by James Cox
"... so why are we traveling together," asked Robin.
The three of them now occupied a table in the ship's main lounge. Carl had finished one ale and started another one. After a single sip Robin decided to make hers last the evening. The meal, not a good one, rumbled in her stomach and sent out an occasional tendril of fire. The blatantly synthetic liquor didn't help, either.
"Friends gotta stick together," said Robert, as Jake.
"Sometimes a body needs to get away," added Carl, "Refuge is popular."
"Besides," said Robert, "With what we've saved up we can stay a while. Maybe look for a better job." He made a face, belched softly and pulled out a tube of stomach tablets. After chewing two he handed them to Robin.
"Thanks."
Carl merely lifted an eyebrow when she offered them to him.
***
Robin steeled herself for what she planned next. After a light breakfast Carl announced his intent to retire to his cabin for a midmorning nap. Robert planned an all-day affair with the sonocaster in the aft port lounge. Robin entered Carl's room. He looked up from his datapad.
"You have a job to finish," she said.
"Yes?" With no others around Carl didn't bother with Ralph.
"Teach me to fight."
"No."
"Teach me."
"I said no."
Robin carefully kept her emotions in check. "And I said teach me. I'm ready to learn."
Carl rose with an expression balanced between annoyance and irritation. "Prove it."
Robin removed her shirt and shoes. Although she didn't have any fighting gear some of Tracy's clothes allowed free and easy movement. She stepped into ready position.
Carl attacked without warning. Robin blocked most of them but a few still got through. She gritted her teeth and tried to mount attacks of her own. Carl didn't let them happen, of course, but at least she gained room to maneuver. She paid the price when he feinted, reached past her defenses and slapped her.
"Ready," he snorted contemptuously.
Robin recovered and attacked furiously, and with little effect. Carl defended easily but she didn't really plan on any of them hitting. When she pulled his attention away she kicked hard and fast into his side.
Carl grunted and stepped back as Robin's foot hit his mostly-healed wound. Face stone cold now he stepped back into the attack. He moved faster now and after several feints he locked Robin's arm painfully and started tracing a scar.
Robin flinched and pulled back. As soon as she felt Carl start to twist her around she threw herself into it. As his foot rose to trip her she locked it, continued the roll and kicked his other leg. They both hit the floor. Half-dazed, Robin tried to roll to her feet.
Carl kicked hard and she flopped down. Suddenly he stood above her raining kicks on her. She blocked and squirmed, trying vainly to reach her feet. She tried to sweep his leg but failed. She tried to maneuver but collided painfully with the wall. Time slowed as she saw Carl start a kick that would likely break bones or even kill her.
In desperation Robin focused all her effort into one single punch. Her knuckles exploded in pain as she punched as hard as she could into Carl's shin. Something cracked and, with an almost inaudible profanity, he backed away favoring that leg. She wasted no time gaining her feet. Though she hurt in more than a few places she assumed ready stance.
"Good," he said simply, "We'll start tomorrow."
Robin held her elation by iron will. She succeeded! She bowed and he returned it. As he did she noticed a dark stain on his shirt just below where she kicked him. She started to say something but instead turned and left. Let him suffer!
***
"Evaluation," asked Ferrel as he re-patched Micah's side. Jake's affair with the sonocaster didn't last long at all.
"She's learning fast."
"Too fast?"
"Almost. Or maybe." Micah didn't wince at Ferrel's minstrations, of course. "She also has a vicious streak in her." He bent and stretched when Ferrel finished. "Wasn't upset at all. Didn't worry about breaking anything, either. Mine or hers."
"You have given her ample reason, my brother." Ferrel re-packed his kit. "Are you sure she saw the blood?"
"Six-sigmas. She was mighty pleased with herself too. Good reason, like you said, but I still can't see her being totally unconcerned. Unless..."
Ferrel nodded. "Shall I try to find out?"
"Nak. Too risky. If she decides we know that would not be good."
"Slib. Have you checked our passenger list?"
Micah pulled up his 'pad. "These four?"
"We are in agreement, my brother. Pious question: where to start."
***
Robert cornered Robin after lunch. They ended up in his room seated behind their terminals.
"Practice, lady. Have you owned the ship net?"
Robin shook her head. At his gesture she powered up the terminal and jacked in.
"Heaven's flames! This is the lamest net I've ever seen."
With a grin Robert called up a game.
"For truth? This is at least ten years out of date!"
"Then you shouldn't have any trouble beating me at it."
She called up the game and connected through it to his terminal. Before long she struggled to beat him at it, then started losing. Then, to add insult, he removed his hands from his terminal and laced them behind his head. And still won!
"You have the parameters," he smiled, "Put together a Robin simulator. And, ahh, don't stop playing."
Robin frowned but she managed it. He racked up a long winning streak but she devoted at least some concentration to the game. Before long she finished and laced her fingers behind her head.
"Polar. Now we work. Mesh with my terminal and let's own this net."
Robin did so and heated up her warez.
"Now let's see who out fellow passengers are and what this bucket of bolts uses for hardware, yes?"
When Robert made no move to burn in Robin did so. She did move cautiously; she had no idea about the security present and they had no easy escape. When she did rouse dogz she and Robert neutralized them quickly and she traced them back. They connected to a simple logger that she had no problem altering. From there she traced forward and located the sparse remainder of the net security.
"Lame and pathetic," she said, "but compliant with all relevant statutes. This net is isolated from the astrogation and system control hardware. Cheap. They don't really care if someone breaks in as long as their assets are covered."
"Correct," he said, "So let's find out what assets they don't want covered."
After a few minutes Robin had the entire structure of the net and a good solid hold on the data within it. They had full access to the passenger manifest and inventory, games library, laundry schedule and a lot of other bland information. At Robert's suggestion she copied the passenger database, cut a cheap door and left.
"Now what," she asked.
"We look for something suspicious. I have several hypotheses but I'm keeping them to myself for now. I want to see what you find."
Robin jacked out, terminated all extraneous processes and set up the warez to analyze the passengers. Robert did likewise, loaning her the processing capacity of his terminal. She didn't really know what to test so she ran a wide-open comparison analysis against herself, Carl and Robert. When that completed she ran another against credit balances, transfers and payments.
"This one," she said, "Jose Coyler. He's listed as a business traveler but he's racked up a lot of charges in the casino."
Robert nodded. "Match number one. Any more?"
"Marcie Anne Gregory. I'm not sure why, though. Something about her just doesn't feel right."
"Interesting," he said, making a note, "I didn't tag her. Any others?"
Robin tried several other metrics, including comparison against Coyler and Gregory.
"Squelch," she said, "What about yours?"
"I have three more. Try to find them." He spoke the
last with mischief. "Just think of it as training. But not right now. Dinner's in an hour and a half and we don't want to miss it."
"Are we that hungry?" She wasn't but he had mischief in his eyes.
"We are, and we'll need plenty of brain food. After dessert you'll be making a friend of Signor Coyler."
"What?!"
"Your assignment is to make an acquaintance of Seigneur Jose B. Coyler. If he stays true to form he'll repair to the casino after his repast and pass a lot of time there. Wherever he goes you will follow. You will make pleasant conversation, join him for a drink and likely drop a few unis at a game of so-called chance. You will not, however, attempt to extract any information from him."
"B-but..." Robin tried to muster an argument but she could tell Robert would have none.
"I'll leave you to plan your strategy, then," he grinned.
***
Robin nibbled at her food, barely noticing its lack of taste. She had a sheaf of currency and a full tube of stomach tabs courtesy of Robert. Carl shoveled in food as though he hadn't eaten for a week and followed it with a full pint of ale.
"That's done," said Robert, sliding aside his dessert plate, "I think I'll head to my cabin. I have this tune running through my head, no blather."
That quashed Robin's thought to simply return to her room. Robert caught her eye and winked.
"I think I'll have some more of this," said Carl to his empty mug, "It's prime slosh."
With that Carl rose and too Robin's arm. He guided her gently but firmly to the bar and the casino in front of it.
"He's playing bobble," whispered Carl, "Looks like the game just started. No empty spots. Try low-bet colorspin 'till one opens up. Take the table beside his."
"You'll be at the bar, right," whispered Robin shakily, "If I need you?"
"Don't need me."
Robin looked at her cards, barely noticing them. She'd played a while when the bobble table shifted. The places filled before she could move and Carl caught her eye long enough to scowl at her. She ordered a pack of strong 'sticks and chewed two stomach tabs, neither of which helped.
"And the lady wins," said the dealer, smiling.
Robin returned the smile and collected her winnings. Not bad but she'd lost more playing. The bobble table noised up meaning the current game would end soon. She tipped the dealer and started that way.
As if on cue the game ended and the man sitting next to Coyler left. Flutterwings the size of starships formed in Robin's stomach and began eating the remains of the meal there.
"Hi," said Robin, taking the seat.
"'Lo," said Coyler without looking. Then, when he did he smiled grandly. "Hello lovely lady! Got any luck on you?"
"Umm..."
"Bets please," said the dealer.
After the first three flash rounds Coyler lost over seventy unicreds.
"Frost," said Coyler as a few people left, "Guess you didn't." He held out his hand. "Jose Coyler. Call me Jose."
"Tracy," smiled Robin, "Tracy Goldwine."
"A pleasure, Tracy Tracy Goldwine." When she took his hand he turned hers, bent over and kissed it. She couldn't help blushing.
Coyler examined his stack of chips. "Care to try some high-low?"
"Sure."
"So, Tracy Tracy," he said after the first hand, "what brings you to grace this lovely vessel with your presence?"
"I'm on vacation" Robin worked hard to maintain her smile as she brought up Tracy's history. Samantha might be able to handle the situation but Robin didn't know if she could.
"A trip for pleasure! The best kind, don't you think?"
She met his eyes, smiled and looked down. She didn't want to think about what she saw there.
"Yes. What about you?"
"Not for pleasure, unfortunately. Business." He dismissed this fact with nary a care.
Robin played her hand and won. Coyler lost.
"What business," she asked timidly.
"Delaney Limited," he said grandly, sitting up, "Household chemicals and pharmaceuticals. If you have a problem we can clean it or cure it!"
She couldn't help chuckling at this.
"You've heard of us?"
"I... Ahh... I haven't."
"No matter." He shrugged and lost another ten unis. "What would you say to a drink? I'll accept any answer but no."
"Yes, then," said Robin, "and perhaps thanks?"
This time Coyler won over a hundred unis.
"Profit and platinum! I've found my luck!"
***
"... and he's a sales rep for Delaney," said Robin, sipping water and waiting for the headache tabs to take effect.
Robin found Robert in her room waiting when she returned.
"He had a ticket on a better ship," she continued, "but he exchanged it for this one and cashed the difference. He said it was extra expense account but I think he just likes to gamble. A lot."
"Go on, dear."
"I think he tried to get me drunk." These words didn't come easily. "After the third time he tried I told him I get sick when I drink too much." Exactly what Tracy Goldwine would do, thought Robin with contempt.
Carl walked in and sat down. Robert summarized what Robin said.
"Anything else," asked Robert.
"He asked me about you two. I told him we were friends from college. Just friends." She looked at Carl. "He said you looked mean and I said you weren't, just that you were very protective of me." Exactly what Tracy would need. "I don't think he liked that much."
"Should I have a chat with him," asked Carl, "Convince him to keep his distance?"
Robin glared at Carl who merely shrugged.
"Your ball, your call," he said.
"No!" Tracy might need that kind of help but Robin didn't! "I can handle him."
"But can Tracy?"
"Yes. If nothing else she'll drink too much and throw up on him."
Carl shrugged again. "Fair coin. Anything else? If not I'm going to grab some rack time."
Robin shook her head. After Carl left Robert squeezed her hand.
"You did a plus-plus pyro job, lady. I think I'm gonna grab some eyelid myself." Then, as Jake, "Snappin' up tunez is no walk through the walkin' flowerz."
***
Ferrel left Robin's room and headed for Micah's. Micah lay back on his bed with his eyes closed but Ferrel knew him better. As soon as he sat Micah's eyes snapped open.
"Well?"
"Almost word for word," said Ferrel, "You think she found the bugs?"
"Not by my read. Any chance of voice-stress analysis?"
Ferrel frowned at this. "Not immediately, my brother. Even I need a little time to work."
Micah smiled at this, his first real one in quite a while. "So is that five minutes or ten?" He thought a moment. "What about the others?"
"I thought I'd take Hagen and Gregory tomorrow. You want Logan?"
"Sure. Any bets uncovered?"
"Not by me," yawned Ferrel, "Flames! I guess strikin' up those tunez really did zap my spunk."
Chapter 9. The Seduction
Robin moved in to attack, slowly. She hurt in several places but she defended well in spite of it. She tried three feints in quick succession followed by a shift and hard kick. A perfect strike! Again she drew blood, this time a large patch of it.
"Why," asked Tracy, tears forming and spilling out of her eyes.
"You're weak," spat Robin, "Weak and worthless!"
"I... I can't help it," she sniffled, "P-please..."
Robin attacked again and hit again. Tracy tried to defend but failed miserably.
"You deserve that," said Robin as she bruised Tracy's face, "If that's the best you can do you deserve every milli of it!"
Tracy attacked clumsily. Robin felt contempt oozing out of her as she defended, counterattacked and punched, again and again. Tracy coughed a sob and slumped against the wall struggling to breathe.
"Fight back, rut you!" This time Robin kicked.
"I can't...
I..."
"Then suffer!"
Tracy looked up at her...
Robin sat up suddenly with her heart racing and her breath coming in gasps. She fumbled until she found the light. The bedcovers lay strewn about the floor. Her room blurred into focus around her, no different than when she fell asleep. She stumbled to the sink, drew a glass of water and rinsed out her mouth.
"That isn't me," she said to the haggard reflection in the mirror.
The mirror said nothing.
"It isn't!"
Again silence. The last vestiges of the dream haunting her finally evaporated.
It wasn't Tracy looking up at her.
Robin lit a strong 'stick and glared across the table. Tracy cringed at it, whimpering all the while Robin cleaned and fixed her wounds. Without looking up she slid a 'stick out of the pack, lit it and promptly started coughing. So hard that Robin feared she'd throw up.
"I'm sorry," said Tracy, almost inaudible.
"For what?"
"I'm... I'm weak," sniffled Tracy, tears rolling down her face, "I c-can't help it."
"You are weak."
Robin sipped her wine. Tracy followed suit and almost gagged on it.
"Wh-why are you doing this to me?"
"Ask Jose."
"I don't like him," said Tracy, "He... He scares me. I think he wants... He wants..."
"He wants to torque you."
Tracy sniffled and nodded.
"And why not? You should be grateful for it!"
Tracy shook her head and sobbed even harder. Disgustedly Robin grabbed her under the chin and forced her gaze up.
"You know who we're after," she said, "You can help! It's the least you can do."
