Sullivan Saga 1: Sullivan's War (8 page)

He waited for a reply. Hearing none, he pulled the girl in and closed the door behind him. He understood why the door was open when he went to lock it. The lock was broken; the knob turned uselessly in his hand. Sullivan turned away from the door and looked around. It was just as well; there was nothing much here of value.

Sullivan found the bathroom and tried the faucet to make sure the building had running water. “Take a shower,” he said to the girl as he gently pushed her into the bathroom and closed the door. He waited until he heard the shower turn on then searched the room for clothes. He found some clothes that looked like they would fit them and put these in a plastic bag, along with a few packets of dried food, and then used the sink to wash up himself.

CLEAN AND WITH somewhat cleaner clothes on, Sullivan felt better, more alert. The girl looked better, too, and now followed him through the streets without being led. The prepaid credit card he’d put all his money on before leaving Edaline was gone, but he had the tablets; he might be able to get something for those. He also had Wilson’s gun. He decided he’d better hang onto that.

Sullivan found a stand selling used electronics. He took out the tablets and set them down. “How much for these?”

The merchant picked each one up in turn, making sure they were functioning. “Eighty credits.”

“One twenty,” said Sullivan.

“Ninety.”

“One ten.” He stared hard at the merchant.

“One ten,” said the man sheepishly. “Give me your card.”

“I don’t have one. I need a prepaid.”

“That’ll cost five credits.”

“No, it’ll cost one.”

The merchant scowled but did not argue. He waved a card with its embedded chip over his terminal, transferred one hundred and nine credits onto it and handed it to Sullivan without a word. Sullivan glanced at the terminal to make sure the amount was correct, shoved the card into his pocket and turned away. With the money, they could get some food and a couple of nights in a cheap motel. After that, he’d have to come up with a way to earn more money. First he’d have to survive, but he was confident that before too long he could thrive here and build up enough influence to put the next phase of his plan into action. And Abilene was just the place for it. A man with his skills could earn a great deal of money on a planet like this.

10

ALLEN AND HIS team had been on Abilene for two days. The security chief had proven to be mostly unhelpful. They’d asked around about Sullivan but had only been met with silence. Finally, a man in a bar told them that if anyone knew anything, it would be Orion Zednik. Allen knew the name from his research. Zednik was a big-time smuggler, dealing in anything from alcohol to drugs to sex slaves. According to the Bureau’s files, he stayed in power by compartmentalizing, keeping different aspects of his operation independent of one another. He employed a lot of people, but most never even knew that it was Zednik they were working for. Some even said that everyone on Abilene worked for Zednik, one way or another.

Abilene’s security chief agreed to arrange the meeting. Despite what everyone knew, Zednik liked to portray himself as a legitimate businessman and so was happy to meet with the agents, or so he’d said on the phone.

Allen turned to look at Zednik as he walked through the door of the security chief’s office. His eyebrows rose involuntarily. Zednik was tall with extremely fine features, an incongruity among the rest of the sullied inhabitants of the planet. He wore an exceptionally shiny suit in a deep shade of purple, and various trinkets of gold and silver dangled from his wrists, fingers, ears and from around his neck. A lime green pocket square puffed extravagantly from his breast pocket.

Allen held out his hand. “My name is Special Agent Frank Allen. Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Zednik.”

Zednik glanced at Allen’s hand then bowed slightly. “Not at all. I’m always happy to assist a representative of the Assembly.”

Allen overlooked what would have been perceived as a slight back on Earth. There were so many local customs that Allen had long ago given up trying to keep track of them all.

“Well, I’ll get straight to the point, Mr. Zednik.” Allen pulled Sullivan’s picture up on his tablet. “I’m looking for this man.”

If Zednik recognized the photo, he made no indication. “Hmm… is he a local?”

“No. He would have arrived about a month and a half ago.”

“So many people come and go, Agent Allen. I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

“You’re sure you haven’t seen him?”

Zednik looked back at the picture. “Now that you mention it… no.” He smiled broadly. Allen felt like punching him in the mouth but smiled back instead.

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Zednik.”

“And thank you.” Zednik winked at the security chief, turned on his heels and walked briskly from the office.

OF COURSE, ZEDNIK had recognized the picture. Sullivan had escaped only an hour before Zednik was called in to the security chief’s office, taking the girl and killing Wilson in the process. Zednik was damned if he was going to let the Bureau find Sullivan before he did. Sullivan was worth money, but so was the girl. Zednik would gladly kill Sullivan to get her back, even if it meant losing the reward money. Still, Edaline might give him something for pulling a thorn out of their paw. It wouldn’t be as much as if he’d turned Sullivan over to them alive, but Zednik had enough money. The satisfaction of killing Sullivan would be worth more.

Zednik got into his waiting car. In the driver’s seat sat Hans. Franz, the man who’d opened and closed the door for Zednik, got into the front passenger’s seat. Those weren’t the twins’ real names, of course, but because of their long, unpronounceable last name and their distinctly Aryan features, the sobriquets had stuck.

Hans pulled the car out into the road. “Franz,” said Zednik, “I want a meeting with Younger.”

Franz went to work on his tablet, typing out a message. Zednik never carried any electronics of his own. It was too easy to use them to trace someone.

“He can meet this afternoon at the Cairo,” Franz said. “Sixteen hundred.”

“Good.”

“Where to, Mr. Zednik?” asked Hans.

“Home for now. If I’ll be going to the Cairo, I’ll want to change first.” Zednik looked down at his suit, picked off a speck of lint and flicked it distastefully to the floor of the car.

THE CAIRO BAR wasn’t an establishment Zednik cared for, but it was the go-to meeting place for Abilene’s criminal class. The planet’s security forces stayed well clear, and the bar’s owner, a man named North, had a brigade of bouncers who strictly enforced the neutrality of the bar. All weapons were checked upon entering, and any disagreements were to be taken outside. It was said that the sidewalk in front of the Cairo was the bloodiest spot in all of Abilene.

Zednik had changed into a dark gray suit with a blood red shirt and a red and a yellow tie. A canary yellow silk handkerchief inhabited his breast pocket, arranged with practiced indifference. Zednik stepped into the Cairo and made his way to the back room of the bar, past the bouncer, who held open the door. He was let through unchallenged. Everyone knew Zednik never carried a gun, and even if he did, he was much too important a man to insult with a weapons scan.

The back room was only for Abilene’s most powerful players. Zednik crossed to the corner booth which was, by order of North, cleaned twice daily and reserved at all times for Zednik. He brought so much business into the bar that North was happy to give Zednik this indulgence.

The girl in the short skirt didn’t pass by Zednik’s table to offer him a drink. Zednik never ate or drank outside of his own home. After a moment, he saw Younger enter the back room. Zednik raised an arm and motioned him over.

Younger sat. He knew better than to try and shake Zednik’s hand. “You have a job for me?”

“Yes.” Zednik took out a printout of a photo of Sullivan that he’d gotten off the news wires. “His name is Richard Sullivan.”

“Right,” said Younger. “He killed some assemblymen on Earth.”

“That’s right.”

“I heard about Wilson. Was it him?”

“Yes.”

“And I heard something about a girl. A particular blonde-haired girl.”

“What you heard isn’t important, Younger. But if, when you find Sullivan, he is accompanied by any young women, I would like you to bring them to me.”

“I understand. Of course, that will make this more complex than a simple lights-out operation. It’ll cost you.”

“Whatever fee you think is fair, I will pay.”

Younger looked at the photo. “He’s military, isn’t he?”

“Ex-military. Edaline special forces, from what I was able to find out. And there’s another complication. The Bureau is here looking for him. I need you to find him first.”

Younger rapped his fingers against the table. “It’ll be a hundred for this one.”

Zednik smiled. The girl was worth half a million to him. He could afford to pay a hundred thousand for her return and the death of Sullivan. “I agree to that price,” he said. “You know how to get in touch with me.”

“Yes,” said Younger. He stood and turned to leave.

“Oh, Mr. Younger,” said Zednik. “Be careful with this one.”

“I’m always careful, Mr. Zednik.” Younger left the table, shoving the picture of Sullivan into his pocket as he went.

11

SULLIVAN WATCHED AS the girl slept. She’d spoken little over the past two days, but he had learned that her name was Kate Alexander and that she was from Silvanus. He didn’t know what the tall man had wanted with her, but he assumed it was a ransom kidnapping. Silvanus was one of the wealthiest planets in the Assembly; it was likely that she came from money. He’d thought about contacting the local authorities but had quickly rejected the idea. He didn’t think they could be trusted to keep her safe.

Sullivan realized that the other side of that coin was that he would have to keep her safe. It would slow him down to have her around, but he couldn’t justify cutting her loose. She wasn’t the type of person who could survive long on this planet alone.

They were enjoying their last night in the hotel. He’d have to find someone who would hire him. He had skills that would come in handy on a planet like Abilene. His ultimate goal was to get to Faris, where there was a large population of refugees from Edaline. Faris had taken in many of the rebels after the civil war, and a steady flow of people dissatisfied with Edaline’s government had been making the move ever since.

Sullivan gently shook Kate to wake her. She stirred and opened her eyes. “Kate, I’m going to go out and find some work. I want you to stay here.”

“No, I’ll go with you.”

“This isn’t a safe planet. You’ll be better off here.”

“Please, Rick. Don’t leave me alone.”

Sullivan pursed his lips. “All right, but if you come, you’ll have to help me.”

“I will. What do I need to do?”

“You need to be confident. You need to walk like you aren’t afraid of anyone, like you mean business.”

Kate got up from the bed. She put one hand on her hip and raised her chin slightly, looking down her nose at Sullivan. “Like this?”

“Less prissy, more pissy.”

Kate lowered her head and glared at him.

Sullivan laughed. “Yes, exactly like that!”

Kate laughed, too.

Sullivan pulled at her shirttails. “I’ve noticed a lot of the women here seem pretty promiscuous. Can you tie this up, expose your midriff?”

Kate blushed slightly. “I don’t want to draw attention.”

“Trust me,” said Sullivan, “people are going to be looking at you anyway.”

Her blush deepened. She tied up her shirt, exposing a smooth, toned stomach. Sullivan nodded his approval, stuck his gun into his belt band and made sure the bulge of the firearm was visible underneath his shirt. The shirt he’d stolen from the apartment was a bit tight, which helped accentuate not only the gun but also his muscles. He figured that could help him here.

Sullivan and Kate made their way down to the lobby of the hotel. Sullivan started for the front door but stopped. Coming in was Frank Allen. Sullivan turned to head toward the rear entrance of the hotel but Allen spotted him before he was out of sight.

“Hey! Sullivan!” Allen yelled out.

Sullivan grabbed Kate’s arm and broke into a full run. He bounded through the rear entrance of the hotel and out into the street. He heard the door slam open a second time and Allen’s steps behind him, gaining as Sullivan checked his pace so Kate could keep up with him.

He turned to Kate and put his mouth near her ear. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” she said, breathing heavily as the exertion began to get the better of her.

“Then play along,” he said.

Sullivan was still leading her by the hand. He pulled her into a narrow alleyway and stopped halfway down the alley. He spun around, pulled her into his arms and drew his gun. He put the barrel against her temple as he put his other hand around her neck.

“Stop, Allen! Don’t come any nearer.”

Allen slowed to a walk and stopped at the entrance to the alley.

“C’mon, Rick. I know you won’t hurt her.” Allen closed the gap by a few steps.

“Yes, he will,” said Kate, genuine fear in her voice. “He’s already said he’d kill me if I try to get away.”

Allen paused. Had Sullivan grown more ruthless since he’d been on Abilene?

Sullivan turned the gun from Kate to Allen. “Just turn around and walk away.”

Allen had intentionally not drawn his gun, but now that Sullivan was aiming at him, he wished he had. “I know you’re not a bad man, Rick. Remember our telephone conversation? And those agents you could have killed but didn’t?”

Sullivan pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the ground at Allen’s feet, but it rattled him enough that he backed off and took refuge around the corner of the building. He drew his gun and peeked back around the corner. Sullivan and the girl were gone.

SULLIVAN CURSED HIS bad luck. What was Allen doing on Abilene? The Bureau had no jurisdiction here. As he made his way through the narrow, crowded streets of the shantytown, he realized that not only was Allen after him but the tall man would probably be after him as well. The faster he could get off-planet, get to Faris, the better.