DusktoDust_Final3 (15 page)

“
Fine.
”

Windham smiled.
“
Good, it is a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Carpenter.
”
He extended his hand, which David reluctantly shook.
“
Okay, now time to meet the passengers. Mr. Black!
”

David gave Alana a sideways glance.
“
Passengers?
”
They hadn
’
t planned on passengers. That would greatly interrupt their plan.

“
Of course. I
’
m paying you a small fortune. I might as well get as much bang for my buck as I can.
”
David and Alana met each other
’
s eyes again. This was really going to screw things up.

Behind them the double wooden doors opened. David turned to see Mr. Black enter followed by a Windcorp Security trooper.
“
Lady, gentleman, you already know Mr. Black,
”
Windham introduced.
“
This is First Lieutenant Castle.
”

The trooper took off his desert camouflage helmet to reveal a face that David had nearly forgotten.
“
How
’
s it going, Carp,
”
the man said before David could overcome his shock.
“
Long time no see. I see you
’
re still keeping the same company.
”

Alana reacted first.
“
It
’
s better than having no one who cares about you at all.
”
Then she lunged at him but David held her back.

Both Windham and Black were caught off guard by the whole exchange.
“
I take it you all know each other,
”
Windham said.

David kept his cool.
“
We
’
ve crossed paths before.
”
It took every ounce of will power to not leap across the room and throttle the sick son of a bitch that he hadn
’
t seen in nearly three years.
“
How
’
s it going Castle? I see you got promoted a couple times since we parted ways. I guess Windcorp has different standards for its officers.
”

Castle countered.
“
More like they value my skills more than the Marines ever did.
”

Mr. Black cut in.
“
Is there a problem here?
”
His demeanor was calm as usual but he clearly was not happy by this recent development.

The answer to that question was delicate. Dominic Castle had served in the Marine Corps with David and Alana. But he had not been a lieutenant back then. He had been a corporal, and in David
’
s opinion, as his platoon sergeant, he had been a terrible Marine. To say that David and Castle had history was an understatement. Castle had not gotten out of the Corps when Congress had dissolved the service. He had been kicked out about a year before for accusations of torture.

Staff Sergeant Carpenter had been happy to see the man go and was more than willing to give him a kick on the way out the door. He had figured that Castle had gone on to find employment from any number of unsavory organizations, of which Windcorp was one. But to see him here in an officer
’
s uniform made David
’
s stomach turn.
If he
’s involved, this job is definitely worse than we thought
.

David turned to Windham.
“
Exactly what is
Mr.
Castle doing here?
”

“
Lieutenant Castle is the commander of the security detachment that will be accompanying you on your voyage.
”

“
Security detachment?
”
Alana asked.

“
Of course,
”
Windham said.
“
We have established that the cargo you are carrying is valuable to me. I am sending a twelve man security team to escort it, along with the lieutenant and Mr. Black. They are your passengers.
”

David eyed Castle. Clearly the bad blood was still there. He didn
’
t expect anything good could come from this arrangement. But at least Mr. Black was coming as well. David could work with him.

“
I
’
ll ask again, is there going to be a problem gentlemen?
”
Mr. Black said.

David answered first.
“
Of course not. I think we can work something out.
”
He glanced at Alana. She was extremely displeased with the situation. The fury was evident in her eyes. David had to do something quickly before her temper got out of hand.
“
Mr. Windham, would you mind if I had a moment alone with my partner?
”

Windham nodded.
“
Not a problem. I have other business to attend to anyway. You can use my office if you wish. When you are done Mr. Black will show you to the ship. There will be techs there to help you get prepped for departure. I want you off planet before seven o
’
clock tomorrow. Lieutenant, does that work for you and your men?
”

“
Yes, sir,
”
Castle responded.
“
We
’
ll be ready.
”

Windham smiled.
“
It
’
s settled then. Mr. Carpenter, my office is yours. Gentlemen.
”
He then ushered Mr. Black and Castle out of the room.

When the doors closed David dug in his pocket and pulled out the sonic whistler, which he had somehow held on to through everything they had faced. Once he switched it on Alana let loose.
“
Are you kidding me, D? Castle!? We cannot be doing business with this guy. All that follows him is trouble.
”

Now it was David
’
s turn to get pissed. He was sick of her attitude. It was like she thought there was something he could do.
“
Alana, we are doing this job. I don
’
t care if the devil himself is on this run. We have no way out.
”

“
What about the plan?
”

“
The plan? The plan is shot to shit, unless you plan on killing every one of our passengers.
”
Alana actually contemplated that for a second.
“
And that is not an option,
”
David countered.
“
Our best option is to be on our best behavior, complete the run successfully, and hope that Windcorp trusts us enough to let us walk away at the end. If we see another way out we
’
ll take it, but as of right now I
’
m out of options.
”

Alana crossed her arms.
“
I knew this would happen. Nothing has gone right since we hit the Skylift. And we still don
’
t know where we are going. And what do we do about Castle? Forget Windcorp. He
’
s liable to put a bullet in your head at the end of this whether they tell him to or not. He has it out for you, D.
”

“
And you have it out for him. I saw your reaction when he walked into the room.
”

“
And what if I do? He almost brought down the entire unit. I have a right to hate him for what he did, as do you. How can you be okay with working for him?
”

David stuck his pointer finger in her face.
“
Let
’
s get one thing straight. We do not work for him. We work for Windham. I
’
ll even say we are working for Mr. Black. But we are not working for Castle. He is an inconvenient fixture of this run. But that is all he is. We are not going to take orders from him.
”

“
And what do we do if you tries to kill you? I could see it in his eyes. He knows you are the one who got him kicked out.
”

“
We
’
ll do what we always do,
”
David said, picking up the sonic whistler and making his way to the door.
“
You watch my back and I
’
ll watch yours.
”

Every inch of his body was covered in sweat. He was hungry and thirsty and tired. Letsego had been locked up in the train car for hours as it rumbled through what was clearly the light side of Prospect. The car had an environmental control unit but its tolerance was abysmal. The interior had to be at least sixty degree Celsius. It hurt to breath. And Letsego didn
’
t even know where he was headed or, more importantly, if Carpenter was on the same train.

Letsego couldn
’
t lean against the wall of the car. It was scorching hot. Instead he wedged himself between a couple of cargo containers. The plastic was still warm but tolerable.

Suddenly, the temperature in the car dropped at least five degrees. At the same time he felt his ears pop.
We must be going underground, out of the sun
. Their destination must be a mining facility. It was all that was out here.

The train began to slow. They must be getting close. But even when they stopped, Letsego had to wait for someone to open the door to his coffin.

The train coasted to a halt. He listened through the train wall. He could hear the hustle and bustle outside that could only come from a train platform. There was yelling and commotion and the sound of clanging containers. Mechs were moving about, making the unique snap hiss sound of hydraulics hard at work. This had to be the end of the line.

Letsego waited to be released. He knew that the train was long. In the brief glimpse he had gotten of it while running down the platform in Windham City he had seen at least one hundred cars. It was going to take hours to unload.
Well at least it’s not so hot anymore
. That was a relief.

So he waited.

And waited.

He woke up from a slight doze. Checking his watch, over an hour had gone by. This was going to be a long day, and there was nothing he could do about it. His stomach was rumbling. His throat parched. Getting on this train could very well be the worst decision of his life. What if they didn
’
t open this container for days? Would a worker open it in a week to find his shriveled lifeless body?

As Letsego
’
s mind wandered into a dark place, the sound of voices came from the end of the car.

“
Is it in this one?
”
Letsego heard the muffle sound of a man
’
s voice.

“
Yeah. Quick let
’
s get this over with,
”
responded another voice.

Letsego pulled himself together and approached the door. He crouched behind one of the containers. He could hear the sound of the men entering the door passcode. Then the door swung open.

The light was blinding. Letsego hadn
’
t seen illumination beyond the light on his watch for almost twelve hours. His pupils were overwhelmed by the sensation. Still, he kept himself hunched behind the container. Out of sight.

“
What
’
s the box number?
”
One of the workers said walking into the car. They walked right past Letsego, having the opposite problem that he was having, not being able to see into the shadows.

“
Zero-six-zero-two. He said it
’
s at the back.
”

Letsego didn
’
t really care what they were looking for. It could be any manner of contraband. Trivi, booze. He knew that these miners didn
’
t get out much. The two men kept walking to the back of the car, searching for their prize. Letsego took his cue. Staying low, and keeping out of the light, he crept out of the car.

Outside it was even brighter. Letsego took in his surroundings. He was in a large cavern that appeared to serve as the train platform. The platform was still busy an hour after the train had arrived. There was plenty to unload, but even more to load. The mechs moved about carrying huge barrels of unrefined Klyston and loaded them onto the train.

Letsego navigated his way through the busy platform. The only way out of the cavern seemed to be a tunnel on the far side. He headed that direction. As he walked he realized he was the odd man out. Nearly everyone on the platform fell into one of two groups. There were the miners in their blue coveralls and hard hats. And then there were the Windcorp troopers with their assault rifles and camouflage body armor. Letsego could only see a couple of other people dressed like him, in street clothes.

I
’m going to need some other clothes
.

He reached the tunnel and tried to stay inconspicuous. He still wasn
’
t sure he was even in the right place. He kept his eyes open for someone or something he recognized, something that would lead him to Carpenter.

The tunnel was dim. Every face he passed was covered in dirt or shielded by a trooper helmet. Letsego
’
s pessimism began to take over. Maybe this was a wild goose chase. Chances were Carpenter was thousands of miles away, or even worse, already off planet. Letsego
’
s luck had been horrible.

But that wasn
’
t right. He didn
’
t believe in luck. He believed in instincts, and his instincts had been dead wrong.

He was about to concede defeat, turn around and get back on the train when he saw an abnormality. It was a man in a suit. That was odd. Letsego had seen some people dressed in ragtag civilian clothes, probably on break from mine or security work. But he hadn
’
t seen anyone to this point as finely dressed as this man. He must be important.

And then Letsego recognized the man, his spirits immediately lifted. It was the man he had followed to the freight terminal. His white hair was unmistakable.
If he is here, Carpenter must be as well
. Just like luck, Letsego didn
’
t believe in coincidences either.

He stopped and pulled out his mobile. He doubted he would get any reception down here but he wasn
’
t interested in that. Using the mobile as a cover, he lingered in the passageway waiting for the white haired man to approach.

The man was walking down the hallway accompanied by a Windcorp trooper. Letsego couldn
’
t be sure from this distance but it looked like an officer.

“
I told you already, sir,
”
the officer carried on.
“
There isn
’
t going to be a problem. Not as long as you keep the bastard out of my hair. If you ask my personal opinion I would recommend finding another pilot. But I know it
’
s a little late in the game for that.
”

The white haired man stopped the other.
“
Tell me, Lieutenant. You clearly have a poor history with Mr. Carpenter. Is there anything that Mr. Windham and I should know about him? All his references checked out. He is said to be a very good pilot.
”

“
Look, sir. I don
’
t know anything about that. When I knew Carp he could hardly pilot a hover, let alone a starship. But I will tell you that he is out for no one but himself. He
’
s the one who got me kicked out of the Corps. The bastard will stab you in the back. He doesn
’
t understand the meaning of loyalty. With his track record I
’
m surprised that bitch of his is still hanging around.
”

“
Ms. Ramirez comes very highly recommended as well. Is there something we should know about her as well?
”

The Lieutenant hesitated.
“
Look, sir. I told you. I haven
’
t seen either of them in three years.
”
He continued walking.
“
They might have changed, but I doubt it. Just watch your back, or Mr. Windham
’
s back.
”
He approached a door in the passageway about twenty feet from where Letsego was standing.
“
Don
’
t worry. My team and I will get your shipment to the Belt in one piece, as long as Carp does
his
job. All I
’
m asking is for you to do the talking. Keep the son of a bitch away from me.
”

The white haired man nodded.
“
That request is simple enough. Is there anything else you require tonight, Lieutenant?
”

The trooper shook his head.
“
I
’
m all set. We will be ready for departure tomorrow morning.
”

“
Very well. Good evening. If you do need something you know where to reach me.
”
With that the man turned and headed back down the tunnel the way he had come. After punching in a code into the door
’
s keypad, the Lieutenant entered a side hallway.

Letsego thought fast. The conversation he had just witnessed was an intelligence operator
’
s dream. It had confirmed two facts. First, Carpenter and his accomplice- Ms. Ramirez?- were definitely here. And second, they were being employed by Windcorp, possibly directly by Titus Windham himself.

But Letsego couldn
’
t dwell on the revelations of the past minutes. His next move had to be made now. Should he follow the businessman or the trooper? He didn
’
t think about it, he just acted. Maybe his instincts weren
’
t so bad after all.

He moved quickly to the door. It would only stay open for a few more seconds and he didn
’
t have the access code if it closed.

He just made it. The door hissed closed right behind him. He was now in a small hallway. Up ahead he saw the Lieutenant turn a corner and disappear. Letsego followed him. As he travelled down the hallway he noted the placards on the doors. They were all labeled with the military phonetic alphabet. Combining that with the fact that he hadn
’
t seen anyone not dressed in some type of military attire gave him a good idea of where he was.

The labyrinth of hallways was vast. If this was the security barracks, Letsego guessed that it was for at least a company sized element. Considering this was just a simple mining facility it seemed like over kill, unless Windcorp had something else going on here.

He tried to follow the Lieutenant but was realizing that he stuck out like a sore thumb. Troopers were giving him strange looks as he passed them. The first rule to working in intelligence was not to stand out, and Letsego was failing at that right now. He would have to catch up with the Lieutenant later. The security barracks couldn
’
t be that big a place.

Ten minutes later Letsego emerged from one of the squad bays feeling much more covert. He now wore the uniform of a specialist in the Windham Security Forces and had been able to gather a good amount of info on the garrison here. Both of those things had been accomplished without brute force. The art of persuasion can be a powerful tool when, one, you are confident in your lies and, two, those you are talking to are on the lower end of the IQ spectrum.

Letsego now knew that the garrison here was made up of a battalion. What they were guarding he didn
’
t know, and it appeared that the troopers didn
’
t either. Whatever it was Windcorp thought it was valuable enough to commit nearly a tenth of its security forces to. He had also learned that the Lieutenant he had been following before was First Lieutenant Castle, the commander of Constellation Company. Letsego now knew where the man
’
s quarters were along the Constellation Company area.

Lastly, Letsego
’
s detour had produced a security forces ID. The card belonged to a Jared Johnson, who conveniently was in sick bay with a case of the flu. He didn
’
t look too much like Letsego, but they were both black so that was a start. The name plates on Letsego
’
s new armor also matched the ID card. All in all, not bad for ten minutes work.

With the new ensemble and intel, Letsego made his way to the Constellation Company area. While he had been changing he had formulated a plan. It was a crude plan based on some very sketchy assumptions, but at this point his ass was so far out in the wind he didn
’
t think he had much left to lose. And if what he had heard earlier had been correct Carpenter was leaving in the morning, with his illicit cargo. Letsego had to be on that ship.

The company area was small. It was hard to believe that nearly one hundred and fifty troopers lived in such tight confines. Besides the squad bays there was only a chow hall, rec room and a bar. Letsego avoided all of those. He headed straight for Lieutenant Castle
’
s office.

Letsego was making a bold move. He was banking on playing to Castle
’
s sympathies, and that he had an accurate understanding of the situation according to the one conversation he had overheard. Even for his natural optimism, this plan was a stretch.

At the company office, Letsego didn
’
t bother talking to any of the clerks. He made a bee line straight for the commander
’
s office. He had a feeling that aggressiveness was something that Castle looked for in his troopers.

The door to the office was open so Letsego let himself in. He marched in and positioned himself half a meter and centered in front of Lieutenant Castle
’
s desk. He came to attention and threw up a crisp salute.

“
Good evening, sir! Specialist Jared Johnson reporting for duty.
”

Castle looked up from his workstation. He didn
’
t seem impressed. But at the same time he didn
’
t seem pissed off either.
“
You seem to be lost, trooper. I know no one in Constellation would enter my office unannounced.
”