by J. M. Hagan
“They say you know someone they’re after,” said Micho. “Some mark.”
“Shit.” Kal took a breath of relief. It wouldn’t be, Aria, if that’s the case. “They say who this mark was?”
“No, man, they didn’t tell me anything. But it’s a priority bounty. What’s more, they came all the way from the Maji-Onda sector. There’s something about this whole thing that stinks to me. Chief is gonna blow a gasket when he hears of it.”
“Okay,” said Kal, glancing over at Officer Travis, mindful he could probably hear most of the conversation despite how quiet he was being. “Thanks for the call, Micho. I appreciate it. Can’t talk at the moment, though.”
“I hear ya,” said Micho. “Look…keep it under your hat. Last thing I need is a reprimand for helping your stupid ass.”
“I hear ya, partner,” he said. Shit. I need to deliver that damn stone to, Aria. Get my money, and get off this damn world. Right now.
He cut off the call. Turned to Travis with a bright smile. “Here’s your sidearm,” said Travis, handing over his gun belt.
“Thanks.” Kal put it around his waist. Started doing the buckle and then looked up. “Say, Travis, I gotta get somewhere real fast. City cops don’t have to use the airways. Mind taking me across town?”
“What’s the hurry? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Gotta deliver something to a friend,” he said, smiling. “We’re working to take down some bad characters in Mortron City. Got links to Ogazi.”
“For real?” asked Travis sternly. “I’m glad to hear it. Less punks out there, the better. Damn. I miss actual police work.”
“You guys even see any action out here anymore?”
“Nah,” said Travis, shaking his head as he sighed. “Damn private security corporations are making us obsolete. The city is pulling our budget. Can you believe that shit? We kept this place safe for generations. Now, they’re just gonna reduce us all to traffic wardens. Even the damn Chief.”
“Man, a damn shame,” Kal offered. He understood it, he had been losing work to New-Wave for years.
Travis rubbed his chin. “Sure. Why not? I’ll give you a ride.”
16
Jeriko and Jack arrived at the station. The officer at the front desk, guy named Bilmor, told them Kal was gone and heading to the checkpoint with an Officer Travis.
“Can you radio the guy or something?” he asked, but Officer Bilmor gave him a strange look.
“Radio them? We haven’t used radios since well before my time. I can call his PDP?”
“Yeah,” Jack nodded sharply. He looked to Jeriko who seemed equally tense.
The officer was looking into a screen behind his desk they couldn’t see. “Travis,” he said. The reply was coming into his earpiece as a faint crackle to their ears. Jack squinted and leaned in. “Got two Starmen looking for your friend…okay. What’s your destination...okay…I’ll see to it…yeah.”
He looked up. “Travis is taking Kal to the checkpoint. He said you can go there if you wanna speak with him.”
“Look, man, I need you to tell them to hold up.”
“Why?” he asked.
It was a routine question – one Jack hesitated to answer.
If he told Kal his life could be in danger, it could lead to them never finding Vorjool. Changing anything at this point would be wholly irresponsible of him after all the trouble that’d been caused already.
“How far out are they from the checkpoint?” he asked.
“Well, they only left a few minutes ago. If traffic isn’t so bad, you could be there to meet them. Travis told me that, Kal, is stopping off at his apartment along the way to fetch something.”
Jack’s shoulders stiffened. He gave a half-wave in his direction. “It’s fine. No need to contact them again. We’ll try and catch up. It’s no big deal.” He flicked his head at Jeriko to follow and they went brusquely out the door. Once they reached the building steps they raced down them and then ran to the car.
“Commander,” he heard Europa’s voice in his earpiece as he opened his door.
“Go ahead, E.”
“Mark Anderson and Siena’s PDPs’ have gone dark,” she said. Jack froze getting into his chair. “I tried getting in touch with them just now, in regards to the program they asked me to create.”
“What are you talking about?” he demanded, throwing down his backside and waving Jeriko on. He started the engine and then reached out to pull down his door.
“I don’t have any further data, Commander,” Europa regretted to inform him, as the fernode took them off and they gained in speed immediately. “But their PDPs were fully charged and would only stop broadcasting their signals if they had been destroyed. There can only be one explanation – I believe they have encountered danger. I advise contacting HQ directly and asking for security footage from the area. Their PDPs’ went dark in an area a local surveillance camera was focused on. Perhaps, if you were to call them and give your verification code, they could send the footage directly to your car’s computer.”
Jack nodded his understanding, immediately getting his PDP from his pocket. He searched for the number online. Then he put in a call to the help-desk at HQ.
*
“Those guys, I don’t know what their problem is, but I think they’re hunting your friend,” said Officer Bilmor. He didn’t know he was being broadcast over the loudspeaker. Travis coughed nervously realising he’d been irresponsible in regards to his passenger. After all, Kal had spent a few hours in jail.
“What did they say?” he asked, giving Kal a look verging on suspicion.
“Nothing. They just said it wasn’t a big deal. They’d try and catch up to you.”
Relief washed down Travis’ face and he looked out the window with a half-smile. “Okay, Bilmor, thanks.”
The call cut out.
“Damn. I wonder what they want you for?” Travis was preparing to take them down into his apartment block.
Kal waved his hand. “I don’t know. But it’s not important enough for me to call off this operation. It’s today, or never.”
“I understand. Intel is only good for a few hours when it comes to guys like Ogazi. You know, I’ve been studying to make it to tier-2 in the guild. Haven’t put forth my application yet, but I’m gonna. Gonna specialise in anti-terrorism.”
“Travis that’s great,” said Kal. “More guys like you out there the better. They reached his apartment and Travis began lowering them onto the pad. “I’ve got a number for a guy who could really help you make it to tier-2. He gives private lessons. Might even be able to ask him for it as a personal favour to me. Guy owes me one.”
“Shit. Are you serious?” Travis sighed with sincere relief, shaking his head and looking out the window briefly. His eyes filled with hope. “Mr Lojac I’d be in your debt.”
Kal slapped his shoulder. “Don’t mention it, kid,” he said getting out of the car.
If Travis was to achieve tier-2 and become a Deputy, he’d have a good chance at landing a consultant’s job with one of those security companies they loathed so much. He knew the kid’s type. He played by the rules and had a sense of justice. Someone as straight as Travis had to play ball, if he wanted to keep his head above water.
The thought of doing something like that for a guy in his situation made Kal feel good about himself. The feeling lasted until he made it to his bedroom and saw the state of the place…
He took out his sidearm and hurried to check out the apartment.
Nothing…
Whoever those Starmen were, they were long gone. If they’re only interested in some other mark, how come they’ve tossed my apartment and accessed my safe? Unless…Aria…is she betraying me? Damn. I didn’t think she’d resort to this over a measly five hundred thousand.
Kal returned to his bedroom and lifted his bedside table out of the way so he could access the only safe he actually used. The one he hadn’t told HQ about. Appearing to be so transparent with the guild gav
e them less cause for suspicion. And if people came to rob him and found his safe empty, they’d assume anything he had of value was being kept elsewhere.
It was an old safe with wheels. He rotated them, putting in the combination, and it opened. He took out the box containing the ancient artefact, Aria, was going to pay him a lot of money for. Given what Micho had said, about them not being from this sector, he wondered if she had called in help from outside, knowing that none of his fellow Starmen from the Delta sector would take the contract. If she had sent Starmen after him, the only thing he could do now was kill her. No employer. No contract.
He was gonna put her down and then take the stone to a different buyer. He would charge them a million, and tell them what happened to the last person that tried to screw him over.
It would be enough to change his life, make a new home somewhere, far away where he could prosper. That dream felt so near he could touch it. He had to grab hold of it before it slipped through his fingers.
Aria was supposed to meet with him in an hour. He would arrive early and take the rooftop across the street from her office.
He put on a black skull cap and his long grey coat. Kal stuffed the starstone into his pocket. He went and moved his other bedside table and lifted the floorboards beneath.
Inside was his fold-away sniper rifle. It was an untraceable weapon. Something he’d stolen from a weapon’s dealer he took down a long time ago. It was made to look like a slender case for a large PDP. It fit into the deep inside pocket of his coat. When extended, the thing would be half the size of him. The mag had six shots. All he needed was one.
Kal hurried to go back out to the car. When he got in, Travis studied him for a moment.
“Don’t you think it’s a little warm for that coat?” he asked, shaking his head and grinning at him.
Kal shrugged. “I look good in this coat. Say, I’m gonna transfer that number to your PDP. But we’ve got a few minutes. How about I give him a quick call now so you can speak to him?”
Travis lit up as he took off. “Thanks. I won’t forget this.”
*
Jack waited for the analyst he’d been connected with sending across footage from the camera in the alleyway where their PDP’s had last been detected.
Jeriko was driving fast, but he had to follow the rules of the aerial highway. Since Vorjool failed to show, the young fernode had lost his cool façade entirely. Jack, having lived with him for months, having fought alongside him in battle, knew he was tough as hell. It took a mistake to strike fear in him like nobody’s business. He was holding the wheel anxiously.
The tension was building inside of Jack, too. When the analyst sent the info to the car’s computer he swiped the file toward his PDP, initialising an immediate transfer of information. Europa was connected to it then. She did the rest.
“I’ve forwarded to several moments before their PDPs’ went dark,” said Europa, over the car loudspeaker.
The screen came on, but everything was black. Jeriko trailed his eyes from the road and growled. “What the hell is wrong with it?” he demanded.
Jack pointed ahead, signalling Jeriko to keep his eyes on the road. “I’d rather not wind up being a fireball on the one hundredth story of a skyscraper,” he groaned in his confusion.
Jack tapped the timeline along the bottom and forwarded to a minute later. Still nothing. Then he went ten minutes ahead.
The view became clear…he could see the alley and their hovercar parked in the sparsely populated lot. But there was no sign of his friends.
“E…what’s going on?” he grimaced, looking up with the question.
“Something targeted the camera, causing a blackout which lasted for seven minutes and twelve seconds. Perhaps, a small drone programmed to cover the line of sight.”
Jack swallowed heavily. His ears darkened first. Then he was blazing red all over. The instant he realised this had been a premeditated move, he thumped the door with his fist.
The smart-glass blurred and a reaction took the tense fernode. “Easy,” Jeriko blared sweeping into the wrong lane momentarily, until he corrected their course. “I’m driving here!”
Jack ran a hand down his flush face and squeezed his cheeks hard before letting out a deep growl. “E, there are other cameras in that area. If I get you the footage of them all, can you– “
“I will examine every detail, Commander,” she assured him.
Jack took in a deep breath, then gave an audible exhale, feeling his eyes water as he pushed down the fire in his gut. He placed another call to Starman HQ. He connected with the same analyst from before.
“I’m gonna need all the footage from every camera in the area,” he insisted. “Two of my team are gone. I’ve gotta find them.”
“Your request has been denied,” said the analyst.
“Denied?” cried Jack. “What the…why?”
“I have been asked to transfer you along to, Chief Tanner.”
“Chief who? Wait a minute…”
The call cut out. Jack swallowed. The com crackled on again.
“Mr Murphy?” he heard a gruff voice.
Jack harrumphed. “Yes, Chief?”
“Report to HQ. On the double,” he snapped. “I’ve been hearing some worrying things about you, and your team, since your arrival in my sector!”
Jack rubbed his forehead and fought to keep down the fire again. “Listen, Chief, two of my team have gone missing. The longer we leave it, the less chance I have of finding them!”
“I’ve been briefed by the analyst you were in contact with,” said the Chief. “I’ll have some of my people investigate the disappearance immediately. I’ve checked the mainframe and there’s no record of your mission on the database. All I have is the verification of Chief Fischer. This is way out of his sector. Fischer has never set a foot on Delta-2!”
“It’s a priority op,” Jack told him plainly. “It’s not my fault you can’t look at the details. I’m just a specialist. I don’t have any authority. You should take this up with Fischer.”
An ominous silence followed. “You listen to me, Murphy,” the Chief spat ruefully. “I hear you’re looking for one of my people. One of your team, Jeriko Sálávanté, knocked the man unconscious last night. If this is some kind of witch hunt, I won’t stand for it. People on, Fischer’s, station have dirtier hands than any of my people. I can vouch for every one of them. I am demanding that you come in! Right now! That is a direct order, Murphy!”
Jack swallowed. “Okay, Chief. I’m on my way.”
He hung up before he could say anything else. Jack snorted, looking out the window, his mind racing.
They had no idea where Anderson and Siena had gone. But they couldn’t exactly give up their chase of, Kal, either. They knew where he was headed, and chances were Vorjool could turn up wherever he was going.
He had a hard decision to make, as they travelled along the airway at speed.
“What’s our move, Murphy?” asked Jeriko. It only took him a few seconds to see what was important.
He clenched his fist. “Fuck him. Guy thinks were playing at internal affairs,” muttered Jack. “We’re heading to the checkpoint.”
17
Kal got out from the police hovercar right next to the checkpoint and Vorjool grimaced, watching him from behind tinted glass. When he left the cop station, they had tracked his movements by following the signal from his PDP. They knew he would be headed for the checkpoint and made sure they were waiting for him when he arrived.
There were far too many people on the streets around here for him to make his move.
Vorjool put the gun he’d taken from the Starman’s apartment in the glove box, lamenting he wasn’t going to get the opportunity to use it. Then he got out of the stolen vehicle and abandoned it there.
He joined the line of people entering the subway in single file with New-Wave security either side of them, and made sure he had a lot of bodies between himself and Kal.
He won’t get away from me this time.
*
Jeriko pushed up the throttle and they took the corner at speed, causing cars they’d almost broadsided to come to careening halts. Horns blared behind them as he dodged cars on the straight. Jack squeezed on the handle overhead and clenched his teeth every time he performed a dangerous manoeuvre.
“What do you mean they’re missing?” Claudia cried over the com.
Jack informed her of the little he knew of what had happened and she reacted with fury first, then despair.
“Jack, we have to find them!”
“I know,” he cried. “But, Kal, is probably heading to Mortron City. Vorjool might show up any second. Stay with the mission.”
“How far out are you?”
He eyed the fernode who continued driving with steely composure. “With the way he’s driving – we’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Sirens blared behind them. Jack checked the rear-view mirror seeing the police hot on their tails. “Shit! The cops! Go! Go! We can’t stop!”
“Hold on!”
He squeezed the handle as Jeriko pulled back the stick and they shot up and out of the airway. They soared through the sky with the police giving chase. Mortron island was getting closer by the second. Jeriko engaged the vehicle’s full speed and Jack went back in his chair. They soared for some moments, with the police demanding that they stop over their loudspeaker.
The car plummeted right before the exit to the checkpoint and they re-entered the airway, causing a pile up of cars behind them which got in the way of the pursuing cop car. They landed on the street right at the front of the checkpoint.
Jack and Jeriko ditched their car, leaving behind their gear aside from the pistols they carried and hurried to flash their badges as they bunked the queue of people waiting to get inside.
“This is an emergency!” Jack cried at the guards, and they let them pass.
*
Ethan heard her through the cybernetic implant. His eyes trailed that way. Vorjool stood amongst the crowd that was made up mostly of humans and milky skinned Dikini, sticking out like a sore thumb with his grey skin, bald head and black eyes.
