Lasers, Lies and Money: Outsiders Trilogy Book 1 by Alex Kings

Author:Alex Kings [Kings, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-04-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 42: All Investment Comes With Risk

In his cabin, Rurthk gestured at the computer terminal to put through a call on the bulkwave. He put in the details and waited, half expecting there to be no response.

It took close to a minute for a reply to come through.

“Hello,” said a soft androgynous-sounding voice. “To whom am I speaking?”

“Captain Rurthk of the Outsider.”

“And do you recall the name of the broker who gave you this contact?”

“He went by Mr. Hand.”

“Excellent,” said the voice. “Sorry about that. I just needed to confirm it was really you. Given your circumstances last time you saw us, it's possible someone else had obtained our contact details. I'm sure you understand. So – how can I help you?”

“We have Tommy Egliante's hard drives, but their content is protected with a passkey. As I understand it, Sukone has hired someone else to obtain the passkey. I want to know how we can find that person and learn the passkey.”

“I see,” said the voice. “Give me a moment.” There was silence for several seconds, then it said, “Yes, I think we have that.”

“One more thing” said Rurthk. “I doubt I have enough cryptcreds to pay for this request.”

“You put me in a rather awkward position, Captain,” said the voice.

“Don't worry,” said Rurthk. “I think I have an alternate payment you might accept.”

“I can guarantee nothing … but go ahead.”

“The contents of the hard drive. There are certainly millions of cryptcreds in there. And, according to what your people told me during our last meeting, there may also be significant information about Sukone and Sweetblade.”

“And what guarantee do we have that you would pay?”

“My word,” said Sukone. “Given what Mr. Hand said, it appears you already know a little bit about me, so you can check my record and see how often I keep my promises.”

The voice said nothing.

“One more thing. I'm sure you're willing to stake your reputation on the quality of the information you give. Is that so.”

“It certainly is,” said the voice.

“Good. I'm relying on your information right now. Mr. Hand suggested that Sukone plans to betray us. If that's right, then I have no problem giving you the information on the hard drives. But if Sukone's deal with us is legitimate, if he doesn't want to kill us, your information is wrong – or misleading, at least. In that case, I give the hard drives to him and you get nothing. Does that sound fair?”

“What if Sukone kills you before you can tell us what's on the hard drive?” said the voice.

Rurthk smiled. “All investment comes with risk. You just have to decide whether the return is worth it.”

“Excuse me,” said the voice. “Please keep the line open.”

Rurthk waited for six or seven minutes, hearing only background static of the bulkwave.

When at last the information brokers responded, there was another voice. This one Rurthk recognised. It was Mr. Hand. “Hello, Captain. I believe we can do business. I'm sending you the details you might need.”

A download came through the bulkwave.

Download

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