Bandits (4 page)

BANDITS

Faulk’s mouth dropped open in wonder. “Wow! This place is freakin’ amazing. It’s like walking outside, except we’re inside. How do they do this?” 

Daniel wasn’t impressed, maybe because he came here so often with Gabe. Gabe’s family business was the only club on the island. It had a party area, gambling coves and hang out rooms that replicated the beautiful island days of their home island, Bethan. It was one of the most beautiful and lush islands on Merwin. Only the highly skilled guilds of the Zukar were vicious enough to survive there. In order to live there, you had to pull off a record number of snatch jobs with extreme levels of difficulty.

The EBRA was a difficult guild to get into. You had to e
i
ther be born into it, or pull off a snatch job equal to their skilled snatch jobs. In his father’s earlier days as a Zukar, he was a merc
e
nary snatcher, fierce and skilled in the arts of the EBRA. He’d even created some of their techniques used to pull off the nearly impo
s
sible snatch jobs that gave them the respected position as a specia
l
ized crime guild. It was hard for Daniel to believe his father and Haden were the few Zukar left who had started the EBRA guild.
Why didn’t you kill the bastards that tried to steal your trove?  Who am I kidding?  You were just a shadow of the Zukar you used to be. Damn you for making me clean up after you again.

“She’s gone,” Faulk said, jarring Daniel out of his thoughts.

Daniel stared across the room with his arms crossed. “I know where she is, but I’m looking for Nickel. Where the hell is he? I told him to get his food and get right back here. That mea
t
head is going to make me stash him somewhere until I find out who killed our old man. Only thing is, I know the pinhead would escape and get into more trouble.” 

Daniel scanned the room.
Haden…!
His eyes fell on his father’s best friend, co-leader of the EBRA. The man’s long black hair and pale eyes stood out as he stood above the crowd, searc
h
ing for someone. Daniel pulled Faulk by the shirt and walked behind one of the pillars lining the pathway, which looked like a sandy beach oasis.

The raised platform for dancing and dining in the middle of the room was lined with people. Appreciative that the place was pretty crowded tonight, he was lucky Haden couldn’t find him easily. He wasn’t ready to answer any questions Haden might throw at him. Haden was hard to read, being a seasoned Zukar, and nothing got past him. Daniel respected –maybe even idolized -Haden, but he also knew Haden was dangerous. One thing every Zukar knew, hold your tongue before you play your cards. He had no plans to tell Haden or any other Zukar what happened to his dad until he could find out why his father was killed, and by whom.

Scouting out the room for Nickel, his eyes landed on one of the uniformed officials, a King’s watchmen. Daniel pointed and gave Faulk a slight push. “See him over there?  That’s one of the King’s watchmen. He’s scoping out someone, and I don’t wanna take the chance that he’s looking for us.” Daniel pointed ahead. “Go through the archway over there, and you’ll run into Jade’s father’s office. Remember…just walk casual and don’t look anyone in the face. Hang back outside the door. I’m going to get Nickel.”

Faulk turned. “Got it, cuz. I know the drill,” he said with a glance back.

“I’m going to slap you when I see you,” Daniel mumbled and looked for Nickel. He was starting to get anxious. Haden or the King’s watchmen might stand in the way of him leaving with Nickel. He was all Nickel had left, hell Nickel was all he had left.

Before seeing the way clear to escape Haden’s path, his gaze jerked back to the watchman. The guy appeared to be alone, but Daniel knew better. He knew they usually traveled in quads and were distributed throughout the area of their susp
i
cion. They wanted to weed out the Zukar. Killing a few in the process of catching their victim was inconsequential. The watchman’s white uniform made him stand out, and the dan
c
ing customers’ eyes blinked in surprise at his presence.

At that critical moment, Daniel’s eyes finally landed on Nickel. His shirt was wrinkled up on the side where his arm held a bag of food, and he had a spoon in his mouth. Daniel walked in Nickel’s direction, hoping to get his attention. Instant dread hit Daniel when Nickel’s eyes fell on Haden. Nickel jerked before Haden could see him. Then ran head-on into the King’s watc
h
man, and clumsily crashed right into the big man’s leg.

Damn!
 
Daniel walked quickly toward Nickel and the King’s official. His eyes did a quick scan for Haden. He let out the breath he’d been holding when he realized that Haden had left the room. Speedily, he walked toward Nickel. Eyes squared on Nickel, Daniel’s hand rested on his gun. He knew that they weren’t going to take them to the penal colony, Uukin, this time. It was a dead world where the prisoners were sent to starve and die.
Not us - not today.

Nickel shook his head fiercely and held up his hand at Daniel to stop his pursuit.

Daniel slowed down, but didn’t waver in his gaze.

This time, Nickel played the innocent kid rather well, Daniel observed. The guard pulled Nickel by the hair, and forced his face to look up at him. Daniel’s fist tightened i
n
stantly around his gun.

Nickel gave Daniel the EBRA hand signal, “Ready to run.”

Daniel’s lips curled at his brother’s silent command. He moved easily through gyrating dancers and the scene before him. Daniel slid to the side of the room where Nickel could see him and signaled with his hands, “Run to Jade’s father”. Daniel knew that if Nickel made it to Jade’s father, no King’s watc
h
man would survive the night.

Nickel winked. The King’s watchman lifted his hand to backhand him. Daniel surged forward, gun pulled. Nickel kicked the man’s leg and took the spoon he held and jabbed it into the man’s groin. The guard fell to Nickel’s level, and Nickel landed a hard blow to his jaw with his elbow before he took off running to the back of the club.

Daniel smiled and followed slowly, never taking his hand off his gun. His breathing eased as he walked toward Jade’s father’s office. He hesitated but a moment when he heard someone come up from behind him. Daniel whirled around, his hand tightened around his gun, as recognition hit him. The man stan
d
ing calm in front of him with his arms crossed and a feigned look of indifference, smiled.
Haden.

Daniel’s hand dropped to his side, the warmth of his gun a residue on the palm of his hand.

“So, how’s my EBRA in training?” Haden asked smoot
h
ly. His cold assessing eyes were a reminder of how deadly Haden could be if underestimated.

Daniel ignored the itch of caution which ran up his back. He calmed his breathing, knowing that trying to ignore Haden was never a good idea. As much as he respected the man, he knew Haden was vicious and always had an agenda for plea
s
antries.

“I’m good,” Daniel responded, putting on the usual ca
s
ual stance he used around his father’s longtime friend, and co-leader of the EBRA. He knew Haden respected his trainees who had fortitude, something Daniel didn’t have to pretend to project like the other trainees did.

“Where’s the old man? He didn’t check in with me t
o
night. Have you seen him?” Haden asked offhandedly. It was a common question between him and Haden lately, since Daniel had stepped in for his father on many occasions.

“Don’t know.
Haven’t been home in awhile. I
had, uh… better things to do.” Daniel matched Haden’s straight unflinc
h
ing stare, and a slight smile slipped in place to imply that Daniel had been out carousing.

Haden slapped Daniel on the shoulder
.
“Ah, Deana… definitely good entertainment. You do seem to attract the pretty ones, and you like them much older, I see.” Haden winked. “Isn’t she nearly twenty?”

“Not yet. But anyway, I’ll be eighteen in about eight months, and two years older than me isn’t that old,” Daniel r
e
plied.

“I suppose not. Just don’t turn those gray eyes on my N
a
tasha or I’ll have to kill you… and I need my reliable EBRA trainee for a new job,” Haden laughed.

“New job?” Daniel asked with a lift of an eyebrow.

Haden tightened his mouth, his expression turning ser
i
ous. “Oh yeah, something huge, a key to us bringing down this bastard King and controlling him.”   

Daniel stared at him, “How’s that?”

Haden put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “We’ll teach the bastard that the Zukar won’t leave. Shipping us off to penal colonies and imprisoning us? We can’t be treated this way. Hell, we won’t be treated this way.” Lightly, he pushed against Daniel’s shoulder and chortled. “I would kill the King,” he winked, “if I did, the entire Galactic Congress would shut this planet down, and take all of our heads. Maybe I should kill the leader of the Zukar, the weak ass who’s holding me back from offing the King and putting the Zukar in complete power. If it were up to me, the Sekin Zukar’s days would be numbered and so would the King’s.”  He nodded at Daniel, and slapped his arm.

Daniel raised an eyebrow at Haden’s ramblings.

Haden shook his head. “Damn frustrating, but the Sekin Zukar is still our leader. Anyway, you in on this one – the snatch job of your dreams boy?  I don’t think your father can cut it, especially not after his last screw up. His ass is lucky we’re like brothers, or else… Well, what do you say?”

“I’ll think about it. When do you need an answer?” D
a
niel replied. It wasn’t his usual response, yet he knew Haden would respect the answer.

“I need an answer by tomorrow’s eve,” Haden narrowed his eyes a bit while he studied Daniel.

Daniel nodded and turned to walk away. Haden reached out and stopped Daniel with a sharp tug at his shoulder.

Haden leaned in, the hot air from his breath tickling D
a
niel’s ear. “Keep your eyes alert, son. Seems to me, the King’s watchman is interested in you.” Haden pointed ahead and strode away.

Daniel eyes followed the path Haden pointed out and stared point blank at the guard who’d confronted Nickel. The guard’s angry frown spoke volumes, and Daniel knew then that they would have to exit another way. Daniel pivoted toward Jade’s father’s office.

Faulk and Nickel were standing outside of Jade’s father’s office when he arrived. They stood off to the side with an ear-mic inserted in their ears so that they could hear what was going on inside Bry’s office. Faulk offered a mic to Daniel. Daniel put it in his ear, as he ambled closer so he could watch Jade undetected.

Daniel absently watched while Jade conned her father, and quickly scanned the hallway to make sure none of the King’s men followed. Satisfied that the area appeared clear, he refocused on Jade’s progress. She walked around her father’s desk, and nodded back at him.

“Daddy,” she said in her cutest voice, “I told you, Gabe sent me to get the key to the water cruiser. Why would I lie about that?” She walked around the office, casting an occasional longing glance at the key rack.

Daniel watched her father, Bry, shake his head in irrit
a
tion. Bry grunted while he counted the night’s earnings. “That boy was told to stay with you. Where’s he?  Tell him to come here. I tried calling him and got no answer.”  

She walked behind him to where the key rack was and stood beside him while he counted. “Papa, you never organize the money like Momma asks you to,” she scolded laughingly and kissed the top of his gray head. As she laid her hand on his shou
l
der, she slyly reached back and pulled one of the keys off the rack.

Her father ran a hand through his hair. “If she was so concerned about it, she wouldn’t have left last night to visit her hat
e
ful family. I don’t know why they don’t just accept the fact that she’s married to me and has four kids. They’re always complai
n
ing about how she mucked up their clan’s bloodlines.”

She laughed. “You’re just mad they didn’t ask you to come.”

He snorted. “Those Perbians are just too damned uppity to me. Maybe it’s their short stature that makes them so edgy.” Her father looked around the room.

Daniel stepped back out of view.

Bry scratched his head and then started to pick through the crystals on the table. “Where the hell is your brother? He’s su
p
posed to be watching you. Don’t take that key until he comes back with you.”

“I’ll tell him you won’t give me the key until he calls you,” she lied. She bent down and gave him a huge hug. “I love you Papa.”

“Psh. I know you do. I love you too. Now beat it, angel,” he said, and finished counting out his crystals.

Daniel smirked.
She always did have Bry wrapped around her little finger.
For a moment, Daniel wondered if she actually got the key, but he knew Jade wouldn’t have given up so quic
k
ly if she hadn’t. She sauntered out of the office and tilted her head in the direction of the exit.