AGU SCI 1: The Star Brotherhood (20 page)

"You must have some idea."

"It appears that the rumor might have been initiated by the Star Brotherhood, but I haven't been able to confirm that. It's only that I've been told in confidence by most of the people I've spoken with about the bounty that they first learned of it through a Brotherhood person."

"And who passed the word that there was no bounty?"

"That was definitely the Brotherhood. And they went way out of their way to make sure everyone in the city knew there was no bounty and never had been."

"Interesting."

"Yes, perhaps they have plans for you."

"I've told them I'm independent and won’t join them."

"They can be very persuasive when they want to be."

"I can be very stubborn."

"I wish you luck. Are you available for another job? I have several that might be of interest. I now consider you to be one of my most trustworthy contacts. I've heard from my cousin in Region One and he gives you the most glowing recommendation I've ever heard. He says you always deliver what you promise and have ways of delivering items that others would almost certainly lose to interdiction or customs."

"I'm not looking for anything right away. I'll let you know when I am. How's Ker Blasperra?"

"He's well, thank you. He's still on Scruscotto and tells me that he's been most prosperous."

"That's good. Our business relationship was always excellent. I hope you and I can have such a relationship."

"As do I, Trader. Well, I must be going. I have much to do today. Be well, Trader."

When Blaswetta had gone, Vyx signaled to Byers, who was standing at the bar enjoying an ale. Byers came over and sat down in the chair Blaswetta had occupied.

"The Ker says the Brotherhood has spread the word that the bounty on my head never existed."

"Why would they do that?"

"I'm thinking they started the rumor in the first place."

"You think it was done to get us to take the freight contract?"

"I don't know, but that seems to be the most likely reason. If they were the shipper and needed to move a hundred tons of counterfeit money quickly because their stockpile had grown too large to protect, creating a sense of urgency in an available freighter crew to leave the planet could accomplish their goal."

"So what now? Do we divide up into teams and start working the city?"

"Not just yet. I think a talk with Lippaula is in order first. Depending on what she has to say, we'll determine our next move."

"Do we all go?"

"No, you and the others wait here. I'll go alone."

"Is that smart?"

"If she had nothing to do with our problems, I'm in no danger— at least no more than usual. And if she
was
behind all our problems, it would appear she's backed off now."

"Okay. We'll wait here until we hear from you."

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

Vyx scanned the street carefully before stepping outside. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he decided it might be safe. When a driverless cab empty of passengers came gliding down the street, he stepped off the curb and hailed it by raising his left arm. It pulled over and the rear doors rolled down under the vehicle so passengers could step in. After registering his thumb print on the cab's meter and giving the destination address, the oh-gee cab resealed and proceeded quietly down the street. Vyx leaned back into the comfortable seat to think about the pending confrontation.

When the cab reached the office building where the planetary headquarters of the Brotherhood was located, Vyx again pressed his thumb to the cab's meter to approve the charge and stepped out. A glance around showed everything to be as quiet as at the tavern. He was beginning to believe that the bounty announcement of a reward on his head really had been rescinded.

As he entered the lobby of the building, two burly guards moved to block his path. Vyx flipped the right side of his cloak over his shoulder and stopped, with his hand poised above his pistol. "I'm Trader Vyx and I'm here to see Lippaula. Are you going to move out of the way, or do I need to step over your dead bodies?"

One of the guards looked towards a third who was seated behind a guard station desk. The seated guard made a quick call and then motioned to the two blocking Vyx's path. They all looked decidedly relieved as they stepped back out of the way so Vyx could proceed unimpeded.

When the elevator arrived at the penthouse floor, Vyx stepped out and saw the same receptionist and guards he had seen on his last visit. As he moved towards the door to Lippaula's office, the two guards stepped in front of it. "I'm not going to have a problem with you boys, am I?" Vyx said as he again flipped his cloak over his shoulder and assumed his gunfighter stance.

"Uh, Trader," the receptionist squeaked nervously, "Lippaula is in conference. I've alerted her to your presence, and she says she'll be available shortly. Once the conference is over, you'll be allowed to enter— with your weapons."

Vyx couldn't complain because he had arrived without warning. He nodded and relaxed his stance, then moved to a side wall to wait.

After about fifteen minutes, four Brotherhood thugs, one of them Gillanno, exited Lippaula's office. Gillanno nodded to Vyx as he passed, but the others just stared.

When the four men had moved into the elevator and the doors had closed, Vyx straightened up and headed for Lippaula's office. Neither of the bodyguards moved from their positions on the sides of the doorway, but they gave him a look that seemed to indicate they were glad they didn't have to stop him.

"Victor," Lippaula said as the doors closed behind Vyx, "welcome back. And on your very first day back you've come to see me. How wonderful." Lippaula was wearing a business suit with slacks this time and only a couple of pieces of decorative jewelry, but she still exuded a vibrant sexiness. She was standing in the center of her office near the fountain with a drink in her hand. "Can I offer you something?"

"No, I just wanted to thank you for spreading the word that there was never any bounty on my head."

"Did I?"

"And I wanted to ask why you spread that rumor in the first place."

"Did I?"

"You were the only one in this region, other than my shipmates, who knew the Tsgardi wanted my head. I told you of it during our first meeting."

"Victor, I'm shocked by your accusation. Why would I do such a thing?"

"You had a growing pile of counterfeit currency and no one you trusted to take it off-planet. I wasn't in a big hurry to leave until every idiot with a gun saw riches being dangled in his or her face."

"You think I'm a counterfeiter?"

"Everyone on this planet knows the Brotherhood is one of the largest counterfeiters in this part of space. And you head the Brotherhood on this planet."

Lippaula turned, walked to one of the small sofas, and sat down. She crossed her legs and gave Vyx a sultry stare before saying, "Okay, you're right. We needed to move that shipment— fast. The freighter rendezvous had been established, and the ship we intended to use developed mechanical problems which couldn't be repaired quickly. You told Blaswetta you were relaxing for a few weeks before looking for another cargo."

"Why weren't you open with me instead of risking my life in a series of assassination attempts by bounty seekers?"

"I never actually thought you were in danger. Trader Vyx is reputed to be the fastest gun on Bleadalto, and one who never misses. I thought that would keep everyone but a few ignorant fools from trying to collect that bounty."

"Someone could have gotten lucky."

"Let's forget it," she said calmly. "It's over now. You're safe, everyone knows there's no bounty, the cargo was delivered to the rendezvous in time to be picked up by the freighter, and you've collected a nice payment. All's well that ends well."

"There's still the little matter of the three attempts to hijack my ship."

"What attempts?"

"The first occurred shortly after we left Bleadalto behind us. Someone cut across our bow to cancel our envelope, then tried to incapacitate us with torpedoes. They underplayed their hand instead of doing us in right away, and we were able to escape."

"A warship?"

"No, a heavily armed freighter."

"The Syndicate," she said in an angry tone. "It has to be. They're the ones I feared were plotting to grab the cargo before I could get it off-planet."

"They came close to getting it but were just a little slow in their execution. Then there were the other attempts."

"I'm listening."

"A party from the freighter came aboard to verify the seals on the cargo."

"That's standard procedure. It's easier to verify them in the hold than out in space."

"Except this party was far larger than needed, and every one of them was armed."

"Unusual, but we were dealing with an illegal cargo, so the freight handlers aren’t saints. What did you do?"

"I forced them to leave all their weapons aboard their shuttle before they could enter my ship."

"Smart. Did they give you any trouble?"

"No, all my people were well armed."

"And the third attempt?"

"Someone managed to plant explosive charges on my FTL drive unit and my sub-light engines during the cargo transfer. The FTL charge was either timed or radio-signal controlled. The sub-light engine charges were designed to explode if I tried to use the engines. After the FTL drive unit was destroyed, we scanned the hull for more explosives and found the two unexploded charges. We removed them and went to maximum Sub-Light on a radically different course, holding that until we were confident we had evaded anyone who might be searching for us. Then we began making our repairs. We should have gotten back here months ago."

"Yes, I was wondering when you were going to show up."

"So you're saying you had nothing to do with the third attack either?"

"What could I have to gain from attacking your ship?"

"Another freighter."

"Victor darling, please. I have no need for your small ship."

"No? It was important enough to almost get me killed here on the planet."

"I thought we were past that. Come sit down next to me."

"The first time I came here, I was blinded by my memories of our times together in high school. I knew you had been through hell, but all I saw was the first girl I ever truly loved. Because of that, I was oblivious to the rest of it."

"The rest of it?"

"That you're no longer Paula Gilling. You're Lippaula now, the head of the Star Brotherhood. And the head of the Brotherhood has to be one of the most ruthless people on the planet, or that person would never have risen to command an arm of a major crime syndicate."

"Oh, Victor, you've always been
so
melodramatic. I think you've memorized too many Shakespearean plays. I'm still the same girl— I've just lost my naiveté. It happens to most of us when we become adults."

"It's not just the naiveté. You've lost your moral compass."

"That's amusing, coming from the 'most dangerous Terran' on the planet."

In a blinding move, Vyx pulled his pistol and aimed it directly at Lippaula's face. Her eyes opened wide and she stiffened visibly. No one had pointed a weapon in her direction in many years, and she knew that look on his face. He was perfectly serious.

"Victor, don't do anything stupid," she said, searching for a way to defuse the situation. "You'd never get out of this building alive."

"You think not. Of course, it wouldn't really matter to you, but that pathetic lot you have protecting you is no match for the most dangerous Terran on the planet."

~ July 8
^th
, 2289 ~

Over the next thirty seconds complete silence pervaded the room, and sweat beaded on Lippaula's brow.

Then Vyx lowered the weapon and holstered it. "If you ever intentionally put my life at risk again," he said, "I'll come for you. And next time you won't be breathing when I leave."

Vyx turned and started walking for the door, but stopped when Lippaula said, "Victor, wait." When he turned, she said, "I'm sorry. I see that I handled the situation all wrong. I've been dealing with fools, idiots, and low-life animals for so long that I'd forgotten how to deal with intelligent people."

Vyx grinned. "Nice try, Paula."

Lippaula smiled, then said, "You can't blame a girl for trying. And I knew you wouldn’t shoot, that's why I didn't summon help. All I had to do was touch the face of my ring."

"You didn't summon help because you would have been the first one shot. And if you'd known I wouldn't shoot, you wouldn't have been so nervous. Goodbye, Lippaula."

She knew that his use of her Brotherhood name signified a change in their relationship. But he hadn't killed her, and that meant there was still hope to resurrect at least a part of what they'd once had. At one time she had considered him a hopeless wimp with an incredible brain. It had been the brain that attracted her. Now he was more man than any she had ever met, and he still had the incredible brain. She wanted him more than ever now, but it had to be on her terms. And what Lippaula wanted, Lippaula got.

Lieutenant Commander Ereppuet had reached the small shuttle aboard the
Namossel
before remembering he'd left his Kiressa in his quarters. He had first intended to use a lattice pistol, but then decided the small, slightly curved ceremonial sword would be so much more appropriate. The family heirloom had been used to dispatch ancestral enemies for centuries. Vyx was responsible for Ereppuet losing his command, and it was doubtful he'd ever get command again. Vyx had to die from a Kiressa thrust to erase this disgrace on his family name.

Ereppuet backtracked to his stateroom, then picked up the Kiressa and removed it from the sheath. Kneeling briefly at the small alter in his sitting room, he offered up a prayer to the god Otuppalon and asked him to bless his weapon and his mission.

Replacing the Kiressa in its scabbard, he returned to the shuttle bay. He had earlier put out a call to several informants on the planet and received a location for Vyx. According to the informant, Vyx had entered a tavern and was drinking alone at a table. Ereppuet smiled. An inebriated opponent would be an easy kill.