“Wanna be dealt in?” asked Ekala. “Sure Swul could use someone else kicking his ass for once.”
“Go to hell, ya cheat!”
Zarim smiled. “Wish I could, but we’re not far from Delfor and I need to make a stop.”
Ekala’s sunny disposition quickly soured. “Delfor? Don’t tell me you’re going to see Gax.”
“Gal’s right, Zee,” said Swul. “We don’t got time to deal with him.”
“He wants his payment for helping us with the documents in Serenity. Plus, I was hoping he could help us again,” said Zarim.
“What sort of help?”
Swul threw down some cards. “Yer move.”
Ekala held up her hand, indicating that she wanted to pause the game. “Zee? You know any help Gax offers won’t come cheap.”
“Think I’m stupid?” asked Zarim.
Swul tapped the table, trying to get Ekala’s attention. “Hey kid, yer move.”
She continued her conversation with Zarim. “Do you really want me to answer that?”
“Look, I know full-well we can’t trust Gax, that’s why I’m going to trick him into helping us,” said Zarim. “Tell him we’re pulling a job on the other side of the world from Xanadar. That way, if the Dreadnoughts start sniffing around our contacts, we can send them on a wild goose chase.”
“Psst, Ekala!” Swul had grown impatient. He continued tapping the discard pile and Ekala jammed her knife into the cards, barely missing Swul’s fingers. His jaw dropped, the cigar striking the wooden table. The faerie leaned back. “On second thought, take yer time.”
“You need back-up?” asked Ekala.
“No, that’s okay, this won’t take long. I’ll be back before you’ve won all of Swul’s money.”
“Wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
“Just show the damn cards, already!” said Swul.
Ekala dropped them onto the table at the same moment Zarim left the common area. Even through the closed door, he could hear Swul’s cursing. He imagined everyone in the ship could. Descending to the cargo area, he found the two newest additions to the crew standing on the catwalk. Liran had perched herself on the rail and Reyche stood across from her. The two nodded as Zarim moved past.
“Ladies,” he said, slightly tipping his head.
“He is leaving?” asked Liran.
“Just for a bit.” Zarim took the metal stairs down to the cargo level. He opened the weapons closet and took his sword and scabbard, attaching them to his belt.
“Expecting trouble?” asked Reyche.
“You should always expect trouble in Delfor.” Zarim checked the rounds in his pistol and slid the weapon into its holster. He looked at the two and offered a grin. “Don’t worry, though. Nothing I can’t handle. Although you may want to hold onto something until the bay door closes.”
Zarim climbed onboard the sky-cycle and started it up. He removed a small device from his belt and hit the switch on it. A red light activated and the sound of gears turning deafened all in the cargo bay. The door opened and Zarim turned the handle on the cycle, hitting the thrusters and sending it flying out into the air.
Zarim preferred to enter Delfor during the day. Going into a pirate haven on your own at night was the very definition of suicidal, and he had no interest in taking any more risk than he already had. He didn’t even want to come this far, he had hoped to pilfer more than the jewels from Corvil during these Soulstone missions. Unfortunately, it was all he had to pay Gax and he hoped it would be sufficient to keep the four-armed freak off their backs for just a little bit longer.
Part of him didn’t even want to risk taking the sky-cycle into town. But leaving it on the outskirts and proceeding on foot would have guaranteed a bandit attack or the cycle being stolen, probably both. He drew attention to himself by taking it on the streets, but at least he had means of a quick escape if need be. Zarim took the sky-cycle as close to the market square as he could get and powered down. Drawing the key from the ignition, he made a big show of disembarking while his sword and gun were in clear view.
Walking into the alley, Zarim kept his eyes peeled for his contact. He could sense the familiar presence and drew his gun, stepping forward and holding the barrel up to his would-be attacker. The unshaven man snickered while shaking his head, his gun still held up.
“One of these days, my friend, I swear I’ll get the drop on you,” said Kef.
Zarim smiled, turning the barrel of his gun up. “As I always say in these situations, keep dreaming.” He dropped his arm and slid the weapon back into its holster. Kef’s weapon vanished back into the waistband of his pants. He took Zarim down the usual path to the heavy, metal door and banged three times. As usual, two eyes peered out through the slot before the door opened. Zarim saluted the burly man as he entered and walked towards the round table.
Gax sat in his usual space. One hand rested on the table, the other held a hose connected to a smoking water pipe. The kingpin took a long drag on the hose, the water bubbling in the pipe before exhaling through his nostrils.
“You are late, my friend,” he said in his nasally voice. “I thought we had a deal.”
“Relax, I’m here, aren’t I?” Zarim reached into his cloak and took out a small sack. He dropped it on the table.
Gax pointed to the empty chair across from him with the hose. “Please, sit. Have a taste.”
“I’d rather stand and I don’t smoke,” said Zarim.
Gax waved his hand dismissively and opened the sack. He turned it upside down, slowly letting the gemstones spill onto his table. His large eyes examined them from behind the thick-rimmed goggles he wore, all the while shaking his head.
“My boy, it’s been a month and this is all you have to show for it?”
“I’ve run into some trouble lately,” said Zarim.
“Mmm, so I’ve heard.”
Zarim’s hand slowly went towards his hip, near his gun. “Oh? What have you heard?”
“Oh you know, just this and that,” said Gax. “Rumors, mostly. About a group of thieves who stole from the cathedral in Serenity, killing a deacon in the process.”
Zarim’s fingers inched closer to the weapon. “Is that so?”
“Horrible, horrible business. I wonder who was responsible? You haven’t used those documents for any sort of...subterfuge, have you?”
Zarim feigned a scoff. “Thought you didn’t care what I did with them, so long as you got your cut.”
“Mmm, this is true, this is true.” Gax looked up from the gems and stroked his long chin. He took a long drag on the hose. “But what you’ve done, my boy, could bring lots of trouble down on me. And I do not like trouble. I taught you better than that.”
A gunshot rang out. Zarim flinched, pain shooting through his abdomen. He looked down to see his shirt staining with blood and a hole in it. Gax stood from his chair, one of his lower arms parting his coat. The other lower arm held a small pistol with smoke emanating from the barrel. The crime lord clicked his tongue.
“Very disappointed in you, my boy. Very disappointed.”
Kef went to Zarim’s side, helping to steady him. “C’mon boss, what was that all about?”
“It seems our friend Zarim has gotten himself into trouble. The kind of trouble I can’t afford to deal with,” said Gax. “But soon, he’ll be someone else’s problem, won’t you, boy?”
“And how will you get your ten percent if I’m not around?” asked Zarim.
“Oh, don’t you worry about that, because I’ll be taking back my ship,” said Gax. “And you are being turned over to the Dreadnoughts.”
Zarim glanced over his shoulder at Kef. “Sorry about this, buddy.”
“Sorry about wh—”
Zarim threw his elbow into Kef’s nose. He quickly drew his gun and fired, blowing Gax’s weapon from his hand. The doorman lumbered towards him, blocking the exit he came from. Zarim decided instead to use the front entrance. He charged past Gax, knocking him down, and leaving a tr
ail of his own blood.
“After him!” Gax cried out. The doorman went after Zarim, who now moved from the back room into the restaurant Gax used as a front. Startled customers looked up from their meals in surprise as a gut-shot man blundered through their midst. Zarim blind-fired his weapon behind him while he ran. He lost his footing and went crashing through the front window.
Zarim rolled on the ground in the center of the market square and shook away the shards of glass that nicked his bare flesh, drawing blood in a dozen places. He used the techniques he’d learned in Xanadar to push away the pain from Gax’s bullet. Still, he could feel his strength ebbing quickly. Zarim hoisted himself to his feet and rushed through the street, his blood-loss making him clumsy, blundering his way through the afternoon crowd. He needed to get to the sky-cycle and get back to the Excalibur before he no longer had the strength to act.
Turning the corner, he was now on the street where he left the sky-cycle, but came to a halt when he saw three armed Dreadnoughts in their ebony armor and crimson trim standing guard. One of the soldiers took notice and alerted the others.
“Stay with the vehicle!” ordered one and broke in a run towards him. Zarim turned tail and ran back to the square. But he saw Gax’s burly doorman shoving his way through the crowd.
Zarim cast a glance to the left and saw that one of the street vendors stood in front of a ladder that led to the top of the building. Zarim jumped over the peddler’s counter, but in his weakened condition he was not able to clear it, and scattered trinkets and elixirs across the street, eliciting a stream of vulgarities.
“Sorry about this,” said Zarim. He concentrated hard to suppress the pain and forced his failing limbs to carry him up the ladder.
The Dreadnought offered no such apologies, just pushed the peddler aside and climbed after the fleeing pirate. Once reaching the roof, the Dreadnought saw Zarim running towards the edge of the building, then leaping across the alley to the next one. The Dreadnought followed.
Zarim now wished he had waited until nightfall to come. Evading someone was much easier when the sun wasn’t shining a beacon right on you. Reaching the end of the second building, instead of jumping to the third, he dropped into the alley, slowing his descent with the clotheslines that hung across. The highest broke from his weight, but he caught the next, and the one after that. Each subsequent line also broke, but provided enough pause in his fall to protect him from serious harm. Still, when he landed, he did so in a pile.
The Dreadnought came to the edge and, in his armor, did not seem as concerned about the height of the fall. Zarim got back to his feet and staggered away as the Dreadnought dropped the full distance, landing with a thunderous boom. Zarim knew he couldn’t go back to the sky-cycle, the other two Dreadnoughts were guarding it. More than that, the pain in his abdomen was getting worse and when he reached for the radio, he saw it was damaged in the fall.
He ran from the alley and came to a T-junction, turning left. He took another left down a third alley. Hopefully in this maze of walkways, he could lose his pursuer. But in his zeal to escape pursuit, he found himself at a dead end. Thinking he may have gotten far enough ahead to go back, he turned, but saw the Dreadnought’s shadow reaching out from the end of the alley.
“End of the line, Zarim.” It was a woman’s voice. One that sounded vaguely familiar. Zarim fired at her, but the bullets simply ricocheted off her armor. She snickered as she approached. “That won’t work against m—”
Commander Weiss quieted herself once she caught a glimpse of something odd. The buckle on his belt. Or rather, the symbol on it—a rose with a drop of blood at the end of the curved stem. Weiss glared at him from behind the visor of her helmet.
“Where did you get that?”
Zarim glanced down at the buckle. “Oh that? Stole it off some spoiled rich kid.”
“And what happened to the kid?”
“He’s dead.” Zarim raised his gun to let off another shot, but Weiss lunged for the weapon, tearing it from his hand. Her other hand balled into a fist, the armored gauntlet striking Zarim and throwing him against the wall. Weiss went to work on him, pummeling the pirate until his face was bloody and the world went black.
CHAPTER 22
Commander Weiss emerged from the alley, dragging Zarim’s unconscious body by the hood of his cloak. Stepping into the market square, she threw him out into the center. Her two soldiers were waiting. “Take him to the ship. I’ve got business with our contact.”
The Dreadnoughts saluted and one of them hoisted Zarim over his shoulder. Weiss removed her helmet, glad to be free of it for now. She breathed in the crisp air before walking into the restaurant owned by Gax. Kef stood near the back entrance, glaring at her.
“Your boss in?” she asked.
He nodded and Weiss went into the back room. Gax, the self-appointed ruler of this den of crime, took a seat and steepled his fingers together with a wide smile on his pasty face. His burly bodyguard stood at the back entrance.
“We have business to discuss in private,” said Weiss.
Gax waved off the bodyguard and he opened the door, stepping out into the alley. Once he had gone, Gax addressed his guest. “I see you’ve managed to capture him, Commander.”
“No thanks to you,” said Weiss. “You were supposed to grab him, you didn’t.”
Gax shrugged his shoulders, holding his arms out to the side. “What do you expect? I did shoot him, it’s not my fault he’s a tough customer.”
“Did he give you the stones?”
“Mmm, indeed he did, indeed he did.” The fingers of his upper hands were still steepled while his lower arms reached out. One hand poured out the contents of the small sack into the palm of the other and he held out the gems for her to see. Weiss shook her head.
“Those aren’t the ones we’re looking for.”
“These are the gemstones he gave me, you said he would be traveling with gemstones,” said Gax.
“The stones he stole are larger. And all of them are green.”
Gax scooped the gems back into the bag and took it beneath his coat. “Then I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen them.”
“Fine,” said Weiss. “Then I’ll see to it that he tells me where to find them. Meanwhile, where is his ship?”
“Ah-ah,” Gax held up a finger, “I do believe we agreed that the Excalibur was to be mine.”
Weiss leaned over the table, staring Gax in the eyes. “Let’s get something straight, you disgusting little man: I don’t work for you. Just being in your presence makes me want to scrub my skin until I see bone.” She wrapped her hand around his neck, catching Gax by surprise.
“Ack—! C-can’t br—”
“Zarim is an enemy of the state, as is every member of his crew,” she said. “And that ship will be impounded and auctioned for sale. Should you desire it, you can purchase it. Legally.” She released his neck and Gax collapsed on the desk, drawing in long, large gasps of breath.
“S-so I...get nothing?”
“You can keep the sky-cycle. Meanwhile, you will locate the Excalibur and contact us with its location, is that clear?”
Gax nodded, still gasping for breath.
Weiss smiled. “Good, don’t keep me waiting.” She went to the door she entered through, sparing Gax one final look. “Be grateful I’m not putting you under arrest for aiding and abetting. As it stands, you’re lucky you get to keep this little slice of your pitiful little criminal empire.”
Kef entered a few moments later to find Gax still rubbing his sore neck. “Is the harridan gone?”
“Yeah.”
“Take that sky-cycle to the Excalibur and tell Cosari what happened,” said Gax.
Kef was perplexed. “What’s goin’ on, boss? First, you cut a deal with the Dreadnoughts to set up a trap for Zarim. Now you want to screw the Dreadnoughts?”
“That’s exactly what I want to do,” said Gax. “Not about to let some imperial stooge embarrass me in my own town. She’ll get what
’s coming to her.”
The autopilot kept the Excalibur hovering in the air, and the entire crew was gathered on the bridge. It had been a few hours since Zarim left to meet with Gax, and their attempts to hail him on the radio had met with failure. Most of the group remained silent, while Ekala paced in front of the helm, muttering curses under her breath.
“Siddown, would’ya?” Swul rubbed his eyes from his seat in Zarim’s chair. “Gettin’ a headache watching you.”
“Then quit watching!” she snapped.
“Take it easy.” Tanus stood at the helm, just staring at the instrument panel. Zarim had told him to keep an eye on things, although he wasn’t sure how to proceed if something had happened to the ship’s captain.
“Maybe he’s just been delayed,” said Reyche.
Ekala folded her arms, shaking her head while continuing to pace. “No, he wouldn’t have gone this long without calling. And we can’t reach him, that tells us something’s up.” She stopped, looking at Tanus. “Take us down.”
“Not until we know what we’re dealing with,” said Tanus.
Ekala placed her hands on her hips. “Listen up, big guy. You may have been tough shit when you were playing the good little soldier, but here on this ship, you don’t rank. If Zee’s not here, that means I’m in charge.” She pointed to herself with her thumb.
“Zarim told me to keep an eye on the ship while he was down there, and I don’t think that entailed getting all of us in whatever trouble he’s in,” said Tanus.
Ekala’s face contorted with restrained anger. She calmly walked up towards the towering man. Her eyes only reached his chest, but she tilted her head up to stare him down, and indeed, it seemed to all observing that the two were on completely equal footing.
“Which will attack first?” asked Liran, crouched beside Reyche’s legs.
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