by Merita King
“No problem Mr Sinclair,” Hann nodded as he ran a hand through his hair and straightened his shirt. “Is there anything else we can do to help?”
This guy was being so nice it was almost embarrassing. Forcing myself not to laugh, I nodded. “Yes actually there is. Do you have somewhere secure I could use to interview him? The rules dictate that I go through the proper procedure before taking him back to the authorities. Y’know a formal interview so that he knows why he’s being held and what his rights are?”
He nodded and turned to Flark. “Can you arrange for one of the quarantine units in the infirmary to be made available as soon as possible?” Flark nodded and left the room and Hann nodded to me. “The infirmary has three quarantine units just in case of a breakout of something virulently contagious infecting the ship. They are completely secure and private and you’re welcome to use one of them for as long as you need.”
This was very helpful. Quite often I end up doing these interviews in bathrooms, cupboards and all manner of places, so to have the use of a proper facility would make things much more comfortable and reminded me of my days as a desk bound official in Law Enforcement. In those days I had more responsibility and all the back up I could ask for, without too much of the dirty work. Good hours, good facilities and good pay. Trouble was I was bored to fuck with the predictability and safeness of it all. The petty rules and regulations I was forced to stick to irritated me no end and so many times I had to sit back and let some asshole walk out the door because of some rule or stupid regulation. In the end I knew something had to give and it was either give it up or go freelance. Over the years I’d built up a decent network of contacts and I was good at my job; I enjoyed it and wasn’t about to just throw it all away so I handed in my uniform and office keys, took possession of an ex law enforcement official tag, used up a sizeable portion of my savings to buy my own ship and went freelance. The thrill of the chase took years off me and the freedom to do what I do well without the constriction of petty regulations was like a burden lifted off my shoulders for the first time. My very first job after going freelance was the happiest time I’d known in years and I swear I had a grin on my face the whole damn time. It was still nice to be offered decent facilities in which to do my job though and I smiled at Hann.
“Thanks Captain, that’ll do nicely. When he wakes up I’ll get him installed in there and hopefully we should both be out of your hair within a few hours and on our way to Floxham Island.”
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Floxham Island? You’re taking him there?”
“Yeah.”
“Well there’s no need to rush off then. We’re stopping there so why not stay on board and enjoy a few days relaxation?” This news surprised me and I must have looked bemused because Hann sniggered at my expression. It’s one of my regular delivery points as it’s in a main shipping lane and easy for the authorities to get to for trials and sentencing hearings. Why would a passenger liner be calling there? Even a low budget outfit like Nightliner surely had no need to call into that place.
“Why the hell are you calling there?”
“It’s one of our regular stops Mr Sinclair. As you are no doubt aware, Nightliner isn’t exactly the most elite cruise line in the business.” He was right, I was very aware of this fact from the moment I came aboard. “We deliver a supply of a few luxuries whenever we pass by the Floxham system that the staff isn’t afforded by the Law Enforcement Agency and we usually have a few people wishing to visit with family members who work or are incarcerated there. We drop the supplies and the visitors, along with a shuttle lander and crew and leave them there whilst we continue on to The Oasis for a day of sun and relaxation. We then return to pick up the visitors and carry on our way. You’re more than welcome to remain on board with us until we reach Floxham and if you don’t fancy spending three days down there in their visitor’s accommodations, you can use your own vessel once we get there. It’ll give you a few days to relax and save you some fuel and of course, the Sally B’s facilities are at your disposal free of charge.”
You can call me all sorts of names, and even the unpleasant ones will sometimes be deserved but stupid will never be one of them. A few days relaxing on a cruise liner free of charge while my prisoner was safely stowed away. Was I interested?
“Well that’s extremely kind of you Captain,” I smiled and nodded. “I’d be happy to accept your hospitality.” He nodded back and seemed relieved that I’d accepted his offer. It was obvious to me that he took this as a sign that I was unlikely to report him to the authorities for taking Nembier on without the proper checks and he was right. At the end of the day all I’m interested in is getting to my target. People break rules all the time; hell I break rules all the time and it wouldn’t serve me to take the time and effort to report Hann for taking on some casual labour. Besides, building a good working relationship with him might come in handy at some time in the future and I’m always aware of the benefits of having a good network of contacts. It’s what my job is built on and without them, I’d be out of a job. Like I said before, I’m not stupid and I’m also well aware of the potential benefits that come from letting him think I might just decide to report him!
Hann suggested he call for a medical team to transport Nembier to the quarantine bay on a stretcher so that if any passengers saw him, they’d assume he was sick and being taken to the infirmary. He didn’t want his passengers getting upset by seeing a guy in restraints. That’s understandable so I agreed and we were soon escorting a still unconscious Nembier to the quarantine bay where he was installed to wake up. After I removed his restraints and the room was secured, a doctor examined him and estimated he’d be out for a couple of hours so Hann suggested he find me a room where I could take a shower and change my clothes before having a meal with him. The Sally B is a big liner with a large number of rooms but I was expecting to be installed within a cubicle no bigger than the firearms locker on board my ship, seeing as I was not paying for the pleasure but to my complete surprise I found myself being given a large room with private bathroom.
“Very nice room Captain, thank you very much,” I said and meant every word.
“You’re very welcome Mr Sinclair. You have done us a favour by getting rid of a murderer who could potentially have caused havoc on board and we are very grateful.” He’d got one up on me and he knew it; my surprise at the luxury of the room he’d given me gave him the upper hand. That didn’t bother me really; I’d got my man and now had a few days in which to relax at no expense to myself so I was happy to give a bit of ground in our little power game. “Dinner is in an hour. The dining hall is on deck three. Just give your name to the man on the door and he’ll show you to my table. There’s no dress code by the way.” Now he was kicking me in the groin. Not only had he gained a point by giving me this nice room but that remark was just gratuitous point scoring and I was annoyed.
“Okay Captain I’ll look forward to it and thank you again for your hospitality.” He was still smiling to himself as he let himself out and I supposed he was laughing quietly to himself all the way back to his office. A quick trip back to my ship to collect what belongings I felt I might need was my next course of action and within twenty minutes I was enjoying a wonderful hot shower. Although I live and work in my ship for months at a time, I have a shower on board; don’t get me wrong I have all the facilities I need but they’re basic. This however, was luxury after what I’m used to and gave me an opportunity to take a bit of care over my appearance for a change.
The job I do doesn’t often call for me to look like I’ve just stepped out of a clothes store and I’m no male model but I do okay for myself. You couldn’t honestly call me the worst looking guy in the galaxy and when I do get the opportunity to take some care, I can turn a head or two. My home world is Sigma Prime and we’re lucky because we’re known as a good looking race. Sigma men tend to be solidly built and firm and others tend to describe us as having enigmatic good looks, whatever that
means. Once I was showered I looked out the best shirt I had and a fresh pair of pants and took a long, hard look in the mirror. The need for a haircut was obvious to me right away and I made a vow to seek out a hairdresser right after dinner. There’s no way I’m the vainest guy around but I do like my hair to be good and as I looked at my reflection I was not totally happy. My job keeps me in shape okay but I realised that from the neck up, I looked tired. Not only was my hair a bit neglected but my face looked a little stressed. Okay so I had a plan; dinner, interview Nembier then a haircut and a dermal.
Nembier was still a little bleary eyed when I went to do the interview with him but at least he was awake enough for me to do what I had to do so I could get to my appointment with the hairdresser and skin therapist. As an official law enforcement freelancer, there is a set procedure I have to go through once I’ve captured my target. It’s not my job to ascertain anyone’s guilt or innocence but I do have to make sure I have the right guy and let them know why they’re being restrained and what I intend to do with them. Digging out my digital scanner, I brought up Nembier’s fingerprint record, retinal scan and DNA record and entered the quarantine room.
“Good afternoon Professor Nembier,” I smiled.
“Huh?” he grunted as he ran a hand through his hair and avoided my eyes. “What the fuck are you talking about? My name is Tallion.” It was hard for me to suppress a snigger as I prepared a fresh blood sampler.
“Well okay let’s find out shall we?” I challenged as I turned to face him, blood sampler and scanner in hand. “Hold out your thumb please, this won’t hurt a bit.” My eyes locked challengingly into his as I took a second step towards him and he backed away. “What’s up Mr umm Tallion,” I said as I took a third step forward. “It won’t hurt; I just need a blood sample to prove you are indeed Mr Tallion and not Professor Nembier as I first thought.” He backed away a bit more, his eyes never leaving the blood sampler in my hand.
“I umm, I don’t like the sight of blood,” he offered. This statement almost made me whoop out loud with glee and I mentally gave myself a high five as he unwittingly helped me win the bet I’d placed with myself. In this job you have to find your entertainment wherever you can and as I said, I like to think of myself as an excellent judge of character. It has become a habit for me to continually test my people skills and one of the things I do is try to guess which excuse the target will use first to avoid the blood sampler. The two most often used are a fear of needles and not liking the sight of blood. Nembier struck me right away as a guy who was okay with needles. He’s not the type to fret over something silly like a blood sampler so I went with him hating the sight of blood and he’d just won me another fifty. It took all my control not to thank him.
“Don’t worry Mr Tallion you won’t see any blood,” I assured him in my most authoritative tone as I took a fourth step towards him. “This unit is completely self contained and everything is done inside the thumb sleeve.” That fourth step took me too far inside his comfort zone and he leapt up and backed across the room yelling at me to get away. Sighing with annoyance, I turned and nodded to the medical aides who I had already arranged to be watching through the one way glass and waited for them to enter and restrain him. Two mountainous men entered and approached him assertively and had him firmly restrained within seconds. Within another thirty seconds I got my blood sample, took a scan of his fingerprint and retina and within another two minutes I confirmed him as being Professor Kluvak Nembier. He sat on the edge of the bed as I packed away my scanner and blood sampler and I watched him closely as I clicked on my digital recorder. A weird feeling coursed through me and I suddenly felt sorry for the guy as he sat there with his head in his hands looking scared and for a moment I could’ve almost believed him to be innocent.
“Professor Kluvak Nembier,” I said as I began the speech that was so familiar. “My name is Sinclair. I am a Freelance Law Enforcer, tag reference code Sinclair 27593-4/167AZP and it is my duty to inform you that I now place you under restraint as per warrant code AZ267/M. You shall remain under restraint until such time as I deliver you into the care of the relevant authorities on Floxham 4 where you are to be questioned in connection with nine murders on Agrillia 3.” After noting the date and time, I clicked off the recorder and scanned it into the record along with the identification details I’d taken from him. “Thank you very much for your co-operation Professor,” I smiled as I turned and left the room. If I hurried I might still make that haircut appointment.
She seemed delighted when I gave her a large tip. She’d done an excellent job on my hair and I was genuinely pleased as I checked myself out in the mirror in her salon on deck five. Not too much off, just a tidy up and a zap of Tricholox to thicken it up and give it more body. Tricholox is marvellous stuff for those of us not blessed with naturally thick and luxuriant hair. I’m no scientist so the minutiae of how it works isn’t exactly my thing. All I know is that after they give you several injections all over your scalp it makes the hair twice as thick as it is naturally and lasts for three or four months before needing a top up. She smiled and I winked at her as I left the salon and headed next door for my dermal appointment. A pretty red headed gal smiled at me as I entered and gave my name. She offered me a drink while I waited and I was soon enjoying a cold Andolian beer. A leggy blonde appeared and bade me follow her into a cubicle where I was soon hooked up to a dermal optimiser. This machine is a one step skin perfecting machine that cleans, smoothes, tightens and freshens all in one go. Cold goo is spread all over the face and then they put this thin fabric mask thing over the top. The machine has a sort of helmet that comes down over your face like a close fitting space helmet and when they switch it on you can feel your skin tingle and the muscles of the face tighten up. It feels strange but it’s not painful and when you’re done, the whole effect is a cleaner, fresher and younger looking face. When the procedure was finished I was pleased. In the space of one afternoon I’d got my man restrained, been installed within a first class cabin with private bathroom and offered a free cruise, had my hair seen to and several years taken off my face. The leggy blonde also received a large tip along with my Unicom number just in case, and I went to check out what other delights the liner offered.
*****
CHAPTER TWO
As I think back now, I’ve been doing this job for almost fifteen years and in all that time I haven’t taken much time off and I can’t remember the last time I actually had a holiday, so when Captain Hann offered me the run of the liner for the three days it would take to get to Floxham 4, I took full advantage. Apart from checking in with Nembier every day to make sure he was behaving himself, my time was my own and I spent my days relaxing by the pool on the sun deck and my nights enjoying the leggy blonde. Boy did she know how to please a guy and it was with more than a little reluctance that I checked in with Hann on the morning before our arrival at Floxham 4 to thank him for his hospitality.
“Thank you Captain for your hospitality,” I smiled as I extended my hand. “I’ll have Nembier installed in my ship once we get into orbit around Floxham and we’ll be out of your hair.” He shook my hand and offered me a seat before making me an offer I still don’t know to this day I was wise to accept. It seemed like the sensible thing to do at the time so I didn’t hesitate and maybe the leggy blonde was partly to blame.
“You’re very welcome Mr Sinclair but there’s really no need to take your own ship down to Floxham. As I told you when you first arrived on board, we have supplies and visitors to deliver to the prison, after which the liner continues on to The Oasis. After a day in the sun we return to pick up the visitors, before continuing with the cruise. If you wish, you can tag along in our shuttle for the trip and continue with us after we return to pick you all up; at least until you get yourself another job. You’re more than welcome to remain on board for as long as you wish and I will admit that having an official law enforcer on board is good for passenger morale.”
This was the de
fining moment of the job. Looking back on it now in the cold light of day, I could’ve done so many things differently but at the time it seemed the obvious thing to do and despite everything, I was beginning to like Hann and our little power game that I was happy to let him win so he would remain gracious and helpful. It didn’t take me long to accept and the thought of spending a few more nights with the blonde’s long legs wrapped round me was more than a little persuasive. Memories of her and the skill with which she lured me into a state of complete euphoria soon had me smiling as I returned to my room to packed my stuff before making a trip to my ship for anything I thought I might need, and how many times since then I’ve wondered whether I made the right decision, I can’t begin to count.
An area at the rear of the shuttle was blocked off with some spare wall boards so Nembier could be adequately restrained without the passengers getting upset at seeing him. Two of Hann’s security guards returned with me to the quarantine room and together with the two mountainous medical aides who helped me get the blood sample from him three days before, the five of us had him installed within the shuttle without a fuss. Hann shook my hand once again as the passengers and crew loaded and I was pleased to see that Flark, who I found out was actually called Commander Morry Laymon, would be Captain for our sojourn to Floxham. Try as I might, I just couldn’t see him as Morry; he’d always be Flark to me. Thirty minutes later we left the belly of the Sally B and headed down towards Floxham Island. It would make me feel a whole lot better about things if I was able to say that I had some inner dread as we approached the prison but I’d be unnecessarily dramatic and totally wrong if I did. It was with relative calm that I whistled to myself and looked at the other passengers and not once did I feel any kind of dark cloud inside, no deep foretelling of impending doom hammering at my skull to put me on my guard. Since then I’ve wished so often that I did have some kind of dark foreboding that day; many lives would’ve been saved if I had but then many more might’ve been doomed to be lost later on.
