11
He didn’t land at a port. This was a stealth ship and there was no need to alert anyone to his presence on the planet. Vorjool landed in a large empty lot behind an abandoned factory in Virtra City, not far from the security checkpoint leading into the city where he had grown up. The streets were still familiar to him, even after all these years.
Zero connected to the web and checked the location before landing, finding it had been abandoned for four years and there was little chance of anyone stumbling upon his cloaked ship.
Vorjool was greeted by the chill night air.
“What should I do? You told me not to use my account to pay for anything while on this world. I can’t rent a vehicle…”
It had been only a few minutes since his landing in the port across the other side of town. “He’s on the move already?” asked Vorjool, well acquainted with the frustration of getting through port security.
“People trust Starmen. The guild’s reputation has always remained high,” he replied, his jaw setting as he remembered Kal’s betrayal.
Vorjool melted out from the dark and into the lamplight of the street. A single hovercar was parked by the roadside. As he approached it, he felt Zero get to work. The door of the vehicle clicked as it unlocked and he was stagnated.
“You unlocked that so easily?”
He complied. It wasn’t his first time entering a stolen vehicle. Although, it usually took a lot more effort to get the door open. Short of smashing the window through, it would take a PDP and some hacking skills.
It was a basic vehicle. When he shut the door he realised inside smelt stale. There were some papers in the back and the dash was dusty.
“Zero…how will you know?”
Vorjool couldn’t believe it. He felt empowered with Zero on his side, in a way, he felt invincible.
“Something has been on my mind for a while now,” said Vorjool, rubbing his chin. His eyes went to the rear view mirror and he stared at himself. “All the way here, the things we talked about, the advice you gave me, the argument you had for why our mission is vital…not once have you tried to talk me out of my revenge.”
*
Kal drove in his extravagant hover car across Virtra City, ignoring speed limitations, cutting off people whilst he was speeding, and not giving a hoot. He was a tier-1 Starman – traffic cops couldn’t touch him.
He commanded a lot of respect in this city with all the help he’d given with murder cases, catching criminals, and tracking down fugitives who had made it off-world. Hauling them in was the best feeling of all. A deep silence took the station when he came in with his last mark, and then a slow-clap proceeded when they realised who he had brought to justice.
Those were the glory days. Nowadays, with how strict security was outside of Mortron City, he was finding it difficult earning enough to just keep Dark Fang running. Circumstance led him to work for the likes of Aria. The checkpoints had only been in effect recently, but the change had been coming for a long time, and with the way he spent credits he needed constant work to maintain his lifestyle.
He wasn’t due back until tomorrow. Aria didn’t know he was on the planet yet. He had communicated with her on the way home and she promised him five hundred thousand credits for the artefact he had found. What’s more, she was quite happy to learn it would only be being split two ways.
It had been a long journey. Kal would soon have his prize. But a list of unsatisfied urges led him to his next course of action. He got to Melina’s apartment just before the stroke of mid-night.
Kal knocked on the door. His arrival unannounced. If he’d told her he was coming, then Aria just might have heard of it through her. Melina had a wealthy father. But she drifted to Mortron City a lot. Had a lot of friends there. Certain people, even those who weren’t in Aria’s employ, would be interested in his whereabouts. And he didn’t trust her enough to take that risk.
He took out his pocket bottle of rum. Unscrewed the lid and took a swift drink. As he lowered the bottle, the door opened. There she was looking even finer than he remembered. 22, tall, beautiful. A brunette with eyes deep and smooth like melted chocolate.
She slid her hand up the door frame, her initial look of surprise was washed away by her party-girl side. She knew she was in for an expensive, glamorous night, with the promise that things could get messy before morning. Melina liked that side of him; it was the only side he showed her. His badge had scored him a lot of tail, but fewer hotter, or easier, than Melina. So long as his credit was good, she would be attached to his hip until he left again.
“Kal, you look great,” she said, eyeing his muscular chest. He stepped by her and went into her apartment. Had a glance around to make sure she was alone. Then he heard the toilet flush.
“Who’s that?” he demanded.
“My girl, Jenna, you remember her? She was out with us before.”
“The blonde?”
“Redhead,” said Melina. He heard heels behind him and turned. A tall redhead with blue eyes wearing a shimmering purple dress was looking back at him.
Two? My lucky night.
“You girls ready to party?” he asked, reaching into his pocket.
Kal set down a bottle of stims on the table he’d acquired for the occasion. They went across to the sofa, smiling at him. He gave them each a glance. Then he had another drink with a growing smile as he watched them get high.
*
Claudia licked salt off the back of her hand. Slammed a shot and threw her head forward, gasping as it stung inside her mouth. The strobe lighting disorientated her slightly. She recovered from it feeling an even better buzz.
“This shit is amazing,” she told Jeriko. “You promise it won’t give me a hangover?”
“Not once you’ve had one of these,” said Jeriko, producing a tiny pill in his hand.
Claudia’s eyes crinkled. “I’m not doing drugs,” she blared. “What the hell even is that?”
“Relax,” he said, sticking it in her hand. “It’s not the kind of drugs you’re thinking of. Just put this in a glass of water when you get back to your room. Drink the whole thing. It’ll see that you wake up feeling fully hydrated. Better than normal even.”
“What are you a wizard?”
“Huh?”
“That sounds so good it belongs in a fairy-tale!” She stuffed the pill into her pocket. “In that case…how about we do another shot?”
Jeriko grinned before signalling the barman. “Two of the same!”
The barman poured for them. Claudia’s fingers were rapping off the bar from excitement. “This is the best night out I’ve ever had!”
“We’ve only been here for an hour. All we’ve done is sit right here. I know I’m good company, but you obviously didn’t get out much.”
Claudia thinned her eyes at him. “Shut up. I don’t mean it like that. If that pill works – “
“It will.”
“—good. No hangover instantly makes this the best drinking experience I’ve ever had; I get the worst hangovers.”
Jeriko chuckled at her excitement. “You know what we need?”
“What?”
“Softer drinks,” said Jeriko, picking up the next round of shots that waited
on the bar. He handed her one, then they both drank. “We’re finished with shots now. Magic pill or not, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”
“I agree,” she said, fighting against the burn in her throat. “I also like…that you said we should get…softer drinks. That means we’re not going back just yet?”
He shook his head with a playful grin. “Let’s give it another hour. Besides, we haven’t even danced yet.”
Claudia burst out laughing. “Dance? I don’t know how to dance!”
“You serious?” His eyes went down and lingered. “With legs like that? You’ve certainly got the body for it.”
Then she was red. And she didn’t say a thing. Jeriko got up. Her neck craned to follow his eyes when he rose to his full six and a half feet.
“Wait right here,” he said. “I gotta take a leak first.”
Claudia rolled her eyes. “Take your time.”
He walked off toward the restroom. Her green eyes followed him, she smiled.
*
Kal and the girls occupied a booth in the VIP section of the nightclub. Melina was kissing the left side of his neck, as he’d just ordered the most expensive bottle of champagne on the menu. Her friend was staring into his eyes when he turned her way feeling tingles from Melina’s soft lips caressing his flesh. Jenna reached in and kissed him, giving his lip a seductive bite.
His blood was up before the champagne even arrived. But the second the bottle was down, he remembered that drinking was every bit as important as sex. He gently pushed Melina away. Her eyes went to the table sharply. Booze was just as important to her. They poured the bubbly liquid into glasses.
“Down in one ladies,” said Kal.
They drank together. Jenna got half way and had to stop to cough, as it had caught in her throat. But Kal and Melina downed it like pros. Then they looked at each other and kissed passionately, forgetting Jenna altogether, even as she caressed his inner thigh.
Then he had to piss.
“Back in a tick,” he said, getting to his feet.
Kal negotiated his way through the packed dancefloor and went through the door to the men’s room. The toilets had one occupant. A fernode – heavy with muscle. He was finishing up his business.
Kal went to the mirror. Checked his eyes. His pupils were huge. But he was more interested in the red veins at the corners, the wrinkles all over his brow that were becoming more apparent as time went on.
The fernode was washing his hands next to him. Kal popped a stim in his mouth, set back his head as he swallowed.
A disapproving grunt sounded next to him. Kal put his head forward, sighing before he opened his eyes with a hard glare. The fernode was staring at him in the mirror.
“Fuck is your problem?” he demanded.
The fernode continued washing his hands. “Not very professional…for a Starman.”
His fist clenched on its own. He stuffed the bottle back in his pocket and turned to him fully. “Fuck did you say to me? You think you know me, asshole?!”
He turned off the tap. Shook off his wet hands and some of the spray went over Kal, pushing him closer to rage.
“Kal Lojac. Tier-1 Starman Specialist,” the fernode replied, sounding a grunt of amusement.
Kal shook his head and laughed. He should have expected it; a lot of people knew who he was and what he did. Still, he didn’t like the accusing stare the fernode was subjecting him to.
“Okay,” he began, becoming more relaxed. “You listen to me, you little — “
“Little?” The fernode puffed out his chest as he towered over him. “Did you just call me little?”
Kal hesitated. Then grimaced. I’ve taken down bigger assholes. Muscles don’t mean shit. “Who are you?” he demanded.
“Jeriko Sálávanté. Tier-1 Starman Specialist,” he said, and Kal’s reaction was a gulp that he quickly tried to hide. “I studied your early cases at the academy. Never thought I’d wind up meeting you in a shit-hole like this, flying on stims.”
He’d been reckless. Completely reckless for so long. But this was the first time it had promised to come back and bite him.
“Listen rookie – because that’s what you are, no matter what your badge says – you go blabbing about this to anyone, and I’ll know who to look for when it gets back to me. Got a lot of friends in high places.” He prodded his chest with a stiff finger. “So…don’t push me.”
Having put him in his place, Kal turned and headed to the door.
“That sounded like a threat,” Jeriko said, stopping him in his tracks. Kal’s head went down. He gave an audible sigh. Then turned with a furious look.
“Okay. You don’t wanna drop this? Let me show you who you’re messing with,” he snapped, storming toward him.
He lifted his hands with the intent to do harm, but Jeriko’s fist soared at him so swift he barely registered it before his vision blacked. A sharp pain took his nose as he dropped.
Next thing he knew, Jeriko was binding his hands. Kal tried to fight against it too late.
“What the hell are you doing?!” he demanded, with blood running into his mouth from his busted nose.
“I’m taking you in. Possession of illegal stims, threatening a fellow Starman, inciting violence.”
“Inciting violence?”
“Well, yeah. You made me hit you, didn’t you?”
*
Vorjool was shocked when he saw Kal being dragged out from the nightclub by a powerfully built fernode. Zero had tracked the location of Kal’s hovercar in the lot and they’d arrived just moments before. He had planned to wait on him going to his car before he made his move.
He thought of making a move now. He didn’t know what Kal had done this time. “This might be the only chance I’ll ever get,” he said.
“He’s being taken away by someone,” Vorjool said, worried as he watched him through the window. “I told you we should have made a move right away…”
“How can you know that?”
“Assuming he is ever released,” snapped Vorjool. “We both know what that dirty bastard is capable of. What if he’s being taken in for a murder charge?”
Two women followed them outside. They demanded in shouts for an explanation from the fernode and the human female with Kal in tow. Vorjool pressed the button to lower his window a little, then slouched in his chair to remain a shadow as he listened.
“What the hell did he do?” demanded the brunette.
“Your friend here was taking illegal stims and tried to assault my partner,” the dark haired young woman told them with authority. She handled herself well for someone so young.
“Bullshit. Let him go! He’s a Starman. Dumb bitch!” the brunette screamed in her face.
“Yeah? So am I,” the young woman rebuked, showing her badge. “Now, back up, or I’ll take you both in, too.”
Their feisty courage had vanished the instant they saw her badge. The brunette and redhead headed back to the club.
“Yeah. Don’t worry about me! Fucking bitches,” Kal spat for their disloyalty. The brunette turned and gave a rude hand gesture. Kal kicked a nearby trashcan in his fury.
The fernode grabbed his shoulders from behind and shook him. “Please. Please resist,” he urged him, but Kal didn’t dare. They dragged him away to a hover car parked nearby.
Vorjool, feeling relief, sat up and started the engine.
e you.>
“What if he is carrying the starstone with him, and the police seize it?”
*
“You’re making a mistake,” said Kal bitterly from the back seat. When he leant forward, Jeriko’s eyes shot to the rear view mirror.
“Sit back!” he snapped, and Kal did. Jeriko looked back to the airway, still growling from the pit of his throat.
Kal hadn’t seemed like he intended to make a move. Claudia knew the signs from her CQC training to look out for on the body. He was handcuffed and mad. But he couldn’t do much about it while they flew up this high in the air. That didn’t curb the warning from Jeriko’s immediate response.
“You were pretty good, for a time,” said Jeriko. “Everything on you in the database was old news, though. You haven’t done much other than local kill warrants past couple of years. So, what is it? You rotten to the core? Working for dealers who’ll provide your next fix?”
Kal didn’t answer. Turned his head to the side.
Jeriko sneered. “See?” he asked of Claudia. “That’s why I busted him for it. Had him sussed the moment I laid eyes on him.”
“You don’t know me,” snapped Kal. “You got no evidence of any of this. You know how fucked your career is gonna be after tonight? Lousy asshole!”
“Didn’t say I was gonna try and charge you with something,” he trailed off, snorting. “I’m just bringing you in to drag your name through some shit. All a Starman has got is his reputation.”
When he said it, Claudia would be lying if she said she hadn’t got lost in his face for a moment. He looked tough as hell.
Jeriko glanced at her. Claudia turned away and stared out the window to the street below. A hard look regained her eyes when she saw the station coming up.
“My partner and I are taking you in,” she assured Kal. “Don’t struggle. Trust me. It’ll only make things worse.”
12
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