The Ripple in Space-Time: Free City Book 1 (The Free City Series) (15 page)

Ryo nodded reassuringly at the
implied subterfuge.

Keira stroked the teen
’
s hand to fortify his waning confidence.

“
I had the wide sweep radar set on
‘
high
’
and I picked up something lurking way off in the distance.
I thought it might be a Guild Interceptor.
”

Lev tipped his head in interest at
the tidbit,
“
What was it?
”

“
I couldn
’
t see anything, so I finally
used the telescope. Even then, I could barely make it out.
”

“
Tell them what you think it was, Benny,
”
Keira prompted.

“
I
’
m pretty sure that it was that
big tanker that got hijacked awhile ago in the Outer Reaches.
”

“
The
Xenon Lightning
?
”
Ryo asked
skeptically.

“
Yeah, that
’
s the one.
”

“
Was it adrift?
”
Lev inquired.

The youngster shook his head.

“
Interesting; why would a particularly valuable commandeered
gas transport be out here?
”
Ryo wondered.

Keira kissed the kid
’
s cheek in appreciation,
“
See Benny; I told you that they
’
d like your story.
”

29. The risky ruse
It had taken hours and no small
amount of luck for Lieutenant Zmuda to finally
‘
lock
’
the stealthy vessel into an oddly skewed orbit around Saturn that would
conceal it from detection by any observers on Titan.

The crew was still stiff and
disoriented from the blisteringly fast trip that had required their prolonged
confinement to acceleration couches in the diminutive vehicle.

“
Well, you two certainly look the part,
”
Mixion noted as she helped Jasper and the Lieutenant into their
disguises as they prepared for the risky first encounter with the unstable
Warlord in the Titan Palace.

The men reluctantly climbed
through the docking port and sealed the heavy hatch.

A dozen minutes later, the shrewd
young woman watched though the porthole as they rocketed away in the tiny
landing craft towards the huge unseen moon.

Her part in the imperative
assassination attempt would not arrive for many days and would depend entirely
on their slim chances of success.

• • •

“
You may see the Supreme Exalted Ruler of All Humanity now,
”
the stern palace guard reported to the men.

After enduring two very thorough
searches for hidden weapons and spending hours in a waiting room that would
have been flatteringly called a jail cell anywhere else, Jasper and Lieutenant
Zmuda finally followed the sentry to the Warlord
’
s chamber.

“
Please remember that all visitors to the Palace are
carefully watched at all times,
”
the guard mentioned.

The heavily armed sentinel paused
at the door,
“
Gentlemen, be sure to bow when you meet the Warlord. You
must refer to him only as the Supreme Exalted Ruler.
”
He knocked tentatively on the door.
“
If you displease
him, you risk execution.”

Jasper frowned at the severe
edict.

The guard pushed open the door,
“Oh my Master, the Supreme Exalted Ruler of All Humanity; two provisions
traffickers wish to converse with you on a matter of commerce.
”

Zmuda suppressed a sneer when he
first caught sight of the most reviled of all men.

Dimitri waved the visitors into
the room without looking up from the mounds of work spread around his worktable,
“
I have no need for whatever overpriced supplies you two are
hawking.
”

The men respectfully lowered their
heads.

“
Oh Super Exalted Leader,
”
Jasper twanged
in his thick Australian accent.

Dimitri scowled at the minor
gaffe.

“
We
’
ve come to buy, not sell.
”

A smug grin darted across the
Warlord
’
s face,
“
Well then, that is a different
matter.
”

Zmuda extended his hand,
“
My business associate and I operate a modest trading vessel. We make a
long slow circuit between the Kuiper Belt Station at one end and the Eros
Asteroid Encampment at the other.
”

Just as the two clandestine
assassins had predicted, Dimitri
’
s unquenchable impulse to strike
a bargain was obvious.

“
What is it that you desire, my friends?
”

“
Our ship is small and the journey is long,
”
Jasper lamented.
“
My shipmate has a nimble young
drudge to see to his manly wishes, but I currently have none.
”

Zmuda nodded lecherously,
“
We happened upon a Slaver at a watering hole on Vesta who said that you
were in possession of an underage girl that you planned to sell off soon.
”

The Warlord beamed at his luck.
“Perhaps I could part with the dear thing,” his eyebrows arched up in fake
sentiment, “although she’s just like a daughter to me.”

“Naturally,” Jasper turned towards
the door,
“
we wouldn
’
t dream of separating you from
the beloved tyke.
”

“
But,
”
Dimitri held up his hand,
“
although she
’
s grown a bit too old to be a submissive parlormaid, I
suspect that the wretch would be superbly acquiescent to your perverted
requirements.
”

“
Excellent,
”
Zmuda cooed.

“
May we inspect the cherub?
”
Jasper asked.

Dimitri nodded,
“
GIRL!
”

The door creaked open.

A particularly spindly child with
huge sad eyes stood shivering at the portal,
“
Yes Master?
”

“
Come here.
”

The girl complied.

The Warlord smoothed her rumpled
brown hair.
“
Turn around, let us have a good look at you.
”

Her head drooped in shame as the
three men stared ominously.

“
I suppose she
’
ll do,
”
Jasper frowned.

Zmuda nodded.

“
There is one little matter that I
’
d like to assure myself of in private, if I may,
”
Jasper smiled at the Warlord.

“Of course,
”
Dimitri acknowledged.
“
Girl, take this trader to the
slave quarters and obey him as if he were your Master.
”

The poor parlormaid had a look of
overwhelming panic at the unprecedented request,
“
Yes sir.
”

Zmuda and Dimitri watched the
child usher the big man away.

When the door closed, Zmuda turned
to the Warlord,
“
He
’
s rather well-endowed. I
’
m sure that he
’
d like to measure the
merchandise for himself.
”

“
Shall we discuss the price?
”
the Warlord
asked greedily.

• • •

The little parlormaid led Jasper
past the palace guard standing watchfully at the chamber door and down a short
dim passageway to a filthy and dank cell littered with the cast off scraps that
the pitiful child had collected over many years.

Jasper carefully inspected the
tiny room for surveillance devices; although he found none, the man decided to
conduct his activities as if the unpredictable Warlord himself was spying on
them.

The girl watched him in dread as
he quickly stripped off much of his clothing.

The big man selected the darkest
corner of the quarters and pressed the whimpering waif into it.

“
Now let
’
s see what we have here!
”
Jasper grunted with exaggerated showmanship.

The girl pressed her eyes tightly
closed for the upcoming onslaught.

“
Don
’
t worry,
”
he whispered to the trembling little thing,
“
I won
’
t hurt you.
”

Jasper continued his contrived
attack,
“
I
’
m sure you
’
re a fine play toy!
”

She stared at the big man in
growing disbelief.

“
We
’
ve come to rescue you,
”
the man murmured.

The girl nodded hopefully.

“
AH! This will do nicely!
”
As he clattered
boisterously from side to side, he continued his hushed assurances,
“
What
’
s your name, sweetheart?
”

“
Dilma.
”

He groaned loudly like rutting
beast.
“
Play along with me so your Master won
’
t suspect anything.
”

She smiled mischievously to her
liberator and screeched dramatically.

“
Good,
”
Jasper coaxed,
“
we
’
re going to take you out of here Dilma, but I need you to
do something very important before we leave.
”
He banged
loudly against the wall with his shoulders as he hunched protectively over the
girl.

“
OK,
”
her big eyes glistened with
hope.

• • •

“
I must insist on at least fifty thousand Units for girl,
”
Dimitri stated.

“
Well, I suppose we will buy the perfectly acceptable child
that we inspected in the Jupiter Colonies a few weeks ago for merely ten
thousand then,
”
Zmuda countered.

The leisurely bidding game
progressed between the two men.

In the distance, the apparent
carnal misdeeds of Jasper and the girl proceeded noisily.

“
I don
’
t want you to leave
empty-handed,
”
the Warlord chuckled,
“
perhaps I could
let her go for forty.
”

An especially piercing scream
filled the chamber.

Dimitri stared uneasily at the
door.

“
I doubt that he
’
ll permanently damage the scamp,
”
Zmuda reassured the man,
“
although she does seem quite
frail.
”

The frightening crescendo of
Jasper
’
s thunderous bellows intertwined with the ragged adolescent
shrieks of agony finally unnerved Dimitri.
“
I
’
ll let her go for twenty.
”

“
You have a deal, sir.
”

• • •

Jasper returned just as Zmuda was
authorizing the payment for the slave girl. Both men secretly tapped their
cheeks as a signal to the other that the plan was proceeding as expected.

“
I trust you enjoyed yourself?
”
Zmuda teased.

“
A little rough around the edges, but in time she
’
ll improve,
”
Jasper replied.

“
Where is the brat?
”
Dimitri demanded.

“
I told her to clean herself up and gather her possessions,
assuming of course that an agreement would be reached.
”

The door slowly opened.

Dilma stood in absolute defeat at
the portal, her face red and tear-stained, clutching a grimy bundle of meager
belongings.

Jasper secretly marveled at the
little actress
’
s abilities.

“
Gentlemen, do stop by again,
”
the Warlord
smiled.

The men bowed and left the chamber
with the bedraggled slave girl in tow.

• • •

When the landing craft was well
away from the giant moon of Saturn, Lieutenant Zmuda finally relaxed.

Jasper tousled the girl
’
s hair as she studied her two stocky saviors in awe.
“
What did you get for us, sweetheart?
”

Dilma grinned in triumph as she
opened the little bundle.

The former parlormaid held up an
antique hairbrush, three unwashed forks and a tightly wadded men
’
s undergarment, all recently purloined from Dimitri Verhovnyi's
bedchamber.

“
Excellent,
”
the Lieutenant complimented the
young burglar;
“
we should have no problem extracting his DNA from these
treasures.”