Swallow the Sky: A Space Opera, page 6
Within a few moments a woman detached herself from her barstool, smiled, and came over to his table. Unlike the cropped hair sported by most Kaimana women she had a positive mane that reached halfway down her back. Individual strands glowed red, gold, and silver, and appeared capable of changing color from moment to moment. As she sat down he saw a centimeter of black at her scalp; time for a redo.
“Hi, I’m Larissa” she said, stretching and arching her back. The gesture made her breasts thrust forward, a ploy as old as time but one that still worked. Her appeal was further enhanced by her birthday suit, an artful pattern of leopard skin spots that revealed large areas of bare flesh.
“Miguel” Carson replied smiling. Neither offered to touch palms.
“I haven’t seen you here before – would you like some company?”
“Sure, I was hoping to hire someone to talk to, possibly show me around a little.”
Larissa laughed.
“Your wife doesn’t understand you Miguel?”
“One thousand for the afternoon” Carson said. He placed an anonymous credit chip on the table. As long as humans continued to exist there would always be cash.
She picked up the chip and squeezed it, smiling as it confirmed its authenticity. He knew he was overpaying but this was no time to haggle. Besides, Larissa had been the first off the mark in the bar, which suggested she was no fool – he was going to need that.
“Okay, where to lover?”
“You tell me. Can we get a cab? This place is a little too public.”
She shrugged and picked up her bag. Outside the bar Carson hailed a taxi. They climbed in and he told it to hover while they talked.
“Larissa” he said, “I need to get out of Kaimana without anyone knowing. Do you know anyone who can help with that?”
She thought about it.
“Yeah, maybe. Let me make some calls.”
For the next fifteen minutes Larissa talked to her contacts. As she chatted she absent-mindedly placed a hand on Carson’s thigh.
“No thanks” he said, taking her wrist and moving her hand “I really am here just for information”
“Your choice – easiest thousand I’ll make this week.”
Eventually she made progress and gave an address to the taxi.
“I will tell you Miguel, this isn’t my first choice. The guy we’re going to see is bad news, so watch yourself, okay?”
Their destination was another club, one that had no sign over the entrance and a doorkeeper who baulked at the sight of Carson.
“He’s with me” said Larissa. That was sufficient and the two made their way into the gloomy interior. Unlike the Twin Moons this place was virtually empty. She led the way to a row of booths where a man was sitting alone.
“Hi Tabarak, this is Miguel”
He sat down opposite the big man. One glance was enough to set off Carson’s alarm bells. He had a gleaming shaved head that was not quite symmetrical – as if a bag of skin that had been filled with large steel balls. In a time when the human body could be sculptured at will this had to be a deliberate choice.
Moreover he was only the second person he had seen on Kaimana wearing clothes. Tabarak was dressed in what appeared to be a regular black jumpsuit. Inspecting it more closely Carson guessed that the suit incorporated an inertial protection matrix. In standby mode it generated a slight inertial field that made the material feel like stiff cloth. If the matrix detected an incoming projectile, plasma bolt, or even the thrust of a blade, the field ramped up in microseconds to turn the garment into impenetrable body armor. This guy meant business.
Without preamble he placed another anonymous credit chip on the table. Tabarak glanced at it and tilted his head questioningly.
“Ten thousand” said Carson
“Larissa, get yourself a drink at the bar” Tabarak said, not taking his eyes off Carson. She sauntered away.
“I should advise you that I am being monitored by Mitan Security”.
“I was about to tell you that. I was also going to tell you that you are a mailman named Carson and somehow you’ve managed to get yourself into a world of trouble.”
“Absolutely correct” Carson said, trying not to show his alarm “do you know exactly what kind of trouble?”
“No – Security is keeping this one tight – something involving Juro and clan Aniko.”
“You know Juro?”
“We’ve done business.”
He leant forward.
“Listen, you’re clearly no fool but it’s equally obvious that you’re no professional, otherwise you wouldn’t be the only person in this place not carrying a weapon. So here’s some free advice: Kaimana is basically a company town and the company is Clan Aniko. If you’ve crossed Juro, get off the planet as quickly as you can.”
“Sound counsel” said Carson “and it’s the reason I’m here.
“I need to get myself and one other person, a woman, away from Kaimana as quickly as possible without Security – or Juro – knowing. I have a spacecraft parked in orbit so I can take it from there.”
“That could be arranged, but not for ten thousand.”
Carson sighed and sub-vocalized a request to the local branch of the Bank of New Earth. The bank decrypted and verified the genome embedded within his message and shot over another ten thousand. He reached out and transferred the money to the credit chip with the tip of his finger. Tabarak grunted, scooped it up in a muscular hand and squeezed out the cash. He then in turn reached into a pocket, took out a chip of his own and placed it on the table.
“One time pad” he said “They’ll be a package and a set of coded instructions. Are you still at the Caldera View? I should be able to deliver within a few hours. Understand this: I will be breaking no laws. Mailmen occasionally delivery physical items, right? This package will contain industrial samples and be addressed to a communications corporation on New Earth. The company exists and is legitimate. If you choose to do anything else with the package that’s your business.
“And be clear that this is a one-way ticket. No second tries and no returns.”
“I have absolutely no intention of coming back”
“Good, then we’re done. Now all we need do is give Security a reason for your visit here”
He looked around.
“Hey Larissa!” he shouted. She trotted over.
“Take our friend upstairs and entertain him for an hour”
Then, smiling faintly for the first time, he added
“If Security sees a minor crime, they won’t think about a major one”
“So who’s paying for this entertainment?” Larissa asked him.
Tabarak just stared at her. She threw up her hands and gestured Carson to follow. He nodded his thanks and immediately stood up and trotted after the girl. The sooner he got away from this guy the better – the man oozed menace. They made their way up a flight of stairs at the rear of the club and down an ill-lit corridor to a small room furnished with a bed and a small chest of drawers. Large displays covered the walls.
“You watch something” said Carson gesturing to the displays “I’m going to try to take a nap.”
“Tabarak said to entertain you” the girl said nervously.
“No-one will know” he said, then to show that he meant no disrespect “and besides, I’m completely, totally not in the mood”
“Oh, we can change that” she said and pulled open a drawer.
It contained a set of disposable inhalation masks and an anonymous rectangular box. Larissa pulled out the box and pried it open. Inside were neat rows of tiny colored cylinders.
“Gaspers – every come across this stuff?”
Carson had; each cylinder stored a synthetic tailored serotonin that could be inhaled through the breathing mask. The effects were instantaneous.
“Most people use these two” Larissa said holding up red and gold cylinders. She giggled.
“The red one pushes your sex drive through the roof and the gold one wipes out your inhibitions. You get some shy banker from New Mars, give him a blast of these two babies and pow! Instant sex maniac”
Carson’s curiosity overcame him.
“What are the black ones?”
Larissa’s smile vanished.
“They’re Tabarak’s house specialty. God knows where he gets them. They remove the aversion for causing pain; it’s terrible – people just turn into sadists. Someone has to pay me a lot of money before I let them use one of those.”
Watching her face as she spoke reminded Carson that there were worse things that could happen to a human being than being blackmailed by a crazy old megalomaniac.
“Here,” he said handing her another chip, “here’s another thousand. Watch a show and I’ll nap.”
“You’re too sweet”
He stopped Larissa as she went to put away the drug paraphernalia.
“Let’s make my alibi convincing. I’ll hold my breath and you spray just a quick blast of the gold and red gaspers on my face. That way I’ll test positive for Security.”
“And when you walked into the Moons I thought you looked so innocent!”
She inserted the cylinders into the base of one of the disposable breathing masks and held it up to his face. He took a deep breath and nodded. She gave him a two second burst.
“Thanks, that’ll do it. Are you going to keep the rest?”
“Hell no”
She stretched up and emptied the remaining contents into an air vent near the ceiling.
“There, that should liven things up downstairs.”
Carson laughed, then realized that for the last thirty seconds he had been staring at Larissa’s body.
“I think a tiny amount must have gotten into my bloodstream through my skin.”
“So I see” said Larissa glancing down.
He turned away crying out in embarrassment. She came up behind him and patted him on the arm.
“Don’t worry, honey” she said, not unkindly “In this job I’ve seen everything”
He stretched out on the bed, facing the wall.
“Watch an entertainment” he said over his shoulder.
An hour later they headed downstairs. Tabarak had gone.
“It would probably be best if we left separately” Carson said. “Why don’t you hang out at the bar for a few minutes?”
“Sure” Larissa said and gave his hand a squeeze “come and see me again next time you’re in town Miguel”
He grinned and headed for the exit. He was not the least surprised to find Officer Sosimo waiting outside.
“Good God Carson – this place?”
“A man has his needs Officer; I’ve been in space for weeks.”
Sosimo produced a small scanner and held it up to his face.
“Gaspers! I’m not even going to tell Asima about this – she’d insist on busting you. Come on, this is the last time I’m taking you to the hotel.”
How true thought Carson.
EXIT
That evening Carson stopped in the hotel lobby.
“Any packages for me?”
“Yes honored guest” replied the counter “there was a delivery a short while ago.”
A small cart appeared at his feet bearing an anonymous parcel. He scooped it up and hurried to his suite where he tore the package open. Inside was a mail packet bearing a New Earth address and a small envelope. He opened the packet, checked the contents, resealed it, and turned his attention to the envelope. Inside was a small red disk and a memory chip. He turned the disk over in his hand, shrugged, dropped it into his bag and pulled out Tabarak’s one time pad.
Holding the pad in one hand and the new chip in the other, he sucked out data. Taken individually, each contained nothing but a random bit stream. Combined they yielded a mass of instructions. He listened carefully for twenty minutes then dropped them both into the incinerator.
Carson packed a few essential items into his shoulder bag and made one last check of his room. After a moments hesitation he left his final anonymous credit chip by the bed; it was loaded with enough cash to pay the hotel bill. He had broken enough laws already.
He tucked the parcel under his arm and walked out into the terraced grounds of the hotel. Kaimana’s atmosphere provided an ideal tropical growing environment and the nighttime gardens were rich with the aroma of bougainvillea, lilies, and orchids. He breathed deeply and felt a moment of regret at leaving the planet so quickly. He had explored little of the island and had seen nothing of the spectacular oceans. Perhaps one day – a long time in the future – he would return.
The meeting place was perfect. The area was designed for guests who wished to take advantage of Kaimana’s sultry climate and easy-going attitudes to engage in some discrete outdoor carnality, and as a consequence monitoring posts were absent. It was shielded from the outside world by curtains of gardenias and more privacy was provided a waterfall that screened-out sound. Here and there low beds were tactfully positioned in small arbors. On one couch two women writhed in silent embrace but they were afflicted by the deafness that overcomes lovers. Aiyana stood waiting by a life-size statue of a trio engaged in an activity that some societies would consider illegal.
“Nice place you’ve got here” she said.
Carson spread his hands in apology. “I know, but it’s designed for privacy” he whispered.
He looked around; they were alone.
“Put this on quickly.”
He ripped open his package and pulled out two black jumpsuits, giving one to Aiyana. They had them on in less than a minute. Aiyana squirmed as she wriggled her fingers into the gloves at the end of each arm. Following Carson’s example she kept the hood down, leaving their heads exposed.
“These are stealth suits” he explained quietly “they serve the same function as a privacy room. No-one can scan our biometrics while we’re wearing them and when we pull up the hoods they won’t be able tap into our systems either – we’ll be effectively invisible and untraceable.”
“My God! Are they legal?”
“Sure, if you test equipment in a licensed communications facility.”
“So how did you manage to get them?”
“It wasn’t too hard; I bought them from a local hoodlum. Finding a competent criminal is the same in any society – you start at the bottom and work your way up the food chain. The tricky part was keeping Sosimo off the scent.”
“And” he added “I’ve been learning some interesting stuff about Kaimana’s infrastructure.”
Before he could continue Aiyana stepped forward and kissed him. Startled, he began to pull away but then heard other voices. The two women he had seen had finished their tryst and were heading to the hotel. He put his arms around her and they stood in a frozen embrace as the lovers walked by.
“They’ll need help if they’re going to imitate that statue” said one.
“Want to volunteer?” replied the other. They both laughed and continued down the leafy path.
Aiyana stepped away as soon as the couple were gone.
“Sorry” she said “I thought we should act the part.”
He shook his head in dismissal and gestured for her to follow him.
“How about a bike ride?” he said loudly for the benefit of any eavesdroppers “I’ve rented a tandem.”
The bike was waiting outside the hotel entrance. Designed for tourists, it was little more than a couple of saddles straddling a squat cylinder.
“Greetings honored husband Smith and wife Smith” cried the bike.
Aiyana gave him a deadpan stare but said nothing.
“I thought we’d go for a ride by the lake” he told the bike as they climbed on board.
“What a romantic idea! Both simulated moons are full tonight and the view will be lovely. Did you know that the lake filled the entire crater before the first colonists arrived? Achieving its current state was a challenging –”
“Shut up” said Carson.
Inertial fields gripped their legs and the bike lifted off into the darkness. A few minutes later they were skimming over the central park’s tailored meadows. The grasslands had been planted with luminescent flowers and graceful arcs of color rolled beneath them as they sped towards the lake. Dense knots of the glowing plants illuminated tiny picnic pavilions and they could hear the voices of revelers drifting up through the fragrant night air.
He leaned over and studied the darkened landscape.
“Park by that stream” he told the bike.
Once they had landed and dismounted he added “We’re going for a long walk. Wait here until we return.”
“This vehicle is rented on an hourly basis honored customer” the bike cautioned.
“I know, we’ll be back in a while.”
“Will we? Be back, I mean” asked Aiyana once they were out of earshot of the vehicle. They were walking besides the stream, heading away from the lake.
“Like hell” Carson said and picked up the pace.
After a kilometer’s hike through the meadows they found themselves enveloped in a forest, the trail gradually steepening as they approached the base of the caldera wall. Eventually the stream disappeared into a three meter wide tunnel in the rock face.
“The lake is fed by streams like this all around the crater” he explained. “They simply channel rainwater from outside.”
“Time to get invisible” he added pulling up his hood, and then remembering something yanking it down again.
“Hey valet”
“Yes Carson” the calm voice replied.
“I hereby terminate your services and authorize payment.”
“Thank you, goodbye.”
“Oh, hold on!”
“Yes?”
“Zerstoren!”
The valet fell silent. He raised the hood again and reaching to the crown of his head drew down a flap that covered his face, rendering him completely enveloped in black material. Aiyana followed his example. The covering was porous and they could continue to see and breathe reasonably well.
