by Ryk Brown
Lieutenant Rezhik was the last to enter the seedy marketplace. Within the first minute, a watcher had begun to track his movements. He would be easy to follow.
The lieutenant moved deliberately down the main aisle of the Jungle, not bothering to stop and observe the myriad of weapons being offered. He had no interest in their wares. His role required a direct approach, and he was comfortable with that.
“Any eyes on me?” Corporal Vasya asked over his hidden comm-set.
Specialist Brill glanced around, surveying everyone within one hundred degrees on either side. No one appeared to be paying any undue attention to the corporal ahead of him. “Just your watcher, about ten meters behind you,” he reported.
“Going in.”
Specialist Brill continued his lazy pace, watching Vasya out of the corner of his eye, as the corporal ducked into the service corridor behind the section containing Dinesh Koren’s offices. As expected, his watcher followed him. “Watcher is coming your way,” he reported, picking up his pace and heading toward the same corridor. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that his own watcher was quickening his pace, as well.
The lanky, redheaded, young man peeked around the corner, unsure about entering the shadowy service corridor. For a moment, he wondered if his mark had actually entered it. What possible reason could he have to go in there?
A sound further down the corridor caught his attention, and his heart sank. He had no choice but to follow his mark, his employment depended on it. It would be a mistake.
By his second step, he felt a sharp pain in his neck. Before he could turn around, everything went black.
“He looks comfy,” Specialist Brill commented as he entered the service corridor and found Vasya’s mark, curled up in the corner, sound asleep.
“Poor kid must be overworked,” Vasya replied with a smile, moving back into the shadows to prepare for the arrival of Brill’s mark.
Specialist Brill moved to the opposite corner, leaning nonchalantly against the bulkhead.
A moment later, his mark entered the service corridor, stopping short when he spotted one of his fellow watchers, curled up, asleep on the deck.
“Looking for me?” Specialist Brill asked.
His watcher turned to his left, realizing he was had, as he too felt a sharp pain in his neck.
Vasya caught the second watcher as he collapsed and dragged him over to the first watcher. “These guys were too easy,” he declared as he laid him, cuddled up, next to the first watcher.
“I wonder what they’ll think when they find them,” Specialist Brill wondered, stepping over them to follow Vasya down the service corridor.
“Probably that they make a cute couple,” Vasya joked as he headed down the corridor.
Sergeant Viano hovered over the display of weapons at the booth in front of Dinesh Koren’s offices. From his position, he could monitor three men, of the five in the area, who could be guards. Specialist Deeks, currently talking up a salesman at the booth two doors down, had a clear line of sight on the other two.
“One and Two are in position,” Corporal Vasya reported over comms.
The sergeant glanced to his left, spotting Lieutenant Rezhik as he approached the man standing at the door to Koren’s offices. “Five is at the door,” he said under his breath.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the man guarding the office door challenged, putting his hand out to block Lieutenant Rezhik’s advance.
“I need to speak with Mister Koren,” the lieutenant told the man.
“No one enters unless they’re invited.”
“It would be in your employer’s best interest to speak with me…now.”
“Oh, really,” the man said, chuckling. “And who the fuck are you?”
“I am Lieutenant Torren Rezhik of the Ghatazhak,” the lieutenant stated, staring confidently at the man, “and I am here to discuss the release of my comrade, Marcus Taggart.”
“Five is inside,” Sergeant Viano reported over comms.
“You about done, there, Brilly?” Corporal Vasya questioned as he checked up and down the service corridor to ensure that no one had spotted them.
“Pretty stupid of them not to have any security cameras back here,” Specialist Brill commented as he worked on the keypad on the back door to the offices. The door suddenly clicked and swung inward a few centimeters. “Got it.”
“One and Two are entering,” Vasya announced over comms as he drew his weapon.
“Don’t forget to use tranq rounds first,” Sergeant Viano reminded them.
“Tranq rounds are for pussies,” Vasya joked as he set his weapon to fire tranquilizer rounds instead of kill shots.
“Which is precisely what these guys are,” Sergeant Viano commented.
“It’s like going to a party with no wine or women,” Vasya complained as he stepped through the doorway, his sidearm held at the ready.
The very moment the door closed behind him, Lieutenant Rezhik launched into action, planting his boot into the back of his escort’s right knee. The man howled in pain as the joint dislocated, and he fell to the floor, pulling his weapon as he fell.
The lieutenant moved swiftly, kicking the weapon out of the man’s hand as he pulled out his own, firing a tranq-round into the man’s chest, then turning to plant another in the shoulder of the receptionist. Within seconds, both of them were unconscious. “Lobby secured,” he reported over comms. “Moving inward.”
“One and Two are in the back corridor, sweeping the first level,” Corporal Vasya reported.
Lieutenant Rezhik moved over to the inner door, turning the latch and slowly pushing it open. Two shots rang out, one of them ricocheting off the inside of the door, the other passing through the opening, just above the lieutenant’s head, and slamming into the acoustical paneling on the front wall. “Five has contact,” he called over comms. “One shooter.” There was a subdued pop from the corridor on the other side of the door, followed by a thump.
“Five, One, shooter down, your corridor is clear,” Corporal Vasya reported. “Sweeping right.”
“Five is entering the corridor, sweeping left,” the lieutenant reported as he opened the door and entered the corridor
Sergeant Viano spotted two men who suddenly turned and ran toward the office door. “Two going in,” he reported under his breath.
“I’ve got them,” Specialist Deeks reported.
The sergeant glanced to his left, spotting the specialist as he walked around the backside of the booth, pulled his sidearm, and fired twice, his weapon barely audible in the noisy marketplace.
The men fell through the open front door, both of them struck by Specialist Deeks’s tranq-rounds.
The scruffy salesman, at the booth Sergeant Viano was standing in front of, noticed the men falling through the front office door and grabbed his weapon.
“Bad idea,” the sergeant warned.
The scruffy man turned to look at the sergeant, his eyes widening when he saw the discrete sidearm pointed at him.
The sergeant pulled the trigger, firing a tranq-round into the scruffy man’s chest, knocking him backward into his chair, where the man passed out and appeared to be sleeping. “Night night,” the sergeant said as he hid his weapon and headed toward the office door.
Marcus’s head hung down, his face dripping with blood. A man grabbed his hair, pulling his head back sharply so the other man could strike him, yet again.
“Who the fuck is Lieutenant Rezhik?” Mister Koren demanded. “And who the fuck are the Ghatazhak?”
Marcus laughed and was rewarded with another blow, sending another one of his teeth flying.
The door burst open, and a man ran in, panicked. “I’ve lost contact with Jigger and Dal!”
“What?” Mister Koren exclaimed.
“And someone has breached the
back entrance!”
“Tell Basqer and Yont to cover the front,” Mister Koren ordered.
“Basqer! Tolman!” the man called.
“Who the fuck are the Ghatazhak?” Mister Koren repeated, stepping up and raising Marcus’s head by his hair.
Marcus looked him straight in the eyes. “You should’ve done business with me, asshole,” he laughed.
This time, it was Mister Koren who struck Marcus, and with all his might, knocking him and the chair to which he was bound to the floor.
“They’re not answering!” Tolman reported.
“Bon, go with Tolman and see what’s going on,” Mister Koren ordered.
Tolman turned to exit but stopped when something struck him in the chest. He turned around to face his boss, his eyes crossing as he dropped to the floor.
The other two men drew their weapons as Lieutenant Rezhik burst into the room. The first man fired at the intruder but was not quick enough. The lieutenant dodged to the right, the man’s rounds passing by his left ear.
Corporal Vasya appeared in the doorway, firing two shots, dropping both of the armed men in the room.
Dinesh Koren went for his own weapon but stopped when he realized that both of the intruders had him in their sights. He froze; after a moment, sliding his weapon back in its holster, his arms moving slowly down to his sides. “Gentlemen.”
Corporal Vasya immediately went over to Marcus as Specialist Brill moved into the doorway behind him, his weapon now trained on Dinesh Koren, as well.
“Hey, old man,” Corporal Vasya said as he cut away the plastic restraints that held Marcus to the fallen chair. “You making friends again?”
“Shut up, and give me a hand,” Marcus grumbled as Vasya cut him free.
Vasya took Marcus’s hand and helped him to his feet. “You look like shit,” he said, seeing the beating Marcus had taken. “You want a load of nanites?”
“Nanites are for Ghatazhak weenies,” Marcus grumbled, wiping the blood from his mouth. He turned his head to glare at Mister Koren and then moved toward him, one unsteady step at a time.
“I believe we can do business,” Mister Koren announced.
“Oh, yeah?” Marcus replied as he approached. “There’s just one thing.” Marcus rammed his knee into Koren’s groin, causing the man to double over. Marcus raised his right hand, thumping Koren on the head and knocking him to the floor.
“Marcus,” Lieutenant Rezhik began, “what are you doing?”
Marcus dropped down to one knee, grabbing Dinesh Koren’s hair and raising his head with his left hand as he raised his right. “Negotiating,” he replied as he began striking Koren in the face, again and again. After a dozen blows, he paused, looking at Mister Koren’s bloody face, deciding whether or not the beating the capi had received was equal to the one he had been given. Finally, he released him, leaving him on the floor, bleeding. “Now we can do business,” Marcus said, struggling back to his feet.
“Clean him up and get him out of here,” Lieutenant Rezhik instructed.
“Come on, tough guy,” Corporal Vasya said, putting Marcus’s arm up over his shoulder to support him. “Let’s get you home. Neli’s worried about you.”
“She fucking should be,” Marcus sputtered.
Lieutenant Rezhik waited for Vasya and Brill to remove Marcus from the room and then moved over next to Mister Koren who was lying on the floor, his face bloodied, barely conscious. He squatted down by the man, checking his face. “Looks like you’ll live. Your nose is probably broken, but I’m certain a man of your means can afford to have it fixed.”
“You think this is over?” Mister Koren gasped, nearly choking on his own blood.
“That is up to you, Mister Koren,” the lieutenant calmly explained. “No one has died here, today. None of your men and none of mine. My advice to you is to consider this a misunderstanding and supply us with the weapons we require…at a fair price. Any other course of action could have dire consequences.” The lieutenant studied the man for a moment and then added, “Are we clear?”
Dinesh Koren glared back at the lieutenant. Never had he seen such a confident look in a man’s eyes, and he regularly associated with some of the deadliest men in the entire quadrant.
“Are…we…clear?” the lieutenant asked again.
“Yeah……we’re clear,” Mister Koren finally confirmed.
“We’ll be in touch,” the lieutenant said as he rose and headed out the door.
* * *
Nathan tapped the window, causing its obscuring field to disappear, making the window clear again. He looked up and down the corridor outside their quarantine suite. All the lighting was dimmed, and every occupied suite had their windows obscured.
“The hardest part of away missions is having to adapt to completely different time cycles and day lengths,” Nathan said as he tapped the window a second time, causing it to become obscured once again.
“Just go to sleep,” Jessica complained from her bed.
“I can’t,” Nathan replied.
“You were flying for two full days, with only catnaps. You must be tired.”
“I am, I just can’t sleep,” Nathan replied. “Don’t you ever get to a point where you’re so exhausted that your mind won’t shut down?”
“Never. I can sleep anywhere, anytime.”
“Then why aren’t you asleep now?” Nathan wondered.
“Because you won’t shut up.”
“I thought you said you could sleep anywhere, anytime?” Nathan challenged.
“Don’t make me knock you out,” Jessica warned.
“Don’t make me knock you out…sir,” he retorted. Nathan looked around the room again. “Isn’t there a view screen around here, or something? I need something to watch to help me fall asleep.”
“Just lay down, and close your eyes.”
Nathan tapped the intercom button on the wall.
“How may I help you?” Orana asked over the intercom.
“Hi, Nathan Scott here. Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if there is any kind of visual entertainment device in here. I’m having a little trouble falling asleep. Some kind of view screen that shows news, or vid-plays, or something?”
“I can provide medication to help you relax,” Orana suggested. “It is commonly used to help visitors synchronize their circadian rhythms to SilTek’s time cycles. However, it does come with some side effects.”
“Like what?”
“You will be impossible to awaken for the first few hours, and you will be somewhat groggy for the first full day after use.”
“I think I’ll pass,” Nathan replied.
“As you wish, Captain. As to your inquiry, we do not have view screens, as you call them. Entertainment on SilTek is provided using virtual reality immersion systems. The equipment is located in the nightstand by your bed. Simply place it on your head, and select the desired program. It is quite intuitive. You can even share your selected program with friends. All they have to do is select you as the source, and they will be sharing the same experience with you.”
“Maybe I’ll give it a try,” Nathan replied. “Thank you.”
“You are most welcome,” Orana assured him. “Please feel free to contact me if you need anything further.”
Nathan walked back to his bed and sat down, opening the drawer. Inside, he found a wire-thin headset with two pinpoint electrodes on each side and a small control box on top. Next to it was a small handheld remote. He picked up the headset, examining it for a moment. “Is this the headset she was talking about?”
Jessica rolled her head toward him. “Yup.”
“She said it’s some kind of virtual reality entertainment system,” he said, placing it on his head. “We can both share the same program. You want to try it with me?”
“It’s probably best if one
of us stays in the real world,” Jessica pointed out. “This is an unknown world to us, after all.”
“Good point,” Nathan admitted, picking up the remote. He pressed the power button, and, within seconds, his view of their quarantine room became obscured by a gray, semi-opaque field blocking the center of his visual field, but leaving his peripheral vision unaffected. “Okay, this is different,” he said. “The instructions are in English,” he added, “or something close to it.” He scrolled through a menu, first selecting settings. “You can choose your immersion level,” he announced, taking note that the current setting was at fifty percent. “I’ll start with seventy-five percent,” he decided aloud. He made the selection, and the obscuration of his visual field became fully opaque, expanding to cover all but the very fringes of his periphery. He then selected a demo program. A loading indicator appeared, and, a second later, he found himself standing in a colorful, lush garden. “Whoa,” he exclaimed. “Not bad.” He looked around, turning his head left and right, and then up and down. “Say something,” he asked Jessica.
“Why?”
“I want to make sure I can hear you over the audio.”
Jessica pretended to snore.
“Funny.”
“How real is it?” she asked, humoring him.
“It’s pretty good,” Nathan admitted. “You can tell it’s not real. There’s an orientation icon in the upper, left corner of your visual field, something in the upper right that looks like a program name, and two time references. One of them is obviously the program’s run time and remaining time, and I think the other is the current local time.” He moved his head back and forth again. “It tracks pretty well.” He held up the remote in front of his face, and the system opened up a hole in his visual field so he could see his hand with the remote in it. “That’s handy,” he said, pressing the zoom button. “When you zoom in on things, it becomes a little more obvious that it’s a simulation.”
“Sorry to interrupt, Captain,” Orana said.
