The Phoenix War (39 page)

The Nighthawk’s two prisoners—an older man
named Todd and his younger, scrawnier counterpart Julio—also exited
the ship. They were escorted by a man and woman from special forces
and both prisoners were kept in restraints to minimize risk.

True to his word, Grady Rosco was waiting for
them, along with about a dozen Rosco soldiers, each
expertly-dressed and armed with sub-machine guns.

“This visit won’t be a repeat of last time,”
said Grady, once Calvin had come aboard. “I promise you that,” he
looked at his soldiers and then back to Calvin, obviously pleased.
“And honestly, if you’d only told me last time that you were
coming, things would have been different.”

Calvin recalled the bone-chilling terror of
his last visit, when he’d been forced to race through the halls to
evade unlikely enemies, CERKO soldiers who’d tried to kill him. And
how Titus Antony, a man Calvin had never previously met, had given
up his life to keep him safe. The Roscos had considered the
incident a grave embarrassment, they prided themselves in keeping a
house of order—despite the number of crooks and criminals who
frequented their establishments—and had a zero-tolerance policy
toward anyone who upset the natural order of things here. In their
den, the Roscos were untouchable and fancied themselves like
gods.

“I have no doubt,” said Calvin, reassuring
Grady. “Now, I understand that you’re able to take these prisoners
off my hands?”

“Of course,” Grady nodded and two of his
soldiers broke away from the others and accepted custody of the
prisoners. Both Todd and Julio looked horrified, no doubt they were
familiar with the Roscos reputation for severity when provoked.

“And you’re to see that they are transferred
to the queen’s fleet,” added Calvin, “alive and unharmed.”

“Alive I can guarantee,” said Grady. “But
unharmed
… that depends on them,” he gave the prisoners a
menacing look, clearly a warning.

“Fair enough,” said Calvin. He only wished
he’d had time to interrogate the prisoners himself but between
prepping for the mission and trying to get a little rest, it hadn’t
been an option.
I’ll just have to trust that Summers really did
get everything out of them
, thought Calvin.
And that it will
lead to the destruction of the isotome weapons
.

He considered, very briefly, asking the
Roscos to interrogate the prisoners further but then remembered how
their method of interrogation involved torturing the subject to
death, and deceased individuals made poor interviewees. He put his
mind at ease knowing that the queen and her people would continue
the interrogation. And that Summers had done as good a job as
anyone could expect. He trusted Summers now, he really did, but he
also knew she was a naval officer and didn’t have the benefit of
Intel Wing training. So she might not have conducted the most
effective interrogation…
No, I have to stop thinking like
that
. Doubts circled in his head but he forced them away,
knowing there was nothing he could do. He needed to have faith in
other people—something that was difficult for him—and focus on the
task at hand.

“Take them away,” Grady ordered his men. Two
of them left, taking the prisoners. As they went, Grady gave
Calvin’s team a good, hard look. He seemed amused at the sight of
the aliens in particular and Calvin remembered how the Roscos
conducted all of their business exclusively in human. Though they
tolerated aliens on Aleator and accepted their money, the Roscos
had no fondness for them and had never tried to keep that secret.
“As for you lot,” Grady’s eyes returned to Calvin. “Please come
this way.”

Grady led and Calvin followed along with his
team. The remaining Rosco soldiers escorted them as they made their
way through the corridors of Aleator One which, Calvin noted, no
longer showed any sign of the firefight that had almost killed him
not very long ago.

There were lots of people coming and going
through the corridors of Aleator One: aliens, mercenaries,
gangsters, smugglers, pirates, con-men, thieves, fugitives,
prostitutes, people of every sort and caliber. But each and every
one of them scrambled to get out of their way, happy to dart aside
and make a path for Grady and the other Roscos. Many of these
people were cheats and criminals who played their own games by
their own rules, and most undoubtedly had a very creative grasp of
ethics. But all of them had the wisdom to know and abide by the one
commandment that governed Aleator:
Don’t piss off the
Roscos
.

Their route took them past the Rodeo Den
casino. Calvin looked at it curiously as they walked by the main
entrance, smelling the cigarette smoke wafting out into the hall.
It really hadn’t been too long ago that he’d gone in there, under
cover, seeking out signs of Raidan. Not having the foggiest clue
what he was getting himself into, and what was about to happen. He
never expected to be back here again, especially so soon.
What a
small galaxy it is
, he mused.

The Roscos took them to Grady’s office and
Grady invited Calvin inside to discuss details, everyone else
remained outside, including the soldiers.

Once the door was closed and Grady and Calvin
had both taken their seats on opposite sides of the table—Calvin
wanted to stand but Grady insisted otherwise—they got right down to
it.

“We need to leave as soon as possible,” said
Calvin. “Time is short. The sooner I collect the intelligence I
need, the sooner I can send it to the queen and prevent a
slaughter.”

“I have no love of the Empire,” said Grady in
a cautious tone. He took a moment to light up a cigar. He offered
one to Calvin but Calvin declined. After a good, long taste of the
smoke he exhaled it and continued. “Yes, no love indeed. However I
do have a love for humanity. We Roscos haven’t forgotten what we
are. You say humanity is in danger?”

“I do,” said Calvin. “It’s no secret to
anyone that the storms of civil war are brewing. The queen has
gathered her fleet and the Assembly, under the direction of Caerwyn
Martel, is mustering its forces as well. The two will inevitably
collide. It’s not a matter of i
f
, it’s a matter of
when
. After that happens—”

“The human military will be crippled, and
then the aliens can flood the borders. Conquering human worlds
without opposition,” said Grady knowingly.

“Yes,” said Calvin. “And I mean to prevent
that,” he wasn’t entirely sure how. But, unable to marshal any
other hope, he’d convinced himself that, once he showed the queen
and her knights indisputable proof that the Rotham were gathering
their fleets, and that the Alliance could not deter them, then the
queen would delay engaging the Assembly’s fleet. Possibly even use
the intelligence to convince the other side to agree to some sort
of compromise, or temporary alliance. For the sake of human
security. Whether a system bled for the queen or bled for the
Assembly, no system wanted to find itself on the business-end of a
Rotham invasion, Calvin was sure. Well, none except Renora. But
ever more that system seemed to be a lost cause…

“Indeed, a civil war would not be profitable
for anyone. Not for the Empire. Not for Aleator. Not for the
Alliance. Not for any humans anywhere,” said Grady. “It would only
benefit the aliens. And maybe the
Khans
,” as he spoke the
name his voice carried a special amount of loathing. “You have my
full support,” said Grady. “And it’s true we owe you a favor. A
particularly important favor, one that has been eating against
Rosco honor as an unpaid debt for far too long.”

Technically
they owed the debt to
Calvin’s father, Samil Cross, for something he’d done for them,
something Calvin could only speculate at, and
technically
Samil was still alive. However the Roscos believed him dead and, as
much as it pained him, Calvin needed the favor they were offering.
So he chose not to inform them that his father was alive on Tybur.
If one could consider the sad situation he’d gotten himself into
life
of any sort…

“I have gotten you a ship, just like you
asked, it’s in launchbay five,” said Grady. “It’s a Rotham ship.
Nothing too special. An unarmed commercial freighter, a small one.
Actually it’s more a cargo-vessel than a proper freighter.”

“And it has no weapons at all, right?” asked
Calvin, for his ruse to work their ship had to have absolutely no
offensive capability. Otherwise the treaty that allowed such ships
to pass through Alliance space would not be in force, and they
could be stopped, boarded, and even destroyed.

“No weapons, just like you said.”

“Good,” said Calvin. “And what about the
other details?” He knew the Roscos were going to steal him a ship,
so he’d asked them to make certain its disappearance was not
traceable. If its identity wound up on some roster of missing ships
then, the instant they were spotted by a Rotham patrol, they’d
almost certainly be boarded and captured.

“The ship’s owner is also its pilot. It’s
usually flown by just one Rotham, I don’t remember the bastard’s
name but I’ve got all the details right here.” He patted an
electronic device that Calvin hoped carried all the documents and
intel he would need. “He docked his ship here a few days ago. It
fit all the specifications you asked for and, even better, the
owner owes us some money so we seized his ship, privately of
course. Feel free to take it. Consider it a gift. And the payment
of a favor long overdue.”

“I will,” said Calvin. “What about the
original owner?”

“He’s somewhere safe. Somewhere no one will
find him. Don’t worry, no one knows we have him—and no one’s
gonna
know—so you can use his identity and get away with
it.” He took another long puff of his cigar. “Have your own Rotham
bastard pretend to be him, no one will be the wiser. By the way
what’s the deal with him anyway? Is he your pet or something?”

“No, not my pet,” said Calvin. Though he
wasn’t quite sure how he’d describe his relationship with Alex.
A semi-trusted, dangerous intelligence operative who happens to
share our goals and so we’re working with him even though he might
kill us in our sleep
? Calvin chose not to elaborate.

Grady shrugged. “Well, whatever. Your
business is your business. You’ll find the ship ready to leave
immediately. It’s stocked with all the supplies you asked for. Any
documents you need are here,” Grady handed Calvin the electronic
storage device.

“Thank you.”

“Consider the debt paid,” said Grady with a
serious expression. “In full.”

“I do,” said Calvin. “Except for one more
thing.”

Grady looked at him curiously. He didn’t say
anything but he raised eyebrow and took another draw from the
cigar. Breathing it out almost smugly. “God that never gets old,”
he said, patiently waiting for Calvin to elaborate.

Calvin tried not to choke on the disgusting
cigar smoke. Not sure how Grady managed to enjoy it so much. “You
told me you had connections in the Alliance and that they would
help.”

“Ah yes,” said Grady. “I almost forgot about
that.” He took another draw from the cigar.

“Well?” asked Calvin, as he waited for Grady
to breathe out the smoke and continue.

“You see,” said Grady. “That’s sort of the
bad news.”

Calvin felt his heart stop. “
Bad
news
?” The use of any Alliance contacts that the Roscos had
would significantly improve his chances of getting through this
mission alive. If something had happened to them, or worse if
Grady’s dealings with them had somehow given away to the Alliance
government that Calvin was coming… he was a goner for sure.

“I tried to contact them, I really did,” said
Grady. “But… nothing.” He shook his head and enjoyed another taste
of his cigar.

“What do you mean
nothing
?”

“I mean
nothing
. They’ve gone dark.
Vanished. Vamoose. Disappeared. Gone. Poof. Take your pick.”

“You haven’t heard anything at all from your
contacts in the Alliance?” Calvin pressed him. “When did you stop
hearing from them?”

“Must have been a few days ago. I’m not
really sure. Our connections there have always been too few and too
risky to get much out of, and we don’t stay in very regular of
contact. It’s too risky. We just try to keep tabs on the Khans,
that’s it.”

“And?”

“And I tried to get them over kataspace and
got nothing. Bupkiss. Zilch. I don’t know why. Maybe they’re dead.”
He took another draw from his cigar and shrugged. “Whatever the
case, they won’t be able to help you.”

“I can’t believe you weren’t going to tell me
this,” said Calvin as his mind tried to process what this meant. He
had a very ominous, dark feeling. And all he could assume was that
something had happened inside the Alliance, something dreadful.
Perhaps the Rotham had already made their move. Like Samil had
tried to warn them. And Calvin would get there too late, and by the
time he did… by the time he saw what was there and tried to warn
Kalila…

“I was going to tell you,” said Grady,
looking offended. “Of course I was. It just hadn’t come up
yet.”

“Look, I have to leave right away.”

“Like this very minute?” asked Grady.

“Like yesterday, or even a week ago,” said
Calvin, practically jumping up from his chair. “See that the ship
is cleared for immediate departure.”

“I will,” said Grady, taking his time to
stand up. “But first you have to do one thing for me.”

“
What
?” asked Calvin, annoyed by any
delay.

Grady extended his right hand. Calvin looked
down at it confused, like it was an alien he’d never seen
before.

“Shake my hand,” said Grady.

“Why?” Calvin didn’t understand how a
handshake merited such urgency.