The Hunted Assassin (9 page)

DeWitt nodded, contemplating Jaxon’s marginally believable story. “Sometimes it’s all about being in the right place at the right time. Like I said earlier, I got this here plot of land for a song because the miners felt they had cleared as much useful salvage from the surface that they could. Shortly after closing escrow, a buddy of mine down on earth heard about this new gizmo that’s able to strip mine the surface much more thoroughly. The device set me back the rest of my savings, but ever since, I’ve been laughing all the way to the bank by what I’ve been able to haul in,” DeWitt said, returning his attention to the controls.

Jaxon nodded and listened for the next fifteen minutes as DeWitt continued to regale him about his mining adventures on the moon. It also gave him time to reflect a bit about the choices he’d made. Although the environment up on Taloo Station was a virtual Shangri-La compared to the moon’s surface, at least here on the moon you had something. Something that you could call your own, and the ability to get away from it all. Up on Taloo, all you could do was escape as far as the confines of the station would allow. And none of it was yours. It was all a leased life, and Jaxon wondered where his own lease on life would end up.

14

Before long, Jaxon could see Carver Outpost grow along the horizon. He couldn’t help but wonder if he could’ve done more to alter his appearance before ditching the Bradbury. He made a mental note that when he set up his next go bag that he would include a bottle of hair dye and some clippers to change up his physicality. It’s the least he could do on short notice.

As they pulled into Carver, Jaxon compared the facility to something like an old Western town set on the edge of the plains. Desolation spread as far as the eye could see and there were only four or five structures clustered together like an oasis in the sand. DeWitt maneuvered his moon buggy through an automatically controlled gate and parked next to the entrance to the station.

DeWitt turned to Jaxon and said, “Well, this is it. Hope I didn’t bore you too much along the way.”

“Not at all. You sure I can’t give you something?” Jaxon asked, pulling a fistful of credits from his pocket.

“Nope. I’ve got all I need. I’ve got a little business inside, but I hope you have yourself a nice day.”

As the all clear sign turned green, DeWitt opened both hatch doors, and they walked out into the outpost. DeWitt was off on his own path without another word. Jaxon cautiously surveyed the facility, paying extra attention to the potential presence of more assassins. Slowly, he made his way through the streets of the open market, circling back to the station’s entrance doors.

Satisfied that the place appeared to be occupied by no more than the locals, he relaxed a bit and was off to take care of some things.

The first line of business was to trade in his environmental suit. He found a secondhand merchant store and walked right up to the counter.

“Excuse me, but I’m looking for a new environmental suit.”

The man behind the counter turned and looked Jaxon up and down. His eyes widened slightly, but he quickly dismissed his surprise. “Sorry, fella. We don’t sell new here. We only have used.”

“I’m sorry,” Jaxon said, “I don’t necessarily mean new. Just new to me. I have grown tired of this one, and I’m looking for … something different. You take trade-ins?”

Jaxon had the salesman’s full attention as they bartered out a deal for an older model environmental suit that fit his needs. Ten minutes later, Jaxon walked out with a fistful of credits that the shop owner paid him extra because his suit was so nice. Walking through the streets suddenly felt so much different, and so much more awkward. The top-of-the-line suit that he’d just traded in felt like a second skin and this POS, that he almost certainly overpaid for, must have weighed ten times what he was used to. He swallowed his pride and accepted his new sense of blending in as he sought out the transport hub to Luna City.

Several minutes later, Jaxon came upon a stairway that led down to the subway. Unfortunately, the entrance was cordoned off, and a sign was plastered across:

CLOSED FOR REPAIR.

“Excuse me,” Jaxon asked an attendant off to the side of the entrance. “How long will these repairs take?”

“Well, that’s a big unknown right now. There’s been a cave in a few hundred meters down the track. It’s those damn rebels. They think they own the moon, but they don’t want to pay for anything. So, they vandalize the hell out of everything, and it really makes life hell.”

“Are we talking hours or days?” Jaxon asked.

“Honestly, mister. Probably more like weeks. It’s been this way for the last ten days.”

“Sonofabitch,” Jaxon mumbled. “Any other form of transportation to Luna City?”

“Well, a surface shuttle just left about an hour ago. I think the next one’s scheduled for the day after tomorrow. We’ll occasionally get a low-flying orbiter through here, but there’s no saying when those are coming around because they’re all private contractors.”

Jaxon thanked the attended for his time and rushed back to where he last saw DeWitt. He just hoped that he hadn’t left yet.

As Jaxon blasted through the entrance doors, he saw that the stall where DeWitt had parked was now empty. His heart sank a little as he felt the doom of being stuck in that shit hole for an extended period of time.

He quickly ran around the yard and found DeWitt’s moon buggy parked next to a fuel-cell with several hoses connected to it. He was refueling.

Moments later, Jaxon stepped up to the front of DeWitt’s buggy and put his thumb out, portraying a hitchhiker’s stance. DeWitt motioned him in.

“Thanks again for your time, DeWitt, but I need another favor.”

“Shoot,” DeWitt said.

“Looks like the tube to Luna City is closed for repair for the foreseeable future. The moon shuttle just left about an hour ago, and another isn’t due until a few days from now. I really need to get to Luna City, and I’d love to make it worth your while,” Jaxon said as he pulled out the fistfull of surplus credits from the sale of his environmental suit.

“Well now, how much are we talking?” DeWitt asked, eyeing the handful of credits.

Jaxon promptly organized the credits then counted them back to DeWitt. “Looks like sixty-three credits,” Jaxon said, shoving it toward DeWitt.

DeWitt reluctantly picked through the pile, siphoning out a mere thirty credits. “That’s far too much for me to take just to give you a ride. Besides, I should be paying you for the company.”

“So we have a deal?” Jaxon asked.

“Yep. As soon as we’re fueled up, we’ll hit the road.”

Within thirty minutes, DeWitt had paid for his refill and was steering his moon buggy toward Luna City. Despite DeWitt’s comment about companionship on the road, after the first few minutes a conversation, DeWitt turned on the audio system and blared classic country music throughout the cockpit.

It wasn’t long after the second verse of the opening song that Jaxon drifted off to sleep.

“Four, three, two, brace for impact,” I said as I reached for the rung closest to me. I lashed my safety cable onto a secure hook just as the explosion went off far above our heads. The explosion was silent, but I could feel its intensity through the massive vibrations on my handhold. I looked at Gillette and was not at all surprised at the cavalier expression plastered across his face. It was like just another day at the office for him.

As the vibrations began to subside, I knew that unless we moved quickly, the authorities would be swarming our location. Our timing had to be precise, and we were a mere three or four meters away from the designated access hatch laid out in our planned escape.

“Time’s a wastin’, buddy,” I said to Gillette as I floated past him and grabbed ahold of the lever securing the hatch. Surprisingly, the latch did not budge. I applied more pressure and tried again. Same result.

“Step aside, young lad,” Gillette said as he wedged himself between me and the hatch. He gripped the handle, and in what appeared to be an effortless motion, lowered the lever and pushed in.

“Yeah, whatever. I loosened it for you,” I said as I followed him in and resealed the door.

Once inside the maintenance passage, we began to feel the pull from below, as the effects of the artificial gravity grew. The further into the passageway we got, the closer to Earth’s gravity we felt.

When we reached the one-hundred-meter mark from the main junction corridor, Gillette and I were at a full speed run, hoping to make it inside the station before maintenance locked down the facility. If we were caught outside of Luna City’s environment when that happened, our fate would be sealed. And that would be a death that neither of us wanted to experience.

A few minutes later, we slowed our pace and walked through the unlocked door and cycled through the rarely used pressure chamber. As we emerged out the other side, we quickly changed out of our environmental suits and donned outfits that we had placed in the vacant corridor weeks before.

“Okay, Jaxon. Stick to the plan,” Gillette said as we worked our way out into the streets of Luna City. “We both have new identities, and we just disappear. No more contact.”

I nodded, patting the lanyard around my neck with the name Martin Wheeler. “Got it. Do you know where you’re going to end up?” I asked.

“Nothing against you, Jaxon, but I think it best that neither of us knows where we’re going. If one of us gets nabbed after this, there’s no use in both of us being tried for treason,” he said, patting me on the back. “Listen, it’s been great knowing you. I hope you have a great life. Now get out of here!”

Not being very fond of long goodbyes, I faked a sucker punch in his belly and walked past him, and into the crowd. I never looked back.

My first stop in Luna City was a barber to get a buzz cut and to lose my goatee. Next, I stopped at a tattoo parlor and got LOVE and HATE tattooed across my knuckles. After that, I found a small hostel and paid cash for the week. I only stayed a day. After that, I drifted away.

15

Jaxon felt a tug on his shirt sleeve, and he turned to see what was the matter. He opened his eyes to the blurry image of DeWitt, the gray-haired codger, who was staring back at him.

“Boy, I tell ya. Yer the worst traveling companion ever. Don’t you know that the navigator’s job is to keep the driver awake?” DeWitt asked as he pivoted his seat back to the control panel, shaking his head in disbelief.

Jaxon peered out the front viewscreen and saw that the desolate moon surface had transformed into low-formed habitats and portal entrances in every direction. In the far distance, Jaxon spotted the remains of the once fully functional space elevator. He cringed at the actions of his past.

“Sorry about that, DeWitt. It’s been a long day,” Jaxon said as he straightened himself up in the copilot’s chair. “I see that we’ve made it to Luna City.”

“Yep. Pulled in just a few minutes ago. The trip was pretty much uneventful, as expected. I don’t much get to these parts of the moon, so it’s always nice to see the hustle and bustle of how the other side lives,” DeWitt said, steering the moon buggy into the subsurface transportation dock.

As DeWitt maneuvered through the underground facility, Jaxon organized himself. With his satchel packed, and sure that he had everything he brought with him, he looked over at DeWitt.

“Hey, I really do appreciate the ride, DeWitt. Here’s an extra twenty credits for your time,” Jaxon said, slipping the credits into his hand.

“Well, you needn’t do that, but much appreciated just the same. As freely as you throw your credits around, you must be loaded. What did you say you do again?” DeWitt asked as he stuffed the credits with into his pocket.

“I didn’t. I’m kind of in between jobs right now,” Jaxon said as he stood and headed for the exit door.

“Fair enough,” DeWitt said, following Jaxon. “By the way, are you planning to have your escape pod picked up anytime soon? Don’t get me wrong, there’s no rush and all, but I’m just curious.”

Jaxon stepped to the ground, then turned to face DeWitt. “Well, the ship was a complete loss, and I have no immediate plans on buying another, so … why don’t you salvage anything off it that you can?” Jaxon said.

DeWitt’s eyes brightened up, and a grin crossed his face. “Thank you kindly, sir. I’ve been meaning to do a few upgrades around the habitat, and what I can get from some of those parts should come in handy. You take care now, Jaxon.”

Jaxon bowed his head, turned and silently walked away. As he made his way into the heart of Luna City, he was surprised just how familiar the whole place seemed. It had been nearly a decade since he’d set foot in the first colonized station on the moon and it had held up fairly well.

Jaxon’s first priority was to get some rest. Even though he’d dozed on and off during the trip from Carver Outpost, he still felt exhausted. And he knew that exhaustion led to mistakes. Right now, a mistake in pinpointing potential killers in the crowd before they identified him could mean certain death.

As he moved through the city streets, he noted several rooms for rent and various hotels intermixed with the multitude of shops and restaurants. But he knew that it was best to find someplace a little off the beaten path. Also, he couldn’t help notice the strange looks that he was getting as he moved through the crowded streets, and it only took him a block or two before he realized that he was still wearing the bulky, outdated environmental suit.