Wild Cards part 5

After sitting and watching Scott and Jessie eat I ordered another two bowls of stew, bread, another soda , glass of milk, and as I did this my stomach growled and I decided to add a third bowl of stew for myself. I blushed as Jessie giggled at me. Scott tried to object to me trying to feed them more but fell silent when I raised a hand to silence him. "I can afford to make sure my crew is taken care of." I told him. I liked these two, a lot. There were many out there that wouldn't even blink an eye at living off of another person or taking advantage of their generosity. These two just wanted a fair shot at a good life, and I was happy that I could give them a shot at it.

We sat and chatted about ourselves as we waited. I learned that Scott and Jessie had met a little under six months ago on one of the space stations out on the boarder. Jessie had explained, as she hugged Scotts arm and smiled up at him, how he had come into the bar that she had been forced to take a job at as a dancer working an off hour shift. She explained how she could barely make enough after paying her split to the bar, to pay for something to eat, drink,and an eco-tube to sleep in. And when bad days came along she had to choose between eating and staying awake or going to sleep hungry.

I felt sorry for her, yes it wasn't the worst existance anyone could have but it was bad. Life on a station was tough if you didn't have a regular job. You were stuck there. You couldn't just walk out of town as you can on planet. You either saved up enough to buy passage on a ship, hired on as crew, stowed away, or paid for your passage another way.

Till then you had to survive. Food and water were a must. But everyone had to sleep sometime and again unlike on planet you couldn't just lay down somewhere. Any place that was out of sight to sleep in was a place you didnt want to be caught in alone, as a male and deffinately not as a female. So when you were poor and living day to day your only real option, if your boss didn't let you crash in a back room, was an eco-tube.

Picture dozens of coffin size tubes built into it a wall like hunney combs. Each with a thin matress, small light in the roof, maybe a cortex viewer that might work, and a spot at the far end to push a bag and use it like a pillow. The best part was they had a door that could be swung closed and latched from the inside. This is what made them worth the credits you paid for an eight hour period of use. The safety you got while inside them.

Jessie went on to explained how this handsome young man came in one night and bought her a drink. How he had teased her about how she had asked for a glass of water instead of alcohol and how he had played a guessing game with her for a chance to take her out to dinner.

Scott blushed the entire time andJessie was just eating it up. She told how he guessed things about her, how he had figured out she was really a mechanic and then told her that she might be able to make a few extra credits fixing the engines on 'his' ship.

Scott defended himself by saying that it was 'his' ship. He had been the pilot of it and he was crewing it, so that made it 'his' ship. But he said all this turning redder and redder.

Scott had introduced Jessie to the captain of his ship and convinced him to give her a chance at fixing their engines,that the current mechanic had said would take a week to fix, which threatened to keep them docked and cost them the job they had lined up.

Scott cut in and explained how Jessie had bounced around the engine room for an hour with every male staring at her in her little shorts till the captain kicked them out except for him, since Jessie swore up and down that she needed his help. But that she really only wanted to flirt with him and stare into his eyes every chance she got.

Jessie slapped his shoulder and denied it all saying she had just not wanted to be left alone with the captain or any of the other crew she didn't know.

I pointed out that she hadn't really known Scott at that time either and she just smiled at me and said "I knew he wasn't going to try to take advantage of me cause if he had planned that he would have tried to take me back to his bunk not his engine room. Plus look at these blue eyes-" she said staring into his eyes as she touched his face. "You can so see the man he is in them."

Scott turned even redder as Jessie kissed him.

"I wouldn't know, I haven't stared into his eyes." I joked and this sent Jessie into a giggling fit.

About then the waitress came over and set our order down and as she stepped away an elderly man stepped up to the table and placed a hand on the back of one of the chairs "Names Edward Diaz, but everyone calls me Paps. Mind if I sit and talk to you about work?" He asked leaning on the back of the chair as he lifted one leg and tapped out an old fashion wood tobacco pipe on the heel of his boot.

I motioned for him to sit and offered him a glass of beer. "Sure, I will take one." He said setting his pipe on the table and fishing in his pocket for something. "So your hiring?" He asked looking to me "Where abouts you heading?" He asked pulling out a small tobacco pouch and dipping the pipe into it.

"Out to the rim. Hit a couple of of the moons then a run out to one of the farming colonies.". That was all the information that I was going to give out. It was always wise to never give out exact information about you route or job. Kept pirates and those hard up on work from getting any ideas about catching you enroute.

I poured him a beer and set it out, "So what you got to offer?" I asked.

Edward looked up as he packed the bowl of his pipe full of tobacco from a small pouch that he had pulled from his pocket, "Not much of a pilot, and really can't fix anything. But I am deadly with a hogleg and I aint affraid of a fight. Plus I can cook." He stated out right as he tucked the tip of pipe stim in his mouth and flicked a lighter open and lit the tobacco with short quick puffs.

Now most would have sent the old man packing with a free beer but anyone that had ever pulled a run or two from the core all the way out to the rim enough times could tell you there were three things that could drive a person crazy out in the black, bordom, lonelyness, and protein rations day in and day out. A crew could fix the lonelyness. A deck of cards could keep of the bordom. But only someone that could cook could fix the last one. "So how good of a cook are you?" I asked interested.

He smiled and used the stem of his pipe to point at the nearly empty bowls of soup infront of us, "I cooked the stew your eatin'."

"If you have work why you looking to leave it?" Scott asked looking from his spoon to Paps.

"Tired of the locals. Can't stand the color purple. Worken eighteen out of twenty four hours a day for three squares and a cot in the store room isn't how I want to spend my twilight years.". He took a drag on the pipe and let the smoke roll out of his mouth slowly then looked right at me with a distant gazem. He might have been looking at me but he was thinking of somewhere else. "Those are all truths enough for you. All though not the main reason." His attention fell on me with a blink. "My grandsons and their families live out on one of the rim worlds."

"And your wanting to go live with your family? That's sweet." Jessie inquired then awed as she looked at Paps with those eyes.

Paps shook his head 'NO' pursing his lips at the thought, "There is no way I would go and nake myself a burdon on my kin. No I just want to go and see them again before I find myself to old to do that." He said takingseveral quick puffs on his pipe.

Jessie and Scotts looks must have shown their confusion to him also cause he wet his throut with a swig of beer them continued, "I am getting on in years and I know I don't have what it takes to work a farm out on the rim. At one time when I was your ages, hell even when I was yours TD's I could have. But years have crept up on me and I know not any more. I would just be another mouth to feed that would only give back less and less each year. No I just want to go see them. Drop of a few things I always swore I would then be on my way.". His eyes fell on me for understanding and hope.

Charity had always been a flaw of mine that I had never been able to get past. I looked him in the eyes and nodded as I told myself it wasn't charity. He served a place in the crew. Even if it was only as cook.

Paps didn't say thank you. To do so would have been him saying he didn't deserve the job or that he had gotten on so far on in years that he could only survive on charity. Which would probably be the death of a man like him. He simply nodded back and went back to smoking his pipe.

Wildcards part 4

Opine and I had talked about what I had in mind and what I needed to do this evening then made plans on how to do it. I had showered and changed cloths as Opine had ran back to her ship to do the same. Then when ready, armed this time, and minus all of the cash except for about two grand, I had headed for the place that I had been told was where everyone went to look for work. Blue Sky-jumpers bar, first place in the verse to look for work. So the sign read. They were not boosting either. It was. Only bar on the busiest space port on the closest planet to the sun. Made it what they claimed to be.

I had arrived about thirty minutes or so ago, got two pitchers of Guinness, seven glasses, a table, and tossed out my hat over the first pitcher after poring myself a glass and setting four others ride side up.

This told those in the bar a couple of things. Hat on table said I was hiring. Pitchers of beer said I was offering cash pay and could pay it up front if needed. And the four glasses up two more down meant I wanted four crew minimum, max six. And it all said drinks were on me if you got hired. And it also weeded out those that didn't know how to read the signs. I normally didn't have problems taking on a 'Green horn' but this job I wanted to... No needed to go smooth.

I relaxed back and reviewed the list of things to do tonight.

One, was get through it alive and able to get off planet in the morning.

Two, was get rid of this damn tracker with out alerting anyone that I had found it and there was only one way to do that. And it would be easier with O's help. Didn't like involving her but I knew she wasn't going to let it go down any other way without a fight. And in my condition she would probably win. So she was in.

Three, was hire a crew before morning to help me haul the agro-supplies I had being delivered in the morning to where they were going.

And it was this last one that had just become harder with the discovery of the tracker. Now I was aware that someone was following me and had to watch out for who I trusted. Hard enough when you're trying to hire a crew to make a rim-run from the core but almost impossible when you know any of that crew could be those tracking you.

But I had an ace up my sleeve this time and she would be walking in the door of the port bar in a little while.

I hadn't finished half my beer when a dirty blonde haired young man in worn faded black cargo pants and a equally aged looking black combat vest walked up holding the hand of a little brunette haired lady who's beauty didn't match the grease and dirt smudged into every visible part of her body. And that was a lot. She wore a leather jacket that looked like it had been altered from a much longer one but now only came down just below her ribs. The top underneath, what was left of it seemed to cover even less and her jeans were worn and just covered her bottom. The boots on her feet looked as if she had modified them from an on hard cap space suit, space suits designed with a durable plastic and metal exoskeleton to protect from floating debris when working on construction sites in space. These though were a size or two to big for her and covered in pins, clips, bangles and apparently anything else she had collected along the way. She carried a small backpack that had several tool heads sticking out of it including a five pound sledge hammer. The guy carried what looked to be an old frontiers duffle bag, the kind popular when I was a kid and people were in the dig push out to the rim and the promised- 'better life'. It was probably given to him by his parents or all that he could afford. And by the looks of these two what I was looking at was all they probably had.

The couple stopped a couple of steps from the table and the lady looked up at the guy and gave him a nudge in the side to go ahead and speak then she softly said as she turned to watch with hungry eyes as the waitress went by with a plate of food, "Hat says he is hiren'."

The guy looked down at her and squeezed her hand, not in a placating way but one that told me he was really hoping she was right.

I was surprised that she knew about the hat. Not a lot her age, which I placed in her early twenties, would.

Excuse me sir, your hiring?!” It wasn't really a question as he said it. More of a 'I have been told...' Statement, and for some reason I liked that. "Yes, I am. Looking for four to---"

The young lady reached out and pulled two glasses towards her "two to four now, if you are paying cash like your saying you are." She stated and I could see her hand and legs shaking either out of nervousness or hunger. One I understood, the other I remembered oh to well. I thought of my daughter Opine and how thin she was when I first met her.

Tonight was their lucky night. Even if they didn't get a job they would get a meal that could tide them over for a couple of days. "Is that so?" I asked motioning for them both to sit down. "Care for some beer?" I asked and they both immediately shook their heads NO even though I could see the dust on their lips. They knew better then to drink alcohol as hungry as they were. I raised a hand to the waitress as she was coming by "Waitress two of your specials and a large basket of bread please." I looked over at the two, "Hope stew is okay?"

The lady nodded with this innocent dirty face kid look that made me smile back.

The young man reached over and placed his hand on hers, "we can't pay for that meal and she isn't payment." He said straight forward and without blinking as he looked me dead in the eyes.

This couples chances of getting hired just jumped drastically in their favor. They just didn't know it yet.

I leaned back in my seat, "You know that takes a lot of guts and honesty to not only say your broke before the food arrives but to put your ladies virtue and your love for her before your own hunger and safety.". I smiled and leaned forward and picked up my glass. "Cause a lot of men would shoot you for what you just implied. And not much you could have done to-" I fell silent as I felt the flat of a steal blade tap the inside of my leg.

The young man held back a smile well, "everyone thinks that if your hands are one the table they have the edge."

I felt the blade fall away and heard a soft 'snick' sound. I liked this guy! "Well dinner is on me. Call it an interview meal. So how about we start with your names and what job you feel already have." I said more to the young lady who sat rolling her empty glass back and forth on the table as she leaned over and laid her head on the young mans upper arm only lifting it to see if the waitress was coming or not. She smiled and pulled her glass to her as if as long as she had it, she had a job.

The young man looked me over then put his arm around the lady, who snuggled in against him. "My name is Scott Felder and this is my girlfriend Jessie Stochus. She is the best mechanic you will find in the verse." He bragged kissing the top of her head.

Jessie smiled and her eyes sparkled. I smiled back then realized she wasn't looking at me as the waitress stepped up to the table and waited to see which of the three of us the bowls of stew were going to.

I motioned to them and she set the bowls down and a basket with an uncut loaf of bread in it.

The two looked back and forth from the food to me as I dropped some bills into the waitresses hand "and some soda for them," I caught myself, "unless you two have changed your minds on the beer?"

Scott shook his head no as well as Jessie "Soda is fine." He said.

Jessie looked up from were she had been staring at her bowl and trying not to lick her lips "Milk?" She asked with that innocent dirty faced look.

"One soda and one tall glass of milk." I told the waitress with a slight laugh. The waitress went to tell me how much a glass of milk would cost but stopped as I dropped more bills in her hand. She smiled and headed off.

Jessie smiled and looked at Scott, who gave her a small hug then looked back at me, “Thank you… I don’t even know your name.” he said holding out his hand to me.

“Everyone calls me TD.” I responded and took his hand and shook it. “Now eat you two, It won’t get any better as it gets colder.” I smiled and picked up my Guinness and took a long drink as I watched them tear into the stew.

They both ate as if they hadn’t eaten in a week and that is quit possible. These two are just the kind of people that the Alliance security that the space port gate doesn’t let off the port. They were not residents of the planet. They had no jobs and they had no reason to be here. So they had no reason to let them off the port. No if they didn’t get work on a ship leaving, they were not going to make it. The only work that was here for either of them was work that didn’t lead to a better life. Not for Scott and definitely not for Jessie.

“So I know that Jessie here is the best mechanic in the ‘verse,” I didn’t believe it but I wasn’t going to argue it. I had seen weirder things in my life and a young gifted mechanic was far from it. “But what do you offer me as a possible crew member?”

Scott paused in his eating, “I am pretty good at maintenance, know my way around a wielder, both arc and torch. But I am a pretty good pilot. I grew up on a cargo ship most of my life and learned to fly sitting on my mother and fathers lap when I was big enough to see over the council.”

Jessie grabbed the loaf of bread and broke off a piece and offered it to me. I waved it off so she handed it to Scott then broke off a piece for her self, “He is being modest. Last ship we worked on he shaved three days off a run from the border to here with his navigation and course adjustments. And did it with less fuel too.” She bragged for him.

“Lot good it did us.” Scott said looking across the bar at nothing.

“Get stiffed on a job?” I asked, setting down my beer as the waitress came back and set their drinks down.

Jessie grabbed up the glass of milk and took a long drink. She giggled, as I motioned at my own top lip to tell her she had milk on it, and then she licked it off and took another sip.

“You can say that. We signed on to a cargo runner out on the border. Jessie over hauled the captains engines as we made the ‘Short loop’”

Kid new the jargon of a pilot. ‘Short loop’ was a term for going around the border planets in the opposite direction they orbited. It shaved off travel time and saved on fuel since the planets were literally moving towards you in orbit as you traveled to them. Trick was making it profitable by having jobs at each planet as you came up to it.

“Then after one profitable run we took on a cargo of crates and the captain came and told me to set a course to here. Said he had a job that would make all the other runs look like petty change.” Scott was eating again but slowly.

“I have had promises of jobs like that.” I added in hoping to make him feel better.

“Sad thing was it was real. We dropped the cargo off here. Captain got paid and life looked good. He had promised ten percent of the profits to Jess and I both. Twenty percent of that run would have given us enough to live on for a year easy if work was slow. Or it could have started us off on our dream to own our own ship someday. But it turned out that the Captain had debts with people on this planet. And they got to him before he got to pay us. They took it all. Captain then tossed us off the ship and left. Said he couldn’t pay us and he wasn’t going to have crew on board that he knew he owed.”

Jessie looked at her spoon and the half empty bowl then set it down and leaned her head against Scott’s chest as she remembered what had happened.

Scott put his arm around her and held her for a moment. “The goram piece of shit barely gave us time to grab our bags here. We wouldn’t even have these if Jessie here didn’t insist on us keeping emergency bags together. We grabbed these as he ordered us off the ship and locked the doors behind us.”

I looked at both of them and then away, I had come across people like the captain they spoke of so to often in my life. Seemed the closer you go to the core worse people became. “Well, if you and your little lady here…”

“Jessie, names Jessie not little lady.” She said sitting up tall and confident.

I smiled and nodded an apology “Jessie. If you and Jessie are half as good as each other says then I could use you on my crew. But I want to know. Have you ever handled a ‘Whale’?” I looked to Scott using the nick name for the class of ship I had just purchased earlier that day.

“T6-hg by Kuniv? Or the 923-dh7’s by Orieonis?” Scott asked looking at me with intrigued eyes.

“Try the Asher Red 52 Rim-runner.” I answered.

“You’re kidding?” he asked dropping his spoon into his nearly empty bowl. “There are still Rim-runners out there?”

I bust out laughing. “You are not inspiring confidence in my new ship there son.”

“No don’t get me wrong, they are great ships but…. Well they had problems.” He tried to recover.

“Like their engines tended to over heat, burn through their shielding and ‘rad’ the whole crew. That is if they didn’t just stop working all together for no reason at all. Or if the port and stern engines didn’t fall off as you were making or braking atom and drop you like a ‘whale’ on land.” Jessie said wiggling her spoon at me as she talked with a mouth full of bread.

“She has been refitted with a new engine.” I answered Jessie.

“What kind?” She asked taking a sip of milk.

“Kenzer 750” I sipped at my Guinness.

“A, B, C or H?” Jessie asked tearing off another piece of bread and dropping it in Scotts bowl.

“C- I think.” I tried to recall what I had been told.

“Okay if it’s a C then you want to cycle the compression hydraulic fluid and make sure it isn’t burnt before you take it up. And grab a few extra Hydrogen Thermal injectors. The C’s like to burn through those or just kick them off like a zip popping when they start to go bad.” She informed me.

“You mean these are all things you will want to do as my mechanic.” I corrected her. I had made my mind up. They were going with me. She seamed to know what she was doing and yes, a part of me couldn’t leave them here. The core wasn’t any place for young honest innocent people like this couple.

Jessie blinked then looked at Scott her face beaming “We got the job!” she said hugging him.

“No you got the job. He hasn’t said anything about me yet.” He said looking from Jessie to me with a look of ‘Don’t make me make that choice’.

“You’re a pair, I can’t and won’t break up a set. Plus I need a pilot and you must be able to fly because I know you wouldn’t risk your lady… Jessie’s life on a lie. So yes, you got the job as a pilot.” I raised my glass to them both.

Scott winced as Jessie Squealed in his ear and hugged him hard “We got the jobs!!!” she squealed again.

Scott hugged her back and looked over her head at me and mouthed the words “Thank you.”

I nodded and looked away to give them as much privacy in their excitement as I could sitting at the same table. When they had calmed down from hugging and kissing and exchanging words of “See I told you we just had to stick together” and “This is going to be a new start. I promise” I turned back.

“So here is the deal. Your own quarters, meals, and..” I looked them over “And a small clothing allowance. Can’t have you two wearing the same cloths day in and day out on my ship, especially you.” I looked at Jessie and she blushed. “Plus 250 credits in cash, each, when we leave port….”

I had to pause as Jessie squealed loud enough to draw the attention of most of the people around us in the bar and hug attacked Scott again. “Plus you get another 250 each when we land at our final destination.”

The look on Scotts face made me think he was going to cry. I understood why. A thousand credits on the border or on the rim could go a long way to starting a new life. And offers like this didn’t come often in life.

Jessie jumped up and ran around the table and started hugging me before I realized what she was doing. I kept my hands out after giving her one simple pat on the back and told her it was “Okay” and that she was going to have to live up the Scotts praises of being the best mechanic in the ‘verse.

She blushed and went back to her seat and snuggled into Scott.

“TD, I don’t know how we can ever thank you. But trust me, we will work hard and earn every credit your paying.” Scott stated as Jessie nodded in agreement with her head pressed against his chest.

“Just … just finish eating you two. I can’t have my pilot and mechanic passing out from hunger first day out.” I said covering up my own loss for words at their gratitude.

Both looked at their bowls and suddenly remembered how hungry they still were and went back to eating, much to my pleasure. I liked helping people and doing what was right. But I couldn’t stand people looking at me like they expected big white wings to unfold from my back any moment. There wasn’t a Shepard in the verse that wouldn’t fall over laughing at people thinking of me as a servant of the all mighty if they knew just a quarter of what I had done in my life.

“Do you two have a place to stay tonight?” I asked after a little bit.

Jessie’s look at Scott told me the answer so I didn’t wait for him to speak “Berth 12 in section 23 is my ship.” I pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil and scribbled down a number on it “That’s the code to the door. Or it should be. Haven’t actually tried it yet myself but if it don’t work then my other ship can be found here” I wrote down the berth and section for the ship I had been in earlier today. “Why don’t you two go, pick out some quarters, any except for the captains, Get settled in, and maybe take a look at the engine room and what not. And most of all get a good night sleep where you don’t have to worry about watching each others back all night.” I pushed the paper over to them.

Scott just stared at it a moment then took it and nodded. He didn’t know what to say.

I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out some credits and counted out some and held it out to Scott. “Here, this should take care of the clothing and anything else you might need for the trip. And you” I looked at Jessie “Maybe grab some jumpsuits for working in the engine room.” I had just thought of something and flipped out some more credits “And get any tools you might need that you don’t have. If something breaks down I want you to have the right tool. Can’t have you trying to fix my ship with a five pound sledge hammer when you might be needing a screwdriver or wrench.” I told Jessie.

She eeped and turned bright red and hid her face in Scotts chest.

“Oh and before I forget, if I don’t get there in time in the morning, I have some cargo being delivered. If it gets there before me, make sure they don’t just leave it outside” I laughed.

Scott laughed because he understood. It would happen where delivery teams would drop cargo outside of a ship if no one was there to receive it or to make sure they actually put it in the hold. Then the crews would have to figure out how to get it in, what was left of it after others got a hold of it. “Not a problem. I will make sure they stack it and balance it in the holds.

“and leave holds 5 and 6 empty. I will need one for my ship and possibly 6 for docking another ship in.”

Scott nodded and pushed the paper into a vest pocket.

“Now eat you two.” I stated “Captains orders.”

Wild cards part 3

The cab pulled slowly through the crowds of people that were moving in and out of the spaceport. It was slow going and honestly walking would have been faster except that with the amount of money I was carrying I didn't want to risk getting jumped, mugged , or just pick pocketed.

The driver wasn't complaining at all. He was actually whistling in the front seat, occasionally stopping to yell at someone to "MOVE YOUR GORAN PIECE OF GOSA ASS" at slow walking pedestrians and rickshaw's that sadly seemed to be making better time then we were. Over all though he was in a good mood.

But it was to be understood why. When I had returned to the cab I had slipped him another tip, for waiting, that had immediately endeared me to his heart and earned me a joking comment of "Feel free to bleed on my seats if you want.". I had laughed so hard at that my sides hurt. So right now he didn't care if this took all night.

We finally were able to turn into the vehicular entrance and passed by the alliance symbol of equality and efficiency in government. Meaning they were only stopping those coming out of the spaceport who looked like they didn't belong on planet. They gave nods to those that were finely dressed or flashed a planetary I'd. And they didn't even give a glance at those that were going into the port. Guess they didn't care who was leaving planet.

Going was a little better as people tended to travel on the sides of the roads in ports because of the number of cargo mules going through that were to often overloaded and made. Breaking quickly dangerous for not just the driver and persons in front of it but also for all around if the load shifted and it all came tumbling down.

I gave the driver my berth number and section and relaxed back as he headed off down one of the major lanes that would take us into the section I was docked at.

I found myself starting to dose off and wondered if I had lost more blood then I realized. I glanced down do see if I was bleeding any more but couldn't tell with all the blood that had seeped into my shirt.

As slow as we had been going I hadn't even realized that we had pulled to a stop in front of my ship. I looked up and out and smiled when I looked on my old girl. I handed the driver several bills with out even asking the fare and after glancing at the bills he didn't object. "Need me to wait or come back later?" He inquired with hope in his voice.

"Yah, wait till I get inside," I handed him another bill, "then forget as much as you can." I handed him two more. He looked at them and nodded with out a flinch. This was obviously not his first 'forget you ever saw me' run.

I grabbed the brief case I had been given by Mr Kennedy's assistant and stepped out of the cab. It was only a moment and I pressed the log key on the door pad and saw that there had been no illegal attempts to open the hatch to my ship then I punched in the code and listened to the hatch unlock, hiss as the seals opened and slide open then stepped in and pressed the close switch as I watched over my shoulder outside to see if anyone was coming up behind me.

I turned around and gave a double take at the pair of blue stilettos laying just inside the door. My hand dropped to my side instinctively for my hand gun and I grimaced as I remembered I was unarmed and my guns were locked in a safe in my bedroom.

I lifted my gaze towards the Japanese divider that sectioned off my sleeping area from the rest of the ship a spotted a trail of cloths. A slinky blue dress laid tossed across the back of the sectional just on this side of the divider. A silky black garter, bra and panties continued the trail into my room. I couldn't see whom they belonged to, but it was apparent that who ever had broken into my ship without leaving a trace at the door had quickly stripped. Hopefully she had disarmed herself to.

I stepped around the corner of the divider and froze.

A head of long blond curly hair spun up off the bed and a face came into view at the same time as a hand holding a modern replica of the earth-that-was cult 45 leveled on my head. I knew, recognizing her face, that the safety was already off and I yelled out "O' IT'S ME!"

Opine's hand holding the pistol flopped back to the bed at the same time her head flopped face first in the pillow, "Oh my goddess dad, I almost shot you. What the hell you doing sneaking up on me like that?" She complained with a muffled pillowed voice.

"Sneaking up on you?" I asked with a laugh, "last I knew this was my ship."

Opine turned her head enough to look at me with one eye, "Your ship?" Then she spun up out of bed with a grace and speed that years of dancing at firefly' bar on Blackburne could only of taught her. She covered the distance between us in one long leap. "Dad your bleeding!" She grabbed at my shirt and pulled it up before I could stop her.

"Was bleeding and O you're naked, put something on!" I complained trying to turn my eye's as I tried to step back at the same time.

"Ooo fuckn ah father," she exclaimed grabbing my arm and good side. She pulling me as she spun using my mass against me and sending me flying onto the bed, flat on my back. "You always act like it's the first time." She complained at my statement of her being naked.

"And you act like this is the first time you have seen my blood."

She ripped my shirt open.

"What the hell? My shirt!" I objected to late.

She stuck a finger in my face as her brow cast shadows over her narrowed eye's. Her lips pressed closed tightly and her expression went blank.

I fell silent. I knew better, she may be my adopted daughter, but she was still MY daughter. I may have only raised her for the last few years of her life but we had taken to being family immediately which was perfect since she was really... "Gooah!" I yelled as she grabbed both of the cinch strips and yanked them off.

"Ooo quiet you. These things are so expired. You were suppose to throw them out." She scalded me about the pain killer cinch strips.

"They are still good and they are not really that old." I argued back as she pushed and prodded at the bite mark on my side.

"How you survived the war I have no idea." She grumbled as she dug a nail into a deep part of the wound.

"Sure wasn't throwing out expired supplies." I winced as she hit something in the wound, "If I had thrown out everything that was expired I would have never had anything to eat. Plus expiration dates are set to sell more items."

She pressed her nail deep in the wound causing me to flinch in pain as she hit something again and I felt it pushed farther into my body. "You listen to Nack's propaganda way to much. And he only says that so that he can keep selling the six month expired canned goods at the general store." Hold still there is something in there and I need to get something to get it out." She said climbing off the bed where she had been kneeling.

"Put some cloths on." I yelled at her as I watched her naked form disappear around the screen. She had grown into an amazingly beautiful young lady. She looked so much like her mother.

"Where is your medical supplies?" She called from the other side of the divider and farther forward of the ship.

"Storage compartment under the main sectional couch." I yelled back lifting one of the torn sides of my shirt and looking at it. "And you have eaten some of those expired goods to and never had a problem."

She came back around the corner of the screen holding a t-shirt of mine and my med kit. Opine crouched in stride and grabbed her panties up, "Give it a break Dad, you have been bringing in fresh can goods and food for years now, ever since you adopted me." She tossed the kit on the bed then slid into her panties with the same grace that most dancers remove them. My t-shirt went down over her head just as easily. "Hope you don't mind, I didn't bring a change of cloths to my date with my client last night."

"Not a problem." I answered as I remembered what she had first looked like when she had stared living at my place on Blackburne and would borrow my shirts to sleep in or when she was washing what few things she had. She had been so small, thin, and that blue Mohawk. She had explained how she had dyed it that color to try and detract attention from males that lived in the waste. Unfortunately, it had resulted in attracting a tougher wilder group of waste male. But she had explained that she had managed to get by without being forced into anything she didn't want to do."Good date?"

"Great date." She responded climbing up to kneel on the bed between me and the case.

"Treat you right?" I asked honestly concerned.

"Like the companion I am." She gave me a smile then reached for the case.

"Lady, like the lady you are." I corrected her.

"Companion. He was with Companion Kesten not Lady Kesten she giggled and turned back and kissed my cheek. "Lady Kesten is to good for him." She flipped the lid of the case open and blinked. "What is this?" She asked pulling out a bottle of Guinness and a bottle of 50 year old single malt scotch.

"Just what it says on it." I responded reaching for the Guinness.

She pulled them out of reach and read the label's that I had put on each starting with the Guinness "In case of possible death". She rolled the bottle of scotch "In case of certain death.". She rolled her eyes at me as shook her head.

I reached for the Guinness again.

"You're not dieing." She said putting booth out of reach. Then pulled out some spray on antiseptic and a pair of forceps. She gave me a dirty look as she read the expiration date then tossed it aside and grabbed the scotch.

"You wouldn't da...." I went to object but went silent as she pointed the forceps in my face.

"Let this be a lesson to you to keep your medical supplies up to date." She stated twisting the cap off with her teeth and breaking the seal on the scotch.

I almost cried as she poured it on the wound. "At least give me the Guinness."

"Your not dieing." She spoke through clinched teeth as she twisted the cap back on with her mouth.

"After what you just did to that scotch I just might be" I groaned and let my head flop back onto the bed.

Opine gave me a sideways look that said 'Not working' then pushed the forceps into the wound.

I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly relaxing as best as I could as she dug around. I had learned after my third or fourth gunshot wound that tensing up only made it worse and hurt more.

"There it is! She announced as she pulled out the object.

We both froze looking at it. It was a small tube of clear plastic not much larger then a 22 long rifle cartridge with obvious circuits, microchips, and a single green flashing light. It was obviously a tracker of some sort and it had been in my body.

"Dad, where did you get this bite and who treated you?" She asked dropping it onto a four by four gauze pad.

"Blackburne, during the last reaver attack and who do you think." I answered not saying a name. Not needing to.

"You don't think..." She was already pulling one of the disposable skin staplers and ripping the package open to re close the wound.

I grabbed another four by four and pressed it into the wound with two fingers and held it there for a few seconds. "Not possible, I was awake the whole time and there were half a dozen others in the bar at the time."

"What in the goddesses name are you doing?" She called out grabbing my hand and pulling at it forcing me to remove the gauze.

It was soaked in blood and I quickly rolled the tracker onto it and wrapped the gauze around it just enough to still let me see the green light. I wasn't sure but it seemed to flash a little faster and brighter. "Some of these things come with a sensor that if removed from the body to long will set off an alarm to who ever is..."

Just then we heard a wrap on the hatch of my ship. Opine grabbed her 45 and the other matching one that had still been under a pillow and was half way to the door before I could roll over and open the compartment door on the side of the bed that held one of my gun safes. "O' WAIT!" I called out working the code pad as fast as I could. I heard her smack the hatch lock release switch then the button to open it. An odd thought ran through my head at that moment. 'If she had been on a companion date the night before and in that blue dress,where the hell had she been caring those pistols. No time though as I grabbed up my pistols and rolled up from the bed. Pain shot through my chest from my injured ribs and the floor tried to get personal but I pushed it off with the side of a pistol and the back of my hand and forced myself to exhale. If there was trouble at the door I wasn't going to let my daughter face it alone. Specially since it was my trouble.

Before I could reach the edge of the divider I heard a female scream and something hit the floor hard.

My heart sank and fear screamed in my head. I wanted to call out but if Opine was down already and without a shot being fired my only chance was surprise and the first shot. The drums were pounding in my ears and I was ready to listen to them for once if someone had harmed my...

I leveled my pistols as I turned the corner of the divider and felt them slapped back up. Opine stepped between me and the hatch where Mrs Chen, a nice elderly Chinese decent lady stood with her arms over her head and two wicker baskets laying tipped over at her feet. My cloths spilling out of them.

"It's your laundry lady!" Opine yelled at me making sure I had noticed, then she turned back to Mrs Chen and gave a little bow, holding her pistols behind her back and spoke in Cantonese what must have been an explanation and an apology of some sort. For almost immediately Mrs Chen lowered her arms, let out a string of Cantonese words, half I recognized as cuss words and obscenities then spit on the ground outside as she spoke the word "Alliance" as if it was a cuss word to. She then smiled at us and started gathering up the spilled cloths.

I flipped on the safeties on my pistols and pushed them into my pants top. I quickly stepped forward and pulled out some credits, "how much do I owe you?" I asked as she stood up after gathering up my spilled cloths.

She looked at the credits in disgust "guess twenty credits". Then she looked me in the eye's "don't you have gold?"

I laughed heartily, "a lady after my own heart." I said and moved over to room and came back out a moment later with a stack of gold coins. "There and a tip to say sorry for the confusion there a moment ago."

She smiled at the gold coins and politely laid out my cloths on the sectional couch the took the coins and headed out the hatch with her empty wicker baskets.

Opine closed the hatch behind her and locked it. "Why can't you just get your laundry done at a laundromat like everyone else?" She asked tossing her guns on a table and flopping down on the clear end of the sectional couch.

"Cause they loose your cloths, take a day to clean them. Plus how would families like Mrs Chen's there make extra cash. Why should I go off port for anything I can get here?" I answered grabbing a new shirt to put on.

Opine stood back up and grabbed the shirt out of my hands, "Not till we bandage that wound."

"I need to get rid of that tracker fast to.". I reminded her as we headed back into the bedroom.

"Any ideas how you are going to do that?" She asked hoping on the bed like a little kid and digging through the med kit.

"Yep, and I may need your help to." I answered grinning from ear to ear.

Opine giggled at my expression and started bandaging the wound. "Something tells me I am going to love this idea."

Wild Cards Part 2

You loose track of time when your in pain and laying face down in an alley after getting your ass kicked by three guys who were hired to take what you had been hired to deliver. And most likely they were hired by the guy that got you the job in the first place.

How is that, you ask? Fine, let me take a moment and explain the process of independent, private and confidential product acquisition and transport. Or more commonly called 'theft and fencing' for those of us who don't live in the core. Here is how it usually starts...

Some rich, influential, famous, or just greedy person decides they want something that they want, need, desire, or just want to take away from someone else for what ever reason they have. Doesn't really matter in this field of work. Point is they want it so they contract the services of some one that can get it for them. These people really don't have a name because they like to keep it that way but you can think of them as the 'go to guy'. Reason is obvious.

The 'goto guy then puts out the word on what he has been hired to get and how much he is willing to pay for it. Now here is where it gets interesting.

Let's say an extremely wealthy businessman who has nothing else to do with his hundreds of thousands of spare credits decides to add to his collection of 'Earth that was' items that are floating around in the 'verse. So he contacts a 'goto guy' that then puts out the word to his contacts and feelers about what to be on the look out for.

Then you wait.

Till word gets out that someone has found a deck of cards, manufactured on Earth-that-was and brought along on one of the Ark ships and passed down through the generations to end up in the hands of some farmer out on the rim. Who doesn't realize that that deck of cards could set him and his family for generations up as a plantation owner on the rock he is working,ironically after selling everything he owns just to get him. And his family out there an on a small plot of land that might be big enough for them to survive on.

But the feeler and the goto guy isn't going to tell him this. No the feeler will get a price from the goto guy of what he will pay for it then he is going to take it for as little as he can from the poor dirt farmer. Then sell it to the goto guy who then sells it to the buyer for a goram mini fortune.

And in the case, literally cause that is what was suppose to be in the case I was carrying, of this deck of cards it was going to collect almost 100,000 alliance credits for it. YAH, FOR A GORAM DECK OF CARDS.

But that's not my problem. My job was or technically is that of currier. I take the package to the buyer. Drop it off, then take the money back to the goto guy. Simple... So it seems.

But now you see why you always get the key.

Cause for a hundred thousand credits guys like that will cut your hand off or worse, kill you for the case.

'Enough time laying in this to damn clean alley.' I thought pushing up onto my feet using the wall for help. 'Time to go get paid.'

I had to hold onto the wall for a moment till the alley stopped spinning like the spin cycle of a washing machine. Then it was just a moment longer to take off my belt from my jacket and sinch it down tight around my chest to hold the broken and cracked ribs tight enough so that I could breath and walk without wanting to get up and close personal with the ground.

Then it was one careful step after the other to the end of the alley and wait to hail a cab to take me to the address where the buyer was.

Now you are probably wondering why I didn't do that in the first place and save myself from getting jumped. Well that's simple. If those following you to jump you can't do so because you jump into a cab for the trip there. Then they will wait outside to do so when you come out with the money and get you there. And you will have no idea what they look like. So if your going to do this job always figure out who is trailing you befor you make the exchange. Its safer that way.

For some reason I was surprised that it took less then a minute to hail a cab, then I remembered that I was on a core planet.

The driver pulled to a stop and took a look at me and would have pulled off if I hadn't already opened the door and been half way in when he spotted the bruises and my torn shirt. He gave me a disapproving look then turned in his seat laying his arm across the back of the front seat and tapped the safety glass, "Alliance credits onl..." His voice trailed off as I held up a hand full of Alliance universal credits. There wasn't a single cab driver in the core and border planets that didn't prefer to be paid in those. For one they could pocket the full tip and not claim it on their log books so no taxes. Second all those things that you might want to purchase but would raise a flag with the authorities if you used your APIF (alliance personal identification and finance) card, could be purchased with these. Here in the core they were better then gold.

The driver smiled and turned back around " where to and don't bleed on my seats" he added.

"I'm bleeding?" I asked as I handed him a slip of paper with an address on it. I looked down and frowned, "Son of a- I was bleeding" I exclaimed out loud as I lifted my shirt. One of the guys,probably the one that took oh so much enjoyment in his work had ripped open the stitches from where I had been tackled by a reaver and he had gotten a good bite on me before I had shoved my blade into his eye socket and turned him into fertilizer.

I muttered a string of obscenities in at least three different languages as I fished inside one of my pockets and pulled out a small zip up leather pouch about half the size of my hand and fumbled to get it open.

"You sure you don't want to go to a hospital and get that--- is that a human bite mark?". The driver asked turning from looking in the rear view mirror around to look at me and my wound.

"You want to go to the hospital with me, cause that is where we will be going if you don't turn around and watch the road." I said point with my head "Umm, goram large cargo hauler" I called out as it pulled out in front of us.

The driver snapped his head back and swung the cab skillfully around the hauler as it lumbered along.

With the driver watching the road again I went back to opening the pouch and pulled out a couple of pain-killer cinch strips and pushed the flap of skin closed and held it in place as I pressed the strips tight over it. That would hold till I could sew, staple or glue it shut when I got back to my ship. I closed the pouch and slid it back into my jacket and relaxed back into the seat and closed my eyes.

I was back on my parents farm out on the rim. It was late in the growing season, I could tell by the fields of wheat that surrounded the homestead. They were taller then me and swayed softly in the breeze. I could hear my younger siblings running around playing in the fenced off area around the house. In amongst all the noise of my siblings and the sound of the tractor my father was riding across the field, I could hear my mom ringing the lunch bell and calling out "time to lay down kids, time to lay down"

I was trapped in the dream now and knew what was coming. My oldest sister started screaming as so did my brother. But hers was in fear. I could hear the drums. My mother kept ringing the bell and calling for us to lie down. The drums. Another sister was screaming. The drums , the drums. My brother was screaming something I couldn't understand. The drums the drums the drums. One of my sisters fell silent and the rest started screaming but I couldn't hear them any more. All I could hear was the drums the drums the drums the drums.

My eyes snapped open to the sound of the driver rapping on the protective shield, "We're there, are you alive back there?" He asked even though I was already shoving a hand full of bills into the slot box and reaching for the door. He quickly counted it and smiled at the tip. "You want me to wait for you or something?" He asked. It had been that good of a tip.

I didn't look back, "Yah wait for me."

"No problem." The driver said pocketing the tips. "By the way, what drums?" He asked before I shut the door.

This time I turned back, I must have been talking in my sleep. I have been told I do that. "The one's that never stop." I shut the door and turned for the front door of the residential sky rise. "The one's that never stop." I said again to myself as I placed a hand to my forehead and walked. One foot in front of the other.

No time to lay down now, never lay down.

The doorman had good eyes and spotted the blood on my shirt before I got there and handed me a towel the blocked the doorway. "Can I help you?."

"I have a three o'clock appointment with Mr Kennedy."

"Mr Kennedy's three o'clock has already arrived." He informed me as he looked at his watch, "about ten minutes ago... At three o'clock"

Fuck how long had I laid in that alley.

"Call Mr Kennedy and ask him if he would like his real three o'clock and if he doesn't understand then he will soon enough.". I said pointing to the ear-piece in his right ear then turned and walked the couple of steps to the couch and flopped down into it letting him know I wasn't leaving till I got in.

He must have gotten the hint cause he called up to someone and after a couple moments of conversation he walked over and opened the door to inside, "Mr Kennedy will see you now. Take the elevator all the way to the top and you will be greeted there."

I walked in and through the lobby of the sky rise holding the towel against my side where the wound had opened up. It wasn't bleeding any more and the pain killers on the strips had done their job and there was no pain. But it was my hope that the towel would soak up some of the blood and save this shirt. It was a good shirt and only a few years old.

Several people looked at me with obvious disapproval of my presence in their fine residence and a couple gave me looks like they disapproved of my breathing their air. That was core Alliance equality for you. Everyone had a place in the verse and was expected to stay there.

I reached for the button for the elevator and wasn't really surprised when an elevator opened and a gentleman in a suit stepped forward and informed me that he was there to show me the way. Obviously they were not going to let my kind run un-escorted through the place. Even if I was expected.

The elevator doors closed and I barely felt it begin to move. The guy in there with me was obviously security as he didn't bother to look me in the eyes or face. He was watching my hands. I took the towel from my side and lifted my shirt making it look as if I was looking at the wound but more importantly to let him see it.

"It's really amazing how hard a man can bite." I said poking at the wound.

He couldn't help himself and asked "That's human?"

"If you can call reavers human." I responded.

"No such things." He snapped back but couldn't take his eye's off the wound. "And that one?" He asked pointing at another scare on my chest.

"Yep, reaver." I said then decided to give him the run down as I pointed at the different scars and marks on my chest and sides "reaver, reaver, raider, reaver, raider, scavenger, girlfriend" I pointed at a bite mark on my upper chest, then went to go on but he motioned for me to stop. "Girlfriend?" He asked.

I dropped my shirt and looked off at nothing, "Ex actually. Don't think she took me calling off the wedding to well."

"Not if she bit you I would say." He almost laughed.

"Oh no this was from much better times, if you get my drift." I smiled.

"What did she do when you called off the wedding?" He asked as the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

"I don't know, I just left." I said as I stepped out of the elevator and up to the young attractive brunette lady in an immaculate suit who was waiting.

I smiled at her and watched as she hid a smile back and looked me over. Her eyes said it all. Professional, smart,educated, but if we had been at a bar she would have been licking her lips in approval at what she saw.

I smiled again, this time leaning down a little to look her in the eyes. It had it's desired effect.

She turned away with a practiced move to hide a blush at her perceived mistake of being caught checking me out. "This way sir." She said leading me through a set of double doors.

I followed quickly not looking back so as not to give the security guard in the elevator time to realize that our bazaar conversation had caused him to forget to search me or for the lady to have the chance to remember that she hadn't looked to the guard to make sure I wasn't carrying any weapons.

I wasn't but I did have something more important that I really didn't want to be separated from. Cause my life depended on it.

She led me past doorway after doorway that opened into luxurious rooms that could make a companion envious to enter.

Two more security guards standing at a set of double doors at the end of the hallway looking me over with intense scrutiny as I walked up told me two things.

One, Mr Kennedy was inside.

Two, he had opened the case.

I smiled, that had been expected after my message had been sent up by the doorman.

The guards were not charmed by my smile like the lady had been but gave a nod of approval as I took hold of both sides of my jacket and opened it then raised it and turned around so that they could see that I wasn't carrying any weapons. This also gave the continued impression that I had been thoroughly searched in the elevator.

One of them reached out and opened the door for us and we walked on in.

It was really difficult to tell that this was an office with all the fountains, plants, flowers, statues, paintings, couches, and recliners arranged around the place. There was a desk set against one wall of windows with several chairs in front of it. But the place of interest to me was the long mahogany table and its dozen chairs that were occupied by three scared looking gentleman that I recognized easily but probably give boot prints from my skin and cloths to confirm it was them, and one really annoyed looking gentleman in a suit that probably cost as much as my last ship.

He looked from the security guards that stood behind the three thugs to those those that had stepped in behind me and the young lady. "I must assume you are Trent Drew." He said lifting the note card size flexxy from the open case in front of him.

I moved to the table and pulled out a chair on the opposite side of the table from the three thugs but closer to Mr Kennedy, then they were. That was a power play move to keep them off guard and develop a re pore with the buyer. Said 'I am the one you deal with'. "My name is as much Trent Drew as yours is Mr Kennedy but we don't need each others real names to do business now do we?". I asked as I sat down and reached inside my jacket.

Mr Kennedy's eye flashed to the two guards behind me and I felt them moving for their weapons. "Tell Trigger and Happy behind me to go easy with those weapons or they are going to seriously decrease the value of your purchase with my blood." I said pulling out a leather wrapped bundle slowly.

He nodded at the guards to relax but also with a look that asked 'I thought he was searched?' And I could almost hear the guards look at each other then shrug.

No, I had not earned points with the guards but I really didn't want them in a good mood either. I had plans for their foul moods.

I laid the bundle on the table and slowly unwrapped it to show an old beat up metal cigarette case.

"There is no smoking in here." Mr Kennedy said as he eyed the case.

"Good cause I don't smoke." I said opening the case to show an Earth-that-was deck of cards.

He raised a single eyebrow in surprise then calmly stated, "You will understand if I wish to view them before I give payment." He reached into the case and pulled out a common day deck of cards, "I nearly overpaid for these plums." He tossed the deck out on the table giving the three thugs a look that sent them squirming like school boys. This rewarded them with a hand on each of their shoulders from the guards behind them.

I let myself smile st their uncomfortable situation then turned back to Mr Kennedy as I closed the lid of the case and flipped the leather bundle closed over it and gave it a push sending it sliding down the polished table to him.

He frowned back at my casual nature towards something he held valuable then opened the bundle and paused before opening the case. He actually took the time to pull on a set of surgical gloves before opening it.

I examined him as closely as he did the cigarette case then the deck of cards. He carefully slid them from the almost completely faded blank from age box they had originally been sold in and carefully fanned them out on a cloth that the well dressed lady laid out before him. He pulled several cards from the deck and examined them then looked up at me and smiled.

"They are amazingly well kept for their age." He almost glowed as he spoke. And I could just about see the hours of sadistic pleasure he would receive from showing them off to other collectors and friends.

He motioned to the young well dressed lady who brought forward a glass hermetic case on a mahogany cart. He carefully started to move the cards into it.

"Don't you want them all?" I asked and he froze.

He smiled as he pushed back the sudden anger he had felt at me implying that he would be so careless as to not have counted them. "There are fifty-two cards in this kind of deck and there are fifty-two here." He resumed moving cards.

"Actually I have been told they came with fifty-four cards. Two of them were joker cards and sometimes called wild cards.". I leaned back in the seat and waited.

He stopped and in unmasked awe asked, "Are you saying this deck has the jokers?"

"Had, yes. Have, NO! I hold the all the wild cards and will happily sell them to you for a little extra on the price."

Okay, here is where things get really dangerous in this job. A buyer can really get pissed off if he thinks you are about to milk him for more money then agreed on.

"Mr Eisenhower and I have already agreed on a price." His tone was controlled anger.

"Mr Eisenhower sent those three to steal the case from me, then come in here with some story about how I supposedly tried to run with your product and they had to incur additional expenses to get it back for you. Expenses were part of the agreed price correct?"

He paused for a moment the looked from me to the case, then the three sitting very nervously at the end of the table. "What's you're price?" He asked looking back at me after giving the security guards a nod to remove the three thugs, who had suddenly become very vocal about their not having anuy knowledge as to what I was talking about.

"One hundred thousand for the deck of cards and the wild cards,payed to 'Me' in specific terms" I said holding my hand over the breast pocket of my jacket "may I?" I asked not wanting to push the situation by reaching unannounced into my clothing again.

"Sure seems you have a nack for getting things past my security today." He growled more at the two guards behind me.

I pulled out a slip of flexxy and slid it down to him. "That has all the details. You own agricultural equipment and supply companies. I want all that equipment, seed, supplies, and parts at your cost, delivered to the ship berth listed there by morning. I want twenty four hundred payed to that account listed. And the remainder given to me in Alliance universal credits before I leave."

He laughed "And what makes you think I am going to do all that?"

"Well, I hold all the wild cards". I grinned back.

He paused, laughed and pointed his finger at me. "I like you .Mr Drew. You had me thinking you were going to try to take me for more money and all you want is my cost on some agro-supplies." He roared with laughter. He didn't even look at the flexxy. Instead he held it out to the young lady "Pay this man his money and fill his order"

She quickly took the flexxy and left the room.

Mr Kennedy laid his hand on the metal cigarette case and slowly opened and closed the lid looking its features over, "I can only assume you know what you have here."

I nodded

"And if your intent wasn't to sell it you wouldn't have brought it." He continued as he opened it once more and ran a finger around the inside.

"I didn't bring it to sell.." I corrected him bringing a questioning look on his face, "I brought it to trade."

" What is it you want?" Mr Kennedy asked.

"I want to get my money, my supplies and get on my way without fear of those three or Mr Eisenhower coming or sending anyone after me." I stated leaning forward and resting my forearms on the table.

He looked me over real quick to assess whether I was asking him to kill those named or not. “I thought you a better business man then this. You could have kept this or sold it cause if you were able to figure out who I was to know what companies I own then you should have known that I don't like people messing with my business or trying to screw me. I take it personally. So believe me those four will not be bothering anyone again.” He said looking the Cigarette case over again. “I am assuming that I won't have anyone coming looking for this.” He stated passing on a message of what will happen if they do.

I stood up and adjusted my jacket. “If you do let me know, I would love to have a talk with my father. He has been dead for years.” I joked, smiling as I turned and waited for the two guards to step out of the way.

They looked to Mr. Kennedy who must have nodded cause they parted for me to go by.

“I some times need a reliable currier for special deliveries, Mr Terry Drew.” he called out from behind me. “Any interest in future work with me?”

I turned back and saw that he had stood and was holding out a hand. I took a few steps back and took his hand in mine. “Good doing business with you Mr. Kennedy.” I nodded and turned back for the door. “I assume your assistant will be outside to pay me?”

“Yes, she will. And what of my business offer?” He asked in a tone of a man that obviously doesn't like asking twice.

“If you can find me I would be happy to work for you. But that is what makes me good at my work. When I don't want to be found... I won't. Good day sire.”

“Are you forgetting something?” he asked “My jokers?”

I looked at his security guards and grinned. “You already have them sir”

The security guards looked at each other then scowled at me as they realized what I was saying.

I laughed then walked over to the table and picked up the deck of Plum cards and opened them and fanned them out till I found the two I was looking for and tossed them out on the table. Then put the other cards back in the deck and headed for the door. As I passed the guards I pushed the deck up into one of the guys chest. “A gift, Something for you to help pass the time while your waiting your turn at 'talking' to the three outside and their boss.” I chuckled and left to the sound of Mr. Kennedy saying “I like that guy. Now go pick up Mr. Eisenhower and bring him back. I want to have a talk with him and his three employees down in the basement.”

Payment was waiting as promised, along with the assistants phone number written on the back of a business card. I tossed that on my way out, wasn't planning on being back any time soon to keep it. The elevator was empty on my way down. And the door man smiled and told me to have a nice day. The cab driver had waited, again with what I had tipped him it was no surprise.

I looked out the window of the cab as we made our way through the city to the spaceport. No sleeping for me. I was caring over 90,000 Alliance credits in a briefcase at my side. And it would have been a great day if my mother wasn't at the back of my mind telling me it was time to lay down. At least I thought it was my mother. It was how I remembered her voice sounding. I listened to the sound of the drums to keep me awake and thought.

'Maybe someday I will get to mom. Maybe some day I will get to lay down.'

The Wild Card part 1

I turned back out of my fifth Alley today and back onto the street, checking the map on the Flexxy I kept sticking half out of my left jacket pocket. A sigh escaped my lips as I cursed myself for making that mistake again, but what do you expect. The alleys on core planets are to damn easily mistaken for streets.
First off, alleys are not suppose to be that damn clean. That's how you know they are alleys. Dirt, garbage, litter and the smell of urine is always a good sign that its an ALLEY. But not here on a Core planet. No these freaks have enough time and money on their hands to keep their alleys clean.
Second, if there is a sign on the corner that reads "Quick cross to ...." and the name of the next parallel street that you can get to through that alley and you expect people to use it regularly for that purpose. IT'S NOT AN ALLEY, IT'S A FUCKING STREET. SLAP A NAME ON IT, STICK IT ON THE MAP!
I rubbed the spot on my wrist where the cuff had been rubbing at it all day and stepped over to look into a store front window of one of the business. I didn't care much at all for what was in the store. It was the glass and the reflection it provided that I was interested in the most.
A quick glance and I confirmed what I had been feeling for the last ten minutes. I was being followed. And by three guys that really needed to learn to not stop and pretend to be doing something else when your mark makes a sudden halt. It's a dead give away that your following him. But I cant complain. If they were good at what they did. I might just be in trouble.
I tightened my grip on the large metal security case hand cuffed to my left arm and dropped my hand into my right pocket to make sure the key to the cuff was still in there as I turned back onto the street and headed off. I only had ten blocks to go and this job was done and I was one step closer to getting off this planet and back to where you can feel safe.
Cause on the Core you cant carry weapons. Not a gun, not a sword, not a giant hammer big enough to crush a Reavers head in a single swing. Hell they made me turn in my pocket knife. WHAT THE HELL? It has a three inch blade. Yah sure I can kill someone with it. But really. Do you have to be that paranoid to make a man turn in a folding pocket knife.
I chuckled out of frustration not at any kind of humor in the idea and quickened my pace as I crossed the next street intersection. I didnt like being unarmed. Especially with what I knew was coming.
Nine blocks to go and if my pursuers didn't make a move soon then they would be out of luck. common since and any idiot thug knew that you didnt let your mark get within five blocks of his destination. If you hit him that close then the chances of him alerting the police and them getting to his scheduled destination before you could make his appointment and get away with the money increase so dramically that it wasnt worth the risk.
No in that case, if you cant get the package before that point you wait for the target to come out with the money and jump his ass then and that was so not on my plan for the day or even tomorrow or the next. I know, I checked my calendar before I got on this rock and made sure it wasnt on there.
I adjusted the cuff again and slid my hand into my pocket again. Yah the key was still there thank the 'verse for that.
It had taken twenty minutes of arguing, negotiating and finally threatening to get that key. And I wouldn't have taken the job if I hadn't gotten it. See most people who hire you for a job like this dont want to give you the key to the cuff. They are afraid that if they do you might sell the package to another client and cut them out of their share. Or worse. Ditch it at the first sign of trouble. Like I planned to do.
Yeh, that's right, these three make a move and they can have it, the case,the cuff and the key. Whats in this case is not worth dying for and I have no intentions of doing so. Call me a coward, call me unreliable. I don't care. At the end of the day. I get out with my life and my hand still attached to my wrist.
See thats the other reason to get the key. If your muggers are feeling generous enough to let you live and you dont have the key. Then their only option is to cut your hand off. And I know its corny to say, but I am attached to this hand. My mother gave it to me. Its part of a matched set.
Now I laughed at that.
I pulled the flexxy from my pocket and checked the route. Next street, turn right. three blocks then a left and another four to the building. Almost there.
This is where it gets dangerous.
I picked up my pace a little then turned right at the next corner and increased my speed to put as much distance between me and the street with my pursuers as I could.
I was halfway down when I stopped dead in my tracks
Yep, another alley.
I hate Core planets and their clean fucking alleys.
I turned in time to see the three turn the corner right behind me and stop.
They stood stunned as they spotted me standing there facing them.
I turned and ran.
Three sets of feet could be heard behind me as I made time down the alley.
Here is where a clean alley actually paid off. Nothing to run around to slow you down. Nothing to trip over. Just you and a straight shot to the next street. Hopefully. As long as the alley you picked wasnt a dead end. Thank the 'verse this one wasnt. I looked ahead just to be sure. Nope it wasn't.
I was gaining distance on the three when I brought my right foot down at an odd angle and tumbled to the ground. The case slammed into the ground first, then my stomach, then I hit the ground and rolled.
Goram it that hurt.
I pushed up and forced myself to move, gasping for air as my stomach and lungs spasmed from the impact of the case.
Yah that wasnt in the plan.
I risked a glance back over my shoulder and saw that the thugs were only about three meters behind me. And with my stomach hurting I wasnt going to out run them.
My hand shot into my picket and pulled out the key and fumbled to get it in the lock of the cuff as I faught to keep my shortening lead on the three.
The cuff clicked open and I threw the case off to the side and listened as it hit the wall and rebounded off it.
Here is where it really sucks.
There is no guarantee that your muggers are going to stop as a group for the case. One atleast will. but the other two can often contiue on to try and catch you. And if they do, your in trouble.
I bulted. running as fast as I could down the alley now able to see the opening of said allley onto the next street.
I risked a glance over my shoulder. One had stopped, two were still in pursuit.
Tāmāde hùndàns! I was afraid of that.
I put everything I had into reaching the next street. If I didnt it was so going to hurt.
Nope!
I felt the hand land on my shoulder and push me to the side. I hit the wall before I could brace myself and I hit it head first.
There was a moment of confusion then I fell the warmth of liquid running down my face a moment before I felt the boot in my side. Then another.
Seems these guys like to kick. And, Xióngmāo niào, they were good at it too.
I felt three of my rigs crack..... No, two cracked, one broke.
Instict told me to get up and fight, but I knew better then that. Even if I could get back up and put up a fight. There was a chance, a very good chance,that one of the three had something I didnt. A weapon. And that was the last thing I wanted to find out.
So it was lay here and take it.
"Wèi!, we got what we came for lets GO! Before someone get curious." A voice yelled from down the alley.
That was the smart one, the leader of this group and the guy I was hoping for. Cause he just saved my life.
I heard feet turn and run from where I layed on the ground then felt another swift kick to my ribs.
Yah and there was the sadist, there was always one and they had to get the last kick in.
He turned and ran.
Me, I just layed there and tried to breath with out hurting.
No good, it didnt work.
Wǒde tiān! I hate the Core.