Ajax: Rebirth (A Konar City Stories Book 1)

by Gavin Magson

  “That ID implant should fool most machines, only the very best will be able to tell it's a fake. You were also sprayed with a fast acting coagulant, a fresh scar would only lead to suspicion. It should also stop any tell-tale bruising, just to be on the safe side. I've preloaded it with a thousand credits, like you asked,” said the man, looking at Duke. “Now there is just the small matter of my payment, captain.”

  The captain held his arm out over the payment pad and used his free hand to shield Ilya and Ajax's view of the display. Ilya knew she was going to have to press him for how much this had cost; it was madness how much he had done for Ajax already.

  Once the payment was processed the stranger shook Duke's hand and ushered them all from his shop; Ajax was certain that the man wanted them to be as far away from his stall as was possible. There was no queue of potential customers forming, but even the narrow alley offered hiding places for those that needed to change their identity and ensure it remained a secret.

  All three companions were glad of the clean air and plentiful sunlight when they stepped clear of the alleyway, now that the dank alley was behind him the strong light once again left Ajax blinking furiously.

  Ajax rubbed at his throbbing arm and was left a little dejected by his slight, gaunt frame and jutting bones; skin was pulled taught over joints and muscles, his veins throbbed under the skin and ached uncontrollably whenever he clashes them against something. He had already passed many men in the streets, even the beggars squabbling over discarded scraps of food looked to be in better health than him.

  Ilya lead the group on whilst Ajax and Duke hung back a few steps, enjoying the peace as the crowds thinned out. As they walked further down the street stalls and shops became more sparely spread, until they were passing houses and apartment buildings. Ajax wished he had never seen the vista far above, his expectations of this sector were dashed all thanks to the wonders he had witnessed.

  Ilya turned down one of the intersecting streets and they found themselves heading for a large building on the other side of a courtyard. Ajax was surprised by the stark contrast between this almost secluded part of the city and the bustling streets they had been battling through moments ago. It was almost as if they had stepped through a portal into a no man's land.

  The courtyard had a dishevelled look to it, most of the paving stones were cracked or heavily worn and the fountain in its centre let out intermittent jets of water that disturbed algae and detritus on the water’s surface. Even though it appeared to be run down Ajax enjoyed the relative tranquillity, the courtyard dampened the cities many noises and finally gave him time to process all the sights, sounds and smells he had experienced in his short time on Konar. He was particularly interested by the rustic building ahead, which he assumed could only be some form of tavern from the amount of rooms in its second and third storeys.

  Ajax realised just how tired he was from the day’s activities, a throbbing headache had patiently crept up on him and almost made him curse out loud now that he had finally slowed down enough to notice it. The onset of fatigue caused the nearby fountains ledge to become an appealing seat and he seized the opportunity to catch his breath. It was a few moments before Ilya realised she was walking alone.

  “What are you doing? We are practically in the Haven now, you don't need to sit down in the open.” snapped Ilya, her face flushed and teeth set.

  “You can go ahead, Ilya, see if they have a room for our guest. We'll be along shortly.” said Duke, doing his best to ignore her rising temper.

  She strutted off, muttering and cursing under her breath about the weakness Ajax had shown. He could not remember anything about his previous life, no names, no faces, not his childhood or the day he went into stasis, yet somehow he knew that his body was not in the form he was used to. It was an inexplicable feeling but he knew it was the truth; he longed to have a strong body once more.

  “Are you all right there, Ajax? You have been breathing hard since we left the alleyway, you only had to say if you are a little fatigued. I would have understood, you have been under for a long time.”

  “I'm not used to this body, I have so little energy and am practically a walking corpse here. I can't stand this drained feeling,” said Ajax. “Ilya hates me because I am weak, and she is right to do so; I'm just a hindrance to you.”

  Duke placed a reassuring hand on Ajax's shoulder, which caused him to look up into the captains weathered face through his tear filled eyes. “You should not worry about it so much, kid. I've seen people do a decade in stasis and come out twice as weak as you. Give it time and you will build up some strength and stamina, it won't be long before you are fighting off hordes of women,” they both shared a chuckle at this. “I didn't rescue you to be my bodyguard, so don't worry about moving mountains for me.” he said, with a grin on his face.

  Ajax's chuckle soon turned into a cough, which shook his entire body and made him ache even more. He felt the pangs of hunger too, as if there was no part of his body that didn't want to object to his predicament. By the look on Duke's face he had heard Ajax's stomach rumble too.

  The captain reached inside his jacket and, after much fishing around, removed a tarnished silver container from a deep pocket. The cigars he pulled out did not look anywhere near as cheap as they should be, judging from the quality they must have set Duke back a lot of money. He selected one, closed the case and stowed it away back in the hidden pocket. When he lit it Duke took evident pleasure in blowing out several smoke rings, filling the air with heavy smoke.

  “I would offer you one, but I doubt your lungs would relish these,” said Duke when he caught Ajax looking at the case.

  “I don't know if they are my thing, but now is definitely not the time to start. I'm short of breath as it is.”

  Ajax left the man to his cigar and mentally thanked Duke for blowing the smoke away from him. He took in as much of the clean air as possible and savoured it's feeling in his lungs. He was alive, it did not matter that his body was weak, he would grow stronger and prove to Duke that his life was worth saving. He would never be weak again and he would see that floating vista for himself, no matter the cost.

  Chapter 5

  Ilya pulled on the heavy tavern door and grunted with the effort it took to open. The building looked big on the outside and was, unsurprisingly, very spacious on the inside. There were already several drinkers in the front room, which was unusual this early in the day. Some of the patrons were enjoying the taverns famous food, the delicious smell wafted right into her nose and caused Ilya's stomach to grumble and growl.

  She tore herself away from the temptation of food before her and turned right, away from the dining room, passing stairs as she headed for the reception. Behind the solid wood desk was the comforting figure of Sal, owner of the Haven Inn. He was a heavy set man who caused the swivel chair he sat on to groan every time he shifted his considerable bulk, a dribble of sweat hung from one of his many chins as he sat up in the battered chair; it threatened to fall and join the collection that marred the thick apron tied around Sal's colossal gut.

  “Good afternoon, Sal, how is business today? I'm looking for another room if you have one?” asked Ilya, turning the charm on for her landlord.

  “For you, hun, I'm sure I could make some space; even if I have to turf one of these bums on the streets. You are looking angelic as always, I hope Duke hasn't been working you hard.” said the hulk of a man.

  Ilya cracked a big grin, she was always cheered up by the friendly nature of Sal, even if his words were sometimes borderline inappropriate. He was one of the few people in her life who could get some positive emotions out of her usually sullen self, or get away with commenting on her appearance.

  “I don't know how long he will be staying here, but if the cash ever runs out make sure to throw him in the gutter. I'm not asking for any preferential treatment for this waster.” said Ilya. Sal grinned at her odd request, Ilya knew he would happily do anything for her, no questions asked.
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  Sal pulled out a small book from the pocket of his stained shirt, leafing through it with thick fingers that wouldn't look out of place in a frying pan. Ilya made sure to hide her smile from him this time, it was always an amusing sight to see him trying to read; an unskilled lip reader could deduce his secrets with ease.

  “It looks like the rent hasn't been paid for room three in a while, I think we have a winner.” said Sal at last.

  “Good. I'll just get a change of clothes from my room and I'll tell the captain and your new guest. His name is Ajax Frost, he'll be paying in credits. On time, or out the door; remember that, Sal.” said Ilya.

  She left Sal with one more smile, which he always reminded Ilya made her almost unrecognisable. With all the heartache she had endured in her few years it had left Ilya with a near permanent hard expression; dead eyes greeted everyone who looked into them, more often than not accompanied by an unwavering frown. When she did smile it took years off her, the edges around her eyes softened and Sal thought her teeth were some of the best he got to see in his line of work. For one thing they were all there, a rarity for the Haven.

  Ilya was riding the good mood and taking the stairs two at a time, powering up to the second storey where her room was. It took a while to fish the key out of her pockets, she always put off sorting the contents out even though it was a daily occurrence that she had to search through the clutter to find something.

  Once the key had been dislodged from a ball of unidentifiable origins Ilya unlocked the door to her room. It took her two attempts before managing to push it open, a mound of clothes had fallen over from behind the door and jammed underneath.

  The room could have been entirely turned upside down by a team of thieves, to the untrained eye it looked no different. Ilya skilfully stepped over the piles of clothes and around any dangerous hazards, sometimes shifting things out of her way in order to not stand on her many possessions.

  She rounded up some clean clothes from several piles and found her way into the bathroom. It wasn't much, but a working shower in this sector could be better than a night in the pleasure district, or so the crew constantly told her. She beat the showers tap until something close to running water came out and finally began washed away the grime of her latest stint on the Illicit Jane.

  Cool air blew through the bathrooms window, it felt unbelievably good on her damp, naked flesh, but Ilya knew there were people waiting for her; she had to cut the feeling short. Fresh clothes were a big improvement on the soiled ones now stuffed into a basket in the bathrooms corner. Ilya was just glad to be wearing something lighter, the afternoon sun was attempting to broil her alive.

  Ilya rounded up the regular contents of her pockets and stuffed them into her shorts. She turned the lights off in her room and left, still enjoying the upbeat feeling that had been with her since seeing Sal.

  She took the stairs at a more careful pace this time, Ilya had misjudged them before and almost turned an ankle falling down the carpeted steps. When she reached the bottom she gave Sal another smile and a wave, then pushed on the heavy front door. There were times she wished she had been born a man, because there was no way she was bulking up just to haul on this door every day.

  Ilya had taken only a few paces out of the Haven when she realised what was wrong with the scene in the courtyard. Blood was pooling on the ground by bodies, one of which was still twitching in the throes of death. She ran towards Duke as fast as she could, the smile now gone from her face.

  While Ajax rested on the fountains ledge Duke told Ajax about his youth. How he had been the oldest of a large family and, after his father passed away, had resorted to a life of crime in order to provide for his mother and siblings.

  Ajax was sure that despite being a criminal in the past that the man before him was a good man, someone who was willing to do anything that was necessary to protect the people he loved would not necessarily be evil. Despite the solemn look on Duke's face Ajax knew the man had only done what he needed to, nothing more. He had even saved a complete stranger, after all, and so far had asked for nothing in return.

  He heard about how Duke had been beaten the first time he was caught stealing food from the market, half a dozen apples that were about to be thrown out they were so rotten. The grocer had threatened to drag him in front of a magistrate and demand the full punishment of the law, removal of the thief's hand.

  “It would be a lie if I said I regretted my decisions, if it weren't for those actions my family would have starved long ago. My sister married, had children; they did something with their lives. My brother I don't talk about. It's about time we went looking for Ilya, hopefully Sal has found you a room by now.” said Duke.

  He put a large hand on Ajax's shoulder and pushed up, grunting as he stood. Ajax knew the man had lived a hard life, judging by the slight hint of a limp he had suffered for it too. There was a lot more of Duke's history that had gone unsaid, he hoped that the man opened up to him more in the future. Ajax rose to follow.

  The door to the Haven Inn opened and three men stepped out, walking towards the courtyard and heading straight for the fountain. Ajax heard the whispered curse Duke let slip through his gritted teeth and saw the man tense up at the sight of these strangers.

  The man heading straight for the captain had a rodent look about him, a sharp nose and small eyes caused him to appear more rat than man. He was flanked by two lumbering men who looked like they could not count past the amount of digits on their hands, or string a sentence together without pausing to collect their thoughts. Unfortunately they did look like the kind of people that hit you repeatedly until you couldn't pick yourself back up.

  The man stopped before Duke, a wicked grin upon his face. “I thought I would find you here, Duke, because you weren't at my office paying off your loan; yet I was told your ship had made dock hours ago. You know the agreement, payment in full today or your ship. So I'm only going to ask you once; where is my money?”

  “Rascas, funny I should see you here. If only you had waited a few more minutes I would have been handing over your credits and saved you this visit.” said the captain. The barely disguised bitter tone to Duke's voice set Ajax on edge.

  The man called Rascas moved closer to the captain, followed immediately by his henchmen. Ajax could feel his pulse quicken and his breathing relax; strange that he could breathe more easily now than only a few minutes ago.

  “Your debt stands at half a million credit's, Duke, you know I can't let that slide any more. Payment is due RIGHT NOW!” screamed Rascas, spittle spraying out of his cruel mouth.

  Now that the men were closer Ajax could see the pox marked face of Rascas, huge craters that gave him the appearance of a much older man. Flecks of saliva were caught in his patchy beard, which Ajax realised grew so haphazardly because of the amount of scars criss-crossing the man's chin and neck.

  “Half a million? It was two hundred thousand when I loaned it. You know I don't have that kind of money, the haul alone is barely worth the loan. How do you expect me to come up with that many credits?” asked Duke.

  “Well your haul is a start, then I'm going to take your ship and lastly your legs. Gents, do your thing.” said Rascas as he backed away from Ajax and the captain.

  The two henchmen moved towards Duke, the one to his left pulling out a jagged knife from a sheath on his hip. Duke knew that his mistakes had come back to bite him, that they were seeking payment for his misdeeds. Why did he have to borrow that money, he thought, why did he come back to Konar when he knew what awaited him?

  It took the captain a second to process what was happening, the skeletal figure was such a blur that his eyes struggled to focus on. Ajax moved with blistering speed, he grabbed the hand wielding the blade and twisted it savagely until there was a sharp crack, followed by a scream. The falling knife didn’t hit the floor; instead Ajax caught it as it tumbled out of the man's grasp.

  With the blade in his hand he brought it across the attacker’s throat, opening
his jugular in a spray that splattered Ajax's face and torso with crimson. The man gurgled his last breath and sank to the ground to die alone. Ajax dropped to one knee, he had seen in his peripheral vision the other henchman lunging for him. Ajax kicked out, catching the man on the knee, and a satisfying snap echoed throughout the courtyard.

  The man pitched sideways and Ajax grabbed his shoulder from behind, hauling the large figure up and discarding the blade to take up the dead weight of the man, not a moment too soon. Rascas had frozen momentarily at seeing one of his men bleeding out and the other struggling to put weight on his ruined knee. However as he recovered Rascas drew his gun and without hesitation fired, the bullets punched into the henchman Ajax used to shield himself and the captain.

  Four shots fired then click, the gun jammed. Ajax let the bullet riddled man slump to the floor and ran at Rascas, who stood rooted to the spot in shock. No one had ever stood up to him, no one had attacked him like this.

  Ajax leapt the last few feet and cannoned into the rat, which brought them both crashing to the floor. He threw punch after punch, his fists opened up the skin on Rascas' face before a thundering blow broke the coward’s nose. The man tried to throw his arms up in defence but he couldn't stop the frenzied attack.

  “ENOUGH!” shouted Duke, his voice echoed throughout the courtyard, followed by deathly silence.

  Ajax stood up, blood dripped from his fists as he looked down at what he had done. The man's face was a bloodied pulp, he could not even speak through ruined teeth and lips. Rascas’ mouth sprayed crimson, his laboured breathing was a rattle that shook his body.