Milk Run (Smuggler's Tales From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper Book 1) (14 page)

“Most of their people are decent. They’ve got a lot of mom-and-pop pairs keeping the books balanced by running tourists and would-be high-rollers in and out of Toe-Hold.”

“I hear a but,” Natalya said, handing Inge a cup of coffee.

“Thanks,” Inge said and sipped before answering. “I had a run-in with one of their skippers over an update a couple of stanyers ago. He claimed the update infected his system and wanted me to spring for a replacement.”

“Ouch,” Natalya said.

“Hard to give out free updates if the customers want indemnity for being jackasses,” Inge said.

“What’d you do?” Zoya asked.

“Offered him a full diagnostic overhaul on his systems.”

Zoya blinked a couple of times. “Did he accept?” she asked.

Inge grinned into her coffee mug. “Nope. Seems he didn’t want me looking at the supposed damage.”

“Any idea why?” Natalya asked.

Inge shrugged. “Beyond not having any damage that could have been caused by an astrogation update?”

Natalya chuckled. “Yeah, that.”

“Scuttlebutt said he had some old BOE databases on there and didn’t want anybody to see the data.”

Zoya sat up at that. “Board of Exploration? Why would that matter?”

“Eldorado,” Natalya said. “Lost colonies and missed opportunities.”

Inge nodded. “You may be surprised to learn that some individuals out here think that there are vast riches hidden in the stars.” Her eyes fairly twinkled.

Zoya hmphed. “Or not. I thought those were just rumors and pipe dreams.”

“Probably so,” Inge said. “But there are enough people out here ready to take a flyer on a get-rich-quick scheme.”

“The only people getting rich are the ones selling the scheme,” Natalya said.

Inge stared into her mug and kept very quiet.

“What?” Natalya asked, catching the older woman’s eye. “You don’t think so?”

“Your father might disagree with you.”

“Dad?” Natalya felt her breath leave her in the single syllable.

Inge looked up with a faint smile. “Yes. Your father—Demetri Regyri—always claimed there was more out there between the systems than the old explorers ever reported.”

Natalya scoffed. “My father is the most practical, pragmatic guy who ever jumped.”

“Yes. I remember,” Inge said, her gaze focused elsewhere for a moment. “He never talked about what’s really out in the Deep Dark?”

“Well, sure. Old pilot tales. Long on possibilities and low on actualization.”

Inge pursed her lips. “You might wonder why that practical and pragmatic father of yours would share them with his daughter.”

“Oh, pfft. Entertainment while we worked.”

Inge stared into her mug for a moment before draining it. “Sure,” she said.

Natalya opened her mouth to say something else but the lock-call buzzed again.

“Finally,” Zoya said.

Natalya went back down the passageway and found Gunderson himself outside the lock. “My day is filled with wonder, Captain,” she said as the door opened.

Whatever he was about to say stopped at his teeth and his eyebrows rose. After a moment he said, “I’ve been called many things, but ‘wonder’ was never one.”

Natalya laughed. “I don’t know, Captain. You saw the value in setting up shop in the Deep Dark. That’s a wonder all by itself.”

Gunderson rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. “Maybe so, maybe no. The old
Wanderer
wasn’t going any further and necessity won out.”

“Well, come in, come in. There’s coffee if you’d like a cup.” Natalya ushered him into the ship and closed the lock behind him. “It’s getting to be pretty crowded but there’s room for one more.”

He chuckled when he saw Inge. “Mornin’, Inky. You twistin’ arms here?”

She smiled at him. “Good morning, yourself. I know when I’m beat. I’m just trying to get a ride back to Dark Knight.”

“’Zat so?” Gunderson looked around at the faces in the room. “I figured you’d be headin’ for The Ranch.”

Inge looked into her coffee cup and shrugged. “It was foolish for me to come out here. I thought I could talk some sense into her.”

Gunderson sniffed. “That’s real coffee?”

Natalya dragged another cup out of the galley and handed it to him. “Yep. And I sold a bunch to Nancy last night so this one’s on the house.”

He took a sip and sighed. “Yeah. That’s the stuff.” He took another sip and smiled. “Beer and coffee. Two things you gotta have good water to make. Seems like we been trying to make water taste good as long as we been drinkin’ it, eh?”

“You need beer?” Zoya asked.

Gunderson shook his head. “We got beer. Brew it ourselves. You mighta had some last night.”

Zoya shook her head. “Not a beer drinker.”

“It’s easy to make, doesn’t take up a lot of time or space, and we’re the only bar for a million kilometers in any direction.”

“Captive audience, eh?” Natalya said, toasting him with her mug.

He shook his head. “Let’s just say it’s only one of the many features that makes Odin’s Outpost a tourist destination.”

Inge snickered. “It’s the only destination in this part of the Deep Dark, you old pirate.”

Gunderson pursed his lips and grunted. “Never was a pirate. Don’t plan to start.” He turned to Natalya. “Sorry it took so long. You’re going straight back to Dark Knight?”

Natalya nodded. “Soon as you give the word, we can pull out and bend space.”

Gunderson rubbed the back of his neck again. “Willing to take something back for me?” He glanced at Inge. “Besides her?”

Inge snorted.

“That’s what we waited for,” Zoya said, a bit of acid in her tone.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that. I thought we’d be ready before this.” Gunderson took a solid pull off the coffee cup.

Natalya shot a quelling look at Zoya. “It’s nothing, Captain. Thanks for your hospitality.” She paused for a couple of heartbeats. “If I could ask, what is it that you want us to take back?”

“A lock box. Goes direct to Kondur, just like that chip came direct to me.”

Natalya nodded. “Seems fair. Terms?”

“What’d he pay you for the chip?” he asked.

“Enough. What are you offering for the return run?”

He grinned and shrugged. “Fifty kay and I’ll cover your fuel bill. Already waived your docking fees. Half now. Half on delivery.”

“Any deadline?” Zoya asked.

“Soon as you can. Sometime this week would be good.”

Natalya stuck out a hand. “Deal.”

Inge nearly choked on her coffee and held up a hand while she cleared her pipes. “I’m all right. Just inhaled wrong.”

Gunderson shook Natalya’s hand and glared at Inge. “I’ll send Nancy over with the box in half a stan.”

“You don’t want a surety bond?” Inge asked, one eyebrow rising slightly.

Gunderson looked at the deck and shook his head. “Not from these ladies. Tortuga covered it.”

Inge’s other eyebrow lifted. “Good to know.” Her tone made it sound like maybe it wasn’t actually that good.

“Yeah, well.” Gunderson drained his mug and handed it back to Natalya. “Thanks for the coffee. I better get Nancy movin’ on this so you can head back.” He started down the passageway, Natalya close behind.

“Anything in particular I need to worry about with this shipment, Captain?” Natalya’s voice barely reached the deck but Gunderson heard it and glanced back at her.

“Nothing unusual. My usual courier is delayed on the far side of Toe-Hold. If you’re going right back to Dark Knight, you can save me the hassle.” He paused at the lock.

“You’re being pretty trusting.”

He looked into her eyes. “Not so much. I’ve got a bond in case you scarper with the box. Tampering with it will likely be the last thing you’d ever do, but I suspect you knew that.”

She nodded. “Yeah. I’m familiar with the routine.”

“Your ole man taught you well,” he said. A tired smile reached all the way to his eyes.

“You know my father?”

“Demetri?” He nodded toward the bridge. “Everybody knows Demetri Regyri.”

Natalya keyed the lock open. “How
well
does she know him?”

“I bet she knows him better than he knows himself.” His smile warmed toward Natalya. “Probably better than his own daughter.”

“I doubt that,” Natalya said.

He started down the short ramp and stopped halfway to the deck to look back at her. “You know where he is now?”

Natalya felt a pang of alarm. “Not exactly. Somewhere here in Toe-Hold space, last I heard.”

He nodded toward the bridge again. “She knows.” He waved and stepped off the ramp. “I’ll get Nancy over here with the box. You’ll be able to leave in half a stan.”

Natalya watched him stride off into the station without a backward glance. She keyed the lock closed again and stood there for a few moments. Random thoughts chased themselves around her skull without making a great deal of sense. She’d covered half of Toe-Hold space in a few days and still was no closer to figuring out why Margaret Newmar had drugged her, staged a theatrical murder, and chased her into the Deep Dark.

A nagging feeling that she might never know started tugging on her hind brain. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling, and she felt pretty sure it wouldn’t go away any time soon.

Chapter 14
Dark Knight Station: 2363, June 2

Natalya and Zoya found Kondur in his booth at the bar on Main Street. He smiled at their approach.

“Nice to see you again,” he said. “You have something for me?”

Natalya nodded as she slid onto the end of the bench across from him. “We do. How would you like to handle it?”

“You can deliver it here, if you like. Nobody’ll think twice about it.”

Natalya nodded to Zoya, who pulled the small box from the messenger bag hanging from her shoulder. She placed the box on the table and put her tablet on the top.

Kondur grinned at her and thumbed the tablet before sliding the box off the table and handing it to the beef beside him.

“You don’t want to check it?” Zoya asked, sounding more curious than surprised.

“What for?” Kondur spread his hands out. “You didn’t tamper with it. I’ve every confidence that it contains what it’s supposed to. If not, then I’ll have somebody visit Bjorn.” He looked at Natalya. “Coffee, Captain?”

She smiled at him. “Thanks. I could use a cup.”

Kondur waved a hand and mugs appeared as if from thin air, followed shortly by a thermal carafe. He topped the mugs and held his up in a toast. “To business.”

Natalya lifted her mug and clinked china to china. “To business.”

Zoya followed suit, albeit somewhat less enthusiastically.

Kondur took a solid pull from the cup and smacked his lips. “So, tell me, Captain. Now that you’ve stocked up with spare parts and gotten a couple of runs under your belt, what do you fancy next?” He winked at her.

“Last time we were here you mentioned there might be something else.”

“So I did. So I did.” He sipped some coffee and gave them each a considering glance. “As it happens, I need some people I can trust.”

“You think you can trust us?” Zoya asked.

“No,” Kondur said, giving a little shake of his head. He nodded at Natalya. “Her, sure. You? I don’t know yet.”

“What’s the deal?” Natalya asked, cutting off whatever Zoya might have been thinking about saying.

“Well, I’ve got a ship that needs some hands for a run out to Dunsany.”

“We’re not exactly crew material,” Zoya said, a sour look on her face.

Kondur pursed his lips. “How about officer material?”

“Officers?” Zoya asked.

He nodded. “I need a third mate and an engineer.” He looked back and forth between them. “I assume you graduated before being framed for murder?”

“What’s the job?” Natalya asked.

“I’ve got a Barbell running a can into Siren. Needs enough hands to fill out the crew roster and I’m just old-school enough that I kinda like to have people who know what they’re doing when I can get them.”

“Not exactly what we signed up for,” Natalya said.

Kondur shrugged. “Just thought I’d ask. Something to do while you’re making connections.” He shrugged again. “Pay’s good.”

“How good?” Natalya asked.

“Fifty kay. Each.”

“Shares?” Natalya asked.

He snorted. “For hire. One run. Round trip to Siren and back. This ain’t no High Liner operation here.”

“How long?”

“Twelve weeks, plus or minus. Most of it’ll be in Siren’s gravity well.”

“Siren? That’s a Confederation port. We have this problem with TIC,” Zoya said.

Kondur shook his head. “Won’t be a problem. I just need bodies to fill out the rosters. You’ll never see the docks.”

Natalya sipped her coffee and thought about it.

Zoya nudged her with an elbow.

Natalya shook her head. “Not exactly what we’re about, Mr. Kondur.”

“Understood.” He shrugged. “Offer’s open. Ship’s not leaving for a few days. Worst case I find a couple of rock-knockers to pretend for a few weeks.”

“Thanks,” Natalya said, draining her cup. “And thanks for the coffee. We probably better get on with our day and let you get on with yours.”

She slipped out of the booth with Zoya close behind.

“Any time,” Kondur said. “Good luck and safe voyage.”