Beluga Fay (Dragon Bone Hill) (9 page)

“So,” speaking to the eight prisoners, “who’s got information to trade?”

“Trade for what?” A guard of middling years asked from the center of the group. Another elbowed him, but he pushed them aside and stepped up. “Trade for what?”

“I can keep that fellow I just threatened to shoot away from you.”

“What about letting me go?”

“It’ll have to be big. Is it?”

“You looking for fuel?”

Pym wanted a quiet word. “Send the others to the back of the column. Keep the guards safe—don’t let Lander near them.”

After the meeting with the guard, Titus called his people together again—including Lander. “We’ve found a fuel depot a few kilometers north of Makati.”

“That guard?” Essie asked.

Titus nodded.

“Big?”

“Enough to keep us going for a while, and there are supposed to be a couple of tanker trucks up there as well.”

“Convenient,” Lander sniped from the back.

“Glad you believe so because I’m sending you, Synon, and whoever will go with you to claim it.” Pym forced ahead before Lander could interrupt. “Take two of the police cars and their uniforms too. That should get you through the gate before they see you aren’t who they believe you are. After that, it’s up to you.”

“But...” Lander began.

“You are going, or you’re against the wall.”

Lander gave it up.

“What about the prisoners?” Bannly asked.

“What of them?” Pym had an idea of where this was going.

“We can’t leave them alive if we do this—they’ll know where the information came from and then the Governor will be coming after us.”

“I’m not sure...”

“He’s right.” Synon didn’t seem to like the idea, but was agreeing with Bannly nonetheless.

“Alright.” Titus didn’t want to do this, but their situation was strategic. “Give them to Lander and make sure he knows it’s to be fast and clean.”

“What happens to me now?” There was a coquette in the voice, but Pym wasn’t going to be taken in by that.

“Let’s begin with your name.”

“Glenna Budiman.” She appeared to have caught on to Pym’s coolness, and the woman dropped the voice, though Titus was certain it would not be far off. It was clear the woman understood she was negotiating for her life and would do whatever it took to save it.

“You are from Makati?”

“Yes.” Fingers worrying each other.

Glenna was a beautiful woman with skin a deep chocolate brown, faultless, and an athletic body, little hidden in a short, tight, blue cocktail dress. The shoes were matching cerulean stilettos. He wondered if the woman had worn these for the guards—was she taunting them or attempting to encourage commitment. Her hair, having fallen loose from its bun, was long—down to the middle of her back—and a shiny raven. The woman’s eyes were about as black. She was probably from the southern islands—or her people were. As Titus took this in, she again uncrossed her legs and let the right shoe dangle loosely from her toes.

Since getting on with the Beluga Fay, Titus had not had a woman—that was a long time ago—but this was not the place to work out his personal issues. As he considered the foot, Budiman abruptly stood and stepped up against him. Not tall, perhaps not more than one hundred and sixty centimeters, she had placed her face nearly into his chest and tilted it back just enough so he could see the black eyes. Glenna gently pushed her hips forward so her abdomen, tight and hard, brushed into his groin. Titus took her neck gently in his hand and pushed her back. “Not quite yet.”

“I want out.” The statement didn’t quite make sense, and she seemed to recognize this. “I want out of the city.”

“How can I help you?”

“As it happens, I believe quite a bit.”

“Is that what you were doing in the column?”

“No, I was going to meet my father. He is up north inspecting the Wall. My brother is there as well.”

“Inspecting?”

“Yes. Father is in the government—part of the Governor’s Cabinet.”

This caught Pym’s attention. “Yes, you could ransom me.”

“Or?”

“Do you want out of the city?”

“Yes.” The answer a whisper; though alone, Titus was worried someone might have returned. The warehouse they’d relocated to tended to carry voices that were little more than a whisper quite far. That was dangerous because there was no way to be certain who was who, nor what their agendas were. Those such as Lander were forthrightly stupid about their goals, but this left everyone else that was waiting for an opportunity. Here was a chance all of the Beluga would want a part of. Glenna, appearing to have seen something in Titus’s eyes, continued.

“Only you.”

“How many in your group?”

“Group?”

“You won’t be doing this on your own.”

“You’re not stupid. After that business today, I was certain you would be.”

“What do you mean?”

“That thing guarding me.”

“Ah, Lander—sorry about that.”

“His sort is easily handled, but I wondered if you all were like that.”

“Not all, but there are some left over.”

“You keep them around?”

“They have their uses. Back to the business about getting out and your group.” Budiman smiled and pushed back into him. This time he did not push her away. “My brother and some friends—small group, not more than a dozen of us at the moment.”

“At the moment?”

“The situation, even in Makati, is fluid. Some people die; some fall from favor and are forced to leave the district; others lose heart and give up; some even kill themselves. Suicide has been a growing problem behind Makati’s walls.”

“But not for you?”

“I want out.”

“How can I help you?”

“You are interested?” Cupping the man’s groin and squeezing, Glenna smiled.

“But not stupid.”

“What do you mean?” Picking her up, Pym turned the woman about and lay her on the table.

“This doesn’t mean anything.”

“Nothing.”

Afterward, she lay on the table—legs still about the man’s hips. One shoe had fallen off, and as she brought this up, Titus was intrigued by the brilliant white of the bottom of this matched against the chocolate of the upper part of the foot. Kissing the instep, he ran a tongue along this.

“It has been awhile for you?” she asked.

“What kind of help do you need?”

“You do not give up much—what’s your name?”

“Titus Pym.”

“That’s your real name?”

“Does it matter?”

“Like I said—not much.”

“What kind of help are you looking for?”

“The Wall guards are proving difficult.” Sitting—keeping the man inside of her. As she sat up, Titus kicked off his boots and stepped out of his trousers. His shirt was already open, so he let this fall to the floor. Glenna ran her fingers through the hair on his abdomen. “Our men don’t have much hair on their bodies.” He wasn’t sure what she was playing at, but he wanted the woman back on topic.

“What is so difficult about them?” taking her chin in his hand.

“At first we began to trade for goods beyond the Wall with precious stones. Currency, any currency, quickly lost most of its value after the blockade.”

He nodded.

“But after awhile, someone realized there were lots of desperate women in the city—then it was sex for goods, plus the stones.”

“You want protection.”

“And the help of someone who knows how to deal with such men.”

“Very well.”

“But only you.”

“Only me.”

 “You just let her go?” Bannly was having trouble with what had been done, and without consulting any of the Beluga. “Why would you do that?”

“More useful back where she is than here as a toy for Lander and his crew.”

“They are too afraid of you—why did you really let her go?”

“Her father is in the government.” There was a deep silence following Synon’s sharp intake of breath.

“But she would have been worth a lot of food, medical supplies, and much more besides.” It had taken Bannly awhile to work up his nerve to make the observation. Synon nodded agreement.

“True, but better than that, Glenna’s agreed to broker a deal between us and the Governor’s office.”

“What...” Synon began, but Titus held up a hand.

“The Cartel, even some of the larger gangs, is beginning to pose a problem for the government—local and national. They need someone to take some of the pressure off the police, militia, and security forces.”

“We’re going against the Cartel?” Bannly’s voice had become nearly hysterical.

“Not against them—not directly, not yet.”

“Then what?” Synon wondered.

“They will, according to Glenna, need Intelligence about anything they may be planning.”

“How would we know what they are up to?” Bannly again.

“Our star is rising—we’re chipping into their trade, and our acquisition of weapons and vehicles has turned us into a threat. Sooner or later they will come to kill us, or to force us to join them. When that happens, we will already have people on the inside. This should give us a considerable edge.”

“That’s a dangerous game you’d have us play.” Synon was not happy with the idea.

“Only the three of us—more than us and there’s a good chance this would get back to the wrong people.” Both seemed to understand he meant those they would be spying on.

“Still, to align, if only loosely,” Bannly seemed uncomfortable, “with the government—if anyone found out.”

“They can’t,” Synon jumped in, “find out.”

“What do we get for our efforts?” Bannly wanted to know.

“Can’t say.”

“Or won’t say?” Bannly was becoming upset.

“I only let her go—Budiman’s going to take my proposal to the Governor.”

“What of the guards we killed?”

“We didn’t—Lander did. Seems he might serve a purpose after all. Besides, with this new deal, there is no way we could keep him about. We’ll have to find some way to make certain he gets handed over to the Governor’s people, after they have agreed to our terms.” Synon sat down across from Titus in a large, overstuffed couch, which smelled vaguely of mildew. They were in one of the few rooms in the warehouse that had doors, and this was removed from the rest of the complex. The canteen was on the first floor of the main building and the housing units were in the west-wing of the warehouse.

“What do we tell everyone?” Synon looked to have moved on to practical matters.

“For the moment she has been tucked away some place safe, and not far off. The three of us will have to pretend we have secured and are interrogating Ms. Budiman. We should not let it be known her father is in the government. For now I want it let out she’s the daughter of a low-level bureaucrat that works in food distribution. They are only in Makati because of this. After all, the higher up she is placed, the more trouble Lander will cause.”

“You’ve thought this out in a very short period of time.”

“That’s why I am leading the Beluga Fay.”

Bannly didn’t seem to like the answer, but also appeared to have trouble arguing with it.

“If you keep this sort of thing up you won’t be leading much longer.” Synon bit back.

Titus turned to her, but it was not anger he saw, so much as concern. As he raised a questioning eyebrow, the woman explained.

“Your plan has a great many—what did you call it—moving parts. All it would take is for someone to start digging and it would begin to unravel. When it does, if it does, those that helped you will be implicated in your betrayal.”

“Betrayal? I’m not betraying the Beluga—I’m leading.”

“Most,” Bannly joined the critique, “will
not
see it that way.”

“This is why you put me in charge.”

“No, I gave you the Beluga because I could not lead, but they do not need a dictator—especially with people like Lander still attempting to undermine every choice you make.”

“Why I plan on giving him to the Governor.”

“You should not wait long on that.” Synon pointed at him with a finger that was less about emphasis and more accusation.

“Even if you hand Lander over, there are others that have been following him. What do you do with them?”

“Followers? I’m not interested in followers—leaders are more of a problem.”