The Last Horizon (17 page)

“What do you mean?”

“I think after two or three more runs Mr. Charon may bring you in full time.”

“
Full time? Oh no, no, no!” I shook my head. “There’s got to be some sort of miscommunication between your boss and mine, this was a one-time deal.”

Doolie
chuckled. “Nikki, you stand to make a lot of money bringing in more Beta-ephedrine.”

I tried not to act surprised by what
Doolie just said, so just I stood there quietly and listened.

“That batch you delivered was serious Grade-5 Beta-E.”
Doolie whistled. “One hundred percent pure. The guys at the lab are still talking about it.”

“They are, huh?”

I wondered what this beta stuff was used for. My mind drifted…damn it, Kurlie lied to me. I told him no drugs! I didn’t want to ask Doolie what this stuff was since he assumed I knew what he was talking about.

“
Absolutely. Jase was thinking about bringing you in every three to four months depending on the demand, so it looks like we’ll be servicing your ship every time you make a drop.”

“I wasn’t planning on making any more trips to Nexus after this one,
Doolie.”

“That’s between you and the man.”

“Is there a way you can arrange for me to talk to this Charon?”

“
That’s above my pay grade. You’ll have to take that up with Jase. Hey, if it makes you feel any better, you can use the Cyclone every time you come to Nexus.”

“I’m going to have to think about this.” I muttered.

“You wanna take a look around?”

“Am I allowed to?”

“I don’t see why not. You’re the one risking your ass getting it here. Let me give you a quick tour of the joint.”

“Sure why not?”
I thought this might be a good opportunity to gain some insight on what Doolie was talking about.

Cybelle was a huge mining colony but apparently it was used as a front for purposes other than mining.
We hopped into an FAV and went to the warehouse that the cargo was brought to. The containers were empty now, and the cosmetics were still being palletized, but the beta-ephedrine was gone.

Whatever I brought to Nexus seemed to be a big deal and was part of a larger process. That
would explain why everyone moved so fast when it came to the offloading, inventory, and distribution of the payload.

I’m
going to have a sit down with Kurlie when I get back home and find out what he got me into. I was under the impression that he made some promises to people here that involved me, and my plans on throwing in the towel were about to be altered.

“So where did the Beta-E go?” I asked.

“The labs on the west side of the facility. I’m afraid I can’t take you there.”

It was about noon when we got back to the hanger where the Zephyr was moored. To my surprise, Scotty had shown up and was looking around and watching the mechanics at work.

“Scotty!” I beamed as I hugged him.

“Hi Nikki.” Scott smiled. “How’s everything going here?
Is everything all right? Are we still on schedule?”

“Yes.” I said as I gestured at the Zephyr. “This is
Doolie,” I said formally, “he’s the lead mechanic repairing my ship and the manager of this facility. Doolie, this is Scotty, my copilot.”

“Nice to meet ’cha Scotty.”
Doolie shook Scott’s hand. “Well, if you two will excuse me, I have to get back to work.”

“Thanks for the tour,
Doolie.”

“My pleasure, Nikki.”

“Scotty, what brings you back here?”

“I need a favor from you.”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“I’ve got some personal things I'd like you to hang on to until we meet up again.” Scotty reached into his backpack and handed me his SCaT Pad
and a small key. “I don’t want to lose them in the city.”

“Okay. Do you have time for lunch?”

“There somewhere around here to eat?”

“There’s a restaurant at the complex I’m staying at. Can you give me a lift?”

“The car’s parked just outside.”

As we walked out of the facility, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched as we approached the SS
-2.

“What’s on your mind, Nikki?”

“We need to talk.”

“This sounds serious.”

“It is. I just found out about something that I don’t like.”

“
If that’s the case, don’t talk about it in the car. Wait until we get to the restaurant.”

“You think the Avarno’s bugged?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you suspect something.”

“I suspect everything. There’s no honor among people in this business. We’ll talk about it over a decent meal.”

 
We were seated in a corner booth by the hostess, and the moment she left, Scotty moved us to a table outside on the covered patio.

Scotty looked around and leaned back in his chair. “This is much better.” He sighed as he looked at the sky and grinned. “So what’s going on? How was your first night, did you
get some rest or go to Fluture?”

“I went to the city. I was out pretty late last night. I see what you mean about these thirty-six hour days.” I browsed through a menu for an entrée.

“Did you find a decent dance club?”

The waiter came and took our orders
. “I went to a club at The Orchid.”

“The Orchid is the
swankiest casino in the city. I’m staying at the La Rouge Hotel there.”

“Scotty, how well do you know Kurlie?
I know I’m not supposed to ask, but I really need to know; do you work for him?”

“
No, I don’t work for Montrell any more than you do, he’s just an acquaintance. Why?”

“Have you ever heard of Beta-ephedrine?”

“Yes I have, what about it?”

“Kurlie told me
I was just delivering some high-dollar cosmetics and other luxury commodities. I should have known better than to believe him. Apparently there was a large amount of beta-ephedrine hidden in the cargo. Do you know what it is?”

The waiter brought our order and I sat quietly until he left our table.
Scotty eyed the server and waited until he was gone. He leaned closer to me and lowered his voice.

“Beta-E
is the key ingredient in Crunch Dust. It’s what gives the user that euphoric feeling and light-headed sensation when they take the narcotic.” Scotty stated dryly. “The beta-blocker in the chemical acts as an opiate and also magnifies the effects of the ephedrine. How did you find out you were carrying this?”

“That
mechanic I introduced to you, Doolie. He thought I knew it was part of the cargo and was my primary reason for coming to Nexus. He inadvertently started talking about it.”

“
So Kurlie set you up to smuggle a chemical used to manufacture a narcotic. What do you want to do?”

“
Not much I can do but play along for now. Besides, I need to make sure the Zephyr gets fixed the way I want it. I want departure as soon as possible.”

“How soon can they have your ship repaired?”

“Doolie thinks he can have her ready in the next two days. There’s a chance we may be able to get out of here by the 28
th
.”

“What are you going to do about Kurlie when we get back to Earth?”

“I don’t know yet. I’ll figure that out when we get back.”

“
Okay, Nikki, I’ll try to get things wrapped up here in the next day or so. Until then,” Scotty nodded, “you stay alert and be careful. Here’s my room and phone number at the hotel,” He took out a pen, wrote it down on a piece of paper, and slid it to me, “call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks.
” I exhaled as I put his number in my jacket.

Scotty leaned back into his chair,
“All of a sudden things are moving fast,” he said thoughtfully, “Montrell’s connected to someone big in Fluture.”

“
Yeah, someone named Charon. This was supposed to be my last run, but it seems that people here are expecting me to bring more Beta-E.” I frowned. “I have a feeling Kurlie’s going to lean on me about deliveries to Nexus.”

“
The way I see it, Montrell roped you into circumstances that will end badly. If you don’t make the runs, your ass is in a sling for knowing too much about their operation.” Scotty paused.

“I
f you continue to work through this, I think you’ll eventually end up in the reeds for the same reason.” He said grimly as he folded his hands on the table. “You’re an expendable asset standing in a puddle of shit, Nikki, and you haven’t got the right shoes for it.”

“The future doesn’t sound too promising, does it?”

“These things don’t just work themselves out.”

“
I know. Can you give me a ride back to the Zephyr? I need to pick up my ride and bring it back here, I’m going back to Fluture tonight.

Chapter 10

T
hat evening, Scott slipped into the parking garage with his backpack and moved the SS-2 to a more secluded location in the corner of the fifth level of the structure that wasn’t covered by the security cameras. If the car was bugged, whoever is tracking him would think one of the valets just shuffled the sedan to a different spot.

He
sat in the car for about ten minutes and looked around to make sure he was alone, he could hear the echo of engines on the lower levels, but so far no one came up here. After a while, he was satisfied this would be a secure enough place to take care of the task at hand.

He
reached down and popped the hood open. Scott got out and scanned the engine for a few minutes then checked the wheel wells and fender. Not having any luck, he began his search inside. Forty minutes later, he found two magnetic tracking devices: one was hidden in the steering column, the other was behind the screen of the Avarno’s GPS system. He examined the transmitters and smiled, then pocketed the small instruments and pulled the Black Swan out of the pack with the det-receiver rings.

Scott took the plastic explosive and shaped them onto the engine block. He stopped
for a moment to scan the area to make sure he was still unobserved, then plunged the prongs of the detonation rings into the Swan. He shut the hood, sat down in the car, and took the Kirsten automatic pistol out of the backpack with the extra clips and taped them under the dashboard next to the steering column.

H
e left the SS-2 parked in the corner and walked down two levels of the garage when he was done. There was a luxury sedan parked next to the entrance of the elevator lobby; he strolled up to it, and stuck the locators under the bumper.

Scott
showered and put on some casual clothes when he got back to his room on the eighth floor. He put on a black dinner jacket, stepped out to the balcony, and gazed at the lights of Fluture. The streets were bright with the flow of traffic, and the nearby glass highrises mirrored each other as they stretched into the night sky. The sound of the avenue was faint, but he could still hear the music from the clubs rising to his level. Another night in the city of lights.

He caught a
movement in the shadows from the corner of his eye. Scott turned his head to the right and saw it; a Blue Didius Butterfly--delicate and beautiful, its wingspan was at least ten inches across. It fluttered gently as it crawled on the handrail opening and closing its wings slowly. Scott smiled as it stopped less than two feet from him, and he watched it fiddle with its legs and clean it’s antennae. It was hard to believe such a fragile creature could venture thousands of miles from its birthplace then find its way home. It must be among the first to arrive and he knew that thousands more would be following soon.

He
kept his eyes on the Didius as he backed into his room slowly. He spent a few minutes double-checking his things then went down to The Orchid Casino.

The place was packed. Gamblers were a different breed of people; they obsessed over chance and its indifference to the human condition, and even when faced with loss, many couldn’t walk away from the table be
cause they felt they could somehow control fate--the counters that tried to tame luck with hard mathematics and statistical voodoo. But for Scott, nothing was left to chance, everything was a calculated move, and luck was a factor in the equation that was reduced as much as possible.

He moved through the crowd watchi
ng people playing Black Ball, Lucky 13, Cyber Six, and G-Ride. There was a constant ringing or chiming in the air as machines lit up and monitors gave a live feed of an elimination race going on in another part of Nexus.

He spotted Charon
with a couple of bodyguards walking around the tables watching people engrossed in their games. They were looking for hustlers or teams of them that were working the house. So that’s Charon. The next time he would see him would be from a distance of twenty-five hundred meters. Tomorrow he would go to the valley and set up.