“Well, obviously the aft section will have to be rebuilt.”
Duncan nodded. “Yes, but the real problem is that the port side engine is a total loss. It shredded itself as it came apart, taking out support braces and framework. The honeycomb structure that holds her together shredded like paper in dozens of places.”
Nathan shook his head and breathed heavily. “That means taking that whole side of the ship apart, all the way down to the airframe.”
“Yeah,” Duncan said, “and that means breaking down the hull on that side. The good news is that once we do all the work and put it back together you’ll have a mostly new ship. Everything that comes off will be scrapped and replaced with new metal and composite.”
“I assume we have to do that?”
The engineer smiled. “You do if you want me, my wife or my friends to fly on her. There’s no other way. I could never scan every piece and find all the micro stress fractures that may be hiding in there. Better to just lay in new parts and know it’s done correctly.”
Nathan stared out the window at the freighters again and contemplated a future where he scrapped his ship and just took a job. It was too terrible to think about. “Okay. I assume the work will be done at Saji Vy’s ship yards down in Go City?”
“That’s the plan. I factored the cost of a tow to the surface into my estimate. Why? Do you think he might cut us some slack on labor?”
“Couldn’t hurt to ask.” Nathan took out his mobi and reviewed the list of repairs and needed material that Duncan had sent him. “I assume you’ll oversee the repairs?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Duncan paused for a moment and a strange look crossed his face. “Look, Nathan, I don’t want to seem indelicate here but can you afford this? From what you said back on Bad Rock you’re having financial troubles.”
Nathan took a deep breath and thought about it before he answered. “I think so. I paid the insurance, so there’s that. I just have to cover the deductible.”
“Can you?”
Nathan smiled. “Yeah, no problem. I’ve got a little set aside and it should be enough. The deductible is ten percent of the estimate.”
Duncan’s eyes narrowed. “You have fifty-five thousand credits in an account somewhere?”
“I’ve got some credits and… some other assets I can turn into credits fairly quickly. You just concentrate on the repairs and let me worry about the cost, okay? Between the two of us we’ll get her flying again.”
Duncan regarded him for a moment with an unsure look on his face. “You know, Marla and I could always help you out.”
Nathan shook his head. No way would he accept charity. Milky Way Repossessions belonged to him, totally and one-hundred percent. He didn’t want to start selling shares and that was the only way he would accept credits from Duncan and Marla.
“Don’t worry,” he said by way of an answer. “I’ve got it under control.”
— «» —
Eldridge opened the door to Crater Salvage’s office in Go City. Molly should have greeted him with a smile and been surprised to see him. Lewis should have been at his desk taking care of the company’s finances. Instead, both desks sat empty in the dark.
“Sonuvabitch.”
“They should be here?” Duncan said from behind him.
“Yeah, they should be sitting right here,” he said, pointing at the desks. He walked around Lewis’s desk and sat down. The computer responded and logged him in when it recognized him. “Let’s see what they’ve been up to.”
It only took a half hour for Eldridge to pin down what had happened. Duncan moved around behind him, reviewing the display over his shoulder. The younger man pointed at the financial records. “They took everything. See this column?”
Duncan nodded.
“We were invoicing Great Star Lines right up until this month and they were paying on time, so we had plenty of credits coming in. Where did the money go?”
Duncan pointed at another set of records on the display. “Who are ‘Lucky Cleaners’?” They got one hell of a big pay day last week.”
Eldridge rubbed a hand across his head. “That’s the janitorial service for the office.”
Duncan raised an eyebrow. “Someone paid them several hundred thousand credits.”
Eldridge slammed the desk with a closed fist and everything on it shook. “Lewis hired them.”
“Hold on,” Duncan said. He looked something up on his mobi. After a few minutes, he said, “I found them. It looks like the business license for Lucky Cleaners is in the name of Lewis Mairn.”
“Damn it,” Eldridge said as he pounded the desk again.
“You didn’t know he owned the cleaners?”
“Of course not. He’s the office manager so hiring the cleaners is the kind of stuff he did. I was busy retrofitting a starship and programming ‘bots.” He sat back, a dejected look on his face. “I can’t do it all and Ari is just as busy as I am.”
“Did he have a limit on what he could spend?”
“No, we’re off planet and communications can be difficult so I didn’t want to hamstring him.” He rubbed his head. “I feel so stupid.”
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up. This is how you’re going to learn, though.”
Eldridge stood up and circled around the small office to the front door. “You know, you keep saying things like that and I have to tell you, these lessons are going to kill me. I’ve got someone I trusted here ripping me off and out at Bad Rock I had some hood shaking me down for protection money. This isn’t worth it. Maybe Ari and I should just go back to work for her dad in his junk yard.”
Duncan took a deep breath, trying to provide a calm influence to the young man. “Look, you’re right. You’ve had some rough days, that’s for sure, but you still have some things going for you.”
Eldridge snorted. “Like what? I have a meeting with the bank later this afternoon and Bao is going to take my ship. With that gone I can’t complete the Athena Star job. Where can I find the money to make the loan payments between now and then? I’m tapped out.”
“That’s all true but you still have the contract, right?”
“Sure, for all the good that does me.”
Duncan smiled and sat down in a chair opposite of Eldridge. “Then that’s the one card you have left to play. On the ride back from Bad Rock, Marla and I took the time to look at your operation and your people. We have a proposition we’d like to make you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you and Ari have done a good job getting Crater Salvage up and running and you have some pretty good ideas about how to solve tough problems”. He leaned forward, a little more animated than he had been a moment ago. “You’ve automated the salvage process with ‘bots and you’re mobile with the Corkscrew. There are a lot of ships, equipment and facilities that need to be broken down all across occupied space. Humans have been going out to space for centuries now and we’re a messy bunch. You can be the recycler that cleans a lot of that up.”
Eldridge nodded slowly. “That’s kind of what Ari and I have been thinking about. Expand the business by using the ‘bots so we can work in almost any environment. So, what’s your proposition?”
“You need to get current on the loan with Bao so he’ll leave you alone and you don’t have the credits. Even if Protective Services catches Lewis and Molly, you may never recover the credits they stole. When you get back to Bad Rock you’ll still have to deal with the unions now that Dodger isn’t paying off their leaders. Marla and I can help with all that. We’d like to buy in for a third of your business.”
The young man’s jaw fell open. “Really?”
Duncan nodded. “Yes, really. Like I said, we liked what we saw and we like you and Ari. We’ve been searching for a new investment and a new challenge. We can get you current on the loan with the ba
nk and provide the payroll you’ll need to hire a small workforce out on Bad Rock, at least until the credits start flowing again. It will cost a third of the business, though.”
Eldridge let out a deeply held breath. “This is huge.” The young man grew quiet for a moment. “The thing is, we kind of wanted this to be our thing. I’m not sure about bringing in more partners.”
“That’s entirely up to you,” Duncan said and leaned back in his chair. “You need a mentor, though; somebody with experience who can see when someone is trying to take advantage of you. For example, you need a new business manager before you leave Earth. You are busy. How could you possibly invoice customers, pay loans and manage payroll while you’re putting out fires in the field? Marla and I could take care of that for you.”
“What about Milky Way Repo? Aren’t you usually out with Nathan?”
“It will be a few months until the ship is repaired so I’ll be grounded here. Marla and I can do both until you’re done with the Athena Star and the Blue Moon Bandit is back in the air. After that we’ll figure something out.”
Eldridge nodded and his mobi dinged. “I have to leave for a meeting with Bao right now. Could you come with me and explain this to him?”
“Do we have a deal?”
“We do. It will be a tough sell to Ari but I’ll square it with her.” He stood up and stuck out his hand. “Welcome to Crater Salvage.”
Duncan shook on it. “Glad to be aboard. Now let’s call Protective Services and report Lewis and Molly.”
— «» —
Nathan sat on his couch and reviewed his financial accounts with a feeling akin to horror. The invoice had been sent to Bao for payment on the Corkscrew job but he still looked to be way short of having the credits required to start repairing the Bandit.
He kicked back on the couch and put a foot up on the coffee table, grimacing at the bullet wound in his arm. The shortage of credits was substantial, at least forty-thousand, once he factored in living expenses for the three months they would be down. The only thing worse than the hovel he currently lived in would be sleeping in a doorway on the street.
Growing up, his mom had worked so hard and life had been so difficult. Getting into the military and learning how to fly was supposed to be his ticket to a good life. He couldn’t imagine a scenario where he failed worse than this.
He got up and walked to his bedroom. In the bottom of the closet, right where he left it, sat the black duffel bag full of Diamond K from Bone Daddy’s ship.
Carrying it back to the living room, he sat down and unzipped it. All the little plastic packets still lay inside. One-hundred twenty-thousand credits by Cole’s estimation of the street price. That meant at least sixty-thousand if he got rid of it wholesale. Now that he thought about it, the value would probably be more without the supply from Bad Rock.
Did he want to be the kind of guy who sold drugs?
He could apply for a loan but a busted ship was the only asset he had to provide as collateral. It seemed improbable that anyone would give him a loan on a grounded starship.
With a heavy heart he decided to do the adult thing. He kicked the duffel bag under the coffee table and picked up his mobi. Swallowing his pride he tapped the contact info for Duncan.
Twenty minutes later he finished up the call angrier than he could ever remember. He held his voice steady, though, determined not to say anything that would end a long standing friendship.
“Duncan, I get it. Please don’t worry about it.”
“It’s just that we’ve already met with Bao and assured him the funds will be coming through. My attorney is drawing up the partnership,” Duncan said. “Nathan, I wish you would have just told me you needed the credits when we spoke earlier. Marla and I would have bought in, no question.”
He bit his lower lip. “No, you’re right. I should have been honest with you. I just thought I had one more rabbit in the hat, you know?” He saw pity on Duncan’s face and anger welled up in him. “Hey, you know what? Don’t sweat it.”
“I wish we could do something but all our credits are tied up with Eldridge’s operation now.”
Nathan nodded vigorously, just wanting this conversation to end. “Hey, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay? I have to go now.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll see you.”
“Okay.” The screen went dark and Nathan sat back on the couch. The light faded outside and night began to fall. He zipped up the bag and shoved it back in the closet.
— «» —
Back when he had been considering the idea of selling his bag of dope Nathan figured that he knew at least three people who would help him. His first call had been to a guy named Scott that he had known in passing growing up back in the north. Scott had also found his way to Go City but rather than being a pilot he worked in one of Saji Vy’s factories building engine components. He dealt on the side to supplement his income. Unfortunately the woman who answered his mobi had informed Nathan that Scott was doing a few years in prison for getting caught dealing at work.
Call two had been even worse. A woman named Charlene was first mate on an orbital tug. She sold to crew members on her tug and others in port to help them escape boredom, or at least she had until her tug collided with a freighter six months ago. Her mother had answered her mobi and bent Nathan’s ear for almost an hour telling him the tragic story.
His last call went to a mechanic named Victor he knew from a firm that did starship repair work on the outskirts of Go City. They had crossed paths a few times when Nathan had repossessed ships out of the shipyard employing him. Victor had no problem accepting a few credits for information about which ships were sitting in the yard or letting Nathan and his crew in the yard to grab the occasional repo job. Once, he had offered to sell them something and though Nathan had refused, he filed that little nugget away for later use. Luckily Victor was both alive and not incarcerated so he agreed to meet with Nathan.
— «» —
Steel Eye Jack’s was a dive bar within walking distance of his apartment so that’s where they agreed to meet up. Nathan sat ensconced in a wraparound booth, nursing bourbon on the rocks and scoping out the crowd. Victor finally showed up after an hour.
He was a skeevy dude with long, thin hair and neck tattoos. Nathan didn’t like to judge people based on their appearance but Victor seemed to go out of his way to ward people off with his appearance. Once you spoke to him though, he seemed nice enough. Nathan couldn’t even fault him for taking the occasional bribe since it made his job easier. He spotted Nathan’s raised hand and made his way over.
“Nice place,” Victor said. “I hope this doesn’t take too long. I don’t want my car stolen.”
“Yeah, this neighborhood sucks.”
Victor fidgeted with his hands. “So, what’s up? You need access to the yard again? If so, you should know the owner’s got things locked up kind of tight with some new security measures. I mean, it’s nothing I can’t handle but getting in will cost you extra.”
Nathan waved him off with one hand. “No, it’s nothing like that. I need help with something else. Something not strictly legal.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“The last time we were out at your place, grabbing that private yacht, you offered to sell us something.” Nathan put his hand on the table and slid an envelope of Diamond K toward Victor.
He glanced at it and quickly palmed it. “I remember. You turned me down.”
“Right. Well, in my travels I’ve come across quite a bit of this and I need to unload it. Can you help?”
“How much?”
Nathan told him. Victor let out a low whistle.
“That’s a lot. I mean, that is a whole lot. Where did you get it?”
“I got it. That’s really all you need to know.”
“It’s real?”
“I gave you that sample
so you could test it. I just need to move it quickly.”
Victor sat back and rubbed his chin, considering the offer. “How much do you want?”
“Sixty thousand.”
“Look, I don’t have that much. You have to understand, I just deal a couple bags on the side to make ends meet. I’m not someone who can just lay out those kinds of credits.”
Nathan nodded slowly. “I get that but I figure you probably know some people who can. I don’t, so that’s why I called you. I’m comfortable dealing with you.”
Victor took a deep breath. “I do know some people but you have to realize the way this works. Everybody has to trust someone and everyone gets a cut. I can probably get you fifty thousand. Would that work?”
And just like that you earn ten thousand for yourself, Nathan thought. He considered it for a moment and realized he had no room to barter. “I guess that would work. I need the credits and I need them fast.”
Victor chewed his lower lip for a moment and then leaned forward. “Meet me here in two days. Does that work for you?”
Nathan nodded. “It does. I’ll see you in two days.”
— «» —
He spent the next two days in his apartment, worried that Victor might talk to the wrong people and someone would try and steal the stash from his closet. He was stuck eating take-out and watching whatever he could find on the entertainment system. If this was an example of the glamorous life drug dealers lived the holovids had it all wrong.
Tricia had called to check on his arm and he had talked her out of visiting him by making up excuses about getting the Bandit put back together. He was afraid she would reconsider dating him if she saw the apartment but he was also concerned that he would spill the details about the deal with Victor. She was way too easy to talk to and he wasn’t sure he could keep this from her if they were in the same room.
The appointed hour rolled around and he made his way back to Steel Eye Jack’s. He thought about going armed but in the end he went without a gun. Carrying a bag of illicit drugs made him jittery enough. Getting caught holding a gun with them would just make things worse. Besides, if Victor or the people he represented wanted to rob him, he would be outgunned and outnumbered. He drew the line at shooting anyone over a deal gone bad.
Bad Rock Beat Down (The Milky Way Repo Series Book 2) Page 29
