Pax

Mort walked into the brothel. The music was annoying, the woman were annoying, and the lights were annoying. It wasn't that he disliked it or that he thought this place was horrible. It just felt like a child with sensory overload. He found himself somewhere nice to sit and he twirled around the communicator he was given. He wasn't sure what to do with it. So instead he just watched the flurry of lights and sounds pass him by.

He sat there for a while looking dead and emotionless, he was to creepy for anyone to bother. But he was sure there were certain stares he was getting too. Mort finally put his lips to the communicator.

"I wish to one day be as pretty as all of them," Mort said, "Then no one would look at me instead they would say my what big hands you have."

Mort's eyes glazed around the club whatever he said probably had no meaning, to them at least. It meant something to him, but then again he only spoke partially his thoughts. The conversations he had in his head. Mort, for the first time cracked a clever smile. A smile no one else could witness.

"Oh....what was I saying?" Mort said, "Hi I'm Mort....I think....buzzzzzzz. Mort like things. Mort likes to dance. But he doesn't know how to dance."

 

"Carter. Things didn't go quite as planned. Voltan came back for another round, he's coming for me with a gun. He won't kill me, he would have already done it, but any help from you two would be great."

Nathans hurried voice came through my communicator which I had just taken back off Mort, "I'll be there shortly. Don't antagonise him. Try to apologise try to make him feel big. Just stall." I tapped Mort and turned back at a run, drawing my pistol. Nathan and Volton soon came into view Volton pointing a gun at the young officer. I snuck up behind Franc and pressed the gun against the back of his head, "Just don't know when to quit do ya?" I nodded to Nathan, "Get out of here mate."

I slapped Volton's gun out of his hand, "Now taking you back to the station while Im off duty, well I'd have to sign in, get my uniform, forms forms, registration registration, girlfriends nagging, etc. So one last warning... CLEAR OFF." I pushed him away, and snarling he staggered off down another alleyway. I holstered my gun, and smiled at Nathan, "And still you haven't gotten any sex? Disappointing, you first assignment and you failed miserably. Ah well, if we have time tonight we might come back, get you a nice girl, and you can enjoy her back at base. Won't that be fun."

I laughed at Nathans innocence, and pat his back, "Come on. Rest and sex awaits!"

 

"I'll be there shortly." Carter's reply came through Nathan's earpiece, a soft buzzing noise to Voltan who was behind him.

"What the hell is that?" He asked, snatching it off of Nathan's head. He threw it to the ground and aimed the gun at Nathan.

"Just don't know when to quit do ya?" Carter put his gun to the back of Voltan's head.

Voltan left in a hurry. "And still you haven't gotten any sex? Disappointing, you first assignment and you failed miserably. Ah well, if we have time tonight we might come back, get you a nice girl, and you can enjoy her back at base. Won't that be fun."

"You know what'd be even better? A couple of weapons, where'd you get all that stuff?"

 

"You know what'd be even better? A couple of weapons, where'd you get all that stuff?"

"heheheh, Nathan, you are gunna love this base. Follow me," I asked him happily

 

The three men made their way back to the base. When they arrived, a woman was waiting for them. This must be Spectre, the woman Carter was talking about. She seemed busy so Nathan turned to Carter.
"What are we going to do about Mort here?"

 

“I was raised in a place where help cost a person. Sometimes it was a day’s worth of pay, other times it was engine backfiring because someone didn’t know what they were doing. We learned that everything not done yourself was a liability.” She was silent for a spell and JJ let the quiet grow. She looked back up, squinting in the light, “Don’t take offense by it, but I will never ask for help unless I absolutely have to.”

Somberly he replied, "Well, I guess I just wont wait for you to ask then." Would she do the same for me I wonder? Or would she sit idly as the fit hit the shan?

JJ remembered her boldly walking into the line of fire back on Europa, taking hits without caring for herself. She'd been moving to help the Old Man, he realized. The only question was, would it take another firefight for her to help someone, or would she let the smaller evils hurt people around her?

The crackle of his communicator interrupted JJ's thoughts. "Hey everyone JJ, Trin, Pappy, meet Mortimer. I managed, and don't ask me how, to suddenly have a team of three, so he's gunna say a few words to tell you about himself."

"What the-" JJ murmured, glancing at Trin for confirmation at what he was hearing. "Is it just me or is this mission turning into a bandwagon?"

A moment later, a voice came over the communicator below the sounds of laughter and music in the background, "I wish to one day be as pretty as all of them," Mort said, "Then no one would look at me instead they would say my what big hands you have... Oh....what was I saying?" Mort said, "Hi I'm Mort....I think....buzzzzzzz. Mort like things. Mort likes to dance. But he doesn't know how to dance."

JJ almost laughed at the introduction, "C'mon Trin, lets get out of here before Carter comes back with his posse."

They walked the streets until the rickshaws and fetid garbage piles turned into a small section of street, clean in comparison to the rest of the mining station, but still dirty and inhabited by bums. "Well, let's see what they have," JJ said, turning to a men's and women's boutique.

 

In her safe house Specter was going over her data and planning a snag operation to grab the Martian spy and one or all of the members of his little posse.

She was interrupted by an automated transmission from one of her tracking MEMs, meaning that one of the marks had been tagged.

"Good work, we have two more left. Get your butts back to the safe house, and I hope you didn't make a scene again," Specter said rolling her eyes. She spotted the new blip on ne of her tracking screens, Voltan was doing alot of moving around, pacing? Something had him upset.

Some time later Specter had three visitors: one of them looked familair, the other two were new.

"What are we going to do about Mort here?" One of the strangers said.

"Who the hell are you, are what are you doing here in my safe house?" Specter was saying, reaching for an automatic booby trap trigger...

 

After a short exchange through his personal communication device, the young man beckoned Akinlabi to follow. "He is waiting for us this way," said the man, advancing deeper into the alley.

Akinlabi shot a last glance over the busy street, but Wolf was still unseen. The African's role was to draw Rico Grieger into the open; Wolf would then tag him. Heading deeper into the alley, then most probably into a hiding place, was bound to make such a task harder.

Akinlabi followed.

They entered a small room, from the very end of the alley, with a small square alluminium table at its center. An oval pendant light hung low over the table, illuminating it, while keeping the features of a man sitting by it shadowed. Both his hands were resting on the table.

"Take a seat," came a hoarse voice from across the table. The speaker's face was unseen, but for a pointy immaculately shaved chin, piercing into the dim light.

Akinlabi obliged and sat.

"My associate, Stellar, informed me of a certain merchandise you are seeking to be... rid off." The man spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully. Akinlabi nodded, and the man continued. "May I see what it is that you are selling? You may place it on the table."

As the African brought his hand into his trench coat, he heard a slow shuffling from behind the man opposing him. Akinlabi slowed his movement, raising an eyebrow.

"Relax," the hoarse voice sounded, "my companions are a little uneasy, but you need not be." Akinlabi extracted a small black velvet bag from the inside of his coat, and carefully placed it on the aluminium top. The man concealed leaned forward to pick it up. From the shadows, his facial outline peaked, for a bare instant. He had gaunt features, sharp and hollow, and grimy long hair falling over his ears. The man's hands vanished into the darkness, inspecting the contents of the bag. After a moment, a silver sparkle shone near the man's hidden face. "Yes... True natural diamonds." He was admiring the small wonder. "These are hard to come-by nowadays. Where is the merchandise from?"

"New Sierra," Akinlabi replied matter-of-factly.

The other man considered the answer for several moments. The room was quiet. Akinlabi then realized that the young man escorting him was no longer present. Did he never enter, or did he somehow manage to sneak out unnoticed? There were others, at least one man, also present in the room; Akinlabi could feel them. "Very well," the hoarse voice cut across the silence, "I will buy your diamonds. But first," he paused for a moment, "first there is a small matter of policy we must maintain. Grieger, if you would please..."

From the darkness beyond the speaker emerged a bald man. His rough unshaven face did not smile. His intense brown eyes were fixed on the sitting black man. He was massive and muscular.

The bear, thought Akinlabi.

 

"Who the hell are you, are what are you doing here in my safe house?"
Nathan stepped forward.

"Nathan Brown of the UEAF. I would give you some proof, but my wallet has been stolen. Carter can back me up."

Nathan turned to Mort. Spectre didn't seem to like strangers. It didn't surprise him, in a job where your mission is to capture undercover spies, you couldn't trust anyone. Mort would be some trouble...

 

"Hey everyone JJ, Trin, Pappy, meet Mortimer. I managed, and don't ask me how, to suddenly have a team of three, so he's gunna say a few words to tell you about himself."

Trin slipped both her pistols into their holsters, and then listened to Carter. She shook her head at JJ.

"Is it just me or is this mission turning into a bandwagon?"

“I’m an idiot. I shoulda put you in charge for that mission. They’re gonna blow the whole thing.” That ****ing idiot. He’ll get someone killed someday pullin’ stunts like that.

"I wish to one day be as pretty as all of them," Mort said, "Then no one would look at me instead they would say my what big hands you have... Oh....what was I saying?" Mort said, "Hi I'm Mort....I think....buzzzzzzz. Mort like things. Mort likes to dance. But he doesn't know how to dance."

Trin put her head into her hands, “Why me? Why? I can’t wait to get out of this place.” She heard JJ almost laugh, and just shook her head in her hands, “Why?”

"C'mon Trin, lets get out of here before Carter comes back with his posse."

“Yeah, I s’pose. I’m likely to shoot his dumb ass for that.”

The two of them left the hideout and moved out towards the shopping streets. JJ found a men’s and women’s clothing store, but the dresses weren’t the ones she needed. Across the street she spotted a darker lit store, with a tight black dress up in the window for display. Perfect. “I’ll be back JJ.”

She quickly moved over to the other store. The dress was tight and black, with the back left open. It was held up around her neck. The skirt of it was short, but not too short. What really caught her eye about it from across the street was how glossy the black was. Light shined right off of it. It was perfect for the place they were going. After getting it sized up and buying some gloves and heels to match it, she walked over to the store JJ was at to see if he was ready to go.

Trin had a smile on her face all the way back to the store. I can’t wait to see JJ’s face when I put this outfit on. And I can’t to see Johns shake his head if he’s working. It’ll be a be a good evening.

 

The policy, as it was introduced by the man in charge, was to have a man-in-the-middle to supervise transactions. This task, was Rico Grieger's. Once the terms of the exchange were set, shook on, and signed, Grieger would facilitate the physical arrangements. Bribe, insurance, security and finally transport from the vendor to the purchaser. Both sides of the deals are guaranteed smooth proceedings, and Rico gains a certain perk, as payment.

Rico Grieger emerged from the darkness, dragging a steel folding chair loudly. Reaching the table, he unfolded the chair in a strong motion, then sat. He leaned forward, setting both his thick arms on top of the aluminum table, almost shoving his face into Akinlabi's personal space.

"You look familiar." The statement was almost an accusation. Akinlabi did not reply, while Rico glared at him.

"Mister Grieger," the incognito's voice cut the tension, "I requested your usual services rather than a background check, if you do not mind." The man was still unseen, hidden by the darkness the light's illumination did not dare reach. Rico frowned, annoyed, then retreated a fraction from the table. Akinlabi did not seem to move much, hardly indulging Rico with a glance.

"Don't tell me how to do my job," Grieger cut curtly. "This bloke pops into the district out of open space, comes in with a batch of so-called pure diamonds, praise the lord for the miracle, and you expect me to perform my usual services?" His sentence complete with a sneer, he scrutinized Akinlabi's face again. "I said you look familiar." The repeated statement was a threat.

Akinlabi slowly turned his face. "Have you been to New Sierra?" He asked simply. When Rico Grieger did not reply, he continue. "I did not think so. Now, do you rid me of the diamonds, or should I look for someone with a less severe policy?"

Rico watched the African another moment, stretching and clenching his fingers, thinking. "Do they make cybernetic facial surgery in New--"

"Enough Rico!" The voice boomed from the shadows, interrupting sharply. "If you are unable to do as asked, I will demand that you leave!" Then, with a much politer tone, he addressed Akinlabi. "I apologize. I assure you we shall complete this entire transaction shortly, and efficiently."

Akinlabi nodded. "Thank you."

Grieger stood up. His face was flushed with anger; rage glinting in his eyes. "I will send three of my men to retrieve--"

"There is also the matter of a certain drug stash," Akinlabi interrupted suddenly, "some that I must dispose off before departing the aerospace port. I am willing to offer them for a very low price." The offer sounded amiable.

"No drugs," the voice said. "I am not interested in drugs," it repeated after a moment's silence. "Grieger, I trust this cargo will be safely deposited at my warehouse by the next curfew." There was the grating sound of metal on concrete, and the unknown man left the table.

Rico Grieger was silent for a few more moments. He turned his head toward the darkness, where the third man was seated a few moments ago, then back at Akinlabi. "As I said then, myself and three of my men will escort you to the aerospace port to retrieve the diamonds."

"We'll see what can be done about this stash of yours," he added a small pause later.

 

In her safe house Specter continued to cautiously eye the strangers. One of the two strangers tentatively stepped forward. He looked like textbook military, but the other looked like a stray.

"Nathan Brown of the UEAF. I would give you some proof, but my wallet has been stolen. Carter can back me up."

“Well…flyboy? Is he one of your mates or what?” Specter said, growing impatient. She moved her hand away from the trigger but kept it within reach, just in case.

 

Mort didn't like the walk to where they were going. It was the kind of boring stale walk that made you want pretzel's. When they did get to where they needed to get. Or so he assumed they needed to get, they were met up with someone's paranoia and anger. He could sense anger. But paranoia made of been something he picked up on his own somewhere.

Mort picked up his leg and began to do half turns. Bored, almost tired of all the conversation. So far being picked up like a kitty on the street was proven more troublesome than just being put back on the streets. All the conversation, all the dramatic scenes of verbal violence.
Mort's eyes flashed, but no one was really paying attention to him to really see that inside that brain of his, it was working just fine.

"Got apple pie?" Mort asked, "I want pretzel, but I thought what's better than pretzel, but pretzel pie. I mean apple...I think. Apple pie...yeah...maybe."

He kept an empty stare at the woman with the trigger finger. Like a lost and confused child. His eyes were hollow a stare a doll could have given you. Unmoving in emotions, cold and stale. It was a frightening stare as well as a stare that could remind you of a dumb innocent child. But anyone with the right mind, like Carter who was beginning to work things out, could tell that maybe all of this was simply an act. The low mumbling innocent voice, the wide blank eyes. Could they tell it was simply an act?

"A bee got into a man's throat once," Mort said, "I think...I was an eye witness. Man allergic to bees and it stung him inside. Died on the pavement. One day I want to get big and strong, like you. Cause then I can do whatever I want with my big hands. Like pull triggers on people."

 

I moaned slightly at Mortimer's gibberish, and rubbed my eyes, "You know how in some of those vids, a mother would walk in holding like three babies, and have a dozen kids nipping around her ankles screaming and tugging on her dress? Thats how I feel now." I jerked my thumb at Nathan, "Yeah this innocent virgins fleet, he was in our squad but got seperated after the baroom brawl. I bailed him out of jail. And," I sighed, "Thats Mortimer. He's bat**** bonkers, although he's a decent pick pocket so I have to wonder whether he's putting the act on."

I took one of the seats at the meeting room table, and kicked my feet up, reclining, "Maybe you can tell better Specs, thats your job isn't it? To know people? I dunno what the hell to do with this guy. By the way Specs," I leaned forward in my chair and peered searchingly into the shadows in which Spectre dwelled, "I'm curious to know what you look like. Always wondered if shadowy bugger like you are drop dead gorgeous and mysterious, or if they hide in shadows because their **** ugly?"

 

The guard, still irked that he was even being bothered at this time, brought Davis to MaCurdy. Oliver took out a notepad as he approached the officer, he reached into his overcoat and clicked open a small golden pen. Oliver had already thought of what to say before he had even said his greeting, at this point, catching the organ thieves was only a matter of how well he could pull the strings of his authority. And pull the strings he would.

“Officer MaCurdy, I’m Detective Oliver Davis and I’m conducting an investigation,” he said smoothly, “I have reason to believe the man, or men, you apprehended earlier are organ thieves. I would appreciate your full cooperation in their capture.”

MaCurdy, from what Oliver could speculate, was a rigid man, most likely a leader. He would prove useful.

MaCurdy laughed, “You have it. But those guys definitely weren’t organ thieves,” he said, “Supposedly, they were on ‘Fleet business’, someone with rank came in and bailed them out. Three of them, I’ll see what I can do to help you get to ‘em quicker.”

Oliver’s eyes lit up in epiphany. His mind took him back to the Hun Tavern. The bullets that were fired, they had to be from one of these men. Now he knew they were not tourists and in fact Navy men working undercover. Although they had done well, their recklessness at the bar had allowed him to find them, and for that, Davis felt just a nudge of pride at his intellect.

Then a cold hard feeling sank in his gut, he had been tracking the wrong people this whole time. The organ thieves were still out there, committing crimes unmolested. Perhaps if he could find these Navy men, he could help them accomplish their mission, and in return they would help him bust the thieves. He smiled, a fair trade.

“Fine, I will be confiscating your security feeds from the camera’s to get a positive ID on each of them. From there I’m sure I won’t have any issues tracking them to where they are now.” Oliver said confidently.

“Done.” Officer MaCurdy replied. “Just make it fast kid, I’m trying to get home early tonight.”

 

JJ waved after her, wondering what had caught her eye. Whatever, he thought, clothes are clothes. And continued on into the shop he had picked.

Entering the shop, JJ caught a surprised look from the chasheir, "Can I..." she gave him a good once over, eyes scrutinizing his clothing and every bit of dirt and muck on them turned her face to a deeper frown. "Help you?" She finally said. "Yeah," I answered gruffly, annoyed, "Men's clothes? Something for a party?" The dissaproving woman bent a finger in one direction, at a corner of the shop where the wall was lined with manniquens wearing trendy clothes, but she didn't bother to offer more help.

Bitch, learn some manners. JJ wandered over to the indicated corner, somewhat overwhelmed by the enormous selection. Zippers seemed to be the current fashion, the jackets and pants were covered with them, some of the zippers not even opening into pockets. He finally picked a charcoal grey jacket and pants that had the least amount of metal teeth, and a red dress shirt to wear underneath.

JJ was in the midst of paying, an exorbant 137 creds, when Trin walked through the shop's door. "Hey, over here." He said, "Good timing, I was just paying for my threads." Next to him, the casheir's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight of the attractive young woman making her way over to the guy that was definitely homeless.

 

Carter had now confirmed Nathan as UEAF, Spectre accepting him. Carter and Spectre were talking, so Nathan took the time to update the rest of the team. He turned on his communicator and began speaking to the rest of the team.

"Nathan here, sorry about going AWOL for a bit. Carter and I have just arrived back at this underground base. We've tagged Voltan and sent him on his way. You guys need any assistance? We'd be happy to help."

 

I guessed I wouldn't get any more answers from the enigmatic woman, so I got to my feet suddenly desiring a less stuffy environment. I looked at Nathan, "Your on the retard roundup. By that I mean look after brainless and Miss Shadow while I get some fresh air.'"

I climbed up the stairs, and yawning squinted at the glare of the bright neon lights around me. Then I leaned against the wall, took out my notepad, and wrote down everything I saw, in the crowd milling in front of me.

 

"Your on the retard roundup. By that I mean look after brainless and Miss Shadow while I get some fresh air."

"OK, but only because I'd be in jail right now if it weren't for you. By the way, I've sent out a message to the rest of the team, just an update."

Carter left the room. Nathan looked around at Mort.
"You, stay there for a bit," he turned to Spectre, "and you, where's this mystical weapons table I've heard all about?"

 

"Got apple pie? I want pretzel, but I thought what's better than pretzel, but pretzel pie. I mean apple...I think. Apple pie...yeah...maybe."

"A bee got into a man's throat once, I think...I was an eye witness. Man allergic to bees and it stung him inside. Died on the pavement. One day I want to get big and strong, like you. Cause then I can do whatever I want with my big hands. Like pull triggers on people." The strange, darkly dressed one was muttering, babbling really. Either he was insane or desperately screaming for attention. Either way Specter had no patience for that.

"You know how in some of those vids, a mother would walk in holding like three babies, and have a dozen kids nipping around her ankles screaming and tugging on her dress? That’s how I feel now. Yeah, this innocent virgin’s fleet, he was in our squad but got separated after the barroom brawl. I bailed him out of jail. And, that’s Mortimer. He's bat**** bonkers, although he's a decent pick pocket so I have to wonder whether he's putting the act on."

“I see,” Specter said and removed her hand from the booby trap trigger.

Carter clambered up to the meeting room and made himself at home, putting his dirty boots on the table.

"Maybe you can tell better Specs, that’s your job isn't it? To know people? I dunno what the hell to do with this guy. By the way Specs, I'm curious to know what you look like. Always wondered if shadowy bugger like you are drop dead gorgeous and mysterious, or if they hide in shadows because their **** ugly?"

Inside Specter was laughing, the boot officer was cute.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, I don’t just wear this to protect myself you know. I’m a double agent, technically I’m still playing both sides. If anyone learned of my identity many lives could be at stake, including my loved ones. Despite what you might think I am after all a human, and humanity has certain Achilles’ heels. Anyone wanting to hurt me could easily do it through my family. I’m afraid you’re just going to have to be curious until then, but you can imagine me however you want as long as you promise to stay focused, flyboy.”

And then almost as if giving a small concession to Carter, the modulation on her stealth armor changed slightly and revealed a scrambled image of a distorted figure. It was impossible to discern details, but she at least became visible.

"Your on the retard roundup. By that I mean look after brainless and Miss Shadow while I get some fresh air." Carter said.

“That wasn’t very kind,” Specter said as she worked on her console again, analyzing the new data from Voltan’s tracking device.

"OK, but only because I'd be in jail right now if it weren't for you. By the way, I've sent out a message to the rest of the team, just an update. You, stay there for a bit, and you, where's this mystical weapons table I've heard all about?" Nathan said addressing Mort and Specter respectively.

“Help yourself, I have a wide assortment of weapons. It appears that most of your team was interested in conventional ballistics weapons, but one had his eye on an energy based weapon. I’m a big fan of non-lethal weapons myself, and things that don’t go ‘bang’ happen to be low profile you know.”

 

"Thanks."

Nathan headed to the weapons table eying everything. He picked up a small thing. It looked like the handle of a dagger. At the top of the dagger, there was a small button which Nathan pressed revealing a knife with a blue glow to pop out of the handle.

"What the hell is this?" He whispered to himself. He touched the side of the knife against his finger. It burnt and drew blood, this would be a good weapon in quick kills.

"You got anything like this knife, but non-fatal? Something to knock out enemies?

 

"Hey, over here." He said, "Good timing, I was just paying for my threads."

Good, we should be all set. Now we just need a chang…137 at this shop? Bull****. Trin walked briskly over to the counter and slammed JJ’s wrist down before he could give the cashier the credit chip card. “Now how ‘bout you charge him the real amount.” She glared directly at the cashier, who was caught completely off guard. The woman quickly changed the price to 98 instead. “Better.”

Damn on-world markets, they would steal change from a man of the street. I’ll be happy when I’m shipside again. But Trin then remembered that tonight might be okay, even though they were on a job.

She turned to JJ and pulled him along after he paid, “Come on, let’s get back to safe-house, get ready, and then get to the job.” Then she looked at his clothes he was wearing as they were walking. Trin shook her head and laughed a little. I didn’t noticed how homeless he looked until now. Wow. “And while we’re there I would try to clean yourself up a little.” She smiled at him and then moved quickly next to him; bag in hand, back to the safe house.

 

The new fleet boy with the puppy dog eyes eyed the weapons stash and picked up a spring-loaded dagger.

"You got anything like this knife, but non-fatal? Something to knock out enemies?"

"No such thing as a non-lethal knife sugar, it's sharp for a reason. If you want non-lethal I recommend a stun gun, they have a decent range and are fairly quiet. And then there's my favortite..." Specter said and held up what looked like a pistol.

"The Stiletto," She said and fired a shot at a target. A small dart was imbedded in the padding.

"The darts have a number of different head types, I've found that among the most useful are the ones treated with toxins. I have quite a wide assortment of concoctions, many of them derived from exotic plant and animal life in the jungles of your planet Earth. When I'm nice I use a powerful sedative agent, when I'm not I use a neurotoxin that can kill in seconds. Just make damn sure not to prick yourself..."

 

"The Stiletto,"

Nathan watched as Spectre held up something looking like a small pistol. She pulled the trigger and a silenced shot came out, a dart embedding into the target.

"The darts have a number of different head types, I've found that among the most useful are the ones treated with toxins. I have quite a wide assortment of concoctions, many of them derived from exotic plant and animal life in the jungles of your planet Earth. When I'm nice I use a powerful sedative agent, when I'm not I use a neurotoxin that can kill in seconds. Just make damn sure not to prick yourself..."

Nathan picked up the gun, checked there were no more darts loaded, and examined the gun. It would be perfect for the mission, darts effects ranging from 'wake up in an hour' to 'never wake up at all'.

He put in a small and took a shot at the target, not feeling any recoil, nor hearing a noise.

"The Stilleto? Looks good. Are you offering this or just showing off?

 

Trin charged over in a surprising show of agility and thumped my hand against the counter, ordering the cashier menacingly. JJ was surprised by the sudden drop in price for his purchase, 'But someone has frugality issues,' he thought. As an enlisted man, JJ never worried too much about money, knowing that his paycheck was mostly for him to piss away on booze, women and thrills, the UEAF took care of everything else, from cradle to casket. 'But Trin,' he reminded himself, 'comes from a different sort. The penny pinchers, the loners, the drifters of empty space.' He wondered what other differences of opinion they might have.

“Come on, let’s get back to safe-house, get ready, and then get to the job.” She gave JJ a surprised look at the state of his clothing, but not disapproving like the cashier woman had been. The difference was slightly confounding to him. "And while we’re there I would try to clean yourself up a little.”

JJ returned her smile and laughed quietly, "Yeah, I didn''t think smelling like a gutter would get me too close to the doors of that club." The press of the crowd was oppressive; it was almost 7 o'clock, time for shopping and errands between work and home for many people. Miners, merchants, deadbeats, hookers and thugs, the rare honest and the prolific thieves of many professions. They filled the tunneled streets of Ceres, not unlike ants in their colony. 'A dirty place, why would anyone want to live here? No open air, no greenery, not even a view of the stars. I can live without the first two, but not being able to see the stars, it's like being enclosed in a cage, covered by a shroud.

I wonder how many aspire to break out? How many know there's something else out there, past the shroud of rock and steel?' The press of the insects pushed Trin and JJ together. He moved his shopping bag to his left hand, in between the two of them to protect the purchases from the reaching fingers of thieves. JJ had already felt their reaching fingers, but their grasping hands found nothing of value, except for one boy who's hand strayed into JJ's jacket, brushing over the lips of his SMG magazines. The two exchanged a look, a hard look from JJ and a surprised, fearful look from the boy, before they lost sight of eachother in the flow of the crowd. After awhile, JJ finally said, smiling, "Thanks by the way, for saving me a few creds. You're a direct negotiator Trin, I hope I don't have to bargain with you anytime soon."