AGU SCI 1: The Star Brotherhood (8 page)

Byers was a bit overweight and not very good with a pistol, but he was a keen observer, and the extra pair of eyes would be invaluable if enforcers were waiting for Vyx to show himself in the city.

The two met no resistance as they exited the taxi and entered the tavern Vyx had decided upon. He hadn't used it as a base previously, but he'd decided that he didn't want to return to either of the other places where he'd already had deadly altercations.

The restaurant had a moderate-sized lunch-hour crowd, but no one paid much attention to the two Terrans. If everyone in the room had run from the building, it would have been clear evidence that the city had become too dangerous for the team to remain.

The tavern was typical for the part of the town where it was located. It had the usual odors of stale ale and greasy food, and the shabby furniture had seen its share of brawls over the years.

After determining that the chairs were safe enough for sitting and that the table wasn't going to collapse under the weight of the ale, Vyx ordered two mugs of the dark brown brew. Over the next several hours Vyx and Byers sat in near silence as they waited for whatever was to come.

Just before the day shift was expected to begin arriving, Ker Blaswetta entered the tavern and walked directly to the table where Vyx and Byers sat.

"Good day, Trader. I was delighted, and perhaps a little surprised, to hear that you survived your encounter with Cillota and his goons. May I sit down and join you gentlemen?"

"Sure, Ker. This is my associate, Mr. Byers. He was just about to get himself another ale."

Byers took the hint and stood up, then moved towards the bar. From there he could watch the entire room, allowing Vyx to better concentrate on his conversation with the Wolkerron.

"I'm glad you were able to best Cillota and his men," Blaswetta said. "He was not someone
I
would have been equipped to deal with."

"You won't have a problem now."

"No, not with Cillota, but there's always another one willing and ready and to take the place of such— people."

"Why me, Ker? I haven't had anything to do with the Syndicate."

"I'm sure I don't know, Trader. Perhaps you angered someone."

"Come on, Ker. I know you know more than you're saying. If you want me to do business with you, now and in the future, I need to know what you know about Cillota's attempt to assassinate me. What else is coming my way?"

Blaswetta remained silent for several minutes. Vyx gave him all the time he needed and would only have acted if Blaswetta had gotten up to leave. He didn't.

"I only know the rumors I've heard. There are three. The first is that Cillota took it upon himself without first clearing the act with his superior. The rumor mill says he was looking to enhance his image in the eyes of his superiors by eliminating a dangerous threat to the Syndicate. It's known that you killed a Brotherhood enforcer and that you later spent considerable time in the Brotherhood headquarters, from which you emerged unharmed. Some believe the Brotherhood has retained you as an enforcer to fight for them if things continue the way they've been going lately. You're considered an extremely dangerous individual, a fact that you proved yesterday when you killed three of the Syndicate people in a setup of their making.

"The second rumor is that Cillota was supposed to recruit you to the Syndicate but feared you might be too difficult to control, so he decided to kill you while making it look like you started it.

"The third rumor is that there's a price on your head from a large Tsgardi family that has admitted they're unable to get to you now that Admiral Carver has sequestered them on their own planet. Since they can't get to you themselves, they're willing to pay a bounty for others to do it. The rumor says you've killed over twenty of the family members who have come looking to settle the score.

"Perhaps Cillota was hoping to settle all three issues with this one action. That's everything I've heard."

Vyx smiled. "I'd almost forgotten about the Tsgardi threat, although I've heard they never give up. We're over two thousand light-years from their home world and still they seek vengeance."

"Then there is a bounty?"

"They have sworn to kill me, and they've always been on the losing end when they've tried, but I've never heard of them paying others to do the deed when the matter is a blood feud. So what's your best guess? Was it only the Tsgardi threat?"

"Knowing a little about Cillota, I'd tend to believe rumors one or three. But if I were you, I'd make myself scarce for a while. And speaking of which— I just happen to have a way."

Vyx smiled. "I thought you might. Tell me about it."

"I already have. It's the contract we discussed recently."

"The contract where I don't get to learn what the cargo is?"

"I guarantee on my life that it won't violate any of the rules you've established. The cargo doesn't contain volatile explosives or dangerous biohazardous materials. And all cargo containers will be irradiated to destroy pests before the containers are sealed and brought to your ship."

"What's the destination?"

"As I've said before, you'll be given that information when you're ready to leave orbit. It should take your ship three months to reach the rendezvous point."

"Why not just have the ship pick up the cargo here?"

"Security. This is the way the shipper wants it to be. No one except a few key people, and you, will know who is actually carrying the cargo to its destination. Besides, if the other ship could come here, the shipper wouldn't need yours."

"And if Space Command attempts interdiction?"

"I would strongly advise that you avoid any and all contact with Space Command. If you're stopped and searched, you will lose your ship and your freedom. But then that's the chance a smuggler is always taking when he accepts an illegal cargo, and why it pays so well."

"Speaking of which?"

"Fifteen million."

"Fifteen million what?" Vyx asked warily.

"Why Bleadalto bucks, of course. That's the currency we use here."

"No way. I want GA credits."

"Uh. I might be able to convince the shipper to pay in Uthlarigasset cifeds. Say— five million cifeds?"

"GA credits or nothing. Bucks aren't worth the paper they're printed on, and cifeds are really only useful on Uthlarigasset."

"Any merchant on Bleadalto will be happy to accept cifeds."

"GA credits or I'm not interested," Vyx said firmly.

"Very well. Uh— one million GA credits."

"One million, five hundred thousand."

"One million three."

"One million four."

"Done. One million, four hundred thousand."

"When will the shipment be ready?" Vyx asked. "I'd like to get away from here and give things a chance to calm down."

"It's ready now. As I understand the situation, a ship was supposed to take the cargo weeks ago, but mechanical problems have sidelined that ship for two more months. The shipper is getting extremely nervous, fearing one of the crime groups here may try to hijack the cargo from the storage location. The shipper has approved you for the transit, if we could come to terms. It will be delivered to your ship tomorrow."

"Who will be delivering it?"

"As the broker, I'll be present to act as liaison between the parties and resolve any issues."

"Okay. We'll deliver the cargo and be back here in six months. Make
sure
the payment is ready."

"The payment will, of course, be invested for a six-month term with my banker. After that, the money will be placed into a daily investment account that permits complete withdrawal with twenty-four hours' notice. If you have successfully delivered the shipment and the seals are intact at the point of delivery, you will receive your payment within one business day after your return here."

Vyx stood up as he said, "We'll be waiting for you tomorrow. My ship will lift off as soon as the cargo is aboard."

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Trader. Until tomorrow."

Vyx nodded toward Byers, then walked to the tavern door where he scanned the street before stepping outside. Byers followed just behind him, also alert for any possible trouble. Ker Blaswetta held back, as if fearful to leave the tavern at the same time as Vyx.

Spotting a driverless oh-gee taxi coming down the street, Vyx hailed it. As it stopped in front of him and the rear doors slid down and under the vehicle to allow easy access, Vyx spotted movement inside. He used his left shoulder to knock Byers aside just as a burst of lattice fire erupted from the rear floor area of the cab. Vyx pulled his pistol as he fell and fired before he even hit the ground, but his fall had intentionally taken him and Byers towards the rear of the cab, and he didn't have a clear shot at whoever was lying on the floor in the cab. He had fired only to make the assassin keep his head down.

Vyx immediately jumped to his feet and ran for the other side of the cab, keeping low to avoid being seen by the attacker. As he reached the rear compartment, he could see a pair of legs. He shifted his pistol into his left hand and fired into where he estimated the body of the attacker would be while only exposing his left hand.

When screams began emanating from the cab, Vyx knew he had scored at least one hit, so he fired again and again until the screaming stopped.

When no more sounds could be heard from the cab, Vyx took a quick look into the vehicle, then pulled back in case the assailant fired. His quick look had told him that no more fire would be coming from the cab, so he took a deep breath and stood up straight.

Byers saw him stand up and followed suit, but he didn't walk to where the assassin could get a shot at him. Instead, he walked around the cab to where Vyx was standing.

"All over?" Byers asked.

"Unless someone else opens fire." Pointing to the rear compartment, he added, "This fool won't be trying again."

"We've got to get off this planet, Vyx. It's gotten way too hot here."

"We're leaving tomorrow. I just made a contract with the Wolkerron."

"Tomorrow can't come soon enough."

Vyx took another deep breath and then moved to the rear compartment opening. After holstering his pistol, he seized the legs of the assassin and pulled the dead body from the cab. He was careful in case the body suddenly came back to life, but he knew that wasn't going to happen when he saw the two laser holes through the assailant's head.

As the body came clear of the cab, Vyx realized it was a female Uthlaran wearing male clothes.

"That's a surprise," Vyx said.

"What?" Byers said, trying to see around Vyx.

"It's a female."

"Females can shoot guns. Some of them shoot pretty damn good."

"I know. It's just highly unusual. Uthlaran society is very male centric. Women rarely work outside the house, except for prostitution."

"Maybe she lost her meal ticket in one of your previous gunfights and wanted revenge."

"Maybe. Grab her right arm. We'll drag her over to the curb to await the body disposal truck."

Now that the action was over, the locals had come out to see what was going on. As the body was dumped by the curb, many came over to see if they recognized her. Her identity didn’t seem important to Vyx, so he and Byers jumped into the cab and gave instructions to proceed to the spaceport where the
Scorpion
was parked.

"Is this a new charge or a continuation of the last fare?" the vehicle asked.

"A continuation. And I want a receipt."

"Yes, sir."

At the spaceport, the vehicle printed out a receipt that gave the former passenger's name, address and point of departure. Vyx didn't recognize the name, so he simply stuffed it into his pocket as he and Byers exited the cab. He took the lattice pistol he found laying on the floor and jammed it into his waistband.

After entering the ship, Vyx tossed the assassin's pistol onto the lounge table.

"Again?" Brenda asked.

"Yeah, another one. Let's sit down and I'll bring everyone up to date. Albert knows a little, but I couldn't say anything in the cab because most of them always have their recorders running."

Vyx spent the next five minutes briefing the team on the details of the contract, the information Ker Blaswetta had passed on regarding the possible reasons for the attacks on him, and the details of the most recent attack.

* * *

"It's done," Blaswetta said into the phone. "Vyx agreed to take the cargo for one point four million GA Credits. I told him the cargo would be delivered to his ship tomorrow morning. He's most anxious to get off this planet. The attacks by assassins have been increasing in frequency."

Listening for a few seconds, he replied, "No, he's fine so far. I've never seen anyone move so fast. It's like he can see the trouble before it starts. But eventually, the attackers have to get lucky. Nobody's luck lasts forever. If you want him alive to take the cargo, you'd better have it at his ship in the morning. Yes, I'll be there to see him off, but I'm staying in my vehicle as long as I can. I don’t want to get caught in any crossfire."

"So an Uthlaran
female
was hiding in the cab and shot at you as the doors opened?" Brenda said with incredulity in her voice. "And you killed her?"

"I didn't know she was a female until we dragged her corpse out of the cab. But an assassin's gender won't stop me from killing someone who's trying to kill me. All I see is a murderer who's made a choice to kill for fun or profit."

"After that group of Tsgardis were almost wiped out when they destroyed the first
Scorpion
," Nelligen said, "I thought that would be the last of their attempts on you."

"I admit I never expected their thirst for revenge to carry this far from their home territory, but now that Space Command has bottled them up in their home system, I guess they realized they'd have to farm out a contract if they ever expect to get my head."

"There must be a way to stop this and nullify that contract," Kathryn said.

"Short of bombing their home world into oblivion or cutting them off completely from all trade and outside contact, including a complete blackout on off-world communications, I don't see how."