, the senior officer turned off his communicator and stowed it back into his trouser pockets. Those poor bastards, he thought.
The sunlight was fading and fast, it bathed the city in a vivid orange hue as the sun set. Ajax could feel a slight chill to the air, now that the strong light was no longer shining down on him. The air smelt more used outside, as if even that had to be recycled; he only noticed this now that he had been inside the almost luxurious headquarters.
To their left a lone taxi was parked up on the pavement, the silhouette of its driver barely visible through a tinted windscreen. Duke signalled to the driver, once he had caught the man's attention engines burst into life and the taxi began to hover and moved up in front of them.
A wide door opened and the two men climbed in, sitting back on padded seats that had seen a lot of use. The captain held down an intercom button and told the driver to take them to the slaughterhouse district. Ajax was too distracted to focus on the conversation Duke was trying to start with him.
Whilst they waited for the taxi to move off its door opened and three heavy set men swiftly ducked inside. They sat down behind the driver’s cabin, opposite Ajax and Duke, struggling to squeeze onto the long seat.
“I am sorry, gentlemen, this taxi has already been taken. If you wait on the pavement I’m sure another will be along shortly.” said Duke coolly, the gruelling interview already forgotten as he began to relax.
The man sandwiched in the seats middle knocked on the cabins clear window, a short nod came from the driver before their taxi began to move. “There has been no mistake here. Rine has invited you both to a meeting in regards to the events earlier this afternoon. I'm sure you are well aware why he wants to speak with you.” said the man. Ajax was a little surprised that the man sounded so well spoken, but that was nothing compared to the brief surge of adrenaline that welled up inside him; he had thought this nightmare was over.
