DJ's Mission (14 page)

As they approached the bio-dome, Tony slowed down
and pointed out different options. “Okay Falcon, this is the closest entrance
to the jail but only TA cronies and LEOs are allowed access. Since you’re a
hunter, will they let you through?”

“Only one way to find out.”

Tony nodded and pulled up to the ramp. When DJ
reached for his cred-stix Tony stopped him. “Nope. This is on the house. My
transport for Earth leaves in two days. Until that time I’m at your call,
here’s my contact code. Call me when you need a ride.”

DJ nodded. “Thanks Tony and good luck.”

Jax raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t ask.
Right now, he was just the hired help and he wasn’t going to rock the boat when
it came to dealing with the Falcon.

Once they retrieved their cargo from Lucille’s
trunk, Tony pulled off and disappeared over the hydrocarbon lake. Without
pausing, DJ moved to the entrance and inserted his bounty hunter credentials to
the reader. Seconds later, the airlock opened and the two warriors stepped
inside. It took less than a minute for the pressure to stabilize and the inner
door to open, allowing access to the first settlement on Titan.

From their vantage point halfway up the bio-dome,
Titan City looked just like any other city within the Coalition with the
exception that the sky was a dome of translucent panels. There was an untold
number of buildings and walkways that stretched off into the distance. Even at
this late hour, numerous people could be seen going about their busy lives.

DJ whistled. “I didn’t realize that Titan City was
this large.”

Even as Jax pulled off his heavy coat and mask he
nodded. “Yep. Only the wealthy and influential people live here. The workers
and peons of Titan shuttle to and from the other settlements to here daily.
This is the center of Saturn, so to speak. The T.A. fat cats keep this dome as
close to Earth-like as possible.”

With a flick of his eye, DJ brought up his
chronometer. They had less than an hour before his meeting with the freelancer.
Of course, Mocha didn’t have much information on the thief other than she was
talented. Calling up a map of the area, he led the way to the headquarters of
the Saturn Sheriffs. Finding the building wasn’t hard since it was clearly
marked and if it wasn’t for the lighter gravity of Titan or the gleaming
bio-dome panels, DJ could easily forget that he wasn’t on Earth.

The numerous deputies that were coming and going
from the station all stopped and stared as they passed. Walking up to the
counter, DJ took the bound prisoner from his companion and roughly dropped him
in a nearby chair. “I’m an intergalactic registered bounty hunter here to drop
off a prisoner.”

When the red-headed beauty turned to face him,
whatever DJ was going to say next was lost.

Slender of waist and large deep blue eyes captured
his complete attention. Dressed in the form fitting black with red highlights
uniform of the Saturn Sheriffs, she looked stunning. When he didn’t continue,
she cleared her throat and said, “Your credentials please.”

DJ swallowed hard. “Sorry. Here you go.”

She inserted the data crystal into the reader and
verified his documentations. “Ah yes, the Red Falcon, I heard you were in
town.” She looked up from the computer and glanced over at his companion. “And
you are the notorious thief Jagger Jax, are you not?”

DJ glanced over his shoulder at his partner. “You
weren’t kidding when you said everyone knows you.”

Jagger Jax nodded. “Yep. It’s a curse.”

The red-head asked, “Are you saying that you are
innocent of your crimes?”

Jax shook his head. “Nope, not one bit but I have
been unconditionally pardoned for my crimes. And I’ll have you know that most
of the horrific crimes I was accused of wasn’t me.”

From the look the deputy gave him, DJ could tell
that she’d heard that claim before. Not wanting to get into an argument with
the beautiful deputy, he reached down and grabbed his prisoner by the scruff of
the neck. Looking at her nametag he said, “Deputy Cunningham, this is Harry
Fisher. He’s a bail jumper from Earth.”

She looked back at the computer. “I don’t see any
documentation of warrants for him on your crystal.”

“No ma’am, there aren’t any. He decided to try and
shoot me in the back while I was at a local nightclub. Once he was subdued, I
ran his image through the system and found the active warrants.”

She began the same process but it seemed that the
sheriff’s system was a bit slower. “Wow. He does have quite a rap sheet.
Twenty-seven counts of robbery, twelve counts of larceny, ten burglaries and
three counts of arson, and according to the G.C.I.C., he is out on bond for
murder.”

Jax asked. “GCIC?”

It was the deputy who answered, “Galactic Crime
Information Center, it’s a computerized index of criminal justice information
such as criminal record history information, fugitives, stolen properties,
missing persons and etcetera. It is available to all LEOs in the Coalition.”

DJ nodded. “And you will also notice that it lists
his bounty.”

Deputy Cunningham consulted the database and
whistled. “Twenty-five thousand credits. That sounds like a nice payday that
you stumbled into.”

“Aye. But then again,” DJ nodded toward Jax, “If
he hadn’t jumped in to help, I might be collecting this bounty from the
hospital. Fisher had a clear shot to my back while I was busy fighting some
bouncers.”

Deputy Cunningham smiled and to DJ the whole
office seemed to brighten. “Ah. You were the ones involved in the bar fight at
Mocha Delights.”

“That was us, just a slight misunderstanding
between the owner and myself. Any complaints?”

“No. Let’s just say I just have sources that keep
me informed.” She signaled a couple of deputies over to take the prisoner off
their hands and turned back to her computer.

This gave DJ ample time to look around the
headquarters but he was intensely interested in the redhead. Looking past her
to the desk behind, he could see that it was meticulously organized. On one
corner of her desk was a photograph of a younger her and a handsome man that
looked so similar that it had to be her brother. They were standing in front of
the office dressed in the traditional brown uniforms of sheriffs. There was a
caption scribbled on the bottom of the photo that was too small to read with
the naked eye. However, DJ used the advanced optics in his CSA helmet to
enlarge the image.

“James and Jenny, 1
^st
day on the
job. 8-10-2095”

And the pieces fell into place for DJ.

It seems that the beautiful deputy was the sister
of the late founder of the Saturn Sheriffs. He recalled Aeolus mentioning that
there were still a few of the original sheriffs in the system. He bet that
those few left weren’t very popular with the current Sheriff and he would’ve
placed them in positions where they couldn’t cause trouble. It happened all the
time in the military. An inept or a troublesome officer would get a promotion
but with a placement into a dead-end slot, commonly referred to as a promotion
into obscurity.

When Deputy Cunningham handed his data crystal
back, he slid it into the compartment on his suit designed for just such a
purpose. Immediately, all relevant data was transferred to the AI in his suit
and the crystal was erased and moved into queue for the next time it was
needed. This all happened in seconds and completely without thought or
direction from DJ. He was busy listening to the deputy.

“According to Coalition laws, your bounty is being
transferred to your account and should be available within the hour. Is there
anything else?”

“No ma’am. I guess that’s it for now.”

“Well then, good hunting Mister Falken.”

Even though she couldn’t see it, DJ grinned. It
seems that Deputy Cunningham was very thorough and found his cover name.
Turning away, the two hunters walked out of the station but paused at the
street.

Jax spoke first. “She was quiet a looker.”

“Yes she was.” Feeling the need to change the
subject, DJ checked his chronometer and saw that he had less than a half hour
to make his meeting with the freelancer. Pulling out a blank cred-stix, he
transferred ten-thousand credits to it and handed it to Jax. “Here’s the ten-K
I promised you. The rest will have to wait until later.”

Jagger Jax took the small electronic device and
stared at it.

“You know, this is the most credits I’ve held in
my hand in years.” After a moment, he shook his head and handed it back. “No. I
haven’t earned it. I spent my youth taking from people whatever I wanted. I had
ships, women, spice and untold luxuries but none of them made me happy. I see
that now. I didn’t earn my credits. These last few months have been hard but
I’ve earned every credit. There were times I was hungry and cold but it was
honest labor. I liked that feeling.”

DJ cocked his head to the side and stared at the
ex-pirate. It seems he had changed and for the better. “Okay, then take this as
an advance on the bounty you earned when you knocked Fisher unconscious.”

Jax nodded. “Okay but we’ll split that bounty
fifty-fifty.”

“Alright. Now go get yourself some real clothes
and meet me at Fifth and Washington in one hour. That will put us about three
blocks away from where Needles will be making his deal.”

“Roger that and Falcon…thanks.”

“No problem Jax.”

As the ex-thief moved down the street in the
opposite direction DJ was heading, he couldn’t help but notice the extra spring
in Jax’s stride. If he had to put a name on it, it would be pride. An old
saying ran through his mind; ‘Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a
man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.’

Jagger Jax could’ve taken the credits and run, DJ
wouldn’t have been able to stop him but Jax had seen the errors of his old life
and didn’t want to fall back into that trap.

With a slight grin, DJ turned down a nearby alley
which would lead him to his rendezvous with the freelance thief. He also
contacted Aeolus and had him patch a message through to Iaido. 

*   *   *   *   *

In the dry docks of Haven, Iaido and company
quietly listened to their friend’s message.

“Hey guys. Things are going good I guess. I
still haven’t gotten to Kaitlyn yet but I’m getting closer. First off Iaido,
your cover ID is great. I’ve had several run-ins with the Sheriffs but they
don’t suspect it’s me inside this armor. Mocha was a lot of help. But since
this isn’t a legit pickup I have to talk to someone called Absolem for
permission. Not sure how that is gonna pan out but even the Cartel won’t stop
me from getting to Kaitlyn. Well, that’s it for now. Talk to ya’ll later.”

Talia was the first to speak. “Why would he have
to get permission? I don’t understand.”

Even as Iaido’s fingers flew across the keyboard
he answered. “There are rules when dealing with the Underworld just like when
visiting a different culture. Your Empire has completely different laws than
the Terran government; it’s the same in the criminal realm. I just hope that DJ
is up to it. He isn’t the most subtle person in the world.”

Pax interrupted. “I have that data you were
looking for; Absolem is a third tier underboss with the Cartel.”

“Do I have any favors within the Cartel?”

Athena answered. “Diana placed a note on one of
her files which she marked as Cartel. The file is mostly corrupt but outside of
the standard data, she flagged one name; Cheshire. Does that mean anything?”

Iaido sat back and grinned. “Cheshire. I remember
that scoundrel. Yes, he does owe me a favor.”

Jay entered the messhall. He had refined his
mechanical legs making them thinner and quieter but kept the four spider-like
limbs for the advanced mobility it gave him around the ship. He had also added
multiple telescoping arms to the chair which he could control through the
cybernetic implants in his brain.

“Good news, the Nemesis should be seaworthy by
noon tomorrow.”

Talia cocked her head to the side. “Seaworthy?
What does a large body of water have to do with the Nemesis?”

Jay just shook his head. “Even though you
understand our language you have a long way to go to understanding humans.”

“Huh? I accurately translated your words but they
don’t make sense.”

Iaido held out one hand to forestall the impending
argument. “You are both correct, now drop it. But Talia to answer your
question, Jay meant was that the Nemesis will be able to launch at noon
tomorrow. The term seaworthy is a holdover from the days of a wet navy.”

“You Terrans are a strange species.”

“Yes we are.” Iaido turned his attention to his
ship’s android. “Athena, do whatever you have to but find Cheshire. I want to
talk to him ASAP.” Turning back to his friends, Iaido added. “Get the ship
prepped for launch and Jay, see if you can speed that up. Double the worker’s
pay if that will help but make sure that they don’t cut any corners.”

“Aye...aye Captain,” remarked Jay and everyone
headed out to complete their tasks, which left Iaido alone to ponder if his
friend was walking into a trap.

*   *   *   *   *

Stephanie had arrived early to the meeting site.
Actually she had been in the area for the last several hours, scoping out the
entire scene. She knew every route in and out of the alleyway. Not to mention,
she had rigged a few surprises for anyone who might pursue her if she had to
flee. She had always thought it fitting that misfortune befell any who chased
her.

She had gotten her moniker many years ago when she
had saved a blind grandmother from some drug dealers that were using her
children as mules to smuggle their drugs. When she had jumped the drug dealers,
the blind old lady had been unable to tell that she was a girl during the fight
and from the way the dealers had tripped over themselves, she had named her
el
gato
de la
mala suerte
– the cat of bad luck.