by Jason Letts
She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, her expression had changed.
“I know I can’t have everything I want, but at least I can be myself. If you can let me be me, I’ll let you be you. Maybe next time we won’t get caught, and sooner or later we might find a way to do something that actually matters,” she said.
There was no smile, no warmth, but it suggested that she saw something of value in him.
“Tell me your name,” he said. “Mine’s Rion Istlegaard.”
She glanced downward.
“I’m Lena Rearden, or at least I was. I don’t know who I’ll be next until I get there.”
CHAPTER 3
It was about a year later when a body was found. The owner of an Espirit Journey, a tiny vessel barely large enough for two people, had been murdered in her own ship. Rion heard about it first from the friendly guy who worked a newsstand booth not far from the main lounge.
“They say the murder weapon was a thin shaft of steel used to stab her right between the collarbone and the neck. The edge wasn’t even pointed,” he said.
“Sounds horrible. In all the time I’ve been here, I can’t remember one incident like that happening to a visitor,” Rion said.
“Me neither,” the booth worker replied.
Rion turned away, reached into his pocket for the black disc he carried everywhere with him, and began looking for Bailor, Lena, Wud, or any of the others to share the news. They’d certainly want to hear about this.
He hadn’t gone far on his way back to home base before his tunnel converged with another that one of the spaceport inspectors was coming through. Shifting course and attempting to stay out of sight of the inspectors was second nature, but keeping clear of them seemed to take on more urgency. He wondered what would come next. Heightened security, more patrols? Hiding out in their bay for as long as possible seemed the best course of action.
Only a few turns away from the dilapidated pit they called home, Rion felt a hand yank hard on his sleeve. It was Bailor with a grave look on his face that indicated he’d already heard the news. They ducked behind a nearby bench.
“Who told you about the murder?” Rion asked.
Bailor wrinkled his brow.
“What, there’s a murder? You’re not going back to bunk, are you?”
“Yeah, I was, and yeah, there is.”
“Well, not anymore you’re not. The whole area is crawling with inspectors. I thought they’d finally got tired of having us around, but now you’re saying someone was killed,” Bailor said, staring off at the floor.
Rion had his own conclusions to draw. His clothes, his food, the charges he’d been able to accumulate, they were all gone. Once again he was down to nothing but what he had on him.
“What are we going to do?” he asked.
“Most of the others were away when they came sweeping in. We’re hiding out in one of the storage rooms at the moment, but we can’t stay there for long. They told me not to, but I went out looking for you and Lena.”
“You saved me,” Rion said, not wanting to think about if he’d strolled right up to a pack of spaceport inspectors.
Together they looped around and headed for the storage room, but on the way they spotted more of those gray and maroon uniforms when they approached an intersection. Some tall display cases provided cover for them, and as they watched they saw that the inspectors had someone in custody. They were escorting poor, little Pietro down the hall. The boy had tears running down his face as they marched him onward.
“I knew the day would come when they’d want to wipe out the remnants of their manifest form scheme,” Bailor sighed.
A state of paranoia took hold of Rion that he’d never experienced before. He expected someone to be waiting for him around every corner. He felt adrift, so much like when he first arrived on Mars. Lena was at large in the port as well. She’d been staying in her own corner of the bay and hopefully wasn’t on her way back there now. They’d never gotten the big score they wanted, and it sure seemed unlikely they would now.
At the storage room, a handful of boys sat on crates in the dark. The slightly ajar door provided the only light. For once Wud seemed to be relieved to see Rion.
“You made it,” he said.
“I was lucky Bailor found me. Pietro wasn’t. We saw him escorted by a number of inspectors. I don’t know what they’ll do to him or what he’ll tell them before they do.”
Wud jerked his head in dismay at their bad luck.
“I know a couple of others had been caught too. We’re all that’s left, and if we don’t do something fast we won’t make it through the day,” he said.
“Rion said there was a murder,” Bailor blurted out.
The looks of surprise were apparent even in the dim light.
“You mean Pietro?” one of the boys asked.
“No, a ship owner was killed in her cabin a few hours or so ago. It’s hard to overlook the coincidence between that and this sweep,” Rion said.
“But why are they coming after us? Probably got done in by her partner because she wouldn’t put out. And now the inspectors have to get off their lazy asses and pretend like they’re cracking down. So the hammer falls on us,” Wud said.
It was a reasonable argument, one that left them in a tough predicament.
“Another reason to be angry at the regent,” Bailor said. “You’d think at some point over all these years he would’ve had the impulse to do something humane with us. Now everything is gone. I’d finally put together a good collection of books on the expansion from Earth throughout the solar system. Did you know Earth used to have different territories called countries before they all came together under the Alliance?”
“Save the lecture, professor,” Wud said. “Pietro and all the others know this is our emergency meeting location. Any minute a swarm of inspectors could come rushing in. We have to get out now while we still have the chance.”
“Where will we go?” one of the boys asked.
The answer dawned on Rion.
“Even if we could scrape together the charges, getting onto a transport undetected isn’t going to happen. Our only option is to leave the spaceport and enter the colony.”
Wud nodded and began heading toward the door. It was a long, winding trail through the port, down to the cavern, and into the underground colony. Once he’d left the storage room and began the trek with the others, Rion immediately kept his eyes peeled for Lena. If there was anyone who had the charm to talk her way out the inspectors’ hands, it was her, but he still wondered if he’d ever see her again.
“A bunch of us walking together is too noticeable. There’re going to be inspectors the closer we get to the lounge,” Rion said, already spotting one in the distance.
Using a few hand signals, he directed the boys to stick close to different groups of people moving in their direction. Tagging along and pretending to be part of other families worked and allowed them to slip by a few inspectors posted in the area.
The tunnels became incredibly congested leading up to the cavern, almost like it was back when Bailor pulled the alarm. Everyone slowed down to a crawl. Rion left his group to find his friend up ahead.
“They must be checking IDs or something, and I don’t need to tell you that we haven’t got any. We’ll never make it through.”
“You’re right,” Bailor said. “We have to turn around.”
Gnashing his teeth about it, Rion bitterly turned his back on the gated cavern and began looking for the other boys to give them the signal to retreat. He saw a few and gave them the directions without drawing any attention. The rest would have to figure out on their own that passing through the checkpoint was a mistake.
Rion tried to think of where else they could go. The drainage basin? It was hard to think while fighting against the current of people, many of whom were annoyed at the delayed pace and resentful about the slightest bump. All he could hope for was returning to where the hallway wasn’t so cro
wded.
He spotted a bench and on a whim he decided to stand on it to get a view of what was ahead. He got more than he bargained for. A handful of inspectors were closing in from behind, and one of them spotted his head poking up.
“Right there!” came a shout and a pointed finger as the inspectors pushed forward with increased vigor. It was hard to say what gave him away; perhaps just his youthfulness was enough.
Dropping down, Rion tried to duck and slip through the crowd, but in his head he felt like he’d already been caught. It was only a matter of time until they had him marching down the hallway like Pietro to be disposed of.
The inspectors chasing him suddenly became the more pressing concern, urging Rion back in the direction of the cavern, pushing and shoving to get through. Bailor and one other boy named Ollie were with him. They all held their breath as they rapidly approached the checkpoint where more inspectors were using some kind of corded scanner to look people over.
Rion walked face first into Wud, who’d apparently never turned back.
“Will you watch where you’re going and keep your mouth shut. You’re making a racket,” Wud said, though Rion hadn’t said anything. “When I get to the front of the line I’m just going to run for it into the colony.”
It was as good a plan as anything Rion could come up with. He breathed deeply, waiting until the cluster of people in front of him passed through.
Then all of a sudden everyone started moving more quickly. The inspectors at the checkpoint had put down their scanners and started letting people through without more than a glance. Rion could hardly believe it.
Getting through required only keeping their heads down and shadowing some of the taller travelers. When they crossed through into the open space of the cavern, Rion laughed out loud. He didn’t know what else to do. All of a sudden the way forward was wide open.
Near the far end of the cavern, Lena leaned against the railing overlooking the colony, her hair catching some of the wind and light from the roof stretching out into the distance. A smirk came to her face when she saw them.
“I couldn’t have made it any easier if I carried you out. The scanner’s mainframe just needed a little love,” she said.
How she pulled that off was beyond Rion, but Lena always seemed to have a trick up her sleeve like that.
“We shouldn’t lounge around. The inspectors won’t stop and we won’t be safe until we’re out of the open,” Bailor said.
Their group had gone from eleven to five in the span of an hour. Assuming the worst had happened to the others made it easier to descend the long walkways into the slums without looking back. A tramway ran below the residential level, taking people to the Regent’s Center and the colony’s nicer areas, but Rion immediately spotted more uniformed authority personnel to be wary of. It was unlikely they were in on the hunt for the orphans, but they were heavily scrutinizing everyone boarding the tram.
The slums seemed like a better place to vanish for people with their garb and demeanor, even if a faint smell of urine and body odor made it the less appealing option. They turned onto smaller alleys looking for any place that seemed reasonable to enter. Whore houses, raucous bars, and packed flophouses didn’t fit the bill.
“Maybe we’ll run into Jessie or Selena. They might be able to do a lot to help us out,” Wud said, referring to some of the orphan girls who’d disappeared here.
Wud had meant it as a dirty joke, but Rion would’ve taken a tip from anyone after they’d spent a few hours wandering and passed quite a few uncouth individuals. When they turned onto a stretch where a pack of them were hanging around a smoky doorway, he knew they’d made a wrong turn. It was darker here, with hanging sheets blocking the light from above.
“Class out for a field trip today? What have you got for lunch money?” asked a man who stepped forward, plenty intimidating despite his mocking tone. More than one knife was visible on the gang members, all of whom had greedy eyes.
They ran, but the gang didn’t let them go easily. The chase went on for more than two blocks until their pursuers gave up. Still they ran down another couple corridors before feeling like they could at least catch their breaths. The sensation hit Rion that he’d been on his feet for hours and gotten nowhere.
A whistle sent chills of alarm down his spine once again. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a man with a missing tooth and a bandana on his head leaning out of an open window.
“You lost?” he called.
“Just like your tooth,” Wud cracked before taking another step, but Rion couldn’t turn his back on even the unlikeliest chance for an opportunity.
“I’m sorry about him,” Rion said, elbowing Wud in the side. “We’re lost and we need to find a place to stay, but we don’t have any charges.”
The man gave Wud a hard look and shook his head.
“I can fix all three of those problems for you. Come here,” he said.
Lena looked to Rion to see if he’d approach the man and was right behind him when he did. Bailor and Ollie were on her heels. Wud crossed his arms over his chest and leaned in a bit.
“What do you mean?” Rion asked, noticing quite a bit of heat pouring through the window.
The man broached a strained smile. He was sweating from the heat.
“My name is Cheever and I’ve come by a business opportunity for my workshop here. Your little hands will get the job done a lot easier than the no-good louts I have around now. But there’s a lot of work to be done. You do it and you’ll have a room in the shop to sleep and enough monies for food. What do you say?”
He extended a sweaty hand, noticed it, and then withdrew it.
“What kind of work is it?” Rion asked.
“That I can’t tell you beforehand. It’s confidential and we’ve got a high-profile client. It’s honest work. I promise you that. You in or you out?”
Rion glanced back at the others to get their input. They were hesitant, but they also were severely fatigued and more than ready to get off the street.
“You’ve got a deal,” he said, putting a smile on Cheever’s face.
The man left the window and popped open a door, holding it open just long enough for them to enter. Rion hadn’t expected to find anything glamorous on the inside, but even his modest expectations were disappointed. There were about a dozen men and women at workstations manipulating seemingly endless amounts of red-colored thread and white cotton. Sewing machines hummed. In the corner was a pile of their completed products. It wasn’t until Cheever picked one up to show it to them that he could tell they were making pillows in the shape of flowers.
“Next month is the Mars colony’s centennial celebration. Can you believe it was one-hundred years ago that there was nothing on this planet but a few crude structures and rovers? It so happens that the regent’s big wife adores tulips, and the company handling the festivities needed some help putting together as many as possible to cover the place inside and out. We’re the sub-contractor of a sub-contractor, as you might say. Let me show you how it’s done. There’re a couple hours left today to get the hang of it,” Cheever said.
“Are you kidding me? We’re going to be sewing?” Wud moaned.
Rion wasn’t exactly thrilled with the proposition, either, but it beat starving on the street. Cheever appeared wounded.
“There aren’t too many ways to make a living around here that don’t involve pimping or fighting. Plus, you’ll get a pass into the Regent’s Center when it’s time to set up for the centennial. Might be your only chance to ever get a look at the place, because you know regular folk from around here won’t be welcome even for the celebration.”
Wud opened his mouth to issue another complaint, but Rion elbowed him in the hip.
“Let’s give it a try. I bet it won’t be so bad,” Rion said.
“That’s the spirit. We need to fill the room with tulips by the time we have to go,” Cheever said.
It was mindless work, which helped the time go by faster.
But after two hours of sewing, Rion’s aching and bloody fingers felt like they’d never be the same. Some of the others had spent the whole time stuffing cotton into the pillows. Each and every one they produced was horribly misshapen, but Cheever didn’t seem to mind.
“No one will notice those. Tomorrow you’ll iron out the kinks. Here, let me show you to your room. I’ve got mats and you can grab flowers for pillows. I’m cooking a potato and leek stew I’ll bring by shortly. Seems like those are the only things they can get to grow underground here in this light,” Cheever said.
Once they were alone in a room where they’d all barely have space to lie down without being on top of each other, they were ready for the day to mercifully end. It was obvious they all hated their new jobs and even missed their living accommodations back in the broken down docking bay.
“I say we eat, sleep, and bolt tomorrow morning. I’m finding a way off this rock for good,” Wud said, but Rion had a better idea.
“I’ve spent almost half my life stealing to survive. I don’t even remember what my parents looked like anymore or where my home was, and that’s all thanks to a regent who was more concerned with siphoning a little more money out of the travelers who came here. Now I’ve got a way in to his home? Seems rude not to show him everything I’ve learned.”
A broad grin came to Lena’s face. The idea instantly clicked with her, as he knew it would. Their chance to do something incredible was back on the table.
“It would be so rich for those bastards to be robbed blind while they’re partying,” she said.
Bailor’s support went without saying, and Ollie was young enough to go along with whatever. Wud contemplated the proposition, scratching some light-colored whiskers beginning to grow on his lip.
“If it means killing myself making flowers for a month, I’d better get something really good out of this haul at the end of it.”
Apart from the tedious job of assembling stuffed tulips, the real work they had to do of planning the heist of their lives began immediately, and Rion attacked it with more intensity than anything else he’d ever done. In truth, he didn’t just want to steal from the regent. He wanted to make a statement. He wanted those people to know they were paying for what they’d done to him and all the other kids.
