Running With Argentine

by William Lee Gordon

  Without wasting a moment he was back in the passenger compartment.

  Gossip didn't look good.

  "Help me, professor. We've got to get him out of here."

  "How?" the professor asked. "We can’t carry him!"

  "C'mon Gossip," the Lieutenant said while lightly slapping him on the cheek. "Wake up!"

  He stirred, and the lieutenant continued…

  "You're going to have to help. Let's get you out and you can lean on both of us, but we've got to get out of here, now. Do you understand?"

  Gossip nodded once and the professor blinked in surprise. He couldn't believe the strength of this man.

  They half-carried half-drug him out from under the building, across the street, down the block, and around the corner.

  As early as it was, there were a lot of people out. And all of them were staring. At least he’d guessed right about what he'd find at the street level…

  He saw what he thought might be a clinic and guided his team through the front door…

  ΔΔΔ

  "In the name of Kreiten! What are you doing bleeding all over my clinic?" the doctor said abruptly as they walked into the crowded lobby.

  "He needs help," the lieutenant said.

  "I can see that," she shot back. "But what makes you think we’ll help you here? You're obviously up to no good… We play it straight here. Now you're going to have to leave!"

  With that, she walked to the door and held it open to the street.

  Lieutenant Stark had met her type before. The People's Republic had been full of self-righteous zealots.

  On the one hand, the clinic had medical supplies he desperately needed. On the other, though, there's no question that they'd be turned in if he tried to stay long enough to grab any.

  He made a snap decision to get Gossip to someplace safe… Then he'd make a visit back to the clinic.

  "If anyone tries to turn us in, I swear I’ll come back and burn this place to the ground," he said loudly so everyone could hear.

  They left a trail of blood on the clinic floor as they helped Gossip back to the doorway. Just as they were passing through the doctor whispered, "Turn right at the end of the block. At the third door down knock twice, then three times, then four times more...

  "Wait for me there."

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  Unexpected Allies

  On Trinity

  Gossip had lost consciousness and was very pale.

  The lieutenant had done everything he could and at least the bleeding was down to a slow ooze. Whether that was because he was running out of blood or not was anyone’s guess.

  They’d knocked on the door and the eyes of the old man who’d opened it had gone wide with his first look at them. The lieutenant had barely started in on an explanation when he’d pulled them in and quickly cleared a table for Gossip.

  This wasn’t a hospital or a clinic; it was a home… and a small ratty one at that.

  It wasn’t long after that the sound of a door opening came from the back of the home and the doctor rushed in with her arms full of plasma bags and other supplies.

  Without so much as a hello she went straight to Gossip and got to work.

  “Do you know his blood type?” she asked without looking up.

  “I think there’s a tattoo on his neck.”

  Once she found it she said to the old man, “Jamis, take the back way to the clinic and bring back five bags of O positive… and be careful.”

  With a nod the old man disappeared with a nimbleness that defied his age.

  “Your friend is as lucky as you are stupid,” she said while setting up an IV. “I’ll start him on oxyplaz while we grab some blood - we have his type on hand.”

  He didn’t respond. There wasn’t really anything to say or do until the doctor finished her work.

  ΔΔΔ

  The old man returned with the blood supply and whispered something into the doctor’s ear.

  She immediately leapt into action…

  “You’re going to have to carry your friend into the back bedroom. You,” she said while pointing a finger at the professor, “…need to get this blood cleaned up. And you’d better do a good job - your life depends on it.”

  “What’s happening?” Lieutenant Stark demanded as he lifted Gossip.

  “Jamis says the City Police are already at the clinic asking questions. Apparently you weren’t too discreet about making your get-a-way from… wherever.”

  “Will your people talk?”

  “Yeah, but they won’t give us away… By now they’ll have reports of anywhere from one to five men leaving in every direction.”

  “They’ll search the neighborhood.”

  “No doubt. But in case you didn’t notice, this bedroom has a disguised door and this first sweep will be superficial.”

  As he laid Gossip down she continued, “It’s tomorrow we have to worry about.”

  As she started setting up the IV again he explained, “We won’t know until dawn tomorrow if we still have a ship or not. If we do, we can get out of your hair quickly. If not…”

  She stopped what she was doing and for the first time since ordering him out of the clinic, looked him straight in the eye… You have a ship?”

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  In Hiding

  On Trinity

  "If you have a ship that means you're working with the Lords. If we would have known that, someone would've already turned you in by now. You've got a lot of nerve, seeking our help."

  "Yeah, well… The problem with that is that we’re not working with the Lords. We met with this guy, Lord Tiren, and he double-crossed us… tried to take us prisoner, actually."

  "If you think anyone around here cares about thieves double-crossing each other…" she said with subdued vitriol.

  "Thieves! That's pretty harsh. I don't want to piss you off; I mean, you are saving my friends life and everything… But you don't even know us. Maybe we don't deserve your hatred?"

  "Don't you? You’re business partners with the Lords. So as far as anyone around here is concerned, you're just as…"

  Just then, there was some muffled shouting coming from the street.

  "Be quiet!" she suddenly insisted.

  Next came a loud banging on the front door.

  They quietly huddled in the cramped hidden bedroom. The only thing they could hear were the muffled sounds of the police quick walking through the apartment, and the old man's feeble protests.

  After what seemed like an eternity their door opened and the old man stuck his head in.

  "Let me out of here," the professor said. "I need some air."

  "The smell of blood obviously doesn't bother you," the doctor said almost as an aside. She busied herself with rechecking Gossip’s vitals.

  "I've seen too much of it, that's true," the Lieutenant responded. "But I'm not a fan of it.”

  After watching her work for a minute more, he said, "I'd like to explain our situation; I think you’ve got the wrong idea about us. But first, can I know your name?"

  She stopped what she was doing and once again turned her focus back to him…

  "I'm not sure that's a good idea. But I do think you owe me an explanation… What happened; why are the police looking for you?"

  "Are you sure you want to know?"

  "Normally, no. But under the circumstances… I may lose my home, my clinic, my friends… And maybe even my life. So yeah, if it's all the same to you, I think I'd really like to know."

  Lieutenant Stark sighed. She had a point.

  "We didn't mean to endanger anyone; we were just trying to save ourselves," he said. "I didn’t involve you on purpose."

  "No, your type never does,” she muttered. “If you're not doing business with the Lords then you must be with the resistance; and you resistance types are all the same. You play your silly games and act all noble and take glory in dying for your cause… And you never give a thought to all the innocents that get caught up in
the bloodshed that you leave in your wake.

  "You may not care, but for some of the people around here that clinic is the only thing that keeps him alive. It's the only place they can get treatment, and now… Now I don't know what's going to happen."

  The Lieutenant caught a glimpse of the wet glint in her eye and was surprised. This tough woman had a soft side to her after all.

  "Ah… Doctor, I don't know about this resistance of yours but I know that we're grateful for your help. If this man lives it’s all because of you.

  "Like I said, I think you’ve got the wrong idea about us. We're not with your resistance, and we’re no partners of Lord Tiren. Most of us didn't even want to stop on this cursed planet of yours – no offense…"

  For no particular reason, he started at the beginning and then proceeded to explain the entire damned if you do, damned if you don't, can’t find any work, can’t seem to catch a break, professor/fossil fiasco…

  "So, although I could laugh at the irony of it, in this case I think we’re probably some of those innocents you're talking about."

  She got a thoughtful expression on her face and said, "You were serious about having a ship? I mean, a real ship? Not a boat, but something that can take us off this planet?"

  The lieutenant had more or less trapped himself. He knew what she was probably angling for but it was kind of late to deny it now…

  "Well, yeah we do. At least we did. Something exploded in orbit and if it was our ship… we are just as stuck here as you are."

  "So the people on the ship… They’re good friends of yours?"

  After a reflective moment, he responded, "It's a little too early to tell."

  “And this man here?”

  The lieutenant gave a large exhale, “I’ve known him the least long of all.”

  "And you won't know anything until tomorrow morning?" she asked.

  He just shook his head, no.

  “And if your ship is there?”

  “Then we’ll make our way out of town so they can pick us up.”

  “We?”

  “I didn’t think I had a choice; I figured you’d want to come along.”

  “You don’t have a choice; not if you want this man to live…

  “But there’s something I don’t understand?”

  When he didn’t respond she continued…

  “You don’t seem overly fond of the professor, and you say you haven’t known this man very long… Why are you sticking around? It would be a lot safer for you to escape on your own.”

  If she expected an answer to that, she was going to be disappointed…

  ΔΔΔ

  "You know there never were any fossils, don't you?" she said.

  The three of them were sitting around a small kitchen table while the old man kept watch over Gossip. It was still several hours before dawn, but no one had even suggested trying to get any sleep.

  "No fossils? What do you mean!" said the professor. "I saw the holograms…"

  "Those are easily faked," she continued. "At first, I thought you were in on the scam. But it turns out you were just the dupes."

  "I don't understand," the professor insisted.

  "Ehmn…" the lieutenant cleared his throat. "Maybe you could explain that to us."

  Now it was the doctor’s turn to sit back and sigh.

  "The Lords have always been the ruling class on our planet. Generations ago, when they first started delving into the genetic sciences it was hailed as a good thing. Huge advances were made quickly. I hadn't been born yet, of course, but they tell me we rapidly started wiping out diseases and genetic afflictions.

  "But, unfortunately, it didn't stop there. The Lords were getting rich with the cures and genetic treatments they were able to market throughout the Asperian sphere, but that wasn't enough for them. They started delving into other areas. Areas that most would consider unethical, or even immoral.

  "They tell us that's what the war was all about, and I don't have any reason not to believe them. Our planet was already embargoed by the time I was born; I grew up knowing that my people had created monstrosities that were repugnant to the rest of civilization.

  "Trinity is a two tiered planet, Ensign. There are the Lords, and then everyone else; and anyone not of a Lordly class is fair game to be experimented on."

  "Um, it's Lieutenant."

  "What?" she said breaking her reverie.

  "My rank. I am Lieutenant José Stark. But please… continue."

  "Anyway, the Lords are not about to give up the genetically modified civilization they've maneuvered themselves to the top of. They’ve got it good here.

  “But, on the other hand, with the embargo in place they have no influence anywhere else…

  "They are rich here on Trinity, but without access to off world funds they'll never be able to influence or bribe their way out of the embargo.

  "That's where I suspect you come in, professor. They lured you into coming here and I suspect they had you deposit a small ransom in a secure off world account for the privilege. Am I right?"

  This was apparently the first that it had really sunk in, because all the blood started draining from the professor's face.

  "And the Asperian military?" the lieutenant asked.

  "Oh, they've been in on it for years; at least the local commander has."

  "But why would the military go along with that?" the professor stuttered. You just said they don't have a lot of off world funds…"

  "They aren't bribing them with money," the lieutenant interjected.

  The doctor looked at him with a grudging respect.

  "But, what then?"

  "There are other ways to hold power over human beings other than riches," the lieutenant continued. "Especially the kind of power that calls to a man or woman's basest instincts."

  From the expression on his face, the professor was still struggling to keep up…

  "Sexual slaves," the doctor explained. "But not just slaves… We’re talking about human beings that have been altered in unnatural physical ways and in inexcusable mentally ways. The surrogates have been tailored for obedience and are just smart enough to perform their duties.

  "And it's not just sexual modifications that our Lords keep themselves busy with. Just about every profession or skill you can think of has tailored beings to fill the niche. With the ultimate goal, of course, always being to serve the Lord's pleasure."

  No one said anything for a long moment.

  "That can't possibly be your entire population, can it?" the lieutenant asked. "I mean, you don't look…" he quickly shut his mouth as he realized his mistake.

  Looking him square in the eye, she said, "No, I don't look like I've been modified… Many people on the lower levels of the cities don't. But make no mistake; we are the rejects. Either the modifications didn't take, or they were considered insufficiently beneficial. Some of these people… Well, like I said, they depend upon the clinic to stay alive."

  "My God," the professor said. "I had no idea such evil existed…"

  The doctor surprised everybody by giving a short laugh...

  "Oh professor, you don't know the half of it. Why do you think they're chasing after you now?

  "They're looking for new gene stock."

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  Dealing With A Bully

  In Orbit at Trinity

  "Geez," said someone.

  Everyone on the bridge was focused on the small screen at their stations. The Asperian ship had simply… Vaporized.

  "Blimey… That was bloody good shooting, chief."

  Judging from the surprised look on the chief's face, Argentine guessed that it might've been a lucky shot.

  "Sami?" he said.

  "They're gone, Captain."

  "Any chance of survivors?" he reiterated.

  "Not bloody likely," answered Barry.

  Argentine looked around the bridge at his people. His glance finally rested on Mandi, who was looking back at him with a funny ex
pression on her face.