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  “Those are some big orders. I know some folks who can help, but it won’t be cheap,” Mick said.

  “I also want to find out anything I can about a guy named Lansing who may have had some business dealings with Carl.”

  Mick shook his head. “That Lansing fellow… I don’t know… there may not be much to find out.”

  “Do you know him?” Nolan asked.

  “He came in here once and talked to Carl just before he disappeared. Carl had Eddie throw him out almost as soon as he started talking,” Mick said. “I’d never seen him before, and not since, either. If he’s a big league player, you’re chasing a ghost.”

  “Thanks for the info. I want to find out anything I can about him. SACOM is interested in him, too,” Nolan said.

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because I was the guest of honor at a SACOM interrogation. They asked me about him repeatedly for five days. The guy must know something,” Nolan said.

  Mick shook his head. “Think about it. If SACOM is resorting to asking you about Lansing, you’re not going to find anything. They’ve run into a wall, and they’re grasping at straws. If you’ll take my advice, forget about Lansing for now. You’ll spend a lot of credits and probably won’t find anything. You can put those credits to better use.”

  Nolan considered this for a moment. “I’ll think about it. He may be my best chance of finding Carl.”

  “Give me a day. I’ll find you some help,” Mick said. “They’re gonna want chips, and lots of them.”

  “I know. I’ll be ready,” Nolan said.

  Mick’s expression became stern, his eyes narrowed. “Find out who screwed Carl.”

  Nolan nodded. He picked up his mug and took a swig as Mick moved off to tend to his other customers.

  As Nolan walked home, he was preoccupied with a single thought. He was out of his depth. Space propulsion systems and gravity generators were his areas of expertise. Carl had always handled the business side of things. The people he would be dealing with would, undoubtedly, be underhanded and evasive. It came with the territory. He remembered the look Mick gave him when he told him to find out who had screwed Carl. He’d just have to trust Mick to put him in touch with good people. He had no other choice.

  In the morning, he’d visit Megan again and make the final arrangements. He hoped they could afford the services they required.

  * * * *

  Nolan knocked on Megan’s door. He was taken aback when the door opened and a big man in a very expensive-looking suit greeted him. The man looked like a slightly younger version of John. Megan peered around him and said, “It’s okay, Nolan. Come in.” The man smiled and stepped aside. Nolan cautiously entered the apartment.

  “Nolan, this is Derick. He’s John’s brother. He’s also my attorney,” Megan said as she sat on the couch. Derick sat next to her, and the pair waited as Nolan took the seat across from them. “Derick has offered to help us. When SACOM gave me the credits, I told Derick I wanted to give them back to Carl. He withdrew the credits in multiple transactions over several weeks using untraceable accounts, and then cashed them out for credit chips. They’re in the vault in his office. He will review any deals we enter into, and he’ll handle the payments.”

  “That’s good,” Nolan said. “Just last night, I was worried I was too far out of my element, and that I might get taken advantage of.”

  Derick nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll be watching out for Megan’s best interests. I’ll handle all deals personally. If things get rough, I know some people with… certain talents that can be brought in as needed.”

  “What arrangements have you made so far?” Megan asked.

  “I’m going back to The Cove this evening to see Mick. He said he’d have some help lined up for me.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Derick said.

  “But these people… they’re crooks. They might think you’re a cop and get spooked,” Nolan objected.

  “You’ve been watching too many police holo-dramas,” Derick said. “Besides, Dawson City cops don’t wear Bartellini suits. They won’t be happy about my involvement, but they won’t run. If you can afford my services, they’ll know you aren’t just jerking them around.”

  “Won’t that just make them charge us more?” Nolan asked.

  Derick smiled. “They’ll ask for more, but they’ll know they won’t get it.”

  * * * *

  Nolan and Derick sat at a table in the dark corner at the rear of The Cove. Mick said their first contact, a guy called Neil, would show up at seven o’clock. A man entered the bar, looked around, and then slowly began walking toward them. Nolan looked at his watch—punctual. He took a sip of his beer as the man reached their table.

  “Are you Neil?” Derick asked.

  “Yep. Who the hell are you?”

  “This is my client, who doesn’t have a name. His parents didn’t believe in naming their kids. I’m his attorney,” Derick said.

  “I suppose your parents didn’t believe in naming their kids, either,” Neil said as he pulled out a chair and sat.

  Derick smiled and nodded. “That’s right.”

  Neil leaned forward. “I’m a busy man, so let’s get right down to business. I understand you need a couple of identities so you can do some discreet traveling. I charge twenty-five thousand credits per ID.”

  Derick smiled and shook his head. “Sorry, but we’re not interested at that price.”

  “Suit yourself,” Neil said as he pushed back his chair. Nolan and Derick watched him, their smiles unwavering. Neil looked from one to the other, an expectant look on his face.

  “You were leaving, weren’t you?” Nolan asked.

  Neil looked at him for a moment, and then sighed and scooted his chair in again. “Okay, what price did you have in mind?”

  “Twenty-five for the pair,” Derick said.

  “You’re killing me, man. Thirty,” Neil countered.

  “Twenty-seven,” Derick said.

  Neil rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Okay, twenty-seven for the pair. Do you want to pick the names, or should I surprise you?”

  Derick smiled as he pulled a slip of paper from his breast pocket and passed it to Neil. “These are the names along with a few other details. Can you work with this?”

  Neil unfolded the paper and read it. He shrugged. “Sure, no problem. Payment in advance in chips.”

  Derick chuckled as he bent down and picked up a lunchbox from under the table. He slid it across the table to Neil and said, “There’s ten thousand in there, along with a data card with my client’s photograph and bio-data for the documents. You’ll get the other seventeen when I inspect your work and approve it.”

  “You’re killing me, man,” Neil said. It seemed to be his catch phrase. After a moment, he picked up the lunchbox and stood. “I need two days. I’ll be in touch with Mick to schedule our next meeting.” Derick nodded, and Neil turned and walked away.

  “That was intense,” Nolan said after Neil had left the bar. “I thought he was going to leave when you offered him half what he was asking.”

  “He did all right. Twenty-five is the going rate. I’m sure he’s quite pleased with our deal,” Derick said.

  Nolan looked at his watch and said, “Seventeen minutes until the next guy gets here.” He picked up his mug and took a big gulp of beer. He smiled at Derick. “This is exciting. I should have been a crook for a living.”

  Derick shrugged. “You’re well on your way already.”

  The enormity of the comment caught Nolan off guard. He hadn’t really thought about it, but he would be a crook soon. He was buying false identities on the black-market, and soon, he’d be stealing a spaceship from SACOM. If he got caught at any stage in the operation, he’d vanish from sight and probably spend the rest of his life rotting in a SACOM prison somewhere. The excitement he had felt a moment ago vanished, replaced by a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He took another swig of beer and stared at the foam floating in t
he mug.

  He was just finishing the last of his drink when a soft voice said, “Are you gentlemen expecting someone?” A woman with short, red hair and dark brown eyes was standing near their table. Nolan guessed she was around his age. Her hair was obviously dyed, but there was something familiar about her eyes. He nodded, unable to speak.

  “Are you Ronnie?” Derick asked.

  She smiled. “Yes. Let me guess… you were expecting a dumpy, middle-aged man with a beer gut and bad breath?”

  “Please, be seated. We’ve been expecting you,” Derick said.

  She eyed him as she eased gracefully into a chair. “You’re a lawyer… mainly mergers and acquisitions, I suspect. Your accent says you grew up around Vernase, or maybe Talloma, but you went away to college where, in addition to studying law, you worked at erasing your accent.”

  Derick smiled. “You’re good.”

  Ronnie nodded. “Oh, I’m very good at everything I do.” She smiled when she saw Derick blush, which made his blush deepen. She turned her attention to Nolan, eyeing him for a moment. “And you… can’t afford this gentleman’s services on your own. Someone is financing your little project, whatever it is.”

  Derick cleared his throat. “Shall we discuss our business?”

  Ronnie smiled as she turned back to him. “Sure thing. What is it you’re looking for?”

  “I believe Mick made our needs clear to you,” Derick said.

  “I have a short memory. Remind me,” she said.

  Derick leaned forward and lowered his voice. “We need a clean registration for a spaceship, and captain’s papers in two names.”

  “Oh yes, that’s right. Those are very expensive commodities,” she said.

  Derick rolled his eyes for dramatic effect and said, “The going rate is fifty thousand credits.”

  Ronnie shook her head. “Maybe if you only want to visit a few of the outlying agricultural worlds. If you want documentation that will stand up to scrutiny anywhere, you need me, and I’m not cheap.”

  “What number were you thinking of?” Derick asked.

  “Seventy-five,” she said without hesitation as she stared into Derick’s eyes, daring him to flinch.

  “Sixty,” he said.

  Ronnie laughed and stood up. “Sorry, gentlemen, but I am a busy lady, and I don’t have time to play minor league games.”

  Derick raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Seventy.”

  “Look, Mr. Silk Suit, my price is seventy-five. Are we going to do business, or are you just wasting my time?”

  After a moment’s consideration, Derick nodded. “All right, Seventy-five.”

  Ronnie smiled and slid back into her chair. “Give me the details.”

  Derick pulled a stack of papers from his briefcase and slid them across the table. Ronnie picked them up and studied them for a moment. Her smile quickly disappeared. “Oh hell,” she said. She looked at Derick, and then at Nolan. She dropped the papers on the table and leaned back as she looked up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath.

  “Is there a problem?” Nolan asked.

  Her eyes were welling up when she looked at him. “You’re Nolan Peters, aren’t you?”

  Derick quickly laid his hand on Nolan’s arm, warning him not to respond. “My client’s identity isn’t important.”

  With her watery-eyed gaze still fixed on Nolan, she said, “I wasn’t talking to you, silk suit.” She reached across the table and squeezed Nolan’s hand. “I’m Ronnie Carr. I’m Rebecca’s little sister.”

  Her eyes, he realized, were just like Becca’s. He got up and walked around the table. Ronnie stood as well. They wrapped their arms around each other and held tightly. “I’m so sorry. We did everything we could for her,” Nolan said.

  “I’m sure you did. I know how close you all were. I just wish I could understand what happened,” she said as she began to cry.

  Nolan held her tighter. “I’ll tell you as much of it as I know. You deserve the truth.”

  After a long moment, their embrace ended, and Nolan moved back to his seat. He waited as Ronnie sat and wiped her eyes with a cocktail napkin. Nolan said, “Carl got a salvage contract from SACOM. It was supposed to be routine. When Becca’s team got to the reactor of the ship, the core was badly damaged. Her entire team was exposed to lethal radiation. We raced back to Caldon as fast as we could. Carl ordered me to make a hyperspace jump within the system to get them all back here as fast as possible. It didn’t matter… they were all dead by the time we reached orbit. SACOM said the reactor had been secure, and they accused us of trying to steal the shielding material from the reactor. That’s how they charged Carl with four counts of negligent homicide. None of it was true. SACOM blamed Carl to cover up the disaster. They screwed up and didn’t want anyone to know about it.”

  “So they killed four people and ruined another’s life to hide their own negligence. Where is Carl?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. He disappeared shortly after his trial. Even SACOM hasn’t been able to find him. I’m trying to find out who was responsible for your sister’s death. Finding Carl will be the first step in that process. If anyone knows, he does.”

  Ronnie dried her eyes again. Struggling to keep her emotions in check, she said, “I can get you a clean registration and the captain’s papers for fifty. I’d do it for free, but I have people I have to pay in another system to handle the paperwork on that end.” Then she added, “Mom and Dad got the settlement credits, not me.”

  Nolan nodded. “Fifty thousand is fine.” He turned to Derick. “Pay her.”

  “I can give you twenty-five now,” he began.

  “All of it,” Nolan said. Seeing the reluctant look on Derick’s face, he glared and said sharply, “Fifty thousand, now.”

  As they left the bar and walked to Derick’s car, the lawyer said, “It was a mistake paying her up front.”

  Nolan turned on him and waved a finger under his nose. “Look, you may know law, but you don’t know a damn thing about that woman. I would have died to save her sister! She’ll get me the paperwork as promised. I can guarantee you that when I tell Megan what happened, she’ll say we should have given her seventy-five!”

  * * * *

  “I can’t believe you gave her fifty!” Megan yelled as she glared at Derick. “What were you thinking?” Derick glanced at Nolan and smiled. “You should have given her seventy-five!” Megan said.

  His smile vanished in a flash even before Nolan gave him his I told you so look. Derick turned away and stared out the window.

  “She wants to help,” Nolan said. “She wants to know who’s responsible as much as we do. It will help her to heal if we get answers.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Megan conceded. She walked over to Derick and put her arms around him. “Thank you for all that you’re doing.”

  He patted her back. “We both lost John. I want answers as much as you do, but I also have to look out for your best interests.”

  Megan hugged him tighter. “I know. Thank you. We’ll get through this somehow.”

  “So, we’ve got two new sets of identification documents coming for me, and a new registration for the Independence. Mick said he’s got a guy lined up to get me to orbit once we have everything else in place. I’ll need to disappear from Dawson for two weeks without SACOM becoming suspicious. I have an uncle who owns a farm in Zebulon. That’s a long way from any SACOM facility. If I go there, they aren’t likely to come checking up on me as long as they can track my data unit,” he said.

  “I think you two should let it be known that you’re going to visit Nolan’s uncle together. Plan to take your aircar, Megan. When it’s time for Nolan to go to orbit, you can go to the spaceport together. You’ll take Nolan’s data unit and go to visit his uncle while he slips away and boards the ship that will take him to the Independence. You’ll make sure Nolan’s data unit travels around Zebulon with you and his uncle. When Nolan comes back, he’ll wait for you at the spaceport and
you’ll come back to town together,” Derick said.

  “Won’t people talk? I mean, us going away together—it could give people the wrong idea,” Nolan said.

  Derick smiled. “That’s what you want. People will believe you two are spending time together in Zebulon because that’s exactly the sort of thing people will want to believe. If they believe it, it’s as good as true.”

  “I’m fine with it, Nolan, if you are,” Megan said. “Let people talk.”

  “I guess that’s settled, then. When I get the Independence out of orbit, I’ll take several long hyperspace jumps until I am far from any SACOM relay. Then I’ll change the registration data in the core. I’ll land somewhere remote and repaint the name and numbers on the hull. Then I’ll take it to a busy spaceport, hide it in plain sight, and catch the next starliner back here.”

  “Do you know where you are going?” Derick asked.

  “Carl and I visited a lot of ports over the years. I know just the place. I think I’ll keep the details to myself, though. The less you know, the better.”

  “Agreed,” Derick said. “While you two are away, I’ll continue digging to see if I can turn up any clues to Carl’s whereabouts. Stealing the ship is phase one. We still need to find him. He’s going to be our best source of information.”

  “Don’t give up on Lansing. He probably knows more than Carl,” Nolan said.

  “Yes, but we know next to nothing about him. All we have is a last name. We don’t have a first name. We don’t know what he looks like. That’s not much to go on,” Derick said.

  Nolan said, “I know it’s a long shot, but if we can’t find Carl…” He suddenly felt reluctant to follow that line of thought any farther.

  “We’ll find Carl,” Megan said.

  Nolan cleared his throat. “Well, I have a lot to do to get ready for my trip. I had better go and get started.” He stood and walked to the door. Megan followed.