Jason King: Agent to the Stars 1: The Enclaves of Sylox (11 page)

“You’ll figure it out, smartass. Now get the hell out of here.”

With our business concluded, we began to move toward the door, but just before getting there I turned to the Human thugs. “Oh, by the way, which one of you shot me?”

Before either had a chance to think, the smaller thug half-raised his hand. I then proceeded to plant a heavy right cross on his jaw, sending him crumbling to the floor, out cold.

The other thug raised his MK-24; I ignored him, and instead addressed the unconscious thug on the floor. “There, now we’re even, asshole.”

Chapter 14

It turned out that I been in a warehouse in a rundown section of Sylox City on the other side of Lomick River from the Embassy Compound, and with time running short, I took a very expensive taxi to my office. I would come back to the Embassy for my car after the closing. But now I only had forty-five minutes to freshen up and get over to the title company for the closing.

As I washed my face and slipped on a shirt I’d literally taken off Quint’s back, I filled him in on all that had happened that morning. Quint had served with me in the Rangers, and had been the person who introduced me to the wonderful world of real estate sales.

“You’re going to do it? Why don’t you just go to the Embassy police or your friend the spy?”

“Now I’m just as curious to find her as they are. She’s turned into quite the mystery girl. And you know how I could use the money right about now.”

“They may kill her when you bring her back.”

“I’ll be careful about that. Just let them pay me the quarter-mill and then I’ll get her someplace safe – like a jail cell.”

“Just be careful, Jason. You know I’d have to change the ownership papers for Galactic Realty and Relocation Service if anything happened to you.”

“Is that all I am to you, just a name on a piece of paper? Wouldn’t you miss me if I was gone?” I said with a grin.

Quint shrugged. “So the plot thickens,” he said.

“Guess it had to. You can’t bore the readers for too long without throwing in some action here and there.”

“You never take things seriously, do you? You were shot this morning and they could have just as easily killed you than not.”

“Yeah, but now I know something’s afoot, so I’ll be more careful from here on out.”

“Afoot?”

“Didn’t it sound sophisticated and mysterious enough for you?”

Quint shook his head. “Get the hell out of here, you jerk, before I shoot you myself. You have a closing to get to, before heading off across the stars looking for some hot babe with a stolen something-or-another.”

I may be the smart and devilishly-handsome of the pair, but Quint was the quiet, dangerous one. I knew that at any given moment he carried a minimum of three weapons on his body, including a knife, and two guns. I hurried out of the office before he could make good on his threat.

Seriously, I wished I could take him with me, but someone had to stay here and hold down the fort. Besides, how hard could it be to track down one incredibly good-looking Human woman on a planet full of aliens?

Really … how hard?

Looking back on it now, I know I should have asked the alien gangster for an advance.

**********

Transferring title on Sylox was similar to the process back on Earth, and several Human companies had set up shop on the planet to assist with closings and the selling of title insurance.

In fact, the process of buying, selling and financing real estate within the Enclaves was pretty much a clone of Earth-based procedures. The large developers had done all the heavy lifting, acquiring the land from alien owners and then dealing with all the title issues and currency conversions to make it possible. Once that was done, the developers then resold the land to their clients using traditional methods. It actually made a lot of sense and worked like a charm.

Yet there were always personalities to deal with, and my agent, Trish Dawson, had a real mess on her hands with her customers, Julio and Fatima Gonzales. They had been fighting constantly since the contract had been signed, and if the trend continued, it would be miracle if the deal actually closed.

Julio was with the security detail at the Embassy, so not in the category of client that normally would have attracted my attention. Yet Trish was fairly new to my office, so I felt a little display of the master-at-work would go a long way to gaining her trust and confidence in my leadership of the company. Besides, I liked her. She was trying her best, and I believed that with the proper training she had the potential to become a heavy-hitter.

As it is with most people, all the Gonzales’s needed was just a little affirmation that what they were doing was the right decision. So during the closing I was understanding and supportive – yet also firm. Homeownership – whether on Earth or on Sylox – was a great investment and served to stabilize most families. It established roots in the community and conveyed a sense of maturity in young couples.

And it sure beat the thin-walled, dilapidated apartment they were renting within the alien
’hood
outside the Embassy Compound.

It was a good move for the couple, and after spending an hour longer than these closings normally took, Julio and Fatima left the office smiling and holding hands, excited about starting this new phase in their life together.

Now I could see the admiration in Trish’s eyes, something bordering on celebrity worship. I liked that coming from my employees, so when we got back to the office, I cut her commission check immediately and handed it to her.

“Thanks, Jason,” she said sincerely. “This is number three, and with many more to come.”

“That’s right. Just keep up the good work, Trish. I honestly believe you have what it takes to make it in this business.”

“If you just stay patient with me; I still have a lot to learn.”

Just then Quint poked his head in my office, a look of concern on his face. “You have company, Jason.”

Trish smiled at him and then quickly made her exist from the office. Quint stepped inside. “It’s the police.”

“No shit? Wonder what they want?” Considering the day I was having, I knew this wasn’t just a couple of guys looking for donations to the annual Guns and Hoses charity event.

“There’s six of them,” Quint added, “and they look serious.”

I got up from my desk and walked out to the lobby. The lead officer was a native Zorphin, yet there were also two Velosians with him, as well.

“Are you Jason King?”

“I am. What’s this—”

“I am Senior Enforcer Krimious Lim-Volic Sin, and I have to inform you that you are being placed in custody for transport to Central Command. There you will be questioned concerned a recent crime. Do not resist, we are authorized to use restraining force to initiate compliance.”

“I’m not going to resist, I just want to know what this is all about?”

The lead police officer looked at a worried-looking Quint and then at all the other stunned faces in the office. “Information will be provided at Central, but this is a matter of the utmost seriousness. Please allow us now to apply the restraints.”

“I said I won’t resist.”

“It is a requirement. Turn around.”

I complied, and the two Velosians moved in quickly and applied metal handcuffs to my wrists, jostling me a little too roughly for my liking.

“Easy fellas; I do break, you know.”

“Quiet!” said one of the Velosians as he stuck his thin, pink face up to mine. “You are fortunate that the local authorities have interceded in this affair. We would not have been so polite, not after what you have done.”

“What the hell’s your problem? I haven’t done anything.”

“I have studied Humans to some degree, and I believe there is a term that applies here:
Bullshit
.”

I turned to Quint. “Call Kevin at the Embassy and have him meet me at Central.” Kevin Anderson was the lead attorney for the American contingent at the Mission, who also did freelance work for a few of the expats, me included. I’d only used him for contract law up to this point, since I hadn’t needed a criminal attorney – until now. I wasn’t even sure if he could help, except to refer me to someone who could.

I was manhandled out of the office, in plain view of my employees, who by now had all gathered in the lobby area as my arrest took place. This was one hell of an embarrassment, and I knew who was directly responsible for it: Miranda Moore.

Chapter
15

I tried in vain to get the alien police to explain what was going on during the thirty minute drive to Enforcer Central Command. The natives remained stoic, while the Velosians continued to regard me with unabashed contempt.

This had to have something to do with Miranda Moore; I felt it in my bones, although I had no idea what it could be. From the events of this morning, I knew she had taken something of value – something valuable enough to command a quarter-million dollar fee to recover. Of course, all that had flown out the window when the cops came a-calling. Right now, all I wanted to do was clear up whatever misunderstanding had occurred. Even then, I would have a lot of explaining to do back at my office, and if word of my arrest got out to the expat community, it could also affect my business overall.

Galactic Realty took priority over whatever pie-in-the-sky bounty I could get from the alien thug.

As we arrived at the massive, pyramid-shaped building near the Capitol Complex for the Galactic Union, I began to worry. There were easily half-a-dozen field stations between my office and here, and the fact that I was being brought to police headquarters for the entire planet meant that I could be in some serious shit.

Since the Human Embassy was located only four miles from the Capitol Complex, I was relieved to see Kevin Anderson was already at Receiving when I was brought in. After a brief – yet heated – exchange between the lead officer and the Velosians, Kevin and I were allowed a brief moment together in private, if only off to one quiet corner of the processing center.

“Tell me you’re not involved in this,” Kevin blurted out.

“Involved in what? They haven’t told me anything.”

Kevin looked startled. “You don’t know about the Unity Stone?”

“I know what it is; what about it?” My heart began to pound even harder as I recalled the conversation Miranda and I had about the statue at the Hillcrest property. This was too much of a coincidence not to mean something.

“It’s been stolen,” Kevin said, “and it’s causing quite a shitstorm across the entire planet, hell, across the whole galaxy. You didn’t know it was stolen?”

I felt deflated. So there it was. This
did
have something to do with Miranda, and now I was involved; however, in what way I was afraid to ask. I did anyway.

“They think I’m involved?”

“That’s what they’re saying. Are you?”

“Hell, no,” I answered, without emotion. “But I do have a pretty good idea who is.”

“Who?”

I didn’t get a chance to answer. Instead, the Velosians took me by the arm and hustled me down a hallway and into a bare-bones interrogation room. After a couple of minutes, Kevin entered, along with the Zorphin Krimious and the most-vocal of the two Velosians.

“Sit down,” Krimious commanded.

Both Kevin and I obeyed.

“If this has anything to do with the Unity Stone, I can tell you who’s probably behind the theft,” I offered right off the bat. I saw little benefit in not being forthcoming.

Krimious raised an eyebrow, which crinkled the green knobs on his forehead.

“So you do admit complicity in the crime?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Let him speak first, Jason,” Kevin said to me, placing a hand on my forearm.

“Thank you, Advocate.” Krimious referred to a datapad he carried. “Here are the facts as we know them: The Unity Stone was stolen approximately nine hours ago from a secure vault at the official offices of Morgus Orn, the Velosian representative to the Union Council. The thief – or thieves – gained access to the vault using a code that we believe was acquired from a computer located at the Council Member’s residence. According to data taken from the entry lockbox located at the property, you, Jason King, accessed the home twice over the past four weeks, including the most recent visit only two days ago.”

“I didn’t go there two days ago. I’ve only been there once—”

“Are you not the agent assisting the Council Member with the sale of his property?” asked the Velosian.

“That’s right, but the last time I was there was four weeks ago, for a showing to the Wilson family.”

“And yet the data is incontrovertible that your code was used to access the lockbox two days ago,” said Krimious.

“That wasn’t me. I didn’t do it.”

“Then who did?”

“I’m pretty sure it was a Human female named Miranda Moore. She is supposedly a relative of the wife of Undersecretary Mark Wilson and she was present when I first showed the property. During the showing she saw a photo of Council Member Orn with the Unity Stone and asked about it.”

“How does that implicate the female in the theft?”

“I believe she stole my lockbox code.”

“Those codes are to be protected at all times from theft, and are the personal responsibility of the agent for which they have been assigned. If the code was stolen, then you have committed a major dereliction of your professional responsibilities. What proof do you have that the code was stolen?”

“For starters: The fact that I didn’t go into the home two days ago. I was playing in a softball tournament on that day.”

“What is
softball
?”

“It’s a sport … just look at the timestamp on the lockbox. You should be able to tell when the code was accessed.”

The alien referred to his datapad again. “Mid-14:32.”

“See, that was right in the middle of the day. Zorphin Transit Minister Billork Kly Gon-Mok is a team member, and he can verify that I was at the game when the code was used.”

“That is all very convenient,” the Velosian stated. “But it does not prove that you did not have an accomplice in the theft – this female Miranda Moore.”

“Mon Crick is correct,” said Krimious. “Your code was still used to gain access to the property, and you could have given it to someone else, while using the sports activity as a covering event.”

“But I didn’t. The key is biometric; was there genetic evidence, as well? Usually, all it takes is a simple finger swab to access a lockbox like the one on the Council Member’s home,” I said. “And since I still have all my fingers, what kind of sample was given two days ago? That’s in the database, too.”

Krimious frowned when he looked at the datapad again. He said nothing.

“Please, Enforcer Sin, what was the source?” Kevin asked, much more politely than I would have at the time.

“It states here that it was a reproductive fluid.”

“No shit?” I said. “You mean
sperm
?”

“Evidently.”

Kevin looked over at me, frowning.

I just shrugged. This was no time to be coy. “This Miranda Moore and I engaged in sexual activity over four weeks ago. She obviously got my lockbox code – and the other thing – at that time, and then used them later to enter the home.”

“That is supposition on your part,” the Velosian said.

The Zorphin Enforcer Krimious Sin was still looking intently at his datapad. Finally he looked up at me. “Do you know the present location of this female?”

“No, I don’t. She wasn’t at the closing on the Wilson’s home, and her cousin—”

“What is a
cousin
?”

“It is a relative; she’s supposedly the daughter of Jennifer Wilson’s stepfather’s sister.” I saw the eyes of both aliens gloss over. “Never mind that, but she told me that she was a spy for the Humans, yet none of my contacts at the Embassy can confirm that. I believe now that she came to Sylox just to steal the Unity Stone.”

Both aliens sat up straighter in their chairs. “She is a Human spy?” the Velosian asked.

“I told you none of the people at the Embassy can confirm that.”

“Again, Mon King, that does not prove she isn’t one,” said Krimious, his voice now thick with concern.

I looked at Kevin. He also looked more worried than normal.

“What’s going on? Why do all you guys look like you just swallowed a bug?” And then I wondered what the aliens ate as a staple. Bugs, maybe?

“It’s because the theft is causing a major crisis within the Union,” Kevin explained. “I’m really surprised you haven’t heard any of the news broadcasts.”

“I’ve been in a closing today, or getting ready for one. I haven’t had the news on.” I didn’t feel it was the right time to tell them about my brief kidnapping a few hours before.

Kevin was still talking. “The Unity Stone is a symbol of non-aggression between the Velosians and the Simoreans. Now that it’s missing, the two parties are about to go at it again.”

“But it was stolen.”

“That doesn’t matter. They’re really serious about this thing, and now that there may be a Human component involved, this could blow things all out of proportion, especially if this Miranda Moore woman
does
turn out to be a spy acting on behalf of the Human government.”

“But she’s not. I think she’s just a common thief, more interested in a twenty-nine thousand carat diamond than any political motivations.”

“That may be so,” Kevin said, “but that doesn’t change the fact that we have a major political crisis on our hands, and now we have Humans right in the middle of it. Even if she isn’t a spy, she’s still one of us, and she took something that could potentially spark a galactic war.”

“And if the Humans are more actively involved than just through the actions of a rogue individual, then there will be a major price to be paid,” the angry Velosian added. He seemed to have already made up his mind that this was a conspiracy of some kind and with the Humans right in the thick of things.

I debated whether to tell Krimious that Miranda might be on Hyben, probably having gone there to fence the gigantic diamond. I hadn’t had a chance to research how the aliens on Hyben considered diamonds, yet I did know that trying to hock something as valuable and well-known as the Unity Stone would be virtually impossible….

However, a batch of smaller ones could be sold off, and without raising suspicions. Something that size could be cut down into a massive fortune in smaller ones.

Now I could see why others were willing to pay a quarter-mil to get it back. Looking at it now, the fee I’d negotiated with the thugs was way below-market for something like this.

“Are you now convinced that Mr. King didn’t have anything to do with the theft?” Kevin was saying.

“No!” cried the Velosian.

“Yes,” said Krimious. He looked at the pale-skinned Velosian and frowned. “Mon Crick, I understand this a sensitive issue for you and your people, but I believe our efforts would be better spent trying to locate this Human female.”

“King is
not
innocent. His code was used—”

“No rational being would use sperm as a biometric code marker, Mon Crick,” Krimious interrupted.

“It was a way for his accomplice to acquire the required genetic material—”

“There are far easier – and less messy – means of doing that, if Mr. King had been a willing participant in the crime.”

“Yet he admits he was a willing participant—”

“In the sexual activity, yet not the crime.” Krimious now turned to me. I have to admit, I was feeling more than a little embarrassed right about then.

“Jason King, you must understand that this is such a volatile issue, and that we as Enforcers are under tremendous pressure to solve the crime before events spiral out of control. Unfortunately, news of your confinement may have already filtered beyond official channels, so my releasing you without charges could cause serious repurcussions. However, I am convinced – that although you have had intimate contact with the likely perpetrator – you are simply a victim and not an accomplice—”