Danger Money (28 page)

"After that beating you gave me, I sure don't want to die in bed on my mating day!" I chuckled and she growled in embarrassment.

At that moment the house blew up behind us, and the car shook a little. I glanced back at the destruction. The whole top was gone and the rest was pretty well blown down from the shock. It was burning too.

"Well, at least the crime scene got vaporized," she observed. "They shouldn't have too many doubts about our demise."

"I hope," and I fell asleep.

18

I didn't have a clue as to were I was, and I didn't really care. Mostly because I felt Jocel's hand gently scratching my ear as her other one was undoing my coverall.

"Merrr?" I questioned, not opening my eyes.

"We're in
Texas
, it's dark out and I'm tired of waiting," she breathed heavily in my ear.

I opened my eyes and glanced around the car in the dark. She had already discarded her jumpsuit, and was making good progress on mine.

"Isn't it just a bit cramped in here?" I questioned as I carefully slipped my right arm out.

"What's with you?" She giggled, "Shy?"

"I'm just afraid you'll finish what you started before. May I remind you that I'm in considerable pain?"

"I'll be gentle, I promise!" she said as she smiled at me in the darkness.

She was too.

We awoke before the dawn, and continued on to
Houston
. As trips go it was rather boring. We took our time and drove straight to the local Corporate office at the Spaceport. I left the car in the parking lot and we both headed inside.

"Yes, what can I do for you two?" Asked the Badger working behind the desk.

"It seems we have a minor problem," I smiled at her and tried to give my best honest expression.

"Yeah, my idiot mate got into one of those stupid fights over my 'honor' last night!" Jocel growled.

"You didn't need to tell her that!" I complained back. "I was only going to tell her about our stuff being stolen."

"Yeah right!" she laughed, "And how were you going to explain looking like a Taragon mining ship?"

"Oh I don't look that bad, do I? And I turned to the receptionist.

She nodded her head, "You do," she said rather bruskly then added, "sorry." When she saw me wince.

"Well at least I won!" I harrumphed.

"Yeah, so they ripped us off when I took you to the bathroom to clean up the mess. Males!" She sighed loudly and winked at the receptionist, "At least he cleans up after himself!"

"So do you want to make a report?" she asked looking confused.

"No, actually we lost our ID bracelets and the copy of our orders," I admitted quietly. "And as our ship leaves in eight hours I was hoping we could get them replaced."

"You know there's a fine for that."

"Yes, I know. We're both in security." I said embarrassed. "By the way, my name is Balizar and this is my mate Sharazad." I noticed a raised eyebrow from Jocel as we all shook hands.

"I'll notify the personnel office you're on the way down. Eye scans please," and she put a retinal scanner on the desk. I went first, and glanced at the data as Jocel went next. What I saw jibed with what I had entered yesterday, so I knew we were safe.

I smiled at the receptionist's expression when she saw what my rank was.

"Aren't you a little mature to be getting in barfights, sir?"

"Well, ahhh." I did my best to look embarrassed. Jocel saved me by grabbing me.

"Thanks dear, we gotta run though!" she said dragging me away.

"Sharazad?" She asked once we were out of earshot. "Balizar? Where'd you get those from?"

"Sharazad is from an old series of stories called 'A Thousand and One Arabian Nights'. Somehow it seemed appropriate, anyway I like it." I grinned at her expression, "So you're stuck with it now!"

"Actually it's not that bad Jotun," she smiled back.

"Balizar," I interjected, "Jotun is dead, so's Jocel. Don't forget it and never use those names again. We've been reborn."

"Okay Balizar," she smiled again, "Where did you get that name from anyway?"

"That my dear," and I chuckled myself, "is for you to find out! And oh, by the way, you are now one year, one month and one day older and your Identification number is ..."

"I'm not blind Jo.., uhhh Balizar, I saw the data display."

"I knew I picked you for a reason," I grinned at her.

"And here I thought it was for my body," she sighed.

We walked into the local personnel office then and spent the next four hours filling out forms and waiting. I talked them out of fining Sharazad by claiming sole responsibility for everything. Then I managed to talk the office head into changing the official reason for all this on my file. I managed that last bit with a simple bribe, now that I had a real identity again I also had a real company account.

Then we got copies of our traveling orders and I went in search of a terminal.

"Now what are you doing Bal?"

"I just got one last thing to do Shar, before we leave to catch our ship." Funny how in a few hours we had already come up with pet names for each other. I had this strange feeling that by the end of the week we'd be wondering how we had ever managed without each other.

"Well don't leave any traces okay?" She said looking over my shoulder as I logged in on a public access terminal out in the lobby.

"Don't worry, I'm just sending some e-mail from a fake front through one of the anon servers. Nobody will ever be able to track it back here." I wormed my way in through the net carefully, I wasn't taking any chances.

"Think he's changed his passwords by now?"

"Who cares? I'm not going to look." I entered my message and then signed off. It was quick, to the point and unsigned. Next I did a little shuffling of the carpool records so the car wouldn't be noticed.

"Do you really think that note was necessary?" She asked as we went in search of a bus to the spaceport.

"No, but the late Jotun was noted for his style, was he not?" I chuckled, and then coughed as my rib grated.

"We better get that fixed once we hit the ship."

"Yes love."

"Think he'll mind it?"

"What would you do in his position?" I asked sneaking a glance at her face from the corner of my eye as I tried to flag down a Taxi. The hell with the bus.

"Funny how after all this you're still so firmly loyal to the company though."

"You should talk?"

"Good point. But do you really think telling him that if he screws up you'll be back will have any effect?"

"Who cares? Do you really think I have any intentions of really doing it?" And I grabbed her and pulled her over to me. "I got
mine!
"

"And I've got mine!" she whispered back. "Now let’s find a bus, and get out of this backstabber's paradise. This is Earth and there ain't no Taxi drivers who are going to waste their time on the likes of
us
Bal."

She was right of course. On all accounts.

<<>>

Regarding: Former Corporate Head Assassin; Caesar's Palace Operation, Farside.

Begins::

While no physical remains have been recovered of any victims of the explosion at the President's estate, he has assured us of the presence and identities of all involved. The lack of any evidence of survivors, or beings found fleeing the scene confirms this, along with the President's personal testimony as to the physical condition of the operative known as 'Jotun' when he had been thrown from the room. Medical experts agree that the wounds witnessed were most certainly fatal and former Caesar's Palace personnel agree these would lead to the rather extreme measures used by the assassin in his successful attempt to kill the Senator.

Corporate investigation of Senator O'Brien has revealed that he was involved in the Caesar's Palace Operation and with the operative known as 'Jotun' on a personal level. Upon the forwarding of this information to the Earth government they have agreed that it would be in the best interests of all parties involved to cover this matter up. Official reports will claim that the Senator died in an air-car accident. The Earth government has agreed to handle the details.

As for the matter of the other two missing assassins from the project, the President has directed at this time that should they be found they are to be re-instated with no loss of grade or fines levied. While the Caesar's Palace Operation has been officially closed, the President feels that the knowledge and expertise possessed by these individuals could be of benefit to our analysis section. Also the CEO feels that it would be wise to maintain a 'Fallback' option, should Corporate fighting return to former levels.

::Ends 

<<>>

If you liked this book, please check out my other stories:

Children of Steel

Raj is just your average everyday genetically modeled and artificially created anthropomorphic worker for one of the many corporations of the future. Extensively trained and conditioned from birth he's now indentured for the next fifty years of his life; assuming he doesn't die first, or somehow manage to pay off his creation and training debts.

Created by the corporations to deal with the harsh labor shortages of the twenty second century when humans will no longer take on the dangerous jobs Raj finds himself now in the harsh world of space exploration, trading, corporate maneuverings, and sometimes the even more dangerous fanatics that hate Raj and his fellows. No longer in safe confines of the training academies he must learn how to live and deal with both his fellow workers and the humans he encounters and not get saddled with extra bills or fines because he's screwed up or worse yet, get 'put down' because he's lost his temper one time too many.

After all, it's not like he's human ...

Dialene

Dialene's Captain decided to play pirate, and one well placed nuclear torpedo later she finds herself prisoner of the Corporation whose ship they were attempting to raid; her friends and lover all dead. With no corporation to ransom her back she finds herself in the unenviable position of having to work off the debt assigned to her for her part in her Captain's actions. With concerns as to where her loyalties lie she has but two choices: Work in the mines on an airless rock where a small fem like her would not last long, or work in the company bar entertaining those very same miners.
At least working in the bar beats the alternatives, until one day an interesting character inserts himself into her life.
A Novella from my Children of Steel universe, Dialene is a foxmorph who until her capture was a highly rated shuttle pilot working a deep space trader for one of the more notorious corporations. Like most of her kind she had no choices in her employer who considered her nothing more than a disposable asset.

Available in eBook format wherever eBooks are sold, available in print from CreateSpace or Amazon.

-
John Van Stry