The Icarus operative - 6. Six

Civilian Trading Ship Persephone docked in Nineveh

Planet Nabï Yünus, in the Tau Ceti System

Covenant Year 329

THIRTY DAYS BEFORE THE ARREST

Theywere all gathered in the mess hall of The Persephone as noon approached. Captain Auriel Bristow was sitting on the head of the long table, as had always been her custom. She looked at her crew and smiled a bit to herself. It was hard to realize they had been together for some years now, but it was harder to try and imagine what it would have been without them. Auriel Bristow could not think of these people as any other thing than family, for that’s what they were, what they had been over the years: Her family.

She was almost thirty seven standard years and had no real family to talk of. Her crew, however, had been there for her, most of the time since the Persephone started operations; they had all shared success, failure, dissappointment, good moments, bad ones… was that not what families were made of?

Still, she had a meeting to conduct, so she decided to leave her memories for later and looked at the people sitting to the table along her: Her crew.

“Captain?” Rharthza Melaree asked Bristow poking her arm slightly.

Captain Bristow nodded and smiled at everyone, acknowledging them with that nod she always used when they had a crew meeting. Rharthza Melaree, the ship’s physician, was siting to her left and Athsari Rodriguez to her right. Merrilyn Stewart was sitting between Jay Aodhagán -a place she had chosen on purpose- and the doctor. Phillip O’Malley was across from the Captain, peeling an apple with his knife and pretending not to care. Nikk Berzamo was sitting to Phillip’s left and Hadzaana Missdon to his right. Next to Hadzaana, Swift had taken his place.

Sasha and Arthur Ahmose, their Serbian passengers, had been assigned seats between Athsari and Swift.

“Well,” the Captain started sitting upright, “As you all know, Persephone is ready to move on; Jay has informed me that repairs on the Core of the Persephone, as well as all other minor repairs, have been successfully completed.”

Jay nodded at everyone and Merrilyn smiled at him, a gesture he chose to ignore, not without blinking rapidly four times in a row.

“Swift provided the resources for supplies, which were bought by Merrilyn and O’Malley. So, we’ll be departing tomorrow at twelve hundred hours local time… as originally planned.”

The crowd cheered. Arthur Ahmose noticed he was not the only one on board who was not crazy about Port 3, and felt somewhat relieved about it.

“I thought this would be a nice opportunity for our passengers,” Captain Bristow said gesturing to the cousins with a hand and both nodded, “to get acquainted with the crew of The Persephone.”

Everybody around the table looked at the men that had joined them in the mess hall. One of them much younger than the other and both richly dressed in silk.

“These are Arthur and Sasha Ahmose,” Auriel told the bunch, “both wealthy members of a Serbian lineage, who have bought passage on board our ship. We will be having a crew meeting to discuss the particulars of their destination and the pricing.”

Phillip stopped peeling his apple and looked at the Captain with interest; a crew meeting in those grounds for sure meant their destination implied they would be walking on thin ice. O’Malley smiled, because he definitely liked walking on thin ice more than anything in the world. He’d always welcomed the thrill and adrenaline of dangerous missions.

Both Rharthza and Athsari looked intently at the Captain as well, ‘cause they too knew what a crew meeting regarding destination meant, but they knew better than to say anything. They all knew that, once Auriel Bristow had made up her mind, there was no arguing with her. The only thing they wanted to know now was what exactly she’d made up her mind about.

“Sasha, Arthur,” she continued, “This is the crew of The Persephone.” she paused and smiled at everyone, making sure the Ahmoses followed her. Merrilyn took the opportunity to take a peach that had been lying on top of the fruit basket she always placed in the center of the table for people to munch if they felt like it.

“We begin here on my left with Rharthza Melaree. Rharthza’s the doctor on board.”

“Hi there, pals!” Rharthza said his Nabïan accent showing. He smiled and waved his hand in a ridiculous hi gesture.

“Merrilyn Stewart.” the Captain continued, “She’s the chef on board. Any stomach disturbances, she’d be the one to blame.” Merrilyn rolled her eyes at the joke and then turned at the Ahmoses.

“Hi, guys!” she smiled a bit coquettishly to the cousins, especially to young Sasha, “Any dietary requirement or specialty you might want to try, feel free to approach me.”

“And free you should feel on that indeed!” said Rharthza joking too.

“Ha, ha, ha!” Merrilyn put in with a hint of sarcasm in her fake laughter.

Auriel Bristow smiled at the jibe and continued.

“Jay Aodhagán, our Engineer.” said the Captain, now pointing at Jay with a nod of her head, “he’s the one who keeps Persephone’s heart beating.” Jay did not say a word but nodded and smiled at the passengers. He did not look at them straight in the eye, though, for that always made him feel uncomfortable. But he smiled a wide smile that showed his perfectly white teeth.

“Then, there is Nikk Berzamo, our Janitor.” Bristow said smiling at Nikk, someone she particularly cherished from her crew, “He’s Danareen, as you might’ve noticed.”

Nikk grunted and bowed in the regular greeting among his people. Sasha felt instantly marveled at the alien, for he’d never seen an individual belonging to a humanoid species that was not either Utopian or Rivulan. His absence of a nose was what he found the most distracting, and interesting at the same time. Nikk noticed he was being studied by Sasha Ahmose, so he smiled and discreetly pointed at the branchiae on the sides of his neck. Sasha nodded timidly not without blushing at his indiscretion. Nikk waved a hand as if saying ‘don’t worry, I’m used to it’.

“Across from me is Phillip O’Malley, in charge of security and… well, security mostly.” O’Malley nodded and made a sound, like a grunt perhaps, without looking up from the apple he’d been peeling throughout the meeting.

“Welcome.” he then said.

The Captain nodded in approval, though Phillip O’Malley wouldn’t have noticed anyway, busy as he was with both apple and knife.

“Next, you have Hadzaana Missdon, she’s my First Hand. Sasha, I believe you’ve met her already.”

“That is so, Madam.” Sasha Ahmose nodded to both the Captain and Hadzaana.

“Next to Hadzaana, there’s Swift Vince,” said the Captain, “responsible for keeping the accounting healthily.”

The little and good looking Swift looked at the cousins and smiled shyly. “Welcome aboard, guys.”

“And finally,” Captain Bristow said pointing at the woman on her right, “Athsari Rodriguez, Persephone’s pilot.”

“Welcome aboard Persephone. Hope your passage is comfortable and uneventful.”

“Don’t we all…” murmured Rharthza and Hadzaana looked at him daggers at the same time as she cleared her throat, though obviously kidding.

“Thank you, Madam.” it was Arthur Ahmose who spoke this time, looking intently at they young pilot, who would’ve blushed had she not been as experienced as she was. By now, Athsari was way past gentlemen and their charming smiles and hairdos. Though she did have to recognize the man was handsome. Politely, she smiled as she nodded at him and looked back at the Captain, who stood up and looked at Nikk Berzamo as she spoke.

“Nikk will take you to your assigned quarters. The mess hall you are welcome to come any time of the day; Merrilyn here will provide you with a schedule of mealtimes, so you know when to join us. Please, feel free to move from your quarters to the mess hall and the recreation areas on deck three. The Bridge and driving sections, as you might have guessed, are off-limits to passengers.”

Arthur and Sasha Ahmose nodded in agreement and stood from the table. Nikk led the way towards their accommodations, which would be located in the midsection of The Persephone on deck three, where the empty quarters were located, and where what little passengers they had every now and then were placed. Nikk, of course had already seen to the fixing and grooming of the room. The Ahmoses had been placed in the same room at their own request, so they had been assigned the largest quarters, the ones the crew jokingly referred to as ‘the presidential suite’.

Once the cousins had taken off, Auriel Bristow sat down again looking at her crew. She saw a couple of worried faces, but she’d deal with that a bit later. “Now,” she said, “I was planning to introduce you to our new crew member, but apparently he hasn’t come yet.”

“New crew member?” Phillip O’Malley asked from across the table, ignoring his apple for the first time through the meeting and looking at the Captain in the eye, “Aren’t we enough on board, Cap’n? I didn’t think we’d need another mouth to feed.”

Auriel Bristow looked back at O’Malley, but she did not retort defensively, ‘cause she knew that was Phillip’s usual way of voicing his disagreement. “You wouldn’t have to feed him, but Merrilyn.” she answered humorously and then added, “He’s the son of a Nabïan trader, and will be mostly assisting Nikk with janitorial stuff…”

Hadzaana Missdon looked at her friend and Captain askance. “I can see what Phillip means, Captain,” she said, careful enough in her tone not to contradict her friend and boss in front of the crew, “we’ve had kind of a hard patch lately with money and all…”

“We have too, that’s true,” Auriel Bristow turned her face in Hadzaana’s direction, “However, The Persephone is a bit big for just one person to keep her bright… and I think we owe it to Nikk, after all these years. Wouldn’t you agree with me?”

“Well, we do, don’t we? But…” Rharthza started, but was stopped on his tracks by a hand gesture of the Captain which obviously meant stop.

“I know what you all are thinking now, and believe me I’ve weighted the pros and cons of an extra hand on board. And I’ve made up my mind. Plus, we’ll be making good profit with the deal I’m closing with McLahlan this afternoon. And, there’s the Ahmoses payment.”

“So,” Phillip spoke again, “what’s with the Ahmoses?”

“Not now, Phil,” Auriel Bristow said standing from her place once again and leaning both hands over the table, looking at Phillip across from the table, “We’re sort of running late to meet with McLahlan. We need to empty the crates and get us some profit.”

“So,” he said this time, “what’s with this son of a… Nabïan trader?”

“Long story short, his mother wants him to get some coins on the table, and the kid has no attraction towards market vending.”

“Kid?” Hadzaana asked, her eyes growing big.

“Figure of speech. He’s nineteen standards as of now,” Auriel told her first hand and lifetime friend, “but strong and willing to learn, according to his mother’s testimony.”

As she spoke, the Captain heard the footsteps on the corridor and smiled. “And it looks like here he comes after all.”

The handsome looking lad entered the mess hall directed by Nikk. He smiled at everyone, his hands inside his pockets. His light blond wavy hair fell playfully over his forehead, his cheeks slightly colored in pink. He was kind of tall, possibly around one seventy meters tall. He was white, so white he almost looked pink.

“Hi, there ‘vryone.” he said.

Rharthza Melaree’s skin went two tones under, making him look paler than he ever had. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the words seemed to have tightened around his throat. The new crew mate looked at Rharthza Melaree discreetly and kind of smiled at him.

Captain Auriel Bristow approached him and placed her arm around his shoulders. “Everybody, I’d like you to meet our new crewmate: Semyon Zalicker; I trust you will all make him feel at home aboard Persephone.”

Everybody said hi, either with a gesture or with words and stood up to greet the new guy. Everybody but Rharthza Melaree, whose expression still spoke of how shocked he was. He suddenly felt like screaming, but he just couldn’t do that. Athsari took advantage to leave in that moment, for she had to get in touch with Launchhole control if they were to depart as soon as the business with McLahlan was closed.

Semyon caught a glimpse of Rharthza and blinked an eye at him. Rhar had the impression of hearing Semyon calling him ‘Tiger’ in that blink, and stood from the table to exit the mess hall as if he’d been possessed by an unknown force.

Auriel Bristow looked at the rest of the crew. Everybody seemed intrigued at the doctor’s reaction; everybody but her. The Captain, looking at the crew, only shrugged in a gesture which seemed to say who knows what's gotten into him? But she damned well knew what this was all about.

The rest of the crew surrounded Semyon Zalicker. Merrilyn Stewart, from somewhere inside the kitchen already, smiled at Auriel Bristow and the Captain blinked at her. Merrilyn was happy she had helped the vendor, and even happier, of course, ‘cause she had gotten the can of Utopian chocolate for Jay’s birthday cake. Now she was totally sure he would most definitely fall for her; he had to, or her effort would have been in vain.

The warehouse where they’d agreed to meet seemed a little bit too gloomy for her liking, but Auriel Bristow was willing to let go of that idea. She looked at her watch repeatedly, very aware of the fact that McLahlan was already ten minutes late for their appointment; she only hoped the deal would not fall through, or there would not be enough money to pay the crew. Phillip O’Malley and Hadzaana Missdon had come along, as they usually did whenever she was closing a transaction. Bristow’s right hand played restlessly over the gun she had on the holster strapped to her hip as she impatiently looked at her watch.

The crates with the merchandise, of course, had been left somewhere safe and they had brought only one. She would not let McLahlan get his hands on the crates until he’d paid in full the two hundred grand they’d agreed to. After all, she’d been in the trading business for some years now, and not few very costly mistakes at the beginning of her trading career, ten years before, had made her learn that one could never be too careful.

“I’d say they’re a little late already.” Hadzaana said, interrupting Bristow’s train of thought, and using her hand as a fan to refresh herself for the air was thick and stuffy inside the warehouse.

“You ain’t asking me, of course,” Phillip said, his leg leaning over the metal crate that had been lying on the floor since they’d arrived in the warehouse district almost twenty five minutes before, “but this does smell like ambush.”

“He’s just ten minutes late, Phil!” said Bristow, annoyance in her voice. But she convinced nobody, herself included. Even when she wanted to be optimistic, she did know that a delay like this was usually the curtain-raiser to major trouble when closing a deal. If Mark McLahlan did not show up during the next five minutes, she decided, they’d go somewhere else with their cargo. It was not like there were no other possible clients in the entire galaxy.

Phillip was playing with a knife –when wasn’t he doing so?- and Hadzaana kept trying to refresh herself, though unsuccessfully one might add. The heat of Nineveh, which was somewhat stronger at sunset, together with McLahlan’s delay, were getting on Auriel Bristow’s nerves, but she was doing her best to seem cool with the situation. Her gun, however, was loaded and ready to spring into action if needed be. As for Phillip’s weapons… well, let’s say no one would ever catch him unawares. No one ever had.

“That’s it!” Bristow told both her first hand and her security’ officer, “let’s move on.”

She had already started walking towards the gate of the warehouse followed by the two members of her crew, when Mark McLahlan made his entrance, followed by three Nabïans that seemed nothing more than petty thugs to Bristow.

“Leaving so soon, darling?” Mark McLahlan asked smiling his twentieth-century movie star smile and bowing to Auriel.

“Well, I’m not in the habit of waiting for men.” Bristow replied smiling as well, “I’ve never been. But then again you of all people should know that.”

McLahlan bowed so low it looked as his head would touch Auriel’s knees. Then he took her hand in his and kissed it.

“Auri.” he said.

“Mark.” Bristow replied.

Phillip turned his face to a side, so they wouldn’t catch him rolling his eyes. He found it really annoying how Mark McLahlan and Auriel Bristow played cat and mouse; both always polite and smiley showing their best manners, when their eyes and bodies betrayed their true feelings: strong desire dressed with the ashes of a love that once had been, and sprayed with a somewhat veiled hatred for each other.

But, truth be told, Phillip had never been the movie star lover type; when he loved he said so, and when love was over, he said so too. There was no other way around. The game this two played… well, it was annoying and, just at times, amusing. But it was most definitely not love in the O’Malley style.

“I was starting to think you’d backed on our deal.” Auriel told McLahlan.

“Never, Aur,” he replied, “I thought you’d know me better than that by now.”

“I do know you,” she said smiling, though her tone betrayed her true feelings for the man for a slight fraction of a second, “and I believe you do have some experience backing away, ain’t that right?”

“Touché!” Hadzaana uttered, rather casually, from the corner in which she was now leaning against a wall, trying to avoid the last rays of the Nabïan sun setting in the distance.

“Ouch!” McLahlan said bringing his right hand to his chest, placing it right where the heart was, “You’re as cruel as you are beautiful, Auriel Bristow,” and then he added with obvious sarcasm, “You’re seriously offending me!”

Auriel Bristow laughed outloud this time, unable to hold it anymore. Phillip noticed that it had been her way of releasing all the tension she’d been building up since that caricature of a real man –that was exactly what he had always thought of McLahlan from day one- had stepped through the door of the Nabïan warehouse.

“Let’s move on to business, now, shall we?” Bristow said indicating the crate Phillip had been guarding until that moment under his boot.

Phillip knew that was his cue. He unlatched the crate on both sides and opened it wide. Mark McLahlan gestured and one of his ‘assistants’ kneeled in front of the crate removing one of the fabric rolls. He stood up and brought it to his boss. It was a fucsia canvas with golden embroidered motives on one of the edges. McLahlan took the fabric and ran his fingers across it.

‘It is silk allright,’ he thought, ‘and elegantly embroidered with gold thread too. “Nice indeed.” he said, still feeling the exotic piece of canvas with both hands.

“Paradisian handcraft,” Bristow put in, “as promised. Would you care to sample another piece?”

McLahlan nodded. He gestured and another of his men, a short and chubby one, removed another piece from the crate. This one was indigo with silver embroidery. McLahlan felt this one too, and he did know it was silk as well. And a very fine one too, just like the fucsia one.

“Where’s the rest of the merchandise?” he asked looking at Bristow and smiling at the same time.

“Why, you wouldn’t think I’d bring it all along now, would you?” Auriel answered smiling back and pushing back a lock of hair that had fallen over her forehead with a gracious movement of her head.

“Course I wouldn’t. You wouldn’t be the woman you are now if you had.”

He snapped his fingers and the third man in McLahlan’s company produced a suitcase. The man dropped the bag next to the crate and unzipped it, letting the credits show. Phillip O’Malley went down on his knees and opened the bag all the way. He looked through the credits –they seemed genuine enough-. He stood up and nodded at Bristow.

“Hadz?” Bristow looked back at her first hand.

Hadzaana Missdon was the one to kneel this time in front of the bag. She produced and artifact she’d been holding inside her pocket through the whole transaction. The gadget she’d produced, a tiny metal-made rectangle with a mini screen on top, came to life as she tapped the screen.

She moved the gadget around the bills and the artifact bleeped a couple of times.

“It checks,” she said, “unmarked and good. Complete too.”

Bristow nodded at McLahlan and smiled.

“You do know how to hurt my feelings, don’t you Auri.” McLahlan said, his cheap cardboard smile still on his lips.

“Well, one can never be too careful when it comes to business, don’t you agree?” Auriel asked him.

McLahlan nodded.

Phillip latched the crate back again, moved from his spot and picked-up the bag with the credits. One of McLahlan’s men took the crate with an easiness that astonished both Hadzaana and Phillip.

“So,” Mark McLahlan asked, “where’s the rest of the merchandise?”

Auriel Bristow produced a paper from the pocket of her linen cargo pants and gave it to McLahlan.

“Here’s the address to the warehouse where the rest of the cargo is.”

“You will be kind enough as to escort me there, right?”

Auriel nodded. It was a sure matter that, even when they had been involved in the past –and only probably because of that too- they wouldn’t really trust each other. And just as Bristow had had Hadzaana check on the credits, McLahlan would need to check on the cargo in the presence of the seller too.

“Of course, Mark.” she said, “it couldn’t have been otherwise. I’m a woman of my word, you know that.”

“I do.” Mark said bringing his hand to his chest and slightly boewed, as if to emphasize his statement.

Then all of them exited the warehouse.

McLahlan’s roader was parked outside with a man on the wheel, and a massive cargoholder was parked right behind it. McLahlan walked closely followed by his men. Auriel, Phillip and Hadzaana walked behind them. With the driver, McLahlan and his men counted five in total, a fact that Phillip O’Malley could not overlook… just in case things got funny.

“We’d be outnumbered,” Phillip whispered at Auriel’s ear, “if any eventuality should arise.”

“It won’t.” was all she said, and to Phil, she’d sounded pretty damned convinced.

Truth, McLahlan had broken her heart some years back, and truth, he did get involved in illegal business more often than not. However, it was also truth she did some illegal trading business herself from time to time. They all had to make a living and sometimes it helped turning the other way. She did not believe, because McLahlan had hurt her so badly in the past, he would pull a scheme on her now; it was just not his style. He might have been a coward when it came to relationships, but he’d never played her when they’d had deals before. He was a trader of his word.

McLahlan opened the back door of the roader and bowed, thus signaling Auriel to hop in.

“Madam, if you’ll do me the honor.”

Auriel Bristow extended her right hand for Mark to take it and lead her inside the speeder. It was a very handsome roader, truth be told, all black and shiny, a classic convertible too, though she couldn’t really tell what brand it was. She’d never been that good at identifying either brands or models. The inside was even more astonishing, black leather seats front-sided –limo style- and a little coffee table in the middle.

Once settled on McLahlan’s roader, Auriel had the feeling that the business would be closed just fine.

Phillip, of course, wasn’t that convinced, but then again, it was his job to mistrust every person they had deals with. They wouldn’t have come that long if he’d trusted every single trader along the way. He didn’t like McLahlan, that was an undeniable fact, but Auriel seemed to trust him well enough. And truth was he’d never played them. Still, he would not be completely satisfied and relaxed until they were back on board The Persephone with their credits intact.

As the roader moved through the warehouse district, the landscape started to change; the old ruined warehouses were replaced by new warehouses. The streets of the district seemed to be changing from simple dirt roads to paved lanes and, as they kept on moving, those lanes were replaced by even more stylished ones. Traffic lights where now visible at crossroads and the warehouses on sight were now state of the art facilities.

Hadzaana seemed as comfortable as Auriel, exchanging jokes and so with her Captain, McLahlan, and this other character who’d come with the latter, a tall dark-skinned fellow he had never seen before, but who seemed pretty much a clone of McLahlan himself; younger, of course but with the same vain way of conducting himself, as a cardboard twentieth century aristocrat.

This one, however, was slightly taller than his mentor and broader on the shoulders. He seemed fairly attracted to Hadzaana and all his attentions were obviously directed towards catching her eye. Hadzaana, to some extent, did seem to like the guy fair enough. If he hadn’t known Hadzaana, he would have thought…

“There it is.” Auriel Bristow said, breaking Phillip’s train of thought.

The black convertible roader came to a halt in front of a warehouse, located still in the warehouse district of Port 3, in the so called ‘upper district’.

“Wow!” McLahlan said opening his eyes wide and faking astonishment, “don’t we pick the best warehouses in the ‘upper’!”

“Did you think I’d pick a lousy warehouse in the worst part of the district as you did, Mark?” Auriel Bristow asked, keeping her tone casual and making it obvious she was kidding.

“Ouch!” Mark said for the second time in the day, “that’s number two on today’s list of offenses against your friendly and always reliable buyer.”

But it was obvious he was kidding as well.

Auriel Bristow approached the entrance to the warehouse and placed her right hand on the recognition pad beside the door frame. The pad bleeped twice and and androgynous voice came from it: "Please enter authorization code."

Bristow pressed some of the keys with an outstanding speed. The pad blinked again and the metal door to the warehouse opened. Once opened, the crates came into view, a total of nine holding the goods.

“Do you mind?” Mark asked Auriel pointing at the crates in the warehouse.

“Phillip?” she asked and tilted her head signaling O’Malley to open the crates for the customer.

Phillip did as he was bid, and McLahlan approached every one of the crates as Phillip unlatched them. He inspected each of the pieces of fabric contained within every single one of the nine crates, until he was completely satisfied with the goods. He then instructed his men to load the crates in the cargoholder that had come along.

“Can I have the pleasure of giving you a ride back?” he asked Auriel and she nodded.

“That would be fine.” she said.

“How about dinner tonight?” he asked approaching her and placing his right arm around her waist, thus forcing her against him, in a very Gone with the wind like fashion.

Bristow could’ve blushed but she didn’t. Fact was, no matter how hard he tried, she’d never fall for the likes of him again. Ever again. It had hurt really bad in the past, and she wouldn’t let herself be hurt again. She gently pushed him aside and held her gun, which she had removed from its holster strapped to her hip in an impercetible movement, to McLahlan’s nose.

“Can I bring her too? She’s my closest and most trusted friend, y’know.”

Mark McLahlan brought his hands up, as if surrendering, and smiled at Bristow.

“Some other time, maybe?”

Auriel Bristow pretended she was considering the option and the spoke bluntly. “Don’t think so.” she said convincingly and cold in her tone. She seemed to give it a second thought and then, “Nah. Still don’t think so.”

She placed her gun back on its holster and walked towards the roader. The others caught up with her and Mark even ran a couple of steps to open the roader’s door for her. “Allow me, please.”

She turned to look at him and smiled as she hopped onto the vehicle. McLahlan came second and Auriel Bristow’s crew came after him. McLahlan’s men, except for the driver, had already jumped inside the cargoholder. McLahlan indicated with his hand and the driver started towards the docking district.

Auriel Bristow was satisfied they’d just closed a deal which would give them an excellent margin of profit. And Phillip O’Malley was also happy, for everything had worked out, even when he’d been suspicious at the beginning of the whole transaction. He somewhow knew that, even when they played this game, Bristow and McLahlan liked doing bussiness with each other, regardless of what they said of each other. Probably this was the only thing they would always had between them and was a nice reminder of what they had once shared.

Anyway, he did hate McLahlan.