Running With Argentine

by William Lee Gordon

  "So you see, Captain. We are not quite as free as you seem to think we are."

  "Can't you object? Surely the secret societies aren't totally immune to public pressure?"

  "That's just it. The secret societies are… Secret. Who do you put pressure on? Their only visible arm is the military and that just wouldn’t be a good idea… Not that there haven’t been some that have tried it."

  "So that’s your justification for the cartels? For gaming the system…? That it's rigged, it's not fair?" Argentine asked somewhat cynically.

  "I told you, I'm not making excuses for anyone. But you asked about the way things are; I'm simply trying to give you the answer.

  "You have no idea what all those regulations are doing to the economy - to the people. The big businesses are getting bigger and the small independents are getting snuffed out.

  “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

  "What I'm trying to tell you, Captain. Is that Asperia is a pressure cooker. You've come to us during interesting times. If I were you, I’d just hope that everything doesn't blow up in your face."

  With that, Mandi turned and walked away. Leaving him standing there with a whole new set of worries.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  A Shady Deal

  In Orbit at Trinity

  “Captain? If I might have a word?”

  “What is it, Marko?” Argentine asked.

  He had been walking down the length of the ship’s spine when the leader of the Petulengro family approached him.

  “The ship, she is looking very nice? Yes?”

  “Your people did a good job,” he admitted.

  Actually, the ship hadn’t looked this good in recent memory. The Petulengros had not only repaired everything in sight, they had cleaned and decorated too.

  The water dispenser in the mess no longer rattled and then there was that interior door latch that had been frozen for as long as Argentine could remember. A whole host of small fixes had been implemented all over the ship.

  As pleased as he was with this, he couldn’t say the same about the way they were redecorating the corridor that connected all the cargo bays… Or, maybe he should leave off the re, as they’d never been decorated in the first place.

  At any rate, conduits, fixtures… now everything but the floor was covered in swirls of bright color. Argentine hadn’t even realized they were carrying any paint on board - and he’d just finished taking inventory…

  “The Petulengro clan, we are strong people,” the older man agreed. “Our name is an ancient one. They say it stretches back to the dawn of time when humanity first started working with metals!”

  Argentine didn’t believe that for a minute. Still, they had done a good job…

  “Is there something I can do for you, Marko?”

  “You have been so gracious to our family,” he began…

  All 27 of you, Argentine thought to himself.

  “You rescued us when our need was dire. We are indeed fortunate to have met a man of your integrity…”

  “Marko, please… just tell me what you want.”

  “We don’t want to be dumped on Trinity.”

  “What?”

  “We know about Trinity, Captain. It is not a good place. We know you only agreed to take us away from Asperia, but we appeal to your sensibilities as a good man not to strand us there.”

  “I, uh…”

  “We know it is a burden to have extra people aboard, but have we not been useful? Anything else you need, anything you want us to do, we are at your command… but please don’t make us debark on Trinity.”

  In truth, Argentine had never even considered it. He certainly didn’t want to carry passengers any longer than he had to, but it had never crossed his mind to dump them off on a embargoed planet - especially not one with the reputation of Trinity.

  “Ok, sure. We can take you as far as Paladin III. That’s where the professor and… everyone else will be getting off. Would that suit you better?”

  “Blessings from my family, Captain!” Marko declared with enthusiasm. “My sister told us all that you were a great man! She knows these things… You must let us thank you properly! Have dinner with us one of these evenings. We can do amazing things with all these plain things you like to eat - you’ll see! Also, we can regale you with our histories that extend back to the first planet! We will show you our gratitude…”

  Marko was saying these things over his shoulder as he retreated back down the corridor.

  Which left Argentine momentarily alone with his thoughts…

  So, the professor and the Petulengros would be leaving them on Paladin III. It had only now occurred to Argentine that Mandi had never once mentioned when she intended to leave them.

  ΔΔΔ

  “Firs… Ah, Captain, we’re making our final approach to Trinity,” said Barry from his pilot station. “We’ll establish orbit in seventy-three minutes.”

  “Thank you Pilot,” Argentine replied. “Sami, talk to me.”

  “There’s a lot of space junk orbiting the planet, Captain. Some of it is incredibly large… but I’m not detecting any energy emissions.”

  “It’s wreckage from the war,” Mandi spoke plainly for everyone to hear. “They took all the derelict ships and put them on a ballistic course, spiraling into the sun. The platforms, shipyards, and orbital manufactories were much too large for that, though… so they holed them to space and left them in place.”

  “So, Trinity doesn’t have a space presence?” he asked.

  “No. Asperia didn’t embargo the system; they embargoed the planet itself. They are not permitted to build or operate anything that can achieve orbit, and no one from the outside is allowed to establish orbit or land.”

  “That’s just swell,” Barry muttered.

  “Why aren’t we seeing any military presence here?” Argentine wanted to know.

  The professor spoke up…

  “Accommodations have been made.”

  “Accommodations? Professor, are you saying you have friends in the Asperian military?”

  “No! Not I… and I wouldn’t call them friends either. I understand that it’s more like an… arrangement.”

  “Someone got bribed,” Lieutenant Stark threw in.

  “What, exactly, is the arrangement?” Argentine wanted to know.

  “I don’t know all the details,” the professor responded. “But we have a window.”

  “How long of a window?”

  “Well, we were delayed by over a week. I’m… I’m not really sure.”

  “Wonderful,” several of them said at the same time.

  “So what’s next?” Argentine asked the professor? “Where do we put you down?”

  Pulling a data chip from his pocket, the professor said, “Make laser contact with these coordinates and they’ll give you a location. Once I’m on the ground I’ll know better how much time I’ll need, but it shouldn’t be more than a day or two.”

  “Why so long?” the lieutenant wanted to know. “I thought you just needed to pick up a box of rocks?”

  “Yes. I mean, no! I need to inspect the site the fossils were collected from, of course. I can assure you though; I have no intention of spending a minute more than necessary down there.”

  “It doesn’t sound like you have much faith in your hosts.”

  “If they were scientists… but they’re not. We’re paying them a small fortune.”

  “Speaking of that, Captain. Who were you planning on sending along with him?” Mandi wanted to know. “Remember, if he doesn’t make it to Paladin III…”

  “We don’t get paid,” Argentine finished for her.

  He sighed, then said, “Lieutenant, are you up for an excursion?”

  He also looked questioningly at Mandi…

  “I really need to wash my hair; I’ll sit this one out, thank you.”

  The lieutenant nodded, and then said, “I’m going to take Gossip with me.”

  “Agre
ed,” Argentine said. “Someone tell the chief to get the shuttle ready to transport three. I don’t want to waste any time whatsoever.”

  ΔΔΔ

  They ended up prepping the shuttle for four.

  Barry would pilot them to their rendezvous and then return the shuttle to their ship. No one was comfortable leaving their only ground-to-orbit transportation unattended.

  The coordinates they’d been given led to a sprawling country estate.

  Lieutenant Stark had insisted on studying the aerial images they’d captured on the way down. Even after landing he’d dedicated a full fifteen minutes more scrutiny before allowing them to exit the shuttle.

  To say that the vast open yard that they’d been directed to land in was well cared for would be an understatement.

  It reminded him more of a professional playing field of some type rather than just a grassy expanse.

  The lawn itself was surrounded by what he now realized were sculpted hedges. Many were carved into forms and animals. It was possible at several points in the distance to see people doing trimming and maintenance.

  Approaching them was an elegant figure. Dressed in white, the young man made a stately progression towards them.

  “You must be Lord Tiren,” Professor Sullivan said as he drew close.

  The man stopped and said, “Greetings from Lord Tiren. If you will follow me I will take you to him.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Meeting a Lord

  On Trinity

  They passed through several gardens and walked by what the lieutenant remembered from the aerial images as a maze.

  The grass gave way to a loose pebble walkway, then stone, and eventually what looked like marble.

  There were several fountains but not all of them contained water; or, at least, it didn’t all look like water.

  After taking a series of steps, they approached what the lieutenant had assumed would be the beginnings of the villa itself. From above, it had appeared to be a series of connected buildings leading to the main-house. It was now apparent, however, that these were a series of large, open-walled mezzanines that served as a long winding lobby to the estate itself.

  From the images, he knew that this wasn’t the front of the house. This was an area dedicated to serving hundreds of houseguests. There were sections that were obviously dedicated to various sports involving variously sized and shaped balls. Another section dealt with water sports. There were a number of what looked to be open bars, and wait staff stood respectfully aside the many sitting areas waiting to take the orders of nonexistent guests.

  In short, it was like a plush resort for the mega rich… except there were no such personages visible.

  Lieutenant Stark was a true professional. Far from being awed, he was trying to figure out what felt so wrong about the place.

  It was the professor’s constant pattering that helped him put it all together.

  There were no guests, but there were a fair number of people about. They were just unnaturally quiet.

  He had noticed the lack of automation right away. Nobody paid human labor to do menial tasks anymore. Things like gardening and lawn care were easily and cheaply taken care of by mechanical means.

  The very wealthy sometimes flaunted that wealth by eschewing the universally accepted food and drink dispensers and paying dearly for human service, but he’d never seen it on this scale before. And he’d never seen it being wasted like this - there was simply nothing for the servers to do…

  And that’s when the understanding dawned.

  Everyone was beautiful, perfectly dressed and perfectly mannered. And if their guide was typical…

  Their ten-minute walk ended as they reached the villa proper.

  ΔΔΔ

  Once they entered the estate house the differences were obvious.

  For one thing, the servants all wore a black and white livery; not the all-white of the lobby staff or the khaki of the grounds crew.

  For another, there were actually people here. People that were being served, not the other way around.

  The third noticeable difference was that his communicator lost its signal with the ship. It was something he had expected…

  Just inside the doors was another massive lobby. This time, however, a small group of younger ladies were cloistered in a sitting area and being served what looked to be some type of iced drink. They paused their conversation when first noticing the lieutenant’s group but then quickly returned to whatever subject they had been enthusiastically discussing.

  The further they walked through the Villa the more justified the lieutenant felt about his conclusions. Everywhere he looked, there were massive amounts of manual labor being ostentatiously displayed. Whether it was polishing brass and wood, replacing fixtures, or simply standing by and waiting for someone to attend to… Human labor seemed to have totally replaced any of the automation that humanity had become accustomed to for centuries now.

  Throughout the entire walk the professor had been chattering away, probably hiding his nervousness. Unless addressed directly, though, their guide hadn't said a word. Even then, his answers were short and perfunctory; usually deferring to Lord Tiren.

  They were eventually led into a relatively small square room. It was only small compared to where they were coming from. This ceiling was of normal height and the room could comfortably accommodate about thirty people. There was one door on each wall.

  Right now, it was empty. But it held sofas and chairs as plush as any they'd seen on their long walk.

  One odd thing that the lieutenant immediately noticed was that all the furniture was confined to the center of the room. The outside walls were completely clutter-free.

  Their guide, saying nothing, reached out with one hand and grabbed the polished brass railing that circumnavigated the room.

  Sharing a glance with Gossip he shrugged, and they both did the same.

  He had just said, "Ah, you might want…" when the room started to move. After helping the professor keep his balance, he put some thought to where they must be in the Villa. They were moving forward, not up or down like an elevator. It might have that capability, but for now, the room was more like a train car… and that meant they were probably headed to the other side of the estate.

  There wasn't anything particularly sinister about any of this, but the further away they got from where they had entered, the more problematic any potential rescue would become. Not that he was anticipating the need to be rescued… But old habits from a lifetime of security work with the People's Republic of Chezden kept him constantly assessing contingencies.

  When the room finally slowed to a stop, they exited through the opposite door.

  Lieutenant Stark’s senses immediately went on alert.

  From the moment they had stepped out of the room the environment had changed.

  It wasn't the furniture; they were still in luxurious and comfortable surroundings. Black-and-white liveried servants still dotted the hallways and alcoves.

  No, what was different where the black clad security forces.

  Heavily muscled and obviously armed, they were still attired in what the Lieutenant was starting to realize was the planet’s idea of formal dress. But there was no mistaking the bearing of these… Soldiers.

  ΔΔΔ

  They were everywhere.

  Most simply stood to the side as they strolled through the long hallways, but the lieutenant wasn’t fooled. They kept their weight balanced on the balls of their feet and their eyes never stopped moving.

  It was… impressive.

  Chokepoint was the word the lieutenant mentally checked off in his mind. The train-room (or rooms, if there was more than one) acted as a natural chokepoint that separated the rest of the Villa from this more secure section.

  They entered a sitting room with large floor to ceiling windows that gave a spectacular view of a large lake. The vista was made even grander by the fact that the Villa was apparently perched on the top
edge of a 100-meter cliff.

  This confirmed his guess; they were indeed on the opposite side of the Villa. Almost automatically he mentally noted that no escape could be made in this direction.