Kill Shot: A Remnant of the Commonwealth, Book Two (10 page)

The old man in the background closed the concealed doorway and remained standing against the wall.

The pot-bellied man looked Aaron and Susan over, and then he spoke to Susan. “How did you know I was in there?”

Susan leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, smiling. “Who are you?” she asked simply.

If the man was offended by her rudeness, he didn’t show it. Instead, he too leaned back in his chair and smiled. “My name is Reginald Bailey.”

The pieces began to fall into place for Aaron. Once again
, the computer portion of his brain supplied the necessary information. “Reginald Bailey,” he said slowly. Every eye in the room turned toward him. “It begins to make a bit of sense. Locke wants us to kill Darren Woodson, who just so happens to lead the largest criminal organization in the TF Federation. And now we have Reginald Bailey sitting at the table with us, who happens to be one of Woodson’s competitors. Did I miss anything?”

Bailey smiled. “No, you’re quite right.”

Aaron turned to Locke, who had remained standing. He seemed to be frozen to the spot. “So you want us to kill one criminal at the behest of another?”

The old man against the wall stirred
, and Aaron began to suspect that he might be more dangerous than he had originally thought.

Bailey did not seem to be offended. He actually smiled at Aaron. “It’s true. I am a criminal, and I have killed many times before. But let me say one thing, I do not even begin to compare to Woodson.”

Aaron nodded. “I see. You’re the moralist criminal. Is that it?”

Bailey leaned back in his chair. “I, like you, break the law, but I have my limit
s. There are certain boundaries that I will not cross.”

“Really?” Aaron asked. “Like what?”

Bailey breathed deeply. “Woodson is a sadist. A cop gets too close and Woodson doesn’t just kill him—he also takes out the man’s family. His group kidnaps children for blackmail, engages in sentient slavery, and a host of other crimes that I won’t even consider doing. Consider who I am and you’ll see why that’s such a harsh statement.”

“So? Why don’t you kill him? Why do you need us?” Aaron asked.

“Unfortunately, every assassin I have access to can be tracked back to me and I need complete insulation from this crime. I cannot be implicated,” Bailey said.

“And why is that?” Aaron asked.

“Over the past five years, the infighting in our groups nearly destroyed us. On the point of being destroyed, we agreed to a cease fire. Woodson’s group is the largest of us and they’re sort of in control. If anyone suspects me, or my organization, then we’ll be wiped out.”

“So what happens if Woodson dies?” Susan asked.

Aaron was a bit surprised at the question; it sounded like she was open to the idea and he found that confusing.

Bailey’s eyes dropped to the table. “Well, Woodson’s son, Lou, will take over. He, like his father, is a monster
. But unlike his father, Lou’s a complete idiot. I fully expect that within a month he will have angered the other four organizations.”

“You’re expecting him to start a war,” Aaron burst out. “You think he’ll piss everyone off, then you and your competitors can band together and take him out.”

Bailey smirked. “Exactly, and then we can go back to our civilized activities.”

“What is it you’re not telling us?” Susan asked. The question was directed not at Bailey but at Locke.

Locke was still standing, having remained near the end of the table. He looked befuddled. Aaron had never seen him look that way before.

Locke took a deep breath. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said simply.

“Lie,” Aaron said immediately. “Do it again and you can kill him yourself.”

Susan turned and looked at him
, and Aaron realized that he had just left open the possibility of taking the job.

“Al
l right,” Locke said after a brief pause, “there is more. My younger brother was on the smuggling ship I sent here.” Locke took a deep breath and moved closer to the table. He straightened the overturned chair and collapsed in it. “It was the ninth shipment we had run into the federation and we didn’t expect any issues. Besides, my brother was just the pilot. Even if the ship had been caught, he shouldn’t have gotten more than a year or two in prison.” He paused and the silence hung in the air.

“But the authorities turned him over to Woodson,” Aaron said, finally beginning to understand why this was so important to Locke.

Locke nodded but didn’t say anything. He kept his eyes on the table.

“I believe you,” Susan said.

Aaron knew her statement meant more than Locke or Bailey knew; it was her way of saying he was telling the truth as far as she could tell.

Locke looked up and studied Aaron. “When you fir
st came to me, I gave you a job and I kept from looking too closely into your past. The shit you were pulling at the casinos could have easily gotten you into trouble. I warned you away and I brought you into my organization. You owe me.”

Aaron considered in silence. It was true that he owed Locke
. Fresh out of the war, he had sent Susan and Russell into the casinos. With their special abilities, they could have taken the casinos for a fortune. Locke had noticed it first and warned them off. But it was also true that Locke had tried to hire them under false pretenses and that made trusting him difficult. Trusting Bailey was out of the question. This mission was fraught with danger.

Susan’s
hands were out of sight under the table. She casually reached over and tapped him once on the leg.

Surprised, Aaron just did manage to keep his emotion hidden. Of all people, Susan would be
the last person he would expect to condone killing a stranger. He made a mental note to ask her about it later—now was not the time.

“If I do this,” Aaron said slowly, “what’s in it for me? I mean besides
the danger and a horribly slow death if I get caught.”

Bailey exhaled slowly. It would seem he had been holding his breath
in anticipation. “One hundred thousand credits,” he answered. His smile was back in place. “And I want him killed in eight days.” Bailey caught the look of confusion that must have been apparent on Aaron’s face. “Woodson’s daughter is getting married in eight days in Oldtown. I want you to kill him at the wedding.”

“At the wedding?” Aaron repeated a bit appalled.

“Yes,” Bailey said. “I know it’s a bit distasteful, but it’s the perfect time. I will be at that wedding and it should keep me from being a suspect. But once this is done, you’ll have to agree to leave the federation and never come back.”

Aaron nodded. He could
n’t care less about coming back, but there was something else on his mind. “I’ll need something else.”

Bailey’s smile slipped a bit. “Such as?”

“I’ll need you to hire my ship. I want my crew as far from this as possible.”

“Hire them?” Bailey repeated as if he had never heard the words before. “For what?”

“To move a cargo,” Aaron said, fighting to keep his tone calm. It wouldn’t do to mock a crime boss. “Legal or illegal, I don’t care. I want them to take off within the day and be back in eight days. After this is done, I’ll take off with my ship, but I don’t want the ship to simply sit here for a week. Whoever investigates Woodson’s murder will pull a list of ship arrivals and departures.”

“Won’t they notice your ship coming in and leaving the same day?” Locke asked. He was beginning to look a bit better.

“Yes,” Aaron agreed, “which is why Bailey is going to give the ship a cargo. I want it to be something that my crew goes to pick up and then returns here to deliver it. Anyone looking at the ship’s arrival and departure will see that it delivered a cargo and then took off.”

Bailey and Locke both nodded their heads. “Makes sense,” Bailey said. He turned and looked over his shoulder at the old man against the wall. “Richard, find something suitable and forward the info to his ship.” Bailey pushed himself to his feet. “I need to be going. Locke has the rest of the details for you.” He paused and looked at Aaron. “Don’t get caught, or at least don’t get caught alive. Neither you nor I would enjoy that.”

They sat in silence for the several moments it took for Bailey and Richard to leave the room.

“Are they gone?” Aaron demanded several moments after the door had closed.

“Of course,” Locke answered, confused.

Aaron’s question hadn’t really been intended for Locke; it was meant for Susan. Out of the corner of his eye, Aaron could just see her slight nod. He turned his attention back to Locke. “Does Bailey know about your employer?”

“No. Well, not exactly. He knows I work for someone, but he doesn’t have any idea to Morgan’s identity.”

“I used Morgan’s name,” Aaron said, “before Bailey emerged from his hiding place.” He causally waved his hand in the direction of the wall as he spoke.

Locke shrugged. “But you only called him Morgan. Not much to go on and no reason for concern.”

Something about the comment bothered Aaron. It seemed a bit cavalier. He had always been under the impression that Charles Morgan’s identity was one of the most closely guarded secrets. Perhaps the possibility of revenge was causing Locke to play things a bit too fast and loose.

Locke removed a small crystal from his pocket and set it on the table. “Here’s everything you need to know about where Woodson’s daughter is getting married.” Some of his jovial attitude seemed to slip a bit. “This won’t be easy. I don’t even know how you’ll manage. Do you think you can really make this happen?”

“Don’t know,” Aaron answered honestly.

The reply was not what Locke wanted to hear and he looked even more worried. “This will be tough, like the prison ship was.”

Aaron blinked in surprise. Locke shouldn’t have mentioned that, regardless of whether he thought the area was safe or not.

“I have another demand,” Aaron said after a moment.

Locke’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “
Demand? What is it?”

“I want you to leave the federation and stay gone.”

“What?” Locke asked, looking totally lost. “Why?”

“I don’t think you’re thinking straight. This business with your brother is causing you to take too many risks. You mentioned Morgan’s name when Bailey was listening in
, and you’ve mentioned other things as well.” Aaron shook his head. “No, I want you gone.”

Locke’s confusion was gone and it was replaced with anger. “Now wait just a minute. I fully intend to see this bastard dead and I don’t mean on some news
vid. If you think I’m leaving, then you are sadly mistaken.”

“No
, I’m not,” Aaron said quietly. “You won’t like it, but you’ll leave.”

“Oh really? And why is that?”

“Because you want me to do this for you. If you don’t leave then I’m out.”

Oh
, if looks could kill. Locke sat there staring daggers at Aaron. His jaw clenched and unclenched several times and then he nodded once.

“I mean it, Locke,” Aaron warned. “Don’t try and pull anything.”

There wasn’t much else to say, and Locke didn’t seem much interested in talking anyway. Aaron scooped up the small crystal off the table and put it in his pocket.

Locke stood up and moved toward the main exit. Aaron quickly pushed himself to his feet and intercepted him. L
ocke’s eyes widened in surprise, then Aaron punched him hard in the face. Locke collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Aaron stood over him
, glaring down. “Don’t ever try to hire me or my crew under false pretenses again.”

Locke had
his hand over his mouth, but little tendrils of blood seeped out from around his hand. “What?” he managed to croak out.

Aaron leaned in closer. “You lied to us throughout this little meeting, tried to hire us to kill a crime boss while withholding information, and then you only came clean when it was obvious we knew you were lying. You ever try shit like that again and I’ll kill you myself.”

Aaron’s hand shot out and grabbed Locke by the collar of his shirt. He then heaved the man off the floor and shoved him toward the door.

Chapter 13

Aaron and Susan remained silent as they pushed their way through the Old Spacer’s Cantina’s entrance. They didn’t speak until they were several hundred yards away.

“You okay with me doing this?” Aaron asked. He glanced at Susan as he spoke. She had always taken a negative view toward their law-breaking
, and that was only smuggling and the like. Now he was taking a contract to kill a man.

“Yes,” Susan answered simply.

Surprised, Aaron stopped and turned to face her. “You are?”

Susan nodded. “When Bailey and Locke were discussing Woodson I caught glimpses of their thoughts. Bailey truly wasn’t lying when he said the man’s a monster.” She shrugge
d. “I don’t like killing people, but the universe will be a better place when Woodson’s gone.”

Relie
ved, Aaron started again toward his ship. Honestly, he was taking the job more out of a feeling of owing it to Locke than for the money. Make no mistake, one hundred thousand credits would be useful, but for the moment they were flush with cash. They wouldn’t be worried about starving anytime soon.

Most people saw things as good or evil, white or black. Aaron saw things as various shares of gray. He was a smuggler and gunrunner. Both of those activities were viewed negatively, but he was okay with those things. But he would never condone or assist in sentient slavery. He didn’t believe in killing innocents—he just didn’t believe Woodson was innocent. Susan had confirmed that for him, but he already knew of Woodson’s guilt—the computer in his head had provided the information.

“I’m not okay with you sending us away, though,” Susan said quietly.

Aaron didn’t stop walking but glanced
her way. “I can handle this, and if I can’t, well, there’s no reason to get us all killed.”

“But you could die just because we aren’t there to help you. Your attempt at nobility could be the reason you fail.”

Aaron didn’t respond to her complaint. There was another reason he wanted them all off-world. Susan seemed okay with the idea of being hired to kill a man, but he wasn’t sure how long that would last once it came time to actually kill him. Jessica would be against it from the get-go, and she wouldn’t be quiet about it either. Adam was a toss-up; he could go either way. Of the former Commonwealth soldiers, only Russell wouldn’t have a problem with the assassination. Aaron wanted them far away from this mission. He wanted to protect them physically but also emotionally.

They arrived back at the
Long Shot
less than fifteen minutes later, and the entire crew waited just inside the entrance.

Aaron was pleased the crew had followed orders. He
hadn’t wanted them dispersing into the city until he knew exactly what Locke had in mind. It turned out to have been a good idea.

“Well,” Russell said as Aaron and Susan stepped through the hatch. He had been leaning against the corridor wall but straightened up at their entrance.

Aaron paused, looking around at all the faces staring at him, and then he smiled. “Nothing to worry about. We have a quick cargo to retrieve.”

The group nodded easily but didn’t say anything. They
knew enough to let him finish.

“Unfortunately, I need to remain on Redamor,” Aaron said. “Susan will be in charge and I expect each and every one of you to treat her like you would me.” Aaron paused
and smiled half-heartedly. “Actually, I expect you to treat her better than you would me.”

“Why are you staying here?” Russell asked, looking a bit wary.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Aaron repeated, “but I’m needed here for the next week.” He shrugged. “On the bright side, I won’t be getting my shares on the cargo; that’s more money for you.” He began moving past them. “Forgive me, but I really need to get packed.”

Even though some of the crew looked a little unsure, Susan said, “Go ahead. We have to get ready for our cargo.”

Aaron paused just inside his cabin door and looked around the room. It was strange, but it seemed like he was leaving home or something. He felt a reluctance to leave his ship even only for a week.

Pushing the melancholy away, Aaron moved over and sat down at the small table. He dropped the crystal that Locke had given him into the small diamond-shaped hole in the wall. The small computer whirred to life and projected the information in holographic form above the table.

Aaron reached out and began to
flip through the information. He didn’t read it from beginning to end, but rather he skimmed the data. He reached the end and found himself feeling both impressed and disgusted.

He was impressed that whoever had gathered the data had been thorough. There were descriptions of the wedding location, pictures, and even a rather astute guess at the defenses that would be deployed around the wedding. That last bit sent a shiver of worry down Aaron’s back. He sincerely hoped that Bailey had been careful in gathering the information. The last thing he wanted was Woodson’s men to be on the alert.

Despite all the info that Bailey had provided, it was still quite sketchy. He had been provided a location, a time, and someone’s best guess about the precautions.

Aaron considered leaving the crystal behind on the ship. On the one hand, he
didn’t want to get caught with it, but after consideration he decided to take the crystal with him. He hadn’t really been able to go through it as well as he would have wished. He satisfied his paranoid side by encrypting the crystal; at least that way it would take his retinal pattern to unlock the damn thing.

He removed the crystal from the computer and stepped away from the table. He paused to look around his room; i
t was spotless. That was a side affect of having been in the military for so long. Old habits were hard to break. Not that he ever wanted to be messy; it was just so engrained in him that everything had to be in its proper place.

He grabbed a
duffel bag from the closet. He then folded up three shirts and placed them in the bag. He figured he could wear each shirt for two days and he could wear the same pair of pants for the entire week; after all, he wasn’t trying to impress anyone. The thought of losing most of his meager clothes horrified him.

He glanced down and decided his boots would also be good for his entire absence from the ship. He did grab a clean p
air of underwear for each day—he insisted upon that.

Aaron already wore the Horace handgun in a holster on his hip and he r
etrieved the two smaller Olivers from the hidden safe. One he put into a shoulder holster and covered it up with a jacket. The second he put in an ankle holster and strapped it to his right leg.

He
also retrieved a set of fake IDs from the safe and was on the verge of closing it up again when he noticed the case that held the old rifle. He tilted his head to the side while he considered it. The gun was ancient, but it didn’t show up on modern weapon scans. Perhaps he could put it to use. He hesitated only a moment and then retrieved the small, metallic case.

Aaron emerged from his room less than half an hour later, wearing a jacket to hide his shoulder holster, and carrying a duffel bag over one shoulder. He paused in the hallway and listened for any sounds but there wasn’t any. The ship was eerily quiet.

He stepped over to the bulkhead and pushed a button on the computer panel. “Computer, where is everyone?”

“The crew is in the main cargo bay,” the computer’s cold, metallic voice answered.

He turned his steps that way and soon stepped out into the empty expanse of the bay. The only problem was that it wasn’t empty anymore.
Besides the crew, three men stood in the hangar. Two of them Aaron had never seen before. They were young, physically fit, and looked kind of dumb, as if they were hired muscle. He recognized the third man—Richard, Bailey’s assistant.

Aaron nearly missed a step when he recognized the old man. The first thought was that
Richard was here to cancel the job, but then he remembered Bailey telling Richard to find them a cargo. Still, it was a bit surprising for the old man to come here on his own.

Richard nodded his head as Aaron stepped in close.

“Captain,” Susan said, “we have our cargo.”

“Oh,” Aaron said genuinely surprised. “What is it?”

Susan cleared her throat and leaned in close. “PG.”

Aaron’s eyes widened in surprise but he said nothing
. PG was short for Pleasure Gel, a drug that people rubbed on their gums. It was highly addictive and completely illegal.

“Taking it out?” Aaron asked.

Susan shook her head. “No, we pick it up on Fort Wade. We have to get it back here within eight days.”

“How much?” Aaron asked.

“Two tons,” Richard said. It was the first time he had spoken and he sounded nothing like what Aaron had imagined. Aaron had thought the man would have a tired, old voice, but his voice was deep and booming.

Aaron blinked, momentarily confused. He hadn’t been asking how much of PG they were transporting, but how much they were getting paid. His confusion disappeared as Richard’s words slowly made sense. “Two tons?” he repeated quietly.

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Susan said. “We can hide that much in the concealed holds. Plus, he’s given us a legit cargo to go along with the other.”

“What’s the second cargo?”

“Twenty tons of a fish that’s native to Fort Wade,” Susan answered. “It’s a common cargo from there to here. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

Aaron grimaced at Susan’s words. He just couldn’t help it. He was getting a bad feeling about this whole mess.