by Jake Bible
If Veha had given up the information that he was going for Boss Teegg then she certainly would have given up the information that Roak was coming back for her and Deha. There was zero doubt about that in Roak’s mind.
Which was why he was puzzled to find his feet taking him in the direction of Veha’s house. He should have been walking to the tavern to find Ally so he could get a ride off the planet. Sha said the tavern owner was the woman to ask. Roak should go ask.
But he didn’t. He kept walking, skirting the town so he wouldn’t be spotted. Despite it being night, and the street lamps in the town weak and barely able to light up a meter below them, any stranger walking about would be spotted quickly. He stayed to the shadows and kept his eyes and ears open.
Roak began to think he’d make it without a problem, but the mocking cough and clearing of a throat stopped him in his tracks as he was only about three blocks from the far edge of town and the road to Veha’s place.
“Bex Klo,” Mott said as Roak turned to see him step out from a building’s shadowed doorway. “That is your name, right?”
“That’s my name,” Roak said.
“New look since we last talked,” Mott said, pointing at the saber and knife tucked into Roak’s belt. He hesitated then laughed when he saw the blaster. “Oh, yes, a very new look. You have any idea the penalty for carrying an energy weapon on Ligston?”
“I’m guessing it’s more than a slap on the wrist and less than death,” Roak said.
“You’d be close,” Mott said. “Except that death has been the verdict on more than one occasion.”
“Is this one of those occasions?” Roak asked.
“Probably not,” Mott said. “But that’s assuming you even live to go to trial.”
“Any particular reason why I wouldn’t?” Roak asked. “You’re the lawman around here. I’d think you’d want me to face a jury of my peers.”
“No juries on Ligston,” Mott said. “Too time consuming. Magistrate makes the call twice a week at the courthouse. But he’s backed up for months. I’d be doing him a favor by killing you in the street right now.”
“You’d be doing me a favor if you didn’t,” Roak said. The shuffling of boots told him that Mott wasn’t alone. “Deputies?”
“Not officially. The town can’t afford more than one representative of the law,” Mott said. “But, I can’t do the job all by myself so I sometimes hire good, upstanding citizens to help with the more difficult cases.”
“Such as me,” Roak said.
“Such as you,” Mott agreed. “Now, how about you make it less difficult and give me your name? It certainly isn’t Bex Klo. No Bex Klo listed in any database. Sure as hell weren’t no Bex Klo serving in the Galactic Fleet infantry during the War.”
“You’re surprised by the GF’s bad record keeping?” Roak asked.
“Cut the shit, stranger,” Mott snapped. “I spoke with sweet, old Ms. Tooh and she’s never heard of you. In fact, she knows all of the men and women that served with her son. They made a point of calling on her after the War. You weren’t one of them.”
“I couldn’t make it then,” Roak said.
“Are you really going to try to keep this up?” Mott asked. “It’s exhausting. You’re found out, stranger. Make this easy on me and I’ll make sure you don’t get launched naked into space.”
“Don’t know what to tell you other than my name is Bex Klo,” Roak said. “I may have lied about staying with Bepa Tooh, but can you blame me? This isn’t the most hospitable town when it comes to tourists.”
“Oh, it’s tourist now, is it?” Mott laughed. “Son, you just don’t quit! Ha! I admire that, I really do. Or I would if you weren’t being so damn insulting to my intelligence.”
“I don’t think you need my help there,” Roak said.
“Cocky son of a bitch,” Mott said.
He nodded and Roak was barely able to turn his head before something heavy crashed into his temple. He crumpled into a pile of pain. His head felt like it was on fire then it became a slow burn of agony that worked its way down his neck and spine. Roak groaned and tried to get his hands and feet under him, but a swift kick to the ribs ended that plan.
“Stay down,” Mott hissed.
The lawman crouched close to Roak and grabbed him by the back of the neck. His fingers squeezed at two pressure points and the fire returned, lighting up Roak’s skull in a blazing inferno.
“Would a stupid man invite a stranger into Ally’s tavern for a drink just so he could get a DNA sample to run through the database?” Mott growled. “I don’t think a stupid man would. And since that’s exactly what I did, I feel fairly certain that makes me well above stupid. What do you think?”
“Even Bverns make right choices sometimes,” Roak said.
“You comparing me to one of those rat things?” Mott asked. He slammed Roak’s face into the ground, crushing the rebreather into his nose. Blood spurted and began pouring down onto Roak’s chin as Mott yanked his head back up. “I got you right where I want you and you still insult me? I think you may be the stupid one here.”
“Never said I wasn’t,” Roak said, snorting a good amount of blood up into his sinuses. He coughed and gagged for second. “How’d that DNA test work out for you?”
Mott snarled and shoved Roak away. He stood up as three men armed with heavy batons closed in on Roak.
“I’ll tell you how it worked out,” Mott said, nodding to the three men. They dragged Roak up onto his feet. “You don’t exist. Your DNA isn’t logged anywhere on the Grid. I even have access to some back channels and I couldn’t find you there. Now, how is that? Everyone leaves a trace.”
“Apparently not,” Roak said as he tried to stand on his own weight, but his head just wouldn’t let him. He hadn’t felt that bad in a long time. The pain was worse than when Veha had found him. “You guys got something for this headache? Hard to pay attention to your questions when my brain wants to escape my skull.”
“Oh, that? No, there’s nothing I could give you that will stop the pain,” Mott said. “You have to ride it out. Special chemical compound we use in those batons to take down perps. Can’t use energy weapons, but we can’t just rely on blades and clubs, now can we?”
Mott nodded and one of the men snatched the blaster from Roak’s hip and tossed it over to the lawman. Mott caught it easily and weighed it in his hand.
“Good quality,” Mott said. “I recognize the model. Boss Teegg had two crates of these brought in last year. Of course, he needed my help to get them through customs, but being as we are fast friends, I was more than willing to lend a hand.”
Roak forced himself to raise his head and look Mott in the eye.
“Yes, I gave Boss Teegg the heads up that you were coming for him,” Mott said.
“How’d you know?” Roak asked, already knowing the answer. “I could have been here for any number of reasons. No way you figured out what I was up to over one drink.”
“You are right there,” Mott said. “Good thing I ran into Bepa Tooh’s neighbor as I was leaving the old woman’s house. Veha had just gotten off work and was returning with that cute kid of hers. I’ve seen Veha around town. Beautiful woman. Always so calm and relaxed. That’s why when she jumped at the sight of me and her hands started to tremble, well, I knew something wasn’t quite right. When she hurried her son inside, that just confirmed my suspicions.”
“You son of a bitch,” Roak snarled. “What did you do to her?”
“Me? I didn’t lay a finger on her,” Mott said. “That wouldn’t be right. Lawman harming an ordinary citizen. I let my boys have a crack at her. Took, what, fifteen minutes before she spilled everything? Yes, I’d say fifteen minutes.”
“She better be alive,” Roak growled.
“Alive? Son, weren’t you listening? I just said it took fifteen minutes before she spilled everything,” Mott replied. “By everything, I mean everything. All the info on where you were going, plus all those pretty guts of hers
. I was thinking they’d be as blue as her skin, but turns out they were red and pink. Looks like Veha was more human than I ever thought.”
“You’re a dead man, Mott,” Roak said.
“That so? I sure don’t feel dead,” Mott chuckled. “Now, there is one loose end we need to take care of. Deha. That cute boy of Veha’s. No one laid a finger on him. Not one hair on his head was touched. But that’s all gonna change unless you start telling me things I want to know.”
Mott’s fist flew out fast and sharp, rocking Roak’s head back.
“Understand what I’m saying to you, stranger?” Mott snapped. “We’re going to take a little trip back to Veha’s house where her son is waiting for us. I’m going to ask you some questions. You’re going to answer them. Every time I think you’re lying, that boy loses a piece of himself. Could be a finger, could be a toe, could be his little tiny manhood.”
“What if I’m not lying, but you don’t believe me?” Roak asked.
“Same result,” Mott said. “So I suggest you be very, very convincing.”
He snapped his fingers as he walked past Roak. The men whipped Roak around and began dragging him along, all headed for Veha’s house.
10.
The kid wasn’t even crying when Mott’s men threw Roak onto the floor in front of him. Deha sat bound to a kitchen chair, his eyes empty, his face blank.
“Eight Million Gods,” Roak muttered, hands tied behind his back. “The kid’s in shock, Mott. You start cutting on him and he’ll die in seconds.”
“That so?” Mott asked.
He nodded and one of his men produced a very sharp combat knife. Mott took it and slashed Deha’s cheek. The boy whimpered as the blood flowed, but didn’t cry out. His eyes came a little more into focus, but not much.
“Looks to still be alive to me,” Mott said as he wiped the bloody blade on Roak’s shoulder then handed the knife back to his man. “Strong little bugger. I think he’ll last a lot longer than you think.”
Mott grabbed up a second kitchen chair and spun it around, sitting so his arms could rest on the back as he stared down at Roak.
“First question,” Mott said. “What’s your damn name?”
“Roak,” Roak said.
Mott waited then laughed. “Roak what?”
“Just Roak,” Roak replied.
“Just Roak? No one is just anything,” Mott said. He jerked his head at the boy. “Take an ear.”
“Hey!” Roak shouted as one of the men moved on Deha. “I’m telling you the truth! It’s just Roak!”
“Back in town, I told you to be very convincing,” Mott said. “Giving me a one name answer is not very convincing. Take the ear.”
Roak bellowed and roared, but the man didn’t even pause as he placed the blade to the back of Deha’s left ear. He glanced at Mott. The Lawman nodded and that was that. A quick swipe and the ear was off. Deha began to scream at the top of his lungs.
“Shut him up,” Mott ordered. The man with the bloody ear in his hand grabbed a towel from a hook by the oven and jammed it into the screaming boy’s mouth. Mott sighed. “That’s better.”
“You rotten piece of shit,” Roak snarled. “I’m going to hurt you so bad before you die.”
“That so?” Mott asked. “Huh. I have the exact same plan for you. Once I’m done hurting the kid. Now, being a man of the law, I’m a big believer in double jeopardy. The boy already lost an ear for your lie, so I’ll ask a different question, give you a chance to make up for what you’ve caused.”
“Pain you can’t even comprehend right now,” Roak continued. “Pain that can’t be registered on any scale. There isn’t a device in the universe that can measure what I’m going to do to you.”
“Ah, will you look at that, boys?” Mott laughed. “It’s a criminal with a heart of gold. How sweet.”
“Pain,” Roak hissed. “So much pain.”
“I get it, I get it,” Mott said, sounding bored. “Next question. Why were you after Boss Teegg?”
“Veha didn’t tell you?” Roak asked. He smiled. “Good for her.”
“She said he owed you chits,” Mott said. “But no one risks their life storming a compound on their own just for some chips.”
“I do,” Roak said.
“But you were going to kill him too, right?” Mott asked.
“Not if I didn’t have to,” Roak said.
“Well, I’ll be,” Mott responded. He let out a low, slow whistle. “That’s what Veha said. Of course, I didn’t believe her. Who would? No one does that. Any self-respecting person would get the chits and kill Boss Teegg. That’s just normal behavior.”
“Not me,” Roak said.
“Why?” Mott asked. “Why just the chits and not the revenge?”
“It’s the principle of it all,” Roak said.
“Principle? What the hell does that mean?” Mott barked. “What principle?
“He owed me the chits. He didn’t owe me his life,” Roak said. “I start taking more than I’m owed and it’s all over for me in this galaxy.”
“All over? What’s all over? Who the hell are you?” Mott shouted.
“Roak,” Roak replied with a big grin. The grin was met with a swift kick from one of the men’s boots. Roak fell over, his head slamming into the floor. “Ow.”
“Take the kid’s left thumb,” Mott said.
“What? Why? I answered your damn questions!” Roak shouted as he lay on the floor.
“Not to my satisfaction, you didn’t,” Mott said. He glared at the man with the knife. “The thumb! Now!”
The thumb came off. Deha’s eyes grew wide and came suddenly back into focus. They fell on Roak, but there was nothing the man could do. Blood seeped from the wound where Deha’s thumb had been just seconds before.
“You know what?” Mott said. “We should make sure the kid doesn’t bleed out. Someone heat up the stove.”
“You ass,” Roak snarled. “You’re getting off on this. I bet if you stand up, you’ll have a stiffy showing. Sick son of a bitch.”
“Don’t be disgusting,” Mott said. “I get no pleasure from any of this. It’s just my job to keep the town safe. You are obviously a threat, so I’m dealing with it the best way I can.”
“And Boss Teegg said he’d pay you a handsome sum if you took care of me for him,” Roak said. “That’s it. How much is he paying you?”
“Don’t know what you mean,” Mott said. “I’m a civil servant. I’m on salary. That and all the good I do is all the payment I need.”
His men chuckled.
“Now, what should I ask next?” Mott mused. “Oh, wait, hold on. You ready?”
The man with the knife reappeared, the blade glowing red hot.
“This should be fun,” Mott said as the man placed the blade to the stump where Deha’s thumb had been.
Even through the kitchen towel, Deha’s screams were incredibly loud. There is a pitch only the very young can hit and Deha hit it. Mott winced and shook his head as Deha’s screams slowly died away.
“Damn. The kid can shriek,” Mott said, sticking a finger in one ear as he gave Roak a wink. “Might have to see if we can top that later. For now, the kid gets to rest.”
“You have family?” Roak asked.
Mott cocked his head. “Why do you ask? You gonna hurt them the way I’m hurting the kid here?”
“Just wondering where I should deliver what’s left of you when I get done,” Roak said. “I’d hate for your family to wonder what happened to you.”
“How kind,” Mott said. “But, unfortunately, I don’t have any family to speak of. Married to my work.”
“What you did for Boss Teegg must have been the affair,” Roak said. “Old guy like you, only figures you need something on the side to still feel relevant. But, just like all the young, sexy mistresses in the galaxy, I’m sure Boss Teegg was laughing at you behind your back. You serve a purpose, but don’t really have any importance to anyone anymore.”
That earned R
oak another kick, but that time from Mott directly. The lawman was up and towering over Roak, rage on his face, his hands balled up at his sides. He drew Roak’s blaster and aimed it down at him.
“Say that again, asshole,” Mott snarled.
“Mott,” one of the men said. “Hey, put that thing away.”
“Shut your idiot trap!” Mott shouted, blaster still aimed at Roak. “This guy disrespects me one more time and I end him with this thing. Damn the oxygen everywhere. I’ll put a hole in his guts then one in his head as he begs for my mercy.”
“Not really gonna beg for mercy when you say you’re going to kill me anyway,” Roak replied. He was slightly proud he didn’t flinch when Mott’s finger squeezed down on the trigger.
“Kid’s trying to say something,” the man with the knife said.
Mott looked puzzled then turned his head towards the man.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“The kid,” the man with the knife repeated. “He’s trying to say something.”
“What?” Mott asked.
“I said, the kid is trying–”
“I know what you said!” Mott roared. “What the hell is the kid trying to say?”
“I don’t know,” the man with the knife replied and shrugged. “He’s got that towel in his mouth.”
“Then take it out!” Mott shouted.
The man with the knife yanked the kitchen towel free and Deha spat and drooled for a second, his head hanging low, before he sucked in a deep breath, raised his head, and whispered something.
“What was that?” Mott asked.
The man with the knife leaned in close. His ear was gone before he could even flinch. Deha bit it right off then spat it at him. The man slashed with the knife and Deha’s right cheek came away, landing on the floor with a wet plop.
The man clutched at his head and screamed as blood poured from between his fingers. Deha’s screams trumped the man’s easily, but it was a close competition in agonized wails.
