by James McEwan
At that moment, one of the attending robots handed Kára a printed-paper note. She scanned the note then asked if they would pardon her as she had a matter that required her attention. Neither man objected to her leaving the conversation.
“A real beauty that one is.” Mr. Black remarked, as he watched her leave.
“Yes she is.” St. Claire echoed the comment.
“Now back to business my friend.” Mr. Black shifted in his chair. “You have come to me for help and I’m glad to give it, however there is a limit to my generosity.”
St. Claire could see the business - criminal mind at work in his friend. “Yes, I know. Nothing is ever free and everything comes with a price.”
“Yes it does. And my price for the help that you are asking for should not be too difficult for you. Given your current situation, it should be rather easy. I have just the perfect spot in my organization for you.”
“Ah, and the pitch begins. Is this how you hook your people? Help them out when they are in trouble, and then turn them to work for you?” St. Claire said, as he popped the last of his bagel into his mouth.
“Some of them. Some, I find dirt on them and convince them that it would be better to work for me. So far, it has worked out extremely well for me. I tend to have loyal people that way.”
St. Claire was impressed with the shrewdness of his friend. “What about those that are, let’s say, less than loyal?”
Mr. Black took a deep breath. “Those few seem to always end up working on a smuggling run that unfortunately requires them to go deep into Ralnai space. Funny thing is that none of them seem to ever make it back for some reason.”
“I see” St. Claire said, as he started to see a side of Little Dickie that he didn’t like.
Mr. Black spread some jam on a piece of toast. “No, I don’t think you do. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me. I got where I am today by outthinking people and I have never killed anyone or ordered their deaths. However, I have had the occasion to put people in harm’s way. It’s no different than a general on a battlefield.”
St. Claire was not impressed with his justification, but he understood that sending someone to their death and killing them are different, if just barely. “I get it and really you don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
Mr. Black wiped jam from the corner of his mouth. “I know, but I wanted to.”
“Look,I appreciate your offer, but I do not want to be beholden to anyone. So I will have to decline your offer. However, let me offer you a counter offer.”
Mr. Black seemed interested. “Okay, I am listening. But I must tell you that given everything that has happened in the last few days, I’m not sure you have anything to bargain with.”
St. Claire put his poker face on not knowing how much the information he had would be worth to him. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. I have something that you might find more of value than you would think.”
“Now you are just teasing me, so out with it. What do you have that you think I want?”
St. Claire was pleased that he had his interest, even though he didn’t show it. “When I came here I had no idea that you, Mr. Black, would turn out to be my childhood friend, so I came prepared to bargain for what I needed. My experience has taught me a couple of things: first always keep the woman in your life happy; and the other is when you are dealing with someone who has everything, give him something he doesn’t have.”
“Damn it, Dom, get to the point! I don’t have all day, and besides I’m done with my toast.”
“Okay, I figure what I man needs more than anything is information, and it is information that I offer you.” St. Claire said, then picked up his coffee and took a sip.
Mr. Black leaned in, showing his interest. “And what kind of information do you have that you think that I would be interested in?”
St. Claire set the coffee down. “The kind that would greatly affect your business. I have compiled a file containing every piece of data that the police have gathered on you. It has everything we know and all the plans for raids, the works.” He paused, because he hated to admit that he was selling out his brothers to save his own skin. He justified it by reminding himself that many of them sold him out and have tried to kill him. “The only thing that has been redacted are the names of the undercover agents that are working in your organization. No matter how I feel about things, I couldn’t ever put those officers’ lives in danger.”
Mr. Black nodded his head. “I understand your concern, and I must admit that if the shoes were on the other feet I would not want to put my people who work in your organization in danger as well. I promise that should any of this data you are offering me lead to the identification of any police personnel that no harm will come to them. They will merely be exposed as police and removed from the organization. That is the best I can do.”
“I guess that given the circumstances, that will have to do.” St. Claire acknowledged.
“Now, before I can shake hands on a deal, I need to see the information to evaluate its value.” Mr. Black said, shrewdly.
“Nice try bubba. I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night. Now you know that once you see the information I will have lost my bargaining power. No, you agree to my terms now and you will get the data disk, and when I’m off world, I will give you the encryption key.”
Mr. Black sat unmoving, thinking it over. “If it was anyone else I would just walk away out of principle. I never like to put myself in a position in which I can lose. However, I know you, Dominic St. Claire, and I will trust you. You have my word that I will do anything that you need, but your information better be good or you will spend the rest of your life paying off your debt. Do we have an understanding?”
“The information is good and you will not be disappointed.”
Mr. Black stood up, and held out his hand. “Good then. It is settled then.”
St. Claire stood up and shook his hand. “It’s settled.”
“Now, if you will excuse me I have other matters to attend to.” Mr. Black said, as he stepped away from the table.
“Before you go, do you mind if I ask what you two were arguing about?” St. Claire asked.
“Oh that. Well, it appears that you may have bitten off more than you can chew. Kára has informed me that she will be leaving my service to be by your side. I hate to lose her and tried to talk her out of it. She wasn’t having any part of it.” He sighed. “But as she came into my service willingly I have no cause to hold her . She is free to go anytime she wishes, even though I will be at a loss to replace her.”
St. Claire was a little embarrassed. “it was not my intention to steal your bodyguard.”
“I know, but it still sucks.”
For the first time since St. Claire had reconnected with his friend, he saw the young boy he remembered. “I sorry, but I’m sure you will find another one.”
“Yeah, I have a list of highly qualified candidates.” Again Mr. Black sighed. “However qualified they may be they will never replace Kára.
St. Claire understood what the problem was, his friend had fallen in love with her. “You love her, don’t you?”
“Yes, unfortunately, she doesn’t feel the same way about me.” Mr. Black shoulders slumped. “Now that you know, do me one favor.”
“Yeah of course.” St. Claire said.
“Keep her happy. She has been through a lot, as I’m sure she has told you. She deserves to be happy, even if it is fleeting.”
“I will do my best and that is a promise.” St. Claire said.
Chapter 30
Thad, Doctor Hammer, and Quincy had made it three blocks before a black hover van pulled alongside them. Before Thad could react, the door slid open and the blue light of stun weapons flashed before his eyes.
All three men were stunned and fell to the ground, out cold. Two muscular men dressed in black suits, wearing black sunglasses and black leather gloves, rushed from the van and in turn loaded each of the u
nconscious men into the back of the van. The van was gone in seconds, leaving nothing behind.
St. Claire just finished getting dressed in yet another new hand tailored suit he found laid out for him when Kára walked in. “Hello lover, I have a gift for you.”
He spun around to see Kára standing behind him. She was dressed in her silver and black armor with the exception of her helmet. A plasma pistol was strapped to her thigh and she looked ready for business. “I found it and it is truly a lovely suit. I don’t think that I have worn anything this nice before.” he said as he straightened his tie.
Kára marched across the room, grabbed his tie pulled him close and kissed him deeply. “That was for thinking that the suit was from me.” She then pushed him back and slapped him, he was a bit stunned. “And that was for being stupid, my gift is much better.”
St. Claire rubbed his red cheek. She was not the first woman to have slapped him, but she was the first that he didn’t mind. She watched him rub his sore cheek and then noticed his smile. “Come with me lover boy.” She said then slapped him again, this time on his backside.
St. Claire couldn’t help himself. He jumped backward, she went to slap him again, and this time, he grabbed her hand. “There is a limit my dear.” He gripped her tight so that she would get the message.
She smiled and kissed him again. “I love it when you get all commanding with me.”
“Keep smacking me and you find out what commanding means.” He kissed her again.
“Oh I wish we had time, I would very much like to see that, but now come with me.” She pulled him from the room by the hand. She led him down the many hallways to the very center of the hotel. They took two lifts to get to the lowest level of the basement.
Thad woke from the effects of the stunners first. A bag was over his head and his hands were bound behind his back. His feet were bound to the chair he was sitting in. Thad switched vision modes so that he could see through the bag. He surveyed the room and could see that Doctor Hammer and Quincy were sitting next to him in the same condition.
The room was some kind of storeroom. As he looked round he saw mostly cleaning supplies stored on the shelves that lined the walls. Thad could hear voices outside the door, but they were muffled and he couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Kára stopped in front of a door. “inside this room is my gift.”
“Okay, a bit of strange location for a gift, don’t you think?” St. Claire asked.
She smiled. “I guess it depends on what the gift is.”
“Do I dare ask what it is?”
“Remember that long shot you told me about?” Kára said as she placed a hand on the door handle.
“You found them?” St. Claire got excited.
She pretended to pout. “You doubted me?”
“Ah.” (He was a loss for words.)
Kára kissed him lightly on the check, then laughed at him. “Silly human, you need to learn when I am teasing you.”
“I guess so” St. Claire said, feeling a little confused. Kára was unlike any Eli he had ever met. She confused him because she was unlike any Eli he had ever come across yet. Most Eli are nothing more than space pirates roaming the verse in their high tech ships raiding or hiring out as mercenaries. The Eli’s high tech had made them lazy and with no need to do anything for themselves, it left them free to regress and most had become ruthless cutthroats.
Kára, however, was smart, funny, yet the constant warrior ready to battle at any time.
She opened the door and inside St. Claire saw three men sitting in chairs with black bags over their heads. He strode past Kára into the room.
Doctor Hammer awoke to find a bag over his face. “Thad, Quincy can you hear me?”
“I can hear you.” Thad answered. “Quincy is on your other side, but I think he is still out.”
“Where are we?” Doctor Hammer asked.
Before Thad could answer his head bag was yanked off. Before him was standing a tall man in his early fifties with graying hair. Behind him was a gorgeous blond-haired Eli woman. Thad recognized her armor from his history lessons. She was wearing the ancient armor of the Eli Battle Maidens, a long extinct order of female warriors that were also dedicated scientists. It was believed that many of the most advanced technology that the Eli produced came from their order. It was also believed that most of their greatest discoveries were lost to the ravages of time. If Thad remembered correctly, the order of the Battle Maidens were disliked by most Eli because of their belief that females were just as smart, if not smarter than males. This led to their extinction, in what was known to the Eli as the last Great War. The Eli fought against an evil and ancient race of giants known as the Nephilim. Near the end of the war, the Battle Maidens were betrayed to the Nephilim by another group of Eli and were wiped out. Thad thought it strange to see her armor now because other than in drawings and ancient photographs no one had seen armor like that for thousands of years.
St. Claire removed the men’s head bags and then stood staring at each one of them. Now that he got a good look, he recognized Doctor Hammer, but the other two he had no idea who they were. He chose to start his questions with Doctor Hammer. He didn’t get a chance to ask a question. Thad recognized him as the tall police sergeant from New Dallas. “Since when do police abduct people off the street and then interrogate them in a cleaning store closet?”
St. Claire stared into Thad’s eyes trying to get a read on the man. He could tell this man was a predator, for he had seen the look in other men’s eyes. St. Claire waited a bit longer before speaking; he wanted to see the measure of the man. He didn’t have to wait long.
“Or is it more likely that by the looks of that suit and our given predicament you are no longer in the employ of the NDPD.” Thad said, as he too was trying to get the measure of the man in front of him.
“A keen observation. So you remember me from the cattle yard?” St. Claire stood firm, his gaze still locked on Thad’s eyes.
Thad chuckled. “How anyone could forget that mug.” He braced for the punch that never came.
St. Claire had made up his mind about this man and instead of punching him, he laughed. “True enough. Now I have questions that only you can answer and I hope that I have not misjudged you.” He turned to Kára. “Can you cut them free please?”
She nodded and one by one, she cut the bonds and freed each man. Quincy woke to Kára’s beautiful face in front him. “Hey, this isn’t too bad! What’s your name baby?” He reached out to place his hand on her shoulder.
Thad and St. Claire both said in unison. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” but it was too late. Quincy’s hand landed on her shoulder. She stopped cutting the leg bonds, looked up at him and before he could remove his hand, blue electricity flowed up her chest and straight to his hand. There was a nasty zapping sound and Quincy flew backward in the chair, knocking it over.
Lying on his back, feet in the air still strapped to the chair, his hair smoking slightly. “Ouch” he mumbled.
Doctor Hammer and Thad came to his aid. Thad picked up his chair and set it back up while Doctor Hammer examined his hand. St. Claire took the knife from Kára and bent down to finish cutting the bonds that held his legs to the chair. “Never touch an Eli without permission or invitation unless you want to lose your life. You are lucky that Kára is very tolerant.” St. Claire said, as he cut the last bond.
“Kára, as in from the ancient Norse legends? The Valkyrie Kára?” Doctor Hammer asked.
“No, not is like the Valkyrie. She is the Valkyrie Kára.” St. Claire answered, as she stood silently wondering if she should still kill Quincy.
Doctor Hammer gave him a strange look. “But how?”
“Trust me, she is who she says she is. Now let’s get you gentlemen cleaned up, some fresh clothing, you look like you have been crawling through the city’s bowels. We will continue this discussion over lunch in my suite.” St. Claire said.
Kára led them from the room.
She stopped at the front desk and had a few words with the clerk. The clerk handed her three room keys and in turn, she handed each man a key. She led them to their rooms where there was a black suited security guard standing at the door waiting for them. She left them to clean up.
Thad welcomed the shower and the clothing was top quality, and he liked the way he looked in the suit. He would have to remember who the designer was and look him up when he got back to his universe. The twins would love me in this, he thought, as he looked at himself in the full-length mirror.
* * *
Thorne was in a rage. He stormed out of his office. “Where is Marcus?” he barked at his secretary, a young female Captain who had just been assigned Thorne’s special ops group. She was not yet used to Thorne’s mood swings. She hesitated. “Damn it, girl, I asked you a question!”
“I believe he is teaching a hand-to-hand combat course to the latest class.” she said, timidly.
“Get him up here right now!” She started to push buttons on her holographic keyboard. “Never mind. I will go to him!” Thorne barked, as he stormed off.
Thorne stepped off the lift and marched to the hand-to-hand combat training room. Just as he reached for the door handle, the door flew open and two medics were escorting a twelve-year-old boy, who was holding a broken left arm. He let them pass, and then he entered. Marcus was standing in a gi watching the young students practicing arm throws.
Marcus noticed Thorne as soon as he walked in and walked over to him. “Something I can help you with, Sir?”
“Walk with me, Marcus” Thorne said and then without waiting for a response he spun on his heels and walked out. Marcus followed him. Once they were both in the hallway, Thorne handed Marcus a tablet. “Care to explain this?”
Marcus was looking at security video of Thad, Doctor Hammer, and Quincy walking through a casino. “This can’t be.”
“Dammit, Marcus, this was taken a few hours ago from the security feed of the Star World Galaxy Casino in New Houston. Doctor Hammer has a twin or you failed again.” Marcus was speechless. “You will take a heavy team and go extract Doctor Hammer, and bring him to me, and I will kill him myself. Oh, and make sure you kill his guardian angel this time.” Thorne marched off.
