as simple as that.”
Kroekus pursed his purple lips. “That’s quite understandable. A being’s homeworld can be a very powerful attraction for a species. But in my position here on Silea, I have seen very few of your kind come through the slave trades. Why do you think you were taken in the first place, if not to be sold in our markets?”
Adam did not want to reveal his suspicions to the crime lord. If he knew of Adam’s belief that an army of Humans existed somewhere in The Fringe, he might not look upon Sherri and himself as simple curiosities, but rather as threats. So instead: “I have no idea why aliens do what they do.” He noticed Kroekus bristle slightly at the word ‘alien.’ Damn, he knew better than to antagonize these creatures, unless of course, it served his purpose.
Sherri stepped in quickly to defuse the situation. “Kroekus, we mean no disrespect,” she said. “All we want to do is find our way back to our homeworld. Our race is not as advanced as is yours, and we do not possess space travel or knowledge of the galaxy, such as you do. We are much more primitive.”
Kroekus was silent for a moment as his attention slowly returned to Sherri. “Yes, your race may be so successful at killing simply because you are so primitive. You may not belong among us permanently until you mature more as a species.”
From his position of power, Adam knew Kroekus was used to saying whatever came to his mind, no matter how insulting to others his thoughts may be. Adam didn’t care. Deep down, he knew the alien was probably right. So he held his temper.
“I believe I can help you,” Kroekus said finally. “The records of your arrival and arrest sit with the Silean Security Force.” Then he attempted a grin. “I have access to these records, of course. Let me get the information you seek.”
The fat alien then struggled out of his chair and left the room. Sherri and Adam stared at each other, trying to remain silent while containing their excitement. They both knew they were still being watched, so they sat as patiently as possible for the five minutes it took before Kroekus returned, carrying a data chip.
“You are in luck,” Kroekus said, standing behind his desk. “The crewmember is still alive and resides here, in Dargor. She never flew again after the incident, and it seems your actions over that day ruined the sorry creature for life. Be cautious when approaching; I’m sure she will not want to see you again.”
Sherri stood, followed quickly by Adam. “Kroekus, I am eternally in your favor,” she gushed. “If it was not for you, I would still be in prison, rotting away. You saved my life. If I can ever return the favor, please let me know.” She reached out to take the data chip, but Kroekus quickly retracted his hand.
“There is one thing…It is my understanding that a considerable amount of credits are missing from Seton’s safe,” he said to Sherri.
Sherri and Adam stood silent.
“I suppose a fair price for this information would be in the range of 50,000 credits. I will, however — based upon our long history together — allow you to bring me the credits in a timely manner, knowing that you probably do not have that many on you at the moment.” He handed the chip to Sherri, but held onto his end of the chip as he said, “You probably already know that I always collect on my debts.” Then he released the chip.
Sherri stared back at Kroekus evenly. “I will bring you the credits. You can count on my word.”
As they began to leave the room, Kroekus punctuated the meeting by saying, “It’s your credits I will be counting, my friend, not your word. I will expect them by Day14 today.”
Chapter Nineteen
When they returned to the transport, Sherri inserted the data chip into a portable reader she carried with her, while Adam checked their weapons.
As suspected, Kroekus’ Silean guards had replaced the power packs in the weapons and on their holsters with dummy packs. They looked real enough, and even a cursory inspection would make one believe they were real. But Adam had an inherent distrust of aliens, and so he knew what to look for to make sure. He also noticed that the exciter points on the MK’s had been damaged as well. So even with new power packs, if they’d made a quick exit and been able to retrieve their weapons, they still would not have worked. Bastards!
But Adam was prepared for such an eventuality. From the Cassie I he’d brought a supply of new power packs, as well as various replacement parts for their MK’s. As Sherri was scanning the information from the data chip, Adam was restoring full functionality to their deadly weapons.
“Her name is Sileen Jorus,” Sherri announced as she read the screen. “She lives on the other side of the city from here. We better get going if we’re to get back in time to get Kroekus his money.”
Dargor was laid out like the spokes in a gigantic bicycle wheel, with major thoroughfares radiating out from the central government buildings. Traffic was light, and they made good time traversing the eighty-four kilometers from Kroekus’s office.
As they neared their destination, the structures, businesses and even the beings on the streets, began to deteriorate rapidly. This definitely was the wrong side of town. Even for a society built on criminal activity, this place was the worst of the worst.
They found the address just as dusk was descending on the city of Dargor, and various beings wrapped in tattered clothing stopped along the street to watch the movement of their vehicle.
As they parked and slipped out of the transport, three aliens approached. “We need credits. Do you have credits to give?” asked a skinny, hairless creature with opposing eye sockets and a small snout, moving closer to Sherri. The creature held out his hand.
Sherri was in no mood for this. Instead, she was trying to concentrate on the coming confrontation with the creature from her past, and what ramifications the information she may provide would have on her life. So Sherri simply grabbed the beggar’s hand, and crushed it in hers.
The beggar’s eye sockets grew even larger, and he let out a blood-curdling scream that echoed throughout the neighborhood. His two companions rushed to his aid, but Adam simply picked them both up by their coats and tossed them against the nearest wall.
Then the two Humans turned to the see several other creatures approaching on the sidewalk towards them, anger in their eyes. Yet at Adam’s glare, the six or so other beings stopped in their tracks, and began shuffling backwards, away from the two Humans.
“I think you should approach the door first,” Sherri said to Adam, ignoring the confrontation and the other nearby creatures, as they entered the building. “She doesn’t know you.”
“That’s fine. What do I say?”
“I don’t know, maybe something about some back-pay she’s owed.”
On the trip there, Sherri had read the full file on the crewmember. Sileen was from a planet in a neighboring Sector and had been crewing on cargo haulers for much of her adult life. She had been mated before and apparently had about eighteen offspring. Damn, Adam had thought. She’s fertile little minx!
Sileen had been on a ship that was owned and operated by a Silean company called Reessing. Since returning to Silea with a dead crew and a rabid alien locked in a storage locker, her license to crew had been revoked, and she never fought to get her status reinstated. She had been surviving on the meager pay of a loadmaster at one of the minor spaceports in the area ever since the incident.
Sherri remembered that even during the mock trial the Sileans held, Sileen would not sit in the same room with the Human. Now having that same crazed alien show up at her doorstep three years later would certainly be the highlight of her day.
Sileen’s apartment was on the fourth floor of the building, which according to Silean tradition was the worst location in a structure to be housed. Sherri drew her MK-17 and stood a few meters down the hall, while Adam approached the door. There would be a security camera on the entrance — every doorway had one — so Adam stood with as pleasant and non-threatening a look on his face as he could muster, and pressed the button.
Almost immediately, a voice sounded through the comm unit. “Who is it? What is your business here?”
“I’m looking for Sileen Jorus. I’m from Reessing.”
“Reessing? What do you want?”
“I’m here about the back-pay that you are owed.”
