As I was doing my hall rounds, I went to check on the phaso, something bugging me again. I reached the panel bulkhead where I’d hidden it in the small hallway leading to the utility room, then opened the strongbox. All seemed in order. I shook my head. Paranoia. It played tricks on the brain. I packed up the kit, made doubly sure the box was locked with a combo only I knew and walked away with a weary yawn to my cabin. Wren was watching the bridge; I could count on her. It was time to turn in, get some shut-eye.
I paused. Raez was staring at me, his ugly face catching the dim light from down the hall.
“What do you want?” I growled.
He lifted his hand in greeting. “Out for a little stroll, Rusco. I get insomnia on small space craft. Suffer from it all the time.”
“Get back to your cabin. We’re keeping strict curfew here. Besides, this area is off limits to all but personnel.”
“Oh, and spank my wee bottom, Cap’n. Gonna tuck me into bed too for a good night’s sleep?”
“Don’t get cute with me, Raez. My ship, I make the rules.” I lifted my blaster, trusting the scoundrel less than ever.
He held up his hands. “Okay, Cap’n, I’m hurrying. Don’t shoot me. I’m allergic to gunfire.”
I saw him skip back to his grungy little cubbyhole and returned to my own digs, doing badly at falling asleep, wondering if I should call on Wren to help me relax. A bit of night play could do wonders for the soul.
But not tonight. That disturbing feeling kept nagging me, even with all my precautions. I rustled on some clothes and staggered down the hall into the bath of dim blue light.
I opened the strongbox. The phaso was missing. That fucker. Raez, you’re a dead man.
I stalked to the hold looking for him.
He stood by the emergency escape vehicle, fiddling with the hatch as if he meant to take it somewhere. Like over to Urgon. We were nearing Jasmel at the cusp of the asteroid belt and it would be an easy jaunt for a thief on impulse power to get there or over to Urgon.
He was speaking in a low monotone to someone in his ear communicator. Must have hid that device on him.
When he caught sight of me, he cut the connection as if in apology, while reaching for his left hip for a small concealed weapon. I put a bullet through his brain. He dropped like a stone, eyes staring up like glassy pearls. I kicked the body over, turned him about. Discovered the phaso in his black waist belt. Rotten bastard. I had to smile at the irony. The thief calling the beggar a thief. My smile didn’t last long.
I ripped off Raez’s ear communicator, figured it would be useful down the road. Raez was about to jump ship and take the emergency vessel when we were close to a drop point. How he planned to accomplish this without getting his head blown off, or blasted by Starrunner’s fareon beams was beyond me. It kind of insulted my intelligence. But then, Raez was not the brightest bulb in the box. Yet this was the same guy who had stolen the phaso right out from under my eyes and was minutes away from his getaway. I needed a new hiding spot for the damn thing. I began bagging Raez’s corpse to jettison it out in the garbage hatch, all the while formulating a story to feed Wren and TK. He was stealing our share? No, what share? We got in a fight. He turned into a wise guy, and pulled a gun on me? Better. Yeah, closer to the truth, maybe I’ll stick with that.
I got the body in the garbage compactor and released the load out to space. Relief. No evidence. Bye bye, Raez.
I’d make some enemies with Pazarol when he got wind. The fat fuck deserved it though. Had he put Raez up to it? The schemer’d be cut out of his share. I’d steal his shipment and double bag the profits, provided his goons didn’t hunt me down and pepper us full of holes. There was still the problem of Gris out there in the freighter. A tricky business getting rid of him. The longer we stayed in this system, the more likelihood Pazarol’d catch up and deal with us, for double-timing him and murdering his man. Rusco, you’re making enemies like flies. Can’t help it, captain, just who I am.
I snapped out my reverie. Okay, stop daydreaming and start thinking. Wake up the others and tell them what happened.
We assembled at the bridge, TK groggy and Wren wiping her eyes. “You what?”
“You heard me, Raez caught a bullet, on account of he kind of pulled a weapon on me and was taking Messenger for a ride.”
TK groaned, his face in his palms. “Now what? We’re dead when Pazarol finds out.”
“Not necessarily. Let me think—A longshot, but are you up for a blastfest?”
Wren shrugged. “When haven’t I been?”
“If I can figure out how to spin this…” I rubbed my chin, mumbling, letting the ideas run through my crooked mind. “Okay, how’s this?” I turned to TK. “Pull up as much data as you can on Urgon, the floor layouts, the sentry posts, weapons deployment, everything you got.” What I had
