We came into port on the planet Marada at about eleven at night, local time. It was late, but not too late to be doing business. On a border planet like Marada, everything was moving at every hour of the day, through any weather. At this current time, it happened to be snowing.
“I hate snow!” I exclaimed yet again.
“Yeah. Heard ya the first million times.” Vance said.
“Good, just making sure.” I stuck my tongue out at him and pulled a face, a lot like Raquel always did to me.
“Don’t worry, I know. Be sure and dress warm.” He stated as he walked off the ship.
I rolled my eyes. I was wearing a thick coat, and several layers underneath. If there was one thing I hated above all else, it was being in the cold while it was snowing.
“Heya, Cap’n!” I heard from behind me.
Here we go again… I thought to myself bitterly as I turned to see Raquel, tailed closely by Kristy. “Hello there Raquel, Kristy.” I greeted warmly.
“Uh, Cap’n?” Kristy said.
I was about to ask “what?” when Raquel broke in: “I no longer respond to that name, remember. It’s Poa.”
That’s what I was afraid of, and frankly, I didn’t care. I refused, repeat: refused to call her “Poa”. “Whatever, Raquel.” I said, and walked off. If I had eyes on the back of my head, she’d be making a face. I was sure of it.
Problem one dealt with, I headed off to meet with my contact about delivering the goods from the previous day’s job. I stuck to back roads and hidden alleys, not wanting to attract a lot of attention. Lay low. That was the best way to get things done quick and easy.
There was an old tavern on the edge of the city where some of the richer crowd liked to spend time at. That was where my contact would be. He was rich, and rich was not necessarily a bad thing. The nice thing about the wealthy is that they’re lazy, so they need someone else to do all the work for them. That’s where I come in. I do the work, and (naturally) I get paid. Everyone wins, everyone’s happy. Except for the person I get the goods from. They’re probably not so happy, but I don’t usually hang around long enough to find out.
I could see the tavern now, almost directly ahead of me, but something made me stop. I’d had enough experience to know when I was being followed. I spun around, but there was no sign of life. Had I imagined it? Was I just paranoid? Possibly, but I’m rarely wrong about this kind of thing.
I continued on, cautiously and slowly. I sped up as I approached the tavern and the feeling about someone behind me faded. Placing my hand on the door, I half opened it, and then turned to gaze around once more. After carefully scrutiny of the area, I saw no one, and entered the building.
The inside was dimly lit and musty. The air was full of smoke, which made it hard to breathe at first. I looked around at the faces, trying to find the one I was looking for. I spotted someone who looked familiar. Not my contact, though. Still, his dark eyes and pale hair seemed to be vivid in my mind, yet I couldn’t tell why. Where did I know him from? He seemed to eye me back as I gazed about.
At long last, my attention moved onto the rest of the crowds. I spotted an older man dressed finely near the corner, sitting alone. Found him. I approached him nonchalantly, taking care not to be noticed. Spotting me, the man stood, leaving a note behind him on the table. He was gone when I reached the table. I slipped the note into my pocket as I passed the table. I hung around for several minutes more before leaving.
As I left, I cast one last wary glance at the young man I had seemed to recognize upon entering earlier. His dark eyes still followed my every movement. He seemed so familiar to me.
After I had walked a safe distance from the tavern, I opened up the folded piece of paper and read it:
0800 hours tomorrow
Have everything there
I have a new job for you too
Whatever was troubling me about the young man from the tavern stopped doing so for a moment. We were going to be paid, and we’d have a new job. This was going so well.
Unfortunately, with my luck, nothing goes well for long.