Different Paths (4 page)

“In the cargo compartment? Why would you stick him
in there?”

As Iaido punched in the code to unlock the
compartment and the hatch slid back to reveal a well-muscled man who was bound,
feet, hands, knees and arms. A helmet covered his head and he was securely
strapped to the deck.

“He stinks.”

Kristopher got a whiff of the unmistakable odor of
feces and the smell nearly overwhelmed him. “Gods above! That’s horrendous.
Where did you find him?”

“Haven. He was playing pool in a bar. When I
identified myself he made a break for it and jumped into a sewer to escape
capture. It didn’t work.”

Pulling off the prisoner’s helmet, Iaido tossed it
back into the cargo hold.

Free of the helmet, Jagger Jax snarled at Iaido.
When he spoke, it was in a raspy voice. “You stupid son of a bitch! You ruined
my jacket! You’ll pay for that.”

“No I won’t.” Iaido slammed the cargo hatch shut.
There was a loud clunk as the hatch connected with the criminal’s head. The
bounty hunter turned his attention back to his friend. “Now…about my payment?”

Lt. Kristopher gestured the SWAT grunts forward
but Iaido moved slightly and blocked their access to the hatch. The SWAT
officers stopped in their tracks and eyed the bounty hunter suspiciously.
Without saying a word, Iaido had become more deadly and they recognized that
fact.

When Iaido spoke his voice seemed colder, more
distant. “Business first. If you want Jagger Jax, then you must pay the
bounty.”

Lt. Kristopher cleared his throat to ease the
tension he felt building between his friend and the SWAT officers. Pulling out
a cred-stix he said, “Relax. I have your hundred thousand credits here.”

“Negative, the price is two-hundred thousand. The
base bounty was one-hundred but there is a bonus of fifty thousand if he was
returned before the fifteenth and another fifty if he was still able to talk. I
have met both conditions.”

“Damn Iaido, you are good.”

Lt. Kristopher laughed before pulling out a second
cred-stix. “Here you go. Two-hundred grand as promised. A bargain in my book. This
scumbag has been on the run for too many years.”

Pocketing the cred-stix, Iaido stepped back to
allow access to the hatch.

As the SWAT officers began to cart him off,
Kristopher moved to follow but turned back. “I have reports to write but we
need to get together for a beer real soon.”

“Only if you’re buying. You still owe me from that
time on Andromeda Station.” Iaido tossed his friend a memory crystal. “Here’s
all the data from the capture; warrants, vid-feed, transfer paperwork, the
usual stuff.”

“Thanks. I’ll call you later. We need to catch up.
Lysette has been hammering me to have you over for dinner.”

Iaido nodded. “Give your wife a hug from me.”

Lt. Kristopher grinned. “Will do. Stay safe my
friend.”

Iaido stayed on alert and watched as his friend followed
the SWAT team and their prisoner out of the hangar before turning the opposite
way to head home.

Chapter 5

When Iaido finally stepped through the door into
his office, he pulled off his sunglasses and felt a sense of peace flow over
him. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath letting the hint of jasmine and
mint fill his senses. He could also smell Diana’s perfume, a mix of vanilla and
some flowery scent he couldn’t describe.

After the shuttle ride down from orbit and the
crowded tram, where it seemed like every one of New Atlanta’s sixty-seven
million inhabitants were always in a rush and in Iaido’s path. He knew it was
an exaggeration but after spending the last month in space, the pedestrian
traffic of New Atlanta was a bit overwhelming.

As the door closed behind him, the noise of the
modern world was left behind. Only the gentle melody of water falling on rocks
reached his ears. Only here, in his sanctuary was it truly quiet. Many believed
space to be quiet and it probably would be if you didn’t want to live. The
machinery designed to keep a person alive always makes noise, from the constant
humming of the generators to the whirring of the environmental systems.

Opening his eyes, Iaido wasn’t surprised to see
Diana standing still behind the desk watching him; she knew not to interrupt
him while he worked at finding his center.

Iaido let his eyes play over the room. It was an
octagon shape and very simple in décor. Directly across from the entrance was a
synthetic oak desk with a computer and vid-phone on it with his beautiful
assistant Diana standing behind it. On the wall behind her was a flat-screen
monitor broken up into two sections; showing the news and the stock market.
Flanking her on each side were large fish tanks built into the wall; the one to
his left contained fresh water fish, the other salt water. Just in front of the
fish tanks were matching pedestals of synthetic oak with synth-leather bound
books open on it. Without looking Iaido knew the left one to be Sun Tzu’s Art
of War opened to the fifth chapter and the right to be Miyamoto Musashi’s Book
of Five Ring opened to the fire scroll.

Bringing his gaze back to Diana, Iaido let his
eyes roam up and down her body. Barely five foot tall, she was well
proportioned for her size with a small waist, well defined hips, firm buttocks
and perky breasts that weren’t overly large for her frame but far from
flat-chested. Her short mousey blonde hair was messed up with that sexy
windblown look while her button nose and crooked smile turned heads and broke
hearts. She was wearing a matching white knit skirt and halter top that
accented her figure nicely.

Iaido smiled. “Hey Doll.”

“Hey yourself.” Gliding around the desk, she
twirled in mid-stride and struck a pose like a runway model before asking, “You
like?”

“Yes, very much.”

Diana stepped in and raised herself up to her
tiptoes to gently kiss him. “Welcome home lover.”

Enjoying the softness of her lips for a moment,
Iaido finally broke the kiss and headed into the depths of his sanctuary.

As Diana fell in beside him she asked, “Any
trouble?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle. Pax is doing a run
down on the Nemesis. Make sure Jay’s techs give her a good once over.”

“Sure thing boss.”

Iaido stepped in his armory and scanned the
shelves out of habit taking into account everything available. The shelves were
full of the gadgets and gizmos of his trade ranging from caltrops to razor nets
to smoke grenades. The opposite wall was full of pegs with weapons of every
kind on them: blasters, rifles, pistols, bows, knives and swords. Having left
his ARC armor on the Nemesis, Iaido had opted for a more covert look; black
trench coat over black synth-leather pants with built-in trauma plates and a
grey shirt over his flak jacket. 

He pulled out the cred-stixs and handed them to
Diana. “You were right. They only wanted to pay the base bounty.”

“I told you. They never like to pay the proper
amount. My guess is that many hunters are reluctant to demand the bonuses.”

Iaido removed the scabbard which held his energy
blade and placed it reverently on its own rack. Even after years of using this
particular weapon, he paused to ponder the simple beauty of the deadly weapon.

It was an almost exact replica of a traditional
katana but there were several differences. The weaponsmith had used a rare
metal known as orichalcum which could only be mined from asteroids. The
scientist who discovered the rare ore had named it after the mythical metal
from ancient earth due to its coppery-goldish hue. Using a blend of modern
science and ancient techniques, they folded the metal over one thousand times
during the forging process. This act, in conjunction with the extremely high
tensile strength of the metal, made the sword nearly unbreakable.

Then, the engineers got ahold of the weapon.
Adding a mini anti-matter generator in the hilt, the sword actually vibrated at
over five hundred mega-hertz which allowed the weapon to slice through just
about any man-made object. Secondly, this caused the lighting effect which ran
up and down his blade. Since the current carried nearly two hundred amperes of
electricity, the arcs and sparks could also kill an average human.

It truly was a marvelous weapon and he was
thankful to have it. The Sgt. Major had somehow acquired it and held onto it
while he was incarcerated.

Realizing that he had been standing there staring
at his sword for a short time, he quickly downloaded the rest of his weapons
and body armor. Within moments, Iaido was stripped down to his briefs as
Diana’s hands gently traced the numerous scars that covered his body. Her touch
was both relaxing and exciting, turning to face her, Iaido ran his hands across
her body and pulled her close.

“It’s good to be home.”

As she leaned up to kiss him, a chime sounded in
the front room which signaled that someone had entered the staircase which led
to his office. Pulling herself away, Diana moved to the doorway.

“Get a shower, you’re all sweaty. I’ll get rid of
our guest and then give you a real welcome home.”

Her crooked smile and sashaying hips promised him a
warm homecoming.

*   *   *   *   *

Greatly refreshed from the shower, Iaido pulled on
some sweat pants and a t-shirt before moving into his study. It was a relaxing
place with a faux fireplace to warm the air, soft lighting and comfortable
chairs. The walls were lined with synthetic wood shelves filled with books from
all over the known galaxy. Most were military text books. The rest were
histories. Many were old, some near ancient, dating from the years before the
meteor. Iaido had read every book in this room, no matter the language they
were written in or the subject they covered.

A large fish tank filled one wall which allowed
Iaido to see into his lobby where two men dressed in dark suits with short
haircuts and dark glasses waited.

Iaido took a moment to study the agents. Both
stood close to six feet in height, one’s hair was dark with highlights of grey while
the other was blonde and baby-faced. The senior of the two agents moved around
the room slowly pausing briefly to study the two ancient texts. He seemed to be
in his mid to late thirties and in good shape given that he had broad shoulders
and a lean waist. A slightly crooked nose and a scar over his right eye told
the bounty hunter that this agent had seen action, either in the war or in the
streets.

The blonde baby-faced agent was completely
different. His rigid posture and well-groomed nails showed that he was used to
a more affluent lifestyle. Iaido guessed that this agent was being groomed by
his parents for some political position. He seemed unsure of what to do, so he
just sat down and gawked at Diana. Even sitting down the young agent looked out
of place as if he didn’t have permission to relax.

For her part, Diana was purposely ignoring them
while typing loudly onto her keypad which in itself was odd since the keyboard
was completely virtual and she could fully integrate into the system. Diana had
purposely turned on the clacking sounds of an ancient keyboard to annoy the two
waiting men.

Iaido stepped silently into the room. “To what do
I owe a visit from the Feds?”

The blonde agent bolted upright while the dark
haired agent just turned slowly to face Iaido before moving forward as if to
shake hands and to begin his introductions.

Iaido held up his hands in a stopping motion. “I
know you are agents Proctor and Gamble or Siegfried and Roy, it doesn’t matter.
I only want to know two things. What brought you to my door and how to get you
to leave again?”

The senior agent didn’t seem fazed by Iaido’s
rudeness. Pulling out his badge and credentials that proclaimed his status with
the FSA, the Federal Security Agency, he calmly introduced himself.

“Actually Mr. Spartan, I am Special Agent Johnson
and this is my partner Agent Smith. We would like to ask you a few questions
concerning a retired UNCF Sergeant Major John Spenton.”

Iaido quietly stood his ground, eyes never leaving
the older agent’s eyes yet he uttered not a word.

Unfazed Special Agent Johnson continued with his
questions. “Do you know a retired UNCF Sgt. Major Spenton?”

Iaido nodded. “Yes.”

The blonde agent moved closer taking up a slight
flanking position on Iaido which placed him strategically between him and the
exit.

Special Agent Johnson asked, “Could you tell us
more about your relationship with Sgt. Major Spenton?”

“Yes.”

“And?” prompted the younger agent.

“Did you have a question Agent Smith?”

The young agent jabbed his finger at Iaido’s face.
“Listen here punk! No over-glorified slave trader is going to give us the run
around! Now, answer the damn question!”

Iaido slowly raised a finger. “That’s strike one,
junior. Don’t let the fact of you being a Federal Agent give you a false sense
of security.”

“Are you threatening me?” Agent Smith yelled. His
face flush was with anger and hands clenched.

Special Agent Johnson stepped in front of his
young protégé before the situation spun out of control. “Mr. Spartan, I
apologize for my partner’s lack of manners but it has been a long day and we
are following up a lead. It seems that Sgt. Major Spenton called your office
yesterday evening then shortly afterwards placed a call to your vessel the
Nemesis which was in hyperspace at the time. We would like to know more about
those calls.”

Iaido turned his gaze back to the senior agent.
“The Sergeant Major is an old friend. Since when has it become the prerogative
of the government to investigate calls between friends?”

“There could be several reasons we would
investigate calls; a crime might be in the process of being committed or
planned.”