DusktoDust_Final3 (11 page)

He put on a climbing harness and gloves. Approaching the refrigerator unit in the kitchenette, he took out the rope. With skills he had learned in basic training, he looped it around the heavy appliance and tied it off with a figure eight knot.

While he was in the kitchenette he grabbed the fire extinquisher from under the sink. He then returned to the window. Using multipurpose tape, he taped the extinguisher to where the glass overlapped with the wall. Then he clipped himself into the rope. He walked over to his closet and took his pistol out of his backpack. It was show time.

Letsego sheltered as much of his body inside the closet as he could and then took aim at the fire extinguisher. He slowed his breathing. The target was small and about ten meters away. It was not a difficult shot. Once he had the front sight post of the weapon where he needed it he exhaled one more time and squeezed the trigger.

Everything happened very quickly. His shot was dead on. The fire extinguisher exploded in a puff of smoke, sending glass and shrapnel everywhere. Letsego shielded his eyes. When he looked back up he was not pleased.

The explosion had damaged the glass, but it had not shattered the entire pane like he hoped. Instead it had just put a fist sized hole and a spider web of cracks in the tempered glass. Along with ringing in his ears, Letsego could hear the wind from outside as it whistled through the hole.

Suddenly, Letsego was aware of noise from the door. He could hear the PK on the other side frantically keying in an access code, wanting to know what had just happened.
It
’s now or never
.

Letsego started running for the almost shattered window. As he crossed the room he picked up a small coffee table, which had been overturned in the explosion, and with both hands braced it against his shoulder. The table was now a battering ram. He ran full speed at the window. Behind him he could hear the door hiss open, but the PK was too late.

The table hit the glass with so much force that Letsego felt it in every bone of his body. The glass didn
’
t shatter. Instead, the whole pane dislodged from the window frame and went tumbling down to the surface, as did the table and Letsego.

In midair, Letsego flailed to grab the loose end of the rope. Just before the slack went taught, he found it and clinched it in his gloved hand. Then he started swing back towards the building like a pendulum. There was nothing he could do. His body crashed hard against the polished metal skyscraper.

The wind was knocked out him but he quickly regained his bearings. He looked up just in time to see the PK
’
s head pop out from the space where his window had once been.
“
Hey, stop right there!
”
the man shouted as he raised his rifle. Letsego ignored the order. If the PK wanted to shoot him there was nothing he could do. He just hoped that man didn
’
t have it in him to kill a fellow Peacekeeper in cold blood.

Letsego brought his legs up and stood against the side of the building. Then he started repelling. He had fallen about two stories so he only had two more to go down to the parking garage entrance. Looking down as he went, he lowered himself to just above the opening. Then, with the grace that comes from many years of climbing, he jumped away from the building and swung back into the garage.

The first sound Letsego heard in the garage was a horn blaring, and he narrowly dodged a blue sedan. He unhooked himself from the rope and took off at a sprint towards his hover. He knew that the PK was probably already calling for back up. Letsego needed to get out of here while he still could.

He ran up to his hover, a black BMW coupe, and its lights flashed as it unlocked for him. Climbing in the driver
’
s side door, he pushed the ignition button. The electric motor purred to life. Letsego didn
’
t waste any time. He put the vehicle in drive and accelerated out of the garage.

Five minutes later he was out of Mandell City and cruising in a free fly area headed south. As his adrenaline dissipated, Letsego felt his mobile vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked the caller ID. It was Conway.

“
Yeah,
”
Letsego answered.

“
Are you out of your mind?
”

Letsego had expected this.
“
I
’
m doing what Burleigh won
’
t, Conway. I
’
m going to catch these guys.
”
“
Lets, you aren
’
t thinking right. This isn
’
t a mission any more, this is a personal vendetta,
”
Conway pleaded.
“
You don
’
t even know where they are going.
”

“
Kentai. I figured it out. They
’
re going to Kentai.
”

“
Even if they
did
go to Kentai, they are going to be long gone by the time you get there.
”

Letsego thought that at least Conway would be on his side.
“
It doesn
’
t matter. If they aren
’
t there I
’
ll pick up their trail somehow. I
’
m going to find them.
”

Conway sighed. He knew he couldn
’
t talk his team leader out of this.
“
Roger.
”

“
Can I trust you won
’
t tell Captain Burleigh that we talked?
”

“
Of course you can. I
’
m here to help, Staff Sergeant. Just do us all a favor. Don
’
t get yourself killed.
”

“
I
’
ll do my best. I
’
m going to be dropping this mobile, but I
’
ll be in touch.
”

“
If anyone can find them, you can. Good luck.
”

“
I don
’
t need luck.
”

David
’
s sleep was restless.

By all accounts he should have slept like a baby. Mr. Black had undersold the hotel room he had booked for them. It was in Kentai, but it had to be the nicest accommodations there. The room was decorated in 5-star luxury. There was a room service kiosk mounted on the wall with delicious, albeit expensive, cuisine available at a moment
’
s notice. He was sleeping in quite possibly the most comfortable bed of all time. There were even windows with automatic tinting which changed the crimson sky of Prospect into whatever time of day it would be on Earth.

It wasn
’
t physical discomfort, though, that was disturbing David
’
s sleep. After the meet in the Twilight
’
s End, he couldn
’
t shake the feeling that there was something sinister happening with this job. There had been too many things wrong about Mr. Black. David had never met a contact like him before.

The first thing that had surprised David was that Mr. Black had said he worked directly for Windcorp. If that were true, he must be rather high-up in the organization considering his age. And if that were true, it meant that David and Alana were getting involved in something much more serious than they had initially thought.

The gangs that Windcorp sponsored were bad enough, but if Windcorp itself was getting involved in this illicit business it had to be for something very important. It meant that they didn
’
t trust their numerous other criminal organizations with whatever was being smuggled..

But they trust it with us?,
David thought as he tossed and turned. This job was getting worse every time he turned around.

Finally, he gave up on getting any type of restful sleep. He looked at his watch. It was one in the morning. He had been sleeping for four hours.
Good enough
, he thought and swung his legs out of the bed.

He walked across the room to the balcony. In the other bed Alana was passed out. He didn
’
t know when she had come back. She had gone out on a long run when they had checked in to the hotel.. After the meet they had hardly talked. He could tell that she was even madder at him now for them taking this job.

The door slid open as he approached the balcony. He was blinded by the red glow of the Dusk Zone. When his eyes adjusted he could see the skyline of the city. And it sent a chill down his spine. To the left, not far off, the buildings gave way to barren plains which stretched into the heat of the light side of the planet. To the right, back the way he and Alana had come, the dark side was the polar opposite landscape, but just as deadly.

Here David stood, surveying the dusk as he performed a dangerous balancing act. He had been to both extremes before and had somehow managed to escape them in one piece. And now he was about to make the journey again, throw away what he knew and travel into an extreme he could not survive in for long.

“
Nothing like a Prospectian twilight.
”

David was startled. He turned to see Alana standing next to him on the balcony.
“
Didn
’
t mean to scare you.
”
she said.
“
I heard you get up.
”

David nodded.
“
I couldn
’
t sleep.
”

“
Me neither.
”
She started to say something but stopped herself.

He caught on.
“
I know what you
’
re going to say.
”

“
Do you now?
”

“
I admit it,
”
he said, taking a step towards the railing.
“
Maybe taking this job was wrong.
”

“
Maybe?
”
she said, getting defensive.
“
After what we encountered yesterday, I would say that there is no question that we are in over our heads.
”

“
Mr. Black was not what I expected.
”

“
D, we are working directly for Windcorp. Do you even get what that means?
”

“
I do.
”

“
Really? Because you aren
’
t acting like it. Windcorp takes great care to distance itself from the criminal organizations and all the activities it funds. So for it to openly hire us means that this run is pretty damn important.
”

“
And since it is pretty damn important, they are going to bend over backwards to make sure it goes off without a hitch.
”

Alana aughed uneasily..
“
And what if bending over backwards means cleaning up all the loose ends when the run is done? I know you
’
re not that dumb, D. You
’
ve thought about it.
”

She was right, he had thought about it. If this run was as important as they thought it was, it wasn
’
t crazy to think that Windcorp would go to great lengths to keep it secret. When in doubt, shoot the messenger.
“
I
’
ve thought about it,
”
he admitted.

Alana calmed down a little.
“
Tell me the truth. When was the last time you actually felt good about what you are doing with your life?
”

Instinctually, David
’
s mind floated back to a time two years ago, a time when he knew what his purpose in life was. It had been a long time since he
’
d had that satisfaction.
“
It
’
s been a while,
”
he admitted.

“
Thank you. So what are we going to do about this Windcorp issue.
”

David sighed.
“
We need to have a way out if the run does go south.
”

“
We should leave now. If we rent a hover we can be back to Mandell City before Black notices we
’
ve missed the train. By the time he tracks us down we
’
ll be on the Skylift and protected by a garrison of PKs.
”

He looked at her skeptically.
“
You really think that would work? I think that the second we open the hotel room door, alarms in some Windcorp security room will go off.
”
He looked her in the eyes.
“
Now is not the time.
”

“
Then when?
”

David thought. He ran through in his head everything that Mr. Black had told them the day before, and then everything that would have to happen for the run to be successful. And then it was obvious to him. The answer was staring him in the face.
“
Okay, here
’
s what we are going to do.
”

They both managed to get a couple more hours of sleep after that. By six thirty they were out of the hotel and on the street. David flagged a cab and they caught a ride to the freight terminal. With a couple of hours to kill they searched for a caf
é
. Despite hating the taste of coffee, David decided that he absolutely needed the kick this morning. A bite to eat wouldn
’
t hurt either.

A couple of blocks from the terminal they found a rundown caf
é
and eatery and decided it would be good enough. David chose a seat at a table which had a good view of both entrances to the establishment. Alana followed his lead. Once David had scanned all the faces in the caf
é
for anything suspicious, he turned his attention to the menu screen embedded in the table. His actions weren
’
t from paranoia. They were from years of training and practice and were practically second nature now. In truth, he could care less if Windcorp or the PKs were interested in what he was having for breakfast.

Despite its rundown looks on the outside, the caf
é
they had chosen was far more advanced than the Twilight
’
s End had been. It had fully automated service, complete with an interactive menu and robotic waiters who buzzed around the place delivering coffee and food to the patrons.

David ordered black coffee and crimson fruit crepes from his menu. While Prospect had few delicacies to offer, crimson fruit was one of them. The sour fruits grew in the forests of the Dusk Zone, where scavengers would venture out and collect them and sell back in the city for a meager profit. David had always enjoyed their unique taste.

Alana punched in her own order on her menu. Then the countdown started in the center of the table. It would take about five minutes for their food to arrive. David turned his attention back to the screen. Adding an extra note to his tab, he gained access to the galactic news feed and began scanning through the headlines. He made a point of keeping up on current events. When your profession sent you to every corner of the known galaxy, it was useful to know the political and social status of the regions you were frequenting. And with the unspecified destination of their current run, David wanted to be prepared for every contingency.

He skimmed through the major headlines. Mining operations on Baoshi were expected to expand to the planet
’
s moons, of which there were five. On Mars, a German terradome had suffered a leak, which had been promptly fixed, but in the process valuable atmo had been lost and over one hundred of the inhabitants had been asphyxiated. In the Sierra Sector raider attacks were on the rise, with three freighters and one liner having been hit within the past two weeks.

David accessed the third article. Raiders were modern day pirates. They exploited the deregulation of the space lanes and intercepted unprotected and unsuspecting travelers. Knowing the activities of Raider gangs was very important to a pilot. The gangs usually attacked ships on major shipping lanes, so knowing the current trends told a pilot which routes to use and which not to use.

Raiders usually used a vast energy field to force a ship to drop out of hyperspace. They would then board the ship, whose passengers and crew were injured, incapacitated, or dead from the unexpected drop, and plunder whatever they could. David had never personally run into raiders out in the lanes, but he had known a few spacers who had. They were the lucky ones. The majority of people who fell prey to a raider attack didn
’
t live to tell the tale.

In recent years, with the increase in attacks, commercial ships had begun arming themselves with rudimentary weapons like chain guns. Some even boasted missile pods. There had also been a higher demand for escort pilots. David had considered switching professions to the more legitimate piloting career, but the average lifespan for an escort pilot was not promising.

“
Are you seeing this?
”
Alana asked from across the table. She had been reading the headlines as well.

David nodded.
“
Yeah, they are getting more daring every day.
”

“
Do they have any idea which gang it is?
”

David read further into the article.
“
They think it might be Black Crescent. If not it could be the Marauders, though I doubt they
’
ve spread this far away from their main territory.
”

“
The Sierra Sector? That
’
s right next to Prospect. Do you think we have anything to worry about?
”

David shook his head.
“
Not if we don
’
t use the major space lanes.
”
They never did.
“
Plus, Tango is too well patrolled by the PKs for raiders to risk coming near Prospect. It
’
s not worth it.
”
Raiders were in it for the money, and it was a lot easier to loot ships in uninhabited sectors than those with planetary systems.

“
What if they attack the planet?
”
Alana countered. Every once in a while, raider gangs had been known to conduct hit and run attacks against populated systems. Authorities considered it more of a scare tactic than anything else. Little profit was gained. Even so, it was something to worry about.

“
We
’
re going to be off this rock in a couple days, hopefully. After that, who cares what happens.
”

Their coffee and food was delivered. David began choking down the dark brown liquid. He hated the bitter taste, but he could feel the caffeine energize him. When they were done eating David scanned his card across the reader, settling the bill. Then the two of them exited the caf
é
and headed back toward the terminal.

The Windham City freight terminal was very different than the train station in Mandell City. Unlike the train station, the freight terminal was open to the air, not buried underneath urban labyrinths. The freight terminal dealt with hundreds of thousands of tons of ore a day. It was situated in the heart of the industrial sector of the city and was built with utility in mind.

David and Alana approached one of the many pedestrian entrances to the terminal. It was unimpressive, just a metal gate and body scanner set into the three story high wall that surrounded the facility. Like most Windcorp facilities, security was high. This was where the majority of legitimate business passed through. All access was highly controlled to prevent thieves and competitors from stealing and sabotaging the ore.

At the gate, they were stopped by troopers wearing the yellow triangular patch of Windcorp Security. The troopers were dressed in desert camouflage body armor and were heavily armed, holding submachine guns at the ready. David knew that these men were as well trained as Peacekeepers, if not more. Windcorp had billions of notes to spend, and they had established their own security training academies. He had no interest on pissing off the Windcorp troopers.