DusktoDust_Final3 (31 page)

They moved with leisured purpose through the streets of Haverford. The streets were not crowded, however traffic was slow, caused by new Federation checkpoints that had been put in place in the past day. Surprisingly, the troopers at the checkpoints merely checked pedestrians and vehicle occupants for weapons, of which there were many, and did not check for identification. The Feds had only just arrived and had not had time to set up fully yet on ID and biometric scanning networks.

Carpenter had wanted to keep the group as small as possible. Lieutenant Gnasher had insisted on coming. As the man apparently in charge of this operation, appointed by the commodore, Letsego had deemed it necessary for him to come, too. Corporal Bailey from third squad rounded out the team at four.

The rest of the platoon remained on the outskirts of Haverford. They had found a dense patch of forest where the vehicles were well concealed and they settled in to wait. Field Sergeant Nobal was monitoring the radio for follow on instructions from Gnasher after they made contact with Carpenter
’
s man.

On the drive out of the dark side, Carpenter had offered more information on who this man was. His name was Chief Francis Boldack, and the smuggler had worked with him in the United States military. At the time Boldack had been a navy chief, a quartermaster with a certain reputation. If you were stationed on the starcruiser
US
V
Hornet
, and you required something difficult to acquire, whether it be a product or service, Chief Boldack could get it for you. Eventually, the man had retired, moved to Prospect, and began offering his creative services on a more public market. Apparently Carpenter had found smuggling work from the man on multiple occasions.

Letsego did not enjoy the idea of placing his faith in this man. Like Carpenter, he was part of the criminal underworld that undermined the system which Letsego had sworn an oath to defend. However, also like Carpenter, this man had once been in the service of a higher purpose. Carpenter had been reliable up to this point. Maybe this man would be, too.

Carpenter led the three Peacekeepers through the streets of Haverford. All four of them had traded in their combat armor for dark gray mining jumpsuits, acquired at the supply station. They moved quickly through the streets, as did all the inhabitants of the former British colony. The Feds had definitely put the city on edge. And to the discomfort of everyone in the group, due to the security checkpoints, none of them carried weapons.

The path that Carpenter led them on was seemingly random. He was navigating from memory, stopping at various intersections to take in his surroundings. Letsego refrained from interrupting the man. He did not want to, but he had to put faith in him. If they were not able to find this Boldack character the entire operation was dead in the water.

Finally, they turned off the main street into an alley. Abandoned hovers and trash heaps cluttered the chasm between the old brick buildings. Carpenter navigated around the obstacles, leading them out of the rays of crimson twilight.

“
It
’
s just up here,
”
he announced, rounding another corner. Fifty meters ahead, there was a lone door.

Carpenter approached and rang the buzzer on the door’s intercom. Thirty seconds passed.

“
Looks like your
friend
is not home,
”
Gnasher observed.

“
Oh, he
’
s home.
”

Letsego looked up to where Carpenter was pointing. In the corner of the building was an old fashioned surveillance camera. As he watched it, the device panned across the group of visitors, stopping and focusing on each of their faces. When it had inspected all four, the intercom hissed to life.

“
Is that you, Carp?
”
a gruff voice spat out.

Carpenter keyed the device.
“
You damn well know it
’
s me, Chief. Now open up.
”

There was a pause.
“
The Feds have been up to some hinky shit the past twenty four hours. How do I know you aren
’
t some body double they sliced up to make look like David Carpenter?
”

“
Jesus, old man. Fine. You used to stick it to the hot little nurse named Lisa back on the
Hornet
until she found out you were married three times over.
”
Carpenter rolled his eyes.
“
You satisfied now.
”

He wasn
’
t.
“
Who are your friends?
”

“
You already know who they are, too.
”

“
I
’
ll be more specific. What are you doing hanging around with a bunch of Peaks?
”

“
I promise they are friendly. Now, will you let us in before the Feds find us?
”

Five seconds later the door opened. Carpenter looked back at the group.
“
See, I told you not to worry.
”

Letsego and the others followed the smuggler through the door and up a flight of stairs. At the top they found themselves in a large, empty room. At the far end was a doorway. In that doorway stood a plump gray-haired man cradling a shotgun. It was the shotgun, not the man holding it, that convinced Letsego to stop.

“
Welcome to Chez Boldack,
”
the man growled.
“
Please keep your hands where I can see them.
”
He raised the shotgun ever so slightly.

“
Damnit, Chief!
”
Carpenter stepped in front of the other three, raising his hand as if it would stop the shotgun pellets.
“
I told you they
’
re friends.
”

Boldack shrugged.
“
You never can be too carefully these days, Carp.
”
He motioned with his left hand.
“
Keller, please check our new friends for contraband.
”
From the far doorway, a large man emerged and walked over to the visitors. He started patting Letsego down. Once he was satisfied that the man didn’t have any weapons he moved to the other two.
“
They
’
re clean, boss.
”

Boldack looked back at Carpenter.
“
Okay, Carp. You want to tell me what the hell is going on here?
”

Carpenter looked back at the shotgun, which was still trained on them.
“
I expected a little more hospitality than this,
”
he criticized.

Boldack did not move.
“
Pardon me if I
’
m a little on edge. Just yesterday the Feds dropped in unexpectedly and declared martial law and now I have three Peaks knocking down my door.
‘
Never trust a Peak.
’
Remember that?
”

“
They want the Feds gone just the same as you do. Plus if it weren
’
t for them I wouldn
’
t be breathing right now.
”

Boldack slowly scanned the faces of Peacekeepers. Finally, he lowered his weapon.
“
Damnit, Carp. You
’
re making me break my own rules. Come in, make yourselves at home.
”
He turned and headed through the doorway.

Carpenter glanced back at his companions. Letsego gave him a look that spoke volumes. This was not a good way to begin a trusting relationship.

“
Let me get this straight. Windcorp found some crazy alien doohicky buried on Prospectthat sucks the life out of people. They tried to sell it to the Feds, but now the Feds just want to take it and the rest of the planet with it. The big commotion I heard yesterday was the Peaks getting their asses whoopped and surrendering the planet to the Feds, but you think the fleet
’
s gonna be back some day. Just in case, you and this jolly gang of yours want to go gallivanting into the light side in order to find who knows what about this nasty alien tech and what the Feds want to do with it.
”

“
You forgot the part where the Feds have enlisted Black Crescent to help them out with their little plot,
”
David reminded Chief Boldack.

Tensions had lowered. All of them now sat around a large coffee table. David could tell that Letsego, Gnasher, and Bailey were still on edge after the not too warm welcoming, but they were coming around. It didn
’
t help that Chief
’
s assistant, who was the size of a house, was now sitting across from them. However, after David recounted the events leading up to today, the man was just as bewildered as his boss.

“
That sure is one hell of a tall tale, Carp,
”
Chief said, processing it all.

“
It
’
s the truth, Mr. Boldack,
”
Letsego cut in.
“
As farfetched as it seems.
”

The man sighed.
“
I doubt there is any lunatic in the galaxy who could make up a story so off the wall ridiculous without it being true.
”
He looked at David.
“
But you still haven
’
t answered my first question. Why are you here? Now? At my house?
”

David approached this question delicately. He knew his old friend was not the type to get involved in other people
’
s problems.
“
We need your help.
”

“
No shit,
”
Chief said simply and walked over to the kitchenette.

“
We need transportation to Windham,
”
David continued.
“
Further if you have any ideas.
”

“
I might. For a fee.
”
He opened up the cooler and grabbed a lager. None of his guests were offered one.

“
Also,
”
David knew this part would be the hard sell.
“
We need somewhere to lay low for a few hours.
”

Chief took a swig of his beer and looked at David skeptically.
“
Who is
‘
we
’
?
”

“
The four of us and the rest of Lieutenant Gnasher
’
s platoon.
”

Chief slammed his lager down on the counter.
“
Why the hell would I want to do that, Carp?! Ignoring the fact that my place isn
’
t exactly outfitted to quarter thirty-odd Peaks!
”

“
There
’
s twenty six of us,
”
Gnasher said, not helping the situation.

“
I don
’
t care if there
’
s only one of you and he is a midget. I am not going to risk my neck housing Peaks!
”

“
The Peacekeepers are a hell of a lot better than the Feds,
”
David pointed out.

Chief laughed.
“
You forget what type of business I
’
m in, kid. With the Fed lockdown I
’
ve had more requests for services and deliveries in the past day than I did in a week when the Peaks were in control. Oppressive governments are good for business.
”

“
It doesn
’
t matter that the future of the galaxy could hang in the balance?
”
David said sarcastically.

“
Carp, you
’
ve known me a long time. You know I
’
ve done my share of good deeds. What I
’
ve learned along the way is that more often than not, you get burned by them.
”

“
The Peacekeepers can pay,
”
Letsego said.

“
Peak notes aren
’
t worth shit on Prospect anymore, my friend.
”

“
They will be if we succeed.
”

“
‘
If
’
, and that
’
s a big if,
”
Chief countered.

The man wasn
’
t budging. He didn
’
t want anything to do with the Peacekeepers. But without his help David doubted they would ever get to the light side, or even to Windham City. He still had one trump card to play.
“
Damnit Chief! You owe me one and you know it,
”
he said with an edge.

Chief hesitated, knowing exactly what his former shipmate was talking about.
“
That
’
s not the same.
”

“
Yes it is,
”
David said with absolution.

Chief nodded. He picked up his lager again and took a long drink, killing the bottle.
“
Alright, I
’
ll do it. But now we
’
re even.
”

There was a lot to do, and once the group was in consensus on the way ahead they wasted little time getting the wheels turning. Letsego didn
’
t know what Carpenter had hanging over Boldack
’
s head, but whatever it was had made him very cooperative.

Together, they had divided the tasks, first of which was to retrieve the rest of the ICARUs platoon and bring them to Boldack
’
s place. The man had deemed the solution to that problem simple. There were pre-war steam tunnels that ran underneath Haverford, providing heating and other utilities to the city. The Federation had not yet encroached on that netherworld, which made it ideal for sneaking the Peacekeepers in undetected. Gnasher and Bailey had departed, with Keller as a guide, to lead the men to their new operating base.