Galactic Law by J N Chaney & James S Aaron

Author:J N Chaney & James S Aaron [Chaney, J N & Aaron, James S]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2020-01-11T16:00:00+00:00

19

“She gets lonely,” Drina said, digging through a parts bin. “I can’t blame her, but it can still irritate the hell out of me. I’m allowed to have feelings.”

I sat on a stool at one of the engineer’s workbenches. I’d been watching her work for the last hour, waiting for Keldon to reappear.

“Sure,” I agreed.

“I’m trying to run a shop here. We’ve got an image to maintain. Sometimes we have to use violence. I can’t have the rank and file see the boss getting all giddy when an old flame like Keldon shows up. It’s bad for business.”

“I’m starting to think he didn’t just show up,” I said. “Seemed like Jack was in a better mood the minute we learned the minishuttle had a connection to Rolo.”

Drina shook her head. “This has happened before. Those two are like oil and water. They seem fine to start, but then it gets too hot and the oil smokes, the water evaporates, things get sticky, and before you know it everything is on fire.”

“When was he here last?” I asked.

“A year ago? I don’t keep track. I think he arrested her some ten years ago. It’s been on and off since then.”

“That’s awkward,” I said.

One of Drina’s workers appeared in the doorway with Carthage’s dead handgun in one hand. “Hey, Boss,” he said. “Did you want this thing?”

“That’s mine,” I said.

The worker tossed it to me. “Then clean up your crap.”

I caught the pistol and turned it in my hands. The firing mechanism was scorched and the battery no longer showed charge. A long burn ran from under the barrel to the back of the power control.

A dark realization set over me. Carthage had set me up. If I had been carrying the handgun in Ronny’s apartment, I’d be dead. So doing the right thing had actually saved my ass. Now I had to figure out how that fit into the bigger picture.

“What are you grinning about?” Drina asked.

“Luck. You want this thing?”

She shrugged. “Throw it in that bin over there. It might have some use someday.”

I tossed the pistol. “What can you tell me about this gang?”

“You don’t want to mess with them. That’s what I know.”

“I already did.”

“If that’s true and you’re alive, you should count your blessings.”

“How many of them are there?”

“Maybe a thousand. They run an old ice processing facility on the far side of the Chop.”

I sat up straighter. “Is that where the mini called home to?”

Drina made a sour face, realizing she’d given up the info she refused to share earlier. “Yes, I think so. I haven’t seen any activity though. We’ve got a feed from a sensor over there. Things are still quiet. Or normal, at least.”

“What kind of work do they do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are they mercenaries? Do they do work for hire?”

“What do you think they do? You offer enough cash, they’ll watch your dog and babysit your kids. Or knock off a Union transport in open space and murder the whole crew. They’re crazy.

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