DusktoDust_Final3 (5 page)

David again looked to his left and saw what he was looking for, another door. He walked up to it and cracked it. Through the crack he could see the T intersection he had just been at. The footsteps were getting louder again. David waited.

The man from the ticket kiosk came into view. He walked up to the T intersection and stopped, looking both ways.
Gotcha
, David thought. He tried to memorize every feature of the man so he could identify him later, though, at this angle he couldn
’
t get a good view of his face. He was tall though, at least six foot two. And he was black, dark black, probably African. He had a nicely groomed flattop.

The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a mobile. David couldn
’
t be sure but he thought it was vibrating. The man put it to his ear.
“
Hey.
”

Definitely African
, David thought when he heard the accent.

“
Where the hell are you, tech bay six or seven?... Damnit, I need to get the part before the train leaves. Is it done yet?... I don
’
t want your excuses. Now-
…
No. Shut up. I
’
m coming over there.
”
The man angrily put the phone back in his pocket, turned right and headed down the hallway at a rapid pace.

David wasn
’
t sure what he
’
d just seen. While his gut told him the African was more than he appeared to be, that phone call had been convincing. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe UNEC had simply let them go on Skyhook Station. He realized that if they were tailing him they were breaking multiple laws and crossing into many corporate jurisdictions.
Well, if I see him again it means he’
s a tail
. Too bad he hadn
’
t seen the man
’
s face.

With that, David made a right out of the door and headed back to the lobby.

Letsego kept walking at a brisk pace, winding his way through the maintenance areas back to the train station lobby. That had been close. If it hadn
’
t been for the extreme polish on the walls he would have never noticed Dominguez watching him through the cracked techbay door. He had thought quickly, pulling out his mobile, trying to create a cover for himself.

I hope he bought it
, thought Letsego. At least this had proved one thing. Mr. and Mrs. Dominguez were definitely more than they said they were.

“
Conway, come in,
”
Letsego said into his wrist mic.

“
What
’
s up?
”
a man
’
s voice said from his ear piece. It was Sgt Hassan Conway, one of Letsego
’
s team members.

“
Dominguez shook me. He is definitely up to something.
”

“
Did he get a good look at you?
”

“
I don
’
t think so, but I
’
m going to keep my distance. What
’
s going on in the Lobby?
”

“
Mrs. Dominguez hasn
’
t moved. Do you think he
’
s coming back here?.
”

Letsego thought about it. Even if Dominguez thought that they he was being tailed, he would assume that Letsego had no idea where the two of them were headed. He and the woman would probably wait in the lobby until the last minute and then catch the train.

“
He
’
s definitely headed back there. Keep an eye out, but head for the train fifteen minutes before departure. I
’
ll meet you there.
”

“
Got it, boss.
”
The line went dead.

Unfortunately for Mr. Dominguez, Letsego did know what train he was taking. While UNEC didn
’
t have much in the way of video surveillance outside of the Skylift, it did employ a number of hackers. Corporate camera systems were on closed circuit networks, but their financial databases weren
’
t. Letsego had relied on those hackers to figure out what train the Dominguez
’
s had bought tickets for.

After leaving Captain Burleigh in UNEC offices, Letsego had changed into his street clothes. He had then rushed to the turbolift bank and took the management lift down to the surface. Conway had met him there.

The other members of the surveillance team were already shadowing the targets. Including Letsego and Conway, there were five of them. Corporals Yang and Jankowski were well seasoned in the art of covert surveillance. Corporal Smith was new to the team but had shown promise in the past few months. Letsego had full confidence that these men could have executed this mission without his involvement.

The team
’
s safety net was Sergeant Gio. He was up in the Skyhook controlling the drones and any electronic monitoring and hacking. That was where Letsego should be, but he could thank Burleigh for that.

It had been easy following the targets down into the train station. It was really the only logical place for them to go, whether they were who they said they were or not. The train station was too small for the whole team to operate in. Letsego and Conway had gone in alone. Letsego had walked around the lobby once spotting Mr. Dominguez in line for the ticket kiosk and Mrs. Dominguez on a bench. Letsego had quickly called Gio, getting him to hack into the ticket kiosk. Unlike the camera networks, most financial nets were interplanetary. Gio only had to create a backdoor for himself and he was in.

Letsego had watched Dominguez from afar, waiting for him to have his turn at the kiosk. When he did Gio was all over it. Dominguez paid for his tickets in cash, but it didn
’
t matter. Gio watched the transaction take place. He saw the tickets that were purchased. Decham. That was where they were going.

The train ride to Decham was long but uneventful. Alana and David passed the eight and a half hours doing nothing in particular. They were good at that after their journey on the
Gold Rush
. The train pulled into Decham around nine in the evening, even though the sky was still the same crimson twilight that always existed in the Dusk Zone. The entire planet used Earth Standard Time in order to provide some semblance of normalcy for the inhabitants.

David and Alana got off and headed for the cab stand. They made little attempt to mask their movements. David kept his eyes open for the man he had seen in Mandell City, but it didn
’
t matter. There was no question that the Peacekeepers were following them, whether they could see it or not. David didn
’
t want to waste the time or effort to shake them. They would do that at the Skull Pit.

Decham was far more run down than Mandell City. Unlike the unofficial capital of the planet, the war had not been kind to Decham. Once a thriving Japanese Klyston refining town, Chinese artillery had leveled all the factories during one of their offensives. Now it was little more than a hub for foodstuffs and supplies heading to mines and outposts on the dark side of the planet.

Alana and David caught a cab to the hotel district. They needed a place to rest for the night hours. The streets were crowded with pedestrians and illuminated by colorful signs with large Japanese characters on them. The settlement was one of the few places in the galaxy where the Japanese culture still thrived.

They soon found a seedy hotel with a neon vacancy light. Compared to the other venues in the area it looked cheaper, filthier, and less inviting. Just what they wanted.

David walked into the lobby. There was no one behind the desk so he rang the bell. As he waited, he looked around. The place looked dilapidated. The stairs in the lobby were crooked. He watched some type of rodent scamper across the floor. He doubted the place was even wired for cyber.

It took a minute, but eventually and elderly Asian man came out of the back room.
“
Yes?
”
He asked with a heavy Japanese accent.

“
I need a room.
”

The man bowed.
“
Yes, we have vacancy. Cost twenty notes.
”

David reached in his pocket and pulled out various bills. He counted fifty notes and placed it on the desk.
“
For our privacy.
”
He hoped the man understood his subtlety. Hotels like this catered to those who didn
’
t want to be found. They were off the grid. No network connections. No names taken. No records.

The man looked at the cash. Slowly, he picked it up, bypassed the cash register, and placed it directly in his pocket.
“
Wait.
”
He then disappeared into the back room.

He emerged a minute later carrying a key.
“
Come,
”
he said and started up the stairs. David motioned to Alana, who had been waiting outside the door, and the two of them followed the old man.

At the top of the stairs, the old man led them down the hallway and stopped at a door labeled
‘
STORAGE
’
. Apparently, this hotel was well accustomed to serving those who didn
’
t want to be found.

The old man handed David the key.
“
One night. No more.
”

David nodded.
“
We will be gone by morning.
”

“
Domo arigato,
”
the old man said, uttering the words of a nearly forgotten language. And then, with a final bow, the inn keeper left them.

The room was nicer than David expected. There were two beds, a vid screen, and even a small window. The bathroom had a tiny shower and a semi clean toilet. On the whole, it was nicer than any garrison camp billeting David had ever had.

They made themselves at home. David felt exhausted after the long day of traveling, so after a shower he stretched out on one of the beds. He knew he could use some food, but they could deal with that in the morning.

He was almost asleep when Alana emerged from the bathroom, still damp from the shower, and flopped down on her own bed with an audible sound of exhaustion.
“
TV on,
”
she said to the vid screen. Suddenly, the relative silence in the room was shattered by the sound of a cheering crowd coming from the vid screen
’
s speakers.

David rolled over, away from the noise.
“
Damn it,
”
he groaned in aggravation.
“
I was almost asleep.
”

“
Oh come on, you can fall asleep to thundering artillery but a little Arena Combat on the vid is gonna keep you up all night?
”
Alana taunted.

David looked up at the vid screen. She was watching her favorite sport, Arena Combat; gladiator style martial arts fights, minus the copious amounts of blood that was seen in Roman times. It all looked staged to him, but Alana was a zealot for the events.
“
Artillery is soothing. This crap is just loud, predictable, and trashy.
”

She ignored his jab.
“
Give me ten minutes. I just need something to calm my nerves. Thanks to you they got a little excited today.
”

That fully woke David up.
“
Hey, you have no right to get pissed. How was I supposed to know there was a Peak camera in that bar?
”

“
I
’
m not pissed about that. Hell, the Peaks would hide a camera in a rat
’
s asshole if they could catch one. I
’
m pissed about this job overall. We have never gone through the Skylift before. Why are we starting now?
”

“
Because those were the terms of the Windcorp contract. What was I supposed to do, decline the contract?
”

“
Maybe.
”

“
The
Katana
is not going to pay for herself. I don
’
t know if you know this but we do these jobs to get paid, not just for the thrill of it. And when Windcorp offers a small fortune for us to fly a ship from one end of the galaxy to the other I tend to say
‘
yes
’
, no questions asked.
”

“
Maybe you should have asked questions,
”
Alana said simply.

That set David off. It had been two years since the two of them had left the service, and now their business model was more of a partnership than military hierarchy. He was fine with her asking questions and assisting in decision making, but there was a time and place.

And this was not the damn time.
“
Maybe I should have asked more questions,
”
he said with an accusing tone.
“
And maybe you should have, too? We took this contract almost two weeks ago and I didn
’
t hear you saying anything then. In fact I remember you being just as interested in the extra revenue as I was. What the hell has changed?
”

Alana looked a little sheepish, realizing she had been out of line.
“
You
’
re right. I should have said something. But don
’
t you get the feeling that this job is going downhill fast. The Peaks are tailing us. You know what happened the last time we had to deal with them like this. Being on the radar of a couple outlaw gangs is one thing. Having Peacekeepers all over us is a little different. This job is going to shit faster than I can spell the damn word.
”

“
One thing going wrong does not mean this job is going to shit,
”
David countered.
“
The Peaks are good but, we
’
re better. We
’
ll lose them soon enough.
”

“
And what happens when Windcorp finds out that we were stopped by them?
”

“
They don
’
t need to find out. And if they do we
’
ll tell them it wasn
’
t a problem, because it isn
’
t.
”

“
Oh, bullshit,
”
Alana said.
“
You know Windcorp
’
s reputation. If someone, including a couple of smugglers, threatens the company
’
s security, they are dealt with swiftly and efficiently. I mean everyone knows that Windcorp is up to its neck in plenty of nefarious industries beyond smuggling; human trafficking, drug trade, organized crime
…
I could go on for hours. The point is they will have no qualms ending our short meaningless lives.
”

David looked at her with a inquisitive look.
“
Nefarious? That
’
s a pretty big word for a dumb grunt. Have you been reading?
”

Her response was to throw the first thing she could get her hands on, which was her mobile, at him.
“
I
’
m serious, D!
”

David ducked, the mobile narrowly missing his head. He put his hands up in mock surrender.
“
Jesus, okay! But even if you
’
re right what do you want me to do? We can
’
t exactly walk away.
”

“
Why not?
”

“
For the exact same reason you better hope that Windcorp doesn
’
t find out the Peaks were tailing us. We signed a contract, and if we go back on it, some Windcorp thug will put a bounty on our heads so high we
’
ll be stuck hauling supplies from Pluto to the Belt for the rest of our short, insignificant lives. The company holds loyalty even high than security from what I hear.
”

Alana nodded, fully understanding the gravity of the dilemma that they were facing.
“
Then what do we do?
”

“
We stick to the plan,
”
David said, with more confidence than he felt.
“
We lose these idiots in the Skull Pit, head to Windham City to make our rendezvous, and cross our fingers that Windcorp doesn
’
t find out about our recent blunders.
”
It wasn
’
t a great plan but it was all they had.

“
Fine,
”
she finally said.
“
But make me one promise.
”

“
What?
”

“
When this is all over we never take a contract from Windcorp again.
”

“
Alana, I promise that however this job turns out, this will be the last run we ever do for Windham Corporation.
”

David
’
s slumber was restless. Like most settlements on Prospect, Decham never slept. The human body never really adjusts to the endless twilight of the Dusk Zone. Yes, the planet did follow Earth Standard Time, but everyone throughout the colonies followed their own schedules. Outside the window of the rundown Japanese hotel every manner of merchant carried out their trade. David didn
’
t know what they were hollering about, but it was damn annoying.

He was good on his word to the Japanese inn keeper. Within seven hours of checking in, if you could call it that, he and Alana were back on the street and on their way out of the city. The next stop was the Skull Pit.

It took them the better part of the day to reach the Pit. It was only one hundred miles to the northwest of Decham, but they did not take a straight route there. They used a combination of cabs, rickshaws, buses and walking to reach the outskirts.

David had no illusions. He doubted that the surreptitious route they had taken had thrown off any of their Peacekeeper pursuers. They weren
’
t that easily shaken. They had drones to assist them. But hopefully the trip had tired the PKs out. Even with the confusion of the Pit, the smugglers would need every advantage to lose them.

The final rickshaw dropped Alana and David off on the side of the road near one of the Skull Pit
’
s more respectable entrances. The driver wouldn
’
t take them any closer and David didn
’
t blame him. He had only been to the Pit once before and he wasn
’
t very excited to go back. The place was a cesspool of the lowest forms of human life. It was unmonitored and unregulated. Not even TNS Galactic
’
s security, whose jurisdiction the territory fell under, dared venture into the place.

After following the road west for a few minutes, David and Alana reached the top of a hill. There they could see it. A desolate expanse that stretched for kilometers, pockmarked by holes and tunnels of various sizes. This was the Skull Pit.

The Skull Pit had once been a mine, a trivisium mine, one of the first mines ever established. The holes on the surface were from years of surface drilling. The Pit had long since been abandoned by the mining corporations. They had not left because the ore had dried up, but because the place had become overrun.

Trivisium had very few useful applications. It wasn
’
t used in industry, space travel, or computers. It had some use in medicine, but there were better alternatives out there now. The main use of Trivisium was as a hypnotic drug. The soft, violet ore, when ground up, could be smoked or ingested. The effects were unique, unlike any other drug on the market. Users entered a cerebral hypnotic state which lasted for hours.