A Brother's Debt (17 page)

He wasn’t worried that Zialla would cause any trouble while left alone on the ship. He was however worried that Dollier had got men to Onegal 3 ahead of him, which wouldn’t have been all that hard. With the trouble he had given Dollier since meeting him, Step had no difficulty believing the man would order his thugs to attack Gambler’s Luck to get the package.

With an effort Step turned his head away from the retreating image of his ship, and put his worries from his thoughts. In a short while he would be rid of the package Dollier was so desperate to get from him; he could only hope that with the contacts Carboni’s rival had, he would soon learn that the package was out of his reach, and so would make no further efforts to get it from him.

The other worry he had was that Dollier’s men were watching the ship, and knew he had left with the package. If that was the case he anticipated an attempt to ambush him before he could reach Tamerlay House and Carboni’s associate, Luigi Fesa. To reassure himself, without alarming the cab driver, he surreptitiously reached a hand under the back of his jacket to check the laser pistol was there.

That done he settled back and did his best to relax. It wasn’t easy, he found himself unable to take his hand off the box on the seat next to him, while his eyes constantly darted all around him.

Though he anticipated an ambush at any moment, when it finally did come he was still caught by surprise.

At the last second Step saw the truck as it barrelled through the intersection. He had just enough time to grab hold of the box, in an effort to keep it safe, before the truck slammed into the side of the cab.

In the space of less than fifteen seconds the cab went from being upright, to being on its side and wedged between a wall and the truck that had hit it.

Despite the profanities from the front of the cab Step didn’t, for one moment, think the crash was an accident caused by the driver of the truck being an idiot who didn’t know how to operate a vehicle. He let go of the box as soon as he was sure the cab had stopped moving, and scrambled to undo the safety harness. When the harness retracted, and his movements were no longer restricted, he twisted about until he was able to get at the laser pistol.

With a single shot he shattered the window of the door across from him. The glass fragments tumbled down on top of him, but he ignored them as he hurriedly grabbed the box and shoved it out through the opening. Pushing the box along the side of the cab out of the way he grabbed the door and pulled himself out of the wrecked car.

He was halfway through the window when the truck backed away from the cab, which slowly toppled away from the wall. Unable to do anything else he could only hold on as the cab fell. It bounced when it landed back on its wheels, making him lose his grip on the edge of the door, and his stomach was crushed against the door as he half fell out through the window, banging his outstretched hands on the side of the cab.

The shout of men co-ordinating their approach spurred him to move again, and he quickly pulled himself out through the window to land in a heap on the road. He was up an instant later, ignoring the pain in his stomach as he grabbed up the laser pistol from where it had landed. With the weapon at the ready his eyes swept the road, searching for the men he knew were coming for the package.

Step spotted the first man as he came round the front of the truck that had smashed into his cab, and he fired two shots in quick succession. Neither shot was carefully aimed, he was sure they both missed the man, but that didn’t bother him since he didn’t really want to kill him. He was more interested in keeping the man away from the package, than in harming him.

While the first man ducked back behind the truck Step darted towards the package, which had tumbled and bounced a short distance from the cab when it righted itself. He had just got his fingers to the box when he was spun away from it by a shot that grazed his arm; instinctively he dropped to the ground and rolled to evade further gunfire, at the same time he scanned the area for the source of the gunshot. He spotted the thug who had fired at him as he came up on one knee, and he hurriedly rolled away again, firing a series of wild shots to throw off the man’s aim.

He ignored the pain in his arm, and continued to fire sporadically while he scrambled backwards for the scant protection of the damaged cab. A pair of shots struck the boot of the cab just as he reached it, and he flinched as he ducked behind the protective bulk of the vehicle.

Keeping one eye on the box, Step searched the road; sure Dollier had sent more men to ambush him than he had seen up to then. After a few moments he was confident he had found them all; he saw two by the truck, one on the far side of it, and the other hiding in the passenger seat, firing from behind the door, which he used to keep himself safe. A third was crouched by the side of a car, using it for cover as he fired. The sound of a boot scraping across the road just a few feet away made him raise his head above the boot of the cab.

A fourth thug, little different in appearance to the other three as far as Step could tell from his brief glance, was attempting to sneak close. Sticking the muzzle of his pistol over the boot of the cab, Step fired a couple of shots. His first shot caught the thug in the shoulder, knocking him backwards, while the second shot missed, ricocheting off the road.

Out the corner of his eye Step saw the third thug he had spotted making a move for the box. Automatically he pivoted on his heel, bringing the pistol round to bear on the new target, and fired two shots in quick succession. In his haste he missed with the first shot, which didn’t surprise him all that much; his second shot caught the man in the leg however, knocking him to the ground.

Step was reluctant to kill the man, even when the shot to the leg failed to stop him dragging himself towards the box, and he hesitated before firing again.

“Captain Velkin.” The call startled Step, who tried not to let it distract him. “It’s Grange Dollier, Captain, can you hear me?”

Step was tempted to ignore the call and focus on stopping Dollier’s men reaching the box, while he figured out a way to get to it himself, without getting killed. “What do you want?” he called back after a brief delay, during which he fired three deliberately aimed shots to drive back the thug who was edging towards the box. It was best for him to find out what the man wanted, he decided, other than the box that was sitting in clear view of them all.

“You know what I want, Captain, I want the box,” Dollier told him.

“It’s yours, all you’ve got to do is come and get it, if you can.” To emphasise his point Step fired a series of shots. The first two were aimed at the road just in front of the thug near the package, who hurriedly scrambled further back away from it to avoid being hit. After that he aimed shots at the other three whose positions he had noted. He wasn’t trying to hit them, just force them to stay behind cover.

In response Dollier laughed. “Do you really think I am that stupid, Captain?” the businessman asked. “If I go out there to get the box you’ll shoot me, just like you shot Crys. I have no intention of getting myself shot. Do you remember the deal I offered you back on Barth?”

“I remember; you wanted to buy the package from me for twenty five thousand credits. If I wouldn’t accept the deal on Barth, why do you think I would change my mind and accept it now? I’m a man of my word, I accepted a deal with Carboni and I mean to see it through.”

“I know you’re a man of your word, Captain, everything I have read about you reveals as much. I’m hoping you’re also a man of sense. I’ve got four men with me, that’s five against one, you can’t really think you’re going to be able to retrieve the package, let alone deliver it to Luigi Fesa.”

Step smiled to himself. “I don’t see why not, I’ve already winged two of your men. You’ve only got two left uninjured, and they won’t stay that way if they make a move for the package. I can’t see you risking yourself, Grange; I don’t picture you as the sort to put your own skin on the line, not when you’ve got a bunch of mindless thugs to take the risks for you.”

 “Winged them, that’s all you’ve done, you haven’t put them out of action. You’re not cut out for this kind of business, Velkin, you’re smart, I’ll give you that, and you can handle yourself, but you’re too soft. You should have killed Crys and Gary, I would have in your position, it would have made the odds against you better.

“Since you’re not cut out for this kind of work, how about I make you another offer, one you would be wise to accept. You walk away and leave the package for me, and I will pay you enough to clear your entire debt with Carboni. You’ll be free to return to your old life, the one you had before your brother died.”

“If I did that I’d have to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder for Carboni’s men.”

“If you don’t accept the deal my men will kill you here and now. It’s your choice, Velkin, you can take my deal, walk away, and worry about the possibility that Carboni’s men will catch up with you, someday, maybe. Or you can be a man of your word and refuse, in which case you won’t leave here alive. I know what choice a sensible man would make.”

“Do I get time to think about it?” Step asked, stalling as much as he could.

“You can have...” Dollier was interrupted before he could finish what he was saying by Step, who fired three quick shots to drive back the thug crawling for the package, and to make the one attempting to sneak along the cab to get to him dive for cover. His men fired a series of shots in return, attempting to provide cover for their colleague while he made a grab for the package.

When the gunshots stopped, and he could be heard, Dollier began again. “You can have two minutes, make up your mind quick, my men are impatient, and they don’t like getting shot. They’d like nothing more than for you to refuse so they can kill you.”

“Well?” Dollier prompted when the two minutes were up. “What’s it to be; the money, or your life?”

“I’m still thinking.”

“Too late, you’ve had your chance. Take him,” Dollier ordered his men.

A barrage of shots, most of which struck the rear of the cab, forced Step to duck as low as he could for protection. He didn’t even dare poke his hand over the boot to fire blindly, for fear of being struck. All he could do was make his body as small as he could, and keep watch for the slightest thing he could fire at.

How long the cab shuddered under the onslaught, Step couldn’t be sure, but it came as a surprise to him when the drumming of shots against the vehicle ended, especially since, to his ears, the intensity of the gunfire had increased, not decreased.

Daring to risk a look beyond the protection offered by the cab, Step discovered the thug who had been trying to snatch the package dead. In addition to that unexpected sight, he saw the two thugs who were using the truck for cover engaged in a furious shootout with a group of men on the far side of the intersection.

He didn’t have a clue who the men were, or where they had come from, but that didn’t matter to him. What mattered was their presence, and their gunfire, was distracting Dollier and his men, leaving him free and untargeted, and he seized the opportunity. He darted out from behind the cab and sprinted to where the package lay, it was too big to manage easily with only one hand so he reluctantly tucked his pistol away before grabbing it up.

He hadn’t gone more than a dozen paces when a cry alerted him to his having been spotted. With the box held tight against his chest to avoid dropping it he dodged for the nearest cover. The only cover to be found was a car, abandoned by its owner, less than twenty feet away, but that proved to be too far.

Before he had covered even half the distance to the car, and the slim safety it might have offered him, Step was struck by a bolt from a laser weapon. He had little time to think as the force of the blow threw him forward to sprawl on the ground, the box slipping from his grasp, but he did have time to be glad Dollier and his men were only using pistols, and not laser rifles.

Doing his best to ignore the pain of his injury, Step reached for the pistol in the waistband of his trousers. His fingers were on the grip, and he was pulling it out, when he was rolled over, and he felt someone take the pistol from him. A clatter a short distance away told him the weapon had been discarded by whoever took it, and a moment later he saw that person was Grange Dollier himself as he was kicked over onto his back.

“You should have taken the deal, Captain,” Dollier told him, displaying none of the friendliness he had in his restaurant on Barth, as he leaned close to stare Step in the face. “It would have saved your life, as it is...” he raised his pistol, pausing for a moment to gloat.

Step wasn’t about to just lie there, waiting for Dollier to decide to shoot him. Surprising the businessman he brought his hand up quickly, slashing Dollier with the knife he had slipped from the wrist sheath he had found amongst his brother’s possessions. The blade sliced across Dollier’s chest, sending blood spurting as he staggered back.

“You sonofabitch,” Dollier snarled angrily, raising the pistol again, but the zing of a laser shot striking the road a short distance away made him turn sharply to look over his shoulder in alarm. “Another time, Captain!” With that he shoved his pistol into the holster at his armpit and darted over to the package, while Step made a futile grab for his leg to stop him. Grabbing up the package he disappeared up the street, leaving Step bleeding behind him.

The sound of approaching footsteps made Step forget about Dollier; the businessman was gone, taking the box with him. Rolling onto his front,