Danger Money (20 page)

I watched my gauges and displays, when Reshera and the others crawled back out of the hole we had made in the roof, I started to back out of the security system. I nodded as they worked their way by me, then I brought up the rear, doing my best to clean up our traces. Hannson had access to some really wonderful chemicals, so with the careful application of a spray bottle, most physical traces of our passing were quietly dissolved.

"Well done people," he said to us later at our meeting point, a quiet apartment on the far side of town. "This should keep us solvent for some time to come."

"When's the next one Sir?" Asked Herund, a Ring Tail Lemur who was very good with locks, and unbelievable with safes. Where he had learned nobody had a clue, and didn't ask.

"We'll take a break for the next two weeks. This will have a lot of people buzzing and snooping. Also security will be high all over the port, so I'd rather lay low."

"Sounds good to me," Reshera grinned. "Well, I'm going home. Neti?" She looked at me questioningly.

"Sure," I said quietly and followed her out of the room. The others grinned and winked as I left. She had been choosing me more of late, and for some reason they all found that amusing. The group did tend to pair off after a job and celebrate, though I only had liaisons with her. I didn't want to form too many attachments.

"Come 'ere ya' cute Tom," she smiled at me and lightly hooked a claw under my chin, drawing me near.

"Mrrrr?" I quietly inquired nuzzling her gently.

"You free tonight?"

I was still working the bar nights, but I had swapped shifts and worked earlier today, just in case the job ran over. Plus I knew what Reshera usually liked to do after a big job. "Un huh," I mumbled quietly.

"Not talkin' much tonight are ya?" She grinned leading me down to the street.

"Not inna' talking mood." I grinned back lazily.

"Good," She laughed and led me over to her car. We took a slow drive back to her place and spent the evening in rather athletic pursuits.

This was fine with me, I thought to myself early the next morning as I lay awake in bed, with her curled up against my chest. I gave some thought to my plans, if things continued like this I could be out of here in three or four months.

I looked at the clock, it was early still and I didn't have to show up at work for almost an hour, but I really wasn't tired. I gently untangled myself from her and got out of bed.

"Hunnnnn?" She mewed at me as I got up.

"Work, go back to sleep." I said quietly and she closed her half-open eye and made a little growl of acknowledgement.

I used her fresher to clean up then headed down to the warehouse. It was a good walk, but I didn't mind. It was nice to get out and stretch my legs every once in a while. I looked at the buildings and the sky in the weak light of the early dawn. It was cloudy and rain seemed to be on the way. Not surprising around here, the weather was always less then perfect.

It was about then I noticed the car following me.

Whoever it was, they were really trying to be discrete, but there was very little traffic heading the same way I was. So I eventually noticed it after a couple of miles. I wondered who it was, I had done my best to keep a low profile of course so I didn't think it was a local group. But if it was the company I would have expected a more proactive response.

I though about this as I continued on, not letting it show I was wise to whoever it was. I did manage to lose the car when I came to the warehouse area, I went through one of the pedestrian gates. I would like to have seen if anybody got out of the car to follow on foot, but it would have been obvious that I was wise to them.

I put in my ten hours, then went to the bar were I was once again working tonight. I didn't notice anyone following me there, but that didn't mean they weren't. I did my four at the bar, then slipped quietly out the back and started to snoop around myself.

It took me a while, but I found the car. It was empty and I made a quick pass by it. A quick sniff of the door brought me a surprising scent - female, and a Leopard! If I wasn't suspicious before I was now. The local cops were mostly Dobermans and Shepherds, I made a quick move for the shadows and then the roof tops. Once I got a good vantage point I settled down to watch.

It didn't take long, I saw a female leopard head for the car followed by a Badger.

"Do you think we were made?" I thought I heard the Badger ask as they got into the car. I didn't hear her response as he closed the door, but it looked like it was a negative. I sure hoped so.

They sat there for about two minutes then another car pulled up alongside and a Ferret leaned over and talked with her in very hushed tones for a couple of minutes. I strained my ears all I could and thought I heard comments about where I might have gone.

But I did hear one word perfectly clear, it was "Jotun", and it was asked as a question. That told me who they were, I guess they still weren't sure it was me, but I doubted that would last much longer.

But how had they tracked me here?

They drove off then, I presume in search of me. I decided it was a good time to go home and see what they knew. I made my way back down to the streets then cautiously through the alleys to the rather poor hovel I rented in a cheap apartment house. I didn't see either of the cars, but I didn't take any chances. I slipped around carefully until I was sure there was no one watching, then snuck quietly inside the back. When I got upstairs I found the room down the hall from mine had an occupant now, it had been vacant since I had moved in.

A little quiet sniffing around the door told me two important things. The first was that there was a lone Ferret inside right now. The second was that a certain female Leopard had been there in the past. I knocked quietly at the door and waited until I heard the sound of somebody approaching.

I also heard the distinct sound of the action on a pistol being worked.

When I judged them to be close enough I kicked the door in with a rather loud crash and attacked. She got out the word 'help' as I kicked her face in, then she collapsed unconscious. I quickly stripped off her headset and slipped it on myself.

"Tresha? Come in Tresha!" I heard while looking around the room quickly. There was a video monitor set up showing my room, there was also a trigger for some kind of remote detonator. There wasn't much else, this obviously wasn't their base, just a post.

I found a rather large sack and a crate, it wasn't hard to figure out what they were for. I trussed her up and stuck her in the sack then left quickly carrying her over my shoulder. I could hear the concern in the voice of whoever was trying to contact my new friend, so I didn't doubt that help was on the way. I headed for my own little hidey hole, the one I had set up for just this kind of occasion.

When I got there I got her out and tied her to the table, she was conscious and obviously in a lot of pain. I dug out the first aid kit I had there and patched her up best I could. After I searched her of course, I didn't want to find out she had a tracker on her when it was too late. She didn't, but she did have a few clips for the gun, which I had brought along.

"Sorry about the jaw Tresha," I said as I shot her with a pain killer. "Especially as I'm going to have to ask you a few questions."

"Why should I tell you anything?" She lisped bravely, I could smell the fear, she reeked of it. And I could see the pain in her eyes when she talked, I had broken her jaw after all.

"Don't talk until the pain killer has had a little time to work," I admonished her. "I really don't want to make this any worse than it has to be okay?"

She looked at me wide eyed and just stared.

"Okay," I sighed, "Be that way. Now what I want to know is simple. Who do you work for, and where is your command post?"

"Go to hell!" She hissed then winced.

"Do you know who I am?" I hissed at her very quietly with my face only inches from hers. "Do you know what I do?"

She didn't take it well, she started to quietly cry.

"I guess you do huh?" I said in a more normal voice and sat down next to her. I tried to stroke her head and comfort her, but that only made it worse. "Oh calm down, if I was going to kill you, you'd be dead already! Really, get a grip! Okay?"

She composed herself a bit, then looked at me again.

"Now, if you want to save the others on your team, tell me what I want to know."

"Why should I trust you?" She lisped.

"Because you have no choice, because not everything you know is true, because I let you live. I don't know, pick one. Now who do you work for?"

"Tri-Star."

"Good, that means this is still a company matter. I was afraid you might be somebody else."

"That matters?" She looked surprised.

"Of course, I haven't gone rogue. I'm just hiding out until things calm down. Now, where is your command post?"

"I can't tell you that, even if I do believe you."

"Well, at least you have guts. I suppose I could make you tell me," she stiffened when I said that. "But I've done enough to you already I think. What's your leaders name?"

No response.

"Oh come on, that won't get you in trouble! Give it up."

She thought about it a moment, "Jocel."

"Thank you," I smiled. "So what did they tell you about me anyway? I have to admit I'm kind of curious."

"That you were deadly, dangerous, and to be brought back alive if possible."

"Really?" I said surprised looking over at her, "Alive? I figured they would have wanted me dead, period."

She gave me another one of those wide-eyed looks.

"Oh, you're lying," I chuckled. "Was that to make me feel better or just to try and save your skin?" I got up and started to assemble my gear, what little I had acquired so far that is.

"Never mind," I sighed and looked over my meager kit. "Close your eyes and relax. It'll be a while before your friends find you." And I grabbed my stuff and left.

When I got out to the street I planned my little trap. It was fairly simple, so hopefully it would work.

"Jocel?" I asked using the headset.

Silence.

"Jocel? Anybody? You want Tresha back?"

More Silence.

"She's alive you know. I needed to ask her a few questions, but well she isn't talking much. Seems I hurt her a little more then I meant to."

Still no reply.

"Well anyway, I figure you should have a fairly good fix on me by now. She's about twenty meters due north of my present position, in the concrete blockhouse. I'd bring a doc and get here quick, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to a fellow employee and all that."

I did a five count.

"You know, everything you heard about me probably isn't true. After all, could I really be
that
bad?"

Then I dropped the headset and ran. I got out of sight just as the first one snuck up on the scene. It was the other Ferret, which didn't surprise me one bit, he was probably her mate.

I carefully withdrew and watched the whole thing from as far away as I could. They took about two hours approaching that blockhouse, and during that time I was able to pick out the female Leopard in question. Eventually they came out with Tresha, and I could see the look of relief on the male Ferret's face with my binoculars from two blocks away.

I could also see the Leopard shaking her head in confusion. Wondering why I hadn't killed I was sure. Especially when I had blown my cover so thoroughly. They loaded Tresha into their car, and found the bug I had planted in her clothes. They also picked up the headset and took it with them.

I had expected them to find the bug, but I had tinkered with the head set. Actually I had just stepped on it first. But the transmit switch was loose now, and every time the headset shook or vibrated, it broadcast. So I tracked that back to their base.

It turned out to be an old warehouse on the edge of the port district. Not a bad location really, it was outside of the Port proper, so they wouldn't have to spend time going through the security checks that were part of entering the Port's main warehouse district.

I found myself a good place to watch and settled in for a long wait.